A/N: By the way: Thanks for the reviews I got. Really, I am only 13 and that was nice of you! And now, on with the story! And I'm sorry if it takes a while to get the next chapter up. The site doesn't seem to want to let me post anything!

Chapter 2: One Very Long Ride

Jazz stepped out onto the platform, tears streaming down her round cheeks. "Now, you're sure you don't want me to send you a letter every week?"

"Mom," Jazz groaned. "I'll be fine. Trust me. I've been going for 5 years to this school already. I'm quite sure I know what to do." Jazz hugged her mother again, letting yet another traitorous tear escape her eyes.

"Hermione Jasmine Granger, what are you wearing?" Her mother cried spontaneously. Jazz looked down onto her body and saw the same ripped and torn jeans paired with a blue tank top she had been wearing when she slipped herself out of bed. Jazz smiled faintly and said, "I love you too, Mom. I'll write soon, I promise. 'Bye." Jazz laughed whole-heartedly and slinked on to the train. The red steamer was her favorite part of going to school. It gave her time to catch up on her material for school. She walked down the familiar path that avoided most Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. Jazz could stand only one Ravenclaw, and she wasn't aboard yet, and if she was, she was with her boyfriend, a boy unknown to Jazz. Jazz swiftly found her compartment and slipped herself into it, only, she wasn't alone. A snowy white owl was sitting contently in a cage, sleeping soundly.

"Hello, beautiful," Jazz cooed instantly. She turned herself around the small space to search for her own cat, Crookshanks, so she might put him into his cage. Giving up, she turned back to the bird but found the owner petting the animal affectionately.

"Hullo," the young man said kindly. Jazz returned the salutations and blushed profusely when she noticed the boy's face, which had a lightning scar and tantalizing green eyes to identify him. 'Harry Potter. Why can't my visions be wrong for once?' "What's wrong?" Harry asked. His voice was lighter in her dream.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jazz blurted, spinning her head away from his face, noticing that she was staring. Scolding herself mentally she said in a cool voice, "I'm sorry, but I always stay in this compartment with my friends. I saved this one with my bags," she pointed to a group of bags, lying next to a seat. Harry glanced at the bags and slipped back into a seat.

"Oh. I see. It's just my friend Ron and I couldn't find any other compartment and this one looked empty. I didn't even see your bags. I'll go and look for him and we'll go find another one. Excuse me." Harry raised his body and slipped out of the small space. Jazz scolded herself again. 'Stupid! Why'd you do that?' Because I was nervous and thrown off balance, she argued with herself. 'Well, go after him! Duh!' Jazz reached for the door and stuck her head out, looking for the messy head of hair. "Um, dude!" She cried loudly. Suddenly, about 5 doors down, Harry stuck his head out the door. Jazz held back laughter at the look on his face and declared, "You can stay in here; it won't bother me. It's alright, I mean, if you want to." Harry just glowed with a smile and turned back to the people he was conversing with. A minute later he came into the compartment, smiling.

"I'm Harry," he said to Jazz as she stood up to shake his hand. His shake was firm yet gentle, as were what looked like every fiber of his being.

"I'm He – I mean Jazz," Jazz said, correcting herself, hoping Harry didn't notice her slip of the tongue. Harry did, and gave her a confused look, similar to the face he had on when she called to him. "My entire name is Hermione Jasmine Granger. I go by Jazz."

"Why?"

"Because it sounds wicked to me," Jazz answered with a smile. Harry raised his eyebrows to her and stared at her, returning an even bigger smile at her. He would have all day probably if his best friend hadn't interrupted. A boy with flaming red hair and muddy brown eyes smiled as he shook Jazz's hand and introduced himself as Ron Weasley.

"Well," Jazz said after introducing herself again. "I've to study more before we arrive. I'm behind, I think. I only read all the books on our book list once." Harry and Ron exchanged shocked looks, frightening Jazz. "What?" she demanded. The boys both shook their heads.

"I haven't even opened my books; I open them all at term." Harry said, astonishment not far from his voice.

"Oh," she whispered. "Well," she said with her brightest look on her face, "I suppose I'll leave you alone so you can be jolly and such and I won't be in the way."

"No, its OK," Ron spurted. "I have to go meet up with Luna anyway." Ron pushed himself out of his seat and towards the door.

"Luna? Luna Lovegood?" Jazz cried. Ron nodded slowly, as if this was taking up too much space in his brain. "You know Luna?" Ron nodded once more. "She's my best friend!"

"Really? Wow. I'm her boyfriend since last term. She talks about her friend Hermione a lot." Ron contorted his face to be perplexed.

"That's me." When Ron opened his mouth to tell her he was confused she went on. "My first name, Ron. Hermione is my first name. Jazz is short for my middle name. Sorry, I didn't think it would be so confusing." 'Goodness, you'd think Luna's snag a guy a bit brighter, yeah?' Ron nodded as if he understood and swept away. Jazz laughed and gathered a book up into her arms, and sighed as she plopped down into the sofa like seat opposite Harry.

Harry laughed at her position because she seemed to be trying to fit herself into the a tighter space between her trunk and the cages that held Pigwidgeon, Hedwig, Ron and Harry's owls, and her very own Crookshanks. "Oh, you," Jazz said in a mock angry voice. Harry laughed harder a moment later when Jazz became stuck in the tight squeeze. "Oh be quiet and help me, please," was all Jazz could say to Harry. For all the good it did her, he was still sitting and laughing at her hysterically. About 10 minutes later, Harry had yet to stop laughing, but Ron and Luna had just returned into the cabin, staring at Harry and laughing at Jazz. Or at least, Ron was. As soon as Jazz saw Luna's face she cried, "Get me out of here!" and Luna rushed to her aid. About five minutes later, Luna had Jazz out of the spot and was hugging her saying she had so much to tell her about.

Ron and Harry sat, watching in wonder as the girls sat there just sitting by one another and laughing at each other. The boys exchanged quite a few glances until Luna decided to explain.

"We have a telekinetic connection," she said simply. When Ron kept the "huh?" look plastered onto his face, Luna sighed exhaustedly and explained further, "It means we can read each other's minds, Ronald." Harry and Jazz laughed as Ron's face turned as scarlet as a cherry. Luna however went up to Ron and kissed his cheek, making the red fade away from his cheeks.

'You need to teach me that trick, Luna,' Jazz joked to her friend.

'I know,' Luna declared sadly, only the only thing the boys saw were the laughter in Jazz's eyes and the saddening expression on Luna's charming face.

'Luna, love, you're giving yourself away here,' Jazz told her through her mind. Luna just laughed and asked her what she thought of Ron. 'Oh, he's all right. Mind you, he isn't a Charlie Simpson, or Chad Michael Murray, but he's decent.'

'And want to know something funny?' Luna asked, an evil smirk beginning to form on her lips. Jazz inquired as to what it was and she answered, 'Harry finds you adorable.'

"WHAT?" Jazz accidentally cried aloud. She slapped her hand across her mouth as soon as the word came out. Harry and Ron sat across from them, looking shocked and scared, the same faces they had made since they had met Jazz it seemed. "Sorry," she said out loud, while inside she was screaming, 'DAMN IT!'

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Luna chortled. She sat shaking from her laughs for about a minute before assuming normal composure and saying, "Jazz, come now. That was quite rude of you," she smirked again and slid herself over to Ron's side. Jazz sat herself down on the other side of the cabin like room and snatched a book she had lying down and begun reading.

Not a minute later, she felt herself shaking with a small case of the chills. She set the book down in her lap and rubbed her arms with her opposite hands. She felt the chill grow larger, and searched around the room. Harry, Luna, and Ron had left, obviously to go and chat with a few other friends. Jazz closed the book with a thud and sank her body lower. 'Why did I want them to stay in here, anyway?' Jazz shut her eyes tight and was about to fall asleep when she heard a repetitive clunk on the door. She crouched over to the sliding door and opened it with a slight push of her hand. She soon regretted opening the sliding door as none other than the most hated boy in school stepped inside.

"Well, well, well," the malicious voice declared strutting into the cabin. Draco Malfoy swept his hand over his white blonde hair, smirking evilly as he looked up and down Jazz's front. "What have we here?"

"Bugger off, Malfoy," Jazz demanded. She stood up and made her way towards the cabin door when Malfoy stuck himself right in her path.

"What's wrong, Yank? You think you can just walk around on my train because you're from the States?" Draco advanced ever so slightly, making Jazz tremble. The last time Draco had done anything to her, she had ended up in the medical isle of the train, having been in need of a bleeding potion and disappearing potion for her scars and bruises.

"Malfoy, just go away," Jazz sat down in a seat and picked her book up, intending to finish it. "Go and annoy someone else with what you think is your big importance." Jazz said all of this more calmly than she felt. On the inside she kept trying to get to Luna somehow. 'Luna, get your perky ass back here. Malfoy is starting trouble again.'

"Aw, don't be that way," Malfoy whined in a false hurt voice. "Why, I might need to show you just how much that hurt me." Malfoy came at Jazz faster than a flash of light. Before she could defend herself, he had himself on top of her, plunging his fists into every part of her body. Jazz made to fight back but just as she was about to punch, Crabbe and Goyle seized her arms and yanked them backwards, making it very uncomfortable and impossible for her to retaliate. She felt scared and helpless, only making matters worse, because most of all, she was angry, and every since she could remember, strange things happened when she was mad. Malfoy was flown off of her beaten body, slamming forcefully against the wall of the cabin like room, while Crabbe hit the window and Goyle crashed into the doors, both nearly breaking them. Jazz didn't skip a beat; she raced toward Malfoy, throwing punches as fast as her body would allow. Just as she readied herself to send another blow, a hand grasped her arm, holding it firmly and saying, "Stop."

(A/N: Should I continue? Or should I leave you hanging until next time? Can you say dilemma? Hm, I guess it'd be kind of mean to the people who actually stayed and read so here you go)

Jazz tugged at her arm, trying to get the person to release it, but it was strong enough to make her realize she was defeated. She loosened her muscles and made her body go sort of limp, but still the hand's grip was firm so she turned round in order to gripe at the person that stopped her, only to be nearly kissing Harry.

Harry stood only 3 compartments away from his own, chatting away with Dean and Seamus. He listened disinterested as both boys told him about how they went to Muggle camps, played Quidditch, and went to amazing countries all summer. His mind was on what was in his compartment. Jazz had been reading her book, and it seemed she didn't see anything but her book when she did. She hadn't even noticed when Luna and Ron began to make out, trying to retrieve her attention. Harry had even tried to get it by sticking his hand on the back of the book she was reading, but all he received was his hand burnt. Finally, Luna suggested that they all go and chat with some other people they hadn't seen for a while, and leave her alone.

Harry left, but didn't want to stray far. Professor Dumbledore had sent him a letter a week before term started, discussing the Oracle. Dumbledore had told him in the letter that the Oracle was a sixteen-year-old girl that was attending Hogwarts, a Gryffindor like himself. It had to be a girl he didn't know, Harry reasoned, because none of the girls he knew were anything like an Oracle. He then remembered the description of her; long flowing chestnut mane, silver eyes, flawless olive skin. Harry had searched the crowds endlessly when he finally spotted a girl with her arms wrapped tightly around her mother. He knew it was the girl by her posture. Dumbledore said the girl would look as if she were exhausted but trying to look as if she got the just amount of sleep.

He at once felt like he was in love. His mind sent unfamiliar messages to his nerves, making his knobby knees go weak as the girl twirled around to enter the Express. He caught a slight glimpse of her face, and knew at once she was the Oracle. Harry then shot off towards the compartment Hedwig was in, knowing that it was the one the Oracle would stay in.

He had not, however, expected the girl to be as beautiful up close as she was from far away. Jazz was even more exotic when she was sitting right across from him. But then she had gotten stuck in between the cages of the animals, and Harry had forgotten to be suave and cool and begun to laugh his arse off. Jazz had laughed as well, but had gotten annoyed with him after he wouldn't cease laughing.

Luna had been nice enough to rescue her, making Harry feel quite foolish, for he should have done that. Jazz had only been sitting with Luna for a few minutes when she jumped up ferociously and yelled, "WHAT?" which made Harry jump about 2 feet in the air, as if he were Crookshanks. She turned probably eight shades of red before settling down into her seat, reading, ending right where Harry was.

He stuck his head out, eyeing a trio of bullies that were the most hated of the school. Draco Malfoy, gaunt and pale, strolled down the corridor, terrorizing every other compartment. 'What's he doing?' he thought, anger boiling inside of himself. He would have left to go see if Dean had not called him back to ask him about his last girlfriend.

"Where's is she, anyway?" Seamus asked, more for his own interest than for Harry's. Harry gave him a grim expression and answered in a low voice.

"She was cheating on me, with some guy from Slytherin, so I dumped her." Dean and Seamus fumed about how she was a slut, tacky as a toad, and expressed their apologies that she had done that to him. Just as he was about to tell them it was all right, a sudden crash filled the air, then another, and another. Harry forgot all about Dean and Seamus and his former girlfriend, and raced straight back to his compartment, where what he found shocked him senseless, even if only for about a second.

Crabbe lie in the doorway, unconscious, the same state as Goyle, who lay by the window, and Malfoy, who lay being beaten by a very battered and bruised Jazz. Harry wasted no time; he launched himself over to her, ripping an arm away from the space around Malfoy's face.

He heard Jazz give a yelp of surprise as she pulled in vain to regain the control of her arm. "Stop," Harry said in a firm voice, and to his great surprise, she obeyed. Her arm stopped resisting, and she pushed herself off of Malfoy, wiping the blood away from her lower lip with her other hand.

When Harry didn't release Jazz's hand, she turned round, no doubt to yell at him, only to be not even an inch's distance from each other's faces.

Jazz stared into Harry's bright emerald eyes, wondering if he was going to kiss her. It seemed Harry was moving closer, and he opened his mouth with a crooked smile.

"Sorry," he breathed sweetly. Jazz smelt his breath and was shocked to find that it smelt fresh, unlike most boys.

Jazz let out a strangled laugh, and chocked in between thinking, 'I hate being right, sometimes,' "Yeah, um…do you think you could give me my arm back? Only it's getting to feel numb." Harry then released it, but didn't move from the proximity. Jazz debated whether or not she wanted to move her head back or not. 'If he did try to kiss me, would I like it? I've been kissed only once, but then the guy tried to kill me, so that can't count.' Unfortunately, she didn't get to find out whether he would or not, because right as Harry lent in farther, Luna and Ron came bounding into the compartment, mouths wide with shock.

"What's going on, eh?" Ron asked stupidly. His eyes wandered over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's lifeless bodies, and he gave a triumphant cry.

"Well, really!" Luna declared, angrily. "Honestly, Jazz. What on earth did you do to the place? There's filth everywhere!" Luna then pointed her wand at the boys' bodies, mumbled something under breath, and sent all three flying out of the cabin, while Jazz repaired the window and doors. "Ah, much cleaner now that that trash is out." She giggled at her own joke and continued. "Now," Luna was sitting on a seat, patting the cushion next to her, signaling Ron to accompany her, "Sit down and explain, please?"

Jazz told all three of them of how Malfoy came at her, realizing that the experience was threatening to make her cry. Before she could worry about that, however, she fell backwards, everything going black, as she fell back into a painful flashback.

Jazz watched as a woman and her daughter told another young girl to stay put.

"But Mum! I want to go too! Why does Juliet get to go but not me?" The mother laughed heartily, brushing the bushy brown hair lightly. "Darling, you know that you aren't old enough. Juliet is going off to Hogwarts. You haven't been accepted yet, but of course you will."

"Ana," A man had called, sticking his head through a compartment door. His full head of messy black hair gleaming in the light of the sun, he gave the three girls a huge smile. "Juliet, you might want to go ahead and dress. The conductor said we will arrive at the plat form shortly." He then noticed the fallen expression on the youngest one's face. "Ah, Elise. Don't be a spoiled sport. Your time will come when you'll leave your dear old dad and mum and go off to Hogwarts as well."

"Not while I'm there, thank God!" the older child chortled. The mother gave a disapproving look to her, making her spit out, "I was only joking, Mum!" The daughter, mother, and father looked strangely familiar to Jazz. But as soon as it had happened, she felt a cloud surrounding her, and when it cleared, she saw worried hazel eyes gazing into her.

"She's awake!" Luna yelped. "Oh, my God, don't do that again!" she whined to Jazz, placing a hand over her heart. "You nearly killed me with fear!" Jazz laughed at her friend, but stopped short as she remembered the mother and father. A pang of pain swam through her veins, as she racked her brain to find out who they were.

"Jazz, Jazz, are you all right?" Harry pushed Luna aside, shoving her into Ron's arms, making himself only a few inches away from Jazz's body. Jazz sat her body up slowly, making sure her chest didn't bump into Harry. She pulled back from him and answered him in an audible whisper.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." She brushed aside a wild strand of calm chestnut hair and closed her silver eyes in thought.

"You," Luna said coldly, "are beginning to annoy me." When Jazz opened her eyes to catch a glimpse of the pixie of a friend, she saw that she was telling the truth. Luna's hair was now sticking out in all directions, and her face was paler than it was before. "Haven't you told Dumbledore about those - "

"Luna." Jazz shook her head swiftly, so that Harry and Ron didn't see. Luna understood without needing to be told in her mind. She then dropped the subject and stared lazily out the window, watching the pastures swing by.

A loud rumbling came on the loud speaker, and a voice chimed throughout the train, "We are now arriving in Hogsmeade. Please stay seated until we arrive to a complete stop. Thank you for riding in the Hogwarts Express." It crackled as a signal that the conductor was finished, and Jazz remembered she hadn't changed her clothes yet. She jumped up without a glance towards the boys and tore through her trunk, trying to find her robes.

'You going to give a show to the boys for free or are you going to send them out?' Luna's voice echoed into Jazz's mind when she was midway sliding her top of her uniform on. She squealed and put up an invisible charm on herself and her things, which worked quite effectively.

When she was finished, Jazz reversed the charm and clambered to put her things away.

About fifteen minutes afterwards, Luna, Ron, Harry, and Jazz exited the train, staring at all the beautiful decorations put up in the town to celebrate the students back.

A woman in a red robe grinned as she looked from Harry to Jazz, walking close to one another. Noticing this, Jazz strayed away from him, laughing nervously. "What's wrong?" he asked, rather taken aback.

"Nothing…it's just…nothing, never mind." Jazz shook her head and continued up a hill. Harry offered his arm so she wouldn't trip and she gladly took it; the land was ever so slippery this time of the year. Harry then eyed his best friend when he said to him, "Well, that wasn't expected, now was it?" Of course, the girls didn't know what he had said, because only Harry and Ron could hear Ron's last sentence.

Harry's eyes glowed with what looked like annoyance, and he retorted, "Leave it."

"This shall be a good year, I can tell!" And with that, Ron took Luna by the hand and both he and Harry lead the way to the rides to Hogwarts.

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