~ Chapter 4 ~
Jaden was awakened by her crying mother. It was 6-and-a-half years ago in their old house in Mapelston, England. Jaden sleepily opened her eyes and looked concerned at her mother.
"Mom, what's happening?" Jaden asked. Her mother tried to stop, but it was no use. The tears came down in a rage of fury.
"Just get some clothes on. I'll explain everything later. I need to go wake your brother," her mother said. She then kissed her cheek and ran out of the room. Jaden got out of her bed and looked in her dresser. She quickly dressed and then heard a smash from outside. She walked over to her window by her bedside table. While pulling on her old blue pants, she peeked out her window. Outside she saw some of the neighbors' houses in flames. Others were in ruins. There were people who looked dead out in the street. She even saw one of her neighbors in the hands of a cloaked person. The person said "Avada Kedavra" and a green light flew from his wand. It hit her neighbor and she slumped to the ground. Jaden gasped and backed away from the window. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Her mother then came back into the room.
"Jaden, come on," she said. Jaden ran towards her into the hallway. They walked down it to Jaden's brother, Gemini, who was standing outside his room. He had been ready. At the end of the hallway was their father, Thomas Maxwell. He waved them to come over. Jaden had her wits scared out of her every moment because there was screaming and shouting outside. Gemini went over to her and held her hand tightly. Jaden loved her brother, and he loved Jaden. Their mother saw them look at each other and stopped. She smiled subsequently; hoping that the love she saw now would last. She turned to squat, looking Jaden and Gemini straight in the eyes.
"Children, I just want you to know that no matter what may happen tonight, I love you both so-" their mother started, but was cut off by their rushing father.
"Mary, we have to get out of here, now. We don't have much time," he said. They ran down the hallway as fast as they could. Just as they did, they heard a crash from the front door. Smoke engulfed the living room. When all was clear, their father said one solitary word. "Voldemort."
"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort said. The green light came from his wand, directly hitting her father. Once the light had faded, her father dropped to the floor, just like the woman outside Jaden's window. Jaden held her hand to her mouth, as if she was about to throw up. Tears started running down her face. Her father had been killed.
She next saw Voldemort as he came to the end of the hallway. His glaring red eyes were the only distinct notability of the tall man. He started to cackle as he saw the expressions of fear upon their faces. Two more hooded figures appeared behind him.
"Run, kids," her mother shouted, tears flowing down her face more fluently than Jaden's. Jaden held tightly to Gemini's hand and ran with all her might back down the hallway.
"Follow them," Voldemort ordered. The two Death Eaters did so. As Jaden looked back, she saw the green light come from Voldemort's wand and hit her mother. The tears down her face had left her looking like a sad and wet dog. She ran and ran with Gemini trailing and the Death Eaters close behind. They got up tom her room, went inside, and locked the door behind them. Jaden hadn't known why she had gone there, but there was no time now to change her mind. The Death Eaters were at the door, banging and yelling through it. Jaden turned to Gemini, holding on to his shoulders.
"Gem, we are going to have to jump through my window. Do you understand why?" Jaden told him.
"Yes," Gemini said, his mouth quivering. They both turned towards it, getting ready as fast as they could.
"Ok. Here we go. 1, 2, and-" Jaden said, but the door then exploded. Voldemort came into the room, glaring into it. "Go, Gem!" They both ran for it.
"Oh, no, you don't," Voldemort said. He then reached out. Gemini screamed as he was pulled back.
"Gem!" Jaden shouted. She reached, but was unsuccessful. The tears flowed down her face like a waterfall. She then did the only thing she could, she ran for the window.
"And for you, child," Voldemort said, turning to Jaden. He pointed his wand at her, a smile on his face. "Avada Kedavra!" Jaden jumped for the window just as he said it. The light was coming nearer, just as she was to the window. She then hit the window and, if it weren't for her excellent diving skills, the light would have hit her. Instead, it went straight through the window.
As Jaden hit the cold ground outside, she scurried into the forest behind her house. Running as fast as she could, she ran and ran. She only turned back once, only to see the flash of green light again come from her room. When she turned back around, SMACK! She hit a tree and was unconscious.
*****
Jaden's eyes popped open. Her eyes looked bloodshot, and she was breathing fast. Some of the people in front of her looked at her weirdly. She rubbed her eyes, hoping that they would stop staring at her as if she was a sideshow in the circus.
"What are you looking at?" Jaden said. They all immediately turned back around. Jaden held on to her stern look. She didn't want anyone feeling sorry for her. She looked out the window seeing that it was her stop. She got up, brushed herself off, and went off of the bus. She brushed back her hair and made a final look towards the bus. In the middle window, she saw a little boy of, what looked like, the age of 5. He had sad eyes and was looking straight at her. For a second, that was all that Jaden could see, his sad eyes. The bus then revved up and started moving on. Jaden looked away from the boy and started walking. Home was 10 minutes away, and she didn't want to keep Aunt Sierra waiting.
*****
Jaden stood at the foot of the porch of 5503 Jennings Street. She went up to the door and knocked casually. After a moment it opened, showing a woman of around 45 with blue eyes and black hair. She smiled when she saw Jaden, while Jaden gave no expression on her face. Jaden walked in with out saying anything, but was stopped with a quick hand to her shoulder. Jaden turned to her aunt and sighed.
"Aren't you going to say hello to your Aunt Sierra?" Sierra asked. Jaden exhaled, being annoyed. Her muggle aunt may have had good intentions, but tried too hard.
"Ok. Hi, Aunt Sierra," Jaden said in a sweet tone. She made a forced smile. Sierra saw this, and smiled back.
"That's better," Sierra said. She closed the door and went into the kitchen. Jaden followed her and slumped down into a chair. She looked over to the stove, wondering what she was making. It looked like she was making string bean casserole. When her aunt had tended to the casserole enough, she turned to Jaden.
"So, how was the movie?" she asked.
"Movie? Oh, the movie," Jaden said. She had almost forgotten about the lie she had told. She couldn't have just gone about saying, "Oh, I'm just going out to become a person of this dark wizard's clan. I'll be back in an hour or so." Anyway, the movies weren't that far away. Sierra looked at Jaden with unbelieving eyes. Jaden had been giving her trouble ever since…it happened. "Yeah, yeah. The movie was great, but it was really sad at the end." Jaden showed her the faint markings of where tears had been, even though she knew her aunt had doubts.
"And if you don't mind me asking, what movie did you go see?" Sierra asked Jaden. Jaden almost choked on her tongue. She knew that her aunt would ask her about the movie, but she didn't expect the title. She thought for a moment, trying to keep the smile on her face going. Then, she thought of it.
"Wind with the Ghan," Jaden said triumphantly. Sierra looked at her questionably.
"Wind with the Ghan?" Sierra asked. "Don't you mean 'Gone with the Wind'?"
"No," Jaden said, still smiling. "'Wind with the Ghan'. It's about a ninja who fights to be a Ghan, which is a supernatural overlord ninja. He also brings a girl along that later becomes his girlfriend."
"Oh," Sierra remarked and turned her attention back to the food on the stove. Knowing that her aunt was fooled yet again, she headed for the stairs. "And where are you going?"
"To my room," Jaden replied.
"Aren't you going to have some dinner? Or are you full on popcorn and soda?" Sierra asked, with concern in her voice. The last comment of hers came out with a little nudge that sounded like being mad for cooking the food only to waste it.
"No, I'm just sleepy." And with that she ran up the stairs, not wanting nor caring if her aunt had something to say back to her. Her room was the second on the left of the four upstairs. The one in front of that was the bathroom. Across from hers was her aunt's; while across from the bathroom was the den. She wanted to go to the den, where she did her best thinking, but she ran straight into her room and closed the door behind her. She jumped horizontally onto her bed and lay there, trying to think. After a minute or two, a single solitary tear streamed down the side of her face. I'm now a part of Voldemort's group, she thought. She then turned over on her side to get some sleep.
*****
Voldemort sat on his golden chair on the altar, pondering thoughts of his earlier meeting. Wormtail entered slowly, not wanting to disturb his master. The chamber seemed even darker than it had been two hours ago. Voldemort turned his head to see Wormtail enter, quivering as he came. As Wormtail bowed his lowest to him, he gestured him to speak.
"My Lord, what have you been thinking about, if I may ask?" Wormtail said. He took a step back and bowed his head to show his respect. Voldemort liked this. It may have been the move of a weakling, but he liked it.
"I am thinking that we need not trust out Jaden Maxwell," Voldemort replied, and tapped his long fingers against the arm of the chair. Wormtail gulped and thought of what he meant. Voldemort talking in riddles made him scared, very scared.
"Why would you say that, sire?"
"Wormtail, the past does many different things to the mind. If Jaden catches up with it, there is no telling how she will react."
"Do you mean the fall of Mapelston?"
"Precisely." Wormtail had heard of the fall of Mapelston many times in the Daily Prophet. It had been a massacre of Muggles, wizards, witches and anything else in the area. The death count had been almost 400, which was the population of the little town. Just a few wizards made it through. He hadn't been there because he hadn't joined the Dark Lord yet. It was only a few months after it he did.
"What shall we do to prevent this?" Wormtail asked, looking up to Voldemort in the chair. Voldemort rubbed down his chin, thinking of what he could do. He was almost certain that he was too late in making sure that Jaden had not let her past influence her actions, but it was not proven.
"I don't know…yet," Voldemort said, turning back to Wormtail, who shivered at the sounds of Voldemort speaking. "But when I do, and I do mean when I do, it will help me in more ways then one. I want to be alone, Wormtail, to think."
"Yes, my Lord," Wormtail replied and turned to exit. He walked fast as if something was chasing him. Once Wormtail had completely gone, Voldemort smiled an evil smile, but only for a second. His thoughts had brought him to an answer that he was not sure of. It went around in his mind many times, yet he still had not approved it. It required something, or someone. Voldemort then cracked a small and unseen smile and thought, Somehow I know I will end the interference of Harry Potter. He then cackled into the nothingness in front of him.
*****
The next day was all too fast for Ron. He cleaned his room…twice, he organized his Chocolate Frog Trading Card Collection, and he actually folded his clothes in his drawer. He also must have been mad to try to clean his closet out, the things he found. Even Mrs. Weasley found this a surprise. Fred and George found it too much of a surprise. They both went into his room when he was half-done making his bed.
"Oh, hi guys," Ron said casually. Fred and George jumped right on him verbally.
"Don't 'Oh, hi guys' us," Fred said with a glare. "We know what you're up to."
"Yeah," agreed George, "What kind of blokes do you take us for?" Ron looked at them strangely. They were acting like they wanted something, like Ron had something. It was almost as if they thought he was trying to butter up their parents.
"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about," Ron said and turned back to doing his sheets.
"Of course, you don't," Fred said slowly, turning and winking at George. "But we want 30% of everything you get or we'll tell." Ron looked straight at them, surprised. What would it take for them to believe him?
"For the last time, I do not want something from Mum and Dad," Ron said with emphasis. Fred and George then stopped, looking at him with strange eyes. They then conversed with each other. Ron thought it, actually, childish to go into a huddle every time they needed a decision. He just sighed when they did so. After a minute or two, they had agreed or something. They looked at him acting as if he was something weird to gawk at.
"Well, it has to be that you are buttering them up," George said with a flick of his hair. "The only other option is that…" Ron gulped. If they found out why he had done it, they would laugh at him, he was sure of it.
"…our little Ronny has a girlfriend," Fred finished, puckering his lips for emphasis. Ron almost couldn't breathe. He just hoped they wouldn't find out.
"It's not like Ron would go with Hermione," George said with a chuckle. "Well, it could be…that's it."
"What?" Fred asked, a smile on his face.
"Andrea!" George said. Fred's smile widened as he saw Ron turn imperial white. Ron's grim demeanor was the worst of his problems. They had found it, and he could almost already hear the snickering. Him liking Andrea would be the funniest thing in the world to them. He snapped his eyes shut to relieve himself of the embarrassment. After a moment or two, Ron didn't hear anything. He slowly opened one eye, hoping for them not to start then. When he just saw them looking at him, he opened both of his eyes.
"Aren't you going to laugh at me?" Ron asked. They looked at each other and snickered. They then looked back at their confused brother.
"Just because we think it's extremely funny that you actually like somebody," George said with a chuckle. Ron glared at him. That was a low-blow comment, Ron thought, but I don't see them with girlfriends. Fred elbowed George to the side, which George had obviously known what it meant. "We still won't laugh."
"We have matured from our humble and immature state," Fred said, wrapping his arm around George's shoulder and smiling. Oh, please, Ron thought, they together have the maturity of a two-year-old. Ron silently breathed a laugh at his joke. Fred then turned to George, his eyebrows raised. "Are you sure he is ready for this talk?"
"I don't know," George said slowly, "He may not be there yet?" He shook his head as if he thought it might be a lost cause, then turned to study Ron. Ron rolled his eyes to their comments.
"Whatever you're going to talk to me about, I know that I've been ready for it," Ron stated clearly. They both looked at him, ignoring what he had said even though they heard him good enough.
"What we are going to tell you may surprise you, but…well, we are going to teach you how to get girls," Fred said with a sigh. Ron burst out in laughter. Them, teach me how to meet girls, Ron thought. They looked at him with no expression on their faces. When Ron saw this, his laughter stopped and he realized something. They aren't kidding, Ron thought. George then blinked his eyes, cleared his throat and spoke.
"If you're done acting like a bloody fool, maybe we could give you some tips," George said formally. He was just about to start again when Ron tried to intrigue him with his thoughts.
"Wait a minute. You think that you can teach me to meet girls?" Ron asked, a confused expression again gracing his face.
"Of course," Fred replied, looking smug. "Who else do you think can get girls better?"
"Me," Ron said confidently. He then crossed his arms, waiting for them to give an answer. They chuckled, obviously doubting his comment thoroughly. Ron glared at the both of them.
"Sure," George said slowly, "Like you could even come up to Andrea, let alone ask her to be your girlfriend." Ron looked surprised at them. He couldn't even believe they would say such a thing. Ron then said the first thing that came to his mind, wanting to retaliate as fast as he could. He soon would have second thoughts.
"Wanna bet?" Ron couldn't stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. They were out before he could even think about stopping them. Fred and George looked enraged that he would challenge them. For a minute, and only for a minute, Ron felt as though those words were the right ones to say. The next minute, he was regretting them.
"OK," Fred said. "How does 15 galleons and something special sound?" The twins had been used to gambling behind their mother's back. They would usually always win. This is what worried Ron so much. Even though it worried him, he said…
"Fine." They all shook hands and the deal was settled. Fred and George then nodded their heads good-bye and left the room. Ron gulped when he was sure they had gone. Gambling against them was a death sentence waiting to happen. Who knows what they would choose for the "special something." He then walked over to his bed to lay back upon it.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Ron said, sprawled across his actually clean bed. He then got a feeling of self-confidence. Like he could use his great charisma to win Andrea over. Like he could actually ask her to be his girlfriend. Like he could actually beat Fred and George. What was I thinking, Ron thought and groaned.