The next morning at breakfast was tense. Draco was casting hateful glares towards Harry now that he knew about the Firebolt and Ron and Hermione seemed to reach another height in their feud. It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship, sure they bickered often but she'd never seen them so angry with each other. Harry had filled her in about Scabber's disappearance and how Ron now full-heartedly believed that Crookshanks ate his rat. Hermione, of course, refused to consider the possibility that Crookshanks had done the deed without some kind of proof. When Harry pointed out the previous times Crookshanks went after Scabbers and the ginger hairs Ron found on his bed, Hermione lost her temper,

"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" Her voice was strong and unusually loud. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!" And up she went, leaving the table after grabbing her Arithmancy book and turning with a huff. Ron sat in front of Jade and was taking the loss of his rat very hard.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred tried bracingly. "And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly, one swallow, he probably didn't feel a thing."

"Fred!" Ginny snapped.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," George tried.

"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said quietly. "Remember, Harry?" Jade glanced at Harry who paused for a moment and then nodded quickly,

"Yeah, that's true," Harry added but the twins thought the situation was more comical than tragic.

"His finest hour." Fred smiled and then hung his head in a moment of silence for the fallen rodent. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory." He peeked up at his younger brother to see his mood hadn't been lifted and so he raised his head and slapped him on the back, "Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?" In an attempt to lift Ron's spirits, Harry invited him to Gryffindor's final practice before their match against Ravenclaw, he even promised to let him fly on the Firebolt when they were done. This worked.

"Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?" Ron asked as the two boys got up from the table after breakfast.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" A familiar drawling voice made Jade turn her head to see Draco smirking at Harry.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry answered casually, Draco's eyes narrowed.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Draco asked, his voice rising in certain spots to make it seem like he was as excited as everyone else by the news of Harry's Firebolt. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute, in case you get too near a Dementor."

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," Harry's comment was swift and the twins smiled at the table. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you." The Gryffindor table laughed. Draco's pale eyes narrowed at Harry before sliding to land on Jade's face, the only one who hadn't laughed at Harry's comeback.

"You coming, Maddex?" His voice was smoother when he addressed her and a smirk lifted a corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, in a minute." She told him, he didn't like this answer but he only stood there for a second before stalking away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together. She rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the table mostly made up of Weasleys. Harry said goodbye before taking Ron down to the Quidditch pitch. The twins only stayed a few minutes later before going to practice themselves and Jade found herself at an almost empty table. She turned to the only other girl sitting down and fixed her in her gaze.

"How's school going, Ginny?" She asked and the younger girl looked behind her and then back at Jade.

"Oh, um, good." She smiled awkwardly and Jade scooted down to sit in front of her.

"We never really get to talk, just you and me." Ginny nodded. Jade hadn't really talked to her much at all since last year when Harry and Ron had saved her from the Chamber of Secrets. "How do you feel about this whole Scabbers issue?"

"Fine." Ginny rolled her eyes, "That stupid rat always grossed me out." Jade smiled at this, she wasn't fond of rats either, she didn't hate them as Pansy did, but she wasn't going to be sad over the news that Scabbers was missing. "Jade?" Ginny called and Jade brought her attention back to the smaller girl. "What's being in Slytherin like?" She asked, "Does everyone go around bullying each other in the Common Room?"

"No." Jade laughed at this and a small smile tugged at the corners of Ginny's mouth. "No, it's… I'm sure it's just like the Gryffindor House. There are the ones who study and the ones who mess around-"
"What do you do?" Ginny asked, "With Malfoy and them."

"We just… hang out." Jade told her, "Talk and study together and-"
"Why do you think you were placed in Slytherin?" Ginny asked again quickly. "It's just, you don't seem like the rest of them." Jade didn't know what to say to that. Thank you? Was it a bad thing? She probably meant it as a good thing? Jade thought she was definitely more pleasant to be around than Draco. Pansy snipped her snide remarks when they were in class with a different house, Blaise really didn't care but he would throw a few annoyed glances around.

"I think I'm where I'm supposed to be," Jade said after a few moments. "The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes." She finished the drink in her goblet and then rose from her seat. "I'll look for you at the game." She told Ginny and Ginny nodded her goodbye before Jade turned for the exit.

The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze. She closed her eyes to enjoy the nice weather and heard pairs of hurried steps come to her sides. When she opened her eyes she was no longer alone, Pansy stood on one side and Blaise and Draco on the other, Theo closing in behind her.

"Learn anything useful?" Draco asked over Blaise's shoulder.

"No, they didn't talk quidditch," Jade told him and he made a face.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, they didn't," Draco smirked as he looked her up and down,

"You alright, Maddex?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Reckon Raveclaw's got a chance with Potter's new broom?" Theo's voice brushed past her ear before he made his way to Pansy's side.

"They've always got a chance." Jade tried but Blaise shook his head.

"A very slim chance if anything." He corrected her. "Draco's thrilled about it," Blaise added with an innocent, good-natured grin as he threw an arm over Draco's shoulders.

"Piss off, Blaise." Draco tried to escape Blaise's hold but his arm tightened and the two of them struggled along down the hill to the pitch, Draco trying to get him off and Blaise trying to hold on. The other three a few steps ahead of the pair of boys hurling insensitive words at the other between chuckles while they squirmed.