"Okay we're going to try once more, I have a really good feeling about this one!"
"Yeah, you're doing well Jess, just really focus okay?"
It was four days on from her trip to Ollivanders, and Jessica's lessons were well underway. Order members were coming in and out of Grimmauld Place on a rotating door, both to take shifts with her and to deliver messages from the ministry. As they did not have much time (it was just over three weeks until she and the others were headed for Hogwarts) she was being given a crash course in magic 101. So far she had sped through first-year studies, with the most memorable lesson being Defence Against The Dark Arts with Moody. He had started the lesson with how to spot a Vampire and a Werewolf (which took her about half an hour to get over the initial shock of them existing) and then taught her the very useful 'Lumos' spell which was like a torch but for a wand. For fun, Moody ended up showing her the Knockback Jinx. They duelled using the spell until Mrs Weasley came knocking and disapprovingly told Moody off for making too much noise and distracting those upstairs.
The lessons were always in the downstairs living room, as that was the largest and most soundproof room in the house, but it also made it very easy to keep hidden from the others as they were being occupied upstairs with chores. She was now starting the second-year curriculum, and Jessica was halfway through a charms lesson with her favourite teachers Tonks and Bill.
"No I don't want to try it anymore, we can try it another time," Jessica refused whilst crossing her arms.
"Oh come on it's all part of it, accidents happen all time! You're fine aren't you Bill?" Said Tonks optimistically. Her bright green hair was currently cut short into a pixie cut.
Bill rubbed the back of his head. Jessica's wand had just flown out of her hand upon casting a spell and rebounded off of the wall, hitting him hard.
"That's nothing trust me," he said with a smile, and he adjusted his ponytail to get ready for another round, "give me all you've got."
Jessica reluctantly drew her wand. She pulled up the sleeves of the caramel-fitted jumper she was wearing (a gift from Ginny) and pointed her arm in the direction of Bill.
"Now remember, focus, you can do it," Bill spoke encouragingly, standing broadly with his wand facing her as if they were about to duel. Tonks cleared out of the way and counted down from three. Jessica prepared herself and took in a deep breath. Her mind was fully concentrated on Bill's wand, her fingers wrapped around the vines on the wooden stem of her own.
"Expelliarmus!" She spoke and a jet of light shot out from her wand. Bill's hand shook as his wand was lifted out of his hand, landing on the floor just behind him. Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nice one!" Grinned Bill, and he bent down to retrieve his wand.
"Well done, you did it!" Said Tonks praisingly as she walked back over to Jessica, "You've now completed all the charms for the second year, you've just got to keep practising them now!"
"I don't know how I'm going to remember it all," Jessica sighed as she slid her wand into the back pocket of her black jeans, "there's so much to learn."
"Eh, you'll get the hang of it eventually, by the time you get to Hogwarts you'll be a pro!"
"Yeah and give yourself a break, you've only been doing this for four days," said Bill who was now pushing the sofa back from the side of the room into its original place.
Jessica wearily brushed her forehead and then helped Bill and Tonks put the rest of the furniture back. It didn't take long as Bill and Tonks were able to use their wands, and Jessica was excited for the day when she was able to use magic as easily as that.
"Right, I think it's time for us all to get back, I don't feel like facing a bunch of pissed-off goblins today," huffed Bill, putting his dragon skin jacket on.
"Yeah, Kingsleys' expecting me back any minute," said Tonks in agreement and she summoned the blue coat that she had abandoned on the floor, "you're alright to go back up Jess? I heard it's the clean-out day today."
"Yeah, and Kreacher is driving them round the bend, from the shouting I can hear he keeps taking stuff," Jessica replied. She had only recently had the pleasure of being introduced to a house-elf named Kreacher when he had walked in on her changing. He'd just walked in carrying a large sack of rubbish, not even caring if she was in there or not and muttering under his breath the whole time. Luckily, Ginny had been around to grab him and pull him out, but it had still horrified her; every time she closed the bedroom door now she put a chair against it to block the way.
"Yeah Ron keeps moaning to me about it, and cleaning in general, he can't wait until he can use magic and not do everything manually," said Bill chuckling.
"Why can't he use magic now?" Jessica asked, confused. Now that she thought about it, the only people she had seen use magic who weren't in the order were Fred and George. Now that she knew how to use even basic magic, she could not imagine not wanting to use it for everything.
"Under seventeen-year-olds aren't allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts, the ministry puts a trace on you to check," Tonks explained.
"That's why Harry's at that hearing today, he used magic outside of school. Although it's debatable whether he was actually in the wrong to do so," added Bill. He and Tonks exchanged a loaded look that told Jess that there was more to the story than she knew.
"How come you're making me learn here then if it's not allowed?" Jessica asked worriedly.
"Because..." started Tonks but she trailed off shortly into her reply. She looked up at Bill who stood next to her now, appearing equally as unwilling to provide the information to Jessica as she was. Bill looked down at the ground, took in a breath, and then looked back up at her.
"Because the ministry doesn't know you exist yet, and the Order plans on keeping it that way," he said quietly, his words almost not even making it out of his mouth.
"So I don't have the trace?" she asked, feeling relieved that she wasn't currently breaking wizarding law.
"No, but that doesn't mean you can go about shouting 'Wingardium Leviosa' about the place," said Bill firmly, "my brothers and their friends can't know, otherwise they'll know you're different."
"Like they don't know it already," Jessica mumbled.
She didn't have any solid evidence for this, but over the last couple of days, she thought that the others, especially Hermione, had become a bit suspicious of her. It may have been her conscious playing tricks on her, as they were all being perfectly nice, but it was just certain looks she got when she came out of her lessons, or when she said certain things.
It didn't help that whenever she answered a question regarding her background, a member of the order would always jump in and answer for her. She felt silenced. Like they didn't trust her to speak. So, after a while, she had begun not to trust herself either. Withdrawing away from them further and further each day, she hardly wanted to be in the same room as the young ones anymore. Sirius, much to her annoyance, had also made a habit of reminding her where her mind was to be focused on, and it was to get trained up and ready to complete the task that Dumbledore had set for her. No one still knew what this task was to be, and she hadn't seen Snape or Dumbledore since that first day. They had kind of just left her to it, making her blindly follow their orders.
As both Bill and Tonks said goodbye to her and left the room to go to work, Jessica hung back into the living room to enjoy a moment of silence on her own. It was only when she was on her own that she really understood the name of Grimmauld Place. With the personalities of the Order bouncing around the house, it was easy to overlook the moth-eaten curtains, worn-out carpets, and musty smell. Now alone, she truly felt aware of the decay around her.
Jessica reached down her jumper and pulled out the silver chain that she had made an effort to keep hidden. As she had been doing every minute she had alone since her meeting with Draco Malfoy, she studied the little glass ball pendant and more importantly, the golden metal eye that inhabited it. She had not felt it or had any visions for days, luring her to think that the times it had glowed had not been something to overlook. The question was why, why was it so different for Draco? The necklace had glowed blue, and also didn't burn her skin...but why?
"Hey," said a voice softly from behind her. Jessica turned around to see Hermione standing in the doorway. Her hair was tied up in a plait and dust was covering her denim jacket.
"Harry's back, he hasn't been expelled," she continued, smiling timidly. The girls had not been alone together to speak before, and it was clear Hermione didn't feel comfortable.
"Oh, that's great," said Jessica, forcing a smile.
"We wondered if you wanted to come to play quidditch with us. Mrs Weasley let us have the afternoon off to celebrate," Hermione asked, stepping forward into the room, "but if you're busy with the Order then-"
"No, I'd love to," Jessica interrupted, perhaps a little too eagerly.
"Cool," said Hermione, breathing out and folding her arms across her chest, "Is that an evil eye necklace?"
Jessica noticed that it was still hanging out of her jumper, and it was too late to tuck it back in. For god sake Jess, she thought. She had not wanted any of them to see it.
"I don't know," she replied, encasing the pendant with her fingers, "my aunt gave it to me."
Hermione came closer to her, an intrigued glimmer in her eye, and though she was happy to have something to talk to Hermione about, Jessica felt like she was under interrogation. One wrong move and she was sure Hermione would figure out everything.
"It looks like one," said Hermione, taking Jessica's hand away and studying the eye, "I think I've read about them once."
Jessica's worries flushed away, and her interest now peaked, "really, where?"
"I don't know, but it was just speculation, a myth, they called it a moncoculus in the Wizarding World," Hermione said as though she was reading straight out of a textbook.
"And do you remember what it said about it?" Jessica pressed on. This had been the first bit of information she had heard on the origins of the necklace and she was eager to learn more, even if to Hermione it was just a silly old myth.
"Well, the myth is that the eye has powers, but it varies between scholars about what those powers are," Hermione started to explain.
"What kind of powers?" Jessica asked, clutching onto every word. She had felt a power, had even seen it, this confirmed it, it was magical. She knew it.
"Surely you've heard about this before?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"I haven't actually," Jessica replied plainly. She was too excited, she wanted Hermione to tell her everything she knew.
"Hi guys I think Fred and George have nearly finished setting up," said Ron, who had just appeared in the doorway while they were talking, "everything all right?"
Aggravated that his appearance had distracted Hermione, Jessica suppressed a huff and took the opportunity to hide the necklace under her jumper once more. Ron leaned against the doorframe, his green striped shirt clinging to his body (another hand-me-down that was already too small for him), "haven't walked in on girl talk have I?"
"No we're...fine," said Hermione, her eyes unnaturally focusing on Ron's face, avoiding looking anywhere else, "I was just asking Jess if she wanted to play quidditch."
"Ah great, yeah we need someone else on the team, we can't play three on three usually because Hermione can't fly," said Ron with a smirk.
"It's the only thing I can't do," Hermione retaliated, glaring at him over her shoulder.
Ron gulped and stood up straight, "Have you played before Jess?"
"No," she replied without thinking, "never."
Ron's mouth fell open instantly, "you've never played?"
"It's quite common Ron," Hermione said, "lots of people have never played."
"Who's never played?" Asked Harry, popping his head around the door. His manner had changed since she had last seen him at the dinner table last night, where he was hardly speaking to anyone. He had happier energy, much more cheerful like a large weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
"Jess," said Ron, and Harry mirrored Ron's disbelief.
"Ah, no way! You'll love it, we have to teach you," said Harry, "I'm sure Sirius has a spare broom lying around, Lupin told me yours got broken."
Jessica laughed nervously. On one hand, she was thankful that Remus had obviously foreseen this issue with the broom and tried to cover her, but then on the other hand, she wished that she had been given more flying practice. As it was a first-year lesson, she had been given basic broom training by Kingsley, but it had only been in the loft upstairs, which had the largest ceiling in the house. Fortunately, Jessica had been okay at it, and after a few mild accidents had been able to eventually fly around the room without falling off. What she would be like around experienced flyers outside playing a game though, she didn't know.
"Yeah I think there's one about," she just said cooly, "as long as you go easy on me that is."
"Can't promise that I'm afraid," said Harry with a cheeky smile, and his head disappeared as he walked away. Ron looked after him, apparently also bemused at his contrasting mood. "Well I'll meet you out there," he said, as a sudden thought came to him, "Oh no I have to tell them you've never played - I don't want Fred and George to jinx the Quaffle again!"
He ran out of sight, and then a bang came from the distance - signalling that he had tripped over a chair on the way out to the garden. Jessica and Hermione shared a quiet giggle at Ron's expense and decided to follow him out to check if he was okay, all talk of the necklace long forgotten. They made it outside to find Ron, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny in a huddle, each carrying broomsticks and quarrelling amongst the patches of grass.
"No that team is unfair!" shouted Ron, shoving the end of a broomstick in Fred's face.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Fred smugly, holding his broom between his shoulders.
"YOU GEORGE AND HARRY ARE ALL ON THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM!" Ron bellowed, "THAT'S WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT."
"We're out of practice though," argued George who was tying a protective armband to his right elbow.
"George, you and Fred were practising last week," said Ginny matter-of-factly.
"Can't prove it," shrugged Fred.
Typical big brothers. It made Jessica want to put their money where their mouth is.
"I see nothing wrong with it," Jessica interjected, walking toward the crowd with Hermione at her heel. All five of them stopped fighting and turned to her.
"See, she thinks it's fair," Fred said to Ron. Ron scowled at him and his fist clenched tightly.
"Yeah I'm okay with it," Jessica said as she took the spare broom that Harry handed out to her, "because clearly you don't think you're good enough to win on your own, so you have to have George and Harry with you to back you up."
Ron and Ginny were stunned and put their fists in front of their mouths, admiration in their eyes for how Jessica had landed that subtle blow. She may have just made friends.
"Excuse me?" Fred asked, pushing past George and swaggering forward slowly to stand face-to-face with her, an intimidating smirk on his face.
"Well clearly that's the case," Jessica told him bluntly, unaffected by his size, "you need to have all the best players on one side so that you're guaranteed a win, why is that huh...you scared?"
She could see Hermione out the corner of her eye smiling in approval.
"Hey, we can change if you think you're going to lose," said Fred, his voice turning low and teasing, "just that Harry mentioned you haven't played before, and I just think you only learn by playing against the best, I'm doing it for you Elphie."
The name sent a tingle down her spine, but she couldn't show it.
"Who's Elphie?" Ron mumbled to George.
"How kind of you," said Jessica, stepping right up against Fred. She could feel his chest moving up and down against her own, and she enjoyed it. "However I can't deprive everyone of seeing your face when you get beaten but your little brother, sister, and a girl who's never even stepped foot on a pitch."
Fred looked her up and down and smiled at the ground with his tongue at the side of his cheek. She thought he might have been impressed, and this only spurned her on to tease him more.
"Do you want to put a bet on that?" he asked.
"Gladly," Ginny answered for her, "let's make it interesting."
"What's the prize then?" asked George who seemed happy at this proposal.
"Captain's choice," stated Fred, his eyes remaining fixed on Jessica's, "that alright for you?"
"Works for me," Jess shrugged. She lingered on his eyes, indulging in the feeling of excitement this was giving her. She knew ultimately she was going to lose but she wouldn't trade this feeling for any prize. "Ron, start thinking, and make it a good one."
The group split into their teams and divided coloured bibs to distinguish the teams. Ron's team was in orange, Fred's in Purple. They then separately huddled up to discuss gameplay.
Hermione in the meantime set up a chair for herself at the end of the garden and fetched a paper pad and pen to write down the scores. She drew out her wand and two large poles with hoops on top appeared out of thin air at either side of the garden. Ron and Ginny pulled Jessica in, their arms forming a circular shield.
"About time someone said that to Fred and George," Ginny told Jessica, "they always underestimate us."
"Yeah and they have a good reason for that," moaned Ron, " We are the worst Ginny."
"Speak for yourself," she snapped.
"We need to beat them, how do I play?" Jessica asked Ron.
"Right there's usually four roles in quidditch, Keeper, Chaser, Beater, and Seeker, but when we play three on three we only do Keepers and Chasers," Ron explained, "Chasers try to throw the Quaffle through the other teams' hoop, and Keepers try and block the quaffle from getting into their hoops."
"So it's like football, but with your hands?" Jessica asked. Having ignored most of the quidditch talk she had been around, she couldn't believe how similar the sports were. She had played football on the girls' team for her school, so she at least had an experience of the rules. What she didn't have experience in, however, was playing football 20 feet in the air...on a broomstick.
"What's football?" asked Ron.
"Never mind that, that's good, you're familiar with it!" said Ginny joyously, "Ron's usually keeper, so are you alright teaming up with me as a chaser?"
"Let's do it," said Jessica, and she held out her fist for Ginny to touch with her own, "let's wipe their smug faces off them shall we?"
Ron and Ginny grinned, albeit Ron's was undermined with doubt, and they squeezed each other's shoulders as they broke out of the huddle. They were met with Fred, George, and Harry, who obviously thought they had the game in the bag if their confident smiles were anything to go by.
"On your brooms everyone," Hermione announced.
Everyone mounted their brooms except Jessica, who had just had a rather prominent thought.
"Can the muggles not see us if we do this?" she asked as all of Fred's team lifted off into the sky.
"Mum said they've put protection charms around the place," said Ginny, "they won't be able to see us it's fine."
Jessica accepted this and mounted her broom also, lifting into the air with Ginny at her side. Fred and Harry were the chasers on the team, with George waiting casually in goal. Jessica was opposite Harry, and a competitive feeling roared within them both, causing them to lean down on the broomsticks and grab the handles in preparation to fly off.
Hermione walked out underneath them carrying a large burgundy ball the size of a basketball - a whistle in her other hand. "I'll throw it up on the count of three, and just for your information I will be giving penalties if I see any cheating," she said in the direction of Fred and George.
"How dare you, Hermione," Fred Shouted down, "we might have a bit of fun, but we never cheat."
"Yeah that's offensive, you might have to add five points to our score to cover up the damage," sniggered George.
"Get on with it!" Ginny shouted, her eyes as fierce as her hair.
Hermione counted down from three and threw the Quaffle up into the air. Ginny reached out just in time and snatched the ball under her arm, saving no time in getting it away from Fred as quickly as possible. She was too quick for them, and flew straight towards George, launching the Quaffle and slamming it straight into the hoop. Jessica and Ron cheered.
"Yes, Ginny!" Jessica Shouted.
"I let her have that one," Shouted George.
"Sure you did," said Ginny sarcastically, flying back to her starting position.
Hermione launched the Quaffle back into the air and this time Harry was the first to catch it. Ginny and Jessica acted on defence and flew together backwards, mirroring him up and down as he tried to get away from them. Harry had no choice, and he threw the Quaffle sideways, giving Fred an opening to catch it and hurl it at Ron, who tried to kick it away but failed miserably.
"Ten all!" Shouted Hermione and Fred gave Harry a high five as they flew back in position.
As the next few rounds played out, Jessica came to see that Ginny's first shot had been a bit of a fluke. The experience of the other team, as well as their size, played to their strengths. Fred was able to reach across Ginny to always gain possession of the Quaffle, and Harry was always so quick when it tipped over to their side that Jessica didn't even have a chance. On the odd chance Ginny did receive the Quaffle, Fred and Harry had blocked her, even nudged her, and it fell out of her hands. Jessica hadn't had possession even once and had started to feel a bit useless. She also didn't like the growing cockiness of the boys as their scores began to rise.
"80-10 to the Purple's" Shouted Hermione after they had been playing for half an hour. Even she didn't seem too pleased with how the game was turning out.
"You might as well have a little rest brother," Fred shouted to George over his shoulder, so that the other team could hear, "I don't think you're going to be very busy any time soon."
"Can't wait to decide the prize," said Harry, grinning, "having a good workout are you, Ron? At least you're not getting bored."
Ron grunted in between pants. He had been kept very busy indeed, and on the last attempt at saving the Quaffle, he had spun a three-sixty on his broom, causing him to have turned a rather sickly shade of green.
Jessica was tired and agitated at their teasing, "Well maybe if you didn't keep hogging the-"
"Oh Jess, I offered to make the teams fair," Fred shouted, pointing at her, "it's not our fault that you're not any good."
"Right," Jessica huffed, determination now boiling inside of her. She had wanted to play nice, but the situation was now calling for something a little bit less than nice. Jessica had found her way around her broom and the pitch by now, so felt comfortable to start taking the games into her own hands.
"3...2...1!"
Hermione threw the ball up into the air, and instead of keeping an eye on the direction of the ball like she had done every other time, she leaned down on her broom and flew downwards before the others could move. Once he noticed what she was doing, Fred did the same thing. They were neck and neck, Fred edging forward due to the length of his reached-out arm, but Jessica was determined to get it. She flew slightly sideways, knocking into Fred and guiding him of course. The path to the Quaffle was now empty, and she scooped the ball under her arm and steered immediately upwards. Her eyes were focused on the goal and the images flying around her were in a blur. A Purple object flew in front of her and she ducked right under it, avoiding the obstacle. The goal was there in sight, all she had to do was get past George...
"80-20!" Shrilled Hermione, hardly containing her happiness.
"Get in!" Jessica could hear Ron celebrate from afar.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Shouted Ginny.
Her vision became normalized as she calmed down, and she flew back into the starting position ready to repeat the same success. She was greeted by Harry gaping at her, amazed at what he had just seen. Fred, equally stunned, resembled a fish having just been caught by a fishing hook.
"I can't believe you pushed me," he said in awe. Though part of his ego had been bruised for sure.
"And you ducked under me!" added Harry.
"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't," said Jessica, smiling at Ginny.
"Well, game on then," Harry goaded devilishly. She had won him over.
With a new sense of confidence, Jessica flew much better in the next few rounds. She raced Harry for the possession of the Quaffle and distracted Fred so that Ginny could dive after it. The boys were starting to tire out, as they finally had to work a bit harder, but this only caused them to be more competitive. When being chased by Ginny, Harry flew higher and higher into the air, then threw the Quaffle down to Fred who was able to spin on his broom and knock the ball straight into Ron's hoop before either he or Jess could move an inch. George had also resorted to heckling Ron, Ginny, and Jess by making loud noises every time one of them came close to doing something right; One time, when Jessica had the Quaffle, George shouted that something horrendous had happened to Ginny - causing Jessica to stop flying to look for her and allowing Fred to bump into her and steal the Quaffle away.
It wasn't all one-sided though, as Jessica and Ginny had learned to play a few dirty tricks of their own. They used their smallness in comparison to playing distraction tactics, flying downwards, upwards, side-to-side, passing the Quaffle to each other so Fred and Harry didn't know where to focus. Eventually, the boys were so confused they focused on one girl each, leaving a larger space to pass the Quaffle until one of them was close to the goal and was able to score the point.
"110-110 - Dinner's going to be ready soon so this has to be the match point!" Shouted Hermione, rummaging through the wooden crate the Quaffle had been stored in. She came back to the centre of the pitch with a tiny golden ball in her hand.
"Everyone is now in play," she announced, "you know the rules, whoever catches the snitch wins!"
"Easy," sniggered Fred, then he turned to Harry, "we'll win in ten seconds."
"Oh so like how easily you were going to win the game?" Ginny questioned sarcastically. Fred's grin was slapped off of his face.
"What's that?" Jessica asked Ginny, pointing at the snitch.
"It's a tiny ball of fury that's bloody annoying," explained Ginny, "it's the fastest ball and the hardest to catch."
"This is unfair, Harry's a seeker!" Ron Shouted down to Hermione.
"Ron stop saying everything is unfair, just get better," said George, flying to be alongside Fred.
"Oh and don't forget, youngest seeker in a century," Harry pointed out, causing Ron to turn bright red with annoyance.
"Okay I'm releasing it on three," Hermione said, lifting her arm with the snitch in her hand. All six players gripped their brooms tightly, their eyes focusing down on the shiny golden ball.
"1...2...3!"
Hermione released her hand and the golden ball sprouted feathery wings, zooming off into the air of its own accord. Now that is nothing like football, Jessica thought, admiring the flight of the little golden figure gliding over the now dimming pink and orange sky.
It was a manic race for the snitch. Everyone was acting recklessly and it appeared now that no one cared about Hermione's penalty rule, including Hermione. Ron and Ginny were rushing around, the chance of finally beating their older brothers right in their grasp, but their older brothers were smarter, and unfortunately much stronger. The twins knew all they had to do was give Harry a free run and they would win. Fred covered Ginny, and George covered Ron. They acted as defenders to stop them from getting close to Harry. This resulted in them shoving them, waving their hands around, and even pretending to faint in George's case. Jessica was now her team's only hope for victory. She flew as fast as she could, following Harry until she could see the snitch for herself. Ginny was right, it was the most frustrating ball she had ever seen, it was constantly changing directions, and the second she got close to it - he moved away. Jessica powered on through though and eventually caught up to be level with Harry, who wasn't so unhappy that she had done so.
"Thinking of trying out for the Gryffindor team when you get to Hogwarts?" He asked as they sped past a 90 degree bend to follow the snitch's new direction.
"I don't know, I'm not sure if I could resist knocking my team members off of their brooms to bring them down a peg or two," Jessica Shouted, the air rushing past her ears, "besides, who's to say I'll be on your house anyway?"
"Don't be silly, of course, you're a Gryffindor," said Harry, "but unfortunately at this moment, I'm going to have to beat you."
His speed increased and left a big distance between them. Jessica tried to go faster, but her broom was no match for Harry's brand-new one, her broom was older and already at its maximum speed. They flew around a couple of minutes more and everyone was getting tired. They were playing for so long that even Mr Weasley had come out to watch with Sirius to enjoy some entertainment before dinner.
"Come on Harry!" Sirius Shouted up encouragingly, and Jessica could see Harry beam down at him.
"George! Stop wrapping your arms around Ron's head! And Fred, let go of Ginny's arm!" Mr Weasley called out.
By a strange touch of fate, the snitch narrowly escaped Harry's grasp when he reached out for it and it was now hurtling towards Jessica at an insane speed. Harry noticed this, his face stricken with fear for the first time in the match, and he flew towards her, both of them now flying towards each other. It was the final race, both of them knew it. One of them was going to get there first...but who was it going to be?
"You need to make a choice Bethan..."
Her hair was flying with the wind, her eyes watering. A low raspy voice was echoing in her head.
"You cannot hide forever..."
Her chest was burning...the necklace was glowing again. She couldn't concentrate, it was hurting her, and she needed to get it off.
But the snitch was only a couple of meters away...
"Help me...or hand over the girl..."
She was dormant...frozen...she had to get it off, she had to get it off...
"Fuck Jess look out!" someone shouted from below.
Focusing on the snitch, and flying too fast to stop, Harry flew into her, knocking her straight off of her broom. She started falling to the ground but stopped short half a meter off of the grass after Mr Weasley had reacted quickly and recited a spell with his wand. The small distance from the ground meant that she only landed now as if she had tripped, and probably saved her from having the many broken bones that she would have received had she kept falling from the original height.
The necklace stopped burning...the voice vanished.
Hermione rushed towards her, stooping down to her knees to get a closer look, the others all flew down and landed on the ground.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly, gently lifting her arm to check if it was broken.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jessica huffed, lifting herself onto her shoulders, "I just zoned out."
"You didn't zone out, you completely checked out!" said Ron as he and the others hurried towards her side.
Jessica looked up at them all huddled around her in a circle, their faces full of concern, and she hated herself for the fact that she found it slightly funny. She started laughing.
"She's gone loopy!" said Sirius, "Arthur what spell did you use?"
"Are you questioning me, Sirius?" Mr Weasley asked him, but admittedly he didn't look the most confident now that Jessica was giggling to herself.
"Nah she's fine," said George, finding her laughter amusing, "She didn't even hit the ground that hard."
"I'm glad you're as sympathetic with her as you are with me," snapped Ginny.
"I caught the snitch by the way," mumbled Harry, opening his closed fist to reveal the golden ball lying dormant in his hand. Hermione glared at him, "Not the time Harry!"
"George is right, she's fine."
Fred kneeled to Jessica's side and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. Her laughter stopped as her head became hot, a burning sensation that was most, unlike the one she had felt from the necklace only moments before. He eased into a weak smile as her eyes softened on his, exchanging a glance that only they shared.
"Next time I tell you to look out," he said quietly, "would you mind listening to me?"
"No I can't do that I'm afraid," she said, a faint smile on her face, "there's not a chance in hell I'd let you win that easily."
They both chuckled and Fred rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "So stubborn...well come on then, let's get Miss Independent up on her feet."
He held out his hand and grabbed hers, pulling her up with little effort from herself. She felt as light as a feather, he did it with ease, and she couldn't help but stare at his bicep tensing as he lifted her. Neither of them let go of each other's hands when Jessica was up off the ground, even when she stumbled forward after her foot slipped on a stone. If anything he steadied her. That moment felt like a minute when they were looking into each other's eyes. She wished that the others hadn't been around, and wondered if he had been thinking the same.
"Dinner's ready!" sang Mrs Weasley from the kitchen. It was welcome news for the teens who had been building up a healthy appetite all afternoon, but an unwelcome distraction for Jessica who wanted just a few more seconds outside.
"Ah yes, I'm starving!" Ron cheered, and he thumped Harry on the back, leading the way back into the house. Sirius and Ginny followed them in.
Mr Weasley leaned in and placed his hand on Jessica's shoulder, assuring her to come to him if anything did start hurting. She said that she would and he too left to go inside after Mrs Weasley was heard shouting at Ron to leave the food before everyone else sat down.
"I'll...see you in there," said Fred, letting go of Jessica's hand. It surprised her how empty this action made her feel.
As Fred walked inside the night sky faded into a periwinkle blue, marking the end of the summer's day. A subtle night breeze flowed through her hair, and her ears listened to the sound of dried leaves rustling on the patio stone. She had finally become a part of the group that day and for that, she knew she would wake up tomorrow much more whole, but there was still that nagging feeling inside that was stopping her from being completely content.
She had heard a voice this time, her visions were getting stronger, and now that Hermione had confirmed her thoughts of the magical abilities of the necklace, she was now starting to piece together why Dumbledore may have wanted her here when he saw it on her neck at the hospital.
Was it a communicator? A fortune-teller? She had no idea. All she knew was that she had to learn how to control it and fast, it was becoming too obvious already.
"Okay I definitely think we need to hang out more now," said Hermione, who Jessica had forgotten was even there. Jessica looked to her left at her, and Hermione was giving her a knowing glance.
"Why are you saying it like that?" she asked. Hermione had seen her blush, she must have done, she had been too easy to read.
"There are a few things I need to tell you if you're going to be sticking around for a while," Hermione said, smiling pitifully at her and linking her arm with hers, "and trust me your best to listen. There's a lot of things you really shouldn't get involved with if you want a simple life...and Fred Weasley is most certainly one of them."