The summer was rapidly coming to a close, and Jai was beginning to really feel his age. This was exacerbated by the fact that his girlfriend was returning to Hogwarts and was (not so) patiently waiting to hear if she would be elected head girl. In Jai's mind, there was no better candidate, but Jordyn seemed to think differently. With each day that passed, she became more nervous, and so did he - but it was for an entirely different purpose.

A few weeks earlier there had been a blemish on their otherwise wonderful relationship. Since then things had been better than Jai could have ever expected. Upon hearing what happened at Gracie Slant's graduation party between Jordyn and Tracy, Jai felt crushed, quite literally. He never understood what the term had described until he felt it himself -- and boy, was it an accurate description.

But they had gotten through it, and they were in love, she had said it to him and he said it back and now they said it whenever they parted ways. And even sometimes when they were just sitting there together, and they'd get so wrapped up in the elation and excitement of their relationship that they had to say it again. The thought of it made him smile.

Jai had just gotten out of work at the Ministry, where he was slowly but surely making his mark. Jai had implemented a new organizational system in the Astronomical Records office -- it had not exactly been his own choice but that of his persuasive compulsions. Still, his co-workers seemed pleased with the change so Jai found himself actually grateful for his neuroticism, for once.

It had become customary for Jai to stop by at Jordyn's after work, and he would miss that tradition terribly when she returned to school. The thought of her being there without him made his heart hurt, but they still had time before they had to really say goodbye to each other. Knocking on her door before letting himself in, Jai hoped that they would be able to last in a long-distance relationship.

"Jord?" he called as he entered the house. They had spent a lot of time here over the summer since her parents were conveniently away. Some time had been spent at the Patil residence, but with his parents and sisters there -- it was very difficult to find the privacy they longed for.

The letter had sat on the table since it arrived.  Jordyn’s internship had ended for the summer, giving her time to prepare for school.  She hadn’t needed to do much and to be truthful, without that to keep her busy, she was going a little bit stir crazy.  There was nothing like waiting for news.  She thought everyone else must know by now, they must have all had their posts and she wouldn’t get anything.  It’d consumed her thoughts for several days, and when she was home during the day all by herself it was hard to not get caught up in the worry and the dread.

She really only had Jai’s visits after work to look forward to, and even on a Saturday, he had gone into the office because he was that good of a worker and that committed to what he was doing, but Jordyn was sitting at home in the magically cooled interior (she wouldn’t go outside- much too hot for her) and had been surprised at the pecking sounds against the window.

At first she’d thought it was some kind of delivery from Jai.  He’d occasionally send a gift out of nowhere and it was the most romantic thing.  She was lucky to have him.  She didn’t know anyone else who would put up with her and what she was capable of.  She wasn’t afraid to leave people in the dust, she wasn’t afraid to get in others’ way to make her own in the world, but she had been surprised (and relieved) that she didn’t want to do any of that to him.  It might have been the thing that at least kept them together.

Who knew what the year had to offer? 

So, when the letter had arrived with the owl, Jordyn had been filled with dread and excitement.  She’d never heard of someone receiving a rejection letter for a position of leadership, but she also didn’t know what the protocol was for professors.  Maybe it was just an updated supply list based on a new profesor’s wishes… it could be anything.  It was impossible to tell by weight, since all Hogwarts envelopes felt the same… so, Jordyn stared.

She stared at it and then she left, trying to pack a bit, then she’d come back and stare again, only to be followed by a period of unfocused packing again.  It was late in the afternoon when she was back downstairs, her room upstairs an organized chaos to prepare for the beginning of the year, and staring at the letter again.  She hadn’t heard the door – or anything – until Jai’s voice echoed in the entry way. 

Her voice shook as she called back, “In the kitchen!” her eyes still hadn’t left the letter though and she nibbled at the nail on her ring finger.  She was so nervous, she’d already gone through her pointer and middle finger. 

"In the kitchen!"

By now, Jai had spent enough time around Jordyn to know the little intricacies of the way she expressed emotions. He could tell that right now she was nervous, which in turn made him very nervous. Jai had always been a compassionate and rather sensitive guy... especially with the people he cared about most. He'd always sympathized with his family when things went wrong; his aunts had fought against Voldemort, his youngest sister had been attacked by a werewolf. Even though he wasn't there when those things happened- he still felt some of their pain and terror.

So Jai had been stressed for weeks about whether Jordyn would become Head Girl.

Jai had never really anticipated any sort of leadership position like that. He'd been President of the Astronomy club, but that had come as a complete shock (well- maybe not that complete of a shock - there hadn't been too many members to pick from). Schoolwork had kept him occupied enough, on top of all of his neuroticism. Jai admired Jord's ambition and focus- he couldn't imagine working as hard as she did. He thought about this as he walked into her kitchen and gave her a peck. He put his hand on her back and then looked over at what she was blatantly staring at.

His eyes widened. "Is that it?" Jai asked. He was familiar with the look of the Hogwarts letter -- this had to be it. "Did you open it?" It didn't look open. He looked over at Jord expectantly, trying to read her.

She didn’t hear an immediate answer, and thus, her attention turned straight back onto the envelope.  It was tormenting to her, seeing it sitting there and not being able to do anything about it.  Well, she could do something about it – but that didn’t seem like the sort of thing she could do without wanting the absolution of whatever was inside of it to actually happen. 

She wished she was a seer – that way she could just know what was coming, she could know what was in the envelope and she wouldn’t feel tormented by how much she wanted to open it, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.  It was just scary.  So when the door to the kitchen opened, Jordyn didn’t even glance over.  It was like it was hypnotizing her. 

Letting him kiss her, Jordyn still stood there, arms crossed under her chest and nibbling on her nail.  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly, “I haven’t touched it yet.”  Tearing her eyes away, she looked at him with her heart beating a thousand miles an hour in her chest and her head was going to explode.  Reaching over, Jordyn took his hand and squeezed it with all of her might (she couldn’t help herself). 

“You have to open it,” she announced almost feverishly.  “You have to tell me what’s in it,” she kitty-cornered herself to look at him, big brown eyes begging for him to do it for her.  “Please?” she added the verbal beg, just in case he didn’t get int from the puppy dog look in her eyes. 

There was significant evidence supporting Jai's guess that the letter was from Hogwarts. Whether it contained an offer for Jordyn to be Head Girl -- well, that was a different story. He sincerely hoped that she was awarded the position; she deserved it. He'd heard all about last year's illness and how that had hindered her status as prefect. Jord had been extremely concerned that this would be held against her. In Jai's opinion, there was no one better for the job.

She squeezed his hand and requested that he open the letter, and he couldn't resist her pleading eyes. "Alright, but remember: don't shoot the messenger." He gave her a quick peck on the nose to reassure her that he was there for her, no matter what. He hurried to getting the letter open, though, because he knew her patience probably wouldn't last much longer. The anticipation was getting to him too.

He opened and read the letter, which Jai was grateful to see was exactly what Jordyn was hoping it would be. His face remained expressionless, though, because he knew how to make Jordyn even happier about the news. "I'm sorry Jord, but..." Jai made an apologetic face and allowed for a long pause. "....It looks like you're going to be really busy next year, being Head Girl on top of all your classes."

 “I won’t,” Jordyn assured him, giving his hand a squeeze and smiled, slightly embarrassed as he kissed her on the nose.  It felt so silly to be so scared, but she couldn’t help it.  When things were truly real, it was when it was time to be terrified – and the letter was right there.  It was sitting on her counter and waiting to be opened and she was completely insane and couldn’t open it. 

So, she held her breath as Jai walked forward and felt like she was shaking with every step he took closer to the letter.  When it was finally in his hands, Jordyn couldn’t help but hum low, rocking on her toes.  She anticipated when she looked at her hands she would see half of the nails on her fingers would be completely chewed away.  “Go faster,” she whined under her breath and took another chunk out of her nail. 

Ugh, that was gross.  She hated biting her nails.  But, she couldn’t stop.  She needed a pair of gloves right now.  When he finally grabbed the letter and he looked like he didn’t have any reaction.  Her heart was pounding in her chest and when he apologized, Jordyn felt her eyes were welling up and she couldn’t breathe.  “I’m – wait…” her voice was strangled and Jordyn couldn’t even move. 

It was like everything she’d ever worked for had fallen through her fingers and just when the tears were really about to start falling, Jai opened his mouth again and started smiling and she was going to thrash him.  “JAI!” she screeched and rushed forward, plucking the letter and envelope out of his hands, seeing the text and then the pin attached to the letter. 

“Oh my Godric!” she squeaked and threw her arms around him, “I’m head girl!” she yelled excitedly, squeezing him as tight as she could.  “Can you believe it? I did it!  I did it!”

As Jordyn began to react to Jai's trick of words, Jai felt a little bit guilty even though he knew he was lying. She'd gotten what hse wanted -- and just as Jai was about to apologize, Jordyn figured it out. He couldn't help but smile at the vast change in expression. She'd gone from the edge of tears to total elation. She snatched the parchment from his fingers and he moved behind her, wrapped his arms round her waist and rested his head on her, reading the letter along with her. He had only gotten through the first few lines (which had given him the information he needed).

She spun around and hugged him and he hugged her back and kissed her hair. He wondered if she had this contagious effect on everyone, where he felt like his emotions matched hers. When she was sad, he was sad. When she was happy -- he couldn't stop grinning. "Of course you did it!" Jai told her. "I knew you'd get it." He was beyond thrilled - it was almost as if he'd been given the honor himself.

After giving her another hug, he asked "How would you like to celebrate?" This was cause for reward, after all, and with Jai's new job he could afford to take her out and splurge a little. If he'd known the letter had arrived today, he would have definitely picked up some chocolates on the way home. He'd come to find that chocolate was an infallible gift and would have been good to have on hand for either outcome. "I'm so proud of you." He smiled and kissed her.

 Kissing him was so much better with the good news under her belt.  She grabbed onto the front of his shirt  with one hand and accidentally crumpled the letter in the other hand – her pin holding strong against her hand.  Jordyn was… quite enthusiastic with the whole endeavor of kissing.  She was head girl! She was head girl and Jai told her.  How much better could this?  Pulling back, practically gasping for air (kissing was a sport, really), and she lowered herself back to her flat feet – grinning more than she had in ages.  It was like a new happiness, it was almost better than the rotation she did in the Janus Thickey Ward where she got to actually make a potion for a patient and its effects worked. 

It was so empowering.

And now she was head girl.  Head girl.  Jordyn was going to die.  She didn’t even let go of the front of shirt and the sounds in her ears were sort of…  blurred.  It was the weirdest, most muffled sensation.  She could see his lips moving, but all she could think of was that she was so happy and his lips looked very kissable.  “Thank you,” she breathed and returned his kiss with continued enthusiasm.  Her whole body was warm and she could hear her heart in her ears. 

There was definitely a rush going on and her heart was thumping in her chest.  Licking her lips, Jordyn released her grip and turned her letter toward her again, unpinning her pin from it.  It was a lot heavier than she imagined in her hand.  Biting her lip, Jordyn was just… so excited.  She dropped the parchment on the floor and took a few steps back to put the pin on the breakfast nook table (there was a formal dining room, but no one used it). 

Jordyn herself jumped up and sat on the edge of the table, still beaming and kicking her legs back and forth.  “I’m head girl!” she announced again, almost laughing.  “Me!” it was still disbelief and she shook her head.  “Come here,” she sort of ordered and held out her arms, not even bothering to cross her ankles because it was a very open invitation for him to come forward and kiss her. 

Jai felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Jordyn crumple into a sad version of herself. It was worth it, though, to see Jordyn make the connection and instantly explode into elation. She was jumping around the room like she had little brooms attached to the bottoms of her feet, jetting her around the place. Finally she bounced her way onto the top of the table and hooked him in with her feet.

It made for a perfect opportunity to start kissing, and that they did. He couldn't help but smile- he was so proud of his girlfriend, felt special for being the one to get to see her like this. Her private moments of emotion. He hadn't expected anyone else to be Head Girl. Jordyn was the clear choice. Although maybe he was a little biased, because he thought this about the girl he was currently snogging. Jai started a path of kisses down her neck. He put his hands on her waist and pushed her further onto the table, not really paying attention to other objects that might be on the table.

He wrapped her legs around his waist and, amid making out, picked her up and flipped them around, so Jordyn was sitting on Jai's lap. They were a bit further on the table now, but it didn't seem important. Once you were sucked into the snogging vortex, it was difficult to escape (or notice your surroundings).

The invitation was very evidently taken.  Jordyn wasn’t even nervous about it.  Since… everything else, it seemed like normal that they’d be kissing on the kitchen table.  That’s what people in love did.  And Jordyn was absolutely certain she was in love now.  Not right now, of course, because then she’d later ask herself if it was just the rush of dopamine in her brain.  No, this was for sure, no matter what was happening kind of love and being only seventeen (almost 18), she was sure this was definitely how young adults in love acted – as her shirt came up over her head and was thrown to the side, she vaguely recalled a scene from Slither Girls like this.  Definitely young adults in love…

It was especially okay because it had finally gotten to the point where well, when he grabbed her on her hips and kissing her neck she wasn’t even afraid to let her head fall back and whine.  In the back of her mind, she thought she registered something falling off the tabletop.  Didn’t seem to matter as his lips ran over her pulse point and his hand guided her leg to hook around his waist, Jordyn dug her nails into his shoulder and squeaked as he managed to reposition them.

Her knees hit the tabletop with a dull thud and if she wasn’t too engaged with trying to figure out if she wanted to run her hands through his hair or over his chest or kiss him… It was all very overwhelming.  Nipping at his lip, Jordyn sat back on his lap for a moment, tousling her hair and smiling.  Breathing was a little labored, but when she looked down at him, flushed and also breathing hard… Jordyn grinned wider. 

“I’m head girl,” she repeated for maybe the hundredth time and scooted back toward the edge of the table.  “Me!” she laughed again, shaking her head unable to believe it.  Glancing around – she didn’t see what she was looking for and slid the rest of the way off the table looking at the floor.  Her shirt was a few feet away and then she saw the gleam.  “Ah!” she announced and darted for it.  Her pin!

Jordyn clenched her jaw, trying to suppress her grin as she continued kneeling.  Her fingers moved quickly and she eased the back of the pin off and then affixed it to the strap of her bra, right near her heart.  The metal was cool on her clavicle and Jordyn turned, standing up again to face him.  “What do you think?” she bit her lip, rocking from side to side with her hands behind her back – chest puffed out just a little bit.  Pride was not always a bad thing. 

It was always disappointing when their make-out sessions ended. Kissing had to satisfy every basic human need, because Jai couldn't think of anything else when he was doing it. He wasn't hungry, clearly didn't need that much air. She stayed close but needed a break, and he could understand that. Jai found himself trying to catch his own breath.

"You!" Jai cheered. It was as if she'd won the lottery. He didn't know where she was going when she began to travel, but now that her clothes were starting to come off he couldn't say that he minded watching her walk and move around. And bend over- bend overs were the best. Jai's eyes trailed her until she came back, adorably flaunting her pin.

"Beautiful," he said looking at her with soft eyes. "You look nice too." He winked and started kissing her neck again. In the process of doing this, an idea popped into his head that he hoped wasn't a bad one to suggest. She was in such a good mood- why not? "I think I have to test and see if you're really head girl material." He looked at her mock-seriously.

Being that Jordyn was practically just existing off of the high of getting her letter, she didn’t feel any embarrassment.  She’d accomplished exactly what she’d been working toward for almost her entire time at school – nothing could bring her down.  Besides, it wasn’t like Jai was going to judge her. It made it much easier to stand in front of him with just her shorts and bra on, grinning wildly. 

There was only a mild blush when he announced that the pin was beautiful and she was nice too – but she was able to push that aside for mock shock and horror at him.  “Nice?” she frowned slightly and shook her head – his comment made her hands slide to her waist and she cocked her hip out to the side.  “Oh really?” she raised her eyebrows and lowered her chin, looking him over very deliberately from head to toe. 

“Don’t make my first deductions from Hufflepuff,” she tried to be serious, but faltered just a little bit before regaining the ability to be serious.  “But, I guess if you’re going to question my credentials…” she let her hands drop and sauntered forward, resting her hands on his knees when she got close enough, “I might have to persuade you,” she teased and let her hands wander further up over the brown fabric, maybe purposefully running just a little close… because she could.  Pouting in thought, Jordyn glanced up at the sky and sighed.  “If only there were something I could do…”

Oh yes. This was the side of Jordyn that Jai could definitely enjoy. Not only was she smart and accomplished... but sexy and powerful as well. He couldn't help but kiss her hungrily, as if she were water and he had been without for days. It felt like that, too, like he was thirsty for her. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as they would go but she escaped to taunt him.

"Well I haven't really seen your credentials to be Head Girl" Jai said, pronouncing the phrase in a way that did not relate to anything that should be associated with the honor that she had just received. He smirked, but was pretty embarrassed at what he had just said, like he often was whenever he spoke. To cover up his bashfulness, he pulled her back in and buried his face in her neck, drizzling it with kisses.

 “Well now that’s just not true,” Jordyn replied and laughed as he pulled her closer again.  She flung her arms around his neck as he buried his face in hers and she felt completely ridiculous – still laughing.  This was probably the best day of her life by all accounts.  Someone she cared about had shared the moment of finding out she was Head girl with her and now they were just being… teenagers. 

Jordyn was forced to be far more grown than she actually was most of the time.  Sometimes it was by choice, but her parents weren’t exactly tending to her every need and Jordyn sought out a lot of opportunities on her own – it was what she needed to do.  But, in this moment, she was seventeen years old and had just been given the opportunity of a lifetime. 

So, it wasn’t a surprise when her hands started to wander, when she dipped her head to catch his lips again and let her fingers dance over the front of his shirt and toward the button on his trousers.  Breathing into the crook of his shoulder, Jordyn tilted her chin up and kissed his neck while her hands shook.  She might have even dug her teeth in a little bit… hopefully he didn’t mind. 

Maybe he was right… credentials in the way he spoke hadn’t been covered before… but she was brimming over with confidence and that meant she could do it, right?  And Neely had told her enough, in combination with all of their magazines, told her what she needed to know.  Glancing up at him with big brown eyes, Jordyn bit her lip before giving him another quick peck.  “Be prepared to be completely overwhelmed by my credentials,” she informed him (feeling a hot blush on her face that she’d even uttered the words) and kissed him one more time before breathing out of her nose and pushing the niggling of anxiety away. 

Some time later...

Every new experience with Jordyn turned out to be a positive one, particularly in the intimacy department. It took time and patience but the results were impeccable. They took care of each other, starting on the table then moving throughout the kitchen. They ended up cuddled on the floor.

As amazing as the climaxes could be, the come-down could feel equally as intimate. Jai had curled around Jord and the skin-on-skin made him feel close to her. He ran his fingers lazily down her side then rested his hand on her hip, nuzzled his face in her neck and closed his eyes.

Apparently she did have the qualifications to be Head Girl, and then some. "I think you should be the new Headmaster," Jai murmured. He smirked against the nape of her neck and gave it a quick peck. It was certainly a more appropriate title, at least in Jai's opinion.