Sorry guys. I know, I know. I promised I'll update. And I'll promised I'll update regularly, but I've been kind of depressed lately, not much energy to do anything…
I hope it will change soon.
Here's one small chapter…I don't know if it's good or not, but I'm too tired to read it again ( = sorry for spelling mistakes)
Enjoy.
"Don't be silly Jade." George tried to push her aside but she shook off his hand and glared at him.
"That cat is just as evil as her master, she got us into more trouble than you could imagine." Argued Fred.
"No. You won't do anything to Mrs. Norris." Said Jade calmly but she was more serious than ever.
"It's not like we're going to hurt her." Tried George again, but it was useless.
Once Jade set her mind like this, there was no point in arguing or trying to find compromise.
Fred tried one more time to go around his sister and get to the animal that was now hissing in their direction and eyeing them suspiciously.
"Get lost Fred! You won't do anything to her, that's enough now!" yelled Jade and picked up the cat. She was so fast that even the animal looked confused for a while.
Jade walked away in the direction of great hall but didn't get too far before she was stopped by Filch appearing out of nowhere.
"What are you three doing to my cat? Put her down this instant!" he yelled at Jade.
"I was just helping her …out of trouble." Explained Jade coldly looking at her brothers.
She gently set the cat down and walked away before someone could stop her.
It was way past the bed-time and the Weasley twins were still sitting in the common room, waiting for their sister to return.
It was a cold October night and they were starting to worry.
"We messed up big time." Concluded George, shaking his head.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Bloody hell, it's almost midnight, where can she be?" exclaimed Fred, getting up and pacing around the sofa.
Jade was sitting on a step, somewhere in the middle of the staircase. She did remember one of the prefects telling them about the disappearing step, which could get you trapped if you didn't skip it but she was so angry with Fred and George that she completely forgot about it.
Now she was getting cold and there was no one around to pick her up.
It was dark in the corridors, and this particular one didn't have any paintings on the walls.
She was no longer angry now, because the more she was thinking about it the more sure she was that her brothers will hate her now, for ruining their little revenge to Filch.
And her brothers hating her was the last thing she'd want.
A lonely tear fell down her cheek, silently hitting the stone tile of the stairs. And after the first one, many more followed and Jade found herself sobbing uncontrollably, hugging her knees in a feeble attempt to warm herself up.
Suddenly she felt soft fur brushing over her cold hand and when she looked up, there was a cat with shabby hair and bright yellow eyes.
"Mrs. Norris? What'cha doing here?" she asked the cat and stroked Mrs. Norris' head.
Soon after the arrival of the cat her master appeared on top of the staircase.
"A student outside, after curfew" exclaimed Filch, looking pleased that he caught someone in trouble. "Alright, let's go to the head of your house to see what punishment you'll get." He laughed coldly stepping over the tricky step, but when he was about to grab Jade's shoulder, Mrs. Norris looked at him and then curled into a furry ball in Jade's lap.
Filch looked stunned at his cat. She has never showed any sentiment towards any student, and here she was sitting in the lap of a Weasley!
"Ahem…" he didn't know what to say, when Mrs. Norris climbed down, letting Jade to pet her one last time and then she stood loyally next to her master.
"Looks like Mrs. Norris owes you something." Filch concluded, roughly grabbing Jade's left arm and pulling her up from the trap.
"Don't let me catch you again, because next time there'll be such long detention you won't get out of school for ten years." He hissed at Jade, then turned around, nodding to his cat to follow him down the hallway.
"Thank you." Whispered Jade but neither of the two disappearing figures gave any sign they heard her.
When she finally climbed through the portrait entrance to the common room, there were two angry-looking boys waiting for her.
She didn't look at them because she wasn't in the mood for arguments or lectures about being a bad sister and spoiling their fun so she just walked across the room, ignoring their calls.
Jade almost made it all the way to the staircase before someone grabbed her arm and turned her around.
"What do you want?" she asked, new tears running down her face.
"N-nothing…" started George, letting go of her arm and taking a step back.
"We just wanted to know where you've been. We were worried sick that something happened to you!" added Fred still looking angry, but at the same time relieved.
"Well, I'm fine, and I'm sorry I … " Jade had no idea what to say.
Was she sorry for saving the cat from her brothers? No, not at all, she knew it was the right thing to do, but she was sorry because she ruined the fragile balance which was in their relationship from the beginning. Now it was gone, she just knew it.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, we are the ones who should apologize." Said George, looking at his twin.
"Yeah, we shouldn't have done it if you didn't agree with the prank." Confirmed Fred and half-smiled at his sister.
"So, are we ok?" he asked tentatively and Jade nodded.
"I guess." She said looking at them as if she was judging the situation.
"See you tomorrow then." Concluded George and pulled his brother with him up the boys' staircase.
Jade woke up into the coldest Saturday they had so far at Hogwards.
The sky outside was dark grey, and even though it was just 7 a.m. she already knew the weather won't change during the day.
Wind was blowing hard and dark silhouettes of forbidden forest were partly covered with heavy mist.
None of her roommates were up yet. It has been a long week and everyone liked to sleep – in, so they'll probably stay in bed until lunch and then just finish their essays from potions.
Jade, however, felt like going out. Run a little bit through the uncut grass and fern, and maybe go visit Hagrid. She didn't see him for a long time and today seemed perfect for a cup of strong ginger tea and some rock-hard cookie.
She climbed out of her bed and tiptoed across the floor to her dresser.
The tiles were freezing cold.
Jade found a pair of thick wool socks Molly sent her in a package week ago. She pulled out a long-sleeved white shirt, dark blue sweater (which belonged to Percy few years ago) , cotton shorts and her favourite pair of corduroy pants.
Her sneakers won't last much longer in this cold weather, but she didn't feel like wearing winter boots yet.
There was no one in the common room, neither in the corridors and Great Hall was empty too, apart from plates full of scrambled eggs. Heaps of toast and pots full of marmalade.
Jade sat down and poured herself a cup of hot cocoa. She sipped it for a while but then decided to go out and eat her breakfast on the way. There was no way she would sit on her own in the huge hall.
She grabbed four pieces of toast and made two sandwiches with peach jam and then drank the rest of her cocoa before jumping up and walking out of the castle.
The wind was biting it's way through her clothes and she regretted not taking one more shirt, or maybe long underpants would have been nice. But then, she could run and warm herself up a little.
She stuffed the toast into her mouth and sprinted across the greenhouses, her sneakers barely touching the ground.
The grass was more overgrown when she reached the further part of the grounds.
The morning dew was still sticking to the leaves of the plants and Jade's pants were soon soaked with ice cold water.
She made a big detour, alongside the border of Forbidden forest, looking back at the castle. She would never get tired of the view. Now, when she knew it a little better, it was easy to spot the windows of their bedroom, or the balcony of headmaster's office, and the Astronomy tower.
A dark cloud came from the north and hung dangerously over the roof of Hogwarts. It was going to rain soon. Perfect weather for Halloween.
Jade sighed and turned around to make her way to Hagrid's hut.
The pumpkin patch on his back yard was empty. Old dry leaves were still attached to the sterns but it looked odd without huge orange and yellow pumpkins all around.
Jade knocked on the door. There were sounds of hustle from inside and several exclamations of"Fang! Sit! You stupid dog!" before Hagrid opened the door, just enough to peek outside.
He smiled at Jade and stepped back to let her in.
She stopped at the door and took off her muddy shoes.
The room was nicely warm, filled with delicious smell of pumpkin stew and spices.
"Hi there! Whatcha doin'out of yer bed this early?" asked Hagrid as he let go of his dog's collar. Jade didn't have time to answer because her face was attacked by huge friendly dog that wanted to cuddle.
After a while she managed to fight him off and make him sit next to her on the bench closest to fireplace.
"Couldn't sleep and I wanted to run around the grounds for a bit." Said Jade, scratching Fang's ear.
"Yeah, it's fine weather for a stroll around the grounds. But it's gonna rain soon." Commented Hagrid and set a plate of raisin cookies on the table.
And it was true. The rain started the moment Jade took first bite of the cookie and didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon.
Hagrid pulled out his knitting project – which was apparently some furry dog coat for Fang, and Jade chewed the cookie and played with the dog.
They talked about everything and nothing, and Jade felt like at home.
She wouldn't admit it, but she was starting to miss Burrow.
She missed the morning chaos and smell of freshly baked bread, and the way Molly would braid her hair, even though Jade could do it herself.
And she missed hearing Arthur come home from work, and good-night hot chocolate, and Sunday apple pie.
So she told Hagrid, and he listened, and it made Jade feel a little bit better. And she also remembered the emergency chocolate frogs in her trunk, but she didn't want to eat them just yet, so they talked some more and when it was time for lunch, Hagrid put on his black coat, buttoned Jade up in one of his smallest sweaters (which was still too big for her to walk in it properly) and they made their way through the grassy field, back to the castle.
the Halloween was almost here.