Sorry, everyone, I forgot to post chapter 4 on Wednesday, so now you'll get them both at once!
Jade woke up quite early the next morning. Indeed, after looking at her watch, she could say it was very early. Unless, of course, one habitually got up at 5. But Jade didn't, so she rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep.
10 minutes later, she got up. Grr. She thought. I'm wide-awake, and it's 5.10 am. Not cool. Her eyes alighted on a letter waiting on her bedside table. She'd unpacked it from her trunk the night before. She walked over, and opened it up.
**'DEER JADE,'
It began,
'HI, IT'S EMILY, I HOPE YU'R HAVING A GRATE TYM, I KNO IF YU'R REEDING THIS THAT YU HAV UNPAKED YUR TRUNK, PLEESE WRIT TO ME WEN YU GET THIS, I'M ALREDY LONELY, AND YU HAVN'T EVEN LEFT YET, I LUV YU, JADE,
LUV, EMILY.'
Jade smiled. How sweet. She thought. She grabbed a piece pf parchment and a quill, and began her letter back.
'Dearest Emily,
I miss you too. We'll just have to remedy the situation by writing to each other as much as possible. I hope you've been doing well in kindergarten, I know you'll be one of the smartest little girls in the class.
As soon as I can get into Hogsmeade I'll buy you some sweets, I promise. Don't tell Mum and Dad, though, Dad doesn't know that I swiped the Marauder's Map.
Can you do me a big favour? I'll duplicate the Map, then send it back to you, and you can put it back in its hiding place in Dad's Hogwarts trunk.
I think you need to work on your spelling a bit, sweetness, but your grammar has certainly improved! And your handwriting.
I love you too.
Love, Jade.'
She placed it in an envelope, and resolved to post it after classes. She took her Herbology text out of her trunk, climbed back onto her bed, and settled back on the fluffy pillows to read.
***
The fluttering of owls' wings caused Jade to look up. She gasped in pleasure at the many different types she saw before her. Her own owl, a Tawny Owl named Spirit flew down with a letter at once. Jade grabbed the letter for Emily out of her pocket, and tied it to Spirit's leg.
"Quickly." She whispered. Spirit hooted, and left. She opened the letter hastily, and read it, smiling softly over the contents.
'Dear Jade,
Hello, sweetie. I hope Hogwarts has been good so far. Your father and I are surprised at how quiet the house is. No one's asking where their clothes are, after all, Emily puts hers away, and the twins are too little. Then there's the fact that there's always a chocolate muffin left over.
I hope you enjoy these sweets that your uncles have sent, give them to your friends, don't you dare eat them yourself. You might be sick. They're called Escalating Chocolate Drops, but I don't think they work very well. Oh, and there's some Clown Cupcakes, but I'd try them on someone else, perhaps a Slytherin or two? But I didn't suggest that, if anyone asks.
Emily is positively miserable, and for some reason, wants to learn her times tables up to 20 before the Christmas Holidays. Have you got anything to do with that?
Write back, sweetheart, we want to hear all about how Hogwarts is so far.
Love, Mum, Dad, the twins, and, of course, Emily.'
Jade smiled, and folded the letter up, putting it in her pocket to read again later. She then turned her attention to the package, which Spirit had also dropped off.
"What have you got there, Green-Eyes?" Parker asked. Jade smiled sweetly.
"Some delicious chocolate cupcakes." She lied. "Want one?"
"Sure." He took one eagerly, and bit into it. Moments later, everyone shouted with laughter, as his hair became bright blue, his face chalk white, and his lips wide and red. "Potter!" He yelled.
"What's the matter, Parker?" She asked innocently.
"You did this!"
"I do wish you'd stop clowning around." She got up, and walked out, leaving a giggling Hall behind her.
***
"Wow, Jade, that was great!" Madeline exclaimed.
"Yeah, tres manufique." Mel added.
"I have never laughed so hard in my entire life!" Sicily Evan said, smiling.
"Definitely cool." Mandy agreed. Jade smiled at her roommates,
"Thanks, but he had it coming to him. He knows I hate that nickname." She said.
"I hope you don't mind me interrupting, but if you ignored him, he might stop calling you that." A soft voice said. Jade looked up, and scowled at Lucy Malfoy.
"Yes, I do mind you interrupting." She said icily.
"Go play with the snakes." Madeline added nastily.
"No thanks, I don't like snakes. I'm not a reincarnation of my father, you know. As Professor Dumbledore once said to Hagrid, 'You can't choose your relatives.' Look at your father's family, Jade Potter." She walked off, and sat at a desk by herself, taking out her Transfiguration book, and beginning to read. Jade shook her head, and got out a fresh piece of parchment.
'Dear Mum, Dad, and the twins,
You would never believe whom I have in my year. A Malfoy! Her name's Lucy, and she's a Ravenclaw…'
***
Jade was astonished. She couldn't believe that Malfoy had been so rude as to interrupt a private conversation!
"Quiet." Brown said, sweeping into the room, a scowl on her face. Both the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws immediately shut up. Then, Parker and White came running into the room. "And you're late, why?" Brown snapped.
"Sorry, Miss, we couldn't find the classroom." Parker said, smiling at her in a charming manner. She almost smiled back.
"Very well. 5 points from Gryffindor for being late. Now, sit down." The two boys sighed loudly, and sat down next to Rowan Bark, who was sitting next to Jade. "Now, today we shall be writing notes. I want everyone to get the theory of Transfiguration right before we begin actually transfiguring anything." Jade sighed, and wrote down the notes that Brown wrote on the board, then she began to write a letter to her aunt.
'Dear Auntie 'Mione,
Hi, how are you? I'm fine, enjoying my first day of Hogwarts, (not)! Was your first Transfiguration lesson so boring? All we're doing is writing notes. Do you have your notes from your first year at Hogwarts? I wouldn't ask, only I know how organised you are.
How's the pregnancy coming along? Do you know whether it will be a boy or a girl? I can't believe I'm going to have another cousin!
Is it true that Sean is engaged? Is it true that his girlfriend is pregnant? Why am I always the last one to hear about these things? *Sob, sob.*
Anyway, hope to hear from you soon.
Love, Jade.
PS, Sorry this is such a short letter, you know how I am about letter writing.
PPS, Professor Dumbledore retired to enjoy the beauty? of Antarctica.
PPPS, Professor McGonagall is now the Headmistress
PPPPS, Did you know any Gryffindor girls with the last name 'Brown' when you were at school?'
She folded the letter and put it in her pocket to give to Spirit to post when she came back from posting the letter to Emily. She dropped her quill on the floor, and it rolled a few feet, stopping as it bumped into Malfoy's foot. Malfoy looked down, then looked at Jade, and smiled. She took out her wand. Jade's heart began to beat faster, what was Malfoy going to do? Malfoy whispered something, and…Jade's quill rolled gently towards her, then rose, to hover at the height of her desk. Jade took it, astonished at what Malfoy had done. I can't believe Malfoy did something so nice! She thought. An uncomfortable thought niggled. Did I give her a chance to show me what she was capable of doing? She wondered. No, why would I? She's a Malfoy! But Malfoy's words came back to haunt her, 'I'm not a reincarnation of my father…people can't choose their family, look at your father's.'…
Hmm, I wonder what Lucy Malfoy has in store. And personally, I think Jade deserved that telling off. What will Harry and Ginny say when they find out about Lucy? Wait and see…
**Translation of Emily's misspelt letter; 'Dear Jade,
Hi, it's Emily, I hope you're having a great time, I know if you're reading this that you have unpacked your trunk, please write to me when you get this, I'm already lonely, and you haven't even left yet, I love you, Jade,
Love, Emily.'
