Mischief Attained [The Mischief Attained series - part 1]

Chapter 1

Jayla's shoulders hurt from the weight of her bag as she was walking down the stairs to the Great Hall. As always, as soon as she got close to the huge wooden doors, she was met with the usual hustle that came with the lunch break. The room was filled with students having more or less engaging conversations and the noises of clinging plates and cutlery. Jayla had learned to cancel out the noises as much as possible in the last few years to be able to enjoy her lunch in peace, but as she was walking along the long table lined with Hufflepuff students, she couldn't help but already notice that there was some mischief going on at the Slytherin table. As always, it of course involved that brat Draco Malfoy. An obnoxious boy one year beneath her who had decided to make Harry Potter his nemesis. Naturally, he had to pick the one boy from his year that always seemed to be the focus of attention, so everyone at the Slytherin table had to listen to Draco constantly complaining about him. With an annoyed sigh, Jayla slumped down on the bench as far away from her housemates as possible, which still earned her disapproving looks from a few girls in her year.

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Slytherin students were described as ambitious and cunning, also brave – but not the kind of stupid, "head-through-the-wall" brave as Gryffindors –, yet calculating. All traits that were definitely strong in Jayla. Yet still, she never really belonged – neither with her housemates, nor her family. Even though Voldemort had lost the war, most of the families in Slytherin still held onto the belief that the so called "Pureblood" wizards were superior to their Muggleborn counterparts. Jayla had never understood that. For her, everyone was equal, no matter their magical abilities, skin colour or nationality. Hell, she even treated animals the same way as she'd treat other humans. And, of course, her cunning Slytherin self had never been able to shut her mouth and openly expressed her disdain for people following Voldemort's agenda, which had earned her the place as an outsider in her immediate surroundings. It hadn't always been like that though, otherwise she would have asked the Sorting Hat to put her in a different house. But as every child, she had naturally believed the way she had been raised by her parents was the right one, if not even the only possible one. After she had arrived at Hogwarts, however, and had proudly been sorted into Slytherin, she came in contact with other beliefs and soon had to realise that the muggleborn students in her year were just as good at magic as her housemates, which made her question her way of thinking. Unfortunately, none of her classmates seemed to stray even just an inch from theirs and she soon lost all of her friends she thought she had, as Jayla kept starting discussions and calling others out. Since then, she had always just stayed on her own, minding her own business as best as she could and just trying to make it through those seven years. Don't get her wrong, she actually loved all her classes and tried to suck up everything about magic like a sponge, but everything that happened after class took a huge toll on her mentally. She still always felt a little sting when she watched other students having fun together on trips to Hogsmeade or just chilling at the Great Lake.

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"Look, the idiot has his Remembrall out again and it's red," Draco said, loud enough for the aforementioned Gryffindor boy to hear.

Then he added even louder: "But I already know what he's forgotten. Apparently he's left a few of his braincells at home."

This was met with a few snickers from his companions while Draco eyed the Gryffindor table to see if he had provoked any kind of reaction. Jayla's usual way to deal with it was to just ignore it, but somehow it was bothering her so much today that she just couldn't keep quiet.

"Funny, how he still manages to have more than you despite that."

Her remark was met with a few gasps and shocked faces from the students at her table, but she also thought she heard someone snicker behind her. Not being used to be talked to like that, it took Draco a second to regain his composure, but then he looked like he was about to cast Avada Kedavra on her. "YOU should watch your mouth and remember who you're talking to! Seems like your ugliness isn't the only thing why your parents wish you wouldn't exist," he spit at her. That hit. Harder than Jayla liked to admit. The girl could feel tears starting to form up in her eyes. Not wanting to give Draco the satisfaction to see those, she grabbed her bag and was about to rush out of the hall. Anger swelling inside her, she shoved the two tall figures standing between the Slytherin and Gryffindor table out of the way with so much force that she almost knocked one of them over.

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With tears obstructing her view, she tried to make her way through the other students. She could feel their eyes on her. Jayla hated being the centre of this kind of attention. She could feel her chest tighten, her pulse quickening. All she wanted was to get out of the hall, away from any kind of people. Her pace quickened, her feet carrying her out of the Great Hall on autopilot. As soon as the girl had made it through the doors, she gasped for air as if she had just emerged from under water. However, as she was just about to head outside, she felt the weight on her shoulder shift as her bag slipped down just a bit, which was enough for the books she had hastily stuffed into it without closing the lid to tumble on the ground. Jayla knelt down, trying to pick up her books and notes which were scattered everywhere. That was the moment she couldn't stop the tears from streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. Sometimes it was just too much too handle. Sobbing, she grabbed hold of every note she could and thrust it back into her bag, not caring if she'd crumble any important homework. Suddenly, she could see another pair of hands in the corner of her eye gently collecting a few stray papers. Not wanting whoever it was to see her tears, she let her long black hair fall over her face.

"I hope you know you made a few people's day today. You most definitely made ours," the person next to her said, just loud enough for the kneeling witch to hear.

"It's not everyday you see someone stand up to that brat, especially a Slytherin," someone added at her other side.

Both of them handed her the notes they had collected. With the sleeve of her cardigan she quickly wiped away her tears before taking them. When she looked up, she saw two red-haired boys in Gryffindor robes smiling at her. Her anger and shame about that whole situation were still so overwhelming she didn't even recognize them and just sat there staring at them, another warm tear streaming down her face. Before Jayla was able to regain her composure, one of the boys grabbed her bag, while the other one helped her off the floor and she soon found herself being escorted outside by them as if the three of them hanging out together was the most usual thing.

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As soon as they stepped into the castle grounds, Jayla was hit by a wave of fresh air which definitely helped clear her head. The boy holding her arm gently dragged her to the side a bit and let go of her.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, "but it was the only thing we could think of to get you out of that situation. Are you feeling better now?"

Both of them were looking at her with expressions that probably were supposed to be concerned, but to her it looked like she was looking into the eyes of two loyal puppies, which did look rather comical if she was completely honest.

Jayla inhaled deeply and, to her surprised, found herself genuinely smiling at the two boys. "Actually, yes, I am. Thank you," Jayla said hesitantly, just loud enough for them to hear.

The boys' smiles widened.