Chapter 5:7th Year
Two years had passed, and Jojo was returning to Hogwarts once more, and this time, as a seventh year. The whole princess thing hadn't gotten any easier-in fact, as time flew by, it became harder and harder. The summer had been particularly brutal on the family.
News about Voldemort was now common. People were actually starting to fear even saying his name, and started calling him You-Know-Who. Of course Jojo found this quite ridiculous, because sometimes she didn't know who you-know-who was.
So one day, the family had held a reunion-all of the members were sitting in the palace, partying. Jojo met several cousins, aunts and uncles. This was an exclusive party. It was nearly as big as Jojo's Sweet Sixteen birthday ceremony where she was officially made heir to the throne, and crowned.
As the day wore on, the Daily Prophet photographers and reporters arrived. But nobody realized until it was too late that these weren't the actual reporters and photographers-the real ones were bound and gagged in a closet. These were Death Eaters. The Death Eaters had the whole family standing all in one long row and told them to smile for the camera. It was one of those old fashioned cameras, with the push button and the fabric, perfect for staging a massacre. The 'photographer' had everybody smile and had his wand pointed through the lens. He clicked the camera, and muttered 'Avada Kedavra.' Nobody heard him. They only saw magnified flashes of green light bounce at them all. The picture did develop however. It was the last picture taken of the Savard family.
The only survivors were Jojo, Benjamin, their mother, grandma Josephine, and cousin Lenette. The rest were dead. Gone. The actual Daily Prophet was having a field day, as well as the muggle world. Of course the real reason of death was not told to the muggles-an auror had placed a charm on the family to make it look as if they were all shot to death.
The sight had of course been horrific-bodies were strewn across one another, and the magnified Avada Kedavra had singed a few of the closer bodies. The whole world was mourning. It was like going back to the Cold War, when the Romanovs ruled Russia. 'Shot' to death during a photo shoot.
That was the day Jojo was made the official Princess of Arista. She couldn't be made queen until she had gotten married, and Jojo had blown off the sick pure blood fanatic man she was engaged to since the age of five. Yes, Arista really was the centre of attention. People were outraged that Jojo had blown off Prince Christopher, but that couldn't be helped. The man was a creep-a Death Eater. And he collected dead animals... So Jojo had gotten away from the marriage last year, and was now a free woman.
Platform 9 and ¾ was crowded as usual. Members of some secret organization called the Order of the Phoenix heavily guarded Jojo and Benjamin now. Unknown members watched them day and night, and Dumbledore had cast charms on the family survivors. To an outsider, they looked as normal as can be, minus the fact that house elves trailed them around for their every need.
People hushed when the prince and princess arrived at the platform. Jojo scowled. She hated being treated differently. It drove her insane. She hated it more than those stupid balls she had to attend, and the ruffled, itchy dresses she had to wear. Being a princess sucked. Jojo and Benjamin lumbered onto the train and split off on their own ways.
In the train, Jojo sat with her usual group of friends. She put on a false image of bliss that she normally would have worn (for real) so as not to upset her friends, who were deeply worried.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Lily.
"Of course I'm okay. I can't really say that it was a shock-you heard about Voldemort and all. He was bound to come after us sometime for being 'blood traitors.'"
"How can you say his name so-so casually?" asked Marlene.
"I dunno. I'm not really afraid of him. Sure, he can kill me, torture me, and do whatever he wants, but who cares? We'll all die eventually. And if we were immortal, life would be a living hell, and we'd want to die anyways." Alice, Lily and Marlene dropped their jaws.
"So you're not afraid? Even after what he did to you?" asked Marlene slowly. Jojo sighed.
"No. I told you that it was expected. No biggie." But deep down inside, it was a biggie. It hurt, it tore, and it clawed away at Jojo's insides. But she hid this well. Jojo had always been a good actress. Sub-consciously that is. But she desperately wanted to tell someone, anyone. But not her friends. They would just be sad for her, and she didn't want that. She wanted somebody who could still stay happy even through all of the horrific things that had been happening.
The conversation moved on to other things, such as how on earth James Potter had actually become Head Boy, and whether or not Lily liked him. And her friends placed their usual bets on the odds that Jojo would have Sirius' neck in her hands by the end of the week. Last year, Marlene had won all three term bets and had earned herself quite a sum of cash, so this year, the other two were not to be fooled. Jojo shook her head and a smile crept onto her face. The first, genuine smile she had smiled since the massacre.
At Hogwarts, the sorting hat sorted its students as usual, and Dumbledore had made his speech. This was it-the final year. For seven years (or two in Jojo's case) the students in her year had all been kept safe within the walls of the school. What awaited them in reality, most did not know. Others, like Jojo, knew.
The food appeared on the plates once more, and first years looked at it in awe. Jojo didn't even touch it. She had barely touched food since the massacre anyways, and the habit had sunk in. She wasn't about to break it now. She observed the Great Hall. Something was missing though-something that had happened every year since day one at Hogwarts, but it was not food.
She looked around and suddenly realized what it was. The four boys (aka Marauders) had not entered their compartment on the train. In fact, they hadn't even talked! Which mean that Sirius hadn't called Jojo 'Princess,' the horrible nickname everybody but her friends and family called her. Jojo frowned. She felt empty inside. Perhaps she WANTED to be called Princess. Perhaps she did not. Whatever she wanted or did not want still made her feel empty. She'd have to wait. Sirius would call her sooner or later-he hasn't failed me yet, she thought miserably.
All this thinking seemed to have given her a glazed look, because her friends were staring at her, waving their hands in front of her face with no response.
"Jojo? Hey, Jojo? Are you okay? Can you hear us?" Jojo didn't respond.
"Jaqueline Marie!" Jojo came into focus.
"I thought that I told you not to call me that!" she said crossly. Her friends laughed uneasily.
"You sort of zoned out there, Jo," said Alice.
"Did I?" said Jojo dismissively.
"Look, maybe you're not alright after all," said Lily. "You haven't even touched your food!"
"And normally you'd have eaten half the table out by now and not gained a pound," added Marlene enviously. Alice snorted.
"Even if she did gain weight, she'd lose it anyways-she's a seeker after all." Her friends went into some sort of discussion about who knows what. Jojo got up from the table and left to the common room. Her elf followed behind her.
"Look KwiKwi-not to be rude or anything, but do you mind leaving me alone for a bit?"
"But mistress will be hurting!"
"No, it's alright." Jojo bent down and whispered to the elf, "I know there are people watching me, so it doesn't matter." KwiKwi looked at her dubiously, but scurried away.
Jojo did not really go to the common room. She just wandered the halls and looked around a bit. Everything was strangely empty-not a person was in sight. Just portraits, but even the people in the portraits seemed to have vanished. Only walls and walls of emptiness.
Her footsteps echoed through the halls and Jojo wandered around for hours, thinking of nothing, and taking in nothing. It was as if she were sleepwalking. It wasn't until her feet screamed with a terrible ache that she realized how late it was. Most students were probably getting ready for bed or already asleep. Jojo looked around her, and recognizing the surroundings, pulled the last of her strength and ran into the common room.
The common room was just as empty as the halls had been a few hours ago. Not a person was there, but the fire was crackling merrily. Jojo was mesmerized by the dancing light, and soon fell asleep on the soft chair she was sitting on.
Jojo was strangely cold. And she felt uncomfortable. She was not lying down in a bed, but she was seated. Jojo frowned before remembering where she was. The last of the fire was dying out. She flicked her wand at the fireplace and the light roared back.
"Hey Princess," said a soft voice. Jojo's usual reaction would have been to hex Sirius into the oblivion, but this time it was different. He had not said Princess in that offending, scornful mocking tone of voice, but more in a soft, playful one. Jojo turned around as she yawned. Sirius stood behind her.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked.
"I was sleeping."
"I see. So how come I don't have something sprouting out of my skin?"
"I dunno. Because you're not being a prat?" Jojo suddenly clamped lips together. She was mentally beating herself up. Sirius laughed and sat himself in the chair opposite of her. Jojo gave him an odd look.
"So..."
"So..."
"Er, I'm sorry about your family," he said jerkily.
"W-what? Oh, that's alright. It-it was 'expected.'" Sirius raised an eyebrow, but did not question her.
"How come you don't eat anymore?"
"Don't I?"
"No. I can tell-you look like skin and bones. Plus you didn't even touch your food at the feast."
"Mmm."
"Come on, Princess! You've gotta eat sooner or later, otherwise you'll die!"
"Well I'm not hungry," she replied firmly.
"Hmmm. Well what if I take you to the kitchens-they have the best food there AFTER the feast. I'm hungry anyways..." Jojo perked up. THE KITCHENS? HOW THE HELL DID HE FIND THE KITCHENS? She thought to herself.
Jojo heaved a sigh and got up. She wanted to go into her dormitory, but she wanted to see the kitchens as well-this may be her only chance! So doing a random pick, she squeezed her eyes shut before letting Sirius drag her down to the kitchens.
The corridors were dark and empty, except for the occasional ghost who passed by. Jojo could feel her heart thumping every time she heard a sound. This was not how she had planned her year to start off. Normally the only time she would even SPEAK to the Marauders (or more like yell) was to tell them off for losing house points, or scream at them for hexing people in the halls. Oh, and for their midnight extravaganzas. And yet, here she was, roaming the halls in the dead of night with none other than Sirius Black, James Potter's partner in crime. WHAT HAVE I DONE, she thought to herself. I'VE BETRAYED MYSELF!
As the two silently walked around, Sirius abruptly stopped in front of a portrait of a bowl of fruit. Even in the darkness Jojo could see him grinning, his pearl white teeth sparkling in the dark. He reached out and tickled the pear and suddenly, a doorknob appeared. Jojo raised her eyebrows. She had passed this insignificant looking portrait so many times; she wondered how she had ever NOT seen a house elf come in and out of one.
"Wanna do the honours?"
"Huh? Oh, er, yeah." Jojo reached forwards and turned the doorknob, pushing the portrait forwards. She stared in awe at the sight-house elves were everywhere, scurrying about in their business. A particularly jumpy house elf ran forwards squeaking, "Master Sirius, Master Sirius! We is not expecting you so soon!" The elf seemed delighted.
"Is Master wanting the usual? And what about the Misses?"
"What? Oh, we're not married! I'm Jojo." Just then another house elf bound forward.
"Mistress Jaqueline!" Jojo winced. "Just call me Jojo. Please?" KwiKwi brought forward a plate of éclairs and milk. Jojo wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but the food looked so delicious. She shoved one in her mouth. Sirius looked amused.
"Ow come ou on't ferve vees," Jojo swallowed, "How come you don't serve these things during meals?"
"These is being special treats for kitchen visitors," said the first elf.
"Interesting." Several other elves came forwards with a platter of roast chicken, gravy and potatoes. For some reason, Jojo was hungry now. Her mouth was watering. She greedily ate the food, as if she had not eaten for a month. (Which was almost true, since she nearly never ate anyways).
"So how come you're so nice to me all of a sudden?" Jojo asked Sirius as she helped herself to another éclair. Sirius pursed his lips together before speaking.
"You know my family-dark idiots and such..."
"Uh huh."
"Well they were planning something when I left last year. I just didn't know what. They're Death Eaters you know-even Regulus, and he's only fifteen."
"What!"
"Yeah... I think that they were the ones who killed off those muggles last week. I-I guess I felt," Sirius paused. "I guess I felt guilty."
"Well don't be," said Jojo curtly, "You're not a Death Eater I hope, so you have no reason to be."
"But I could have told somebody that they were planning! Of course I bet that everybody knows who they are." Jojo spoke no more. She took the butterbeer and got up.
"Come on-we'd better get going. It's getting l-early."
"Good idea. Let's go."
After thanking the house elves, Jojo and Sirius left. They were just nearly at Gryffindor Common room when Sirius swore.
"What?"
"Filch is headed this way," he hissed.
"What? How can you tell?"
"Never mind! Just hurry up and run. Professor Holloway is in the other way."
"What! Oh shoot!"
"Just run-we can't risk being slow. We're almost there. Ready? 3, 2, 1!" Jojo ran-she could hear Filch's footsteps and professor Holloway shouting. Jojo ran. Sirius was already at the portrait. He muttered the password and waited for Jojo to get in before letting it shut.
The two panted before Jojo dropped onto the floor.
"No, not now," wheezed Sirius, "They'll be coming in-get into your dorm."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. EVER."
The two ran into their dorms just as the portrait slammed open. Jojo threw on her pyjamas right on her robes and jumped into bed as noiselessly as possible. She could hear Filch cursing in the common room, and boys complaining angrily as Holloway was ransacking their dormitories for anybody out of bed.
"We're trying to sleep here!"
"Yeah-go bother somebody else!"
"How do you know it was even us? It could be the girls!"
"SILENCE!" screamed Holloway. All was silent.
"Should I EVER catch anybody out of bed, you can just imagine what'll happen to you as punishment. Filch-get those ruddy girls out of their beds." Jojo bit her lip. Thanking God that she was in seventh year and not first, she quickly changed her clothes completely, and messed up her hair. She could hear the younger girls complaining now, as Filch screamed from the bottom of the stairs. A fifth year came in and woke up all the seventh years.
"There's a dorm check or something going on. We have to get down." Grumbling, the girls put on their robes before slipping downstairs.
"What's going on?" whispered Lily, "and where were you?"
"Shh! Not now!"