Secret Serenade

Jack grabbed his camera and raced down the stairs, intent that he wasn’t going to miss the first Gryffindor Quidditch Scrimmage of the season! This was the event that he had been waiting for for ages; it was the culmination of all the practice that they had been going through over the past couple of months - and it was going to be Jack’s ticket to that second internship at The Daily Prophet. If he could get a picture of Potter in action, and maybe one of the Seeker catching the snitch, then he was in. Or at least, that was what Raven Monroe had told him when he questioned the status of his internship this summer...He was practically hurling himself down the last flight of stairs until he realized, low and behold, he had forgotten his jacket. There was no way that he was going to last the entire scrimmage without a jacket, especially not in this chilly november weather.

He growled to himself and let the camera fall to his neck, before trudging back up the stairs toward the Gryffindor Common room. He was almost half-way there when he realized that he could hear the faintest sound of music...Scratching his head, Jack began walking in the direction of the sound. ‘What are you doing, mate?! You’ve got a match to go get some pictures at!’ his subconscious was practically screaming at him. But he didn’t pay it any mind, realizing that he recognized the melody that he heard. It was the primary guitar part of The Who’s Behind Blue Eyes.

Jack honestly loved music; there was something so freeing about it, especially muggle music. The seventies had already been such a good era for classic rock and he could only imagine what was to follow if things kept up like they were. Finally reaching where he thought the music was coming from, he pressed his ear up to the wall. Sure enough, behind the solid rock, he could slightly hear the sound of the haunting melody. But...how did it get in there? Had someone snuck a record player onto Hogwarts’ grounds? Then he realized that he was standing in front of the Room of Requirements and things began to make more sense to him. Three turns about the hallway and a small door appeared, practically ushering him into the room. Jack kept quiet and pushed the door open, moving inside without creating a noticeable change in the environment.

He was confused at first, finding himself in the shadows of the outskirts of the room, staring at a very concentrated Jessie Jameson. She seemed to be focusing so hard that he felt it to be rude to try and interrupt her. Camera pressed into his palms, ready to strike at any moment, Campbell felt a small smile creep onto his lips when he realized that the sound was actually coming from her lips, and from the baby grand piano that was in front of her. In one swift movement, he pushed out from the shadows and held his camera up to his eye, intent on capturing the moment of rare-vulnerability that befell Jessie Jameson, ”Oye! Smile, Jessie J. You’re on candid camera!”

He was surprised at first that she didn’t react to his presence, he was pretty sure that he had made it abundantly clear that he was here. And yet, she didn’t stop playing; instead continued on her beautiful tirade through the piece that she was playing. Jack didn’t know much about the piano, but he did know that it took a great deal of concentration to play it, something he could only imagine that he was disrupting. Decidedly, he started whistling at her, trying to get her to look at the camera so that he would have a good picture for the school paper, ”C’mon, Jess, look here, won’t you? Smile for the camera?”

She took a step back and Jack immediately felt himself being righted with the world. Finally he was back in control of his body and he could honestly say that he had never felt so good. He grabbed for his camera, knowing full-well that it wasn’t going to be there; he had witnessed Jessie prying it from his rigged fingers. Immediately he propped himself up on the ground, choosing not to get up all the way and stared at Jessie, ”Alright, Jessie James, you’ve officially lived up to your nickname. Now give it back.”

Jack just looked up at her hand, wondering if she honestly expected him to accept help from her when she had basically just attempted to kill her. For a few moments, he did nothing but grin at her, his eyes all aglow with childish delight. Merlin, how he loved messing with other people. It was perhaps his favorite pastime. With that thought in mind, he reached up and put both of his hands behind his head and made no motion to move whatsoever, ”I’m good here, actually,”

Jack kept his eyes carefully trained on Jessie as she was deep in thought. He wasn’t sure what was going through her mind in that moment, but she looked as if she was in moderate pain. He was tempted to roll his eyes at the girl, but decided against it last minute. If she did indeed have stage fright, he wasn’t going to agitate her like that. He just leaned back on the floor, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling of the room of requirement. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t listening - on the contrary, he was listening very carefully to every word that Jessie said to him, despite the fact that she was whispering. He furrowed his brow slightly, ”I don’t know what kind of person you think that I am, J. But, I’m fully capable of seeing past the lens.”

He saw her pouting and managed not to roll his eyes, thinking that it would be rather rude to do so when they were in such close proximity. He could smell her perfume from where he was, directly in front of her, a slightly darker scent, but one that he would have expected from no one except Jessie. He inhaled slightly, trying to keep his cool, although with her at such close distance, he was finding it increasingly difficult, ”How is it not fair, Jess, hmmm?”

Sighing slightly, Jack knew better than to try and argue with the infallible language that flew from Jessie’s mouth. If she said that she didn’t think it was fair because she said so, though, Jack swore he was going to fly off the handle. He looked up from the inner workings of the camera and caught Jessie’s eye as she stared intently at him. He was left to wonder exactly what was going through her mind in that moment; she seemed so...intent on watching his every movement. Without even thinking, Jack rolled his eyes slightly and let the camera fall against his chest, held in place by the strap that was now placed around his neck, ”That’s the kind of reason that parents give children when they can’t think of anything better to say.” He said, offering her the slightest sign of a smirk on the corner of his lips. 

The whisper caught him off guard and he raised both of his eyebrows, staring at her yet again. She sounded sincere - a strange take on the normal Jessie that he knew and...well, he couldn’t say that he loved her, but he enjoyed the brief interactions that they had had over the months, ”Serious doesn’t suit you.” Jack said, his voice slightly husky and dark. He wasn’t sure that he wanted anyone to know the Jack that was buried somewhere beneath the pictures and snark. He didn’t want people to know that he missed his mother - it was childish and he didn’t need the entire world thinking that he was some weak son-of-a-bitch. He was Jack freakin’ Campbell, for Merlin’s sake and he wasn’t about to let himself be... ”But if you want to see my pictures, I guess I could pencil you in.” He muttered, unsure of why he was offering to expose part of himself to the girl. In the back of his brain, he was justifying it by telling himself that she had exposed part of her own self here this afternoon. 

After he had snapped the picture, he wasn’t surprised to see that Jessie lunged forward, fully intent on grabbing the camera. Small as she was, she was most certainly quicker than him, but Jack made the split decision to dodge to the left and hold the camera above his head using his right hand, smiling down at the Gryffindor girl. She was close and Jack could feel the heat of her body close to his. She was attractive, something that Jack had noticed from day one and the constant barrage of insults was nothing if not a sign that there was a bit of chemistry between them. He was curious what she was like; if there was more of the Jessie that he had seen playing the piano this afternoon. Without thinking, Jack used his free left hand and moved it around her waist, pulling her body against his and then pressing his lips against hers. The camera was still held out of reach above his head; instinctively he pulled her slightly closer.