Jade was jolted awake with a smack to the face. When she opened her eyes it was dark and then suddenly her dormitory came into view.
"Why-" Jade started and then she saw Pansy standing a bit away from her bed with a pillow in her hands. Jade propped herself onto her elbows, "What was that for?" She glared and Pansy shot a glare back.
"You're going to sleep your birthday away." Jade and Pansy weren't hanging out lately, not even talking, so it confused her as to why it being her birthday would change anything.
"Why do you care?" Jade groaned as she fell back down and closed her eyes. SMACK. Pansy hit her again.
"I've been mad at you enough, I'm over it. Now I just want to celebrate my best friend's birthday." Pansy looked around, she felt uncomfortable waving a white flag and finally ending their little tiff. Jade opened her eyes and glanced at her again.
"Fair enough, on one condition." Jade sat up now and threw her blanket off of her. "My present, if you will."
"What?" Pansy asked, relaxing now that they were no longer fighting.
"You be nice to Gretta." Jade watched Pansy, she sighed and nodded. "It's not like I'm asking you to cut off your hair or something," Jade mumbled as she got out of bed and dressed for the day.
"No, 'cause if you did I'd have to object." Pansy looked towards the Common Room and then back at Jade, "Hurry would you?" Jade didn't understand why she was rushing, their first class of the day had been canceled. Professor Sprout canceled it last night when the temperature fell and snow began to fall, she would be spending the day dressing the Mandrakes appropriately for the weather.
"Okay." Jade huffed a lock of hair that fell in her face out of her eyes and then followed Pansy out of the dormitories, "Don't know why you're in a-" Jade started,
"Surprise!" A group of people yelled and Jade jumped at the sound. Draco, Gretta, and Blaise stood under a homemade happy birthday banner and Pansy hurried to join them. Jade smiled and couldn't help but laugh at their smiling faces. Draco set off purple sparks from the end of his wand that fizzled in the air and fell to the ground as ashes.
"You guys!" Jade laughed. She felt happy, she felt grateful for her wonderful friends and the effort they made. A few other Slytherins were doing their own thing in the Common Room and turned at the sudden rise from Jade and her friends. Blaise and Draco stepped to the side to show a table filled with treats and gifts.
They spent the morning talking and eating sweets in the Common Room. The Slytherin Common Room in the winter was brutal so the girls grabbed blankets and sat with the boys by the fireplace. Pansy pushed Jade's presents towards her,
"Open them, open them." She bounced up and down on the couch cushion and then picked up a nicely wrapped box and handed it to her. "This one's from me." Jade glanced up at Pansy before she started picking at the blue wrapping paper. "I mean, it's for you, but it's more for Ezekiel."
"Ezekiel?" Jade asked and Pansy nodded. Jade picked at the present more eagerly and then saw a dark green patch of cotton, Jade ran her fingers over it and then lifted it up,
"It's a little sweater so he doesn't get cold in the winter." Pansy beamed and Jade turned it around and saw the large holes in the side that were meant for his wings to slip in.
"I've never tried to put any clothes on him," Jade muttered as she looked over it, her curiousness growing by the second.
"That's because owls don't need clothes." Draco said, "Their feathers keep them plenty warm." He looked at the little sweater negatively but Pansy just rolled her eyes,
"It's green, for Slytherin." Pansy pointed out and Jade nodded,
"I'll try and put it on him tomorrow," Jade promised and then Pansy handed her the next gift.
"That one's from me." Blaise raised his hand and leaned in from his spot across from the girls on the other couch. This gift wasn't wrapped, in fact, she didn't even know it was a gift until Pansy told her it was. It was a stack of parchments. Jade furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at him, "I've completed all of our homework due for the next week." Jade grinned, that meant Jade didn't have to do anything, Blaise had already completed everything. She'd copy everything down and turn it in, no studying in the library for hours for her. The next present was from Gretta, it was a small figurine, it looked like some sort of queen. She had a crown on her head and a cape around her shoulders.
"Do you like it?" Gretta asked,
"She's beautiful." Jade praised as she grazed her fingers over the smooth wood.
"I made it to look like you." Gretta smiled shyly,
"You made that?" Draco asked as he stood from his spot by Blaise and snatched the piece out of Jade's hand.
"Hey!" Jade barked at him as she tried to grab it back. Draco stood there, examining the chunk of wood and then flicking his eyes to Jade,
"It's quite good, isn't it?" Draco mumbled and Jade rolled her eyes,
"Well, maybe if you're nice she'll make you one for your birthday." Jade stood and snatched the figure back with as much force as Draco had done a few moments before. Draco grabbed the present Pansy was about to give Jade and handed it to her himself.
"This is from me." He smiled and Jade gave him a questioning look as she pulled on the white ribbon around the black velvet box. She slowly opened the box and her mouth fell open as she stared at the beautiful silver clasp with three shiny green emeralds in the middle. "For your cloak." Draco had been slightly excited for her to open his present but now he seemed worried she wouldn't like it. Jade carefully took it from its soft box and watched it sparkle.
"It's beautiful." She gasped,
"Exquisite." Pansy leaned in closer to see it. Jade looked away from her gift and stood up, embracing Draco in a hug.
"Thank you." Draco had frozen in her arms and stood completely still until she stepped back.
"You're welcome." Blaise chuckled as Draco went to sit down next to him. "Shut up." He mumbled. He never knew how to respond when Jade touched him, was he supposed to treat her like his guy friends? Was he supposed to be kinder? He always went back and forth, not being entirely comfortable with both.
"So, how do you feel about being twelve now?" Pansy asked her and Jade shrugged,
"The same? Is there supposed to be a big change?" She asked,
"Well, I don't know. You're the youngest out of all of us." Gretta made to say something, "The youngest besides you." Pansy quickly corrected herself. "Maybe you'll notice something we haven't." Jade shook her head,
"Nope, sorry." Pansy shrugged,
"Thought I'd give it a go."
"We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts today." Blaise spoke up, "Soon, actually." Jade turned to look at the grandfather clock, they had spent more time together than she thought. The group got up to go get their books but Gretta quickly caught Jade,
"Will you walk me to Potions?" She asked and Jade laughed lightly,
"It's not far, Gretta."
"Please?" She pressed and Jade nodded,
"Of course. Go get your things." While Gretta was gone, Jade grabbed her satchel bag and threw Lockhart's Gadding with Ghouls into it. "Ready?" She asked as she grabbed her cloak and threw it over herself, she had almost left without adjusting her new clasp onto her cloak and then took a second to admire it.
"It's very pretty," Gretta commented and Jade spun the younger girl around and they made their way to their upcoming classes. It was a good thing Gretta was a few minutes early to Potions, Snape liked it when his students were earlier than just being on time, it also helped that she was a Slytherin.
"Hey!" Pansy shouted after Jade right before she began to climb the stairs out of the dungeons. "Wait for me!"
"I never asked you," Jade spoke as they made their way to class, "How's Ava?" She smirked and Pansy rolled her eyes,
"She talks so much." Pansy groaned, "She's a nice girl, I like spending time with her but we never talk about anything…" Pansy trailed off trying to think of a word,
"Interesting?" Jade offered and Pansy shook her head,
"Sometimes it was," Pansy said as if it were an afterthought. Jade laughed, "Intelligent!" Pansy erupted, "It was all about boys or clothes."
"You love talking about boys and clothes." Jade pointed out,
"Yeah but a bit of diversity is nice every now and then." Pansy joined Jade's laughter as they passed the threshold to Lockhart's class. "Let's see what he'll make Potter reenact today," Pansy mumbled before parting from Jade's side and going to take her seat. At the mention of Harry, Jade looked around the room but he hadn't arrived yet. She took her seat next to Draco and began to rest her chin in her hand to prepare for the long reenactment. He never really taught anything anymore, He would reenact his own books, assign readings of his own books, and give quizzes on his own books. Jade often found herself daydreaming or drifting off, it was a good thing their desk was in the back of the class.
"Good afternoon class!" Lockhart beamed at his students but the class gave a half-hearted reply. "Today, we'll be going over chapter seven of Gadding With Ghouls. Grab your books out and turn to page-"
"Attack! Attack!" A shrill voice came from outside the classroom. Jade raised her head from her hand and looked towards the closed door. "No mortal or ghost is safe!" There was a loud crash and all the students were now getting out of their seats.
"Children," Lockhart quickly made his way to the door, "Behind me, if you would." Everyone gathered behind him as he opened his classroom's door.
"Run for your lives!" The voice was louder now that it was no longer muffled.
"Is that Peeves?" Jade asked Draco but before he could respond there was another crash that sounded much closer to them.
"Attack!" Peeves rushed past the classroom and down the corridor, that answered her question. Lockhart moved to peek his head out into the corridor but the mass of children behind him pushed him out so they could see what was going on for themselves. Jade looked up and down the corridor and saw other classes stepping out to see what was going on and she could see a singular student standing over something further down.
"Is that Harry Potter?" Pansy asked loudly and everyone else turned to stare, Jade picked up her cloak so she wouldn't trip on it as she jogged over to him but that cued the other students to follow as well and Jade had to pick up her pace to stay at the front.
"Harry?" Jade asked once she closed most of the distance between them, "Peeves is going on about-" She paused when she looked behind Harry and saw Nearly Headless Nick floating as still as a statue with a horrified expression frozen on his face, he was usually white and transparent but now he was a smoky black. When she looked down, she saw a boy in a black and yellow robe. Jade looked over the boy, trying to place him. She realized he was the one with the two last names, the strong chin boy. "Is that Finch-Fletchley?" She asked as she pointed behind Harry and Harry turned halfway and then back,
"Yes." He told her and it seemed like he wanted to say more but as soon as he had confirmed that it was the Hufflepuff boy, the crowd behind Jade began whispering and calling other students over from other classes.
"What's wrong with him?" Jade asked, she already knew what happened to him, the boy wasn't moving at all, he was as stiff as a board. "What did you-"
"I didn't do it." Harry tried desperately, "I found him like this, I swear." Professor McGonagall burst through the crowd of students, took in the scene before her, and set off a loud bang with the swish of her wand that silenced the growing whispers through the corridor.
"Everyone back to their classes," McGonagall called to the crowd of students and some groaned as they turned around but another Hufflepuff took one look at his Housemate lying on the floor and twisted his face into what Jade described as a very Draco Malfoy expression.
"Caught in the act!" He spat at Harry,
"Oh really?" Jade defended her friend, "I didn't know walking down the corridor to get to class was a crime!" She hissed at him. She felt conflicted about Harry, he had been around when every single student had been petrified and that made her suspicious but Harry was such a kind friend, she couldn't imagine him doing something like this.
"It is if you're attacking other students!" The boy spit back at her,
"Prove it!" She took a step towards the boy and Professor McGonagall stepped in between them.
"That will do, Macmillan!" She looked at the boy first and then turned to Jade, "Miss Maddex." Professor McGonagall stood there until both Jade and the other boy turned and began walking back with the rest of the students. Jade cast a look back and McGonagall and another teacher were bent over Finch Fletchley while Peeves was humming over Harry.