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Summary: Jesse stopped when he saw who had volunteered to be his opponent in the wizard duel.
Rhoda Rabbit stood on the other end of the arena. Again, Jesse had expected to see her sad puppy eyes if he happened to catch his eye. But this time, her expression was far from it. It was a quiet righteous fire unlike any that he had seen. Platonic breakups could be the worst.
Disclaimer: I don't agree with JK Rowling's anti-trans bs. Trans rights are human rights and this is my last Hogwarts au.
Summer came, and Jesse had more time to think to himself. Back in his four years in Hogwarts, the only person he had been exchanging letters with via owls would be Leroy. But this year, it was different.
Jesse sat by the window, rain splatting against the glass panes. He chuckled to himself, reading Rhoda's letter.
Heya Jesse!
How ya doin'? I can't believe it's raining where you are for a week! What were you all feeding your clouds, nutrient-rich water, or something? Are you sure there isn't anyone flying up there in a broom and just chucking icebergs in them? And the clouds are just like, "Hmm, yum! Thank you, kind stranger!" I mean, how else was it going to rain cats and dogs?
"I have so many questions," Jesse murmured to himself. He had always been content to watch and listen while his rabbit friend would come up with the most bizarre that could go in twenty different directions.
Anyway, are you cold? Are you getting gloomy? I don't think I can send fire by owl, and I don't wanna send you an owl that's on fire. BUT! I was able to press honeysuckles for you to enjoy them! I hope it brightens your day! Do you know that you can suck on honeysuckle nectar? Sorry I ate them before pressing them for ya.
Jesse laughed. Her letters were undoubtedly something. It wasn't just ink on parchment. There were colored inks with smileys and frowny faces and sunny blue skies. He took one of the honeysuckle-pressed bookmarks, tapping them on his nose to get a whiff of their scent.
Hunnybunny, he chided inside his head.
It was like she was also in his room, babbling to him with her waterfall thoughts. He settled more comfortably at her warm energy carried by her letter alone.
By the way, I'm practicing stuff outside of magic. Our town's having a show every summer. Before Hogwarts, I used to sing and dance. Weeellll, not for the audience, but…
Jesse raised a brow at how the last period was practically a large dot of ink as if Rhoda was in deep thought in her hesitance.
Would you wanna come? The words were hastily written as if to stop her from changing her mind. I've thought of inviting Buggy or Mina, but if it's you- there was an ample space before she wrote again- I don't think I would mind.
Jesse sat up, his face only lightly surprised except for the funny feeling in his chest.
She had been half-hoping he wouldn't come. Jesse probably had a ton of friends inviting him somewhere else cooler. His family was from old money, and so were most of his friends in Slytherin.
Color her surprised when she had gotten an immediate reply.
Stage fright had been the worst, and seeing Jesse in the audience had left her conflictingly happy and terrified simultaneously. This was her first show, and she knew she was about to make a fool of herself. Never mind that her skit was comedy.
"I think you did well for your first time," Jesse said.
Rhoda laughed, still in her costume. "I think they were paying more attention to you, Mr. Newcomer," she teased, elbowing him. The one thing she could say about Jesse's presence in her town was that the people paid more attention to him than the show. It did calm down the new performers' nerves once they realized it. Rhoda would blame his part-veela allure.
"Is that some kind of a wand?" he asked.
Rhoda held out her baton. "Nah. It's just a way of singing and dancing," she said, twirling it. She had seen how majorettes had used it. But hers was less graceful and more bouncy for her comedic act.
"You were really wacky back there," he said.
"Thanks," Rhoda beamed, "I just pretended I was back in the greenhouse with you and enjoying myself."
That put a smile on Jesse's face. "I'm glad… hun."
Rhoda laughed. It had been a mild surprise when Jesse had first called her that endearment. It was probably a surprise for Jesse, too, because he had immediately stopped himself. But it's nice, Rhoda had thought. It means he feels comfortable around me too.
Jesse looked away, singing a few lines of "I'm Just a Square (in a Social Circle)," Rhoda's song in her performance.
Rhoda appreciatively leaned against the tree they were resting on, enjoying his quiet melody. "Jeepers, you always sing well." It might be why she was playing less rambunctious tunes just to hear him croon with jazz music.
Jesse chuckled. Then he hummed before changing to a song by the Andrew Sisters.
"Bei mir bist du schön, again I'll explain," he sang, soft and rich, "It means you're the fairest in the land."
Rhoda beamed, the lyrics familiar as the back of her hand. "I could say bella, bella, even sehr wunderbar," she sang back loud and playful, bouncing to the beat as she finger-gunned him with a wink. "Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are!"
They continued the song together. Rhoda wondered if he meant the nature of lyrics as much as she did before pushing the thought away.
"Hey Jesse?" she asked when they had finished after a comfortable lull.
"Hm?"
She grinned at him. "I'm glad we're friends."
Their fifth year in Hogwarts came so soon. Jesse discovered more secret passages for him to avoid people. While Rhoda…
Her summer performance must've helped in some way. Because when she had been shy and awkward while people laughed at her slip-ups, she was slowly trying to use her showman's bravado where she would turn it at its head to laugh with them.
Jesse inwardly cursed, having just come out of a secret corridor. He was frozen in place in the hopes that the two girls who looked like they were waiting for him hadn't seen him yet. But pretty soon, they would, judging by how they were getting antsy of waiting for him.
Then he saw Rhoda passing by. She froze in mid-step upon seeing him and his situation. Jesse was about to step back into the secret corridor when Rhoda zipped up to them.
"Watcha doin', ladies?"
The girls turned to see Rhoda leaning against the wall like a cocky cad.
One of them groaned with an exasperated but not heated "Rhoda…"
"If you're waitin' for a lad, might I take his place?" she asked, zooming up to them with a courteous gentleman's bow, her ears brushing the floor in her exaggerated kowtow.
"You're so weird," the other one laughed with a shake of her head.
"And wonderful," she quipped back with a wink. "Are you heading for the dueling club?"
As they talked, Jesse quietly slipped out and turned around a corner. But not before sending a grateful look to Rhoda.
"Was someone behind us?" he overheard the other girl asked.
"Nah," he heard Rhoda reply, "just a ghost. A stoic-looking red one. It must be the Bloody Baron. Welp, see you guys later. Bye!" Then there was the sound of dashing feet.
Jesse muffled his laugh as he walked away towards the direction of the dueling club. He'd get her later for that.
But just as people try to be better, some try to be better by stepping down on others.
They were waiting for the professor, and Bugsy tried teaching Rhoda how to juggle. But Daphne had to act like a know-it-all. Bugsy would show Rhoda what to do, and Daphne was making things harder by showing her how she does it, which ended up being a confusing mess.
After Rhoda got hit by the balls one too times, did someone speak up with a laugh.
"What do you expect from a desperate dementor dater?"
Silence fell on the class. It seemed it wasn't only Jesse who noticed that Rhoda was tentatively coming out of her shell. But unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before the nail that stuck out would soon get hammered.
Mina scowled. "Listen here, you-"
But Jesse beat her to it. "The best."
Everyone turned to look at him. More than used to having eyes on him, Jesse just spoke his mind. "Ever since Rhoda told that joke, it's been easy for me to cast the Patronus charm."
He wondered why Rhoda looked so surprised by that, even more, when there were murmurs of agreement.
"She makes me laugh," he simply said before returning to what he was doing.
The professor eventually came, and everyone settled down. The class went on as usual. When it ended, Jesse organized his scrolls as he looked over at Rhoda. Throughout the years, being the "weird one" had pushed Rhoda into a shell. Displaying it as a "show" had made her more outgoing. And now, he should've expected people with insecurities would try to instill back her status quo by bringing her down.
Their next subject was the same.
He ignored everyone's surprise, including Rhoda, when he asked her if they could walk together to their next class.
Jesse still didn't know if Slytherins were platonically possessive. Or if it was just him. But he wasn't going to let anyone step down on her progress of being more open to other people.
Rhoda looked down at her wand. It was made of spruce with a core of a phoenix feather. The wandmaker had said that the wood matches the owner's personality, and the core reflected their magical strength.
Her spells were a disaster even in their fifth year. She didn't even want to think what that meant.
"What's the matter?" Jesse asked beside her.
They were once again in Greenhouse 5. He was using a levitating spell to clear out a straight path after Rhoda had tried to practice her somersaults and ended up hurtling towards Devil's Snare instead.
"I wanna help levitating stuff too," she said. "But I can't promise that my spell would end up wrecking something."
Rhoda looked down at her wand again. While mastering spells made her wand not go berserk, there were instances when her spells, both old and new, were still unpredictable. It would range from banging explosions to fizzy spurts. She wondered if she would ever get enough O.W.L.s at the end of the school year.
Jesse only nodded in understanding before continuing to use his wand with the elegant grace of his long fingers. Rhoda sighed. It seemed almost anything came naturally to him. Being part-veela had also given him an affinity to fire spells.
She raised her wand at a stack of pots. First, she must set her intent. I want to float that to the right. Second, she performed the wand movement for the spell. Swish and flick! Third and simultaneously, she tried to think "Wingardium Leviosa" instead of saying it aloud.
BANG!
Rhoda immediately covered her face with her arms when the pots shattered. But there was no need because Jesse had immediately performed a hex shield. And she didn't even hear him say the incantation.
Her rabbit ears lowered in disappointment. Jesse was immediately there to help her up. Rhoda accepted his hand but used her knees to push herself up.
"Maybe you just need to do it differently," he noted. "Like how you prepared potion instructions into smaller and smaller tasks."
"That's exactly what I did!" Rhoda exclaimed. "I just… I could never tell when it would work."
He looked around. "Well, the path's clear," he said. "Why do you even need to practice your… jim-nastics again?"
Rhoda took off her school robe. Underneath her school uniform, she wore jogging pants. Then she began to stretch, touching her toes and not noticing Jesse look away when her bunny tail went up in the air.
"I need to limber up! I don't wanna forget what I learned last summer!" She stretched sideways. "Besides, it's fun!"
Jesse only hummed, returning to their table and picking up her baton. "Is that why you brought this here?"
Rhoda grinned sheepishly. "Well, a professor said to 'play to your strengths.'"
He flipped the baton lazily. "I don't think he meant it literally."
"It's fine!" she said, waving off his words. "Oh, and I'm not really allowed to practice gymnastics outside of a gym, but you're here, and the hospital wing's nearby!"
"What?!"
But Rhoda was already doing cartwheels. She was about to do a flip when she felt herself float in midair. She turned her head to see Jesse pointing a wand at her.
"Rhoda!" he admonished.
Rhoda frowned when Jesse flipped her right side up. "I thought Slytherins are supposed to have a disregard for rules!"
Jesse only scowled back. "And I know Gryffindors have reckless behavior. But this? I can't always save you."
Rhoda pouted, but Jesse held his ground and crossed his arms.
She sighed before giving. "'Kay. But you mean that, right? You don't always have to look after me."
"What do you mean?"
"Mina told me you were glaring at anyone who would try to make fun of me." She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Jesse. It's not like it would be the first time."
"But-"
"C'mon, Jesse. I survived three years without you as my friend." She sprang up into standing, hands akimbo with a big grin. "Gimme some credit here, wouldya?"
Jesse sighed. "Fine," he said before levitating things back into their natural places.
Rhoda thought she heard him mutter, "I could never say no to you." She flushed underneath her white fur. Then she shook her head like a dog getting water out of its ears. Surely, Jesse didn't mean it that way.
Jesse should've known.
Someone had tripped Rhoda, and in the process, her things spilled out of her bag. Scrolls. Her wand. Inkwell. Feather pen. A love potion.
Jesse froze with everyone who saw the tiny vial filled with bright pink liquid. Rhoda still hadn't noticed it or the whisperings as she tried to get her bearings.
"What's this?" one of the students asked.
Rhoda finally turned to face them.
"Is this a love potion, Rabbit?" they asked, garnering the attention of the rest who weren't minding her.
"What?"
"It's found in your bag."
"No, that's ridiculous! Why would I-" She began to notice that a crowd was starting to surround them.
Jesse snapped into action, blinking away the memories it triggered. He pushed through the crowd, ignoring the eyes on him. Ever since they came out with their friendship, everyone was surprised. From an outsider's perspective, it might even be sudden.
"Rhoda," he called out, stepping forth and helping her get her things. The whispers became stronger. He saw Rhoda put on a smile and organize her things back to her bag, as though this was a performance and the show must go on.
Jesse grabbed the vial from the student and flung it into a bin, where it crashed into the sounds of broken glass.
"Let's go," he said, grabbing her hand.
To his relief, she didn't protest, probably just as stunned as she was. When they got into an empty classroom, he only released her hand.
Jesse took a deep breath. He had thought he was saving her when he had made their friendship known.
He had made it worse for her.
"Jesse?" he heard Rhoda tentatively speak up, "you don't really believe that love potion is mine, do you?"
He turned around to see her looking nervous. Her ears wilted and anxiously pulled back.
"Of course not," Jesse replied.
Rhoda smiled gratefully but not entirely. She cocked her head as though noticing his distress despite his attempt to look unruffled.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Jesse nodded his head. "I'm fine. I just needed to think," was all he said before leaving her behind.
Rhoda had never been in a romantic relationship before. But she had known that break-ups were the worst.
So how come no one had ever warned her about platonic break-ups too?
Her reputation had gone down since someone put a love potion in her bag. But she didn't care as long as Jesse believed in her.
However…
It was more than a month since that incident, yet she was getting the impression that Jesse was distancing himself from her.
Rhoda perked up when he entered the class. She waved, and he nodded before never paying attention to her again unless she initiated it.
And as much as she hated to admit it, it wore her thin. Jesse didn't seem to want to be in the same room as her. But it wasn't just wearing her thin. It was beginning to feel like a hole in her chest where her times with Jesse had been.
Her friends had tried to cheer her up. Bugsy had tried to relate with one of her experiences with Lobo Bunny, ending up with her and Daphne bickering. Wiley had offered to use the forget-me wand on her (which was just a thick club to give concussions with). And Mina tried to tell her that no guy was worth the aggravation.
But they didn't get it. Or do they? She didn't dare explore her feelings with the planted love potion hanging over her head.
So the next day, she called for every ounce of Gryffindor in her. Then, situating herself in one of the secret corridors she had caught him in before, she surprised him when he was about to exit.
Jesse had almost stumbled back from the rabbit barely above his hip line. Before she could hesitate, Rhoda stepped forward until he stepped back. The door of the secret corridor closed behind her.
"You're avoiding me," she said, point-blank. If this was a "ripped the band-aid off" situation, it was better not to beat around the Whomping Willow.
The way Jesse avoided her eyes told her that she was right. Instead, he just sighed.
"I can't always protect you," he said.
Rhoda frowned. "Jesse-"
"Have you ever wondered, Rhoda? About the people who wanted to date me since I was thirteen?"
She shrugged, wondering where this was going. "I mean, there were rumors."
"Back in the third year, there was a sixth year who was obsessed," he said. "While I mostly avoided her, any girl I've had good relations with would end up in the hospital wing due to accidents."
Rhoda looked back with disbelief. "Is she… who I think it is?" she asked, remembering an older girl who had a crush on him. But Rhoda had assumed it was just a joke because she was ridiculously older.
"Yes," Jesse confirmed. "I never had been so relieved when she left Hogwarts. She's one of the reasons why I developed a way to detect love potion in my food and drink."
Her hand slowly came up to her mouth in dawning horror. "I never knew that."
"Then there's Martha Acme."
"The one that left Hogwarts before she could finish her seventh year?"
"While I rejected her in my fourth year, someone was able to get blackmail her. They got pictures of the time she tripped and fell on me," Jesse kneaded his forehead at the memory.
"Jesse…"
"To a lesser extent, there was also Edna Valiant."
"Edna?!" Rhoda said in disbelief. Edna was one of the older students that she looked up to.
"She was attracted to me but didn't do anything about it. Rumors spread, and Doris almost broke up with her." Jesse sighed. "I can't always protect you."
"I think you're just afraid," she said, not caring if she sounded childishly frank.
"I have every good reason to," he said. Jesse levitated her away from the exit with a swish and flick of his wand.
"Jesse!" she protested, running back to the exit. She tried to open its door but found it locked by a Colloportus spell.
"Alohomora!" she said, pointing at the door with her wand. But unfortunately, her wand only shot out short spurts of sparks.
She cried out in frustration, banging on the door. Sadness settled in at her realization of Jesse's resolution, bogging down her magic.
Unknown to her, Jesse was still on the other side, leaning against it as he looked at nothing.
"I can't tell if what yer plannin' is really stupid or really crazy," Mina said, wondering if a drought charm would help her dry her sopping wet clothes or just dehydrate her.
"Eeehhh, just Gryffindor things," Bugsy said, squeezing the water out of her ears.
They were in a classroom, practicing their spells. Chairs were pushed to the sides. Rhoda was quietly tinkering with Spell-o-tape with a burning look in her eyes. As far as Mina was concerned, she'd take this version of Rhoda over the one that had been wallowing like she got jilted.
Meanwhile, Wiley reminded the rabbit of a few things about her spellwork.
"As long as you stick to spells you've mastered, there'll be no disasters," the coyote began as she paced back and forth. "So no non-verbal spells, no new ones, and are you really sure about this?"
Rhoda paused at what she was doing. "Jesse's scared." She shook her head. "And it's making him shut me out. I…" She twiddled with the thing in her hands. "I really don't know what I'm doing," she admitted, "But I just know I have to reach out to him."
Jesse just felt resigned.
He reminded himself he was doing this for her own good before steeling his resolve.
Crowds have gathered in the Great Hall. The dueling club had set up an all-House event where everyone could duel with others of the same year. Jesse would rather be somewhere quiet. But if he were in one, he would find himself alone with his thoughts. He knew exactly where his thoughts would go, so here he was.
He missed her. He missed their times in the greenhouse. He missed seeing her relaxed and happy and just telling him anything that came to her mind. He missed-
Jesse shook his head. He didn't come to the dueling event to mope. There had been several duels for the fifth years, and he had blanked out on them.
When it was his turn, he climbed the square arena. He didn't even blink when there was something different about the whispers today. He guessed it was some new rumor about him that he hadn't known yet.
Jesse stopped when he saw who had volunteered to be his opponent.
Rhoda Rabbit stood on the other end of the arena. Again, Jesse had expected to see her sad puppy eyes if he happened to catch his eye. But this time, her expression was far from it.
The crowds surrounding the stage stepped back when they realized it was the rabbit whose spells were either a fizzing hose or a cannon boom. Who had let her duel? More whispers rose when they saw what she did to her wand.
Jesse saw that she had spell-o-taped her own wand to her own baton.
What?
But the professor gave their cue. He and Rhoda bowed to each other before going into an accepted combative position.
The professor began to count. "One… Two… and Three!"
Jesse immediately cast a Disarming charm. The quicker this was over, the better.
But Rhoda must've been anticipating it. Because at the same time, she sidestepped out of the way, twirling her baton as she spun and pointed the baton-wand at him.
"Rictusempra!"
Suddenly, he began to understand the literal take to "play to your strengths."
He countered it with a shield charm. But Rhoda was already acting fast. She was doing the steps like the time she had been on stage. She was incorporating wand movements with her wand-taped baton with spell after spell.
Jesse counteracted as quickly as he could. She still hadn't mastered non-verbal spells. As long as Rhoda was incanting her spells, he could anticipate her attacks. He dodged what he had no time to put up a shield charm. But Rhoda was nimbler, never staying in one place and practically hopping around like, well, a rabbit.
She almost looked like she was back on a stage and enjoying herself if it wasn't for the determined glint in her eye.
"Accio fireworks!"
He saw something flying in the corner of his eye. Rhoda grabbed them and spread them like cards in her hands with an almost mischievous smile. Then, she all tossed them up in the air.
"Aguamenti!" she yelled, and water blasted out of her wand, dousing the Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks.
The Great Hall was immediately filled with whistles, lights, and booming. Jesse could no longer hear what spells Rhoda was directing at him as she multi-tasked. She was casting spells, dodging around, and activating more fireworks like a hyper-active bunny.
He gritted his teeth. Jesse didn't want to do it, but Rhoda left him no choice.
Incendio, he thought. Fireballs suddenly floated everywhere, courtesy of his veela heritage's fire affinity. Rhoda was forced not to hop around.
But she smiled like she was also expecting this. She spun her baton wand over her head in the spell's wand movement.
"Aqua Eructo!"
His whole vision was suddenly bathed in heavy steam. Jesse coughed at the warm, humid air. He could barely see anything but the moving silhouettes of the crowds. He had been expecting a thin stream of water. Not a powerful jet.
He turned around at the sudden tapping of running feet. But, too late.
Jesse grunted when he was tackled backward. When he opened his eyes again, he could see a sky blue gaze. Rhoda was frowning at him as she straddled his torso. Silence fell between them amidst the obscured confusion of the students below the arena.
"I know you're scared," Rhoda finally said. "But it doesn't seem fair that you decided what's best for me without talking to me about it first." Then she got up and stepped several steps back before pointing her wand at him.
The steam cleared, and the professor announced the winner.
In their sixth year, Jesse noticed Rhoda would look at him in confusion.
At least in those times that she thought he wasn't looking.
It almost seemed like she was questioning… something. Jesse had paid her no mind, opting to just wait for her to ask whatever was in her mind.
After their duel back in fifth year (You mean the time she kicked your arse? Mina had asked with a smirk), she and Jesse had talked. It turned out the professors had been keeping an eye on other students around Jesse after certain incidents had happened. Rhoda had, in turn, become more careful with her bag. Daphne had even offered to put a hex on it.
You can't control your admirers' actions, Rhoda had let on, but I don't care what they throw at me as long as what we have remains true. Then she beamed. Our friendship!
He and Rhoda continued to walk down the hallway. After some time, people had gotten used to their friendship. After all, his best friend was Leroy Hyena, even if he had many people who wanted him in their network. Most had decided it was no different from his relations with a goofy rabbit.
Jesse was no fool. He knew how he felt about her now. But… he still hadn't fully learned how he would cover for the risks if he'd expressed his desire to go out with her.
"Hey Jesse, wanna go out with me?"
Jesse stumbled but caught himself just in time. He stopped walking to face her. Rhoda looked down on the ground, tweedling with her fingers with her rabbit ears drooped. It almost looked like how she had been a shy, repressed fourth year.
"It's fine if you don't wanna. I don't mean to put you in the spot," she hastily said. Jesse narrowed his eyes. He would've sworn it sounded rehearsed if his ears weren't playing tricks on him. "I mean, it is sudden," she weakly laughed, rubbing the back of her head as her rabbit foot thumped with nervous energy.
How long had she been planning to ask him out?
Jesse was still too stunned to speak, and Rhoda quickly filled that void herself.
"I've been thinking about it- whoa!" she yelped when Jesse hastily ushered her into a secret passageway, away from eavesdroppers. They had talked about his trauma with love potions and harassment. Jesse was still working on it, but it was better to be safe than sorry this time.
"What do you mean?" he asked, pulling his attention back to the matter.
And with her attention back to the matter, so was her embarrassment. The skin patches on her rabbit ears reddened as she looked at anywhere but him. "I've been thinking about it," she said again. "Last year, I was just glad to have you back."
His heart, which had been pounding, warmed further at her words.
"But I've always noticed I like myself best when I'm with you," she said, looking a mix of bashful and preparing for being struck down. Rhoda looked like she was on the verge of running. "You see me for me," she quietly said, "and you still liked me for it."
Jesse knelt from his tall frame to be more at his eye level. "I should be the one saying that to you," he said, equally hushed.
Her blue eyes widened in surprise, making Jesse wonder why. He had been calling her "hun" as an endearment. Short for "hunnybunny," which was his unspoken nickname for her (so maybe he had been testing the waters, she just didn't notice).
"You make me happy," she quietly said, tentatively meeting his eyes.
He smiled, sweeping back the still-drooped rabbit ear from her face. "You make me laugh," he smiled, letting his happiness shine from his usually stoic face. "Yes, Rhoda. I would love to go out with you."
THE END.