Jason and Romina

Ch. 3

After what seemed like ages, the Hogwarts Express came to a halt. Rodney and Rachel stood up, ready to disembark. Jason turned to Juliana and smiled encouragingly.

"Here we are, Jules! You're going to get off with the rest of the first years and follow Hagrid. Rod, Rachel, and I are taking the carriages..."

"What?" Juliana interrupted, green eyes wide, "You're not coming with me?" She began to wring her hand nervously, giving Jason such a piteous look that he felt guilty for being a sixth year. He gave her cheeks a pinch.

"'Course we're not going with you, you goose! We're sixth years, after all. Don't be scared, you'll be fine," he said a bit patronizingly. Rachel gave him a stern look, as if scolding him for not being more sympathetic, and gave Juliana a hug.

"Don't worry, Jules. You can sit with us once you get sorted into Gryffindor, all right?" she said cheerfully. Juliana pouted.

"If I get sorted into Gryffindor, you mean. We won't know where I'll end up until the Sorting," she mumbled darkly. Now it was Rod's turn to try and cheer the young girl. He stalked over to her, pretending to be angry. He shoved Rachel out of his way, causing her to curse at him, and squatted down to Juliana's height.

"Now see here, young lady!" he began in a booming voice, "That sort of attitude'll put you in Hufflepuff straight away!"

"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," Rachel interrupted hotly. "Stuff it, you," Rod snapped at her, "Just because your boyfriend's a Hufflepuff doesn't mean they're not all a bunch of duffers." Rachel glared at him.

"They are not 'all a bunch of duffers'...and Timothy is NOT my boyfriend. He's a friend that just so happens to be a boy, which is completely diff..."

"As I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted," Rod shouted over his sister's explanation of the difference between boyfriends and boy friends, "There's not a chance that you won't be sorted into Gryffindor. After all, you are a Potter, are you not? And it would be a sin not to put Harry Potter's daughter into Gryffindor!" Juliana rolled her eyes at Rodney's logic and sighed impatiently.

"Please, Rod, you know just as well as me that blood has nothing to do with the Sorting. Daddy told me so." Rodney sighed despairingly. Why'd she have to be so smart?

"Well, I've done everything I could. But I'm sorry to say that I've failed," Rodney said with the air of a doctor losing his first patient. Jason grinned at his cousin's futile attempts to cheer his sister.

"Well, mates," he said brightly, "the train's nearly empty so we really must be off. Especially you, Jules, if you don't want to end up swimming to Hogwarts; I hear that the lake is downright freezing once the sun sets. I'm also quite sure that the giant squid, like the rest of us, doesn't appreciate unwelcome guests at dinnertime." He winked at his three companions and exited the compartment. Rodney, Rachel, and Juliana followed suit. The three older kids gave Juliana a quick hug before she scampered to join the rest of the first years. Jason walked backwards toward the horse-less carriages, still watching his sister. He felt an immense amount of pride swell up inside his chest as Jules pushed her way through the crowd so that she could give Hagrid a big hug.

Suddenly, Jason felt himself bump into something solid.

"Oof," Jason grunted as he landed painfully on his bum, "Terribly sorry," to the girl he had just knocked down. He leapt to his feet and stuck out his hand, ready to help her up. When she turned over, Jason's stomach twisted not unpleasantly. This girl was, and there was no other way to describe her, exquisite. Her silky blonde hair was pulled up into a bun with a few escaped strands framing her stately face. Beneath her sky blue eyes Jason sensed a troubled soul.

"Excuse me," the sound of her gentle voice made him jump, "I was wondering if you were planning on helping me up, because, if you weren't, you could move instead of staring at me." She half-smiled while Jason burned bright red as he mumbled his apologies. He kept a hold of her hands and studied her a bit further. His eyes swept over the Slytherin crest on her robes, but he dismissed it immediately. He was not going to judge someone he didn't know on her house, especially since she was pretty.

Romina felt very uncomfortable under Jason's stare; she always hated it when people seemed to be judging her.

"Erm, I'm Romina Malfoy," she said, trying to end the awkward silence while pulling her hands gently out of his, "What's your name?" She obviously knew who he was, but decided that she would sound like some sort of stalker if she said 'Hello Jason Potter! Yes, I know your name, in fact, I know everything about your entire family!'

He smiled quite winningly at her and said, "Jason Arthur Potter, at your service! Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Malfoy." She giggled at his mock cordialness, surprising herself, for she had not laughed in weeks. Jason beamed at her; he always took girls laughing as a good sign.

Malfoy, he thought curiously, I wonder why that name sounds so familiar. Maybe I should ask dad...

"Oy, Jason! Get your arse over here or else we won't make it to the feast!" Rodney yelled from across the Hogsmeade platform.

"Be right there!" Jason called back to Rod, who rolled his eyes and mumbled something about a show-off.

Jason turned back to Romina and said, "Would you like to sit with me and my cousins? The carriage seats four and there are only three of us..." Jason saw a definite gleam in Romina's eyes that wasn't there before.

"I'd like that very much," she answered, smiling, thinking that to say that she'd love to sit with him would sound to desperate.

"Great!" Jason grinned. The two of them began to make their way toward the pair of redheads by one of the carriages.

"Romina!" came a cold, harsh voice, "Where the hell are you going? Who is that?" Romina's insides shriveled up. Both she and Jason spun around to see a tall blonde seventh year Slytherin stalking over to them.

"Who's that?" Jason asked quietly, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Aaron, my brother," she snarled. The drastic change in her attitude surprised Jason, but he didn't have time to dwell on his astonishment.

"Where are you going with this riff-raff, Romina?" Aaron snapped once he had reached them. He glared at Jason disgustedly, who felt anger begin to boil up inside of him. Who was he called riff-raff?

Romina tossed her head haughtily and narrowed her eyes at Aaron, feeling much braver knowing that someone was on her side. "I'm going to school, Aaron, what kind of stupid question was that?" she in a superior tone. Aaron's pale face tinged pink.

"Do you even know who he is? Do you?!" he barked. Romina's confidence began to waver.

O bugger! He's going to tell Mother and Father, she thought hopelessly.

"My name," Jason said coldly, stepping forward, "is Jason Potter, and I don't appreciate being referred to as 'riff-raff.' I can assure you, Aaron, that Romina will be just fine riding to the Great Hall with my cousins and me. And, for all its worth, I know what its like to be protective of a younger sister..."

Aaron laughed harshly, "You assume much to think that I'm being protective of her. She could drop dead at this very moment and wouldn't so much as give her a second glance. No, Jason, what I'm worried about is the Malfoy name, and how she is constantly tarnishing it with her Mudblood-loving shenanigans." Jason's eyes grew to the size of saucers in horror at what Aaron had just said. What surprised him more was the unaffected expression on Romina's face. He was certain that if he were to say anything like that to Juliana, which was highly unlikely, that she would be devastated. Romina's numbness to the situation was proof enough to Jason she'd been through this kind of hell many times before.

"Well, in that case," he said in a low, firm voice, "Romina will be coming with me." He gripped Romina's wrist and started to lead her towards Rod and Rachel, but Aaron roughly took hold on her shoulders with both hands, pulling her back towards him.

"I don't think so, Potter," he said menacingly, "And if you know what's good for you you'll stay away from Romina," his lips curled into an unpleasant smile, "I hear your little sister starts Hogwarts this year." Jason's face and neck flushed red in anger.

"If you touch my sister, Malfoy, God so help me I'll..."

"My dear Mr. Potter, are you threatening me? If you are, I should advise you that threatening a Malfoy is risky business, very risky business indeed," Aaron warned in a malicious voice. Jason balled his hands into fists, fighting the urge to grab his wand and start cursing the daylights out of Aaron. Romina shot a nasty look at Aaron, and gave Jason a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Jason. I'll just sit with my brother. I'll be okay," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. Jason eyed her suspiciously.

"You're sure you'll be all right?" he asked quietly. Romina forced a smile onto her face and nodded. Jason sighed, and with one last glare at Aaron, walked over to where Rodney and Rachel were standing. Romina gazed sadly after him, before she found herself being violently shaken by Aaron.

"What the hell is WRONG with you?" he snarled, "How many times has Father told us to stay away from the Potter family? Hasn't he told us that it's their fault the Dark Lord was murdered? Hasn't he warned us that the Potters are hell-bent on ruining the name of wizards everywhere? How many times must we cram that into that soft head of yours?" He let her go with a final shake and a snarl. "Go sit with Candice. She is your only friend here." Romina pushed him away without a word and scanned the crowd for Jason. With a painful jolt in her stomach region, she saw his carriage rolling away. Romina felt hot tears sliding down her face, realizing that she'll probably never see Jason again.