After Hogsmeade, the entire school knew about Katie's incident with the cursed necklace. Luckily for Katie and her friend Leanne, the news of it coming about had died when exams arrived. Jade and Ginny spent as much time as they could with Hermione at the library. It was one of those times where Jade was thankful that Fred hadn't been there. For the most part of her fourth year, he would constantly harass her, preventing her from studying. Jade looked up to see Ginny rubbing her head, her attention completely focused on another subject.

"What is it?" Jade asked, setting her notes down.

"What is what?" Ginny asked.

"You! The entire morning, you've been irritated and looked like someone put you in a box and poked you the entire day. What's wrong?" Jade asked.

"Dean! He's been trying to be my father ever since what happened to Katie! He's afraid that someone might put a fucking tiara on my head and blow it up like a watermelon!" Ginny hissed.

"Calm down before you do it yourself." Jade said slowly.

"Calm down? Calm down? Do you have any idea how calm I've bloody been in the past two weeks? Every time I go outside, I have to hear 'Where are you going, Ginny?', 'let me come with you, Ginny', 'are you taking a shit, Ginny? Let me come!', 'let me hold your door for you, your spoon, your bloody-"

"Hey Ginny." Dean said. Ginny stood up and Jade watched them, trying to inch backwards.

"NO! Leave me alone! People piss and shit by themselves!" Ginny yelled. She walked off and Dean stood there, open mouthed.

"What did I say?" he asked.

"Give her a few days. She's under a lot of pressure." Jade said but Dean shook his head.

"She's obviously upset. I mean, you'd want your boyfriend to cheer you up right?" Dean asked.

"Yes but I would want some time by myself too." Jade said.

"No! That's you! Ginny's different! She needs me." Dean said.

"Dean! Don't do that! Just leave her…alone." Jade said, seeing him leave the library. She went back to her seat, gathering Ginny's books and notes neatly.

"Well look at you, Pookie the bookworm!" Cormac said, standing in front of Jade who groaned inwardly.

"I thought you got lost!" Jade said as he took a seat in front of her.

"Why wouldn't I be? When you and that redhead run so quickly like that. I saw you two giggling, trying to flirt a little with Cormie aren't you?" Cormac winked.

"Ha! Aren't we a little delusional this morning?" Jade asked, going back to her notes.

"Don't deny it Pookie! It's okay though, I'll forgive you. Now here's what I came for…have you made your mind up about Christmas in Bali?" Cormac asked.

"Oh…well actually, I was thinking I'll spend it over at the Weasley's this year and probably go next year." Jade said.

"No! Don't say that! I already booked your Portkey tickets and hotel rooms!" Cormac said.

"What? Why would you do that when I haven't even said yes?" Jade asked.

"Your parents are okay with it!" Cormac said.

"My parents would tell me if we were going to Bali! Cormac, I can't do this. I already promised Fred that I'd spend Christmas with him." Jade said.

"Why? Why would you…okay I know what you're doing here. This 'Fred' person is obviously very important to you." Cormac said, rolling his eyebrows.

"But I'm your friend right? I've been trying so hard to make amends for what I did two years ago!" Cormac said.

"Sweetheart, I know you're trying and you've been fantastic…maybe a little too fantastic, but this isn't about me being mad at you. They'll be so disappointed that I skipped Christmas-"

"I'm not asking you to skip all Christmas's! I'm just asking you for one, small, tiny, Christmas." He squeaked, taking her hands.

"Cormac..." Jade sighed, hitting her head on the table. They both sat there, holding each other's hands.

"Okay, you know what? If it makes you that happy to spend Christmas at the Weasley's and with this'Fred', then you should spend it with them." Cormac said softly. Jade lifted her head, seeing Cormac smiling gently at her. He looked so pleasant and sincere; it was hard for Jade to accept it.

"Really?" Jade asked seeing Cormac nod.

"Really. Whatever my Pookie wants, Pookie gets." He said.

"I just feel so horrible because I know how much you wanted me to go." Jade said, seeing him sigh deeply.

"You had no idea how badly I wanted you to go. It's all right though…I mean I just thought that I'd explore Bali with my best friend in the entire world…" he trailed off, looking away. Jade frowned and shook his arm gently.

"I promise to go with you, next year?" Jade said seeing him trying to smile. Cormac looking sad was no different from a small puppy being let down. It was devastatingly adorable and made Jade want to reach out and almost hug him.

"Cormac, please smile? If there's anything else that I can do for you, I'll be able to do it." Jade said.

"Really? Anything?" Cormac asked, looking up.

"Absolutely! Ask for anything." Jade said.

"Come to Slughorn's Christmas party with me tonight!" Cormac gasped.

"Er…well-"

"Please tell me that 'Fred' thing didn't make plans with you too tonight! Ough, this is so frustrating! I hate my life! I-"

"I'll go with you! Just let me know when we should go." Jade said weakly. Cormac engulfed her in a giant hug, rocking her back and forth.

"I knew I would win this! I love you Pookie! You smell wonderful!" Cormac breathed.

"So do you?" Jade said, feeling Cormac release her and push her back. He looked her over.

"So what will you be wearing?" Cormac asked. "I don't know! I haven't found anything to wear yet!" Jade said.

"Do you have a…I don't know…something red? Actually forget red, it reminds me of that redhead…all of those redheads. Do you have a sexy black number?" Cormac asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Jade asked.

"Do you have a sexy black dress?" Cormac asked.

"I don't pack a sexy black dress for Hogwarts, so no. I have a light pink sun dress." Jade said.

"You're my date and you need to look fascinating." Cormac said.

"But-"

"Not that I'm ever going to be interested in you but there are going to be a lot of people. Slughorn obviously thinks highly of me and as my best friend, you should represent me the same way!" Cormac said, playing with her ponytail.

"Cormac I do not have a black dress!" Jade said.

"What's your dress size anyways? 18? 14? But you've lost a lot of weight haven't you? 12?" Cormac asked.

"I was never an 18. Maybe around 14 but always was stuck to 12! I'm not fat anymore!" Jade said, feeling herself blush.

"No one said you were fat! Look at you, so pretty. Such a pretty gorgeous little Pookie-"

"Stop." Jade warned.

"Fine! Just tell me what dress size you are now!" Cormac said.

"Why?" Jade asked.

"Will you just tell me?" Cormac asked.

"I'm a size 6 now but what are you going to do, knowing that?" Jade asked.

"6? Well…that's a dramatic change isn't it? You're literally half the size!" Cormac said seeing Jade shake her head.

After spending a few hours in the library, Jade finished off her dinner at the Great Hall and walked back to the common room with Ginny.

"Aren't you getting ready to go to Slughorn's party?" Hermione asked Ginny who stopped, seeing a pair of heels and a folded black dress sitting on Jade's bed with a note on it.

"What's that?" Ginny asked, seeing Jade open the note.

Pookie!

I did what I could to find a size 6. Obviously the shoes are included too and don't worry, they match your size as well. You don't have to ask how I know or where I got them from; just wear it to the Christmas party tonight! I know you'll look just gorgeous!

All my love,

Cormie

Jade slowly looked up from the note at Ginny and Hermione. Ginny went to say something but Hermione beat her to it.

"Who are you going to the Christmas party with?" Hermione asked.

"Cormac asked me this afternoon." Jade said.

"That slimy worm! He nearly hounded me down to be my date! Not that I'm jealous or anything, believe me, I am so grateful that I don't have to be around him tonight but he should have had the courtesy to tell me so I could have at least asked…Ron." Hermione said, almost whispering Ron's name. She blushed and walked away, taking her dress to the bathroom.

"How is it even possible for a normal woman to wear this?" Jade asked, lifting up the five inch black heels.

"They're like daggers." Ginny said, lifting Jade's dress. It was a black cutout dress with a sweetheart neckline.

"You'll look stunning in this. Where did he get it from? What's Gussi?" Ginny asked.

"Never heard of a brand like that…it looks expensive." Jade said. Hermione walked in, smoothing out her dress and looked at the dress Ginny was holding against Jade.

"That looks really pretty. Did Cormac send it for you?" Hermione asked.

"Fred's going to love this." Ginny said. Jade snatched the dress from Ginny and started folding it.

"I can't wear this. I'm going to be the only indecent one there." Jade said, putting it back into a bag.

Cormac waited outside of Professor Slughorn's office where music had been leaking every time someone entered or exited from the doors. He was bouncing on his heels and checking his watch, looking across the hall for Jade. He saw Dean and Ginny appear with Harry, Hermione and Luna. He moved his head slightly to see Jade walking behind them in a casual soft pink, almost nude, dress with tiny floral prints. Her hair was up in a messy twist and her makeup was simple. The rest saw Cormac standing there and they hurried in without fitting in a word.

"Hey Cormac." Jade said, seeing Cormac look over her, slightly surprised. "Look, I know you wanted me to wear this black dress but I-"

"Ssh. Don't speak." Cormac said softly, still looking at her. She looked beautiful. When he saw the girls he had dated, all his life, he never realized how hard they were trying to look pretty but today he saw something entirely different.

"Are you upset? Maybe I shouldn't go-"

"Pookie you look just fine. I mean, I've seen so much better but you would do." Cormac said.

"Thanks. Here's your dress and shoes. I didn't know there was a clothing line called Gussi but whatever it is, it looks expensive." Jade said.

"Gussi? Don't you mean Gucci you silly girl?" Cormac asked, taking her arm.

"Whatever it is. You look nice." Jade smiled, looking up at him.

"It hardly comes as a surprise anymore, don't you agree? Look we're under mistletoe!" Cormac said, stopping under the doorway.

"Oh god…" Jade cringed, quickly looking around for help. Cormac grabbed her shoulders and moved in to kiss her but Harry moved in, taking Jade's arm.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" He said, pulling Jade towards him.

"Why again? She's my best friend Potter!" McLaggen said.

"Harry needs to show me his thingy." Jade said seeing Cormac raise his eyebrows.

"It's a big one, she can't miss it." Harry said.

"That's disgusting! Pookie!" Cormac said, turning to Jade.

"It's really important for Harry, Cormac. He's in a lot of pain." Jade said.

"And there's no one else with a small and speedy hand like Jade's." Harry said.

"It'll only take a minute. Just have a drink and I'll be right back." Jade said. Jade and Harry walked away from Cormac, hiding away.

"What's he so mad about a splinter for?" Harry asked. Cormac felt like Harry was doing this on purpose. First with Quidditch and now taking Jade away. The Boy Who Lived definitely did not like this beautiful man. Cormac walked around, looking at Jade and Harry who laughed over what Luna was telling them. After a few minutes, Ginny and Dean joined them and they laughed, drank and had a spectacular time! Cormac looked around to see Hermione standing there with a goblet in her hand as she spoke to another student. Surely if he got Jade to see him kissing Hermione, she would come running back to him! If she was going to try to make him jealous with Harry Potter, he knew he could infuriate her just as badly.

"Well hello there Hermione. You look rather ravishing." Cormac said, sliding next to Hermione who turned around, wide eyed.

"Oh! Er…thank you." Hermione said. Cormac wagged his eyebrows and smirked at her. She was definitely blushing and looked shy.

"Did you want something?" Hermione asked. Cormac nodded.

"A kiss from the beautiful lady tonight. Is that mistletoe I see?" Cormac asked, nodding towards the mistletoe hanging over Hermione's head.

"How unfortunate…" Hermione muttered as Cormac leaned closer to her. "Excuse me, I think I see someone!" Hermione said, bolting. Cormac bit his lip and saw her run off. He stood there for a few seconds, thinking whether to chase Hermione around or not. Perhaps he should talk about himself a little more. Girls needed a small glimpse into his mysterious and seductive life after all.

Jade kept laughing, helping Harry wipe his shirt from the mead that shot through his nose. Luna smiled dreamily but remained confused for the 'fact' of gum disease she gave about the Ministry and their Aurors.

"Jade! What did you do with McLaggen?" Ginny asked as Hermione ran towards Harry and Luna.

"I actually left him somewhere there. Harry saved me before the mistletoe." Jade said, pulling Harry towards Ginny who smiled.

"Well aren't you the perfect white knight?" Ginny asked. Harry looked like he was going to choke on the very air he was breathing.

"What? Me? Yes, I am. I mean, maybe. No! Not at all, what am I saying?" he asked nervously. Ginny laughed and patted his arm.

"I have to go check on Dean." She said. As she left, she turned again, smiling warmly at Harry.

"Uh-oh, I think someone's in love." Jade said.

"Stop teasing me, let me just enjoy what happened here…I made her laugh!" Harry said seeing Jade take a sip of her mead, with a smirk.

"I wasn't talking about you." she said, before leaving. It took Harry a few seconds before he understood what she said.

When running after Hermione became useless, Cormac stood there by himself, feeling helpless. It was a horrible feeling to be in a room full of people and no one to talk to. He wished that Jade would at least look at him. Somehow he started to get the idea that she was genuinely not interested in him. No one ever worked that hard to skip a vacation and play hard to get around him. He looked at a few girls standing nearby, chatting away and looking towards Harry Potter. "Hello there ladies." Cormac said, flashing his teeth. The girls rolled their eyes and walked away, leaving him alone once again.

"You guys, I think I should go and talk to Cormac for a bit." Jade said.

"Have you sinned? Because if this is your way of repenting and punishing yourself, it's a little harsh isn't it?" Ginny asked.

"Come off it Gin. Look at him! He looks so sad." Jade said seeing Cormac sitting on a stool, drinking the mead.

"I can't watch him for too long…I start to feel guilty." Ginny said, turning her head away from Cormac.

"He invited me to come with him and I refused Harry because of this crap that Slughorn puts up but I promised Cormac that I would do whatever I could to cheer him up because I turned down Christmas in Bali." Jade said.

Cormac stood up, seeing Jade speaking to Ginny. He sighed, knowing it was useless to stay at the party anymore. Jade saw him walk out and she followed him out, seeing him sitting on a ledge, gently hitting his head against the wall. His jaw was twitching as he stared out, in deep thoughts. "A sickle for your thoughts?" Jade asked, seeing him jump.

"Jade! What are you doing here?" Cormac asked, seeing her grin and take a seat next to him.

"You actually called me by my name! How did you remember that?" Jade asked. Cormac was staring into her deep brown eyes, almost forgetting what she had asked him.

"Isn't that your name? Why are you here?" Cormac asked.

"I should ask you the same thing. Why did you leave the party?" Jade asked. Cormac shrugged, looking back to the empty green field.

"Boring, I guess." He responded with a shrug.

"I'm very sorry I haven't been a good friend. It was extremely rude of me to leave you alone when you graciously invited me." Jade said.

"Pookie…this isn't your fault." Cormac started to say but Jade shook her head.

"It is absolutely my fault! You're just trying to be a gentleman. Let's see…what can make Cormac smile?" Jade asked, tapping her chin. She saw Cormac smiling to himself, shaking his head. "I haven't even done anything!" Jade said.

"You don't have to do anything to make me smile Pookie. All you have to do is show up and I'll never be able to frown again." Cormac said.

"Good boy. Now get up and show me how to dance." Jade said, getting off the ledge.

"You don't know how to dance? It's a good thing I took ballroom classes and won those ballroom dancing competitions! My Mum says I'm the most graceful dancer she's known!" Cormac said as they stopped under the mistletoe again. He looked at Jade and saw the panic on her face as she realized that Harry wasn't there to save her again.

"No…it's okay. You'd rather not." he said. Jade was stunned, seeing him give her a short smile. He walked away, taking a goblet and joining the rest of the party. Jade smiled, liking the effort Cormac was putting in to change himself for the better.

"I wonder how Weasley felt when you told him you moved on to dumb blondes." A voice sneered. Jade turned around to see Malfoy standing there, drinking his mead.

"At least he's a dumb blonde with a heart…you're just plain dumb." Jade said seeing him curl his lip in disgust.

"This is the stupidest thing I've ever been in." Malfoy said. He was losing even more weight. Even though his hair was gelled back and he looked well groomed, he didn't look physically healthy. From what Harry told her, he had become a Death Eater, but what about Astoria?

"I suppose you're thinking of asking me about Astoria?" he asked without looking at her.

"I miss her. Not to mention that I worry…about her." Jade said, seeing Draco turn to her.

"Why are you worrying about her? She's nothing to you. Didn't you make it clear to me last year?" Malfoy asked.

"You made it clear. You chose not to have her with us. I don't think she'd ever do anything to hurt or disrespect you by continuing to be friends with us. She loves you more than anything in the world and I need you to give that back to her." Jade said. Draco stepped closer towards Jade, glaring at her.

"Are you telling me that I don't love her enough? Are you telling me how I should love her?" Malfoy asked.

"Malfoy take a step back." Jade whispered. Malfoy placed a hand on the wall, cornering her.

"Or what?" he hissed.

"Listen, I don't know what it is you're up to but I know it's something big." Jade said. It was like a jolt of electricity that got Malfoy to start trembling. He started breathing heavily, his eyes full with fear. "Look at you, Malfoy. Look what this is doing to you. It's like you have the world sitting on your head! The biggest thing you ever had to worry about was how you could have gotten Ass to talk to you or when was the best time to make fun of Harry or Ron!" Jade said.

"Everyone has to grow up one day. No one remains innocent for long, you ignorant little girl. When are you going to stop playing with your dolls and wake up to realize that this world is an ugly and cruel place with no hope or promise to anyone? All those dandy cute little delusions that's been written into nursery rhymes and lullabies that you grew up with…they're all lies. Everyone lives just to die because that is our punishment for our existence." Draco spat. He waited as Jade quickly wiped away the tears from her cheeks.

"It's very easy for you to tell me that I don't have to do this but it's a lot easier said than done. You wouldn't understand what I'm doing or why I'm doing it unless you had to go through everything I've been through, exactly how it was." Malfoy said.

"But why Astoria? Why hurt her like this?" Jade asked.

"Here's a fact that you might not already know: no matter what you do, people are never satisfied. Now I only have to do what's best for me and my family, you know, protect them? I'll only listen if you've been through a similar experience and left with everyone happy and healthy. Until then, don't you dare tell me what or what not to do." He said. He removed his hand from the wall, threw the goblet into a trash bin and walked out of the party. Jade sniffed and dabbed the corner of her eyes with a tissue.

"Pookie? Are you okay? What did he say? Did he take advantage of you?" Cormac asked.

"No he didn't. I'm just really tired and ready to leave." Jade said.

"Let's go, I'll walk you." Cormac said.

"No Cormac, I'll be fine by myself. You shouldn't miss the party; you're a member of it after all." Jade said seeing Cormac shake his head.

"What's a party without my Pookie?" Cormac asked. They walked out of the office and into the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Wow…I didn't know how cold it was tonight." Jade said rubbing her arms and hugging herself as they walked. Cormac shivered, hugging his cloak tighter to himself.

"I know! It's a good thing I bought my cloak." He said. Jade smiled, glancing at the cloak and kept her arms around herself. Cormac quickly thought of things that they would talk about to break the awkward silence. She was always easy to talk to but Malfoy ended up ruining her mood.

"So my N.E.W.T.'s exams are coming up." Cormac said.

"I hope you're preparing well." Jade said seeing him nod. He spoke about his entire year of preparing for his N.E.W.T's and plans to graduate but Jade only nodded along, giving one word comments. He held his cloak tightly as they passed through a corridor with open ledges. It was snowing outside.

'I think I need another cloak. It's so cold!' Cormac thought. He looked towards Jade to voice his thought but saw the goose bumps on her arm and her shivering. He wondered about her, unable to imagine how she was feeling, wearing a dress. He was wearing a sweater, pants and a cloak. It occurred to him that she needed the cloak more than he did. After all, it was the right thing to do and he was a gentleman, wasn't he?

"Pookie, you're freezing." He said, quickly taking off his cloak.

"No, I'm fine. You don't have to give me your cloak." Jade said seeing Cormac blush and shake his head.

"I don't know why I didn't give it to you in the first place." He said, wrapping the cloak around her.

"Thank you, but what are you going to wear?" Jade asked.

"The Tower's just a minute away, I can manage." He said. As soon as they reached the common room, Jade returned the cloak to Cormac.

"Thank you for coming tonight. It really made my evening special." Cormac said seeing Jade smile.

"Thank you for having me Cormac. I had a wonderful time. I'll see you tomorrow?" Jade asked seeing him looking nervous. The lighting from the fireplace softened her features and made her eyes behind her glasses darker. Cormac felt his heartbeat start to increase slowly and his palms start to sweat. He didn't quite understand the feeling but had a good idea in the very back of his mind. Jade leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Goodnight." She said. He watched her walk up the stairs and stood at the bottom for a few minutes before retiring into his dormitory. He went to bed smiling and she was all he could think about the entire night.