Chapter 13: Painful Occurrences
Got a date a week from Friday with the preacher's son, every body says he's crazy, I'll have to see, I finally moved to Jackson when the summer came, I won't have to pay that boy to rake my leaves.
I'm probably going on and on it seems I'm doing more of that these days…I probably wouldn't be this way, I probably wouldn't hurt so bad, I never pictured every minute, without you in it, oh you left so fast. Sometimes I see you standing there, sometimes its like I'm losing touch, sometimes I feel like I'm so lucky to have had the chance to love this much, God gave me a moment's grace, because if I'd never seen your face, I probably wouldn't be this way.
Mama says that I just shouldn't speak to you, Susan says that I should just move on, you ought to see the way these people look at me, when they see me right here talking to this stone. Everybody thinks I've lost my mind but I just take it day by day…
I probably wouldn't be this way, I probably wouldn't hurt so bad, I never pictured every minute without you in it, oh you left so fast, sometimes I see you standing there, sometimes its like an angel's touch, sometimes I feel like I'm so lucky to have had the chance to love this much, God gave me a moment's grace, 'cause if I'd never seen your face, I probably wouldn't be this way, probably wouldn't be this way.
Got a date a week from Friday with the preacher's son, every body says I'm crazy, guess I'll have to see.
Leanne Rimes – Probably Wouldn't Be This Way
XXXJazz sat Indian style on the cushion next to the window panes, watching the tears of the clouds crash onto the earth with such a loud shattering sound it could cause the deepest sleeper to wake in horror. She felt her eyes matched the weather as they were not, and had not been for a few weeks, the bright, playful, and seductive silver they had been, but cold, lifeless and gray. She held in her hand an unused tissue close to her picture frame that was at her feet. It had been taken by Collin Creevy just a month ago, a portrait of Harry and herself, draped around one another in a happy embrace, one that she had thought was friendly at first, smiling at it almost every time when she used to go by it to class. Now she scowled every time she passed it as she saw they were holding hands, playing in the snow, being giddy friends. This only caused her to grow angrier with herself and him.
"Jazz?" Jazz heard the portrait swing backwards open, allowing whoever knew the password to enter. The voice was a female's and she suspected it was Luna providing her with her homework. How wrong she was.
"Jazz," Cho said, obviously trying to sound sincere but doing a poor job, "Jazz, I just wanted to tell you, I'm sorry that things didn't work out with you and Harry." Jazz kept her eyes on the exterior of the school, determined to not rise and smack Cho in her face. How very much she wanted to jump up start yelling obscenities at her, the hate boiled in her skin with more passion than ever. Cho continued. "Harry wasn't trying to hurt you, you know. He had explained everything to me, about how you spilled your bananas about your feelings, and how he didn't know how to respond, so he kissed you. He didn't think you'd take it so seriously. Really, so when he took me to his place, we hardly expected you to barge in on our intimate moments." Jazz had placed her wand right beside her, hidden between the window and her leg, and now she gripped it with the free hand, gripping it tighter and tighter. It would be so easy for her to hit Cho with a spell that caused her as much pain as she'd been going through. "I just hope we can be friends."
"Yeah," Jazz said, her eyes still focusing on the droplets of water, "I bet you do." She turned her head toward Cho now, her eyes blank but her face down. "What do you want, Chang? You got Harry, you got the popularity, and you can have the freaking badge for Head Girl. Just leave me alone, for once since I've attended this school. Please."
"What are you talking about?" Cho said in a fake concerned voice. "Jazz, are you feeling ill? Please, I don't want your badge, and I certainly do have popularity, but listen closely, because this is my first and final warning to you," Cho leaned forward, placing her face only 2 inches away from Jazz, "stay…away…from…Harry, or I'll see to it that you don't return to school next year, are we clear?" Jazz, shaken from this threat, simply nodded, her eyes deep in a scowl. "Good," Cho spoke with a sweet air, and a smile to match, "I'll see you then. Ta."
"She did what?" Luna asked again, her eyes bulging. Jazz recounted the scene yet again for her friend. "Holy Holly bangles, Jazz! I knew Cho was a tricky little skeeze but I didn't know she'd threaten you! Does this mean you must change your password?"
"Yeah, Luna. I'm still thinking as well as to what it should be. I'm still wondering how she guessed it."
"Well…Jazz…you had it as your crush's name…what, did you think it was a tough one?" Luna inquired sarcastically. "Anyways, after classes I'm gonna go see Ron so I can't chat. Sorry. I'd better go. Class will start soon. You going this time?"
Jazz heaved a sigh, threw her hands in the air, and gave an almost laugh, "Oh I suppose I must." Jazz grabbed hold of her bag and suddenly yelped in pain.
"Are you okay?" Luna burst, her already large eyes multiplying in size.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Ugh, my arm just burns really badly. Must be a cut from when I was stuffed in that cupboard. I'll see Madam Pomfrey later today. Let's go." Jazz rubbed her arm where the injury was placed as she followed Luna out of the Great Hall.
The pain from the cut did not subside through out the day, rather, it became worse. By the last lesson, she was moaning inwardly with pain.
"That's it," Luna said to her after lessons, "We're going to Madam Pomfrey. She'll fix this." She grabbed hold of Jazz's arm and yanked it hard towards the corridor that led to the hospital.
"Wrong arm!" Jazz shouted in vain to Luna as she was dragged to the hospital wing.
"Sorry," Luna said, quickly righting her mistake and taking off running once more with Jazz in tow. Upon arriving in the Hospital wing Luna searched frantically, eyeing everything to find Madam Pomfrey. "Miss!" she yelled when she found her. "Miss, Jazz…there's something wrong with her arm. We don't know what happened."
"Oh dear…" Madam Pomfrey said in sarcasm as she set down a vial for something with a purple puff of smoke radiating from it. She bustled her way over her gray hair still settled in a bun under her bonnet. "Alright let's see it, deary." Jazz reluctantly showed her the cut, that now held a little soft spot for bubbles apparently. "Oh my," Madam Pomfrey said with a hint of mild surprise.
"What?" Jazz demanded nervously. "I know it looks gross, but you're a healer. You should be able to fix this. You've seen worse haven't you?" Jazz searched her superior concernedly. "Haven't you?"
"That's not an ordinary cut," Madam Pomfrey growled almost agitatedly. When the two teenagers gave her a quizzical look, she went on, "That, dear, is love pains."
"What pains!" The two girls cried with shock.
"Love pains," Madam Pomfrey repeated, her features set darkly. "When your true love hurts you, or, as teenagers believe, breaks your heart, you develop a rash, a wound, or any kind of injury that may only be cured by the mending of the relationship between you and your true love. A lot of hosh posh begosh if you ask me."
"Well thank goodness we didn't," Luna spoke rudely. When she realized what she had said, she turned slowly in the direction of Madam Pomfrey, who now had her arms crossed over her chest in an loathing fashion. "I mean…" Luna began, "Um…heh-heh…Sorry Madam Pomfrey."
"Miss," Jazz started, trying to have the healer's attention once more. "Is there any other way to get rid of this?" She indicated her rash with spoils on it.
"No. Now go." Madam Pomfrey said harshly, pushing them both out of the hospital wing.
"Goodness," Luna spoke once more as they made their way to the staircase where they would part ways, "You'd think as a healer she'd know how to handle things. Goodness." Jazz ignored her friend in a desperation to not laugh and went her separate way to arrive in her dormitory.
'Note to self: go to Snape and beg him to show me a remedy for this,' Jazz thought as she trudged past the students around her to her room. She brushed away strands of her chestnut mane, rubbing her eyes viciously for she felt she was in a horrible nightmare. Her nightmare only became worse when she arrived to the portrait of her room she saw a lanky boy with pitch black hair thrown every which way huddling down on the ground nervously, rocking back and forth with his legs pulled beneath him.
"You just couldn't give me a break could you?" She asked God as she stopped in front of Harry. She took another step toward her room and saw that Harry hadn't seen her. Another one. Another. She had made it to her portrait and he hadn't said a word.
"Jazz, please let me talk to you." Harry spoke so suddenly Jazz actually jumped. Harry stood, his emerald eyes focused on Jazz's puffy ones intently but firmly. "Just give me fifteen minutes to explain. Please."
"Go away Harry. You've done enough." Jazz heard herself say, but her eyes had not been seeing his. Rather, they had fallen on an identical rash on Harry's right arm. "…Jeez…" She breathed, comparing it in her mind to hers. 'It's just like mine.'
Harry, who finally noticed what she was staring at, pulled his arm out of sight, begged once more. "Please, Jazz. Fifteen minutes. That's all."
Jazz considered him a moment, her eyes suspicious. Finally she heaved a sigh, "ten minutes, that's all. Then leave me alone." Without another word to him, she spoke the new password ("Carivassio") and led the way into her dormitory. She placed her things on to her desk, quickly hiding the picture of her and Harry out of sight. "Ten minutes. Go." She said her eye checking the time then settling on Harry, who stood in the middle of the room, his arms in a helpless fashion. "Jazz. I know that you hate me. I understand why, because I'd hate me as well if I had done that to me…I mean, er, ugh!" he threw his hands in the air angrily, confusing himself as well as Jazz. "Listen. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't lie when I told you I liked you. I still do. And when we kissed, it felt so great, Jazz. Honestly. I swear, when we went to my room, I thought it was you the entire time. I had no idea it was Cho."
Jazz sat there, determined to find all the bad points in this. She would not forgive him. No. She kept reminding her self of the night, fighting back tears as Harry apologized.
"I just wish you could forgive me. I care about you, Jazz. I really, truly, do. I can't stand not sitting with you during class, or at lunch, or just being near you. I wanted you to know that."
Jazz sighed heavily, her eyes on the floor. "Time up. Please leave." She stood, nodded toward her door, and sat herself over at her desk, grabbing a quill and a piece of parchment. She pulled one of her school books out and opened it to a page with her assignment. After scribbling down a few words, she glanced around, finding Harry still standing in the middle of her room. "Harry, please. I just want to be alone, in my room. Is that too much to ask for? Please, just go."
Harry blinked before turning round and taking a few steps toward the portrait hole. Jazz watched as he stopped, turned his head toward her, and spoke in a soft, sad whisper. "I…I'm sorry, Jazz." He waited a moment, then finished his way out of the room. It was then Jazz crumbled on the floor, her arms in front of her defeatedly.
"I'm sorry too, Harry. God, I am so sorry." She began to cry, as she would for the next few hours. She didn't know this would only be the beginning.
A/N: Hi ya'll. Guess what? Yes, I finished this chapter. I'm sorry if you were expecting this to be a long chapter as well, but I just now figured out how to word this one, so I'm going to take a while updating. Sorry!
It wouldn't hurt if you reviewed either. Might speed me up! LOL
Sylverwings