Jack was walking down the corridors, long strides matching the sense of purpose on her face as she did so. She was sick of it all, everything in this castle just irritated her. The jumble of voices in the Great Hall had terribly frustrated her for some reason. And now, for one of the first times in Jack's life, she wanted to be anywhere but Hogwarts.
Maybe it was because she was being taught by Death Eaters, who held an iron grip on the school and they were slowly infecting the magical community with their rule. As someone who detested viciousness and unwonted cruelty, the thought of Death Eaters taking over sent a fury into the young redhead.
Or maybe because she was terribly concerned for her family; her uncle Chip, her brother Riley, and her cousin Elliot, all of whom had been out of contact with her for awhile. Chip and Riley were muggles, and therefore, were vulnerable. Elliot...well Elliot was sort of hopeless.
Or perhaps it was the fact that she was insanely curious with what was going on with Vito Dee Symons, the poltergeist who had created havoc in Jack's life over the summer. She had been hurt by him quite a bit, but it was her mission to help him, to see him through. She had not seen him for awhile and she wondered if he had reverted back to his old ways.
But one of the most likely reasons was because Chase and Andrew would not even look at her. Over the summer, Jack had gone from friendless, to having a close knit trio of friends, and then back to friendless, for reasons she mostly blamed on herself. And now, she honestly did not know what to do with herself.
She found an empty classroom and went and sat down inside it. She slipped out her wand. "Expecto Patronum." A small wisp of silver escaped her wand. She started. She had never been unable to produce her patronus when she had been perfectly fine. Focusing on a particular day in Scotland she said, stronger, "Expecto Patronum!"
It was not the playful jackal that escaped her wand. though, but instead a large, shaggy wolfhound. Jack's mouth tipped open is surprise but she quickly recovered. Of course, Patronuses changed when people did, and she knew why hers was no longer a jackal. Because Jack was no longer Jackles. She was just a stranger.
The dog loped in a circle and trotted towards her, resting his sliver head on her knees, bending his neck to do so. Its opaque eyes met her green ones and they shared a moment of self-pity and misery. A smile flickered on Jack's face. Maybe just because you didn't have anyone around, it didn't mean that you were alone.