The Slytherin Champion (The Four Maidens of Hogwarts #1)

Chapter Sixteen

A/N - Thanks for being patient with me! Hope you all like the update :)

Jade dug into her morning breakfast as soon as she sat down. It had been a few days after the Yule Ball. She had lately been getting even more glances and stares after that night than when she had been selected to be a Triwizard Champion. She had a feeling it was because of that long kiss with Cait on the dancefloor, so she didn't really address it much.

"What you got there, Adrian?" She heard Adonis ask his friend. Both Adonis and Adrian were sitting across from her in their usual favorite spots at the Slytherin table.

"Yesterday's Daily Prophet." Adrian responded as he proceeded to read through the front page while putting a piece of toast in his mouth.

Cassius took a seat next to her, plopping a plate full of pancakes before proceeding to dump a bunch of syrup on them.

Jade blinked, furrowed her eyebrows slightly. A part of her was amazed at how Cassius can eat so much and still be in good shape, especially since he was on the Quidditch team.

Flurries of owls then flew overhead. Xue landed nearby, placing a letter in front of Jade. She ripped the opening off and began to read the letter.

Happy Christmas, dear.

We missed you this Christmas, but we hope the Yule Ball was everything you wanted it to be.

Have your professors mentioned Apparition lessons yet? It is a good skill to learn. Your father and I just remembered to send in the money to prepay. When you get old you start to forget more things. Please remember to sign up.

Jade frowned slightly. Her parents didn't have to pay for her Apparition lessons. She could have paid for those while her parents saved the money for something more important. She sighed, deciding to just be thankful. Jade continued to read.

We also want to ask what you have been doing this year. Your father saw an article about you in the Daily Prophet yesterday. Who are you dancing with? You look happy.

Don't hurt yourself in the tournament. Study hard.

Jade widened her eyes.

"You alright, Jade?" Adonis asked, chewing a piece of bacon.

Article... Her eyes landed on Adrian's Daily Prophet. "I need to see this." She reached across the table and took it out of Adrian's hand.

Jade flipped through the pages, her eyes skimming the visuals. She then gasped when she reached the middle.

Hogwarts's Yule Ball with Slytherin Champion, Jade Lin, and Hufflepuff Date

Written by Rita Skeeter

A large black and white moving photo of Jade and Cait kissing while dancing in the middle of the dance floor stared back.

Mother and Father saw... this?

It was one thing for the people she went to school with to see her and Cait together at the Yule Ball. It was a completely different thing for her parents to see it. Jade hadn't even begun to read the article yet, but for once she was actually starting to prefer if the Weasley twins pranked her in public over this.

Jade inhaled a deep breath before proceeding to read.

Hogwarts has quite the selection of Triwizard Champions. The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, or should I refer to him as The Boy Who Cheated, as other students are calling him? The other Hogwarts Champion, Jade Lin, also known as the Slytherin Champion, was the first pick before Potter's name was also called.