Jade snuck around the corner, rushing back to the Room of Requirement to tell Harry that some members of the Inquisitorial Squad - Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle - were patrolling. As she got to the corridor, she saw a familiar face leaving rather quickly. "Have you seen -" She broke off as Ron pushed passed her without a second glance.
With her small build, Jade almost tumbled over at the slight hit. An arm reached out and steadied her - Emma had rushed out after Ron. With a quick apologetic smile, she began to run in the direction Ron had stalked off to. "Ron! Ron wait!"
Jade glanced back, again wondering what had caused the two to fight again. She had originally wondered if they were a couple before being informed they were just friends. But she couldn't help but think, slightly amused, That looks like a lovers' quarrel. Shaking her head, she found the Room of Requirement door. "Harry?" she called as she pushed it open. "Are you still here?"
When her eyes scanned the space, she felt her heart stop suddenly at a sight she didn't want to process. She blinked as Cho and Harry pulled apart, Cho smiling smally through a tear-stained face. Jade sucked in a hitched breath. Harry, apparently hearing the intake of air, snapped his head around to meet her paralyzed gaze. "Jade." She couldn't register the emotion in his voice - she was too busy trying to get her body to move. "I can -"
Jade found her feet again before he could finish his sentence. Stumbling back first, she turned on her heel and ran, all thoughts of the Inquisitorial Squad forgotten. She ran down the corridor with her face in her hands, so she couldn't see as she slammed into another figure. The figure grabbed her arms and balanced her. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered through silent tears as she looked up.
"It's okay, J."
Jade's lip quivered as she stared up at Draco, feeling crushed inside but not wanting to cry in front of him. She turned away from him, but his hand shot out and gently brought her face back towards his. She saw his eyes grow wide when he saw her wet cheeks. "Who did it?"
She sniffled. "What?"
"Who made you cry? Who do I have to beat up?"
Jade managed a snort. "You sound like you're my older brother."
He grimaced. "What happened? Do you...want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, focusing on the ground. And then Draco did the oddest thing - he opened up his arms. His face was weary and full of doubt; he expected Jade to tell him off. And so did she...
So it came as a surprise to both when she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his waist. Because he was tall and she was so short, her head rested on his chest as she sobbed. She felt warm as she stayed like that, crying into Draco's robes as his arms wrapped around her back and held her close. And suddenly, she was only aware of the position they were in, and her tears stopped abruptly.
She looked up to him, not knowing why it felt so hard to breathe. "Thank you."
He shrugged, holding out a handkerchief which she used to dry the tear tracks on her face. Draco pointed up, a small smirk creeping on his lips. She glanced at the ceiling and felt her mouth get dry. They were at the end of the hall, and someone had hung a small plant from a hook. "Mistletoe," Draco chuckled. "I wonder who put it -"
Jade hadn't seen just the misteltoe, she had seen someone else rounding the corner. And in a flash, she lifted herself up on tippy toes and planted an eager kiss on Draco's unexpecting lips. He kissed her back immediately, looking a little disappointed when she pulled away. "Thanks," she said breathlessly. "Gotta go."
"Thanks?" she heard him echo.
She wasn't thinking if Draco, however. She was thinking of what Harry's narrowed eyes had meant when he saw her kiss him.
Jade helped Jessica lift her suitcase up onto the shelf in their compartment. They were getting ready for the train ride home, and Jade was actually excited this year. Usually her mother was odd and constricting and Jade preferred Hogwarts and the distance. Irene made it better - but the best part was that Mrs. Baem had allowed Jessica to stay at their manor for the holidays. Jessica's parents were apparently very strict and harsh on their daughter, and as a result the girl had spent the last four Christmases by herself at school.
The compartment door slid open with a small knock, and Emma and Hermione came in hesitantly. "Want to ride together?"
Jade gave Emma a bright smile. "Sure!" Her face fell, however, when two boys came in after her friends.
Swallowing hard, she picked up Ginger from the seat opposite her and sat down with the cat on her lap. "What are you guys doing for the holidays?"
Jade looked up, but was unable to speak when her eyes subconsciously drifted to Harry. His eyes were downcast, and he looked tense as he sat beside Ron. "Uh..."
"I'm going to Jade's place," Jessica answered.
"That's fun!" Emma said perkily. "I - um, Harry and I are going to the Weasleys'."
"Yeah," Ron spoke up with feigned enthusiasm. "It should be great!"
Jade lifted a brow as she looked in the red-haired boy's eyes. He was clearly hurting over something, though she didn't know what. Emma just shook her head, scoffing at his rude words.
The door to the compartment flung open, this time without the gentle and polite knock. Draco sauntered in, his eyes lazy as he glanced around the group. "Well would you look at this group of misfits."
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped vehemently.
Draco glanced at him with a grin. "Someone's fiesty. Will you be spending this holiday at the Weasleys'? I guess I can't blame you for pretending to have parents." His amused eyes found Emma, and his grin split even wider. "You too, right? I think we all know why you're going. Not so many rooms in the Weasley shack is there? Maybe you guys will be sharing his!"
"That's enough," Jade interrupted quietly.
Draco's gaze met hers, and he retreated. "Come on, Baem."
"What?"
"We have to patrol for the Inquisitorial Squad."
Jade sighed. "Okay." She got up, throwing one last look at Harry - but she was only met with the back of his head.
The sound of the steady tick of a clock, the soft harmony of Christmas music, and the crackling of a fire filled the air in the living room at the Burrow. Emma sat cross-legged on the warm stone near the fire place, pulling little home made ornaments from a box. One was an ice skater that bowed and spun from her string, with the words Ginny's 1st Christmas glowing at her feet. Another was a drum that played its own little beat, with the sloppy engraving of Ronald on its front, as if the young boy had done it himself in Christmases past.
With careful hands she placed the drum on the tree, near the front. Magically lit candles illuminated the boughs with a flickering light. Emma felt just as at home as she did in her own house- however, a slight coldness filled the air when a certain person entered the room.
"Ron, dear, come down and decorate the tree with Emma before you father and siblings come home," Mrs. Weasley's voice called from behind Emma, where she sat directing a few sets of furiously working enchanted knitting needles. Harry was to Mrs. Weasley's right, fiddling absentmindedly with a ball of yarn.
Ron appeared for a moment in the doorway of the kitchen, his hands filled with cookies and cakes. "I'd rather not."
"Don't be in such a foul mood, Ron," Mrs. Weasley scolded, "It's Christmas Eve."
Ron frowned, looking at Emma with piercing blue eyes. "I'll be in my room."
Mrs. Weasley scoffed, but her irritation was brief. The door burst open with a flurry of snow and trudging boots. "Hello, all," Mr. Weasley's cheery voice greeted, his glasses askew and dotted with snowflakes melting into water droplets. Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill followed, carrying bundles of wood. Mrs. Wealsey liked to have an authentic fire on Christmas night, ceremoniously lit by Mr. Weasley and a few boxes of matches.
The family gathered in the living room, eventually joined by Ron, who gave Emma such and icy stare she felt her insides chill. So instead of sitting in the circle around the fire place with the family, Emma joined Harry on the couch. The two sat around for a moment, until Mrs. Wealsey insisted they join the fire lighting festivities. However, before she could move, Ron's eyes narrowed in such a cruel way Emma stood and left the cheery voices behind, finding solitude on one of the rickety steps near the top of the Burrow's looming staircase.
The sound of footsteps alerted Emma to another presence before she saw her visitor. Harry's messy black hair appeared, then his green eyes and finally his thin body. Emma's longtime friend sat down on next to her.
"Why'd you leave?" Harry asked.
"I'm just missing my family," she lied.
Harry nodded. "I know the feeling."
"Harry, please," Emma begged, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know-"
"I'm sorry," said Harry, his shoulders slumping. "I just didn't have the best day yesterday."
"Tell me about it," Emma sighed, resting her elbows on the step behind her.
"You know how brilliant Jade is," Harry started.
Emma cut him off. "Of course I do."
"However, I'm worried that she's not going to be able to handle being a double for the D.A. and Umbridge."
Emma frowned. "You don't think that."
"She may be too emotional," Harry countered.
"You nor I believe that, Harry," Emma protested. "What really happened?"
"I saw- she saw me kissing Cho," Harry sighed.
Emma covered a gasp. "Why?"
Harry frowned at her. "What do you mean, why? I've fancied Cho since last year."
"But- I thought- Jade-"
"Well, anyways, I followed her, and I saw her kiss Draco."
Emma was a bit shocked. Draco, the one who always tugged Jade around, who controlled her every move? She thought it seemed fishy. "Could it have been a retaliation?"
"I don't think so," Harry whispered.
"And how did that make you feel?" Emma asked.
"I suppose the same way it made Ron feel when he saw you snogging Zacharias Smith."
Emma blushed. "We were not snogging."
"Ron seems the think so."
Emma sighed and leaned a bit on Harry. "He doesn't have to be so cruel, I tried to explain."
"You know how Ron is," Harry mused. "I suppose you'll have to wait it out."
Emma smiled slightly. "And Jade will come around, I'm sure she was just hurt."
Harry didn't say anything. The two sat near the top floor of the Burrow, listening to the soft sound of Christmas radio drift up the stairs, mingled with the sounds of the Weasley family voices. It was peaceful, snowflakes tapped against the black windows and the enchanted colored fairy lights that huddles near the outsides of the windows cast a beautiful glow.
Footsteps broke up the peacefulness. A pair of red heads emerged with wide grins. "Hello you two," a mischievous voice greeted.
Fred and George took a seat in front of Harry and Emma. "What are you up to? Looking for some mistletoe, Emma?" George teased. Emma scowled.
"We're taking a break from the festivities to work," Fred continued. "We have some real treats in the making."
"Don't let Hermione see," Emma said, narrowing her eyes at Fred who avoided her gaze.
"She may approve, considering they're directly meant to... inconvenience Umbridge," George grinned.
"What are you making?" Harry asked.
The twins smiled. "That's for us to know and for you to find out."
