Chapter 1
Emma was always getting into trouble with the law. Even when she was at school she was constantly screwing everything up. But now she had finished school, (albeit 5 years ago) and had mastered the skill of magic. So when she was accused of murdering someone she hadn't even heard of, she was quite alarmed.
She sat in the chair in the middle of the court room, watching the entire ministry file in, filling up the seats behind the Minister for Magic himself, Mr Cornelius Fudge. What a wonderful way to spend your 22nd birthday, she thought to herself as she shifted nervously in her seat.
"We are gathered here today, June 30th, to discuss the consequences of Emma Vincent, who, on the 13th of December last year, performed the killing curse on an unsuspecting victim. Do you have anything to say?" He said, towering over her from his chair.
"I swear it wasn't me!" She cried, trying not to burst into tears in front of everyone.
Well do you have witnesses from the event to prove your innocence?" boomed Cornelius Fudge,
"No sir."
"Then you are hereby charged to either a year in Azkaban or a year without magic. Which will it be?" He said. Emma stared at him, noticing how many wrinkles were showing on his face, truly saying he was too old for this position. A year in Azkaban?
She'd rather die than go there, because the guards which were Dementors, would make her feel so miserable and have no point living she would just hope she'd die soon. Whereas without magic, sure life would be different, more complicated but she could live like a muggle, surely it wasn't that hard? And so Emma had come up with her decision rather quickly, and gave them her response. Little did she know how she would be treated if she were muggle.
"I choose an entire year without magic," she said. It was easier said than done, as she realised when every single item of magic was being taken away from her house later that evening. The last item they took from her was her wand, and they gave her a letter in return. She opened the formal looking letter which stated everything she mustn't do for a whole year and if she completed everything satisfactorily she would be given all her stuff back.
She also read something down the bottom – it was an address. The Ministry wanted her to live in a particular apartment because it was away from magic and was filled entirely with muggle items. There was a key in the envelope. She wondered how on earth she was going to get to this apartment that night, and to her relief the wizards were still outside her house.
"Hey, um do you think you could take me to this address? I'm not quite sure where it is." She asked innocently as she showed him the address, trying not to give away the fact that she clearly wanted to get there as soon as possible. One of the younger wizards' gladly helped her, and so in a few seconds she was outside her new building, a box full of items she previously owned which weren't magic at all in her arms.
"You're a brave girl, choosing to live without magic like that, honestly, I'd die if I didn't have magic, muggles, don't know how they do it," he said before disapparating.
She walked into the building and her jaw dropped. It was like a mansion, only 100 stories high. Why she was being given such a rich place to live in, she would never know as she stepped into the elevator. Her apartment was on the hundredth floor, at the very top, and the wait in the elevator took around ten minutes without stops.
She found her door and was just about to open the door when all of a sudden the box in her arms gave way to everything in it. The bottom had split and she groaned. She kneeled down and fixed the box first, and then picked up whatever she could grab and dumped it in the box when she heard a door open and feet walking towards her. She looked up to see guy around her age with platinum blonde hair helping her pick up her things.
"Uhh what are you doing?" she couldn't help but ask. He dropped everything into the box.
"I don't want muggle filth on my floors, since I own this building," her mouth dropped open in horror.
"Who are you?" she said, disgust in her voice. He'd called her a muggle, so he was definitely a wizard.
"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. I live just across the hall from you. Aren't you the girl who isn't allowed to use magic for a year?"
"Yeah and you're an ass," she said, slamming the door in his face. She heard another door slam seconds later, and breathed out her anger. She looked around the apartment, it was really well furnished and by the time she reached her new bed she was falling asleep.