"I told you we were going to be late!"
"Molly calm down we're running perfectly on time, Remus and Alastor, are you okay with your groups?"
"Yes but I'm missing most of mine- SIRIUS NO YOU'RE NOT COMING!"
It had been the most frantic morning at Grimmauld place to date. All the planning in the world couldn't have prevented the stress that came with getting seven kids ready to go to school on their first day back. Jessica had woken up early, having hardly slept at all, and was currently packing the final additions in her trunk whilst listening to the ruckus outside her door. Mr Weasley had lent her an old trunk of theirs, another gesture of kindness that Jessica hoped one day to repay. It was a bit tattered and scratched in places, and the handle was broken off, but it held everything just fine. Next were her school books (which she smiled at as she placed them in), then her night and weekend clothes, and then finally her new Hogwarts robes.
She pulled her ponytail tighter to signify a job well done and then pulled down the lid to secure the trunk with the two leather latches. That was everything packed...except for one last thing. Jessica stood up from her knees and walked over to her bed, a large crash being heard from a couple of rooms down. She picked up the red and gold striped tie that had been lying on top of her duvet and lifted it to her nose to smell the memories of last night. The smell of smoke, of cinnamon, of Fred...of the moment his lips had touched hers. It was a comforter, a little bit of Grimmauld place that she could bring with her.
"What are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" Moody shouted up the stairs from below.
It's just a tie she tried to tell herself, and she rolled it up and slid it into her coat pocket. She bent down and grabbed her trunk with both hands, struggling to lift it with the intent of carrying it downstairs. Suddenly she wished she was allowed to do magic in front of others - this would be far easier to do with a spell.
"Do you need a hand with that?" someone asked behind her.
Jessica looked up as she managed to secure the trunk in her arms. George was standing in the doorframe smiling at her struggle. He was wearing a green hand-knitted jumper, a present that she knew had come from Mrs Weasley last Christmas.
"No, I'm fine, thanks though," she replied, wincing as the corner of the trunk dug into her chest.
George tutted and crossed his arms, leaning to his left side on her doorframe, "Okay then, let's see you take a step forward."
Jessica pulled herself together as best as she could and gripped the trunk extra tight. Taking a leap of faith, her right foot reached out, and she had to crush the instinct to breathe out of relief when her left foot joined her.
"See," Jessica said confidently in the hope that George hadn't seen her legs shaking, " I can handle it."
George's eyebrows raised in praise, "Fred is so right about you."
Jessica hesitated at the mention of Fred's name and remembered that George had known that he was in her room last night. Had he known that they had kissed? Would Fred have told him?
"I mean you're probably correct but what am I right about?" Fred said as he apparated to George's side. His light brown denim jacket complimented his auburn hair, and it made him look like the embodiment of the Autumn season beginning outside. This was the first time Jessica had seen him since last night as she had skipped breakfast, and butterflies rose in her stomach.
"She's stubborn," George told him, "she'd rather injure herself than admit she needs help."
Her cheeks blushed as Fred looked at her in the same way George was, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. She felt her fingers get sweaty and the trunk started slipping from her grip. Flashbacks of gripping his shirt fluttered in her mind.
"We'll come on then, you heard what Moody said, move it Clarke," Fred sniggered, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth.
Jessica had an electric pulse run through her body. It was a challenge, Fred was testing her. Neither of them believed she could do it. Well, up until this moment she hadn't believed she could do it either, but now she felt like she wanted nothing more than to prove them both wrong. She looked Fred dead in the eyes and regained grip on the bottom of her trunk. It took all her strength but she took that first step forward, fuelled by the competitive energy inside her. With each step it got easier, and before long she was stood in front of both of them, two towers blocking her exit.
She had done it.
"If you'd excuse me," she said, smirking at Fred. The pain of lifting the heavy luggage took a backseat to her pride.
"As you wish," said Fred and he glanced over at George as they both twisted out of the way in unison like saloon bar doors. Jessica squeezed between them, feeling quite proud of herself.
"I'll meet you down there, I want to scare mum one last time," she could hear George say to Fred as she walked across the landing. A scratch sound and the scream that followed from below told her that he had succeeded in his mission. As she approached the stairs the trunk slipped out of her hands, and though she ran to pick it up, it floated all the way down to the ground floor of its own accord. Someone had enchanted it to speed her up.
"Oh for god sake I said I would do it!"
"Oi," Fred whispered from across the hallway, "Miss Independent, pipe down and get in here," He nodded back into her room and then walked in there, leaving Jessica with no choice but to follow him. Her butterflies in her stomach only became more active with each step she took, anticipating what would happen when she and Fred were alone again. She walked into the room and stood near the dresser.
"Right I know we don't have much time," he said as he closed the door behind her, "but I need to talk to you about last night."
Jessica took a step away from him. His voice was serious, not flirty in any way. Away was his confident demeanor that he had had just a few minutes ago with George at his side, he now couldn't look her in the eye. She was so confused, his body language had done an almost 180-degree turn.
"Anything specific?" she asked.
Fred leaned his head back on the door and closed his eyes. "Jess, listen, I don't want you to get the wrong idea..."
Jessica had heard those words too many times before. Suddenly the hopeful excitement evaporated from her and her heart fell from her chest. He had regretted kissing her last night, and now he didn't know how to backtrack. She had been in this situation before, where she tried clinging on, and it always ended in ruin. That was not going to be the case this time, she respected Fred's company too much. She thought herself lucky that he had told her so early on.
"...you've got to understand, George and I sneaked in a bit of FireWhisky, and we..."
"It's fine," she interrupted without thinking.
Fred looked up at her tentatively with his mouth still open mid-sentence, "what's fine?"
"We can just pretend it never happened," she said, the words falling out of her mouth like a script she had rehearsed with all the boys she had ever liked, "you were tipsy, I was tired and wanted comfort, it's probably for the best that we just forget about it. I was going to tell you the same thing at some point anyway."
This was a lie.
She had lied through her teeth, her voice cold and standoffish. She couldn't show any emotion in case she gave her truth away. His eyes widened and his thumb stroked the doorknob anxiously. She knew that she had just handed him an easy way out, and he didn't know how to react.
"Oh really," he said, sinking his hips back onto the doorknob, "I didn't think you - well...are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure," she replied quickly.
There was an awkward silence. Fred's eyes glazed over as he struggled to move forward with the conversation. The shouting from downstairs filled the gap, but if anything it just reminded them of the emptiness that now filled the room. Jessica wanted to storm out of the door, embarrassed and angry by his sudden rejection, but she had to hold her head high. Her mother always taught her to never let boys see her as weak.
"Agreed then, we pretend it never happened?" she spoke out into the quiet, deciding to take control and be the one to end the conversation.
"Agreed," Fred added, and he slumped up straight, the weight off of his shoulders, "We're still okay to be friends though yeah?"
Jessica had to suppress an exasperation. Even though she had been the one to propose it, there was still a small hope in her that thought he might fight her on it and say he wanted to give things a go, but this told her everything she needed to know.
"Yeah...still friends."
***
"Come on we're going to be late!" Mrs Weasley shouted as she led the large group running through Kings Cross Station. They had all split up into three groups when they left Grimmauld place; Harry and Jess had been assigned to Moody and Tonks, Ron and Hermione had gone with Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Fred, George, and Ginny made their way with Remus. Two of the three groups had met up outside the entrance to the station, however Remus's group was still nowhere to be seen.
"Typical, packed with muggles!" said Tonks as they swerved a large group of tourists waiting for an open top bus.
Jessica took in the atmosphere of the familiar surroundings as she ran alongside Harry with the luggage cart. She hadn't been around 'muggles' for three weeks now, and it made her realize how different her life had become. There were businessmen and women in their suits sipping coffee whilst on their daily commute, kids in groups wearing their school uniform and having a laugh, and they were all oblivious to the pack of witches and wizards running among them - as she must have been at some point too.
"Right the train leaves in five minutes, Weasley, Granger, you first," growled Moody as they ran up Platform 9. Jessica looked around the platform, there were no trains there. She had hoped the stories that Ron and Harry had told her about platform 9 3/4's weren't true, but it appeared that they were.
Ron and Hermione both pushed their trolley towards a brick column in the middle of the platform. As they reached it Jessica flinched in horror as she thought she would see them crash, but when she opened her eyes they were gone. They had disappeared completely. Mr and Mrs Weasley ran at it next, and this time Jessica kept her eyes open to watch them run through the column and out of sight. She was amazed. Even more so at the fact that the people around them hadn't noticed them doing it.
"Right Potter, Clarke you next," Moody ordered, "Me and Nymphadora will wait for the others."
Harry gripped the left side of the luggage trolley and placed his hand on top of Jessica's who was on the right. He knew that she was apprehensive and had done this out of care.
"Ready?" he asked her.
She took a deep breath and looked at the column. Tonks gave an encouraging smile. "Ready," she replied.
They ran together towards it, Jessica's eyes closing in last-minute regret, and then they emerged on the other side of the wall, a steam train horn sounding off in front of her. She opened her eyes. She and Harry had run onto an entirely new platform, a single one that wasn't beside any other. There was a large red steam train on a single track, with a metal plate on the front reading 'Hogwarts Express'. Hundreds of kids, teenagers, and their families were huddled around the platform floor, loading luggage onto the train carriage and saying their goodbyes.
"I think I can see them, down there!" said Harry and he pointed straight ahead to where Ron and Hermione could just about be spotted. They pushed the trolley through the crowd and met them near the end of the train, Mr Weasley currently loading Hermione's luggage into the compartment storage.
"You did it alright then?" Ron asked them as they approached. He still looked half-awake and there were feathers on his Burgundy jumper from where his owl Pigwidgeon had attacked him that morning.
"Yeah, turns out running at a brick wall is super easy," Jessica replied, parking the trolley in the middle of the pavement. Ron helped her lift her trunk onto the train with the other students and Mr Weasley did the same with Harry's.
"Where's Remus?" Hermione asked as all five of them stood in a circle.
"They still weren't there when we left the platform," said Harry. Hermione stood on her tiptoes to look over the crowd and Jessica did the same. Students were now boarding the train, it was due to leave any minute, and Fred, George, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen.
"Should we go find a compartment then?" Ron asked.
Hermione rested her heels back on the floor, "Ron don't you remember? We've got to go to the perfect carriage for our induction!"
"Oh so we're not going to be sitting together then?" Harry asked sadly. Jessica saw that he looked quite upset, and was reminded of how Harry had told her that he, Ron, and Hermione had always sat together on the Journey to and from Hogwarts since their very first year.
"Well, uh-" Ron started to splutter.
"Hey Harry, hey Ron!" said a tall lanky boy with short black hair. He had emerged from the crowd wearing a grey and blue striped cardigan and was carrying a strange cactus-like type plant. He approached the boys and they dived into deep conversation, Ron happy to have been saved from delivering bad news to his best friend. Hermione also circled in as she knew the boy too, leaving Jessica on her own.
"So, all ready to go to Hogwarts dear?" asked Mrs Weasley, walking to her side. Her cheeks were rosy from the rush to get there on time.
"I think so,' replied Jessica, fidgeting in nervousness, "I really want to thank you, you all have been so kind these past couple of weeks."
Mrs Weasley clamped her hands with her own and rubbed them together, her smile motherly. "Don't you worry about it, it was our pleasure."
"Yes and don't forget you are more than welcome back at Christmas," added Arthur as he joined the two. "You're always welcome at the Weasleys."
"I would love to," Jessica said, then looked around and dropped her voice into a mumble, "but won't I be able to go back home for the holidays? Do you think you'll be able to solve the case of my auntie's murder before then?"
Mr Weasley straightened himself up and tugged at the bright blue scarf he was wearing. Mrs Weasley also lowered her eye line to the floor, unable to meet her gaze. "We'll do our best," he said with a kind smile, "but in the possibility that we haven't by then, just know your room will be waiting ready for you."
Though intended, this did not convince Jessica one bit. She stared up at Mr and Mrs Weasley and pretended to act like she was okay with their response in order to not upset them, but she couldn't possibly think of why she wouldn't be able to go home after the first term. She wouldn't have seen her parents in four months at that point.
"So, any last advice?" she asked them both. She would usually rely on her father to say something witty, or her mother's hug, but the Weasleys were a pretty good replacement.
"Well I say this to all my children, but recently the younger ones don't seem to be listening," Mrs Weasley sighed and she and Mr Weasley shared a knowing look like it was an inside joke, "keep your head down, pay attention in class, and for Merlin's sake stay out of trouble!"
All three of them laughed as they had heard Mrs Weasley tell Fred, George, and Ron this every day for the past week. Fred and George especially appeared to have had quite the track record for mischief, which Jessica could believe. Ron's trouble had always been linked with Harry and Hermione, and those stories had been quite unbelievable in themselves.
"Oh and if you could help it, stay away from... hello Lucius," Mr Weasley trailed off.
Someone had blocked out the sunlight from behind Jessica and a shadow now loomed over her. Jessica looked over her shoulder to see a man stood there with a mane of long platinum blonde hair, his eyes dark and hollowed. He was dressed all in black and had a cane that had a silver-plated snake's head on it, an air of aristocratic glamour that made him look like some sort of goth politician. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put a finger on who.
"Good Morning," Lucius said in a rather cold tone. His voice was dead and smooth, and Jessica imagined that his tongue could cut ice. "I can't believe the Ministry has let you have the day off, I thought you'd find it important to be on the case of those extra accidents happening."
"No, family first," said Mr Weasley as he forced a smile, "it's tradition to see the kids off on their first day back."
Jessica got the impression that he was trying to be as calm and polite to this man as possible as she was there to witness it. The lack of warmth in the air told her that these two men were not friends of any sort.
"Family blood before muggles," said Lucius slowly with one raised eyebrow, "can it be that you are finally seeing sense, Arthur?"
Jessica narrowed her eyes at Lucius, not impressed by his condescending tone towards Mr Weasley - a man who she had seen only ever share kindness. She didn't like the way he had accentuated the term 'muggles' either, as if the word meant something dirty and he couldn't even bare to say it. He was not like the Weasley's, that was clear.
Lucius noticed her glaring at him and turned his head slowly downwards to look upon her. She stared into the black holes that were his eyes, and immediately regretted her decision to do so. He looked her up and down, sizing her up, and the corner of his lips curled outwards. "Now who might you be?"
"I'll take this one father," said a boy's voice. Draco, the boy she had met at Madame Malkin's, appeared from behind. The connection was formed instantly in her mind, she now knew why Lucius had felt so familiar. Both father and son had the same pompous sneer as they stood side by side. Draco was wearing the same black fitted suit that he had been wearing at their previous meeting, however, he was carrying the accessory of a black briefcase this time that she guessed had been heavily influenced by his dad.
"This is Jessica Clarke, the one I told you about,' Draco announced.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their friend stopped talking at once as soon as they noticed Draco's unwelcomed appearance. They turned to face the pair and shuffled forwards to back Jessica up. From their solemn faces, Jessica could tell they all disliked the Malfoy's just as much as Mr and Mrs Weasley did.
"Jessica Clarke," said Lucius, studying her with the most awful surly expression on his face, "ah yes, Draco mentioned you. The exchange student?"
"That's right," Jessica muttered.
Lucius's hand rippled his traveling cloak as he placed his cane in front of him, stepping forward to get a closer look. "So interesting, a transfer at your age. Where was your old school if you don't mind me asking?"
Ron's stomach pressed against hers as he moved in closer behind her. She was glad to know he was there, but she had actually had to work at not being pushed forwards by him at the same time.
"What's it to you?" she asked. Ron and Harry smirked.
Draco stared at Jessica with his ice-grey eyes, a look of suppressed anger and offense that she dared question his father. Her first impression of him had been right, a snobby upper-class rich-kid who had a pompous bully for a father. Apples like that never fall far from the tree.
"What a smart mouth you have there," said Lucius, "brave, very brave, but very stupid if one doesn't learn to control it. Your influence Arthur?"
"If it is then I'm proud," replied Arthur, stepping out in front of Jessica and facing Lucius face to face, "now if you don't mind, I would like to say goodbye to my children and their friends before the Express leaves."
"Of course," replied Lucius with the impression that he had just sucked a very sour lemon, "take all the time you need, while you still can. Come on Draco, let's get you to the Prefects carriage. Good day, Arthur."
"Good Day Lucius," Mr. Weasley told him curtly.
"Yeah see you in a bit Draco, save me a seat!" said Ron sarcastically, and he waved at the Malfoy's as they strutted out of sight. Though Hermione and Harry were laughing at him, Jessica wanted nothing more than for Ron to not antagonize them more. She couldn't help but feel like this wasn't going to be the last time she'd see Draco and his father, especially as they had been so interested in her past.
As they watched the Malfoy's disappear through the crowd though there was a more welcomed sight that made everyone feel a little bit lighter. Fred and George were running down the platform, slightly windswept but otherwise perfectly fine. Ginny and Tonks were close behind them, but Remus and Moody were far behind; Remus Red-faced and out of breath. They had made it just in time.
"That is the last time we walk to this damn station," huffed Fred as he flung his trunk onto the train carriage.
"We got lost, the muggles around here are really unfriendly, they just kept pushing past us," said George as he did the same.
"Did you not take the tube?" asked Jessica, and Fred and George gave her an irritated glance. They didn't seem so impressed by her giving her input now after they had just had to run a couple of miles.
"What the fuck is the tube?" George asked.
"Sorry, it's...nothing," she mumbled and Harry giggled behind her back. Having been raised in the non-magical world himself, Harry was able to help Jess convince Moody and Tonks to take the underground as it was the quickest way around London. It was quite entertaining really, commuters didn't know who to look at most; Tonks with her bright blue hair or Moody's false eye.
The train conductor blew the departure whistle and the hundreds of students lined up upon the platform started loading into the carriages. Remus and Moody eventually caught up and Mr Weasley helped Ginny pack up her things. All the adults then said their goodbyes, hugging each one of them and telling them to have a good term, or in Moody's case giving them advice on how to suspect suspicious activity, and then they were all sent on their way.
Ron was the last one on and he shut the door behind him, the Weasleys, Jessica, Harry, and Hermione waving at the Order from the window as the train departed the platform. The pit of Jessica's stomach churned as she clung to the last glimpses of Remus and Moody that she could see. Without teachers like that, who knew who she was and what she was capable of, how was she going to cope in her studies now? She had only had a three-week crash course in magic, and who's to say if her good attempts at spells were even anything more than a fluke?
"Should we get a compartment then?" Harry asked finally as the train glided along out of the city and into the plain green endless fields of the suburbs.
"Harry," said Hermione, "me and Ron...the prefect's carriage."
"Ooh you're a prefect Hermione?" Fred said sarcastically, "you never mentioned it, you should've said."
"Well sorry that I'm proud of it," snapped Hermione, "and you should be proud that your brother is one too, it's a great and honorable achievement."
"Leave it, Hermione," Ron muttered under his breath. Fred and George had still not given up their mocking of the fact that Ron had become perfect just like his older brothers before him, they had reminded him every day that he had fallen to the bad side. Jessica couldn't help but think the mocking may have come from the fact that they were never chosen as ones themselves.
"Alright touchy," said George, "we'll walk with you then if you like, I think Lee and Angelina are up towards the front end of the train too."
"You're not sitting with us either?" asked Ginny, a little disappointed. Jessica was glad Ginny had said this as that was what she was thinking as well. She looked up at Fred, who now appeared a little sheepish and was focusing intensely on the window behind him. Perhaps wrongly, she had assumed that they were going to be sitting with her too.
"We haven't seen Lee all summer, we've seen you lot every day," George replied and he ruffled her hair, "you can miss us for a couple of hours I'm sure."
The group was getting smaller by the minute, and Jessica couldn't imagine what Hermione would say if they were alone right now. She had been right all along, everything she warned her of was coming true.
Ron suddenly became very cheerful with a big grin on his face, "and I'm sure Angelina's looking forward to seeing you after last year am I right."
"Shut up Ron," muttered Fred dismissively as he continued to stare out of the window. They were now flying by acres of farmland, horses and sheep grazing on the grass around them.
"What?" Ron asked as his smile dimmed, "I thought after the Yule Ball-"
"Oi, he said zip it," said George firmly, tapping Ron on the side of the head, "how do you know what girls look forward to anyway."
Ron clenched his jaw and the tops of his ears turned pink. Harry and Hermione looked at each other awkwardly.
Jessica ignored George however, and instead averted her attention to Fred. The others may not have known why George had suddenly gone on the defense to keep Ron quiet, but Jessica had just managed to put two and two together. The sudden change of heart earlier that morning made all the more sense now. Fred unstuck his eyes away from the window to sneak a glimpse of Jessica's reaction, and she glared at him straight into the browns of his eyes. She wanted to communicate that she had worked it out, and was pretty sure he got the message.
"Well better get going, I don't want us to miss anything," Hermione said softly, leading Ron to walk away with her. Ron looked up at his brothers, then said goodbye to the other three. He followed Hermione in silence and didn't respond to her attempts at conversation.
"Well we better find a carriage," said Ginny, "all the good ones will be gone soon if we don't."
She set off down the corridor in the other direction to look in at the compartment windows to see which ones were empty, leaving Harry and Jessica behind with Fred and George.
"See you later guys," said George, "Good luck with the sorting Jess, although I'm sure we'll be seeing you straight after anyway. Right, Fred?"
Fred reluctantly faced Jessica at George's gesture to add words of support. He couldn't ignore her in front of Harry and George even if he wanted to.He looked down, his mouth parted slightly to begin to speak.
"Yeah, definitely..."
Jessica smiled at them both, though mainly at George as she didn't want to see Fred's sorry face, and smiled. "Have a nice journey guys," she said and she grabbed Harry's arm, "Come on we better get going too and see if Ginny's found anything yet."
She pulled Harry down the corridor away from Fred and George and didn't look back. Whether they had immediately walked off or stayed there she didn't care, she just wanted to get away before she heard anymore. They found Ginny in the last compartment in the carriage along with two other students. One was the boy with the plant that had spoken to Harry and Ron on the platform, and the other was a girl with long blonde tangled hair that was nose deep into a colorful magazine.
"Jessica this is Neville Longbottom," Ginny said as she introduced the boy with the plant, "and this is Luna, Luna Lovegood."
As Jessica sat down in the carriage next to Luna Lovegood she felt Fred's tie in her coat pocket. Her first instinct was to tear it out and throw it as fast as she could out of the window, but she restrained herself, remembering it would come in handy when she was sorted into Gryffindor.