Ron and Jade spent the night in the Isle of Wight. They broke into a house and stayed the night there. Apparently no woman lived there, but Jade needed to change, he didn't want to continue wearing a wedding dress, so she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a pyjama T-shirt. Then she undid the hairdo and brushed her hair and washed the make-up off.
Ron was glad that he was with her friend again and it also helped that she was very skilled with spells. He felt secure after Jade had told him the right protecting enchantments and he did them around the house, Jade still couldn't perform any magic just in case her mother had activated the trace on her.
The both of them found a jar of peanut butter and some bread. They also found biscuits and chocolate. They spread some of the peanut butter on a few slices of bread and ate them, they hadn't eaten in several hours, close to a whole day.
"So, what happened to me?" How did you end up with Draco and the twins?"
"Based on what Draco said, you were kidnapped by your father so you would marry Perseus. You don't remember anything?"
"I remember I went to my room and I still needed to pack a few things but I was so tired I got into bed. I was so preoccupied about packing and also couldn't choose if I should go back to Hogwarts and risk it or just run away before sunrise," Jade told him as she grabbed some chocolates. "Then I have like flashbacks and foggy images in my brain but that's it.
"Foggy images? Of what?"
"I remember Cass talked to me at some point, I'm not sure what he said. Lex lifted the curse at some point because he came into the room where I was and apologised to me and said he loved me. He hugged me and then I felt really drowsy and fell asleep. The other stuff is so confusing I don't even know how to explain it all."
"So, you couldn't really feel you were under that curse?"
"Mostly, no. There are some times I wanted to do something and realised I couldn't but then I kind of like forgot about it. Like when you are dreaming and you know it is a dream and the scenario changes so you forget it's a dream. Have you got that? Well, it was like that. So, my dad kidnapped me? Why am I even surprised? I should have seen it coming."
"It's not your fault, you know?"
"I see signs and things happening and I still don't act. I just keep thinking I have more time."
"It must be hard to turn away from everything."
"Yeah, harder than I thought," Jade admitted. "So, what else should I know?"
During the night, Ron told her why he was all alone and not with Harry. He felt ashamed of what had happened and told her how he had survived for the last ten weeks or so. Then told her about Draco going to the twins' flat asking for help and planning to save her.
Then Jade in return told him how bad things were at Hogwarts and told him they were doing the D.A. meetings again and even told him of what happened with Amycus Carrow. He also told him about her forced engagement in front of everyone, including Draco, only a few days ago.
The both of them talked about their experiences over the last few months until morning came. When they ate once again and it was light enough outside, Jade called Ilvie who surprisingly appeared in front of them in less than five seconds. Jade ordered her to get her backpack, and to get a few extra things, including a tent and sleeping bags and some food.
Ilvie was back in five minutes, Jade smiled as she took the small, light backpack but knew all her things that were valuable to her or that in some way were needed, were inside.
"Ilvie, can you take us with you? Would the Ministry detect that an underage Witch was apparating?"
"House-elves magic is different. They won't know, Miss Jade," she said softly. Jade nodded with had a broom but it was faster to let Ilvie take them.
"Where to?" Jade asked Ron.
Ron muttered a place and soon they were away from the sea, Jade didn't hear the angry waves anymore. Instead she heard birds chirping. Jade ordered Ilvie to not say anything to anyone and to keep alert if she was needed again, then she disappeared with a pop.
"Did you ever imagine you would be here? Running away from everyone? And out of all people, being stuck with me?" Ron asked with a chuckle as he was eating some beans.
"Not really. I imagined a little Muggle town. Being on my own, being chased," Jade said. "Instead, I'm in a forest, in a tent with you."
"Do you reckon your family already burned your portrait from the family tree?" Ron asked and Jade felt like she was being stabbed.
"No. They might think I was being kidnapped. However, they will burn it once they find out I married Draco. He can be a Pureblood but he isn't Cassius," Jade said sadly. "I don't even know what will happen to Draco, he also has a fiancee as you know. I wonder what his family will do once they know. Narcissa might be not so harsh but I don't know about Lucius. How weird is it... I'm married, Ron," Jade said with a chuckle. Jade's voice sounded as she was telling an embarrassing memory that happened years ago. "Like for real, it's so messed up. Like I'm happy it's Draco but I'm still sixteen. And I wanted something different for my life."
The following night, while Ron was sleeping, she turned to look at the sky and saw the big full moon above her. She got a phial out of her pocket and spat out the mandrake leaf that had miraculously stayed in her mouth for a month, even under the Imperius curse.
Then she plucked out a hair from her head and put it inside too, along with the other two needed ingredients.
Jade knew it had to be saved in a quiet, dark place. So she put the phial inside a box, which was later put into another bigger box. She put it inside her bag, it was already charmed so it wouldn't be moving inside and she sealed the box manually so it wouldn't open at all. She didn't want any kind of accident.
Jade waited for several hours and then at sunrise, she put the tip of her wand over her chest and to not make any mistake, she read the spell she had written on her right forearm.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Jade said softly but there was an edge on her voice. Then, she saw a white light coming out of the tip but she felt nothing and it soon all faded. Jade only hoped that this kind of magic wouldn't be detected and if it was, she hoped that their protective enchantments worked and it would all go unnoticed.
Jade had to repeat that process every sunrise and sundown until there was a thunderstorm, which could be months. She couldn't forget to do it only once or do it at the wrong time, she could suffer very horrible mutations otherwise.
Jade smiled slightly as she saw it was snowing, she loved snow. She always had. Ron didn't look as happy as her though. He only grabbed another sweater and put it on.
Ron and Jade walked around the forest, trying to find food, anything, but it was very unlikely, with the snow. Jade thought they could maybe try to find fish so they walked to the river but they had no luck so they opened a can of beans and Ron warmed it up with his wand.
Jade still couldn't use magic and it was driving her mad. She wanted to start a fire, anything, but she couldn't. She felt like she was a Muggle... or thought like she did. She had no idea what being a Muggle felt like. But she did feel useless, having to depend on Ron for everything.
As they ate, Jade and Ron suddenly stopped. They were hearing voices. They got their wands out and looked everywhere and found nothing but after some time, they recognized the voices and they were actually coming from Ron's pocket.
Ron took out the deluminator and they both could hear Harry and Granger. It was so bizarre. Ron clicked it and a blueish light came out. It went inside Ron at once.
"I know where to go," he said simply, grabbing her hand and disapparating in a matter of a few seconds. They were gone before Jade could object.
Jade and Ron found themselves in a similar forest but it was flatter and it wasn't currently snowing there, but there was snow everywhere.
"Forgot to mention, this thing led us to you when you were missing," Ron said. "Harry and Hermione are here, we just have to find them."
"In a forest? Sure, easy."
Ron and Jade walked around for hours until it got late, they were tired, cold and hungry. Jade fell asleep as soon as Ron did the right enchantments.
Jade was having a bad dream about Cassius and she being together, and Cassius being even abusive to her when Ron woke her up. She sat up quicker than ever with her wand in her hand.
"It's just me," Ron said, not knowing what really was up with her.
"What is it?"
"See that? It's a patronus, I think it's Harry's," Ron told her.
"Are you sure?" Jade said, who was still half asleep.
Ron grabbed all their things and followed the doe. Jade followed him, trying to wake up a bit. Her eyes were still closing and she kept yawning. Suddenly they saw him, Harry.
He was wearing only his underwear and got into a frozen lake before they could stop him. Jade started to get nervous as Harry was not coming out and it had been a while.
"We should probably check," she said.
Jade and Ron approached the place where Harry had disappeared from their sight and to their horror, Harry was struggling underwater. Without thinking, Ron jumped in without taking off any piece of clothes. He got Harry and Jade helped drag him out of the water.
Ron dived again while Jade pulled Harry aside, he was just wearing boxers and he was shivering really bad. Ron came back a few seconds later with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Jade recognized it quickly as she had seen it only months ago. But Jade wasn't going to tell them that story now. She silently wondered what was that doing there.
Ron was coughing hard and Harry, without looking at them, raised a hand to his neck, where he had a fine cut all around his neck. The Horcrux had almost beheaded him.
"Are you mental?" Ron exclaimed.
Harry stood up and looked at the two people in front of them. Harry's eyes went from Ron to Jade, to the sword. Ron had it in one hand and the locket in the other, the chain had been broken by him to save Harry.
Jade went for Harry's clothes and handed them to him, he dressed quickly as he asked, "Was it you?" His voice sounded weird from the almost strangulation and his teeth chattering. "You casted that doe?"
"I thought you had done that," Ron said.
"My Patronus is a stag."
"Right, I told you it looked a bit different," Ron said to Jade. "No antlers."
"How come the two of you are here?" Harry said, making it seem like he finally acknowledged Jade. "How did you find us?"
"Long story. You reckon this is the real one?" Ron asked.
"Real one?" Jade asked.
"Long story," Ron repeated.
"One way to find out," Harry said.
The Horcrux in Ron's hand kept twitching slightly. It was agitated. It knew there was danger nearby. Jade had never seen a Horcrux before but somehow she still felt like a bad feeling coming from it. It gave her chills.
"You should do it," Harry suddenly said.
"Me? Why?"
"You got the sword. Seems right and it affects you more," Harry told him. "I'm going to open it. Stab it straight away, okay?"
"How are you going to open it?" Jade asked.
"Using Parseltongue," Harry told her. "Okay, on three. One, two... three."
Jade heard only a hiss afterwards and the golden locket opened instantly. They saw a blue eye, Tom Riddle's eye. Then something like dark smoke coming out.
"I've seen your heart, and it is mine."
"Stab it!"
"Least loved by the mother who craved a daughter, least loved by your best friend, least loved by the girl you trusted. Second best, always."
The smoke suddenly turned into three figures. Jade, then Harry and then Luna. Harry was shocked to see Luna but Jade wasn't, she knew Ron liked her.
The three smoke figures which seemed to be naked, started talking to Ron. Jade told him he could never compete with the Chosen One or Draco. Harry told him he just got in the way and was basically deadweight, Luna told him she just used him but would never really like him.
Suddenly, Harry and Luna kissed very passionately and then Harry broke the kiss, turned and started kissing Jade in the same way. Real Jade found it disturbing, it seemed like they were almost eating each other.
"Do it, Ron!" Jade screamed this time.
As Harry turned around to kiss Luna once again, the smoky Jade started telling him how much of a no one he was. Ron nodded and finally went for it, he stabbed the locket. they all heard a scream, a clang of metal and then it was over. The locket was evidently damaged.
Ron was shaking badly, he fell to his knees. Harry and Jade gave him some time. When Ron recovered and stood up, the two boys hugged, Jade smiled. Then Harry walked to Jade and hugged her tightly, she returned the hug.
"Let's go."
It took them less than ten minutes to reach the tent, Granger was sleeping until Harry woke her up. She was shocked to see Ron and Jade there and for once she didn't look at Jade with hatred but at Ron. She stood up, and without warning started punching him.
"You complete arse, Ronald Weasley!" Granger said as she kept punching him. "Give me my wand, Harry!"
But Harry only did a shielding spell so Granger wouldn't hit him anymore and refused to give her, her wand.
"You come back after weeks and you think it's all going to be alright if you just say sorry?" Granger exclaimed.
"What else can I say? I wanted to come back as soon as I disapparated but I walked straight into some snatchers. They were a bit stupid and I managed to escape. I disapparated, splinched myself again," Ron said, showing two missing fingernails. "And I went back but you were gone!"
"Wow, two missing fingernails?" Granger exclaimed coldly. "While we went to Godrics's Hollow and You-Know-Who's snake nearly killed us and then You-Know-Who himself arrived and missed us by about a second... Harry, imagine losing fingernails! That really puts our sufferings into perspective," she exclaimed. "And what about you? What have you been through? A haircut, I see?"
"Hey, don't get me into this," Jade said quickly. "You are angry at him. I just happened to be here with him."
"And why is that? I mean, can the two of you tell me how you found us? So we can make sure no one else visits us."
Ron then pulled out the Deluminator and explained the story to them. Granger didn't seem like she believed him. Ron even said it worked to find Jade.
"Nevermind that," Jade said quickly, not wanting to tell them what had happened. "But it's true. I saw it all. It did happen. The ball of light brought us here."
Then after a few moments Harry and Ron started telling Granger what had happened earlier, so she could understand how Harry had bumped into them. Harry showed her the damaged locket and she picked it up and looked at it closely. Even now, Jade decided not to say she was forced to get the Gryffindor's sword back at school, they would ask how a Slytherin could get a sword only for true Gryffindors and so many other questions, and she wasn't ready to answer them, besides, she was tired too.
When things calmed down a bit and Granger went back to sleep, Jade took off her dark beanie. Harry eyed her. Jade felt his stare, so she turned to look at him.
"Did you cut your hair?" Harry asked as if something terrible had happened to her.
"Yeah, I needed a change," Jade said. "Don't you like it?"
"It's not that... your long hair was really pretty... not that it isn't now!" Harry said nervously.
Harry then went to lie down and get warmer, he was still shivering a bit. Ron offered to keep guard that night and Jade stayed a little longer with him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You said, you saw Harry kissing me. From inside your house, from a window," Jade said. "What were you doing in there? Why weren't you at the party?"
Ron suddenly went so red that his hair looked light compared to the colour on his cheeks. He couldn't give her an answer. Jade had a clue of what he might be doing inside but didn't say it.
"Don't tell them about Draco yet," Jade whispered. "Or my family, or Cass. I'm not ready. I still don't believe what happened at times."
"Sure," Ron said.
"If they ask how we ended up together, tell them I was running away, Harry knows I wanted to, so it would work, and say you spotted me in this Muggle town near a beach and we decided to continue together."
"What if they ask me why you were running away?"
"Tell them that's my business and I haven't told you yet."
"Okay. Go to sleep now, you need it."
Jade didn't protest, she went to sleep on what used to be Ron's bunk. But she woke up right before sunrise. She told Ron to get some rest and once she knew he was sleeping, Jade did the Animagus spell again.
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
The others woke up about an hour later and together they all ate something. Harry was suggesting to move somewhere else, after all, someone knew they were there, whoever did the patronus and gave them the sword knew their location.
"There's a problem," Ron said quickly. "Jade's still underage. She'd have the trace."
"I thought Kingsley said you didn't have the trace anymore because of a mistake at the Ministry," Harry said.
"Technically, yes, but we don't know if they have fixed that mistake. With me gone, my parents might ask their contacts to have an eye out for me and realise they made a mistake and fix it. And with my mother working at the Ministry, it won't take long for people looking for me. I can't just risk it."
They decided to move a bit to the north, by foot. It was terribly exhausting with the snow reaching their ankles but they had to move. The following day they moved a bit more just in case. By then Ron had given Harry a wand he had stolen from a snatcher as his had been broken.
"Three Horcruxes down," Harry reminded them. "Three to go, one is Nagini and the other two, we don't know but they can be objects from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."
"I could have done research while I was in Hogwarts, or looked for something that belonged to the founders, it could be hidden in Hogwarts," Jade said.
"Hermione thinks it can't be there," Harry said. "But I agree with you to a certain degree. A Horcrux might be hidden there, Hogwarts was important for Vol..."
"Don't" Ron and Jade yelled at the same time. Harry could understand Ron saying that, as he never liked the name and had always been like that, and even a bit worse the last few months, but Jade always said the name, like Harry did.
"Not you too!" Harry exclaimed, surprised.
"Don't you know?" Jade asked. "The name's jinxed, you say his name and you become trackable."
"That's true," Ron said. "Bill said Kinglsey said his name and now he is on the run like us. Only powerful Wizards dare to say his name, that's why they did it. To find you and members of the Order of The Phoenix."
"And who told you? How do you know?" Harry asked.
"Snape," Jade said and looked down at the ground. "I was going to say his name when he stopped me and told me about it."
"Snape?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I got into trouble with Amycus... a new teacher," Jade said and continued the whole story of how she got into trouble, she didn't say anything about the sword. Ron looked proud but a bit scared that she had used an unforgivable curse.
"Speaking of Hogwarts," Harry said, not wanting to think about Snape. "I wanted to ask you about something... about that night."
"Okay," Jade said, nodding.
"Dumbledore mentioned a name." Jade suddenly got a bit tense. "Leo, wasn't it? He said that he was named after his mother, who was a Gryffindor. Hermione and I searched and we couldn't find any girl from Gryffindor named Leonie. However, we did find two Leonies who went to Hogwarts in the last fifty years."
"Who?"
"You and your mother. Jade Leonie and Raven Leonie," Harry told her. "So I wanted to know, who is Leo? And what is so important about him that Dumbledore mentioned him that night, the night he died? And... Why couldn't we find any record of his mother when Dumbledore did say she was a Gryffindor?"
"Basically, Leo is no one," Jade said nervously as she looked down at her hands, if she had long hair she would have started to play with the tips.
"Jade!"
"I'm telling the truth. To explain who he is or might be, and why his mum isn't on any list I need to tell you stuff… stuff about the prophecy, otherwise you wouldn't understand."
"Well, we've got time, don't we?" Harry said, sitting down in front of her again, next to Granger. Jade sighed. "I guess it's about time you finally tell me about it."
"In 1986, when I was five, a woman named Tamara made a prophecy. Dumbledore knows it's about me because it says the girl is one year younger than her classmates and I'm the only witch in centuries that have gone to Hogwarts being ten, not eleven. And I'm half Greek, half English, which is another characteristic. Anyway, I didn't really hear the prophecy so I will tell you what Dumbledore told me," Jade said and then took a sigh, she was nervous.
Jade didn't feel comfortable sharing so much information in front of Granger, both still didn't like each other, Ron was okay. Jade knew though that Granger was part of the mission and Harry would tell her anyway, so she started to tell them everything.
"When Dumbledore knew it was me, he tried to change the future by going to the future."
"You can't travel to the future," Granger said quickly.
"Yes, you can and I'll explain. So, apparently I was supposed to be in Gryffindor but Dumbledore changed it. Made the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin."
"What would that change?" Ron asked.
"Lots of things. I actually saw some. Dumbledore got nervous when I told the Minister that Harry and I were dating, you know when Umbridge tried to expel us and all that. So he decided to tell me about the prophecy, he said Harry and I are supposed to be soulmates and he wanted to keep us away, to even hate each other, so the prophecy wouldn't happen."
"Wait," Harry said quickly. "Soulmates? You and me? Is that... is that why I felt so weird but a good weird when I kissed you? Like it was right? Like, if it was meant to be? Did you feel it too?"
"What?" Granger asked, shocked, looking from Harry to Jade and back to Harry. "You kissed her?"
"Yes, I felt it too and I can only assume that's why," Jade said looking at Harry. "That's why I avoided you after Slughorn's Christmas party. I knew I couldn't get too close to you. And then I just knew you liked me so I tried to put some distance between us. I was scared, I didn't want the prophecy to happen. Back at the Astronomy Tower, you know I was trying to do Draco's mission to save his life and I thought it would be a way to completely prevent the prophecy from happening as you would hate me for what I'd have done, you needed to hate me. If anything happened to me, you wouldn't care. That's how my logic worked in a matter of seconds. I can't say it was right or completely mental."
"I don't understand... Why do I need to hate you?"
"Some day in the future, I'd have been kidnapped by Death Eaters. Used as bait. They wanted you. You loved me, so you went for me. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me. But Vo - You-Know-Who, was scared of that. He almost died because of love. Your mother gave her life for you. He didn't want the same to happen a second time. So he killed me, not accepting your sacrifice and then killing you. And that would mean he won. Dumbledore didn't specify but he said he ruled for many, many years."
"So you were avoiding me because I liked you and you knew all that... so, do you like me?" Harry asked and Jade just shrugged not knowing how to answer that. "What would happen with Perseus?"
"Our engagement would be broken. Dating a half-blood and being in Gryffindor and being friends with everyone wasn't something my family was proud about."
"Gryffindor?" Granger asked and Jade nodded. "Jade Leonie... Wait... we couldn't find anything on a Leonie sorted into Gryffindor because technically there hasn't been one but if Dumbledore hadn't changed anything, Lias would have been the Leonie in Gryffindor."
"That's not true... is it?" Ron asked with a small laugh. Jade bit her lip. Ron stopped laughing immediately. "No... what?"
"Uh, yeah, Leo Lestrange. I'd have had a son by now. Apparently he was named Leo because it means lion and we were both in Gryffindor and my name is Leonie. Interesting, huh?"
"Lestrange?" Ron asked, confused, and Jade explained she changed her last name in the other reality. "Didn't the father give him his last name?"
"It was too risky. No one could know about his existence."
"Who was the father?" Ron asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Granger said. "Harry was."
"No, can't be!" Harry said nervously.
"Think about it, you are her soulmate. You loved her because you were willing to give your life for hers. Leo's parents were both in Gryffindor. Who else could it be, Harry? And Lias just said it would be too risky to give him the father's last name. Lestrange is already too risky but not more than Potter."
"No," Harry said in denial, shaking his head frantically. "Jade said she would have had him by now. How could I be a father now? I can barely keep myself alive! I can't be the father."
"Granger is right," Jade said and Harry went pale. "Who would have thought, right? But you actually thought I was brave and loved me so much you named your son after me. We'd have a kid now. That's honestly messed up. And that apparently leads to another prophecy but Dumbledore didn't tell me much about that one," Jade said quickly, feeling a bit awkward with the baby talk. "After our deaths, well, we also sacrificed ourselves for him... like your mother did. So You-Know-Who didn't want to take any chances, so he sort of adopted him. He would raise him as his heir."
"What? He would take our son? That's more messed up! So then what?"
"I don't know! Dumbledore never said what happened to Leo. If we could find the Prophecy we could know. All he said was Voldemort would reign for several years."
"Did this Tamara do that other prophecy?" Granger asked.
"No, mine was the last one."
"What if she did it before?" she asked and Jade shrugged. "Could be, right?
"But it doesn't matter, does it? Dumbledore said you must still be underage when you have the baby and even if you get pregnant today, there would be no chance of that happening!" Ron said with enthusiasm, like if he had just solved a difficult riddle. "I mean that part doesn't matter now, does it?"
"Actually, Dumbledore said that there's dark magic that can fast-forward a pregnancy. So, don't try anything, Harry," Jade said and Harry went red. "Anyway, Harry, doesn't matter what, don't try to save me, okay?"
"But..."
"Don't save me! Or part of the prophecy will become true. He might not have Leo, but he will win the war and we don't want that."
Jade then told them the littles details that weren't that important. Like her mother would actually love her, like Sirius adopted her or when Harry would ask her out, or who was her first friend.
Jade spent the whole afternoon telling them the details. They all asked lots of questions. Harry was still in shock, from time to time the colour of his face would drain as he thought of Leo.
After that, they all went to sleep. Jade felt relieved she had finally told that big secret. That night she dreamt with Leo even when she had no idea what he looked like. She imagined a brunet boy with green eyes, which would be the most obvious as both of them had brown hair but anything was possible.
—-
Hope you guys liked it!
Harry finally knows the truth!
Please let me know what you think! :)))
