AN: Sorry it's taken me a month to get this one out; I've had exams and holidays and other issues. Hope everyone's exams are going well!
For Jayna; Joey King. All I'm going to say. She'd be amazing. She even has the eyes. Her only problem is she's American and a little too short.
(Finally) Dream-cast for Lydjah Amber Hayley Roscoe Dawson? (That's a mouthful.)
Chapter Nine
Of Difference in Upbringings and Changing Thoughts
The kitchens had always been the best place to eat. Or so James had thought, until he saw how Jayna and Scorpius treated house-elves.
"What can Popsy get you Master James?"
"'James'? Being a bit informal aren't you?" Scorpius said, with a disapproving glare. Popsy visibly wilted as she swept into a low bow.
"Master Malfoy, Miss Blackwood." Jayna raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"Can we have eight portions of whatever you're serving in the Great Hall please?" Molly asked.
"Of course Miss Mo- Weasley-"
"'Please'? It's her job." Jayna interrupted, laughing.
"So if the caretaker moved something obstructing your way you wouldn't thank him, because it's his job?" Albus challenged. This caused Jayna to laugh again.
"Of course I would! He's a human, she's just a lowly house-elf."
"A 'lowly' house-elf saved my father's life more than once." James said coldly.
"I thought you said your family didn't believe in house-elves anyway." Sam said.
"No, I said my mother didn't have one. My grandparents had like six. Mother thought that they were dirty little sneaks. True as well." Jayna sneered. James' fists clenched.
"How dare you Blackwood! They're living thinking beings, who deserve as much respect as you do! They're only trying to help-"
"'To help'? That's a fucking lie. Where was their 'help' when my entire family was burning to death? Nowhere. They fucked off and left my family to die."
"Blackwood, I'm really sorry that those six specific house-elves didn't try to save your family, but that doesn't mean you can be a dick to every house-elf you meet! I didn't judge you based on your family, or you on yours Scorpius. You've got to learn to put prejudice aside."
"You say it like it's that fucking easy." Scorpius said bitterly. "You've never known what it's like to find out that what you've been told your entire life is actually complete bollocks."
"On that cheery note, can we eat?" Lien interrupted the growing tension, but everyone knew it wasn't really resolved as the food was carried in. With a slightly too long pause the eight of them sat down and took their plates. Jayna and Scorpius didn't look at the house-elves while James made a point of thanking them profusely.
For a minute they all dug into their food without speaking but finally Lydjah gave Jayna a cautious look over her plate of spaghetti. The others had been informed through Sam and James what Jayna had found out from her memories but nothing was properly clarified yet.
"Jayna, I'm sorry but-"
"I know. I need to explain." She took a deep breath and each of the seven leaned in slightly. "Roland Blackwood, my grandfather, was one of the Nightwatchers and he was training me to become one of them, or at least to help them. I don't know anything useful like statistics or how high up Roland was or anyone else who is part of it yet, except maybe my step-grandmother. Don't quote me on that one; I'm just guessing because she was great at memory charms. Certain things trigger my memories, but obviously because I can't remember what the triggers are, I can't trigger them on purpose. I can guess I suppose but… I know it would help to one up them but-" James got over his anger to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she struggled, knowing she wouldn't want to admit to being terrified.
"I wouldn't want to relive memories of torture either. No-one would." The other six nodded in agreement and Jayna gave them a shaky smile.
"Ok yeah so I'm not going to try and force them in case it makes me go crazy." She pulled a face but they could tell this was a genuine fear. "Anyway; he was teaching me about the Secret. Or at least he mentioned it a lot. I can't confirm it, but I'd guess they know that it's at the school and that would explain why they wanted to get me involved. I don't know if it's because I was closer to my grand- Roland or if they decided they needed to start the training process younger when they discovered the Secret but he chose me for it instead of my other siblings or my cousins. The Guardian hinted that I knew something more… I just can't remember what I know. They might know that someone's started the tasks; they could have easily put up a ward around the doorway. The Guardian said that we were chosen for these tasks; my guess is they tried to do it before but weren't found worthy and decided that to be worthy someone needed to be trained in all manners of magic, which is what Roland was trying to do with me. This is still all guesswork but here's my stab in the dark; the Nightwatchers are trying to kill Cara and I because they think we might have information that could be leaked about their organisation, and they don't know how to trigger the memories of the information without Roland. They haven't come to complete that mission because Harry's team has sent them all into hiding, but it looks like they're coming back if that fire in Diagon Alley was any indication."
"What do you think we should do?" Molly asked. Jayna shrugged helplessly.
"Lien, if you keep a look out for any dark-mark flaring up stuff we'll know slightly in advance if they're planning an attack on Cara. Otherwise…"
"You can't think of anyone else who would be a Nightwatcher?" James asked.
"Why does it matter?" Jayna sighed. Sam's eyes widened, catching on.
"You could write to them, tell them that it's you that's started the challenges and you're right on track. Pretend that you think all the incidents last year were just unhappy coincidences. Say that you've befriended some mudbloods and-"
"Don't use that word." James insisted. Sam rolled her eyes.
"Anyway; that you've only made these friends to fit in and gain their trust. That way they'll stop sending assassins after you and your sister and we can have some wiggle room for the Secret tasks while you work out what the Secret is even the secret to and, should any of your memories come back, if anything you were taught will be helpful."
"I think… If there's one person who'd be in it, it would be my great-uncle Alexis. But can I risk it on that?"
"If he knows nothing about the Nightwatchers the letter will make no sense to him so what does it matter?"
"True. But if it works and they stop sending 'assassins' after us we won't be able to work out who's the spy in our school."
"I think the stopping the 'assassins' is more important than finding the spy." James said.
"Ok."
"One thing though," Lydjah interjected, "if you get any problems, and I mean any at all with your whole remembering being tortured thing, you have to tell us, and not only because we're the only ones you can tell. Don't shut us out again; we might not be able to empathise, but we can sympathise and you need more people who care for you, not less." Jayna smiled, touched by her words.
"Deal."
"We need to work out the timetables so we can start on getting the Secret as soon as Jayna gets a reply then."
"Yeah. We have lessons on Thursdays and Fridays where we used to do it now so they're out."
"And we've basically got your timetables from last year so we can't do the rest of the week."
"It'll just have to be weekends then. Pass your timetables over." They all handed them over to Jayna (even James who had managed to hold onto his for an entire four days) who quickly charmed them.
"Are we still on for actual tutoring Blackwood?" James asked.
"You don't need it. Besides; Lydjah's better at Potions than I am."
"I'm not tutoring him." Lydjah disagreed. "I'm not tutoring anyone."
"Still. It's not my best subject."
"But it's fun." Sam started laughing. "What?"
"I just never thought I'd hear you arguing to spend more time with Jayna Blackwood, admit a subject was fun or ask to be tutored in something."
"Shut up."
"I'm not saying it's not fun just that it's useless."
"Fine. Tutor me in a subject I'm bad at then."
"What like History of Magic?"
"There is no way I would ever willingly agree to spend more time on that subject. How about we just have a tutoring session set up and you can help me with whatever comes up that week that I don't quite get."
"As long as it's vice versa. I could use your help in Transfiguration."
"Sounds good."
"If that's all guys I'd better get to next lesson, I wanted to ask the Professor something."
"Of course you do." Lydjah said with a sigh, standing up and stretching. "Lets get going then."
"See you on Saturday." Lien called.
Friday was the-
"Most important day of my life and you're telling me to calm down!" James yelled angrily at Lydjah who raised her eyes to the heavens. They were sat in the Gryffindor changing rooms waiting for the trials to start. Sam was taking a few laps round the pitch to warm up, Jayna had gone to grab them all some hot drinks and Lydjah was wondering why the Hell they'd agreed to come and watch the bloody things. It was freezing and she had a small mountain of homework that she might not be able to get started this weekend depending on if Jayna got a reply from Alexis (or even just sent the letter) and yet how was she spending her time? Outside on the Quidditch pitch with a raging teenage boy who looked like he couldn't decide between fainting and tearing his hair out.
"Potter, it's Quidditch trials. Not your wedding day."
"I know it's Quidditch trials! That's why it's so important!"
"Uh-huh."
"Don't 'uh-huh' me! It's your fault I haven't got Fred here with me!"
"I didn't break his nose!"
"Yeah but Jordan only did it because he likes you." Lydjah wrinkled her nose. "Why do you hate him so much?"
"I don't hate him, he's just an irritating little socially-awkward idiot."
"Harsh much."
"Whatever." There was a pause. "How long's Fred going to be?"
"He said it was just a check that his nose is all in shape and everything. Shouldn't be too long."
"Good."
"Fred's not here so-" James went back to muttering.
"So you'll only have your best friend, two other friends, one of your cousin's, one of your cousin's best friends and one of your housemates to cheer you on."
"And my ex-girlfriend!"
"Which one?" James threw a Quaffle at her which she neatly ducked, laughing all the while. "Is she still mad at you?"
"Probably. Most girls are."
"True."
"Ugh. Just make sure she doesn't sabotage my broom yeah?"
"I'll try."
Chloe Green, the current Gryffindor Captain and Victoire Weasley's best friend, stuck her head inside the tent.
"You coming to try out Potter?"
"Yep." Lydjah passed him the Quaffle from where it had fallen on the floor with an encouraging smile.
"Can't be as hard as catching all those wands in Defence the other day." James gave her a bizarre look, as if he couldn't decide whether she was joking or just that stupid, and mounted his broom. As soon as he was floating off the ground he relaxed completely, nerves leaving him and confidence taking its place. He was James Sirius freaking Potter! He could do this.
She couldn't do this.
Jayna wouldn't in any universe ever be able to look at James Potter in Quidditch gear and not want to simultaneously harpoon herself through the face and kiss the living daylights out of him.
Coming from a girl who generally thought snogging sounded ok and anything past that kind of gross, this was a lot.
He was a jerk. He was her friend. He drove her mad. He made her laugh. He was too pretentious. She was too proud. He liked sports and people and showing off. She liked books and music and... Well she liked showing off too. He was drop dead gorgeous and he knew it. She was more interested in finishing writing a book then remembering to keep herself looking nice. He was a fighter, she was a leader. He was terrified of falling for someone, so was she. They both hated sea food. They were both loud and irritating and immature and funny and talkative and brilliant and harsh and judgemental and naïve and brave and clever and just so good that the force of their light together made the stars hide and the sun pale and the world shiver in longing.
They would never work.
And Jayna was irrevocably, completely and utterly... Glancing at him whenever she got the chance. Glancing, glancing, glancing. It was stupid and that's why she hadn't admitted it, not to herself, not to anyone. Jayna Blackwood did not have a crush on James Potter. She didn't do crushes. She thought some boys were cute (Jason North and Isaac Martel and… Well yes James Potter), and some boys were funny (Malcolm Sanders and Lancelot Rennoll and… Ok maybe James Potter made her laugh but only sometimes) and some boys were nice (Owen Xylander and Galvin Key but definitely not James Potter, he was one of the least nice people she knew) but for her it was all or nothing. She wasn't interested in having a four week relationship that no-one had even realised was happening before it was over and only ended in tears. James' longest relationship had been only a few months long (four months and 21 days but who was counting?), if you could really call hanging around each other and stealing a few closed-mouth kisses here and there a relationship.
She didn't want to be another of his girlfriends. She would be the girlfriend, or nothing. Unfortunately though, nothing was proving rather hard for her stupid heart to grasp. And her eyes! It was like she had no control over the way they kept eyeing up his tight trousers (for aerodynamics of course) and steadily-growing-in-muscle arms, and absolutely fascinating hands…
Luckily, as the try-outs were on, it wasn't picked up on that she was only staring at one of the possible contenders. Even in her confused state she could recognise James was a bloody good Chaser. He knew all the tactics, could turn just as quickly as those who had been on the team for years and wasn't at all put off by April Upton glaring daggers into his head.
"Alright!" Chloe finally cried as Fred finally arrived. James flew into land with Sam. Jayna was tempted to whoop. "Ok; the positions up for grabs this year are Beater, Chaser and surprisingly Keeper as Queshire decided to drop out to a reserve role because of NEWTs. As of yet, we don't have any reserves at all for the other positions though, so if you wish to try out for those I will do them after. The reserves will not need to come to regular training; you'll come once a month instead and obviously if we need you in the game you'll start coming to regular practices. I may repeat; no under third-years are allowed, or anyone from a different house!" She said crossly, staring hard at a group of giggling Hufflepuff first-years who quickly hurried off, laughing between themselves as they did so. "Ok. People trying out for Keeper go with Louis, people trying out for Beater go with Fred. Louis go to the left side of the pitch and kindly displace the people who can't actually fly properly, Fred you do the same on the right. I'll come and help decide when I've found our Chaser and reserve Chasers." The two players nodded and flew off to opposite sides of the pitch, a small gaggle of people following them with varying degrees of ability. "Ok, anyone trying out for Reserve Seeker go with April, April I'll leave you to decide who should be your reserve, seeing as you're the least likely to need one. Right, aspiring Chasers, come with me."
She set off to the hoops, a Quaffle under her arm, giving James a smile when he arrived first. "If I tap you on the shoulder, it means you can leave!" Chloe yelled to her group. Immediately the two stragglers who'd only just arrived were tapped politely by the seventh-year. There were roughly fifteen of them left. Chloe closed her eyes for a long moment. "Take a lap round the pitch. Last three people here are getting tapped." Thankfully the last three back seemed resigned to their fate as they reached her and left without crying. "Get in a circle around me." They did so. "Ok, we're going to play a game of piggy-in-the-middle. For those of you who had deprived childhoods and don't know what that is; I will stay in the middle to start with. You will try and pass the Quaffle to each other, without me grabbing it. If I grab it, whoever the Quaffle is closest to out of the two involved in the throw is leaving, and the other is going to be in the middle. You cannot pass to the person next to you. You ready?"
'No.' James was thinking.
"Go!" The Quaffle was thrown at his chest and he instinctively caught it. Of course she'd throw it to him first, while she was in the middle. What a cow. He grinned.
James wasn't exactly known for thinking things through. He charged forwards, directly towards her, Quaffle clutched in out-stretched hands. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, tilting her broom lower in order to move out of his crazy warpath, just in time to see James to a sharp upturn, and dunk the ball down from above into Owen Xylander's hands from above. Or at least he would've, had Owen not let the ball fall through his fingers and plummet down to the ground. James had the feeling it was on purpose, as Owen looked very relieved when Chloe tapped him on the shoulder.
"You're up Potter." She wasn't happy with his trick, but she had to admit to being rather impressed. He took his place in the middle.
The game continued. James did, at one point, twist around on his broom to pluck the Quaffle out of the air from underneath him as someone tried to throw it downwards. The only problem was he hadn't quite figured out how to flip back round when his hands were full, which led to a few minutes amusement at his expense not that he minded; it was quite funny. Finally, they got down to just four people. Chloe opened her mouth to suggest another game to decide who should be on the team and who should be their reserves but Aaron Garnet raised a hand.
"I'm sorry if I'm talking for everyone here but I think we all know that Potter deserves that position. Plus, we're all seventh-years; it makes sense that you put some 'young blood' on the team to continue it and all." The other two nodded and James blushed with pride.
"Alright then. Welcome to the team Potter!" James grinned, wider than he had in a while. "For having the nobleness to say that; Aaron; you're my reserve. Edan you can be James', which means you, Tara, are Louis'. All good? Great. You can go now or you can watch the rest of the trials. Up to you." James immediately zoomed over to the stands where Lydjah and Jayna were waiting.
"I made it on to the team!" He burst out excitedly.
"Well duh." Lydjah said, looking tired. Jayna nudged her. In her defence, it had been a rather cold and boring way to spend a Friday night.
"Well done Potter!" Jayna said enthusiastically.
"Thanks."
They all turned to watch Chloe in deep discussion with Fred, Sam and two other potential Beaters. Without warning, Sam suddenly swung her Beater's bat at Chloe's face. She ducked in surprise, just in time for the bat to sail over her head and smack into the Bludger above it, sending it flying towards the other end of the pitch. Below them a very sheepish April was stood next to the Quidditch supplies, evidently having accidentally released a Bludger while trying to put the Snitch back.
"Merlin's beard!" Sam bit her lip.
"I'm sorry I just thought that you'd see my bat coming so you'd duck but I didn't have time to warn you about the Bludger you couldn't see-"
"No. I meant I can't believe you managed to hit a Bludger so far! Even Fred hasn't ever hit one like that." Chloe praised. Fred himself was chasing after the Bludger with April's help.
"It was probably the adrenaline. I can't promise I could do it again." Sam admitted.
"If you could even hit it half that hard you'd be doing well. Plus you've got a good eye and instincts; I like you. What's your name?"
"Sam."
"I swear I've seen you before. More than just in the common room…"
"Daily Prophet over the summer?"
"What were you- Wait; you're Potter's best friend right? Sami Andr-"
"Sam. It's just Sam. Sam Andrews. But yes I am James' best friend."
"Well you're a right odd pair aren't you? Like the shoes by the way." Sam's black converse were hanging half off her feet in the light breeze, though she appeared not to be worried.
"Thanks."
"You're our Beater then. Maddox you're Fred's reserve, Pippa you're Sam's," Pippa hadn't looked the slightest bit surprised that Sam was also awesome at Quidditch, "and Ian if you thought for one second I'd let a dirty lying cheater on my team you must be brainless. But of course, I knew that already." Everyone knew how Ian had tried to get Victoire drunk enough to sleep with him while he was going out with Chloe. Victoire had resisted him easily, having had many years of her Veela blood making people crazy and quickly told Chloe. The two became closer than ever and Ian was dumped faster than a hot potato.
The Keeper and reserve Seeker were chosen quickly (Jas Newport and Lauren Regenbogen respectively) and finally Lydjah could go inside and find out if her fingers had actually gotten frostbite or not (which was unlikely considering it was the first week of September).
The man with the strange expression, the spy of a sort, though he didn't like to think that way, had been watching the trials. All those who saw him smiled and waved as they went past, for it was not strange to them that he should be there. It didn't change the shivers that ran down Sam's back though, nor the creepy feeling Jayna and James had that they were constantly being watched, nor the itching feeling in Lydjah's brain that meant a vision was trying to push its way to the surface.