I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER
Chapter 9
The girls drew their wands, preparing for the imminent fight. The rest of the group of older students closed in around them, forming a semicircle. Hopelessly outnumbered, Jade and Sarah had to devise a plan, and fast.
A jet of red light spurted toward Jade. She ducked, and felt the heat skimming the top of her head. Her hair was probably beyond repair, but now wasn't the time to think about it.
Another red light was sent forward, this time aimed for Sarah's heart. She didn't move quickly enough, and got a stinging cut on her upper arm.
"Enough fun and games," The Ravenclaw boy said. "Let's get started."
"Flippendo!" Jade cried out at the same time as Sarah yelled, "Everte Statum!"
Both wands were aimed at the one firing at them, but he ducked and they hit two people behind him. One was tripped and landed on his backside, and the other violently thrown backwards. The Ravenclaw boy grinned, as if it was all a game to him.
"So, you two know how to play, too?" He asked cockily. "This should be interesting."
He gestured to the boys surrounding them to go in. Jade tried to conjure up a shield charm, but her wand was blasted out of her hand with another jet of red light.
"Oww!" Jade screamed, clutching her severely burned right hand. Her fingers were charred and her palm was a dark red. Sarah got distracted and her wand was flung from her hand, but this time with the Expelliarmus charm. They were surrounded, without weapons, and vulnerable. It was serious.
Jade gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the searing pain in her hand and glanced at Sarah. She nodded, indicating that she knew what to do. Both girls lashed out, Jade with her foot and Sarah with her fist. They caught the overconfident boys unawares, and took two of them down. Another three were out of action before anyone could recover.
But they weren't out of it yet. There were still two left, and the others were regaining their senses. Jade saw her and Sarah's wands lying together near a stone pillar. If only they could get there…
"Stupefy!"
A jet of scarlet light passed overhead and hit the Ravenclaw boy straight in the chest. He staggered back and hit the ground.
Only Jade and Sarah stayed sane. While the others were screeching, trying to figure out where the spell came from, Jade ran for the wands and tossed her sister hers. They sent explosions to the ground where they were standing and soon, their assailants had fled except for the Ravenclaw boy who was lying on the ground, moaning.
The twins looked around for their saviour. Standing on top of a small staircase was none other than Harry Potter. He ran down the steps to where the girls were standing.
"Are you two alright?" He asked as he jogged toward them.
"I am, but Jade seriously needs to get to the hospital wing."
Jade, whose adrenaline rush had died down, was leaning against a stone pillar, clutching her charred hand. Harry practically sprinted over to her.
"Here," he said, taking off his scarf and wrapping it around the girl's hand. "I dunno if that'll help, but it might. Come on."
He took her unwrapped hand and started running forward. She and Sarah followed.
At the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey took one look at Jade's hand and said, "That must have hurt." She told Jade to sit down on one of the empty beds as she busted over to some cabinets.
Jade had to spend the next day in the infirmary. The spell that was used to burn her hand was resistant to the medication Madam Pomfrey was using, so an ugly cast was used to cover it. Sarah was also treated for the burn on her arm.
"You two will have to wear the casts for at least a month, so get used to them," the nurse said. They were discharged just after dinner.
As if the case of Jade's parent's weren't enough, her bulky cast added to her ridicule. Three of the boys who had attacked her and Sarah were expelled, but the rest were only punished severely. Once their sentence was served, they rallied even more people against the sisters. In fact, by the Christmas break, almost no one even went near the girls.
The Saturday before the Christmas break started was a Hogsmeade day. Neither Jade nor Sarah had planned to go. It came up in a conversation between Jade and Harry the Wednesday before.
"I can't wait for Hogsmeade," Harry said. "I'm going to sneak into Zonko's with Fred and George to stock up on some stuff. Where are you headed?"
"I'm not going. Sarah and I are just going to hide out in the dungeons or something."
"Why not?" Harry asked. Jade raised her eyebrows, silently asking him if he needed an answer. Harry took the hint.
"Well, it'll be fun, anyways."
"What does Hermione think of the plan?"
"I haven't told her."
"Good idea."
They laughed for a few moments.
"Hey," Harry asked hesitantly. "Would you go to Hogsmeade if you went with me? We could just hide under the Invisibility Cloak so no one would see us."
"Well, I suppose I could." Jade said. Then her eyes widened. "Wait, are you asking me out?"
"Only if you want me to be." Harry said quickly. Jade smiled.
"I'd love to. What's your master plan for getting us into Hogsmeade?"
"You know the statue of the hunchbacked witch?"
"Yeah."
"Meet me there while everyone else is leaving. The teachers will be all tied up down at the Entrance Hall with all the students there."
"Okay," Jade said happily. "It's a date!"
• • • • •
"Oh, my God," Jade laughed as she and Harry half-ran under the Invisibility Cloak. They were trying not to be too loud, so no one would be suspicious of laughter that came seemingly out of thin air. They had just run out of Zonko's Joke Shop, their pockets rattling with their purchases (they gave the money to George Weasley who bought for them). Jade and Harry had big plans for the objects now in their possession, and were headed to Madam Puddifoot's teashop. If anyone were able to see us, they would probably be scared of the dangerous twinkle in our eyes.
"Okay," Harry said, as he saw a couple through the window getting ready to leave. "As soon as they go out, we head in."
"I know the plan, boss." Jade said.
"Just making sure."
Jade smiled to herself. She hadn't had so much fun for a long time.
The two people left the teashop, and Jade and Harry made their move. The door lingered for a moment as they manoeuvred themselves inside, but no one seemed to notice. They'd gotten in.
"Okay, grab that chair."
Jade obliged, inconspicuously sliding a chair directly below an air vent.
"Okay, you're smaller, so you the Invisibility Cloak will cover all of you up while you do it. I'll hide behind the curtains."
Quickly, he lunged from beneath the Cloak and dived behind a curtain. He needn't have worried. If he was in a clown suit riding a unicorn the patrons of the café wouldn't have torn their gazes away from their companion to look. Everyone there was a couple.
"Alright, I'm ready," Jade muttered quietly so no one would hear. She reached up and slid the air vent open slightly. She grasped the four stink bombs from her pocket in her hand and tossed it into the air vent. She slid it back shut and stepped down from the chair. She stepped closer to the curtains Harry was hiding behind to allow him under.
"We've got a few minutes before they go off." Jade whispered. "It's going to be a biggie."
"Yeah. Remember when Fred and George let off one in the bathroom on the third floor last week?"
"How could I forget? I spent the next three days avoiding the place because of the stench."
They tried to laugh quietly, but several patrons looked up. They stifled their giggles and tried to control themselves.
"So, what should we do for the next three minutes?" Harry asked.
"I dunno." Jade replied. "Whatever."
"Well," Harry said. "How are you doing in your classes?"
"I'm abysmal at Astronomy," Jade said cheerfully. She still kept her voice down. "I just don't get the point of it all."
"There isn't anything at all you understand?"
"Well, I can always see one constellation," Jade hesitated. "I can find Sirius."
"Oh," Harry said awkwardly. Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Jade broke the silence.
"My parents must have pointed it out to me when they-." She stopped herself, "when we were little."
"Yeah."
There was another silence. Jade broke it.
"I'm still in shock, really," she said. All traces of her grin were gone. "When I found out, I tried not to believe it. I tried to think of other things that could have happened, or that there was somehow a mistake. I think I've only just realized the extent of what this means." Her breath caught. She took a moment to compose herself.
Jade continued. "I'm the daughter of murderers, Harry. My father pretty much killed yours. Why don't you hate me?"
"You're not the same as them," Harry insisted. "You're-"
"The same blood runs through my veins. They're a part of me, no matter what anyone says." Jade sighed. Harry had never seen her look so defeated. "I only wish-"
There was a small explosion, and someone screamed. She ran out of a washroom, looking completely disgusted while holding her nose.
"You must have thrown it down toward the washrooms," Harry said, trying to sound nonchalant. It didn't work.
"Yeah." Jade replied. Her face was like stone. They left the teashop unnoticed, with people scrambling to get their things to escape. Neither Jade nor Harry said a word as they marched to Honeydukes to go back to Hogwarts. All they left behind were two sets of footprints in the shallow snow.
A/N
That was fun. R&R please! –Lyndasty Black
