Chapter 9:

Adjusting

The following morning, even more breakfast, she met Harry outside of the office from last night. He began escorting her through the castle.

"Harry? If I'm in Slytherin, shouldn't I be reporting to my head of house?"

He shook his head. "Snape hates me. He wouldn't want to help."

"Er – alright."

He brought her before the a classroom on the opposite side of the castle. The tall, stern woman from last night – Professor McGonagall – sat behind the desk.

"Potters. Why am I not surprised to see you already?" she asked, looking directly at Harry.

"I wasn't able to get any supplies, Professor. The Dursleys wouldn't let me go. Is there any way I can order them or borrow until I can?"

Her gaze softened slightly. "I will speak with Professor Dumbledore. These are unusual circumstances, especially given what Hagrid has told me. Until then, I will speak with your other professors, let them know."

"Thank you, ma'am. I do appreciate it."

"Certainly. Though if you haven't already, you should find your uniform clothes, with house crest and colours, by your dormitory bed."

She nodded again, making a mental note to look for them when she returned.

All throughout the school, rumours spread of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's arrival via flying car. There was no mention of her.

In her classes, quite a few of her classmates gave her odd looks, considering she didn't have any of the required supplies and – more importantly – they didn't remember her being sorted.

I wonder why, she thought wryly.

When she kept showing up at classes throughout the week, however, most disregarded it as a mistake and accepted her readily as just another first year.

If the other professors were surprised at her presence, or at her sorting placement, most hid it well. They tended to call her by her first name, or not at all, choosing not to draw attention to her lack of supplies…or more specifically her name, apparently. She wondered if this was due to her placement or her brother's…fame and reputation.

Since her sorting and the subsequent explanation to Professor McGonagall, Harry seemed to be keeping his distance. Was she ashamed of her? Or did he simply wish not to draw attention to her and rope her into trouble? He still checked in with her, but it seemed less than she would have thought. Then again, she supposed being in different years and houses meant their schedules didn't easily line up.

No matter. She would make her own friends. One girl in particular she was becoming close with was a roommate of hers – Taryn Pucey. A girl who's whole family had been coming to Hogwarts for generations, she seemed more than happy to help Jessa out. Having surnames near each other alphabetically made this pairing even easier.

Two days later, she was exiting the Herbology lab late – after returning her borrowed supplies – when she accidentally ran directly into someone.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" the person exclaimed. She looked up to see a pale boy with light blonde hair standing in front of her.

"I could say the same to you," she countered, bringing her bag up to her chest.

"Do you know who I am?"

She raised an eyebrow at his arrogance. "If we've never met before, why would I know who you are?"

A very small grin slipped onto his face. "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Jessa. Nice to meet you, Draco," she replied simply, holding out her hand.

At first, he refused to take it. she noticed his grey eyes flit to her neck. Apparently happy with what he found there, he finally took her hand and shook it.

"Welcome to Slytherin," he said with a nod, before walking right past her, leaving a stunned Jessa, with her heart beating just a bit faster than it had before.

That weekend, one of the Slytherin prefect girls, Gemma Farley, took Jessa to a nearby town to fetch her supplies. Though Harry wasn't allowed to accompany her, he did meet them at the gate. Jessa was stunned when Harry handed her a bag of wizarding coins, explaining their parents had left them a small fortune.

Farley didn't seem particularly thrilled at being given this task, but obliged. Probably because she thinks I'm irresponsible for not coming to school prepared. She explained Jessa was lucky – most never saw the town until their third year.

She was first escorted to the robe shop, where she was helped by a kind old witch, who helped her ensure she had extra sets of proper witch attire. Farley then took her to the local branch of Olivander's where the assistant manager helped Jessa find her ideal wand. It took four tries before she found one.

11¼ inch Slightly Springy Larch Wand with a Core of River Serpent's Horn

Standing there, with her new robes actually fitting her and a new wand in her hand…it finally all felt right. Like she had power, like she belonged somewhere.

It took a few hours for Jessa to collect everything. She was grateful when Farley helped her transport everything back.

"Thank you," she acknowledged.

"Of course."

It was official. She was lost.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it was still frustrating.

"Jessa!"

She turned, puzzled when she heard her name; even more so when she saw the red-haired twins from the flying car walking towards her.

"Where are you headed?"

"The library. But you didn't stop me because of that."

"Er – no. We wanted to apologize," the first one said.

"Harry explained afterwards to us," the second one continued, jumping in.

"We didn't know who you were."

"We'd never have run from you otherwise."

Jessa had to admit two things then. First – she was getting a bit dizzy as they kept finishing each other's thoughts. Second – it was nice of them to seek her out.

"Thank you. Though I still don't know who you are."

"Fred/George Weasley," they said in tandem.

"We're fourth years."

"Ron's in Harry's year and – "

" – our sister, Ginny, is in your year."

She nodded. "Right. I'll keep an eye out for her. Nice to actually meet you both."

She stood awkwardly before them, though it was clear, even to her, that they were older brothers.

"Er – would you mind showing me to the library?"

The twins grinned, before taking up positions on either side and escorting her. Despite it all, she had to laugh.

Perhaps settling in wouldn't be as bad as she thought.