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Jackie Smith and the Wolfsbane Curse
Four
~ The Sparrow, the Swan, and the Wolf ~
Merlin stirred at the dead mice Jackie dropped into the bottom of his cage, but otherwise stayed sleeping. The Eeylops Owl Emporium manager assured Jackie that Merlin could find his way back to Jackie all on his own after going out and getting his breakfast in the early dawn. But Jackie didn't want to take chances, lose his owl on the first day, and disappoint his parents before school even properly began. So his new friend was going to have to make do with breakfast in bed.
"This should keep you nice and happy," said Jackie, sealing the box of dead mice and carefully removing his latex gloves, tossing them into the rubbish bin. "Harry said I can keep you in my compartment on the train, so if you feel hungry just let me know, okay?" He put the box of mice into his trunk, double-checking all of his belongings were where they should be. The only thing not in the trunk was his wand, which he kept on his desk, along with a small velvet box he had procured on a separate day shopping in Diagon Alley, with the help of Prof. Longbottom. He was staring at the matching boxes intently, Merlin slumbering in his cage, when the door was kicked open and a duffle bag thrown onto the floor. Jackie jumped, thankful that neither the box of dead mice nor his wand was in his hand, as he would have dropped them.
"Wotcher, mate," greeted Hayley. "Guess what I got with me?"
"Huh? Mm, oh… erm… you brought the, er…"
Hayley tutted, shaking her head. She pulled out of her rucksack a cardboard box, the words ASTRONOMY LAMP printed on the side facing him. Jackie's insides picked up immediately, and whatever fear he was feeling earlier vanished. He helped Hayley set it up between their sleeping bags, turning out the lights and switching the lamp on. The room lit up with stars, the constellations recognizable despite the distortions of the walls. Jackie looked up in awe.
"This couldn't have been cheap!" He picked up the box and saw, by the minimal light, that the lamp was guaranteed to be accurate. There was even a setting that would turn on the map lines of the sky, and one that just showed a specific section of the sky and its season.
"Yeah, I got it as a prize," said Hayley. "Remember that end-of-year science tournament? I got second place and this was my reward. It, er, didn't really have a place in the loft, and Carter's usually up so late that I can't even turn it on to fall asleep to. So I figured, hey, you've got a need for it. You've got Astronomy, right? So, study material."
"Oh…" He felt his throat tighten, which was silly, getting all emotional over a gift. Stupidly, he realized something Ron had mentioned after they had finished their trip to Diagon Alley the first week of the month about electronics not working in Hogwarts. Which he didn't really care so much for because the only thing electronic he owned was a digital watch, which helped his case in arguing for a fob watch (though, so far, his parents had yet to get him one). He stammered, shyly, quietly muttering a thank you while apologising as he explained the situation. She blinked at him, and then laughed.
"I didn't mean you to bring it with you—I knew that much! Don't you think I would have done my homework? You know me better." She pulled on his arm and sat him down on their sleeping bags. She emptied her duffle bag, a cascade of DVDs falling out. Hayley smiled her marvellous smile of mischief and said, "Now, since you'll be travelling back into the Dark Ages, you won't be getting your fill of these in a long time. So, shall we begin with Disney or jump straight to the ten hour trilogy of hard fantasy brilliance?"
"Let's see, at least a half hour drive into the city, plus traffic getting to King's Cross, and the departure time at eleven'o'clock—and you arrived early. Well, you really do come prepared! All right then, Sparrow, let's see how long we'll each last."
They broke out the first couple bags of crisps and loaded up the disc of the first The Lord of the Rings movie. The hours were a blur, and they managed to make it to the 7th hour before sleep finally took over. They were woken up by a hectic Mrs. Smith, who no doubt was up late trying to finish a couple more chapters of her novel (which, most often than not, also ended up going back to her world-building notes and adding more to it than actually writing). Mr. Smith balanced her panicked state by being on time and patient, having loaded Merlin and Jackie's school things into the car first thing before waking the kids up and getting them ready.
Jackie was subject to a double hygiene check ("You know better than to go to sleep without brushing first, especially when you've had treats before bed!"), as was Hayley, who was a little more cooperative than he. Finally they were on their way, seated in the back of the car and quiet as the realization of their parting became clear to them. Mr. Smith stopped by a McDonalds, buying them breakfast before they headed to King's Cross.
Mrs. Smith rattled on a list of things Mr. Smith ought to be sure he packed, which he answered with iron-willed patience and confidence. Jackie sometimes wondered if this was just a practice of habit from work, but his father never needed to head into a courtroom since his lawyering was of the negotiating kind, and not the kind most movies and books liked to portray.
When his mother mentioned his wand, Jackie answered immediately with a 'yes', as he was sure to strap it to his belt with the neat harness he and Hayley made in the weeks following his acquiring it. But then his heart leapt, digging around his pockets in a panic as he tried to find it.
"Jackie," said his motherly sternly. "Did you forget something?"
"Erm, n-no. No, I don't think."
"Then what are you rummaging around for? You're making Merlin nervous."
Merlin was awake now, and indeed was fairly annoyed at Jackie's constant rummaging. He screeched at Jackie, his beak a little red from the mice he'd eaten. "Oh, just making sure Merlin's had a little extra mice for the trip."
"I threw in an extra mouse as I loaded him and your things into the car, Jackie," said Mr. Smith. "He's nice and fed, otherwise he would have been cranky from the moment he woke up."
Hayley nudged Jackie, curious about his nerves. He shrugged, not wanting to reveal his blunder so soon. He half wanted to tell his dad to turn around so he could get it back, but they were already cutting it close, and the traffic was particularly bad that day.
"You okay?" Hayley ask, voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm alright, yeah," Jackie said, more to assure himself than Hayley. "Just making sure I have…" He felt a the hard surface of the velvet box in his jacket pocket. He sighed with relief. "Yeah, I've got everything."
Hayley stared at him a long time, which made him nervous again. Suddenly she laughed. "Jackie, you're being silly. There's no need to get nervous. You're going to an amazing new school, and we already agreed that Merlin should be back at your house by Monday night, so that I can copy and send you my school schedule, along with a tentative plan for when Merlin can be sent back and forth between us during the year."
"Right, yeah. I'm being silly."
"What are you worried about anyway?"
"What if no one likes me? What if I won't make any new friends?"
"Jackie!" cried his mother.
"No, it's alright, Mrs. Smith. I can see where Jackie's coming from. After all, the one time you did try to make a new friend he ended up ditching you like the rest of the lot when the magic started happening, the stupid Wolf—but I stuck by you, and that's what matters." She grabbed Jackie's hand and held it tightly. She looked at him, her gaze hard to escape. Jackie gulped, feeling like he was in trouble. "But I won't be there. You're going to have to learn to take care of yourself. Besides, no need to be selfish. I'm beginning to wonder if you cared about me at all."
"What? What's all this nonsense?" It was Jackie's turn to be on the defensive.
"I'm off to a new school myself, one for the sciences and whatever nonsense adults think is 'forward thinking and beneficial for one's future'. Blah. It's an all girls' school so it's going to be pretty dull, and it'll be hard finding new friends because, honestly, no one can compete with you." Hayley looked off to the side, frowning. "Of the three, though, I think it was the best one. I think."
Jackie felt himself blush, but he did his best to not let it show. He puffed up his chest and brushed off Hayley's sentiment as coolly as possible, "Well that's silly. At least you won't get in half the trouble I put you in because I accidentally set all of the basketballs loose that one gym class. And you get to hang out with girls and stuff."
"What's that mean? Jackie, girl talk means nothing if it doesn't include debating the finer points of hard sci-fi science and hard fantasy magics, or whether the new Doctor is going to be half as great as Eccleston was!"
"Gosh, you're such a nerd." Jackie looked looked out the window, passed the top of Merlin's cage, and then realized with horror what this meant for him. "Oh my God. No one's probably going to know anything about Doctor Who!"
"And now it sinks in!"
Everyone had a laugh at Jackie's expense, but he laughed too. The mood in the car stayed jovial, until they got to King's Cross . When they arrived, Carter was waiting for them too, dressed in his uniform, as he couldn't have gotten work off then. He looked mildly irritated, but probably because he tended to stay up late despite having an early start to the morning. He waved at them as he saw them pull up, a trolley ready to go.
"Hayley wasn't kidding, you really did get an owl," said Carter.
"A juvenile eagle owl," emphasized Jackie. "Which is going to sit on my trunk and no one is going to think much about it at all as we walk through the throngs of people looking for a hidden platform between nine and ten."
"What was the platform number again?" asked Carter, genuinely curious.
"Nine and three quarters," recited Mrs. and Mr. Smith, Hayley, and Jackie all at once, their tones dull and tired. Two days before a Ministry official from its board of education had dropped by. It was so obvious he was a wizard unused to Muggle society as he kept looking about their house with curious eyes and emphasized, ad infinitum, that "you will be looking for platform nine and three quarters, hidden between the barriers for nine and ten." He seemed to have formed the impression that the looks of befuddlement crossing Jackie's and his parents' faces was of incomprehension, not that there was even such a thing as a Platform 9 3/4.
Jackie was sure that he and his parents did not convince the Ministry wizard that they understood, yet surprisingly no one was waiting at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Unless they were through the barrier, wherever it was. It was clearly hidden and it left Jackie befuddled.
Before more could be said and done, Mr. Smith's phone suddenly started ringing. Mrs. Smith looked at him with surprise. "They know I'm seeing Jackie off, so I can't understand why they would suddenly decide to call me now!" He excused himself and jogged towards a quieter area, well out of sight. Jackie's heart sank somewhat: his father's phone calls tended to take quite a while, and if he ended up missing Jackie's train…
Jackie looked up and saw they only had about an hour left for goodbyes.
"Hey," Hayley called his attention. "Don't go looking like that."
"She's right, sweetums," said Mrs. Smith. Jackie cringed at her using 'sweetums', which meant she was in total 'Mummy Dearest' mode.
"Don't get all emotional," he said, just as she started hugging him and kissing his head. Hayley started laughing, and even Carter couldn't resist a snicker. Mrs. Smith ignored him and started being purposefully embarrassing. Hayley was laughing so hard she tripped backwards and then—
"Hayley!" Jackie pushed his cart through the barrier, following her through. He skidded to a halt, nearly running Hayley over; she rolled over, now flat on her face. The sudden stop of Jackie's trolley sent some of his things rolling, Merlin's feathers ruffling at his cage almost toppling over. "Are you okay?"
"What, are you glued to that thing?" she said, nearly muffled by the floor. She pushed herself up, blowing stray curls out of her face, her ponytail a good mess. "I'm touched you're concerned for my well being, but Jackie, running me over with a trolley is not going to make me feel better."
"Gosh, sorry!" said Jackie, faking annoyance. He laughed and helped her to her feet, hugging her.
"Ah-eee!" Jackie's mother came running through the barrier, sliding across the floor as she came to realize that she had entered a hidden platform. Jackie only had a moment of bewilderment before awe and amazement completely swallowed him whole. Hanging over their heads was as sign saying Platform 9 3/4, and a scarlet red train laid out before them. White smoke billowed out from the whistle and all about the platform were witches and wizards of all types and ages, milling about, talking and saying their hellos and goodbyes. Parents and older siblings helped the young witches and wizards bring their school trunks into the train, some of them with their pets out of their cages and on their shoulders and heads. A group squealed at the contents inside one girl's box (judging by the pale looks of her friends, she was carrying something that didn't sit well with most people). He pondered on why he didn't consider a pet spider when a yelp from the barrier called his attention.
Carter had rejoined them by then, but he was holding onto his backside, a pained scowl on his face. Hayley looked livid at a girl who looked as though what had just transpired was their fault and not hers, and so not worth her attention. Behind her was a man close to Carter's age in a black tailored suit, glasses hiding his eyes. It couldn't hide his complete shock, but clearly the fact that Carter was in a police uniform was something that made him visibly uncomfortable.
"Why you would stand about in front of the barrier like slack-jawed idiots is beyond me. So unrefined and a mark of low status—unacceptable!" said the girl. Jackie immediately didn't take to her, as she had the kind of arrogance that he hated, and the kind of background Hayley envied, which made her all the more unlikeable to Jackie. She held her chin up in a way that she would end up looking at them down her nose, like they were beneath her. Her eyes scrutinized whatever she looked at, the opulent hazel sadly wasted on a character like her. Jackie kept to himself, feeling that familiar boiling when his magic responded to his anger (and in the weeks since he had learned about his magic, he had come to recognize and familiarize himself with the sensations that would wash over him whenever his magic started acting out). Merlin hooted at him, his feathers ruffled up even more. Jackie put his finger through the cage, letting Merlin nibble on it to stay calm. Jackie watched the girl, aware of Hayley. Carter had his hand on her shoulder, his grip firm.
"Young Miss," said whom Jackie assumed to be her butler and bodyguard. He looked apprehensively at Carter again, who's other hand had gone from massaging his sore rump to hovering over his sidearm. Others were now watching, the culturally detached witches and wizards made obvious by their taking interest in Carter, and the more aware and involved apprehensive at the scene and pulling their children and friends back.
"Yes, Rhys?" she said, not even looking at him, instead taking interest in her nails.
"Young Miss," Rhys said again, keeping his head turned toward Carter. "I think it wise not to dawdle with these folk. They are Muggle, like myself and your family, and he is an officer. It is wise that you—"
"Oh, but he is not even supposed to be here! Magical folk ought to have their own law enforcement. Hullo?" She looked around, calling, "Aren't there any proper guards around meant to keep these riffraff out?" She started to push her trolley onwards, but Hayley swung out her foot, hitting the trunk with a slight nudge, but the sway of her foot was wide enough that it looked like a deliberate kick (though it was—that Jackie would be foolish to deny). The bump made the girl's owl—a tiger owl—ruffle its feathers in fright. It hooted angrily at Hayley, who stuck her tongue out at it. The girl gasped in shock.
"Excuse me!" she cried. Jackie just shook his head: the girl made for an easy mark.
"Oh!" started Hayley, hand flat against her chest and eyes widening into comical proportions, and her voice dripping with sarcastic relief, "You-you do know how to say it! Well! For a moment I was worried that you didn't know how to be polite, because there's my guardian, massaging his backside, waiting for your apology."
"I beg your pardon?" responded the girl. "Do you realize who you're talking to? I am Valeria Swan!" Jackie's memory tugged at the name Swan. He was sure he heard his father mention the name a few times, so they must have been important—at least in business. Hayley, naturally, couldn't care less.
"Mm, no." She nearly made it believable that she did, truly and genuinely, try to match a name to the girl's face and failed. "No, hrm, sorry. I can't say I can. Except—no! I do know! You're the precious little princess who's about to get her face smashed because she doesn't know how to say 'sorry'!"
Valeria sniffed, vexed, "Why do I owe an apology? It should be you who owes a 'sorry'. Sorry that you got in the way when you clearly don't belong."
"What." Hayley's voice was so strong that it echoed. Anyone who wasn't paying attention was watching now. Hayley shook off Carter's hand, who tried to pull her back as she began approaching Valeria. But he missed and Hayley was free to stand freely before her. Or punch her in the face. Jackie stood by his trolley, catching Merlin's curious gaze. He hooted softly at Hayley, as if acting upon Jackie's concern. Jackie himself wasn't sure what to do. He knew Hayley could handle herself, but seeing Valeria stand there, so proud and so sure that she hadn't done anything wrong. And what she implied—Jackie hoped Valeria wouldn't go there.
"Well, I for one can't understand why the best wizard school in all of Britain can accept someone like you."
Jackie swore internally.
Valeria's eyes swept the platform. "I believe we've been misled, Rhys. Mother and Father wouldn't like this one bit if they knew." Jackie saw her eyes linger on particular groups, groups of people who were dark skinned or had distinct non-European features.
As though his magic had been honed to respond in such a way—which Jackie didn't doubt, recalling the tussled books when he'd gotten mad at his mother for some forgotten reason a few days back—it began to surge forth from his imaginary internal cauldron. The magic boiled and bubbled, threatening to spill over the top. He slammed the mental lid shut over it, focusing on his breathing, counting backward from a large number. He gripped the railing on his trolley as his hands were shaking with fury. Valeria kept talking, which made controlling his temper even harder.
"Although Brother has spoken of charity cases," she said, "so I guess someone of your background would get in on that alone." Valeria shrugged, clearly not wanting to bother giving it a second thought. She signalled Rhys to follow her, and for a moment it looked like it would be the end of it. But Hayley herself was proud, if not because she thought herself better, but because of her own personal honour. She wrenched the trolley away from Valeria, pushing it hard. It nearly slammed into another student's trolley when a nearby witch in a pantsuit pulled out her wand and stopped it, the pitched trunk and owl cage caught in midair.
"Don't you dare touch me!" cried Valeria. Rhys got between Valeria and Hayley, who backed off. "I won't have your muddy hands soil my designer blouse!"
"You little—" roared Carter, marching forward.
"Carter!" Mrs. Smith cried out, pulling Carter back. He had his senses still, as he let Mrs. Smith hold him back, but Hayley had just about lost it. However, Hayley didn't budge a muscle.
Jackie wanted to do it. Jackie didn't want Hayley to get in trouble, nor did he want Carter to disgrace his uniform, which was something Carter would never forgive himself over if he did. He wanted to curse Valeria, to make her hang from her feet, or to make her silly blouse catch fire, or to push her back magically, causing her her to smash into the barrier—maybe even out of it. But he didn't, because he noticed the witch in the pantsuit staring at him. She had brown eyes and a very bushy bun of mousy hair, stray locks along the sides of her face. She shook her head, her wand still in her hand, Valeria's things back in place on the trolley.
The rules, Jackie's conscience reminded him. He would get kicked out—and then have a good reason for being sent to reform school. He looked to his mother and Carter, who had started yelling at Rhys to reign in Valeria as she was his responsibility. Rhys looked uncomfortable, probably because a uniformed cop was yelling at him, but ignored him anyway. Mrs. Smith, who never liked butting into the middle of a conflict if she could help it and was always mediating, was absolutely furious. His father, unfortunately, was still not back from his call yet.
But she doesn't know, he argued with himself, as if to justify his need to break rules—rules which the Ministry wizard had relayed to Jackie along with instructions to locate the platform, and that Jackie had repeated to himself as often as the Ministry wizard had asked them what platform they were to reach before 11:00 AM, on the 1st of September. After all, being magic and going to a secret magic school was nothing compared to Hayley's own scholarly merit, and her welcome place at a well known secondary school for science and the arts was proof of that. Jackie meant it when he said Hayley was a genius.
Jackie didn't want to test the witch, to see where she would go. But he needed to help Hayley. She had gone quiet, shaking, and well on the verge of tears as he saw her swallow several times and her wide-open eyes refused to blink.
Valeria took this as a cue to continue, probably under the assumption that she was going to teach Hayley about her proper place. And discussing Hayley's origins was a taboo subject Jackie learned the hard way, way back when they were still new friends and hardly knew a thing about each other. He was genuinely curious, and eager to get to know someone he didn't think he was weird or a disaster waiting to happen, but as he got to know her he came to understand why she had hit him when he dared to ask. Would she dare hit Valeria? She already would have from the moment Valeria so much as implied it. But… Jackie's heart sank upon the realization. Hayley was restraining herself for his sake. What am I doing?
"What is it like? Being a charity case?" asked Valeria, treading on very dangerous waters. Jackie fought with his reason, several times tempted to just let go of the lid and let his magic run loose. He was as wary of the consequences as much as Hayley was of throwing a punch at a Muggleborn witch who obviously had the money to back up her behaviour. But Hayley… Hayley needed him. On this day, the day that would mark their being separated because of their going to different schools, Jackie didn't want to just stand there and do nothing! All those years defending him, standing up for him, and taking the blame when she didn't have to. She stuck with him, even after Jackie was abandoned by someone he thought was his friend. He had to do something for her…
As though he was hit with a blessing an idea blossomed in Jackie's mind. He saw the threads, how they all tied together, and he couldn't help but laugh. And then he started laughing harder, clutching his gut as his fit completely seized him, giving him no other sense other than the fact that it was all just so silly.
"What's with you?" said Valeria, looking at Jackie with disgust. For a moment Jackie wondered if she'd noticed that he was mixed and if that would bother her, too. He wasn't as obvious as Hayley, maybe because of his lighter skin and blue eyes, but his mother wasn't European like his father. She was Southeast Asia and fair skinned, with a big family either living in North America or still in the Philippines.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, wiping away a tear. He straightened up and flashed his most charismatic grin. Hayley blinked, and then realized that he was up to something. She said nothing but stepped back as Jackie took her spot standing before Valeria. He gave her the same scrutinizing gaze she had cast over everyone, and shook his head.
"Now, I was taught not to say anything if I've nothing nice to say," he said. "But as a fellow Muggleborn," (—this he said as loudly as he could—), "I thought I'd warn you—nicely—that you're wasting your breath."
"I beg your pardon?" she said. Valeria barely showed it, but the twitch of the corner of her left eyebrow was tell-tale, and that was all it took to convince Jackie that he had her in his hooks.
"You're—ah! Hayley, wait, she's one of those Swans! You know, from that Fortune Four-hundred company that sells, erm… I can't remember, but you know!" Of course, Jackie knew, and he was fairly certain Hayley would know too.
Only Hayley blinked, still stunned. Then Mrs. Smith nudged her and smiled, nodding along.
"They're the ones who made your first mobile!" she reminded her. Jackie was thankful for the assist. It was something Hayley never forgot, as receiving her first mobile was something of a huge achievement for her. She looked surprised, and then outraged.
"Eugh," she groaned. "That old thing? That thing barely worked when it should have and it nearly got Carter killed 'cos it bum-called his mobile while he was in the middle of a stakeout!" Carter nearly corrected her, but Mrs. Smith smacked his rump; he quickly caught on and switched to nodding furiously.
"Yeah! I spent a fortune on that thing and it went and made things even more troublesome for Hayley and I!" he said, glaring at Valeria and Rhys. Rhys sank from his gaze, though he stayed his ground as Valeria huffed angrily.
"It's not my fault the researchers the company hired weren't up to scratch!" cried Valeria shrilly. She still sounded proud, but her cheeks were slightly pink and she refused to meet Jackie's gaze now. Jackie swiftly swept his sights around the platform. They had pulled in quite the audience, but now it wasn't because of their quarrel. It was over the talk of mobile phones. A good half or more of the people watching had no idea what they were talking about.
"Hayley, show her your new mobile," said Jackie. Hayley did just that. Her energy was still largely depleted, which was understandable because of how personally she took Valeria's remark. But she was bouncing back, and with a flourish she pulled out her mobile, flipped it open, and with trained expertise used it to take a picture of the flustered Valeria. The camera audibly clicked and flashed; Hayley frowned.
"It's a little fuzzy. Must be the magic," she said, frowning. Their audience started buzzing out of curiosity.
"That's because technology isn't allowed at Hogwarts," said Valeria matter-of-factly. Her pride had returned, and she scoffed, adding, "you should have known that when you got your letter."
"Hayley's a Muggle," said Jackie, as though it were obvious. It was, because the wizard and witches around them didn't look so surprised—and it didn't take a genius to realize that Hayley didn't have a trolley. Valeria's shock was almost outshone by Hayley's indignation: Valeria didn't just not notice, she had made an assumption based on her first, ill-formed judgement.
"Then why is she here?" asked Valeria, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"She's here to see me off?"
"But then why—"
"Because Carter's her family and you didn't apologise."
"But—"
"Why didn't you just apologise?"
Valeria sputtered an answer, but she either couldn't find one or realized just how silly she was being by insisting that she was wronged.
"Nah, it's okay," said Jackie, waving her off. Hayley nudged him, too angry for words. "What? Mum always said to forgive, even if you can't forget. And Dad says to know when a case is lost. It's bad form to lord it over the losers, so just back off when you win."
Valeria looked equally outraged. Jackie noticed the unexpected similarity between the two proud and defiant girls. He wasn't about to mention it—he valued his life too much. He shot Hayley a look, expecting her to take a hint.
"Oh alright," she finally said. She threw Valeria one last look of disdain before taking Jackie by the hand and pushing his trolley towards the train. Jackie caught sight of the witch, who nodded at him with approval. Right behind him Mr. Smith said, "You handled that well, Jackie."
Jackie yelped. Hayley had a laugh at his expense, which he normally would have been very annoyed about, but he let her get away with it this time. Mr. Smith jostled his head about playfully while Carter and Mrs. Smith caught up to them.
"The nerve of that girl!" cried Mrs. Smith. "You'd think her guardian would have done something."
"He was too scared of me, which makes me wonder what exactly he's done to get on the wrong side of the law," pondered Carter. "If a man gets too scared to even do the right thing around a cop, you start getting suspicious."
"Maybe it was 'cos he got beat up by a bunch of cops," suggested Hayley. Carter dropped his hat on her head, which dropped over her eyes. "Oi!"
"That's just as serious as him being a part of a gang or buying drugs or whatever else," he said dismissively. "Though if he got saddled with babysitting a spoiled kid like her then he might be trying to turn his life around."
"Not much of a reward," mumbled Hayley. "More like a punishment." She held onto Merlin while Mr. Smith and Carter hoisted his trunk onto the train.
"Hayley!" warned Mrs. Smith, though she was smiling.
Jackie was about to follow his father and Carter into the train to help pick out a compartment when Mrs. Smith pulled Jackie into the tightest of hugs she had ever given him. He had to pat her on the back several times to let her know he couldn't breathe (or speak). Hayley was laughing so hard she nearly fell down, cage and all. It took Merlin's panicked hopping about to get Mrs. Smith's attention. When Carter and Mr. Smith emerged from the train, they had the goofiest smiles on their faces.
"Mother. Please," said Jackie, trying to act cool. He wondered if his face was as red as it was hot.
"One last kiss, promise!" she said, giving him a big wet smooch on the cheek. Her cheeks were wet with her own tears.
"Oh, Mum! I'll write you every night!" he said. Then he wondered if Merlin could actually fly that fast in that many nights. "At least by Monday!" She laughed.
"Oh, I know! I'm just being silly! I know you'll be a good boy and that you'll have lots of fun." She hugged him again.
"Fifteen minutes before the train leaves," said Mr. Smith. "Sorry my call took so long, Jackie. Not much time for a good bye." He hugged Jackie, rubbing the back of his head as he added, "You be careful with the fights you pick. You can't win all of them, remember."
"Right, Dad," said Jackie, "and to pick them well because not all of them will be fighting with words."
"And your teachers and classmates will know about your magic," added Carter. "So no more silly excuses like 'I sneezed' or 'I thought I saw a giant hairy tarantula'."
"Oi, that last one wasn't silly," said Hayley, affronted. "I think it was one of Jackie's best lies."
"Only he doesn't fear spiders so much as love them to the point of creating a house spider colony—remember, Richard?" Mrs. Smith said, looking glum. Mr. Smith patted her empathically.
"Yes, Kris, I remember."
"O-kay," said Jackie loudly, recognizing that tone and glint in his parents' eyes when they reached embarrassing levels of sentimental and lovey-dovey. He gave them a supportive pat on their arms, grabbed Hayley's shoulder (as she was still holding onto Merlin's cage), and went into the train. Carter cried out, reminding them to mind the clock.
Jackie's compartment was on the right side of the train, facing the platform. He took Merlin from her and set him nearby the small table by the window. He made sure his trunk was secure in its upper compartment; he saw that other trunks were set up on the other side, though their owners weren't present. Jackie looked out the window, wondering if his parents and Carter were watching. Instead the witch from earlier was speaking to them. His memory tugged at him, and he remembered suddenly who she was.
"Hermione Granger!" he said loudly. Loud enough that they had heard him outside. They turned to look at him, puzzled. Jackie waved sheepishly, one had on his mouth. Miss Granger gave him an odd smile as she waved back; then she resumed speaking to his parents. And Carter, in particular.
"I thought Ron was Hermione's boyfriend? Fiancé?" pondered Hayley.
"Boyfriend," corrected Jackie. "She doesn't have a ring on her finger."
"Assuming wizards give witches engagement rings," said Hayley. Jackie pursed his lips.
"It shouldn't be that different." Then he remembered Ron's reaction to Doctor Who, "Well, Harry wasn't wearing his wedding ring, but probably because he's got a dangerous job." Remembering Harry's concern over his private life being leaked to the public, on top of his staggering fame, made it seem very plausible. Though removing the ring for safety seemed redundant now that people knew he not only had a wife but a son as well.
"Might explain why Ron's mum on the subject," Hayley took a seat underneath the trunks belonging to the compartment's other occupants. She crossed her legs and swung them back-and-forth, staring off into the corner. It was a habit of hers that indicated she was deep in thought, sifting through her ideas as she formed them. "Remember?" she said, looking at Jackie, "Ron got all bothered when Harry tried to bring her up? I think they've got relationship problems."
"Well, it's not our business, is it? Though, I do wonder why she's talking to my parents…" With a gasp he wondered if she might tell on him. He darted out of the train, skidding to a halt before her, holding her startled gaze as he caught his breath.
"Oh!" she said, surprised. "Hello!"
"Yes." He suddenly found it very hard to say something. She was very pretty up close and in person, and somehow knowing who she was made it even harder for Jackie to get a word or two in. "Erm."
"Oh, boys will be boys," called in Hayley from the train. "Manners, Mr. Smith!"
"Right!" Jackie cleared his throat; his hand quickly brushed over his hair, hoping it looked neat, "My name is Jackie Smith! You're Hermione Granger, yeah? Harry and Ron's friend? I read about you in Modern Magical History!"
"That's not one of your required texts, is it?" asked Miss Granger.
"Er, no. I… I wanted to read it because—because, well, I was curious why Harry seemed so famous." He was blushing very much, realizing how silly it was that he would do something so invasive. He remembered his earlier statement to Hayley and felt like a hypocrite.
"I see. Then you must know a bit about me as well?"
"Er—yes. Erm, your a Muggleborn, just like me." Jackie looked to the ground, really embarrassed now. "And you're really clever, like Hayley."
Miss Granger seemed to take this remark to heart. She looked up at Hayley, waved, and checked her watch.
"You've got almost five minutes left," she said, "so you'd better get back to your friend and say your goodbyes."
"Right."
"And good job with Valeria Swan," she said. "Not all problems can be solved with magic."
Jackie was afraid to look at his parents, to see them angry when he was about to leave for school. Instead they were beaming, their grins so wide the corners of their mouths nearly touched the ends of their faces.
"We're proud to be his parents," said Mr. Smith.
"And will continue to be proud," added Mrs. Smith. "Do well in school, sweetums!"
Jackie gasped, "MUM!" He was sputtering by the time Hayley managed to drag him back into the train. He stopped when he saw how shy she was behaving.
"Guess there's no helping it, then," she said, looking down at the ground. Jackie realized that she was deliberately trying to avoid his gaze.
"Are you—are you getting sentimental on me?" laughed Jackie, bewildered. Miss Hayley Tough-Like-a-Steel-Wall Sparrow? Sentimental? Hayley glared at him and shoved him into the opposite seat. When Jackie sat up he saw that a fob watch was sliding down his front. He grabbed it before it hit the floor, the weight of it setting firmly into his palm. It was a vintage watch, but it had a cover piece with chipped blue paint trapped in the grooves. The grooves resembled the paint patterns on his wand, and the silvery blue tint the locket.
The locket! In all the commotion he nearly forgot about the locket. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the box. He looked up at Hayley, suddenly feeling very timid.
"Here," he said quietly. She took it gently, carefully feeling the velvet box before opening it. Hayley let out a small, very soft gasp.
"Jackie," she murmured. "It's beautiful."
The locket was silvery blue, just like the fob watch, and shaped very much like the matching locket Jackie wore around his neck. He had kept it hidden from Hayley all day, making sure he kept it trapped under his shirt. He pulled it out now, showing her that they had a set.
"Mine's got an owl," he said, feeling the embossed front piece with his thumb. "Yours is—well. It's a sparrow." He felt dumb.
"It's a lovely sparrow," she said meekly. She put on the locket.
"Right. I, er, had help picking that out. We'd almost run low on funds after my supplies, and especially after Merlin. But Mum and Dad were able to negotiate for a little extra, knowing that I'd wanted to give you something. I…" He swallowed hard, cursing his throat going dry so suddenly. "I never got to give you a proper congratulations gift for getting into Maple Wardell Academy for the Arts and Sciences. Especially since you, y'know, beat out so many others to get in."
"I dunno, it felt like a hand out if you ask me," mumbled Hayley. She caught what she said and looked furious with herself, likely because it sounded like she was being braggy, "Gosh, you know that's not what I meant."
"Yeah, I know."
"It's just, it was the one of the three independent schools that didn't really seem to care how well I do. Or rather, it did, but not in the way the other two stressed that I couldn't disappoint them, you know? No room for mistakes there. At least Maple High's gonna let me have some breathing room."
"Why did you even bother shooting for an independent school if it was too much for you, anyway?" That question had been burning within Jackie since they finished primary school. Hayley shrugged.
"If I went to a regular school it would be worse, don'tcha think? Like, 'here's the special student who'll make our reputation soar!' Or something like that. I dunno. Imagine your name echoing through the school corridors even well after you'd left, and everything you did there following it, good or bad."
"I wonder if the same could be said for Harry, Ron, and Hermione," said Jackie off-handedly. There was no doubting it. The story behind the three and their connection to the Second Wizarding War was astounding, and Hermione even went back to finish her seventh year. No student since then had matched her academic prowess, and as a fellow Muggleborn Jackie felt the pressure of keeping up with that legacy.
"See! That's exactly what I'm worried about!" Hayley sighed, plopping against the back rest. Merlin clicked his beak at her, concerned. She was throwing a half-hearted kiss Merlin's way when Jackie quietly revealed the locket's true nature. Hayley's jaw dropped.
"You sneaky. Little. Wizard!" She laughed out, pulling him into a hug.
"I made sure the decoration stayed put," said Jackie, "'cos so much of the stuff in that store had moving ornaments and details. That would draw attention, right? And try not to let Carter in on it. He's a cop for a reason."
"No need to remind me," said Hayley, practically unable to hide her glee. "But we'll need a code, especially one that can fit on small slips of paper."
"Right." He caught Carter waving at Jackie, pointing at his watch. "Oh! The time!" Right then the final boarding whistle sounded. Jackie pulled Hayley into a hug.
"Merlin at my house by Monday," he reminded her.
"I'll have a code by then," she said. "Thanks again."
"And thanks for the fob," he said. "It's great."
They parted, but not before she gave Jackie a peck on the cheek (wow!), making him blush.
"Erm, okay?" said Jackie. Hayley sneered at him.
"Yeah. You'll be okay." Carter started calling out for Hayley frantically; the platform was growing steadily empty as black-robed students and normally dressed ones started getting on the train. Only a couple of stragglers were left now, and the train's engine was beginning its recognizable chug forward. Hayley nearly ran into the two students Jackie was to share his compartment with, having turned around to say one more thing, "Just, open the watch when you feel like you need a bit of encouragement."
"Right!"
Hayley waved goodbye, quickly apologising to the two waiting outside the compartment door. She jumped out of the train as it slowly lurched forward, waving at Jackie as the train started to edge out of the platform. He waved at her and his family enthusiastically, and then realizing Hayley forgot Carter's police hat. He was about to reach for it, only to find that a boy his age had taken delight in observing the strange hat, and turned back to catch for a split second—before his car fully exited the station—that Hayley's face had considerably blanked. The moment was too quick, so he wasn't sure if what he saw was even real. Still, his heart hammered rapidly, dread welling up in his mind. Nothing's happened, right?
A short minute later his locket clicked, the sound nearly drowned out by the mixing of his quickly beating heart and the excited chattering of the boy about the police hat. He didn't pay attention, not noticing that a first year girl also sat with them, and that she was staring at Jackie. He opened the locket and pulled out the note that appeared inside.
In red bolded letters Hayley had hastily scrawled a terrifying message, one that Jackie never thought even possible:
RED ALERT. WOLF ST. JOHN'S ON TRAIN.
Jackie felt the air leave his lungs; he wasn't seeing things. He felt sick, his heart racing so quickly he thought he might pass out. Merlin hooted worryingly, fanning out his wings and ruffling his feathers as Jackie staggered back into his seat. The boy and the girl notice and started asking him if he was alright.
"I'm fine," he assured them. Now was as good a time as any, though Hayley surely didn't intend for Jackie to open the fob watch so soon. There was a paper note stuck to the glass protecting the clock-face that read, "To my crazy wizard Time Lord. Never leave home without your trusty fob watch! xoxo —Hayley." The inside of the cover piece had a message carefully engraved inside, the handwriting small, careful, and neat—and Hayley's. A short, simple message was written, giving Jackie the boost that he needed:
"Run. Run and always remember."
Hayley was never one for sentimental and comforting words in person, and though her warm gesture was unusual for her, Jackie took to heart her unpronounced efforts. He needed her as much as she needed him, but now that they were apart they needed to remember the best of each other and do right by them. The weight that he felt from hearing Harry's concern dropped. He could do it. He could manage on his own. He proved it when he stood up to Valeria, and he could do it when he confronted him. It was inevitable—no avoiding it, so all he needed was the belief he could do it. Jackie quietly laughed to himself, confusing his compartment mates.
"Sorry," he said, looking up, "I just needed to catch my… breath." He recognized the girl, finally, as Chaudhri from Ollivanders. She was already wearing her school uniform. Jackie smiled sheepishly, "Er, hullo again."
"Hi," she said coldly. She was about to say something else, but the boy jumped in, his personality as vibrant as his golden-red hair.
"And hi! I'm Maximus! Maximus Triggs! So you're a Muggleborn?" he asked excitedly. He put on Carter's hat backwards, taking a seat next to Jackie.
"Er, yes. I take it you're from a magical family?" Jackie, much to his own surprise (probably because of his own mother's incessant coddling rubbing off on Jackie—or his father's scrupulous need to properly organise things out of place), turned the hat the right way around. Triggs looked even more pleased.
"Oh, yes. Purebloods, we call it, though not as pronounced as names like Weasley or Malfoy or any of the other names that made it into the Twenty-Eight—though I heard from my aunt that we're distantly related to the Weasleys. But that's not important! I think you're really interesting—do you know what House you're going to be in?"
Both Triggs and Chaudhri looked at Jackie expectantly, only he blanked. Harry and Ron never mentioned houses—or was that House as a pronoun? Then he remembered, fleetingly, the literature he'd read on Hogwarts in A History of Magic and the passages he skimmed through in Modern Magical History. Jackie gulped, realizing that he had bigger things to worry about than meeting with an old schoolmate who used to be his friend, or that one of his classmates was a werewolf. The Four Houses were a big deal, and he had no idea which one he'd belong in.
All except one, and it was the worst house out of all of them.
