Jade woke up abruptly, as she had been forced to do so by a spell. The first thing she saw was four familiar faces but none of those faces made her feel relieved. It actually made it all worse. She was quite confused and didn't know what was going on.
She hadn't seen most of those people in months, and the last time she saw them things hadn't ended up well.
Lexion and Rabastan grabbed her by her arms and pulled her up. She felt a bit dizzy but that wasn't important at the moment. Finley smiled at her when Jade looked at her father but the smile didn't reach his icy blue eyes, for a moment Jade thought she had imagined it as the smile was gone so quickly.
The fourth person that was close to her was Rodolphus Lestrange. He didn't say or do anything. He didn't look pleased or bothered to see her, it was whatever to him.
She looked around and she couldn't deny she felt scared. She was surrounded by Death Eaters in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. She quickly spotted Bellatrix not far from where she was. In a far corner, she saw Amycus and Alecto, they were with two other women Jade didn't know. Among the crowd, she recognised several parents of her school mates, even some of her school mates were there, mostly Slytherins in her year and some that had graduated in the last few years that Jade still remembered. Lucius and Narcissa were also there and she felt sad about seeing them in that state, as she knew the battle hadn't done it, it was the punishment they went through after she escaped with Harry. They both looked miserable and broken.
She also could spot some creatures that had joined the dark side, among them were a couple of werewolves she didn't know besides Fenrir, some giants but there weren't as many as she had seen in the battlefield, most of them had been killed. She also saw spiders and goblins and other creatures, some she thought would never be persuaded to fight for Voldemort.
She thought she was brought there because her parents and everyone else knew what she had done. Betrayed them. Betrayed their Lord and helped Harry. She had after all, stood up for her classmates, including Muggle-Borns and Half-Bloods, gone on a mission with Harry and his friends, broke into her family's vault and took something from there, married against her family's will and destroyed a Horcrux herself. Just one reason would be enough for punishment.
But her thoughts stopped when she saw Nagini. The snake was there... She reached for her pocket slowly, despite knowing normal magic wouldn't probably kill the snake, but that didn't really matter, she didn't find her wand. She tried the other pocket but nothing. She tried to keep calm despite the fact she was freaking out. Being so vulnerable in such an environment was the worst case scenario.
And at last she saw Voldemort. She had never been face to face with him before. She had been close but he hadn't seen her before, like back in the Shrieking Shack where he killed Snape. Fury made her blood boil but she couldn't lose her temper at the moment, not without a wand and being surrounded by at least two hundred Death Eaters, if not more.
The man, if he could be called that, slowly and quite gracefully made his way towards her. People in the way quickly scurried away and bowed down as he passed them by, Jade couldn't believe how pathetic they were and to think her parents and brother were part of it. Finally, he reached her and she didn't know what to do, she wouldn't bow down like them. Everyone was looking at her, making the whole situation more awkward.
"What's your name?" Voldemort asked her, looking at her and for a second she saw the red in his eyes that Harry had described but Jade couldn't understand what he meant until that moment.
"It's Jade," she said, trying to speak clearly and with confidence, despite the fact she felt insecure without her wand.
"Your parents and Aunt Bellatrix claim you are very skillful, that you'll be a good addition to my troops."
Jade didn't answer. She was confused. She looked quickly down at her left arm to check if they hadn't branded her while she was unconscious and it seemed Voldemort knew what she was thinking.
"We don't have time to do Dark Marks but after the battle you can get yours," he said with a proud smile.
Again, Jade said nothing but she felt something odd, if she hadn't been taught she wouldn't have even felt it or recognised that weird feeling. He was in her mind. She tried to not push him away so he wouldn't know that she knew Occlumency or suspect she had something to hide. So, instead, she thought of little fragments of the battle she had witnessed, trying hard to not think of her friends, or that she had fought against Death Eaters or that she was the one who destroyed the Goblet or that she had witnessed Snape's death.
Apparently, he didn't find anything bad, he was satisfied with what he saw, so he turned around and walked away. But he told her he was glad to have her and he knew how valuable she would become, especially after the loss of many very skillful followers and that Bellatrix herself would train her after the battle was over, so she would reach her very best. Had her parents offered her as a soldier for him? What had happened? Why was she even there?
For a slight moment she wondered if Voldemort knew of the two prophecies concerning her. Had he even heard about them? She felt a chill going up and down her body and she decided it was better to not think of anything important. He could easily invade her mind at any moment.
Jade looked at Voldemort as he walked away from her, people again hurried to get out of the way and some other approached him asking him how they could serve him. She caught out of the corner of her eyes, Amycus, glaring at her. She glared back, somehow her courage was back and she wouldn't be intimidated by him.
"What happened to you? How did you end up here?" Finley asked her, making her look away from that nasty person.
"Who kidnapped you?" Lex asked.
By the questions they were making and how they were behaving with the Malfoys, Jade could tell they didn't remember seeing Draco when it had happened. And she was so glad, it would be such a scandal. And it would be even a bigger scandal if they knew she had actually married him, but they hadn't found out yet. And the Malfoys and Bellatrix and Rodolphus hadn't told them anything about her marriage and her stay at Malfoy Manor over the short holiday, she was so grateful about that.
"I don't remember," Jade kept repeating, at the moment her brain couldn't come up with a good excuse.
"You must remember who dared to take you away!" Finley exclaimed. Jade shook her head. "Where were you taken to?"
"I don't remember anything at all," Jade muttered.
"How did you end up in Hogwarts?"
"I don't know. I just woke up here."
"When?"
"Weeks ago," Jade said.
"And you didn't let us know? Why did Snape not tell us?"
"I don't know," Jade repeated.
"You could have written a letter! We were looking for you! We were so worried!"
"I don't remember being taken, I didn't know I was kidnapped. I didn't know you were looking for me."
Jade pretended she didn't remember what had happened. As far as she knew she had returned to Hogwarts without being kidnapped or being forced to marry Cass. She pretended to not even remember that part. After all, she didn't actually remember much of that because of the Imperio Curse.
Lexion and Finley talked to each other, discussing who could have been responsible for kidnapping their daughter on her wedding day. And as Jade faintly heard them, she was sure they didn't know of the time when she was "kidnapped" by Harry during Easter. It seemed that Narcissa was right, Bellatrix could be very loyal to family, as long as her Master wasn't involved, otherwise he was her priority, even above family.
If they had heard that Harry Potter had taken her hostage and used her to escape, things wouldn't have been pretty. They would have made such a scandal and informed every one, and she would have been questioned not only by her family but probably by Voldemort himself too. He would have wanted to know what Harry was up to. He already found out the Ring and the Locket were gone, he probably would ask things to know how much Harry had achieved, how much he knew.
Bellatrix and the Malfoys still believed that she was in fact kidnapped by Harry. They didn't know it was all an act and she was glad they hadn't asked her how she got out of that situation and ended up in Hogwarts. She wasn't sure what she could make up.
As Jade stayed a couple of steps away from her brother and father, she looked around one more time, looking for her mother. She wasn't with any of her two brothers, she wasn't with Bellatrix or the Malfoys either. She couldn't find her.
She actually stopped paying attention to the conversation in front of her as she kept looking, this time paying more attention and taking her time as she scanned the place. She knew she would have found her mother quickly if she was there, she was elegant and graceful, she usually stood out in crowds. Narcissa knew what she was looking for and made her way towards her.
"Where's my mother?" Jade asked out loud, interrupting the conversation. Normally, Finley would have been extremely upset and offended by that impolite action but not this time.
Finley took a deep breath and Lexion's green eyes filled with tears, making them shine and look a lighter shade of green for a bit. Narcissa looked at her with sadness and Bellatrix, who was nearby, turned around and also joined the group.
"About time you noticed," Finley exclaimed.
"I was unconscious because of Lex," Jade said angrily, speaking out for the first time. "I was confused and even dizzy. I didn't even know where exactly I was. I apologise for not noticing it before."
"Well, I needed to get you here," Lex said with a shrug.
"You didn't need to knock me out," Jade exclaimed.
"Cass was trying to get you!" Lex said, his tone showed indignation. "I thought he was my friend."
"Well," Jade said, thinking quickly what she could say. "He is my fiancé, he was probably worried about me."
"Worried? You were with me! Your brother, he had no reason to be worried!"
"It's a war! People don't think clearly, they just act! He was thinking about me and our safety."
"Yeah, right," Lex said as he rolled his eyes. "He is a traitor. He never joined when he had the chance, I thought he was just scared and just wanted to work and make more money. He was never the adventurer type of guy but I was wrong, he is out there right now fighting against us. His parents actually turned against us. They are lucky they are still alive indeed. "
"Do you actually want your best friend to be dead?" Jade asked, surprised.
"Well, he betrayed us."
"He didn't betray anyone," Jade exclaimed, earning a couple of glares. "Maybe his parents did by changing sides, but he didn't."
"I know you love him, Jade," Finley said. "But he did betray us all, including you."
"What?"
"Yeah, and because of that he is no longer your fiancé. We decided to break the engagement off. We don't want to be related to traitors like them. I'm so relieved you never got to marry him, we would have sunk with that move. We would be close to Lucius' position right now."
"They are just cowards," Lexion muttered.
"Wait, I'm no longer engaged?" Jade asked, not believing what she was being told.
"Of course you aren't, Jade. Do you want that kind of people to be part of your family? Besides, they changed alliances a while ago, we are suspecting Cassius and his parents are responsible for your abduction," Finley said and Jade's mouth hung open a bit and her eyes got wide open in shock. "Isn't it a bit odd that someone took you, and they didn't ask for money or anything in exchange? Or they didn't actually harm you, did they? They just took you away and returned you to school, isn't that odd? So, it must have been someone that knows you and cares about you."
"You actually think Cass kidnapped me?" Jade asked, she had never been so surprised by one of her father's hypotheses. It was ridiculous. He was also under a curse on their wedding day.
"I'm almost completely sure he did. But I don't understand why. I mean, he would have benefited a lot by the marriage right now, he would have been forgiven or given a chance because of his connection to us, even when he would have damaged our position here. I knew he wanted to wait to marry you, he told me several times but not doing it was a foolish move. I really want to find him and ask him why he took you."
"We will find him and Talbott and Amberie," Bellatrix assured him. "I've given instructions to every one to not kill any of them but to capture them and bring them to us."
Jade's heart skipped a bit and she felt sick. She needed to escape and warn them. She didn't want anything to happen to them, she knew it would be better for them to be killed than to be captured and tortured, especially for something they didn't do. If it got to that, Jade would tell the truth and tell them they didn't take her. They were innocent.
"They will pay, Finley," Rodolphus said. "I promised my sister that."
That reminded Jade how this discussion started. She wasn't sure how they ended up speaking about her 'abduction' when she only asked about her mother.
"Pay for what?" Jade found herself asking.
"Your mother didn't get to know you were okay, she thought she'd never see you again, she talked about it constantly," Rodolphus told her.
"Well, she never saw her again," Bellatrix said.
"What?" Jade choked out.
"The Perseus' stole from you the last moments with your mother, they will pay for that," Rodolphus said. "She was so devastated after you were taken, she wasn't fit to fight, she shouldn't have come."
"She insisted," Finley said. "She served our Lord until the end. That's how she wanted it. She was a faithful servant and she will be remembered as such."
"Yeah I get that but she wasn't well mentally or even physically to be here, she put everyone in danger and herself in a horrible position," Rodolphus told him. "She should have stayed home."
"I think she wanted to come see if Jade was here," Rabastan said.
"I don't get it," Jade whispered.
"Sweetie," Narcissa said kindly, putting an arm over her shoulder. "Your mother died. She's gone, Jade."
Maybe she was a bit slow but she merely thought her mother was either taken, captured, or somewhere else. Maybe sick, maybe injured, maybe away with Olisca. She didn't really think she died.
Jade's heart shattered. She could have been cold and even mean at times, they didn't have a normal affectionate mother/daughter relationship, ever, but Jade loved her mother, just like she loved her father and Lexion. They were her family and she loved and cared about them. She repeated Narcissa's words in her mind several times and she still couldn't believe it.
"Gone?" Jade whispered as she shook her head. "She can't be gone, can she?"
Jade's pain was something beyond what she could have ever imagined. Her heart physically hurt and at that moment she really longed to have one more moment with her mother. She was so young she didn't really think about not having either of her parents so soon. She thought she would be forty-five at least when she would lose them, not seventeen.
"She is, Jade," Lex told her. "I saw it with my own eyes."
The last memory Jade had of her mother wasn't a nice one, she was full of resentment towards her. She knew it was her father the one who plotted the whole marriage thing and forcing her to marry before the agreement. She knew he was the one who used the Imperio Curse on her, she knew her mother would have allowed her to marry at the time she wanted, the way she wanted, but she only went along with what Finley wanted. And for that, for not standing up for her, she resented her.
Jade was used to the cold treatment from both her parents, she didn't know any better. Her friends were treated in a similar way, so for most of her life she assumed it was normal even when she always felt like something was off. But then she met Molly Weasley and how loving she was with her children and Jade understood that was normal, that was how Raven should have been with her and that's when she started to resent her.
For some reason, Raven's behaviour hurt Jade more than Finley's even when he was way worse. Raven was cold and indifferent but Finley was cruel. He could be ruthless if he wanted. And looking back at everything he had done, she wondered how she could still love him.
"No worries, my dear," Bellatrix said, making Jade look at her aunt. "I killed the person who killed her."
In that state of hurt and grief and confusion, Jade was unsure if she should be okay with that or worried or even more hurt. She still didn't know how or when her mother died, and she was hoping none of her friends had killed her, or they'd be dead right now.
Finally, a tear fell down her face. It was a mix of pain from the death of Raven and that causing even more death and living such a horrible time. She wanted the war to be over and just go home.
And that made a second tear fall. Home. She didn't know where home was. She had run away from home, she left her parents and brother behind. They couldn't be called home anymore. Her house wasn't home for her anymore. Was the Malfoy Manor her new home? Narcissa accepted her and she loved her. Lucius was her godfather and he loved her too. But she couldn't call that place home yet.
That was the very first time in about twelve or thirteen years that Jade let her walls down and she showed what she really felt in front of her father and family. She showed her emotions instead of the Poker Face she used way too often and people actually believed she couldn't feel anything. Harry, Draco and even Cass had seen that sensitive and even fragile side of Jade but not Finley or Lex or the Lestranges.
Jade really wanted to know who had killed her mother but she was truly terrified of the answer. What if it had been a classmate? Or a teacher? She was afraid of being told the name Luna, or Ginny, or Mrs. Weasley or any of the people who were part of the D.A., what if it was Fred and that's why he died?
"Thank you, Aunt Bella," Lexion said and Jade turned to look from nowhere in particular to her brother. "That helped with my grief a little bit."
"The least I could do, my boy," Bellatrix said. "Not only she killed my sister-in-law but I was mocked because of her. She brought shame to me and my family. She had it coming for a long time."
"What do you mean?" Jade asked.
"A few months ago the Dark Lord shamed us but mostly Bella because of this woman, as she is her Aunt," Rabastan said.
"Don't repeat that ever again," Bella warned him. "I'm not her aunt!"
"The girl wants to know! It's her mother that died!" Rabastan exclaimed. "Bella's sister is a traitor, she married a Muggle-Born, you know that. And now her niece, well, she did even worse, she married a werewolf. So, everyone made fun of that."
Jade's brain wasn't working properly. She couldn't remember Bellatrix's sister's name and she couldn't put the points together. It was probably a way to protect her from the truth, a subconscious way her brain was using.
"What was her name, anyway?" Rodolphus asked.
Before Jade could even process it in her head, the word escaped her lips in a soft, almost inaudible whisper. "Tonks?"
"Don't worry, Jade, she got what she deserved," Bellatrix told her.
Her already shattered heart felt like it was completely dying. Like it had been stabbed with a very thick and wide sword. Flashes of the images of Tonks and Lupin on the floor, dead, invaded her mind.
"But she had…" Jade bit her lip and stopped mid-sentence. She couldn't reveal to the worst Death Eaters that she had a son. That Bellatrix's sister had a grandson. The least bad thing they could do was making fun of him.
"What?" Rodolphus asked.
"Nevermind," Jade said quickly. "I'm just a bit taken aback by my mother."
Jade thought of Teddy. She didn't know what he looked like, she had never met him, but she was devastated, thinking of the young baby. He had lost his mother and father at the same time. He wouldn't even remember them, he was too young.
Thinking of Teddy reminded her of Leo, she wanted to go now and give him a big hug and not let go for a while. That also made her realise Raven would never get to meet her grandson, which was probably the best, she wouldn't love him, she wouldn't accept him. He wasn't even a Pure-Blood. It was stupid but that realisation made her shed another tear. She was such an emotional wreck at the moment that all she wanted to do was stop being so strong and break down.
Raven Leonie Lestrange was dead. Jade couldn't wrap her head around that. She kind of expected Raven to join them and be like 'I won't go down that easily'. But she wouldn't. Jade had so many untold things kept in her heart and now she would never get to tell them to her mother. The news hurt her more than she thought it would.
The adults had moved on to another topic of conversation, four or five other Death Eaters had approached them and they were discussing things Jade couldn't understand, but what she could understand was that Amycus was walking towards her with a smirk on his lips.
"How does it feel to know your mother died because of you?" Amycus said as he stood next to her. He wasn't facing her but Jade knew the smirk never left his lip.
"Have you come only to gloat? Your words don't hurt me, I think you are pathetic," Jade told him, her eyes only showed how disgusted he made her feel. "Don't you dare talk about my mother again."
"Your family doesn't know yet how you stand up for traitors and Mud-Bloods, if they knew, well, let's just say your mother would be glad to be long gone after that humiliation."
Jade quickly moved to face him and went for her pocket but she remembered she didn't have her wand, otherwise she would be pointing it at Amycus right now. She wouldn't care, he was asking for it.
Amycus' smirk got bigger. "At least she died not knowing what a disappointment you are."
Jade didn't have her wand but she didn't need it. Jade didn't think, she just reacted. Before she knew it, she had punched Amycus right in the nose. Blood came out but he fixed it quickly with a spell. He pretended to be okay and that it didn't hurt but Jade knew it did and he was being humiliated once again, as some people turned to look at them, and this time it wasn't in front of students but Death Eaters and even Voldemort.
"I saw you, Jade…" He whispered as he looked right into her now brownish eyes. "Up there in the Ravenclaw Common Room with Potter. I could tell them, you know?"
"You don't know what you saw, I was there but Potter wasn't. But you know what I saw?" Jade said, challenging him with her eyes, not daring to look away and show him fear. "The best I can describe it is a pitiful leech screaming on the floor, defeated. You can't beat me, Amycus."
"You took me by surprise, I was worried about my sister," Amycus said, looking down in shame but soon looked at her again. His nose wasn't bloody anymore but it was red on top and it was a bit crooked. Jade knew she had broken it and he was trying to hide the pain. "I wouldn't be so confident making threats when I can bring you down with what I know. If I tell the Dark Lord you would wish to be dead like your mother."
"If you tell him, you'd regret it. He'll know you are lying and only want to ruin me because I'm better than you. He'd also know about how easily I beat you. He'd be impressed at how well I can do the Imperio Curse on someone like you. I'm sure you won't want him to see that embarrassing moment."
"You little - !"
"Is everything alright over here?" Lucius asked as he came to the two of them, both turned to face the slightly taller man.
"It's none of your business, Lucius."
Lucius used to be one of the most respected and important followers of Voldemort. But since he made that mistake back at the Ministry, he lost it all. He was merely just a member, no one important. Many people were above him in rank right now. Someone as idiotic as Amycus would have never dared to speak like that to Lucius before.
"It actually is," he said. "This is my Goddaughter, if you didn't know. What is the problem now? You can fix it with me."
"I'm just concerned she could be a spy, a traitor. She was with Potter just hours ago."
"Can you prove it?"
"Well…"
"You can or you can't? I can tell this is just dirty gossip, and I know why you are doing this, she damaged your ego."
"Excuse me? You know nothing Lucius!"
"I actually do. I know she confronted you in class and you couldn't duel against her as your abilities don't match hers, you went to cry to Snape," Lucius said and Jade was surprised he knew all of that. Did Draco tell him? Did someone else do it? "So your students lost respect for you and your little trick didn't work to get her killed afterwards. We all know about that sea snake you conjured against her and let me tell you, you are lucky Finley or Bellatrix hadn't done anything to you."
"I'll say it again, this girl is a traitor and she will bring us down!" Amycus exclaimed, this time earning some attention. "She acts all sweet and innocent but she is the worst of all of them. She is fraternising with the enemy, with Potter himself! Why won't you believe me? What else do you want?"
"We want you to piss off and stop bothering her!" Lucius exclaimed in a threatening way, his wand was out by now. "She just lost her mother, leave her alone. Get lost or we are going to have a big issue here."
"Amycus," a soft voice said, interrupting the conversation. They all turned to see the source and it was Finley Lias, he was too calm. His expression didn't show any anger but when his eyes met Jade's for a second, she knew that all was an act. "I have a question for you. Wasn't my lovely beautiful wife the one that rescued you and your useless sister just hours ago?"
"Yes, Finley, she did get us out…"
"Well, we lost her not long after that, so we can assume she died because of your ineptitude and failure and not because of my daughter?" Finley asked, if looks could kill, Amycus would be long gone.
"I actually think…"
"I don't care what you think," Finley said. "As Lucius said, we know you attempted to kill Jade while she was in detention. And we haven't done anything to you because our Lord asked us not to but that doesn't mean it will go unpunished so I suggest you for your own good to keep away from my daughter and keep your filthy mouth full of lies shut."
"If you let me explain…"
"I don't care," he repeated. "As I just said, my wife just lost her life. We are grieving. You are not only attacking Jade, but you are disturbing all of us and speaking ill of a great woman that isn't here to defend herself. I heard you when you came taunting her with her mother's death and I won't forget that. Now if you continue to be an inconvenient idiot, I will kill your sister, so you can feel my pain. And then when everything is over I will make you pay, Amycus. That's a promise."
Amycus glared at Finley but he didn't say another word. He looked down at the ground and walked backwards slowly, not daring to turn his back to the redhead man. The least Jade wanted was attention and now thanks to Amycus, some people were still looking at her.
"Thank you, Lucius," Finley said and shook his hand and then turned to Jade. "If he says anything else, you tell me, understood? Every single word."
"Yes," Jade said and nodded.
Finley turned to rejoin the other Death Eaters, who had stopped their conversation to watch the exchange and Lucius went to stand with Narcissa once again. Jade just stood there, close to the small circle four Death Eaters, her two uncles, her Aunt Bella and Lex had made.
Once everything calmed down and people weren't looking at her or her family any more, Jade started to slowly and subtly take steps backwards, away from her relatives. She was going to try to run even when she realised she wasn't sure where she was or where to run to reach the castle but as she got closer to the trees she got colder and sorrow overwhelmed her. That could only mean Dementors were around them.
She shook her head in frustration. Yes, no one had noticed she was only a few metres from the trees, metres from where her relatives were talking to each other and where she was minutes ago. She could have run away without anyone seeing her but facing Dementors without a wand would be a suicidal mission.
Jade wasn't sure how much time had passed when she saw two Death Eaters, Dolohov and Yaxley joining them.
"No sign of him my Lord," Dolohov announced.
"I thought he would come," Voldemort said. "I was, it seems... Mistaken."
"You weren't!"
Jade felt like she had been stabbed in the heart when she heard that voice. A moment later she saw him... Harry, walking into the clearing. Jade's feet seemed to have a mind of their own, as she started walking towards him without noticing.
They all gasped, laughed and cheered loudly. Lucius Malfoy grabbed her by her elbow and stopped her, no one else seemed to be looking at her and noticing what she was doing. She looked up at him and Lucius shook his head and Jade only stood next to him. His hand was removed but she left like an invisible force was stopping her from going to help Harry.
"Harry! NO!"
Hagrid was there, he was bound, tied to a tree. He struggled, trying to get free, but a Death Eater nearby silenced him with a spell.
Harry's eyes suddenly met hers and he panicked inside. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to be safe with the others. Was this a trap? Was this going to end like in the other reality? Both of them getting killed? Harry tried to reason, he had asked Harry to meet him while Jade was still with him, this couldn't be Jade's end too, right?
Jade's lip trembled and a tear slipped from her eyes. Jade then looked at the snake and then at Harry, who shook his head. He didn't know she was wandless. But he thought it was too dangerous to attack the snake there, they both would be killed for sure and he wanted Jade to survive. Ron, Granger and Neville would hunt the Snake if they had to. That wasn't the priority right now. The priority was getting Jade out of there alive.
Jade couldn't help it, she had to try something. She tried to communicate to Harry by using her mind but instead of making herself heard, she heard him.
"Don't react. Keep yourself alive, Jade. I know you are listening to me, I can feel you. I have to die. There's no other way. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to abandon you and Leo."
Jade shook her head as she heard his thoughts. More tears fell from her eyes. His voice was the only thing that kept her from running to him and attempting to save him.
"I wrote you and Leo a letter explaining things, Neville's got them."
Jade's hand went up to wipe some tears, she shook her head once again. She couldn't believe it. She was so angry at Harry for being such a fool and giving himself to Voldemort. But she also felt sadness, hopelessness and desperation. She started to walk again but Lucius stopped her one more time.
"Get out of here at the first chance you get and tell Leo I love him," Harry said in his mind, tears were now threatening to fall from his eyes too. "And Jade, I love you."
Jade wanted to find a way to make Harry hear her, she needed to tell him things too. Jade opened her mouth, she didn't care if she needed to shout and make everyone hear her but luckily she couldn't find her voice. She didn't even manage to get a whisper out.
Harry forced himself to stop looking at Jade, he only hoped that once he was gone she would remain calm and escape when she could. That was his only worry at the moment. He took one last glance at her and saw her crying and being held by Lucius Malfoy, by her biceps. He was behind her, trying to stop her from going any further. Luckily, everyone was looking at him, not at her.
"Harry Potter," Voldemort said softly. "The boy who lived."
"Don't react, Jade." he thought at last and then closed his mind.
Jade felt like there was a magical barrier around her, preventing her from reaching Harry. Lucius wasn't struggling to keep her where she was, so she mustn't be trying hard enough.
Jade's world seemed to be in slow motion and muted somehow. She stared at Harry and felt so far from him. She felt hopeless and defenceless. She couldn't even move. How pathetic was that?
For her, it seemed like a second lasted hours, or like someone had paused that moment. Nothing was advancing. She felt frozen. But then, things seemed to be way too fast.
Her body went from tense to limp and weak when she saw a green bright flash and Harry falling to the floor. If it hadn't been for Lucius she would have fallen down too, except she was still breathing. She felt dead but she wasn't.
No one was sure what was going on, as Voldemort had fallen to the ground too. No one cheered, no one laughed. Voldemort wasn't celebrating, instead he was on the ground, not moving. And no one else dared to move for quite a while. Jade didn't care though. Her mind was somewhere else and she felt like she wasn't really there. Like if it was a dream. It was a weird feeling.
Death Eaters finally approached to check on and help Voldemort, Finley and Bellatrix being the quickest ones, while Lucius stayed, holding Jade. After a couple of minutes, The Dark Lord got to his feet but Harry didn't, even when Jade had hoped and wished to see that. But she knew she was being a fool.
"You!" Voldemort shouted as he pointed a finger at someone. Jade didn't see. "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."
Jade didn't feel like such a fool if Voldemort was also thinking there could be a chance of him being alive. Jade looked up at last and saw Narcissa Malfoy walking to Harry and kneeling next to him.
Narcissa took a minute or two, her hand over his chest. Finally, she stood up and faced Voldemort with the most serious expression Jade had ever seen on her.
"He is dead," Narcissa called.
And Jade felt like she lost Harry a second time. Everyone around her yelled in triumph with two exceptions, Narcissa and Lucius. There were bursts of red, blue and silver, they were celebrating. Narcissa went to stand next to Jade, who probably looked like a mess now. Silent tears kept coming and coming.
Voldemort used crucio on Harry and he didn't react, that's when Jade had absolutely no doubt he was gone. No one, absolutely no one could stay still and quiet like that under the Cruciatus Curse. No matter how skillful you were. Jade knew that by experience.
Right after the first attempt, Narcissa quickly wrapped her arms around Jade and forced her to look away, Jade buried her face between her shoulder and neck. Narcissa put her hand over her ear so she wouldn't even hear the curse, the other ear was against Narcissa's body, making sounds blocked. Her other hand ran up and down Jade's back to comfort her but that only made her cry harder. Lucius put an arm around Narcissa's waist and placed a hand on Jade's shoulder. They stayed like that while the others kept celebrating.
"Now," Voldemort said. "We go to the castle and show them what has become of their hero. You!" Voldemort said, looking at Hagrid. "You carry him. Pick him up, Hagrid."
Narcissa let go of Jade slowly, and put her hands around her face, cupping it. Jade wanted to look down but Narcissa wouldn't let her. Her eyes that looked brown before, were back to a light green shade and they were bloodshot. They looked similar to Lexion's eyes.
"Where's that infamous Lias Poker Face?" Narcissa whispered to her. "You can be shocked, you can be overwhelmed, you can even be scared but if he sees you crying over Potter, you are done. So, let's dry those tears and I want that chin up. It'll all be over soon. I promise. We find Draco and we leave."
"Really?" Jade choked out in a very raspy voice.
"Mhm." Narcissa nodded as she wiped the tears with her sleeve. "So, no more crying, okay?"
Taking a very deep breath and nodding at Narcissa, Jade tried to look normal. But as they started moving, Jade felt numb. Her tears stopped and she tried hard to look unaffected by Harry's death. She walked in between Lucius and Lexion. Narcissa was in front of her with Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan. And she could hear Hagrid crying behind her but she didn't look back. She didn't cry anymore and she didn't want to cry again so she refrained herself from looking back at Hagrid, knowing he was carrying Harry.
As they walked, the sky got clearer and after what seemed like eternity, night was coming to an end and Jade saw a beautiful sunrise with purple, orange and pink. She took the beauty in and felt lucky to see it. Having seen so much death and destruction and loss, she was grateful she was still breathing, and even when Harry was gone, she was glad many people she cared about were still alive. Her brother, even when his mentality was off, was still alive and she was grateful for that. As far as she knew, Draco, Ron, Granger, Luna, Neville, Ginny, Cass and his parents were still alive. Leo and Daryl were safe and alive.
The sunset and this new day gave her strength to keep walking, to keep pretending she didn't want to attack the snake so everything could finally end. To keep pretending she didn't want to kill Voldemort for killing Harry, for destroying her family and ruining Draco's life. Even for killing her in the other reality and kidnapping her son.
It gave her strength to pull off that poker face that at some point, came so naturally to her. She didn't even have to try. People even found it weird when she showed any kind of emotion but with time, allowing herself to actually feel those emotions, that poker face became harder and harder, maybe even impossible, to do. At the moment, she was struggling but she could feel she finally got it. She even stood straighter and her shoulders weren't slumping any more. She continued to walk elegantly and with confidence, it was fake, but no one had to know that.