Jack rolled her eyes, saying, “Trust me, I was not thinking you were secretly my guardian angel, I was just considering your angle.” She really did no care why he had bothered to offer his help, only that help was being offered. It would be thick of her not to accept it, when duelling was probably one of the most effective ways to prepare for the tournament. She was just curious how it came to be that the Slytherin boy she was fairly sure had never spoken to her was now offering to get spells hurled at him.
Jack was focused, because she did not want to be the idiot to screw up so badly that it shamed Hogwarts for years to come. She did not think it would end so badly, but she was human, so of course she considered the possibility of complete and utter failure. She had decided right then that it would not happen. She would rather die in the tournament than be put to such shame the rest of her life. Though she hoped it did not come to that. Who would watch over Elliot and Vito if she died?
Not only had she decided she would not be a failure, but she would give the audience a show to remember. She would not only clench the Cup for Hogwarts, she would do it with the flair she had that often frustrated her peers but knew would win them over in the arena. Her sarcasm, her pranking, her hotheadedness, even the fact that she was a capable muggleborn... She knew she could transform them into tools to aid her.
She was not looking for any sort of popularity. If she had been, she would have been destined to fail. The tournament had done nothing to improve her social standing, nor had she. She did not think much of her peers, and they returned the graces. However, she thought that some of the fear surrounding her would have abated, as would have snide comments made under their breath that called for swift, but fair punishment. But no, she had become even more isolated. The only change seemed to be that she now somewhat got along with James Wake, and he tolerated her in return.
As for old “friends”... Andrew had jumped ship it seemed, Chase still hated her, Adam and Peter had moved on to bigger and better things (code for girls who took an interest), Elijah had never even worked for their friendship, and Vito... well, since she never knew what to expect from him, it seemed that the silence between them was normal. She had never expected it.
She did not look for amazing change from the tournament. She did not look for fame and popularity, she did not even seek the riches. If she won... Cool. She would invest it in Weasley's and send some to Elliot. She had no major plans with anything except that she was going to work her ass off to pay off the school that had rescued her from the crappy life that awaited her with her stifling parents.
The Jack ducked and the spell soared right past her- one of the many perks of being vertically challenged- and it hit a book, which immediately sprouted antlers. She grinned. So he was following her lead and having a less lethal, more witty sort of duel. She had always preferred jinxes and hexes to actual duelling curses because they were more clever and harder to predict. She raised her wand and silently cast a shield charm, saying immediately after, “Densaugeo! Langlock!” Either spell would amuse her.