The Great Art of Life
I have told lies and made a fool of myself,
and the very air tastes like wine.
I have been frightened half out of my foolish wits,
but I have somehow earned this joy;
I have been waiting for it for so long
– Shirley Jackson.
One: Weasley
Slytherin Weasleys were far and few. Every generation before Emelia had several in different houses. Though, being the only Slytherin of eight Gryffindors made life particularly difficult.
Through the years she'd been at Hogwarts, Emelia Weasley had discovered a contemporary fire burning inside of herself – she did not stand up for her surname, but repelled it. Despite the torment during her first year, the sorting hat inspired her to be as relentless as Salazar Slytherin and prove her place in the pureblood community.
"A female Weasley?" it murmured conversely into her mind. "Except you are different, oh, different, yes. Such cunning… and a fate, a fate so traitorous. Emilia, what a soul. I'm almost jealous."
Wanting to rip the bastard-thing off her head, she dug her fingernails into the chair and listened to his humming. The ratty thing had to be insane, exclaiming to find lots inside of her head; fountains of passion, devotion, an endless love for knowledge and power. Apparently, she bore a sinister resemblance to Ignatious Prewitt, a great uncle of herself, whose temperamental attitude and estranged marriage to Lucretia Black led to his banishment.
"Oh of course," the hat continued. "Pureblood fire. You're burning, just as Ignatius Prewitt did. Also related to Cedrella Black, aren't you? You crave challenges as they did – And a challenge I shall give you."
Her brother's confused stares and empty cheers went ignored by Emelia. She did not note the shock, but the names of family-members long dead. Leaping into a space beside Sybil Carrow, she welcomed a new world of pureblood students who were as terrified, but excited as her.
For the rest of the year, Emilia watched her twin become best friends with the boy who lived. She was battling painful teasing and risked her life playing the harp for a sleeping three-headed dog whilst her brother went to save the day. Professor Querrell turned out to be Lord Voldemort in hiding. She didn't find that out either, she had been caught by Snape and was sent to detention.
The detention was first of many. Unpleasant as they were, she couldn't control her frustration with the Slytherins. In her second year, Emilia chose pranks instead of violence against the onslaught of bullying. Fred and George were more than useful in helping embarrass the drooling minions of Draco Malfoy.
Then Ron began asking questions. Questions about the heir to Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets. Unable to come up with answers, he accused her of siding with the house.
"I know where my loyalties lie Ron!" Emilia had screamed in the deserted hallway. Her brother had rounded on her, jabbing an accusing finger. "Really?" he snorted, "to me you're sounding more and more like a pig-arsed Slytherin every day."
"What's wrong with that?" Emilia hissed.
Then they rounded a corner, discovering the blood-written note. Ginny had been taken and the agony of losing her little sister was something she never wanted to feel again. She'd insisted on helping her brother, but Ron had left to find Ginny without her.
When exams came around after that and Emilia discovered she was beginning to differ quite excessively from her family. Ron had failed most of his tests whilst Fred and George, who had begun OWLs, had sent Molly on a meltdown due to their grades. Emelia excelled in Astronomy, marvelling in the beauty of the natural world. It wasn't unusual for her to be up in the astronomy tower.
During the summer before her third year, Arthur had won seven hundred galleons, and the Weasley's went on a trip to Egypt. They purchased a brand-new broom for Emelia and Ron – Nimbus Two-Thousands weren't as popular, and greatly decreased in price, but they were delicately built and sturdy. The Slytherin team mostly owned the Two-Thousand and Ones from a couple years previous. Still, Emelia was determined to make it on the team. Just as her siblings had all done.
Malfoy had been against it, battling their captain. The auditionees watched her overthrow fifth year, Lucian Boyle, scoring sixty points in ten minutes. By then, bullying did not hurt as much. Emelia discovered that by ignoring the insults, they became empty.
Near the end of her third year, she'd become ostracised completely from Ron. He never wanted her help. She'd discovered that after being hexed into staying in the castle whilst her brother went to save Sirius Black. He still hadn't told her completely what happened. After that, she'd found herself in an odd relationship with the Slytherins—they respected her a little more than before, the nicknames no longer bothered her, and she found herself snapping back with as much venom. Emilia clawed her way out of the food chain, gaining an unusual appetite for starting fights if anyone clung to her for too long. Even with her brothers, with whom she loved dearly and tried her hardest to ignore their repetitive quirks against her house.
But being one out of eight Weasley children to not understand Gryffindor jokes or join in on poking fun at the snakes of Hogwarts made family life difficult. With the threat of Lord Voldemort on the rise, Emilia was consistently told during the summer that family were all that mattered. They would never leave her.
With pitiful confusion, Emilia wondered whether there would be a time when she wasn't left, but abandoned.