The Slytherin Gem

74

December had started and with it, it brang the Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff lost 120 - 190. Not a big difference but enough to put Gryffindor in last place. The match was quite a disappointment as it only lasted thirty minutes.

"Can we talk?" Jade asked Draco after the match, it was just them walking around the grounds of Hogwarts, no one was nearby. Temperatures were getting lower and lower, so everyone preferred to spend some time inside in front of a fireplace instead of freezing outside.

"What is it?" Draco asked, concerned. He knew that look.

"Would you become an Animagus with me?" Jade asked and looked into his grey eyes, she bit her bottom lip nervously.

"What?" Draco exclaimed in surprise. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No, actually I..."

"Is that why you were asking McGonagall about it the other day?" Draco asked, interrupting her.

"She gave me the idea. Just hear me out, Draco!" Jade exclaimed. "I've read the process about a hundred times and I think we could do it. We'd be unregistered Animaguses and we could hide anywhere, no one would find us."

"Unregistered? Well, this just keeps getting better. Do you even know what we'd get if they find us?"

"Some time in Azkaban," Jade said as it wasn't a big deal.

"Yes, time in Azkaban, and that's the least of our worries! What if we end up being some exotic animals? I'm sure a Polar Bear walking around London wouldn't go unnoticed," Draco told her alarmed. "You can't choose what to be! Just letting you know in case you didn't have a club about that tiny little fact."

"Yes, I know. But you can have an idea of what you might be. I mean, McGonagall is a cat and her patronus is a cat."

"It's not always like that! Your Patronus can change with traumatic events and I can't even do a patronus! What if I end up being a lion or a cow, or some weird animal? A cat, like McGonagall is easier, you can walk around without getting attention," Draco said. "And that's if things go okay, what if they aren't? You heard McGonagall, you can end up being half human, half animal. I've heard it's extremely painful!"

"Nothing will go wrong! I've gone through it, thousands of times. I can get what we need in a day. Draco, this might be the answer we've been looking for! Peter Petergrew hid for twelve years, faked his own death and it worked. The only people who were able to tell that he was in fact not dead were the only people who knew he was an Animagus. So, we tell no one, we do it and run away."

"It sounds perfect when you say it like that but there are big risks and it takes so long to actually do it."

"But we can do it, I'm sure of it. We're capable of it."

"I think you have too much faith in our abilities," Draco told her. "And do you actually think we can keep it a secret? What if someone reads our minds or something of the sort?"

"Well, Aunt Bella did teach you how to keep your mind closed, didn't she?"

"Yes but I can't always do it."

"Look, I've got what I need for the potion and I can get the leaf of a Mandrake right now. We'll have a full moon in two days, so don't want to pressure you but you have either two days or wait until the next moon cycle to think about it."

"You are unbelievable, Jade! You aren't just asking me to go down the road with you, or to help you with homework or..."

"I know, Draco! I know! I wouldn't be pressuring you if this wasn't urgent. We can't wait much longer. We either do this now or think of something else. I truly do believe that this is the answer we have been looking for."