Despite their conversation the previous night the Marauders had yet to come up with a plan to learn what had happened to Jane while she was at this 'Mariland Academy'. Which was exactly why James had dragged his sister to the Gryffindor table the next morning at breakfast. Admittedly the tables weren't exactly as segregated as some thought, they really weren't segregated at all. But it was still as surprise to some to see both the Potter siblings at the same table, sure they were close but they had their own friends.

A bigger surprise came, even to the other Marauders, when Jane easily snitched parts of James' breakfast, having finished hers earlier. When she snagged a grape off his plate he smacked her hand, "You devious felon!"

"Took you long enough to notice," Jane replied, popping the grape into her mouth and giving her brother a pointed look, "You honestly need to work on your observational skills."

"Or you could work on your pyromaniac tendencies."

His sister scoffed, "First of all, that was an experiment. Secondly, the word you're looking for is kleptomaniac."

Sadly their banter was cut short the moment James spotted Lily a few seats down, Jane locked away her disappointment as her brother left without another word. At this point she was used to it, there was always going to be someone just that much better than her.

A voice broke her out of her momentary self-pity-party, and she met Sirius' eyes after he spoke, "You know he cares about you, right?"

A small sarcastic laugh escaped her lips, and she raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "He's my brother, Sirius. I know that he cares about Lily first, his friends next…" She shrugged a shoulder and grabbed another grape off her brother's now abandoned plate, "I know I'm not very high on his list of people to pay attention to unless he needs something."

Her brother's best mate opened his mouth to say something else, but was quickly interrupted by the appearance of two girls. One practically draping herself over him with a murmured 'hello' she began kissing his neck and Jane openly rolled her eyes. Her friend sat down beside the pair picking at small amounts of food and watching Jane with something akin to superiority.

"Name's Pepper," the friend introduced herself before gesturing to the girl now in Sirius' lap, "That's Catty."

Imagine that her name matches her personality, Jane thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes before she simply nodded, "Jane."

Pepper nodded in return, a sly smirk sliding onto her features as she pointed between Sirius and the female Potter, "So what's the story here?"

Jane gave her an inquisitive look, remaining relatively impassive, "And that's your business because?"

"Because I don't want my best friend getting hurt by some side fling," Pepper stated maintaining her smirk. "Not that I think you could do much damage."

Something ticked inside of Jane, like a switch, she leaned forward as if to tell Pepper a secret but didn't lower her voice in the least, "Poppy –Pepper, whoever you are, the fact that you think the boy is sleeping around on your friend clearly states she must be doing something wrong in the sack," Jane stood and leaned back, giving the girl an appraising look before smirking, "And if I was shagging the lad, he wouldn't need another fling on the side." Offering the girl another nod and a sweet smile Jane was leaving the hall with practiced grace and composure, ignoring the fact that she could feel, at least the trio she had just sat with, watching her as she left.

It wasn't until the doors had closed behind her and she had turned off into another hallway that she let herself growl and spin around, her hands flying to her necklace as she tugged at it. It was a habit she had adopted while away, a way of trying to deal with stress, it would be better if she had something –or someone—to hit.

"Not that I doubt a word you said," a voice started, causing Jane to spin on her heel and face Kai as he leaned against the wall, "Are you okay?"

"Absolutely fan-tas-tic," Jane snarked, moving to lean against the wall beside her friend.

"James really—"

"If you dare say 'cares about you' I will hex you into next week," she interrupted earning a scoff from the boy beside her.

"As I was saying," He began again, giving her a pointed look, "He really is quite a bloody wanker sometimes."

Now that got a laugh out of the girl, "You have no idea."

"Come on," Kai instructed, slinging his arm over his friend's shoulders, "I know exactly how to get you through this mood!"

For once Jane just grinned, leaning on her friend as they made their way through the familiar twists and turns, walking three times past the same spot, as soon as the door appeared Jane's grin grew thrice-fold.

"It has been much too long," Jane declared, setting her hand on the knob, "Ready?"

With a roll of his eyes Kai gestured for her to hurry on, and the stepped into the familiar room, the Room of Requirement. Jane was ecstatic to see that it hadn't changed much, at all really, while she had been gone. Kai had told her in his letters that it had been converted into a sort of 'hangout for the odd and wary', meaning the few people sprawled around the room weren't a surprise to the girl. One of the muggleborns had brought a tv set, but they had yet to figure out how to set it up. Moving to the middle of the room with an almost impossible smile on her face Jane spun around, the walls were decorated with a mix of muggle and wizard merchandise, there were trinkets and pieces of furniture scattered around, it was an absolute mess, she loved it.

With a twinkle in her eye she faced Kai once more, "We're back in business."

Sirius had to admit that he was the tiniest bit surprised when he entered the potions room to find Jane already seated on her stool at their table, a quill in her hand as her writing slowly took over a piece of paper in what looked like a list. But as soon as he ventured to look closer it was rolled up and slid into her bag. She raised her head momentarily to nod at him, before gathering the supplies that Professor Slughorn had listed on the board.

After a few minutes of silence Sirius cleared his throat, "Are we off speaking terms?"

With a sigh, Jane replied, not removing her attention from the task at hand, "Don't be delusional, I'm just tired."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "And tired means I don't even get a greeting, Love, I'm hurt."

Finally the girl beside him met his gaze, "Tired means I have work to do, and since you do as well, I suggest we get to it."

With a sigh of his own Sirius let it go for the moment, following Jane's lead in crushing and dicing ingredients needed for the potion.

But he was never one for silence, even if the rest of the room was filled with chatter, so he spoke again soon after they began mixing the potion (though Sirius wasn't paying enough attention figure out what the potion was), "You know, it was quite amusing."

"What was?" Jane questioned, keeping her eyes on her notes as she wrote down each step they had gone through.

"Your speech to Pepper, of course," Sirius replied, chuckling as he tapped the table. Without seeing her eyes he could tell Jane had rolled them.

"Remind me how insulting one's significant other is amusing?"

Sirius groaned, "She is definitely not my 'significant other' in any way shape or form." Jane scoffed in return but didn't respond otherwise. "Come on," he pouted, actually pouted, bumping her shoulder with his own, "I thought you weren't mad at me?"

Finally Jane set down the quill and looked up at the pouting boy next to her, "I'm not mad at you, Sirius, I'm angry with my brother. That's all, alright?"

He grinned again quickly, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Alright."

Immediately Sirius could see suspicion rise in Jane's features, "Just help me finish this, Black."

Between classes Kai and Jane were planning. Slytherin resourcefulness, ambition and cunning, paired with Ravenclaw intelligence, creativity and logic made an unstoppable force. At least, that was what Kai and Jane so often joked about, along with Xeno, Dante, and a few others they had formed a study group, it had brought them all closer to one another when they were younger. But Kai and Jane occasionally branched off, they were top of their classes when put together, and they had started something. They never actually knew what to call it, and they didn't outright admit it was a thing, but when a student was bullied they would often be directed to the pair, by the end of the day the bully always apologised.

Earlier a second year Hufflepuff that looked up to Kai had approached them timidly, now Jane leaned against a wall looking as if without a care in the world. Her eyes snapped up to meet the violet contacts of her friend while he followed a much short boy, without another moment Jane tapped the boy's shoulder as he began to pass.

"Elroy, is it?" Jane asked, a smile ever present. The boy didn't think for a moment something was off, all too happy to have the attention of the older female as he nodded, replying easily,

"Ay, Doll, something I can help you with?"

The Ravenclaw raised her eyebrows at the Gryffindor boy before meeting Kai's violet contacts with a scoff. Taking his turn, Kai grabbed the boy's shoulder and moved him so the Gryffindor had his back to the wall and both the Ravenclaw and the Slytherin stood in front of him. "Elroy, heard you were twisting around our dear Ellie," Kai's voice was not the sarcastic/happy tone so many people were used to.

"But that couldn't be true," Jane continued, her own voice sweet as sugar and a clear sign she could destroy this kid, "I mean, you're a half-blood Gryffindor with no siblings, lovely parents; Louie and Anne, was it? No economic problems, a sweet pet owl named Boo…"

Kai picked up where Jane trailed off, "It's probably the friends—right!" He snapped his fingers and turned to Jane as if he had just remembered something, "He doesn't have any."

Jane pouted, "Poor boy."

"Who the hell are you?" Elroy asked, courage in his bones, "And how do you know that 'bout me?"

"You reveal a lot when you pick on a girl," Jane informed him, smiling again, "And Hufflepuffs like Ellie, they remember every word used to insult them."

"But you're a big, strong, Gryffindor," Kai mocked, "So to prove your worthiness you didn't just insult the second year Hufflepuff."

"You really scared her," Jane noted, looking as innocent as ever, "She almost didn't talk to us. But she and my friend here know each other, really Slytherins and Hufflepuffs are so protective of each other, it's wonderful."

"Next time you're gonna hit another student, don't aim for the face, you idiot," Kai scoffed, glaring.

The boy swallowed and both partners in crime observed him for a moment before Kai smirked.

"But there's not gonna be a next time," Kai stated, raising an eyebrow and practically daring the kid to object, "And Ellie's gonna receive an apology and a cookie by the end of the day."

Kai had already walked away when Jane patted the boy on the shoulder, "Lovely to meet you, Elroy, have a nice afternoon, hm?"

Before the last class had even started Elroy had handed the young Hufflepuff a box of cookies and mumbled an apology.

None of the three spoke of it again.

Solstice Greetings! This is the Holiday I prefer to celebrate, and in celebration I give you: a double update! Happy Holidays!