The Savior Chronicles: Changing Colors

Chapter 11: Undiscovery

"What a mess you've made!"

Draco sat helplessly as Madame Pomfrey whisked around him, trying to mend his broken nose. Blood was oozing from both nostrils and trickling over his lips. On instinct he licked them and automatically tasted its bitter and metallic flavor. Normally he would have gagged, but the pulsating pain in his nasal cavity was distracting him. And he didn't even dare to think of what he must look like. Draco let out a little moan of pain, before the nurse returned to her job.

Soon enough his nose was been restored to normal. Draco checked his profile in the mirror just to be sure and smiled at his reflection. The smile faded quickly enough. The memory of what had just happened came floating back. He had been on the Quidditch field preparing to say something to Jenna and she punched him square in the face. The hit had shattered his nose. Not that it was really that big of a deal. Madame Pomfrey had fixed it in no time with a little spell and a potion for the pain. But his nose wasn't the only thing that had shattered when Jenna hit him. So had his ego. She had done it in front of everyone, the whole entire school. Everyone, including his friends and his enemies, had been looking on when she knocked him ass backward with one swing. If someone like Weasley had done it, it wouldn't have been that bad. Okay, it still would have sucked major ass to be hit by someone so far below him, but at least he could have retaliated. With Jenna, he couldn't. If he did, she'd make him pay very dearly for it and he wasn't about to start anymore shit with her. Plus he didn't really want to get her back. He had a soft spot for her, he didn't know why, but he just didn't feel like doing anything to humiliate her. So Draco had been left sitting there like a dumbass, bleeding from his nose and nursing his stomach which still ached from when she had clobbered him with the Bludger. Draco was dreading going back to the Slytherin Tower. He just knew everyone there would be waiting to make fun of him because he got beat up. Not only that, but it was by a girl!

And the fact that Slytherin had lost the Quidditch match was another thing that was adding salt to injury. They had lost it. They had lost because of him. Because he couldn't fly faster than Harry. Because he hadn't moved out of the way fast enough when Jenna set her sights on him. Draco had let his team down. He had let down his whole house. He had let down his family. He was shaming the Malfoy name. They had always prided themselves on being and having the best of everything: schooling, money, Quidditch, clothes, houses, and magic. Draco had a lot to live up to. His father expected so much of him and didn't accept failure. So Draco knew he'd be hearing from Lucius Malfoy very soon.

No sooner then he had stepped into his tower then did the laughter start. Draco tried to ignore it to the best of his ability. He was getting very good at it; he had been getting losts of practice since Jenna rolled into town. The taunting followed him as he headed up the stairs and continued the next morning at breakfast. It was pretty bad, even worse than the time Jenna had put that song spell on him. So Draco tried to follow his daily routine normally and block everyone else out.

It had been working until he heard a loud SWOOSH over head and caught sight of the numerous owls that were filing into the Great Hall, dropping letters and packages to their respective owners. Draco froze with fear when he saw the red envelope flutter down in front of him. A Howler. Draco's pulse quickened as he stared at it not wanting to even touch it, afraid that it might explode. He knew that he couldn't wait too long or it would explode. He considered just grabbing it and running out of the hall until he was far away from the crowd. But only cowards did that. He's just have to open it and take it like a man. Like a Malfoy.

Draco saw that many people nearby were staring at him expectantly so he reached over rather slowly and peeled back an edge. When he did a boom poured ferociously from the letter. The voice that had escaped was vile and cruel, harsh and deadly, angry and evil. It was his father. "DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY, WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING? HOW COULD YOU LOSE THE GAME TO GRYFFINDOR, TO A POTTER, AGAIN!?!" Draco wanted to shrink down in his seat and hide, but he sat proudly, face never changing. "AND WHY DID YOU LET SOMEONE HIT YOU, YOU STUPID BOY? AND A GIRL NO LESS! NO WOMAN IS TO EVER STRIKE A MALFOY! ARE YOU TRYING TO EMBARRASS US? DO YOU WANT ME TO DISOWN YOU? JUST WAIT TILL YOU COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! AND DON'T LET ME EVER CATCH YOU SHAMING THIS FAMILY AGAIN!"

Finally the screaming had stopped. Draco knew everyone was staring at him expectantly. He could feel their eyes on him. He could hear them sniggering as well. But all he did to satisfy them was pick up the loud letter and calmly place it back in the envelope before returning to his meal.

A short time later Draco decided to have a little chat with his favorite Beater (this word now had a new meaning). He searched the Gryffindor table and found that she was sitting alone today. He guessed that her housemates weren't to keen on her after what she had done to Potter. He walked over to her, trying to restrain the rage he was feeling, and took a seat next to her. Jenna only glanced up from her food for a second to give him a warning look. Draco had expected nothing less. He sat there casually as he spoke, "Good eggs?"

"What. do. you. want." Jenna stated this, more than asked it, in a monotone and impatient voice. Draco could see she was in no mood for his games and wasn't about to test her.

"Well I was just wondering if you wanted to have one last romp tonight. You know, I'm going home tomorrow."

"I heard." Draco had to control an embarrassed flush from a appearing.

"So...how about it? Me and you alone in the darkness of the dungeon surrounded by chains....." he trailed off seductively.

"Well I wouldn't want to hurt your nose. I heard you took a nasty blow yesterday," she said.

"Well you could kiss and make it all better," he whispered into her ear.

"God, Malfoy lay off. I am not in the mood!" Draco paused for a second, wondering how he could convince her. He didn't even know why he was bothering; his original intention had been to yell at her. He watched as she shuffled her eggs around on her plate and felt his anger return. She wasn't even giving him the respect of looking at him while she spoke to him.

"Fine then! Geez, I was willing to forgive you for that stunt you pulled on me yesterday, but you've lost your chance!" he said through gritted teeth, still trying to keep his voice low.

"What!?! Forgive me! You think I want your forgiveness? I'm glad I smashed you! I enjoyed it! And don't think I won't do it again," she responded. Then she lowered her voice to where only he could hear. "Just because I kiss you, Malfoy, does not mean we are friends, that I like you. If you decided not to even speak to me or approach me again I would be extremely happy. You are just a way to pass the time. A game to me. Something I use when I am bored and something I can dispose of when I'm done. Something I know will be waiting for me like a slave the next time I have nothing to do. Do you catch my drift? Or would you like a puppet show to accompany my speech?"

Draco sat in stunned silence. He wasn't expecting her to say such a thing. He knew she wasn't in love with him or anything, but he never thought that she actually hated him, that she was just using him. He just figured she was tease, who liked to torture him. That her pushy and cruel demeanor was just the way she was with guys. But she sat there now, giving him such a fierce look that he knew she hated, truly hated him, the way he hated Potter. She didn't have an ounce of feeling for him that didn't involve anomocity of some sort. Draco had no idea how to react. He had never felt so completely rejected, not since...since Potter refused his friendship during their first year. Unexpectedly, he was severely disappointed, maybe even sad. Upon realizing this, Draco finally began to feel hatred for Jenna, the hatred he had been searching for since he met her. He hated her for making him feel that way.

After a few moments of tension, Draco gave Jenna one last hated-filled look and returned to the Slytherin table promising himself that he would make her pay.

* * * Now, to the library. Harry had to get to work right away. He was all by himself for the next week and a half. He had said goodbye to Ron and Hermione yesterday. They had both been going home for Christmas break. Hermione and her parents were going to be visiting her grandparents in Wales for the vacation. Ron was excited because everyone was coming home for Christmas this year, even Bill and Charlie. Ron loved seeing his older brothers(except Percy of course, who would be there also). Mrs. Weasley had invited Harry to come stay with them and normally he would have accepted; he loved everything about the Weasleys and their home, the Burrow. But Harry had declined. He wanted to stay behind and keep researching the thing that attacked Seamus. So far they had found absolutely nothing useful. Harry was getting a little panicky; he had hoped to find something out before the next person got attacked. It had already been a month since the last time so the next one should be anytime now. He made Ron promise to ask his parents about it and snoop through some of their books.

So that's where Harry was headed now, to the library. They had covered a lot of ground, but the library was very big and there was still plenty to search. He also planned to do some secret night trips to the restricted section with his invisibility cloak.

Harry had to admit that he was not to happy to be spending Christmas at Hogwarts alone. All the other Gryffindor fifth years had gone home for the break. Well, except for Jenna, but that only made things worse for him. He would have preferred being completely alone. Ever since the Quidditch match a week ago, things had been so unstable. The whole house was on edge. Everytime she walked into a room, conversation stopped and all eyes were on her, throwing her death stares. Nobody was willing to even talk to her. And those who weren't mean to her, were scared of her. Things now were even worse than when she first arrived. She had even been put on probation from the team, meaning she couldn't play until she proved her loyalty and trust. Playing in her place was a third year boy, Christopher Jacobs, from the reserves. They were originally going to kick her off, but since she was such a good player they didn't want to axe her completely. Harry figured by the next game, which was in a month and a half, they will have forgiven her, just so she can play.

But Harry couldn't forgive her so easily, no matter how well she played Quidditch. He knew that she hated him, but he never ever thought she would go as far as almost sabotogeing the game just to hurt him. He thought that they had agreed to be more cordial to each other. Harry guessed that she was probably still ticked that he had caught her and Draco snogging, but it was no excuse to go absolutely mad. When he first realized that it was Jenna that had hit him with the Bludger, he thought that she was trying to help Slytherin for Draco. He quickly dismissed that idea when she knocked Draco with a Bludger as well. Plus he didn't think she'd be willing to put herself to shame just for him, especially after Harry heard that she punched him also. Plus she didn't look to pleased with Draco yesterday at breakfast either.

Harry still couldn't make any sense of what had happened that day. She had been playing awesome, helping the team out a lot and then bam! She was trying to kill him. And man was the girl strong! When she hit you she meant business. At a couple points Harry thought he was going to blackout. He was surprised that he had been able to pin even for a second. She was definetely a fighter. Harry would have fought back, but he just couldn't. Not because she was girl, because at that moment he didn't really care if she had been Mother Teresa. It was just...every time he looked at her he couldn't help seeing that sweet, high energy girl that Dumbledore had showed him in the crystal ball. The one dancing playfully to music, the one petting her kitty, the one with the gorgeous, honest blue green eyes.

Harry often wondered if that girl he saw had just been a fluke, a momentary lapse where she was happy because she was by herself, but he couldn't believe that. Even though she was harsh and mean and stubborn, and even though her eyes were now a hard gray, he knew that sweet girl existed...somewhere. He had caught a few glimpses too; the day he caught her listening in about his dream, how nice she was to Angelina, Fred, and the other teammates, the one night she was flying alone on her broom, the day they made the pact to be more respectful. Maybe that girl only existed in America with her family and the people she loved, in her home. But whatever the case, he wasn't about to hurt someone who had the potential to be truly good person. Maybe he was just being naive and maybe she was right, maybe he was trying to be a saint, but this is who he was and he wasn't going to change himself or his principles for anyone.

Once at the library, Harry started his never ending journey to find the beast from his dream. It was not fun either. He hated reading and researching. Most of the time it was useless. After two hours, he started to get fed up. He decided to look up books not just about monsters or Dark Arts, but had both. He headed over to the catalog, a floating screen where you say the subject out loud and it gives you a list of books about it, and said, "Cross reference magically beasts and their uses with Dark magic." Immediately several titles appeared. Potions for Animal Transformation. No, that's not it. 1001 Uses for Unicorn Horn. No, definately not. Dark Creatures Breeded for Dark Magic. Ah Hah! That could be it. Harry scanned the other side of the screen to find the section where it was located. Restricted Section. Of course it is. It just bloody figures. He shook his head. He'd just have to come back tomorrow night. Tonight was Christmas Eve and he just wanted to sleep through it and enjoy the next morning.

* * *

Sleep is just not my thing, Jenna thought as she trudged downstairs to the Gryffindor common room. It couldn't be past 4 in the morning and yet here she was, awake on Christmas morning. Normally she would say it was in anticipation of presents, but Jenna hadn't slept right since she came to Hogwarts. She had tried going back to sleep, but after about an hour she would give up and try to find something to do, usually to no avail. There isn't much selection of activities for 4 in the morning except sleep, take a walk, think, or read.

So she plopped down in her favorite chair next to the still blazing fire. It's warmth felt good on her skin. The tree was nearby, all lit up and beautiful. She always did love Christmas trees. He favorite thing to do on Christmas was decorate the tree with her family while listening to Christmas carols. She didn't get to do that this year. The house elves decorated this tree with red and gold, their house colors, and little lion ornaments as well as some Christmas oriented ones. The students were allowed to add some personal touches, as long as it was appropriate. Fred and George had tried to hang a toilet seat from one of the branched, but McGonagall confiscated it immediately(what was it with them and toilet seats anyway?). Jenna saw that Dean Thomas had placed a miniature soccer ball on the tree and that Hermione had and ornament that looked like teeth with her name across it. Jenna heard that her parents were dentists. Ron had a maroon glass ball with his name on it written in shaky script. The paint was chipping and it looked cracked on one side. Angelina had hung her Quidditch captain patch on the tree. Even Jenna had added something, a small block with the letter J on it and a red bear sitting on top. It was her favorite ornament from home and her mother had sent it to her about a week ago. In fact, it arrived the morning of the game against Slytherin.

That was a day she would never forget. It was the day she lost her mind. Jenna still couldn't believe that she had attacked a teammate, even if it was Harry. He hadn't really done anything to her. Just because he saw her and Draco together didn't mean anything. She knew he would never tell anyone. She was just overly paranoid. She had never really meant to hurt him. It's just ever since she moved here she's been unable to control herself. If she got angry, it spewed out of her before she could think rationally. She was blinded by rage and fear. It was like the second her powers were released so was this vicious animal side of her that she just had no idea how to tame. Sometimes she opens her mouth to give compliment, but an insult comes flying out instead. For example, the first day of school when Harry introduced himself, she was fully ready to say, "Hi, my name is Jenna. I'm so glad you came over because I was feeling a little akward sitting here all alone." But is that what she said? NO! She was rude and yelled at him. Sure, she had been angry and upset, and sure, maybe some of what she said was true, but she never meant to take it out on him.

Draco was a different story, mind you. She meant to be rude to him, to mess with is head, because he was downright annoying, even if he was a hottie. Normally she was never that big of a flirt, in fact she was incredibly shy when it came to boys. To tell the truth she had never kissed a guy until Draco. So where all that sensual 'you can have me, if you can keep up with me' crap came from she wasn't sure. But it definately wasn't anything like the rage inside her. She could control what she said when being playful. But Jenna didn't know why this happened, didn't know why she acted that way, didn't know why she couldn't control it... she just plain and simple didn't know.

Look at me

You may think you see

Who I really am

But you'll never know me

Every day

It's as if I play a part

Now I see

If I wear a mask

I can fool the world

But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me

When will my reflection show

Who I am inside

Jenna was feeling really guilty at this point, but she knew there was nothing she could say to make things better, not with anyone. "I'm sorry" just wouldn't cut it. But she wanted to do something, even if it was little. That was when Jenna noticed that Harry didn't have an ornament on the tree. She smiled with satisfaction as an idea popped into her head. She crept up into the boys dorm, very silent hoping she wouldn't wake Harry and began to work.

* * *

Harry actually slept peacefully that night, despite all that was on his mind. When he awoke the next morning the sun had barely risen and it was still a little dark. Feeling so refreshed, he decided to start his day early. He dressed rapidly and eagerly looked at the end of his bed for gifts. His early morning smile faltered when he found nothing there. They wouldn't forget to get me presents would they? He reassured himself that they wouldn't and proceeded to head down to the common room, praying that they were under the tree.

He trotted down the staircase, a little faster than he meant to, and put on the breaks when he reached the bottom. Someone else was downstairs, sitting in a big chair in front of the fire by the tree. The back of the chair was facing him so his guest did not see him. Harry inched a little closer and was relieved to find it was just Jenna. He was going to continue over to the tree, but he became engrossed in watching her. She was petting a petite multicolored cat, the same one he had seen in the crystal ball. I didn't know she brought her cat along. I haven't seen it around. Jenna was definately a different sight that morning. She sat calmly by the fire, stroking the kitten ever so gently. She cooed its name softly and let out a slight giggle when the kitty responded with a funny little meow. She reached down and picked her up. Wrapping her arms around the cat, she cradled it with love. Harry knew he had been right about her. This was the girl he had imagined her to be. Jenna, still holding her pet, was now staring longingly into the fire. Her face was pensive and he saw a touch of sorrow in her eyes. He was startled to find that they were a pale blue this morning, not gray. Jenna sighed loudly and kissed the kitten in the head, before she placed her back on the floor and began to move.

This is when Harry snapped out of it and announced his presence by making a loud stomp on the floor as he walked. Jenna's head jerked in his direction and her hard glare returned. She said nothing though, only moved and sat near the tree looking for her presents. Harry was a little wary about continuing forward, afraid that she might snap at him for approaching her.

"Your presents are under here," she spoke quietly, "in case you were wondering." Upon hearing this, Harry guessed that it was her way of saying that she wouldn't smack him if he sat down, so he did. She didn't look up at him when he did, just picked up one of her gifts and searched for a tag to tell her who it was from. Harry located his bundles and began to open them one by one. He had more fudge and a sweater from Mrs. Weasely and wizard joke book from Ron. Hermione gave him some Bertie Botts and a free homework pass, meaning she would do one homework for him. Harry was surprised by this. Hermione hated cheaters so either she was possessed or short on money and/or ideas. Fred and George's box exploded little buggy things that had Snape's face. Luckily they disappeared after a couple minutes. Harry also got a some butterbeer from Hagrid, a letter with and enchanted pin that sang White Christmas from Sirius, and a napkin from the Dursleys. Harry saw that Jenna had quite a few more presents than he, probably because she had a family. Her gifts consisted mostly of candy, clothing, books, little nic naks, money, pictures(often framed or in an album), and CDs. After unwrapping one of the CDs she spoke again. "My mom still doesn't get that these don't work here," she said and then placed it with the rest of her stuff. "Oh well, I'll still be able to use it when I go home."

Harry was taken aback by her sudden friendliness...okay not friendly, but less rude. Maybe it was because it was Christmas, maybe she just didn't feel like arguing, or maybe just maybe she was trying to be nice. Jenna got up after opening her presents and gathered them together. She was heading up the stairs when Harry spotted a book she had left near the chair she had been sitting in earlier. "Jenna you forgot your book!" As she walked back to get it Harry read the title with surprise: Dark Creatures Breeded for Dark Magic.