Something Getting Stronger
Travis spent those last three nights at the Porters' place along with Ginny. Laura's mother did not return.
"All right, so who's driving?" Laura asked loudly, jangling car keys in Travis's face. She seemed especially on edge today.,. "Hmmm? I can't drive, I'll kill us all."
She threw a dirty, questioning look at Ginny who took a step backwards
"You think I won't? You think I've ever in my life used muggle transpor-"
"I'll do it." grunted Travis, who was muggle-born. "Now I'm not saying I will get us there safely, I'm just saying it seems like I'm the only one who's okay with being the cause of our gruesome deaths. Am I right?"
"Fine, okay, whatever." Laura spat. No one wanted to argue with her behaviour. She turned her lost eyes to J.J who was sitting on the couch. "Where is mom?" she moaned miserably, "She was supposed to be here to drive us to the station and now we're all gonna die."
"I would argue with that." said J.J. "But seeing how Trav's driving, there isn't much I can say to comfort you."
"Hey you wanna drive big talker?" Travis growled
"Hell, no."
"Then get your shit in the car and pray for your life."
No one really seemed to be in a good mood that morning. Besides not knowing where J.J and Laura's mom had gone in the first place, they were still stuck wondering why she hadn't told them, if she was safe, why she was late and when she was coming back. Though no one seemed too keen to bring any of this up.
The drive to King's Cross station was a quiet one. They had argued briefly over how to get the car back to the house. It was Laura's idea not to worry about it.
"If mum had cared enough to be here, we wouldn't need to worry about this. It's her's to deal with, not ours." she'd grumbled.
They shrugged it off, figuring they would owl her later. It was tricky fitting about eight suitcases into one small automobile plus Travis's owl, and the cage for Laura's, which was off delivering a letter. But eventually they managed to cram everything inside, before squashing themselves in uncomfortably as Travis began to lazily back out of the driveway. He actually wasn't a horrible driver. No one bothered to tell him this. J.J took out a few packages of pop tarts and passed them around, as they'd missed breakfast that morning. Laura ate hers hungrily and passed the package to Ginny who turned them down. Everyone was so tired, no one raised an eyebrow. She was glad.
Laura was asleep by the time they arrived to King's Cross Station and although Ginny was feeling far too odd to actually fall unconscious she was horribly tired.
"C'mon." Travis mumbled to J.J in the front seat as they arrived.
J.J turned to Ginny. His eyes swept to his sister for a moment which provoked his soft tone of voice
"Me and Trav are gonna go put the suitcases in a compartment, we'll be right back you guys can wait here." he told her quietly. Ginny said nothing
She heard the slams of the boot of the car as the two guys wrestled the suitcases out and dragged them all towards the platform which was easily in Ginny's view. She sighed waiting for them to return. Why had Travis looked at her that way before he left? And why had he not even spoken to her...horrible reasonless questions entered her mind. Paranoia. Poison. Leave her.
Friendless and deserving of her title.
Fat. Ugly. Failure.
"Ginny."
They were back. Travis open Laura's door and picked her up as her long silky hair fell by her shoulders. J.J raised his eyebrows at Ginny and grinned through the open window
"Coming?" he said as he opened her door. She smiled back.
"Yeah, course."
She hopped would be cheerfully out of the car and walked a bit shakily alongside Travis who was carrying Laura, still fast asleep and J.J who was looking down at Ginny.
She figured she would get some water on the train. She hadn't really been eating much but she thought it was doing her a bit of good. A little bit of water should wake her up a bit. J.J put a hand on her back urging her forward a bit as they walked swiftly through the barrier and Laura muttered in her sleep.
"Stupid god...damn fucking...get off you stupid wildebeest those are my fucking Smarties and I will fight you for them."
Kyler, Davinee, Adam and Leon were sitting in the cabin Travis led them to.
"Hey." Travis said laying Laura down across two empty seats.
Kyler smacked gum around in her mouth and looked down at Laura.
"What's with her?" she said plainly
Travis shrugged as the three of them found their seats
"Just tired."
"Oh." Kyler answered carelessly. She smiled "Well hi guys. Hi J.J."
"Hey..." he said slowly. He looked down at Laura and brushed the hair out of her face before turning back to Kyler who was still staring at him
"Have a good summer?" she asked
"It was okay I guess...you guys?"
"It was cool." Leon shrugged.
"Yeah it was okay besides the fact that I was with him the whole time." Davinee smiled jabbing a finger at her step brother who gave a mock offended look and turned his nose up at her
"Boring." said Adam simply "I had to work with my dad."
"You had to work at the-"
"It's a centre for professional-"
"Fuck Adam, it's a rooster wrestling rink."
"It's not."
"What happens there?"
"People make bets on-"
"On rooster wrestling matches."
"Well yeah but-"
Laura awoke with a pronounced snort.
"Rooster boy!" she giggled
"Shit." he replied, "It's awake."
Laura spit her gum across the room and it hit Leon in the eye as she brushed her dark hair back and grinned.
"There's still some flavour buddy. For you."
Kyler tapped her foot and smacked her own gum around in a disapproving manner. She had thin hair that fell in her face at an angle but had the burned out look of hair that had been dyed several too many times, so that it didn't even really possess any sort of colour anymore. She was bigger than both Laura and Ginny. Taller by quite a few inches, and chubbier thighs were visible as they were wrapped with overly tight jeans that were cutting into her stomach, revealing baby fat that was jumping out uncovered by her black tank top. She had a strange sort of demonically adorable face, her big cheeks enhanced her large confident grin from gloss covered lips. She blinked her pale eyes and chunks of dark mascara jumped on her lashes. She scratched at her large nose with her equally sized fingers growing long nails painted silver
"So?" she prompted as though she'd asked a question several minutes earlier, "Tell me about Kara's Flowers!"
Everyone stared at her
"It's...our band." Travis finally answered looking blank
"Don't be stupid." Kyler snapped, "I mean, what are you guys working on? Anything special? Are you gonna release a CD or-"
"Ummm I don't think we're planning on anything like that anytime soon." Leon answered looking stunned and even a little irritated
"You didn't even let me finish. You guys can't tell me you don't have big plans this year."
There was another awkward pause
"Well...not really." J.J grunted. Laura made an offhand sound.
"But, why not?" Kyler almost yelled "You guys are too good to not go far and you aren't even trying!"
"Well...I mean thanks I guess." Adam said. Everyone was still staring at her "But...Kyler we're just a lame garage band I mean even if we do-"
"I can help you."
"With what?" J.J asked annoyance in his voice
"I dunno! I'll help you guys out so you can get off the ground!"
"We don't want to get off the ground!" Travis growled
Laura gave a vicious nod although it was clear she was confused out of her mind.
"This is so stupid though. You could really go places. I could be like your manager or something. You can write the songs, I'll take the credit."
"'Scuse?" Leon asked sharply
"It was a joke." she looked angry now "God."
Silence briefly rent the compartment just before-
"AND WHAT THE FUCK IS IN THE WATER AT THE PORTER PLACE?" she hollered at Ginny who had her head on J.J's shoulder and her eyes closed. She jumped up and faced Kyler her bright eyes unprepared
"Huh?"
"What are you DOING?" Kyler said in a disgusted voice. But it was clear that she was taking any excuse to be disgusted now.
"I was just-"
"Tired?" she asked sharply. She took a deep breath and fell back down in her seat glaring all around her
"Well-yeah." Ginny said quietly.
Kyler cut her eyes at her
"Christ Kyler clam down!" Leon yelled suddenly, "Where the fuck is this coming from?"
Without warning, her eyes slowly went glassy and Kyler burst into hysterical tears. She jumped from her seat and barged out of the compartment, her sobs disappearing down the hall. All seven of them stared at the door. It was J.J who was first to speak.
"You can go back to sleep if you want Laura...you too Gin…I don't know what is with her…" he said slowly.
Ginny just shook her head, still staring at the compartment door trying to figure out what she did wrong.
"You know she was saying weird stuff to me like that earlier." Davinee told them curiously
"When?" Leon asked "We were with you the whole time."
"When you went across the hall to talk to Caroline and Haley-"
"Caroline's right across the hall?" J.J asked his eyes flashing to the door as if planning out a getaway.
Leon and Adam exchanged looks and grinned
"Yeah lover, why, having second thoughts?" Adam roared
"Why did you turn her down Jay?" Davinee asked, a sort of miserable grin overcoming her face, "She's my friend you know, she's in the Charms club and she's really nice. She's really pretty."
J.J shrugged.
"Yeah she is...I dated her before. I know she's nice." he said slowly
But of course this hardly seemed like a sufficient answer.
"Well why?" Laura asked gently
"I just-"
Quite suddenly an oddly familiar sensation came over Ginny as she felt ice sweep through her veins and to her very heart and she heard an equally cold voice she was somehow certain was her own hissing horrible words. Horrible thoughts to horrible words and she knew every one of them was coming from somewhere inside of her.
She gasped and jerked her arms to her stomach feeling suddenly sick and still very cold. Her eyes were wide.
"Hey, are you okay?" Travis said quickly. He grabbed her wrist as she doubled over and bent down with her.
"Yeah..." she gasped slowly straightening up a little "I'm..y-yeah."
Everyone was staring at her
"Ginny you're really pale." Adam said urgently "You sure?"
Well of course she was not about to tell them the truth.
"Yeah...I don't...I dunno what happened...I'm fine."
"The trolley's coming by now." said Leon slowly, "Maybe you should eat something Gin."
Her plan was falling through, and Ginny knew that what had just happened simply had nothing to do with food.
"I dunno I had a big breakfast." she said stupidly
"You had a pop tart." Travis reminded her, "Wait...did you have a pop tart?"
"I don't know." she rubbed her face anxiously
"I'll buy." J.J grunted standing up and stepping into the hallway
"What a screwy day." said Laura who couldn't help giggling though she was clearly trying to restrain herself. Travis couldn't not smile weakly at her, his eyes twinkling and his left hand still supporting Ginny's shoulder keeping her from toppling over. J.J walked back in holding large stacks of everything and several bottles of butterbeer. He dumped it carelessly into Leon's lap who grinned
"Hey thanks buddy."
J.J rolled his eyes, as he passed the butterbeer around. He handed Ginny her bottle which she took reluctantly and didn't open. The cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs made their way around the compartment too and J.J placed a few cakes in front of her
"Gin, eat." he said sharply
Ginny slowly took a bite of one of the cakes, and she could feel everyone's eyes burn into her. It tasted far too sweet and soft. And this was far too much. They all needed to fuck off.
"I'm going for a walk." she said in an offhand voice, "I'll see if I can find Kyler or something."
"Hey." J.J said, "You...would you mind just-well check across the hall for Kyler. She's friends with Caroline and Haley..." he trailed off
Ginny gave him a confused look
"All right."
She stepped into the hallway and took a breath free from their eyes. She'd already disregarded what had happened in the compartment. Odd things like that were happening a lot lately, like the incident with the broomstick or the occurrence in Knockturn Alley with Harry. She knew she had no chance of figuring out why. Perhaps she was going insane. Well that would just be fan-fucking-tastic.
"Where have you been? Everyone's looking for you." said a voice from behind her. Ginny turned around and head a compartment door slam. She was facing an angry face with a lot of bushy brown hair. And-fuck had Hermione always been that much prettier than her?
"What?" Ginny asked confused
"You were supposed to come to the Prefect's Compartment." she scolded sternly
"Oh shit. I completely forgot."
"Well I figured that. Where's your badge anyways?"
"I dunno, somewhere in my luggage."
It was obvious Hermione was trying very hard not to get angry.
"You'd better straighten yourself out Ginny." she settled on finally "You have so much potential to be a great prefect. Head Girl even, someday. And right now you're being an idiot about everything. Ron told me you ran away from home."
"I did not run away!" she spat without thinking
"No one cares about the technicalities Ginny. No one bothers to look that close. More than often it's just the appearance of a little bit of greatness. And it can take so much more than a little just to get that honorable affect. You don't have to be a disappointment Ginny. You're in all Honors classes this year. I didn't even manage to get into all Honors classes in my fifth year." she raised her eyebrows, "I don't think I should need to be telling you all this. You're too smart. OWLs are this year, and in case you don't already knoweveryone's watching you." she paused and an eerie silence filled the hall. Ginny did not dare argue with her. She was prefect after all. She had to know what she was talking about. And even though her words were making Ginny feel like dirt she took them all in and turned them over. Finally Hermione's elaborate speech ended. "I don't mean to be a prat about this, you know I don't. But I won't watch you accomplish less than you can. Don't play with your future Ginny. And find your badge." and with it she gave an apoplectic wink and slid back into her compartment where Ron's ginger hair was visible.
But what if I don't want to be Head Girl?...Ginny thought to herself, What if I don't want this bullshit?
But of course she knew that what she wanted was mattering very little lately. Learning to simply let go did not seem like a bad idea. She started down the hall once more, grazing her jean skirt pockets making sure her badge wasn't there.
"Pssst." a voice hissed at her from a compartment she was passing. A blonde head was stuck out the door. It smiled as Ginny looked down at it.
"Hullo." it greeted her, "Are you Ginny?"
"Yes..." she said suspiciously."
The boy stood up and pushed the door open.
"Come in!"
Confused only for a moment longer, Ginny slowly stepped into the compartment, to a familiar face.
"Hi baby."
Ginny had to strain her lungs not to allow laughter to escape. Baby?
"Hey Migell." she mumbled hiding the disappointment in her voice
"Well this is the girl I was telling you about." Migell announced smiling matter-of-factly.
"She's nice looking." said a surly boy as though Ginny wasn't there
Migell raised his eyebrows grinning
"I know."
"Erm..." Ginny began uncomfortably
"Sit down!" said the cheery blonde boy who'd invited her in. Ginny took a seat closest to the door and said nothing at all. Migell's hand was running up her thigh...he grinned seductively at her and she looked away but did not dare move her leg.
"So Ginny." said the boy by the window, "What are you into?"
His hand was moving inward, her legs bare and uncovered by her skirt...
"Um...I dunno, I'm big on quidditch. I'm on Gryffindor's team." she said shakily
It had reached the area in between her thighs...
"Oh?" asked the boy raising his eyes disapprovingly "I'm a Ravenclaw. I'm not on the team but I do think we'll manage to slaughter the competition this year."
It was painfully forcing her legs apart...and moving...in. Ginny gave a silent whimper. His hand was inside her
"Oh...well...I dunno we'll see..."she replied trying to sound jokingly competitive and not horrified at was happening...but-it was there. Migell's fingers were grinding into the clit in between her legs. It felt awful and he was grinning. But the table separating the seats made it impossible to tell what was going on.
"Oh god..." she muttered
"You like that?" he whispered in her ear
"Y-yes...but...stop..." she lied stammering
"No way..." he whispered still grinning
"Migell...-please..." she whimpered
"You like that?"
"N-no!"
"Faster?"
"Stop"
"Oh...you like it...slow..." he murmured horribly in her ear
She felt him move around inside her sharp pains erupting with his finger. She would've given everything to be able to cry. Finally he pulled out and she took a shaky breath blinking back tears. Why hadn't she stopped him? Had she been enjoying that? Was she that big of a slut?"
"Your turn..." he muttered to her. No one was paying attention to either of them now, the other three boys were sitting across from them having a conversation about quidditch...Migell unzipped his jeans and slid them down the slightest and then picked up Ginny's delicate hand and placed it on his manhood. She could tell he was already aroused...
"Go on..." he mumbled roughly in her ear
Without thinking she jerked her hand away and sprang from the seat shaking worse than ever before.
"Ginny-" he began defiantly
"I really need to go." she gasped shuffling out of the compartment and slamming the door furiously behind her. She had no idea where to go, somewhere where she could be alone and it would not seem odd. She halted at a bathroom and practically threw herself inside where she locked the door securely before scrubbing her hand clean so hard it began to bleed in places.
Then she proceeded to fall to her knees in front of the toilet. She fiercely jabbed her middle finger far down her throat. Her stomach convulsed and she vomited.
Breathing quickly she fell leaning against the wall with her eyes closed tight. She felt considerably better now, with no idea what had provoked that involuntary attack. But she felt as though it had washed away some of the awful thoughts of...everything.
All alone I fall to pieces
And she knew it had done her some good. She now weighed one cauldron cake less.
"Dee," J.J began slowly as though figuring something out "You said Kyler is friends with Caroline right?"
Davinee just nodded
"For how long would you say?"
She shrugged
"I dunno..." her voice got considerably quieter "No offense but I don't really like Caroline."
"Hey I don't either!" he cut in defensively holding up his hands, "That's why I broke up with her?"
"Yeah two years ago..." she replied cooly
"What's that supposed to mean?" he growled
Davinee stayed perfectly calm.
"It means you were thirteen. Don't you think a bit has changed since third year?"
J.J shook himself, confused.
"Look we're getting off topic. All I'm asking is, d'you think that's why Kyler got pissed off at me?" he asked
"Huh?" she mustered taking over the confusion
"She wasn't pissed at you she was pissed at...god I don't know what was she mad about?" Leon grunted
"Everything." Adam answered plainly
"Yeah but why?"
"It doesn't matter." J.J cut back in, "I just mean d'you think Caroline is- I dunno- telling her stuff about me? Like that I'm an asshole? And to stop hanging out with me? And that's why Kyler was-"
His comment was cut off by grunts of laughter
"I hate to tell you this man," Travis began "But Caroline doesn't think you're an asshole."
"Eh?"
"She more like, worships the ground you walk on." Laura agreed
"What do you-"
"Didn't you get that when she asked you out again this summer?" she laughed
"But...I don't get it. I turned her down."
"And why by the way?" Adam said cupping his ear
"Because she's a bitch." Davinee answered plainly for him
"I don't think she's a bitch, I just don't-"
"She is pretty hot." Travis added
"I don't care." he said testily "I just don't...look I turned her down. Why does she still-"
"That doesn't matter to her!" Laura told him, laughing with superiority, "She's totally in love with you."
"I don't get how Kyler works into any of this." Leon piped up.
Travis shrugged.
"Maybe she doesn't." he said shortly
"But then why-"
"Maybe she's just PMSing." Davinee said in a final sort of way, "Can we please leave it at that?"
Predictably all three guys shrugged and shifted awkwardly in their seats. Laura and Davinee both grinned.
"Fine." Travis mumbled offhandedly after a while.
J.J shrugged
"It just...doesn't make sense is all..."
Quite suddenly the train lurched to a halt with a high screeching noise, and Laura's tiny figure flew from her seat before Travis caught her round the middle preventing her from smacking her face on the floor. Leon wrinkled his brow
"We aren't already there, are we?" he questioned
"This better not be like that year with those bloody dementors..." J.J commented
Davinne twisted uncomfortably in her seat glancing out the window
"It...can't be...right?" she asked nervously
"Course not." Leon assured her, "See? We're moving again."
They were indeed. Slowly the wheels began to turn again and the floor vibrated gently beneath them. Travis and Laura who hadn't who hadn't moved since he'd caught her shakily found their places again.
"You know what? Gin and Kyler have been gone a while I think I'll go hunt them down." J.J said as the suspense of their mysterious halt lingered. He stood up brushing chocolate frog fragments off of himself and walked out into the hall giving the compartment door a slam.
He didn't need to go far to find Kyler. Clicking open the door across the hall, he found her sitting smugly with a girl with chestnut brown hair hiding warm summer eyes and- J.J's ex girlfriend Caroline Kirth.
"I thought I heard something." Kyler said smoothly
J.J raised his eyebrows. Something was up.
"Erm...we were just wondering where you were, across the hall." he told her simply.
"I'll go back then," she hopped up, "I can see I'm being missed."
After her back was turned and she was halfway through the door she whirled back.
"Good luck." she spat venomously to Caroline who threw her a dirty look in response. And then Kyler was through the door. Caroline was staring at him with an odd look on her face.
"Hello J.J."
"Yeah hi." he said hurriedly, "Look I was really just looking for Kyler so I think I'll-"
"You think we could talk? It won't take long." Caroline interrupted putting on her cutest face.
"Caroline." Haley warned her in a disgusted and irritated voice.
"Haley." she growled back, "Get out."
"Caroline this is so stupid!" she burst out fast
"HALEY!"
"You're digging yourself into a fucking hole and you know you are!"
"HALEY NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS SO GET THE HELL OUT."
Furiously scoffing and cursing under her breath, Haley stood up.
"Stupid." she told Caroline once more before turning to the door.
"Fuck you." her friend responded
Haley shook her head knowingly
"Hey, Jay..." she muttered on her way out
"Hey." he replied as she stalked off without sliding the door shut.
Caroline glared at her friend's back as though jealous that J.J had greeted her so normally. But then she turned back to him beaming.
"Forget her." she began, "So."
J.J said nothing.
"Jay why're we playing this game?" she asked as though he was a disobedient two year old.
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Come on..." she said softly. She stood up and walked up so close to him he was pinned to a wall "I mean I don't even remember why we broke up, do you?"
"Erm...you cheated on me with Marcus Flint!" he cried irritably, "And I still haven't told anyone about that just because you asked me not to! But maybe you aren't worth that if you're gonna pull this "Why'd we break up?" bullshit! Did you seriously fucking sit here and like plan this out? And you thought it would work didn't you? You're that full of it."
Caroline looked utterly unphased.
"Hey now," she said still using her soft seductive voice, "Let's not go doing that. We grew apart. I know neither of us knows why-" J.J gave an exasperated growl "-but we both still feel the way we used to."
She was stroking his face now. Annoyed, he pulled away.
"So why're we doing this?" she murmured in his ear
"Caroline no." he said trying to make her see reason. Or just fuck off.
"We're different now." Though that was not the case at all. "We've changed."
"Well I haven't changed."
"Maybe I have." he told her, his voice shaking
"I don't think so..." she almost whispered "I mean come on, you loved me once right?"
J.J was fuming.
"You know what?" he told her completely truthfully, "No."
"I don't believe you." she replied immediately, though her voice was losing its low sexy feel. "I think you're just scared."
Ridiculous.
J.J couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Oh please! This is not a fucking TV drama, don't try to turn this into something stupid. I won't date you. But not because I'm scared. Fuck what would I have to be scared of?" he hollered before he could stop himself
She gave a soft chuckle.
"You were always a bad liar."
"I'm not fucking lying."
"You're not?...well...I don't think I believe that Jay...but I know how to find out..." she whispered
She wrapped her arms around his neck and entwined their lips searching his mouth. It was a few seconds before the shock wore off and J.J's common sense clicked in. He pulled away, a disgusted look on his face. But he said nothing. He had nothing to say to her. A wisp of dark red hair had flashed through his vision for but a second before he pulled away. He heard quickened footsteps, moving away...something clicked...Ginny.
"Fuck." he muttered ripping his hands away from hers.
"Wait!" she cried frantically trying to latch back onto him.
"I'm sorry Caroline." he told her. "But...Davinee's right about you."
Without another word he slid into the hall and strongly yanked the door to his own compartment open.
"Mother fuck Kyler!" he yelled before even locating her.
"What?" she asked innocently as he spotted her by the window.
"Did Ginny come in here?" he asked before referring back
"Erm, no..." said Laura questioningly "I thought, you were looking for her..."
"Yeah...yeah...I just...th-thought I saw her come by here..."
"Why are you yelling at me!" Kyler snapped on the verge of tears again.
"As if you don't know."
"Dude what-"
"Wait Trav." Laura shushed him quietly as everyone stared intently from Kyler to J.J.
"Why the hell would you sit there and plan out Caroline trying to-to-to seduce me or some shit! You're my friend, you know I don't like her, you know I've turned her down, why-...I mean do you know how stupid that was? Why would you put me through that, why would you put her through that?"
"Her?" Leon piped up
"Yeah!" he yelled "I mean...I mean I know I'm not very...it can't be very fun getting rejected can it? I don't mean to sound like a cocky little shit but why would you set her up for that! She's your friend!"
"Okay, so you thought that I could have been setting her up for rejection and, I guess you're not happy that I knew you were getting back together before you did, but still, you must be happy! It all worked, out and you're a couple again! You're welcome!"
"We're not together again!"
A blank look took on Kyler's face
"You aren't?"
"No! What have I been telling-"
"So wait, wait, wait, wait." she asked him as a grin slowly spread across her face, "You turned her down?"
"Yes."
Kyler was beaming ear to ear now.
"Oh." she said in a would-be-casual way as she leaned back down in her seat, "That's nice."
Confused J.J gave himself a shake
"Look just forget it, Ginny didn't come in here?"
"Nope." Adam told him
"And I think we're there." Travis added peering out the window
"Well I'll come help you find her I guess, or we won't hear from her until after the feast." Laura put in standing up.
Everyone else slowly stood up too and the train came to a considerably slower stop.
"Patterson, Jacob."
"Here."
"Per Sulvy, Rebecca?"
"Here."
"Porter, James...Porter, James."
Silence filled the room. Professor McGonagall looked up from her attendance sheet as the other fifth year students glanced around them.
"Porter James." she repeated annoyingly, "James Porter. Where is J.J Porter?"
No one said anything. A few rippled shrugs could be seen through the crowd.
"Porter, Laura." Professor McGonagall stated looking back down to her list.
Silence again.
"Now really! Laura Porter!...Where are J.J and-"
She was interrupted by quick pattering footsteps. Everyone peered behind the crowd
"I'm here." J.J exclaimed breathlessly running up, "Laura's-"
"I'm here too." she breathed running up behind him
Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows.
"This lateness had best not transfer into my class this year J.J." she told him sternly. "And if it does, I advise you not to drag Miss. Porter down with you."
Laura let out a snort.
"Yeah, Jay how could you let me be late like this?" she prodded him, but fell silent under Professor McGonagall's withering stare
"Find her?" Travis muttered
J.J shrugged...
"Nope."
"Pygaminee, Ian."