thank you Aims5 for your review and also thanks to Reader AZ (Guest) for reviewing! it'ś'nice to know that someone's reading my story!
here's next chapter, enjoy!
The door opened and Jade turned around quickly to see who was there.
It was a boy with blond hair and dark blue eyes which were almost covered by the lock of hair hanging down the middle of his forehead.
"Hello, would you mind if I sit 'ere?" he asked with strong English accent. It sounded almost as if he was waiting for Jade to say no, but he held his chin high in the air.
"Of course you can sit here." Answered Jade, trying to sound as nonchalant as the boy but she failed miserably as the surprise of being asked to give permission to someone was clear in her voice.
Usually it was the other way around and she had to ask for things and face rejection.
"Alright, thanks." Said the boy and pushed his school trunk inside, leaving it in the corner of the compartment.
An awkward silence fell.
Jade wanted to be brave and outgoing and make friends at school, she wanted this year to be different from her past and she had the whole introduction and conversation planned in her head, but couldn't make herself open her mouth and actually say something.
If you were ever in a similar situation, about to do something you've never done before, I'm sure you now how hard it can be, even though you're aware that all your fears are irrational.
When she finally found the courage and took a deep breath to introduce herself, the boy turned his head and looked out of the window.
Don't be silly, you can do this, he's just one kid. What's the worst scenario? Maybe he wouldn't want to be friends, that doesn't matter there will be plenty of other kids…
Jade tried to reason with herself. Finally she decided she didn't care what the boy thought about her and started:
"Hi, my name's Jade Mraz, this will be my first year at Hogwarts, how about you? Oh, of course it's your first year too, you don't have a house emblem on your robes so you're not sorted yet…" mumbled Jade looking at the front of the black robes the boy was wearing.
He smiled and let out the breath he was holding.
"My name's Deric. Deric, Longdann, it's nice to meet you Jade. And yes, this will be my first year here." He said, as his smile disappeared and was replaced with the same nervous expression from the moment ago.
"Are you nervous?" asked Jade, now that she has started the conversation, her natural friendly side kicked in and it was easy for her to talk. The boy looked in distress and she knew too well how hard it was to deal with those emotions on her own, that's why she wanted to help.
"I sure am nervous, I've never quite fit in with kids at school, but I'm sure it'll be different now." She added trying to encourage Deric but it had no effect whatsoever, so she continued.
"I used to go to muggle schools and I've never met any other wizard in my life until I came to live with the new family." Said Jade, realizing she said too much. She didn't want people to know she was an orphan, she didn't need pity or uncomfortable questions about her past, but if Deric noticed, he didn't give any sign about it.
"Really? I've never had any friends before, but I doubt that would change now." He said sounding disappointed.
"Oh I'm sure we'll find lots of new friend at Hogwarts! You see, there will be only wizards now and no one will question all the strange things we do, because they'll actually teach us how to do them!" announced Jade, not willing to let the boy blow her bubble of happiness and hope that she might actually fit in for once.
"That's not the problem, I've always went to wizard school and most of our neighbours are wizards, it's just that kids didn't really want to play with me. It always started the same – one of the boys would start calling me names and the rest of them would follow." Deric explained sadly.
"Oh I've been called names many times, but it doesn't matter, because if you know it's not true than you can just laugh at their stupidity." Said Jade trying really hard to cheer her companion up.
"And what if you know it is truth?" asked Deric menacingly waiting for an answer but Jade had no idea what to say.
"I'm sorry, I'm not a very pleasant company" apologized the boy, "do you want me to leave?"
"No! of course not! Why would I want that?" asked Jade confused.
"Well, because you don't have to put up with me, I could go away and never bother you again. Why would you even want me to stay?" Deric shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, because…because I want you to be my friend, and because…it's not your fault that those people didn't want to talk to you or did horrible things to you, but now we have a chance for new start." Said Jade, still sticking to her theory about fresh start at school where no one knew her (except for Weasleys).
"You could find better friends, I should let you be." Said Deric and stood up to gather his things.
That's when Jade realized what he was doing – running away before she would get a chance to kick him out – the exact same thing she did to Molly and Arthur.
"I really want you to stay." Claimed Jade quietly, knowing he won't believe her but might stay because somewhere deep inside he wanted to find a friend at least.
After another moment of awkward silence the conversation started to flow more lightly. They didn't talk about past, they mostly stayed away from too personal themes like family and relatives but shared a lot about themselves and by the time Fred and George stopped by alongside the lady pushing a tray filled with food and sweets, Jade felt like she really did find a friend.
"Ooooh I see you found a friend already!" exclaimed George
"A way to go sis! You can never have enough friends for pranks." Added Fred.
"I hope you won't follow the rules with your want stuck up your ass… like Percy does!" they finished each others sentences and laughed about the occasional rhymes they were able to produce.
F: "We've been planning our first prank…"
G: "…and we were going to include you, little sis, but unfortunately…"
F:" …we'll have to reschedule. Wood is planning Quidditch try-outs next week-end and …"
"we are going to try and make it to the team!" announced George before he excitedly half-hugged his little sister.
"Great! I can't wait to see you fly!" smiled Jade, feeling really proud that they called her sister out in the public.
Those were the little random acts that made her feel like Weasley. None of the big talks that Molly and Arthur had with her over the summer persuaded her about how much they wanted her to be a part of the family, but little things like seeing a photo from their trip hanging on the wall amongst the pictures from other adventures which happened long before Jade joined the family, made her feel welcomed.
She remembered the day when Arthur came home from work and brought a thin little package with him. He opened it and revealed a clock-hand with Jade's name on it and her photo on one end. It was the same lie Molly's clock had, with names and photos of all the members of their big family.
There wasn't big celebration about it, no one really acknowledged it, and soon after close inspection by the youngest three, the hand was added to the clock and Molly said how happy she is to have it finally the right way, showing what all of her kids are up to.
The way, everyone took it like something natural made Jade much more happier as if there was a big ceremony around it.
"…Jade! JADE!" yelled Fred and shook her rather drastically.
She snapped out of her daydream and looked at him confused.
"Sorry, I just remembered something…" she trailed off.
"Alright. You should put on your robes, we'll be soon in Hogsmade." Said George looking out of the window.
"Yeah, sure." Agreed Jade and suddenly felt panicked. This was really happening. She was at Hogwarts!
She pulled the black robes over her head (she was wearing her skirt and blouse with sweater-vest since early morning).
The train stopped with a loud squeak and all the doors automatically opened.
They were told to leave all the baggage inside.
"First year! Oi! First year students! Come here! Welcome, welcome!" shouted big man standing at the end of the platform.
Jade felt two pairs of hands grab her around her waist and pull her over to the giant.
She let out a yelp of surprise before she realized it were the twins.
"Hey Hagrid!" greeted Fred.
"Let us introduce you to our sister here." Announced George and bowed a little as if he was talking to someone from higher society.
"It's nice to meet you …sir." Said Jade and bowed awkwardly, not sure what to do.
"Another of you pranksters? Alright then, we're having an interesting year are we?" laughed Hagrid friendly.
"Alright, keep an eye on her for us, will you?" yelled George as he run away in the direction of dirt road leading to the forest.
"Oi! Little ones! First year!" Hagrid continued to yell, until the platform cleared out and there was just a handful of little figures dressed in black robes left.
"Fallow me now! Will you? Keep close, I don't wantcha lost!" said Hagrid and led the way to the biggest lake Jade has ever seen.
Jade looked a little bit unsure about climbing into the boat, but everyone else was already in, so she put one foot in the last empty boat and almost lost balance when small, but strong hand caught her arm and steadied her, helping Jade climb inside the boat.
It was Deric, smiling shyly at her.
"Oh, I'm so glad I found you again. Your brothers look like a lot of fun, you're lucky to have them." He said seriously.
"I know." Said Jade quietly.
The boats started to move slowly and Jade suddenly grabbed Deric's arm. She wan't scared, not really, but something about the dark calm water of the lake made her feel uneasy.
They made it safely to the castle and after waiting for a while, they were led inside the Great Hall, as professor McGonagall called the huge room with five tables.
A very old looking hat sitting on the chair started to sing suddenly:
I welcome you here
Don't be shy my dear
Try me on and see
Where your place will be
Gryffindor is really brave
Hufflepuff is loyal friend
Slytherin can find way out
Rawenclaw is clever
Do not ever doubt
My decision is final
Try your best while here
Our school is your new home
Let's together cheer
There was a loud applause and cheering at the end of the song, but soon everything went quiet as the sorting started.
Deric went before Jade and he smiled softly at her, before the brim of the sorting hat covered his eyes.
There was a brief moment of silence and them a loud "Hufflepuff!" echoed through the hall.
He took off the hat and hurried over to the table where he was greeted by some of the older students.
"Mraz, Jadelynne!" called professor McGonagall.
As Jade sat down on the stool, she had just enough time to quickly look at Fred and George sitting at Gryffindor's table. They both smiled and winked at her before everything went black and Jade could hear a tiny voice.
Hmmm, what do we have here? I see lots of passion and loyalty, you want to be a good friend more than anything…you're a clever little one aren't you now? I see you got that from your parents, they were both in Rawenclaw. But it's not always important who we are when we are born. The thing that matters is who we want to be and who we become…and I see courage, you are one of the bravest students I have ever met, with all the things you have faced in the past…
Jade winced slightly at the mention of her past life.
…so it's either Rawenclaw of Gryffindor, I can't decide my dear, it's all up to you now, because what you decide to do makes you who you are. Said the hat and suddenly all was silent.
What do I do now? Thought Jade. Her mind was absolutely blank. Was she a Rawenclaw like her parents, yeah, she thought so, but what about Weasleys? They were all in Gryffindor and as much as Jade wanted to be like them, she knew she could never be that good herself.
I see you've made up your mind. I see who you want to be said the hat with a hint of smile in it's voice.
Gryffindor!
And the moment the hat shouted it's final decision, Jade knew it was the right one, she suddenly knew that deep in her heart she wanted this from the beginning, she wanted to really belong to a family, and she wanted to let them in.