Mischief Managed | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 25

Jenna awoke with the morning sun peaking through their dorm's certains. She took a quick shower and then got out of the bathroom as the other three girls were starting to get up. Although Marlene McKinnon was still sound asleep on her bed, her head hidden beneath the scarlet blanket.

     Lily was struggling to wake Marlene up while Alice was making her bed as she hummed a song under her lips, all still in their pajamas except for Jenna. Without greeting any of them, Jenna took her bag and wand before leaving the dorm. She soon made her way down to the Great Hall, finding it easier than ever to find it without getting lost.

     Jenna looked the Gryffindor table up and down, but couldn't spot her brother. Knowing that he had once again slept in or perhaps was making his hair in front of the mirror, she went and sat down on her own.

    She poured herself some pumpkin juice and started on with a toast, resting her chin upon her palm with her elbow on the table. Every once in a while she would throw a glance at the doors which separated the Great Hall with the entrance hall, waiting for James to show up.

     But instead, she caught the eyes of Alice, who walked into the Great Hall and waved at Jenna the moment she caught her eyes. Jenna waved back, and was surprised when Alice made her way over to where she was sitting.

    "May I?" she asked kindly when she reached her, gesturing at the empty seat beside Jenna.

     "Sure," said Jenna, putting some jam on her toast and taking a bite from it.

     With a sweet smile across her lips, Alice sat down beside Jenna, placing her bag under the table before she put a pancake on her plate.

    "Did you sleep well?" Alice asked sweetly, trying to strike up a little conversation. 

     "Er... yeah." Jenna nodded unsurely. "You?"

     "Yes, I did," Alice said delightfully, but then her head turned when she saw Lily and Marlene walking inside the Great Hall. "Oh, there they are!"

     Alice waved them over with glee. Although the moment Marlene caught sight of Jenna, she frowned. The blonde girl then whispered something to Lily and then stubbornly sat down further away from them.

     Lily stood there in between Marlene and the other two girls, not sure what she was supposed to do. But at last she sent an apologetic smile at Alice and Jenna before taking her seat next to Marlene.

    Jenna rolled her eyes and then carelessly went back to finishing her toast. But she had an uneasy feeling that Alice's eyes were on her.

     Jenna then finally looked up at Alice, raising a brow at her. "What?"

     "W-well... it's just that... Marlene —"

     "Look, before you say anything," Jenna cut her off, raising a hand to stop her, "we just had a little spat at the beginning at the beginning of the term. She's the one who's ignoring me. Besides, not all roommates are supposed to become friends."

     "Maybe, but you also pranked her during our first Potion lesson," Alice tried to reason with her. "Maybe that's why she's being cranky."

     "It wasn't my fault that she decided to cheat and sneak peeks from my notes!" Jenna said defensively, though she still found the prank hilarious when she thought about it.

     "Yes, I know, but — but can you guys at least try to be friends? We're going to spend the next seven years together!"

     "Look, it's not just McKinnon who doesn't like me." Jenna shrugged. "Evans probably hates me too."

    "What are you talking about?" Alice asked in confusion.

     "It's because of my brother," Jenna explained bitterly. "He seems rather fond of joking around with Snape, who is Evans's best friend. She hated James's guts since the day they met."

     But Alice only chuckled, shaking her head. "Then you don't know Lily at all. I promise you, she's one of the nicest and kindest people you'll ever meet. She's really forgiving and has a great heart. Trust me. You'll just have to give her a chance."

     "Maybe... but I owe a lot of apologies to her, on my brother's behalf," said Jenna, grinning sheepishly.

     After breakfast, when neither James nor his friends showed up at the Great Hall for breakfast, Jenna went to the Charms classroom along with Alice, followed later on by Lily and Marlene. The Gryffindors had Charms with Ravenclaws that year, so Lily couldn't be with Severus, and instead paired up with Marlene.

      Jenna looked around the classroom with confusion as she wordlessly took a seat beside Alice. James had failed to show up once again. But Jenna started to get really worried when Professor Flitwick entered the classroom and got up on a pile of books to make himself taller, and started the lesson.

      With a gentle flick of his wand, he made dozens of feathers float toward each student, landing them on their desks before them.

      A chatter of excitement went all around the class and everyone got their wands out, ready to try real magic for the first time in Charms, now that they had covered the theoretical parts throughout the first week.

     "We will be covering the Levitation charm for the rest of the month. It is, as you all know, a spell used to make objects fly," said Professor Flitwick. "The incantation for it is Wingardium Leviosa. So please, repeat after me. Wingardium Levi —"

     But just then, his words were cut off and the Professor almost lost balance and nearly fell off the pile of books when the classroom door was opened in a snap. The next moment, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter hurtled into the classroom, panting hard as though they had been running for miles.