The next day was all madness, fireworks of all kinds, colours and started in the Great Hall during lunch and then they didn't stop until dinner time. Teachers were interrupted by little fireworks in their classrooms and Umbridge was really having a harsh time.

She didn't even know how to deal with the fireworks because every time she tried something, they either exploded, multiplied, got bigger or just changed forms.

Jade's eyes shined as she saw a huge green dragon flying across the hall, chasing Umbridge. She was laughing and enjoying herself, nothing even close to how she was feeling the day before, when she felt like she had lost everything.

"Please do something extra special to her, for me," Jade whispered to Fred, as she knew the twins were the masterminds behind this show. "She needs to pay."

"It will be my pleasure," Fred said with a wink.

Once the fireworks ran out and dinner time came, things settled down a bit but everyone was talking about it and everyone was laughing and being loud. It was a weird sight as the year had been kind of gloomy and perturbing for everyone.

However, Jade's night got more serious as she went down to the Dungeons, but instead of going to the common room she went to see Snape.

"Have you been practicing?" Snape asked and Jade nodded. "Have you improved?"

"I'm not sure," Jade admitted. "I practiced on Channel and Chantel and I did get to hear them a few times. And three days ago, I heard Percy Weasley for a bit but it was hard to understand..."

"Okay, that's improvement, I suppose."

"Yesterday Umbridge tried to get information out of me, I heard her thoughts, it wasn't on purpose. I tried to stop my mind but I was getting angrier and angrier and I listened to her thoughts and her talking at the same time and for a moment it was hard to tell apart what she was actually saying and what she was thinking... The more I tried to stop, the more I listened to her thoughts."

"Has that ever happened? Your ability getting affected by your mood?"

"I hadn't noticed so I can't be sure but afterwards I kept listening thoughts even when I tried to stop it. I listened to all of my roommates' thoughts and some were very perturbing. I mean, can you imagine what teenagers think about before going to sleep?"

"I rather not even imagine," Snape said coldly.

"Then I met Draco and I didn't want to be with him, in case I heard him... but with him... it was silent. It was alright."

"What about today?"

"Nothing... I was tired and still upset... I can assume you know what Umbridge did to me... but then with the fireworks... I guess, I didn't even think about it."

"Hmm, interesting."

"What?"

"You hear way more when you are angry and you don't hear anything when you are happy, it's something to think about," Snape told her. "Are you going home for Easter?"

"Uh..." Jade was taken aback by that question. "I don't know, maybe. I don't want to but I might have to go. And I'm going back to my brother's wedding in May."

"He is already getting married, I thought he would give it more time... anyway. We both know what it's really happening, your parents, your family... there's no need to pretend otherwise. These people might know when someone is inside their minds as the Dark Lord often gets inside people's minds. Only a few are capable of detecting it and knowing who is the one trying to invade their thoughts and fewer are capable of stopping it... so, try to not be angry, control your emotions so you can control your mind. Do not even try to get into your parents' head. That's a risk too high. It wouldn't take them even a couple of seconds before they recognize you."

"Okay, sir."

"Especially during the wedding... we don't know who might attend," Snape told her as if he knew something she didn't know. "If I could, I'd prevent you from going. That's how serious it can be."

To Jade surprise's she didn't do bad during the lesson. She was concentrated and did well. Everything changed though, when there was a knock on the door and Pansy told Snape that Bletchley was found. Jade remember Fred and George left him in the Vanishing Cabinet only two days ago.

Their lesson was over in ten minutes so Snape decided to stay with Jade and then go check on Bletchley. But those ten minutes were nothing like all the time before. Bletchley reminded her of betrayal, of not being in the Quidditch team anymore. Not being the captain anymore wasn't that important but not even being in the team was killing Jade.

"Being good at something means being able to do it no matter what. You were incredible before but once Parkinson interrupted us you sucked..." Snape told her harshly. "We need to work on your emotions. First, you need to control them. Once you do that and manage to also control this new ability a little bit better we'll have to practice with you being upset... That's the only way you can master it."

"Okay, thanks Professor... can I go now?"

Snape nodded. Jade grabbed her school bag and headed to the door. Her hand was on the knob, she was going to open it and leave when Snape stopped her by saying her name.

"Yes, professor?"

"Are you really dating Potter?"

Jade couldn't help but laugh a bit at Snape's question. She could expect it from anyone but not from him and the look on his face made it all a bit more comical.

"No, I made it up. How else could I explain being with Potter at that time?"

"Okay... good. I thought as much... you deserve better anyway."

"Uh, like Cassius?" Jade added sarcastically before she could stop herself.

"No," Snape said looking a bit less cold.

Despite not being a Pureblood and had never been in such a situation as an arranged marriage, he used to be a Death Eater and was around Purebloods. He was very close to the Malfoys and even to the Lias at some point. He did know about those marriages and knew what families did it. He, as a friend of the families, knew Draco's future wife, knew of Crabbe's, Goyle's, Pansy's. And he also knew Jade was supposed to marry Cassius.

"He's a good lad... and very smart and skillful but still... not good enough."

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

"It should matter."

"I know... but... it is what it," Jade said looking down and biting her lip. "Goodnight Professor."

"Is something wrong with you?" Jade asked Potter, lately she didn't care about being seen with Ron or Potter or the twins.

The whole school knew she was part of a group made up of people from the three other Houses and only she was from Slytherin, and despite the constant bullying and discrimination she didn't leave, she did get revenge, but didn't leave and she wasn't the one who betrayed them, and for so many people that was what counted.

Speaking of it, Cho was still in the Hospital Wing and Jade was glad. Madam Pomfrey hadn't found a cure for her pimple problem and Granger wasn't revealing how to get her better.

So, as now everyone knew, including the Slytherins, of her participation in that group and being with that kind of people and even helping and defending (and dating, or so they believed) that kind of people, Jade found that there was no reason why she should avoid them anymore.

"There's nothing wrong with me," Potter told her.

"I know there is... if you don't tell me, I'll read your mind. I've gotten better at controlling it."

"You wouldn't dare..."

"You don't know me."

"The old Jade would but this new you wouldn't..."

"Did you just call me Jade?" she asked surprised.

"Uh... yeah I think I did... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," Jade said with a smile. "So, what's bothering you?"

"What if you think highly of this person, you even feel proud of them and then you found this person is.. was an asshole? And you start to have doubts and even have weird thoughts about this person?"

"Well, I can't say I felt proud of my parents, except my father, he was an amazing Quidditch player... and I was proud. One thing was being a workaholic, or just cold but a whole other was... you know, being a bad person," Jade said. "It changes your reality and you question everything. And you are confused about a lot of stuff."

"Yeah exactly!" Potter exclaimed, feelng surprised she could relate.

"My biggest question is... why was I born? My parents obviously had Lex to have an heir but me...? I think I was an unwanted pregnancy. Or maybe a backup if something happened to Lex. I don't know. But anyway what's going on with you?" Jade asked quickly, realizing she was turning the issue to herself.

"I can't tell you the whole story or someone would really kill me. But I always felt proud of my father, people always told me good things about him, I felt amazing when people told me I was like him but I found out that he wasn't as good. He humiliated people just because he wanted... my mum hated him, so, how could they have ended up together? He was nasty and arrogant and if he wasn't my dad and he was just another student here, I wouldn't really like him."

"Well, if so many people have spoken well of him, he should have been a good person. He might have been nasty towards some people and arrogant but that doesn't mean he was bad. Like truly bad. And if your mum hated him but then married him, then maybe he changed, showed he was a nice person."

"Okay..."

"I'm not completely bad and you aren't completely good... we all have a good and a bad side. Our qualities and flaws. One of my flaws is being arrogant and a bitch but I'm trying not to. I can't think of a quality but you know what I'm trying to say..."

"That you don't have qualities?" Potter joked.

"Hey! I must have... a few but I do."

"I know you do. You are way too clever and... and you helped Neville and so many others during the meetings, you didn't have to but you did. That's a quality."

"That wasn't out of my good heart. It was just painful to watch them," Jade said joking too. "I don't know but it felt good when they could do it after I helped... it's a weird feeling... Knowing they managed to do something because of you."

"I know, it's exciting..."

"Yeah," Jade said with a smile. Then she heard some kind of ring. "Uh, I've got to go. My parents decided they want me over for Easter. But we can keep talking about this if you want but stop thinking too much about it. People won't tell you he was a good man out of nowhere or because he is dead and they feel like they should say that... if he really wasn't good, they wouldn't even mention him. And like I said, we all have flaws and we all do some horrible things that we don't feel proud of... that doesn't mean someone is bad. It's just... mistakes. But anyway, I really have to go, see you, Pot... Harry." Potter smiled.

"See you, Jade."

A few hours later she was back in Wiltshire. A place she loved but dreaded at the same time. The countryside and the little town where she lived were breathtaking, but going back meant being around her family and she didn't want that.

It wasn't until dinner that she finally saw her parents and Lexion. No words were said at first and she knew that was bad. Normally, she would be asked about Quidditch and her grades, especially as it was her O.W.L's examination year. When they were all done it was her mother who spoke.

"We need you to be ready by ten tomorrow, Oli has chosen you as one of her bridesmaids and we'll go for your dress and the rest of your outfit."

"Oli?" Jade asked confused, she was tired from the journey and during dinner she concentrated hard not to end up inside anyone's mind, as Snape told her and all that work was taken energy from her.

"Olisca... My future wife, J," Lexion exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

"Oh. Right."

The next morning a female house-elf chose her outfit, and braided her hair in a neatly way. Her hair had gotten long in the past few months, it was now reaching her mid-back.

Raven Lias grabbed Jade's wrist and apparated at Diagon Alley. Without a word, she followed her mother through the not so crowded streets. Then they went inside a store Jade had never even seen before.

Inside, Jade saw several dresses of all kind. Long, short, blue, red, purple, with sleeves, without them, with glitter. She instantly loved a few but she knew that as bridesmaid, she wasn't allowed to choose.

"Hello, Jade," Olisca greeted her, she was already inside the shop.

Olisca smiled at the younger girl. She looked so elegant. Her clothes were a bit serious-looking but they suited her, her hair was in a perfect bun and her make-up was light.

Jade was then introduced to four other girls, two were Olisca's cousins, one had a very deep Scottish accent and the other had an Irish accent. Another girl was a friend she met before leaving Europe and the fourth was her neighbour and best friend from America.

Jade realized, out of the five girls, she was the youngest by at least four years and it was quite noticeable, and she was the only brunette. Three of the girls were blonde with either grey or blue eyes and the fourth, the Irish, had red hair and brown eyes. She also noticed, that despite being quite slender, all these girls were extremely thin, making her look kind of fat. Jade had a great body, she was thin but also toned. Her stomach almost had a six pack and her arms showed definition, especially her left, which was the one she used to throw the ball.

Olisca then asked Jade to approach her, she showed her three dresses of the same colour and very similar but there were some details that made them different. Her two cousins were going to wear a sleeveless dress, and her two friends were going to wear a dress with short sleeves. Hers was pretty much the same, except the sleeves were a bit thinner and it showed part of her back. It also had two golden strips with diamonds around her waist. Hers was the prettiest.

Jade almost had to chuckle at the irony, though. She expected to wear a pink or even purple dress, but she didn't expect a dark green one. She did love it, she just didn't expect it.

A witch brought them all their dresses. Jade got into a dressing room and put it on. The dress was slightly loose and a bit short with her heels on. She got out and the others did as well soon after, she was the one in the middle.

The witch, whose hair was all grey, checked each girl carefully and with a wave of her wand she fixed everything that needed to be fixed. For Jade, she made the dress longer, smaller and the sleeves tighter. She also accioed a pair of earrings and a necklace that matched the earrings. Then she was given a bracelet by her mother.

Once everything was fixed, they stood there, so the bride could look at all of them and see if she was happy with how they looked. She then announced she liked how they were standing, and they were going to walk down the aisle in that order. Apparently, in her original plan Jade was going to be the last one, but now she was going to be the third, following a cousin and being followed by the other cousin. Her American friend was going to be the last one.

Jade looked at herself in the mirror and she just smiled. She really liked it. It even made her eyes look greener and stand out. Even the French braid that the house-elf did, looked very good with the dress.

For a split second a weird image got into her brain. Instead of wearing a green dress she saw herself wearing a white dress... she opened her eyes and shook her head. She quickly got dressed into her normal clothes again and got out.

Afterwards, the eight women, including Olisca's mother, went together for lunch and some tea. She was so distracted as she looked at her cup of tea and her mind wandered...

She heard someone... she knew she listened to someone's thoughts but she hadn't heard anything like it before... it was so weird. She already knew thoughts sounded a bit different than actual words but this was unfamiliar.

Then a girl spoke and she knew it was her whom she had heard. And it was then when she realized what was so different... she was American... her accent was completely different to theirs. The Irish girl had a very thick accent but nothing that Jade wasn't used to, and the Scottish girl sounded just like Olisca's mother.

The American girl, named Chelsea, was thinking her dress was very ugly and that she hated the English weather and countryside. Apparently New York was much more interesting for her. Jade had been there and she liked the city but it wasn't really that magnificent.

"How do you find England so far?" Jade found herself asking Chelsea.

"It's awesome," Chelsea replied with a fake smile. "I love it."

"Where have you been?"

"Uh... London."

"Haven't you been to Wiltshire yet?"

"That's where Lexion lives," Olisca told her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot the name," she said awkwardly. "It's pretty."

"And Scotland?"

"That's where I live..." Olisca whispered and Chelsea smiled.

"Yes, it's very... like farmish..."

"Farmish?"

"Well yeah, nothing like New York or London or here."

"Well, we are in London," Jade pointed out with an eyebrow raised.

"Right, I knew that."

As much as Jade loved the dress, she hated going shopping, she hated doing girly things, and she disliked tea. She also had nothing to talk about. The girls were talking about boys, make-up, and once the two older women went to the bathroom, the girls started to talk about sex, two of them were already married and they apparently had a lot of advice and tips for Olisca.

"Pay attention too, Jade," Olisca told her. "It's interesting, isn't it?"

Jade wasn't interested to know anything of what the two girls were saying. It wasn't like she was eager to do any of those things with Cass... and she felt weird, as they were talking about her brother and it was something she didn't want to think about.

Raven and Jade returned to their manor after dinner but unfortunately for Jade, the day wasn't over yet. A house-elf told her that her presence was requested in the study.

She went down the stairs, still in her clothes and her braid still perfect. She knocked on the door and it opened, allowing her to walk inside. There, she saw her father sat behind his desk, he looked upset. The door closed behind her and she heard the lock, that wasn't good.

"I received a concerning letter from your new Headmistress, Jade," he told her in a dead-serious tone. "I'll give you the opportunity to explain yourself."

Jade opened her mouth and was going to explain everything to her father but then something inside of her shouted at her not to... what if this was a trap to get her to confess there had been meetings weekly for the last six months? What if he was going to inform Umbridge after? It was sad but she couldn't trust her own father.

"You know I'm too brilliant and impulsive to just read books and not put it into practice. So, naturally, I didn't agree with her teaching method, I heard of a club that was going to practice the spells and I joined. But then, groups and clubs became illegal so we never really got to practice," Jade said.

"So, you are telling me there wasn't a single meeting? Not even one?" She shook her head. "What about Potter? Did you forget you have a fiancé?"

"Of course I didn't forget but we are allowed to date... not that I'm dating Potter," Jade added quickly. "I can't explain it, father, but we are sort of seeing each other, it's not serious or official. It's just... something between friendship and a relationship. It's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Finley shouted and Jade gulped.

"I mean..."

"He's a Gryffindor, he's a troublemaker, a half-blood," Finley said angrily, standing from his chair. "You were almost expelled, you now are turning your back from your kind and friends and family for... common people. You even lost your spot in the team! People dream to have what you lost, you ungrateful little brat!"

"She did that because I didn't tell her where Dumbledore was... but I didn't know! I was telling her the truth!" Jade exclaimed, showing her anger. Tears were once again threatening to fall down her face. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't even lie, she gave me Veritaserum! Which I find extremely offensive and to a point, illegal."

"It doesn't matter! I think you deserve what you got! It doesn't matter if you knew or not, you betrayed everything we are, everything we believe in! All you ever got was a waste! You lost it all for making stupid choices. First, doing wrong and unmoral things and second, doing something illegal and against the Ministry, did you even remember that your mother works there? Ever considered her and her position for a moment? Do you know how many issues she had because of you?"

"No."

"She underwent an investigation. She was suspended. And she suffered because of your bad judgement. And the rest of us? Do you know how humiliating it was to know you were with those people! With Mudbloods! With the Weasleys! With all kind of blood traitors! My only daughter! And dating Potter! And all that just before your brother's wedding to a decent woman. How dare you?"

Jade said nothing, she blinked a few times but she didn't dare look down at the floor. She knew what he wanted but she wasn't going to apologize for doing something good. For being a nice person. And she wasn't going to deny it either, she did it. She was with Mud-Bloods, and blood-traitors. She didn't date Potter but she couldn't deny it, or her whole lie would fail.

"Have you thought of Cassius? Of how he feels?" Jade almost snorted but she knew that would be too much out of line.

"Did he think of me when he left me for a Mud- for a French girl last year in front of the whole school? No, he didn't. I was the centre of gossip and horrible rumours because of his actions!"

"Just because he made a mistake it doesn't mean you can get even on him, you will just stain your reputation and our name."

"I wouldn't call it a mistake," Jade said firmly. "He humillia..."

"Enough!" Finley shouted. "Jade, have you thought when would you like to marry Cassius?"

"After I turn twenty, not before," she said at once despite her shock at such a question and change of tone in Finley's voice.

"Well, that won't happen anymore. You will marry him once you graduate Hogwarts. That's what you get for choosing so poorly and having the nerve to date Harry Potter. And I think it's uneccesary to tell you to stop this relationship immediately, and to stop all ties with him and his friends."

"But..."

"I won't risk your and our integrity for your embarrassing and questionable actions. Marrying Cassius sooner will do you good. You are lucky to have him, he is the only good thing that you have left."

Jade took a couple of deep breaths to not cry in front of her father. She looked at the window and tried to calm herself. She didn't want to get married at such a young age. She didn't want to start her miserable life at seventeen. She didn't have Quidditch anymore and now she was being forced to marry earlier.

She thought briefly of her real boyfriend... Draco. He was also back in Wiltshire for the week and all she wanted was to run to him and cry but she forced herself to think of anything but him. Since she started being able to listen to people's thoughts she had gotten paranoid of her own thoughts being listened.

"Do not ruin your brother's wedding, if something happens, anything at all, doesn't matter how small or insignificant, consider yourself disinherited from the family. And don't even think of not attending..."

"I understand."

Jade knew their talk was over, she nodded at her father who looked like he wanted to kill her. He was looking at her like if she was dirty, like if she was infected with some very horrible and contagious disease, he looked at her with disappointment and for once that was what hurt Jade the less. She no longer sought for his approval, to make him proud.

"Before you go," he said as Jade was just about to reach for the door. "Crucio!"

Lately, I don't know what to write here :/