Mischief Attained [The Mischief Attained series - part 1]

Chapter 10

"And what do you three think you're doing?"

Their heads snapped into the direction the voice had come from. To Jayla's horror, she was looking straight into the stern face of Professor McGonagall.

"My office, all of you, now," she announced, motioning towards the castle.

Jayla's heart was racing, her mind scrambling for any excuse she might be able to come up with, though she knew full well that there was no way she could talk her way out of this. If this was it, if she would get expelled from Hogwarts, she'd have no place to go. Just thinking of the prospect of having to leave made her eyes water, her hands shake. After a few steps she felt someone gently wrap his hand around hers, slightly steadying her shaking. When glancing to the right, Jayla saw George smile apologetically at her.

"It's gonna be okay," he mouthed silently.

If Jayla could only be so sure...

Jayla kept her head down all the way to McGonagall's office, where she was told to wait while the boys were interrogated. While waiting outside, Jayla felt like she would throw up. Her whole body just told her to run away, but she knew that would only get her into more trouble, so she forced herself to stay, pacing up and down outside the door.

After what felt like hours, the door finally opened with a creak, making Jayla jump. Fred and George didn't look too bad, which gave Jayla hope the punishment wouldn't be that bad, but then again, they were part of McGonagall's house and not the enemy. Fred just shot her a smile and walked past her, but George stopped and pulled her into quick hug, not caring what McGonagall might think. He then took one step back and put a hand on Jayla's cheek, slightly moving his thumb, which send a tickling warmth throughout Jayla's whole body.

"It was definitely worth it," he whispered, before he let go and caught with his brother.

"If you're done flirting, I'd like to have a word with you, Miss Rosier," McGonagall said, not being able to hide a slight trace of amusement in her voice.

Nice. That was just the worst way to start this conversation, Jayla scolded herself. But she also couldn't help but think of the way how George had made her feel so much safer when he had pulled her into that hug. She felt the heat rise in her, probably already red, cheeks just thinking about it and forced herself to focus on McGonagall instead.

"Sorry professor," she mumbled while she walked past her into the Transfiguration classroom.

McGonagall led Jayla into her office at the back of the room and gestured her to sit down in one of the chairs at her desk, while the professor took a seat opposite her. She looked at Jayla over the rim of her glasses.

"Honestly, Mrs. Rosier, what were you thinking? I know the two Weasleys can be charming and I couldn't have missed you hanging out with them in your last two years, but I never expected you'd join them in one of their more crazy endeavours, especially not so close to your O.W.L.s," she started.

"I'm sorry, professor," was all Jayla could think of saying in this moment.

"To not foster your mischief any further, I've decided that you three will serve detention separately, each of you with you Head of House, so Professor Snape will let you know tomorrow when your detention with him will take place."

The girl just nodded. Having to explain to Snape, probably the person who hated Gryffindors the most, why she had been caught out at night with two of them sounded like the worst tasks Jayla could think of.

"Are you still planning to become a professor as your career choice?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Jayla replied, looking down at the floor.

"Then I trust this won't happen again?" she inquired.

"Of course."

"Then you can leave." McGonagall gestured towards the door.

Jayla got up hastily.

"Oh, and Miss Rosier?" the stern woman shouted after her before she had made it through the door.

Jayla looked back, unsure, but found McGonagall smiling at her.

"I know I am not your Head of House and I don't want to intrude on your personal space, but – despite today – it's been nice seeing you a lot happier in the last 2 years. Just make sure you keep your focus on your academic career as well."

That came as a surprise. Jayla had been told that McGonagall, albeit stern, often cared a lot for the Gryffindor students' well-being. She just hadn't imagine that she'd keep such a close eye on everyone in her classes.

"Thank you, professor," Jayla mumbled, feeling a surge of gratitude for the professor she's often been more afraid of than Snape.

Once she had reached her dormitory, Jayla fell into her bed, still wearing George's old Quidditch robes and the protection gear, and drifted off to sleep almost immediately, her mind replaying the evening in her dream.

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When she woke up the next morning, she found herself snuggled into the robes that smelled like George, which immediately took her back to their flight on his broom and put a smile on her face. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. She couldn't hear anyone else in the room, but she still made sure to remove any of the Quidditch equipment while the curtains around her bed were still shut. Jayla stuffed all the protective gear into her bag and slowly wiggled her way out of the Gryffindor robe. She let the soft fabric run through her fingers, taking in the smell one more time before she also put it into the bag. She let herself fall back onto her mattress again, glad nobody saw her right now as she was probably smiling like an idiot.

Half an hour later, Jayla had finally managed to get dressed and was walking up the stairs towards the Great Hall to get breakfast.

"Hey Jayla!" She heard someone shout as soon as she had entered the ground floor. As she turned around, she saw Juana running towards her, smiling like always. Did that girl ever have a bad day?

"Hey Juana," Jayla greeted her. "How you're doing? Ready to take the O.W.L.s next week?"

"Yes, I think so," the Hufflepuff replied. "Of course, I haven't studied as much as you. Buuuut..."

"But what?" Jayla asked.

Juana wove her arm through Jayla's, so she could get closer and whispered: "But from what I've heard, maybe you weren't always studying."

Jayla raised an eyebrow.

"Fred and George told me you were caught being out at night yesterday," Juana explained. "They didn't tell me what you were doing though, so would you care to enlighten me?"

"They just showed me how to play Quidditch," Jayla replied, trying to sound casual.

"Aaaaaand?" Juana pried.

"And nothing."

"Then why are your cheeks the same colour as George's when they told me?" Juana chuckled.

Jayla shook her head, laughing, trying to hide her face behind her long hair.

"Believe me there's nothing. We're just really good friends. Besides, you know me well enough by now to realise that I wouldn't even have time to think about anything like that so close to our exams, right?"

That seemed to have convinced Juana.

"Talking about O.W.L.s," she started, "Could we maybe do a little study session this week to revise everything?"

"I have to do my detention with Snape later today. He just told me as I was leaving the dungeon. But we could do that tomorrow?"

"Sounds great," Juana replied.