heated project (Jed)

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ginny was angry. No, she was beyond angry, something that was usually either caused by Ronald butting into her life, Harry dating another girl, or warm milk in her cornflakes. But no, this time her anger was being fueled by a certain Charms project and a certain Ravenclaw boy she’d been assigned partners with. Jedediah Chambers had to be the most annoying, conceited and lazy person in the world, and she, Ginny Weasley, had been assigned to be his partner for a stupid charms project! What had she done to deserve that? She always eaten the cabbage her mother had prepared for her as a child, even though it had tasted disgusting, and she’d always tried to keep her teasing and prank playing to a minimum. So why the heck did she have the misfortune to be paired with such an insufferable idiot!

When she had first found out who her partner was, she had just gritted her teeth and arranged to meet with the Ravenclaw in one of the empty classrooms so that they could discuss it. Growling quite venomously, glaring particularly hard at a group of third years as she stalked out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down a flight of stairs to one of the sixth floor classrooms.

They had decided to meet there as it was the floor between the floors with their Common Rooms, the Gryffindor Common Room being on the seventh floor and the Ravenclaw Common Room being on the fifth floor.

Ginny walked down the corridor and stopped in front of the closed classroom door, steeling her shoulders, she reached for the handle, pulling the door open. Hopefully they wouldn’t completely hate each other by the end of this.

[JEDEDIAH CHAMBERS]

If Jed had something to do he wasn’t in the least looking forward to, he usually tried a simple trick to make amends: If it was some kind of meeting (or boring classes, YES, there were boring classes even for a brilliant mind such as him), he made sure to take some time for himself before that, maybe come early and pass the time with something he liked doing, so when the time came he would be in better spirits. And the meeting he was waiting for now was DEFINITELY high on his black list. They seriously had assigned him a project partner for Charms. HIM, a project partner?! What could possibly be the sense of this, boring him to death maybe? Was there anyone in his class that could keep pace with him? Rhetorical question, of course not! So, in the end, a project partner would only slow him down and murk up his achievements. If they’d not get partial grades for it in the end at least, he’d start a riot!

And WHO they had paired him with of all people… Ginny Weasley! Not that he had a personal vendetta against Weasley like maybe some other people at Hogwarts, but there would have been so many many better options! She was pretty in her own way, but simply not his type… and she also had a few annoying streaks showing towards him that made him think she just didn’t appreciate his presence like she probably should! And then of course… she had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team who had stolen the Ravenclaw glory often enough. They had been rivals on the pitch, so how could Flitwick possibly think they’d make a good team?! And he had thought to have the little man in the palm of his hand, so to speak!

So, to occupy his brain until the dreaded first meeting, he had decided to tweak his Animagus powers a little, practicing more on the actual transformation process, so it wouldn’t take so freaking long. He also wanted to try an experiment… he had heard that disfigurements of one body would be transferred into the other form you chose to take, so would the pain on his balls of the foot continue in his pads? And would the tearings he had inflicted on himself be visible and impar the cat’s agility? It was not a pleasant thing to think of, but when the time came, especially in the evening, he just couldn’t stop himself, it had become such an automatism he really only stopped to think when he accidently teared deep enough to draw blood.

Focusing on the practice he had learned, Jed slowly transformed into a black cat, the only differently colored spot being a thin ring of white fur around its right foreleg, resembling the tattoo he normally wore in his human form. It was a twist he had quite liked when first going under the transformation and finding a mirror to examine himself. Giving a content purr, the cat then went to sit on its hindlegs and stretched, until slowly Jed’s human form began to emerge – too slow for his liking. What was he doing wrong?! “Is it practice… or a trick I’m missing”, he muttered a little discontentedly, being fully absorbed in his thoughts.

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ginny took one long, calming breath before twisting the handle of the door and swinging it open. She had expected to see many things upon entering the small room, a large fire consuming the whole of the room, some sort of liquid being dumped on her when she entered the room, or even a million blast-ended skrewts ready to attack her. But she had definitely not expected to walk into the room and see a large black, almost panther like cat with a ring of white fur around one of its forelegs.

Of course, Ginny being Ginny didn’t really make the connection between this cat and Jed. She rushed forward, a smile on her face and her arms extended to pick up the large animal. She loved cats, especially overly large ones. When she’d been a young child, her Aunt Muriel had brought over a very large, very furry orange Maine coon cat, and the youngest Weasley had instantly fallen in love with the creature. She’d only seen it that one time, but from then on in she’d always loved cats.

As she approached it, the cat began to stretch, but… something was wrong. Ginny’s thin brows furrowed in confusion, what the hell was it doing?! A somewhat horrified Ginny watched as the cat transformed from a cute, fluffy cat to her horribly annoying smartarse partner, Jed. Her eyes widened significantly as she took a few steps back.

From his almost silent muttering, she figured that he hadn’t realized she was there. Ginny inwardly groaned, how the hell had she ever thought that cat to be cute[i/]? That was practically like calling Jed cute! Which was completely against all her principals and would make her absolutely horrified, (not to mention embarrassed), if anyone were to ever find out.

“ Hmm, well if you were to ask me,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest before continuing. “It’s lack of brains, not tactic.”

[JEDEDIAH CHAMBERS]

Jed knew that when you were still not mastering a skill completely, any small distraction could have desastrous effects on the process he was in, and even more so when it was something like changing ones shape. It was almost as dangerous as trying to disapparate while your thoughts were not fully on the task. Ending up splintered was really nothing one should aspire, just like it was a gross idea to be stuck forever in an ugly shape between cat and man – now where would be the beauty and elegance Jedediah was famous for?! As such, when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eyes just as he began his retransformation, his mind automatically shut it out as a means of self-preservation. He registered a movement and a detached part of his brain also could read the meaning of it, but it didn’t make it towards his conscious mind.
Only after the change had been completed and Jed was standing up straight in his true form, the connections were made in his mind and he turned around to face whoever was addressing him. He’d have liked to curse. Of course it was that Ginger Weasley girl! Couldn’t she have come a few seconds later?! Not that he was afraid she might rat him out – he’d find a way to deter her from it, make no mistake, whether with charms or threats! – but he was simply annoyed his secret was out. Any girl would have adored and saluted him for the power he had just shown. It was not like every git running around could master the transformation and call himself an animagus! But of course she would not, she only had scorn for him. Lack of brains!! As if HE ever!

But then suddenly something made ‘click’ in his head and finally his mind allowed him to fully register what his eyes had seen while turning. If he wasn’t completely mistaken, the same Ginny Weasley had only a few seconds before acted as if she wanted to swoop him up in her arms and cuddle him. Must be fond of cats… but ah, this was priceless!
A devilish smirk spread across his face and he mimicked her crossing of her arms lazily, letting his eyes size her up. “If you wanted a hug, why then all you had to do was ask, Weasley! It’s not too late, you know, the offer still stands.” Ah, he’d like to see her squirm for sure, since the concept that not every girl would want a piece of him was a very hard one to grasp. Some just needed a… push in the right direction. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. You’re certainly not alone with this… desire!”

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Frowning slightly Ginny watched as his face transformed from that of confusion, to understanding, to slight disgust. If she had just transformed from cat to human, she’d probably have looked the same way. Heck, she had had quite a similar reaction to watching him change from cat to man, (not to mention the near heart attack when she realized she’d actually thought of cuddling him!) She tilted her head to one side, watching as he slowly registered what she’d said. Yes, it was definitely a case of brawn, but no brains if it took him such a long time to retaliate!

She stood there, half glaring, half smirking as he reoriented himself. Maybe this joint project hadn’t been such a bad idea… Ginny did have quite a good opportunity on her hands thanks to the information that she had procured. Oh the fun she could have thanks to this little tidbit of information! He probably wasn’t even a registered animagus, perhaps she was even the only one aside from him that knew his little secret… Yes, the possibilities truly were endless. As Ginny debated the ten different ways she could use this newly found knowledge against him, she was jolted from her thoughts as a very loud, quite annoying comment was made about her entrance.

Ginny shook her head slightly before taking a step forward, attempting to intensify her glare. “Why would I want to hug you?” She asked, leaning back on her right hip.” Albeit acting as though nothing was wrong, and attempting to look as menacing as possible, she could still feel the red blush spreading up her neck and onto her cheeks. Stupid Weasley blush! It was an ever present annoyance, always creeping onto her face at the most inopportune moments. However, her ears hadn’t yet turned red, which was always a good sign for whomever she was angry at. When her ears turned red, it was always a very good idea to run and hide, or through some sort of solid object between oneself and the raging Weasley.

Taking another step forward, she leaned towards him, “And I certainly do not have any hidden desire! If anything I would absolutely love to curse you into next week! But seeing as your brain waves are so low already, I would risk turning you into a complete dunderhead, which could in fact, get me in quite a lot of trouble. So no, I do not have any hidden desire to hug, or have any physical contact with you, at all!” She stated rather venomously, she raised a single, pale brow, almost as if daring him to retaliate.

[JEDEDIAH CHAMBERS]

Oh, of course she would deny it now, the strong girls always did. But gestures could not lie while words could, and he had seen what he had seen. Oh yes, she had thought him to be a big cat and cats and girls just went together, but the shock and realization on her face had also given her away in his eyes. He was firmly convinced she had tried to mask something else with the show of disdain Ginny put up now, and with every word that left her cute little mouth – really, one of the few things he found cute about her, since too boyish girls could also be quite unattractive with their strong behavior – he was more and more proven right.
“I don’t know… I have heard many reasons in my short lifetime”, he told her with a cocky grin. “Though most girls did not even waste time on a lengthy explanation… they knew I would understand!”

And she was blushing… of course she would. He just had that effect on most girls and he loved it. Physical actions were always so much more telling than words, and Jed thought himself quite an expert on reading a girl’s body language – well, to be honest, he thought himself an expert on absolutely everything with his overboarding ego. It would need a really strong persona and a very distinctive moment of defeat to convince him otherwise for just a moment. Ginny Weasley might try, but he didn’t think she had anything on him. She was a Weasley after all, and while he did not share most of the resentments of a certain Slytherin population, he had heard they all hadn’t been the most brilliant lot in their time at Hogwarts. Two of her brothers had even quit school before getting their NEWTS and were now running the famous joke shop in Diagon Alley. He had never set a foot there in all its existence. Joke articles were for those who had to rely on pranks because they lacked brains!

Ginny leaned towards him, apparently seeking confrontation. But for Jed, that was another evidence of her subconsciously trying to get close to him. There was a fine line after all between hatred and passion… not that she would have been his girl of choice, but he still liked to think that no girl possibly could resist him. He stood his ground, even leaned a bit closer himself, his eyes capturing hers and holding them firmly in an intense stare, half cocky, half alluring.
“Oh, what is the saying, Weasley: ‘The lady doth protest too much’. And you’re being the perfect example of that saying. The more you deny it with words, the more your body proves you DO want physical contact.” At least making her sweat like this would postpone the actual beginning of their meeting, when he would have to deal with her as a ‘project partner’. How possibly dull! He could only hope they would get different grades for this and that his brilliance would be recognized!

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Merlin, he was infuriating. Why the bloody hell he thought that she, of all people, would ever like someone like him, she’d never, ever know! In fact, Jed was about as far from the type of boy she usually went after. The chances of her liking someone like him was about as far away as the Giant Squid was to walking on land.

Groaning in frustration, she clenched her hands into fists, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down before speaking. ”I don’t know who placed this incredibly unbelievable thought in your head, but if you’d be so kind as to get rid of it, I’d be very, very happy.” Ginny took another deep breath, making a mental note to thank whoever it was who had told her it would help calm her down. Although it didn’t really help eliminate the blush that was rapidly spreading across her entire face and turning from a softer, less noticeable pink, to a deep red.

Stupid Weasley blush… it was always getting her into jams like this! Unlike any of the other Gryffindors, who were able to hid most of their emotions if they so desired, she could not. It was always evident on her face, or by her stupid blushing, what she was feeling, and she hated it!

As he leaned forward, a part of her was feeling the uncanny urge to step away and just avoid the eye contact he had so bravely sought, but another part of her, told her to stay where she was and stand her ground. Being the stubborn human being that she was, Ginny decided to listen to the stronger half, and stayed where she was. Summoning one of her best glares, she stared back at him, not breaking the eye contact they’d established.

”For the last time, I do not want any sort of physical contact with you! How the hell can I convince you of that?! Ginny had begun breathing hard, her nostrils flaring as her anger returned full blast.

Flitwick obviously had a death wish. How he could have possibly thought that the pair could work together without killing each other, she would never know! They had only been in the same room together for five minutes, and already she felt like slugging him. Surviving through this stupid paired project without giving him any sort of bodily harm would definitely be a challenge.

Jed was just so… infuriating! Ginny really didn’t understand it, but he somehow knew exactly which buttons he had to press in order to get her all riled up. And even then, there was the added bonus of his enlarged ego! Ginny had never been good with overly confident people, and as a younger child had gotten into many fights with people that had large egos just because they irritated her beyond belief.

Sighing, she resigned herself to a week or so of tormenting, before continuing their staring match.