"Miss Lestrange." She heard a soft voice call her from behind.
The Head Girl turned and her eyes widened.
"Professor Dumbledore!" she couldn't keep the tone of surprise out of her voice.
The Headmaster had appeared so suddenly, and his long white beard and tall figure were usually quite hard to miss. The corridor they were standing in was empty, as most of the students were already in the Great Hall, assembling for dinner. Dumbledore should be there, but he had come after Jade when she had left her table after discovering that she didn't have an appetite. Jade felt gratified, but a lot more confused and wary; thinking that her action might have caused the Headmaster's disapproval.
But seeing his face, she felt herself reluctantly relax, he was studying her with the ever-present benevolent expression, clear eyes sparkling under the half-moon spectacles. Of course the same eyes also gave her an uneasy feeling that she was being read like an open book.
"Miss Lestrange, why are you not at dinner?" he asked.
This goaded Jade into talking and she answered, feeling immensely embarrassed, despite the fact that Dumbledore's tone or face did not have the slightest hint of reproach.
"Um…..I wasn't feeling hungry, sir."
"You seem to be troubled, Jade" The Slytherin registered the use of her first name, "Most people lose their hunger when something is worrying their minds."
The Head Girl was taken aback by this, had her behavior really been that conspicuous? It was true that something was disturbing her, but it was unnecessary information for the Headmaster. There was no need to risk telling…
"Is it about Mr. Weasley?"
Jade's shock was so immense that she almost felt her knees give way before her. Things not going that far, she proceeded to widen her dark eyes to the most possible extent with a light blush appearing on her cheeks. She felt like she had been caught red-handed, laid bare and vulnerable. She had tried so hard to escape anybody's notice, and she had been so sure….
Her inner turmoil must have shown through her expression, because The Headmaster immediately tried to soothe her without waiting for an answer.
"He is your friend isn't he? Don't worry; I am extremely happy you made acquaintance with him, despite the differences, the first ever to do so too…"
"No! I mean, yes! He is an acquaintance! Nothing….." Jade paused in her nonsensical rambling, seeing Dumbledore smile benignly at her and feeling utterly helpless and at a loss of words, she hung her head down.
"You are worried about him." Dumbledore continued, without waiting for a reply which Jade didn't think she could have given anyway, "quite sincerely, if I must say. Thus, I will tell you, but-" he stopped, his tone becoming more serious, "you have to promise me that it will remain a secret between you and me."
Jade looked up at his change of tone, and feeling the month-long curiosity boil inside her, she solemnly nodded.
He proceeded to confide her, about that horrible night. Jade was already aware of Dumbledore's belief that The Dark Lord was back, based on Harry Potter's adventure last year. Most of the Wizarding World considered this complete felony; but Jade wasn't one of them. She had seen the Dark Mark on her Uncle's arm, once back when she was nine-years old and then in the last summer vacations. Back then it had been an scary, ghastly thing and now, it was still a scary, ghastly thing, only it was pitch black, fresh and….alive.
The people at Malfoy Manor still kept quiet about the fact, but it was hard not to notice the increased pallor, slightly bloodshot eyes and periodic shaking of the Head Malfoy or his secret, frantic whispered conversations with the Mistress. So it was not long before the two youngsters caught the unpleasant gist too, but silently handled it in their own ways. In Jade's opinion, Draco consoled himself by creating the illusion that matters concerning the Dark Lord were distanced from him. Like a child would, he was thinking that his parents will deal with it. Jade wished that It would be so, because Draco; no matter how high and mighty he acted, was still innocent to the harsh realities of life and as much as she knew; rule of the Dark Lord was nothing he deserved. Nobody did.
Dumbledore recounted the event, but he only told her about the things that concerned George Weasley, as to how and why he left school so suddenly and assured her that now everything thing was well, for there were many things in the shocking incident that even he himself had not figured out yet.
Jade listened to him carefully, not showing any amount of doubt at the Headmaster's words. Her Uncle had tried his best to disrepute Dumbledore in her vision at the Manor, but Jade's hatred for Lucius Malfoy and the general demeanor of Dumbledore made such efforts pointless. She had heard Dumbledore's premonition, and which was most important to her, that the Dark lord will return and gather his followers again. That of course meant the return also, of two of his most devoted followers and Jade's parents.
Since then she had worked hard, so whenever the dreaded time might come, she won't be coerced into joining them. It came earlier than expected, but the Head Girl did not think that would stop her plan from succeeding, only if she was careful.
She knew that the family reunion won't be one with tears and joy in any case, so it was better to secure her freedom first.
She thanked Dumbledore when he finished, feeling a lot more at ease than she was at the start of the conversation. She told him that and he smiled.
"I am happy you made an acquaintance Jade." He repeated, eyes twinkling, "making friends with an enemy requires much boldness, I must say."
He put a strange pressure in the word 'boldness' that Jade felt herself get somewhat confused.
What did he mean?
No matter how much boldness she was indicted of, however, she didn't have enough to put that question out to him.
"I don't think I am that bold, sir." She answered instead. "However, I am not against any friendliness, I believe the houses must be joined, sir. House rivalry is nothing but damaging when we have such a grave peril on us."
Jade thought she had spoken too much, and felt that Dumbledore might be surprised, but he had the same kind expression, looking more pleased after her speech.
"That is amazing passion, Jade. You are the perfect person to set the example-what happened?"
Jade had abruptly stiffened with the mention of the world 'example'. But collecting herself almost at once, she calmly answered the Headmaster,
"Um…yes, Thankyou Headmaster, but I don't think this would be the right way to get the message across."
She wanted to say that nobody would ever be ready to learn anything from her, the Dictator Head Girl (even though she was nothing of that sort) especially her Slytherin Housemates. In front of her own unpopularity, the idea of teaching them to be friends with Gryffindors was a laughable prospect indeed. But she didn't want Dumbledore think that she was whining.
Dumbledore eyed her suspiciously for a moment before reverting back to his cool manner.
"Well. As I was saying, that is incredible passion and open-mindedness; I have always suspected that your thinking has been different, but you actually went ahead and made a friend. I believe he must have done something uniquely appealing for you, because such steps don't happen suddenly….."
Dumbledore went on, while Jade tried to hide her face, because there was something triumphal and suggestive in the Headmaster's tone which was making her cheeks color after every word.
"Mr. Weasley is definitely a charming man, a bit more blithe than what could be considered safe, but he is very supportive of his friends. He must have gotten very close to you, for you to be so worried…"
This is beyond mortifying….
George Weasley scratched the back of his neck and poring over the mess inside his trunk, let out an exhausted sigh. He really did not have the energy to sort his things, which had been hastily thrown inside his trunk on the morning they left Grimmauld Place. His return ride in the infamous Knight Bus seemed to have increased the mess, along with giving him multiple bruises.
Except for the fact that his Dad was alive and well, George had to admit that there was nothing else he had to be cheery about. He was back at Hogwarts, which for so long had been his source of fun but now was nothing but a life full of restrictions. The red-head really had never wanted more to leave the place. He and Fred had contemplated on not going back with the others and staying with Sirius, but considering the latest depressing events and Percy's desertion, made them rethink. They did not want to see their mother cry, much less be the reason for it.
Fred had already left for dinner, but they both knew he went to find Angelina.
Probably to make up for a month of not snogging
Rolling his eyes at the thought, he too made his way towards the Great Hall. Not feeling very hungry, but hoping that meeting his friends will lighten his mood.
Other than that; he tried to ignore this muse, George was also hoping to get a glimpse of her.
Wonder if she missed me…..?
He had been pondering over that since the time they were told that Mr. Weasley was alive. Because then, in the dark, musty room of the Grimmauld Place, everyone was thinking that the opposite was likely, even if nobody had had the heart to mention it. The moment he had been relieved of that tension and had woken up after a long, peaceful rest, thoughts of the black-haired girl and their last meeting kept intruding on him.
The Slytherin girl, who all these years had been just another fickle enemy, or rather just a stranger, was now so different, so much better…
He always blocked the train of thought there; he didn't want to know where it might take him or whether he might ever be able to come back if it did.
George concluded these musings deciding that he had been under a lot of pressure lately and thus couldn't make of sense of anything around him. In simple words, he was going crazy. But George was sure that once he got out of the school and Weasley's Wizards Wheezes was up and running, he would have too much on his hands to have trivial things worrying him.
He didn't think he would be able to meet her after that though…..
George neared the bottom of the stairs (he had taken another secret passage to avoid the crowd) and silently slipped out, emerging at the furthermost corner of the corridor leading to the Great Hall. Seeing the throng of students going inside on the far end, he too casually strutted there.
Before somebody yanked him powerfully from behind
"Hey!" he protested, wildly turning to the kidnapper.
"Weasley!"
George's eyes widened as he suddenly felt the very person he had been thinking of in his arms.
"Uhh…..Lestrange." He breathed trying to maintain his footing.
That seemed to have an immediate effect, Jade jolted back to her senses and pulled away from him so fast as if she had been burned.
"Sorry….." she muttered, her face redder than he had ever seen and ran out of the classroom, before George could regain his senses enough to reply.
Ten or fifteen minutes later he too walked out of the secluded classroom he had been dragged into, and silently proceeded down the corridor, back to his dorms, his mind still unable to fully comprehend what had happened.
Valentine's Day, huh?
Jade could not decide whether it was expected or not from a person like him, to suggest a trip on a day like that. She did not know why, but it was hard to believe it was just a coincidence. George Weasley was so unpredictable in these matters.
But so are you. A chiding voice spoke. (It appeared a lot more often now…..)
The Head Girl let out a groan and, grimaced; they hadn't talked since that disastrous meeting in the old classroom. She really had not planned for things going this way; she had just wanted to see him, make sure he was okay.
Jade resisted the urge to rip her hair out. This was probably the most stupid thing she must have done. All her life, she had exercised control over herself, never being impulsive for anything. Her Aunt referred to them as animal instincts, and thus anybody who surrendered to them was nothing better than one.
But perhaps having a friend for the first time made her forget that.
She might have destroyed everything.
The thought was horrible enough to make her cry and she did, for a while, leaning against the wall of a deserted corridor before drying her face and walking down to breakfast. Nacrissa Malfoy had a habit of calling her niece a 'walking bad luck charm' and Jade felt like agreeing with her. At the age of three, she had shown the first signs of magic and the day after her parents had been arrested and put into Azkaban.
Her first day at the Manor, baby Malfoy fell down from his cot and bruised his tiny leg,
When shopping for her school supplies, her Uncle got his pocket picked by a warlock in Diagon Alley. The money wasn't his; it was taken from her parent's vault at Gringotts, but of course nobody remembered that. That day she had also bought an orange-black striped kitten, but the shopkeeper hadn't told them that it was sickly, and it died before Jade got on the Hogwarts Express.
It was sad, because she was the only other friend Jade might have had.
Or perhaps the only one
The Head Girl reached the Slytherin table, meanwhile telling off two fifth-year boys casting spells on a suit of armor, trying to make it tap-dance.
"What in the name of Merlin is 'tap-dancing' anyway?!" she shouted at them, letting lose some of her pent up frustration.
She had just seated herself at the edge of the table (far away from the cold shoulders of her housemates) and picked up a slice of toast and a cup of coffee. She hadn't known the drink before coming to Hogwarts but after trying it once (when it was the only option left, all others had been hogged away), Jade has never touched another beverage for breakfast. It was only strict avidness towards the rules and importance of her position that she didn't go looking for more in the kitchens. Although she had once almost given into desire and thus found the place.
She took a sip of the brown liquid and was savoring its goodness, feeling that at least she could relax for now that an owl landed in front of her, with the Daily Prophet clenched in its beak. If it had not been a regular comer, Jade might have spilled hot coffee over herself but now she only choked slightly, before recovering and placing a Knut in its pouch. It had scarcely flown away that Jade's eyes fixated themselves on the front page.
With a trembling hand, she settled her cup on the table and gripped the newspaper with both hands, her black orbs wide and fearful.
A picture blazed on the front page, featuring a dozen people, all dressed in black, all snarling, but out of the dozen, two faces stood out most for the Head Girl.
Azkaban Faces Mass Breakout
The period of separation after fifteen years was finally coming to a close. Why did it seem it was too soon?
It was a dismal, murky day, with every prospect of rain. But it did not dampen the spirits of the young Hogwarts students as they moved towards Hogsmeade Village, determined to enjoy the last holiday of the year before exams took over. There were many couples about too, it being fourteenth of February.
Jade would never have wanted to come out in this weather, or on a day like this where she would just feel out of place. Not having any friends to hang out with either, she felt out of place anyway. That was the reason she stopped coming to the trips, but she told people that she needed to work. Her whining was not for others to hear. But, the day before she had been hit by a flying paper ball, which was actually a hidden message. That being during Transfiguration, Jade had ignored it after determining to throttle the impertinent sender after class, but she changed her mind after reading it;
Meet me tomorrow, the plan is still on. Please.
So it had said.
If it hadn't been for that, Jade might never have faced him again, but now she had enough confidence to talk to him and sort things out.
This might be the only chance to prevent losing him.
She walked with the mass of students, all dressed in holiday clothes; some thoughtful ones carrying umbrellas, others not. Jade would have kept it, but now she could do magic unsupervised so will be able to use a simple repelling charm if it rained. That was the least of her problems though, with each step she took, Jade felt an increasing heartbeat and a sudden warm feeling in her chest she attributed to nervousness, but this time it wasn't making her nauseous, rather it had a pleasant touch to it.
But it still made her uneasy.
She hadn't sorted this inner turmoil that too soon she spotted the crop of red hair and unconsciously stopped in her tracks. He also seemed to be suffering with the same circumstances, for he was standing still, a few feet apart, helplessly staring at her, while she helplessly blushed.
o.o wonder what will happen?…no idea….
RxR!