Decree No.29 (O.C) Fred Weasley/ Draco Malfoy

The New Girl

"Professor, please, you don't understand!" Jessica pleaded, her voice echoing against the stone walls of the castle.

"Oh, I understand very well, dear," Professor McGonagall said as she hastily tried to lock her office door, "I know who your friends are, but the Sorting Hat's decision is final."

It was the following day, and Jessica had gotten up bright and early to sneak out of the Slytherin dormitory. She had put on her robes, including her new green tie, which made her feel like an imposter, and wondered her way around the Castle. She stared at the view of the mountains for hours, finding the energy for her first day. After a while, she noticed Professor McGonagall leaving her office and immediately made a beeline for her. She wanted to redo the sorting, as she needed to be in Gryffindor. How would she stick to the promise she had made the Order otherwise?

"It's not just because they're my friends; I need to be moved from Slytherin. I'll do it in front of the school. I don't care!"

Last night had been awful. The comments from Draco and his group continued into the late evening once they were in the common room. She couldn't even enjoy settling into her new surrounding as she had been forced to sit on a leather-bound sofa for hours, listening to them bitching all night about members of Gryffindor's house. All of it made her skin crawl. How poor the Weasleys were, how much they bullied Neville, how many mudbloods there were...it seemed the only thing they couldn't find fault in was themselves.

The worst was when they spoke about Harry, Draco's favourite subject. He kept mentioning how nobody, especially the Ministry, didn't believe his and Dumbledore's story about what happened at the Triwizard Tournament last year. Jessica knew that Harry's story was true, as she considered what he and the rest of the Ordee told her about Voldemort, or as they had preferred to call him 'you-know-who'. They hadn't told her much, as it seemed a touchy subject, but she knew he was a dangerous murderer who had tried to kill Harry multiple times. For some reason, she believed that his coming back wouldn't be something that he and Dumbledore just made up for the fun of it.

"There's nothing I can do, Miss Clarke," McGonagall told her firmly, "I'm sorry."

"But I wanted to be in Gryffindor; the hat should've considered that!" Jessica argued.

"Who told you that?" McGonagall asked. Her beady eyes looked down at her from above her spectacles, and she realised that she may have made a mistake.

"Harry," Jessica sheepishly answered. She hadn't wanted to include him in her statement, but that was the only way she could support her case.

McGonagall sighed and pursed her lips, whispering down to Jessica as if she was about to reveal a big secret. "If Potter did ask to be put in Gryffindor, then he wouldn't have realised that the hat took that into account. If you knew that the hat would likely sort you into Gryffindor's house if you asked it too, then the whole point goes a miss. You tried to trick the system, which shows cunning, a Slytherin trait."

"But I didn't ask it directly-"

"That's enough. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."

"I want to speak to Dumbledore then," Jessica demanded, "I need to speak to him about something else anyway."

Last night, in her new bed next to Pansy Parkinson's, Jessica stayed awake and analysed what her latest vision could have meant. It had seemed too natural this time, and after her last one about Fred...she had to talk to someone about it. They were getting too detailed and too weird. There was a horrible feeling that she knew deep down what it meant, but she needed to be sure before she acted on it. She had to speak to Dumbledore, who appeared most knowledgeable about her necklace.