"And that's how we found out that Sirius was my godfather, instead of a massive raving lunatic who wanted to kill me," said Harry. A chorus of laughter erupted after him.
It was three weeks later, the morning of the last day they had before they left for Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were up in the boys' room telling Jessica about one of their many adventures before breakfast. The four of them had gotten closer since the quidditch match, thanks to Jessica begging the Order to let her get involved more in the household chores, and they all had often had late-night chats where they would tell Jessica stories of what they had gotten up to. Sometimes, Ginny, Fred, and George would join them too, sneaking into the room when Mrs Weasley was asleep and bringing snacks. Hearing about Fred and George's antics hadn't shocked her given that she had started to be on the receiving end of their pranks lately around the house, but it was far more impressive than anything anyone had ever attempted at her old muggle school. Their tales of Hogwarts had gotten Jessica excited to go, as they all had always seemed to have quite eventful years.
"That must have been such a head fuck," laughed Jessica, sitting cross-legged in her purple nightshirt at the bottom of Harry's bed.
"You're telling me," said Harry who was leaning back against his headboard and chewing on a Bertie Bots every flavoured bean. "Although I can't complain, at least I didn't find out my pet who I carried around in my pocket all year was actually a fully grown man."
"What?" Gasped Jessica, eager to know more. She thought Lupin being a werewolf would be the most unbelievable thing that would come out of this story. She had wondered why his boggart had been a moon when he took her for third-year Defence Against The Dark Arts, and now she knew why.
"Oh, did we not tell you that bit?" Ron said airily, given the impression that he had purposely glossed over that section of the story.
"No, funnily enough, you started choking on a chocolate frog as Harry was about to tell it," Hermione smirked, glancing at him on the opposite side of his bed. Their legs were close to touching as they top and tailed.
"So basically Ron used to have a rat called Scabbers," Harry started explaining eagerly to Ron's discontent. "Turns out it was a man all along called Peter Pettigrew who was an animagus and could transform into a rat."
"And that's what Sirius is right, an animagus? But not Lupin?" Jessica asked. She had still yet to clarify in her mind the difference between the two.
"That's right, Lupin is an actual werewolf so he can't choose when he turns," Hermione answered, looking slightly suspicious that she didn't know this.
"So you had no idea that he was a man?" Jessica asked Ron, ignoring Hermione's stare.
"Yeah, did you know he was a man when you had him in your pocket close to your dick, Ron?" Harry asked teasingly, throwing another bean into the air and catching it in his mouth.
Jessica resumed laughing as Ron shoved another Cauldron Cake into his mouth aggressively. His silence was the only answer she needed. "Yeh n Percy dnt know it ee-ver when he ad im," he munched.
"Oh yeah, who is Percy?" Jessica asked, slightly quieter, "I've heard him mentioned a little, but every time his name is brought up Ron's mum cries."
"He's my brother," Ron said, sinking into his bedsheets, "but he's disowned us now. He was always a prat but ever since he joined the ministry he's become an even bigger one."
"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that," Jessica apologized. She sensed the atmosphere of the room darken slightly.
"Don't be, he's gone where all the other uptight gits go," said a voice over a large cracking sound.
"Yeah, that's why everyone at the Ministry is so miserable, ties are too tight and the minister has ownership of your balls."
Fred and George had apparated into the room from upstairs, dressed in matching blue pyjamas. Their messy bed-hair was slightly singed and Jessica swore she could see smoke emitting from George's head.
"Please don't tell me you've been experimenting again," said Ron, noticing his brother's smokey hair, "Mum will go ballistic."
George sat down between Ron and Hermione, Hermione's nose crinkling up at the smell of ash, "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"Yeah and you won't rat us out either," Fred told him as he climbed over Harry's bed of sweets to land between Harry and Jessica, "not after how nice we were with our present."
Fred and George had been looking for the perfect time to give Ron his new dress robes and had wanted to do it as subtly as possible for some reason. Jessica asked why this was when they had cornered her in the kitchen one time before dinner, asking her to slip it into his room on their behalf as she had seen them buy it in the shop, but they didn't want to answer. The opportunity came however when Ron and Hermione had received their letters from Hogwarts saying they had been made prefects, and they had given it to him at the celebratory dinner that night. Ron had found this quite unusual, as both Fred and George had been mocking him all day about being given the honour.
"I knew that was a bribe!" Scoffed Ron, "You two always have an ulterior motive."
"Not a bribe little brother," Fred said, picking up a fizzing whizbee from Harry's stash, "just a reminder of how much we try to look out for you."
"Yeah and trust me it was a lot harder when you had that longer haircut last year," added George, taking one of Ron's cauldron cakes, "the number of people making comments..."
"What the fuck you had the same hair!" Grunted Ron, snatching the sweet bag away from George.
Jessica looked at the picture on the mantelpiece that she had looked at many times before due to the warm feeling it gave her. It was a picture of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione at the Quidditch World Cup last year. All of them were either decorated in green and white or red and black, each boy with much longer hair than they did now -except Bill who had always had his hair long.
"Ah but you forget the key difference little brother," said Fred, biting a chewy bit of the whizbee off, "we looked good with it."
Everyone except Ron sniggered and Fred smiled at Jessica as he passed her the bag of fizzing whizbees to pick one from. Jessica felt Hermione's glare out of the corner of her eye as she took one.
"So how are you guys feeling about going into your last year?" Harry asked with a grin, "Got anything planned?"
"Oh we have something planned alright," said Fred with a smirk. He and George shared a mischievous look. "Some might say we're even setting up our future."
"Studying for your N.E.W.T's then you mean?" Hermione asked them boldly.
"Oh yeah, you know us," said George, "education first."
"WILL TWO OF YOU COME DOWN AND SET UP THE BREAKFAST TABLE PLEASE?" Shouted Mrs Weasley from downstairs. Jessica was always amazed at how far her voice could travel despite her being such a tiny woman.
"Yeah I'll do it, I want first dibs on the bacon for once," said Fred. He slapped his knees and pushed himself up. Turning to Jess, his hand reached out "Want to help Jess?"
Jessica's heart fluttered at being asked, and could only muster a nod as she grabbed his hand to pull her up. She didn't know why he had this effect on her, but it started to be a regular occurrence in his presence.
"Oh but Jess you told me you would help me," said Hermione quickly, standing up and blocking both of their paths.
"Did I?" Jessica asked, not quite remembering when she had meant to have promised this.
Hermione's eyes stumbled between Harry and Ron, who had been around them both all morning and whose eyes had now narrowed on hers, then she looked back at Jessica. "Yeah you said you'd help me with...with girl things," she replied, whispering the last part.
"Right," said Ron, clambering out of bed and clearly uncomfortable at the subject matter, "I'll go with you, Fred!"
"Yep me too," Harry chimed in, jumping to his feet. Within seconds, they were both up and out of the door.
George slowly stood up, a smug look on his face. "Don't worry, they'll grow up soon," he said, "that's the difference between boys and men you see."
"Yeah we've heard it all," said Fred, "What is it, time of the month?"
Hermione huffed and grabbed Jessica by the wrist to pull her out of Harry and Ron's room, leaving Fred and George behind. She led her upstairs to the third-floor bathroom, which had been designated as the ladies, and locked the door behind them as she dragged her in. The bathroom was the same as the rest of the house, an old decaying image of the magnificent and elegant room it had once been. It had a large oval decadent mirror, and the bath was made out of marble.
"What are you doing?!" Hermione whispered to her.
"...helping you apparently!" Jessica hushed back, confused.
"No, I mean with Fred! I thought you said you were going to stay away," Hermione snapped back.
"I am!"
"Then why did you jump at the chance to help set breakfast up?"
"Because he asked and it needs doing! Honestly Hermione what do you think is going to happen if we're alone for a quick five minutes?"
"You don't get it, This is how it starts!" Hermione told her. She placed both hands on Jessica's shoulders and pushed her down onto the toilet seat, pacing as she talked. "One day it's five minutes here, like when you both fed Buckbeak together last week after Fred 'conveniently found you first when Sirius had to help Remus with something, then it's ten minutes there like asking you to help this morning, then it just snowballs!"
"And what's wrong with that?" Jessica asked, "We're just becoming good friends like I am with you guys."
"It's not the same," sighed Hermione, and she slumped frustratedly down into the sink. "I keep telling you...Fred and George are great when they're here, but at Hogwarts, it's not the same. We hardly see them as much when we're there, and not to mention they're two years above, they have a whole other set of people to hang out with...it's just the way it works and I don't want to see you get your hopes up."
"Well you'll be alright then," Jessica assured her, standing off the toilet and facing Hermione, "because there are no hopes to go up, I don't like him like that."
She was surprised at how she had managed to convince herself that was the case. All those hints, those little sparks she felt whenever he was around...she had been able to suppress them after Hermione's advice.
"Even if I did believe you," Hermione said suspiciously, smiling at the lie she thought Jessica was concealing, "I have to remind you of what I said last time we spoke about this. When we're in Gryffindor Tower it's like a mini house, and if you date him and it goes wrong, you'll have to see him every morning and every night, and that's without the Ron factor. There's no telling how he'd act if you two started sneaking around. I don't want you to stop being friends with us because you can't stand to be around Fred."
"And I'll remind you what I said," Jessica said softly, "I get it, house relationships are hard, and trust me, I wouldn't want to risk any friendships over a guy. You have to hear me out though, nothing is going to happen. I'm staring at a new school, that's bad enough, I don't need more complications."
Jessica stared right into Hermione's eyes, straight-faced, trying to make her believe her.
"Good," Hermione relented. Her shoulders relaxed from their tense state."Because I see the way he looks at you. I've seen it in him before, I know what he's thinking."
"And what look what that be?" Jessica asked her sarcastically. She twirled a strand of her hair with her finger like she was playing dumb. "The I want to settle down and watch sunsets with you look? Or the I want to rip your clothes off right now look? Because that's an important distinction, Hermione."
Hermione gave her a look of disappointment. "Jessica..."
"I'm joking!" she sighed and she grabbed both of Hermione's hands with her own. "I don't care if he looks at me, I don't care if he likes me, I don't care if he saves me from a burning building and then passionately kisses me in the rain...I like him, as a friend. I'm pretty sure it's mutual too."
"That scenario just rolled off of your tongue didn't it," Hermione mumbled sarcastically. She was as stubborn as Jessica was, and Jessica couldn't help but admire her for it.
"Hermione..."
"Okay, okay! I'll drop it! I guess I'm just stressed about this year, everything is going to be different. With O.W.L's and the Order, you know Ron's going to try out for the Quidditch team...you're going to need to help me keep the boys on track."
"You know I will! I'll need your help though to help me pass, I've never been any good at tests," Jessica joked, "but that's assuming I'm even in your house..."
"Oh don't be stupid, you will be," Hermione snapped, changing roles from an interrogator to an unsuccessful motivational speaker, "unless you haven't noticed Jess, this whole house is full of Gryffindors! I'm amazed if the sorting hat even touched your head before he put you with us."
"BREAKFAST IS READY! GIRLS, YOU BETTER GET DOWN HERE BEFORE THE BOYS EAT IT ALL!"
Mrs Weasley called for breakfast and Hermione unlocked the bathroom door. They walked out to a startled Ginny in her dressing gown, and they had to explain that Jessica was showing Hermione how to do something with her hair. They didn't expect to be successful in this lie as neither of them had even touched their hair since rolling out of bed that morning, but Ginny asked no further questions.
***
The whole day flew by at Grimmauld Place, with Jessica's last lessons with the Order taking place. They had decided that it would be a day of final exams, summarising everything she had learned from all four years of the curriculum. Moody and Kingsley tested her with producing a shrinking solution, which she almost correctly reproduced except she added too much leech juice and the solution turned too poisonous to test. Remus and Sirius tested her on charms, ending in her being able to perfect the summoning charm on Sirius's gold pocket watch. Tonks also tested her on the handling of a mandrake to cover Herbology, which luckily made nobody faint or cry.
Everything was going well until her History of Magic and Care Of Magical Creatures tests, where she completely forgot the entire timeline of the goblin wars and got burnt by a blast-ended skrewt respectively. All that was left was astronomy, and she was halfway through completing her star chart with her un-singed hand when she and Remus heard a scream from upstairs.
Jessica ran behind Remus as he climbed the staircase two steps at a time, his wand at the ready, and basted the spare room door open...revealing Mrs Weasley sobbing in the corner, all bent down and shivering. The room was bare, only a few old and forgotten furniture pieces lay scattered around, and it was clear that out of all the rooms at Grimmauld Place, this was the one less cared for.
"Oh dear," mumbled Remus, looking down at the gap between him and Mrs Weasley. Jessica couldn't see what it was as she was directly behind him, but as she stepped out from under his shadow instant regret hit her chest. She wished she had never been so curious as to look. Jessica let out a small scream at the sight, clutching her mouth out of shock.
Lying there on the dusty hardwood floorboards lay Fred Weasley.
Still, lifeless....dead.
She stared down at his body. Skin cut and beaten. His fiery hair had been blown, and there was soot and ash all over his bottleneck jumper. Fred's eyes were closed, as if in peaceful sleep, but she wanted to do nothing but wake him up. The only thing that stopped the morbid image from consuming the room was the smile carved into his face. Fred had been laughing. He had been trying to crack a joke to the very end. What had happened? Fred couldn't be dead...he couldn't be...nothing at Grimmauld place was that harmful. He was joking, he had to be, maybe it was one of the twin's pranks that had gone too far this time...that was what the smile was for, he couldn't contain it.
Her vision flickered, an alternate image appearing in her eyes.
She was no longer in Grimmauld Place, but instead in some grand stone-tiled corridor. It was dark, and she could hardly see anything that wasn't in her immediate sight from all of the dust in the air. There was rubble all around her, and she kicked through it to reveal the image she had just seen - Fred lying dead on the cold stone floor. The sudden sound of piercing screams made her clutch her ears. They were voices of men, women, and children, some frightened, some jeering. She turned around to see where the voices were coming from and was met by a flash of red light. Jessica ducked and fell onto Fred's solid chest. The light beamed over her head and she saw that it was combating a green light of similar effect, the red winning. She clutched with the fear of not knowing where she was, wishing she would be back home, with Fred still safe and alive.
"Jessica, it's not real, it's a boggart!" shouted Lupin in her ear, snatching her out of her vision.
She was back in the room, at Grimmauld Place.
Jessica had been frozen in time and was still standing up in the room, looking down at where Fred's body had been. Remus and Mrs Weasley hadn't seen her move at all. It had all been in her head.
Quite shaken up still, and acting upon orders alone as she wouldn't have known what to do otherwise, Jessica withdrew her wand from her back pocket and walked towards the boggart which was reflecting Mrs Weasley's greatest fear. It was changing every second between each of the Weasley children, from George to Ron, to Ginny...all of whom were dead. Jessica couldn't help but feel like she intruding on a truly private moment, seeing Mrs Weasley so sobbing loudly on Remus's shoulder and leaving wet patches on his rugged cardigan. How could Jessica tell them what she had just seen in that state? It would only have made things worse for Mrs Weasley, and it hadn't even been real. As she approached the body cautiously the boggart changed into an anaconda, reflecting Jessica's worst fear...snakes.
"Riddikulus!"
She struck her wand and the snake changed into a baby panda with a red bow tie, who couldn't quite stand up and started rolling about the room as it struggled to walk. Jessica had always found pandas cute and it was the first thing she could think of.
"Nice one Jessica," said Sirius, who had appeared in the doorway. He had been alerted by the noise Mrs Weasley was making. It came to her attention that she and Remus had left the door open, and soon enough everyone else would hear as well. They would come and the Weasley children would see their mother crying, crying over the image of their deaths. Jessica wondered if her mother's boggart would be the same, but even the thought of it saddened her to her core. She never wanted to see her mother cry.
"Muffilato," Jessica whispered, pointing her wand at the door as Sirius closed it behind him. She had learned the spell from Moody, who thought it was useful to teach her the soundproofing charm. Mrs Weasley wouldn't want her children to see her like this, and if they couldn't hear her, they wouldn't come looking.
"It's gone now Molly, it's gone, it wasn't real," Remus said to Mrs Weasley as he stroked her red hair, her still crying intensely into his shoulder. This was the first time Jessica had seen a boggart in action, and she truly realized what a worst-fear personified could do to a person who wasn't ready for it.
"I know..." Mrs Weasley sobbed, frantically searching her skirt pockets for a handkerchief, "But who's to say that with him back it won't become re-"
"It won't," Sirius interjected calmly, walking towards her and Lupin and kneeling beside her, his brown shaggy hair lining his face, "we're working on defeating him, and tomorrow they will all be safe under Dumbledore's protection."
He looked to the floor solemnly and then up to Jessica. She didn't know if this meant for her to leave, as Sirius hadn't really warmed to her as much as the other members had, but as she turned away to leave, he spoke again.
"Jessica has also become very skilled," he added. Jessica stopped, her back facing the three of them. She listened intently. "Much more than I thought she would, I have to admit," Sirius continued, "I think, if asked, she would take on the Order's duty of care over them whilst they are at Hogwarts. Would you like that Molly?"
As Mrs Weasley attempted a 'yes', Jessica turned back towards Sirius, his eyes full of stubborn remorse. She knew that he was sorry now about the coldness he had given to her within their first meeting after getting to know and teach her these past few weeks, and even though she didn't know how she was to protect these wizards much more advanced than her - there was a pleading in him, and a sense of desperation from Mrs Weasley as she lifted her wet face up at Jessica, that meant she could not possibly turn down their request.
"Of course," Jessica agreed, knowing not what to do except glide her fingers over her wand, "I'll-I'll do my best."
"Thank you," said Mrs Weasley, lifting herself and rushing to Jessica, clasping her face with her hands like she did the first time they met, "you've come such a long way you know, I'm so proud of you. I'm happy that they're going to have someone like you with them this year, such a good girl. I know you'll do good by them."
"They can look after themselves fine, but I'm happy to do what I can if need be," said Jessica, pulling off Mrs Weasley's hands and smiling at her affectionately. She had grown fond of Mrs Weasley. After all, she had supplied her with clothes and good food, so the least she could do was reassure her to stop worrying, even if there was nothing she could practically do. Mrs Weasley laughed at herself, wiping her wet eyes with her flowery apron, and the shock of the boggart slipped away from her. At least that was the impression she was giving off. She puffed out her chest in false confidence and walked out of the room, immediately shouting at Fred and George for something and returning to her old self.
Jessica wondered if she had taken some pleasure in being able to shout at her sons while she could, having just seen what she had just seen.
"Good job with the boggart," said Lupin understatedly, using his wand to dry his cardigan shoulder, "I think you've come a long way from not knowing any magic at all."
"Well I've had good teachers," she said, smiling sadly and gesturing in his direction, "thank you Sirius for what you said."
"I meant it," said Sirius, and he pressed a hand on her shoulder, "this time tomorrow Gryffindor would have gained a great young witch."
Though she smiled at both men, one of whom had been her most loyal teacher in the house, there was a numb pain in her stomach that told her that she didn't quite agree with them.
For the first time, her vision had been clear, and it had been one of the worst things she thought she would never have to see. She had seen someone she cared for, a member of the Weasley family she had come to love, dead on the floor of a strange place. Surely it was only in her head, a strange trick of the eye, but even she couldn't convince herself fully now that it was the case.
Perhaps she was going mad.