Disclaimer: Neither of us owns any of the characters in the Harry Potter
books. They belong to J.K. Rowling. We own any characters you don't
recognize.
A/N: Hia peoples! :: We wave to crowd:: We have decided to be difficult and write a story "cross-country". Hehe (. So the "we" is me, A, (latin4ever93) and V, (Hugs Kisses and Kookies). And this is our story: please review. We need 3 reviews before we will update! Thanks ~Aurealia~
Prologue
"Excuse me. Do you guys mind if I sit in here?"
Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin all turned to look at the owner of the timid voice that had interrupted their game of wizards' chess. The owner was a frightened looking girl about their age with shoulder length dark hair and amber eyes that shone with fear and determination.
"No." the three friends said at the same time and all stood to clear a seat for the girl.
"Thanks." She said and began to pull her trunk into the compartment. The boys gave curious looks to the girls ensemble of a pair of jeans that slung over her hips to show the top of a pair of blue boxers, and a white tee shirt that read BAD DOG with the picture of a bull dog, the shirt was at least 3 sizes to big and she had tied a knot on the right side of her shirt.
"Your not from around here huh?" asked Lupin as he glanced up and down her again.
"Mmm Mmm. Nope." Said the girl and plopped down into the seat next to James.
"Where ya from?" James asked shifting to look at the girl.
"Valencia." The girl answered and leaned her head back on the seat.
The three boys exchanged confused looks. "Where?" they asked in unison.
"Valencia. It's in Spain." The girl said in an exasperated tone but didn't open her eyes.
"Oh." Said Lupin and cocked an eyebrow.
"What's your name?" Sirius asked leaning forward so he would have been looking the girl in the face had she had her head up.
"Jade." She said simply but still didn't open her eyes. "You guys?" she asked.
"James Potter."
"Remus Lupin."
"Sirius Black."
All three answered in turn and relaxed in their seats again.
"Hey how long do you think till we get to the school? She asked suddenly and looked around at them.
"I don't know, few hours." James answered switching seats with Sirius so he and Lupin could continue the chess game they'd been playing.
"Ok then I'm gonna go to sleep, I haven't had a full nights sleep in over two months." Said Jade and without hesitation laid her head down onto Sirius's shoulder and almost instantly fell asleep.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @
"So, have you already been sorted?" Lupin asked as they rode towards the castle in the horseless carriages.
"Yea. When we moved here my father told Dibbet that this is where they wanted me to attend blah blah blah and so I was sorted into Gryffindor." Jade said simply. "Which house are you guys in?" she asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"We're all in Gryffindor." James said and shrugged.
A few minutes later the carriages came to a creaking halt in front of the looming castle. All the students above first year climbed out of the carriages in silence; as always they were slightly in awe of the enormous school.
"Dayum." Muttered Jade as she looked up at the castle.
After the new first years had been sorted and they had all had their fill of the beginning of term feast the head master stood to give the start of term notices.
(A/N: OK I'm not sure who was head master during James's, Sirius's, and Lupin's time at school. So I'm just going to make it Dibbet. Oh wait I already did that! Duh! Anywho, sorry if I'm wrong!)
The students listened as Professor Dibbet gave the regular announcements about the forbidden forest being out of bounds, when the Quidditch practices would be held, but one announcement made almost every student jump or squeal with excitement.
"I am pleased to announce that there will be a dance on the thirty-first of October." He said. It was a rather quick announcement as he quickly went on to more of the usual announcements.
"I wonder why there's a dance?" the four of them heard a girl ask to a group of other whispering, giggling, and already flirting girls.
"Ugh." Jade moaned and made a disgusted face at the girls. "I hate girls like that." She said grabbing a handful of her robes so she could follow the boys up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.
"Like what?" James asked looking offended and gave a smile and a nod to the girl who'd asked the question, she replied by cocking an eyebrow then turning back to her friends and pretending she'd never seen him.
"Dead weight." Jade said as they came to stand in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Huh?" Lupin asked and said the password.
"Dead weight, like 'Oooo I broke a nail!'" as they walked into the common room Jade hit the floor as she pretended to faint. Then she looked up at the three laughing boys and pretended to shiver. "Makes my skin crawl." She said and accepted Lupin's hand to help her back on her feet.
"I second that." He said and smiled.
"Who was that anyway?" Jade asked as again the girl passed and immediately headed up the stairs to the girls dormitory.
"Lily Evans." Sirius responded as they sat in some saggy armchairs in front of the fire.
"Who likes her?" Jade asked in a nonchalant tone.
"James." Lupin responded as though it were a common question.
"Thought so, he stood up for her." Jade said.
For a moment James looked back and forth between the two then shook his head. "Do you always ask that when you see a girl?" he asked in a curious tone.
"No. I just wanted to be sure that I was right in thinking you liked her. Like I said, you stood up for her. That practically screams 'I like her!'" Jade said and gave a sly smile to James.
James got a confused look on his face and looked at Sirius who laughed.
"You should ask her to the dance." Jade commented through Sirius's laughing.
"Excuse me?" James said and stared at her as though she had just split in two.
"Ask her to the dance." Jade repeated in a slower voice.
"Yeah right. You wouldn't believe how many times she's turned him down." Sirius said and began to laugh again.
Jade cocked an eyebrow at Sirius and pondered for a moment about what he thought was so funny then turned back to James.
"Then wait until the dance then ask to dance with you. But make sure it's a slow dance. Never ask a girl to dance with you for the first time during a fast song, kills the mood." Jade said in a business like tone.
"Right." James said slowly. "And why are you telling me this?" he asked.
"Because, you seriously need the help." She said and smiled when he looked affronted. "And because I may need some information from you." She said and shot them all a look that warned them not to ask what about. "Well, I'm going to bed, good night." She said and stood and stretched her hands over her head then walked towards the girls' dormitories.
"'Night." The three boys responded.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Two months later, on the day before the dance the four friends sat together working on their potions homework.
"Oi, I give up." Jade said and leaned back in her chair. "I'm gonna have to do this later. I can hardly think." She said and stretched her arms over her head.
"Makes two of us." James said yet they all knew that when he closed all his books he was done with the essay.
Jade glanced at her watch. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I've still got about twenty minutes." She said and stood after piling all her books back into her bag. "Anyone wanna join me?" she asked in a hopeful tone. The boys had soon realized that Jade didn't like going anywhere alone, yet they couldn't figure out why.
"Sorry, can't. Still got the Divination homework." James said and promptly began said homework.
"Sorry Jade, I'm still workin' on this." Lupin said and pointed heatedly at the potions homework.
"I'll go." Sirius said and put the only book he'd had out back in his bag.
"What?" asked James looking up at his best friend. "You haven't written even a paragraph on the potions homework, you haven't practiced that silencing charm yet, and you haven't even started on Transfiguration." He said in a matter of fact tone.
"Eh, big deal. I can finish those later this week." Sirius shrugged and followed Jade towards the porthole.
"Aren't you gonna say anything?" James asked Lupin in an anxious tone.
"Nope." Lupin answered. "I think he's finally gonna ask her to the dance. He's been saying he's going to for almost.. 4 weeks." He finished before James could argue.
Sirius and Jade reached the Quidditch pitch and she stopped to look up at the sky.
"Bello." She sighed more to her self than to Sirius.
"What?" he asked looking at her.
"That's Italian for beautiful." She said simply and looked down at him with a grin.
"Hey uh.do you.umm.wou-oh man." Sirius stuttered for a moment then turned away from Jade.
'Oh my gosh. Yes!' Jade thought as she realized what Sirius was trying to ask. 'Finally! I've been waiting for 3 weeks now.' She thought and forced the smile from her face as Sirius turned back to her.
"Doyouwannagotothedancewithme?" he asked in one breath, had Jade not been expecting it she wouldn't have known what he said.
"What?" she asked so as not to give away that she'd been hoping and praying he'd ask.
"Do you.wanna go to the dance.with me?" he asked slower.
Jade opened her mouth to respond, "Of cour-" she stopped in mid word as a memory came rushing into her mind, playing like a movie behind her eyes.
She looked up at Sirius. The look of hopefulness she saw there made her vision blurry with the hot tears that burned the back of her eyes. She looked down at the ground and tried vainly to keep the tears from falling.
"Maldigalo Brian." She muttered just barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry Sirius. I like to go to dance's and things like that alone, that way I don't have to worry about my date getting jealous." She said and looked up at him with a new wave of tears falling down her face.
"Oh." Sirius said and the hopeful look in his eyes faded and gave way to a deeply depressed look. "That's ok." He said with a shrug and a small smile that was as transparent as the house ghost.
"I'm sorry, its just something that I do." She said and tried to smile. "But hey, I'll save a dance for ya ok?" she asked yet her voice cracked slightly.
"Thanks." He said and looked around. "Well, we better be getting back to the castle." He said and turned to walk towards it. "You comin'?" he asked but didn't look around at her.
"You go on, I'll be there in a minute." She said and walked into the center of the Quidditch field. For a moment she looked at Sirius's shrinking form then she to sank down on to her knees. She hunched over so her head touched her knees and silently let her tears flow.
@~@~@~@~@~@
"Who are you goin' with?" Lily asked her friend Amie as the five girls walked into the dormitory after classes had ended.
"Mike Ashfort from Ravenclaw." The girl Amie answered as she pulled her dress from her trunk.
"Who?" another of Lily's friends, Kathrite, asked as she pulled off her robes.
"Never mind, I'll introduce you to him later." Amie said as she pulled on her dark purple dress. "I'm so glad we're able to wear real dresses rather than dress robes." She said happily while she zipped up the dress.
"Me to." Lily agreed and turned her back to another friend and asked her to zip it up.
"Who are you goin' with?" Kathrite asked Lily.
"He's from Hufflepuff, you wouldn't know him." She answered in a nonchalant voice.
Suddenly Amie turned to Lily with surprise on her face. "Is it that dark headed chaser you're always drooling over?" she asked in an anxious tone.
"So what if it is?" Lily asked. And the three of them burst into a fit of screams and laughter.
"What about you Jade?" Amie suddenly turned to Jade who'd been trying to not to listen as she pulled her robes off.
"What?" she asked looking at them.
"Who are you going with?" Amie asked.
"Since when do you care about me?" Jade asked as she pulled her dress out of her trunk.
"Well, it's kinda hard not to ask, you won't tell us anything about you or the things you do. Like you wouldn't show us your dress for the dance, since you seem to have such a connection with guys you won't tell us anything about guys we like, and now you won't tell us who your going with. You can't expect us to not ask." Said Amie and walked towards Jade.
"I'm not going with anybody." Jade said in a bored voice as she zipped her black dress up.
The other girls in the room gasped as though she'd just announced she killed someone.
"What?" she asked them and bent to put on her shoes, but still didn't turn to look at them. "So what if I'm not going with anybody. That gives me an advantage, I can dance with whoever I want and not just my date." She said and turned to face them with her hands on her hips.
For a moment the girls considered this then all went back to their own doings.
"Then what happened last night?" Lily asked in a sly tone.
"Excuse me?" Jade asked as she ran a brush through her hair.
"I saw you and Sirius leave the common room and walk out to the Quidditch field. We all thought he asked you." Lily said and began to pull her hair up.
"He did." Jade said and used her wand to put loose wavy curls in her hair.
"And you said no?!" a girl who Jade couldn't think of her name asked in a surprised tone.
"Yea. So." Jade said as she put a dark red color on her lips.
"But he's like..hot!" the girl answered.
Jade looked up at her and smiled, so this girl had also been to America as they were the only people she'd ever heard call a person hot.
"Yes thank you I know that. But I already told you guys I like to go to these kinds of things alone so I can dance with as many people as I want. Not just Sirius." She said and then they all walked down to the common room.
* * * * * * * * *
"James if you don't ask her to dance I'm gonna do it for you." Sirius whispered hoarsely in James' ear later at the dance as the two looked at Lily from across the room.
"I-I-I-" James stuttered as he looked at Lily.
"All right, I'm goin'." Said Sirius and made a move towards Lily, but James caught his upper arm and walked towards her.
"Like you've got room to talk." Lupin said from behind Sirius.
"What?" asked Sirius as Lupin came to stand beside him.
"You've been staring at Jade ever since she walked into the room. Now if you don't ask her to dance soon someone else will." He said and nodded at Jade who was standing at the other end of the hall, her legs crossed in front of her and her arms behind her as she leaned against the wall.
On cue a white haired Slytherin boy named Lucius Malfoy approached Jade, a minute later he led her onto the dance floor.
"Told ya." Lupin said in a bored tone.
Sirius swore under his breath. "She's dancing with a Slytherin!" he said angrily as though Lupin hadn't seen.
"I knew that." Lupin said and reached out to grasp the back of Sirius's shirt as he made an aggressive step towards Jade and Malfoy. "Stay here." Lupin said and walked casually towards the couple.
"Excuse me." Lupin said after clearing his throat. "May I cut in?" he asked more to Jade than to Malfoy. And before Malfoy could object Lupin took Jade's hand, pressed her body to his, and maneuvered her away from a red faced Malfoy.
"Thank you." Jade said once they were out of earshot. "He was driving me insane!" she said and glanced over her shoulder.
"Then.why did you dance with him?" Lupin asked in a fake curious tone.
"Because I hate being a wall flower." Jade said simply.
The song the band had been playing ended and the whole of the hall clapped enthusiastically. After a quiet discussion amongst them the band started another song, this one quicker and had a beat that made the dancers bounce in time to the music.
"Shall we go again?" Jade asked and looked up at Lupin.
"Oh!" Lupin pretended to look surprised. "I thought this dance was taken." He said and looked over his shoulder at Sirius who stood watching them with a deep yearning on his face.
Jade smiled warmly up at Lupin, pressed a kiss to his cheek then went towards Sirius.
"Ready?" she asked in the most nonchalant voice she could muster.
"Huh?" asked Sirius who was surprised to find her next to him.
"For your dance. I did promise you one, right?" Jade said in a you-silly voice.
"Oh-right." Said Sirius and took her out stretched hand.
The two walked out to the dance floor, almost right next to Lily and James (she had finally given in when she caught a glance of her date dancing with his ex-girlfriend). Sirius looked rather awkward as though he had no idea how to dance. Jade stifled a giggle and put his right hand on her hip, and took his left in her right, then she pressed her body against his and looked up into his scared face.
"I don't know how to do this dance." He said and tried to back away from her.
"Neither do I. Just move with the music." Jade said in a laughing tone.
For a minute or two Jade had to lead the dance, but after a while Sirius picked up on the beat; then he grasped her waist all the tighter and maneuvered her through the other couples.
When the song ended the two of them slowly stopped dancing and looked up at one another without letting go of each other.
"We're outside." Jade said suddenly and pulled away from Sirius while looking around confused.
"How'd we get out here?" Sirius asked.
"You led us out here." Jade said in a matter of fact tone.
"Hmmm. Well c'mon lets go back inside." Sirius said as a slower song played from the bands' instruments.
"No. Let's stay out here. It's quieter out here. Peaceful." Jade said and again held her hand out to Sirius.
After a moments hesitation Sirius took her hand.
Jade wasn't sure how much time passed as they danced together, she heard the music change at least 3 times but that didn't change the way they danced. Slowly, as one, as though they knew how the other was going to move in that instant.
They only stopped when they both began to feel raindrops on the tops of their heads. Suddenly the rain came down all at once, almost immediately drenching them to the bone.
"C'mon let's get inside." Sirius said and walked towards great oak doors.
"No wait!" Jade hollered. Sirius turned to see her standing with her arms spread wide and her head turned to the sky. "I love the rain." She said and spun around slowly.
Sirius watched as she began to dance around to music only she could hear, as the band had taken a break. When he could stand it no longer he jumped down the few steps he'd climbed and ran towards her. His arm caught her around her waist and he turned so he could wrap his other arm around her also; as though she had been waiting for him she wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to move around.
The dance ended as Jade started to falter from being out of breath and Sirius placed his hands on both sides of her hips and lifted her into the air, spinning around a few more times before coming to a stop.
But he didn't put her down. When he stopped Jade brought herself up right again as she had arched her back and swung her arms out when he spun her. She looked down into his black eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her all the closer to him. Following suit he wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to slip an inch or so down his body, and bringing her face even more closer to his.
Her amber eyes swept over his face quickly before she closed the remaining inches between their faces. Sirius moaned when she did what he could not, he silently thanked his maker for her uninhibited ways. Soon she had used her body weight to force him to his knees, then slowly on top of her.
Sirius pulled away from her and looked down at her, moonlight highlighted her dark hair and black dress so it gave her the look that she had light coming off her; and her eyes told him to not even think twice.
"Por favor no me lastime." She whispered to him as he bent to kiss her forehead. Sirius was amazed when the Spanish words she had spoken floated across his mind, and he was able to understand them.
'Please don't hurt me.'
Sirius only shook his head at her with a warm smile. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer.
The rest of the night belonged to them.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Jade hung her head low as she walked up to the owlery. It had been a little over four weeks from the dance, and suddenly Jade wished with every fiber of her being that it had never happened.
"Hey Jade." James said when Jade almost collided with him.
"Oh-hey James." She said in a cracked voice.
"What's wrong?" James asked in a comforting tone.
"Nothing." Jade quickly lied, and wiped at the tears that had fallen down her face.
"Yeah right." James said. He turned to walk in the direction she was, then put an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon. No one died did they?" James asked in a playful tone.
"No."
"Then what's wrong?" he asked again and tried to look into her face.
"It's kinda hard to explain." Jade said as they reached the owlery.
James sighed deeply as Jade pulled away and walked towards her gray screech owl.
"Who's the letter to?" James asked.
"My parents." Jade said and for a moment she didn't move, then shook her head and gave the letter to Smudge her owl.
For a moment the two of them stood in silence as Smudge flew out the window, and after a moment he was out of sight.
"C'mon. We gotta get back to the common room." James said after checking his watch.
When the two of them reached the common room Jade began to look around the busy room for a Sirius. When she saw Lupin sitting at a table in the corner she immediately went towards him.
"Remus, have you seen Sirius?" Jade asked in an anxious tone.
"Yeah, he went to bed about 20 minutes ago." Lupin said but didn't look up from his homework.
Jade sighed loudly in annoyance and disappointment.
"Ok." She said and walked up to the girls' dormitory.
@~@~@~@
The next morning the other three wondered why Jade wasn't in either Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Man where is she?" Lupin asked as they walked towards potions class.
"Think she's ok?" Sirius asked in a worried tone.
When they walked into the dungeon they saw Jade sitting at their usual table, but she was slouching so her head was on the desk and they could see even from the door way how pale she looked.
"Jade! What happened to you?!" Lupin asked as they rushed forward and sat next to her.
"Nothing. I'm just feelin' a little." she swayed in her seat for a moment. "Under the weather." She finished.
"Maybe you should go up to the hospital wing." James suggested as the rest of the class began to sit down.
"I already went." Jade said and bent her head down onto Sirius' shoulder with a wince of pain. "She said she couldn't help me." She said and winced again.
"Couldn't help you?" James said in a skeptical tone.
"Ok wouldn't help me." She said in a light tone.
"Why?" Sirius asked and looked highly surprised.
"Because-" Jade suddenly stopped speaking. And after a moment she clamped a hand over her mouth and ran out of the room just as the professor came to stand in front of the class.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
"I'm startin' to get worried about Jade." Sirius said a few days later as him, James, Lupin, and Wormtail sat out under a tree.
"Yeah me to. She hasn't been to more than 7 classes this whole week. She's always sick. I haven't seen her eat either, or what she does she throws up later." James said and looked up at the castle where they all suspected Jade was in the girls bathroom.again.
"You don't think its anything serious do you?" Sirius asked and suddenly looked scared.
"No." Lupin answered.
Even though none of them believed him they all leaned back against the tree and changed the subject.
"Hey isn't that Jade's owl?" Wormtail said and pointed up. The rest of them looked and sure enough they could see her gray owl swooping down towards them. It landed gracefully on James' knee, and held out the letter clamped in its beak.
'Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail' was written on the front of the envelope in Jade's unmistakable handwriting.
Sirius took the letter from the owl, ripped it open, and as his eyes traveled over the paper they got wider with each line and he got paler.
When he finished reading it he dropped his hand to his lap and stared at nothing.
"What is it? What'd she say?" James asked not bothering to read the letter himself.
Sirius looked around at all of them, then read through the letter one more time before turning to look James in the face.
"She moved." He said hoarsely.
A/N: Ok bad ending! But oh well! Anywho, hope you like. Please r/r, and we'll try to get the next chap up soon.
~Hugs Kisses and Kookies
Aurealia's Notes: ohhhh a suspense/cliffhanger. hehe. Hope you liked it. and the voices in my mind remind me to tell you to review, we need at least three before we will update! Okay ( ~Aurealia~
A/N: Hia peoples! :: We wave to crowd:: We have decided to be difficult and write a story "cross-country". Hehe (. So the "we" is me, A, (latin4ever93) and V, (Hugs Kisses and Kookies). And this is our story: please review. We need 3 reviews before we will update! Thanks ~Aurealia~
Prologue
"Excuse me. Do you guys mind if I sit in here?"
Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin all turned to look at the owner of the timid voice that had interrupted their game of wizards' chess. The owner was a frightened looking girl about their age with shoulder length dark hair and amber eyes that shone with fear and determination.
"No." the three friends said at the same time and all stood to clear a seat for the girl.
"Thanks." She said and began to pull her trunk into the compartment. The boys gave curious looks to the girls ensemble of a pair of jeans that slung over her hips to show the top of a pair of blue boxers, and a white tee shirt that read BAD DOG with the picture of a bull dog, the shirt was at least 3 sizes to big and she had tied a knot on the right side of her shirt.
"Your not from around here huh?" asked Lupin as he glanced up and down her again.
"Mmm Mmm. Nope." Said the girl and plopped down into the seat next to James.
"Where ya from?" James asked shifting to look at the girl.
"Valencia." The girl answered and leaned her head back on the seat.
The three boys exchanged confused looks. "Where?" they asked in unison.
"Valencia. It's in Spain." The girl said in an exasperated tone but didn't open her eyes.
"Oh." Said Lupin and cocked an eyebrow.
"What's your name?" Sirius asked leaning forward so he would have been looking the girl in the face had she had her head up.
"Jade." She said simply but still didn't open her eyes. "You guys?" she asked.
"James Potter."
"Remus Lupin."
"Sirius Black."
All three answered in turn and relaxed in their seats again.
"Hey how long do you think till we get to the school? She asked suddenly and looked around at them.
"I don't know, few hours." James answered switching seats with Sirius so he and Lupin could continue the chess game they'd been playing.
"Ok then I'm gonna go to sleep, I haven't had a full nights sleep in over two months." Said Jade and without hesitation laid her head down onto Sirius's shoulder and almost instantly fell asleep.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @
"So, have you already been sorted?" Lupin asked as they rode towards the castle in the horseless carriages.
"Yea. When we moved here my father told Dibbet that this is where they wanted me to attend blah blah blah and so I was sorted into Gryffindor." Jade said simply. "Which house are you guys in?" she asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"We're all in Gryffindor." James said and shrugged.
A few minutes later the carriages came to a creaking halt in front of the looming castle. All the students above first year climbed out of the carriages in silence; as always they were slightly in awe of the enormous school.
"Dayum." Muttered Jade as she looked up at the castle.
After the new first years had been sorted and they had all had their fill of the beginning of term feast the head master stood to give the start of term notices.
(A/N: OK I'm not sure who was head master during James's, Sirius's, and Lupin's time at school. So I'm just going to make it Dibbet. Oh wait I already did that! Duh! Anywho, sorry if I'm wrong!)
The students listened as Professor Dibbet gave the regular announcements about the forbidden forest being out of bounds, when the Quidditch practices would be held, but one announcement made almost every student jump or squeal with excitement.
"I am pleased to announce that there will be a dance on the thirty-first of October." He said. It was a rather quick announcement as he quickly went on to more of the usual announcements.
"I wonder why there's a dance?" the four of them heard a girl ask to a group of other whispering, giggling, and already flirting girls.
"Ugh." Jade moaned and made a disgusted face at the girls. "I hate girls like that." She said grabbing a handful of her robes so she could follow the boys up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.
"Like what?" James asked looking offended and gave a smile and a nod to the girl who'd asked the question, she replied by cocking an eyebrow then turning back to her friends and pretending she'd never seen him.
"Dead weight." Jade said as they came to stand in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Huh?" Lupin asked and said the password.
"Dead weight, like 'Oooo I broke a nail!'" as they walked into the common room Jade hit the floor as she pretended to faint. Then she looked up at the three laughing boys and pretended to shiver. "Makes my skin crawl." She said and accepted Lupin's hand to help her back on her feet.
"I second that." He said and smiled.
"Who was that anyway?" Jade asked as again the girl passed and immediately headed up the stairs to the girls dormitory.
"Lily Evans." Sirius responded as they sat in some saggy armchairs in front of the fire.
"Who likes her?" Jade asked in a nonchalant tone.
"James." Lupin responded as though it were a common question.
"Thought so, he stood up for her." Jade said.
For a moment James looked back and forth between the two then shook his head. "Do you always ask that when you see a girl?" he asked in a curious tone.
"No. I just wanted to be sure that I was right in thinking you liked her. Like I said, you stood up for her. That practically screams 'I like her!'" Jade said and gave a sly smile to James.
James got a confused look on his face and looked at Sirius who laughed.
"You should ask her to the dance." Jade commented through Sirius's laughing.
"Excuse me?" James said and stared at her as though she had just split in two.
"Ask her to the dance." Jade repeated in a slower voice.
"Yeah right. You wouldn't believe how many times she's turned him down." Sirius said and began to laugh again.
Jade cocked an eyebrow at Sirius and pondered for a moment about what he thought was so funny then turned back to James.
"Then wait until the dance then ask to dance with you. But make sure it's a slow dance. Never ask a girl to dance with you for the first time during a fast song, kills the mood." Jade said in a business like tone.
"Right." James said slowly. "And why are you telling me this?" he asked.
"Because, you seriously need the help." She said and smiled when he looked affronted. "And because I may need some information from you." She said and shot them all a look that warned them not to ask what about. "Well, I'm going to bed, good night." She said and stood and stretched her hands over her head then walked towards the girls' dormitories.
"'Night." The three boys responded.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Two months later, on the day before the dance the four friends sat together working on their potions homework.
"Oi, I give up." Jade said and leaned back in her chair. "I'm gonna have to do this later. I can hardly think." She said and stretched her arms over her head.
"Makes two of us." James said yet they all knew that when he closed all his books he was done with the essay.
Jade glanced at her watch. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I've still got about twenty minutes." She said and stood after piling all her books back into her bag. "Anyone wanna join me?" she asked in a hopeful tone. The boys had soon realized that Jade didn't like going anywhere alone, yet they couldn't figure out why.
"Sorry, can't. Still got the Divination homework." James said and promptly began said homework.
"Sorry Jade, I'm still workin' on this." Lupin said and pointed heatedly at the potions homework.
"I'll go." Sirius said and put the only book he'd had out back in his bag.
"What?" asked James looking up at his best friend. "You haven't written even a paragraph on the potions homework, you haven't practiced that silencing charm yet, and you haven't even started on Transfiguration." He said in a matter of fact tone.
"Eh, big deal. I can finish those later this week." Sirius shrugged and followed Jade towards the porthole.
"Aren't you gonna say anything?" James asked Lupin in an anxious tone.
"Nope." Lupin answered. "I think he's finally gonna ask her to the dance. He's been saying he's going to for almost.. 4 weeks." He finished before James could argue.
Sirius and Jade reached the Quidditch pitch and she stopped to look up at the sky.
"Bello." She sighed more to her self than to Sirius.
"What?" he asked looking at her.
"That's Italian for beautiful." She said simply and looked down at him with a grin.
"Hey uh.do you.umm.wou-oh man." Sirius stuttered for a moment then turned away from Jade.
'Oh my gosh. Yes!' Jade thought as she realized what Sirius was trying to ask. 'Finally! I've been waiting for 3 weeks now.' She thought and forced the smile from her face as Sirius turned back to her.
"Doyouwannagotothedancewithme?" he asked in one breath, had Jade not been expecting it she wouldn't have known what he said.
"What?" she asked so as not to give away that she'd been hoping and praying he'd ask.
"Do you.wanna go to the dance.with me?" he asked slower.
Jade opened her mouth to respond, "Of cour-" she stopped in mid word as a memory came rushing into her mind, playing like a movie behind her eyes.
She looked up at Sirius. The look of hopefulness she saw there made her vision blurry with the hot tears that burned the back of her eyes. She looked down at the ground and tried vainly to keep the tears from falling.
"Maldigalo Brian." She muttered just barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry Sirius. I like to go to dance's and things like that alone, that way I don't have to worry about my date getting jealous." She said and looked up at him with a new wave of tears falling down her face.
"Oh." Sirius said and the hopeful look in his eyes faded and gave way to a deeply depressed look. "That's ok." He said with a shrug and a small smile that was as transparent as the house ghost.
"I'm sorry, its just something that I do." She said and tried to smile. "But hey, I'll save a dance for ya ok?" she asked yet her voice cracked slightly.
"Thanks." He said and looked around. "Well, we better be getting back to the castle." He said and turned to walk towards it. "You comin'?" he asked but didn't look around at her.
"You go on, I'll be there in a minute." She said and walked into the center of the Quidditch field. For a moment she looked at Sirius's shrinking form then she to sank down on to her knees. She hunched over so her head touched her knees and silently let her tears flow.
@~@~@~@~@~@
"Who are you goin' with?" Lily asked her friend Amie as the five girls walked into the dormitory after classes had ended.
"Mike Ashfort from Ravenclaw." The girl Amie answered as she pulled her dress from her trunk.
"Who?" another of Lily's friends, Kathrite, asked as she pulled off her robes.
"Never mind, I'll introduce you to him later." Amie said as she pulled on her dark purple dress. "I'm so glad we're able to wear real dresses rather than dress robes." She said happily while she zipped up the dress.
"Me to." Lily agreed and turned her back to another friend and asked her to zip it up.
"Who are you goin' with?" Kathrite asked Lily.
"He's from Hufflepuff, you wouldn't know him." She answered in a nonchalant voice.
Suddenly Amie turned to Lily with surprise on her face. "Is it that dark headed chaser you're always drooling over?" she asked in an anxious tone.
"So what if it is?" Lily asked. And the three of them burst into a fit of screams and laughter.
"What about you Jade?" Amie suddenly turned to Jade who'd been trying to not to listen as she pulled her robes off.
"What?" she asked looking at them.
"Who are you going with?" Amie asked.
"Since when do you care about me?" Jade asked as she pulled her dress out of her trunk.
"Well, it's kinda hard not to ask, you won't tell us anything about you or the things you do. Like you wouldn't show us your dress for the dance, since you seem to have such a connection with guys you won't tell us anything about guys we like, and now you won't tell us who your going with. You can't expect us to not ask." Said Amie and walked towards Jade.
"I'm not going with anybody." Jade said in a bored voice as she zipped her black dress up.
The other girls in the room gasped as though she'd just announced she killed someone.
"What?" she asked them and bent to put on her shoes, but still didn't turn to look at them. "So what if I'm not going with anybody. That gives me an advantage, I can dance with whoever I want and not just my date." She said and turned to face them with her hands on her hips.
For a moment the girls considered this then all went back to their own doings.
"Then what happened last night?" Lily asked in a sly tone.
"Excuse me?" Jade asked as she ran a brush through her hair.
"I saw you and Sirius leave the common room and walk out to the Quidditch field. We all thought he asked you." Lily said and began to pull her hair up.
"He did." Jade said and used her wand to put loose wavy curls in her hair.
"And you said no?!" a girl who Jade couldn't think of her name asked in a surprised tone.
"Yea. So." Jade said as she put a dark red color on her lips.
"But he's like..hot!" the girl answered.
Jade looked up at her and smiled, so this girl had also been to America as they were the only people she'd ever heard call a person hot.
"Yes thank you I know that. But I already told you guys I like to go to these kinds of things alone so I can dance with as many people as I want. Not just Sirius." She said and then they all walked down to the common room.
* * * * * * * * *
"James if you don't ask her to dance I'm gonna do it for you." Sirius whispered hoarsely in James' ear later at the dance as the two looked at Lily from across the room.
"I-I-I-" James stuttered as he looked at Lily.
"All right, I'm goin'." Said Sirius and made a move towards Lily, but James caught his upper arm and walked towards her.
"Like you've got room to talk." Lupin said from behind Sirius.
"What?" asked Sirius as Lupin came to stand beside him.
"You've been staring at Jade ever since she walked into the room. Now if you don't ask her to dance soon someone else will." He said and nodded at Jade who was standing at the other end of the hall, her legs crossed in front of her and her arms behind her as she leaned against the wall.
On cue a white haired Slytherin boy named Lucius Malfoy approached Jade, a minute later he led her onto the dance floor.
"Told ya." Lupin said in a bored tone.
Sirius swore under his breath. "She's dancing with a Slytherin!" he said angrily as though Lupin hadn't seen.
"I knew that." Lupin said and reached out to grasp the back of Sirius's shirt as he made an aggressive step towards Jade and Malfoy. "Stay here." Lupin said and walked casually towards the couple.
"Excuse me." Lupin said after clearing his throat. "May I cut in?" he asked more to Jade than to Malfoy. And before Malfoy could object Lupin took Jade's hand, pressed her body to his, and maneuvered her away from a red faced Malfoy.
"Thank you." Jade said once they were out of earshot. "He was driving me insane!" she said and glanced over her shoulder.
"Then.why did you dance with him?" Lupin asked in a fake curious tone.
"Because I hate being a wall flower." Jade said simply.
The song the band had been playing ended and the whole of the hall clapped enthusiastically. After a quiet discussion amongst them the band started another song, this one quicker and had a beat that made the dancers bounce in time to the music.
"Shall we go again?" Jade asked and looked up at Lupin.
"Oh!" Lupin pretended to look surprised. "I thought this dance was taken." He said and looked over his shoulder at Sirius who stood watching them with a deep yearning on his face.
Jade smiled warmly up at Lupin, pressed a kiss to his cheek then went towards Sirius.
"Ready?" she asked in the most nonchalant voice she could muster.
"Huh?" asked Sirius who was surprised to find her next to him.
"For your dance. I did promise you one, right?" Jade said in a you-silly voice.
"Oh-right." Said Sirius and took her out stretched hand.
The two walked out to the dance floor, almost right next to Lily and James (she had finally given in when she caught a glance of her date dancing with his ex-girlfriend). Sirius looked rather awkward as though he had no idea how to dance. Jade stifled a giggle and put his right hand on her hip, and took his left in her right, then she pressed her body against his and looked up into his scared face.
"I don't know how to do this dance." He said and tried to back away from her.
"Neither do I. Just move with the music." Jade said in a laughing tone.
For a minute or two Jade had to lead the dance, but after a while Sirius picked up on the beat; then he grasped her waist all the tighter and maneuvered her through the other couples.
When the song ended the two of them slowly stopped dancing and looked up at one another without letting go of each other.
"We're outside." Jade said suddenly and pulled away from Sirius while looking around confused.
"How'd we get out here?" Sirius asked.
"You led us out here." Jade said in a matter of fact tone.
"Hmmm. Well c'mon lets go back inside." Sirius said as a slower song played from the bands' instruments.
"No. Let's stay out here. It's quieter out here. Peaceful." Jade said and again held her hand out to Sirius.
After a moments hesitation Sirius took her hand.
Jade wasn't sure how much time passed as they danced together, she heard the music change at least 3 times but that didn't change the way they danced. Slowly, as one, as though they knew how the other was going to move in that instant.
They only stopped when they both began to feel raindrops on the tops of their heads. Suddenly the rain came down all at once, almost immediately drenching them to the bone.
"C'mon let's get inside." Sirius said and walked towards great oak doors.
"No wait!" Jade hollered. Sirius turned to see her standing with her arms spread wide and her head turned to the sky. "I love the rain." She said and spun around slowly.
Sirius watched as she began to dance around to music only she could hear, as the band had taken a break. When he could stand it no longer he jumped down the few steps he'd climbed and ran towards her. His arm caught her around her waist and he turned so he could wrap his other arm around her also; as though she had been waiting for him she wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to move around.
The dance ended as Jade started to falter from being out of breath and Sirius placed his hands on both sides of her hips and lifted her into the air, spinning around a few more times before coming to a stop.
But he didn't put her down. When he stopped Jade brought herself up right again as she had arched her back and swung her arms out when he spun her. She looked down into his black eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her all the closer to him. Following suit he wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to slip an inch or so down his body, and bringing her face even more closer to his.
Her amber eyes swept over his face quickly before she closed the remaining inches between their faces. Sirius moaned when she did what he could not, he silently thanked his maker for her uninhibited ways. Soon she had used her body weight to force him to his knees, then slowly on top of her.
Sirius pulled away from her and looked down at her, moonlight highlighted her dark hair and black dress so it gave her the look that she had light coming off her; and her eyes told him to not even think twice.
"Por favor no me lastime." She whispered to him as he bent to kiss her forehead. Sirius was amazed when the Spanish words she had spoken floated across his mind, and he was able to understand them.
'Please don't hurt me.'
Sirius only shook his head at her with a warm smile. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer.
The rest of the night belonged to them.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Jade hung her head low as she walked up to the owlery. It had been a little over four weeks from the dance, and suddenly Jade wished with every fiber of her being that it had never happened.
"Hey Jade." James said when Jade almost collided with him.
"Oh-hey James." She said in a cracked voice.
"What's wrong?" James asked in a comforting tone.
"Nothing." Jade quickly lied, and wiped at the tears that had fallen down her face.
"Yeah right." James said. He turned to walk in the direction she was, then put an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon. No one died did they?" James asked in a playful tone.
"No."
"Then what's wrong?" he asked again and tried to look into her face.
"It's kinda hard to explain." Jade said as they reached the owlery.
James sighed deeply as Jade pulled away and walked towards her gray screech owl.
"Who's the letter to?" James asked.
"My parents." Jade said and for a moment she didn't move, then shook her head and gave the letter to Smudge her owl.
For a moment the two of them stood in silence as Smudge flew out the window, and after a moment he was out of sight.
"C'mon. We gotta get back to the common room." James said after checking his watch.
When the two of them reached the common room Jade began to look around the busy room for a Sirius. When she saw Lupin sitting at a table in the corner she immediately went towards him.
"Remus, have you seen Sirius?" Jade asked in an anxious tone.
"Yeah, he went to bed about 20 minutes ago." Lupin said but didn't look up from his homework.
Jade sighed loudly in annoyance and disappointment.
"Ok." She said and walked up to the girls' dormitory.
@~@~@~@
The next morning the other three wondered why Jade wasn't in either Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Man where is she?" Lupin asked as they walked towards potions class.
"Think she's ok?" Sirius asked in a worried tone.
When they walked into the dungeon they saw Jade sitting at their usual table, but she was slouching so her head was on the desk and they could see even from the door way how pale she looked.
"Jade! What happened to you?!" Lupin asked as they rushed forward and sat next to her.
"Nothing. I'm just feelin' a little." she swayed in her seat for a moment. "Under the weather." She finished.
"Maybe you should go up to the hospital wing." James suggested as the rest of the class began to sit down.
"I already went." Jade said and bent her head down onto Sirius' shoulder with a wince of pain. "She said she couldn't help me." She said and winced again.
"Couldn't help you?" James said in a skeptical tone.
"Ok wouldn't help me." She said in a light tone.
"Why?" Sirius asked and looked highly surprised.
"Because-" Jade suddenly stopped speaking. And after a moment she clamped a hand over her mouth and ran out of the room just as the professor came to stand in front of the class.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
"I'm startin' to get worried about Jade." Sirius said a few days later as him, James, Lupin, and Wormtail sat out under a tree.
"Yeah me to. She hasn't been to more than 7 classes this whole week. She's always sick. I haven't seen her eat either, or what she does she throws up later." James said and looked up at the castle where they all suspected Jade was in the girls bathroom.again.
"You don't think its anything serious do you?" Sirius asked and suddenly looked scared.
"No." Lupin answered.
Even though none of them believed him they all leaned back against the tree and changed the subject.
"Hey isn't that Jade's owl?" Wormtail said and pointed up. The rest of them looked and sure enough they could see her gray owl swooping down towards them. It landed gracefully on James' knee, and held out the letter clamped in its beak.
'Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail' was written on the front of the envelope in Jade's unmistakable handwriting.
Sirius took the letter from the owl, ripped it open, and as his eyes traveled over the paper they got wider with each line and he got paler.
When he finished reading it he dropped his hand to his lap and stared at nothing.
"What is it? What'd she say?" James asked not bothering to read the letter himself.
Sirius looked around at all of them, then read through the letter one more time before turning to look James in the face.
"She moved." He said hoarsely.
A/N: Ok bad ending! But oh well! Anywho, hope you like. Please r/r, and we'll try to get the next chap up soon.
~Hugs Kisses and Kookies
Aurealia's Notes: ohhhh a suspense/cliffhanger. hehe. Hope you liked it. and the voices in my mind remind me to tell you to review, we need at least three before we will update! Okay ( ~Aurealia~