AN: Yay everyone! I finally got an update on this! I love all the feedback for this fic and it is probably one of my favorites, and it's about to take a little darker turn, but if you know me as a writer, you know that is usually how it goes. I just can't help myself with the angst sometimes. It makes the romance all the more pleasing to me :) Anyways, as always, ignore my typos if you find them I will get to them eventually. :D

Chapter 8: North

Hermione was sitting next to Jade's bed in the infirmary, they had found the girl lying unconscious against a tree next to a bone, which had been peculiar. Madame Pomfrey had said she'd just been hit with a stunning spell, but also physically knocked unconscious and she hadn't wanted to revive her until her body was done recovering. The brunette sighed as she held Jade's hand and heard footsteps approaching from the doorway.

"How is Miss McHale?" Dumbledore asked as he stood next to Hermione and frowned. The brunette just shook her head as she kept her eyes locked on supine form on the bed and shrugged.

"No change." Hermione sighed as she shook her head and sat back in her chair. "Madame Pomfrey says she should wake up any time, but she must've been hit with a very powerful stunning spell." Dumbledore nodded as he put a calming hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"I'm sure she'll wake soon." The brunette just hummed and nodded as she heard the Headmaster leave. "Don't dwell too long, Miss Granger." The wizard said before he left Hermione alone with the Head Girl.

"Why won't you wake up, Jade?" She whispered as she gripped the limp hand tighter and shook her head. "Why did you make me leave you? I could've helped." Hermione jumped when she felt Jade's fingers twitch and she held her breath as one blue eye fluttered open with a lot of effort. "Jade?"

"Where am I?" The older girl's voice was raspy and her eyes were narrowed as she glanced around the room to try to get a hold on her surroundings. "The man in the forest!" Jade shot up and groaned as she grabbed her head and shut her eyes. "Ugh…what, what happened?" Her teeth were clenched tight as she blinked a few times and rubbed her temples to try and stop the blood thundering in her skull.

"When I came back with Dumbledore," Hermione said gently as she put a hand on her shoulder to push the Slytherin back down onto the mattress. "You were knocked out when we found you. Do you remember what happened?" Jade groaned as she rubbed her eyes and felt her muscles argue against any slight movement. The brunette frowned and grabbed her girlfriend's hand as Madame Pomfrey came into the room.

"Miss McHale!" She gasped as she scurried back behind the curtain to her office and the girls heard the clanking of bottles before she came back with a vial of thick emerald green potion. "Here deary, drink this." Jade seemed a bit skeptical as she took the flask and put it to her lips. She cringed at the bitter flavor and squeezed her eyes shut as she swallowed hard. "That will help with the soreness."

"There was a man," Jade continued as she felt the potion working into her system. "I didn't see his face." The raven haired girl sighed as she leaned back against her pillows and shook her head. "Did you find Barty's body?" Hermione frowned as she shook her head and her brow furrowed.

"There was no body when we found you." Blue eyes snapped open as she glanced at the brunette and confusion wrought her features. "There wasn't anyone."

"That's not right," The lycan muttered as she looked up at the ceiling and her eyes glanced around as if she was searching for something on the high cathedral style ceiling. "He was there, I know he was. I saw him!"

"I know it doesn't make much sense," Hermione agreed as she moved her chair closer to the bed and gently brushed a lock of hair away from Jade's face. "But we can talk to Dumbledore about it later. You really need to rest. Whatever that man hit you with, it was very powerful, you were unconscious for almost twenty-four hours."

"That long?" Jade shook her head as she massaged her forehead with the heel of her hand, as if trying to force the memory of that evening back to her. Nothing made sense. There had been a body and it had been Barty Crouch Sr.'s. So why hadn't it been there when they found her? "That man, the one that attacked me. He must've done something to Barty's body."

"Jade," The brunette reached forward and gently took her head in hers. "You need to rest, I know being passed out for almost an entire day seems like rest, but it's not. You've had a very restless sleep. Just try and relax ok?"

"I could do that better if I was in my own room." The lycan argued as she released a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. She heard the faint steps of someone approaching and when her azure orbs opened again, she saw Madame Pomfrey walking briskly towards them. "Can I leave, please?"

"Can you move?" Blue eyes blinked as Jade sat up and felt her muscles hinder her movement. They were tight and pulling against her, arguing that they didn't agree with her actions. Regardless, the lycan gritted her teeth and sat up with a heavy sigh as if she accomplished some strenuous feat. Madame Pomfrey just quirked an unamused eyebrow as Jade swung her feet over the side of the bed with a groan and then glared up at the matron.

"Satisfied?" She asked with a breath that exuded the strain it had taken get her body to sit up.

"Not really." The mediwitch sighed as she handed Hermione a vial of orange liquid. "Make sure she drinks this before she falls asleep again, Miss Granger." With that said, Pomfrey eyed the Slytherin who glared back before turning back towards her office.

"I'm surprised she let you go." Hermione said as she handed Jade's robe to her and slung the older girl's bag over her shoulder.

"You can't argue with a Slytherin, Hermione." A smirk spread on the Head Girl's lips as she glanced down at her girlfriend. She stood on weak legs, but she dared not let her Gryffindor see as she took a deep breath to keep her composure. "We're always right." Hermione just rolled her eyes as she slipped her hand into Jade's and they slowly, carefully, left the infirmary.

x—x

A few days passed as normal. Normal being that Barty Crouch Sr. had gone missing and no one had any idea of what happened. Jade was positive she had found his body, knew in her gut that she had, but there was no trace of anything when Dumbledore and the Aurors had returned to the spot she had been unconscious. The school was already in a buzz about the tournament, and the Minister of Magic thought it best not to rouse the media with the disappearance of Crouch.

"Politics." Jade hissed as she sat in the Great Hall on Saturday morning, the Daily Prophet in her hands and a goblet of pumpkin juice in the other. She rolled her eyes at the latest article Rita Skeeter had written, slandering her girlfriend at the three other champions, excluding Cedric of course. Her blue eyes glanced around the hall, being a weekend, there were hardly any students awake before nine in the morning so it was no surprise that only some Ravenclaws were up and of course, the Beauxbaton's girls. Apparently they couldn't seem to get used to the hour time difference and were always up an hour before everyone else, even Durmstrang was able to sleep in past ten in the morning.

"You look much better, mon loup." Jade looked up to see Fleur approaching with a small smile on her face, heavy, powder blue robes draping kindly over her figure to help block out the cold. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Much," The wolf answered softly as she folded the paper and tossed it into the fireplace behind the Slytherin table. "You look warm." The blonde sat down across from the Slytherin and rolled her eyes. "Are you not?"

"'Ow can I be in zis drafty castle?" Fleur answered with a frown before pulling her heavy cloak tightly around her slim shoulders. Jade just smiled as she shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her black, flannel button up and jeans.

"I'm pretty comfortable in just this." She retorted sarcastically as Fleur narrowed her dark blue eyes and straightened her posture. "Maybe you French need thicker skin."

"We can't all 'ave a naturally 'igh temperature like you, Jade." The quarter-Veela argued as she folded her arms over her chest and looked out the window to see snow falling lazily. "Besides, it is winter, non? We are not all gifted wiz your ability to adapt to zee elements."

"Birds fly south for the winter, don't they?" That comment rewarded the lycan with a smack on the hand and she chuckled when Fleur cracked a smile. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Vous tromper." Fleur rolled her eyes and sighed. "But you are correct about one zing, I am not used to zis…frigid weazer. I don't know 'ow zee Eenglish can tolerate zee snow."

"Well," Jade glanced to her right and saw Hermione approaching, clad in a heavy Gryffindor red sweater and jeans. "For one, we wear layers." There was a playful lilt in the brunette's tone that was underscored with a rather stern expression. Fleur either ignored it, or thought it wise to not acknowledge the clear look of displeasure on the younger witch's face.

"Good morning, 'Ermione." The blonde greeted kindly as Hermione moved around the table and sat down next to her girlfriend. "I zought per'aps the 'eavy food is what kept you Brits…warm for zee cold." Jade sighed as she shook her head slightly and noticed Hermione biting her tongue to not lash out at the Veela.

"I wouldn't want to be blown away by a strong breeze." Hermione smiled before leaning forward and tucking a lock of hair behind Jade's ear, planting a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Good morning, how are you feeling?" The lycan smiled as she turned towards the fiery Gryffindor.

"Better, sore." The Slytherin answered as she watched Fleur out of the corner of her eye begin eating a piece of toast. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed." Hermione nodded as she scooted closer to Jade and the lycan smiled. It was evident that the brunette was jealous and to be quite honest, Jade found it endearing how she tried to hide it. She hoped eventually Hermione and Fleur would get along, but that time seemed far and in between since the Veela was only there for the school year.

There was a ruckus as more students became filing into the Great Hall for breakfast and soon Jade rose from her seat as other Slytherins approached them. Draco, for some odd reason, always seemed to be leading the pack of lackeys and the wolf was exhausted trying to deal with him. So, as they entered, Jade offered her hand to her Gryffindor, before moving to leave the hall. Her last encounter with Malfoy had set the boy straight on what would happen if he insulted Hermione again, but he always seemed to push his limits.

"I'm going to go eat with Harry and Ron." Hermione said as they made their way around the table and the brunette saw her friends in the distance. "Where can I find you later?"

"The library." Jade smiled as Hermione pecked her on the cheek once more and went off to join her friends. Her smile faded when they were out of sight in the hall and a serious look fell on her features as she made her way towards the staircases. The third floor corridor had always been blocked off the last few years for reasons she didn't know. Regardless, it was a good place to think. She sat under a torch, a statue of an unknown wizard against her back as she contemplated the events of the past few days. She barely recognized the scent of the man who assaulted her over the stench of death. It was harsh and abrasive against her senses, and the wolf was trying hard to identify the smell.

"You know you're being targeted, don't you?" Jade lifted her head to see Draco standing by the entrance to the corridor, the torches lighting the sharp features on his face and his lips pulled into a smirk. "You weren't supposed to find that man in the forest. Now they're watching you and your mudblood." Jade growled as she jumped forward and grabbed the blonde boy by the collar. He didn't flinch, his smirk only growing as she slammed him against the wall.

"What do you know?" She hissed as she held him up against the wall and felt her wolf stir. "Who was in the forest and who is targeting me?!" Draco just chuckled as he lifted his left arm and rolled up the sleeve. Jade's eyes widened slightly as she saw the Dark Mark marring his pale skin and bared her teeth. That's when she smelled it. Draco's scent wasn't right and she narrowed her eyes as she dug her growing claws into his neck, piercing the skin to let the smell of blood seep into the air. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Draco just laughed louder as he put his hands on her and pulled her closer. His eyes were swirling with dark fog that glassed over his grey orbs. His smile was wicked and the same biting stench filled Jade's nose. Suddenly, she cried out as she felt a searing pain in her ribs and she dropped the boy, looking down to see the afterglow of a curse burning through her robes. She roared as the person in Draco's body held his jagged, redwood wand at her and tilted his head to the side curiously.

"You're a lot more trouble than I thought you'd be." Jade ripped her school robe off and growled, her eyes glowing brightly as pulled out her ebony wand and took her dueling stance. "Shall we skip the niceties? I are you all about honor? You may bow to me, if you must." He jeered and Jade gritted her teeth before sending a silent stunning curse in his direction. He parried easily, projecting a large wave of green light towards her which she blocked effectively.

"Who are you?" Jade asked again as three dark purple jets of light shot from her wand in quick succession, one grazing her attacker's neck and he hissed in agitation. "What do you want from me?" The intruder swished his wand and a large vulture made of fire erupted, spreading its massive wings before launching at her.

"I've had enough of your meddling!" He shouted before waving his wand at her and the vulture extended its flaming clawed feet. Jade cursed, Fiendfyre, of course. She quickly brought the tip of her wand to her palm and made a small cut before flourishing it widely. A bright blue flame manifested in front of her and formed into a large wolf that roared angrily before charging at the vulture. "What kind of magic is this?!" The man hissed as he watched Jade's wolf overpower the crimson flames, effectively snuffing them out.

"You'd be surprised how weak dark magic can be." Jade answered as she reached out, letting the blue fire lick at her wound on her palm and it started to heal itself. "Remove the dark from a Fienfyre and infuse it with light magic makes it all the more powerful." Her opponent scowled as she advanced, the fire wolf still standing next to her. "Now, who are you?"

The man chuckled before raising his wand high, a dark mass of thick black smoke spilling out from it like water. Jade tensed as she felt the temperature in the corridor drop significantly and the torches died out from the cold. The darkness writhed around the ground like a serpent before wrapping around her and the wolf before drowning it out. With the blue fire extinguished, there was no light around them. Jade's eyes were still glowing, darting back and forth looking for the man who looked like the platinum haired Malfoy.

"We'll have to finish our duel some other time, girly." Draco's voice echoed in the black as Jade snarled and waved her wand around her, a white light swirling with the darkness before blasting the shadows away. The torches were lit again, no sign of anyone being there besides her and she cursed loudly before punching the bust of a former Headmaster. She was getting frustrated with everything that was going on. Jade was being targeted by the Death Eaters, that much was clear, but she couldn't find out who this mystery man was that was always finding her.

Jade was about to go to the dungeons to clean herself up and change clothes before meeting Hermione, until she noticed the trace amount of blood under her fingernails from when she had scratched the Malfoy impersonator. Her eyes widened before she started running towards the Headmaster's office.

x—x

Hermione had been waiting for more than an hour in the library for Jade, not that she didn't have anything to do with her homework, but it wasn't like her girlfriend to tell her to meet her somewhere and then not show up. Needless to say, she was a bit worried with the trouble Jade seemed to be finding herself in lately.

"Hallo, Herm-own-ninny," The brunette sighed softly, looking up from her charms essay to see Viktor taking a seat across from her. "How haff you been?"

"Good afternoon, Viktor." Hermione replied as she looked back to her parchment and began scrawling again. The Bulgarian hadn't spoken to her since the Yule Ball and frankly, she didn't care either way. "I've been well, how about yourself?"

"Good, thank you for asking." The Seeker seemed a bit nervous as she rubbed the back of his neck and Hermione tucked a curl behind her ear before sighing.

"Do you need something, Viktor?" She asked finally and the man flinched slightly before straightening up and clearing his throat. Hermione set her quill down and waited for what he had to say. He was about to speak when the doors to the library were flung open and a disheveled looking Draco Malfoy stumbled into, eyes darting back and forth. His grey orbs finally fell on Hermione and he smirked as she marched towards her.

"Get up mudblood." Hermione narrowed her eyes and stood suddenly, knocking her chair over and glared at Malfoy."

"Excuse me?" She asked harshly as Viktor stood and scowled at the short blonde boy. "You want to try that greeting again, Ferret?" Hermione glared as Malfoy chuckled and pulled out his wand. "Are you insane? We're in the library." She hissed as she put her hand on her own wand in her robe pocket.

"I think you need to leaf." Viktor intervened as he moved in front of Draco and folded his arms over his chest. Hermione gasped when Malfoy hit Krum with a stunning curse and smirked evilly as his eyes fell on her again. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at the Slytherin.

"What's wrong with you, Malfoy?" Hermione queried as she watched Madame Pince run out of the library along with several students. "It's not like a coward to attack someone face to face." The boy sneered and shook his head.

"The fastest way to get to your girlfriend, would be to hurt you." He muttered nonchalantly as he tilted his head and grinned. "Wouldn't you say?" Hermione narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw.

"What do you want with Jade?" She asked and Malfoy just shrugged.

"I want her gone, Stupefy!" Hermione dove behind a table as the white light shot towards her and crashed into a book shelf. She stood up and flourished her wand, sending an immobilizing curse at Draco, which he dodged. "Is that all the Brightest Witch of her Age is capable of? A stunning curse?"

"Malfoy, what the hell?!" She shouted as a cutting curse came flying at her and she had just enough time to conjure a shield. "What is bloody wrong with you?" Draco just laughed as he sent curse after curse at her before her energy waned and her shield shattered. There was a burning pain in her wand arm and she looked over to see a large gash marring her shoulder. She put pressure on it to keep from bleeding out more as Draco advanced on her.

"With her out of the way," He drawled slowly, his blonde hair falling in his face and then Hermione saw the darkness swirling in his normally clear, grey-blue eyes. "I don't have anything to worry about." Hermione flinched as he raised his wand again before hearing a carnal growl mixed with a rage filled scream. Her eyes opened in time to see Jade running on all fours, teeth long and sharp, lunge at Malfoy, tackling him to the ground. She quickly backed away as Dumbledore and Snape came running in.

"I know who you are now, Death Eater." Jade growled as her claws dug deep into his shoulders. "Now all we have to do is wait until you change back so we can send you back to Azkaban."

"I'm never going back there." The imposter grinned as he raised his wand to his head. "Bombarda." Jade reacted swiftly, jumping over to Hermione and taking her to the ground as the man's head exploded. She felt the blood and flesh rain down on her back before looking up to see the mangled mess of the body. Hermione stirred underneath her and Jade kept her down.

"Don't look, Hermione." She muttered as the brunette tried to look over her shoulder. There were small droplets of blood on the lycan's face as she heard Dumbledore approaching. "Promise me you won't look." Hermione just nodded as she closed her eyes, feeling Jade move from over top her before helping her to her feet. She wanted to look, but she saw where the man in Draco's body had his wand pointed and she knew what the spell would do.

"We need to get this cleaned up." Snape drawled as Dumbledore hummed in thought. "Close off the library for the day and I will take care of this…mess."

"Make sure to contact Azkaban and have them double check for missing prisoners." The Headmaster commanded gently as he turned to Jade and Hermione. "I think you two should come to my office after Miss McHale gets cleaned up, and Hermione, you should go see Madame Pomfrey."

"I'll take her, Headmaster." Jade said gently as she grabbed Hermione's hand and began guiding her through the debris of tables and books. "We will come to your office within the hour."