Fourth Year

Astoria threw the front door wide open and stuck her head in.

"HONEY, I'M HOOOOOME!" she sang loudly. Algie Longbottom turned his head from his seat seeing Astoria drag her luggage in.

"Astoria! When did you come in?" Algie asked, getting up.

"Just now! How are you Dad?" Astoria asked, hugging him.

"Splendid! And how was your summer, daughter?" he asked.

"Great! Mum and Dad # 1 took the entire family to tour around South America. See my tan?" Astoria asked, taking off her hat.

"From all that chatter, I knew it had to be Astoria coming back. Oh dear what a tan!" Enid exclaimed, her apron covered in flour.

"Hey Mum! The heat there was unbelievable and the sun rays are just as intense. We should all go together again. Speaking of together where are my better halves?" Astoria asked, looking around.

Ginny and Jade huddled together, looking through the pictures of Fred and George's hidden stash of nude magazines. They kept giggling and hushing each other from making too much noise from going through the thin walls of the Burrow. Someone knocked on the door and the two girls yelped, burying the magazines under the covers. Molly opened the door and looked in.

"What are you both still doing up here? Aren't you coming down for breakfast?" Molly asked.

"In a minute Mum." Ginny said, getting out of her bed.

"You have to come downstairs and help your father with something in the backyard right now. Jade, take your time dear." Molly said.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Molly smiled and closed the door.

"Merlin's two big testicles! I almost had a heart attack!" Ginny said with her hands on her chest.

"That would have been all right but I thought I almost pissed myself!" Jade said getting off of the bed.

"Say, when did Ass say she was coming back?" Ginny asked, shoving herself into jeans.

"She stopped sending letters two weeks into the summer vacation and hasn't written since. I'm worried something might have happened to her." Jade said seeing Ginny smirk.

"Between a bear and Ass, I'd feel sorry for the poor bear. She'd talk the thing to death." Ginny said as Jade laughed.

"But still, you can't help but feel a little worried." Jade said.

"Oh stop fussing like Hermione! Nothing's going to happen to Ass. She is an ass after all." Ginny said, opening the door.

"Change quickly and come downstairs to eat, I'm starving!" she yelled before closing the door behind her.

Jade shook her head and changed into a pair of jeans and a white tank top. She looked in the mirror as she braided her hair that Ginny straightened last night. Her braces were removed and her teeth were straightened but no amount of corrections done on her was ever going to replace the humiliation that Cormac made her go through last year. She was set on not attending the Yule Ball after rejecting Fred's request to accompany him and resisted Astoria and Ginny's strong persuasions. When they realized that she wasn't going to attend, they decided that they weren't going to go through either. So Jade attended. What Jade didn't realize was that she had the support of many of her colleagues and sat Cormac into a corner.

"Knock, knock!" a voice said through the door.

"Come in." Jade said. The door opened and Fred looked in suspiciously. "Hi." Jade said slowly.

"Do you mind if I come in? I think Ginny took a few things from my room." Fred said walking in.

"Oooooh. I don't know, maybe you should ask Ginny." Jade said, trying not to arouse any suspicion as she stood in front of the bed.

"You see, that's just the problem. Every time I come in to ask she gives me an earful-what's that?" Fred asked, quickly pointing towards the window. Jade crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow at him. "Well it only works on Ron and Percy. I never expected it would work with you but…worth a shot right?" he asked, going to move past her for the bed. Jade quickly blocked his way and gave him a tight smile.

"I sure am hungry this morning! What's for breakfast? Maybe you should tell me on the way down!" Jade said, grabbing his arms and pushing him forward.

"Do I see the woman of my dreams peeping through the covers? What's she doing in Ginny's bed?" Fred yelled. He launched towards the bed and pulled the covers back to see the stack of magazines that Ginny and Jade had stolen from his room. "George we found our pornographic stealing culprits! I'm going to tell the entire school that you and Ginny look at dirty magazines!" Fred hollered.

"Don't you dare! Or else I'll tell Mrs. Weasley!" Jade threatened.

"The hell you'll tell my mother!" he said.

"I will! And I'd like to see you stop me!" Jade said. She saw Fred blush, looking oddly torn. She quickly ran for the door hearing Fred behind her.

"Er…" he said, grabbing her waist. She turned around and they both stood there, staring each other for a moment. Jade had a crazy thought. That Fred would kiss her that moment from the way he glanced at her mouth but instead he pushed her a little too hard. Jade flew to the ground but not before her right eye hit the round wooden bedpost.

"Shit on a stick!" Fred said immediately getting down to help her. George, who had been watching everything from the door tried to help his brother.

"Jade I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to push you!" Fred said, trying to turn Jade over who was on her stomach, hiding her face, too stubborn to turn over.

"At least let me see it Jade. Although I have to warn you, I look exactly like him." George said.

"I think I hear her crying." Fred said, looking at George who shook his head.

"I heard something from downstairs! Is everything all right up there?" Molly asked, coming up the stairs.

"Do you think we should test the bruise removal paste now?" Fred asked.

"Poor girl. It was nice knowing you brother." George said, rubbing Jade's back. Molly walked into the room to see Jade face down covering her face, sniffling.

"What happened to Jade? Jade are you all right? What have you boys done now?" Molly barked rushing over to Jade.

"Fred thought it would be a nice way of telling the girl he fa-" George was stopped when Fred elbowed his stomach.

Molly picked up a dirty magazine with a witch nibbling on the end of a wand wearing nothing but a pointy hat.

"What…is…this?" Molly asked in a gentle whisper.

"Those are Ginny's." George said quickly.

"Definitely." Fred nodded.

"What's everyone doing in my room?" Ginny asked walking in. "Oh my god, is Jade okay?" Ginny asked, quickly running towards Jade.

"I think I should leave you four alone then." George said going to leave.

"Stop right there. I want both of you in your room and stay there until I come!" Molly growled.

"Aren't we a little too old for spanking-well all right then!" Fred said quickly running off to his room with George.

"Well that went extraordinarily smoothly didn't it? I think I saw stars in her eyes as soon as she hit the floor." George said as Fred sulked on his bed. Their door opened and Ron looked in.

"Was it the bruising telescope?" Ron asked.

"No but we'd be more than glad to show you." George said, pushing Ron out and closing the door back again.

"I didn't mean to push her that hard. I didn't even mean to push her at all. I wanted to do something else…but I just panicked and pushed her instead." Fred said. George grinned, clapping Fred's shoulder.

"Still using pre-school methods to pick up women I see." he said.

"I'm going to kill him if I ever get the chance." Ginny said, trying to press a pack of ice on Jade's eye that had gotten swollen and turned into a shade of dark magenta.

"He pushed me! I didn't even get a warning or a threat!" Jade said moving her head sharply away from Ginny.

"That seems a little odd. Fred doesn't seem the angry and abusive type. He never laid a hand on me and I've pissed him off loads of times. And you threatened him over a dirty magazine…he's been blackmailed for worse and he never responded that way. Traumatized yes but no, not shoving them to the floor and giving them a black eye." Ginny said.

"Your family's insane. The other day your Great Aunt Muriel was trying to get me married to one of her cousins…works at St. Mungos-"

"Ahh, Great Uncle Lancelot the bachelor." Ginny said. A paper dove flittered across them carrying a purple hyacinth in its mouth.

"Isn't that adorable?" Ginny asked, going to touch it but the paper dove flew away from her and settled itself on Jade's lap.

"Hey there. This is amazing, where did you come from?" Jade asked, letting it perch on her finger. She took the purple hyacinth from it and watched the dove unfold itself.

'Sorry!' it read.

"What the hell are you doing here? Haven't you caused enough trouble in your life, less than others?" Ginny asked. Jade turned, seeing Fred standing behind her. Jade put her hands over her head, going to scramble away from him.

"I swear I didn't tell Mrs. Weasley about the magazines!" she screamed.

"Wait! I'm not here to do that! I just wanted to apologize!" Fred said.

"You punched her! What makes you think she'll accept your apology?" Ginny asked.

"He didn't punch me!" Jade yelled.

"I didn't punch her!" Fred yelled at the same time. "Look, I never put a hand on a girl before…well actually I did when I threw in a few chocolates and…okay that's a different kind of touching." Fred said seeing Jade trying to glare but ended up winching from the pain on her eye which she was covering with one hand.

"Look, I just wanted to say sorry. I tried to push you but I didn't realize how hard I pushed you." Fred said.

"HEY! Troll fuckers!" Astoria yelled waving her arms around.

"Astoria!" Molly yelled through the window.

"Sorry Mum!" Astoria yelled back. Ginny ran towards Astoria who ran as well. They both mocked a slow motion run towards each other as if lovers who were finally reunited.

"If there's anything I can do to ask for forgiveness…" Fred started to say.

"I don't want you to do anything for me. School starts tomorrow and this black eye is going to be ten times worse than it already is! Just like your situation! Just let it be and leave me alone." Jade said, turning away from him.

"Hey babe, are we playing hide and seek?" Astoria asked, walking towards them.

"Look at that, red white and…" Fred said pointing from Ginny to Jade to Astoria.

"Hey, orange you supposed to be blue?" Fred asked. Astoria shoved him and grinned, looking back at Jade.

"You're so tanned! What did you do to yourself; you look like a braised carrot!" Jade said.

"Hey, your mother may look like a braised carrot! My sister and I worked really hard with our self-tanners in South America. Merlin those people are gorgeous." Astoria said.

"Willy Wonka has a factory open in South America?" Fred asked.

"Fuck you gingerbread!" Astoria shot back.

"You need a hug but I'm afraid if I squeeze you, all the juice is going to come out!" Fred said.

"I still have a bottle in my backpack and I'll unload it all over you in your sleep. Hey, why do you keep putting your hand in your eye! What's wrong with it?" Astoria asked, going to swat Jade's hand away but Jade moved back.

"No! I don't want you to see it!" Jade said.

"And trust me; you won't want to see it either." Ginny said. "

Oh come on! I'm your best friend, I've seen you naked! Nothing's worse than that!" Astoria said.

"Seriously?" Fred asked, suddenly interested.

"Come on, let me see it." Astoria said. Jade sighed and quickly took her hand off. "I think you look stunning and if McLaggen sees it, he'll be shitting bricks when he sees you anywhere near him." Astoria said.

"You're just saying that-"

"Because I'm your friend? Yes, that's true but I also mean it. It's not permanent you know. It's going to heal back and you'll look like what you've always looked like before. Treat it as a guest, accept it and accommodate it. With that kind of attitude, everyone's going to want a black eye, trust me." Astoria said.

"I missed you Ass." Jade said, hugging her.

"I missed you too troll." Astoria said.