Jasmine rolled her eyes but nodded along. "Well, he blocked the Killing Curse as a baby, remember. Obviously, the Cruciatus was not a problem now that he is a grown man."
Lavender let out a soft, drawn-out sigh. "And what a man he is." She licked her lips in a way that made Jasmine immediately glare at her.
"Stop it," Jasmine said firmly, her cheeks warming in irritation. "We agreed we were not going to talk about boys today. You two are insatiable!"
Parvati gave her a wicked grin. "More like we are very pent up. Lavender has not had a boyfriend since last year, and me and you, Jaz, well..." She gave her a sly look. "We have not had one ever."
Jasmine's face went scarlet at that, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to come up with a retort. Nothing came. Instead, she turned her head sharply away, pretending to study the distant windows of the castle. "I am not even going to respond to that," she muttered, but both of her friends laughed at her flustered expression anyway.
After a moment she sighed, letting her embarrassment fade. "I do agree, though. Harry Sitri is the obvious pick." Her voice came out quieter, more thoughtful this time.
It was still strange for her. She had spent nineteen years believing he was her brother. Harry was not her brother. Not by blood. The revelation had left her with a knot in her stomach that still had not untangled itself.
...The three girls had moved on to arguing about who might be chosen as the second Hogwarts champion. Lavender was the first to blurt out her opinion, tossing her hair dramatically. "It will probably be Cedric Diggory. He is the second most sexy guy in the entire school." She smirked and leaned closer as if sharing a scandalous secret. "If we cannot end up in Harry's secret harem, then I would not mind having a go at him instead."
Jasmine rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt.
Lavender was still going! "Although it is too bad he has been dating that Asian slut from Ravenclaw. Cho, or whatever her name is." She finished with a huff, folding her arms as though she was personally offended.
Before Lavender could continue, Jasmine flicked her wand and sent a quick stinging hex at her friend's legs. Lavender let out a sharp yelp and stumbled back, clutching her thigh. Jasmine lowered her wand slowly, a smirk tugging at her lips. "No more talk about boys," Jasmine said firmly. "We already promised that today."
Lavender groaned loudly, rubbing her legs together as if she could soothe the sting away. "Fine," she muttered, her voice sulky. She crossed her arms tight across her chest and stuck her bottom lip out like a child.
Parvati broke the tension, speaking more seriously. "I think the second best student is probably Hermione. Even though she is only a fourth year, she already seems to know every single spell from every year's curriculum. I swear she never gets anything wrong."
Jasmine stayed quiet for a moment, chewing on her lip. She had been made a prefect this year, probably thanks to her family's close ties with Dumbledore. But even she had to admit Hermione Granger's talent made her feel insecure sometimes. The girl was leaps ahead of almost every other student in the school, at least until Harry had shown up and stolen all the attention.
Finally Jasmine sighed and added, "Hermione did not even put her name into the Goblet though."
That caught Lavender and Parvati off guard. They looked at her with wide eyes.
"She didn't?" Lavender asked in surprise.
"No," Jasmine said. "And that shocked me too."
Parvati tapped her finger against her chin, thoughtful. "Then if not her... maybe it will be a dark horse pick."
Jasmine nodded. "Exactly. I think the one to watch is Harry's mysterious aunt, Sona. We do not know much about her, but she did turn Draco Malfoy into an icicle on the second day of school."
Lavender tilted her head curiously. "I thought that was just one of the Weasley twins' pranks."
"No," Parvati said quickly, shaking her head. "That was definitely her. And she used wandless magic to do it. Wands are not nearly as popular in other parts of the world, especially in my family's country of India. Sona absolutely cast that spell herself. She just managed to make it look like Fred and George did it instead, and the professors believed it."
Jasmine shivered slightly at the thought. Sona had been calm, collected, and beautiful every time she had seen her. But beneath that elegance there was something intimidating, something sharp as ice. Jasmine could admit to herself that the Ravenclaw transfer student intimidated her a little. Still, Jasmine wanted to try being friends with her at some point.
From what she had seen, the only girl Sona ever spent time with was the other transfer student-Tsubaki-and sometimes Luna Lovegood would float into their orbit as well.
That was it.
Sona was part of Harry's family, and even though Jasmine knew Harry was not her family by blood, the habit of thinking about him that way was hard to shake. For nineteen years she had thought of him as her brother.
Even now, the feelings were tangled. Along with her obvious feelings of attraction to him...
At the very least there was some history connecting them. Jasmine's mother, Marlene, had been his mother Lily's best friend for seven years when they were at school. They had been inseparable until everything blew apart when Marlene ended up sleeping with James and getting pregnant with Jasmine. That single act had destroyed the friendship that was more like a sisterhood-according to Jasmine's mother.
It was messy, and Jasmine had grown up in the shadow of it. But it was also the reason she existed. She could not exactly hate her mother for making the choice that literally gave her life.
Lavender and Parvati were still caught up in gossiping about who else might end up chosen as a champion if it was not Sona. Names flew back and forth between them, each suggestion more ridiculous than the last.
"You know, honestly, a secret part of me hopes Draco Malfoy gets picked," Lavender said with a sharp laugh. "Just so we can see him die in one of the tasks."
Parvati snorted. "Honestly, I would freaking love to see that too. But you know what? He is more like a cockroach than a ferret. Somehow, I think he would survive no matter what. And if he could not, you just know his daddy would bribe every single tournament official to hand him every advantage possible," she finished with a sigh.
Lavender tapped her chin, pretending to think it over. "Would they even care about bribes right now, though? I heard a rumor that the school just got a massive secret donor. Dumbledore was talking about a bigger budget, so I guess it is not even a rumor anymore. We just do not know which family dropped all those galleons, or how much it was..." she trailed off.
Jasmine had opened her mouth to add her own thoughts when a soft whimpering sound reached her ears. She turned her head and froze. A large black dog was slowly padding toward them across the grass. Its fur was ragged and patchy, and its ribs showed through its thin frame.
The animal looked half-starved, mangy, and exhausted.
Lavender and Parvati both gasped and stepped back immediately, clutching at each other's arms. "Stay away from it!" Lavender hissed. "It could be wild or diseased!"
Parvati wrinkled her nose, already taking another step back. "It looks and smells half dead. Are zombie-dogs a thing?"
"Ok, that's a little mean," Lavender said, letting go of Parvati, but still warning Jasmine that "it could still be diseased at the very least... But it's probably not a zombie."
But Jasmine didn't care. For some reason she couldn't explain, her heart clenched at the sight of this dog being in such bad shape. She dropped down to her knees before she even thought about it, lowering herself so she was closer to the dog's eye level. "Hey there, boy," she murmured softly, holding her hand out. "Are you okay? You look like you are in really rough shape, huh?"
The dog whined again, the sound low and pitiful, and shuffled closer to her. Its eyes were dark and sad, but there was an intelligence in them that struck her immediately. When Jasmine reached out, her friends hissed warnings behind her, but she ignored them. She brushed her fingers gently through the rough fur on his head.
The dog flinched at first, but then leaned into her touch. The way he moved was careful, controlled, and far too well-trained to be some wild stray. This was not a beast that had lived its life on the streets. No, this was someone's pet, or had been once. Maybe it had gotten lost, maybe abandoned...
Jasmine smiled faintly as the dog pressed its bony head into her palm. "You are a good boy, aren't you?" she murmured softly, rubbing behind his ears. The words slipped from her mouth before she even realized she was saying them. Her chest tightened unexpectedly as she added, "Do you want to come home with me?"
It was ridiculous, she knew. She was sitting in the grass with a mangy half-starved dog, but the connection felt real. Something about his sad eyes and the way he leaned into her touch made her feel protective.
Parvati's sharp voice cut through her haze immediately. "Absolutely not."
Lavender jumped in right after, her hands flying to her hips. "Yeah, no way. You are not dragging some filthy stray mutt into our dorm room, Jaz. I refuse."
Both of them sounded horrified at the idea, and Jasmine's face fell. The dog's ears flattened against his skull as if he had understood every word. He let out another low whine, a sound so pitiful that it twisted Jasmine's heart.
She stroked his head slowly, biting her lip. He is too smart to be just some random stray. He has to have belonged to someone once. Maybe a wizard's pet. Maybe even a familiar?
Still, her friends were not going to allow it. She knew that the second she looked up and saw the disgusted looks plastered across their faces. She sighed, her voice coming out softer this time. "What if we take him to Hagrid then? Fang could use a friend, and Hagrid is amazing with animals. He could nurse this good boy back to health."
Lavender groaned, tilting her head back like Jasmine had just suggested something outrageous. "You and your bleeding heart, Jaz." Then she shook her head, exhaling hard. "I guess that is not the worst idea. At least if Hagrid takes him, he will not end up giving us fleas."
Parvati crossed her arms, her nose still wrinkled in distaste. "Sorry, Jasmine. I am just not a dog person. If you want an exotic pet, get something like a snake. Those are all the rage back in India!"
The words made Jasmine and Lavender shudder at the same time. Lavender's nose scrunched up, and Jasmine felt her skin crawl. "Absolutely not," Jasmine said flatly. "Snakes are creepy."
"No way in hell," Lavender added.
The dog gave a tiny huff through his nose as if he agreed with them, which made Jasmine smile again. She gave his fur another affectionate scratch and then pushed herself to her feet. "Come on, boy. Follow us. We are taking you to Hagrid."
To her surprise, the dog immediately obeyed, padding after her with slow, steady steps. His ribs still stuck out painfully under his fur, but he moved with purpose, as if he knew exactly where she was taking him.
The three girls cut across the grounds, the grass cool and damp under their shoes as they made their way toward Hagrid's hut. Smoke curled lazily from the crooked chimney, promising warmth inside. But before they reached the cabin, Jasmine spotted movement on the path.
Two very familiar figures stepped into view.
Lyra and Lyna. The Sitri twins. Harry's maids.
Jasmine almost rolled her eyes, but her gaze lingered anyway. It was impossible not to. The pair of them looked like they had just walked out of some perverted fantasy. Both were twenty years old, with matching heart-shaped faces, perfect skin, and striking blue eyes. Their silky black hair shone in the light, flowing down their backs, and of course they were wearing their ridiculous maid outfits.
If you could even call them maid outfits.
The skirts were scandalously short, barely covering their asses, and the stockings clung to their legs like a second skin, drawing the eye straight to their supple thighs. Their tops were low-cut to the point of indecency, their massive tits spilling out with every bounce of their steps. Even the frilly aprons did nothing to hide how blatantly slutty the whole look was. They strutted with that same shameless confidence, their hips swaying deliberately as if they wanted the entire world to stare.
Jasmine felt her cheeks heat, and she quickly tore her gaze away. She had always considered herself straight, but Lyra and Lyna made her question herself sometimes. They were just so... distracting. She hated admitting it, but she always found herself sneaking double takes when they were around. No matter how much she tried to hide it behind her stern prefect demeanor.
Parvati muttered under her breath, "Merlin, do they ever wear anything normal?"
Lavender let out a low whistle, folding her arms and watching them approach with a smirk. "If I had a body like that, I would not."
Jasmine just clenched her jaw, annoyed at herself for staring but unable to completely stop. She couldn't help but wonder if these two gorgeous sisters were sleeping with Harry every night? And if so, Jasmine's thoughts drifted to the scandalous idea of her even joining in-before she rapidly stopped and shook her head.
Lyna spotted them first and raised her hand in greeting, her glossy black hair bouncing with the movement. "Hello, you three. Out for a stroll?" she asked in a sing-song voice, her lips curled into a teasing smile.
Lyra followed up immediately, her voice also soft and melodic. "The weather is great today, is it not? I wish I could be out with the young master, but he is busy taking extra school lessons with Hermione and Sona." She tilted her head slightly, almost pouting as she said it. "I wish he wasn't so busy all the time."
"So are we, sister," Lyna added as if it was obvious. "With our surprise."
Lavender perked up at that, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Surprise?" she asked.
Lyra's smile brightened as she lifted the wicker basket hanging from her arm. Inside, Jasmine caught sight of smooth brown chicken eggs cushioned carefully in straw. They must have come straight from Hagrid's chickens.
"Yep," Lyra said cheerfully. "We are baking Harry a cake to celebrate him getting picked as a champion! He is going to love it."
Parvati raised an eyebrow, her dark hair swaying as she shook her head. "But the selection has not even happened yet. How can you be so sure he will be picked?"
