Partners in Crime || PJOxHP || Marauders' Era

Enlightenment

Do you have it in you, hero? the pit asked. 

Jessica heard Kronos taunting her from the depths of Tartarus: Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young hero. Can you save your friends?

"What?" Jessica whispered. 

Your doom comes near, Jessica Potter. Kronos' cruel laughter echoed, and goosebumps crawled up Jessica's skin. 

And the floor under her feet disappeared, and Jessica fell into the darkness, screaming. Lights of every color flashed against her vision, and Jessica closed her eyes. The sounds that filled her ears were terrifying- a monster roaring, a child crying-

"Avada Kedavra!"

"JESSICA!"

***

She sat up straight, her forehead drenched in sweat, her eyes wide open. Everyone else in the dormitory was missing. Jessica groaned. "Why is it always me?" she whispered, turning around to look at the clock. It was 8.00 in the morning. That was the first time in the month Jessica had slept for eight hours straight, she realized. She wondered whether she wanted to go back to sleep, seeing that it was a Sunday. She rolled over, tossing and turning in her bed for an hour until she decided she couldn't go back to sleep.  

For the first time since she had come to Hogwarts, the Great Hall was actually crowded when Jessica entered to have breakfast after a shower so long that even her dorm mates had already gotten up and gone. Moving through the crowd of people gathering around the tables, she sat down opposite Lily and Alice. 

"Where's Marlene?" she asked.

"Gone to see what the chatter is all about," Lily said, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "You know, around Slytherin table."

Jessica turned around. The crowd of students was thicker in the Slytherin area, and Jessica wondered what had happened. Usually, the Slytherins were best left alone to themselves, but... what had happened?

"You're still in your pajamas," she told Alice.

"I know," Alice replied. "I need to take a bath later. But for now-" she raised her glass "-pumpkin juice!"

Marlene dumped herself next to Jessica. "Remind me to never barge through the crowd again," she said. 

"What happened?" Jessica asked, pouring sugar into her porridge. Her mind was ringing the one question- who was Polyphemus? 

"Oh, a prank," Marlene said. "Might want to go see it later, Lily."

"Oh," Jessica said flatly. 

"The persons involved may be relevant to you two," Marlene said. 

"Really?" Lily frowned. "Who?"

"I need to go to the Library later," Jessica interrupted before Marlene could say a thing. "Lily, you wanna join?"

"Umm... what are we researching?" Lily asked.

"Greek stuff," Jessica said. "My friend in America needs some info on myths. You up for it?"

Lily seemed to think. "Alright," she shrugged.

*** 

"Anyway, Marlene... you were saying?"

Marlene nodded. "Yes, as I was saying... the two people involved are Severus Snape and James Potter."

"Big news," Alice rolled her eyes. "Those four are always up to pranking on Snape... poor boy."