Chapter 43: Chapter 43Summary:DRAMA
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 43
Jasmine's life solely consisted of studying and then sitting her OWLs for the next month or so. Politics had to be put to the side for time being, much to her dismay. Such was the life of a student.
She wasn't entirely sure what the tests would look like twenty years in the past…though, from the class material, it seemed like it would be quite a bit harder than what she was used to in the nineties.
Her roommates were up until sunrise attempting to cram in as much as they could. Lily was the only one that would go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Marlene and Alice drove Jasmine crazy with their late-night whining. She had warned the two that staying up wouldn't solve anything. If they hadn't leaned the spells and theory by now, they were never going to learn it at three in the bloody morning.
James and Sirius were, surprisingly, taking their OWLs very seriously. Remus didn't need to force them to sit down and revise. The two could usually be found lounging around the common room, a book on their lap and quills behind their ears for last minute revisions. It was an odd sight, and it was slightly disconcerting, but Jasmine wasn't going to question it. She liked seeing them interested in their school work. She knew from her time as Harriet that her father managed to become Head Boy. James had to be smart and take his work seriously to get to the top of the class, but he hadn't shown any indication of that kind of prowess yet.
Though, by mid-week, Jasmine had already taken the most boring of her OWLs earlier in the afternoon. History of magic was the worst exam that she had to sit. Binns was dull no matter the time period, so she never learned anything. Though, she knew the questions that were going to be on the test. They hadn't changed them in well over a hundred years. But, History of Magic was necessary for the field that she wanted to pursue in the near future. Jasmine knew that to get the job that she wanted within company she did, she'd need top marks, otherwise she'd be overlooked. It wasn't going to be easy. There was a lot more competition within this generations of graduates than there was during her time as Harriet in the future. Merlin, no one in her entire class wanted to go into anything that had to do with ancient runes. But, studying the past and how that effected how ancient runes were perceived was important.
Then again, she wanted to be a ward crafter and she knew quite a few wards that weren't going to be invented for another thirty years, she had created them herself, so she had an edge over a few of her competitors. Despite this, she still needed to score high on her history of magic OWL. Which, she knew she did, but that didn't make the experience any less dreadful the tenth time around.
"I swear that Binns taught us nothing," James grumbled as they towards the Great Hall for dinner that evening.
"I told you to read the textbook and not rely on my notes from class. Binns is a ghost. He's been teaching the same thing over and over again for nearly ninety years as a ghost at this point. He's dead set in his ways, he isn't going to change his curriculum, no matter how outdated," Remus pointed out and James slouched a bit, his lower lip curling into a pout.
"Then why the bloody hell is he still teaching. I know that Binns was once a respected teacher here, but why don't we just call an exorcist and get him out of the classroom. We need to make sure that all of our classes are taught by half decent professors." Lily interjected from Jasmine's left. Alice and Marlene were on her heals. The two girls looked like zombies. They both needed to sleep, but it seemed that eating was more important at the moment. They both should have a morning off tomorrow. Neither had an exam for Arithmancy.
Jasmine groaned, she had an exam in the morning. Merlin, she hated school.
"What?" Alice asked with a yawn.
"I just realized that I have another exam tomorrow."
"That what you get for being an overachiever like Lily. The two of you have a never-ending list of exams to pass," Marlene teased, flicking a bit of hair out of her face as they rushed along the corridor.
Lily snorted, her head held high, a proud witch to the bone. "Yes, well the two of us want to keep our job options open after Hogwarts. Taking a large number of courses and doing well in all of them guarantees that people will take us more seriously after we graduate."
Marlene and Alice shared a look and rolled their eyes when Lily wasn't looking. "I'm going to be taking over my father's business if I haven't already gotten engaged by the time that I leave Hogwarts and Alice is looking into an Auror program that her Mother recommended her for. We both have career options, Lils. I don't understand why you're so worried about this."
Lily let out a huff and pushed past them, not saying another word. James chased after her with a shout of "Evans!" Echoing through the corridor. Sirius and Remus slowly followed James, more than likely giving him space, but they were going to be backup, just in case things get violent with Lily's infamous temper at a boiling point.
Jasmine looked towards the ceiling, praying for patience. She counted back from ten before facing her two roommates. "You two do realize that Lily doesn't have the same kind of ministry connections that you do? She needs to work three times as hard just to have a basic clerk job within the ministry. With top marks from Hogwarts she can get into the charms programs she needs without needing to worry about finding the connections that you were just boasting about."
Alice bit her lip as she played with a fraying end of her skirt. "I tend to forget that she's a muggleborn. It can be easy to overlook that she is learning new things about our world every day. I didn't even think to ask her if she needed help finding a job. She's always had great marks, I didn't think that she'd need the help and she's never asked."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow and bit back a rather scathing remark that wouldn't help the situation. "I've only known Lily for a few months, but I know that she would never ask for help unless she was truly desperate."
Marlene leaned up against the wall and let out a sigh. "You're right, she'd never ask for help from us. I just don't understand why she's so stubborn. If she'd just say yes to James, she'd never need to work. James would do anything for her."
James loved Lily's work ethic and her brilliant mind. Her cousin wasn't one to settle on a lazy witch who would live off his money for the rest of her life. He wasn't shallow enough to love someone because they had a pretty face. His parents taught him better than that.
"He's only asked her out on a date, Marlene. Lily wouldn't marry someone just because they're a pureblood. You and I both know that," Alice chimed in as she stared at her feet, pointedly avoiding her friend's gaze.
"I don't understand why she keeps rejecting him. My father would kill for the heir of a powerful house to ask me on a date and begin an official courtship. You already have Frank, Alice and Jasmine is heir to a powerful family. I'm going to need to work at my father's tailoring business until the day I die. No pureblood worth anything is going to want to marry me."
Jasmine crossed her arms, so that was what this was all about. "So, it isn't Lily that you're worried about at all. It's you. Marlene, you have a guaranteed job straight out of Hogwarts. You're destined to become the CEO of a magical tailoring company and here you are whining that you'll have to work? Lily would kill for a position like that. When she found out she was a witch, any hope of working with her parents in the muggle world vanished. She doesn't want to be the wife of a Noble and Ancient House, she wants to be a powerful witch, who can marry the man she loves," Jasmine explained, hoping to get her message through to Marlene. Jasmine had noticed her roommate being a bit rude to Lily lately, and here Jasmine had thought that it was because of exams.
No, it was about James wanting Lily and not her.
How bloody petty.
"You know James has only had eyes for Lily, Marlene," Alice reminded, putting a thin had on her friend's shoulder. Marlene shrugged it off.
"I don't understand why. I mean, I do, she's gorgeous without trying and insanely smart, but she can't stand quidditch or pranks. She's a complete stick in the mud, but here James Potter, Marauder extraordinaire, only wants to ask Lily Evans out. He's never even spoken to another girl. Sure, plenty have asked him out, but he's always politely declined."
"You do realize that there are other guys you could ask out? James isn't the only available boy in Gryffindor."
Marlene sighed, putting a hand to her face. "Well, the rest of them aren't nearly as attractive or intelligent. I thought for a little while that Black was interested in me, but I was once again played the fool. I was just a quick snog in a broom closet four months ago and that was it. I risked my reputation on him."
Jasmine certainly hadn't heard about that.
"Sirius isn't the type to kiss and tell, despite the rumors around him. I get that you're upset, but there are plenty of men outside of Hogwarts that would love to marry you. It isn't normal for someone to find the person they're going to marry while they're still in school. You're going to be going into a male dominated field, they are going to be plenty of young wizards looking to merge a company or two with you," Jasmine told her with a gentle nudge and flirtatious wink.
Marlene cracked a forced smile, but Alice let out a rather unladylike snort. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Lady Longbottom wanted me to stop that. It isn't proper."
"Does Frank think it's cute?" Jasmine asked and Alice nodded almost immediately. "Then don't bother changing it. I doubt that Lady Longbottom is going to be telling jokes that make you laugh like that anyway.
Alice gave Jasmine a small smile at that comment. Marlene rolled her eyes. "Look, Jasmine, you have your life figured out. You're an heiress and soon to be Lady in the Wizengamot. Marrying into a family obviously isn't all that important to you, but I know that Lily is going to need it in the future and so do I. Alice already has Frank wrapped around her finger, so she doesn't need my advice. But, if you constantly push Lily to get a job and all that rubbish, it could ruin her chances of gaining a proper husband. As heir to the Peverell line, you don't need one to be well off. It isn't like we haven't heard all the rumors about you and Black. Not all of us have that luxury to be a whore and get away with it," Marlene replied with a hiss at the end, nudging into Jasmine's shoulder as she passed. She turned on her heel and stalked away, her nose in the air.
This wasn't the first time she had been called a whore in her ten lives, but it was the first time that a roommate said it with such conviction. "She didn't mean that!" Alice exclaimed, hand over her mouth. "How could Marlene say that to you! Insinuating something like that could get everyone involved into so much trouble…Merlin, Jasmine, are you alright?"
Jasmine let out a loud sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If I listened to all the gossip about me I'd go crazy. I had no idea that I was being called a whore as well. Good to know. I wonder if Sirius has heard that we're sleeping together. It's news to me," she said with the ghost of a smile haunting her pale lips.
"That's what you're concerned about?" Alice asked, her voice going up a few octaves towards the end.
Jasmine shrugged. "Marlene was right about one thing, I don't need a husband to be well off. If my nonexistent relationship with Sirius somehow socially ruins me for marriage, I really don't care."
~*~
Breakfast the next morning was tense. Lily wasn't talking to Marlene, Marlene was trying to talk to Lily and ignore Jasmine, and Alice was caught in the middle. Jasmine elected to sit with the Marauders as a way to avoid the ridiculous amount of tension at the table.
"Merlin, what is that about? Are they still having a row?" James asked, peering down the table to stare at Lily, who gave him a small wave before pointedly ignore Marlene.
"Yes, and Marlene is no longer speaking to me either, so don't expect any gossip about their reconciliation from me," Jasmine told them, piling her plate with her normal breakfast foods.
Remus put the book he was reading down. "Marlene is mad at you? For what?"
"Siding with Lily, telling her that Lily needs to really work to get a job in the wizarding world since she muggleborn, which got us into a debate about marriage and how much of a whore I am."
Sirius choked on his morning tea. James looked absolutely livid, and Remus had gone rather pale. Maybe this was a bigger deal in the past than it was a couple years from now? Or had Harriet always misunderstood what Purebloods meant by whore… "What did she say to you?" Her cousin asked, his knuckles turning what against the wood of the table.
"Apparently, it's no secret that Sirius and I in some kind of illicit relationship with one another. It was news to me. Sirius did you have any idea that we were sleeping together?" Jasmine replied, and Sirius was gaping like a fish.
James's knuckles were white as he turned to his best friend with a fire in his eyes that Jasmine had never seen before. Sirius raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "We aren't seeing each other. We're just friends, what daft witch would think we were sleeping with each other?" he said loud enough that Marlene, who was only a few seats down, heard loud and clear.
Jasmine knew that dating would be difficult. Sirius tended to pretend that he was dating around, but he rarely got anywhere with anyone. Now that he was the official heir to his family again, there would be no more playing around and any and all relationships would have to official courting practices by Black family tradition. It would be a hassle for him.
"Why is it that we're the last to know about these rumors?" Jasmine asked, waving her spoon in irritation.
"Because no one in their right mind would want either of you two knowing about them. Sirius is a vindictive bastard on the best of days and there are more rumors about your "violent nature" than anyone else at Hogwarts," Remus reminded as the owls came swooping in for their morning deliveries.
Jasmine saw the Potter Family owl carrying a large stack of letters. She was going to have a long morning of exams and then she was going to be spending the entire afternoon reading over business transactions.
She flipped through her morning mail while Sirius and James debated what they were going to do to Marlene for mocking Jasmine. She'd make sure they didn't do anything too bad, no point in getting Lily angry with them right before the end of the year.
Jasmine's eye brow rose when she saw a letter addressed from the Ministry. It was from with Wizengamot. She flipped over the seal and ran a finger around the edge. She could feel magic humming beneath, one that she had become familiar with over her last few lifetimes. It was real.
What could they want with her? Jasmine wasn't old enough to do anything for them for another year and a half. Then a pit of dread filled her stomach. The only thing she could do right now is testify in court against Avery, who was still on trial. The Avery family had just switched lawyers and the prick was pulling every trick in the book to get that piece of shite off. If the court was sending her an official letter, they might want her to testify.
And as she scanned the letter's contents, her hunch became a reality. Not only was she going to be there for her own defense, she was also going to be cross examined. Jasmine was going to need to contact her attorney. She had less than a week to prepare. It was scheduled for the day after she got back from Hogwarts for the summer.
James noticed that she had stopped responding and peered at the letter over her shoulder. "Merlin's saggy balls, they want you to do what?"
Sirius and Remus popped up on either side of James. "I thought that this case was done, and Avery was going away for life in Azkaban?" Remus muttered, making sure that no one was going to overhear them.
"Only in our dreams. They hired a new lawyer, who is pulling out all the stops to make sure that their client doesn't go to prison. I think he's trying to prove that I provoked the attack," Jasmine replied, pulling out a piece of parchment, she was going to need to make sure Andromeda Tonks got this before the end of the day.
"Hey! Is that addressed to my cousin, Andy?"
Notes:I hope you enjoyed.
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 44: Chapter 44Summary:And exams come to an end...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 44
Despite exams feeling like they were dragging on forever, they did eventually come to an end. Honestly, it was more than a bit anti-climactic. As Harriet she was usually slaying a dragon or fighting Death Eaters at this point. She'd never just had a calm end to a term. It was a nice change.
Jasmine took it all in, watching as what was once considered Snape's worst day play out. It was odd, knowing what could have been. She had seen this day occur in the future, through Professor Snape's memories, but so much had changed. She'd poked so many little holes in the past that they were starting to create an entirely new reality, and if that wasn't a thought that kept her up at night, she wasn't sure what would.
It was a gorgeous day, that much hadn't changed, but there wasn't the same kind of tension in the air that seemed to have been a constant in the unaltered past. Jasmine had affected so many different events…The dueling tournament had made the boys grow up and need to work together. With Severus' time taken up by dueling and potions, he hadn't cared to look into Remus' monthly affliction, leading to him and the Marauders into creating some kind of odd truce. They didn't like each other, but they didn't try to hurt one another. Jasmine could live with that.
Lily didn't hate the Marauders nearly as much as when she arrived. She still found them immature, which they were, but it wasn't on the same level as it could have been, what Jasmine had witnessed as Harriet. The boys had stepped away from bullying and just kept their pranks contained to harmless, but creative, fun.
Peter was out of the picture entirely and James and Sirius were maturing far earlier than expected. It was obviously having an effect on Lily, since she was still giving James odd looks when she thought that no one was looking. She'd have technically been right, but Jasmine kind of had eyes on the back of her head, so not too much could be hidden from her.
Despite all these small changes Jasmine felt like things weren't progressing fast enough. She still had that court appointment in two days, which wasn't something she was looking forward to, and then there was he whole Marlene issue. They still weren't on talking terms and they were expected to room together for another two years.
Marlene was also still happily spreading rumors about Jasmine's sexual activities as some kind of petty revenge around the castle. Lily, luckily, wasn't finding Marlene's behavior worth her time, and was spending more time with Jasmine. "Honestly, you'd think she'd have nothing better to do than gossip," Jasmine grumbled. She was heading down to the Great Lake for a post exam celebration with the Marauders, Lily and possibly Severus, after quite a bit of begging from both Lily and Jasmine.
"So, what did you think of the DADA exam?" Sirius asked after their final exam for that day. The four of them were meandering towards the Great Lake, they had some commandeered snacks from the kitchens and some chilled butterbeers from Hogsmeade. It was one of the nicest days that they'd had in nearly a month, it was best to make the most of it before it started to rain again or got to humid to want to even brave the outdoors.
"I thought the question about werewolves was especially riveting, Pads," James responded, throwing his arms around both of his friends. Jasmine was keeping out of the danger zone. More often than not, the boys ended up wrestling each other to the ground and she had been caught up in too many of those little sparring matches, thank you very much, James. She was also carrying the basket full of snacks, there was no point in ruining all of that food over teenage boy shenanigans.
"What did you think of the question, Moony? Were they too easy for you?" Sirius teased, wiggling his fingers in front of Remus as he walked backwards in front of his friend. The Black Heir had been practically floating since their last exam ended.
Remus straightened himself up and gave his best professor impression, which for him, wasn't all that difficult, given all the practice he had with teaching James and Sirius most of their subjects. Remus was already dressed in his blazer, all he needed to do was steal James' glasses and threaten detention and he'd fit the part perfectly.
"Yes, the identifying signs of a werewolf: one: he's in my chair, two: he's wearing my clothes, three: he has an unnerving addiction to chocolate…"
Jasmine couldn't help but let out a rather unladylike snort as James and Sirius howled with laughter. Sirius managed to trip and fall on an uneven patch of stone.
"And here I thought that chocolate was supposed to be poisonous to canines," Jasmine replied with a wry grin and Remus shrugged his shoulders, barely containing his laughter, his shoulders shaking.
"I'm just a rebel," and both James and Sirius doubled over laughing, causing Remus to frown. Jasmine had a vague idea of what they were laughing about, but she'd let the boys break the news to Remus.
"Moony, you couldn't be a rebel even if you tried! I've seen unicorns with more spunk than you," James wheezed, slapping his knee with his hand, unable to even stand himself upright.
Sirius was coughing, tears streaming down his face, "At least a unicorn can stab people with its horn! Our Moony is far too sweet to do anything like that! He's had far too much chocolate!"
Remus groaned at their descriptions, but suddenly got a rather mischievous glint in his eyes. Jasmine took a step back from the two laughing Marauders. If judging by where Remus was looking, things were about to get rather wet. Remus, using quite a bit more strength than his frame would imply, pushed both James and Sirius straight into the Black Lake. The two were a pair of flailing limbs. The giant squid's tentacles danced around the boys as they spluttered around on the shore, now soaking wet from head to toe.
The two of them shot up out of the water, wands in hand. James' glasses were askew and covered in droplets of water, no doubt making it impossible to see and Sirius looked like a drowned dog, shaggy hair plastered to his face. Sirius wiped a hand across his face as his flipped his hair back. There was a beat of silence where the three stared at one another before James threw his cloak to the shore. "Mooney, this means war!" James cried as he and Sirius flung themselves at Remus.
Jasmine rolled her eyes and set down on a large rock near the shore. Their basket placed well out of splashing range. At some point the battle hand turned and James was pushing Sirius under the water. Lily and Severus joined her in watching the unholy fight before them.
Oh, someone, more than likely James, had conjured a water dragon and it was chasing Remus. "How old are they?" Lily asked ten minutes into the splash fight of century as a huge crash of waves knocked James off his feet and sent Sirius and Remus into peals of laughter.
"Sixteen, mostly. I'm pretty sure that Sirius has the mental age of a four-year-old, but that hasn't been proven yet." There was a loud splash and an almost inhuman yelp as Sirius was blasted into the deeper parts of the water by Remus, who was dripping wet. His usually somber scarred face alive, forgetting about his affliction while he was with his friends.
Lily sighed and perched herself on the rock, setting down a few books and a blanket she brought along.
Jasmine motioned for Severus to join them. He gave her one of his most scathing glares when his eyes wandered back over to the Gryffindor mess below, and then back at her. Jasmine just gave the rock an encouraging pat.
It was like dealing with a frightened animal.
Severus eyed the rock and then Marauders, who were distracted with one another, and then back at Lily and Jasmine and he sighed.
"As long as they don't come near me, I don't care what they do," Severus grumbled as he sat himself down next to Jasmine, taking one of the butterbeers out of the basket. The cap popping off with a satisfying hiss and clink.
"How did you find your last exam?" Jasmine asked before she took a swig of her own butterbeer.
"I think I at least got an EE…Defense isn't my strongest subject. Even after participating in the dueling tournament I still have trouble with certain defensive charms and hexes," Lily griped, tugging at her hair and worrying her lip. She was flipping through their defense textbook as they sat there, more than likely looking up the answers she hadn't been sure about an hour ago.
Jasmine wasn't sure if she should stop her or not. What's done is done, yet she had seen Hermione do this life after life and she still couldn't figure out the point of it, but it had always calmed her friend down. "You more than likely did fine, Lily. You're the brightest witch in our year. I honestly thought that the theoretical side of the test was lacking compared the practical, but then again, it is DADA," Jasmine commented with a slight wave of her hand and Lily rolled her eyes.
"Why aren't you going into the Auror Corps again?" Severus questioned, as another large splash could be heard from their left. The water landing less than a meter from the rock they were relaxing on.
Jasmine scrunched her nose up. "I don't want to chase Dark Wizards for the rest of my life," been there, done that, it had been awful. "I much prefer ancient runes." And, she enjoyed the goblins company to most witches and wizards in the ministry. They were very straightforward. If they wanted to kill you, they'd would right out and say it to your face. There was no cloak and dagger nonsense with goblins, and under those greedy-violent exteriors were rather advanced and perceptive creatures. She honestly couldn't wait to apply for a job with them in a few years.
"Then what's the point of all the dueling? Shouldn't you just be focusing on your Ancient Runes?" Lily grumbled and scooted away from the edge of the rock as more water got a little too close for comfort. Jasmine's eyes narrowed slightly, it seemed the Marauders might have found a new game, which involved who could "accidently" drench them while still soaking each other.
Jasmine rolled her eyes and cast a quick shield charm as an enchanted wave nearly lapped at her feet. "I want to be a well-rounded witch. Not to mention that there's a war going on outside these walls. Defending myself has always been important."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "So, you're going to be staying in Britain after you graduate? The rumor in Slytherin is that you're either going to marry Black or that Russian wizard that keep sending you owls every week."
Jasmine burst out laughing at the mere thought of Mikhail asking to court her. Both her of her friends had stopped what they were doing to give her odd looks. She wiped a stray tear from her blind eye. "Sorry, it's just, Mikhail would more than likely ask Severus out before he ever would me," she gasped between breaths and Severus' face turned a light pink as her admission sunk in.
Mikhail had never been afraid to show his preferences while they were in the dueling ring. He hadn't cared for girls, at all, never had. "But he's the sole heir to his family line, how is he going to manage to keep it going without getting married to a woman?" Lily asked, officially closing her book now that there was a more interesting topic at hand.
Even Severus seemed to be more interested in gossip about her old friend than he did in his potion book. "Mikhail's family has a very publicly known line curse. They can't produce heirs, they have to blood adopt them. There a selection process and some magical object are involved. It's all rather secret in the details, but Mikhail isn't biologically his parents' child, nor was his father before him."
Lily rubbed her temples with her pointer fingers. "Are all pureblood families this odd when it comes to creating children?"
Jasmine let out a small chuckle at her friend's constant exasperation with pureblood culture. She understood the sentiment. "No, most have heirs the normal way, but there are a few families that do suffer line curses, so they need to find ways around it," she replied with a shrug. Mikhail was lucky in some ways, he never had to worry about marry for the sake of having children like many heirs tended to. He had always wanted to marry for love and as long as his parents approved of his chosen partner, there wouldn't be a problem and Jasmine doubted that Mikhail would choose anyone unworthy of his time.
"So, your family doesn't have a curse on it? There's been some kind of speculation, since McKinnon has been spreading rumors about you sleeping with Black and you not being pregnant…"
Merlin help Marlene when Jasmine got her hands her. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a pounding building in her temples. She did not have time for this kind of stress with her trial looming this close in her future. A migraine wasn't going to help the situation in the least.
"Sirius and I are not sleeping together. We're just friends."
"She claims she caught you two in the common room together."
Jasmine's mouth went dry. It was the night the two of them were suffering from dementor exposure and fell asleep after talking their problems out with each other. "The only time we've ever even fallen asleep in the same vicinity was right after the dementor attack. Both of us couldn't sleep so we ended up talking in the common room till late into the night. We dozed off somewhere in between. I'd hardly call that sleeping with someone, unless sex is far less engaging than I always thought it was."
Severus let out a small snort that his grandfather will no doubt attempt to break him of the habit of doing. It was hardly a sound fit for an Heir to the Prince House. Jasmine hoped he kept it.
"No, I hardly think that qualifies as anything other than horrifically cute, which is nothing other than minor blackmail material. Though with the amount of threats that Black and Potter go on about in defending your virtue, I'm surprised that McKinnon hasn't been pranked from here to Diagon Alley," he commented as giant serpent made of water crashed near the shoreline, James spluttering like a fish out of water as he rolled up on shore from it.
"They're trying to not be noble prats about it and attacking anyone that says anything, because Merlin knows that will make it worse, but no matter what I do nothing is going to change. Marlene has already set an idea in their heads, just like Brightbark did at the beginning of the year about me. Now, I'm not just crazy deranged lunatic, but I'm a sex crazed deranged lunatic. Truly, I am a terrifying force of nature," Jasmine responded with a dramatic swoon, a small smile on her face.
There was no proof to Marlene's claims, so there was no point in getting overly worked up about the rumors. Jasmine spent little to no time out in public, so there wasn't really any way for anyone to think that she was busy sleeping around.
"I'll try to talk to Marlene again. This is beyond ridiculous. She had a crush on Black a year ago and now that he's spending extra time with you, she starts acting like a bint."
Ah, so that was the problem.
"I had no idea she liked Sirius," Jasmine remarked and Lily rolled her eyes and Severus groaned and opened his book, finished with the conversation.
"Like many girls in our year, she finds Black attractive and sees his pranks as just another great addition to his otherwise perfect charm," Lily started, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "I thought that she had gotten over him after he never made an attempt to date her earlier in the year, but I supposed that I was wrong. She probably saw the two of you asleep in the common room and assumed that he had started to see you instead."
Jasmine gave a small nod, the pieces fitting together a bit more smoothly than before. "Ah, that would make sense, I suppose. Sirius and I do get in each other's faces a lot…if she saw us the morning after the dementor attack, she more than likely jumped to conclusions. But, at the moment, Sirius isn't looking for any kind of relationship. He has been officially recognized as heir to his family, so it isn't possible for him to just date someone anymore. Any kind of romantic advancement would be considered official courting by his family and taken very seriously."
Lily was about to reply, but Jasmine was suddenly drenched from head to soggy toe. She snapped her head around fast enough to worry that she could have given herself whiplash. Sirius, Remus and James were all pointing at someone else, which left her with one option, they had all worked on it together.
She growled as she vaulted over the rock and towards the shore to truly show these three what a true splash war was.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 45: Chapter 45Summary:Let the court case finally begin!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 45
As it was, the trial was set for a few days before the summer holiday. The court kept sending Jasmine notices with different date and times, they were changing on a near daily basis. It was horrifically frustrating to think that she had a few extra days to prepare herself and solidify her case, and then get a letter in the mail telling her to be at the Headmaster's office by nine to be taken to the Ministry for nine-thirty. It seemed that the court had finally picked a day and it was today.
Bloody brilliant.
She knew it was all a game from the Avery's new lawyer. The prick was testing the waters to try and shake Jasmine up. It was a dirty and underhanded tactic, but it was something that would usually worry a fifteen-year-old girl into a panic. Luckily, Jasmine had more than enough experience with Ministry trials during her other nine lives to not let it get to her.
Still, it was enough to make her grit her teeth and viciously rip into a piece of toast that morning. "Did it get changed again?" James asked from over a cup of tea, glasses fogging up from the steam and sliding halfway down his nose.
He was the picture of pureblood grace.
"Even worse, I'll be leaving in a few minutes, I'm expected at court at nine-thirty," she snarled, tearing a pastry in half before tossing it back on her plate, her appetite gone for the morning.
"Can they do that? Just change the date to this morning when you thought it was going to be next week?" Lily questioned, her hand resting lightly on Jasmine's forearm as she tried to get her friend to stop destroying all the food in front of her.
Sirius shrugged, his lips curled back in disgust. "They can. It's uncommon, but the lawyer that's been put in charge of the case has been a right pain in the arse. My dad said that they're just trying to get the guy to agree to a date, so they can finish the trial. The verdict has already been decided for the most part. This is all grandstanding at the point. I think that the lawyer was hoping Jasmine would back down or change her mind after playing games with the trial date for the past month."
"Do we have any idea who this lawyer is?" Remus added into the mix of questions, his bedhead falling into his face as he cocked his head to the side, a frown adorning his face.
Jasmine let out a sigh, tugging at her braid. "No, he hasn't given his name yet. All of his notices and contacts have gone through the Avery Household. They're being very secretive about him. Andromeda thinks that he's famous pureblood lawyer from another country and it wouldn't go over well in front of the Wizengamot."
"Please," James snorted, "With the way that he is acting there is no way that the case is going to fall in Avery's favor. No one is happy with the way he has been handling the situation. There's no need to call in new witnesses or bring Jazz forward to question her character. Her memories have been shown, his have been shown, Lily, Alice and Frank all volunteered to show their memories. It's a black and white case, but this attorney thinks that bringing her forward and more than likely bring up her past as a duelist will somehow change the entire case."
"Sounds like you'd rather fight dark wizards than go to court," Remus joked, an uneasy smile playing on his lips.
James, Jasmine and Sirius let out a wistful sigh. They were going to spend most of their adult lives dealing with court nonsense. Being heirs to an Ancient and Noble Houses tended to come with more than a few responsibilities that no one wanted to deal with. Fighting some of these purebloods in a dueling ring would be more than preferable. "Yes, well, sometimes I find casting spells easier than speaking with a large council of wizards waiting to judge me on my past," Jasmine replied, dusting her robes off, she was going to need to leave in a moment.
James pointed his egg covered fork at her. "You've done nothing wrong, Jazz. They have nothing to judge you on. Avery's new lawyer has nothing he could use to accuse you of. He's only going to make himself look worse by accusing the victim. Mum will be there with you as well as Sirius' cousin Andromeda. They won't let anything bad happen to you," he told her, before tucking back into his breakfast. At least one of them wasn't worried about the trial, Remus looked nauseous and Sirius looked mutinous.
Sirius had an eyebrow raised at James' blasé attitude and Remus had his head on the table.
True pinnacles of moral support those two were.
"James is right, trust your council and your guardian. If it's anything like muggle court, they're your best bet of understanding the situation and they'll guide you through the case without much trouble," Lily said with a nod. James' neck was turning red from Lily's use of his first name. Jasmine didn't think that her roommate even noticed that causal way that she said his name. She'd tease Lily after she got back to the dorm tonight.
A few months ago that wouldn't have happened. Though, James was still looking at Lily with the same love-struck expression he always had.
Merlin, he was pathetic at times.
It wasn't long before Jasmine made her way to the Headmaster's office. It was empty, save for Fawkes. The Phoenix was trilling away on his perch. He gave her a knowing chirp when he saw her, the same one he'd always given her when she had been Harriet, reliving the same life over and over again. Then again, he lived lives over and over again, aging, dying and being reborn for those ashes. He more than likely recognized one of Death's champions.
The bird was too bloody smart for his own good.
"Is Dumbledore here?"
Fawkes nodded and motioned to the closed door on her left. A scrying chamber was through there if she remembered correctly. He was going to need more than a scrying chamber to warn him of what's to come.
Jasmine sat in front of the Headmaster's desk and only waited a few moments before the door opened with a long rusty squeak. Dumbledore emerged, his robes pristine, but eyes hallow. He hadn't been the same since the dementor attack. It had taken a lot out of him. Not to mention that they still hadn't found out who had let the dementors in yet.
She had a sneaking suspicion that it was Peter, but she couldn't be sure. The entire area around the wards were apparently collapsed and by the way the greenery and fauna had been growing around it, the tunnel had been that way for a long time. The wards were under a lot of rubble that no human could fit through. Maybe Peter had figured out how to change into a rat after all. He hadn't mastered it by the time the Marauders had broken up, but he had been fairly close. Spite was a fantastic motivator for getting things done, it had fueled Snape in the past nine lives she had known him as a bitter adult.
Jasmine knew she couldn't really say anything without getting Sirius and James in trouble, not to mention what proof she had to back up her claim. Peter had shown no signs of turning to the dark side, he had been sticking with light families for the past couple months and avoided any association with anyone considered dark, but that would be the perfect cover… She shook her head, she might be over thinking things, Peter was still a teenager. From what she understood he turned truly dark sometime after the Marauders had left Hogwarts.
She would still be keeping an eye on him, Jasmine knew better than to let him go. Once a traitor, always a traitor. Still, there was no way that she could know this without some kind of future knowledge that even a prophetess couldn't foresee.
So, she'd keep quiet for now, but the second Peter showed his true colors, he was going wish the dementors he'd set upon Hogsmeade had taken his soul instead. Death had a special punishment in mind for him for causing so many issues for his Master over her past nine lives and Jasmine couldn't wait to see it.
~*~
Waiting for the trial to start made Jasmine feel like she was back in her first life as she fidgeted in her seat. She had never been good at waiting for things to happen. As Harriet she had always been an agent of change or her awful luck had her running from trouble.
Simply existing in a space anticipating the inevitable wasn't something she excelled at. So, here she was, sitting on a polished oak bench outside of court room fifteen. Euphemia and Andromeda were quietly talking next to her. Various officials were walking by, their shoes echoing off the shiny marble flooring. Some gave her a cursory glance as they passed her. Jasmine wondered if they were going to be sitting in on her trial. Not all of them had gotten to see her in the flesh, they'd only heard rumors about her. She wasn't nearly as nervous as she probably should have been, yet her palms were still sweaty. Jasmine wasn't the one being threated with expulsion, but she still felt like she had done something wrong to be called into the session. Maybe it was just that for the past nine lives she had gone into these courtrooms on the defensive, with the entire wizarding world against her.
One wizard gave a small wave to Euphemia, who smiled back and gave a wave of her own. Jasmine hadn't recognized the man, but she was glad that her guardian seemed to have some friends in the court. That was another point in Jasmine's favor. Speaking of swaying the court to her favor…She had seen both Orion Black and Augusta Longbottom make their way into the court room. Lord Black had given her a curt nod as he passed her. Jasmine took a deep breath and waited to be called in, fighting the urge to fidget and failing miserably.
It was another fifteen minutes before someone came out to usher them into the room. "Please, this way," an all too familiar voice said in an overly sweet tone. Still clad in pink, but with far more neck, was Dolores Umbridge. Well, Jasmine's day was officially ruined, whether she won or not, it didn't matter. Umbridge was younger, but there was still a sneer on her lips as her eyes appraised Jasmine, linger on her scars. She was the Percy Weasley of court right now, which was hilarious in its own way. Jasmine was going to make sure this witch never made it anywhere within the ministry.
Euphemia put a hand on Jasmine's shoulder, leading her away from Umbridge, who her guardian pointedly ignored as they entered together with Andromeda, even after Umbridge had attempted to make some kind of conversation with them. It seemed that neither woman felt that Umbridge was worth their time.
All chatter stopped as they made their way down the center and all eyes turned to look at Jasmine. She kept her head held high. Let them stare, let them get a good look at the witch that was going to change the wizarding world, whether they wanted her to or not.
She had done nothing wrong and no matter what she was going to be accused of to try and get Avery's sentence lessened she was going to remember that mantra. She had done nothing wrong and she had nothing to hide, except that she was from the future, this isn't her original body and she was the Master of Death, but other than that...
Who was she kidding, she had a lot to hide, but none of it pertained to the case, so at least she wasn't going to have to lie about anything being discussed today.
Many of the witches and wizards present had heard of her outside of the trial, but few had actually gotten to see what she looked like. They had heard of the scars that marred her face, and her unusual eyes, but Jasmine had been told they were far more striking in person. She had kept herself out of the papers and avoided the paparazzi like the plague after the Potter's adopted her. No one had gotten even a photograph of her. She knew which charms and wards would keep them out of her hair.
Jasmine wasn't the biggest fan of silent staring, especially when it was a large group of powerful people staring her down. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Dumbledore sitting amongst the crowd who would be judging her testimony. She wondered if he was on her side or not, considering he had tried to pin the entire dementor attack on her, she doubted it. Unless he had finally seen the errors of his ways, which, he seemed to be within the last couple of weeks.
It took a moment to realize that the room was set up differently than Jasmine remembered, there were multiple benches up in front of the Wizengamot. There wasn't a single chair with chains that threatened to magically bind you to the seat, so that was an improvement. Or, they might have been implemented after the First Wizarding War…much like the new rules for Hogsmeade visits only allowing students from years three and above to visit and only with their parent's signed approval. The court was also on her side for once…or at least she hoped that the court was going to remain on her side while she was cross-examined. She had been attacked for Merlin's sake, it was a very cut and dry case.
At the bench across from her sat Avery, who looked worse for wear. His face had thinned out considerably, his limbs lanky instead of the bulk they'd had when he was at Hogwarts. While his family did get to have him home for two days of the week. He was kept in the Ministry tombs for the most part. So, there was no space to exorcise, and even less time to eat. He was more than likely more than a little worried about the verdict if the bags under his eyes were any indication of the way he'd been sleeping.
Though, the prat was dressed in some of the most expensive robes that money could buy. She was going to need to inquire about that in her next letter to their family that claimed they were running out of money to pay to settle their debt.
Liars.
She'd make inquires at Gringotts. The goblins would help her settle things. They had been slowly draining assets off certain families that owed her money, they were soon going to find themselves with little to nothing if they weren't careful.
Dueling Avery into the ground to get the verdict would be so much easier at this point. Honestly, when he was at this full strength she could still have taken him on fairly easily, but that wasn't going to help her case now.
The trial had been going on for months and someone almost died, but when you were a pureblood, they could drag this out as long as possible if they had enough money to do it. The Avery family had more than enough ties within Britain to have this trial span years until their son could find a convenient time to disappear without his wand being traceable.
Jasmine wasn't going to let that happen. The Avery was trapped, and it wasn't in Jasmine's nature to let him go. Not when her prey was this weak.
She didn't see his lawyer anywhere. The bastard had kept them all waiting for the past week and a half over when this trial was going to take place. If he didn't show up today, they were no doubt going to send Avery straight Azkaban.
Not that Jasmine would mind.
"We are set to begin the trial, where is your council, Avery? He has kept us waiting long enough-" Dumbledore started, leading the trial to its end. It seemed that after all the bluster, no one was coming to Avery's aid today.
Then, there was a bang from the entry way of the courtroom and a tall figure came strutting in. Their hair was cropped short and neat, robes were a pristine black, fitting and flattering to his form. Jasmine's breath caught in her throat, she'd recognize those icy blue eyes anywhere.
"Mr. Riddle, how kind of you to join us. You're representing Young Avery in his case today?" Dumbledore questioned from the stands, his knuckles white.
Jasmine could understand the sentiment. She felt rather ill herself. Having a dark lord in your courtroom was a serious and rather concerning matter, especially when no one knew his identity…save for the Headmaster and Jasmine.
Though, Jasmine technically wouldn't know who he was, or know that he was the dark lord causing trouble across the UK.
"I must apologize, I was held up," he replied, a charming grin plastered on his face, sending a chill down Jasmine's spine. That voice had haunted her nightmares too many times for her not to shiver. She just hoped that no one noticed.
Despite being in his late fifties the man didn't have a grey hair to be found nor any obvious wrinkles. Jasmine could sense a powerful glamour charm around his eyes, she had a feeling they were blood-red under it. Creating five horcruxes will do that to a person.
So, it seemed that Jasmine would have her first duel against the dark lord in a court of law. At least it wasn't in front of a blasted mirror.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
I will be going back to school soon so the chapters will be slowing down.
This is a repost. You can read it in full on FF and wattpad.
Before you ask, I am the same author. I just use a different username here. =)
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