I am soooo sorry for the wait. I'll make up for it with an EXTRA long chapter::

HOPE YOU LIKE!

She was lost. Yet again.

It seemed that Jasmine had a thing for getting lost. The funny thing was, that she was late, again. This time, she was late for classes. But then again, it wasn't like she actually knew where to go. She had no idea where the Transfiguration classrooms were. She only knew that they were somewhere on the fourth floor. That was all she could remember from last night's tour, she was too busy making sure that her limp wasn't too perceptible. Her ankle was swollen, and her rest on a bed last night had done little to alleviate the pain. She winced when she thought about how she got it.

Ouch!

She lurched as said swollen ankle slipped on the stairs, and became half imbedded in one of the stone steps. Her face contorted with pain, and she gasped deeply as it was twisted with a sharp crack. She tried pulling it out, but it was stuck. She would've tried again, but it hurt. She gripped the railing tightly as the stairs began to move, trying not to fall so as to not injure her leg further.

What do I do now?

Jasmine desperately started thinking of ways to get out of this predicament without injuring herself further, but she couldn't think of anything that did not involve a lot of pulling. She couldn't move her ankle. She looked back again. Her leg was in until her mid-shin, her pants were sucked in as well. She knew that the uniform for girls called for skirts, but she had panicked at their short hem, and asked Hagrid if she could get trousers instead. He said that he could not see anything wrong with it, and he let her get them.

Jasmine thought of calling for help, screaming for anyone who was roaming the halls, but she refrained from doing so- she didn't want to cause trouble. Besides, she would get into trouble herself for not being in class and for acting so spoiled. Her right leg was getting tired of holding up her weight and was beginning to burn. Cautiously, she looked back at the stone steps and touched the one behind her; it was smooth and hard.

Warily, she sat down, relieved when the rest of her did not sink in. She run a hand through her hair and rolled a lock of brown between her thumb and forefinger. How could she get out of this predicament?

"Are you alright?" A male voice called out from behind her. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she twisted around in a panic. She had not had much experience with people outside her teachers, classmates, her family, and Ms. Figg, the neighbor, but it seemed that even here, the male population had it in for her. Snape, Quirrell, and Malfoy proved that. Even her male elementary school teachers and principal seemed to revel in giving her detentions. She hated men and was terrified of them, save for Ron.

And yet, how ironic was it that for the second time that day, she was lost in the castle, and was, once again, found by a man.

But as her eyes laid on him, her fear diminished slightly. He was not so much a man as a boy, he seemed about sixteen or seventeen. "Are you alright," he asked again, a bit of worry in his voice.

She could see his tie and the patch on his robes…blue. He was a Ravenclaw. There was a gold badge next to the patch- he was a prefect. An authority figure. She didn't know whether to be relieved or panic some more. His brown eyebrows rose slightly in apprehension. The tall boy took a step closer. He was waiting for an answer. It was not wise to keep them waiting. When Jasmine spoke, her voice was dry.

"I-yes, I am fine….it's just," she swallowed non-existent saliva. " I sort of got stuck, and…" she gestured to her foot."I can't get it out." Her last few words were barely above a whisper. He stood two steps above her.

"Oh, that's easy then, all we need to do is-" he waved his wand, which he had pulled out of his sleeve, in an intricate pattern, and almost immediately, excruciating pain exploded in her ankle. She screamed, tears running down her face, the pain was too much.

The pain abruptly stopped, and the boy looked at her, wide eyed. "I-I'm sorry, that wasn't supposed to hurt. It never does, I've used it hundreds of times before. I don't know what happened." He looked back at her foot, taking a step closer until he was right next to her, towering over her. She inched back, away from him, as far as she could.

He looked right at her. "Were you injured before this?" he said. Jasmine bit her lip and nodded, averting her gaze. "How?" he pressed.

Yesterday, my cousin and me, we were playing and I…tripped. My foot got caught in a rabbit hole. It's been swollen ever since."

"Why didn't you go to a doctor?"

"I was scared that I'd miss the train. I was so excited about Hogwarts," Jasmine lied through her teeth, trying to come up with a believable story.

"That wasn't the best decision, Ms. Potter, but I understand your excitement." He looked back at her leg kneeling down. "H-how do you know my name?" The boy looked at her. "I was at the sorting." "Oh."

"This is what we're going to do," he said, still looking at her leg. "I'm going to enlarge the hole, and then, when I tell you to, you are going to pull out your ankle. I'll hold the charm as long as you need me to. You got that?" He looked at her for conformation. She nodded. Alright, then."

The boy murmured and incantation, and a white light burst from his wand, streaming into the trick half of the stair.

The hole widened, and the boy told her to lift it out. Slowly, Jasmine used both of her arms to pull out her leg. "Do you need any help with that?" he asked her. She shook her head no. Eventually, she got it out and moved to a higher stair. "Finite", the boy muttered and the connection was cut. "You shouldn't walk on that," he gestured to her leg. "I'll levitate you to the hospital wing."

Jasmine's panic returned ten-fold. "Th-the hospital wing? No, no, I'm fine!" What if the nurse saw her injuries? What would she say? What would happen to her? "I'm- I'm late for Transfiguration! Professor McGonagall, she'll be mad! I should go-" The boy cut her off. I'm not letting you walk around in pain with that leg. Besides, Madam Pomfrey can fix anything very quickly. There's nothing to worry about, Ms. Potter."

"But Professor McGonagall-"

"Will understand. She cares about her students, and she will understand. Besides, there's still another hour left to Transfiguration. You have double, don't you? With the Ravenclaws? I walked them to class this morning. I'll take you there after we're done. Okay?"

Hesitantly Jasmine nodded. "Lucky for you, the hospital wing is close to here. It will be easy to levitate you…"

"Ascendio!" The boy said, and immediately, Jasmine was lifted into the air, about six feet off the ground. "Put me down!" She gasped. "Put-Put me down! You'll drop me! Please put me down!"

The boy looked at her kindly. "Don't worry, I won't drop you. You're pretty light. I expected you to be heavier," His wand was held up so that it was leveled with his head. Jasmine had been lifted into a sleeping position, her back straight and parallel to the ground. She wanted to scream, but decided against it. She might break his concentration, and he'd drop her.

"I'm Scott, by the way Scott Emerson," He smiled, hazel eyes brimming with kindness. She felt bad for being afraid of him earlier. "Thanks for helping me, Mr. Emerson." "Oh, call me Scott." "Okay, but call me Jasmine. Ms. Potter sounds weird."

"Alright, then," he chuckled. "This is our stop." He levitated her into the hospital wing and lowered her on a bed. Everything smelled extra clean. She hated hospitals.

"Mr. Emerson! Ms. Potter! What brings you here today so early in the morning?"

A cheerful voice rang out in the infirmary, and a woman appeared from behind a screen. "Hello, dear," she nodded at Jasmine and then turned to Scott. "What is wrong?"

"Yesterday, she was playing when she tripped and injured her leg. I found her stuck in one of the trick stairs. Lucky it wasn't the full one in the first staircase."

"Oh, we'll fix that." Madam Pomfrey turned to Jasmine. "Right, dear, I'm just going to see what's wrong with you, okay?" Numbly, Jasmine nodded. "Which leg is it?" "My left ankle."

Madam Pomfrey pulled off her shoe and socks and rolled up her pant leg. She waved her wand and frowned. "It's broken alright. Not a clean break, the bone is shattered. A bit more work, but an easy fix, just the same."

"Will I need a cast?"

"A cast? No, no you won't. I'll fix them for you in a few minutes. You'll be good as new."

Good as new. Jasmine longed to show her all of her other injuries, but she knew that she couldn't. She couldn't tell her about her rib or her shoulder or her cuts or bruises or her paining stomach, or, dare she say it, her uncle's violation. She couldn't use the word, however right the definition was. It made the whole ordeal seem so real, and she'd rather forget all about it.

" Drink this, dear. It will speed things up." Madam Pomfrey gave her a glass that had less than an inch of white liquid in it. She gagged as she swallowed it down and Madam Pomfrey gave her another glass with water. She drank it gratefully, the white stuff tasted horrible. "What was that?" "Skelegrow. It grows bones, and helps mend them. I normally don't need to use it but that shatter could use some help." The nurse waved her wand, and smiled.

"Try moving it now," she said. Jasmine did, and she smiled too. It really did feel 'good as new.' Jasmine wiggled her toes again. "Thank you Madam Pomfrey." "Oh, nonsense, don't thank me for doing my job. Rest here for another five minutes, and eat this," the nurse thrust a piece of bread into Jasmine's hand. "Get your strength back. You don't have to wait for me to come back. Mr. Emerson will take you to class." With that the plump woman disappeared into her office.

"Is she always so…busy?" Jasmine asked as Scott walked her to Transfiguration. "Well, yes, what with all the things that the students here do. I remember once, a boy went to her with bright green and pink hair because his girlfriend hexed him when he broke up with her. His skin was dark purple. He looked a right mess, let me tell you."

Jasmine laughed. "Really?" "Another time, a girl went in with antlers sprouted on her head. Took Madam Pomfrey a whole day to get rid of them." Scott pointed ahead, to a brown door. "That's the Transfiguration classroom. I'll walk you in." "No, Scott, it's fine, I'll go in on my own." "No, I'd better take you in. Talk to McGonagall and all that. Don't worry Jasmine, I won't embarrass you," he teased. "Who said anything about being embarrassed?" Jasmine shot back, but she looked away, and her face colored a slight pink.

I know what people will say, they'll say "Oh, look, Potter is so incapable of taking care of herself that the spoiled brat got herself into trouble on the first day. And look, she had to annoy the prefect and get him to bring her, too! What a suck up!

She knew they would, just like her old classmates in Primary. She saw Scott looking at her oddly. Oh, they had reached the classroom. She looked at Scott, who had gestured to her to open the door. She knocked. "Come in!" she heard a voice that sounded like Professor McGonagall call. She opened the door.

Rows of students, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, stared at her expectantly. Professor McGonagall was staring at her, disappointment evident on her face. "Ms. Potter, you have missed the first lesson of Transfiguration, on the very first day of the school year. You have not made a good impression, I thought you would be more responsible! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Jasmine was struck with guilt. "I'm-I'm sorry, Professor, but I…was in the hospital wing."

Professor McGonagall switched from disappointed to worried in a heartbeat. Scott walked over to her. "Well, Professor, I was with her." "Ms. Potter, please take a seat," Professor McGonagall pointed to an empty desk in the front. It was next to Ron. She sat down.

Professor McGonagall spoke with Scott in hushed tones, and Jasmine caught a few words: broken, stairs, stuck, help, infirmary. The professor looked at Jasmine with a decidedly concerned expression more than once, but Jasmine pretended to be looking intently at the book in front of her, watching the conversation through her peripheral vision.

After Scott left, the professor began to make her way over to Jasmine's table, where the girl was studying her book as if there was nothing more important than reading the title. She smiled slightly to herself- she knew Jasmine had been trying to listen in and that she may have gotten the gist of their conversation. But what worried her was that she had not noticed Jasmine's discomfort-was she really so blind as to not notice when her students had broken legs?

Jasmine looked up as Professor McGonagall approached and straightened a bit in her seat. The professor leaned over the desk and spoke in a very low tone, so that only Jasmine and Ron could hear.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Ms. Potter. Do you feel any discomfort at all?" At Jasmine's polite thank you and shake of the head, McGonagall continued. "Why didn't you tell me about your injury last night? I could have helped you sooner." "I…I didn't want to be a bother to you, professor." "Ms. Potter, as your head of house, it is my job to take care of you and make sure that all is well. Do you have any other injuries that need tending to?"

Professor McGonagall said all of this in a very low, gentle tone, but Jasmine still felt intimidated somewhat by the older woman- she was pressing matters too much. She was making this harder than it was already to refuse an escape. "No, Professor, but thank you for asking," she bit her lip. Professor McGonagall nodded. "Remember, Ms. Potter, if you need anything, just ask." Jasmine nodded as well. "I understand, Professor."

The teacher went back to explaining the lesson, Transfiguration Theory, and Ron, who had heard the exchange leaned towards her. Unconsciously, Jasmine leaned away from him. "What was that all about?"

"I got caught in a sticky situation and a prefect helped me." "No, really, what happened?" Jasmine swallowed.

"I…got hurt before coming to Hogwarts and the prefect took me to the infirmary." Ron shook his head.

"What was wrong?" Jasmine didn't want to reveal more than was necessary.

"A…a twisted ankle." Ron smiled.

"Oh, that's not so bad then. Why were you so late? McGonagall was going bonkers."

"I got lost again."

"I'm su-"

"MR. WEASELY!" Professor McGonagall's voice cut through their conversation. "Pay attention!"

"Sorry…" he grumbled, paying more attention. The professor wanted them to try changing matchsticks into needles. With a wave of her hand, needles suddenly appeared on all of their desks. McGonagall explained the task in a bit more detail and left them to their trials.

Jasmine tried, but at the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had been able to do it completely. Jasmine, however, had managed to turn her matchstick silver.

Jasmine fell into step with Hermione. "What do we have next, Hermione?"

Hermione glanced at her with a smile. "Potions," she answered smartly, ignoring the look of horror on Jasmine's face. "With Professor Snape."

Jasmine's heart dropped into her stomach.

OOOoooOOOOooooOOOOOhhh

What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter that I am starting once I post this. MAKE MY DAY AND LEAVE ME A REVIEW

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