Chapter 15 – R.E.M.
Before you speak, don't move
'Cause I don't want to wake up
You're such a dream to me
When Janey awoke on the twenty-seventh of July 2023 she had no idea what to expect of the day. For the first time in her life, the events of her impending birthday celebrations were a total surprise. She couldn't tell if she felt more uneasy or excited. It was true, Janey didn't like to not be in control of every aspect of her life—and of those around her if she could help it—but the giddiness she felt in her stomach at the unknown was palpable.
Often she spent her birthdays alone, taking herself to the West End to see a show—Wicked had long been her favourite, even before she knew she was a witch herself—and then treating herself to some fine dining (with her daddy's credit card, of course) having to play the role of a much older girl than she was. People seemed to respect you much more if you had money, though, and asked far fewer questions. But that year would be something completely different.
She had taken to wearing Sam's old grey hoodie whilst she slept every night, and that day was no exception. He had long since stopped asking about it, and Janey was grateful she didn't have to confess to her abduction of it. He would no doubt find it endearing, but she felt vulnerable at the thought of him knowing how soppily dependent she was. She would have done anything to have awoken in his actual arms that morning—to smell his actual fragrance and feel the softness of his actual arms—rather than the fleece substitute. But Sam had never yet stayed the night, and Janey daren't ask him.
It wasn't even that she wanted it to be a necessarily sexual thing; she just wanted the comfort and safety of falling asleep in his arms, like that night in the Gryffindor Common Room weeks back. It would be nice, for a change, to not have to wake up alone. As she had that morning—her seventeenth birthday.
The staff never woke Janey up at her own request. But they were always waiting for her downstairs whenever she did stir. She was pleased to see that, as she headed down the staircase, still dressed in Sam's hoodie, the enticing smell of a full English hung in the air. Most days, she opted for fruit, or maybe some pancakes, but she always let herself indulge on her birthday.
"Something smells amazing, Katya!" Janey called out as she approached the kitchen, knowing her dad's personal chef would have been preparing for the last hour or so. She might have been Janey's personal chef for all it really mattered, given that she was often the only resident.
Janey expected to be met only by the plump Russian woman, and maybe the cleaner, or her driver Albert, as her little morning birthday committee, and froze in complete and total shock at the sight of a face she'd never expected to see in that house. Casually sat at the breakfast bar, her slender legs swinging from the stool was Juliette 'Jinx' Capella. Her half-sister.
"Jinx?" Janey asked in disbelief.
"Morning, sunshine," the other girl drawled, eyeing her attire with amusement.
Janey felt immediately self-conscious, dressed only in her pyjamas and Sam's hoodie. She hadn't even brushed her hair yet that morning. Whereas Jinx was fully dressed and made-up, looking effortlessly glamorous.
Janey supposed it literally was effortless given that Jinx was a Metamorphmagus and could manipulate her appearance at will. Although she had the capability of making her hair any colour and any style with just some hard-willed concentration, she had opted for something far more low-key that morning. Her hair fell to her shoulders in tight brunette coils a few shades darker than her complexion, which, Janey noticed, was the one thing she never seemed to change.
"What—?"
"Happy birthday."
Janey just blinked in surprise.
"How did you get in?" she demanded. Surely her father was not behind this? He had been in complete denial that Jinx existed—or at least that his paternity did. And yet, he was now comfortably welcoming her into his home?
"Mr Tyler," a voice said which had not come from Jinx's mouth, despite her opening it to speak.
Janey looked around sharply. Katya was beaming at her from behind the vast island where she was preparing the breakfast. Breakfast, Janey now realised, set for two.
"Sam is here?" Janey asked, further confused. And when, exactly, had he made acquaintances with her staff?
"Not here," Katya explained. "But he arranged for your friend to join you this morning."
Janey turned her head back to Jinx who was now beaming at her. She had a lot of questions. Firstly, since when did Sam have any kind of authority to arrange for total strangers to be present in her father's house—did her dad even know this was happening? Had Sam and her dad been in contact?
And not that Jinx was a stranger, but Janey felt for certain she wouldn't have been allowed to be there if either her dad or the staff knew that Jinx was the unsuspecting lovechild from one of Mr Davington's affairs.
Secondly, exactly how close were Sam and Jinx? When on earth had they ever had a conversation together, let alone enough of one to be arranging things with each other for Janey's birthday?
"What?" Janey just asked dumbly.
"Happy to see you too!" Jinx continued cheerily. "I noticed Albireo and I have been receiving far fewer invitations to the beach recently. I would accuse you of Slyther-phobia and yet Ebony and Scorpius always seem to get included?" She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.
Janey just stared, still struggling to process what was happening.
"At least your boyfriend appreciates how invaluable my presence is."
"When have you and Sam ever spoken to each other?" Janey asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, we've spoken a lot over the past week."
Janey felt immediate unease. What on earth had they been planning?
Jinx just beamed at Janey before she had a chance to say anything else. "Breakfast?" she asked sweetly.
As Janey hopped up onto the barstool beside Jinx, and they were both served the indulgent fry-up, she started to relax. Of all the things she had prepared for that day, this had already completely thrown her. She hadn't anticipated seeing anybody until that evening given what hints Sam had already dropped about whatever her big birthday surprise was. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever spent her birthday morning with anybody other than the staff. They were alone now though, and it felt nice.
"You know, I could definitely get used to this," Jinx said greedily, eyeing up not just the food but the kitchen as a whole. Jinx was now the second new person from Hogwarts to see where she lived that summer, the only other three previously blessed with that privilege being her roommates. "Where is our dear old daddy?"
Janey felt uneasy. Was that why Jinx was there? Up until two months ago, Janey had been an only child. She had never had to share her dad with anyone, and judging by Mr Davington's reaction, didn't think Jinx was aware that a relationship with him didn't even necessarily seem on the cards.
"America, probably," Janey said dismissively. "He's there a lot." He was everywhere a lot. Everywhere other than the house.
Jinx looked at Janey and there was genuine sincerity in her eyes, all joking aside. "I'm not here to try and force a relationship with him," she confessed.
"No, but… you should," Janey said, pushing her fork around the still-full plate of food. "He should want to have a relationship with you. And I think he will," she insisted. "When he's actually met you."
Jinx frowned. "I don't think I'm ready for that," she confided. "I only came because Sam was insistent that he wouldn't be here."
Janey's stomach fluttered at the second mention of Sam's name. She wondered exactly what he was up to and why he wasn't there that morning. Although, it was kind of a nice surprise to see Jinx again. They hadn't spoken much one-to-one since their imprisonment at Rosewood Manor. And she was right; Jinx and Albireo had been absent the last few trips to the beach.
"Why, exactly, are you here?" Janey asked suspiciously. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you," she hurriedly added.
Jinx just smiled, not at all offended. "Your man didn't want you to be alone on your birthday," she said. "And he thought you'd be sick of seeing him all the time. His words," she clarified. "Not mine."
Janey just couldn't wrap her head around Sam seeking Jinx out to have a private conversation, but her heart swelled at the mention of 'her man'. Had they ever even spoken to each other before? Nevertheless, she was moved that he had. And as much as Janey always seemed to crave Sam's company, it was actually nice to spend the morning with someone else. Especially Jinx.
"That's sweet," Janey unintentionally said out loud. When she caught Jinx smirking at her, she regretted it. It was embarrassing enough being sentimental and gooey around the Gryffindors—which she actively tried not to be—but it was another thing altogether with the Slytherins.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Jinx asked with a sly smile. "When we were in the cell…"
Janey's stomach knotted. She and Jinx had talked a lot in the Rosewood cell, and, without naming names, Jinx had correctly predicted and heavily hinted that she could tell how Janey felt about Sam. Even before Janey had really clocked it.
"Shut up," was all Janey said, though she was teasing. "You didn't know anything."
"Oh, I did," Jinx said smugly. "And if I hadn't said anything, you'd have still been in denial and not jumped his bones the instant we got out."
Janey genuinely wondered if, had she not had that revelation with Jinx in the cell, she would have still run straight into Sam's arms the first instant she could. Maybe she was right and things would be completely different.
"No, it was only a matter of time," Janey confessed with certainty, and she felt weird to admit it. But she was positive that, sooner or later, she would not have been able to conceal her feelings for Sam that much longer.
"I mean, you were screwed the instant that Veritaserum came out," Jinx pointed out.
"You're probably right."
"It's cute though," Jinx said sincerely. "How much he cares for you. You'll love everything that's coming."
"Everything?" Janey echoed, heart skipping a beat. She had assumed it was just one event, but she had already been pleasantly surprised.
And there was more? How much more?
"You know, it was probably because James was in charge that your names slipped his mind," Janey announced, diverting attention away from discussion of how much Sam cared for her. "He doesn't really see beyond the realms of Gryffindor. And Ebony," she added.
"And Scorpius apparently," Jinx snorted.
"Well, that's very much a Rose thing."
"I honestly can't believe they're doing it again."
Janey almost spat out her orange juice at the mention of Rose and Scorpius 'doing it' before realising that's not what Jinx had meant at all. "They're not," she said sarcastically. "Haven't you had the whole 'we're not together but we're not not together' spiel inflicted upon you?"
"Well, yeah," Jinx admitted. "Scorpius is in mad denial, but it's all bullshit, isn't it."
Janey couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have a different flavour friendship to the Gryffin-Girls' often very vanilla dynamics. Jinx and Janey were very definitely cut from the same cloth. Maybe having a sister wouldn't be so bad.
"Total," Janey agreed, "but we have to let them believe it, don't we?"
"Hmm," Jinx mused. "I guess. Do you think it will last this time?"
"Probably," Janey said with a shrug. "They don't have their families and houses fighting all the time anymore. And Ebony's firmly roped off to stop from distracting… What else is going to go wrong for them?"
"I guess," Jinx said thoughtfully. "But it's weird, isn't it? To think you're locked down for good when you're only seventeen. Don't even get me started on Ebony…"
Janey didn't say anything straight away. Jinx was echoing the sentiments Janey herself had always had, but, in a way, she wanted to defend her naïve friends.
"You don't think you're in exactly the same boat with Albireo?" Janey eventually questioned almost a little condescendingly. "Haven't you been dating since First Year?"
"Merlin, no," Jinx snorted. "Second Year. And it's completely different," she insisted. "Alby and I are… childhood sweethearts, that's all. It's not like we're going to get married! And definitely not as teens…"
"You don't think you'll marry him?" Janey asked, genuinely curious. "At all?" She added, because she too agreed that getting married at seventeen was deranged.
Jinx and Albireo had been on and off for years—a renowned Hogwarts couple. The thought of them not being together didn't seem right somehow.
Jinx screwed her nose up in a way not dissimilar to Janey. "I don't think I'll marry anybody at all."
Again, although Janey had often shared this sentiment herself, she felt offended at hearing Jinx voice it too.
"I think I'll just do what my mum did. Boss-ass single woman. Maybe have a kid, who knows."
"And Albireo?" Janey asked. Because wouldn't it hurt him to hear that his long-term girlfriend felt that way?
Jinx paused ever so slightly before answering, and when she did so, she looked at Janey intently. "Listen, Albireo and I aren't really all that committed to each other," she confessed. "We have really, really, great chemistry, and he's honestly my best friend—don't get me wrong," she said quickly. "But neither of us have been all that loyal to each other…"
At this, Janey felt herself turn red. She had, after all, successfully seduced Albireo whilst he had been openly dating Jinx. It had only been a one-time steamy snog, but now that she and Jinx were somewhat friends, it didn't feel right.
"Look, when Albireo and I—"
Jinx waved a dismissive hand, cutting Janey off. "I don't want to hear it," she insisted. "I'm not exactly happy about it," she said warningly, "but it wasn't exactly like it was the first time."
"It wasn't?" Janey echoed, completely shocked.
How was Jinx so casually calm about all of it? Janey would kill Sam if he ever even thought of kissing another girl whilst they were dating.
"Our relationship is very casual," Jinx said, although it looked like it pained her to say it. "That's why we're so on and off. When it's good, it's good, but sooner or later, one of us gets bored. Mostly him," she admitted bitterly. "But that's only because I'm okay with it," she insisted quickly, catching herself. "If I wanted him to commit to me fully then he would. Or we would end it completely. But we like what we have going on at Hogwarts."
"And after?" Janey asked coolly, because she could not believe for a second that Jinx really was okay with it all. She herself had been deeply hurt any time a partner had either physically or emotionally cheated on her, as rare as that was given that she often just dumped them and moved on before it got to that point. She could not even comprehend the pain it would cause her to know that Sam was openly kissing or even hanging out with other girls in that way—even if they had, for whatever reason, separated.
Jinx just shrugged and took a swig of her orange juice. "I like not knowing what the future has to offer," was all she said, and that, at least, was something Janey could agree with.
"Is there any more of this?" Jinx asked, looking around the kitchen for more bacon. "This is so cool, it's like being at Hogwarts—just without the House-elves."
Janey was bemused by how awed first Sam and now Jinx had been by coming to her house, given the unique splendour of the world they otherwise got to occupy.
"Many would argue Hogwarts is a lot more impressive," she said drily.
Jinx looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I guess. But anyway." She eyed Janey's attire. "That's surely not what you're wearing tonight?"
Janey looked down self-consciously. "I literally just rolled out of bed! And exactly what attire should I be wearing tonight?" she asked suspiciously.
Jinx's mouth spread out into a wide smirk. "Whatever you want—it's your birthday," she said sweetly. "But I didn't think the oversized hoodie vibes were necessarily your style."
"It's Sam's," Janey said defensively, feeling self-conscious in a more emotional way. "Do I have to get ready now?"
"No, no, no," Jinx said dismissively. "But you should get dressed. We've got places to go." She swung her legs around from the barstool and landed gracefully on her feet, "Drink up," she said sweetly.
Incredibly confused but also incredibly curious, Janey downed the rest of her glass before she, too, dismounted from the breakfast bar. "Alright," she agreed. "You want me to give you a quick tour?"
Jinx acted casual about it, but Janey could see how deeply fascinated she was to see the rest of the house, similar to Sam. "Sure."
Jinx was much more reserved in her reactions to the property than Sam had been, taking it all in with silent splendour. Janey felt a little guilty. She had felt guilty when she'd shown Sam around, but with Jinx it was far more personal. She too was the offspring of Rupert Davington and yet, Janey assumed, her upbringing would have been far less glamorous. But it was her father's failing, Janey had to remind herself. Not hers.
Similarly to Sam, Jinx was fascinatedly drawn to the huge black and white portraits in the living room. "Who's the dork?" she teased, and Janey actually felt relieved. That was a much better reaction for her own comfort—a lighthearted, teasing one.
"It's like a movie isn't it?" Janey said, awed by her own awkward childhood self. "The whole ugly duckling transformation thing. Popular girl who was an ugly nerd and rebranded herself." Janey was well aware of how perfectly cliché her life was, but it didn't mean she didn't still feel embarrassed.
"Hey, I can hardly comment on rebranding," Jinx said kindly. "I can look however I want, whenever I want."
Janey stared at her enviously. What wouldn't she do to look flawless just by sheer will alone. "How, exactly, does it work?" Janey asked with curiosity. She had always wanted to ask, but her and Jinx had never been close enough for that conversation.
Rose's sort-of cousin, and former Head Boy, Teddy Lupin, had been a Metamorphmagus too, but he had been years older than them, and in Hufflepuff, so Janey had never really had an opportunity to ask him about it either.
Jinx shrugged. "I was born looking how I looked," she explained. "My default genetics, I suppose. It requires a certain level of care and concentration to retain different features, so most Metamorphmagi don't really drastically alter their appearance in their daily life. it can be painful sometimes."
"So this is just how you look?" Janey asked in awe. She had always been envious of the way Jinx looked, and not because she could seemingly change her appearance at will. She always retained a beautiful complexion. With every variation of her face or hairstyle, she looked flawless.
"It's a lot easier to change more superficial aspects like your hair—colour, length, texture etc.—or your eye colour, than, like, give yourself a nose job or completely alter the shape of your face."
Janey was fascinated.
"It's much better to alter things just slightly. Like, if I wanted to extend my nose by, like, a centimetre." Jinx demonstrated, the bridge of her nose extending ever so slightly before Janey's eyes. "Or my eyebrows or something."
Through sheer concentration alone, Jinx's eyebrows shrank down into thin arches, before morphing into thick bushy ones, hair suddenly sprouting in between the two to form one long unibrow in almost a perfectly straight line across her entire forehead. A few seconds later, and they returned to normal.
"Wow," Janey breathed, half awestruck, half deeply envious.
Jinx shrugged again. "I guess I've just gotten used to it being the norm."
"Can you change your body too?" Janey asked. "Could you be taller?"
"Would I be five foot nothing if I could?" Jinx asked sarcastically.
Janey looked the girl up and down. She was short, sure, but she was almost perfectly aligned with Janey, only very slightly taking the height advantage. "You can't be five foot?"
"Five foot two," Jinx relented, "but you get my point."
Janey beamed. "Same as me."
"And a half," Jinx added with a smirk.
So maybe that was their father's genetics, even though he wasn't exactly short himself. All the women on Janey's mother's side had been very tall and leggy, so she doubted she had inherited her own height, or lack thereof, from her.
"What about skin tone?" Janey asked, still deeply fascinated by the parameters and limitations of Jinx's unique gift.
Jinx looked amused by the question. "Are you asking if I could turn myself into a white girl?"
Janey was taken aback. She hadn't really considered the connotations of what she was asking; she had been thinking of how easy it would be to top up her own tan should she be so blessed. But Jinx was biracial, clearly. Obviously, they shared a father—a very caucasian one—but Jinx's skin had always been a sun-kissed caramel colour, and Janey had never thought how DNA and the Metamorphmagi abilities worked together.
"Well, I didn't mean—" Janey began, her own gently tanned skin flushing with colour, but Jinx was grinning.
"It's not quite like that," Jinx explained in a kind tone. "It's not like anyone can just change their race."
"Well, you'd be surprised by how many Muggle celebrities try to…"
Jinx ignored her. "My genetic makeup is somewhat set in stone. I can only really change the gradient—like how the environment would affect me naturally. I couldn't, for example, mimic Gwen's skin tone. Or yours, for that matter. That's why I couldn't accurately impersonate Evangeline. Or Rose," she added as an afterthought, looking guilty.
Janey had completely forgotten about that, but she politely ignored Jinx's comments. "So like a tan?" she asked.
"I guess so. Imagine a slider. I can make myself darker, or paler, but only in relation to the base colour." To demonstrate as she said this, her skin increased in pigmentation to a much richer coffee colour, before fading so pale all colour almost disappeared entirely, only a lingering tint remaining.
Janey watched, impressed. "Just like The Sims."
"What?"
"Never mind."
Jinx returned to her usual complexion. "I don't really mess with my skin," she explained. "I try to stay as close to my mum's natural look as possible. And even so, it's kind of an unspoken rule in the Metamorphmagi community that you don't go there."
Janey nodded along thoughtfully, fascinated by everything she'd learnt.
"Anyway," Jinx announced, clearly done talking about herself. "We're on a time limit here."
"We are?" Janey asked inquisitively, remembering, all of a sudden, why Jinx was even in her house in the first place. She was very, very curious as to what Sam had arranged for the day. Normally, Janey very much liked to be in control, but this was kind of thrilling. Perhaps, she realised, she should trust others more openly. Or, at least for a start, Sam.
"Where's your wardrobe then?" Jinx asked brashly, ignoring Janey's query. "I'm imagining something huge and walk-in. Probably disturbingly pink and fluffy."
Janey blushed. Jinx's description had been pretty spot-on.
She led her up the stairs, pointing out more of the house but feeling a lot more self-conscious. There really were a lot of rooms, and given how little the house was ever occupied, it felt embarrassingly lavish. Although Janey didn't really know what kind of circumstances Jinx lived in.
She knew a lot of the purest pure-blooded families had a lot of old money. Scorpius, for example, came from one such family. Janey had never seen the Malfoy residence, but she had, along with Jinx, been imprisoned in the basement of Rosewood Manor, which they also owned. And if that was anything to go by—the decrepit, run-down, haunted holiday home that they never visited—she could only imagine what their actual house looked like.
Janey had a feeling, however, that even if Jinx and her family did come from money, it wouldn't be on par with the Malfoys, and certainly not on par with the Davingtons. She gulped as she pushed open the door to her bedroom.
Jinx surveyed it with a knowing smirk. "Pink and fluffy," she sighed.
"Hey!" Janey protested. "Some of us like Barbie-core. It doesn't have to be all witchy, and snakey, and gothic!"
"Barbie-who?"
"Nevermind."
At that point, Janey's White Russian cat, Dolly, emerged from the corner of the room where she'd been sunbathing, letting out a curious mew as she spotted the visitor. Jinx immediately bent down to coo over the feline and massage her ears.
"I didn't know you had a cat!" Jinx said excitedly. "I love cats."
"Of course, Dolly's my most constant companion," Janey said fondly. "Do you have one?"
"I sure do," Jinx said, still ruffling the animal's fur, to Dolly's equal enthusiasm. "A black cat."
Of course, Janey thought but didn't voice aloud. Where Janey had a pure white cat, of course Jinx's would be black. Night and day. Sugar and spice. Sun and moon. They were sisters but opposites. Cut from the same cloth but somehow entirely different.
Janey watched the interaction with pride, like a mother observing her child make friends in the school playground. Dolly was an excellent judge of character, she always thought, as she'd never really gotten on with her dad, but she'd seemed immediately fond of both Sam and Jinx.
"How come you don't take her to Hogwarts?" Jinx enquired, and Janey wondered how she knew with certainty that she didn't.
Janey shrugged. "Dolly's a little princess—she wouldn't like being cramped up in those tiny dorms with nothing to do all day."
Jinx just smirked. She gave the contented cat one last ruffle between the ears before she stood up again. "Well, where's the wardrobe then? It can't be worse than this…"
Janey ignored her mock-scathing comment and led Jinx through the pristine white doors that revealed her surely huge and walk-in wardrobe.
Jinx just emitted a pained sigh.
Janey had to admit, at a glance, there was a lot of pink fluffiness. "What am I even dressing for?" she asked, trying to mask how eager she was for any hint of a detail about that day's activities.
Jinx was patrolling the rails of clothes with a look of distaste, like she was in some kind of horrifying museum. "Well, the first part is more… casual." She picked up a neon mesh sleeve before letting it slip through her fingers.
"There's a first part?" Janey asked, her heart picking up its pace.
"Day and evening," Jinx explained, still incredibly cryptic.
Janey had a million more questions, but she felt like Jinx would just continue to speak in a sarcastic tone if she dared to ask. How casual was casual? Because Janey was sure her definition would differ greatly from Jinx's and also Sam's, who, she remembered with a thrill, was the mastermind behind the whole thing.
She eyed what Jinx was wearing—an all-black ensemble complete with fishnets and heavy-looking combat-style boots. Well, Janey certainly wouldn't be mimicking that. She selected a chic summer dress with a pale pink gingham print.
"What about this?"
Jinx looked like she wanted to say something scathing again, but instead, she forced a smile. "Perfect."
"And this for the evening?" Janey had pulled a mini-dress down from the rail, bias-cut satin the shade of a rich burgundy wine.
"Where's the rest of it?" Jinx asked, eyeing the scrap of fabric suspended from the hanger.
Janey rolled her eyes. "You sound like my dad," she said without thought.
Something seemed to flicker in Jinx's eyes, and Janey felt immediately guilty for some reason. She wondered if she should correct herself and say 'our dad' or if that would just be worse, drawing attention to the fact that they had vastly different relationships with their father figure. Janey wasn't sure Jinx would even consider Rupert Davington a 'father figure' given that she had never even met the man.
Janey opened her mouth, though in truth she wasn't sure what she was going to say to salvage the situation, but Jinx got there first. "Just put the pink monstrosity on," she insisted, "and let's get going."
A few seconds passed, in which Janey couldn't help but break out into a delighted smile.
Jinx regarded her with suspicion, narrowing her eyes. "What?"
"Nothing," Janey said with a grin. "It's just… We're so Elphaba and Galinda."
"Who?"
"It's a Muggle thing," Janey sighed, wishing that, just for once, anyone in her social circles would understand her musical theatre references. "Well, actually," Janey said brightly, "it's a witch thing. But a Muggle witch thing."
Jinx just looked even more confused.
"I'll get changed."
Once Janey was satisfied with her look, dressed to the nines (but in a totally casual way), hair and makeup done to perfection, she revealed herself to a thoroughly bored Jinx.
"Merlin, I'm so glad I'm a Metamorphmagus," Jinx sighed, now sprawled out across Janey's huge bed. "I couldn't deal with all this daily prep."
Janey decided to take it as a compliment.
"Come on then, princess," Jinx said, clambering to her feet. "Let's go celebrate."
The excitement that had earlier swirled in Janey's stomach was back. "Where are we going?" she asked, trying to sound like she didn't all care that much, but she could tell by the grin on Jinx's face that she could see right through her.
"You'll see," was all Jinx said, offering a cryptic smile as she extended her hand.
Janey took it, a little tentative at first, but the instant their palms connected and the swirling dizziness of apparition took hold, she understood. Once their blurry surroundings began to form clear shapes, Janey recognised, with deep surprise, the exterior of Sam's house. Given the clues he'd previously provided her, she hadn't expected that at all.
"We're at Sam's house?" Janey voiced, her confusion deepening.
Janey and Jinx realised at the same time that they were still holding hands and awkwardly released their clasp.
"We sure are," Jinx declared. "And I have to say, it's very weird visiting so many Muggle houses."
Janey realised that for Jinx to have apparated them both to Sam's suburban Nottingham house, she must have already been there. Even those small details made her feel a rush of warmth for Sam and how much effort he had gone to in order to arrange everything for today. She didn't even know what awaited her inside, nor for the evening to come.
Janey felt the same knot of anxiety form in her stomach, as she approached the front door, that she had experienced on her first trip to the house, but she had no idea who or what to expect this time. As always, she feigned her confidence with ease, acting like she didn't have a care in the world. And why would she? Surely nothing intimidating awaited her on the other side of the door; it was her birthday after all.
A surge of true confidence, and a weird sensation of returning home, despite having only visited the house once before, filled Janey as she, with a nod of encouragement from Jinx, knocked on the door.
Seconds later, as though he had been expecting her, which he surely had, Sam opened the front door, handsomer than ever and with a grin so wide Janey felt sure his face would split in two. She felt her heart melt. It wasn't the house that had prompted the sudden feeling of returning home, but him.
Before she could even say a word, Sam revealed something he had been concealing behind his back. Any words Janey might have been considering saying immediately caught in her throat. It was the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she had ever seen, a collection of dusty pink roses, cream carnations, and speckled stargazer lilies.
"Happy birthday, Janey," Sam said, unable to wipe the delighted grin off his face.
Janey wondered if he knew—that this was the single most meaningful thing anybody had ever gifted her. She had never been bought flowers before, not so much as a lone rose on Valentine's Day.
She wanted to do several things at once. She wanted to take the bouquet and admire it in all its awe-provoking beauty, she wanted to throw her arms around Sam and snog the life out of him, and she wanted to say thank you—to express the overwhelming sense of gratitude she felt in that moment and let him know exactly how much this seemingly simple and generic offering truly meant to her. Instead, all she could do was stare in disbelief and mutter a simple, "Oh," desperately hoping he couldn't detect the mild welling in her eyes.
Janey forced herself to drag her eyes away from the overwhelmingly beautiful arrangement and look into Sam's eyes instead. He didn't look in the slightest perturbed by her lack of response, and instead, held out the flowers for her to take.
She did so, tentatively, like she couldn't quite believe that they, or that moment, was real. It was such a cliché and overplayed gesture, and yet it meant the world to her. More than anything else he could have possibly done for her.
"Sam," she squeaked, and as though he completely understood, he pulled her towards him, wrapping one arm around her waist and planting a kiss on her forehead, careful not to disturb the bouquet in her arms.
Janey felt for sure that nothing she could say would truly confess how moved she was in that moment. "Thank you," she finally breathed, her stare meeting his, and only hoping she could convey with her eyes everything her lips couldn't say.
Sam just held her gaze, and she felt he understood.
"Hi," Jinx announced loudly, interrupting their tender moment to remind them of her presence.
Sam tore his eyes away from Janey to grin at Jinx instead. "Hi, Jinx," he greeted. "Nice breakfast?"
"Delish," she drawled, pushing her way past the couple and into the Muggle house like she owned it herself. "I need something sweet though, so there better be some birthday cake."
"There's cake?" Janey asked as Jinx's figure further retreated into the house.
"Oh, Janey Davington," Sam said with a delighted air of smugness which he was almost certainly entitled to, "there is so much more."
Janey's heart skipped a beat, but she said nothing, never one to show her cards too soon.
Sam squeezed her hand as he led her into the house, her other hand still proudly clasped around the flowers. "Oh, and by the way," he said, leaning down to murmur in her ear, "you look beautiful."
It was just as well Janey's heart was already a sodden mess within her chest.
Not sure what to expect as Sam walked her through the hall, Janey felt almost moved to tears when she walked into the Tylers' kitchen to see not only Sam's family, but all her school friends too, gathered around the wooden kitchen table and bursting into raucous unsynchronised congratulations as they noticed her in turn.
Janey had never once cried in front of her friends. Not even Rose, Taylor, or Gwen, in six years of living together in the same shared room—through all the heartbreak, arguments, and complicated emotions that puberty had to offer—and today would not be the first. But she'd be damned if she didn't feel like the love she felt in her heart was so full it might just start to overflow from her eyes for the second time already.
Sam dropped Janey's hand, muttering something about closing the front door. Left alone, Janey dropped her gaze to the floor to compose herself, for once in her life very much shying away from being the centre of attention. When she looked up again, she took stock of who exactly was there. Jinx had made a beeline for Albireo, who was seated between Mason and Scorpius, who, surprisingly, was actually nowhere near Rose, but next to Albus instead. Beside him, James was in his element, ever the extrovert, Ebony looking less so. The reason why Rose wasn't beside Scorpius was because she had evidently been chatting to Sam's mum, the two other Gryffin-Girls also in her vicinity, and Janey felt a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.
It was just—seeing Rose with Mrs Tyler, whom she had evidently met and shared conversations with before, perhaps in that very house, made Janey realise that they looked at ease with each other. Like how a girlfriend should with their boyfriend's mum. Like how, Janey thought nervously, you should look with your mother-in-law.
Something about Rose with her kind schoolgirl demeanour, her auburn waves, her flowery summer dress, and the total ease with which she could converse with women thirty years her senior, gave all the appeal of someone mothers would very much like their sons to marry. And it wasn't like Janey was even thinking of marriage, but it had struck her, in general, how Rose seemed, on paper, like the perfect girl to integrate into Sam's family. And if not her, then an Isabella type.
But certainly not someone like Janey, with her tousled blonde bob, her designer clothes, her cold hostility, and her seeming inability to show true warmth and kindness to people she barely knew, and even the ones she did.
Mrs Tyler caught Janey's eye, and before the girl could avert her gaze and act like she hadn't been staring, her eyes lit up. She rushed to the girl's side, flinging an arm around her, careful not to disturb the huge lilies still cradled in her arms.
"Oh, happy birthday, Janey!" she said with a rush of warmth, and Janey felt guilty for the wayward thoughts that had infiltrated her mind seconds earlier. She just felt that someone like Delia Tyler, so purely kind and wholesome, deserved someone like Rose Weasley as her son's girlfriend instead.
"Thank you," Janey said in a quiet voice, moved by the sudden hug. Neither of Janey's parents had even so much as texted to wish her a happy birthday yet—if they would at all.
Janey couldn't help but notice all the girls in the room's eyes looking enviously towards her bouquet, and she felt herself glowing, proud indeed that Sam and the flowers were hers alone.
"Nobody's ever bought me flowers," she heard Rose say, her tone dripping with lighthearted jealousy.
"I gave you a rose for Valentine's Day once!" Scorpius protested.
Janey thought she heard Rose mutter something about having burnt it to a crisp.
"We're not staying," Delia assured Janey, indicating to herself and Sam's stepdad, who Janey now realised had been beside her too. "We're taking the kids for a dog walk—we just wanted to see you and say happy birthday!"
Janey's heart felt full to the brim once more, and yet, she still felt that mingled sense of guilt. Like she was an imposter. She wasn't the girl who deserved all that kindness and appreciation.
"Oh, you don't have to," Janey said quickly, feeling guilty. It was their house, after all—she didn't want them to feel like they wouldn't be welcome at whatever festivities would be occurring. Unless Sam was planning a massive rager—but from what Jinx had implied, they weren't even hanging around for long themselves.
"Oh, no, it's fine," Delia insisted, waving her hand like she was swatting away a fly. "Would you like me to put them in a vase?" she offered, indicating to the fragrant bouquet. "You can take them home with you afterwards."
Janey almost didn't want to let them go, but she gratefully handed them over, suspecting Delia would know more about preserving them than she did. A sudden presence behind her almost startled her, but the reassuring hand that was placed on the small of her back let her know it was Sam.
"Thank you," Janey said as Delia took the bouquet, but she turned her head to look up at Sam as she did so, his warm brown eyes falling on her with contentment. "They're beautiful," she said breathily, half to Sam, half to his mum.
Delia had a knowing smile playing on her lips. "You're very lucky," she told the girl. "He never buys me flowers."
Sam rolled his eyes as his mum went to put the flowers in a vase.
"You're a very bad son," Janey teased.
"But a very good boyfriend?" Sam asked, a playful edge of optimism in his voice.
Janey didn't have time to answer before she was distracted by someone she hadn't noticed skulking near the back of the kitchen—Kayleigh, dressed all in black, with thick eyeliner beneath her eyes to accompany the look.
"Happy birthday," the older girl said, realising she'd been spotted. "I'm not staying either," she added quickly, as though Janey might have been offended by her intrusion.
"Oh, are you sure?" Janey asked, because, once more, she felt rude for having seemingly kicked Sam's entire family out of their own house so she could celebrate her birthday with her friends.
Kayleigh, who was leaning up against the kitchen sink with a half-drunk bottle of Diet Coke in her hand, looked fractionally tempted, before saying with decisiveness, "No, it's fine. I've got… stuff to do."
Janey understood. She'd be pretty intimidated by their assembled band of misfits if she were confronted with them for the first time. James and his exuberant nature alone were enough to throw anyone off.
"Have a nice evening though," Kayleigh added, before departing the kitchen. Not without instinctively punching Sam on the shoulder as she walked by.
"Ow!" he said in protest, whilst Janey sniggered by his side, but he was laughing too. He and Janey shared a moment, eyes locked on each other once more. "She likes you a lot, you know."
Janey felt flattered but didn't want to show it. She had only met the girl once, but she liked her a lot too, and was keen for Kayleigh to be impressed by her.
Mrs Tyler had returned, dog in tow, the latter offering Janey a friendly lick on the hand as he was bustled out of the kitchen. "We probably won't see you later," Delia called out to the room full of teens, and then to Janey as she headed for the door, "but enjoy your day!" She planted a kiss on Sam's cheek as she passed, much to his utter mortification. "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave," she reminded him.
"Goodbye," Sam said forcefully as his mum exited the room in a flurry of perfume that, to Janey, smelt powdery and reassuring, very much aware that all eyes were trained on him and clearly resentful of the fact.
"Bye, Delia," James called out cheerily from the kitchen table, raising a cup of tea in farewell. "We must do this again sometime."
Sam shot daggers at the older boy as they heard the click of the lock and his mother's undeniable giggles.
"What?" James asked, now that the group of teens were alone.
"Don't… flirt with my mum," Sam said, half amused, half irritated.
"I wasn't flirting," James protested. "It's just a little something called charm. I'm desperate for somebody's mum to actually like me. I think I'm quite a catch, and I'm tired of being made to feel like I'm some delinquent hoodlum who's going to lead everybody's kids astray."
From his side, Ebony gave him a pointed look.
"Look," James said, clearly not relenting, "if mums actually got to know me for me, and not some preconceived notion of who I am, I would very much be viewed as top boyfriend material! Mums would love me to date their daughters."
"Well, it's a shame you've already married someone whose mother knows you for you," Ebony said curtly.
"Exactly," James emphasised. "Your mum hates me. I'm at a pretty big disadvantage with regards to Rose and Al's mothers."
"My mum is definitely not fond of you," Albus agreed, whilst Rose looked thoroughly amused by it all.
"Mason's mum thinks I'm some kind of delinquent who's led her son astray. Gwen's mum knows my mum from the Harpies, so she's probably not all that keen. Scorpius' mum"—James stopped abruptly, and an awkward tension seemed to fill the room. Scorpius had lost his mother, after all, not even two months ago.
Something had flitted into the blond boy's eyes, curious more so than offended or upset by the mention of his late mother. Janey noticed that it was Rose who looked more distressed than anybody else, Scorpius included. James recovered quickly, deciding it was better to not draw attention to it, and continued his jovial list.
"Well, granted, I didn't know her well," he said, "but I got a pretty big gist that I wasn't her favourite person."
Scorpius smiled but didn't opt to say anything.
"So really," James concluded, "I've got to try and make it count with those I can."
"Well, my mum's daughter is ten," Sam pointed out, "so I imagine she's pretty off-limits."
"I'm not trying to date anyone's daughters," James said indignantly, side-eyeing his wife, who was just as entertained by it all as everybody else was. "I just would like to be the kind of guy mums would want their daughters to date."
"Oh, my mum would like you," Janey piped up. "Maybe a little too much…"
James looked intrigued but didn't push it further, and Janey wondered what her mum might actually be doing that day which was so important that she couldn't even reach out to her daughter on her seventeenth birthday. No doubt she probably was with some James-Potter-type, likely on a yacht in some exotic country.
"Anyway," James announced, apparently deciding the topic of conversation had run its course. "Nice house, Sam," he said appreciatively, looking around the crowded kitchen. "Why don't we hang out here more often?"
Sam didn't look thrilled by the suggestion.
"Where do you keep the booze?" James asked eagerly.
"There won't be any booze," Sam said fiercely.
Janey took the opportunity to move from the doorway to join the others at the table, squeezing in between James, who was naturally central, and Mason, who gladly shifted over to accommodate her. Janey kind of liked authoritative Sam. He had gone full Prefect mode, and as much as it often irritated her, it was also kind of attractive seeing him take charge. He would make a good dad she thought, and then immediately blushed, as though the others would be able to sense her wayward musing.
James leaned into Janey as she took her seat beside him, so only she could hear. "Don't worry, there very much will be booze," he assured her with a wink, revealing the contents of a bag he had concealed beneath the table, several full bottles clinking as he did so.
Janey beamed.
"Happy birthday," James added as an afterthought, grinning back.
Janey thought to herself how lucky she was—to have friends like them. To have a boyfriend like Sam. She would have been more than content to have spent her birthday alone. To have wandered to the West End to watch Wicked for the umpteenth time and gone to a belated dinner with her dad. But this was beyond anything she had ever experienced before, and anything she could have comprehended.
The sense of normalcy struck her. She was just a girl sitting in the kitchen of a house in suburban Nottingham surrounded by her school friends as they wished her a happy birthday. And she loved every second.
As the day continued, Janey realised how much she had truly missed out on due to her abnormal upbringing. Sam's mum had baked her a cake—a simple two-tiered sponge with cream and jam in the middle and strawberry halves arranged on top. And when Rose learned that Janey had never once blown out the candles on a birthday cake, they insisted she be granted that honour. Janey hesitated to reveal she'd never even received a birthday cake at all, let alone been thrown a party.
Sam hadn't been able to find any candles though, so they'd improvised with an old sparkler they found at the bottom of the garden, left over from the previous year's Bonfire Night. A little bit of magic had brought it shimmering to life once more. And as they sang to her, another phenomenon for the theatrically-inclined girl, and insisted she make a wish as per tradition, Janey knew she didn't need to.
They ate, they drank, they played charades from a dusty box James dug out from the back of a cupboard, and as evening approached, her heart feeling fully satisfied as it was, Janey completely forgot that it hadn't even been the main event.
"Come on, Cinderella," Jinx announced, "let's get you ready for the ball."
Janey wanted to ask how Jinx knew about Cinderella, given she assumed she'd had no Muggle influence in her upbringing, but the excitement and mystery surrounding that night's activities dominated her mind.
The girls went upstairs to change together, and Janey wasn't sure where they were supposed to go, given that it wasn't even her house. Her first thought was of Kayleigh's room, but she felt she didn't know the girl even remotely well enough and that it would be an unspeakable violation.
Her eyes fell on Sam's door, and her heart skipped a beat as she recalled the last time she'd set foot in there. But really, it was the only option she was comfortable with.
"Are you sure we're allowed in there?" Rose asked hesitantly as Janey made a beeline for the familiar door.
"It's just Sam's room," Janey said impulsively, and then froze as the air seemed to become tense around her, the implication, correctly, being that she had been in there before.
Jinx had her eyebrows raised and looked to be on the brink of saying something suggestive.
"His name is on the door," Janey said fiercely, pointing to the taped sign with its peeling corners, and that was enough to cause the girl to purse her lips, though her eyes were still shining with something mischievous.
Janey chose to ignore her, pushing the door open to permit them entry. It was exactly the same as it had been last time, Star Wars memorabilia and all, which attracted much confused attention from all the magically-raised girls, of which only Janey was excluded from.
Janey wondered what Sam would say if he had been told a year ago that Rose and Ebony would be nonchalantly gazing around his bedroom and tried to fight back the unwanted pangs of jealousy,
"Muggle boys are weird," Jinx said, picking up a replica lightsaber with deep confusion.
"Put it down," Janey hissed, feeling protective. This too, garnered a knowing look from Jinx, but she obliged without saying a word.
"What are we even dressing up for?" Janey asked, feeling flustered, the gnawing intrigue back. Sam had initially mentioned performing, and other than a club or a concert, neither of which fully made sense, Janey couldn't fathom what that could remotely imply.
Rose seemed to share a knowing look with Gwen and Taylor, but all she revealed was a cryptic, "We've been sworn to secrecy, but I can assure you you'll enjoy it the most."
"I don't know," Ebony mused out loud. "After a few drinks, me and James aren't half bad. We did it the night of our wedding," she explained when they all looked at her with surprise.
Janey just blinked in shock. "Is this a sex thing?" she asked, both amused and horrified.
Ebony's pale face flooded with colour as she took stock of what she'd said. "Merlin, no," she denied, looking mortified. "I meant the karaoke!" And then she clasped both hands to her mouth in further flushed mortification, eyes wide in horror.
"Oh, nice going, Eb!" Jinx chastised as the others all emitted groans of accusation.
But Janey didn't care, because her heart was racing once more. "Karaoke?" she asked eagerly.
At the start of their fifth year, as a newly-elected Prefect, Janey had taken it upon herself to install a karaoke machine in the Gryffindor Common Room, which had actually been surprisingly difficult given that electricity and Muggle technology didn't coincide with the magic of Hogwarts—but when Janey was determined enough she could achieve anything. It had been her opinion that the students had all very much enjoyed this addition, and she herself, often alongside James, had delivered many a raucous performance to the utmost joy of their fellow Gryffindors. For the sole week it had been in place. After which, a sulky Sam had dismantled it in the dead of night, furious that it had not been approved by him as co-Prefect.
It had been just one of the many long-standing points of tension and conflict within their prior relationship. And really, Janey felt he had only done it out of spite rather than for any real valid reason. She had just been trying to entertain the students of her house and bring some levity to the school. Everyone else had enjoyed it, though perhaps none more than Janey. She had even tried to get the Gryffin-Girls to choreograph a number one night, but Taylor had been truly terrible at the harmonies, and Rose lacked the confidence and charisma to act at home on the stage.
But Janey's excitement at what Ebony had unintentionally revealed was uncontainable. Janey loved karaoke. And knowing that Sam had been the one to arrange it for them meant more than he probably even realised.
The Slytherin girl in question looked truly distressed by her slip-up, but she knew there was no point in trying to lie. "Oh, please don't tell Sam," she pleaded. "He was really excited!"
Janey's heart fluttered at the mention of his name. Did he, in any way, comprehend exactly how much he had already given her that day? Everything from letting her spend the morning with Jinx, having a mundane Muggle gathering with cake and games, and the flowers. And now this too?
It suddenly struck Janey that she didn't even know exactly when Sam's birthday was, but she was determined that when it rolled around, she was going to repay every incredible thing he'd done for her—and more.
God, she thought enviously. What a waste it had been arguing for all those years when she could have been treated like a queen.
When the girls had finished getting dressed up and made their way back down to the kitchen, Janey knew she couldn't possibly conceal the excitement she felt now that she knew what they were doing and fake like she didn't. Sam looked flustered as his eyes fell on her, and Janey was worried he somehow already knew that she knew and had ruined the surprise. But, she realised, the back of her neck suddenly prickling with heat under his gaze, that he looked flustered because of… her.
"Woah," he said, eyes wide in awe.
Unable to help herself, Janey did a twirl, the bias-cut burgundy silk of the mini-dress riding even further up her exposed thighs.
Sam just gulped. "You look great," he said appreciatively, placing a hand on her hip as he eyed her up and down.
Janey had been complimented by boys frequently since she'd gone through puberty, and she was very much accustomed to the flattery. But something about it coming from Sam meant more than anything any guy had ever said to her before.
"Thank you," she breathed, and it took everything in her not to throw herself at him right there and then.
"Right, can we get this party started?" Jinx cut in. "Because I need to have done several shots before I even think about letting you guys hear me sing."
Sam's face fell. "Jinx," he said in accusation.
"Oh, she already knows," Jinx said defensively.
Sam looked at Janey in a panic, who did her best to offer a weak smile. "They told you?" He looked truly devastated.
"It was Ebony!" Rose burst out.
Sam turned his look of anguish to the tall, dark-haired girl.
"I'm sorry!" Ebony pleaded, looking as distressed as before. "I didn't mean to—I swear!"
"It's fine," Janey cut in, reaching for Sam's hand to draw his attention away. She looked at him meaningfully, trying to convey how much she appreciated him through just one look. "I am very, very excited."
"But it was supposed to be a surprise," Sam said sulkily.
"It was!" Janey insisted.
Sam looked slightly mollified, perhaps given how excited she looked. "Alright," he conceded, a slight smile forming, "but it's one night only. We are not," he emphasised, "putting a karaoke machine back in the common room."
Janey just rolled her eyes. "What do you have against me singing?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Sam said, amused. "I think you're great at singing."
Janey blushed.
"It's just very distracting when you're trying to study."
"Oh, you were only pissed off because I didn't consult you about it," Janey said mock scathingly.
"Perhaps."
"So we'll talk about it?"
"Over my dead body," Sam laughed.
Janey decided not to push her luck. She would take what she could. And, really, she was incredibly excited for what was about to happen. As Sam tried to rally everybody together in some semblance of organised coordination in order to apparate to their destination, Janey recalled what details Sam had previously let her in on.
"Why Brighton?" she asked curiously. She had never been to the seaside resort before, but she was certain there must have been karaoke bars in much more obvious locations. London, for one, would be teeming with them. Even Nottingham, surely, would have something appropriate.
Sam looked thoughtful. "It was Kayleigh's recommendation," he said. "In fact, it was her idea."
"Really?" Janey asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I told her you like to sing," Sam said, looking slightly bashful, "and she told me about this karaoke bar she'd gone to with her friends in Brighton—she went to uni there," he explained. "Well, before she dropped out."
Janey was intrigued.
"But she said it was a great place, and I've taken her word for it. So," he said, grinning, "if it sucks, you know who to blame."
"It won't suck," Janey said confidently, taking hold of his hand. And the smile that extended between them remained in place, even long after they had disapparated.
Author's Note: Title and epigraph inspired by Ariana Grande's 'R.E.M.'