Chapter Three – Game of Chess?

The next morning dawned bright and cheerful, just how first days of school were supposed to be. Cheery enough to send you to your classes with a happy heart, but also disappointing that you couldn't be out there instead of stuck in a classroom. The first noise to be heard was that of birds chirping, but they were soon overcome by the sound of rustling sheets, yawning, and early morning conversations. All this was much too hard to block out, Kayla found, and so she grudgingly opened her eyes. The other first year girls, of which there were four, including Sonia, were now adjourning towards the showers. A glance at Sonia's bed revealed that she was already gone. Kayla felt a surge of frustration towards her cousin as she remembered her comments about Jake the earlier night. For some reason, they bothered her more now than they did then. She figured it was probably because she had been about ready to pass out last night.

She gathered her clothes and headed for the shower. She was perfectly used to the fact that as she walked by a mirror, it informed her that her hair looked a mess and that she'd better take a good long time in the shower getting it to mellow out. She had no intention of doing any such thing, of course. She was looking forward to her first day at Hogwarts much too much to waste time with excess showering. Besides, what would she want to dress up for? She felt proud as she looked into the mirror and observed her Hogwarts uniform, a crimson Gryffindor tie displayed along with the house crest on her robes. Her heart was pounding with excitement at the prospect of an entire day of new classes, new teachers, and who knew what else?

She found, once she exited the girl's dorms, that both Jake and Sonia had beaten her to the common room. It wasn't by any means a good thing, though. Jake was sitting in an armchair closest to the portrait hole, shooting an absolutely murderous glare in Sonia's direction. Sonia was loudly and pointedly chatting with another first year girl, the phrase 'some people' along with words such as 'rude', 'obnoxious', and 'arrogant' exiting her mouth quite frequently as she returned Jake's glare out of the corner of her eye. That changed, however, when Sonia caught sight of Kayla, and abruptly stopped speaking. She carefully turned her attention to the other girl she was talking to, but Kayla knew that Sonia was watching. It didn't take her long to decide what to do. She pranced up beside Jake's chair, watching as he first shot a look of absolute loathing upon her but, upon seeing who she was, immediately softened a good deal, especially upon seeing that she was glaring at Sonia for all she was worth.

"C'mon, Jake, let's go," Kayla said loudly, ushering him up out of his chair.

For a brief moment, Sonia looked apologetic. But then, Kayla couldn't really be sure that she saw it because immediately afterwards her cousin shot her a glare and continued speaking to her new first year friend. Kayla might have pursued the matter, but Jake took a hold of her arm and hauled her out the portrait hole, a look of intense concentration on his face. Kayla got the distinct feeling that he was trying not to explode. She had to admit, she half-hoped he did. From someone as stoic as Jake, it would be nice to see a bit of emotion. But no, he simply seethed as he marched her down the corridor, making her jog to keep up with his long, brisk strides. She waited for what seemed an eternity for him to say something, but he didn't, so she was left to take matters into her own hands.

"What happened?" she asked cautiously.

"The little runt blew up over nothing," he growled, giving Kayla the impression that he really wanted to yell but didn't dare allow himself the privilege, "All I asked was where you were, and she started going on and on and on about trustworthiness and people who take advantage of other people, and..."

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Kayla to collide with him. She wisely chose to wait as he drew in deep breaths, closing his eyes and seeming to want very much to be calm. Finally, his eyes snapped open and locked directly on her.

"Let's go eat breakfast," he said decidedly.

"I thought that was what we were doing," she replied cheerfully.

He gave her a look that obviously said she shouldn't have been thinking any such thing before continuing down the corridors, still looking relatively annoyed. Kayla immediately decided that telling him how the two of them had defeated the dragon in the forbidden forest the night before in her dreams would cheer him up, and proceeded to give him a blow-by-blow account of what had happened. She watched as he first looked worried for her health, but by the time they reached the Great Hall, the corners of his mouth were tugging upwards in what looked to be a genuine smile. He seemed to have especially liked the part where she was telling him how she had been hanging on to his sleeve even while they threw their swords straight into the dragon's heart. By the time they reached the Gryffindor table, he was making an incredible effort to not to smile; although she couldn't see why he wouldn't want to. As it was, they must have looked quite the pair; he walking along seemingly emotionlessly, and herself grinning wildly and bouncing up and down beside him, tugging on his sleeve as she spoke.

When they sat down, well away from most of the other students, as Jake seemed to want to do, Kayla's eyes caught on the blonde boy that they had shared their boat with the previous day. He looked timid and very much alone as he picked his way through the crowd and towards the table. When he arrived, he looked around nervously before picking a seat across from her and Jake, a few seats over. He cast furtive glances in their direction from time to time, and Kayla greeted him with a smile whenever she caught his eye. She decided that he looked to be a good sort of fellow; he had blonde hair that, very unlike Jake's, was neatly trimmed short enough to where she doubted if he had to worry about brushing it. His eyes were a watery sort of blue that suggested a submissive demeanor whilst keeping a sort of guard about them, as if he was going to do his best not to meet anybody that might take advantage of that. She couldn't help but feel that he wasn't making very good progress on his own, however, seeing as some sixth year Slytherin boys were eyeing him as if wondering exactly how much pocket money he carried with him.

"Oi!" she called suddenly, waving her hand at him, "You, there!"

He started like a frightened deer, relaxing only when he caught sight of her friendly face. She waved him over, ignoring the pointedly unappreciative look Jake was shooting her. He slid over so that he was across from them, eyeing her with gratitude and Jake with distinct fear. She couldn't blame him, however; Jake had the ability to be quite intimidating, especially with the look he was currently shooting the boy. Kayla jabbed on Jake's toe with her heel as she began to speak, not missing the way he cursed under his breath before taking another bite of eggs.

"My name is Kayla Potter, and this is Jake Lawson," she introduced, watching as Jake offered the other boy a curt nod, most likely in fear of having his toe stepped on once more, "We shared a boat yesterday, remember?"

The boy nodded somewhat more confidently, having taken the fact that Jake refused to look at him as a good thing. "I'm Travis Longbottom," he replied.

Jake snorted rather obviously into his glass as he took a sip of orange juice, and Kayla trod on his toe once more. Longbottom, Longbottom...it was rather a funny name, but she knew she had heard it before. Something to do with the Order, she remembered. No, her father's school friends...both, maybe? Then it hit her.

"Your dad's Neville Longbottom!" she exclaimed triumphantly, "And your mum's Luna, right?"

"Yeah...yeah, they are," he said, and suddenly, his eyes widened, "You're...Kayla Potter...as in...Harry Potter's daughter?"

The last bit was said rather loudly, and attracted quite a few stares, but only for a few seconds, since Jake glared them all off almost immediately. Meanwhile, Kayla nodded in response to the boy's question. He looked about to say more when suddenly, and quite without warning, a flurry of owls began to pour into the Great Hall. Kayla gave an excited clap of her hands as she recognized her own black screech owl, whom she dubbed Zegen (which was Dutch for blessing, or so her mother had told her), zoomed towards her with a letter in tow. The owl landed gracefully, avoiding both the tray of eggs and Kayla's plate, and allowed itself to be stripped of it's burden.

"Thanks, Z," Kayla said happily, treating the bird to a bit of bacon.

"Z?" Jake questioned from beside her.

"It's short for Zegen," she informed him.

He gave a snort of laughter to which she paused in unfolding the letter, written in her father's cramped handwriting, and glared at him. He immediately put on his most serious face and glared at Travis, whose mouth had dropped open upon the realization that Jake did such things as laugh. Travis scooted away quickly. Kayla unfolded her letter and began to read eagerly, anticipating whatever her father had to say.

My dearest Kayla,

The trip home was lonely without you, and I feel as though our house will never be the same. Your mother tells me I'm just being overdramatic, but I stick by my feelings anyway. I know she's missing you just as much, anyhow, because I caught her all teary at the photo album later on. I hope you're missing me at least a little bit, although I know how exciting Hogwarts can be.

I'm really not good with letters such as this, sweetheart, so please don't be disappointed in me. All I know how to say right now is that I miss you, and I love you, and I hope you'll write back.

Love,

Dad

P.S. (from mom) Kayla dearest, you simply must write back to tell your father that he's worrying too much. I know you and Sonia are doing absolutely fine, and there's no reason to worry, right? Let us know if you've made any new friends, or if you need anything, and we'll be sure and get it for you. Love, Mom

A smile was on Kayla's face at the obviousness of her father's ache for her, and she tucked it into her robes still grinning. A slight frown had come when she read Sonia's name, but she was sure whatever argument they were having would be resolved in due time. They hadn't fought often before, really, and she couldn't see any reason why they would now. The rest of breakfast passed in an amiable silence; Kayla had decided to keep stomping on Jake's foot just for the fun of it, and he had taken to returning the gesture. Only when she gave a loud howl of pain that caused Travis to look up in alarm while Jake's shoulders shook with silent laughter did they quit and decide to find the first year schedule so that they knew which classes to go to and when.

Their first class of the day was Transfiguration, which meant another encounter with Professor McGonagall. While Kayla was only too happy to include Travis in their group, Jake seemed to want to go about it a different way. He was decent to Travis, but he never allowed the other boy the opportunity to sit, walk, or stand next to Kayla. She didn't quite understand this, and when she pulled him aside to question him about it, he simply gave her a long, searching look, put a hand on her shoulder, and led them into class, where he allowed her to sit in between him and Travis. Kayla noticed a look in his eyes that she hadn't seen before – which, of course, she reminded herself, was normal due to the fact that she hadn't known him very long. It still seemed to her as though they had been friends for a very long time, though, and she felt that she ought to tell him so later. But not just then, for Professor McGonagall's very presence demanded complete silence.

Kayla surveyed the aging woman with respect and curiosity. She had heard enough about her from her father to sense that she wouldn't want to get in trouble with her, but also that the professor had a mostly just punishment system, and wouldn't treat her unfairly in any way. Now, as she called names, her voice cut across the room sharply, creating only the most attentive atmosphere from the students. When she called out Jake's name, he responded with only a grunt of a 'here', and the professor's eyes surveyed him disapprovingly. Being Jake, he glared right back at her, as if daring her to try and make him do more. She ignored him, however, and continued on with roll. When she got to Kayla's name, she looked up yet again, looking to be fighting the same battle not to smile Jake seemed to wage when she heard Kayla's extremely cheery 'Right over here!' Kayla beamed at the professor and received a nod; upon a look in Jake's direction, it appeared she had amused him greatly, but he wouldn't let himself smile. Professor McGonagall announced that they would need to pair up to practice turning matches into needles, and Jake's arm made a sudden, jerky movement in Kayla's direction before it remained where it had been on the desk. Kayla, on the other hand, boldly reached out and grabbed onto his sleeve. When she gave them permission to move about, she tugged him towards her and explained that she was going to help Travis find a partner and would be right back.

After Travis was partnered with a first year girl whom Kayla was sure she hadn't seen talking to Sonia, she returned to Jake's desk, where he had already retrieved two matches. When she took a seat next to him and grabbed her match, she noticed that his was still laying at the center of the table. When she looked up, he was engaging in a kind of staring contest with Professor McGonagall. They each seemed to be sizing each other up, challenging each other to something that Kayla knew nothing about. She reached over and poked Jake in the arm, but he did nothing except for give a grunt of acknowledgement.

"Jake, come on," she urged.

"Hang on a sec," he replied, narrowing his eyes at their professor, who mirrored him.

"No, Jake, now," Kayla insisted, tugging on his sleeve.

For a moment, he ignored her. Then, reluctantly, he turned to face her, nodded, and reached out for his match. Kayla figured that she was just going to have to get used to such strange behavior, and immediately set to work attempting to transfigure her match. She found that it was work in vain. Although by the end of the lesson she swore (loudly) that her match had become skinnier, nobody else was able to offer much consolation on the matter. Jake, especially, went to great lengths boasting that he saw no difference, whereas his had definitely become skinnier, and taken on a shiny, metallic color. Kayla threatened to rip his sleeve off, and he actually laughed. It surprised her so much that she became silent once more, and she noticed that Professor McGonagall was also looking extremely surprised.

In Charms, she found Professor Flitwick to be a friendly, fun teacher. Jake informed her that he reminded him of an overexcited mouse, but she ignored him, instead concentrating on levitating her feather high enough to drop on his head. By the end of class, she had actually achieved that, but they had both found that it was much easier to pick the feather up and blow it at each other, and thus they did. Professor Flitwick either took no notice or pretended not to, for they didn't get in trouble, although Sonia shot them several reproving looks and Travis took a few careful steps back, apparently not wanting to get "feathered."

By History of Magic, Kayla was in high spirits, and she was determined to take Jake with her, no matter now much he refrained from acting "happy". Professor Binns was every bit as boring as Kayla had heard, and she made no effort whatsoever to listen to him, instead shooting papers at the back of Jake's head, since he was sitting in front of her. A few times he tilted his chair back and looked at her upside-down, but this caused such a fit of giggles in her that he only did it once or twice. She didn't know if it was the way his hair fell when he did so, or perhaps the stern look he attempted to bring into his eyes, but something about Jake hanging upside down was just funny.

Lunch was a merry event for Kayla, Jake, and even Travis, whom Jake, in a bout of a good mood, had allowed to sit on the other side of Kayla. While Travis was a bit more laid-back, Kayla and Jake again began to try and beat each other to food, although this time they didn't knock anything over. Both were spurred on by the way Sonia tutted at them from across the table. Nearly the entire way through lunch, Kayla kept up chatter about the magical world once more, filling Jake in on anything he had become curious of so far. She had decided that Hogwarts was a very fine place to be, after all. The only thing that worried her were the sudden rounds of seeming depression that would come over Jake every once in a while. It was almost as if he realized that he were having fun, and would immediately withdraw, becoming stony, silent, and stern once more. After a bit of coaxing on Kayla's part, he usually came back into himself and joined in on the merriment once more, but he seemed to be consistently reprimanding himself for doing so, and Kayla couldn't figure out why. When Travis was safely talking to another first year girl, she decided to figure out why.

"Jake?" she asked, as sweetly as she could.

"Yes?" came the reply, in a vain attempt to sound uninterested.

"How come you don't like to smile?"

"How come you ask so many questions?"

"Because I want to know the answers."

Jake turned to her with a set face, although she could tell simply by looking at him that he was amused. He shook his head, turned back to his food, and began to eat once more. Kayla glanced over at Travis, who seemed to be pretending not to listen, and acted surprised to see her looking at him. She shook her head and turned to her food, as well, and she swore she saw him stifling a laugh out of the corner of her eye. There was only so long that Kayla could be silent, though, and after about two minutes, she had had enough.

"What class do we have next?" she asked, although she knew the answer perfectly well.

"Potions," Jake told her, although he knew that she knew the answer perfectly well.

"Smile, Jake," she said suddenly, poking him in the arm.

"No, thanks," was his answer, causing her to frown.

Upon seeing the half-pout on her face, he tilted his head. She gave him a pleading look, and, reluctantly, he smiled. It looked a bit like a grimace, but it was an effort nonetheless, and she beamed at him shamelessly, nearly diving in for a hug but realizing that she could very well knock him over the edge of the bench. Besides that, he looked very embarrassed at having to smile in front of Travis, who was still pretending not to have seen. Kayla was too fidgety to finish her lunch, despite the somewhat patronizing looks being thrown at her from both Jake and Travis as she tugged relentlessly at the tablecloth. When the bell rang as a signal for class, she practically vaulted out off the bench, causing Jake to jump and Travis to squeak as he leaned back to evade getting a faceful of wild curls.

The journey to Potions was spent with Kayla telling Travis and Jake in a hushed voice about her father's recounts of Professor Snape and his classes. Travis, who was having a hard time hearing due to the fact that Jake was no longer allowing him to stand next to Kayla, listened intently and gave his father's own accounts. These Kayla found a bit hard to believe, as her father had never mentioned anything about Snape stringing students up by their toes from the dungeon ceiling, but there was no need to tell Jake so – he didn't seem to believe anything Travis said anyway. When they finally entered the classroom, they lapsed into silence. The desks were set up in order to allow pairs only, and Travis immediately latched onto the girl that he had partnered with during Transfiguration. Kayla made a mental note to speak to that girl; she was being uncommonly nice to Travis, and she seemed to be the same to everyone else.

Kayla and Jake decided to sit in the back, across the aisle from Travis and the girl whose name Kayla had yet to learn. When Snape began to call names, Kayla began to squirm uncomfortably. Upon spying Jake's arm lying across the table, she grabbed onto his sleeve immediately, twisting it nervously despite the glares he sent her. She knew he didn't mean them anyway, and he had stopped sending them by the time Snape reached the P's. Now he looked slightly defensive, glaring at Snape for all he was worth even before he called Kayla's name. There came a large period of silence before the professor's silky voice cut through the musty air of the dungeons.

"Potter, Kayla?"

Kayla hadn't even opened her mouth to speak before his eyes locked onto her. She gave him a "here" that sounded so defiant she was surprised he didn't dock points from Gryffindor on the spot. Oh no, he seemed to have other things in mind.

"My, my, but we do take after our father so," he murmured tauntingly as he surveyed her.

Kayla opened her mouth, perhaps to tell him that she didn't see anything wrong with that, but Jake stomped on her foot nearly as hard as she had on his during breakfast time, and she settled for a scowl in his direction. If anything, this seemed to intensify the dislike showing in his eye as he looked at her. After giving her a withering look, he continued to take roll. Unfortunately for him, Kayla wasn't nearly so easy to be rid of as dismissing with a look. She leaned close to Jake, still clutching at his sleeve fiercely.

"Jake, did you see the way he looked at me?" she hissed into his ear, positively shaking with anger.

"Don't mess with him," Jake replied quietly, and more calmly than she would have expected him to.

"What do you mean 'don't mess with him'?" she exclaimed quietly, "He's...he's asking for it!"

"Once you figure out what 'it' is, let me know," Jake retorted, "And I can tell you how stupid it is then."

Scowling and letting go his sleeve, Kayla turned away from him, not missing the exasperated sigh he gave. How dare he tell her not to mess with him? She wasn't going to mess with him, besides, she was going to get revenge. Not only for that infuriating look he had given her, but for everything he had done to her father. She was certain that once she told Jake the entire story he would agree and help her. But if not, she was perfectly capable of working alone. She did feel a bit disheartened as she looked at Travis, however, knowing that he wouldn't be able to help her. Perhaps that other girl, though? With that thought in mind, she successfully managed not to hear a word the Potions master was saying, and was only brought to attention when Jake nudged her much harder than he should have. She nearly yelled at him, but caught sight of Snape looking at her with a smirk on his face.

"Do you have an answer for us, Miss Potter?" he inquired politely.

"No," Kayla declared, tossing her head and sending her curls flying haphazardly about in the air before coming to a rest once more.

"And why is that?" Snape persisted.

Because I wasn't listening to a word you were saying, you ugly git, Kayla thought ferociously, intensifying her glare as much as she could muster. Her housemates were looking terrified for her life, whereas the Slytherins, whom they shared the class with, looked absolutely gleeful, Kabir included.

"Because I don't see fit to answer," she announced, angling her chin up in the air. Beside her, Jake's shoulders began to shake suspiciously.

"Five points from Gryffindor for defiance," Snape announced carelessly.

Kayla's face flushed with shame, not only because of losing points for her house, but because there was no way she could argue herself out of it. She had been defiant – and for good reason! The Slytherins snickered, and she was almost too afraid to meet her fellow Gryffindors' faces, but when she did, they were giving her encouraging looks that heartened her a bit. One of them even gave her a thumbs up, and Sonia looked distinctly proud. Feeling a bit better, she glanced over at Jake. When he caught her eye, his shoulders began to shake again and he put a hand to his mouth as he looked away. For the entire rest of the lesson, he refused to look her in the eye for reasons she couldn't fathom.

All in all, she thought she did fairly well without his help. Her potion was supposed to be a dark blue, and she managed something very close. When she brought it up to Snape's desk to turn it in he gave it a dubious look before putting on a smirk that she was sure looked extremely devious. She confided as much to Jake, even though he wasn't looking at her, and he ended up having to put his head on his desk, shaking for no reason that she could figure out. Giving up for the remainder of class, which was all of six minutes, she promised Travis they would meet him in the common room soon and dragged Jake down a hallway.

"Why wouldn't you look at me during class?" she demanded.

"Why do you think?" he retorted good-naturedly, "You were just too funny."

"I was not," she exclaimed hotly, "Nothing was funny. That evil...that infuriating...that..."

Shaking his head, Jake began to walk in the direction of Gryffindor tower. Kayla, unable to find words for what Snape was, trotted up beside him and latched onto his sleeve. They walked in a kind of amiable silence for a moment before Kayla decided something very important.

"Jake, we never decided when we were going to go to the Forbidden Forest."

"Yeah, well," he replied, stopping suddenly and causing Kayla to spring back from the end of his sleeve as if she were attached, "I'm gonna go get us some books for that History of Magic essay. I'll meet you in the common room in a few."

"What?" she exclaimed, "You have to answer me!"

"I did answer you," he replied, attempting fruitlessly to free his sleeve.

"You're being as infuriating as Snape!" she declared passionately.

"Guess you'll be letting go of my sleeve then, won't you?" he retorted smartly.

With a frown, she let go his sleeve and glared at him for all she was worth. He merely shot her a rare grin, reaching out to give one of her curls a tug before heading off in the direction of the library. For a moment, she was too surprised to do anything. Then she decided that Jake was much too complicated to think about and that she'd best be getting to the tower.

When she arrived in the common room it was packed. She picked her way through the crowd, trying both not to step on anyone's toes and not get her own stepped on, and she finally spotted Travis and the girl who had been so nice sitting on one of the couches, working on their homework. She almost intruded, but paused as she noted how well they seemed to be getting along. She knew that if she sat by them, Jake would, inevitably, join them, and he only seemed to make Travis nervous, so she chose a table by the window. There were four chairs, which was a mite too many, but that was perfectly all right. She used one for a footrest as she waited, and it wasn't long before Jake returned, a pile of books in tow.

The silence made Kayla fidgety, like it usually did, but Jake did nothing to alleviate it. He worked hard, an intense look in his eye the entire time, and Kayla was forced to do the same, minus the intensity. She found that the homework wasn't at all as easy as it had seemed. For how much effort it took to say "two foot parchment", it certainly took a lot to actually write it. Just as she finished, and, to her delight, saw Jake looking ready to talk, Sonia appeared at her side. While Jake shot her looks that as good as threatened death, Kayla regarded her cautiously. She really didn't want word getting to her parents that she and Sonia were in a fight, or no doubt they'd get much too worried. Besides that, she had never gotten angry with her cousin before, and wasn't eager to start fights.

"Could I talk to you, Kayla?" Sonia requested, "Alone?"

While she didn't exactly glare at Jake, she shot him a look out of the corner of her eye that came pretty close. Kayla looked from Sonia to Jake carefully, wondering if Jake would be too mad at her for going to talk to her. Finally, she decided that she really needed to get it sorted out, and began to gather up her things.

"Alright, Sonia, I'll meet you in the dorms in a few," she said pointedly.

Sonia took the hint and left, leaving Kayla with a Jake that was sending waves of anger in her direction.

"Oh Jake, calm down," she told him, "My parents will freak out if Sony and I fight, and I want to try and stop it. If she says one bad thing about you, though, my parents will just have to deal with it."

The last part was said with so much gusto that Jake seemed to instantly forgive her, relaxing in his chair a good bit. After promising to meet him after she was done with her cousin, she dashed up the stairs. Little did she know how long dealing with Sonia was going to take. The instant she entered the dormitory, she regretted it. Sonia began not to yell, but to positively shriek about Jake. Kayla was forced to sit on her bed in an angry silence until she, too, added to the yells.

"I just don't know what's wrong with you, Kayla!" Sonia was declaring, "You-"

"I what?" Kayla demanded, jumping up, "What, Sonia, what's wrong with me? I make friends? You're just jealous, that's what you are!"

"Why would I be jealous?" Sonia demanded.

"Because you can't make friends!" Kayla screamed in reply, so frustrated that her face began to heat up.

"I can't believe you would say something like that!" Sonia cried, now looking hurt, "It's ever since you started hanging out with him."

"Oh, honestly, Sonia, that's only been for two days, how could you notice?" Kayla answered sharply, "Why don't you give me the real reason you don't like him?"

"Because he's stealing you!" Sonia cried.

"That's ridiculous!" Kayla shouted, "Get a grip, Sonia! You could've hung out with us, but no, you had to go picking a fight!"

"No, Kayla, he was supposed to be the one that could've hung out with us," Sonia argued passionately, "Since when are you and him more a pair of friends than you and me? You hardly even know him!"

"That doesn't matter!" Kayla practically screamed, stomping her foot in impatience, "He's not – he doesn't – some people are just friends, Sonia, it just happens. They don't need to be locked up together for eleven years to do it!"

"So that's how you feel, is it?" Sonia screeched, "Fine, Kayla, just fine!"

"Fine!" Kayla yelled at the top of her lungs, "Fine yourself, Sonia!"

As Sonia huffed her way to the bathrooms, Kayla stomped out the door and down the stairs, where Jake was in the exact same chair as he had been before she had left. Nearly everyone in the common room looked at her as she emerged, and she knew that the argument must've been audible to them, but she didn't care. Tossing her head and shooting daggers at everyone who dared to stare at her, she stalked over to her previous seat across from Jake and plopped into it, fuming.

"I take it didn't go the way you planned?" Jake asked, as if he were commenting on the weather.

"Ooh, she just...she just...make me wanna...ooh," Kayla fumed.

When she looked up at Jake, he was looking at her amusedly. It only seemed to be helped when she looked up, and he suddenly looked as if he were holding in a laugh.

"What?" she snapped irritably.

"Nothing, nothing," he assured her. At her look, he raised an eyebrow and continued, "It's just your hair, that's all."

"What about it?" she growled.

"Matches your attitude, that's all," he answered cryptically.

Giving a sigh of impatience, she decided not to pay her hair any notice and contented herself with starting a staring contest with Jake. She lost. As punishment, she refused to look at him for five minutes straight. Yet, she felt his eyes on her the entire time, until she was forced to look back out of sheer curiosity. He had an extremely triumphant gleam in his eye, and she knew he had been doing it on purpose.

"I hate you," she told him.

To her surprise, he grinned and leaned forward over the table. With a smirk on his face, he replied, "I hate you too, Kayla Potter. Game of chess?"

Against her will, she felt her face forming into a smile. She nodded grudgingly, but when he came back with a board of muggle chess, she immediately decided that it would do to have him play with her wizarding chess set. After he got past his rapt fascination with the moving pieces and had quite a conversation with one of the knights, they began to play. By the end of the match, Kayla was frowning once more, and Jake grinning.

She had lost. Again.