A/N: hey itz megz here. moki hasn't been on so i'm updating 4 both of us. this chpt goes mor in2 harry n jade n juss read 2 c wat hppns. i kno the story mite seem shortn crappy at this point but it getz betr! rly! review plzzz

CHAPTER THREE: Friends?

Another awkward silence occurred as Jade and Harry waited for Hermione. Harry knew what she was trying to do and that she was purposely taking a long time. He cursed her mentally. His thoughts were stopped as he heard Jade clear her throat.

"Err…um…well….uh…I have more than one bathroom?" she said stupidly as she blushed and buried her face in her hands. Harry just smiled. He thought she looked cute when she was frustrated. "I mean…uh…um…you don't have to just stand there!" and she ran out of the living room.

Harry sighed. How could he be so stupid? He should've started some sort of conversation, made a joke, told a lame story? Anything would've been better than a humiliating silence. He cursed under his breath. Jade probably wouldn't want to look at him ever again. And he'd have to watch her tomorrow at training too! This was all Hermione's fault! He slowly stood up to find the other bathroom, thinking of ways to get back at Hermione at the same time.

Later that night, Harry decided to explore the house so he would find out where everything was, but morally to find Hermione and give her a piece of his mind. The house was fairly big, bigger than the Dursleys, and had long, narrow hallways. He didn't explore the rooms; afraid Jade might be in one of them. He wandered the halls for about half an hour. Finally he decided to head back to his room before he woke someone up. As he tip-toed his way back he suddenly saw a shadow in the kitchen. Thinking it might be Hermione he walked over and turned on the light. Unfortunately it was Jade.

"Uh…Harry? What are you doing here?" Jade asked quietly.

"I couldn't sleep…how about you?" he asked, trying to undo his mistake and start a conversation.

"Same," she replied and another short silence filled in the room. "Harry…I just wanted to say sorry for how I acted earlier. I was being so stupid," she started. "I just couldn't bear the silence! I know what Hermione was up to. She thinks she could play match-maker?" she snorted.

"Yea, I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I like you and all but not that way. We're just…friends…right?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't see through his lie.

"Totally, let's start over," Jade replied, "Friends?"

"Friends," Harry replied with a smile.

The next day Hermione woke up bright and early, as always. She wondered how things were going with Harry and Jade. She really liked the idea of bringing Harry along. It was about time he got over that Cho Chang. Hermione sat up in her bed and stretched out. She walked over to the dresser in the corner and took out her organizer. Her schedule today was short, just Jade's training and maybe going shopping with Jade and Harry. Maybe she could get them together there. Hermione silently laughed to herself.

After getting washed up she went down to breakfast to find Harry and Jade already talking about Quidditch. She smiled and then rolled her eyes. Wherever Harry went, the word Quidditch had to come up.

"Good morning," Hermione said cheerily. "Did you sleep well?" They both nodded and went back to their conversation. Hermione went to the fridge and started making her breakfast.

The whole morning was pretty quiet. They all changed: Harry wore faded blue jeans and a white t shirt under a striped blue sweater. Hermione wore a pink sweater and light brown pants. Jade wore red plaid pajama bottoms and a blue tank top. They went outside and started to walk to Jade's Fencing Training Session. The area in which Jade lived was covered with sand, palm tress, flowers, and surrounded by ocean; it was beautiful. They all walked without talking, but then Harry thought he should break the awkward silence.

"So, err… Jade I didn't see your parents last night," Harry started.

"Oh my Mom's in Cali on business in Hollywood, she works with the celebs," Jade answered happily.

'Oh good, I didn't screw it up thank God', thought Harry. "What about your father?" Harry asked intrigued to continue the conversation.

"Ah… Harry, Uncle Jack died when Jade was little." Hermione leaned over to Harry and whispered.

'Oh great, now you've done it, Potter.' Harry mind thought and then he started mentally cursing at herself. 'Now she's going to start crying and it's yourentirefault.' Harry's mind thought again.

"Jade I'm err… sorry." Harry said quietly.

"No big." Jade said in a hushed voice.

"How did he…" Harry started and stopped not wanting to see her swell up in tears. "I'm sorry I never should've brought this up…" thankfully the conversation ended and they entered a giant training hall.

Harry and Hermione watched Jade's skill with much interest. She was actually very good. Hermione didn't have much experience with sports, especially ones that involve swords. But she enjoyed watching her cousin do so well. Harry watched with awe. He had never really done anything with a sword except during second year with the basilisk. He really didn't do any special moves or anything though. But occasionally is mind drifted off to the conversation while walking. He understood completely how it was to not have a dad, so why did he ask about hers? He had never really been asked what happened to his father since most of the wizarding world already knew, so maybe he didn't know how it felt. He wasn't nagged about his parent death much. Jade had though, so Harry felt a pang of guilt in his chest and made note to apologize right after the training session.

Once it was over they walked in silence back to the house. Harry knew he should apologize but maybe she forgot about it and he didn't want to be the one who brought it up again. So he kept quiet for most of the time. Finally his guilt had grown and he needed to get it off his chest.

"Jade, look, I'm really sorry about asking about…about your dad earlier," he stated simply. He waited for her reply. After about a minute she broke the silence.

"I'm sorry too. I'm definitely over it but sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have a dad. But you should know how I feel," she said. Harry just nodded. She continued, "When I was about four years old it happened. My father was a mountain climber and was going to Colorado to explore this one mountain. He was never found…" her voice drifted off.

"Jade, I'm so sorry. I truly am. I know how hard it must feel to lose someone. But you actually knew your father so it must feel terrible. I'm really sorry," Harry said guiltily, unsure of how to calm her down. Hermione was patting her on the back.

"It's okay, I should've known you'd ask," she said wiping her tears from her eyes. "But I'm sort of glad you brought it up. We found one thing we have in common," she said trying to look on the bright side. "And I'm glad I told you. I never get to tell anyone about it and get them to understand. I don't want to talk to my mother about it afraid she might break down. But thanks…for understanding."

Harry just nodded. Not only had he gotten the guilt off his chest but also did her a favor.

A/N: Go review now! thankiez!