Author's Note:
Okay, I freely admit my "Jazz" chapters tend to be shorter than my "Danny" chapters. Anyways, again, sorry for any messed up tense inconsistencies, I know those can be annoying. Despite that, I hope you enjoy yet another quick-ish update. After reading this, can you guess what house Jazz belongs to?
Three days had passed since Jazz first arrived at the Burrow. After getting marginally more comfortable near one other, Harry and Jazz decided that today they would start Jazz's magic lessons to catch her up with the rest of their year.
Harry ran shaky fingers through his hair.
"Alright, so, um, one of the first spells someone learns is 'Wingardium Leviosa'..." he began.
"The levitation charm," Jazz interrupted.
Harry nodded distractedly as he paced back and forth in front of her. She grinned in triumph.
"Yes, right, so, there's that, but it might be more useful to start with the 'protego' spell,"
"The shield charm," Jazz interrupted again. He blinked once at her before shaking his head to regather his thoughts.
"Yes, but maybe even more important than that would be the disarming spell..."
"Expelliarmus?" Jazz asked.
Harry stopped talking and stared at her.
"Unlocking charm?" he questioned.
"Alohamora."
"Expecto Patronum?"
"Light shield."
"Fetching charm?" he asked wearily.
"Accio," she finished gleefully.
"Just how long have you known about the wizarding world?" Harry asked incredulously.
Jazz counted on her fingers.
"Today, yesterday, the day before, and the day I arrived. So... four?"
"Four," Harry repeated dully.
"Yes?" Jazz asked innocently.
"Four. You've memorized the name of all those spells, their functions..." Harry started calmly.
"And wand movements!"
"...and their wand movements in... four days?!" Harry yelled the last part in disbelief.
"... I spent a lot of time in my room..." Jazz commented quietly while thinking, 'distracting myself from thinking about them... Mom would have been proud of my focused studying skills...'
"Four days? Honestly, you sound like Hermione... how far did you read?"
"Defense, Charms, and Transfiguration years one through three, Herbology through year two and potions through year one."
Harry's eyes bugged out.
"Four days..." he repeated shakily. He chuckled dryly.
"But, not fond of potions, eh?"
Jazz's eyes shifted guiltily to her lap. It wasn't that she didn't like potions but more the fact that it seemed closely related to chemistry which was something that brought back a lot of memories of her parents. She loved her parents. She just wasn't sure if she could deal with all the pain of missing them right now. Not with so many people around.
"Something like that."
"Guess Snape's not going to like you," Harry jested.
"Who?" Jazz asked.
"The potions master, Professor Snape. I wouldn't take it to heart though... especially if you get sorted into Gryfindor."
"Why? What's wrong with Gryfindor?"
"It's more like he has a policy of 'disliking every house that's not Slytherin,' and an extra note to 'hate Potter's house the most'," Harry said.
"That seems rather self-centered on your part doesn't it? Confident it's you he hates and not something else that's fueling it altogether?"
"Self what?"
"Nevermind. Maybe that's why he dislikes Gryfindors..." Jazz mumbled.
"What?"
"Uh... I mean... so... how does the sorting work? Can you tell me about the houses?"
"It might be better if you ask Hermione that question..."
"But I want to hear it from you," Jazz smiled charmingly.
Harry paused to process what she said before continuing.
"A hat is placed on your head that analyzes your personality and places you in a house. Gryfindor is known for courage and noble hearts, Slytherin is known for their secrets and desire for power, Ravenclaws are known for their intelligence and foresight, and Hufflepuffs... well... for their loyalty. They don't stand out as much, work more in the background. I still wonder about them sometimes..."
Jazz chuckled good-naturedly.
"What, that maybe Hufflepuffs are the true masterminds of the school?"
Harry blinked and frowned slightly.
"I mean, work in the background, don't stand out... it sounds like they witness everything but remain figuratively invisible in plain sight from everyone else. Who knows, maybe they are the ones who actually hold the true power..." Jazz ticked off.
"You know, it kind of scares me how much that makes sense..." Harry commented slowly.
"Anyways, those are the houses... just beware of those Slytherins..." Harry trailed off absentmindedly as his eyes gained a partially glazed look of contemplation.
Jazz frowned.
"Why?"
Harry turned to look at her.
"Why, what?"
"Why 'beware of those Slytherins?'" Jazz made imaginary quotation marks in the air.
He looked at her in surprise.
"Come on, Jazz, they're snakes. All of them keep secrets and desire power they don't have or deserve," he insisted.
Jazz's thoughts shifted to Danny and immediately she felt defensive.
"So? That doesn't make them terrible! Have you ever considered they keep secrets for safety reasons, for themselves or for others, or perhaps the greater good? Imagine how much they have to sacrifice to keep it secret, and for what? To be insulted and deemed worthless by their peers? Ever think that perhaps, just maybe, I don't know, they might want to gain power in order to protect the ones they love? Well? Have you? Have you even tried to personally get to know a Slytherin, Harry?"
Stunned silence met her ears.
"People are people and no person is inherently bad. If someone turns out rotten, have you ever considered it was because of the way they were treated by those around them? If the light side abuses your rights and the dark side offers you acceptance for who you are and integrates you into their family of friends... honestly... which would you choose? Can you blame any of them for their choices?"
Harry's eyes lowered in shame. Was he really so judgmental? So judgmental that he never bothered looking past the stereotypes and blamed the whole group for the acts of one Slytherin gone wrong? After all, Peter Petegrew wasn't an accurate portrayal of Gryfindor house... how would it feel to be judged based on his actions and nothing else?
They lapsed into an uneasy silence as their thoughts wandered away.
-----
"Swish and flick! Say the words... Damn it! Why isn't it working? You're doing everything correctly down to the last centimeter! And this is supposed to be year one magic!" Harry growled frustrated.
Jazz swished her wand through the air again and said the words. Nothing happened. She lowered her wand.
"Maybe they made a mistake?" asked Jazz, "Perhaps I'm not a witch at all."
Harry shook his head.
"Don't say that, it just takes practice... and patience. Not everyone can succeed on their first go."
Jazz looked down at her feet.
"Not everyone is six years behind, either."
"Maybe that's it. Maybe your magic is hidden from out of use and just needs to be... pulled out to the surface?"
"If that was the case, why did I suddenly receive my Hogwarts letter a few days ago? Something must have triggered their magic radars."
Harry chuckled, "Magic radars? Seriously?"
Jazz mock punched him in the arm.
"I mean it Harry! If my magic is 'hidden' then it doesn't make sense that I would suddenly receive a Hogwarts letter now. Otherwise, wouldn't I have gotten one six years ago along with everyone else?"
Harry frowned.
"That is odd, I admit. Come to think of it, if you received your letter then, we would have met a long time ago. Things could have turned out completely different than they did..."
Harry moved a hand to lightly trace his scar.
Jazz's eyes widened.
"You're right! Harry... what if somebody purposely kept us apart so that things would turn out the way they did... so that they could control the situation... control... control you?"
Harry's own eyes grew in size.
"B- but who would want things to turn out like they did if they wanted to control me? I overcame Voldemort each time! That would suggest manipulation on our side of the war!"
Harry and Jazz shared a look. Jazz glanced around the room before leaning in to speak no higher than a whisper.
"So why have we been brought together now?"