The summer of 1992 started off smoothly and pretty uneventfully, just the way Jessica liked it. Being the introvert she was, she was thriving off of getting to spend time alone reading, playing with her dog, baking, taking walks, and just doing all sorts of regular and mundane things that she sometimes forgot were so relaxing after spending a large chunk of her year in Hogwarts. It felt both foreign and natural especially after being surrounded by magic and so many people for so long.

However, the most out-of-the-ordinary thing came in the form of a letter. She was was expecting it to be from Alista, Bethany, or even Oliver, but the first letter she received only a week into her summer break wasn't from any of them. It was from Terence Higgs.

It was short and simple, but it implied that he was going to be writing more to her.

We didn't really get the chance to talk much after that Potions assignment, so I hope it doesn't shock you that I'm writing to you now. To get straight to the point, I was hoping that we could write to one another during the summer (if it doesn't bother you, of course).

P.S. Greene gave me your address.

It was already past the middle of July when Jessica found herself relaying those events to Alista and Bethany, ending her short story with a glare towards the blonde girl. The three of them were gathered in Bethany's home after grabbing a cup of coffee in the muggle cafe Alista had been begging to try.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alista shrunk back at the black-haired girl's gaze. "He's the one who asked me about you after our exams ended. I didn't just give your address out of the blue."

"Did you really have to do it without telling me, though?"

"What, do you not want him to write to you?"

"No. I mean, I don't mind..." Jessica blushed in embarrassment, causing her friends to giggle teasingly.

"Do you have a crush on him?"

"Godric, no. I suppose he's nice and good-looking, but I honestly never really gave him much thought until that time you two insisted he fancies me," Jessica said truthfully.

"Because he does."

"Are you willing to give him a chance?" Bethany asked.

"I don't know. It's not like he flat out showed or said he likes me."

"If the time comes that he does, though, would you?"

"Er, maybe?"

Alista and Bethany squealed, causing Jessica to playfully hit the both of them.

"I don't even know him that well," she groaned at how excited they were already getting. "If he turns out pretty interesting, then I guess it's a... possibility."

"That means she's going to write back to him," Alista said in a sing-song voice.

"Of course. It would be rude if I didn't."

"Wait, so if he sent that letter at the start of summer, does that mean you've already been writing back to him?"

"Um, a bit?" The two girls snickered mischievously. "We haven't written to each other that much, but he's not... boring. It still feels strange talking to him since it was pretty unexpected."

It was true, after all. After that first letter from Terence, he and Jessica exchanged a few more back and forth, and while it was nice to get to know him, she still wasn't sure what to make of him. She still felt a bit formal speaking to him, but she recalled that he was easy to get along with the whole time they worked together for Potions, so she wasn't that surprised that their letters were friendly enough considering that they hadn't spoken to one another until that school year.

"That's understandable. The pairing seems pretty decent, but I still think Wood would be better for you," Bethany said bluntly.

Alista made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a gasp and squeal.

Jessica's jaw dropped. "What? Wood?"

"That's not a bad idea," Alista said, sounding impressed as she gave Bethany a low hi-five. "They did become pretty close this year."

"Right? Oh, and remember that time at the start of the term when he thought she was a Slytherin because of your scarf? Well, Jess and I were talking about him after that and she did say he was cute."

"Hey!" Jessica interrupted them, frantically waving her hands at them to stop now that she was growing red in the face. "He's my friend. Besides, I just complimented his appearance because you asked me about it and that was a long time ago. It doesn't mean I like him."

"Sureee," they chorused.

"Don't forget that you're the one who asked if he could teach you to ride his broom that time we saw him with Potter and McGonagall," Jessica reminded Alista, but the girl didn't look ashamed one bit. She really wasn't shy about things like that.

"It was a joke. I didn't even say it to him," she shrugged. "Seriously, though, Beth has a point that it would be cute to see you two together. But, if not, my joke can be a serious offer."

Both Jessica and Bethany whacked their boy-crazy and green-minded friend with the biggest pillows they could find on the bed.

"Ow! Hey, I was kidding, I swear!"

★ ★ ★

Jessica and Alista slept over at Bethany's house that night as they planned. Thankfully, their conversation drifted away from Terence Higgs and Oliver Wood after a while, and they all had a nice time together, enjoying being out of the school setting for a while.

The next morning, Jessica transported back to her home using the Floo Network. Carrying her shoulder bag, she stepped out of the fireplace and dusted herself off before scanning the living room for signs of her parents.

"Oh, you're back already?" her mother called out.

Jessica walked a few more paces to find that her parents were eating a late breakfast by the kitchen counter. Bucky, her beagle who was growing bigger and faster each day, ran towards her and jumped up on his hind legs to lean on Jessica. She grinned and picked him up to give him a nice cuddle, walking into the closer to the counter as she did so.

"Yep," she answered her parents. "Beth's parents say hi. They told me they haven't seen you in a while — and they said they meant it in a good way."

"Oh, how are they? It has been quite some time since I last saw them," Ian said thoughtfully.

"That's because you haven't had an Auror mission as dangerous as that last one in Japan in a while. You know, the one where you needed multiple healers to fix you?" Katherine pointed out. Bethany's parents were both healers, so Jessica's parents were well-acquainted with them since her father made frequent visits to St. Mungo's after his dangerous Auror missions.

"Oh, that's right. Blimey, I could remember how shocked they were to see all my limbs disfigured even though I'm sure they've seen worse," he chuckled.

As Jessica's father talked about his injuries so casually, she and her mum shared uncomfortable winces. He really acted as if they were everyday occurrences and not at all a big deal.

"I'm gonna unpack before dad mentions a gory injury next," Jessica announced, setting Bucky down and hurrying off to her room.

Since she had only stayed in Bethany's house overnight, it didn't take long for her to unpack her essentials from the day before. Just as she had finished putting her used clothes in the laundry, there was a tap on her window.

Two owls had perched itself on the small ledge outside Jessica's room. The screech owl on the right held one with the unmistakable deep red seal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that sparkled under the sunlight. On the other hand, the tawny owl on the left — which Jessica now knew was owned by the Wood family as she had also began exchanging letters with Oliver over the summer — held a plain white envelope labeled with her address in the messy handwriting of a certain Scottish boy.

She unlocked her window and allowed the two owls to hop inside, both of them eagerly sticking their legs out for her to take the letters. She untied them both, grabbed a handful of treats for the owls to take, then closed the window after they had flown away.

Assuming that the Hogwarts envelope just contained the usual reminders from every year, she sat down by her desk and decided to open Oliver's letter first.

The letter picked off right where they had ended. It was just yesterday that she had sent one to him, anyway. She read through the start, which consisted mostly of Oliver complaining that he was suffering since he couldn't cook to save his life while his parents were out celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary. He sounded especially jealous since in her last letter, she had bragged about cooking a delicious shepherd's pie for dinner.

I'd Apparate over there right now if I could just to get some pie. I've been eating scrambled eggs and sausages for days.

Jessica laughed under her breath, entertained at his lack of cooking skills.

Anyway, did you hear about the latest broom model? It's a Nimbus 2001. Potter's Nimbus 2000 hasn't been on the shelves that long and they're releasing another model so soon. I'm going crazy. If a Nimbus 2000 was miles ahead of our Cleansweeps and Shooting Stars, what more can we expect from the latest broom? I desperately need one, but there's no doubt it's going to be extremely pricey. At the very least, I want to see it when Quality Quidditch Supplies starts selling them.

Jessica skimmed through the rest of the letter, the latter half mostly talking about what else Oliver had been up to recently and ending with asking how her stay at Bethany's was. With a reply in mind already, she retrieved a piece of parchment paper and a muggle pen to start writing back.

Her eyes fell on the Hogwarts envelope again as she did this. She suddenly frowned when it occurred to her that it was actually unusual to have gotten a letter to soon into the summer.

It's a bit early for Hogwarts to send a letter, Jessica thought. She set the pen and paper down and grabbed the Hogwarts envelope, only realizing that there were actually two attacked to one another by a light version of Spellotape. Furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, she quickly broke the seal of the first envelope.

Inside contained the usual neatly folded sheets of parchment, though this time, there were three instead of the usual two. One contained the list of necessary materials per subject for the school year and the second displayed her final grades from the year that just ended. She barely glanced at the one with the list of materials, deciding she'd look at that when the time came to go to Diagon Alley. She took a bit longer to view her grades, all of which were mostly O's and E's anyway. When she was satisfied with her performance from the previous school year, she fished out the last letter from Hogwarts.

Dear Miss Hawthorne,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to serve as Prefect for Gryffindor House. Your school record has shown that you have exhibited creativity, the ability to lead others, and the bravery that Gryffindors have long been lauded for.

We are certain that you will continue to be a model for your peers and will take your responsibilities seriously. Enclosed please find your Prefects Badge, which should be worn on your school robes at all times. Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Head of Gryffindor House

Still not quite believing it, Jessica snatched the second envelope to confirm her thoughts and sure enough, there was a Prefect's Badge inside. A mixture of excitement and pride welled up in her and she found herself beaming at the badge she held in her hands. She had always prided herself in doing well academically, but to be chosen as a prefect was another feat in itself.

She wasn't sure if it was because she was already planning to reply to Oliver's most recent letter or if it was something else she couldn't quite pinpoint, but before she knew it, the first person she was writing to about being selected as prefect was him.

A/N: Not a very interesting chapter ngl, but Oliver will be back in the next and it's going to be exciting!

ALSO: I'm thinking of writing a Draco Malfoy fanfic but I have no concrete plot in mind yet. All I know is that I'm way overdue with writing about him since he was literally the first character in the books that caught my attention + come on, who didn't get attracted to him in the movies? 🤪

In the meantime, if you guys happen to like Cedric Diggory, I have a fanfic of him called A Change in Fate and am regularly updating it as well :>