Jude Porter and the Battle of Fire

From the moment Emma found out she was a witch, she began to see a lot of strange things in her life. She was only 11 when she started school and she couldn't even write a list of the things she saw every day at Hogwarts, but she could say seeing one of her best friends fend off an evil man with fire streaming off his own arms was high on her list of strange and bizarre.

But, she thought to herself as she stared at Jude and her mother in the kitchen before glancing outside where her father and James were, nothing was stranger than seeing James Potter try to figure out how to work a lawn mower.

Her friends, her best friends in the whole world, she had told her parents when they wondered why Jude and James were the only people she hung out with, had come over to her house during the summer after they finally accepted her invitation. James had always rejected it, saying he needed to practice for quidditch, and Jude always declined since he was either grounded or he wanted to spend time with Neville and Hannah.

However, since Jude wasn't grounded and James was already at the top of his game, the two males decided to see what Emma's muggle home was like. They looked so out of place the moment they stepped foot in her neighborhood. Jude throwing up after Neville Apparated them there just made it look worse. Poor kid never did get used to it.

"Emma, Emma," Jude beamed as he set a plate with a slice of cake in front of her along with a fork. "Your mum finished teaching me how to make lemon cake. She said it was your favorite. Here, try it."

Emma took a small piece of the dessert and ate it delicately. Her eyes widened as the flavor burst onto her palette, "Jude, this is amazing."

Jude grinned brightly at the compliment and turned to Mrs. Thorne, "Thank you so much for the recipe and your patience."

Mrs. Throne smiled at the young man, "Oh, it was nothing, Jude. Besides, it was nice having someone who could actually cook in the kitchen with me."

"I've been cooking since I was 3," Jude said nonchalantly. "It's a bit soothing now that it's not demanded of me."

Emma shook her head when her mother sent her a mortified glance Jude's telling of his old home. She had told her parents that Jude came from a horrible home before he got accepted to Hogwarts, but she never went into full detail of what he actually went through. Honestly, she didn't feel like retelling his life story since she got teary eyed just thinking about it.

The three turned to the front door when a sweaty James and Mr. Thorne walked in. James groaned tiredly as he sat down and stole Emma's plate, ignoring her glare. He moaned happily as Mr. Thorne put a glass of water next to him, "This is delicious, Mrs. Thorne."

Mrs. Thorne rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Actually, Jude made it. He was very persistent on learning Emma's favorite meals."

James turned to his best male friend and gave him a thumbs up as he drank his water greedily. He wasn't used to the outdoors physical labor and heat like his friends, muggle born and muggle raised, were. It gave him a new appreciation for magic and a newfound respect for muggles who did this at least once a week.

"How was mowing the lawn, James?" Jude asked. "I haven't done that in years, but I can easily say that I never want to do it again."

"I don't know how you do it," James told Emma seriously.

Emma shook her head with a smile, "It's not like I actually do it. Dad is the one who takes care of the lawn. I help Mum with the garden."

Jude gasped, "You have a garden?"

Mrs. Thorne chuckled, "You can see it tomorrow. Right now, I need you boys to set the table for dinner."

"Yes, Mrs. Thorne," James and Jude chorused as they followed Mr. Thorne out of the dining room.

That night, after their last dinner in Emma's house with her parents, Emma watched the boys sleep on the floor of her room.

Jude was on his back, the blankets she had given him now at his feet. His shirt was ridden up a bit, revealing a small sliver of skin. He took deep breaths and twitched every other minute. Sometimes his face would scrunch up as if he smelt something bad or his eyebrows would become pinched like he got hurt.

She turned, facing the other side of her bed to find James on the floor. He laid on his side, his body much more relaxed than Jude's. She wondered what the two would dream about. James always told her Jude had nightmares that ranged on and off depending on the day he had. He would wake up screaming some nights but wouldn't remember the next day. She wondered, not for the first time, if James kept his dreams to himself because he didn't want them to worry even more than they already did, if he didn't want Jude to take on more problems other than the ones he dealt with every year.

She hoped one day James wouldn't feel like he had to keep to himself. She hoped he knew he could confide in her. They didn't have such a smooth year last year, but that didn't make their friendship any less significant in her life. She was always going to be there for the both of them and she knew they would be there for her no matter what.

With that in her mind, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep like she always did.

"The eggs are great, Mrs. Thorne," James complimented Emma's mother as he and Jude shoveled down their breakfast.

Mrs. Thorne gave him a bright smile, "Thank you so much, James. Jude was a big help today as well." She squeezed Jude's shoulder lightly when he smiled, "I'll miss you helping me in the kitchen. As much as I've tried to teach Emma, she doesn't seem to have the culinary skill down just yet." She sighed airily, "My brilliant daughter, so intelligent, but doesn't know the difference between sugar and salt."

James snorted into his juice, Jude hid his snickers by shoveling more eggs and bacon in his mouth while Emma sputtered embarrassedly, her cheeks starting to match her hair, "Mum, please!"

"I'm sure you'll get it down soon enough, sweetie," Mr. Thorne said distractedly as he read the Sunday post.

Emma groaned while her friends' laughter began to increase. She glared and flicked a bit of water at them. Of course they would have blackmail by the end of this. Next time, she was sleeping over at the Potters' house. She didn't care how many death glares Jude got from Albus and Harry, she needed some good blackmail material on James.

"Oh, your owls are here," Mrs. Thorne piped up pleasantly as she opened the window for the 3 birds. She gave them each a treat while the teens rushed up and grabbed their letters.

"Thanks, Hestia," Jude smiled, kissing his bird's head. He went on to open his letter with his friends. A giddy grin stretched across his face as he pulled out a red and gold badge. He cheered and did a little dance, "I'm the quidditch captain!"

James smirked as he high fived his friend, "As if we had doubts." While Jude was getting congratulated by the Thrones, he fished through his letters and found no badge or anything out of the ordinary. He frowned but gave a shrug; it's not like he was getting anything else.

Everyone turned at Emma's sharp gasp. The red head giggled, her green eyes filled with unshed tears as she held up a badge that had a P on it. James chuckled, "I knew if it would be anyone, it would be you."

"Congrats, Emma," Jude said, still grinning brightly. He turned to his male friend, "Did you get anything, mate?"

"I'm not a Prefect, if that's what you're asking."

Emma tilted her head thoughtfully, "I wonder what boy got a Prefect badge."

James and Jude shared a glance before they let out an agonizing groan. It wasn't a surprise as to what 5th year Gryffindor boy got a Prefect badge.

And just like that, another hellish school year arrived.