No current children?
That was impossible. Jillian flipped to the front of the book again and saw that she hadn’t been wrong. This book had been updated four years ago. Either Peter was the tallest, most mature four-year-old she had ever met, or this book was wrong. Or Peter was lying about his last name.
Jillian rubbed her head in confusion as she stared at the book.
“Is there a reason why you’re looking in the Guide to Wizard Families?”
Jillian slammed the book shut, saving her place with her hand. She glanced up at Peter and gave him a fake smile. “Um, I was looking in this book because, um, Professor Binns is having us write an essay on our family history.”
Peter narrowed his eyes at her and said, “I didn’t know your last name started with a P.”
Jillian looked down and saw the corner of the page that she was holding up with her hand showed a large, bold P. She looked up into Peter’s suspicious eyes and replied, “Actually, my last name is Cole, but I’m looking up my mother’s last name, which is Pan.” That was fortunately true.
Peter nodded slowly and grabbed his gloves off the table. “I left these here, so I came to get them. It’s getting cold out there.”
Jillian nodded quickly and replied, “Yeah, it is. You’d better, um, hurry. I’m sure your captain wants you out there. Um, bye.”
He stared at her curiously before turning and walking out of the library. Jillian let out a sigh of relief and leaned against her chair, holding the book in front of her chest.
“Jillian, I need to talk to you!”
Jillian jumped and glanced up at her sister. Why was she so deaf that she couldn’t hear Kirsten the Loud One coming up behind her? Jillian shook her head and said, “Sorry, Kirst, but I need to finish my essay. Maybe another time.”
Kirsten didn’t listen to her. Instead, she grabbed her arm and started propelling her out of the library. Jillian protested, but Kirsten didn’t stop until they had reached an empty classroom. Then, Kirsten turned toward her with a very angry expression on her face. Jillian actually stepped back because her sister looked ready to murder.
“Kirsten, I don’t what I did, but I’m very sorry for it.”
Kirsten exploded. “What do you think you’re doing, being friends with a Slytherin, and he’s their Keeper no less.”
He’s actually the Keeper, Jillian thought in awe. That was something new.
Kirsten was still ranting on, waving her arm around like she was some sort of windmill. Finally, when she stopped to take a breath, Jillian cut in by saying, “Kirsten, I don’t know why you’re so upset.”
Kirsten glared at her and said, “You are demeaning the Gryffindor name by being with that Slytherin. They’re all going to turn Dark, and I don’t think Mum would like it if she knew you were chummy with a future Dark Wizard.”
Jillian growled, “I can’t believe you’re bringing Mum into this. She doesn’t need to know about you and the Locust, so she doesn’t need to know about Peter. Besides, I doubt all the Slytherins turn into Dark Wizards, or we would be overrun.”
Kirsten didn’t hear the last part. “What did you call him?!” She shrieked, sounding very much like a banshee must have.
Jillian realized her mistake and stepped back with her hands before her to ward off her sister. “Whoa, Kirsten, I meant Lucian. Sorry.”
Her eyes were turning red. “Don’t you make fun of my boyfriend when yours is a heartless Slytherin idiot.”
Jillian gaped at her. “And you don’t think the Locust isn’t an idiot. He doesn’t know how to count without his fingers, let alone get through Charms without anyone’s help. Even if Peter’s a Slytherin, at least he can think!”
Kirsten was so surprised at Jillian yelling at her that she didn’t speak for a while. Jillian took this chance to go on about the Locust. “He steals our money, too, or didn’t you notice. You buy whatever he wants you to, and it’s supposed to be the other way around. Not only is a greedy, and stupid, he stars at every other girl that crosses his path. I even heard he was kissing Jenny Green last week in the Astronomy Tower. Gosh, Kirsten, you have to dump him before he cleans us out and breaks your heart!”
Kirsten looked hurt as she asked, “He was kissing Jenny Green?”
Jillian threw up her hands and said, “Is that the only thing you heard? You are hopeless.”
Jillian stormed out of the classroom and ran straight into the Locust. “Whoa, have you seen Kirsten. She was going to take me and a couple of friends to get Butterbears.”
Jillian glared at the Locust and yelled, “You stay away from my sister, creep! I swear, the next time I see you with her, I’m going to put a curse on you that will make a werewolf bite seem like heaven!”
She brushed pass a couple of people who were staring at her as if they had never seen her. The Locust only stood there, gaping at Jillian as she left, but he ran down the hall in a hurry.
Jillian slammed the door to the library open and stomped to her seat. She pulled the book on Truth Potions toward her and stared at it furiously. When the words only swam in front of her eyes, she pushed the book away in disgust.
She let out a very loud “Aaaarrrrgh!” and started toward the door, her book tucked under her arm. When she noticed people staring at her, she only glared at them and snapped, “What are you looking at?” They turned back to their own books as she stamped through the halls and out the front door.
She pushed through the snow until she made it to the edge of the lake. She sat down, stared out across the lake, and fumed. She stayed there with her chin held in her hands, staring across the lake, until Peter came up behind her.
“Is there a reason why people are staring out the window at you?”
Jillian looked up at Hogwarts, and saw a few faces disappear from the windows. “No!” she snapped.
Peter raised an eyebrow and asked, “Then, do you know why all the snow in a twenty foot radius is melting around you?”
Jillian looked around in mild interest and saw that he was right. There was brown grass instead of white snow surrounding her in a wide circle. She shrugged and sigh.
Peter brought her slowly to her feet and led her back to Hogwarts. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. When she shook her head, he only continued on.
When they reached the staircase up to the Gryffindor tower, Jillian turned to Peter and said, “Thank you, Peter. I probably would have frozen to death if you hadn’t come to get me.”
Peter grinned at her and replied, “I was only worried that you’d melt all the snow. I do like to have a snowball fight every now and then, you know.”
Jillian smiled back and him and turned. “Kirsten was definitely right.”
She stopped when Peter asked, “Right about what?”
She grinned teasingly and said, “You’re heartless.”
She walked up the stairs to the her common room with his laughter following her.