Mischief Attained [The Mischief Attained series - part 1]

Chapter 6

"Who are you and what have you done to Jayla?" Fred asked laughing. "What happened to Slytherins being evil and menacing?"

"Just wait till you piss me off," Jayla threatened.

"Oooh, I wouldn't dare to, Fred," Lee warned him, while winking at Jayla.

Jayla really appreciated Lee. He had just accepted her as part of their group immediately. He was quieter than Fred and George, but Jayla felt like this brought a nice bit of balance into the group. All throughout lunch there was never a dull moment with those three and Jayla really enjoyed her time. It definitely felt like she had been part of their group for years.

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Juana and a boy Jayla didn't know joined them after lunch for a butterbeer or two. Their conversations revolved around the typical student topics. Complains about professors or homework, what they were planning to do once the school year was over, the exams at the end of the year and, of course, Quidditch.

"I'm so glad we got that weekend off from practise. Wood has us all going crazy," Fred exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

Of course, the game against Slytherin was coming up that would decide the winner of this year's Quidditch Cup. You'd think with a mass murderer on the loose and their O.W.L.s coming up, Quidditch wouldn't be the top priority, but apparently Jayla was wrong there. Lee, Fred, George and the Hufflepuff boy – Jayla had found out his name was Jaxon – got into a discussion on which tactic would be best to beat the Slytherin team. As Jayla had no clue about Quidditch, she just listened to it with half an ear and watched the other people in the pub instead.

"Have you ever played Quidditch?" George had turned away slightly from the other boys and towards Jayla instead.

"I always wanted to, but by the time I was old enough to go to the try-outs, I had already made more enemies than friends, so there was no point in hoping they'd let me into the team. I used to always practice at home in our garden when I was younger though. Secretly though, as my mum thought it was a waste for time for a 'girl with my status'" Jayla shrugged.

"Oh." Apparently this wasn't the answer George had expected. "But that means you can come to the game and support us, right? Seeing as you have no connection to the Slytherin team," he asked, looking at her with huge puppy eyes.

"Sure, why not," Jayla replied. "I'm curious to see if you really are as good as you claim or if it's all just hot air." Jayla stuck out her tongue at George, who threw her an overly exaggerated offended look.

"Yep. I can see how you've made so many enemies over the years," he countered, but immediately put both arms around Jayla and drew her into a strong hug, chuckling.

"Wow. There I've thought you two were one of a kind all those years, but she's like a female version of you guys," Lee, who had heard the banter between Jayla and George, remarked and the whole table burst out laughing.

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A little while later, they had paid for their drinks and were walking back to the castle. Jayla walked next to Juana, who was pulling the jacket, she had gotten from Jaxon earlier, closer because the evening had got chilly.

"If you want, we could go to the match together next weekend," Juana offered as soon as they had walked through the main entrance. "I don't think you want to stand on the Slytherin stand while cheering the other team on."

The girls chuckled.

"That would be great," Jayla replied. Juana didn't seem like she was only hanging out with Jayla because she felt sorry for her, which Jayla really appreciated and which made it a lot easier for her to open up to the kind Hufflepuff girl.