No one was able to sleep after last night's incident. There was a killer amongst them…a killer who could have done this before but nevertheless a step ahead of Jade. Romilda Vane died early this morning from heart failure and her parents wasted no time in taking her away for a proper burial. Jade saw Headmaster McGonagall trying to console a broken hearted family. Romilda's mother and father were red eyed and shattered from the news of their daughter's death. When Xenophilius found Jade in the pool of blood, a monster was born then and Xenophilius had given that monster a proper way to feed it's addiction. It was there to serve a purpose, instead of blindly killing and destroying the lives of innocent victims, just like the Vane family. This was Jade's opportunity. To bring justice to Romilda Vane's parents.
Jade saw a dark haired girl holding Mr. Vane's hand, not quite understanding the extent of the situation. Her sister was killed but she didn't know what that meant. The little girl wasn't going to understand that her sister was never coming back. The little girl turned her head, looking into the Great Hall, meeting Jade's eyes. In a sea full of students who were staring at the family, Jade felt that the little girl was calling out to her. If Jade had a heart, it would be breaking by now.
"It's a horrible thing what happened to the Vane family." Hermione said as Ron wrapped an arm around her.
"Who would do such a thing?" Ginny asked.
"We cannot go anywhere alone. There's a murderer running around and he needs to be caught…but no one can find anything." Luna sighed.
Jade had her hand in her pocket, rubbing the torn emblem, feeling every fiber.
"Was she dating anyone? It could have been an ex-boyfriend or something?" Harry suggested.
"Could be. It could probably be another girl who wanted to give you a love potion and didn't want Romilda to do it this time." Ron chuckled.
Everyone gave him a pointed look and he brushed it off. "Bad joke, I'm sorry." He said.
"Romilda didn't have a boyfriend. Her only close friend was Matilda who doesn't seem to be holding well." Luna said.
"Maybe Matilda did it." Harry suggested.
"No." Jade said quickly.
Everyone turned around, expecting an explanation. "Well…Matilda's been wailing in the common room ever since she found out. Hasn't come out since." Jade said.
"That doesn't prove shit." Ginny said.
"Ginny!" Hermione scolded.
"Anyone can commit murder and look sorry for it. It's all a mask so they wouldn't get caught." Ginny said. Jade raised an eyebrow at Ginny, seeing a promising career in the Ministry for her.
"It's getting late. We have to leave before curfew. The Headmaster says we all have to be in our common rooms before seven and those who will be out and about will definitely be punished." Luna said, seeing them all nod. Jade got up from her seat and started walking out, waving goodbye to the rest.
"If you want, we can accompany you." Harry said getting up.
"The common room is just around the corner. If someone jumps at us, we'll scream to let you know." Jade said seeing them smile. Jade and Luna walked out of the Astronomy Tower, towards the Ravenclaw common room.
"Do you think whoever did this will get caught?" Luna asked.
"One way or another." Jade said.
'Preferably by me.' She thought.
They were just about to reach the Ravenclaw Tower when someone called out Jade's name.
"Jade!" Colin shouted, running towards her. Jade winced and Luna stood by her, not leaving her for a second.
"What are you doing here?" Jade asked.
"I just came to see if you were okay. You know, with the murder and all." Colin said.
"I didn't know her. Goodnight." Jade said, going to leave but Colin held her back.
"But you must be scared." He said.
"No, not really." She said.
With that, Jade walked into the common room with Luna, hearing Colin knock his head against the painting for a while.
"Miss Lovegood?" the Professor Sinistra asked. Jade looked up from her exam, seeing her Professor squint.
"How long do you need?" she asked.
"Just five more minutes. I need to finish this paragraph and proofread." Jade said, seeing Sinistra give a small nod.
"It's just I'm very nervous since it is midnight. No one should be walking around alone. Mr. Malfoy?" Sinistra asked Draco who was still scribbling things down.
"I need 5 minutes as well." Draco said not looking up.
Jade finished up and proofread about three times before handing it in.
"Why don't you stay for a few minutes until Mr. Malfoy is finished? He can accompany you back to your common room?" Sinistra asked.
"That's fine. The Ravenclaw Tower is just around the corner. I'll be fine." Jade said. Professor Sinistra still looked uncomfortable about leaving Jade alone. "Have a safe night." Jade said, leaving the room.
Jade walked down the stairs, into the cold and dark hallway leading to the Ravenclaw Tower. The hallway was empty and silent and everyone was held tight in their common rooms, safe. A rustle was heard nearby and a soft but audible sound of something falling. Jade stopped, feeling her heartbeat start to increase. She grasped on to her bag, knowing that this was her chance to confront the killer, if there was one at the corridor nearby.
A hand grabbed Jade's shoulder. Thanks to the entire summer dedicated to self-defense techniques and dominant positional control, Jade was able to quickly grab the person's hand and slam them into the wall with her elbow pinned to their neck. Jade saw that she was holding Draco against the wall but it wasn't for long until he swept his leg over hers and disabled her.
"Merlin's fucking beard, what the fuck was that Lovegood?" Draco coughed, massaging his throat.
Jade quickly stood up and brushed herself off, seeing Draco staring at her bewilderedly.
"Sorry about that…you just snuck up behind me." Jade said.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Draco asked when he finally got his voice back. Jade gave him a nervous look and shrugged.
"Ever since that attack on Romilda Vane, Harry insisted we learn to protect ourselves." Jade lied.
Draco gave her a strange look, undoubtedly doubting her. "You scared the shit out of me." He said.
"Sorry about that. You seemed like you keep a few moves up your sleeves as well." Jade said, picking her bag up.
"Luckily Potter wasn't the one to teach me. Professor Sinastra asked to make sure that you were back in the common room after I was finished with my exam." He said.
"Thanks but I've got it from here." Jade said, starting to leave.
"I don't really think so." He said, following her.
Jade walked forward and Draco followed silently. She advanced towards the corridor nearby where she heard movement. Dark red blood that almost looked black ran down the corridor, into their path. Draco and Jade stopped, seeing the blood slowly making its way across them. They turned around and rounded the corner, seeing a mass of red hair facing down as blood gushed and streamed from her face.
"It's Matilda." Jade said, dropping her bag. She went to run towards Matilda but Draco held her back.
"You can't go near her." He said, taking out his wand. He gave it a flick and red jet immediately shot out, disappearing from the hallway.
"As you all have been notified, Matilda Whyte has passed away last night from a senseless act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends and we wish to catch the perpetrator as soon as possible. If anyone knows anything about their deaths or has seen any suspicious activity, please inform as soon as possible so you can avoid another mindless death." McGonagall said.
Jade sat at her table, starting to feel like she was losing time. Another death in less than two days. The killer was starting to have fun and another death was bound to happen sooner or later. Jade turned around, looking at the Gryffindor table. There wasn't a face that she could pinpoint for murder. Whoever it was, was doing a fairly decent job in showing their innocence. Parents started to rain into Hogwarts, extracting their sons and daughters to take home. They were understandably upset and right on their own to take their children home for safety while there was a murderous maniac on the loose.
"A handful of parents have flown in and are concerned for their children's safety. We in Hogwarts have no objection to taking your children home until whoever is responsible for this has been caught." McGonagall.
Jade felt a light touch on her head and she turned around to see her father standing behind her, touching Luna's head as well.
"Have you come to take us home father?" Luna asked lightly.
"Yes I have, but before I do, I would like to speak to Jade for a moment." He said.
Luna nodded and looked off to Jade who got up from her seat. Many parents had been there, talking to their children, some taking them away immediately and some negotiating to stay and promising that they would stay safe.
"Jade, what's going on?" Xenophilius asked in a low voice.
"I don't know Dad. You know it isn't me. You taught me better than that." Jade said, seeing Xenophilius nod.
"But whatever is going on, I don't want you to be here. It's unsafe and could harm you or Luna." Xenophilius said.
Jade stepped closer to her Dad, looking around to see if anyone was overhearing or watching.
"Dad this is my first chance. This could be my first kill. Imagine I catch and end whoever is behind this…I could prevent another death." Jade whispered. Xenophilius frowned and Jade knew that he thought she wasn't ready.
"You can't protect me forever Dad. All these years of teaching me what I am and what I need to do will happen is inevitable. I'm ready now, I know I am." Jade said.
Xenophilius sighed, looking around. "Do you at least know who did it?" he asked.
"Someone from Gryffindor. The night Romilda Vane was killed; she had a partially torn badge from Gryffindor. She ripped it off during the struggle." Jade said, seeing Xenophilius nod.
"Anything else?" he asked, seeing her shake her head. "Find the spawn of the devil who did this. You know what to do." Xenophilius said, seeing Jade nod.
"Hey Mr. Lovegood!" a cheery voice said.
They saw Colin Creevey walking towards them. Xenophilius raised his thin white eyebrows and Jade clenched her jaw.
"Colin Creevey. I'm courting your daughter." He said.
"Er…Jade failed to tell me this?" Xenophilius said looking at Jade, uncomfortable to the idea of his daughter dating.
"What Colin failed to tell you Dad is that he is still under the impression that we are pursuing any sort of relationship whether it be physical or emotional." Jade said calmly.
Colin blinked, taking a few seconds to process that information.
"Ah, yes. Often psychiatric consultation is required for disorders such as what Mr. Creevey is suffering from. Do your parents know that you experience delusions Mr. Creevey?" Xenophilius asked. Jade smirked, seeing Colin redden with embarrassment.
"You should get that checked out." Jade said. Colin turned around and left as quickly as he came.
"What House is he from?" Xenophilius asked, his eyes still stuck on Colin.
"Gryffindor." Jade said, watching Colin.
"His upper lip is swollen. He keeps poking his tongue at it. Is that normal for him?" he asked. Jade narrowed her eyes.
"No…do you suspect that it's him who's doing all of this?" Jade asked, seeing Xenophilius shrug.
"It doesn't prove anything. It could be an allergic reaction for all we know." Xenophilius said.
"I'm pretty sure he's not allergic to anything. One of the many things about dating…you get to learn almost every single thing about the other person." Jade sighed.
"And they should never know who you really are. Be careful Jade." Xenophilius said, seeing Jade nod. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and left to say goodbye to Luna.
Jade walked over to the Hospital Wing, holding a white paper bag from Honeydukes. Madame Pomferey was inside, rapidly scribbling something down, her face worn from worry and exhaustion. Jade knocked on the door, seeing Madame Pomferey look up. Her face lightened in surprise and she smiled.
"Jade! It's so good to see you!" she said as Jade smiled back, holding up the Honeydukes bag.
"Bought you your favorite." Jade said, walking in. "Fizzing Whizbees and Chocoballs!" Jade said, setting them down on Madame Pomferey's table.
"How did you know I was suddenly craving for these? You know you're going to make me fat before I turn sixty." She said, reaching into the bag to take out a Chocoball.
"A mission I have yet to accomplish. You keep growing younger every day." Jade said, seeing Madame Pomferey giggle. "And it's the least I could do…with all that's going on nowadays. Two murders already in Hogwarts." Jade said, seeing Madame Pomferey sigh heavily.
"I haven't seen anything like this in my entire life. Such brutal murders. The Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets doesn't compare to a living being…a student running around and doing this." Madame Pomferey said.
"I stumbled across both bodies both times now. Whoever's doing this loves to slash throats." Jade said, tracing across her neck.
"Very true. Both girls have put up a fight. It seemed as if Miss Vane clawed at her attacker quite vigorously. Her nails were chipped, broken and bleeding but the Aurors could only find fibers from clothes." She said.
"No skin or blood that came from the attacker?" Jade asked, seeing Madame Pomferey shake her head.
"But the interesting thing about Matilda's case was that there were very light teeth marks behind her head. Matilda might have hit her head against the attacker's teeth." Madame Pomferey said. Jade nodded. This matched up to Colin's case and the reason why he had been sucking his teeth all morning.
"I have to go. Classes tomorrow and I need to be prepared. Finish the sweets for me and I'll bring you another bag." Jade said getting up.
"If other students were just like you." Madame Pomferey said. Jade left the Hospital Wing and went straight to the hallways. She wasn't completely sure yet. Gryffindor had hundreds of students and all were possible suspects. The only sure way she could know was to look through Colin's things. There, she would be able to find the evidence she needed that could point Colin to the scene of the murder. She went straight to the Gryffindor common room, knowing that it was lunch time.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.
"Ursa Major." Jade said.
The portrait swung open and Jade walked in, looking around, listening closely. She walked up the stairs to the boy's corridor, listening closely around in case anyone were to come out. Jade walked up to Colin's room and slowly pushed the door, seeing that no one was inside. Quickly, Jade slipped in and closed the door behind her, sweeping her eyes around for anybody. Just like any other Hogwarts boy, Colin was filthy. Clothes were all over the floor and the room smelled of armpits and
"Blood." Jade whispered, seeing a single drop of blood next to Colin's bed stand. She dropped down to her knees and pulled out the drawers from under his bed. She rummaged through the clothes, finding nothing at all. None of his robes, shirts or pants were there to tell Jade that he had been guilty of such crime.
"Where are you?" Jade whispered, looking around. Her eye caught a small piece of cloth from under Colin's mattress. She immediately lifted the mattress, seeing the neatly folded and pressed robes, pants and shirts that were bloodstained. Jade's heart pounded and she fingered the robe, seeing the partially torn emblem.
"I'm ready for you now Colin." Jade said.