Under The Mistletoe (Chaennie)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jennie held Roseanne captive for the rest of the day – controlling her mind and ensuring she would do as she asked. Jennie had to keep her out of the corridors. She had to make sure her Aunt and the other vile Death Eaters she would be letting into the school wouldn't lay their eyes on her.

It wasn't easy to control her. If she hadn't been drilled all of last summer by her Aunt to make sure she mastered the Imperius curse – and if she hadn't practiced even harder by controlling the minds of Madame Rosemerta and Katie Bell earlier in the year, Jennie was sure she'd have been able to throw her off her.

Only two things allowed her to keep her hold over her mind. The first was that she made sure Roseanne was doing things she'd ordinarily have done anyway – exerting her will over the Gryffindor subtly rather than attempting to have her do things she might never usually do. Keeping with her intentions, Jennie made sure she stopped at the library and borrowed some books on the Transfiguration homework they'd been given before having her attend lunch with her friends.

Roseanne's own explanation and distraction earlier in the day allowed for her slightly vacant expression and for how she wasn't paying any attention in her lessons. Throughout dinner, Jennie made sure Roseanne ate, not wanting her to go hungry as a result of her interference in her life. Jennie's own stomach twisted with nervousness and fear over what she knew was coming, but having Roseanne to focus on helped somehow.

She had a job to do. Let the Death Eaters in and keep Roseanne the hell out of the corridors. She relinquished enough control over her to convince her to do her homework in the common room, amused by the subtle attempts she made as she tried to overcome the subtle prods she gave her about being sure they all stayed in the common room.

When her friends returned from Quidditch practice after dinner, Jennie pushed Roseanne to assist them with their homework too, as a means of keeping the three of them in the common room. She knew they would be only too willing to take advantage of Roseanne's apparent generosity if it meant they'd get help with their homework. Jennie even pushed her to instigate a game of chess with Bambam and he took great delight in prodding her to outwit the bastard at his favourite game.

Jennie squashed every notion Roseanne had about warning her friends of what she'd told her. Every urge she had to run to Dumbledore and warn him of what was coming. The only spanner in the works was when Jungkook announced he had a meeting with Dumbledore and disappeared to attend it. Jennie had scowled her way through that. She couldn't alter their plans. The Death Eaters would be invading tonight, no matter how she tried to put them off.

Jennie had known already that Jeon was meeting with Dumbledore and had been most of the year. She didn't know what it was about but unless they were carrying on some torrid affair that Jennie didn't want to contemplate, she assumed it had to do with bringing down the Dark Lord.

When the time came, Jennie prepared to make her way up through the halls to the Room of Requirement unaccompanied. She'd not needed to warn her friends of where she was going and why it would be in their best interests, lest they be expelled, to remain in the Common Room of the Great Hall rather than anywhere in there corridors anywhere near where they might be accused of being involved in the plot to bring down Dumbledore. Lucas and Chanyeol had both shaken her hand before letting her leave the corridor. Seulgi had rolled her eyes and handed Jennie a flask full of whiskey without saying a word.

Jackson had surprised her the most. Following her out of the corridor, the boy walked in silence along with her.

"So," Jackson said, having long since forgiven her for the pummelling with snowballs that she and Roseanne had given him at Christmas.