Jade and Jessica walked down the grass towards Hagrid's Hut arm in arm. They were running a little late, and just happened to fall in step with a certain foursome. "J!"

Jade glanced over. "I asked you to refer to me as Jade, Draco."

"I took that as a request, not a demand."

Jade grimaced, her eyes raking across Pansy Parkinson's hand clinging to Draco's shoulder. She suddenly stopped, and Jessica untangled them with a curious expression. "Malfoy, I'm sick of this."

His eyes widened, feigning obliviousness. "Sick of what, J?"

Jade wanted to say "You." The quidditch game had been the last straw. Not only had he joined in the "Weasley is Our King" gag -or more likely the instigator of it - but his cruel and taunting words had cost Fred, George, and Harry their spots on the team. But she felt that she couldn't keep up her spot on the Inquisitorial Squad if she told Draco off.

"Our banter," she said instead. "Sorry, I'm just not in the mood today."

Draco frowned, prying himself from Pansy's claws and following a little behind them. As Jade and Jessica got closer, they saw Ron and Emma walking together, in the midst of arguing under their breaths. Jade picked up on the conversation as they neared the couple. "...be around Zacharias."

Emma frowned. "I've known him since first year, Ron. Besides," she added a little hesitantly. "We're just friends."

Ron shrugged. "Yeah. And so are we."

Emma went to touch his shoulder, but Ron not-so-subtly cringed away from her. "Ron, why are you being like this?" Emma asked. Jade noted her voice had shot up an octave.
"Like what?" Ron snapped. "I think Zacharias is a bad guy, but you don't care. So go and hang out with him. See if I care."

"But -"

"See you," Ron hissed, sauntering off towards where Harry and Hermione stood.

Emma stood there for a moment, her face full of several emotions. "Friends," she echoed.

"Emma?" Jade called cautiously.

The girl gave an unconvincing smile and walked with them to their friends. When they made it, Hermione hissed something about being late, and Hagrid was already talking. "...person in Britain able ter train 'em."

"And you have trained them, right?" Malfoy yelled out. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?"

There was a low mumbling of agreement, even somewhat reluctantly from the Gryffindors. "'Course they're trained," Hagrid said with a scowl, lifting a dead cow - which Jade just noticed with a fright - farther up his shoulder.

"Then what happened to your face?"

Jade blinked, looking up and down the bruises covering Hagrid. "Mind yer own business! Now if yeh've finished asking stupid questions, follow me."

Jade bit her lip as they ventured deep into the forest, to a spot where the trees were so close the atmosphere was dark and there was no snow. "Gather round, gather round," Hagrid said gruffly. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat, but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, they'll like ter know its me..." He gave a couple shrieking cries - no one laughed, for they were too afraid.

Jade blinked as she saw the creature slip through the shadows. It was familiar - the same creature that had pulled the carriages at the beginning of term. Though Jade had heard the carriages pulled themselves, she knew what she saw. And she wasn't one to argue, so she never asked about them. It was the skeletal body of a large, black, winged horse. She stared at it - not in disgust as the boy standing behind Goyle was, but in awe. She found the thing beautiful.

"Why doesn't Hagrid call again?" Jessica whispered to her, staring at the space before them as if it were empty.

"What do you mean?" Jade looked at Harry, who was clearly following the creature's actions. He looked up and made eye contact with her, shrugging - he didn't understand why most of the students looked confused either.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid exclaimed as a second appeared and joined the first in pecking at the cow meat. "Now...put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

Jade and Harry slowly raised their hands, followed by the boy behind Goyle and Neville Longbottom. "Yeah...yeah I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," Hagrid said seriously. "You too Neville, eh? Miss Baem, as well? And -"

"Excuse me," a drawling voice sounded in Jade's ear, informing her that Draco had walked up behind her. "But what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

Hagrid pointed to the cow carcass for an answer, and many of the class gasped, including Jessica. Jade wondered briefly what it would be like to see the meat disappearing. "What's doing it?" Parvati Patil shrieked. "What's eating the meat?"

"Thestrals."

Hermione let out a small "oh!" And Parvati let out a whimper. "But they're really unlucky! Professor Trelawney said -"

"No, no, no," Hagrid chuckled. "That's just superstition. They're not unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful!" Parvati still looked uneasy. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' you can see 'em, and some can't?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Well, go ahead," Hagrid said, beaming at her.

"The only people who can see thestrals are people who have seen death."

Though Hagrid still looked jolly, Jade felt ice creep into her blood. 'Seen death'? How was that possible? "Tha's exactly right. Ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals -"

"Hem hem."

Jade's eyes found Harry's and they grimaced at each other. "Oh, hello!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?"

"Yeah!" Hagrid said happily. "I'm glad yeh found the place alrigh'. We're doin' thestrals today -"

"What?" Umbridge called, cupping a hand around her ear. "What did you say?"

"Uh... Thestrals! Big, winged horses," Hagrid flapped his arms hopefully.

Umbridge raised her brows. "Has to resort...to crude sign language..." she muttered, scribbling.

"Uh, right, so..." Hagrid began talking about how Hogwarts had gotten a herd.

"Did you know the Ministry has classified thestrals as dangerous?" Umbridge interrupted.

"Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ, they may take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy 'em -"

"Shows... Signs of pleasure ..at violence..."

Jade tried to ignore her as she told Hagrid she would be going through the students and asking questions - mockingly miming as the majority of the Slytherins snickered.
She asked Pansy if she understood Hagrid, and Jade clenched her fists as she answered, "Well, no...because sometimes it just sounds like grunting.."

Jade shot her a glare as she saw the tears of laughter in Pansy's eyes. "You know what," she hissed, starting towards the girl.

A hand grabbed hers, and she sighed, turning and expecting to see Jessica. Instead, she faced Harry. Jade felt blood rush to her face as she realized it was him holding her hand. "Its not worth it."

"Well, Hagrid," Umbridge said. "I think I've got enough to get along with. You will receive," she started miming again, "the results of your inspection in ten days' time."

When she left and class had ended, Malfoy and Pansy fell into bouts of laughter. Jade gritted her teeth and motioned to Jessica. "Let's go."

She saw Emma instinctively turn to Ron. "She's so evil!"

Ron barely glanced at her. "Yeah." He walked away, leaving Emma staring after him again.

Jade frowned, feeling bad for her. As she and Jessica left, she made sure her cold, loathing stare met Draco's eyes as she brushed by him.

"Have a Very Harry Christmas?" Emma asked with a grin, holding up a gold bauble between two fingers. "Very subtle."

"I didn't do it," Harry said with a slight grin. "It was Dobby."

"The only other creature who loves Harry Potter as much as Harry Potter does," Emma teased. Harry smirked, tossing the ornaments in the bin and tucking it inside a cabinet. Emma smiled to herself, wanting to add 'And of course Jade' but refrained, not wanting to reveal what she had been suspecting since the beginning of term.

Emma and Harry had arrived to the last DA meeting before Christmas Break early. Hermione was leaving to go skiing with her parents, and Emma was disappointed. She had wanted to have someone to stay behind at the school with her, because Emma's own parents had already departed for their vacation to South Africa without her. So, Emma was dreading her plans- to go to the Burrow with Harry and Ron. Emma had made the plans before Ron had begun ignoring her. For some reason she had a feeling she wouldn't be enjoying the break.

Slowly, the others began arriving. Emma watched Harry dodge Luna under the mistletoe. Emma grinned as Hermione arrived, Ron on her tail. The boy sulked over to Harry, avoiding Emma's gaze. Hermione and Emma admired the Christmas decorations together, talking about their regrets of not spending the break together. "Maybe next year we can get our parents together and go on a holiday. And enjoy Muggle pastimes."

Harry called the meeting to an order, explaining that he didn't plan on starting a new lesson, and instead decided they would use the meeting to review.

"We're not doing anything new?" complained Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come. . . ."

Emma shot him an annoyed look from across the room, making him blush. And from a few students over, she saw Ron smirk. She was so happy she missed Fred's sarcastic retort that earned laughter from the whole room.

There was an order to split into pairs, and Emma turned to Hermione. However, a familiar hand touched her arm. "Be my partner?" Ron asked hesitantly.

Emma smiled. "Of course."

As defensive spells shot across the Room of Requirement, Ron seemed to become his old self. "Look, I'm sorry that I was so mean," he apologized between stupefying spells. "But I just had a bad day after Quidditch."

"It's okay," Emma assured him with a small smile. Internally, she knew that's not why he had been so upset. It had to do with the kiss, but it was impossible for her to tell what he thought about it.

Emma caught Jade's eye as Harry helped her perfect her Impediment Jinx. Jade blushed heavily and murmured a thanks to Harry. The pretty girl rolled her eyes at Emma's not so subtle eyebrow wiggle.

"I'm excited that you are coming to the Burrow, mum is too. She's glad at least one other girl will be there," Ron rambled absentmindedly, sending red sparks out of the end of his wand. "Maybe I could teach you to play Quidditch and you could help me practice."

"That sounds fun," Emma said, her stomach heating up.

Across the room, Jade and Harry going back and forth in a hested, worried whisper. "I don't know how long I can do it," Jade said, her eyes downcast.

"Yes you can, it's very brave and not to mention extremely helpful. And besides, I'll- we'll all back you up," Harry insisted. He put a hand on Jade's arm. "I won't let her hurt you."

Emma assumed the two were talking about Jade's role as a double agent on the Inquisitorial Squad. Jade was probably always on edge, especially since Umbridge and Filch were taking measures to sniff out any secret societies within the school.

Emma was deep in thought when she realized Harry was calling the meeting to a close. The students began to filter out, including Ron, leaving behind their mess. Instead of leaving it to the house elves, Emma began picking up pillows and papers, looking around for a place to put them.

All of a sudden, a wooden door appeared in the wall. Of course, I'm in the Room of Requirement. Emma pushed it open with her hip, revealing a roomy closet full of cubbies. She entered the fairly large space, leaving just Harry and a Ravenclaw girl behind. She began tossing the pillows onto the shelves when the sound of the closet door opening made her jump.

"R-" Emma stopped. "Oh, I was expecting-"

"I know," Zacharias Smith said with his usual confident smirk. "It's been a while."

Emma nodded, turning back to her pillows and shelves. Zacharias handed her a pillow, receiving a cool look from Emma. "What?"

"I don't like how you have to act so negative about the DA," Emma sighed. "Harry works so hard."

"He and his friend are a couple of bloody idiots," Zacharias said, his eyes narrowed. "Sure I need the help, but I don't like either one of them."

Emma shook her head. Zacharias continued. "Anyway, I was thinking-" the boy stopped, looking upwards. Emma followed his gaze, and saw a tendril of green leaves growing in thin air.

"Mistletoe," Emma muttered, annoyed. Before she could say another word, Zacharias's lips were on hers. In that same moment the door to the closet opened. Emma pulled back and her eyes met with another pair, blue and hurt. They belonged to Ron.

Emma pushed Zacharias to the side and followed Ron into the Room of Requirement. "Ron-"

The red haired boy turned around, his face a deep shade of purple. "I knew it," was all he hissed, before he jerked his hand away from Emma's and was gone.