COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or Jack and Elsa. The only things I own are the plot and original characters.
Elsa's last class before meeting up with her friends was Orchestra with Professor Flitwick. She and Elijah excelled at playing their instruments and they were happy to be back in the class.
"Alright, everyone. That was a lovely first day of the year. I'll see this group on Wednesday - don't forget to practice our new pieces."
"I'll see you in tomorrow in Charms, Professor," Elsa said as she stepped out of the class. She cast a spell on her violin case to ensure that it made its way to her dorm safely.
Elsa wanted to walk around a bit and find Lily before going to the gathering in the Eastern wing of the castle, so she told Elijah to go on without her. As she walked past Professor Binns' room, she spotted the red haired teen. She ducked inside to meet her friend.
"Hi, Lily."
Lily looked up from her bag, which she'd been packing her supplies into. "Hey there, Elsa." She gave a small smile.
"Do you want to walk together?"
Lily slung her book bag over her shoulder. "Of course. C'mon." The two walked out of class together, slowly taking each step. "Where's Eli?"
"I told him that he could go on without me. I planned on finding you and having a talk."
"A talk?"
"I just wanted to see how you were feeling about Rose and.."
"Scorpius?" Lily pondered how she could possibly answer. "It's not easy seeing them together, but they're happy. That's all I can ask for. Rose is like my sister, and she's liked him for as long as I have." Her voice, Elsa noted, was shaking with uncertainty.
"Lily," the fair-haired girl sighed, "I don't want you to think that them being happy makes it okay for you to sacrifice your own feelings."
Lily partially ignored her words. "Scorpius deserves what's best. He's smart, funny, kind. Handsome. Rose is somewhat like me, but better. Her freckles are gorgeous on her, her hair is perfectly wavy, and not to mention her deep eyes. She's also incredibly intelligent. Don't you think the two perfect people should be together? Look at you and Eli."
"Rose is not 'you but better', Lily. You're your own beautiful self. I adore your long, straight hair and your gold-flecked eyes. You're bold, clever, strong and so much more. Of course, Rose has her own wonderful qualities, but she isn't you, is she? Not to mention that Elijah and I aren't together because we're 'perfect' - we're together because we genuinely feel and see something special. I hate to say this, but Rose's chemistry with Scorpius only goes so far. You know, as much as I love her, I thought that she'd notice Reed after all these years."
They were at the entrance of the courtyard by then. Lily gave Elsa a hug. "Thank you, Elsa," she whispered. The older girl patted her back. "By Reed, did you mean Reed Trent?"
"Yeah," Elsa confirmed, puzzled, "why?"
"Albus told me that Reed liked Rose," Lily replied. "I didn't really believe him, because Reed didn't seem to be interested in anyone. I guess I was wrong. Rose and Reed would be fitting though, don't you think?"
Only time will tell, Elsa thought. There are too many triangles and squares to be able to say. She and the youngest Potter walked over to the congregation of girls sitting under a large tree, waving at the boys on the way. There were three groups of boys - the fourth years, the sixth years, and the seventh years. It seemed as if the seventh years were busy eavesdropping on the sixth years' conversation.
Elijah winked at Elsa and Jack smiled at her. She returned both gestures with a wave. Lily's brothers excitedly whirled their arms around in greeting, causing the two girls to giggle. The girls at the gathering included Liza, Molly, Emma, Roxanne, Rose, Dominique, Melody Campbell, Kara Carver (close friends of Lily's) and Rebecca Green, Wyatt Green's (a Gryffindor) twin sister. Rebecca normally spent time with Lucy's group of friends, but she was invited and decided to accept.
Elsa and Lily took a seat on the grass beside each other. "Hey guys," Rose smiled, leaning one hand on her book bag. "Are you ready for our yearly gathering?"
"Why else are we here?" Rebecca smiled. "Who's going first?"
"I'll go," Elsa volunteered. "Well, Eli and I started dating over the summer." The
gathering wasn't a place where she wanted to discuss her sister issues, so she'd opted for a lighthearted topic.
Someone squealed. "Did he ask you on the date?" Emma asked.
"Yeah. Our first date was at a Muggle mall." Elsa smiled fondly. "That's all I've got, really."
"Wait," Molly said, "what about your dorm?"
"I heard that the Head dorm is super nice," Lily added.
Elsa pictured her shared dorm. "It is. It's decorated in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw colors, and it's very roomy. The couches and beds are so comfy, and the furniture is so modern that it's breathtaking. Eli and I settled in just fine."
"I'm so jealous," Rose sighed. "I hope I'm chosen as Head Girl next year."
"Just work hard," Elsa said. "Dedication will get you there. I'm done - who wants to go next?"
"I'll go," Rose said excitedly. The girls in the group knew what she was going to talk about - it was crystal clear that she was going to talk about her boyfriend.
"Scorpius and I are a thing! We're not officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but we're getting there." Rose's eyes twinkled. "He got me the nicest gift over the summer, too." Elsa saw Lily wince. "He's very sweet."
Rebecca smiled a bit uncomfortably. Elsa knew that it must've been odd hearing the girl of one of her best friend's affections gushing about her own love interest. "I'm happy for you, Rose."
"Bloody hell, this is awkward," Liza whispered to Elsa.
"Tell me about it."
Rose was ecstatic about the news she'd just given but there was nothing left for her to say. "Lily, how about you go?"
Elsa watched closely as Lily seemed to carefully rift through her thoughts. It seemed impossible for her to talk about her crush on Scorpius. "Well," Lily began, "I found out that James has a crush on Rebecca."
Rebecca seemed surprised. "I've barely ever had a conversation with James before." Elsa, though, understood James' attraction to the girl. She was pretty, pleasant, smart, and quite good at Quidditch.
"I know," Lily said cheekily. "He's oddly shy around you. I thought that telling
you would urge you to talk to him."
"What about?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Quidditch, of course." Rebecca was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw team. "He also liked those brownies you offered him a while back."
Rebecca tapped her fingers on her knee thoughtfully. "I guess I could talk to Wyatt about James - without giving it away, of course."
Lily snorted. "Wyatt definitely knows. Dom?"
The Slytherin blushed when her cousin called her out, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. She had a shocking resemblance to her sister, Victoire, but was beautiful in a different way. "Wyatt and I have started to hang out more often, and I think I... like him."
Rebecca grinned with a shake of the head. "He definitely likes you back."
It was then Roxanne's turn to talk about her relationship with Evan, and then Molly and Melody's turn to deny that they had feelings for anyone. Kara smiled as she discussed her own stories. As Elsa listened and laughed, she felt at home. She didn't even mind when Lorcan Scamander and Pollux Creevey, the mischievous fourth years that they were, fell on her.
Meanwhile, Jack was glaring at his cousin. Scorpius Malfoy, you're really annoying. Scorpius was earnestly talking about his new relationship. "They shouldn't have let him go first," Jack muttered. He cast a glance in Reed's direction, who was wincing with every description of Rose spending time with Scorpius. Wyatt, Albus, Eli's younger brother Karson, Sean Longbottom and Timothy Isaacson had barely said a word.
The seventh years had decided to discreetly listen to what the sixth years had to say, but Jack had enough when Scorpius started to talk about his morning activities with Rose. "For real, Scorp, shut up," Jack groaned.
The sixth years turned around, taken by surprise. "Were you there the whole time?" Scorpius piped up.
Timothy shook his head in disbelief. "I knew they were there the whole time," the brunet said quietly, the way he normally did things. "Jack's not wrong, mate. I think you've had enough of the spotlight for now."
"Is the torture finally ending?" Albus cheered. Scorpius smiled sheepishly as he blushed and muttered an apology.
"Now let's have Wyatt tell us about him and Dominique!" Karson prodded his friend's side.
When Wyatt reddened, the group of seventh years decided to take their leave. They got right into their conversation as soon as they moved back to their original spot.
Kevin began the flow. "So, Eli, how're you and Elsa?"
Jack joined in, deciding that it wasn't the time to mope. "Yeah, Eli. Are you whipped?"
"Whipped?" Elijah laughed. "I don't know. She's pretty great."
"Totally whipped," James called.
Claude sighed, "Are we resorting to that Muggle term?"
"Hey, I'm half-Muggle!" Kevin cried indignantly.
"That's not what I meant," Claude snorted. "It's just so 2015. It's 2022, for Dumbledore's sake."
James sighed wistfully. "It's 2022, and they still haven't integrated most of the cool Muggle technology," James said.
Jack nodded. "Those television sets are so cool!"
"Not to mention that the cell phones that wizards use are ridiculously outdated," Elijah added.
Evan decided to point out that they were getting off topic. "We're as bad as Hugo's group, sometimes." The boys then took a moment to look at the fifteen year old boys rambunctiously carrying out their own chat. "I remember when we were those wags," Evan said nostalgically. Jack bemusedly noted that not only was "wags" a Shakespearean endearment term, but also that, at most, they were only three years older than the younger group of boys. "Claude, why don't you take a turn?"
"I don't have anything to say," Claude pointed out.
Evan looked at the tree next to Claude thoughtfully. "How's the Slytherin party planning coming along?"
Claude groaned. "Barely started. We have plenty of leftover decorations, but we need a DJ, food, someone to handle the snack bar, and I need help setting up the dumb party itself."
"There are a lot of Slytherins who would help, Claude," Kevin pointed out.
"Don't be silly. Being silly's my job."
Jack laughed; he laughed at all of Kevin's jokes, even if they were poorly made and weren't remotely funny. Claude rolled his eyes. "James, what about you and Rebecca?"
"Me and Rebecca?" James said. He rubbed the nape of his neck, scruffing up the black hair. "Not much to it. I don't really talk to her."
"Then why do you like her?" Kevin asked.
Elijah and Evan came to James' defense, being the only two in a relationship. Crushes, they said, were things - feelings - that came out of nowhere but were to be accepted no matter the circumstances. All in the spirit of love, they ended. Jack couldn't help but laugh at how cheesy it sounded.
"I think we don't need to talk about me and Roxanne," Evan said when called on. "Jack?"
"All I've got is gossip about others; nothing worthwhile." Elijah looked at him curiously, but Jack didn't want to risk his friend discovering that he had a crush on Elsa. That would have been awkward and unnecessary. Claude and James understood and gave Jack looks of reassurance. When the gathering came to a close without further questioning, Jack mentally sighed in relief. Crisis averted.
When the girls' conversation came to a close, Elsa had left with Emma and Liza. Roxanne went to wait for Evan in the library, and Molly went to accompany her. Lily was with her friends and Rose had convinced Scorpius to leave his group of friends.
The trio trailed behind Lily, Kara and Melody; their conversation was idle and mostly about school. However, after about ten minutes, Lily ran off in another direction. Her friends and Elsa looked around in confusion, but at once they noticed Scorpius and Rose behind a statue, spending some quality time together. Melody and Kara seemed as if they were going to turn the castle upside down looking for Lily, but Elsa rushed forward to stop them. She told the two friends not to wait; it would probably take a while for Elsa to soothe her.
"Kara, Melody, you two don't worry about it. I can find her."
Lily's two friends reluctantly agreed to leave it to the older girl. Elsa walked briskly toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom - one of the many refuges for students wishing to be alone. Luckily for her, Lily was there. Elsa's heart tensed when she saw her friend crying.
"Lily?" Elsa said quietly. To her left, she saw Myrtle hiding in a stall but floating high enough to watch.
Wiping away a tear and sniffling, Lily waved feebly. "Hi."
Elsa went to sit next to Lily and wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry that you saw that."
"Them snogging? You didn't plan it. I guess something inside me just broke."
Elsa felt oddly appalled. Lily and Rose were the closest out of the Weasley-Potter clan, but Rose didn't even know about her best friend's crush. The two of them were like sisters rather than cousins. Rose and Lily had a relationship like the one she had with her sister before their falling out. Thoughts swam in her head as she made the connections. Her relationship with Anna had been bothering her for the days that had passed since school had started; comparing it to Rose and Lily's was making her feel easier. The pairs were like... "Dysfunctional siblings," she whispered.
Lily turned to look at Elsa. "Dysfunctional siblings?" Rose and Lily weren't actually siblings, but they were almost there.
"You and Rose; me and Anna." Elsa was awakened by her realization. "Neither of the two are bad people, they're simply out of sync - their function. Misunderstandings and love lost. Isn't that what's happening?" She grinned. I can fix things with my sister. Not that I'm completely at fault, but there's hope, isn't there?
"Are you going to talk to Anna?"
"She won't accept a Floo, but curiosity would definitely chew at her if I sent a letter," Elsa said, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "She can't help it."
Lily leaned into the wall. "You really miss those days, huh?"
Elsa nodded. "She's treated me pretty badly ever since I prevented her from practically getting-"
The door burst open.
Since classes had ended, Jack was left to his own devices. James and Eli had gone to the Quidditch pitch, the latter having the persistence of the legendary Puddlemere United Keeper, Oliver Wood. Kevin and Claude had gone to the Muggle Studies room to use a computer. Evan had gone to spend time with Roxanne. The younger guys and the girls had split up who knew how long ago.
So Jack, in his solitude, decided to take a stroll around the large castle before dinner. When he walked past Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom, though, he heard sniffling. That's not Myrtle, he thought. That sounds like... Lily. Mentally bracing himself and prepping to comfort her, Jack opened the door.
"Elsa?" The two girls looked up, relief crossing their features. Jack himself was relieved that it wasn't someone else, but he made a mental note to ask one of them about it later. "What are you two up to?"
"Just talking," Lily said passively. Her eyes, however, were still red rimmed. As she sniffled, Jack's eyes widened and she rolled her eyes. "I swear, Jack, it's all good. I love you and all, but you're going a little Albus on me."
Jack chuckled. "Not James?"
"James would immediately offer to beat whoever hurt her to a bloody pulp, no questions asked," Elsa chimed with a smile.
"They're so protective!" Lily whined. "Come sit, Jack." The redhead patted the empty space next to her and giggled when she saw Moaning Myrtle still hiding in a stall. "Myrtle?"
"Oh," the ghost wailed, "I was waiting for forever!" Jack looked at Elsa, amused, and Elsa mouthed, "Didn't you know? Myrtle is a gossip."
Jack nodded in understanding. It was a well-known fact that Myrtle wasn't too shy when it came to ogling in the bathrooms. "Maybe we should go," he said. He helped Lily and Elsa up. "Dinner is in ten minutes."
Once out of the bathroom (and away from Myrtle), Lily said that she would go and assure her friends that she felt much better. Elsa and Jack decided to embark on their journey to the Great Hall together.
"It feels like we haven't talked in a really long time," Elsa remarked, breaking the silence. She nudged his arm gently, "You barely even said 'Hi' at Florean Fortescue's during the summer. Was something wrong?"
Jack's heart pumped harder when Elsa showed her concern. "No, it wasn't that. It was just seeing Scorpius unknowingly hurt Lily that whole day," he fibbed. To justify it, he added, "We were there to calm her down."
Elsa smiled gently at him. "You're a great friend. You've always been there for her, right along with James and Al."
Jack shrugged sheepishly, "It's hard not to care for that bundle of feistiness."
"Agreed."
"So, how was your summer?"
"It was great," Elsa replied. Well, ninety percent of it. Jack doesn't need to know that.
"You and Eli got together then, right?"
Elsa confirmed with a happy sigh. "He's like my anchor." Jack had an unreadable expression on his face, and Elsa placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find your own paperweight soon." Jack's mouth only twitched and Elsa dropped her arm. The pair was approaching the doors of the Great Hall. "What about your summer?"
"I spent most of it with Scorpius and the Potter family," Jack answered. "My parents went on a trip with Scorp's parents. We had Malfoy Manor to ourselves, so we stayed in one wing for a few days and spent the rest at James' house."
"That sounds really nice," Elsa said, a smile gracing her features as always. The two began to break away to head over to their House tables when Elsa looked over her shoulder and called, "I'll talk to you sometime soon, okay?"
In response, Jack saluted.
For all of dinner Jack could only think of how happy he'd be if Elsa became his anchor. His endless imagination caused a grin to plant itself onto his face. He was still joyous when the Elsa left the Hall with Eli, and Lucy Weasley's lash batting flirt techniques didn't even faze him.
A/N: This was my longest chapter, but not my favorite. Sorry, guys. Leave a review or a favorite/follow! Everything's appreciated :)
