Everything Goes

Everything Goes

Chapter Four

In the weeks that followed the first game, I found myself growing closer and closer to Draco and Jade, and, at the same time, pulling farther and farther away from my Gryffindor friends. This change was bittersweet, for it marked my transition from childhood to adulthood. I was sad because I had been friends with the Gryffindors since my first days at Hogwarts, but I wasn't like them anymore, so moving on was necessary.

Our team was still in the lead; our triumph in the first competition had made the lead rather solid. We, of course, loved every minute of it. I had never made a big deal of it when I'd spent all my time with the Gryffindors, but I really loved to win.

"Harry?" Draco and I were sitting in the grass near the Quidditch pitch, the weather was crisp and cool and wonderfully dry.

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch, "About three, why?"

"Just wondering, I haven't got a watch."

"I'll buy you one for your birthday. When is your birthday, by the way?"

"March 18^th."

"I'll remember that, you'll be receiving a watch."

"It had better be a nice one. I used to have one, but it was broken about eight months ago."

"I see," I paused, "How did it break?"

"It was stepped on. And it was entirely not my fault."

"Of course not," I rolled my eyes.

"Where's Jade?" Draco asked suddenly, "I haven't seen her since breakfast."

I shrugged, "I haven't seen her, either."

"This can't be good," Draco said, "Bad things tend to happen when Jade disappears for long periods of time."

"Maybe she's off sabotaging some of the other groups. I don't know how one would do that, but I'm sure she could find a way if she really wanted to."

"That would be like her,"

I got up, pulling Draco up with me. He protested, claiming that he'd been comfortable and whining some nonsense about how it was a heinous crime to disturb a comfortable Malfoy.

"Oh, come on, my legs were falling asleep, I want to go inside."

"Fine," he huffed, "I don't see why we always have to do things your way, but, fine."

"Oh, it's good for you to do what other people want every once in a while."

"Oh, really? I fail to see how that can be."

"Draco, stop whining, it's unatractive."

We meandered into the building and immediately ran into Jade.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, "I was just starting to wonder where you'd gone."

"Us? What about you?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow, "We've been sitting outside, wondering where in the hell you wandered off to."

"Oh, I was in the library."

"The library?" I asked.

"Yes, I do go to the library on occasion. Leave me alone. So, what were you two doing outside?"

"Talking."

"Oh? What about?" she was trying to sound innocently curious, but had a glint in her eye that belied the innocence.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "What's it to you?"

"Don't I have a right to wonder what my friends talk about when I'm not around? How do I know that you're not discussing me or something?"

"Well, the conversation had nothing to do with you. Actually, there wasn't much conversation. So, don't worry about it."

"And, that's the end of that," Draco put in, "Come on, let's go somewhere else, standing around in the entrance hall is boring."

"You're easily bored, Draco," I said.

"You agree with me, I know you do."

"So?"

"So, I'm not the only one who gets quickly bored."

"Hmm, must be your bad influence rubbing off on me."

Jade, smiling, stepped between us, wrapped an arm around each of our shoulders, and led us off down the hall.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked quizzically.

"Ending the bickering. So, any suggestions?"

"'Suggestions?" I asked.

"Yes, as to where to go."

"I don't care," Draco and I said at the same time.

Jade laughed, "You two do that so often. Great minds think alike, I suppose."

"Did you just call us great minds?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did I? Hm, must have misspoken. Forget I said it."

"Your kindness amazes me sometimes, Jade," I muttered.

"I aim to please," her voice was annoyingly chipper. I think she did it just to aggravate us. She stepped out from between us and took up position at Draco's other shoulder. She had an air of one planning something when she did it.

"I'm sure," Draco said, seeming to not notice the change, or deeming it unworthy of his attention, "Shut up now, before I make you."

"You couldn't make me do anything and you know it," she smiled nastily, sure of her power over him.

"You think?"

"I don't think, I know."

"No, you just don't think at all."

"Draco!" I snapped.

"Sorry," he shrugged, "I couldn't resist."

"It was still cold, Draco."

"She was asking for it! I mean, how can she say something like 'I don't think' and expect me to just let it go?"

Jade contrived to look hurt, but a smile kept tugging at the corners of her mouth, ruining it. I gave up.

I gave a fake sigh, "I admit defeat. You win the argument."

Jade looked at me over Draco's head, "You've spent too much time with Draco already, you're getting almost as bad as he is."

"I am going to take that as a twisted compliment and let it go," Draco said, "And stop talking over my head, it makes me feel short."

"You are short."

"I'm five foot six, Jade."

"As I said, you're short," she looked at me, "Both of you. Harry, are you the same height as Draco or is my perspective just off?"

"Your perspective's fine, I, too, am five foot six," I lifted my nose in a self-important manner reminiscent of Draco, "And, that is a very respectable height. There is nothing wrong with not being a giant."

"You look like Draco when you do that," she giggled slightly, and then went completely straight faced, "So don't."

"I'm insulted," Draco said, glaring at her.

"Shut up. I meant that no one but you should ever be able to pull that look off. You know, if Harry can do it just as well as you, your reputation may be at stake."

Draco looked at me, wide-eyed, "What? My reputation? Harry, you must never do that again. Unless of course you're using it to antagonize Jade. Then, by all means, please do."

"I hate you, you know," Jade said, but there was no malice behind it, she was just retaliating on instinct. It was something I'd seen every Slytherin do on occasion: when they felt at all threatened or were insulted, they lashed out. It was almost instinctive, something that had been ingrained into their subconscious minds over a great deal of time.

Hardly surprising, I thought, Slytherins have been the objects of mistrust and anger forever.

"Yes, I hate you, too, that's why we get along so well."

"Mm hmm," she replied, almost absently, looking at something off to the right.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"That," she said, pointing at the spectacle near the lake.

"I see," I followed her gaze and did indeed see.

"Ah," Draco said, looking, too.

The spectacle in question was Ginny Weasley shouting at Ron for a rather impressive audience and Ron trying to yell back, but withering in the face of her glare. I was impressed, I hadn't known that Ginny had it in her to shout like that. Ron was no match for her.

"Ooh," Jade's eyes sparkled wickedly, "Let's go see,"

I followed along behind them, mostly because I couldn't come up with a good reason not to and, after all, I was curious. So, I walked after them with a slightly bemused attitude. When we got close, I could hear what was being said.

"Ron Weasley! You leave Harry alone, he hasn't done anything to you!"

"Ginny! He left us, you, too! Don't you care?"

"Of course I care, he's my friend! I thought he was yours, too, but I guess not. You obviously don't care."

"I do care! I do!" Ron sounded like he was trying to convince himself, "That's why I'm trying to get him away from Malfoy and Latimer. Their evil influence is corrupting him!"

At this point in the game, Jade gave up all pretences of snotty-ness and burst out laughing. Ron saw us and went red. It clashed with his hair.

"Oh, gods, Weasley, that is the funniest thing I've heard all day! You've completely blown Harry and Draco out of the water, you know. Congratulations! Anyway, thanks for the laugh, you've made my day."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that, Jade," Draco muttered.

"Oh, come on, you have got to admit that it was funny. 'Evil influence corrupting him'? How cliché and utterly hilarious can you get?"

"Yes, it was amusing, let's go now," Draco said patiently, letting her have her moment of fun.

I couldn't help it; I was laughing at Ron, too. He looked ridiculous, and what he was saying was, as Jade had put it, 'utterly hilarious'.

I smiled at Ginny and spoke, "Thanks, Ginny, I'm glad o know that someone from this House still trusts me."

"You've never done anything other than have a lot more fun then my darling brother here. Why should it bother me? He was just being a moron. Don't worry about it."

"All right, Gin," I replied, affectionately using her nickname, "I won't. I think you have the situation well in hand, we'll just be going now."

"See you later," she grinned.

"Yeah, at dinner," I smiled back.

"You know," Jade said, as we walked away, "I never knew that the Weasley girl had it in her to be so, well, ballsy, I suppose. I kind of like her, now, actually."

"Besides," Draco put in, "Anyone who yells at the other Weasley deserves recognition," he acted as though he couldn't bring himself to say Ron's name.

"Yes," Jade said dreamily, "That was definitely a moment to preserve in memory."

"I am going to laugh at the two of you," I said calmly, "May the laughter officially commence."

"Be silent for a minute or two more, would you?" Jade said, her voice still a bit dreamy and far away. I glanced at her with concern.

"Jade? Hello? Are we still here?" I asked.

But her eyes had slid closed and she didn't appear to have heard me.

Draco spoke up, "Jade, this isn't funny, you're never funny." To the average passer-by, he would have sounded like he always did, but I detected a note of panic in his tone.

Her eyes opened slowly and she spoke, but it was in a breathy, faraway voice that didn't sound at all like her normal cutting manner.

"The one who goes where others cannot has come. However, to do what must be done, he cannot be alone. There is another. One who dwells outside of prophecy. It has begun."

With that, her eyes rolled back into her head and she sank, as though boneless, to the ground at my feet.

I froze. Her long brown hair had fallen over her face, obscuring her pale features, and the long fingers of her right hand were half-curled into her palm. She looked like a mockery of a sleeping child. I felt, somehow, that I had seen all of this before.

Draco had gone dead white and was trembling. He didn't appear to be able to move any more than I could.

"Ja-Jade?" his voice shook; he made no effort to control it. At that moment, all of the barriers collapsed and Draco Malfoy forgot to be a proud, arrogant, son of a bitch. He was terrified.

The hold on me lifted and I knelt beside her prone form, gently touching her shoulder, "Jade? Come on, wake up," I turned to Draco, "Go get help." He didn't need to be told twice.

I knelt there in the dirt, quietly talking to her until Draco came back with Madam Pomfrey. She took one look at Jade before gasping and telling me to move away.

"I haven't done anything wrong, ma'am, all I've been doing is talking to her to try and bring her around."

"All right, Harry," she checked Jade's pulse, "What was she doing?"

"Nothing," Draco said, "We were just talking when she...blacked out."

"Hmmm," she didn't seem convinced.

I held my tongue, unwilling to hand out Jade's secrets. It wasn't my right. Madam Pomfrey gave me a look that said that she knew that I knew something, but I returned her gaze levelly, not giving anything away.

"Well, I can't tell what's wrong with her from here, I'll get her to the hospital wing and we'll just have to wait and see. You two can go now."

It was a cold dismissal, considering that, really, we were her only friends in the world. But, neither of us had the emotional strength at that moment to fight her, so we walked away.

Draco looked like he was on the verge of tears. His shoulders were slumped and he kept blinking quickly, as though to clear something from him eyes.

"Draco?" I spoke gently, "She'll be all right,"

"How do you know?"

"I just do, things aren't going to end this way."

He said nothing. His silence gave me hope that I was getting through to him.

"I know that she'll be fine. In a few days, it will be as though this never happened."

"No, Harry, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

"Jade. I know she seems like she's tough and resilient, but, really, she isn't. When she told you about her family, she didn't tell you even half of it," he sighed and sat down against our tree, pulling me down beside him, "When she said that her father died, she was being honest. When she said that they came to live with me afterwards, she was still honest. When she said it was because her mother was couldn't stand to be in the house because of the memories, she was telling a half-truth. When she said that her mother was grieving, she was telling you an outright lie.

"Her father was a man very much like my father. Powerful, wealthy, inherently evil; they hated him. He was never fond of Jade, as he'd wanted a son, but had been given a daughter. Right after he died, Jade told me about how hard she'd tried to gain his attention and approval, but how he'd never cared enough to take notice. She told me of how he'd never physically abuse her mother, but rarely looked at her, either. She said that sometimes, her mother would take her and they'd go and visit places far away, and he'd never even notice that they were gone. When he died, they were finally free.

"They couldn't stand to be in the house, her mother always said that it reeked of him. Jade said that it was too lonely. I don't think either was telling the truth about that. I honestly think that there was much more to it then that, but neither has ever said. They never did go back to that place. They still own it, but they live in a house in London. Her mother owns an apothecary in a smaller wizarding district, across town from Diagon Alley, large list of clientele, or so I've heard.

"Adalina, that's Jade's mother, hates my father. She says that he is just like her husband was. She tries to get my mother to take me and leave him, but my mother is too afraid, she'll never do it. I know that she won't."

He stopped talking and I spoke softly, "I understand, she suffered and it took a toll, not only on her sprit, but on her body."

"Yes, her strength is all a façade, all to keep people from worrying about her. To keep us from worrying about her."

"I think it's sad, horribly sad. All I ever wanted growing up was a family, people like you and Jade have families, and you're unhappy with them. That isn't right, it shouldn't be like that."

"I agree, but this is a flawed world we live in."

"That, my friend, is one of the few solid truths."

He had relaxed; the tension and panic had faded during his narrative. I, in turn, relaxed.

"It's almost dinner," he said suddenly, "Let's go inside."

I nodded, "All right, and don't worry, Draco. The world hasn't ended just yet."

"No, but it will, trust me, my friend, it will."