Despite everything that had been happening lately, it was impossible for Emmeline Vance not to feel the anticipated surge of adrenaline through her veins as she lurched forward through the brick barrier of Kings Cross Station.
"This gets me every bloody time." Were the last words she heard her father say in an amused tone, and Emmeline bit back a smile as she squeezed her eyes shut tight. She'd faced wayward Bludgers and the occasional girl fight, but running point blank towards inanimate objects was not her forte. The initial sadness at bidding her parents a good-bye wore away upon stepping onto the platform , unable to prevent her lips from parting into a smile of awe at the great, red Hogwarts Express, poised on the train-tracks emitting a honk of steam signalling that there were a mere five minutes to go until the clock struck eleven.
It had been an eventful Christmas, to say the least, starting from the very moment she had stepped foot off the train at the beginning of her holidays. "What on earth have you done to your hair?" Her mother's words of greeting had been expected, and Emmeline had been rather proud of herself at doing something completely irrational and impulsive. The naturally chocolate brown locks she had worn all her life had been attacked by her overexcited best friends, dyed golden blonde and cropped from waist length to a few inches below her shoulders.
"Holy Merlin." Dorcas Meadowes had uttered slowly, upon admiring her handiwork in the mirror of the Gryffindor girls washrooms. Emmeline's dark blue eyes were more prominent than ever now, and instead of looking younger than her recently turned sixteen years as per usual, she could pass for being of age. Gone were the days where she melded into the background of her three best friends with whom she went everywhere with, in the last few weeks of the schooling term, Emmeline had received more attention from the opposite sex than she collectively had in her previous five years at Hogwarts.
She wasn't particularly timid or shy, it was just when compared to the exquisite and unique girls comprising of the sixth year Gryffindor dormitory, Emmeline had been overshadowed by them. Lily Evans was the prefect, the sweet golden-hearted girl with auburn tresses and eyes so green they gave Slytherin house a run for their gold. Lily was closest with Dorcas Meadowes, the shortest of them all, petite with elfin features, alabaster skin of a creamy hue and hair so dark it was almost black. And then there was Marlene McKinnon, the natural blonde, with sun-kissed skin. Marley had been ecstatic in convincing Emmeline to finally change up her look, welcoming her to the exciting life changing decision that was becoming a blonde as though it was a club.
"Honestly Emmeline, you looked fine without all …this." Her mother had finished flatly, eyeing Emmeline's newly golden tresses warily as they walked to the carpark of the train station. Nadine Vance was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, conservative and logical did not begin to describe the half of her tendencies to be uptight about certain things, such as Emmeline's physical appearance. It was her father that had convinced Nadine to refrain from charming Emmeline's hair back to the way it was. David Vance was a writer by trade, penning short stories here and there for literary magasines. The muggle that could blend into any crowd, and one of the most important wizards in the Ministry, they made quite the pairing. Despite this, there had been no objections from either party's families to the wedding, not even from Nadine's pure-blood parents. Thus, Emmeline was the literal definition of being half-blooded.
"I think it looks lovely. You look like Debbie Harry!" her father had exclaimed, and at this Emmeline had been uplifted. Any reference the muggle punk scene was enough to satisfy her, and she ignored her mother's kind-hearted criticism.
The blonde hair hadn't been the biggest event occurring during the Christmas break, unfortunately. Nadine was in and out of work constantly. The borderline terrorist behaviour of You-Know-Who was now well known throughout the Wizarding World, even the muggles were beginning to notice disappearances and destruction. Despite being the daughter of a witch holding a key role in the attempt to place a ceasefire on the workings of the terrorist, Emmeline wasn't disclosed much information about the occurrences.
But now, upon returning back to Hogwarts for a sense of what she hoped would be normalcy, Emmeline wanted nothing more than to rid herself of the political strife and deal with normal teenage problems. Currently, they were: dealing with the ridiculous amount of schoolwork they had been receiving this year and upholding her grades in order to ensure her position as an Auror upon graduating, convince Lily that she was in denial about James Potter's advances, and maybe earn herself a relationship comparable to the current love between Dorcas and Remus. They were adorable, there was no other way of putting it, and despite being happy for her friend, Emmeline couldn't resist from being jealous.
Of course, it wasn't as though she had anyone on her mind that could rival the high standards set by Remus of being a good boyfriend. Her closest friends were James and co, and two of them were taken, and the other two were just…her friends. Emmeline couldn't imagine not talking muggle music with Sirius, or teasing poor Petey about something or the other.
Then again, things with her and Sirius had…changed. The dynamics of their friendship had been thrown into whack ever since the end-of-term Christmas party thrown by Professor Slughorn. A few moments carried away under the damn mistletoe had ensured that they hadn't spoken to each other in weeks for fear of bringing it up again. It had been just a kiss- or two, or three, Emmeline had managed to convince herself, but if that had been the case, why were they being so weird about it?
Maybe it was because from what she had gathered ,neither had told their friends, or anyone for that matter about it. Or perhaps it was the fact that Sirius had still been very much in a relationship with the drop-dead-gorgeous Hufflepuff prefect, the blonde one who never went anywhere without a smile on her face. Charity call-me-Cherry Burbage, that was her name. She was bubbly and vivacious, and an all-around lovely person, but Emmeline had never viewed her as Sirius' type. Their relationship had ended the day after the party, though Emmeline had only heard on word of mouth.
Her thought process was interrupted by a mass of blonde hair hurtling towards her, and before she had time to react, arms were thrown around Emmeline's neck, catching her surprise. "Marley!" she laughed, hugging her friend in greeting, and allowing her to drag her by the arm towards the train.
Despite everything, it was good to be back at school.