"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" At this, Hermione stood up, her hand reaching toward the dungeon ceiling.
"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though. Why don't you try her?"
Some people laughed. Snape, however, was dissatisfied.
"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, a bezoar is a stone taken from a goat's stomach and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, also referred to by the name of aconite... Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"
There was sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said,
"And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter. As well as a point towards Slytherin for Miss Green correctly answering one of those questions."
Jade noticed things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs. He criticized almost everyone except Draco and Jade, whom he liked. He told everyone to look at how Draco stewed his horned slugs. This was when clouds of acid-green smoke and loud hisses filled the dungeon. Draco and Jade smirked as they looked around the room, proud of their work. Working together proved to be quite useful as it allowed them both to make their potions correctly, while many failed. It was clear that Snape respected their skills. Jade noticed Neville had somehow melted Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob. Their potion seeped across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes.
Within seconds, the whole class stood on their stools. Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.
"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpered as boils appeared all over his face. "Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus.
Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.
"You... Potter... why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, didn't you? Gryffindor has lost another point." Jade knew Harry was about to argue and smirked, but frowned when Ron kicked him behind their cauldron to stop him.
"Don't push it," Ron muttered to Harry.
"Why should he stay silent?" Jade interrupted the Weasly.
"I've heard Snape can turn very nasty and what's it matter to you? Aren't you on his side?" Ron asked as they climbed the steps out of the dungeon.
Harry's mind raced and his spirits were low. Gryffindor lost two hundred points in one week because of him.
'Why did Snape hate him so much?' Jade could almost see his thoughts in his eyes as though he'd just spoken them.
"Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I can't see right and wrong when it's right in front of me." She said with a glare.
"Cheer up," Ron told Harry. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"
She heard it, but couldn't bring herself to spend any more time with them as she didn't know them well and thought Hagrid was weird looking. So at three she politely excused herself from their company and left the castle. Moments later she found a perfectly quiet spot near the lake that brought them all to the school. Then she began to practice turning a stone into something living.
'Anything would do.' She thought to herself after attempting this for almost two hours, she was getting frustrated and threw the rock into the lake.
But her frustration wasn't entirely about not turning the rock into something living. McGrongal told them they wouldn't do that for some time. Her frustration was about not receiving a letter from the only people she loved her whole life.
'Did they not want anything to do with me now? Would they not still love me even if I found my real parents?' She thought to herself and let out a sigh when she noticed her anger was affecting her so much that her hands shook in barely contained anger.
She took several deep breaths and sat calmly near the water's edge. She knew exactly what to do to calm her anger. She needed to sing her feelings out. So she pulled out her MP3 and sang the words to the song that popped up.
~~~With Draco~~~
Draco was worried when he hadn't seen Daphne all day. She'd been like a sister to him since they were raised together. He knew that no matter how she'd been feeling she'd never skip a meal and would even lecture him about doing so when he was sick. He walked into the Slytherin common room to see if she was there. Walking in and saying the password, he realized he was right when he saw her sitting near the fireplace with a cup of tea.
'Uh-oh...' he thought.
'Either I've done something to piss her off, or she's about to tell me something she's been trying to say for a while. Last time it was the first. Let's hope it's the other one this time around.' He thought as he walked up to sit in the chair next to her.
"Good afternoon Daphne." He greeted her.
"Huh? Oh Hello, Draco..." She greeted him back with a thoughtful expression on her face and as he asked why, Pansy came in with a plate of food.
When Pansy placed the plate on the other side of Daphne he glared at the plate realizing why she brought food to Daphnee.
"Are you kidding me?! You haven't eaten at all today have you?" He said yelling, but when she remained quiet he got annoyed. "What the hell's the matter? You've never stopped eating before so spill." He said sounding much like his father when he'd done something to worry him.
"Daphne if you don't tell him I will. He needs to know... hell his aunt needs to know." Pansy whispered.
Daphne glared at Pansy half-heartedly as she explained meeting Jade on the train and overhearing her talking to his father's owl. However, she didn't realize it belonged to Draco's father at the time.
"So she can talk to animals? What's that got to do with me and my family?" Draco inquired with his arms folded over his chest in a defensive manner.
"Before I left her compartment, she'd said the goblins at Gringotts wouldn't tell her who her real parents were," Daphne told him as he looked at her.
"Why?" he asked, knowing the answer before asking.
'But there's no way Jade's my cousin... Right?' He thought.
"I guess Dumbledore told them if they revealed her identity to her he'd remove them from working in the bank permanently. I was there this morning with Pansy to learn more about it." Draco's eyes bulged and he slumped in his chair.
"So what are you saying exactly?" He asked but sounded defeated as he knew the answer.
"You know exactly what she's saying Draco. Stop playing dumb for just one moment won't you."
Draco sighed.
"As much as I'd like to assume you're right, I can't just tell my Aunt I've found her daughter without real proof."
"Well, why not get Snape to test her blood?" Pansy asked. "That should be an easy task for him and you as he's your godfather and her potions professor."
"That should work, thanks, Pansy!" Draco replied as he got up from his seat. "And Daphne, don't starve yourself over something like this again, or I'll never let you live it down." And with that, he left.
~~~With Jade~~~
Draco had just found her, though he wasn't looking for her. He was actually trying to find Snape who had been watching her from a distance, apparently trying to figure out who she was as well. Jade had spent the last thirty minutes singing about families torn apart, but this one tore even his heartstrings. While singing, she had not left her spot near the water, but now she was looking at her reflection.
Lindsay Lohan - Confessions Of a Broken Heart
"I wait for the postman,
To bring me a letter,
And I wait for the good Lord,
To make me feel better,
And I carry the weight of the world
On my shoulders
Family in crisis that only grows older
Why'd you have to go?
Why'd you have to go?
Why'd you have to go?
Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!"
When her singing got louder, she closed her eyes completely captivated by her own words. Not aware of the growing number of eyes watching her.
"I am broken, but I am hoping
Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!
I am crying, a part of me's dying!
And these are...
These are the Confessions...
Of a Broken Heart!"
She sang as tears slid down her face and dripped into the water.
"I wear all your old clothes,
Your polo sweater
And I dream of another you!
One who would never... never,
Leave me alone... to pick up the pieces
Daddy to hold me
That's what I needed...
So why'd you have to go?
Why'd you have to go?
Why'd you have to go?"
She then looked up at the blue sky that mocked her with its brightness.
"Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!
I don't know you, but I still want to
Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!
Tell me the truth
Did you ever love me!
Cuz these are, these are
The Confessions...
Of a Broken Heart!
Of a Broken Heart!"
As she sang, her tears streamed down her face and you can hear the sadness in her voice. However, she didn't choke or stop for a second.
"I-i love you
I-i love you
I-i love you!
I-i, I LOVED YOU!"
She practically yelled the last part into the sky as though the message would reach Mr. and Mrs. Green.
"Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!
I don't know you, but I still want to
Daughter to father!
Daughter to father!
Tell me the truth
Did you ever love me!
Did you ever love me!
These are..."
She sniffled a bit as she lowered her voice.
"The Confessions...
Of a Broken Heart!
Oh-oh yeah...
I wait for the postman,
To bring me a letter..."
Jade wept into her arms over her legs when she stopped singing. She still hadn't noticed the eyes resting on her yet. However, she spotted a tabby cat sitting close to her. She petted the cat for a bit, forgetting it was McGonagall in her animigus form. Then not only did she realize people had been watching her, but she also realized her wand was designed for wand-less magic. Which was likely the reason she couldn't transform the rocks into anything. She smiled as she stood up again, brushing away her tears. As she stood she put her wand in the pocket of her robe and picked up another stone and attempted to turn it into a frog. She smiled happily when it finally worked without a wand in her hand.
'Hmm, do I even need a wand?' She began to think but inevitably decided it'd be smarter to always have it on her regardless of whether she ever had to use it.
She felt a sense of accomplishment as she realized her magic was still strong, even without a wand. She was proud of her newfound independence but always carried a wand with her. This was just in case she needed to appear weak to stay safe. As they watched Jade sing, Draco quietly asked Snape if he could test her blood to find out if she was related to his aunt. At first, Snape refused as she seemed not to be related to any pure blood he knew. However, Snape changed his mind after witnessing her wandless transfiguration magic.
'The last time I saw anyone do wandless magic so early in life was Lord Voldemort.' Snape thought.
'I could always test her to see if she's got pure blood first... then if she does I'll tell him and his father.' He thought as he watched her walk back to the Slytherin common room with Draco.
~~~a Week and a Half Later~~~
Jade realized after several conversations with Harry and Ron she didn't mind Harry much. He was smart and a decent person in general. Ron, on the other hand, she couldn't stand him. In her opinion, he was as dumb as they come, seemed to automatically hate her for being a Slytherin if his remarks to Harry and Hermione were anything to rely on, and smelled like he'd not bathed for months. Still, first-year Slytherins only had Potions with Gryffindors, so she didn't have to deal with Weasley much. Or at least, not until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Slytherin common room which made them all groan. Flying lessons would start on Thursday and Gryffindor and Slytherin would learn together.
"Typical," said Jade darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of a Weasly." She said sarcastically.
She had been looking forward to learning to fly.
"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," said Daphne. "Anyway, if the Weasly is as competent with a broom as he is using his wand, you have nothing to worry about." She replied reassuringly with a smug smile.
"Maybe..." Jade said, but her eyes still looked worried.
Luckily, Daphne let it pass without comment. At breakfast, on Thursday Hermione bore all the first-years with flying tips she'd learned from a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville hung on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later. Everyone else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the post-arrival.
Draco's eagle owl always brought sweets from home. He opened gloatingly, mostly to annoy the Gryffindors and only shared with Daphne or Jade if either saw something they wanted. He liked Jade, like a friend or an older sister. He also felt sorry that the only people she'd ever known, her parents had forgotten her. He then watched as a barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother to the Gryffindor table. The boy opened it excitedly and showed everyone at his table a glass ball the size of a large marble. The glass ball seemed full of white smoke.
"It's a Remembr-all!" Draco heard the Gryffindor tell his friends.
"Gran knows I forget things. This tells you if you forgot something... Look, you hold it tight like this, and if it turns red, oh..." Neville's face fell because the Remembr-all suddenly glowed scarlet."...you've forgotten something..."
Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco walked over towards them and snatched the Remembr-all out of his hand. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. He knew they were looking for a reason to fight him.
However, Professor McGonagall, who spotted trouble faster than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash. "What's going on?"
"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Draco quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.
"Just looking," he said, and he turned away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
'You liar.' Thought Jade with a chuckle.
She'd been watching them since Neville opened the gift, but she didn't stop Draco when he grabbed the remembrall cause she thought what he was doing was harmless teasing. At three-thirty, that afternoon, Jade, Draco, and the other Slytherins hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson. They were there before the Gryffindors. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees swayed in the distance. The Gryffindors finally showed up ten minutes later. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived shortly afterward. She had short grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk's.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
Jade watched as Harry glanced down at his broom. It looked old and some twigs stuck out at odd angles. However as Jade looked around, it seemed to be the case for everyone else as well so she smiled confidently.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say, 'Up!'"
Jade who was left-handed decided to use her wand hand rather than her right as asked.
"UP!" everyone shouted.
Jade's broom jumped into her hand faster than anyone else in her house, but still just a few seconds slower than Harry's broom. Neville hadn't moved at all.
'Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you are afraid', thought Jade.