CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED

"So, let me get this straight."

Jane rolled her eyes at Sammy as she dragged her suitcase from under her bed, angling it carefully so that whenever she barely opened it to put something in, Sammy and Sarah couldn't see inside it.

"You're going to stay at a house full of boys, and you're not gonna shag any of them?" Sammy continued.

"It's hardly a 'house full of boys,'" Jane said. "It's just James and Sirius."

"Wait, Sirius? The guy that came over last month?" Sarah asked. "He's fit! Why don't you go for him?"

"Do you want me to vomit?" Jane asked sarcastically. "Because I will. Oh, and by the way, Sam, thank you so much for telling him about the Southampton party. I really appreciate it."

"I've apologised like five times!" Sammy groaned. "I didn't know it was a secret!"

"It's not around here, but I really don't need James finding out about it. The bastard's already went back on his word and let spill about Sean's party. And he's already tried holding Southampton over my head. James would flip."

"Seems like James is jealous that you're out having fun with other guys," Sarah said suggestively.

Jane pulled a face.

"It's not like that. James is like a brother to me," Jane explained, quickly shoving some clothes into her suitcase.

"Then why does he care so much?" Sammy pointed out.

"I don't know. He's just overprotective. You'd have to meet him to understand," Jane said.

"Mm, and will we get to meet him?" Sammy asked.

"I pray that you two never again meet my school friends. There's no telling what kind of trouble you'd all get into," Jane said, smiling a bit.

"Oh, you'd love it," Sarah said.

"Any more extremely attractive guy friends that we should know about?" Sammy asked.

Jane's mind immediately flashed to Will, and she blushed and smiled.

"Oooo, look, Sammy! I do think there is," Sarah teased once she saw Jane's smile.

"No, it's just—well, there's this one guy," Jane said, still smiling.

"And?" Sammy pressed.

"Well, he's captain of the Qu-football team, and he's a year older than us. And well, I think it might turn into something," Jane explained.

"And what's his name?" Sarah asked.

"Will MacGregor," Jane said, smiling a bit wider. "And he really likes me."

"So, why aren't you dating him?" Sammy asked, flipping through Jane's records curiously.

"I don't know. Back in May he asked about it, but I just wasn't ready for it, you know?" Jane said, shrugging her shoulders a bit.

"And when will you be ready? Because judging by the smile you had on your face just a second ago, he makes you pretty happy," Sarah said.

Jane smiled a bit again.

"Yeah, he-he's the kind of guy that knows how to make someone smile. And he sure is cute and nice too," Jane said. "I don't know. I thought maybe I'd be ready next school year."

"Well, if he's so great, you might have a bit of competition. You gotta go for these things while you have the chance; you can't wait for things like that because you might not have another chance," Sammy said.

"He said he'd wait," Jane said, recalling Will's words to her.

"Yeah, but guys are liars. They want what they want when they want it, not when what they want decides it's ready," Sammy said.

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head, latching her suitcase shut.

"Will's not like that," she said, though secretly Jane began to worry that she'd missed her shot with Will.

Sarah and Sammy both shrugged simultaneously.

"If you say so," Sammy said.

Suddenly, Jane wished that she was with Will right then. What if, after having a whole summer to think about it, Will changed his mind? What if she never got that chance with Will? Jane realised that the thought of it made her sadder than she thought it would, and suddenly all she wanted to do was just kiss him again. It was like when you're little and some kid takes away a toy that you've never really paid that much attention to before, and all you wanted after that is to yank the toy away from them and hold it really close and never let it go again. It's funny how the only time anyone ever fears losing something is when they think it's about to be taken away when before-hand they couldn't have cared less about it.

"Well, Jane, we're gonna miss you," Sarah said.

"Tell Sirius I said hey," Sammy said, giving Jane a wink.

"I think you and he are a bit too familiar already," Jane said. "And you only met him once."

"You act like I had sex with him," Sammy said.

"I was under the impression that you did," Jane said.

"We didn't have sex…" Sammy trailed off and Sarah and Jane laughed. "A bit of pleasuring maybe, but no sex."

Jane almost swallowed the gum she was chewing. She coughed and clamped her hands over her ears.

"I'm not listening anymore!" she said as Sammy smiled mischievously at her.

"Don't be such a virgin," Sammy teased.

"Maybe if she gets with this Will guy, she won't be," Sarah said suggestively.

"You two really like making me uncomfortable, don't you?" Jane asked.

Sammy shrugged.

"If we didn't, who would?"

Jane rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

"Well, guys, see you at Christmas."

Jane waited until Sarah and Sammy left for Sammy's house before she left. She watched as the two of them walked down the street and disappeared down Longstock Road. Then, Jane pulled her broomstick out of her closet and lugged her suitcase downstairs.

Jane had gotten her school letter that day, and as promised, she was now on her way to James' house. She had told her dad, and he hadn't cared. He also hadn't seemed to care that Jane had actually failed her History of Magic class, getting a Dreadful on her O.W.L. for that class.

Jane had actually thought he would care. Once she got the letter the previous week, she had sat in her room for almost two hours, trying to decide how to tell her father that she had failed a class. Sure, she wasn't planning on taking it anymore anyway, but she had always used to prize herself on her grades. Her father didn't allow failing grades. Or at least, he used to not allow them. Nowadays, he didn't seem to care too much. He didn't seem to care at all.

Jane sighed and walked downstairs, dragging her things behind her. Her father had gotten home from work not too long ago, and he was already in his office.

"Dad, I'm leaving," Jane said, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

Her dad took off his reading glasses and turned to look at her. He seemed quite surprised by her suitcase.

"Where are you going?"

Jane made a clicking noise with her tongue out of annoyance.

"I've told you twice already," she mumbled. "I'm going to the Potter's."

"Am I supposed to take you?" he asked, obviously not remembering her mentioning this at all.

"No, I've got a ride," Jane said.

"Are you coming back or are you staying there?" he asked, turning back to his work.

"I'm staying there till school starts," Jane said.

And maybe she was imagining things, but Jane could've sworn she saw her father's shoulders relax a little bit, as though he was glad to have her out of the house for the rest of the summer. It was like a jab in the heart, and Jane wondered if he would've cared at all if she had just run away to the Potter's with Sirius. Would he have even noticed?

Jane felt her eyes stinging, and she hated herself for it. Why should she cry over it? It wasn't going to help anything. However, the thought of her father not caring at all if she stayed or left (or perhaps even would've welcomed her departure) made Jane feel unwanted—unloved.

Jane mumbled out a quick bye before leaving the house. Jane looked around real quick before summoning the Knight Bus. Jane took a seat at the back of the bus. She took one last look at her house before the bus sped off, and as everything outside the window turned into a blur, Jane started to cry silently. Kids that still have a parent alive shouldn't feel like an orphan, but she did. She felt like she was a stranger in her own home.

Jane cried for what felt like the longest time. She looked a mess. Mascara running down her face, snot pouring out of her nose no matter how many times she sniffled or wiped it on her sleeve. Jane couldn't get herself to stop crying. And when the Knight Bus dropped her about a quarter mile from the Potter's front gate, Jane just sat down on the grass and stayed there until she finally got herself under control.

Jane pulled out her compact and started to fix her makeup. There was no use in having them worry about her. However, she couldn't hide the redness of her eyes or nose. Anyway, she was sure that if she spoke, her words would come out shaky and constricted. Still, Jane did the best she could with the makeup.

Jane made her way to the gate, lugging her things behind her, trying to hold her head high. When she reached the gate she saw James appear at the door of the big, white mansion of a house, and she assumed there was a charm on the gate because when she touched it, it opened itself, allowing her entrance.

As James and Jane walked towards each other, Sirius appeared in the doorway of the house also. Jane took a look at him, and she immediately thought of the night he'd asked her to run away with him to this house—this wonderful, marvellous house where nothing bad happened and she was welcomed with love and warmth no matter what. Was that so much to ask from what was left of her own family?

Jane twisted her face, trying desperately to not cry again, but she failed. James' smile fell from his face, and he hastened towards Jane, who dropped her things and nearly flung herself at him. Sirius watched from the door, seeming to know that this had something to do with her father, and all he wanted to say was:

"You should've come with me," but he held his tongue and leaned back against the house with a frown tugging at his lips.