While Jacob was drumming away in the Ravenclaw common room, Fred and George Weasley were having a discussion. Fred thought it would be brilliant to have Jacob switched to their class for Transfiguration and Charms. George thought that Jacob was a bit odd and would ruin their style. They finally decided to consult with the Marauders map.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," they said together.
"I have a question I would like to ask you," Fred said to the map.
Mr. Mooney would like to know what your question is.
"This morning, Professor McGonagall came over to us and told us we are no longer the biggest pranksters in the school," Fred explained.
Mr. Padfoot wants to know if Professor McGonagall wants you to do more pranks.
"That's what we asked her," Fred said. "She wants us to befriend a first year Ravenclaw whose pranks aren't appreciated in the Ravenclaw house."
Mr. Wormtail thinks it is very important to have friends, but if he's a slimy git, stay away from him.
Mr. Prongs thinks this calls for a prank war.
"The problem is," George explained, "Jacob has autism and doesn't really talk. He also doesn't understand much."
Mr. Mooney thinks that's a reason to be friends with him. Mr. Mooney is different from his friends, and they always include him.
"Okay," Fred said. "We'll try."
Fred and George went over to Professor McGonagall's office. They asked if Jacob could take Transfiguration and Charms with them since he is so advanced. Professor McGonagall checked Jacob's schedule and she said "Ok, Jacob has History of Magic and Defense Against Dark Arts when you have Transfiguration. He has History of Magic or Herbology when you have Charms. I'll have to confirm with Professor Dumbledore, but I think he will approve. He's the one who told me that Jacob needs friends."
The next day, Jacob was told his new schedule. During his first Transfiguration class with Fred and George, Jacob quickly finished his assignment and was ready to fool around. Fred and George finished shortly after him and started discussing the usefulness of the spell. They did their best to include Jacob in their discussion.
Jacob got used to his new schedule. He no longer had History of Magic. He only had Defense Against Dark Arts once a week and Herbology twice a week. He slowly learned to follow Fred and George's conversations and even joined in with his mirror occasionally. He spent his evenings drumming in his room, unaware that the other Ravenclaws put a silencing charm on the stairs so they won't hear him. Before he knew it, it was time to go home for Christmas break.
Jacob sat in the prefects' car on the Hogwarts Express. Penelope and Percy were both staying at Hogwarts for Christmas and Jacob didn't really know the other prefects. He sat down on his seat and wished it would be more comfortable. He started eyeing everyone's laps trying to decide whose lap to sit on.
"Don't even think about it," one of the prefects said.
"But these chairs aren't comfortable," Jacob complained.
"Tough," said the prefect.
"Is anyone here over seventeen?" asked Jacob.
"Why do you want to know?" asked the head boy.
"I need to know if any spells I do will be traced to me," Jacob said.
"You could do magic on the Hogwarts Express," a prefect said.
Jacob transfigured his chair into a comfortable armchair. At the request of the prefects, he transfigured their chairs too. He curled up in his chair and closed his eyes until the food trolley came. He quickly jumped to his feet, ready to grab all the chocolate frogs.
"Sit down, Jacob," the head boy said. "I'll buy you what you want."
"I want all the chocolate," Jacob said.
"Save some for other people," the trolley witch said.
The head boy bought five chocolate frogs for Jacob. After eating them, Jacob kept his eyes closed until he reached Kings Cross. He wasn't sleeping, but he knew if he kept his eyes closed, nobody would talk to him, and he wanted time to think.
Jacob ran to his parents as soon as he saw them. He sat quietly the whole way home. The first place he ran when he got inside was the cupboard where the family valuables were kept.
"Can you open this please?" Jacob asked.
"I thought you could open everything yourself," his mother teased.
"I'm not allowed to do magic in the house," Jacob explained.
"Why should I open it? Didn't you break everything already?" Jacob's father complained.
"I know how to fix it, but I can't over here," Jacob said. "If we bring everything to The Leaky Caldron, I can fix it there."
Jacob's mother opened the cupboard and put all the broken valuables into a suitcase. Jacob and his parents went to The Leaky Caldron with the suitcase.
"Do you need a room?" Tom asked when he saw the suitcase.
"No, my son just came home from Hogwarts," Mrs. Frank explained. "We just stopped for drinks."
After placing their orders, Mrs. Frank lifted one piece of silver out at a time while Jacob repaired each piece. All of a sudden, Jacob noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. With a flick of his wand, a man approaching the table was suddenly bound by ropes.
"I see you caught a thief," Tom said with a grin. "Unfortunately, if you press charges, you will need to explain why you have a suitcase full of silver in your possession. It's best not to explain that you are doing magic outside of school."
"Could you wait until after we are home to untie him?" Jacob asked.
"No problem," Tom said.
The next day, Jacob went with his parents to Granny's and Grandpa's annual holiday party. While Jacob detested his father's mother, he liked his mother's parents and was looking forward to enjoying the party. Jacob ran to the food and helped himself. As he was eating, it occurred to him that all his cousins travel in groups. The oldest group was Josie, Rebecca, and Hannah. As the three big girls, they were treated as pseudo adults and usually either joined the adult conversation or sat in a corner discussing school pranks. Hannah was a big prankster while Josie was constantly getting in trouble for things she insisted was not her fault. Rebecca enjoyed pranks, but didn't stand out as a big prankster. Jacob wondered what her cousins would think of Fred and George. After listening to their conversation for a while, he decided he wasn't interested in joining them. The next group was Debbie, Ellie, Tina, and Sharon. While they greeted Jacob cheerfully, they were too busy running through the house for Jacob to keep track of them. All four of them were very loud, and Jacob did not enjoy their presence. He turned his attention to a group of boy cousins. Jamie, Simon, Danny, Asher and Allen were sitting around a toy train set. While Asher and Allen were focusing on the train, Simon was talking about a magic show he went to. He described the various tricks that the magician did and insisted magic was really even though the others kept telling him that it isn't. Jacob suddenly felt an urge to join the conversation. He sat down next to his cousins. Danny, Asher and Allen glared at him, while Simon made room for him to sit. He pulled out his mirror.
"When I'm seventeen, I could do magic tricks for you," Jacob said.
"How does that device work?" Aunt Sara asked.
Everyone turned to Jacob.
"My school is very advanced in technology," Jacob lied. "My headmaster invented this device by himself. I'm able to send thoughts to this mirror and the mirror verbalizes the thoughts."
"What subjects do you learn?" Aunt Sara asked.
"I have chemistry twice a week. I drive my teacher crazy by trying to taste all the chemicals. I'm supposed to have gardening three times a week, but I drive my teacher crazy enough that I only take it twice a week. I'm supposed to have History every day, but my teacher doesn't like when I throw things at him, so I'm not allowed in that class anymore. There's also astronomy, but that's at night, and I take a sleeping medicine, so I miss astronomy. I have other subjects, but I don't know what they're called," Jacob concentrated on sounding as muggle as possible.
"You throw things at your teacher?" Hannah said with a grin. "I love driving teachers crazy. We should probably get together and trade ideas."
"You should probably get together with Fred and George. They're the two biggest pranksters in the school. They're fourth years, but when I'm not allowed in my class, I join them in theirs," Jacob said.
"Where do they live?" Hannah asked.
"St Ottery something," Jacob said, "But they stayed in school for Christmas."
"I think that's in Devon," Rebecca said. "If they come visit during the summer, let me know."
"How will you do magic tricks when you're seventeen?" Simon asked.
"My school teaches magic tricks to seventh years. Starting from third year, you get to pick subjects that interest you," Jacob said.
For the rest of the party, Jacob alternated between eating and trying to follow his cousins' conversations. At the end of the party, a few relatives commented to the Franks that Jacob really matured and that the school is really good for him. The Franks agreed.