Next morning, Jade stretched her arms over her head and yawned,
her typical reaction to the buttery sunlight that poured in through the
curtains every morning. There was no sunlight pouring in today, however.
The light behind the window was thin and gray, watery and dark and
utterly dismal. Rain drummed on the castle roof, and the visible windows
glowed gold with the light of candles and oil lamps and fires.

Alana was sitting on the end of her bed, bouncing lightly and wearing huge pajamas, at least
three sizes too big for her. They were Jade's pajamas, filched from the
bottom of her trunk and waving around as the small redhead hopped and
danced, sleeves flapping.

"Morning," Jade said thickly, sitting up and reaching for her wand on the nightstand.

"You're
finally up, sleepyhead," Alana said, smiling and helping Jade out of
bed and onto the carpeted floor. "Come on and get dressed- we're going
to Hogsmeade!"

Jade loved Hogsmeade- the candy store and bookshops
and all of the gorgeous buildings and friendly people. She hopped up
and ran to choose clothes, selecting something warm and that would keep
dry. She ended up with a sweater and some jeans, plus Alana's brown
boots- the girls were the same shoe size, despite their age gap.

As she began to try brushing her hair (the results varied every day, but she at least
had to try),West opened the door of the dormitory and came barging in,
eyes a little wild. She was dressed, but messily, as though she had done
it in a rush.

"Jade," she called, pushing past Mallory, who was making her bed. "Jade, Alana, it's important."

"When
is it not?" Alana muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
West smacked her and then laughed, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Jade,
I woke up early. I got this weird feeling- like the thing with the
vines and the forest the other day- and it felt like everything inside
of me was stretching out and taking root in other places and sprouting. It wasn't as scary as last time, though. It was less out of control, more like I was the one in charge this time."

"What
could that be connected to?" Jade was puzzled. She leaned over and
tugged her hair up into a bun and impaled it with two green lacquered
chopsticks, a new technique for when said hair didn't cooperate.

"I
don't know, but I just thought I should let you know." West shrugged
and began to comb her hair with a thin tortoiseshell comb that she
produced from the pocket of her oatmeal-colored sweater.

"You
coming to Hogsmeade today?" Jade continued to adjust her curls in the
mirror, making sure that the way she had piled them on her head would
keep them out of her eyes.

"Nah, I can't. First years
technically aren't allowed." West lowered her voice and moved closer.
"But say Alana and I were to distract Filch and slip outside, or climb
out a window- well, that would just be a shame, wouldn't it?"

Alana laughed and popped a Bertie Bott's into her mouth. She promptly spat it out onto the rug. "GAH! Booger flavored. I have got to buy some better candy."

The
girls all fell over laughing, and Alana glared but then chuckled as
well. She tugged on the hem of Jade's pajama shirt and then headed to
the closet to get changed.

***************

In
Hogsmeade, Jade led her friends through the winding streets, reveling
in the warm, late April sunshine. There was a faint breeze from the
mountains, and everything smelled of flowers and damp earth.

"This
is amazing," West cheered, as a drift of saffron-yellow pollen landed
on her face, turning her into a light green and yellow dust sculpture. Alana sneezed, and the girls all laughed as more pollen swirled around their heads.