Emotions Over Easy

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. Anything that doesn't belong to JKR belongs to me.

~~~

Emotions Over Easy

He didn't even try to look for me, Jessie thought with a slight scowl as she discreetly watched Mark and Pansy sitting next to each other at the Slytherin table.

Rebecca had since removed the supporting hand she had placed on Jessie's back when Mark had walked into the Great Hall. With a long exhale, Jessie went back to the task of mutilating her sausage with her fork.

Sensing movement by the door again, Jessie quickly looked up from her plate and sighed as a couple of Gryffindors walked in.

"Must you do that every time someone comes in for breakfast?" Rebecca teased in between bites. "Malfoy will be here soon."

"Who said I was looking for Malfoy?" Jessie asked in feigned innocence.

"No one did. I just said he'd be here soon," Rebecca answered smugly. "Which reminds me... who exactly were you dreaming about last night?"

With a groan, Jessie pushed her plate away and buried her head in her arms. Rebecca just had to remind her of that, didn't she!

She should've known she was dreaming right away but it had seemed so real. Jessie couldn't remember every single detail now, but what she did recall made her wish she had never woken up.

Jessie was walking with Rebecca and Blaise to the Great Hall when Draco joined them and fell in step beside Jessie, walking very close to her. She wasn't nervous at all and felt so content and comfortable. When they entered through the doors, she turned towards Draco when she heard his voice call her name. With the entire hall watching, he moved closer to her and said Jessie's name again. He placed one hand on her hip and tucked the other hand around her neck, just enough to let his thumb caress the sensitive skin below her ear. She knew the kiss was inevitable; as he leaned closer, flickering his gaze between her eyes and her lips, her lids fell closed, and she eagerly awaited the bliss that would surely follow.

Not even a second later, Jessie's name was said again; however, the tone she heard was distinctly feminine and not the heart stopping voice of Draco's.

Why in Merlin's name is Rebecca calling for me at a time like this? Jessie had barely pondered before she opened her eyes... to find she wasn't in the Great Hall and that it wasn't Draco's face that hovered inches away from her own.

Jessie groaned anew as she remembered the near banshee shriek she had bellowed when she finally realized that it was indeed Rebecca's face she was staring at instead of Draco's. She had grabbed her wand, after nearly falling off of her bed, and would've hexed Rebecca into next week if her hand hadn't been trembling so much. Instead, she just sent Rebecca into greater hysterics by shaking the stick at her.

"You really shouldn't wake people up like that," Jessie said with a pout, sending a glare at the simpering face of her friend. "It's not very nice."

"Oh, please!" retorted Rebecca. "I saved you the embarrassment of everyone in the dorm watching you snog your pillow! If you don't want to thank me, then you can just consider it payback for what you didn't do for me that one time. Remember?"

"That was four years ago! You weren't that embarrassed."

Rebecca placed her silverware on her plate and pushed it aside, in a very deliberate manner, before turning slowly to face Jessie.

Jessie bit her tongue in an attempt not to smile. She had spoken a little too quickly, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing as she remembered that incident.

"Really? As I recall, I had barely opened my eyes before all of my loving dorm mates told me how funny I had been while I was sleeping," Rebecca drawled as though she were talking to a child.

Jessie failed to repress a squeak of mirth that passed through her lips, and Rebecca's tone only increased her struggle.

"Apparently, I had decided to have a nice conversation with my bedpost in the middle of the night."

Jessie shut her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

"For forty-five minutes."

Giving up the fight, Jessie released a steady stream of giggles that made a few students stop and look her way.

"You didn't have a nice conversation with your bedpost," Jessie managed to say over her laughter. "You interrogated it!"

"I did not!" Rebecca smiled and started giggling herself. "You should've woke me up or something within the first five minutes, Jess!"

Jessie wiped the tears that were starting to soak her cheeks. "I wanted to see if the bedpost would talk!"

"Oh, shut up!" Rebecca shook her head with a grin and refilled their glasses of juice while Jessie calmed herself. "Now, about your dream." She smirked as she handed Jessie her drink. "Are you going to tell me who you were about to kiss?"

"No," Jessie mumbled. She immediately started to drink her juice so she would have an excuse not to answer any questions.

"Well, I doubt you were dreaming about Mark," Rebecca sneered, sending a scowl in his direction, "and I know you weren't about to kiss me. It couldn't have been Blaise because then I'd have to hurt you."

As the gleam in Rebecca's eyes grew brighter, Jessie busied herself even more with her sips of distraction.

"Why can't you just admit that you were dreaming about kissing Dra--"

"Good morning, ladies!"

The cool pumpkin juice that Jessie had attempted to swallow scorched her throat when it forced its way down the wrong pipe. Covering her face with her hands, Jessie gasped for air in the small breaks her 'Blaise induced' coughing fit allowed. Mortified beyond belief, she kept her crimson face covered as she slowly attained her ability to breathe again.

"You okay there?" Rebecca questioned, rubbing small circles along Jessie's back.

"I didn't startle you, did I?" came Zabini's voice, immediately followed by the sound of a slap across fabric. "What?!"

"Thank you, Rebecca," Jessie rasped and smiled behind her hands.

"You're welcome," Rebecca replied before turning her full attention back to Blaise. "Honestly! What kind of question is that?!"

"Well, I didn't mean to scare her!"

"Far from the point, Blaise! The next time you hurt yourself, I'll just ask you how bad the pain is and be done with it!"

"Are you sure you're okay?" another voice softly said.

Jessie jumped and drew in a breath from hearing Draco's deep tone so close to her ear. One of her hands automatically traveled to the side of her neck to smooth down the tiny hairs that had sprung up.

Sitting next to her, Draco reached into his robes and pulled out a silk handkerchief. It was decorated in Slytherin green with silver accents, one of them being Draco's monogram. With a slight nod, he offered it to Jessie.

"Thank you," Jessie nearly stammered as she accepted the elegant fabric. Cleaning the tear tracks and water from her eyes, she almost swooned every time she inhaled Draco's virile scent that clung to the silk.

Reluctantly handing the cloth back to its owner, the blush she had so valiantly contained broke free when she turned away from him.

Rebecca and Blaise wore giddy smiles on their faces, and their eyes were twinkling as Jessie shifted her gaze to them. Sending them a heated glare, Jessie grabbed the Daily Prophet Rebecca had in front of her and quickly scanned the headlines, studiously ignoring the chuckles she could hear from them.

"Wankers," Jessie said under her breath.

Draco snorted beside her and leaned in closer to say, "Well said."

Jessie blushed again but did so with a smile.

~~~

"Malfoy?" Rebecca asked a short while later. "Isn't Parkinson going to become suspicious about you sitting with us? Not that we don't welcome your company."

"Not likely," Draco replied as he stirred his tea. "I doubt she even knows I'm in the hall, let alone at this table."

"Yeah, she hasn't kept tabs on Draco for about a month now," Blaise affirmed. "I didn't notice it before, but today I can see why."

As everyone looked over to the Slytherin table, Jessie couldn't hold back the sigh that escaped as she watched Mark and Pansy. They appeared to be reading something together, and as innocent as that looked on the outside, the four sitting at the Ravenclaw table knew better.

"Come to think of it," Blaise said with frown, "I don't remember Copeland ever sitting here." He turned abruptly to examine Jessie with steely eyes. "Why isn't he sitting with you right now?"

Sharing a brief and understanding look with Rebecca, Jessie simply turned her attention to the groove patterns that adorned the wood of the table. This was just another detail in the relationship of Jessie and Mark: the one where he never sat with her in the Great Hall for meals while she never questioned his motivation until it was too late.

Rebecca took in a disconcerting breath. "Mark has never sat here with Jessie, nor has he ever invited her to sit with him at mealtimes."

"So did you two even date?" Blaise asked before raising his hands in a pacifying manner when Rebecca glared at him sharply.

"We did," Jessie quietly said. "We used to take walks after classes, and after a while, we would spend weekends at Hogsmeade together. Gradually, our meetings became less frequent." She stopped and didn't say anymore as she began to feel upset.

Sensing Jessie's change in mood, Rebecca shifted in her seat to bring her closer to her best friend. "It isn't your fault, Jessica."

When Jessie looked up at the mention of her proper name, Rebecca continued to speak in a way that demanded her full attention.

"You went into this relationship with Mark with only the best of intentions. From the very beginning... you never pushed too hard for his time or his company because you allowed him to set the pace. You gave him nothing but respect," Rebecca stated firmly. "You believed that what you had with him was special and would only grow. That, Jessie, was your only fault."

Jessie smiled fondly and nodded. "You're right, as usual."

"It's a gift," Rebecca teased and started to gather her belongings with Blaise. As they stood to leave, Rebecca placed her hand on Jessie's shoulder. "All right?"

"Yes, Rebecca," Jessie said and squeezed her friend's fingers. "Thank you."

"We'll see you two in Potions," Blaise toned, expressing a familiar grip on the shoulders of Draco and Jessie.

As their friends left the hall, Draco rose from his seat while Jessie collected her effects.

Taking one last look at the Slytherin table, Jessie faltered when she noticed the expression on Mark's face. He was openly smiling and laughing with his female companion in a way Jessie was all too familiar with. She shook her head faintly, feeling conflicted when she experienced the strong mixture of both sadness and anger.

Jessie let out an uneasy breath before leaving the hall, noticing that Draco had already gone.

Walking towards her first lesson, she immediately began to feel the familiar sensation of self blame again. Draco had escaped from her as soon as he had the chance, and Jessie cringed in dismay when she realized that she hadn't said but two words to him all morning.

It's a wonder anyone talks to me, Jessie thought dejectedly as she walked into the Arithmancy classroom and sat down. Even though she had resisted the thought of going to Potions for most of the morning, Jessie couldn't stop the tremor that passed through her when the first lesson bell chimed.

It's going to be a long day.

TBC...