Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The character Mattheo is borrowed.

Author's Note: Fiction remade/continuation of previous story - By the Waters

Notice: Schooling age had been changed to 12. Main character is original content from author.

Fonts and Formatting: Italics not in quotes are main character thoughts. Italics in quotes are intonation (in some cases, book titles). All caps words in quotes are extreme intonation.

Chapter 1 – Eventful? Definitely.

Just another peaceful afternoon was about to go by as Jade sat by the window of Madam Malkin's robe shop, caught up in her thoughts and watching wizards and witches wearing different colored robes occasionally passing by. It's a good way to take a short break off of her hours of work. As surprising as it was, it was an afternoon full of leisure, considering Hogwarts is starting soon. Normally at this time of the year they would have some dozens of students coming in every day, but not today. Jade had heard lots of things about Hogwarts, people say it's the best school for magical education, one of the biggest in Europe too, and that Harry Potter should start there this year. Speaking of Harry Potter… Her mind flashed back to weeks ago, when Harry Potter himself, accompanied by the Hogwarts gamekeeper – Hagrid, had come in the shop for a new pair of robes:

The picture of the pale faced boy with messy, jet-black hair and broken round glasses came into her mind. And those emerald green eyes, rare and brilliant they really are, she thought. Harry was a rather small boy for his age, and also alarmingly skinny. He looked somewhat malnutritioned too, probably because the muggle family he stayed with had treated him badly. All in all, he didn't look like somebody who could've beaten the Dark Lord if Voldemort were to show up in the shop at that moment.

Potter had come in for his Hogwarts school robes, like all the other kids going to Hogwarts this year. Jade however, was still making the decision whether to go or not, although she did receive the letter. She had spent more than half her life trying to make a living with Grandma, as both her parents died when she was fairly young. Since their earnings are poor and their vault in Gringotts was definitely far from flourishing, paying for school books and stationaries sounded like another extremely sparing month. A couple more sweaters and scarves and some shifts should do the work.

Suddenly, the fading embers in the fireplace splattered and sprang up into a little fire, and an urgent voice sounded in the empty store, interrupting her thoughts: "Madam Malkin, hello? Madam Malkin!"

"Coming!"

Jade turned and saw her boss lady strode swiftly towards the fireplace, looking worried. The "Floo call," as most wizards call it, acts as an emergency way to inform something serious and important as they are considerably quicker than owl deliveries. Madam Malkin stopped by the fireplace.

"Arthur! What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, "You have quite a large cut on your face!" Jade turned back in her chair to get a better look.

Arthur Weasley's head was popping up and down in the fire, his expression looked serious and sorry. "Anne, bad news. You'd better come quickly." He started speaking rapidly, "Ed's got injured during the mission, he's being sent to St. Mongo's now." Madam Malkin gasped loudly. "I suggest you make a trip. If you come immediately I'll be in the first floor waiting room to take you there." It sounded serious, Jade carefully stood up as Mrs. Malkin replied with both her hands covering her cheeks, stunned and speechless.

"Oh my…" And Jade can see that she was obviously overwhelmed. "Are you alright Arthur?! I…I'll come, yes I'll be coming right now! Thank you for informing me!" They said their hurried goodbyes and Mrs. Malkin turned around abruptly, trying to think of what to do in midst of panicking. "Oh Edward! My dear Edward!" She muttered as Jade approached, ready to assist her employer with whatever she needs help with.

"Madam?" She called as Madam Malkin strode towards the staircase leading to the private room, "Do you need me to overlook the shop?"

"No, that's alright dear, I'm leaving for St. Mongo's as soon as I'm ready. You can have the rest of the day off." Her voice slowly faints as she hurried upstairs.

Jade started cleaning up and closing the shop, she took the sweeping broom out from the closet and set it off cleaning the floor with a swish of her wand. Meanwhile, Mrs. Malkin's footsteps could be heard on the stairs again. She organized a clothing racket, and Mrs. Malkin was downstairs with a hat and the Floo powder box in her hand.

"Thank you dear!" She smiled a rather forced smile at Jade which Jade returned and threw a handful of powder into the fireplace. The relinquishing fireplace suddenly burned up with tall, bright green flames that occasionally spits out the fireplace, as if threatening to devour the wooden floor.

"Well goodbye!" Madam Malkin said, stepping one foot into the fire, "Oh! And don't forget to close the blinds!" Then, her whole body in the fire, she shouted, "St. Mongo's reception room!" And with a sudden outburst of green flames, she's gone.

Moments later, Jade flipped the sign on the door, and walked out, double checking if the door was locked. A slight breeze blew her long silver hair over her face as she wondered what happened to Mr. Malkin. A mission. What could that possibly be about? I didn't hear anything of the sort, it must been kept a secret.

She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she totally forgot about the letter she needed to send out until she walked right past the public owl mail office. She retraced her steps and walked in. It was dark in there, it's always dark. Jade walked up to the counter with several pairs of glinting eyes of yellow, brown, or orange observing quietly. At least a hundred owls rest inside the holes in the walls on either side, some waiting to be sent out while others taking a rest back from a long trip.

"Hey! If it's not Miss Argento herself!" the clerk of the office – William, greeted with his usual smile.

"Good afternoon! I've came to send a letter on spot." She said, returning the smile, and William handed her a piece of parchment along with a quill and some ink. Then she sat down at the table next to the counter and started writing.

It was a return letter for Hogwarts. The school had sent her an acceptance letter weeks ago, but she had saved her knuts from giving a reply as she thought it'd be best to work it all out first. Now that she had, she could send that letter without too much worry. In the past couple of months, she had been knitting sweaters and scarves and selling them through Madam Malkin's shop. Quite some money she earned through that one. She also worked another late afternoon shift for Gringotts' money exchange, but that's only on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Madam Malkin, however, had also raised her salary in celebration for her birthday last week, making it one sickle and ten knuts per hour. Counting all that, Jade currently has an incredible eleven galleons and six sickles laid aside for Hogwarts, a proud achievement of hers.

With that on her mind, she couldn't help but smile a little as she handed the finished letter to the clerk. "Three knuts please." He demanded.

Everything was mostly perfect except for one factor: If Jade attends Hogwarts, there will be nobody left to take care of Grandma. Although Grandma was undeniably and perfectly capable to manage her own life, it was still a matter to worry about considering how long she's going to be living on her own, with no one to earn money or clean the house. Especially, if there's possible danger, she's not really someone of high alert and magical abilities. In spite of all that, she had also been the one person to really push and encourage Jade to pursue her academic dreams. And Jade knew Grandma really wanted her to have a normal life of a twelve-year-old teenager. However, she would do her best to find somebody to take care of Grandma when Jade's away at Hogwarts.

"Hey, everything alright? You seem to have your mind very high up there today." William glanced at Jade as he tied the letter to a light-colored barn owl.

"Yeah." Jade answered and made her way back on the main street of Diagon Alley. She wandered past different shops, looking at all the signs and windows that she was so familiar with. Just as she was observing the new sweets Honeydukes had set up in their front window, someone bumped into her and kept running.

"Hey!" She turned to catch a glimpse of a boy dashing into the back alley that opens right beside Honeydukes, and she strode towards the opening. This side alley is barely noticeable, and the opening was normally sealed with trash cans, but not today. Even with the alley right open, it's only passable for one person. She squeezed inside the narrow gap that leads to the rest of the alley, curious to see where the boy had gone. There were a few trash cans down one side of the alley, nothing interesting. Just as she turned to get back to the main alley, a muffled panting sound caught her attention. It was coming from somewhere near the trash cans. She inched closer.

Somebody's hiding behind the trash cans, it was a boy, a boy about her age, the boy Jade suspects that bumped into her and ran away. He bended himself behind the trash cans as if hiding from something, and when he heard Jade's footsteps, he spoke.

"Alright! I'm sorry, don't punish me again. I'll go with you." He said in a voice of despair, his eyes still closed.

Now very confused, Jade replied, "Punish you? What in the world are you talking about?" The boy jerked his head up, opening his eyes to reveal a pair of beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh! You're not!" He said a bit awkwardly. For some reason seeing Jade's presence seems to really excite him. "Did you see them? The orphanage guards?"

"Huh?" Jade was totally confused by all his words and reactions. Such a weird boy this was, he wore a pair of very worn knee length shorts, with some stains on them. His shirt puzzled with pieces of patches, and Jade only assumed the original color to be white. A grin spread on his face, and Jade couldn't help but notice a long scar that stretches from a bit above his left eyebrow all the way down to the middle of his left cheek.

Then she turned her gaze towards the opening, and just a second later, she saw to guards from the Elder Smith Orphanage stopping by the gap and peering in. Those are probably the guards that the boy referred to, so she turned around and pretended to be finding her directions.

"Oy, Miss!" The orphanage guards called out, "Have you seen a particular boy with dark brown curly hair running down the alley?"

She side-glanced at the boy, who was shaking his head and waving his hands pleadingly.

"Uhm! No! Of course not!" She answered the guards, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

"So," Jade turned back to the boy, "Why'd you escape?"

"I don't wanna stay in that hell of an orphanage! It's literal torture, worse than muggle orphanages. They watch me closer than any other kids, it's like wherever you go, they watch you! I'm having my own life, on my own." He stood up, dusting off his shirt and shorts. His statue was slightly taller than Jade, and he doesn't look unhealthy or alarmingly thin, unlike Harry.

She frowned at the language that had so easily slipped out of his mouth. However, she had to ponder what ability and skills the boy possessed to make him think he could make a living on his own. "How are you gonna survive?" She asked concerned, "You don't seem like you have enough money for even a decent shirt. No offense," she added quickly, "but that's the truth."

"Well…" The boy scratched his head, "I might not have that money now, but I've worked all kinds of jobs. I know how to wash dishes, clean, do counter works, tend for brooms… Yeah, I'd be alright."

The amused chuckle that had been going on in her mind finally failed her suppressing, "No you won't, it's hard, out here. You definitely need a place to stay, can't sleep out here in the streets, there's all kinds of people roaming around."

"And you shouldn't be out here alone." The boy retorted with a smirk.

"I." She flipped the wand up from her hand and caught it again, "can protect myself. I don't think you can do much, you're wandless." Her eyes swept him up and down.

"Oh yeah?" His smirk widened, and Jade's fingers tightened stem of her wand, alarmed. Her eyes remained on the boy, who stretched his hand out over the lid of the trash tin. The lid of the trash tin floated into his hand, as if the boy's hand was made out of magnet.

Jade was both surprised and impressed, "You know how to perform wandless magic?" It can't be! Wandless magic was only performed by the most talented wizards, and the performer needs to understand the very basis of the spell.

"I can make things burn too!" His eyes landed on a scrap wooden stick laying on the ground, and it abruptly burst into flames. Wow! Jade thought: Where on earth did he came from? An orphanage? Unbelievable! "Yes…you might be able to perform powerful magic, it still doesn't take less than a day to rent an apartment and get a job. At least it'll be extremely difficult." She voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah…" The boy looked down, tangled in deep thoughts, but before he can say another word, a brilliant idea suddenly popped into Jade's mind. Her worry for Grandma staying home alone for months still lurked in the back of her mind, and now that she met this poor boy in need of a home and shelter, it all seemed to form a fantastic solution. It's better not to make it too obvious, or he might not agree. I'd give him a few days first… And there's also risk to the plan…But it benefits both parties, I hope it'll work. I need to observe him first for a few days. Let's carry it out slow.

"Do you need a place to stay for a few days? I could probably find you somewhere cheap." She prompted carefully.

"Probably…but I don't want it anywhere near this alley because the orphanage people might come looking anytime."

"Okay, it might be difficult considering that factor, because I know Diagon Alley the best. But I'm sure there are places nowhere near that I could also help you with…" Time to introduce the idea. "Oh! Perfect…just perfect!" She muttered to herself, acting as if she had thought of a brilliant idea.

"What?" The boy looked up curiously.

"I know a good place for you to stay." She looked into the boy's eyes, "It's some distance away from Diagon Alley, and it doesn't cost anything, at least not for a few days."

Confusion was clearly visible on the boy's face, "It costs nothing? Nada?"

"Yes, nothing. I can walk you there too, the decision's yours."

"Sure. Why not," he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't see a reason why not to take this good opportunity."

"Alright then, let's go." She grinned excitedly, showing her perfect white teeth as they started towards the main alley, "And just so you know, it's also my house." She warned, smirking and turning back to see his reaction.

"What?!" He blurted out in a rather loud voice, "I'm…I'm not staying with you!"

"Why? Is there anything wrong with that? Or maybe you think I'm annoying for minding other people's business so much?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly, "It's not like I live by myself, I stay with my grandma. And I also want to help you!" That's definitely not a lie! "With possibly a little favor in return…" Also not lying. She forced her smirk back.

"No it's not anything wrong…I guess, I mean you're not annoying…but you don't seem to be affording everything you need either." His eyes swept down to the patch on her trousers. "Or maybe you'd rather spend that money on hair dye instead of daily necessities." He prompted as Jade felt a poke of intimidation.

"For your information, my hair is not dyed." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "I'm part veela, if you know what that means. And you've noticed my clothes, so clearly I know how hard it is to live in the pit of life." She cleared her throat at the silence that followed, "Anyways, I could afford way more than you! Just come with me!"

The way back was a lot more enjoyable now that she had somebody to talk to, although they did have to watch for the searching guards, who seemed to have moved on searching elsewhere. Along the way, she learned that the boy's name was Mattheo, a unique name she had never heard of. He had escaped from the orphanage from inside the bathroom, the only place without guards, as he claimed. Even the bathroom windows had metal bars. He had been planning on this escape for quite a while, last year, for his birthday, Mattheo asked for a spell book. In there, he found a spell to retrieve things. He practiced endless amounts of times, and when he's finally about to give up, he managed to retrieve a pencil without a wand. Of course, it takes way more energy to take out the stubborn metal bars nailed into the window, so he practiced on more difficult things. One day he slipped into the bathroom in the middle of the night, and concentrated his whole mind on the charm, but it didn't work. Jade had to give a disappointed groan when she heard that the charm failed, however, that's obviously not the end of the story.

Then he learned the fire charm, which was used to set things on fire and burn them. Unfortunately that didn't work either. Later he found a charm called the magnet hand, and combining it in use with all the other spells, it actually worked.

"And that's the tale of Mattheo escaping from the orphanage of Elder Smith!" He finished, grinning at Jade, who laughed and applauded.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Jade's house, an ancient-looking wooden cabin with two stories, the one on top significantly smaller. The windows were battered with age, the curtains inside are visible, slightly moth-eaten and stained. The thin strip of grass – the yard, surrounding the house was filled with wild weeds and flowers.

"Quite ancient looking." He commented, "Very cool."

Jade gave an amused snort and made her way through waist-high grass towards the back door.

"Where are you going?" He shouted standing at the front door, confused.

"It's locked! Get over here!" She shouted back, and started explaining to Mattheo that the front door had been locked for years, since they've lost the key ages ago.

Jade pulled the backdoor open wide enough for one person to get through as it gave a squeaky sigh as if to complain, and they walked through the crooked wooden frame of the door that had faded to a dull grey color through time. The backdoor opens into the kitchen, which was also used as the dining room since a decent sized table for four people's sittings fit at the corner. A dirty pile of dishes lay in the sink, and fading soap bubbles floated on top of the water.

"Grandma forgot to set the dishes going again." Jade said as she flicked her wand, and a sponge flew into the sink with a small splash, automatically cleaning the dishes. This was Mattheo's turn to stare; he had no idea this fair young creature standing just a few feet away was such a talented witch.

They walked through another doorway and into the living room. Nobody spoke, only the squeaking of the wooden floor broke the silence. It was clearly not as big as normal living rooms, but every furniture was tightly set in certain places so everything would fit. An old worn-down couch barely enough for three people was set facing the fireplace, the fabric was clean and could be seen it was once a maroon red color, but bumps from the springs trying to stick out uncomfortable for a long time. The fireplace simmered with a faint red glow of dying embers, Jade waved her wand again to relit it. A rocking chair stood near the fireplace, Jade's grandma rested in it peacefully, wrapped up in a knitted blanket. The warm, dancing firelight reflected off her oval spectacles, her expression was relaxed, and Jade couldn't help but stare at the peaceful scene for a while. A few seconds later she snapped back into her senses and started waking Grandma up.

"Grandma!" She neared the rocking chair, gently tapping the dear old woman on the shoulder and urged, "Wake up! We have a guest!"

Grandma stirred in her seat and opened her eyes, looking up at Jade. Then she noticed Mattheo standing behind Jade, "Oh, who's that?" She gripped her cane and stood up to face their guest.

"Grandma, this is Mattheo. And Mattheo," She introduced, "my grandma. Gran, Mattheo needs a place to stay, I think we should offer him a shelter for at least a few days." She proposed. And to her expectance, Grandma agreed, "Yes, of course. We are always welcome to those in need." She smiled at Mattheo kindly in a motherly way, "We only have two bedrooms, you might have to sleep on the couch before we can manage another bed."

"Oh no, no need to bother! I'm totally fine sleeping on the couch, I don't really plan to stay long." He replied and awkwardly scratched his head.

For dinner, Grandma brought out the spaghetti noodles, a specialty they save for unusual occasions such as this. The sauce was thin, but to them it tasted delicious, the rarity of the meal seemed to have increased it in taste and fulness. For a minute Jade was worried that Mattheo will think the food was too poor, but watching him wolfing down the noodle, the thought was dismissed instantly. During dinner, Jade told Grandma all about how she had met Mattheo, and she was slightly concerned about his affairs with the orphanage. The topic changed fairly quickly, however, moving on to the Malkins, and they made some assumptions of what could have happened.

It was late ten before Jade went to bed that night, rethinking all that had happened in this eventful day. She and Mattheo played a game and chatted while Grandma watched them, it was great. The plan had worked well, the boy is staying, at least for a few days. And she can work from there. While this change filled her with joy, something else bared on her mind heavily: The mystery injury of Mr. Malkin. The thoughts in her head kept her awake for a long while, then she felt her eyelids starting to droop, and she fell into an unrestful sleep.