Jessica walked out of the castle alone on Friday afternoon and headed towards the Quidditch pitch that stood tall on the outskirts of the grounds. It was still the backtail of summer, so it had been a particularly sunny day and the sun was just starting to set, a golden blanket of light encasing the school. Her first academic week at Hogwarts was done, and she was ready for the weekend. No longer in Slytherin robes and in her favourite lilac hoodie and jeans, she hoped that the invisible divide between her friends and herself would be forgotten as she watched Ron succeed in the Keeper trials.
Beside the stadium stood two smaller wooden structures that were covered with cream tent material. She guessed these were the changing rooms, as George and Lee Jordan were standing outside of them having a chat when she got there. George stood out in his dark red waterproof robes. If possible, they made him look even taller. As she approached them, Lee, wearing a bright blue jersey, saw her and smiled.
"Alright, Jess?" he asked.
"Yeah!" she said in enthusiastically in response. It was the first time she had seen George in his Quidditch uniform, and it became quickly apparent to her that she was friends with the school jocks. He looked good in it.
"Still on for it tonight?" Lee asked, distracting her from looking over the embroidery on George's robes. "Yeah...," she answered, "it's all covered."
After their meeting in the toilets, Pansy and Jessica had made good on their deal. Pansy would help her get ready, and Jessica would distract the Gryffindors until Pansy's Hufflepuff contact got her in. It was a small price to pay to keep on Pansy's good side, but by arriving separately Jessica couldn't be given the blame by anyone who was angered at her being there.
"Great stuff, I'm so proud that you're starting to get our sneaking skills," said George as he pulled the front strings of his robes so that it became snug around his chest. Jessica's heart sunk a little as she hadn't snuck around the Slytherins at all, and she knew he would be disappointed if she told him the truth. "So, ready to see what real Quidditch looks like?"
Jessica looked him up and down, examining in the large knee pads he was wearing. "Why, are Ravenclaw playing?"
Lee gasped and dramatically placed his hand on his chest as if hurt, "Oh no she did not just say that George."
"She did," George sighed as he picked up a bat from the equipment box a few feet away. He walked back over and pointed it towards Jessica like a sword, "but as she didn't say her own house I'm going to let this one slide...you're on thin ice Clarke, I know you want to play with us deep down."
Oh, how she had missed George. She hadn't been able to hang out with him much since being at Hogwarts, especially as he always seemed to be around his brother when she had seen him. The whole weekend was ahead of them though, and finally, she could be free to be with the people whose company she preferred.
"Getting chased by killer balls with that outfit to keep me protected? No thanks," she laughed and hit his bat away from her face.
"You're just jealous because you couldn't pull this off," George smirked, "And anyway who needs protection when you've got a bat?"
"It's the other team that needs protection with them two on there," Lee conversed, "believe me, wait until you see them play a match."
"Speaking of which, we better go and ensure we have a full team to play with," said George, "do you mind putting this in the changing room whilst we take the rest of the equipment up?"
He saw the worried expression on Jessica's face and reassured her no one was in there. Her only worry was looking like a weirdo walking into somewhere where someone could be changing.
"Sure," she replied and took the spare bat from his hand. She struggled to lift it at first as it was much heavier than she was used to, though she assumed it had to be that way to hit the bludgers. Fred and George must have had extreme arm strength to wave one about for an hour.
"Thanks J, just put it by the chalkboard," said George appreciatively, "and once you're done Hermione should be sitting in the stands somewhere, just keep walking around until you see her."
He and Lee lifted a large chest off the floor and walked away chatting, disappearing away into the entrance of the stadium. As she turned to step into the changing room, she missed George looking over his shoulder to smile at her.
Jessica entered, the gentle breeze from outside evaporating as the calming cloth of the tent ceiling blocked it out. There wasn't much inside, just a few benches around the perimeter and a couple of wardrobes where the team would keep their clothes. In the centre, there was a large chalkboard for the team to have their pre-match talks. Jessica walked past numerous robes scattered around the place and put the bat down on a little wooden side table, her feet having to battle against the uneven flooring. She took a moment to see what was written on the board and could tell Angelina wasn't kidding when she said she had made detailed game plans. There were white chalk lines everywhere around the hand-drawn pitch.
It made her want to play.
"There's a punishment for intruders you know," said a deep voice behind her. In a panic, she flicked her head around and saw Fred standing there, shirtless, holding his Quidditch robe in his fist. Her eyes gazed over his broad shoulders and across his muscular chest, the chiselled stature continuing down to his hips until the rest of his body was unfortunately hidden by his trousers.
"Oh, hey," he said, his smile falling as he saw that it was her. It had been the first time they had been face-to-face since she had overheard him in the corridor, and certainly the first time she had seen him without a shirt. She didn't know where to look. All she knew was that her eyes couldn't pull away. All of those wasted days at Grimmauld Place...if only she could've seen him like this then.
"Hi," she managed to say.
"You look different, have you done something?" He asked in an attempt to make conversation. He was studying her face and she tried to occupy her mind elsewhere, afraid that she would blush and give him the satisfaction.
"No, just a bit of lipstick," she said, looking at the robes to his left to avoid eye contact with him and his bare body. She had continued to wear Pansy's lipstick and was glad that the difference had already attracted attention."Sorry, I'll uh- I'll just leave."
"No, you don't have to," he said, dropping his fist so that he could use his arms to find the bottom of his Quidditch robes, "although I am going to ask why you're in here, are you waiting for someone or a pervert? Because if it's the second one, I'm cool with it but I don't think the others will be."
He was trying to joke with her as if nothing had happened, the same little stupid grin on his face as usual. Perhaps he wasn't aware of how it had affected her, having him turn on her the day she needed him most, and that made her angry.
"George and Lee asked me to put a bat in here, which I'm now guessing is...yours," she said. Looking down at the bat she had placed there she realised that George must have known Fred wasn't ready yet, and that he had sent her into the Lion's den on purpose.
"So now I've done that I'm going to be on my way, Hermione's probably waiting for me."
"No stay, I want to talk," he insisted, quickly lifting his robes over his head to cover his body in one swift action. Either they were too small for him, or they were meant to fit that way for safety reasons because his arms were barely contained by the material. She was glad he was now clothed as she could no longer be distracted. He bent to pick up some protective gear, and she noticed she was only a few steps away from the exit.
"While I appreciate your sudden interest in wanting to talk to me again I'm afraid I'm late to meet with people who aren't judgemental arseholes," she said and with the exit in her sights, she walked around the benches to get away from him. However, her plan was foiled as when she approached the gap in the tent she was pulled back by a strong hand.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to let you walk out of here with that attitude?" Fred asked, his voice powerful. He pulled her in close enough for her to feel his chest breathing in and out and she felt her pulse race. His grip was tight, their eyes were locked together, a light breeze being the only thing between them. She hated herself for wanting to melt into him, to completely submit and act like nothing was wrong; but she had to ignore what her body was yearning for. Her brain had to be listened to over her lust. He had to know he couldn't get away with treating her like he had.
"I'm sorry, was I short with you?" she asked sarcastically, "Forgive me, I just got the impression that's how we talk to each other now."
She tried to remove herself but his grip was too strong. A mental note was made to hit the weights as soon as she found some.
Fred stuck his tongue in his cheek as if just catching on to the story, "Oh so that's why you're mad? Jess, that was Monday."
"Yeah..." she answered matter-of-factly, "and now it's Friday."
"George told you I was sorry," he told her as if this made any difference in the world.
"Yeah and he also told me how my invite to the party later must have gotten lost on the way too," she snapped, looking him up and down and trying not to get too stuck on how good he looked in his uniform, "by the way should I expect to be man-handled like this when I'm there also?"
Fred smirked as he leaned in closer, turning on the boyish charm he did so well. "Only if you want me to."
She pulled away, outraged that he would even think that would work, "oh fucking hell get off!"
Fred leaned away in response to her jerk reaction. He had expected her to just play along as soon as he showed her started flirting. She was now immune to that. "Alright Jess, jeez, look I'm sorry, I over-reacted, I didn't think you'd take it this personally."
"How could I not take it personally?"
"I thought you could take a joke."
A joke? He was seriously still sticking to that story?
"Oh right yeah, but I can't because I'm a stubborn kid right?" she asked, perhaps a little more pointed than she originally intended it to come out. Her question blew the wind out of Fred's sails, and his smugness fell from his face.
"What? Why are you-"
"Maybe you should check who is around before you start making out with girls in hallways," she muttered.
They stood there eye-to-eye, green looking into brown, each anticipating the other's next move. As far as Jessica was concerned there was nothing Fred could say that would make her forgive him instantly, and as she had expected, his apology had been half-arsed. If you could even call that an apology. He wasn't denying that he thought she was a kid, and he couldn't, she had him caught. Fred was calculating a response, his eyes shifting between hers, and his grip was unconsciously loosening. He knew he was gridlocked and had to let her go.
"Oi Fred come on, Angelina wants to start!" George shouted, who had come out of the arena and was now standing outside of the tent.
"In a minute!" Fred shouted, his eyes not moving off of Jessica's. He then went quiet, cautious as to not let his brother hear him. "So you were there, in the hallway?... How much did you hear?"
"Enough," she told him confidently.
His mind was working over time, the boyish charm now completely evaporated from his expression. "Wait and what are you mad at me for?"
"Disrespecting me in front of our friends," she answered plainly. There was no point in bringing up anything else.
His brown eyes darkened on her, appearing sadder, more in focus. "Not Angelina?"
"Why would I be mad at you and Angelina doing stuff?" she asked, acting a little too carefree for someone who was furious inside, "she stuck up for me when you didn't, I like her more than you at this rate."
"Well because-"
"Oh Fred I told you, we're on the same page," Jessica interrupted, "You're free to do whatever you want."
She just wanted out of there.
"Right, but-"
"As am I," she added. She didn't want to hear this again.
"So you don't feel anything towards me at all?" he asked.
Jessica opened her mouth to give a snappy response, but couldn't find the words. Being around him like this, alone, made her realize just how hard this was going to be. Of course she felt something towards him, no matter how different he was at Hogwarts. The only difference was now she didn't know if those feelings were positive. They hadn't spent enough time together alone to know.
"Fred come on!"
"Give me a MINUTE!" Fred shouted, a sense of urgency being placed on the end. George was heard swearing under his breath outside in response.
Jessica couldn't think of what to say. He was expecting an answer to his question, and the trials were being held up because of it. She couldn't answer honestly without facing another rejection, and she didn't want to lie. It didn't matter how she felt anyway because he didn't feel the same. She had to just get away from him. She didn't know what cruel game he was playing by asking her this.
"Fred, stop," Jessica sighed, wanting to end this conversation in control before she gave in to her impulses, "Let's just leave it yeah? Have a good time breaking in the recruits and let's hope Ron does well. I'll see you at the party later and Lee said I could sleep over too so there'll be plenty of time to chat."
Fred's face screwed up in confusion, "Who, Lee did?"
Jessica placed her free hand on top of the one he was using to hold her arm and guided it off of her, releasing herself from him easily. "Yes, so save me a drink yeah? Let's stop being stupid, let's go."
She gently pushed his hand away and smiled at him encouragingly, fighting every impulse she had to either slap him or kiss him. Stepping back and turning to walk away, she felt her shoulder being touched to stop her.
"I have missed you," Fred said softly behind her.
It was lucky for her that he couldn't see her reaction as her whole mask had been stripped away. Those words were music to her ears and were all she had wanted to hear. She had missed him too, greatly. However her feelings were the only ones she could trust, and that wasn't enough for her to go on at this point. She couldn't be another one of his girls, who he could just treat however and still have, she had to give Pansy's tips a chance.
"I know," she answered him, not looking back.
She breathed out, relaxed her shoulders, and held her head up high as she walked back out of the changing rooms. Leaving Fred behind alone with his thoughts.
***
"Come on, just save one!" Angelina shouted as the latest candidate for Gryffindor Keeper flew in the opposite direction of the Quaffle that Chaser Katie Bell had thrown.
Hermione and Jessica giggled at the top of the stands, as they had for most of the afternoon. It had been quite the entertainment. All the tryouts so far had been just terrible, every single one. Oliver Wood's shoes (their old captain as Hermione had informed her) were quite the shoes to fill. The whole team was getting more infuriated and desperate as the trials went on, with Fred and George resulting in throwing a few bludgers at candidates to make sure that their reactions were even working. High up in the stands, Jessica could see the whole pitch, and though it was getting quite cold now as the afternoon turned to dusk, she would've happily sat there the whole night watching the action. Finally, she was able to watch a whole team with all their roles play, albeit it not being an actual match. She was entranced, she wanted to be up there flying about. It looked so much fun.
"Right, last up, Ron Weasley," shouted Angelina, and a tall gangly figure from below got on his broom to fly towards the three hoops, passing a downtrodden third year with a bump on his head from one of Fred's bludgers on the way. Fred and George clanked their bats together mischievously, and Jessica and Hermione sat straight up. Hopefully, as all the others had been bad - Ron would stand a chance.
"Here we go, the nepotism has arrived!" shouted a voice from the other side of the stadium, causing the Gryffindor team to turn and look. Jessica and Hermione squinted to see who had said it but could only see three black and green figures in the distance. Slytherins.
"Oh that's terrible, this is a closed session for Gryffindors only," whispered Hermione and Jessica tapped her on the arm, "sorry, but you know what I mean. You're not a real Slytherin are you."
"No, I just wear the robes for fancy dress," Jessica replied jokingly, "oh I hope Ron smashes it now after they've said that."
Ron got into position, a little shakily from what Jessica could see from below, and gripped his broom tight. The task in front of him was simple, he just had to save three out of the five quaffles thrown at him by the team. However given the performance by his competition, he really only had to save two. The second candidate from sixth year was in the lead currently and he only had a score of one because he had accidentally saved it by headbutting it.
"Well, it's time George," yelled Fred as he waited with his brother at the end of the arena, twirling his bat, "can't be seen to go easy on our little brother can we?"
"God no, can't have the Slytherins saying it's nepotism, we've got to be fair," George smirked back at him as he practised a large swing.
"If you two hurt him just to prove a point I'll come up there and hit you with a bludger myself!" shouted Hermione, to pretty much everyone's surprise.
"You know that would be a real threat Hermione if you actually could ride a broom and get to us," said Fred, and both he and George grinned at each other.
"I can," shouted Jessica, "I'll do it if she can't."
This, Fred and George took a little bit more seriously. They knew Jessica could fly, and they knew she could fly quick. Her challenge seemingly put a bit of fire under at least one of them as she looked up to Fred and was met by teasing eyes.
"Well I look forward to you coming up here and getting me then," he shouted down.
"Oh for Merlin's sake," mumbled Hermione disapprovingly.
"Just focus on your brother," Jessica shouted back, just as unhappy as Hermione was, "and don't send him to the hospital wing. Hermione can't fly but she can write a good letter to your mother!"
"Yeah, and I'll tell her how I had to stop you from testing your products on first years!" Hermione shouted in agreement.
"Wait, they're testing their products on first years?" Jessica asked her.
"Don't ask, they're really testing my Prefect duties," Hermione replied.
"They wanted to do it, Hermione, you're killing our business here!" shouted George.
A cheer came from the girls of the Gryffindor team and all four of them turned their heads to see Ron looking rather pleased with himself. They had missed him save his first quaffle. Jessica and Hermione cheered anyway, and even Fred and George clapped to show their surprise.
"Come on Ron!" Jessica cheered encouragingly and the adrenaline caused her to stand up out of her seat. Harry, who had been practising catching the snitch, smiled at her enthusiasm as he flew past.
Hermione stood up to join her as Ron saved the second Quaffle, thrown by Angelina, clutching Jessica's arm out of anxiety. "He only needs to save one more and he's officially in!" she squealed excitedly.
Ignoring the pain she was feeling by Hermione's nails digging into her skin, Jessica watched on as Katie Bell started flying through the air, zigzagging her pathway towards the goals. Ron had his eye on the quaffle, gently swaying both ways to be ready to launch in either direction. Katie got closer and closer...Ron reached out to left...
"Unnlluuucky Weaslebee!" Shouted the Slytherin taunters as Katie picked up the Quaffle that Ron had let in through the right hoop. He had judged the direction completely incorrectly.
Next up was George, and Ron's confidence plummeted. Not only did he have to face his big brothers, who had always beaten him at every game they had ever played, but also now he had the embarrassment of not saving one. He had to not let it get in his head.
At least it's George up first, he would likely be the nicer of the two, Jessica thought.
George threw his bat to Alicia and he caught the Quaffle thrown to him by Katie. He and Fred now moved forward as a pair, the next stage of the test. He would throw whilst Fred hit Ron a bludger to dodge, then would switch for the final turn; a training tactic used because it happened all the time in the matches.
"Come on Ron," Jessica and Hermione mumbled to themselves in unison.
The Weasley twins flew towards their little brother and Fred took off one hand to hit an incoming bludger towards the goalposts. In the distance the girls could see Ron flinch as the bludger came hurtling towards him, afraid of getting hit. He was worried so much that he moved before he could see George throw the Quaffle towards the centre goalpost, the Quaffle being batted away by the back of his broom as he turned away to dodge it.
"Holy mother of Merlin," gasped Hermione as the Quaffle came towards them at full speed. It was moving too quickly for the other team members to get it, or for Hermione to think of a spell to steer it off the path it was going. Their only option was to run for it, but even then they didn't know where it was going to land, and they risked putting themselves in harm's way by moving.
"Holy shit Jess duck!"
As the red leather Quaffle flew closer, her necklace glowed red...and she instinctively held out her hands to protect her face...
The pitch fell silent.
"Wicked," shouted George.
She had caught it above her head, the speed of it toppling her over so she fell against the wooden stands. Her hands burned against the friction of the ball coming into contact with her skin, but it didn't matter, she had caught it.
The necklace stopped burning. It puzzled her as to why it had done so, she didn't have a vision this time.
"Jess, I am so so sorry, are you alright?" Ron asked worriedly as he flew down to the stands, regret and panic plastered all over his face.
"You're lucky she is alright," said George, flying down to meet them, "otherwise mum would've killed you."
"Yeah, or I would've done." said Fred, also coming down to the stands and hitting Ron on the back of the head, "What have I always told you about focusing when playing Ron? Constant vigilance! You could've seriously hurt her had she not caught that. Killing students in the stands is a sure way to make us lose!"
"Glad that's all you care about Fred," Hermione huffed as she took the Quaffle from Jessica and shot him a snidey look.
Fred pulled a face at her and then glanced over at Jessica who was rubbing the redness away from her hands, hoping they weren't going to blister. "One of these days you are going to listen to me when I tell you to duck right?" he asked her. She glanced back at him and they exchanged a look only those with an inside joke would share, smiles appearing out of the corner of their mouths. She still was angry at him, but she appreciated he didn't want her to get hit.
"Well done girl," said Angelina as she flew down, the trial having been disrupted, "you don't see catches like that every day."
"Why didn't you try out?" Alicia Spinnet asked as she and Katie also joined them. "No offense to you of course Ron," she added quickly after he had groaned at her oversight.
"Because she's a Slytherin," said a male voice from the stands. Jessica turned her head to the left to see the three Slytherins who had been heckling the trials; Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, and an older dark-haired boy she had seen around with a harsh jaw.
"That was some catch Clarke," said Blaise admiringly, "you kept that quiet."
"You never asked," Jessica replied.
"Adrian why is your team here, it's a closed practice," Angelina asked irritably. She appeared more miffed than anyone that they had crashed the Gryfinndor only timeslot at the pitch.
The boy now known as Adrian grinned and looked Angelina up and down, the same air of superiority pouring out of him that Jessica felt when around Draco. "I'm just casually checking out the competition," he said breezily, "...or lack thereof in this case."
He was just as pompous as the rest of them.
"Well you can causally fuck off then can't you," Fred suggested. Knowing that Adrian wasn't in her year, and adding the point that Jessica had seen him around the common room with N.E.W.T level textbooks, she deduced that he must have been in the twin's year - and from the shared dislike between them, they weren't friends.
"Actually I'd like to stay and chat with our housemate here if you don't mind," said Adrian in an overly polite manner. He wasn't asking, more like demanding.
"Well we do mind," George butted in, "so what now?"
"Ooh look Clarke you got yourself a pair of chihuahuas," said Draco, giving Jessica an arrogant grin, "do they bite or can you throw them a treat to get them to go away?"
Adrian and Blaise laughed with him and the little devil on Jessica's shoulder thought it would be a good idea to set Fred and George loose on the three of them to teach them a lesson. She was sure they could do a lot of damage if riled up enough. The angel, however, knew it best to just give them a pleading look to walk away, as they would be the ones to face the consequences if a fight did break out. She didn't need her battles fought for her.
"You're right Draco, we do bite," said George as he twirled his bat in his hand.
"Only when asked though," Fred added with a wink as he was about to take flight, but then he stopped, pondering to stroke his chin in thought, "oh that reminds me, how is Alexis these days Adrian, still together?"
When Adrian's jaw and fists tightened they both flew up together, laughing, leaving Jessica and Hermione alone with the Slytherins on the stands. So that was another girl Fred had been with... nice. She was glad to see he wasn't just restricted to Gryffindors.
"Granger that means you too, get lost and give us a minute," Draco sneered in Hermione's direction.
"No, if you want to speak to me she stays," Jessica hit back. Hermione, who looked quite pleased that she had been asked to leave, stood by her hesitantly. Draco's nose crimpled up in disgust as if Hermione's presence personally offended him.
"Well, to cut to the chase, we'd like to invite you to try out for the Slytherin team," Adrian told her, stepping forward in front of the other two as if doing a business pitch, "that was some catch there, and lucky for you we have a chaser spot open."
Were they joking? 'Lucky for her' as if it was an honour to be asked.
"Yeah, no thanks, appreciate you asking though," Jessica replied.
"Hey think about it before you make your decision," Blaise spoke out," You'd be the first girl in the team in years, you'd be setting history. Plus you'll get to hang around with us more, Adrian and I would be your fellow chasers, and Draco's our seeker."
"And what makes you think that's an incentive," muttered Hermione.
"Who asked you to speak Granger?" Hissed Draco and Hermione backed down, glaring at him intently. He was brave to still speak to her like that after she had successfully punched him in the nose two years before.
"If I say yes, would you go away and leave us alone?" Jessica asked. Having now been on the Quidditch Pitch and seen Katie Bell fly, a girl she thought she matched in size and skill, she had been having thoughts that she could do well if on a team. In reality, her low confidence was the only thing stopping her before.
"I'm never known to overstay my welcome," replied Adrian, a winning glint in his eye.
"Then yes, I'll try out," she answered.
A massive cheer came from above and Jessica saw Fred and George hugging Ron in the air, their broomsticks colliding as they cheered and ruffled his hair. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie raced over to him too, patting him on the back when they got close to him. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she saw it too...Ron had saved the third Quaffle.
"He did it, he did it!" Hermione gasped, clutching her hands to her mouth out of pleasant shock.
"See you at 10 am sharp tomorrow morning then," Adrian told Jessica as he provided her with his hand to shake, "oh, and don't be late, I think you'll find we have stricter training schedules than these lot."
"Oh...great," said Jessica as she shook his hand.
So that was drinking off the cards for the party tonight then...unless she fancied flying hungover.
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Hey guys, it's me!
We've had a lot of new readers join recently so I'd just like to say a big hi to anyone who's recently joined Jessica's journey at Hogwarts, and a thank you to those who have been here from the beginning and shared the story.
FYI, the next chapter is the party chapter, and I may have to split it in two due to the different drama's coming out of it...so look out for that soon within the next week!
As usual, I will read every comment on this chapter so let me know what you think so far, and if you haven't already, follow the stories TikTok account @ decreeno29 <3
Katie x