Chapter 2: Jessie
"Walking down a corridor with tricks right up my sleevebump into this girl that's on my floor, she just wants to seewhat would it be like to hold hands with someone darkwho would have known you don't need a wand to start a spark"
-Wizard Love by meekakitty and heyhihello
As always, Hogwarts was absolutely magnificent.
I love the medieval feel of the school. There's always something new to find when you go exploring, and just standing in the most ordinary place, as I had been after getting out of the horseless carriage, you know that so much history has happened here.
For example, the Entrance Hall. Can you imagine the extraordinary minds that have passed through this room without a second thought? Guess you never thought of that, huh?
Or the Ravenclaw Table. I wonder what kinds of people have sat in the very seat I was. Ministers, Warlocks, marvellous Quidditch players. Knights, ghosts, maybe Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Just thinking about it gave me chills.
Headmaster Dumbledore stood and gave a speech that I didn't really pay attention to, except for the announcement of Dementors guarding the school and Professor Lupin joining the staff. Poor bloke; I hope he doesn't have as bad an end of the year as the rest of them have. I already liked him from the shy way he stood when his name was announced.
From beside me, Elizabella was groaning for food.
"Adelia, I am so hungry."
"Maybe you should have eaten on the train, then."
"But when the trolley came, I was just so into that book you gave me!"
"You're worse at making excuses than I am. You just didn't want to have to talk in front of the boys."
"So? It doesn't change the fact that I am starving!"
"Round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows!" I muttered.
"I really am hungry."
"That's interesting." I said, piling my food onto my plate. Elizabella had her head in her hands and her eyes covered. I wondered how long she would take to realize that the feast had appeared.
"When is the feast going to start? These speeches are ridiculously long."
"Any moment now, I'm sure." I said, stifling my giggles.
"Wait a tick…"
"Ah, so you've figured it out!" I said as my dear friend grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes and started shovelling them in her mouth, completely ignoring the step where she is supposed to put the food on her own separate plate. Ah, well. That's my Lizibell.
"Liz, slow down. I don't feel like going to the Hospital Wing because of your poor eating habits on the first night." I said, not wanting a repeat of the many times she starved herself during the day for various reasons and then ate everything in sight within minutes at dinner. Our record so far is a week straight because she decided that stalking some cute Hufflepuff was more important than nutrition. He wasn't even any more than cute; quite sad really.
Elizabella stuck her tongue out at me in response to my teasing, which was quite a poor idea because 1.) Her mouth was still stuffed full of mashed potatoes and 2.) A gorgeous Slytherin Sixth Year boy just walked by our table to visit one of his friends. He gave Elizabella a look of disgust and continued on his way as I clutched my sides to keep them from splitting open with laughter and Elizabella blushed a furious shade of red.
"Ouch! What was that for?" I asked, rubbing the sore spot on my arm where Elizabella had hit me.
"You just embarrassed me in front of Slytherin hottie numero uno!" She whispered in what she must have thought was a menacing voice.
"Your code names are quite ridiculous," I noted.
"No, that's not the code name I made up for him- every single girl in the school knows him as such. I haven't given him a code name as there is already a perfectly good one out there, waiting to be used." She replied in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Because using the same name as half of the Hogwarts population makes it totally secretive and does not cancel out the original purpose of a code name whatsoever." I said.
"Well… no, but there hasn't been a need to have one anyway since none of my friends has any form of a relationship with him, friendly or otherwise." Elizabella told me.
"So there are rules to making up code names?" I asked, acting curious but not really.
"Yes, I'll make you a list so you can finally understand the behaviour of normal teenage girls."
"Better tack on a list of the code names you've already established."
"Only if you never show anyone else."
"Scout's honour." I said, mocking a salute to her.
"So what's his name anyway? I recognize him, but we've never formally met." I asked Elizabella.
"Oh Addie," she sighed, "it's not as if you would talk to him anyway. Sometimes I wonder why you're so shy- you miss out on such great opportunities!"
"Just answer the question," I said irritatedly.
"He's Jessie Daugherty, Sixth Year Slytherin, hottest Slytherin known to man- Second hottest in the school if you're not biased against Slytherins, but even then he's fourth. Remember, rankings are in accordance with a popular unbiased vote- biased as in keeping their personality in mind. On my personal Caliente Scale, he is ranked a high nine out of ten. I don't do decimals, they're not classy. On my Personality Scale, he's a low seven. He's pretty nice for a Slytherin, but his friends have influenced him too much. It happens, I guess. I mean, you and your bad habits have influenced me," she said all of this in a hurried whisper as I listened intently, and then added a wink on the end as I reached out to shove her arm. She knows that she's the one influencing me, however slowly it's been working.
"Better add the top ten list and how exactly you judge your Caliente and Personality Scales." I said, in awe that someone would not only make something like that up, but have it down to a science. We've been best friends since we were six years old and I still don't know everything about her.
"I'll have them for you by tomorrow." She said as Dumbledore made some more announcements and ended the feast.
Getting out of our seats and heading toward the marble staircase, I groaned as I remembered how far up the Ravenclaw Tower is, "Ugh, I hate being a Ravenclaw," I said, voicing my thoughts as we climbed the second set of steps.
"Are you kidding me? Being a Ravenclaw is the best!" Elizabella exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Give me two reasons why it is worth it to climb all these stairs just to get to bed and I will never say anything against our House ever again." I said, in a poor mood because of all the exercise I was doing while exhausted.
"I can give you a whole lot more than that!" Elizabella said, "First, there's the fact that we are a neutral House, so we can go after boys and have friends in all four Houses."
"I'll give you that one, even if I'm not one to take advantage of it," I admitted, acknowledging my awkward shyness.
"I'm not finished, stop interrupting!"
"Okay, okay, continue," I said hurriedly.
"Well, Ravenclaw is also known to have most of the attractive girls in Hogwarts, so as soon as someone knows you're a Ravenclaw, they see you as prettier than you are. I swear, Rowena like put up an enchantment to make that happen or something," I had to agree with that. It was always this unspoken bias that everyone just knew, "And you're labelled as smart, so you can get an answer wrong in class but people will still know you're not stupid anyway. Plus, you can read a lot and hot members of the opposite gender from other Houses will just assume it's your House's influence rather than what you've been doing since you were eight years old."
"Okay, that's three…" I said.
"I'm still not done! We have the prettiest view from our Tower and the best Head of House; somehow we always have great schedules- I have a theory on that- and we're picked to tutor hot but dumb guys. And all the guys in our House are worth going for- as in, smart, witty, and gorgeous. I don't think anyone can claim as much awesomeness as we can."
I applauded the end of Elizabella's speech sarcastically, but part of me had to agree with her. Besides the abundance of stairs, we really had it all.
"Okay, all of that is valid. But do you have a way to make all of this walking up to our beds seem worth it?"
"Great legs," was her response. I had to admit, I did have pretty amazing legs even though the only sport I participated in was climbing the ladder to get to shelves in the library near my house. Sometimes I participated in football, too, but that wasn't really unusual for anyone in England, even many wizards.
"Have you noticed that all of your answers are boy-centric?" I asked my best friend as we climbed the last spiral staircase that led to the Common Room door.
"No- what about us being smart, or the prettiest view, or that we have the best Head?" She challenged.
"You and I both know you just meant that smart boys didn't think you were too stupid to be attractive, the best views of blokes spending time around the lake when it's nice out, and the best Head who always happens to pair you up with either Nick DiAngelo or Drew Lucas when we need partners in Charms." I countered.
Elizabella was silent as we climbed the last steps to the platform that had the door, and, since we had fallen behind everyone else and needed to get in on our own, I knocked on the door using the bronze eagle knocker.
"What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?" The eagle asked me.
"Hmmm…" I said. I always have difficulty figuring these out, even if I've been doing it for four years now. Elizabella was tapping her foot impatiently. She always knows the answer right away, but our rule is that I get five minutes to think of it unless we are in a hurry.
"Aha!" I said, snapping my fingers, "The letter 'M.'"
"Correct. You should know that by now, I've only given it to you twelve times before," The eagle said exasperatedly. I chose to ignore its comment and walked right into to the Common Room as soon as the door clicked open.
And promptly ran into someone.
"Whoa," I said as I stumbled backwards, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was walking."
"Be more careful next time," Said a voice from a few inches above my head- which was odd, since anyone a full head taller than me would be about 6'3". I looked up to see that I was standing rather close to hottie numero uno, and I now fully understood why that was his code name.
This boy had light, slightly curly brown hair and differently coloured, but all the same gorgeous eyes. The one on his right was a bright blue the colour of the sky and the other was a deep hazel, more brown than green. I must say, the look worked for him. He was slightly tan and had a few freckles scattered across his cheeks and forehead.
"Oh," I said, because the only completely formed thought in my head was 'Excuse me while I go hyperventilate.' I don't think he would find that amusing. Then again, who knows, maybe he would think it's cute.
Jessie chuckled, and I realized I had said that one coherent thought out loud. Merlin, he must think I'm the only idiot in my House.
"I don't think hyperventilating is something we want to happen, now is it?" He asked, and I nodded my head slowly.
"Though it's still not completely out of the question," I said- out loud, again. 'Maybe he thinks it's cute. Let's just go with that idea.' These last thoughts managed to stay inside my head- at least he doesn't think I belong in the loony bin for talking to myself.
He laughed again, ignoring the internal conversation I had going on in my head. I wondered for a moment whether everyone has those types of conversations or if that was just me.
"I'm Jessie Daugherty, and you are…?" He asked, holding out his hand.
"Adelia Litwin," I squeaked, taking his hand and thanking Merlin I didn't answer with the first thought that popped in my mind again. 'Just one of many girls that were stalking you during dinner' would not have been a very good pick-up line, in my personal opinion.
I glanced down away from his eyes and saw the Slytherin tie around his neck. I decided to point this out and pretend as if I didn't already know anything about him.
"If you're a Slytherin, then what are you doing in the Ravenclaw Tower?" I asked as innocently as I could, gesturing to the colours on his tie.
"Oh, I was in a conversation with DiAngelo over there and followed him up here to finish it. I was on my way out when you nearly knocked me over," he said, grinning cheekily. Well hmph.
"Oh, better be on your way then, yeah?" I said, gesturing to the door and making it clear that I did not appreciate his teasing.
"I suppose I should," And with that he ducked out, flashing a small smirk at me as he passed.
After the door closed behind him, I turned around and made sure no one else was in the room besides Elizabella. Quickly, after seeing the huge grin plastered on my face, she cast a Silencio charm on me. Cue delighted, and silent, shrieks of a teenage girl.
When I was done and Elizabella had taken off the charm, she jumped on me in an embrace, squealing as quietly as she was able.
"Addie! You just had a pleasant conversation with the third hottest boy in the entire Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! You've never had a full conversation with anyone of the opposite sex, let alone hottie numero uno! Holy unicorn turds, now I have the opportunity to give him a code name! This is so exciting!" I could tell her words were true, as she was literally bouncing.
"I won't be able to sleep if we go up now; do you mind if we stay down here for a few minutes?" I asked, already heading for the midnight blue sofa in front of the fire.
"Of course! I can start on your list for you so you don't keep looking at me like I'm crazy!"
I walked over to the book shelf and found a nice book on Rowena Ravenclaw to read while Elizabella filled her sheet of parchment; I knew it would take a while and she wouldn't stop to go to bed until it was finished completely.
I sat down with the book, thinking I could find out if my best friend's theory about Rowena casting an enchantment to make all Ravenclaws gorgeous was true as she began scribbling away.
After about an hour, Elizabella sat up with a triumphant smile on her lips.
"It's all finished!" she exclaimed in a whisper (now that's talent, I'm telling you).
"Well, give it here, then. I want to go to bed soon." I said, gesturing to the clock which now read to be about ten-fifteen.
She handed me the roll of parchment with the ink still glistening and I scanned over it quickly.
Basic Rules to Being a Girl
By Elizabella Bates
Know all the hottest guys in the school, their ages, and their Houses.
I have compiled a list of the top ten hottest boys in school, as done by a popular unbiased vote:
1- Alexander Hanton; Seventh Year; Gryffindor
2- Joey Bartolo; Sixth Year; Hufflepuff
3- Jessie Daugherty; Sixth Year; Slytherin
4- Nick DiAngelo; Fifth Year; Ravenclaw
5- Drew Lucas; Fifth Year; Ravenclaw
6- Luke Andersen; Seventh Year; Ravenclaw
7- Kyle Sanders; Sixth Year; Slytherin
8- Rich Pierson; Seventh Year; Hufflepuff
9- Anthony Powers; Sixth Year; Gryffindor
10- Ray Rhodes; Sixth Year; Gryffindor
Notice that most are from either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, and each member of this list are on at least friendly terms if not from rival Houses (A.K.A. Gryffindor and Slytherin).
Every girl must have a Hotness and Personality Scale and rank each boy she comes to know according to that scale. Close friends all use the same scale, so as not to be confused by different measurements and to communicate to their close friends their opinion of that bloke in an easier manner.
I have made you a copy of what we shall refer to, from now on, as the Caliente (hotness) and Personality Scales.
Caliente Scale
0- So ugly that they barely seem human. Has never been used before, and Merlin I hope never will be.
1- Still quite grotesque, but has shape and maybe one alright feature.
2- Has one very good-looking feature, but not much else.
3- Has one good-looking feature and few defined muscles.
4- Has somewhat-defined muscles and one good-looking feature.
5- Has a nice enough face and somewhat-defined muscles.
6- Has an attractive face or defined muscles- NEVER BOTH.
7- Has well-defined muscles and a good-looking face or vice-versa.
8- Has well-defined muscles and a good-looking face with at least one outstanding feature.
9- Has well-defined muscles and a good-looking face with several outstanding features.
10- Greek god.
Personality Scale
0- Absolutely horrid human being; equivalent of You-Know-Who.*
1- Almost as bad as You-Know-Who; equivalent of Professor Snape.*
2- Slightly better; has done one kind act in the time that you have known him.*
3- Has done one kind act and smiled once in the time that you've known him.*
4- Has done one kind act and has smiled several times in the time you've known him.*
5- Has done a few kind acts and has smiled several times since you've known him.*
6- Is known by most to be kind and has smiled several times since you've known him.*
7- Has been known to be kind to many and smiles often.*
8- Mostly known as kind and smiles quite often.
9- A wonderful person altogether and almost never stops smiling.
10- The human equivalent of chocolate.
*Please note that anyone's personality ranging from a zero to a seven according to you may have been affected by a reputation and/or event that may have happened between the two of you.
Please also note that the Caliente and Personality Scales may affect one another after knowing the bloke well.
The Personality Scale should always be more important when thinking of a bloke you are/would like to be dating. The Caliente Scale is normally for amusement, although my best friend deserves nothing below a six.
Every girl should know the code names of blokes her friends have any form of a relationship with, and a personal Scale reference for each. I have taken the liberty to start you off with my Caliente and Personality scale ranks. This list will be added on to as time goes on. Only important relationships are written down.
Note: Flirtationship- More than a friendship, less than a relationship.
The following list is in the order of Name/Friend In Relationship With Bloke/Type of Relationship When First Observed as Deserving of Code Name/ Current Relationship/ Caliente Scale Number/Personality Scale Number/Code Name- Reason for Name.
Nick DiAngelo/Elizabella Bates/Crush/Flirtationship/8/7/Choco- both enjoy chocolate most, says I'm sweet as chocolate
Drew Lucas/Elizabella Bates/Flirtationship/Crush/7/8/Honey- sweet as honey, eyes are honey-coloured
Jessie Daugherty/Adelia Litwin/Acquaintance-Obvious Crush/?/9/7/River- name means "high river" in French. He's french. I've done my research.
I stared down at the parchment I was holding for a few more moments after I had finished reading.
"You really take this rubbish seriously, don't you?" I asked laughingly. Elizabella looked offended but then nodded solemnly.
"Well I'm going to bed then. Good night, my darling Lizibell!" I called as I climbed the stairs to the girls' dorms.
A/N: I know, I know- it's been so long, I'm a horrible person, and all that, whatever. I'm sorry guys, but I am not going to be taking this story as seriously as my other one. This is more of a fun side project which I am doing, and I'm sorry to those who are frustrated by this.
In a way, I really do need to wait for reviewers for this story. Now, don't go putting words into my mouth; I am not nor shall I ever hold my story for ransom. But I do need reviews with song lyrics to give me inspiration for my stories. Sorry, it's a harsh truth.
Oh and Daugherty is pronounced Daw-ker-tee. Thought I'd clear that up because I had to look it up, too. Yeah.
Anyway, thanks to all of you who have read/alerted/favourited/reviewed my story! It means a lot!
wildpath: thank you so much for reviewing! I hope that author's note answered your last review well enough. As for the Taylor Swift lyrics; first of all- you rock, Taylor Swift is my favourite artist. I'm sorry to say that I plan on using a lot of Taylor Swift lyrics for the sequel of my other story that I'm writing, and I don't want to repeat any plots or anything. Although, I may use them in the future. If I do, all credit goes to you, promise!