a/n I haven't written in SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

okay…on with it!

When Harry woke the next day the birds were singing so loudly he could hardly believe that he had slept through the racket. He sleepily ambled down to the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione.

"Where's Jessica?" Ron asked gruffly.

He must still be fuming about last night, Harry thought.

Hermione shrugged, "She left before I woke up this morning. Lavender said she saw her around seven o'clock looking at the notice board but she left before Lavender could speak with her."

"Odd girl, isn't she Harry?" Ron said.

"I suppose, but everyone's a little odd. She's probably just nervous…being in a new school and everything," suggested Harry.

"Oh, I don't think so," said Hermione as they walked through the Entrance Hall into the Great Hall and over to the Gryfindor table, "she seemed quite confident at the Sorting." But when they reached the Gryfindor table, Harry and Ron, who seemed to care the most, could not find her. (I'm surprised that's a sentence actually XD )

"She's probably already eaten," Hermione said unconcerned, "I don't see why you two care. She's barely said two words to you." Ron and Harry exchanged looks but did not say anything more. Hermione rifled through her Daily Prophet frowning.

"Anything happen?" Harry asked. He had been at the Dursley's almost the entire summer and he had not heard any news about Lord Voldemorte. He would have gone stir crazy from waiting if the League (of Extraordinary Gentlemen…not! Good movie but I like Pirates of the Caribbean better) had not finally decided it was safe for him to go to the Burrow. The League was the resistance against Voldemorte fifty years ago and Professor Dumbledore had reformed it.

"No, not really. Just an article about Dumbledore going senile and you are mentioned in an article about brain damage," Hermione looked almost fearful, "Nothing worth getting worked up about." Harry shrugged but his temper was rising. The Daily Prophet had been slipping in hints all summer that he was deranged and should be locked up. He wasn't surprised when everyone started and whispered wherever he went but it still infuriated him. Just as Harry was about to go into a tirade about the Ministry of Magic, Jessica sat down next to him.

"Hey Harry! You look like you're about to explode!" Jessica rummaged in her school bag and pulled out a badge, "Do I really have to wear this?" Ron, Harry and Hermione stared flabbergasted (I like that word….FLABBERGASTED! and I spelled it right on my first try too! Yay! lol).

"You're a…a Perfect?" Ron babbled, "But you're new!?"

Jessica wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Yeah, I know. It's part of the exchange program. Supposed to make us feel more like we belong, I guess," she rolled her eyes, "But do you think if I skip some awful class they'll strip me of my badge and dishonorably discharge me?" she looked hopeful.

"I doubt it," said Fred as he sat down next to her.

"You could probably skip the entire day, but I wouldn't advise it," said George helpfully, "You'll get a week's worth of detentions. Besides, if you're really a troublemaker at heart you should stay on. Then Fred and I won't get squealed on so much." Everyone laughed except Hermione, who was fighting back a smile but failing miserably.

As they walked to their first Transfiguration lesson Harry remembered something he had wanted to ask Jessica, "This may be a bad time but…do you hate your father?"
"Jessica stood still leaning against the wall, "I suppose I don't hate him, but I don't really like him. He's not a nice man…even at heart," she added as Hermione opened her mouth, "Like I said, he would have wanted me to be in Slytherin."

Harry shook his head, "Being at home with him must be grand," he smiled hopefully, "but what about your mum? She can't be all that evil because…well...you aren't evil."

Her face contorted for a second but she quickly smiled weakly, "My mom got really sick and died three years ago." Ron shook his head and Hermione looked sorrowful.

"Oh…well," Harry started, "I'm sor-"

"Please don't," her smile steadily grew more genuine at the look of confusion on their faces, "'I'm sorry' is all I've heard for the past three years. I'm sick of it. That's another reason I enrolled in the exchange program…to get away from 'I'm sorry your mom died but I can't do anything about it except look sad," she laughed at their expressions, "We'd better get going! I may be a "troublemaker at heart' but I don't like to be late."

Jessica was true to her word. For every class she was the first one in line but she not only arrived early she seemed to be the smartest in the class next to Hermione.

After a couple of days of this Ron whispered exhausted to Harry, "I don't know how those girls do it. Jessica is almost worst than Hermione." Although Jessica seemed to have the brain of Hermione, she definitely had the heart of Fred and George. She never did anything in front of the teachers but laughter and screams followed her in the corridors. Boys followed her like a pack of lap dogs but she ignored and refused all of them. Even Filch, the caretaker, was not immune to her charm. She continually talked her way out of detention after detention. Harry was astonished at how fast she could get in and out of trouble in just three days.

"How do you bloody do it?" Ron asked eagerly after their Wednesday History of Magic lesson.

Jessica smiled sneakily and giggled, "No one," she licked her lips and flicked her hair dramatically, "can resist the flirtings of a veela," she laughed (I really don't think flirtings is a word but it just fits…ya know?).

"You're part veela?" gasped Harry.

"That would explain a lot, but how can you be? You look nothing like one…" said Hermione frowning.

Ron's mouth was hanging open, "Who cares!? She can be quite useful."

Jessica snorted, "I'm not really a veela! And even if I were I wouldn't seduce anyone so you can break the rules, I'm a Perfect after all."

Ron's mouth dropped open again. Harry wasn't sure if he should drop his mouth open too or laugh at Ron's expression.

"What do you call all the stuff you set off in the corridors when no one is looking?" questioned Hermione.

"Emotional relief," she said simply, "I mean, look…half the teachers in their first lesson spent most of the lesson explaining how important O.W.L.s were and stuff. We fifth years have so much pressure bearing down on us it's good to laugh," Jessica smiled again and added, "or scream."

"But it's only the third day of school?!" said Hermione apparently not expecting this answer.

"There's no time like the present!" she retorted. Harry was torn between mimicking Ron's expression and laughing at Hermione's but he didn't do either. He had noticed Jessica smiling at him. Her smile was so infectious he started smiling without realizing it. But before he could say a word she matched off to their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson leaving them far behind. It took a moment before Ron's mouth would close.

"I wonder who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is," Hermione said breaking the silence as they trudged toward the classroom.

"I dunno," Harry said.

"Well, whoever they are," Ron said, "they haven't been in the Great Hall."

Hermione snorted, "I'm surprised you noticed Ron. All you seem to do at meals is goggle at Jessica like you've never seen a girl before."

"She's a special girl! An American. We don't have many of them," he said indignantly, "Besides I'm not the only one."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to be rude!" Hermione retorted puffing herself up, "I'm surprised it doesn't bother her. I mean, it drives Harry mad."

"Maybe she really is part veela," Harry muttered his temper rising, "they don't mind attention. I would appreciate it if you two wouldn't talk as it I wasn't here and stop bickering so much. I may be a hot-headed lunatic but I haven't lost all my senses yet." The rest of the trudge to their lesson was in silence. When they reached the classroom, Harry did not talk to either of them. He sat down next to Jessica and piled his books so he would not have to face Ron, who sat next to him. Harry sat fuming looking straight ahead but it wasn't long before Jessica tried to ask him what was bothering him. He ignored her, not wanting to talk to anyone at that moment. He, however, did not have much choice in the end.

Jessica Freedman-

Jessica frowning at Harry. He had ignored her when she asked him what was wrong. But unluckily for Harry, she was not about to give up. First, she prodded and poked him whispering questions in his ear. He seemed to ignore all this fairly well but he started to fume even more.

Tough guy, huh, Jessica thought, We'll see about that.

She slipped out of her chair quietly and got right in Harry's face looking him in the eye, "Now that was have eye contact and can hear each other properly I'll ask you again. What's bothering you?"

But before Harry could answer a stern voice from behind him said, "And may I ask what you are doing Miss Freedman?"

a/n isn't that a wonderful place to stop? lol cliffhanger!!! Yes I know I'm evil. **sweat drop** that was my longest chapter yet. Also something to be happy about other than the fact that I start writing again…I have the next chapter written!!! But I have to type it…oh well.

R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!