The Savior Chronicles: Changing Colors

Chapter 4: Invasion

Jenna sat in Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall breathing down her neck. She was about two months into Hogwarts now meaning she was almost done with her first year. But she was still having a little trouble in this class. She was supposed to be turning a purple wash cloth into a desk. It had sort of worked. There was a desk, but it was still purple and furry. McGonagall shook her head. "Try again. And this time concentrate," she said exasperatedly.
But Jenna couldn't. Her mind kept floating. All this stuff was so stupid to her. She didn't see the point of being here. She didn't plan on ever getting job in the magical world. She wanted nothing to do with it. In her mind, she didn't belong there. And there was proof to that too. Nobody here liked her. They all kept a distance like she was the Grim Reaper and her touch would kill them. But she had brought it on herself, acting the way she did. She was horrible to all the people there. But why should I be nice? she thought. I don't like these people either so why does it matter? But for some reason it did matter. Jenna just hated being lonely. She figured that's why she was so upset, not because she actually wanted these people to like her.
It's not like they even made an effort. Well, Harry did, but I was still pissed about leaving home and he got on my nerves. And he'd been a pain ever since. Still walking around like a hot shot and giving her nasty looks. Draco had also approached her. He was constantly bugging her to be friends- or more. It was quite obvious that he was taken with her. Why, Jenna didn't know, she was so rude to him. I guess he's into the aggressive type. But Jenna couldn't stand Draco or his antics. He was so self involved. His ego was as big as his father's bank account. At least he had backed off a little since the incident outside the school. He still said hi all the time and would often drop a line or two about doing some spells together, but as soon as she glared at him he would give her a nervous look like he was scared she was going to break into song again. Jenna had to admit, Draco was her only pleasure at this school. Torturing him was so much fun! She would definitely miss that when she left.
Her ponderings were interrupted by the yelling of Professor McGonagall. Jenna had screwed up the spell for the fifteenth time (literally), and McGonagall was going on and on about how she needed to learn this stuff quick so she could move on to the next years lessons and about how she should take her work more seriously.
"Why should I? I don't care about this stuff! I don't want to know it! I don't need it either! Once you guys finally release me from this prison, I intend on getting as far away from magic as I can!" Jenna shouted in frustration. McGonagall glowered at her for a moment, but then turned serious.
"I know this is a hard time for you, but you must learn this. Your safety depends on it."
"Look, all you guys were worried about in the first place was me learning to control my powers so I didn't hurt anyone. Well, I can do that now so you're job is done!" McGonagall rubbed her temples as if Jenna was giving her a headache.
"Listen to me," the professor said more firmly this time, "you have to learn the extent of your powers in case any dangers arise. It is imperative. Now be quiet and try this one more time!" Jenna let out a yell of anger and the glass paperweight on McGonagall's desk exploded. She tipped down her glasses to peer at Jenna. "You can control your powers, huh? Doesn't look like it." But McGonagall saw she was never going to win Jenna over when she was in this mood so she ended the day's lesson.
Thankful to be out of there, Jenna decided she needed some fresh air. She pushed the doors to Hogwarts open and stepped outside. The cool October's breeze swarmed around her and blew her reddish brown hair in all directions. She sucked in air deeply, enjoying the serenity of nature. It was one of very few moments that she had felt at peace in the last couple months.
But like all the other times it ended quickly when she heard the noise of people yelling to each other. She looked up and about 300 yards away and high in the sky were seven people on brooms tossing around balls. Quidditch practices had started less than a week ago. Jenna knew this because she saw Harry leave the common room almost every night, Firebolt in hand. Jenna didn't know too much about Quidditch, just the basics like positions and types of balls and stuff. She was actually kind of interested to see what all the fuss was about so she began to move forward for a closer look.
Once she was less than a hundred feet away she noticed which team it was. The green and silver robes were unmistakable as the Slytherin house. They were buzzing around on super fast brooms, Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. Not the best, but pretty close. She had heard rumors that Draco's father had bought them for the team. Figures, she thought.
Speak of the devil. Just then Draco's blonde head came into focus as he hovered in the sky searching for the Snitch. He looked deep in concentration, his eyes opened wide, a huge change from his usual narrow eyed stare. A look flashed across his face and he went into a dive. Flying faster and faster, he was speeding towards the ground. Then he pulled up abruptly with a triumphant smile on his face. A tiny gold ball was fluttering in his hand. The rest of the team cheered. The captain then yelled that it was a good practice and that they'd meet the same time tomorrow.
All seven players landed and began to put the balls away. The captain, suddenly taking notice of her standing a few feet away, yelled, "Hey you! What do you think you're doing? Spying on us for Gryffindor!?! Well, get the hell outta here!"
Draco looked up at the commotion and grinned. "Don't worry about her. She wouldn't tell those losers a thing. Plus, she's only here to check me out," he smirked.
Jenna was not particularly in the mood to fight so she only responded with a simple, "In your dreams," before turning in the other direction.
"Wait! Do you know how to play? Maybe we could have a little friendly one on one? You could show me your stuff." He was looking at her suggestively.
"Draco I wouldn't show you anything of mine," she spit out coldly.
He didn't falter. "Come on, I've seen you having lessons with Madame Hooch. I know you can at least stay on your broom."
"Yeah I can do much more than that." They were staring each other down at that moment when the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked onto the field.
"Hey, we have the field now, so leave please," Angelina Johnson said with touches of anger.
Draco turned to her, "In a minute, Miss Scott was just about to grace us with her divine skills! Tell me, which position would you like to play?"
Not wanting to look like a wimp in front of both Harry and Draco she decided to play. "Fine! I'll be a beater!"
"What? Yeah right! Girls can't be beaters! They aren't strong enough!"
At that Jenna was on fire. What she hated even more than arrogance was sexism. "Oh yeah? Try me!" She strode up to a Slytherin beater and grabbed his broom and beater stick. Jenna quickly mounted the broom and was soon rising into the air.

"Let the Bludgers loose! And don't bother coming up here Draco, I don't need your help." Down below, Draco sneered as he released the two heavy brown balls. Everyone from both teams was staring up at her eagerly. Jenna poised herself, determined to prove to Draco that girls were just as strong as boys. And to teach him a lesson.

It wasn't long before one of the Bludgers was speeding towards her. Her face was hard as she awaited the ball. Once it was in reach she swatted it away easily. She then took off on her broom chasing Bludger #2. She caught up quickly and whacked it in the opposite direction. Bludger #1 was coming for her again and she skillfully moved to the side before knocking the ball out of her path. Bludger # 2 had recovered from her first hit and was now speeding from behind her. She made a hard turn and batted it out of the way. Bludger # 1 was now aiming for her head. She leaned far back on her broom and did a flip before circling around and hitting it again. She was now positioned with a clear shot of Bludger #2 and so she pulled her arm back and hurled it with all her might. It went flying towards the ground below, straight at Draco. He was still staring in awe at Jenna that he didn't notice it. It plowed into his stomach with a thud. Draco was now curled in a ball on the grass. Jenna smiled with satisfaction as she landed. Everyone was gaping at her. Even the great Harry Potter seemed impressed. Mission accomplished.
* * *
After hours in the library studying for his Divination test, Harry was exhausted. He had been working overtime the past week. Homework was piling up like crazy and the Quidditch season had begun. Not that he was complaining about it. Harry loved Quidditch. The exhilaration of soaring through the air and the adrenaline of competition was complete bliss for Harry. He felt so at ease high up on his broom. Flying was definitely one of his strengths. Harry had to admit to himself he was a pretty awesome Seeker. He had only missed the Snitch once and that was because the dementors made him fall off his broom.
Harry had lost that game to Cedric Diggory. Thinking about him made Harry feel sick inside. Cedric had died last year after the Triwizard Tournament. Him and Harry had been transported to Voldemort the second they picked up the Triwizard cup. Cedric was killed by Voldemort before he could even scream. Harry had always felt semi-responsible for his death. He had been standing right there. He couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something. Harry knew that it wasn't his fault, but the pain still lingered in his heart.
Harry had left the library and was now heading back to the Gryffindor tower. He needed sleep. Tomorrow would be just as busy. He was slowly ambling through the halls. He finally reached the portrait of the fat lady and said, "Fiddlesticks." The picture then opened into the common room.
Right away Harry noticed something weird. For so late at night, the common room was buzzing. Several small groups of people were whispering to each other and looking in the same direction. There seemed to be a circle forming on one side of the room. Harry approached it cautiously. As he got closer he caught parts of the conversation.
"How did you do that? You're still learning!" an amazed voice asked.
"I don't know. Just came naturally I guess." That voice sounded oddly familiar to Harry.
"That was the most brilliant thing I've ever seen!"
"Um....thanks." Yes, Harry definitely knew that voice. It sounded different, but he knew it.
"The only other person to be that good at flying so quickly was Harry." At the mention of his name Harry became more curious.
"Yeah Madame Hooch said that too." Ok, Harry had to know who was talking. He began to push his way through the crowd. He even resorted to lightly elbowing people in his way. When he reached the middle he was surprised to find Jenna as the center of attention. This was so ironic to him. The one person people ran from now seemed to be the most popular. What was weirder was that she had sounded like a normal person not her usual wretched self.
At the sight of Harry, Jenna froze. For a moment she looked unsure of how to react. Then her lips tightened as she said, "What do you think this is a peep show, Potter? Stop gawking at me like that." Now Harry was the one at a loss for words. The rest of the Quidditch team was also in the circle. In fact, they seemed to be the ones who were speaking to Jenna before. Angelina looked uncomfortable with Harry's presence.
Not liking all the eyes looking on expectantly, he spoke, " What's going on?"
"Oh, not much. Just asking Jenna about her flying from earlier today," Katie Bell replied trying to sound casual. Harry nodded in understanding. They looked at him for another moment before returning their attention to Jenna.
"So Jenna what do you say to my proposition?" Angelina asked.
"Look that's nice of you, but I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines for the whole season hoping someone will get sick."
Harry's forehead crinkled in confusion, "What proposition?"
"Oh...um...I uh....I kinda asked Jenna to join the Quidditch team," Angelina responded.
"What? But there's no space on the team except Keeper! You didn't even see how she plays that position!"
"I know, I asked her to be a Beater," Angelina explained.
"But, ...but Fred and George are the Beaters," Harry shrieked in horror.
" Don't talk to her as if she's stupid, Potter. And that's why I said no. I donut want to be anyone's back up player," Jenna butted in indignantly. Harry glowered at her with hate.
Angelina then spoke up again. "Jenna, I wasn't asking you to be back up to anyone. I talked to George and he said he would like to take over the position of Keeper. Its what he's always really wanted to play. So that leaves a beater spot open. And it's yours if you want it." The rest of the team nodded in agreement. All except Harry. Jenna looked skeptical. Harry was praying she'd say no. She would ruin everything if she joined the team.
Jenna seemed to read his mind. "Of course, I'd love to play," she said smiling evilly at Harry. The whole common room burst with cheers. The team was now shaking her hand and welcoming her to the team. Fred patted her on the back and said he was happy to have her as his partner. Katie yelled something about being sure that Gryffindor would win the Quidditch cup.
Harry felt sick to his stomach. Jenna was messing up his whole life. It was bad enough that she soiled his meal times and was always doing something rude in the halls or the common room, but not she had to invade his Quidditch team. It was the one thing he still had left. Now it was gone.
With a feeling of dread, Harry trudged up to the boys' dorms. Ron tried to comfort him, but not even his best friend could cheer him up. He just climbed under the covers without even changing. For hours, he thought of how his life was falling apart. Hogwarts was supposed to be his sanctuary. But Jenna had fought her way in and set up camp. He was raging. A few lyrics from a song popped into his head.

I find the answers aren't so clear
Wish I could make you disappear
All these thoughts they make no sense
I find bliss in ignorance
Nothing seems to go away
Over and over again

Just like before....
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break

Jenna seemed to be determined to make him miserable. Like it gave her pleasure or something. He had never met anyone so awful. Even Draco didn't seem so bad. Sure he always had something nasty comment and tattled if Harry
did something wrong, but Jenna had an action to back up everything she said.
Harry then saw something that made his heart stop. Someone else was in the room, standing a few feet away. The dark shadowed it, but Harry could make out a tall figure. It was lanky with a bulbous head. It was moving closer and it suddenly walked into a patch of light. Harry stifled a scream. Its skin was blue and rough. It was pulled tightly across the creature's face and its cheekbones poked out grossly. Its eyes were two round black holes, so void of emotion, just pure evil. It had a toothy grin so wide that the tips of its lips reached its ears. But nothing was friendly about this smile. It was eerie and corrupt. Harry was convinced this what the devil must be like.
He noticed this monster was still coming towards him, but it wasn't walking. It was gliding slightly above the floor. It inched closer, but Harry couldn't move or make a noise. It was like this thing had him hypnotized. It then reached one of its bony hands out and grasped it tightly around Harry's bare neck. It opened its mouth and came rushing at Harry's face.
Harry then bolted upright in bed. He was covered in beads of sweat. He searched the room for any signs of his monster, but the room was completely peaceful. It was just a dream. I must have fallen asleep, Harry thought. Breathing a sigh of relief and lay back down, unaware that a certain girl in the dorm right next to his was doing the same thing.