A Feast for the New Headmistress

Now that Amelia had caught on to Jack’s sarcasm, the conversation was moving more fluidly. The Ravenclaw should have expected it, and since she frequently spoke with the same dry sense of humor – if you could really call it that – she ought to have been more fluent in the language. But honestly, Amelia could barely manage English tonight, as she had proven several times with the guests of higher standing, who if they hadn’t known better might have assumed she had only read the page on greetings and salutations in the book of English.

“No, no,” Amelia said, attempting to copy Jack’s cordiality but falling short. You would think after years of faking this kind of social grace that Amelia would be better at it. But much to her mother’s disappointment… she wasn’t, “They’ve given me full title to do whatever I want. There are no expectations, pressures, assumptions, or politics involved whatsoever.”

It’s a good thing Jack is half decent at this, because if you’re not careful, you’re going to lose this position just as quickly as you got it, Amelia’s subconscious warned, not unjustified. Amelia’s practiced smile was fading, and she dragged it back into place at the thought.

At Jack’s offer of ‘distractions’, Amelia looked warningly in her direction, her eyes as wide as she dared to make them without signaling alarm to any of their onlookers. Amelia didn’t know precisely what Jack had up her sleeve, but if she had to guess, it wouldn’t be anything discreet.

“I have the distinct feeling that you protecting your reputation will not exactly coincide with me upholding mine,” Amelia whispered, holding back both laughter and panic. She was referring, of course, to the reputation Jack had held as a student for being a troublemaker, which Amelia certainly did not need tonight. She was doing a bang up job of looking foolish all on her own.

Offering Jack the best smile she could muster, Amelia turned her attention back to the room at large. It was difficult to tell whether watching the crowd as it formed was better or worse than looking at it only periodically. One gave a rising sense of panic, but the other allowed her to be in denial… but only for short periods of time. And it seemed like every time she looked up there were more and more faces, people she had seen only in the newspaper, people she had never seen before…

… and people she recognized far too well.

Amelia’s breath caught in her throat immediately upon spotting him. It was as though her brain was not only losing its ability to speak, but also to command her basic body functions. His form and features were recognizable even from this distance, Amelia’s mind having slipped into remembering him every so often since the last time they had seen one another. His suit was tailored exquisitely, a drastic change from the slightly dirty clothes she had seen him in when he was working all those months ago. Back when she was still a student. It had only been months since she was a student – no wonder she was freaking out!

But when Amelia spotted Marcus, suddenly she wasn’t so certain that her visceral reaction to the situation had anything to do with the mounting crowd, with the line of people still waiting to shake her hand, or the photographers from every newspaper in greater Britain snapping away. Because where there had been panic earlier, the kind that eats your stomach lining in small bites, there was now a twisting sensation, lower in her abdomen and filled with heat as she remembered their last encounter.

As her cheeks flushed deep crimson with thoughts of the storage room floor, Amelia was reminded with shocking swiftness that she was only 19. Her body did not have control of its hormones, and they were certainly suggesting some alternative methods of stress relief involving herself and the werewolf that had come through the doors of the Great Hall, whose eyes were settled right onto hers, but for some reason, carried much more weight than the dozens of others doing the same thing.

You’re staring… Amelia’s subconscious probed, trying to get Amelia to come back from her own thoughts. When Amelia’s rational brain didn’t respond, her subconiscious got louder. Ahem… what I meant was… STOP STARING.

This time it got through, and Amelia shook her head to try to clear it of the thoughts involving herself and Marcus, which had been traitorous but still far preferable the reality she found herself in. Would he approach her? Did he want to see her? What was he thinking? Did he even remember her or what had happened between them, or was he here like all the others, to gawk at the youngest headmaster ever?

There were too many questions, none of which Amelia could answer, and those debilitating thoughts were creeping back in, those thoughts the new headmistress of Hogwarts ought not be having…

“Um… Jack…” Amelia said, her voice stumbling over the simple words, “I think I could… um… use a glass of water. Would you accompany me briefly?” Amelia asked, gesturing toward a table on the far side, off the stage. She just needed a few minutes to collect her thoughts and let the blush subside before she could greet more members of the upper eschelon.

Smiling apologetically as possible, Amelia asked her attendant – she had attendants, for Merlin’s sake – to please placate the line until she could return from her brief break. Amelia knew she couldn’t afford to be away for long, but she just needed a minute. Or an hour. Or a lifetime.

But for now, a few minutes would have to suffice.

Jack walked around the room, ignoring the fact that everyone was having a wonderful time, while he was chiseled off by his lonesome. He looked at his enemy, now in rare Headmaster Edition, and froze, his shock overcoming everything else. The Kill-joy was showing emotion! He stared, a grin slowly spreading across his face. The Young Headmaster was staring at a creepy guy not to far away, who was locking eyes with her. Creeper. They both were basically ignoring everything around them, like one of those old love movies. Ew.

Finally, It looked like Amelia wanted to move onto him, but she did the opposite; she ran away. God, typical of the emotionless Potions Master that haunted Jacks nightmares with her tiny horns under that mass of hair. He sighed, than froze. Maybe, just maybe, if he helped her with this obvious crush of hers, he would get bonus points in her book, and maybe his punishments would be a bit fewer. He grinned at his plan, and made his way to Amelia., pushing through the crowd, but not making it to obvious that he was going to talk to her.

Time away was something Jess could never really afford, but somehow managed to get ahold of quite often. Following their ousting of Grindelwald, Jess had decided he needed a break - much more work and he would have snapped, a fine way to celebrate the deposition of a heartless tyrant, in St. Mungos mental illness ward.

So, instead he had flown cross country, the muggle way, and returned to his home in Australia - he was really quite lucky to have that. He knew that his role was done, he'd made it very clear from the outset that his role was military and not much else. It was up to Robert to fix things now, not him.

Of course holidays can only last so long. When Jess first felt that tingle of homesickness he had booked his flights and returned back to the UK, making Hogwarts his first stop.

One part of his rationale was also to do with his position in Hogwarts. He didn't want to leave his students in the middle of term without a Charms teacher, but as Deputy Headmaster there was a clear line of succession that left him looking at a role he simply did not want to fill. He was too busy, he reasoned, with managing the Order, and in his part time role as a member of the Wizengamot to effectively run the school. By removing himself from the equation he hoped that someone else would have a far better chance.

And so it was that Jess found himself gaining barely a day of catching up before he had to be downstairs, welcome the new Headmistress into her role for the very first time.

He chose a nice set of robes to wear (Acquamarine blue with silver lining) and went down to join the festivities.

His first impression when looking at Amelia was one of familiarity. He had seen that expression before. She was terrified, probably ready for the slightest push from the wind to knock her over so that she could try and blend in with the floor.

Approaching the table she had quickly slipped off to Jess approached, jumping a small queue (being DH did have its privelleges) to take his hat off and bow quickly to her. "Congratulations Headmistress," he said calmly, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I leave for a few weeks and look what happens," he joked, laughing softly for a moment before giving Amelia a shrewd look. "Good luck," he said after a moment's hesitation. He then bowed once more and turned on his heel, walking to his seat on the staff table.

"You'll need it," he added under his breath after clearing a distance.

Amelia did look a little terrified by Jack's idea of relieving the pressure from the spotlight with her own little brand of distraction. Jack gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I've learned a bit about manners from the Ministry." She smiled. It was true. Sure, her bag might have been stuffed with some goodies. But she had leanred and she was not going to put herself in Amelia's bad books by publically humiliating her. Jack knew very well that Amelia paid enough attention in classes to know a few curses and be able to blame it on someone else.

Jack was bumped as someone appraoched Amelia and Jack glanced to see Jess greeting Amelia and congratulating her. Jack hitched a casual smile on her face but did not say anything to Jess. She always found it was best to appear as acquaintances with other Order members, just because of her position in the Ministry and the community. Made things easier.

She glanced back at Amelia and realized there was something wrong. Amelia looked mildly horrified by something. She asked Jack if they could go get some water and Jack nodded. "Of course." Amelia spoke a few words to the people flocking her and Jack led the way to the table, happy to have a use for herself, even if it was temporarily as designated escort.

(sorry, muse is sputtering)

Amelia was grateful when Jack agreed to accompany her to the refreshment table without complaint or question. At least she had someone who didn’t want to grill her about her every thought and action tonight, though she never would have guessed that the person she would be relying on in this whirlwind of change in her life would be Jack Dylan. However, she had to begrudgingly admit as they walked to the table off to the side that it was sort of nice not to have to go alone and risk potentially being dragged into another conversation she couldn’t focus on right now. Maybe friends were useful for something.

As she reached the table with a few crystal glasses, Amelia had to hunt to find a pitcher of water. All the others were filled with beverages varying from pumpkin juice to spiced rum. Although the rum might have calmed her nerves a bit, Amelia knew better than to risk what she might say when she had had alcohol. She hadn’t ever really grown accustomed to hard liquor, not having partaken in much in her lifetime, so she knew she didn’t hold her own in that arena. Instead, she poured herself a healthy glass of ice water and steadied it with both hands as she raised it to her lips.

A moment later, she was forced to lower the glass after only a sip when Jess Potter approached her. Amelia knew him from when she had been a student in his charms class, and then from being his coworker this past semester. It had been another odd part of that transition from student to professor – those she used to defer to because they had higher authority than she did were suddenly her equals.

And now she was their boss.

This was getting weirder and weirder.

“Thank you, professor,” Amelia replied, using as formal a greeting as she could manage. Was she still allowed to call him Jess, now that she was technically above him in the Hogwarts hierarchy? Could she afford to be that familiar with him?

“I appreciate you coming tonight,” the redhead continued after Jess’ slightly awkward comment about leaving and coming back to such a change. She didn’t know how else to respond. Jess held more seniority as a professor, and in Amelia’s mind, would likely have been a more natural choice for Headmaster. It was making her uncomfortable to be thinking this as he congratulated her, but Jess seemed to be making short work of the conversation, and no sooner had he arrived than he was dismissing himself with some parting words that did nothing to calm Amelia’s nerves. Luck had never been on her side, she found.

But instead, she merely said, “Thank you.” It was the catchall phrase of the night.

As Jess disappeared into the crowd, Amelia followed his retreating form, at least until he passed another familiar face that Amelia had already spoken with that night. Jack was walking toward her, which immediately made Amelia’s stomach tie up in knots.

Please no stink bombs tonight, please, please, please… Amelia thought, taking another gulp of water as fast as she could before Jack got to them. Although he had been pleasant earlier tonight, Amelia hadn’t forgotten her past interactions with Jack Kubin, and she was already too nervous tonight to put everything aside so quickly.

“What can I do for you, Jack?” Amelia asked as cordially as she could manage as the younger boy got within range, “I just stepped away for a moment to get some water. Don’t worry, the feast will be starting soon.”

As soon as I can pull myself together, that is… Amelia thought, without much confidence that would happen as quickly as she hoped it would.

"That's great, Mrs. current-Headmistress-past-Potions-Master-and-Head-Girl!"

Jack said, clapping his hands together, a smile on his face, displaying his braces. He grinned as he walked over to Amelia, and spun around, so he would be staring in the same direction as her. He grinned. This was the most enjoyable part. His eyes darted quickly around the seen, sucking in all the faces, and he spotted the face that Amelia seemed keen on earlier. He grinned, than, before going any further, he nodded to the lady beside Amelia.

"Jack Kubin, pleasure to meet ya. I may or may not have blow up something in your room yet. I don't quite remember."

He stared at the redhead, trying to recall something. Wait... Wait... Nope, he couldn't remember any instances. He than looked at Amelia, and pointed at the man who she stared at before.

"You see that guy? I'm willing to put aside our differences, for the fact that I can help you win his heart. Don't deny it. Your face says it all."

Jack said, a grin on his face. It would be quite hard to tell whether the smile was a smug one, or one that could help Amelia win a heart. Jack did indeed have a little good inside him, and he wouldn't mind helping a teacher if it meant giving them dating tips. Well, it hasn't been that jack had ever been exactly successful with the opposite gender. The only female who had let him get close to her without breaking his wrist, which has happened on several occasions, was Cecilia Krum. For a moment, Jack paused, her face crossing his mind. He hadn't seen her in a while. A visit would have to be in check. Maybe he could get inside the girls dormitory sometime. If it were possible.

Jack followed Amelia, walking by her side, glancing around with a casual ease, her typical almost-scowling expression still on her face, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Her standing in the wizarding world did not change her as completely as it should have. She was still the same grumpy grouch she had always been; she just did not have to apologize for it as much now.

They reached the table of drinks and Jack's eyes lazily scanned the table. Amelia spoke to Jess and Jess seemed to take Jack's cue and say nothing else to her either. The two really had little interactions anyway, so it was not like they had anything to say. And Jack was not one for wasting words. Amelia poured herself some water but Jack reached for the rum. Jack was just not one for being surrounded by people and remain relaxed. Some rum would keep her civil.

Relatively civil.

Jack glanced over at Amelia to make a comment, only to see a somewhat distressed look in Amelia's eye. Jack turned and spotted an approaching boy, who greeted Amelia in a cheeky fashion. At his words about blowing something up, Jack burst into laughter. She glanced at Amelia. "That's rich. He thinks he's a big bad prankster, eh? Oh boy, oh boy." She shook her head. He had chosen the wrong person to try and boast in front of.

He seemed to be trying to mess with Amelia so Jack casually walked over and placed herself right between Amelia and the boy, 'accidentally' knocking him aside a bit. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a candy she had been experimenting with at Weasley's- nothing terrible. She knew it worked, and she knew how to work it. "Want a candy?" she asked. "I get a sweet hook up from Honeydukes for working at the Ministry."

The knots that had been forming in Amelia’s stomach lit on fire when Jack greeted her so flippantly, grinning with those wired teeth back at her in what was undoubtedly a mischievous way. Amelia could have predicted that he was coming here to cause trouble, so that wasn’t what was making her the most nervous; rather, it was the fact that she didn’t know what kind of trouble Jack was planning to cause.

He came to stand between herself and Jaquellene – for now, her mental dialogue would have to differentiate them using her friend’s full name – and introduced himself cockily to Jaquellene. Although Amelia was annoyed with the way he was pushing himself into the conversation, and the glib way he spoke to Jaquellene, she was too preoccupied with worry about the present situation and the overall event tonight to think of anything too witty to interrupt Jack. However, the other redhead in the situation never seemed to let anything much ruffle her, and she managed to roll her eyes and let Jack’s words roll off her shoulders with a snide comment to Amelia.

“He only thinks that because he never had the pleasure of seeing a real master at work,” Amelia whispered discreetly to Jaquellene, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. Although Amelia did not necessarily approve of Jaquellene’s pranking, she had to admit the girl had a flare for it. She and Raoul would have gotten along so well.

Amelia knew it would be too much to hope that Jack would just grab something to drink and leave, but it seemed the younger boy wasn’t even there to get a refreshment, but rather to make Amelia supremely uncomfortable. Interrupting again, Jack turned back toward Amelia and raised a hand to point blatantly across the room. Upon Jack’s words, Amelia followed his gesture to find herself looking again at Marcus, who had been blessedly blending in with the crowd from Amelia’s perspective – at least until just now.

Jack didn’t stop at pointing him out, though. He continued, saying he could help her ‘win his heart’, which made Amelia blush furiously in spite of every fiber of her will trying to control the creeping color. Amelia opened and closed her mouth several times, willing herself to think of some retort that would convey to Jack how completely she did not want or need his help, to correct him of his grievous misconception that she even wanted to be approaching Marcus tonight – though, at least parts of her, certainly wanted to be near him. But all that came out were incomplete sounds of indignation and protest, hardly the most coherent way to make her point.

“I don’t know what you’re- I don’t want- You have no idea what you’re- I mean, really…”

This is going well… Amelia’s subconscious intoned dryly as Amelia gave up, pressing her lips firmly together and looking pointedly away from both Jack and Marcus, not wanting to give the younger boy any more ideas.

Jaquellene, who seemed to be her ever present source of stability tonight, appeared to have sensed that Jack was up to something – probably because Amelia was squirming like a fish caught on a hook – and she moved to stand between Amelia and Jack, jostling the former out of the way. She dug through her pockets to pull out a small wrapped candy, which confused Amelia on several levels (how did she even fit anything in her pockets with pants that tight?), but she knew better than to ask questions. If Jack was handling this, Amelia was all the more grateful for it.

But as she alternately gulped down more of her water and looked pointedly at her shoes while listening to Jaquellene’s proposition Jack, she wondered momentarily what the girl was up to.

But then she decided that she didn’t care, as long as it meant not having to talk to Jack about Marcus. Amelia was certain of one thing: she wanted to keep those particular thoughts very much to herself.

Jacks eyes narrowed. Ok, now he remembered who she was. His memory was strange that way. He raised his eyebrow at the candy, not taking it lightly. He snatched it from her hand, but instead of gulping it down, he nicely shoved it in his pockets. He looked at the teacher, and said.

"I wasn't born yesterday."

He replied to her blatantly, His face showing a bit curiosity. The former leader of P.A. was trying to smart him into eating something. Probably a Weasleys product or something. Or it could be harmless. Jack always had to go into that factor. But he reasoned that the fact that someone who was with Amelia, one of the teachers nonetheless offered him something. He might as well be on his guard. He then flipped his head around, looking at the scene around him. He then turned back to The P.A. Leader.

"Look, Mrs... Sorry, don't know your name. I just want to have a meaningful conversation with the new Headmistress. She deserves a little excitement, am I right?"

He stared at the girl, figuring this was probably more excitement than Amelia could bare. He expected her to drop dead of the amount of things going on at once any second now. But Jack held firm with his stance. He raised an eyebrow at Jaquellene, and crossed his arms. He knew for a fact that she would say anything. But Jack wanted to get on with it.

Than, out of nowhere, Jack felt something in his throat. He coughed hysterically into the fold of his elbow, it covering his mouth completely. He coughed for a few seconds, than stopped, surprised by it. He cleared his throat, and looked back at his elbow. That came out of nowhere, literally.

The bloody hell just happened...

Jack smirked at Amelia's words, her eyes twinkling as Amelia donned her a 'real master.' Amelia had never been fond of Jack's particular code of misbehavior, but for Amelia to at least recognize the art and craft that Jack had invested into her pranking meant a lot to the shorter redhead. The words were almost in defense of Jack's reputation as a prankster and Jack was filled with a swelling filling of pride at Amelia's claims.

But to deal with this bothersome little roach. This kid thought himself to be hot stuff. Probably fifth or sixth year, thinking he had authority. Authority. Really. Over Jack. Her Hogwarts reputation had been enough to send people into submission- she was a Triwizard champion, wasn't she? Quidditch captain. Leader of PA. But now she was a Department Head and owned Weasleys Wizard's Wheezes. This boy had no right to think himself any better.

He snatched away the candy and pocketewd it. Jack raised an eyebrow and reached into her own pocket, pulling out an identical piece. "Fine by me," she said in a lofty voice, unwrapping her candy. She popped it in her mouth, chewed thoroughly and swallowed, smacking her lips to prove there had been no consequences. For her, that is.

"If you were born yesterday, you'd be an awfully fat baby," Jack said, not showing any trace of the joke on her face. The boy spoke again, offering a sad little display of defiance. Before she could respond, he burst into a horrendous gagging fit. She took a step away, still remaining between Amelia and the pest. "Little boys should mind their manners lest they get the sniffles," Jack taunted. "Run along and play, kiddie. The Headmistress does not need to listen to the cooeing and gurgling you have to offer."