Suffering and Recovering [A Marauders Era Fanfic]

Ch. 1 ~ Transferring and New Beginnings

This chapter is dedicated to Jawairah, because without her, this remake wouldn't have been possible. You're the light that shines in my life, you are my motivation, (not my inspiration, that would be weird) and I love you. No, we are NOT together, she's like my sister, so that would be VERY creepy. But yes, much love to Jaw!

Now, on to the story. Oh, and I don't own any characters and/or places recognizable (such as the Marauders, Lily, etc.). All I own is Jackie... and a few characters are OoC (Out of Character, for you newbies), so I suppose I own the part of the characters' personalities that I created. Either way, continue reading, and enjoy the story! 

Several different images flashed in front of me, all at once. I could point out a few- an image of me and Eli LaRouche, my boyfriend, holding hands by the Beauxbaton Lake; one of me and Dominique Aubart, my best friend, in our dorms, playing exploding snap; one of Eli's body, lying on the floor of the Great Hall, covered in blood... 

And then my alarm went off.

I opened my eyes, trying to adjust them to the harsh sunlight coming through my windows. It was a beautiful day; the birds were chirping, the sun was shining bright, not a cloud in the baby blue sky, and yet none of this could put me in a good mood.

And it wasn't because I was awake before noon during summer break. 

I got up, sighing. Might as well, I couldn't go back to sleep now. I shuffled to the bathroom, checking my face in the mirrors. The bathroom light reflected off of something in my face. I leaned closer to the mirror, only to find tear tracks on my face. I was crying in my sleep? Of course I was, I had an Eli-mare. My hair changed colors for a bit when I thought of Eli, as I forgot to keep the color changing under control. You have to watch out for things like that when you're a metamorphmagus like I am. I don't use the ability much, though, because it gets annoying when people you've known forever can't always point you out in a crowd. So, keeping my hair dark and waist-length as usual, I hopped into the shower.

"Jackie!" called Mum from downstairs as I came out of the bathroom, wearing short shorts and an over-sized Beatles tee-shirt. "James! Breakfast is ready!" 

 *

The rest of that morning passed slowly. I ate breakfast before coming back upstairs, to my big, beautiful room. Yes, I have a big room. I charmed it to look however I want it to look like at any given time. I usually just change it to match my mood... you know, light colors when I feel happy, darker colors when I'm upset. Lately, I've kept it a dark purple...

I also have a big house. I live in Potter Manor, in Godric's Hollow. I have my own little garden in the backyard, next to our quidditch pitch. My brother's friends come over to play out there, but I haven't met any of them. Either James is having another of this "brotherly times" where he tries to protect me, or he just doesn't want to be disturbed. I don't mind, really. Whenever they come over, I just pull the blinds for my window, as it faces the backyard. 

Something that James has to understand is that he can't always protect me. He's been a bit too protective since as long as I could remember, but I've still been subjected to hardships... such as the Eli incident. Just goes to show that some things will happen no matter how many precautions you take. 

I snapped out of my reverie when I heard a knock at my door. I hastily shoved the photo album that I had absent-mindedly taken out back into my drawer before answering it. I opened the door, only to find myself staring at my parents. 

They walked in before I could say anything. Mum sat on my bed and motioned for me to sit beside her, while Dad stood next her. 

"Jackie," Mum began, "we've been decided to put you into Hogwarts... with James." 

I scanned their faces. Surely they were messing with me? How did Madam Maxine let them take me out so easily? Dom and I were top of our class, surely they'd want to keep us? 

I opened my mouth, but Dad cut me off. "You have no say in this." 

Tears welled in my eyes. "Why?" I managed to croak out, glaring at them. I wasn't sure they heard me, so I repeated myself. "Why?" 

They shared a glance. "W-well," Mum stammered, "we thought it would be best for you, seeing what happened la-" 

"No." I said, cutting her off. "I want to stay at Beauxabatons, with Dom, with-" 

"Eli?" my Dad said, staring down at me, gauging my reaction. Suddenly, he knelt down beside me, grabbing my hand. "He's dead, Snowflake. He won't be there anymore." I glared at him. It was so easy for him to say it, to make it seem like no big deal. When you think about, it really wasn't a big deal. Death Eaters have been killing people all over the place, making Eli and the others who perished during the Battle of Beauxbatons "just another casualty". Be that as it may, Eli's death was a big deal to me, and nothing they said could make me forget it so easily. 

He returned my glare with a soft smile. "You're going to Hogwarts, love," he said softly. "It's the best thing for you- you'll see." With that, he and Mum wished me good night.

I sighed inwardly as my parents left the room. It wasn't that I wanted to stay at Beauxbatons, because I didn't. Honestly, I wanted to get away from there, I wanted to forget that anything happened. But you can't forget, a small voice said in the back of my head. You can't forget Eli. So you should take his memory and leave. Go to Hogwarts; its what he would want you to do. 

I stood up, hearing my conscience speak. It was right. I was going to Hogwarts. I was starting over.

And there you go! Roughly the same length as the original first chapter, but a lot less happened here. Anyhoo, please remember to vote, comment, and fan me! Much love from Simmi Howell. (No, not my real name.)