twisted - longbottom.

ii.

Jasper almost ran off the Express when it stopped. It was quite a boring ride, sitting by herself in a compartment with no one to talk to but the Trolley Witch. All she wanted to do was throw herself down the stairs to the Slytherin dormitories and take a nap, maybe paying Pansy a "hello", but she knew that her fantasies were impossible. Seeing as they had to watch the first years get sorted, listen to Dumbledore's speech, and eat, it would be maybe two hours until she could relax. 

Jasper avoided eye contact with the Hogwarts students as she lugged her baggage alongside her. She kept her head high and her nose the slightest bit turned, opposite of how she acted getting on the Express. Jasper had decided that if she wanted people to ignore the fact that her parents were now prisoners, she would act as if nothing was the matter. 

"How you act defines you, defines how others think of you, and defines how others will treat you. If you walk around Hogwarts with the reputation of being sweet and harmless, people will take advantage of you. If you have the reputation of cold and ruthless, they will respect you."  

Jasper shuddered and trudged ahead. 

× × × 

"... Let the feast begin!" 

Jasper pretended not to be sick at the thought of eating so much food. She took an ear of corn from the stack near her and set it on her golden plate, frowning. 

She was never one to eat heaping amounts of food, no matter how hungry she was. Jasper didn't eat much at all, actually. She thought that food was a "waste of time", as all it did was go back out the other end. 

Nevertheless, she slowly picked up the corn, watching the way it glistened in the candle light. 

"C'mon, Jaz, eat something! Those skinny bones and scraps of flesh of yours need to actually be visible, you know," Pansy said exasperatedly, throwing a chicken leg onto Jasper's plate and starting to put together a salad for her. Jasper sighed, took a bite of the corn, and dropped it. "I don't feel like eating, Pansy. If you force me to eat I am going to spit up on your robes," she threatened. 

Pansy gasped dramatically, putting a hand over her heart. 

"You wouldn't!" 

"Oh, but I would." 

The girls laughed in unison, which encouraged Jasper to pick her corn up once again. Pansy was the only person she had ever met that she felt she could be herself around. Pansy was a sanctuary to Jasper, the one place she could hide that was truly safe. 

The two had been friends since their first year, when Jasper had practically saved Pansy's arse.  

Pansy, as a silly girl with a crush, had been staring at Draco Malfoy from across the Slytherin table all during Dumbledore's speech. Jasper had noticed, but she brushed it off. A few minutes of staring, Draco turned and caught Pansy's eye. He raised an eyebrow. 'What's so interesting, Parkinson?' 

Pansy hadn't an answer, and instead blushed furiously. Jasper shook her head at the girl. 'Well- actually, uh, Malfoy, there was a- umm, a bug! A bug was in your hair,' she improvised, throwing Pansy a wink. Draco's hands were quick to find his head, brushing every inch furiously. 

'There is no bug, Lowell,' he said suspiciously. Jasper fake-sighed. 'Of course there isn't, idiot, i said there was, not is.' She said. 

Draco turned back around, leaving the first years to giggle amongst themselves.