Jade read the letter from the stranger over and over again for a hour, trying to see if there was some sort of hidden clues within the message. She reread the letter until her eyes were soar and she got a headache from reading so much. When she couldn't find anything she slammed the letter down on her desk and put her head in her hands.
Finally she let out a long deep breath and put the letter in her top desk drawer and leaned back in her chair. She massaged her temples and started to think about Ron and Hermione. She knew the three of them were a very close circle of friends, and they must be taking this pretty harsh. She thought maybe she would go see how they were doing before she headed out to the meeting in Dumbledore's office. Though then she remembered that Hermione didn't like her at all, and probably also thought that she was the one that killed Harry.
Jade wavered in her decision for a while, but in the end she decided to go see how they were holding up. First, however, she was going to make some herbal tea for them; with a little added ingredients. She walked over to one of the tall mirrors mounted on her wall, and tapped it with her wand once and it opened slowly. It was like a closet, but you couldn't tell it was there in the room by looking at it, like you could the front door. There were some unopened boxes that she never felt like unpacking when she arrived at the school.
She opened one and rummaged though it for a while until she found a large metal teakettle and a few cups. She was a huge fan of tea, but she didn't have the time to make any lately with all that was going on. She held her wand over the top of the kettle and said clearly, "Aguamenti." A small stream of water poured out from the tip of her wand and into the kettle. When it was almost full, she held her wand up and the water ceased to flow. Jade placed the lid on the kettle and tapped it with her wand. The kettle then rose into the air, and hovered above a set of three lit candles. It'd take longer than with a stove, but the same thing happened.
While the water heated she walked back to her desk and pulled out her bottom drawer and looked to see which type of tea she wanted to make. She selected one and put two bags on her desk, and then she pulled out a small vile. It was a special potion she created that she would slip into their tea to make Ron and Hermione feel better, and also make them sleep later in the day. She knew sleep wouldn't come easy to them if she didn't give this to them.
The tea was ready in ten minutes. When she was done preparing it, she poured three cups full, and then added a drop of the potion to only two of the cups. She placed them back on the tray and snapped her fingers. The tray lifted into the air and hovered behind Jade, then followed her when she walked.
When Jade walked out the door and into the hall, she noticed how empty they were. There was an eerie silence that contaminated them, and made even Jade hesitate and shudder. She rubbed her shoulder and drew in a small breath before continuing her little stroll to Ron's room. Jade figured that he and Hermione would be there.
As Jade drew closer and closer to the room, the sound of a girls sobbing filled her ears. 'Hermione,' Jade thought instantly, stopping in front of the door. Suddenly doubt started to fill her mind. What was she really doing there? She didn't know either of them that well to be offering them comfort when their best friend had died. 'Maybe I should just go,' Jade second-guessed herself.
'Well…sometimes it's nice to know that people, besides your friends, are there for you, I suppose,' Jade reassured herself. It was still going to be awkward, but still she felt some strange urge to go through with it anyway. She reached for the handle and silently turned it and opened the door.
As she saw Ron codling Hermione, holding her and gently stroking her head, her heart sank. It was just a sad scene to see. She could tell that Ron had feelings for Hermione, it was obvious to her, and she could tell that he longed to hold her like that, but not for this reason. That's what made it so sad. She stood there silently studying the two. She could tell Ron wanted to let his own tears flow freely, but was trying to hold off and be strong for Hermione.
Jade stood in the doorway just staring at the sad scene in front of her. Now that she was there in the room, she realized something; she hadn't the slightest clue what she was going to say.
"I…I can't believe he's…gone!" Hermione chocked out in a hoarse voice between her sobs. She grasped Ron's shirtsleeve tightly in her hands as the tears began to flow more fluently.
"Me neither," Ron said, almost in a whisper. He tightened his hold on Hermione just a little and raised his hand quickly to wipe away his forming tears before she had a chance to see them.
Jade rubbed the back of her neck, feeling her stomach knot up as the awkward feeling became more intense. She wasn't the best at comforting people, though she did like to try, but still she didn't make an attempt to approach them. She turned back and saw there wasn't much more steam coming from the tear anymore, so if she was going to talk to them she needed to do it now; before the tea got cold.
"You might want to stop crying sometime soon," Jade began, "You might dehydrate yourself." It was the only thing Jade could think of at the moment.
Ron and Hermione both jumped at the sound of Jade's voice. Hermione pulled herself away from Ron and spun around on the bed, staring dumfounded at Jade. She wiped her wet cheeks and stood up and looked around. For once she had no witty comeback. Hermione knew she wasn't really supposed to be in the boy's dorm area, so she thought she was going to get in trouble. Though this time she didn't care, and wouldn't fight it. "I'll…just be going now," she said in a crackling voice, trying to slip past Jade.
Jade shook her head and caught Hermione's arm and replied, "No, it's alright. You need to stay here and be with your close friend here, especially at a time like this." She let go of Hermione's arm and gestured her hand so that she might sit back down again. "I knew you two would be taking this the hardest, so I thought you could use a little company to take your mind off your grief for a short moment."
Ron and Hermione just gazed at Jade, not replying to her at all.
Jade stared back at them, and swallowed hard. She didn't think she'd be this nervous in front of them, but considering the circumstances, she was extremely nervous; her palms were even clammy. She then remembered the tea she brought with her, "Oh, uhm, here. I made some tea for you two, to calm your nerves." Jade pulled out her want and pointed it to the hovering tray, then moved it to the table next to the bed. The tray glided swiftly across the room and placed itself on the table.
Ron watched the tray all the way to the table, then looked at Jade and gave her a halfhearted smile. He took one of the cups and offered it to Hermione, who took it hesitantly and set it down on her knee after she sat back down on the bed. Ron himself took one of the cups and sipped at it a few times before setting it back down. "Thanks," Ron said to Jade, looking at the ground and hunching over some.
"Your welcome." Jade took the third cup from the tray and sat down across from Ron and Hermione on the window ceil. She leaned back against the glass and pulled her right leg up on the edge of the ceil and hugged her knee close to her chest.
"Why are you here?" Hermione asked in a monotone, swirling her tea around in the cup.
Jade watched Hermione for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders and said, "Don't know actually. I'm not the best at providing words of comfort, but I still felt the need to try."
"If your trying to make me believe you weren't the one that killed him, your failing miserably," Hermione snapped, wiping her tears forming from both hate and sadness.
Jade expected a comment like that from Hermione. "I didn't come here to convince you otherwise. I know you won't believe me, so why waste my breath on words that won't be listened to?" Jade yawned and looked up at the clock, then sighed. "Well, I just be on my way to a teachers meeting now and sit through an hour of conviction, or more if I'm lucky." She stood up and put her right hand on her hip. "I just came really to show that I am sorry for your loss. Oh, and drink the tea, you'll feel better."
Ron stared at Hermione and put his hand on her shoulder to stop another malicious comment from coming out of her mouth, "It's really not the time for this."
Hermione stopped and listened to Ron without any protest. She wasn't in the mood to continue verbally attacking Jade. She rubbed her nose and tried to be polite, though she didn't mean it. "Thanks for the tea," she said and sipped at it a few times, even though she didn't trust Jade in the least.
Jade simply nodded and said, "Your welcome." She bowed her head and turned to the door and walked out. She wasn't going to worry about getting her kettle back from them for now. There was always later. She sighed and put her hands in her pockets, thinking to herself, 'That was almost a disaster. Oh well, I did what I wanted to do somewhat. To at least give them the tea and let them sleep easy for tonight. As for the comforting part….no.'