"Confuse it!" Draco said to Ron and Harry.
Potter being a fast thinker grabbed a small piece of the broken sink and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione and Jade. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then ran toward him, lifting its club as it moved.
"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it.
Hermione screamed again in terror. The troll didn't even notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell that Jade attempted to stop but it was too late, and paused again, turning its foul snout towards Ron instead, giving Harry, Draco, and Daphne time to run around it.
"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione and Jade, trying to pull them towards the door, but they were too scared and couldn't move.
The shouting and echoes drove the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape. Draco watched Harry do something brave and stupid. He ran and wrapped his arms around the troll's neck from behind. While the troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, even it would notice if you shoved something up its nose. Harry's wand entered the troll's nose after he jumped on its back. Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life. Any second, the troll would rip him off or strike him with its club. Hermione sank to the floor in fear with Jade. Draco pulled out his own wand to silence the girl's terrified screams.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted as the troll's club flew suddenly out of its hand, high up into the air.
With a sickening crack, it turned slowly over and dropped onto its owner's confused head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the room tremble. Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath but turned to Malfoy.
"Thank you, Malfoy," Potter said shakily.
Draco scoffed at him.
"I didn't do that for you, Potter." Draco sneered as he motioned for Jade to stop cowering next to Hermione. "I did it to save my co- uh.. my friend." He hesitated almost calling her his cousin, but even though he felt she was he wasn't absolutely sure as Snape had yet to test her blood.
"Is it... dead?" Hermione asked as she and Jade slowly emerged from their hiding spot.
"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think it's just been knocked out."
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.
"Urgh, troll bogies." He wiped it off on the troll's trousers.
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the six of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they'd been making. However, someone downstairs must have heard the troll's crashes and roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall burst into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, cried, and sat down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Snape bent over the troll and glanced at his Slytherins in silent disapproval. Professor McGonagall looked at Ron, Harry, and Draco. Harry and Ron had never seen her look so angry. Draco never cared, even now that they were being yelled at.
"What on earth were you thinking?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice.
Harry looked at Draco, who was still standing with his wand in the air.
"You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look.
Harry and Ron stared at the floor. Draco then put his wand away because it looked like he was planning to hex someone the whole time. Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, they were just looking for me and Hermione," Jade admitted after playing through the pros and cons in her head.
She'd decided this was the most effective way to go about it so they didn't lose too many points for their actions.
"Miss Green!" McGonagall exclaimed upon realizing she'd been there at all.
"I-er- we," Jade motioned to herself and Hermione. "went looking for the troll because... we thought we could deal with it on our own, you know because she's read all about them and I told her I could do wandless magic."
Ron dropped his jaw in surprise, and while he didn't outwardly look like it, Draco was just as surprised as the redhead. Jade Green lied outright to a teacher and Hermione Granger wasn't tattling on her?
"If they hadn't found us, I'm sure we'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with the troll's club. They didn't have time to fetch anyone. It was about to finish us off when they arrived." Hermione pitched in with her own lie.
Which earned her a snarl and a glare from all the Slytherins in the room, except the teachers. Harry and Ron tried to look like this story wasn't surprising them.
"Well, in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the two of them. "Miss Granger and Miss Green, you foolish girls, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Hermione and Jade hung their heads low as if in shame. However, Jade only hung her head to hide a smirk that reached her lips. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had to get them out of trouble.
"Miss Granger and Miss Green, five points will be taken from Gryffindor and Slytherin for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, go to your common rooms. The other students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Hermione left. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor and Slytherin by five points each. Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may leave."
The Slytherins were the first to leave. The three of them hadn't spoken until they descended the first flight of stairs into the dungeon. It was a relief to be away from the troll's smell, aside from anything else.
"We should have got more than ten points," Daphne grumbled.
"Five, you mean, once they've taken off Jade's," Draco said rolling his eyes.
Jade just stayed silent and hoped Hermione and her friend's made up but also hoped she makes better friends than those selfish idiots. When they entered the common room it was packed and noisy. Everyone ate the food sent down. Jade, however, was still lost in her thoughts. But after a while, she lifted her head to smile at everyone who looked at her. As November approached, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake chilled like ice. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. The Quidditch season had begun.
On Saturday, Harry played in his first match: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Jade was only aware of this as Draco complained about Harry every day. Jade was annoyed with it but let it slide as she had no reason to tell him he shouldn't be mad. Draco'd dreamed of being in Quidditch since learning to walk and the Griffindors rubbed it in that he couldn't. Jade had learned that after the troll ordeal last month, Harry and Hermione had become good friends. She'd been sure he wouldn't have made it through all his homework without the muggle-born, especially with all his last-minute Quidditch practices he was doing. Jade watched as Hermione started a blue-flamed fire to warm herself and her newly made friends. After that, Jade noticed Snape limp up toward the three of them. She, however, couldn't say anything otherwise she'd get in trouble since she wasn't supposed to follow them to the Quidditch pitch.
They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the grounds. The closer he got, the closer Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from his view. Unfortunately, something about their faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he apparently wanted a reason to tell them off anyway.
"What's that you've got there, Potter?"
It was a book: Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.
"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."
Jade couldn't help it and snickered at the Gryffindors, but quickly covered her mouth as she made eye contact with Snape.
"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away.
'True he probably had but you would have gotten into even more trouble with that fire.' Jade thought as she silently left.
She wasn't scared of Snape but because he was still a teacher at Hogwarts she was worried she'd lose her house points if she didn't.
That night she couldn't sleep, but instead of fighting to sleep, she stepped out of her room into the common room. She spotted the person she'd sought out for a sleep potion, Severus Snape. He'd been reading a book about the dark arts in front of the fire looking like he could pass out at any minute. She would have turned and walked back into her room but Snape called her name surprising her.
"Miss Green, what are you doing out of bed?" He asked with closed eyes.
Jade sighed and walked to sit in the chair to his left.
"I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to ask if you had any sleep potions that could help." She answered honestly. "But I saw you looking like you were about to fall asleep so I thought better of it." She finished with a slight shrug.
"Well, then this has just become beneficial." Snape smirked as he opened his eyes, sat up, and closed his book.
She gave him a confused look.
"I've been trying to figure out how to test your blood status for a personal reason. If you want that potion you will let me take a small amount of your blood. It's that simple." She stared at him for a moment contemplating her options.
She could either refuse him her blood and remain sleepless every other day as had been happening since she'd come to this school. Or give him her blood and sleep peacefully.
"Fine but can I up the stakes on that potion to one every week for the rest of the year?" Jade asked testing her limits with him.
"Deal." He agreed.
The potion she'd asked for wasn't that difficult to brew but she knew how addictive it could be if taken any more than that. The ingredients were easy to find since his benefactor for twenty-some years was Lucius Malfoy.
"Just wait here while I get the potion," Snape said as he left the common room.
About ten minutes later he returned with the potion and an empty vile.
"So how are you going to test my blood?" she asked in a tired tone.
"You will know in time, but for now all I need is your blood." He said holding out a dagger to her palm that she just opened for him as he sat next to her.
He cut her palm and as it bled, he placed the empty vile beneath her hand.
"Squeeze your hand and let your blood fall into the vile," he told her surprised she didn't react to the pain in any way.
She did what she was told. Her hand stopped bleeding when the vile filled halfway. He smirked then handed her the sleep potion.
"Now, don't-" Snape began to warn her not to drink the potion until she was in her room, but she'd already popped the top off the bottle and drank it.
Jade had barely taken three steps toward her room before the potion took effect. She would have fallen if Snape hadn't caught her in time. However, he placed her on the common room couch since he didn't feel right entering her room, even if it were just to put her to bed. After she was placed on the couch, he summoned a blanket and covered her with it.
"Well, I'm sure of one thing..." He murmured to himself as he looked at the half-full vile. "You're not a muggle-born." He said before leaving.
~~~Time skip~~~
Jade who only came out to watch the Quidditch game due to Draco's pestering, noticed the whole school was out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. However, since she could tell his focus would be solidly on the game itself, she walked over towards some of the Gryffindors till she found Hermione. She'd rather talk to her than be ignored by Draco. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air but it was still difficult to see what was taking place sometimes. Ron and Hermione were seated by Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Jade looked at them and asked if it'd be okay to sit with them.
"Why don't you sit with Draco?" Ron asked in a tone that said she'd never be welcomed by him.
"Do you not see him? It's almost impossible to talk to him right now." Jade replied pointing over toward where she'd just come from.
Hermione told her it was fine. Neville, Seamus, and Dean looked at the muggle-born like she'd lost her mind, but kept quiet. As Jade looked at the Quidditch pitch, she saw Harry following Fred and George out to the pitch. To the agony of her poor sensitive ears, loud cheers were heard from all the Gryffindors as they too saw him. Madam Hooch refereed. She stood in the middle of the pitch, waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.
"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they gathered around her.
Jade frowned when she noticed that she spoke almost exclusively to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth-year.
'We don't always break the rules.' Jade grumbled to herself, however between herself and Draco they were both known as tricky snakes for a reason... She ignored that fact though.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some unnamed Griffindors waving a banner high above their heads. They flashed Potter for President over the crowd. She smiled because even though Gryffindors were the enemy of her house she'd still made friends with a couple of them and was happy for him.
"Mount your brooms, please." Madam Hooch told them.
Harry climbed on his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch blew her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose into the air. They were off.
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor... what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-"
"JORDAN!"
"Sorry, Professor." Jade realized the Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was commentating on the match and was closely watched by Professor McGonagall.
"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve... back to Johnson and... no, Slytherin has taken the Quaffle, Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes... Flint flying like an eagle up there... he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and Gryffindor take the Quaffle... that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and... OUCH... that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger... Quaffle is taken by Slytherin... that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger... sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which... nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes... she's really flying... dodges a speeding Bludger... the goalposts are ahead... come on, now, Angelina... Keeper Bletchley dives... misses... GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"
The Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins including Jade who wasn't really watching the game that closely.
"Budge up there, move along."
"Hagrid!" Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them with Jade now on the other side of Hagrid.
"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid not noticing her, as he patted a large pair of binoculars around his neck. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"
Jade, however, was content with not being noticed as he creeped her out but she wasn't willing to be rude and make it obvious by leaving just now.
"Nope," said Ron.
"Harry hasn't had much to do yet," Hermione added.
"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skywards at Harry.