Disclaimer: I do not own any locations or characters (except for Jade and James Meniker), they all belong our beloved J.K. Rowling. Please do not use my characters for anything without asking me first (I'll let you use them, but you've got to ask me first!)

Author's Note: Okay, so this is my first ever HP fic, and I am very excited! This fic will contain very little of Harry himself, as this is an original character fic. This story takes the place of Book V, but may contain various little tidbits from Book V (like spells, places, that kinda stuff).

So here's what you've been waiting for! (sort of) Please enjoy!

Also, To Rouge Magie: Okay, okay, I promised that I was writing one, so here it is! Thank you soooooooooo much for all your help!

P.S. This is the edited version, so it should be less sucky!

The Arrival

Jade stepped out of the car and onto the station walkway. After a quick wave to her mom and dad, she turned and walked towards Platform 9. She walked with a confident gait, making her waist-length brown hair swish behind her. Her eyes, for which she got her name, were of a deep and thoughtful green. She coolly took in the scene about her as she proceeded past the crowds of Muggles.

As she walked, she noticed a familiar redhead family piling out of their car. The Weasleys didn't know her, but almost everyone knew of them. She smiled to herself, checked quickly around her, and stepped through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

The trip on the train was rather boring, but Jade didn't mind. She was sitting alone in a compartment, and, with nothing in particular there to entertain her, she began thinking about the coming year. She lay down across one seat and looked out the window. The landscape around her became a blur, and she fell into a deep trance. Grey shapes zoomed past the window, and the sound of the train's wheels pumping beneath her in their mechanical rhythm slowly faded to a quiet beat as the world faded in her eyes.

The friendly candy lady jolted her thoughts back to reality.

"Ah, Lisa! Back for another year, aye? You'll be wanting the same as always I suppose?"

The lady bumbled in to help Jade sit up straight. Jade, smiling at the mention of her name, attempted to compose herself and slow the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Yes, that would be great. Oh wait, let me make sure I have enough."

Jade searched her pockets and pulled out three Sickles and five Knuts.

"This is it, right?" she asked, handing the money to her.

"That's right, dear," the lady said, smiling.

She handed Jade what she'd ordered every year, two bags of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans, two packs of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and a Chocolate Frog.

"On second thought, could I have another box of Bertie's?" Jade asked.

"Well, sure, dearie!" The lady smiled kindly and handed over another box, taking the money from Jade's upheld hand.

"Best be getting into your robes dear, you've only got about twenty more minutes."

Jade sat up straight. The adrenaline was back.

"Twenty minutes! I thought you always came by an hour before we got there!"

The lady smiled again. "Well, dearie, I did come by earlier, but you were asleep, so I thought it best to leave you be and come by later."

The lady gave her a pat on the back. "Don't you fret, you've got some time. You have a good day now, Lisa!"

Jade sighed, thanked the candy lady, and bid her a good day. She quickly changed into her robes, straightening her Ravenclaw tie in the bathroom mirror.

After she was sure that everything was well in order, she checked her watch and found that she still had another fifteen minutes. The excitement of reaching Hogwarts was somehow dimmer this year, and boredom began to overtake her. To entertain herself, she began practicing a few simple Charms on a box of Bertie Botts'. She watched it float around the cabin, and then sighed and turned to stare out the window. She smiled to herself as she heard the box fall to the floor, beans spilling out across the cabin. Sighing, she waved her wand and returned them all to the box.

Up ahead she could just faintly see the outline of the Hogwarts castle. This year will be a good year, she said to herself. Her thoughts danced lightly over the events of last year and the Triwizard Tournament's tragedy. She quickly brushed these things out of her mind, determined to forget them.

As the train docked, she gathered up what small things she had in the cabin and walked outside into the cool, fresh night air. She watched for a moment as the bewildered First Years meandered about the train and then headed towards the imposing, but friendly, groundskeeper Hagrid. One girl who seemed afraid came up to Jade with questioning eyes. Jade smiled warmly.

"Don't worry dear, it's ok. Follow the big man over there."

Jade pointed, and the girl nodded and walked away, looking somewhat unconsoled.

--

The carriage ride up to the castle was pleasant enough. She shared a cabin with three boys, two from Gryffindor and one from Hufflepuff. They were all very nice and although she didn't know any of them, she recognized the cute red-haired Hufflepuff as a Beater for their Quidditch team. She had been the Keeper for Ravenclaw since 2nd year, and they got a pleasant conversation going about Quidditch strategies. She told the boy how she hoped to be Quidditch captain this year.

"What about Roger Davies? I mean, what happened with him last year?" the boy asked.

"Oh... I don't know," Jade replied, somewhat distantly. "He's not Captain this year though. Not even on the team." She had a somber look in her eyes.

"What about Cho Chang?" the boy persisted, ignoring Jade's quick change of mood. "She was co-captain last year, right?"

"Yes, that's true," Jade replied, smiling at the mention of her close friend.

"But she told me herself that she can't be a full-on captain, she can only assist. Being a Seeker and all, she actually doesn't know much about the play strategies. What she's really good at is just catching the Snitch. And that's damn good, because none of the rest of us could do it."

The boy nodded knowingly and brought up the subject of Beater tactics. Jade listened politely, though she didn't have any real interest. Her mind wandered through other topics, and she struggled to pay attention to the boy as thoughts of a certain other boy floated through her mind.

--

At last they arrived at the great entrance to the main hall. Just before she went inside, Jade turned around and peered out into the distance to catch a glimpse of the first years coming in on the boats. She turned and went inside.

The Great Hall was bustling as usual. She found her place at the Ravenclaw table next to her friends Hannah and Cho. Jade told them with a wink about the cute Hufflepuff in the carriage and how he had mentioned Cho. Cho's face darkened and she said nothing. Jade realized her mistake, and frantically tried to think of a way to chase Cedric from her mind.

There was a small pause and then Hannah suddenly brought up Quidditch. Cho's face brightened.

"You're still going to go for team captain, right Jade? I'll still be co-captain this year,"

Cho reminded her.

"Couldn't possibly do captain...don't know enough about strategy."

The three of them smiled, knowing that this was true. They chatted about other people who might be trying out for captain until James Meniker, a cute fellow Ravenclaw of their year, walked over to them.

"Er, Lisa, could I have a word?"

Cho and Hannah giggled.

"It's Jade, you silly!" Hannah laughed.

James looked very confused. He gave Jade an imploring look.

"Er...Lisa, what are they talking about?"

Cho giggled. "Look at her eyes, and see for yourself!" she laughed.

Jade smiled. Her real name was Lisa Ackerley, but all her friends had called her Jade since two years ago. Of course, the teachers still called her Lisa, or more commonly "Miss Ackerley", but James had only talked to her a few times before, so he didn't know about her "other name".

Jade found her stashed supply of confidence and stared up into his eyes. He considered hers for a moment, and then suddenly smiled with understanding.

"Oh!" he laughed. "I get it! Your eyes look like the stone, jade."

After a second's thought, he blushed and said, "Well, do you want me to call you Jade or Lisa?"

She smiled. "Jade please. I've gotten rather fond of it, and quite frankly, I'm starting to forget to respond to Lisa."

She remembered how frustrated her parents had been trying to get her attention over the summer.

"Okay, well, er, Jade, could I have a word?" he said with a slight blush.

She smiled warmly, stood up, and followed him over to the wall away from the table where they wouldn't be overheard.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Well...." He blushed and looked at his feet. "I was wondering.... if, y'know, it's not too much to ask..."

Jade waited for him to continue, and felt herself getting jittery and flustered. She liked James well enough, and if he was about to do what she thought he was...

"I know we don't know each other that well and all, but, I was wondering if, well, you'd like to come to Hogsmeade with me the first weekend it's open and have a butterbeer or something, or if you don't like butterbeer, we can do something else..." He rushed his words nervously, petering off at the end as he stared hopelessly at his feet

Jade blushed and smiled. "I like butterbeer just fine."

James looked up from his feet. "So you'll come with me?" He looked as though he had just won the lottery.

"Sure! Now, lets go watch the sorting. I'll see you later?" Jade smiled warmly at him, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"Uh...uh...yeah!" he stuttered; his cheeks were turning a deep shade of crimson.

Jade felt her own cheeks turn red as she turned to go. She heard James take a deep breath and shuffle off towards his friends. She couldn't see the relieved grin on his face, but everyone else could. She sat back down with Hannah and Cho, who were practically falling over with giggling. She slapped them both playfully on the back.

"Oh, Jade, what'd he say, what'd he say?" Cho eagerly inquired.

"I'll tell you later," replied Jade, looking around at all the people staring and imperceptibly leaning their heads closer to eavesdrop. Cho noticed them too, giggled, and nodded knowingly. Suddenly everyone looked up, and with a resounding thud, the doors to the Great Hall were opened wide.

Note: Okay! Well there's the first chapter, so tell me what you think! It didn't take me that long to write, but I can promise that the second chapter will take awhile. I WILL have it up though! Keep checking back and REVIEW!