Wild Jade

by kateydidnt

I didn't write this a group I worked with did, so if anyone in the group is on here, don't get mad at me.

Author's Note:  This is not my story, I was in a group of a bunch of other HP lovers and we wrote this together, about 2 years ago, so if anything is inconsistent with HP GoF sorry. 

WILD JADE


CHAPTER 1

"Oh no, not again. Please, not again." She stared around, squinting to see, but the fog was thick and humid, like the crowded London streets on a rainy day. It clung to her skin in huge drops, blinding her from her surroundings.
"Why is this always happening to me?" Elanie closed her eyes and leaned her head into her hands. The dream. The same dream that had been plaguing her for endless nights. What did it mean? She sat down and waited, knowing that he would be there soon. He always came. That was the only good part about this entire mess.
The fog began swirling slightly around her. The air grew cooler. Elanie smiled and looked up. There he stood. To the rest of the world he looked like a normal boy, but to her he was an angel. He was tall and rather lanky, with bright, waving red hair, a sweet face full of freckles, and the most amazing green eyes she had ever seen. Elanie didn't know if it was possible to fall in love with a vision in a dream but it had happened to her.
"Who are you?" she whispered, raising her hand in his direction. "Tell me who you are." The boy smiled at her, and it was beautiful, full of life and laughter. "I love you," she whispered, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I really truly love you." He stared blankly into her face, still smiling, not understanding a thing she said. Elanie sighed and began walking toward him, head lowered. She had never touched him before, but now she felt she must.
She reached him and looked down at his tennis shoes, scuffed and worn.
"Look up," she thought to herself. "Look up." Slowly she raised her eyes to his, and saw complete terror. The boy was staring at something behind her, his sweet face contorted into a frightened mask.
"W-w-what is it," Elanie whispered, quickly turning to stare behind her. She let out a piercing scream. A snake, a giant, coiling, hissing snake was twirling through the air behind her. It was HUGE. And the color was strange. Large stripes of emerald green and silver surrounded the huge body. Then with its red eyes and large, pointed, yellow teeth; it glared at her. How had it snuck up on her?
Elanie turned back to her boy, and saw him standing away from her, his body quivering and shaking, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Then, like there was something jerking from both sides, he split in two. Elanie stared in silence as two of the same people stared back at her. Identical in every way, same smiles and green eyes, dimples and red hair. She stared over her shoulder, at the snake still swirling high above her, then back at the doubles. What was happening?
Suddenly there was a loud roar, and Elanie looked up to see a vicious scarlet and gold lion soaring through the air over the boys heads. They cheered and took after it, now clutching what looked like quidditch beater clubs. And then the voice came, "...you'll make your real friends, those cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends. That's right my child. You belong in SLYTHERIN" The last word was screamed out into the room, and Elanie pulled off the old hat, staring into the many faces in the crowd. She was back, back in Hogwarts main hall, back to the sorting, and she had just been placed in Slytherin.
"No, no, no, no" she began to mumble. Not Slytherin. A daughter from a family full of Gryffindors does not get put in Slytherin. She slowly turned towards the Gryffindor table and looked into the face of her sister, this year's prefect. The sadness and disappointment she saw there was too much to bear. Elanie crawled slowly to her feet and turned toward her table, the Slytherin table. Cold eyes glared back at her, smirks across their pale faces. Everyone knew the Jade's were Gryff's and now their youngest daughter had been put into the rival house. Elanie stole one last look at her sister's table and stopped dead.
"No," she thought, "it couldn't be." Sitting there, in the middle of the Gryff table, was the boy from her dreams, exactly as she had always seen him. Eyes twinkling and dimples showing as he talked with what looked like a younger version of himself and a smaller boy with black hair and glasses. She had seen that boy before. He was the famous Harry Potter. Which meant the younger red head was Ron Weasley. They had both been in the paper enough for the entire wizarding world to know them. But why did Ron look so much like the boy from her dream, and why was the boy here? Just then the very boy of her thoughts looked up and caught her gaze. Elanie drew in a deep breath and held it, staring back openly and freely. He looked a second longer, then smiled and winked, before turning to speak to a person behind him. It was then that Elanie saw the other one. The identical boy who appeared to her. There really were two of them. Elanie had heard of the Weasley family, about all their kids, and the twins who were supposed to be the biggest clowns at Hogwarts since James Potter and Sirius Black.
"So," Elanie thought, "the infamous Weasley twins were the ones I saw, but why?" Suddenly someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned to see a rather oily looking man with greasy black hair and small beady eyes.
"Now, Miss Jade, I am not in the habit, nor do I appreciate having to get out of my comfortable seat just to show little lost first-years where they're suppose to sit . . ."
"But . . ."
"Miss Jade. Considering you don't know who I am, I'm Professor Snape, head of your house and potion master. Now, if you would be so kind as to come to your own table and let the sorting hat move on, I'm sure we would all be grateful to you." He sneered at her as he glared.
"I'm sorry Professor, it's just that..."
"I know what it is Miss Jade. Everyone knows your family's history with Gryffindor. Well, obviously there has to be something special about you. You were placed in Slytherin." With that he turned and stalked back to the staff table.
"I can't take this," Elanie thought. "Tonight, I'll leave. I can't stay here and belong in Slytherin; My parents, my sister, everyone was expecting me to follow in their footsteps. Yes, tonight I'll leave." She turned on her heels and approached the glares and sneers of her chosen table.


CHAPTER 2

The air was unusually cold, even for an English September evening, and it clung to Elanie as she pulled the thick robes tighter around her. It took awhile for her to realize she was completely lost. It had been two hours since she left the comfort of the main hall, slipping away as everyone sang the school song, stopping only to catch a last glimpse of the twins, and then stealing away into the forest. Now she was cold, hungry, and terrified. Everyone knew the stories surrounding the forbidden forest: The crazy centaurs, the man-eating spiders, the trolls and ghosts. She had to find her way out. Elanie stared up into the slightly darkened sky. Night was coming and she had to find shelter. Crawling into a small curve beneath a large oak, Elanie curled into a ball, and cried softly into her arms as she drifted into a restless sleep.

"Has anyone seen my sister," Emerald Jade called down the main-hallway, fighting her way between the stream of students heading towards their common rooms. She spotted three tall red heads standing above the rest and headed towards them. "Hay you guys, have you seen my sister Elanie." Fred, George and Ron all turned to stare down at her. Standing beside them always annoyed her, because she was so small and ended up staring at there chests.
"Hay Emmie, what's up?" Fred slapped her back with a big thump.
"Hello Fred," she mumbled. "Listen, have you guys seen my younger sister Elanie?"
"The one who was put in Slytherin?" This came from Harry Potter. He had been standing behind Ron where she couldn't see him. Emerald looked down at the ground. She tried not to feel disappointed that Ellie had not been sorted into Gryffindor, but it was hard.
"Yes, that's the one. She seemed pretty upset during the feast and I hadn't noticed that she was gone until it was time to leave."
"Well, I'm sorry Ems," said George," but I haven't seen her since the sorting. She was staring at Fred." He turned to smile at his brother. "And I believe I saw you giving the eye back." He elbowed Fred in the ribs.
Fred rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "I just thought she was kinda cute, she was trying to burn a hole in me with her eyes. Anyway, she's too young. A relationship like that would have completely blown up in my face."
"Blown up!" George suddenly yelled. "Fred, we nearly forgot. Our bombs, the first prank of the year!"
Fred's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "Oh man. This is gonna be great. We just gotta get to the passage way behind Ethel the Uneasy, and we're home free!"
Emerald stared at them suspiciously. "Okay guys, what are you up to now?" Fred and George both turned to smile at her.
"We have come up with the greatest prank of all time. Over the summer Dad taught us how to make small muggle bombs," George said in a rush, keeping his voice low so no one else would hear them. "We're gonna take them and set them off in the Forbidden Forest. Nothing too serious, but everyone will completely panic. They'll probably think its black magic or something."
Suddenly George's eyes went serious. "Please don't tell Emmie," he pleaded. "No one is going to get hurt, and I promise we won't get caught." They both looked at her with such innocent eyes that she had to laugh.
"Okay, but only if you promise not to let things get to carried away."
"We promise," they said in unison, then bounded away towards the passage to the forest.
"Excuse me, but what was that I just heard?" Ron, Harry, and Emerald turned to see a girl with big eyes and frizzy brown hair glaring at them.
"Oh, hi Hermione. Fred and George were just telling us about their latest prank," Ron said casually. "They're going to set a few bombs off in the Forbidden Forest."
"And you're going to let them do it," Hermione gaped. "Are you crazy. They could kill themselves. Wizards have no idea how dangerous muggle weapons can be. They'll most likely blow an arm off!"
Harry looked around worriedly. "Maybe we shouldn't have been so hasty in telling them to do it. I mean, you know those two are very accident-prone. They'll probably set the whole forest on fire."
Emerald leaned her head in her hands. "Okay then, lets go see if we can find them, and then stop them." She looked on as the others hurried off. "What a nice way to start the school year."


CHAPTER 3

The evening star shone through the purplely pink haze of the soft lit sky. Elanie awoke, and even though not much time had past since the main hall, it seemed like hours. She sat up and leaned against the oak. "Why me, why does everything always have to happen to me?" She held her knees and watched the clouds pass slowly overhead – CRACK!
Elanie was startled. Something was near in the forest. She quickly brushed the leaves out of her hair and peered out from behind the oak tree. What she saw made her gasp in surprise. One of the Weasley twins, she had no idea which one, was leaning over a small package mumbling to himself. Elanie slowly eased forward, trying to hear what he was saying.
"Come on Fred, you can do this. It's not that hard"
"Fred," she thought. "He's so cute, exactly the way I saw him in my dream." She continued to watch as he pulled a small bundle out of the sack. "What in the world," she wondered, staring at the object made up of wires and metal. Fred smiled slightly as he laid it on the ground.
"This is gonna be so great!" he laughed quietly.
Elanie leaned back against the tree and smiled to herself. "Maybe this night won't be so bad after all!"

"Have you guys found them yet?" Harry gasped, leaning against a tree to catch his breath.
"No," replied Ron, equally exhausted. "Neither has Emerald, but we haven't seen Hermione yet. Maybe she knows something."
Emerald turned towards the two boys. "Well, we'd better find them fast. If they get hurt, I'm dead." She scanned the forest shaking her head . . . "I can't believe I was dumb enough to let them do it." She smacked herself on the head. Why was she such a push over. All Fred and George had to do was look at her a certain way and she'd do whatever they wanted her to.
"Mom is going to kill me," Ron groaned. "She told me to keep an eye on those two and not let them get into any trouble." Harry gave him a funny look.
"Isn't that the older kids job?"
"Yeah, but this is Fred and George we're talking about here. They act like five year olds."
"Okay you guys, it's starting to get really late. They've probably already realized we're gone." Emerald looked towards the barely visible sun. "We'd better hurry. I do NOT want to be in these woods at night."

"I'm going to kill them, I'm going to kill them, I'm going to KILL them," Hermione repeated over and over again. She had been trekking through the forest for over an hour, and all she had found was a grumpy centaur and lots of bugs. "Fred and George are going to pay dearly for this." She stopped at the sound of a heavy crash past the bushes before her. She rushed forward to see what it was.
"George!" she cried out in surprise. The red headed boy looked up at her.
"Hermione? What are you doing here?"
"Trying to save your scrawny behind. Don't you know that bomb you made can kill you. Not to mention set the entire forest on fire and probably burn down Hogwarts. What were you thinking?" George looked confused.
"But Dad said they were harmless." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"George, you're Dad didn't even know how to use a telephone until Harry told him. What makes you think he's an expert on muggle weapons?" She reached over and took the bag out of his hands. "Now then, it's almost dark and we need to get out of here."
"Not without Fred," he said firmly.
"Of course not! It's not like were going to leave him here!" Hermione was getting very upset. "You go find Harry, Ron, and Emerald; I will look for Fred. Once you find them, get back to school as fast as you can."
"Yes ma'am," George saluted her, then headed back into the woods.
"One down, one to go."

Fred leaned over the bomb trying to remember what his father had told him.
"Okay, the red wire goes here, and the green one goes....no, wait, it's the other way around. Or is it?" He was getting more confused by the minute. "I hope George is having better luck." He held the many colorful wires in his hand. "Okay Fred, do not mess this up." Slowly he places the green and red wires in the holes. A sudden shrill, beeping sound filled the forest. Fred stared in amazement and confusion at the bright numbers slowly ticking off on the little screen. "Okay, I don't think this is a good thing. Maybe this really was a bad idea." He tried to figure out how to turn it off, but his mind drew a blank. "Alright then, this calls for a bit of magic." He felt inside his robes, but found his wand was missing. "Oh no, I left it in my trunk." He shook his head and smacked himself. "Now what am I going to do?" Suddenly the beeping sound grew shriller and faster. Fred looked down at the timer. 10..9..8..7.. "Ahhhhhh!" Fred screamed as he looked around for cover. 6..5..4….
"FRED, DUCK!" Someone screamed. Fred dropped to his knees at the same time the bomb exploded with a loud eruption. He covered his head, fully expecting to be killed on the spot, but to his surprise, nothing happened. Fred looked up to see a large yellowish orange bomb explosion, frozen in mid air. "What in the world . . ."
"Fred, are you all right?" He looked up to see Hermione Granger running towards him.
"What happened," he asked faintly as she hugged him tightly.
"I thought you were dead," she said, letting go rather quickly as her face turned bright red. "It's a good thing I remembered that freezing charm, you could have been killed!"
"You saved my life," Fred said, his voice full of awe and thanks. Hermione looked up into his face, and saw something strange glowing in his eyes.
Oh ho, she thought to herself, I know that look. "Um, Fred," she whispered, "whatever you're thinking..." She was interrupted by a crash of thunder from over head. "There's a storm coming."
"Yeah," he said, staring up at the sky. "We'd better get back to the school." With that, they started back towards Hogwarts.

Elanie watched them silently from her hiding spot. "That...that...hussy!" she thought venomously, staring at Hermione and Fred. "How dare her flirt with my man. There's no way I can leave now. I have to keep them apart." She silently rose and followed the two back to school.


CHAPTER 4

One week latter:

"Shut up Ron, just shut up," Hermione glared at her friend. He had burst into another bought of laughter. "Its annoying enough as it is."
Ron smiled at her while wiping tears from his eyes. "I can't help it, it's just so funny. I mean, it's Fred!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Harry Potter had just walked into the room, carrying his racing broom and brand new quidditch robes.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked quickly, trying to change the subject.
"Alicia wanted to start practice early this year. You did know that she's our new captain, didn't you? She's brutal."
"Hey Harry, get this," Ron smiled at Hermione's glare. "Guess who has a crush on dear old Hermione!"
"Who?" Harry asked anxiously.
"FRED!"
Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Then he began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
"Okay, I'm glad you guys find this so amusing." Hermione nearly yelled. Suddenly, the fat lady's portrait slid open and Fred Weasley stepped into the room. Oh no, Hermione thought.
Ron and Harry slapped their hands over their mouths, obviously trying to stop their laughter. It didn't work. They ran from the room, screaming all the way.
"What's wrong with them," Fred asked, looking in the direction they ran.
"I haven't the faintest idea," Hermione mumbled. Fred smiled at her.
"I have something for you!"
Hermione sighed and turned around, then gasped. Before him, Fred held the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. She had read about them once before, in a Herbology book. It was a Capelrant, an extremely rare magical flower that changes colors with the moods of the one who held it. At the moment it was a bright, glowing red.
"Go ahead," Fred said. "Hold it."
Even though Hermione didn't want to encourage him, she couldn't help but reach out and take it. It immediately turned to a flashing yellow. Fred smiled.
"That's the color of surprise!"
"Thank you Fred," she said quietly, as she watched the beautiful flower turn into a deep blue. She sighed and closed her eyes. Fred was such a nice boy, but she had absolutely no interest in him. "I have to go to bed now. Tomorrow's the first Transfiguration test and I need my rest."
"Okay Hermione. I'll see ya in the morning!" With that he turned and left the room.
"What am I going to do," she whispered to herself.


CHAPTER 5

The next day in potion's class, Hermione sat daydreaming as Snape spent close to ten minutes yelling at Harry and Ron about their mistakes.
"What am I supposed to do," she closed her eyes and leaned her head on the table. "I don't want to hurt Fred's feelings, but I don't want him to like me either."
"Miss Granger!" Hermione's head snapped up and she found herself staring into the beady eyes of Professor Snape. "I'm sure the rest of the class would feel very privileged if you would grace us with your most holy presence."
"Yes, Professor Snape," she mumbled, looking down at her potion-book. The moment Snape turned his back, a little piece of paper suddenly appeared in front of her. Making sure no one else was watching, she carefully unfolded it and read the message.

"Hey, Hermione. Snape's in a really bad mood today, isn't he? Well, I guess he always is! Anyway, what's up with you and that Elanie girl? Man, if looks could kill, you'd be dust! What's her problem? Ron." Hermione looked around the room to make sure no one was watching, and when she found the moment, Hermione wrote a message and sent it.

"Ron, I think she likes Fred, and he likes me, so of course she's mad. But if it were up to me, I'd give him to her on a silver platter! Hermione." Ron read the note and smiled up at Hermione as Harry peered over his shoulder to read. Ron sent another note.

"Hermione, that wouldn't work. She's 11, Fred's 17. He thinks of her as a child, he told me so. Anyway, he's too hung up over you to pay attention to anyone else. What are you going to tell him? Ron." She stopped, pondered a little, pretended she was listening to the lesson, and sent another note.

"Ron, I don't know what to do. He's driving me crazy, following me everywhere, and giving me flowers and candy. It's so annoying! Hey, didn't Snape say something about an anti-love potion last year. But the formula is in the restricted area; it would be hard to get it. Hermione."

"Hermione, Well, I think it's kinda cute. Fred is really not the type to get a crush, even though a lot of girls like him, and he picked you! Why don't you give it a try? He's a pretty popular guy, and you'll never be bored. Ron."

"Ron, Okay, I'll admit it. I've never been into that love thing. I was just never interested. I plan to die an old maid and be happy with it. Now help me figure out how to get that book! Hermione."

"Hermione, ask Professor Flitwick, he'll do anything for you. Just tell him you need a special potion to do an extra project for HIS class. I'm sure he'll believe you. Ron."

"Ron, good idea. I'll ask later today. Then we can brew the potion tonight and give it to him tomorrow. Thanks a lot Ron. I owe you one. Hermione."

"Miss Granger! What are you doing! Give me those notes this instant!" Professor Snape loomed over her like a demon, eyes glaring and teeth clenched.
"Oh no. I can't let him see these. He'll read them out loud!" She told herself panicking.
Suddenly there was a big explosion from across the room. Neville Longbottom had accidentally knocked over his cauldron and it had exploded on impact. As Professor Snape rushed over to fix the mess, Hermione ripped up the notes and performed a disappearing charm. She turned to smile at Ron and Harry, and then turned back to her book.


CHAPTER 6

Elanie sighed and rubbed her eyes. This wizard family tree thing she was supposed to do for history was keeping her up all night, and it didn't help the fact that all her room mates ever did was make fun of her. She yawned and pulled out yet another yearbook, opening it to the student section.
"Why couldn't I have been put in Gryffindor. It's not fair. Now that brat Hermione gets to spend more time with MY Fred, and he hardly pays any attention to me. Oh, what are you saying Elanie, he hasn't said one word to you and here you are...."
Something on the Slytherin page caught her eye. One of the students looked vaguely familiar. She leaned over to get a closer look, then peered at the name. No, it couldn't be. Eliza Magdell. Her great-great-great grandmother. She was a Slytherin?" She sat and stared at the picture for a while. "But I thought all my relatives were Gryff's," she pondered and then turned to the Gryffindor page and found Edward, Erin, and Esmerelda Magdell among them. "Well, I guess my Gran was a black sheep too. It must skip a few generations. Lucky me." Elanie looked up as the library door swung open and Hermione Granger stepped in. "Well speak of the devil." Hermione walked over to the librarian and showed her a note. Madame Pince looked at it suspiciously, then led her to the restricted area.
"I wonder what she's up to." Elanie got up and quietly walked toward the entrance, then, waiting until Madame Pince turned her back, she slid in, and took off after Hermione.
She found her in the potions section, searching through a rather large and musty book. What was she looking for? Suddenly something brushed against the back of her leg and Elanie let out a slight scream, just enough to alert Hermione.
"Who's there," she called, looking around for a sign of anyone.
"Just me." Elanie stepped out from behind the bookcase and gave her a nasty smile.
"Oh." Hermione had an annoyed look on her face. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Actually, yes. I want you to stop trying to steal Fred away from me."
Hermione gaped at her. "Steal Fred away from you, Okay, I think it's time we got this straight; One, I don't want Fred, he likes me, and I don't like him; and two, he wasn't yours to begin with." Hermione gave Elanie a smug smile.
Elanie felt her face grow hot and she clenched her fist to keep from attacking the arrogant girl. "Oh, he was too mine! I saw him in my dream. He came to me and I loved him."
"Love," Hermione scoffed. "What could a child like you know about love?"
Elanie let out an outraged scream and started towards Hermione. Hermione in turn dropped her book and pulled out her wand.
"GIRLS!" The booming yell came from the front entrance. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Madame Pince glared at both of them. "Miss Jade, you did not have permission to be in here. Get out now! As for you, Miss Granger, grab your book and leave."
Hermione picked the book up off the floor, only stopping to roll her eyes at Elanie, who stuck out her tongue in turn.
"That's enough ladies." With that, Madame Pince grabbed Elanie's arm and haled her out of the library.


CHAPTER 7

"Hi Fred!" Fred looked up and saw the very girl he had just been talking about. Lee began quaking with laughter beside him. His friend still couldn't believe Fred's crush. George on the other hand, had been acting very strange and hateful the past few days. Fred just couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Maybe it was the detention he got because Professor McGonagall thought he had blown up the chair in the common room, when it had really been Fred. Everyone was always getting them mixed up, but it had never bothered George before.
"Hello Hermione," Fred gave her a big smile, and heard George snort in the background. He turned to glare at his brother, then gave his full attention to the girl in front of him.
"I need to talk to you about something. It's really important." She looked worried.
"Well . . ?"
Suddenly there was a large crash from the ceiling. Some one had set off a batch of filibuster fireworks!
"Hey!" Lee yelled, "that's our trick!"
Fred shook his head and turned back to Hermione, only to find her halfway down the table sitting between Ron and Harry.
"Oh well," he thought, "I can talk to her later." He lifted his cup and took a big drink. . . something was wrong. It didn't taste right.
Fred looked at the cup in his hand and started to feel dizzy. What was going on?

"Hey Fred, are you okay?" Lee put his hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to keep him from falling out of the chair.
Fred's face had turned green, and he looked kind of sick. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Fred's face turned back to its normal color, and he sat up straight.
"Yea, I'm fine Lee." He turned and smiled at the two boys. "So what were we talking about?"
"Your crush on Hermione Granger."
Fred's eyes went dark and a scowl crossed his face. "Hermione Granger? Why would I have a crush on a stuck up little brat like her? All she does is keep her face stuck in those books all day long. I bet she'd be no fun at all."
Lee and George stared at him in surprise.
"Wait just a minute here." George was getting angry. "You mean to tell me that after making us listen to you ramble on about her for the past two weeks, you don't even like her!"
"Precisely."
George's face turned red and he glared at his brother. "What is your problem," he hissed. "You've been acting like an idiot ever since we got here! All you've talked about was Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. WE used to have fun together, but you've turned into a complete moron!"
"I'm sorry if you've been feeling neglected," Fred spat out. "But we're 17. Don't you think it's time we starting spending a little time apart? To try and develop our own personalities? Our parents can barely tell us apart!"
Fred hadn't realized that both he and George had been yelling loud enough for the entire hall to hear them. Everyone gazed in their direction. Most couldn't believe that the Weasley twins were actually fighting with each other. They were too much alike. But that seemed to be the reason for the outburst.


Across the table, Hermione watched the two brothers' screaming at each other.
"Oh no, what have I done. I've turned them against each other." She sighed and tried to think of what to do. "I don't want to be responsible for breaking those two up." A shadow fell over her plate and Hermione knew someone was standing before her. She looked up into the angry eyes of Elanie Jade.
"What have you done to them," the younger girl hissed in her face. "They're fighting over you. How did you do it?!"
Hermione rubbed her eyes and tried to keep calm. "I gave Fred an anti-love potion and I guess it had some kind of weird affect." Elanie's eyes grew wide.
"An anti-love potion! You mean you didn't want Fred to like you." She was growing angrier by the minute. "He's been mooning over you for the past two weeks and you didn't feel anything for him! What kind of freak are you!"
Hermione jumped on the bench and screamed at the girl. "I'm getting tired of your attitude! Fred does not like you. Get over it! Find someone your own age!"
Elanie opened her mouth to yell back, but was interrupted by a loud voice coming from the main table.
"QUIET!" There was immediate silence. Dumbledore rarely yelled, but at the moment he looked upset. "I don't know what's going on, but it's obviously something you need to work out alone....in detention: Miss Jade, Miss Granger, and both Mr. Weasley's, please follow Professor McGonagall."
The four kids, each glaring at the other in turn, rose and followed McGonagall out of the room.


CHAPTER 8

"Alright, look. If we're gonna be stuck in this room for the next two hours, we might as well say something to each other," George said as he dusted his tenth shelf. Elanie was right next to him approaching her sixth.
They had been assigned to an old classroom. Shelves upon shelves were caked with dust, the floor needed a good mopping, and the windows were so dirty, light could barely shine through. They had been there for what seemed like forever, and George was getting fed up with the silence.
"I have nothing to say to any of you," Fred spat out; his back turned to the three other students as he stringed the water out of the mop.
"Me neither," Hermione returned, glaring at Fred's stiff form as she scraped the dirt off the window. He snorted.
"This is really all your fault you know," George said to his brother. "If you hadn't been acting like a complete idiot for the past two weeks, everything would be fine."
Fred turned to him, his face glowing red and his teeth clenched. "How dare you accuse me for all this. It's not my fault you're jealous!"
"Jealous?!" George's eyes widened in amazement. "How could I be jealous of you. We're exactly alike!"
"That's just the problem," Fred exclaimed. "We're practically the same person! I want to be different for once. I want people to be able to tell us apart." Fred's desperate tone settled over the room, once again there was silence.
George looked down. "I never thought of being separate before." He looked up at Fred. "Maybe it's time we did grow up." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What will people say. The infamous Weasley twins decided to change."
It was too much. Elanie rubbed her eyes, trying to keep them dry. Why was she such a sentimental person? Well, she was happy that Fred and George decided to make up. Now what about her and Hermione, or Fred and Hermione for that fact. She looked towards the other girl. Hermione sat glaring at the window, seemingly unsoftened by the emotional display.
"Heartless hag," Elanie thought spitefully. "She is made of stone." As if Hermione heard her, she turned and glared at the younger girl. Elanie openly glared back, oblivious to the twins who had become silent, and they were now watching the two girls in anticipation.
"Cat-fight," she heard Fred whisper.
"So Medusa," Elanie threw the first barb. "Seems as though your stone heart has finally taken affect on your appearance. You know, I think there are charms to rid you of things like that."
Hermione looked rigidly at the child. "Your maturity amazes me...little girl." She smiled as Elanie began to sputter.
"Little girl, I am more of a . . .woman than you'll ever be!"
Hermione let out a short laugh. "Woman? Now there's a good one. You still have a long ways to go before you can make that boast!"
Elanie was seething inside. "If I had my wand with me I would..."
"Oh give me a break. You couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat, what makes you think you could zap me."
"You think you're just something special, don't ya? The great "Hermione Granger"." Elanie threw the rag on the shelf and approached Hermione. "Yes you, head of the class, and friend of the famous "Harry Potter". Let's all bow down to her. YOU ARE NOTHING. You can't even handle a simple crush. You had to use an anti-love potion..."
"ANTI-LOVE POTION!" Fred shouted. He plunged the mop in the bucket and water spilled over the sides. "So that's what happened!" He turned to yell at Hermione. "What? Am I not good enough for you? Do you have higher standards?"
"No," Hermione yelled back. "You were just plain annoying."
"Now see here," George began, but Elanie stopped him.
"Let them handle this themselves," she said as she grabbed her rag. She took his arm and led him across the room. They started dusting the shelves on the other side as they listened.
"You could have just told me you didn't like me, instead of messing with my feelings. Something could have gone completely wrong!"
"What? You think I'm not good enough to make a simple potion?"
"Well, you are just a fourth year, and they don't know much," he said as he watched tension grow on Hermione's face. He stopped and turned away as she yelled something.

George stopped dusting and looked up at the ceiling laughing.
"What's so funny?" Elanie looked at him with a perturb expression.
"Just you liking Fred, Its funny."
"I don't find it funny . . ."
"Of course you don't." He looked at her. A great big smile filled his face. "Why did you like him when you could have had me? I mean, when you first met us, we were practically alike."
"And now you two are different," she said as sadness crept into her voice. He gave her a smile.
"Blame it on love and a chemical imbalance." They both grew silent and returned to their dusting. After some time past, George looked back at Elanie. "So, why did you like Fred?"
"You wouldn't understand," she said with an embarrassed laugh.
"Try me." He learned on the shelf with an expected look.
"All right," she drew in a deep breath, "this will take some time." She looked around the room regaining her thoughts. "It's kind of funny, I don't understand it at all. I always find myself in a dark place with this fog. Its cold, and I'm shivering; then this place grows warmer and I see this boy." She stopped and looked at George, he wasn't laughing like she thought he would. "Well, this boy looks like you." She looked embarrassed and decided to rush through it. "He smiles, splits in two, there's a snake, then a lion, and you guys take off." George face was white. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, its, well, I don't know what to say." He looked at her with a touch of terror in his eyes.
"You made me spit all that nonsense out, it's only fair that I get to hear what you have to say."
"I had the same exact dream right before I came here, only I came forward and saw you. I thought it was nothing, but I guess I was wrong."
She looked up at him, "So what do you think it means?"
"Exactly everything that has just happened. You going into Slytherin, us meeting you as one, then we go our separate ways."
"Whats the point of the beaters?"
"I haven't the faintest idea!" He laughed. "It doesn't seem natural that things like this should happen, yet here we are."
At that moment the door burst open and McGonagall stormed into the room.
"What is all that noise." Fred and Hermione were still bickering on the other side of the room. "I thought I said I didn't want to hear a single word. Your voices are carrying all the way down the hall. And this room is still filthy!" She sighed and glared at them. "Okay, your detention is over...for now. I want to see all of you back here tomorrow morning at 9:00 to finish the job. Don't be late!" With that she turned and walked out of the room, followed by the four students.

George and Elanie set silently against the west wall of the Hogwarts castle. The sky was full of stars and it was an unusually calm moment in an otherwise hectic week.
"I never thought Fred and I would grow apart so fast," George said, turning his head to look at his younger friend.
Elanie laughed slightly. "Well I wouldn't say you're that different, but it was bound to happen sometime. Even the Weasley twins have to grow up someday."
George smiled back. "Yeah, but don't go thinking I'm gonna start acting all mature now. That's to boring. Now that Fred's off chasing girls, I'm gonna have to double my efforts!"
Elanie leaned her head back again and looked up at the sky.
"So, Ellie, are you still mad at Hermione?"
"Are you kidding! Yes, it's going to take sometime before I get over what she did to you guys."
"Maybe it was for the best. We can't spend the rest of our lives together," he said with a laugh.
"So, do you think Fred and Hermione will ever be friends again?"
"Who knows? Knowing them two, anything's possible. We still have the rest of the school year. It will be fun to watch. So what do you think of school so far?"
"This has been one weird beginning," she said, rather quietly. "I always knew Hogwarts would be different, but I never expected something like this!"