A/N - I have been waiting so long to write this chapter and I'm glad I finally wrote it :'D Hope you like and feel free to vote/comment! :)

Jade's sixth year was beginning to wrap up. It was now the end of June. Since exams were cancelled for this year, everyone else felt extremely relaxed because the homework assignments were starting to dwindle down.

Once the last task is over, then I can relax.

She was currently in the library with Cait, Preethi, and Laverna. Their study sessions were getting shorter and they ended up just chilling in the library after some time. They were all ready for the summer to start.

They talked a bit about how Jade prepared herself so far for the Third task. In all honesty, Jade had just stayed in the library for hours reading up on textbooks to review spells, similar to how she'd prepared for the First task with the dragons.

Then, the topic of summer came up.

"Hey, I have an idea." Laverna suddenly piped up. "We should plan a get together this summer!"

Cait's eyes lit up and she exclaimed. "I like that."

Preethi nodded and glanced at Jade. "Yeah, definitely." Jade affirmed.

"You're welcome to come to my grandpa's house if you want." Cait suggested. "We live in Wales."

"Awesome!" Laverna clapped her hands together. "Sounds like a plan."

Preethi tapped her fingers on the table before adding. "We can meet up around late July. Does that work?"

Jade nodded. "I'm pretty much free."

Laverna agreed before glancing at Cait, who nodded her head. "I'll check with my grandpa, but I'm sure it'll be fine." Cait smiled.

"Great," Preethi said. She then stood up and waved. "I'm going to head back, but this was fun." She flipped her braid behind her back, grabbed her textbooks, and headed out.

Jade and Cait exchanged soft glances and smiles. They had planned to spend some time together after the study session. Jade could feel her chest fluttering from excitement.

Laverna darted her gaze between the two of them with an amused expression before suddenly saying. "Okay, well I'm going to head out too... see you two lovebirds."

Cait flushed red and laughed, but Laverna winked at them before heading out too.

"So... we're alone now." Jade remarked, the corners of her lips curling upward.

Cait giggled, her face still red. "Um, what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want." Jade replied. Her gaze then flickered to a spiral notebook near Cait. "I don't think I've seen this before. What's this?" She reached over and picked it up.

"Oh!" Cait exclaimed. "That's my sketchbook. Do you want to see?"

Jade nodded and scooted closer. Their shoulders were now touching as Cait opened up her sketchbook. Cait leaned her head on Jade's shoulder. Jade examined the first page to see multiple small sketches, all in pen.

"Talented as always." Jade whispered, gently kissing Cait's temple. She then saw the second page that had a sketch of a woman. Her hair was in a short bob and a serene expression was on the woman's face. "Who is that?" She asked, pointing to her.

Cait sat up. "That's my mum. My dad has a few photos of her, so I wanted to draw her too."

Jade nodded before turning the page. There were tons and tons of sketches of Cait's mother and a man with square glasses, who Jade assumed to be Cait's father. There seemed to be childhood memories, since she saw drawings of Cait with a birthday hat, and her riding a bike.

Didn't Cait say her mum died when she was two? These seem to be memories of when Cait was at least five. Cait then reached forward and held her hand in Jade's. Ah, I see. Jade gently rubbed Cait's hand with her thumb to comfort her girlfriend. She wanted to draw her mum there, as though she was still alive.

"These are pretty old." Cait commented. She then flipped the pages now. "I mainly draw my friends now."

Jade's eyes widened when her gaze landed on a sketch of Cedric playing Quidditch, followed by Laverna, Preethi, and...

"That's me." Jade remarked, pointing at herself. She knew Cait had made her a bookmark with a portrait of her on it, but seeing multiple sketches of her amidst everyone else made her heart beat.

Cait chuckled. "Yeah, I practiced drawing you a lot before I made that bookmark. I wanted to make sure that was perfect."

Jade wanted to melt in Cait's arms. "I... don't see you."

"I guess I was too busy drawing other people, like you." Cait sat up, staring into Jade's eyes.

"Here, I'll draw you, then. Right now." Jade took out her quill. "Fair warning, it's going to suck."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." Cait placed her hand on top of Jade's right hand, guiding it to dip the quill in ink before starting to trace curves onto her sketchbook.

They started with the shape of the face, and then Cait let Jade have free reign for the rest. Jade scribbled some lines for Cait's hair before giving the drawing a nose and mouth.

"The eyes are the hardest part." Jade stretched herself, dipping the quill into the ink again.

"That's okay. It looks great already." Cait waved her hands in a reassuring manner. "Honestly, drawing eyes with a quill is hard for me. That's why you see pen. You don't have to finish it if you don't want to."

Jade smoothed out the paper before beginning to attempt Cait's eyes. "No, I'll finish it." She smiled. Her hand shook, a bit nervous, but she saw it through.

When it was done, she turned the sketchbook so that Cait could see. Her eyes lit up. "Wow! I like the way you did the eyes. It looks like my eyes are sparkling."

"Oh, really? Well, they always do that." Jade commented, gazing into her eyes. Butterflies were flying in her stomach, sending flutters up her chest. She took a deep breath. "Cait, I usually don't say sappy stuff, but... I'm just going to go for it. I want you to know that I... I love you." She smiled. "I love you, Caitlin Gibbons."

Cait gasped, flushing red once more. "Jade, I..."

"Wait." Jade whispered. "You're the person I think about when I'm stressed. I wouldn't have even gotten as far as I did in this tournament without your support." She closed her eyes for a long moment before opening them again. "You're the first person who has made me feel... free. You are my light. I know we've only been dating for less than a year, but that's how you make me feel."

Cait looked like she wanted to cry tears of happiness. She took Jade's hand again and replied. "I probably said this before, but you're the first person outside my House who's shown me compassion. You've helped me become a better version of myself. Jade Lin, you are my world, and I love you too."

Jade closed her eyes as Cait leaned in, and they proceeded to kiss as the sunset rays poured through the window.

--

Tomorrow is the Third task. I practiced spells and studied as much as I can. Jade put her wand away, preparing to head down to the Great Hall for dinner.

She stretched her muscles out, thinking about what she was going to eat. Jade was about to enter the Slytherin Common Room, but stopped in her tracks when she heard something.

"Your mother doing alright, Carrow?" Draco's voice reached her ears. "We recently heard from Greengrass. News travels fast around here."

She heard Adonis sigh. "Not... really. It's rough for me." His tone was longing. "Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing here when my mother is at St. Mungo's."

"Sad that bad things have to happen to good people in this world. The ones who deserve it the least always have good things happen to them." Draco muttered bitterly.

Jade was about to take another step, but forced herself to stay where she was when she heard another voice that made her clench her fists.

"I know. The fact that your mum is in the hospital while mudbloods like Granger and Gibbons are still breathing makes me sick." Pansy's shrill voice rang in her ears.

Jade gritted her teeth. She could feel her blood boiling in rage. Parkinson... I'm going to strangle you.

She bit her lip when she heard Draco say, "Oi, Carrow. You're best friends with Lin. Isn't Gibbons dating her right now?"

"I find it disgusting. I tried to tell her, but Lin thinks she can do whatever she wants just because she's older and a Prefect." Pansy whined. Jade could practically imagine her pouting with her head high. "Maybe that mudblood enchanted her."

"What do you think, Carrow?" Draco suddenly asked again.

Adonis didn't respond right away. Jade wanted to move, but her legs refused to budge. It was like her body was telling her to wait until the conversation was over. If it was just Draco and Pansy trash talking Cait, she would have revealed herself in anger and snap at them until they regretted being born. But Adonis was in the room too... he hadn't said anything yet from the change of topic, but Jade wanted to hear his answer.

She finally heard Adonis's voice. "I like seeing Jade happy." Jade's heart rate quickened. She felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. "But..."

Jade widened her eyes. But what, Adonis?

"Jade can do a lot better." Adonis's tone became a bit more serious. "Gibbons doesn't deserve her."

Jade gasped, instinctively clenching her chest. She thought she was going to bite her lip off with the way her teeth were gnashing against her bottom lip, but it felt like someone had dropped the world onto her shoulders. She knew Adonis and Cait would probably never be good friends, but the way Adonis spoke about Cait at that moment... it sounded so much like hate.

"Jade can do a lot better." She couldn't stop hearing that. It was a huge slap in the face.

"Besides, Gibbons is like... the weakest person in our grade. Physically and emotionally. I don't know what Jade sees in her." Adonis continued. Every word from his mouth was like nails on a chalkboard.

"We agree with each other, then," Draco said with finality. Jade closed her eyes when Adonis didn't deny it. That was the final punch.

Jade exhaled a heaving breath. She didn't know why she was surprised at this news. She knew Adonis's family background with his father's ideals and everything, and there were always those awkward moments whenever Cait and Adonis had interacted. All of those facts had stared Jade in the face. It was always there, Jade just didn't want to admit the hard truth.

I guess I was hoping that they could both get along. It was too good to be true. Jade tried to calm herself, but her thoughts wouldn't shut up. I could tell Cait was hopeful for a potential friendship, but it's clear that Adonis had no intention to make any effort.

"Have you ever talked to Lin? You're her best friend. If anyone can convince her to end things with that mudblood, it's you." Draco asked.

Jade couldn't bear to listen to this bullshit anymore. Taking a deep breath, she stomped into the Common Room. "No, he hasn't." Jade snarled. "Because he won't convince me."

"Jade?" Adonis stood up from the leather chair he was sitting in, a startled expression washing over his face.

She didn't even want to look at him at the moment. She glared at Draco and Pansy. "One hundred points from Slytherin. Leave."

"The hell, Lin?" Draco and Pansy raised their voices to protest.

"Two hundred."

"Malfoy, Parkinson, just go," Adonis said, letting out a small sigh.

Jade dared to look at Adonis. She no longer felt like she wanted to throw up. She tilted her head upward slightly, and she wasn't smiling.

After Draco and Pansy were out of sight, Adonis started. "Jade, I'm -"

"No." Jade interrupted. "After what I heard, I'm talking right now." She gritted her teeth. "You have no right to decide who deserves me." She shook her head in disbelief when Adonis glanced at the ground. He was just guilty that she had overheard him when he thought she wasn't there. "You know, I knew you two would never be good friends, but I thought you would at least have the decency to treat Cait with respect. How wrong I was, you were practically talking shit about Cait behind her back when she's not even here to defend herself. To Malfoy and Parkinson of all people. That's so low and disrespectful."

Adonis looked up from the ground, deciding not to back down. "I was only stating the facts, Jade. Even if she was here, she's too weak to stand up for herself. Why would you want to date someone who has no backbone?"

Jade scoffed. All the unspoken thoughts were now coming out between them. "She's the strongest person I know." Everything that Cait went through, and she's still standing strong and smiling. She didn't stop. "But how would you know? Oh that's right, you don't know anything about her because you're too busy being prejudiced."

Adonis widened his eyes, obviously not expecting her to say that. "I never called her what Malfoy and Parkinson called her." His tone became low, like he couldn't believe that he was actually arguing with her at the moment.

"No, but you agreed with what they said." Jade wasn't going to let it go. "Look me in the eye and tell me you're okay with me dating a Muggleborn."

Adonis quieted himself. He met her gaze, before looking away. He looked ashamed with himself, but Jade was in no mood to care about that right now. She was just so done with everyone and their bullshit.

"Wow..." Jade scoffed. "At least now we're being honest with each other." She muttered. She had never felt so angry and disappointed in her whole life. "If you're going to keep being like this, I don't think we can be friends." The words left her mouth, and she found that she actually didn't mind saying it. "I can't date a Muggleborn and have a best friend who hates Muggleborns at the same time. Ridiculous."

Adonis looked like she had punched him. "Why are you being like this? We've stuck together since first year. You're willing to flush our friendship down the drain for someone you're dating for just a year? Are you serious?"

Jade replied back, her voice hollow. "Yes, you and I may have been friends since first year, but I told you in second year that I wasn't interested in being friends if you ever became an intolerable asshole like Malfoy."

"Are you kidding? Jade, I can tolerate Gibbons. You're blowing this way out of proportion." Adonis protested.

"You know what people tolerate, Adonis?" Jade snapped. "The things they hate." Another scoff left her lips. "Gosh, Malfoy and ignorant people like you are the reason why Slytherin has a bad reputation."

She had nothing more to say to him. She started to walk towards the door, but Adonis tried to catch up with her.

"Jade, wait." His voice was frustrated but desperate at the same time.

She felt his hand come down on the back of her shoulder. Jade shook from his touch, like a fuse that popped. Her lip twitched from everything she was feeling at the moment. She whirled around by instinct, smacking his hand away.

"No!" She raised her voice. Adonis stared at her in shock, and she stared right back at him, her brown eyes livid. "Just... stay away from me until the last task is over. I don't need your prejudiced beliefs distracting me from the tournament."

With that, she turned around and left him behind her. To her relief, he didn't come after her this time. It wasn't that long ago that she was laughing with Adonis, Adrian, and Cassius at Hogsmeade. Everything was fine hours ago. How quickly sour things turned over something so pathetic.

If people had witnessed her argument with Adonis, they might have thought she was being petty. But Adonis had taken a strike against her relationship with Cait while he was talking to Draco and Pansy, behind Cait's back, behind her back. His reasons for doing that, Jade couldn't accept.

She gritted her teeth as she remembered something.

"Did you make any friends, Jade?" Her mother asked when she returned home for Christmas break.

"Mhm hm. His name is Adonis Carrow." Jade replied with a smile.

Her mother looked like she had just burned herself. "What? Carrow? Jade, that boy is bad news. I don't want you near him."

"You haven't even met him, mum." Jade protested.

"I don't have to meet him. That boy is not a good influence for you."

"You're wrong about him. He's very funny and nice. He's my friend!" Jade yelled with finality.

Her mother just sighed. "I need to prepare the Christmas dinner. Your aunt, uncle, and Cho are going to be here later." Her mother turned her back on her to head to the kitchen. "If he's anything like his father, he will disappoint you. Someday you will realize I am right."

As Jade climbed the stairs to head to the hallways, she punched the wall. She let out a yell, a mixture of her anger and grief.

Her mother had made her assumptions about Adonis, and Jade had defended him. She had defended him.

She was pissed at herself that it took her so long to admit to herself why her relationship with Cait was a touchy subject with Adonis. She was pissed at Adonis for agreeing with Draco and Pansy's views. He didn't have to say anything, but his silence spoke louder than words.

But most of all, she was pissed that her mother had been right about him all along, because she hadn't wanted her to be.

A/N - :'D Thanks for reading! XD