The next weekend, they had their first visit to Hogsmeade and for the first time, Jade didn't feel like going.

"I know it's cold and it's snowing but we can finally get out for once," Ron told her.

"Nah... I'm good."

Jade was behind her schoolwork anyway, she hadn't finished assignments for at least three classes and she had Quidditch practice the following day and she needed to think what they were going to train and do. Hogsmeade wasn't important enough at the moment.

But Jade did regret not going. Apparently, Katie Bell, from the Gryffindor Quidditch team had gotten cursed with a necklace. Harry, Ron, Granger and Katie's friend witnessed it all.

"Malfoy wanted that necklace since the second year, obviously he got it when he went to Borgin and Burkes when we followed him. That's what he bought."

"What are you talking about? Why were you following Draco? And come on, you can't honestly think that he did that. Why would he?" Jade asked outraged. Harry and Ron were telling her the story of what happened before dinner, while Granger stayed quiet.

"That day in Diagon Alley... he disappeared, didn't he? We followed him to Borgin and Burkes," Harry told her.

"Harry thinks Malfoy is a Death Eater," Ron said, Jade was about to say something when Ron spoke again. "I don't think You-Know-Him accepts teenagers."

"Exactly. Rabastan Lestrange..." Jade said then looked at Granger, who still didn't know the truth about her family unless she was told by either Ron or Harry. "He told me that Lexion had to wait until he was nineteen and he had to train a lot before getting the Mark. And look what happened... he accomplished nothing. Why take a sixteen-year-old? He's smarter than that."

"Since when do you speak to him?" Ron asked alarmed.

"He took me to London..." Jade said awkwardly. "Turns out Bellatrix thinks I should join him and my parents should be proud. But Rabastan told me he thinks his sister-in-law is a bit mad. A teenager shouldn't join and there's no way Voldemort would take teenagers anyway... he's not that desperate."

"So they want you to join?" Harry asked concerned.

"Eventually..."

"But anyway... didn't you see anything weird that day when you were with Malfoy in Diagon Alley?"

"No. He was upset, irritated. And he did disappear for about ten or fifteen minutes but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary..." Jade said. "Besides, Draco wasn't in Hogsmeade today."

"McGonagall told us," Ron said.

"He came to me... tried to talk but I went to my dorm. Then he went to detention I think."

"You still aren't talking to him?" Harry asked.

Jade now knew that Harry had heard everything while he hid in their compartment. She was a bit embarrassed that he heard they had been dating and all the other things they had said. But soon that was gone when Harry told her what happened after she left and what Draco did to him.

"I think you should... you are his best friend. He would trust you."

"What? Do you want me to forgive him so I can get information for you?" Harry nodded. Jade scoffed and glared at him. "First, I wouldn't do something so low and second, after our big fight do you really think he would tell me something important? I think not. Anyway, gotta go."

"You pissed her off, mate," Ron commented as Jade walked quickly away from them, her school bag over her shoulder.

"Had to try," Harry said with a shrug.

It was early November, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had just had their match of Quidditch. The first of the season. It was quite shocking to see that Ron had saved everything. Ravenclaw didn't score one single goal and Harry caught the snitch. Harry had pretended to give Felix Felicis to Ron but Jade had no idea why he had played so well.

Jade was walking between Harry and Ron, lost in thought. She had been extremely quiet for about two weeks. Even her grades had dropped slightly but no one noticed. N.E.W.T.s were quite hard and even Jade herself used that excuse to explain the slightly lower grades and said she was tired whenever she was asked about her silence.

"Jade, you never told us what Dumbledore wanted," Ron said, making Jade look at her left to face him.

"Oh, because it never happened. Turned out that Dumbledore sent me a letter explaining that he wouldn't be able to meet me and he would let me know when he can reschedule but so far, I haven't gotten anything."

"Well, it took him weeks to schedule a second meeting with me," Harry told her. "I don't know why he is so busy now and he spends such a long time out of Hogwarts these days."

Then they walked inside the school and turned a corner to the right where they found a redhead girl kissing a guy. Jade was just going to turn around and pretend she didn't see anything but Ron did the opposite.

"Hey!"

Dean Thomas and Ginny broke apart, but they didn't seem surprised or embarrassed... at least Ginny didn't. Dean told her to just go but Ginny refused, letting him walk away.

"It's none of your business who I go out with!"

"Yes, it is!" Ron said angrily. "Do you think I want people saying my sister's a..."

"Ron!" Jade warned him.

"If you went out and got a bit of snogging done you wouldn't mind so much that everyone else does it!" Ginny yelled.

"You don't know that... Just because I don't do it in public..."

By then both siblings had gotten out their wands, Harry tried to stand between the two while Jade decided it was better not to intervene. She had learnt not to mess with family stuff.

"Harry snogged Cho and Hermione snogged Viktor. Jade probably snogged Malfoy!" Ginny shouted and Jade went pink. Why did she have to bring her along? She wasn't part of the drama. "It's only you who acts like it's something disgusting, Ron, and that's because you haven't snogged anyone! You have no experience at all!"

"Actually, I've kissed Jade, just so you know!" Ron shouted and Jade got even redder. Harry already knew but it seemed like he didn't remember as he looked surprised. Jade only wished they could stop mentioning and dragging her into the conflict.

"You wish!" Ginny said and then stormed away.

The following day Jade noticed that Ron was sitting next to a girl instead of Harry. And Granger was nowhere close to either of them.

"They were kissing each other during the party after the match," Harry told her when he sat next to her for Transfiguration. "They have been holding hands and almost eating each other since then... it's quite disgusting."

"Seems like Ginny's words affected him."

During their break Jade finally got to speak to Ron as his new girlfriend had a class while they didn't. If she was close there was no way they could even approach Ron.

"Seriously, Ron? Lavender Brown? Couldn't you have chosen someone more... likeable? Or pretty, at least?"

"Are you jealous?" Ron snapped. She had heard from Harry that Ron had had a horrible attitude but she hadn't experienced it. Maybe because she hadn't said a single word to Ron until then.

"I'm just saying she isn't exactly good-looking and she is quite annoying."

"Just like Malfoy... we both have similar taste, it seems."

"What is wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same! Finally, I've got a girlfriend and all I hear are complaints and mean things! Is no one happy for me?" Ron almost shouted. "At least she didn't kiss me out of pity, like you did."

"It wasn't like that and you know it!" Jade exclaimed, angrily. "And no, she's kissing you because you played well against Ravenclaw, if you hadn't saved those goals she wouldn't be kissing you right now!"

"Wow, thanks Jade. Really made me feel so much better."

Ron stormed away angrily. Jade knew better than argue with Ron but something inside of her just didn't let her keep her mouth shut and now she regretted it. She had gone a bit too far. She actually didn't mean it like that.

For the next few weeks, Harry found himself spending more time with Jade than Hermione and Ron.

Hermione didn't approve that he was using the Potions book that belonged to the Half-Blood Prince, whoever that was, and couldn't stand Ron's rudeness. So she was angry at both boys.

Ron spent every single second with Lavender. Jade and Harry had witnessed the two kissing each other in front of them as if they weren't present. Very awkward situation for both, so Harry was avoiding Ron, even when he seemed to be in a better mood.

And Jade still wasn't talking to Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. She was still talking to the twins but preferred to spend time with Harry. The twins would only talk bad about other people and discuss make-up and clothes and hairstyles. Not her thing.

"I've got bad news for you," Hermione said one day. Harry and Jade were in the library and it wasn't a surprise to see Hermione there.

"What?" Harry asked her, concerned.

"Romilda Vane and about other twelve girls were talking about slipping you a love potion so you can invite them to the Slughorn's party. They apparently bought them from Fred and George."

"And you didn't confiscate them?" Harry asked, raising his voice a bit.

"They didn't have them with them. They were just discussing tactics," Hermione said. "You should probably make it obvious you invited someone... that might stop them. They are getting desperate, the party is this Saturday."

Harry had invited Jade. Kind of weird. He never imagined he would ask Jade Lias to a party as his date. But who else would he take? Hermione was already going, and the other girls... he just couldn't find a reason to ask them. And it just sort of happened. Before he knew it, he had already asked her.

Hermione then left, leaving the two green-eyed teenagers in there. It was obvious how much tension there was between Hermione and Harry now.

"Make it obvious? What does she mean? Should I hug you and kiss you in front of people like Ron does?" Harry asked Jade, exasperated, Jade shrugged.

"Just watch what you eat and drink this week... and never be alone. They can ambush you."

"Wow, Jade. You made me feel better."

"It's true. I can try to be with you all the time to maybe make them suspect we are together... after all everyone thinks we did date last year," Jade said. "But I won't kiss you... or hug you... or even hold your hand. I don't want to look like Ron and I don't want unwanted attention."

Harry turned to look at Jade. It was then that he remembered that once Ron had commented about Jade's eyes, Harry had thought he was crazy for talking about her eyes. Specially when she was still considered a nasty Slytherin.

But right now he could see it. How unique those eyes were. At the moment they were almost completely light green, with just a little bit of brown and the little blue circle that Ron mentioned was there, in just one of her eyes. He had never seen it. He had never cared about her eyes before.

"It's rude to stare, you know?" Jade muttered, her right eyebrow raised.

"Was I staring? Sorry. I was just thinking about what Hermione said.

Hello!

A short chapter today! Hope you like it!

Who liked Lavender Brown?

In your opinion, in the original series, who should have Ron end up with?