Year V

Chapter Nineteen

"The Rest of the Week in Hell"

As he looked at his breakfast which consisted of a piece of toast, bacon, and some water, Jesse hoped that his second day at Hogwarts would go by a lot more smoothly than yesterday. Thankfully, he didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts or Potions today, though one look at the High table told him that both Professor Snape and the human toad called Umbridge were keeping an eye on him. As far as threat levels were concerned, he saw Snape as the greater danger...at least for the moment. Umbridge, though a bitch, really didn't rank that high...she hadn't threatened to strike out at his friends at least.

After his second confrontation with Draco Malfoy and his merry band of Slytherins, Jesse was confronted by Snape again which ended up with Snape deducting ten points from Hufflepuffs and Jesse receiving angry looks from some Hufflepuff students who were not happy that he had cost them thirty-five points in one day. To add insult to injury, Hermione Granger had apparently complained to her head of house about his actions and Jesse found a note in the Hufflepuff common room informing him that Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to him. He glanced back at the High Table and saw a tall older witch giving him a stern glare which caused him to groan silently.

Great...just what I needed, a third teacher on my threat list, he thought. I wonder how many more will be on it after the day is through. As it is, Snape's the greater danger...he knows what I am, but I thought only Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley knew. Then again, Dumbledore probably told those he trusted, though I'm not sure trusting someone like Snape would be wise...the man's an asshole.

That Snape revealed that he knew of Jesse's true nature told Jesse that it was more than likely Dumbledore had told Snape. However, Snape's comments also told Jesse that Umbridge did not know about his being an Elemental, and his threat to tell her was more than enough to make Jesse question Dumbledore's judgment on who to trust. He paused for a moment as he realized something.

Uh-huh...all the other kids my age are worried about O.W.L year, studying, sports, relationships, and whatever the hell else they're supposed to worry about and I'm wasting my time assessing threat levels posed by my instructors...when did that start to happen?

"Oy! Jesse!"

Jesse looked up and smiled as Fred and George Weasley approached him. At least they were two people he could count among friends here, though he still thought of them more as business partners than friends. "Fred, George...sorry about not getting into Gryffindor."

"It's all right," said Fred with a shrug. "After thinking about it, it's probably for the best."

"Really? You both looked like you were about to die of shock."

"At first, yes," said George, "but then we realized that on a financial scale...it was the perfect business opportunity to break into what we had thought was uncharted territory."

"Uh-huh," said Jesse with mock suspicion, "uncharted territory. That's a nice way of saying 'Hey Jess, can you sell some stuff to the Hufflepuffs for us', isn't it? Not that I'd have any objection and I can see the value of it..."

"Actually," said Fred, lowering his voice, "it's not just that. We seem to have hit upon a minor problem."

"Oh...a minor problem?" chuckled Jesse. "Just a minor problem? Given your reputations around here, I would have thought minor didn't apply to you. From what I heard, the caretaker refers to you as a major promblem."

"Yes, well our minor problem is a member of our own house," said George. "We've been conducting tests on those that are willing to try out our products for a small fee."

"Unfortunately," said George with a slight look of disgust, "one of the new Gryffindor prefects doesn't like that idea."

"Hmmm...let me guess," said Jesse. "This wouldn't happen to be a certain brown-haired five-foot something fifth year with this inflated system of what's right and wrong, would it? Goes by the name of Hermione?"

"Blimey!" Fred half-shouted, drawing strange looks from other students nearby. "You're psychic!"

"Yeah, yeah...whatever...so what's Miss Morals done this time?"

"Well, she tore down our adverts from the Gryffindor common room. We've been forced to look into other options. Bloody annoying, that."

"Really? No offense, but you two don't look like the kind of people who would cave in to a new prefect on an ego trip. A couple detentions wouldn't even slow you down."

"She threatened to tell our mother!"

"Oh," said Jesse, remembering how vicious Mrs. Weasley could get. "Now that's low...even for Hermione."

"So, we were wondering," said George, "if you'd be interested in testing some products for us on some Hufflepuffs."

"It depends, what kind of products are we talking about?"

"Oh...nothing too dangerous...fainting fancies, nosebleed-nougat, that sort of thing." Fred helped himself to a piece of bacon. "Heard you tried out one of our purple-pepper bombs."

"Yeah, though I like my blue-flashies better. Too bad McGonagall's going to probably confiscate the ones I have on me."

"Yeah, we heard about that." George shook his head, glancing over at the Gryffindor table where Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and his brother Ron were sitting together in their usual spot. "I still can't believe that she told on you to McGonagall."

"Of course she'd tell on Jesse," said Fred as he started to mimic Hermione's voice. "Because his actions are against the rules and not right!" The three of them laughed at that little joke, but quickly silenced it as they caught a glare from Hermione who stared at them for a moment before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice returning her attention Harry and Ron.

That's when Jesse saw Hermione's glass and an evil smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Hmm...gentlemen, I think I need a diversion."

George followed Jesse's gaze and saw Hemione's glass then he glanced at Jesse who pulled what appeared to be a small red gumball out of his pocket. "No Jess," he said, shaking his head. "As tempting as that is, maybe you should back off for a little bit."

Fred, on the other hand, saw the Devil's Drop in Jesse's hand and chuckled as he got up from the table. "One diversion coming up." He and George went back to the Gryffindor table, conveniently standing so Jesse was blocked from being seen. Jesse got up from the table and slowly walked around towards where Hermione, Harry, and Ron were sitting, all three of them watching Fred and George. As he walked by the trio, Jesse dropped the Devil's Drop into Hermione's glass and then "accidentally" bumped her with his schoolbag.

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Granger, didn't see you there," smirked Jesse.

"McCade, I'm surprised you actually expect me to believe that."

"Oh...you're right," said Jesse as he winked at Fred and George to let them know he had succeeded in his task. "It was on purpose and maybe a little childish, but no more so than tattling to McGonagall."

"You broke the rules, fighting and using magic in the halls is not allowed."

"Fighting? Did the Slytherins say there was an actual fight?"

"No, but-"

"Then you really shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like that," said Jesse. "Draco Malfoy and his friends fell over something and I was helping him up."

Ron Weasley looked like he was about to burst out laughing, but managed to stifle it by grabbing his glass of pumpkin juice and taking a couple swallows.

"Anyway," continued Jesse, "as to the magic part. I didn't actually do any magic, I only used a magical item. Nothing wrong with that."

"You were still out of line," said Hermione. "Agitating Malfoy is not a good thing, you could-"

The expression on Jesse's face darkened. "I could what, Granger? Get hurt? I think we had this discussion on the train already...been there, done that, and you can spare me the lecture. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a class to go to." He managed a fake smile as he nodded to Ron, Harry, and the twins before walking off. He had just made it to the entrance of the Great Hall when he heard the sound of a glass breaking followed by a shriek.

"McCade!"

Jesse risked a glance over his shoulder and saw a red-faced Hermione Granger grabbing for the nearest jug of water. He chuckled and shook his head as he continued walking towards his next class. "Okay, Granger...now we're even."

At the Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson had watched everything happen couldn't suppress a giggle as she saw Hermione Granger gulping down glass after glass of water. Even the other Slytherins were laughing at the filthy Yank had pulled. Pansy turned to look at Draco who, under normal circumstances, would be one of the first Slytherins to be laughing at Granger's predicament, but not today. Today, Draco glared hatefully as he watched the McCade boy walk out of the Great Hall.

"You know," said Pansy in an attempt to cheer her friend up, "McCade may be a git, but you have to give him some credit. He apparently doesn't think too highly of the mudblood."

Draco didn't bother to turn and look in her direction. "He didn't answer," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Who?"

"My father," said Draco. "I asked him flat out what happened between him and Jesse McCade, he denied that anything happened and then told me that I should be punished for disobeying him." He chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "As if I have anything to fear from him."

"I'm surprised at you, Draco," said Pansy. "Normally a threat from your father would give you cause to worry."

"In the past it would." Draco shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to some pumpkin juice. "But he's back home in Wiltshire and I'm here. The way things are going now, Jesse McCade will have killed me by the time any of Father's retribution reaches me."

"Wow, I'm not sure if I can classify that comment as pessimistic or pragmatic." Pansy hoped her smile would cheer Draco up. "I heard they managed to find Nott earlier last night, but he's still being held in the infirmary."

"Yeah, I heard he's finally over the hypothermia, but he's not in the best mental state right now."

"Hypothermia?" Pansy repeated. "Exactly where did they find him?"

"The Himalayas," said Draco. "He keeps screaming that the Yeti are out to get him."

Pansy laughed despite herself. "The Himalayas? How did he end up there?"

"Not sure, though I've heard rumours that McCade has access to some sort of port-key, but I don't trust the rantings of a crazed Ravenclaw."

"Let me guess, the Lovegood girl." Pansy didn't bother to hide her disgust. "I can't believe people read the trash her father prints in that paper of his. Have you talked to Professor Snape about McCade?"

"Yes and he told me that I should listened to my father's advice." Draco paused for a moment as remembered something else. "But there was something else, Pansy...when he was talking about McCade...oh, forget it."

"Forget what?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't know, but it was almost as if Snape was actually afraid of something."

"Of what? McCade?"

"I wish knew, but when I asked him directly about it, he yelled at me to leave his office and threatened to take points from us."

Pansy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Professor Severus Snape, head of Slytherin house, yelling at one of his prized students? What was going on?

* * * * *

"Don't you think that was just a little harsh?" asked Zacharias Smith as he and Jesse made their way to Transfiguration. "And what did you do to her?"

Jesse was still smiling as the image of a red-faced Hermione Granger gasping for water. "Ummm...let me think about that for a moment," he chuckled before shaking his head. "Nope...not harsh at all. Besides, it's just one Devil's Drop, she'll be fine if she let's it go for about thirty seconds...unless she's stupid enough to use water, that just prolongs it." His laughter echoed down the corridor. "Oops...I guess little Miss Know-it-all didn't know about that, did she?"

"Hey, Granger may be a little bossy and an intellectual showoff," said Zach, who was trying his best to take the moral high ground and not laugh at the situation, "but she didn't deserve that."

"I don't know...she reports me to some Professor McGonagall for a minor incident last night in an attempt to get me into trouble...I think it's safe to say I balanced the karmic scales of justice."

"Maybe," said Zach, "or maybe those karmic scales of justice you like to talk about are about to swing against you."

"Why do you say that?"

"You do realize what class we have first, right?"

"Transfiguration...big deal."

"You do know that McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, right?"

"Duh-oh!"

Any hopes that Jesse had of his second day being less stressful than the first day were shattered right from the beginning of Transfiguration. It seemed that when she wasn't instructing the class or helping other students she seemed to be glaring at Jesse. It also didn't help that while he was good at potions and charms, his transfiguration skill was a little lacking. This last point was proven when he tried to perform a vanishing spell on the snail he was given and the end result had a couple student's throwing up their breakfast. Even Jesse had a hard time keeping his porridge, toast, and bacon down. After all, he had just vanished the skin off his snail and while the snail seemed to apparently be fine, everyone had a good view at its internal organs.

"Mr. McCade, do that again and I will take ten points off your house," snapped McGonagall.

Jesse was about to argue but a death-glare from the old lady made him think better of it. So he kept working at trying to vanish his snail, succeeding in at least turning invisible (he could still tell it was there because it still oozed it's way across the table). When the bell rang at the end of class, he made a beeline for the door hoping that Professor McGonagall would forget that she wanted to talk to him.

"Mr. McCade."

Jesse stopped only a couple feet from the door while the other students kept going. For a moment, he felt like he was experiencing a sense of deja-vu from the day before when he was in Umbridge's class. He turned and managed to place his most convincing smile on his face, hoping McGonagall would buy it. "Yes, Professor?"

The stern glare he got from the old witch told Jesse that she was not going to be fooled by his act. "Lose the 'innocent' act , McCade. You know why we need to talk."

Do not make a smart-ass comment, Jesse's mind warned. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold it back. "Um...so you can threaten me and deduct points? That seems to be the usual routine."

Idiot!

"Oh...well then, I don't see why we should break a pattern," said McGonagall. Though she spoke sharply, there was what appeared to be a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "Five points from Hufflepuff."

"What? What for?"

"Consider it punishment for your actions towards Miss Granger."

"Oh come on," said Jesse. "She brought that on herself."

"Really? Since when does following the rules warrant you spiking her pumpkin juice?"

"Hey, I wasn't aware that poking her nose where it doesn't belong and tattling on me was considered 'following the rules'."

"She saw you fighting with Draco Malfoy and reported it like any Prefect should."

"Uh-huh." Jesse shook his head. "She didn't see anything."

"You had Draco Malfoy pinned against the wall and two of his friends were injured and on the ground," said McGonagall. "And I understand a similar incident happened on the train."

"For all you know, Malfoy and his friends tripped and I was helping Malfoy back to his feet."

"I sincerely doubt that, Mr. McCade." McGonagall studied him for a moment before she continued, it was obvious that she was considering something. "And I suppose that you weren't taking your anger at Malfoy's father out on him."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Jeez, how many of you know about my past with ferret-boy's family?"

"Only the Headmaster, myself, and Professor Snape know," said McGonagall. "But that's beside the point. Your most recent actions towards the Slytherins were uncalled for."

"I didn't do anything and you have no proof."

"Really?" said McGonagall, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And how did Theodore Nott end up in the Himalayas?"

Jesse had to admit, she had him there. "Um...lousy travel agent?"

Professor McGonagall actually chuckled at that. "Yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it...and this travel agent wouldn't happen to have fur, claws, and an appetite for seafood, would he?"

"Um...yeah...that would be the one," said Jesse. "But I don't see why Joscoe would go there...I mean, there's no fish in that area."

"Does he routinely strand people in the middle of nowhere?"

"Only if they piss him off."

"Yes, well, he does it again, we will be forced to contain him."

"Good luck with that," laughed Jesse. "I doubt he's going to let Dumbledore trap him again."

"I mean it, Mr. McCade," said McGonagall, giving Jesse a sharp look. "Take care of your pet or someone else will, do I make myself clear?"

Jesse wanted to say something, but decided not to as the professor gave him what had been described by other students as "McGonagall's patented glare of doom." Instead, he merely nodded and said, "Yes, Professor."

"Very good, off you go then."

Jesse kept his anger in check until he was out the door and down the hall. "Shit...I didn't need that," he grumbled.

"I heard that," Professor McGonagall called out from down the hall. "Another five points from Hufflepuff for language!"

Damn!

Thankfully, the rest of Jesse's day proceeded with out incident. He actually earned fifteen points for Hufflepuff in Charms, which earned him some applause from his fellow students, though it looked like Ernie MacMillan was going to die from the shock. Ancient Runes was relatively easy, but Jesse chalked that up to the fact that he had spent a lot of time with his parents going over ancient runic manuscripts and having to help translate them. He even managed to earn another five points and, once again, Ernie MacMillan looked like he was about to have a stroke. In fact, Jesse was starting to actually feel comfortable...until Herbology.

He wasn't sure what bothered him as he made his way to the greenhouses, maybe it was the fact that he saw the fifth year Gryffindors heading over there from the Groundkeeper's hut. The angry glare he got from Granger was enough to make him hang back as Ernie and a few Hufflepuffs approached Harry Potter. Or maybe it was a certain red-haired girl who approached him as she came out of the greenhouse that made his heart race a little. Whoa...hold on...she's going out with someone else already.

"So how's your day been?" asked Ginny Weasley.

Jesse only shrugged. "Not too bad...only lost ten points today, but got fifteen back."

"Wow, I'm impressed," laughed Ginny and Jesse could feel his heart pounding a little harder. Dammit, why her? "You're not in negative points today?

Because she reminds you of JD?

Jesse pushed that last thought away...JD...he hadn't even thought of her in months. "Still have this one class." He smiled back at her. "I figure I'll do something wrong."

"Well, Sprout's not that bad, and she is your head of house."

"Maybe, but we'll see. So far, the only professors I haven't pissed off are Flitwick and Mandelbrot."

"Hmm...Charms and Runes...your two strongest subjects, go figure," said Ginny. "Well, I'm off to Transfiguration."

Jesse waved after her and started to his way towards the greenhouses, definitely in a good mood...but like all good things, it came to an end a few seconds later.

"I know what you are," he heard someone say in a sing-song voice.

He turned in the direction of the voice and saw a girl with long dirty-blonde hair and wide eyes. "Excuse me?"

The girl simply walked a slow circle around him, looking at him as if he were a museum piece, and it worried him. "They say your kind are monsters, but you don't look like a monster."

Okay, thought Jesse, this girl is creeping me out. He decided it would be best to play dumb. "I'm sorry, but don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you're a little-"

"Crazy?" the girl finished for him. "Maybe I am...but I'm not the one who can burn things with a thought. And I'm not trying to hide my pain either."

Jesse could hear silent alarms screaming in the back of this mind. Who was this girl, and how did she know? "Who are you?"

"Don't worry about me," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, "I'm just a friend who knows what you are and you can trust me." And with that comment, she walked away.

"Oi, McCade!" Zach called from the greenhouse entrance. "You joining us?"

Jesse headed toward the greenhouse, a little shaken from that last encounter, but managed to shove that aside as the class began. The class went by rather smoothly, but took an unexpected turn when they broke off into groups as they prepared to plant Arcadian fire-rose bulbs. Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom ended up in Jesse's group, which was okay with Jesse since Longbottom knew what he was doing, but what surprised him was what happened when Susan left their table to get more fertilizer.

"You seem to be doing well, McCade," said Neville Longbottom, "given what you went through."

"You too, Neville." Jesse wasn't sure if that was bitterness or anger in Neville's voice...probably both. "I know it's sore subject but your-"

"Still there," said Neville, cutting Jesse off before he could finish the question. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't bring it up."

"Ah, I understand," said Jesse, nodding. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks," said Neville, his tone lightening slightly. "Um, listen, what the healers did to you...did it work?"

Jesse could see something that looked like hopeful desperation in the other boy's eyes and he almost wish he could lie, but he couldn't, not to Neville...not after what he had to endure. "I wish I could say it did, Neville...but they totally wiped me clean and rebuilt it. I sometimes have nightmares though...bits and pieces."

"Gram said the only reason they did it with you was because you were young enough for it to work," said Neville. "But if they tried it with my parents, it would just..." his voice trailed off, it was obvious he couldn't finish the sentence.

"It would just wipe them clean and leave empty shells behind," finished Jesse. "I know...and I'm sorry about that."

"About what?" asked Susan as she returned with a bucket of fertilizer.

"Oh nothing."

The rest of the lesson went by fairly quickly though Jesse would glance over and see Hermione Granger glaring daggers at him during the lesson. He responded by simply saluting her with a pair of pruning shears and went back to tending fire-rose bulbs.

"That was kind of a mean thing to do," said Neville at the end of the lesson. "Hermione's mouth was burning for nearly an hour."

"Look, Neville, I know she's a friend of yours, and your Prefect, but trust me...I let her off easy." Jesse gave the other boy a conspiring smile. "Trust me, if I was really mad, I would have done something far worse."

"You will live dangerously," said Zacharias Smith as he came over to their table.

Jesse only shrugged as he started to put his work gloves back in his school bag. "I can't help it, it must be hereditary."

The bell rang and Neville left to join his fellow Gryffindors as they left the greenhouses.

"Wow," said Jesse as he Susan and Zach walked along the lake. "I made it through the whole day without costing us any points."

"Ah, but the day is not over yet," chuckled Zach. "Although I thought Ernie was going into shock when you actually earned us some points."

"So what did McGonagall have to say?" asked Susan.

"Oh nothing," replied Jesse. "She just docked some points off me and let me off with a stern warning, though I have a feeling I wouldn't want to get on her bad side."

"Oh, trust me, you don't," said Zacharias. "In our first year here, she took fifty points off Potter, Granger, and Weasley."

"Fifty points?"

"Fifty points each," added Susan.

"Ow...yeah...if I did that, you'd all probably lynch me."

Zach thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, probably," he said, his face breaking into a big grin. "And then we'd tie you to one of Professor Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts."

"Blast-ended skrewts?" repeated Jesse. "Do I even want to know?"

"No," Zach and Susan both said in unison before laughing.

An hour later, after having cleaned up, Jesse was heading towards the Great Hall for dinner, checking out the various paintings along the way. Today had been a good day...no real trouble with the professors, the Slytherins had somehow gotten the hint and were now avoiding him (which did make things kind of boring), and it looked like things were finally on track...well, there was the tremendous amount of homework, but that didn't bother Jesse too much. However, he could also sense the tension within the school as he walked the halls. Snippets of conversations he would pick up as he walked by other students told him a lot about the school. Some believed Dumbledore, others didn't, some thought Harry Potter was a nutter and possibly murdered Cedric Diggory. He found it interesting that most of the people in Hufflepuff House, the house that Cedric Diggory belonged to, believed Harry's story while the outsiders didn't.

"But that's something you should expect from a house that prides itself on justice," he heard someone say in response to the thoughts in his head.

Jesse stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized that voice...it wasn't possible...he was wide awake, that person couldn't be here. He turned and saw Cedric Diggory standing there, half leaning against the statue of griffin. "Okay...I can't be having a day-mare."

Cedric arched an eyebrow at that comment. "A day-mare?"

"Okay...I don't know what you want to call it...a nightmare or dream you have in the middle of the day while your awake. An hallucination of some sort...I'm awake, this is not a dream."

Cedric shook his head. "No, it's not a dream, and you are awake."

"Then how can you be here?"

"Hmm...it seems that you thought I was a figment of your imagination until now," said Cedric, obviously amused at this. "I suppose you're going to go 'Ebenezar Scrooge' on me and say that I'm a...how did that go...'a bit of undigested potato come back to haunt you'. Maybe I should get some chains." He paused for a moment as he pondered that idea before shaking his head and laughing. "No, to quote someone we both know, 'it's not my style'."

"Okay Cedric, so what brings you here now? Some more creepy cryptic comments about why I'm here and why I'm stuck with you?"

"First off, Jess, you are not 'stuck' with me. I'm sort of trapped here and you're one of the few people who can see me."

"Whoa...hold on. What about the ghosts, can't they see you?"

Cedric shook his head again. "Nope...it's kind of hard to explain. The ghosts are beings who are kind of trapped between this world and the next, they haven't managed to 'move on'. Let's just say, that I'm farther to the other side than they are, but not quite there yet."

"Ooookay," said Jesse who was sort of understanding what Cedric was telling him. "So you're this living spectre-like being who is trapped between planes of existence...oy...I can't believe I just said that."

"Pretty much."

"Okay, next question...why are you stuck here?"

"Because someone's holding me back."

"Someone? Hey, I didn't ask you to hang around here."

"And it's not you that's keeping me here," said Cedric. "No offense, Jesse, but you're not my type."

"What do you mean by-" Jesse stopped himself when he realized what Cedric was saying, then he shook his head. "Aw...no...don't tell me..."

Cedric chuckled and nodded. "Yep."

"Dammit...why can't you wizarding folks get over this 'one true love' bullshit? Those kind of bonds are a pain in the ass and cause a lot of problems." Jesse rubbed his forehead with his hands in an attempt to dispel that slight headache that was starting make it's presence known. "Okay Cedric...who's the girl...and dammit, why do I always have to be the go-between?"

"Ah, so you've had to do this before?"

"No, it's just that one of my friends liked another of my friends and they had a hard time telling them face to face and I ended up being their little messenger."

"Well, it's not quite like that," said Cedric. "I need to break the bond that traps me here."

"Okay, and how does that happen?"

"She stops loving me."

"Aw no...you have got to be kidding," said Jesse rolling his eyes and shaking his head in annoyance. "You know, I have enough problems already and playing match-maker/match-breaker is not on my 'to do' list." He turned to look back in Cedric's direction. "Look, I can understand the problem, but this isn't my area of exp-" He stopped as he realized that Cedric, once again, had disappeared. "Dammit, I hate when you do that."

The next couple days went by fairly smoothly, though he did manage to lose ten points from both Snape and Umbridge while earning points back from Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sinistra. Cedric also hadn't dropped by since their last encounter the other day which was good from Jesse's point of view. The last thing he needed was more aggravation on top of the mound of paperwork that was starting to take up his free time. However, on Thursday night, he had managed to reach a stopping point where he could take a break from his studies. Granted, he had to skip dinner to get caught up, but that didn't bother him too much. He was caught up and now it was time to celebrate. He leaned back in his chair in the Hufflepuff common room and stretched his arms out before putting his books away.

"Hey Joss! Where you at?"

In response, the little calico kitten came out from under a nearby cabinet and mewled softly before jumping onto the table.

"Hey buddy, you up for a trip?"

Joscoe yawned and then crouched down, curling his tail around his body...a sign that he didn't feel like going and would rather take a nap.

"Aw, c'mon...I'll make it worth your while."

The calico's eyes became narrow slits and a contented purr told Jesse that unless he came up with a decent offer within thirty seconds, the cat was going to fall asleep and they wouldn't be going anywhere.

"How about Sydney? I'll buy."

The eyes were now shut and the purring was beginning to falter.

"Hong Kong?"

The purring had now stopped. Jesse sighed and shook his head. There was only one other choice left...and it was going to cost him.

"Okay...Mirimar in Half-Moon Bay?"

Joscoe's eyes suddenly snapped open and he brought his head up, a questioning meow asking if he had actually heard Jesse correctly.

"Yes, Joscoe...baked salmon at Mirimar...with lemon butter-sauce and dill."

Before Jesse could react, Joscoe had jumped onto him and the world around them disappeared in a haze of white light before instantly flashing back into existence a moment later. Jesse wasn't quite prepared for the trip and cursed angrily as he dropped a few feet and landed on his back on the sand as Joscoe landed on all fours and then promptly made his way from the beach to the restaurant entrance several feet away. The calico eagerly pawed the door of the restaurant, turning to look back at Jesse and growl at him to hurry up.

"Okay, okay, I'm on my way, don't choke on a hairball or anything." Jesse checked his watch as he followed his cat towards the restaurant.

Hmm...if it's nine o'clock back at school, that means it's one in the afternoon here. At least I only have to pay lunch prices, the dinner would kill me.

A half-hour later, Jesse and Joscoe arrived back at Hogwarts, Joscoe leading the way with a piece of fish his mouth (as usual) and Jesse behind carrying a take-out bag. Jesse shook his head in resignation as he realized that Joscoe had landed them somewhere else in the castle instead of back in the Hufflepuff common room. "Dammit, Jos, couldn't you have just dropped me back off at the common room?"

A half-muffled mewl was the only response the calico gave before he disappeared around the corner.

"It figures," grumbled Jesse, "I get the goodies and he takes off." He looked at some of the paintings on the wall and after talking to a few of the moving portraits he was able to figure out where he was...Josce had dumped him near the Gryffindor tower. "Great...thanks a lot Jos...could you make it any worse?"

"McCade!"

Jesse turned and saw Ron Weasley approaching him, broomstick in hand. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling as if he were addressing some unseen deity. "I was only making a comment." He really didn't want to deal with Weasley at the moment. However, he noted that the Gryffindor prefect seemed a little nervous. "What are you doing here, Weasley?"

"Um, this is where I live," fired back Weasley. "I think I should be the one asking you what you are doing here."

"Went to explore the castle and got lost," said Jesse.

"What's that in your hand?"

Jesse looked down at the bag he was carrying. "Ah, nothing, take-out dinner. Seafood...baked salmon and chips."

Ron's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You and your cat have been sneaking off campus again, haven't you?"

Jesse shrugged. "So what if I am?" he said. "You think I'm going to be happy with being stuck here ten months out of the year? And if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here with a broomstick, been doing a little bit of 'un-authorized' flying?"

Ron's ears started to turn red and Jesse laughed at him. "Well, looks like we both have our own secrets. So tell me, where's Potter at? I was under the impression that you, him, and the bossy one were always together."

"Watch your tone, McCade," warned Ron. "Hermione's a prefect and you should treat her with respect."

"Yeah, well...what can I say? We just can't seem to get along."

* * * * *

Harry had never considered the possibility that there might be another teacher in the world that he hated more than Snape, but as he walked back toward Gryffindor Tower he had to admit that he had found a contender. She's evil, he thought as he climbed a staircase to the seventh floor, she's an evil , twisted, mad, old-

"Watch your tone, McCade," Harry heard Ron say, snapping him out of his mental tirade against Professor Umbridge. "Hermione's a prefect and you should treat her with respect."

When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw Ron and Jesse McCade standing in front of the statue of Lachlan the Lanky. Ron was holding his broomstick across his shoulders while Jesse was leaning against the statue and popping the top of a bottle of light brown liquid.

"Yeah well, what can I say?" said McCade before he took a quick gulp out of his bottle. "We just can't seem to get along."

"Ron? McCade?"

"Harry!" Ron quickly tried to hide his broomstick behind his back.

McCade on the other hand simply nodded. "Potter," he said before taking another sip of his drink.

"What are you two doing?"

"Er, nothing," said Ron whose ears started to turn red. He shifted nervously for a moment before talking again. "I was just telling McCade that he shouldn't be here. It's half past nine in the evening."

"And I'm just arguing with him because I like fighting with authority figures," said McCade with a grin.

Harry looked at the bag in McCade's other hand and smiled despite himself. "You and your cat went off the grounds, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Let me guess...fish?"

"Yep...and don't ask me how much it cost, I think I blew my spending money for the week," said Jesse as he put the bottle back in the bag. "Joscoe wanted me to get him some baked salmon, which I did, but he didn't bother to take us back to the Hufflepuff common room. So he ran off and left me to find my own way back."

"Okay, you're lost, so that explains you being here," said Harry. "So that leaves Ron. What have you got your broom for, you haven't been flying have you?"

"I-well—well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right?" Ron said defensively, turning redder with every second. "I-I'd thought I'd try out for the Gryffindor Keeper now that I've got a decent broom. There. Go on. Laugh."

"I'm not laughing," said Harry.

"And I don't care one way or the other," said Jesse with a grin. "But if you really want me to laugh at you-"

"Shut up, McCade," snapped Ron, though he didn't bother hiding the relief in his voice.

"It's a brilliant idea," said Harry. "It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"

"I'm not bad," said Ron. Though he seemed relieved that no one was laughing at him, he still was a little nervous. "Charlie, Fred, and George always made me Keep for them when they were training during the holidays."

"So you've been practicing tonight?"

"Every evening since Tuesday...just on my own, though, I've been trying to bewitch Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't know how much use it'll be. Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect."

"I wish I was going to be there," said Harry bitterly, thinking about having to endure yet another detention with Umbridge.

"Yeah, so do I."

"Well, if it makes you feel better Ron, I'll be there," said McCade. "Just to laugh at you."

"Shut up, McCa-Harry, what's that on the back of your hand?"

Harry, who had just scratched his nose with his free right hand, tried to hide it, but failed when McCade suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. "Is that blood?" McCade asked, his normal flippant attitude now replaced with concern.

"It's just a cut --- it's nothing ---it's---"

But Ron had grabbed Harry's forearm and pulled the back of Harry's hand to eye-level. There was a pause, during which both he and McCade stared at the words carved into the skin, then he released Harry looking sick. McCade, on the other hand, didn't look sick at all, but a very dark expression settled on his face as he stepped back into the shadows. For a moment, Harry thought he say the boy's eyes glow again.

"I thought you said she was giving you lines?" said Ron.

Harry hesitated, but after all, Ron had been honest with him and it was apparent that McCade didn't too highly of Umbridge, so he told them truth about the hours he had been spending in Umbridge's office.

"The old hag!" Ron said in a revolted whisper. "Go to McGonagall, say something!"

"No," said Harry at once. "I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she's got to me."

"Got to you? You can't let her get away with this!"

"I hate to say it," McCade said from the shadows. "But Ronny-boy's got a point."

"You stay out of this," said Ron before turning back to Harry. "As I was saying, tell McGonagall!"

"I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her," said Harry.

"Dumbledore, then, tell Dumbledore!"

"No," said Harry flatly, "he's got enough on his mind and-" Harry stopped as he looked back in the shadowy corner Jesse had stepped into and squinted. "Um...where'd McCade go?"

Jesse didn't like slipping away in the shadows like that, but he figured if he talked with Harry and Ron any longer, he'd be more angry than he was now. Needless to say, he was pissed off and his mood had not improved when he reached the Hufflepuff common room where Joscoe was curled up in a chair next to the fire. Jesse pulled the foil-wrapped salmon out of the bag and rolled it open in front of the fireplace. "Go ahead and eat up, bud, I'm going to be staying up for a little while longer."

Joscoe jumped down to where the salmon was at and then looked up at Jesse, giving him a questioning mewl.

"No, I'm not pissed off at you, Jos. Just not in the best of moods at the moment." Jesse walked back over to the table where he had left his school bag before he and Joscoe took off for Half Moon Bay and sat down, thinking about what he had just learned.

I knew Umbridge was a bitch, thought Jesse, but I didn't think she would be this bad. Slicing students' hands open and writing sentences in their own blood? And she probably thinks she can get away with it since she works for the Ministry. There's got to be something we can-

An evil smile formed on Jesse's lips as a sick thought crossed his mind. He reached into his schoolbag and pulled out his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay that was due the next morning. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pocket knife and his wand. He realized what he was contemplating could be considered criminal, but after seeing what was done to Harry, it seemed appropriate.

After all, it's just a jinx...maybe a little brutal, but it's a jinx and students use them all the time.

Even as he was justifying his actions, Jesse was barely aware of the fact that he had flipped the pocket knife open.

Umbridge likes doing things with blood, let's see how she likes this.

He barely felt the pain as the blade sliced open the palm of his hand. Instinctively, he clenched his fist and held his hand over his essay for Umbridge's class. He watched in morbid fascination as the blood dribbled to the bottom of his clenched fist before dropping on to the parchment...drip...drip...drip....

Umbridge should have listened to me when I told her that Slinkhard didn't know what he was writing about. The idiot didn't even cover the historical stuff.

Drip...drip...drip...

He waited until a small puddle formed in the middle of the paper before he grabbed his wand and softly whispered a spell he learned from his mother. He carefully used his wand to spread the blood across the parchment, forming them into runic patterns. A few minutes later, he tapped the parchment with his wand and the blood faded into the parchment, the runic symbols faintly visible only if the person examining the parchment knew what to look for. When he opened his hand, he saw that the bleeding had stopped, a benefit of the spell. It would take at least three weeks for the cut to heal, but that would make it worth it. Besides, if he magically healed the wound, it would break the spell.

Twenty-one days, professor. I hope you enjoy it, because I know I will.

With a satisfied smile, he rolled up the parchment and put it away. Yes, he decided, the next three weeks would be very interesting indeed. For the first time since he got here, he was actually looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts in the morning.