𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 || 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝙴𝚛𝚊

01 | Hogwarts

Jessica Crawford couldn't be more grateful that summer was finally coming to an end. The last 3 months had been a never-ending nightmare.

She had been stuck in her room for the most of it, that is if her parents weren't dragging her along to some boring dinner with another pure-blooded family.

Each family had been the same, with the same shared distaste for anyone who wasn't of pure blood. Jessica always found it hard to keep her mouth shut at such dinners with their vile words and ridiculous beliefs. she couldn't stand how they would speak of muggle-borns and half-bloods in such tones, they had done nothing wrong. That's what most of her friends were after all, and how could she just sit there without expressing her opinion?

Though those opinions never seemed to do her any good outside of Hogwarts. She would receive glares and looks of disgust at the mere thought that she would stick up for such people. Though Jessica never seemed to care much for these people's opinions to bat an eyelid. Her parents, on the other hand, that was a different story.

They would not stand for such behaviour.

Most evenings harsh words would've been thrown along with other forms of torture... She would be left with bruises and scars that at this point seemed to decorate her skin permanently. It wasn't anything new to her though, she had been receiving such treatment for years, even before the biggest disappointment of her being sorted into Gryffindor.

To Jessica however, she had held anything but a disappointment. She had welcomed the sorting hats decision with a smile, as it give her a slither of hope that she could be different. Someone better than who her parents wanted her to be.

She had grown up with harsh words in one ear only to be reassured quietly by her brother through the other. He may not have been able to escape the life that was written for him, but there was no way in hell would he allow her to be roped into such horror. So at every chance, he made sure that she could keep her pure soul and see the world through eyes other than their parents.

Jessica couldn't help but believe that her parents had lost sight of what it meant to be a mother and father. After all, they showed no qualities or attributes of what it meant to be a parent. From what she knew a mother and father were supposed to love and support you no matter what.

They would do anything but. If anything her brother was more of a parent to her than they ever had been. The lack of emotion towards their daughter had only led her to believe that they actually hated her and that they could care less about what happened to her as their youngest. She didn't matter, they already had an heir to the family. They would easily throw her to the dogs or happily marry her off to some pure-blooded asshole among the sacred 28. If she was being honest, She would probably get along better with the dogs.

The only thing she had ever hoped or even wished for from her parents was that they wouldn't involve her as they had her older brother Adrien, but of course, she had no choice; the preparation had already begun and she only had til Christmas to find a way out.

"Jess?" A voice cut through the tangle of her thoughts, drawing her gaze towards the compartment door. There stood Marlene McKinnon, a cascade of blonde hair framing her face, a gleeful smile playing on her lips.

As Jessica finally registered Marlene's presence, her friend swung the compartment door open and practically launched herself into Jessica's arms, emitting an excited squeal. "Mar, if you hug me any tighter I think I might actually pass out from a lack of oxygen." Jessica quipped playfully, a smile tugging at her lips. Their banter held a touch of familiarity, a shared understanding that went beyond words. The warmth of Marlene's hug was a reminder of how much she had missed her friend's affectionate embraces.