"Draco, you need to wake up now." Jade spoke softly and leaned over the bed. It was very early the next morning. The sky outside was still dark and no sound could be heard within the castle. She was already dressed and planned to sneak up to the Gryffindor Tower, before the rest of the castle had awoken.

Draco turned around in the sheets, away from her, and mumbled. "Five more minutes."

Jade wished she could creep back underneath the blanket with him, it had been so warm and cosy. But instead, she climbed over the bed and put an arm around her boyfriend. She nuzzled her nose into the side of his neck and kissed the soft spot behind his ear.

"I need to go." She whispered.

"No," he murmured and grabbed her arm tightly. "you need to stay."

"I have to go now." She laughed.

Draco turned around to face her; his hair was very messy. "Will I see you tonight? Same time, same place?"

Jade nodded. "I'll be there." She leaned down to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. "Have a nice day."

As she made her way over to the door, she heard how Draco turned back around in the bed again. He would probably oversleep and miss his first class. But it was History of Magic, so it did not really matter anyway. As if Professor Binns would notice his absence…

Briskly, she walked up the steps to the tower. She still had enough time for a shower and for packing her satchel, before she would meet up with the others for breakfast. The Common Room was empty as she entered; but half an hour later, when she came back down from her dormitory, a few students were lingering on the sofas and armchairs. She saw the bushy brown mane of Hermione over by the portrait hole and steered towards her.

"Morning, Jade!"

"Good morning!"

"Did you sleep well tonight?" Hermione asked her kindly. Jade had not yet found the time to update her friend on all that had happened lately.

"Actually, I did. You too?"

The girl shook her head. "I didn't sleep a wink. Maybe it was due to the full moon… Oh, look, there are the boys."

Before Harry and Ron joined them, Jade leaned closer towards her friend. "Do you have time to catch up later? Maybe before dinner?"

Hermione smiled conspiratorially. "Sure, I need to tell you some things as well…"

They greeted the boys and waited until Ginny had arrived. Then the five of them climbed through the portrait hole and went down to the Great Hall. The two lovebirds trailed behind, while Hermione and Jade philosophised about the perfect N.E.W.T. preparation and Ron probably wondered what he had done to deserve this.

As soon as Jade sat down at the Gryffindor table and poured all of them a glass of pumpkin juice, she realized she had forgotten to do something last night. Down the table, a golden head had caught her attention. Jade had forgotten to tell Chloé about the change of plans.

"Be right back." She told her friends and stood up to hurry quickly down the table. The morning light shone brightly through the ceiling today. Maybe the sky had no rainclouds left anymore.

"Morning Chloé!" Jade said cheerfully as she arrived next to her.

"Hey Jade!" The girl smiled, before she tucked into her slice of bread and jam. "Did you have time to look into my essay yet?" she asked.

"About that… I'm really sorry, but with all the N.E.W.T. work at the moment I did not find the time. But Blaise said he could take a look at it, if that was okay with you..?" she smiled apologetically.

Chloé swallowed down her bite of toast. She looked confused and shook her head. "Why would he offer to do that?"

"I asked him to. He can do the job at least as well as I can." Jade answered, truthfully.

"Alright." Chloé nodded after a moment of silence; she still looked slightly disconcerted. "But we are still on for Saturday, aren't we? You said you'd prep me for my last big test."

Jade nodded. "Of course! See you then!"

"Bye!"

Jade smiled in satisfaction as she walked back to resume her breakfast. During the last months she had met up with Chloé about once a week and had coached her in Potions. They had made great progress so far. However, they had never really talked about anything private and Jade would not classify them as friends. They got along great, but she was too loyal to Blaise to truly befriend her. Jade was sure that if Chloé and Blaise ever got into a real relationship, it would probably be the best thing that could happen to herself. The two Gryffindors had the potential to become close friends. Chloé was a happy girl, maybe a little goofy and easily distracted, but with a warm heart. Jade had never heard her speak ill of anyone and, like she had shown with Blaise, she would stand up for herself if need be. Jade could appreciate all of that. She did not want to have to deal with an insufferable pureblood highborn.

As she sat down again, her eyes flew over the Slytherin table. Blaise had been watching her. She gave him a very quick thumbs up and a smile. He did not visibly react, but only reached for his brazen cup and took a sip; Jade was sure that he was hiding his smile behind it.

For the remainder of the week Jade kept sneaking out of her dormitory late at night. Now that they had started spending their nights together, it could no longer be stopped. Both of them slept so much better, when the other one was around. Jade sometimes had trouble falling asleep; she would toss and turn until the bed was no longer comfortable. But not when she was next to him. The moment he would run his fingers through her hair, softly massaging her scalp, she was already half asleep. He was always warm and generous enough to let her draw on his heat if she was cold. And he seemed so much more relaxed now; their close proximity seemed to do him good. He was eating better, sleeping more and starting to look healthier again, despite the horror he was still going through.

They slowly fell into a routine: after class he would go straight to the Room of Requirement and work until late evening, while she studied in the library, went to dinner, packed some food for him, studied some more and then went up to meet him in their room. Then they would talk a little, cuddle a lot and fall asleep in each other's arms. This went on for about two weeks, without any fights, major events or disruptions. Jade felt that they finally had developed something that could truly be called a relationship; she liked the steadiness, they now had. And she noticed that Draco started opening up to her even more. When they lay in bed at night, he would tell her about his childhood, his parents, about how he had seen the world back then, how he saw the world now… He had never been cagey with her anyway, but now there were these little thoughts and anecdotes, she was sure nobody apart from her had heard before. They were very precious to her. The picture, she had of him, started to be completed.

As May slowly drew to a close, the last Hogsmeade weekend of the term was announced. The trip would be on the May 31st, very shortly before Draco's seventeenth birthday. Jade wished that they could just go together, like they had all this time ago, for their first official date. She brought it up one night, while Draco was sitting at the table, wolfing down some very late supper. By nature, Draco was not a big eater, definitely not a foodie, but by now she knew what kind of food he preferred and therefore maximized his meagre appetite.

"Do you think there is any possibility that the two of us could spend a day in Hogsmeade together?" she asked him as he chased his meal with a big glass of water.

Draco licked his lips, before he answered. "Out in the open? No. Disguised? Maybe."

Of course, Jade knew that right now was not the time to be seen as a couple by the public eye. It would be a liability if anybody on the wrong side knew about them. They would be presenting their weakest spot to the world. Someone could use this knowledge to lure them into a trap or extort them. It was much safer if they continued keeping their love a secret, especially from the Slytherins.

But in disguise…

"What kind of disguise are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"I still have some Polyjuice left." He told her. "One of us could take some."

"But into whom would we change?"

"We either pay some student to let us use their body… or we just use some random Muggle hair. I could organise some."

Jade thought about this for a moment. It was not the stupidest idea.. They could spend a nice day in the town together… Even without touching it would be nice. They could go a few hours without making out, surely.

"I think I'd prefer the body of a total stranger." She said.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, me too. You or me?" he asked her, as if the plan was already set in stone.

"I'll take the potion." She said and smiled cunningly. His face and his body were such a big part of him, she did not want them to change. She would enjoy the day much more if he looked like the Draco Malfoy, she had always known.

"Alright then." He nodded and stood up from the table to stretch. "I'll get us some Muggle girl hair and sell the Slytherins a nice story." He held out his hand, so she could take it, and pulled her up as well. "I think it is fitting." He said as he laid his arms around her. "That we have one last day together, before it all ends."

Jade pulled him down to kiss him, then she broke apart and shook her head. "Nothing will end." She breathed and kissed him again. "Nothing."

A few days before the trip to Hogsmeade, Hermione and Jade were sitting down by the lake, basking in the last rays of the evening sun. Hermione randomly quizzed her friend over everything she might need to know for her exams. They would begin in exactly two weeks; it was getting serious now. They called it Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test for a reason. Finally, the young witch pulled two pieces of parchment out of her bag and pushed them over the grass into Jade's direction.

"I want you to perform a Protean Charm on these."

Jade took a deep breath and puffed out the air in between her lips. This was no piece of cake and she only knew the spell in theory. She took out her wand and tried to remember all the tiny parts of the charm. After five minutes of deep concentration, she thought she was finished and looked up at Hermione's expectant face.

"Ok, let's try." Hermione already had a quill at the ready as she pulled one of the parchments closer towards her. She wrote down her name upon it. Hermione Jane Granger.

Jade stared down upon her own parchment apprehensively. Nothing happened. The seconds passed… Then finally, blue ink appeared. But she could only see some unreadable scrawl. Her magic was not good enough. Jade felt disillusioned. She knew that Hermione had been able to perform this charm on their D.A. coins over a year ago.

"I'm going to fail." She said wearily.

"Don't be silly! Of course, you're not going to fail. Just try again. This was a promising start." Her friend nodded encouragingly and waved her wand over the two pieces of parchment, undoing Jade's sub-standard charm.

Jade took another deep breath. Only two more weeks to go. She knew all the theory by know; she really had to focus on the practical examinations. No more hours in the library for her. From June on, there would be no more classes for the seventh years and she could spend all her time practicing spells, brewing potions and reading the stars.

"Come on, now. I didn't achieve it the first time, either." Hermione told her and Jade wondered whether her friend was lying just to make her feel better.

"Alright, here we go!" she fastened the hair tie around her ponytail and moved her wand over the parchment. But before she could try again, the two girls were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Good evening, ladies." Unmistakably Blaise. Jade turned to look at him and squinted her eyes in the low sun. "Hey there!"

"May I intrude?" he asked.

"Always." was her answer and he settled down into the grass next to them. Blaise had been suspiciously absent for the last few days. They had not studied together and Jade had barely seen him around the castle. She could guess what this was about. She knew he had met up with Chloé at least once, but predictably had not lost a word about it.

"Alright, I cave, I give in." His dark eyes looked at her and he held up his hands in defeat. "I need female advice."

Jade started laughing triumphantly. "You have come to the right place!" She was a tiny bit surprised that he was about to open up in front of Hermione; but then again, he had always appreciated her the most out of Jade's Gryffindor friends.

The two girls scooted closer as Blaise began to talk. He jumped right into it. "So, about Chloé... The first time, we met, was because of her Potions essay. We worked through it together, here down by the lake, and went for a walk afterwards. It wasn't half as tense as I'd have imagined it. We just talked a lot; no awkwardness.

"The second time we met, she was celebrating a friend's birthday in one of the courtyards and invited me over for some cake, as I walked by. We spent the afternoon together. Now, the third time, I had Herbology and we ran into each other in one of the greenhouses. I think I ended up half an hour late for Sprout's class." Blaise's voice trailed off for a second and the girls waited for him to go on.

"Alright, so here is the thing: none of those were dates, mostly chance encounters. And it was easy. But now, there's the Hogsmeade trip coming up and I don't know what to do. I need your advice. I do not want to mess up again. I'm really prone to it when it comes to her."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

Blaise shrugged, looking uncertain. "I'm not sure. I want to keep seeing her, but I do not want this to progress into a relationship."

Both girls looked startled as they heard this. Then they fired off questions faster than Blaise could answer.

"Why not?" "Do you just want to be friends?" "Or friends with benefits?"

A disapproving shake of his head seemed to be the universal answer to all of their questions.

"I am in a bit of a conundrum." He admitted. "I do not want a girlfriend, but I do want… I want it to continue, I want to see her more and not as friends."

Jade was a bit puzzled. She did not truly understand what Blaise had in mind. "So, you want things to progress, but not in a relationship. More like casual dating? When you can see people on the side?"

Again, Blaise grimaced in disagreement.

Jade ventured another guess. "So, you want to date her, but without being official. Like a non-relationship?"

Now, Blaise nodded. "Exactly. How do I do that?"

Finally, Jade realized what was going on. This was like 'Dating 101' for commitment phobics. She was happy that Hermione was around. The other girl had a keen perception when it came to complicated love issues and valuable experience with clueless teenage boys.

The clever girl inclined her head and posed her next questions, her forehead still showed deep creases. "But where would be the difference? And what exactly is so terrible about a real relationship?"

"Relationships always turn out badly. I don't want to be stuck in another one of those failed attempts." He said darkly.

"But what is the worst that can happen? Things may end this way or the other… It's not like you are going to die from it." The bushy-haired Gryffindor told him with a wise look on her face.

"Tell that to my father." His voice was solemn and he turned to look out towards the lake. "There was no way out of it for him. And now, he's buried underneath the ground. I like my life as it is. I don't want anything to change about that…"

Jade began to gnaw on her lower lip as she exchanged a glance with Hermione. Blaise's issues were rooted deeply within his childhood; Jade had always known this. But she thought it was a good sign that he was confronting them openly by now.

"Blaise," she spoke softly to him "Chloé is a good girl, I know it. She does not have any bad intentions. Just take things slow and try to be open with her. The official status doesn't matter anyway. It makes no difference if you develop feelings for her. Either way you will be in some kind of relationship."

The boy did not look too happy about her words.

Now Hermione tried. "Why don't you look at it like this: there is only one month left of school. If things go badly, you can let them fizzle out over the holidays. And if not, you can meet her outside of school and get to know her better over the summer. You can take small steps and if you don't like, where they lead you, just take a step back."

Jade's friends looked at each other and Blaise nodded gratefully. "I like this approach." He sounded calmer than before.

Hermione carried on. "So, ask her to meet up in Hogsmeade. Having her friends around would also take any pressure off. You can tell her that you want to get to know her better and take your time with it. There is no way that she would be offended by that."

Blaise nodded again. "Thank you, Hermione. You do have a bright head on your shoulders." The girl smiled winningly back at him. "Any time, Blaise."

In that moment, Jade felt very content. There was nothing better than when her friends got along. But that blissful feeling was quickly taken away from her.

"Alright now, Jade. Let me see that Protean charm again!"

Later the same night, Jade pushed the door behind the tapestry of the dancing banshees open. Light was already flickering inside the room. She saw Draco's tall form standing on top of the hearthrug in front of the fire. He was brandishing his wand. A thin wisp of silver hovered in the air next to him and he turned as he heard her approach.

"Hey there!" she said and let her bag slide down her shoulder and onto the ground. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing."

"Practicing what?"

"My Patronus."

"Ooh…" Jade smiled as she got closer, but lingered a few feet away from him. "Now, I have to see that."

"I haven't produced a corporeal one yet. Only some silver mist. Here, watch." With another wave of his wand, he shouted out the incantation and a thick silver fog streamed out of the tip of his wand. Jade knew from experience how difficult this spell was to master; this was not a bad start at all. It would probably already suffice to stall a dementor for a moment.

She stepped around the fading silver cloud and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reacted quickly and snaked his right arm around her. "I thought about you an awful lot tonight." he told her.

Jade's lips formed a smile. She knew what he was alluding to. She might be his happy thought. With her arms still around his neck, she stood on her tip toes and kissed a little path from his cheek down to the side of his neck.

"Expecto Patronum!" His voice carried conviction as he tried the spell another time. "Oh, look."

Jade turned around and saw that the silver mist, that protruded from his wand, grew denser now. It came together to shape something… but before either of them could make out a form, it had started to dissolve again. "Maybe I need to keep kissing you." She turned around to continue kissing his neck. She buried her fingers in his hair and bit down lightly on his skin.

"Expecto Pat…" Draco hesitated; his voice had trailed off. Then he chucked his wand down on the hearthrug. "This is too distracting."

"I just want to make you happy." Jade whispered and kissed her way down to the collar of his shirt. With one hand, she opened its first button.

Draco had closed his eyes by now. "You do. My life is in shambles, but every night and every morning, I am happy."

She stopped kissing him and moved her arms around his neck again to hug him really tightly. Draco hugged her back, equally as firmly.

She rested her cheek on his chest as they held onto each other. "I never want to be without you." She turned up to look into his eyes. "Will we stay together no matter what happens?"

"It's up to you." He told her silently. "Do you want to be with me no matter what? No matter what I will have done? No matter whose blood will be on my hands?"

"Yes, I do." She said and really meant it. "Always."

He lowered his head to kiss her and engulfed her in the length of his dark cloak. They stayed like this for a short time, embracing and kissing each other, until Draco's stomach emitted a very loud grumble and ended their romantic moment. Jade laughed, apparently his appetite was returning.

Draco grinned lopsidedly. "So, what's for dinner? You did bring me something, didn't you?"

"Of course." She said and stepped away from him to pick up her bag, then she walked over to the large table. "There was chicken roast tonight. And I brought some vegetables… and something for afters."

"You take good care of me, my little wifey." Draco smirked as he strolled after her. She smiled radiantly at him as she unpacked his food. She liked that nickname; he could call her that more often.

They talked about their Hogsmeade plans while Draco ate. Jade could see, day by day, how he regained his strength. Three weeks ago, his belly had been basically concave and she had been able to count the vertebrae on his back. He definitely had put on a few pounds again and Jade felt as pleased as if it had been her own achievement. He might never look like the cocky and careless teenager, she had once known, again. His experiences would leave their marks on his body. To Jade, whether he was buff or scrawny did not change the strong attraction she felt for him. She just wanted him to be healthy and strong for what was coming.

The next day, Jade hurried through the castle after lunch. She had a free period and wanted to practice some Transfiguration spells up in the Common Room before the next class would start. On fourth floor, she passed a small stone balcony. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw several people scrambled together out there, but she did not think much of it. Probably just the smokers.

As she continued down the corridor, a smooth female voice called her back. "Hey, Jade! Wait a second."

Jade turned around and was surprised to see Astoria separating herself from the group. The glowing butt of a cigarette was still in her hand; she flicked it out of an open window as she approached and blew the last bit of smoke out of the corner of her mouth.

She was wearing a very oversized Slytherin Quidditch jersey as a dress; it barely reached the middle of her naked thighs. Jade knew that if McGonagall saw her like this, she would have to change and maybe lose a few housepoints at the same time. Her light blonde hair was pale blue at its tips today. Jade liked the way this girl would dress and do her hair, however she liked it. It spoke of self-determination and confidence.

"Hi." Jade smiled at her, wondering what the other girl wanted.

"Hey." The blonde smiled back and moved her hand trough her hair. She kept twirling a strand of it in her fingers as she stood before the brunette. Did Jade imagine it or did the girl look slightly nervous?

"Jade, I wondered… Do you want to meet up tomorrow … in Hogsmeade?"

Jade was surprised, but tried not to show it. Did Astoria want to become friends? This was unexpectedly sweet of her… "Ehm… Unfortunately, I do have plans already. But we could meet up in the Three Broomsticks for a drink later?"

Astoria bit down on her lip and nodded to herself. "Of course, you have plans already, I should have guessed." Her blue eyes were still fixed on Jade. Somehow, she had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched Astoria looking at her. Something was off here…

"The Three Broomsticks is a little crowded, don't you think? But I could pick you up there and then we'll go somewhere more secluded?" The Slytherin asked in her velvety voice.

This time Jade could not hide her bewilderment. Why would they need a more secluded place? What did the other girl have planned?

Apparently, Astoria could read the puzzlement that was written upon Jade's face. Her own eyes opened widely. "You don't really get what I'm talking about, are you?" she asked and Jade shook her head. Astoria pressed her right hand against her forehead, before ruffling through her own hair. "I'm an idiot, I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

Very slowly, the cogs and wheels inside Jade's skull started moving. "Astoria, I'm…"

But the girl interrupted her. "Don't say it. I just thought I had made it clear down at the lake. My mistake."

Jade shook her head. "Well, you were really high the first time and the second time, I thought you did it for the money."

Astoria inclined her head and smiled sheepishly. "I was a little short on cash, true, but that's not why I did it. I just wanted to kiss you. I just went for it." She looked at Jade with an expression, Jade had only ever seen on guys. It was unfamiliar to be looked at in this way by a girl.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

The blonde shrugged it off. "But if I were a guy or looked more butch, then you would have gotten the message, right?"

A strained smile formed on Jade's lips. "I don't think, I would have kissed you then." Wondering if she had been too honest, she added another silent "I'm sorry."

The other girl stopped her with a wave of her hand. "No worries. No harm done. I just did not want to miss any chance, you know. My dating pool here in Hogwarts is really limited. It's more of a puddle, to be frank. Just me and Millicent Bulstrode." She let out a huff and Jade laughed about her comment. "And I thought…. Well, you never had a boyfriend here in school. I could have been lucky."

Jade still smiled and tried to shake the awkwardness off. "Well, unfortunately I am very straight. I had no idea you weren't to be honest."

"Yeah, I tried for a long time to make myself be normal. Didn't work."

Jade could imagine that trying to make yourself be something, you truly weren't, must be a horrible ordeal. She mustered the other girl; one way or the other, she was very attractive. "Well, if I ever switch sides, you'd be my first choice." Jade said, but Astoria only snorted.

"Thanks, babe." She fumbled another cigarette out of her bag. "Just one thing: I'd really appreciate it, if you didn't tell anyone about it. Not even the guys know. If Daphne gets wind of this and tells our parents, I'm dead meat. I can kiss my family inheritance Goodbye. I would just be a scorch mark in the family tree."

"I won't tell anyone." Jade said. And she would hold true to her word.

"Thank you." Astoria moved closer now and gave Jade a quick kiss on her cheek. She smelled of cigarette smoke mixed with cedarwood. "Take care!"

And then she turned, lit her cigarette with her wand and drifted back to join the boys on the balcony. Jade blinked a few times as she watched the girl walk away.

This, once again, proved how much of an idiot she had been on said day. As she marched up the Gryffindor tower, she thought that Draco had been right to be mad at her. Their kisses had not been as innocent as Jade had made it out to be. But who could have known?

A tiny part of her was even flattered to be asked out by a girl like Astoria. There was something uniquely appealing about her, Jade had felt it immediately. Well, maybe if things with Draco didn't work out... Jade chuckled as the portrait of the fat lady swung to the side and revealed the cosy Common Room.

On Saturday morning Jade got up early and kissed Draco Goodbye. They would meet up in the village later. But first, she had a date with Hermione. The girls had made plans to get ready together in Hermione's dormitory. Since Harry and Ginny wanted to visit the village on their own and Jade was bailing out, as well, Hermione and Ron were left to venture out by themselves. Hermione was looking forward to the trip with excitement. It would be a day full of (inofficial) dates: Harry and Ginny, Draco and Jade, Blaise and Chloé, Ron and Hermione…

Therefore, at about eight in the morning, Jade stood behind her good friend with a bottle of trusty old Sleekeazy in her hand. She would bring these crazy strands to their knees! She slathered the potion onto her hands and gently applied it onto Hermione's unruly mane.

"Things are still good with you and Malfoy?" Hermione asked her, with half a head of sleek brown waves and half a head of wild brown frizz.

Jade nodded. "They are. Really good."

She had told Hermione a slightly edited version of the things that had culminated before her final reunion with her boyfriend. Some parts, she had left out, merely because she tried her hardest to erase them out of her own memory.

"Do you think the fact that you did something bad this time helped you to forgive all the things he did to you?" Hermione asked her as Jade ran her fingers through the girl's hair. She thought about this for a moment.

"It might have. I think it made me see that we could not go on this way and that I was lying to myself. I really wanted that clean slate, for him and for me."

Hermione nodded. "I'm similar in a way, you know. You remember that episode with Cormac? I only did that to piss Ron off. Every time he does something stupid, I have the urge to reciprocate. It's so childish, I know…"

She reached into her small makeup bag and pulled out a rose blush. "It's just so frustrating. Even Harry and Ginny are together by now… But Ron.. I don't have the courage to single-handedly risk our friendship for something that might not even exist. I don't even know if he feels the same way. You know, how he acts around Ginny. He might just have these same protective, brotherly feelings for me…"

Jade slipped into her dress while she listened to her friend. "I really don't think that he sees you as his sister." She said and moved the straps of her dress over her shoulders. "What is it about us Gryffindors that we are such cowards when it comes to love? But I have an idea for you…" She sat down on Hermione's bed. "Today, you find as many innocent excuses to touch him as you can. And all the while you have to watch his ears: if they turn red, he does not like you as his sister, I promise."

Hermione considered this for a second, then she nodded. "I can do that. Let's meet up later, though? When your Polyjuice has worn off. A butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks? I can report to you then about the ear situation."

Jade nodded, grinning. "Sounds perfect."

Hermione put down her makeup bag and turned towards her girlfriend. "Now, come here, Jade. We should apply an expandability charm on your clothes. After you drink the potion, they might no longer fit."

"Good thinking, Hermione!"

A short time later the girls met up with the other students in the Entrance Hall. Ron complimented Hermione's hair and the girl beamed brightly, while Ron's eared turned a subtle shade of pink.

As they flocked out of the castle's entrance and down towards the gate, Jade turned around and saw Draco from afar. He was in the company of the other Slytherins and dressed like the very model of a young wizard: a dark shirt, a waistcoat with matching slacks, polished leather shoes and a light summer cloak. Their eyes met for a moment and Jade's heart sped up. Watching him from this far was different than seeing him up close in the bed next to her. He was all dressed up and looked so respectable. A part of her could not quite believe that this wizard really belonged to her; he seemed so out of reach.

She turned around and followed her friends to the village, feeling distinctly like the fifth wheel on a wagon. She would meet Draco at eleven o'clock, in the back-alley behind the Three Broomsticks. He had told her that he had to do some business in town first and she had not pressed him on the matter. She was happy enough to spend this day with him. The birds in the treetops of the forbidden forest were chirping excitedly as the students walked past and Jade wondered what this day might bring.