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Chapter 1: Getting to Hogwarts

Emerald Jasmine DeLavain sprinted at the wall between platforms 9 and 10 as if there was nothing in her way. She was late, as per usual, and her best friend Samantha Jade had already gone through.

Normally, nothing would have stopped her. She should have been able to run straight through the bricks and onto platform 9¾.

And she did.

It was the young man standing on the other side of the gateway that she crashed head first into.

Emerald, or Emry as she preferred to be called, said the first thing that came into her well-educated, very lady-like mind.

"Helvede. Scheize. Damn it that hurt!" she cursed rather ungracefully from where she found herself sprawled out on the ground. While her pureblood upbringing might have been all 'prim and proper', she had turned out anything but.

Emry cursed some more under her breath as she sat up, muttering a quick "sorry" to the back of the head of the poor boy who was now flat on his face, partially covered by her legs. Then again, it was his fault they were both on the ground in the first place. At least according to Emry.

A deep, cheerful laugh tore her eyes from the young man she had pummeled up to look at another young man standing over her. This one was almost doubled over he was laughing so hard.

"Wow Padfoot, never knew someone could swear in more languages than you! How many do you think that was?"

Emry, being who she was, took in the young man in a handful of breaths. Tall, shaggy black hair, thin face, plain hazel eyes that were hidden behind geeky looking round glasses, and a genuine smile that lit up his face. He was handsome, she noticed, and he seemed to have this confidence; strong minded with self-assurance that he was meant to be here and be seen. Cocky almost, but well-loved nonetheless.

Emry could relate to that.

Mutterings began to rise from the poor boy sprawled out under Emry's legs, which only caused the boy with the glasses to laugh harder. Emry tried not to roll her eyes, or broke out laughing herself. Regardless of what she had thought she had seen in him, boys could be so immature sometimes. She hoped, rather fervently, that she wouldn't have to deal too much with these two buffoons. They were bound to get her in trouble. It took her a moment, but Emry began to untangle her legs from the poor guys' arms. She was just about to haul herself up when the young man finally stopped laughing.

"Oh sorry," he said, reaching a hand out to help her up. Emry, usually a very independent woman, would normally have never accepted help up, but she could not for the life of her find a way to stand up without stepping on the other man's head. "It's not very often Sirius here is anything but charming with women." He said as he hauled Emry to her feet with ease.

Apparently there were quite a few muscles under his t-shirt, because it seemed effortless for him.

And then, Emry froze. Had she heard him right?

"You ok?" The young man with glasses asked her, waving his hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Bloody peachy James, thanks for asking." Sirius muttered darkly as he hauled himself to his feet. As he dusted himself off, Emry got her first good look at the young Black she had heard so much about.

Tall, dark, and handsome were the first words that came to mind.

Charming, dangerous, and problematic were probably the next.

The young man was only a hair taller than his friend, probably two or three inches over six feet or so. He had long, shoulder length shaggy black hair, appropriate to his name, that looked perfect as it hung over his forehead and down into a pair of shocking grey eyes. He was handsome, in a rugged kind of way, with a charming smile and an athletic build. He looked like he could run all day and still beat the shit out of someone when he got there. Or play Quidditch. By the slight scar on his chin, though, it looked as if he had seen his fair share of fights too.

"Son of a mother humper!" Emry swore again, causing both boys to turn and stare at her in shock. "You have got to be shitting me!"

Sirius's jaw dropped a fair few inches, and James, after a moment of shocked silence, broke into another round of laughter.

"Will you marry me?" Sirius blurted out, causing James to stop laughing and both he and Emry to stare at Sirius in shock. "Any beautiful girl that can swear like a sailor would piss my mother dearest of immensely."

Emry was the first to break the shocked silence, letting out her own mirth filled laugh.

"No wonder he's friends with you. You all have the same twisted sense of humor, even if you're a little more vocal about it." She said as she gasped for air, laughing so hard she shook. The boys exchanged a confused look, Sirius shrugging his shoulder as he ran a hand through his perfect hair. "You had me worried there for a minute."

"Worried how?" James asked, still chuckling as Sirius just continued to dust himself off.

"That Remus would befriend a couple of buffoons." Emry said lightly, watching the confusion grow on both of their faces.

And then she saw who she'd traveled all the way from North America to see.

"Remy!"

Remus had been walking around the station for the better part of twenty minutes looking for James and Sirius. As always they were late, or flirting with girls somewhere, or pulling a prank on some unsuspecting First Year, and he was trying to find them.

As always, he was the voice of reason.

And as always, they were nowhere to be found.

Remus shook his head, his sandy blond hair settling in his eyes. James, Sirius, hell even Peter, were his best friends; brothers even. But after the summer he had just had, he couldn't help feeling like something was missing. Every summer, for as long as he could remember, he would spend a couple weeks at Camp.

Jade's Camp for the Children of Darkness.

Ok, so that was Remus' name for it at least; his and his two friends Samantha and Emry.

Two friends that his brothers didn't even know about.

Emry was, in a word, 'insane'. If he could use two words, he would say 'certifiably insane'. Eccentric, rambunctious, energetic; she was a handful, even compared to James and Sirius. But she was also loyal, strong, honest, and reliable. She was truly a great friend.

Then there was Samantha. She was smart, athletic, reliable, kind, beautiful, talented. In a word, she was 'perfect'.

Or 'unattainable'.

Remus shook his head again, this time trying to clear it of thoughts of his Canadian friends. Obviously now wasn't the time. He threaded his way through a group of Third Years, heading back to the gateway to see if they had just come through.

And then he heard James' laugh. It was a very distinctive laugh, full of enthusiasm and joy only possible with James' zeal for life. It was no surprise that half the girls at school were in love with James. Sirius' darker, more bark-like laugh followed a moment later. It was one of his less frequent, actually genuine laughs that Remus rarely heard any more. He pushed past another kid; a First Year that looked slightly lost, and then heard a voice that was definitely not James' or Sirius'.

"Remy!"

Only three people called Remus that horrid nickname; Emry, Samantha, and his mother.

Before Remus could contemplate it any further, he found that a young woman had launched herself into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist and laughing deeply.

It was the strong, bright laughter he recognized as Emry's.

Emry was here.

In his arms.

"Oh my god I'm so stupid." Emry cursed, dropping back to the ground, holding Remus at an arm's length. "What day is it?"

Remus could see the confusion in James' and Sirius' faces, but couldn't help laughing at his friend.

"September first." He answered, watching her do a quick calculation in her head as to when the last full moon was. When she realized it had been over a week ago she smiled and launched herself into his arms again.

This time he was prepared, catching her around the waist and spinning her around.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a rush, putting her down so he could get a look at her; make sure he wasn't imagining her. As always, she was dressed in typical Emry attire; black knee high boots, short black shorts, and a skin tight white tank top. It contrasted in an eccentric way with her tanned skin and burgundy hair. Yes, burgundy hair. Emry had naturally black hair that was so dark it appeared blood red when the light hit it. "Is Sam with you?" He continued.

"Of course you'd ask about her." She answered with a wink. "And yes, though I seem to have misplaced her." Emry finished, taking a quick look around the crowd.

"If we might just interject," James called out, bringing both of their attention back to the confused boys. "Who the hell is she?" He asked, pointing to Emry.

Emry laughed again, but reached out to shake hands. "The name's Emry."

"And you are?" Sirius prodded. Though by the look in his eyes Remus assumed he was sizing her up, or just checking her out. Either was possible with Sirius.

"An old friend." Remus explained, glaring at the boys so that Emry couldn't see. It was a look that he hoped the boys would recognize. It was a common glare he used when he thought they should shut up. Not that they did very often. Sirius was obviously intrigued by Emry, which Remus decided he wouldn't warn Sirius that that was a bad idea, and James just looked confused. Even Emry shot him a look, though that one was probably at the implication of being an 'old' friend. He was just about to explain when he noticed James' eyes widen and heard Sirius curse under his breath.

"Bloody hell." Sirius muttered. "Who the bloody hell is that?"

Remus twisted around to see Lucius Malfoy standing over a beautiful young blond woman scowling, his wand drawn.

"That," Emry said, chuckling softly, "is Sam."

Sam had been Emry's best friend since they were six years old, when Emry had found herself at Camp Jade, which just happened to be run by Sam's parents. They had been nearly inseparable ever since, even though they had polar opposite personalities. Emry was spontaneous, reckless, and adventurous while Sam was intelligent, loyal, and studious. Even in looks they were opposites. While Sam was slightly shorter than Emry, she was also built slimmer, more like a runner. Long lean legs and a toned body, it was evident she was athletic. But she was also very attractive. Crystal clear blue eyes and long curly blond hair, she was considered a real beauty. It was no wonder all the boys loved her. But everything had changed when Remus came. They'd met him a couple of years later when he began attending camp when they were nine, and then it was the three of them. Granted it was a strange relationship. Remus was head over heels in love with Sam, and vice versa, but neither would admit it, or act on it, driving Emry (who ended up playing referee) up the wall.

And there Sam was, lying on her back staring up at a young man's wand pointed straight at her face. He was a stuffy looking young man, complete with impeccable robes and an air of wealth. In short, he looked like a spoiled brat. Long blond hair, plain blue eyes, average height but fit, yet Emry couldn't bring herself to be impressed with him at all.

"Malfoy." Sirius growled, pulling out his own wand. He and James took two steps forward, both angry and prepared, looking for a fight.

Malfoy. Emry had, of course, heard about him from Remus. He was the 'bane of my existence', according to Remus. To Emry, he just looked like an ass. But, he was messing with her best friend, so why not do something about it. Sam could take care of herself; Emry knew that all too well. But she could introduce herself, right? Wouldn't that be the polite thing to do? The proper thing to do? Yes, Emry would introduce herself.

And have a little fun of course.

"Watch where you're going you filthy mudblood." Malfoy growled, kicking out at Sam's leg. "Ugh, my new robes. I'm going to have to burn these now. Why don't you pay attention?"

Beside Emry Sirius growled. Obviously none of these three thought much about Malfoy. In fact, the look on Sirius' face was purely venomous. She could see Remus watching her out of the corner of her eye, his eyebrow raised in a silent question. Emry smiled innocently back, knowing exactly what he was thinking. They might only spend part of their summers together, but they knew each other better than most.

"Oh relax Remy; I'm just going to introduce myself." She said with a smile. "It's not like I'm going to kill him or anything."

"Whoa what?" James snapped; his eyes wide. Remus shook his head and shrugged. "For real?"

Emry just rolled her eyes and began to walk away.

"Please don't do anything too stupid." Remus called out to her, causing her to turn around. She continued to walk backwards, so that she could wink; a bright smile on her face.

And she, purposely, backed into one Lucius Malfoy.

"Watch it." He snapped, shoving Emry away from him.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I'm new, and I guess I just wasn't watching where I was going. There are just so many witches and wizards here I must have gotten flustered." Emry said in a falsely cheerful voice; sickening sweet actually, but then she wasn't actually trying to be nice. "I'm Emry." She continued, holding out her hand for him to shake.

Lucius Malfoy glared at her hand, his face twisted up in a grimace that would have given a gargoyle a run for its money. It was with Malfoy glaring at her that she realized he wasn't alone.

Maybe she should have looked around first.

Just slightly off to his left, standing with her chest practically rubbing against his shoulder, was a tall but petite blond woman. Her scowl was only second to the woman's beside her. While the first was petite and blond, the second was tough, almost stocky, with black hair and horrifically thick black makeup. Emry dug around the back of her mind for a moment till she pulled out the right names. She had never met these two before, but she knew she'd at least seen their pictures somewhere before.

Narcissa and Bellatrix.

Also known as the Black Sisters.

And Sirius' cousins.

Or was it his sisters? She couldn't remember; not that it mattered all that much at the moment; Malfoy was still glaring at her.

"Filthy little mudblood bitch." He scathed, "I really don't care who you are."

"Oh I'm not a mudblood." Emry said, reaching the hand that she had held out towards Malfoy towards Sam to help her up from the ground. Malfoy glared again, as he steered the Black sisters away towards the train. Bellatrix hissed at Emry, spinning her wand around as she cackled almost insanely. Emry raised an eyebrow at her. Did she really just cackle?

Though insane was probably the best way to describe the psychotic witch.

Emry tried to ignore the crazy black haired witch and the blond stick-up-her-ass bimbo and focus on the spoiled pureblood thug in the middle, whose full attention had returned to her.

Shit, how long had he been staring her up and down?

"And neither is my friend here." Emry continued, trying to distract Malfoy whose attention had turned to her rather endowed chest. Sam stood, taking a stand slightly behind Emry, but where she had a perfect line of sight to all three. Emry couldn't see it, but knew her wand was hidden behind her leg.

The Black sisters were still attempting to drag Malfoy towards the train, but even they stopped when Emry continued to speak.

"I'm Emry DeLavain, and this is…"

But Malfoy interrupted before she could introduce Sam, a mixture of shock and fear marring his pureblood features.

"What?" He stumbled rudely before his manners kicked in. "Emerald DeLavain? The Mageling?"

Emry smiled gently as she nodded, though she was scowling to herself on the inside. She had been counting on a pureblood such as Malfoy to have heard of her, but maybe not that much.

"Ummhmm," she said, turning to introduce Sam once again. While Emry had been playing the ditzy happy girl up until now, she decided to change over to a more prim and proper pureblood approach. Maybe it would throw Malfoy off his game a little. "And this is my friend Samantha Jade."

Malfoy had been staring, eyes wide, at Emry for a full minute before he realized Sam had been introduced as well. And then he did a double take as he recognized her.

"Samantha, of the Jade's…" He muttered under his breath, recognizing the family name. It took him a moment to recover, but when he did he stood up straighter, slid his wand back into his immaculate robes, and held out his hand for the girls to shake.

"Please excuse my previous rudeness." Malfoy said politely, taking Emry's hand gently in his as if she were a delicate flower and kissing it before moving on to Sam's. "I hope you can forgive me. There are so many worthless mudbloods and muggle lovers around that it has become hard to keep them separate."

"Lucius!" The blond, Narcissa, whined, almost as if she either just didn't care, or didn't realize who the girls really were.

And unfortunately, they were both fairly well known. Emry for who she was and Sam for coming from a rather prominent pureblood family.

Malfoy shot his trampy girlfriend a glare, sufficiently silencing her. She actually flinched away from him, as if she expected him to strike her. Emry almost felt sorry for her, till she remembered who she actually was. Bellatrix, on the other hand, was actually giggling as if she was hoping Malfoy would hit her sister.

Definitely insane…

But to Emry, Malfoy held the fake smile he was trained to hold.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again.

"No worries." Emry said, still smiling as she turned with Sam to walk away. They didn't go two steps before Malfoy called out to them.

Before they turned around, Emry winked at Sam. Sam just rolled her eyes, already knowing what was going to happen, but smiled as they both turned back to face Malfoy and the Black sisters once more.

"Please, would you do me the honor of joining us? We have a compartment on the train reserved, complete with lunch and well away from the mudblood riff-raff. We would love to get to know you better." Malfoy purred. The smile on his face was politically polite. He had obviously spent time among wealthy individuals and felt comfortable playing them for fools.

Emry, however, was not a fool and could see him calculating how he could best turn this to his advantage. But while his face was trained to remain polite, Bellatrix and Narcissa were not even trying to hide their disdain.

"I'm afraid I will have to decline, but thank you." Emry said politely, knowing Malfoy would argue. This was, ironically, exactly what she wanted. The fact was that Emry had heard about Mr. Malfoy from sources other than Remus, and had never liked anything she had heard. She knew that as soon as he heard who she was, he'd be interested. To say the least, she had a dark past, one which would intrigue Malfoy greatly. But she was, by her own admission, a 'reformed' child of darkness. Regardless of that, Malfoy was an ass, and all Emry wanted to do was (figuratively) kick him in the balls. At the very least she wanted to hurt his ego.

Then she thought about all the horrible things he had done, what he stood for. It was everything she despised about her own family and, to be honest, herself. So since she had him right in front of her, and she was in such a fantastic mood, she decided to let fly and to hell with the consequences.

"You see, we may be purebloods, but we aren't so inbred that we can't socialize with muggleborns. My father might have been one of the most dangerous dark wizards North America has seen in the last century, but he is dead and I am not him. So why don't you and your little pureblood bitches go back to your private car and go fuck yourselves. Or shag or whatever the hell it is you crazy Brit's say." Emry snapped, though surprisingly calmly. She bit off each word, sharply but quietly so that her voice wouldn't travel much farther than those in front of her. Malfoy stared at her wide eyed, shocked, and probably insulted. Bellatrix looked positively venomous, most likely due to the inbred comment. But Narcissa looked only mildly put out, and that was probably only due to her precious Lucius ignoring her.

Sam, well she was actually giggling like a little school girl.

"What?" Malfoy growled, his face reverting back to the ugly scowl he had warn earlier.

"You bloody wench!" Bellatrix snarled, reaching into her robes to pull out her wand.

"Bellatrix right?" Emry asked, sticking her finger in Bellatrix's face only to piss her off even more. Bellatrix didn't have a chance to respond because Emry just kept speaking. "Well Trixie my dear deranged friend, you might think that I'm raining on your pureblood parade, but my IQ is over 12, and you are a psychotic bitch who should be in a mental institute.

"And you," Emry continued, turning to stick her finger in Narcissa's face, "You Ms. Cissy Black are a cold hearted statue with about as much human blood as a cold blooded frog."

"You look like one too." Sam muttered under her breath, causing Emry to burst out laughing. Together, the two of them turned and walked away, hips swaying, laughing, and care free. Emry felt good to finally give the Black sisters even an ounce of what they truly deserved. It helped that the crowd of people watching were laughing at them too.

"You whore!" Bellatrix called out.

"You will regret this." Emry heard Malfoy whisper through the crowd, so softly that she doubted any of the other students would have heard. Instead of responding, they continued walking, waving as they went.

And together their wave turned into the muggle insult of shooting them the finger.

The girls went another three steps before Emry saw all three boys eyes widen in shock. Or maybe it was fear. Emry didn't really take the time to differentiate between the two. Instead, she focused on the air that surrounded her, flowed through her lungs and fed her muscles. She channeled her mediocre gift to control the air through her body, her arm, her finger tips, and into the air itself forcing it to compress into a the thinnest plate; a shield only a few millimeters thick that surrounded Sam, the students, and herself.

Just as her shield snapped into place, the feeling as if the air pressure went up dramatically for a moment, Emry heard the distinct sizzle of a spell being absorbed and dissipated. There was a painful jolt as her shield recoiled, for a brief moment seeming as if it would crumble, but held. It had been a powerful spell, and Emry didn't think she had enough power or energy left to deflect another one like that.

She shouldn't have wasted so much energy earlier that day.

Regardless, she looked over her shoulder to see a surprised Lucius Malfoy, as well as a furious Bellatrix Black. So, just to spite them a little further, she smiled and winked at them both.

"Next time you might want to refrain from shooting at my back." Emry said so quietly that only Malfoy could hear her, and that was only because she crafted the air to carry her voice back to him. "There's a new mage in town. I'd watch your back Mr. Malfoy."

The two girls continued walking back to the boys, two of which (James and Sirius) looked absolutely shocked and impressed. Remus, on the other hand, just looked indifferent.

"What happened to 'flying under the radar'?" Sam asked under her breath, shooting Emry a quizzical look.

Emry shrugged, "This is me we're talkin' about Sam." Her calm face turning into a grin, "screw the radar."

Sirius watched as the two girls walked back towards James, Remus, and himself; both of them smiling and happy as if they hadn't just bloody told off the biggest Slytherin thugs Hogwarts had seen in years. Emry had insulted them all and wasn't even the slightest bit concerned.

And that wasn't even what had really surprised Sirius.

Malfoy, the bugger, had taken a pock shot at their backs. That in and of itself was low and pathetic. Sirius was, of course, kicking himself for not being able to help them himself, but it seems that they hadn't needed it.

Those two girls, neither over five foot seven and weighting over 120 soaking wet, hadn't been touched by the curse Malfoy had thrown.

Sirius was never the most diligent student. He was smart, sure, and naturally talented, but he never actually tried at school. At home, however, he saw, and experienced, and learned every form of dark magic there was. If he couldn't learn how to preform it, then he at least learned how to recognize it; what it was, its effects, and how to defeat it.

This, he'd never seen anything like it. It would take one hell of a wandless, non-verbal spell caster to pull that off. And it didn't look like any protego he had ever seen.

He had, thought, heard about a rare group of 'people', Mages, a race who broke away from witches and wizards centuries before. They were elementalists, individuals who could control fire, air, water, and earth.

They were also thought of to be extinct.

Emry and the young woman walked back towards them, both still smiling and laughing. Sirius, being Sirius, watched both of them very carefully. The new girl, who Remus had called Samantha Jade, was striking. About five foot six, she was tall and skinny, built like a long distance runner. Long, curly blond hair, bright blue eyes, cute smile, good size chest. In short, she was strikingly beautiful in a not hooker-ish way which Sirius appreciated. Too many girls were going for the whore-ish look as of late. Sirius filed all the info away; he was a ladies man, it came with the territory.

By comparison, the other one, Emry (or the one who had knocked him on his arse not too long ago) took his breath away. Tall, vibrant blood red hair, greyish black eyes, a figure to kill for, skinny, but still curvy. But it was her eyes that had drawn Sirius' attention.

They looked older than they should have, like she had seen too much during her short life. Sirius could feel for her.

They were three steps away when he saw something. Emry's eyes; there was a pain hidden behind them that she tried to hide. Pain and weariness. Whatever she had done must have taken a lot out of her.

"Remus, please." Emry whispered as they approached. Sirius saw Remus nod out of the corner of his eye before Remus wrapped an arm around Sam. Emry's eyebrow shot up and she tried to hide the pain that must have laced her body.

Sirius risked a glance over the girls' shoulders and saw that Malfoy was still watching them; the nasty sneer still plastered on his greasy face. Emry must have been pretending to be fine, even though it looked like she was about to collapse where she stood.

So after a quick glance at Remus, who sent a nod in Emry's direction, he barked out a laugh and, rather theatrically he thought, threw his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"I got ya." He whispered in her ear between laughs. James looked a little surprised, but laughed himself once Sirius winked at him.

Remus turned and, with his arm wrapped around Sam's shoulder, headed for the train. Sam looked over her shoulder, taking Emry's hand and smiling. Sirius followed, taking most of Emry's weight in his arms while making it look as if he was just hanging all over her.

Which wouldn't be all that hard to believe.

As he helped Emry up into the train, her shoulders leaning against his chest as she stepped up into the doorway, she whispered softly.

"Thanks you Sirius." She said through labored breaths, as if it was difficult to even stand. "But you can get your hand off of my ass before I light them on fire."

Needless to say, Sirius removed his hand.

Even though Sirius' hand migrated to Emry's ass every three or four steps, she appreciated how he practically carried her through the train while still making it look like she was walking under her own power. That air crafting had taken more out of her than she had expected. Either that or she still hadn't fully recovered from her little escapade this summer. Regardless of the reason, she appreciated the help.

The five of them had gone through a couple train cars before a boy stuck his head out of the last compartment. He was short and stumpy, with beady little eyes and dull brown hair. His green eyes lit up when he saw the guys, calling out to them.

"There you are! I got us a compartment." He said excitedly, bouncing up and down on his feet.

James laughed as he pushed the boy back into the compartment instead of blocking the doorway.

"Thanks Peter." James chuckled.

Peter Pettigrew, the last of Remus' friends. Or at least the ones he had told Emry and Sam about. It had been an accurate description, though it was Remus who had given it so it was understandable.

So Sirius led Emry into the compartment, sitting her down as gently as he could next to Sam before collapsing onto the bench beside her. As soon as the door closed behind Remus, Emry sighed in relief while Sam jumped up to pull her bag off the luggage rack. Tossing it haphazardly on the floor, she began strewing the contents across the floor. She muttered a curse under her breath as she shoved her arm into the depths of the bag while Remus waved a large chocolate bar in front of Emily's pale face.

"Here Emry." He said softly, taking a seat across from her.

"Ok, what did I miss?" James asked; an eyebrow rose behind his glasses.

"Yeah, what the bloody hell is going on." Sirius snapped.

"Wait, who are these people?" Peter put in from where he was hiding behind Remus.

Sam, who was now sitting on the floor of the cabin with her back against the window, surrounded by a sea of parchment, newspaper, books, sweater, and tampons, began laughing a bright and cheerful laugh. Remus added his deeper chuckle a moment later, leaving James, Sirius, and Peter staring at them both in confusion.

Emry, on the other hand, just continued stuffing her face with chocolate.

"Sorry," Sam said softly through her fading giggles, brushing her hands off on her jeans before reaching out to shake hands with each of the boys. "My name is Samantha Jade. And the chocoholic over there is Emerald DeLavain, though I wouldn't call her anything but Emry if you want to keep your eyebrows."

"Huh?" James grunted, his hand still clasping Sam's. "Wait, of the 'Jade's'?"

"She's a Mage." Sirius accused, pointing the accusation at Emry and leaving the rest of the compartment speechless.

"Not bad." Emry said a moment later, wiping the chocolate from her lips and holding Sirius' gaze. "What gave it away?"

"That shield thing you did. I've never seen anything like it." He replied softly.

"Maybe we should talk about this in private." Remus said slowly, nodding in the direction of the doorway. Though it was shut, the walls were still thin.

Emry waved him off. "No worries, I've got a shield up already. No one can hear."

"Not like they won't find out soon enough anyways." Sam mumbled optimistically from her place on the floor.

"I'm still confused." Peter interrupted.

"Beginning?" Emry asked Sam, taking an apple off the floor from where it had rolled out of Sam's bag.

"Me?" Sam asked back. Emry nodded as she took a chunk out of the apple.

"Would you stop with the one word questions?" James grumbled. "It's making my head spin."

"Sorry." The two girls said together, which caused Remus and them to laugh yet again.

"Ok, where to begin." Sam muttered, thinking for a moment. "Emry and I met when we were about six when she showed up at the camp my parents run. The Jade Dragon Camp Ground."

"So you really are a Jade." James interrupted, his eyes growing wide in astonishment.

Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking at Remus for an explanation. Remus, being Remus, just shrugged.

"Umm, yes." Sam responded, slightly unsure of where this was going.

"I've heard about you. Well, your family at least." He corrected. "They are a famous pureblood family that moved to the States a few generations ago. They are known for running a camp for magical kids with problems like orphans and werewolves and…" Realization dawned on his face as he looked back and forth between Sam and Remus. "Oh."

"Remus came along a couple years later." Emry confirmed with a nod.

"Ummhmm." Sam purred, smiling at how quickly James had caught on. "Emry had been living with us on and off for two years before Remus started coming to summer session. It was the first day Remus was there that we all clicked. Been friends ever since."

"Ok, story told, let's play Exploding Snaps." Emry said excitedly, clapping her hands together trying to change the subject.

Sam and Remus glared in her direction, causing her to shrink back into her seat and pick at what was left of her apple.

"Ok, so I get why you were there," James said pointing at Sam. "And you." Pointing to Remus. "But I still don't get you." He finished, watching Emry.

Emry sat still, watching her apple intently as if it was going to tell her something important. A minute passed in silence before she whispered.

"You trust them?"

She had asked her apple, but Remus answered just as softly and seriously.

"With my secret, yes."

"And with mine?"

This time Emry's eyes were focused on Remus's. All the others in the compartment were silent, most watching the conversation in confusion.

Emry knew that Remus never made a hasty decision. So when it only took him a few moments to nod his head she knew he had thought about this before. Remus was always prepared, and she knew she could trust his judgment.

"Ok." Emry said smiling.

"Ok." Remus replied solemnly.

"Oh just get on with it Em." Sam chided, smiling, passing up another chocolate bar.

Emry took the chocolate with a smirk, and then held the apple core in her outstretched hand. The boys watched her in confusion until the apple burst into flame, disintegrating it before their eyes. James had jumped off his seat in alarm, but Peter had screamed like a little girl, scrambling to try and hide behind Remus.

"You alright there?" She asked sarcastically.

"Would you sit down?" Remus grunted, pulling Peter back into the seat beside him.

"What was that?" Peter squeaked, still panicked.

Beside Emry, Sirius shook his head.

"She's a mage." He repeated, looking exasperated.

"I thought Mages went extinct years ago." James said. He looked confused still, but Emry could tell he was trying to put all of this together. It was like he was adding two plus two together and getting five.

"Nope," Sam answered, smirking herself, "They just moved to North America when the Muggles did."

"Really?" James asked. "Hmm, that explains a lot."

"I'm still lost." Peter said quietly. "What's a Mage?"

Remus spoke up before Emry could answer, which was probably a good thing; she had a habit of just snapping or being sarcastic. His answer would at least be accurate and concise.

"Mages are similar to Wizards except that they control the four elements; earth, air, water, and fire. They are similar to the Veela in that they have their own culture and do not interact with Wizards or Muggles often. They are as close to human as any Veela is, though where Veela are all love and light, the Magi are warriors. They also have their own set of laws and ruling government body.

"They appear as humans, but their magic is different from ours. It's called a crafting, when they pour energy from themselves and enforce it to affect the elements. It takes energy directly from the Mage's body, so too big of a crafting could kill them. Also, most Mages are not able to use multiple elements. It's just too hard on their bodies."

"So that whole, lighting the apple on fire thing?" James pressed.

Emry smiled again, creating a small ball of fire in the center of the compartment. It began as a sphere, but morphed through varying shapes; a heart, then a horse, an owl, a broom, and finally a wolf.

They boys watched wide eyed as the flaming wolf loped around the compartment before disintegrating into nothing once more.

"That," Sirius whispered, "was cool."

"I second that." James agreed, just as awed as his friend.

"Show off." Remus muttered, rolling his eyes warily.

"That was nothing." Sam said. "You should see her when she's pissed."

"So what can you do?" Sirius asked, waving his hands around the air in front of himself, apparently indicating what she had just done.

Emry raised an eyebrow. "What's this?" She asked, exaggerating his unique hand gestures.

"Sorry," he chuckled, "I meant what else can you do… err… craft?"

Taking another bite of the chocolate bar, Emry leaned back and softly said "Fire, earth, and a little air."

"Wait, three?" James asked, leaning forward in excitement. "I thought you said it wasn't common for a Mage to have multiple gifts."

"For an average Mage, no." Remus answered, watching Emry's scowl deepen. "But this one is talented."

Sirius watched Emry scowl for a moment before asking, "What's the problem with that? I mean, that's going to be common knowledge when you get to school. So what's the big secret?"

Emry continued to scowl, taking a viscous bite out of another apple she had ripped out of Sam's hand. Sam just smiled brightly.

"Her parents." Sam supplied when Emry wouldn't answer. Emry growled softly in complaint.

"Come on, they can't be as bad as mine?" Sirius joked, nudging Emry with his shoulder. He flinched away when Emry glared back.

Remus broke the uncomfortable silence with his deep laugh. "You'd be surprised Sirius."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius prodded, turning his shoulders to rest his arm against the back of the bench so that he could get a better look at her. "Let's hear it then."

"Your funeral." Emry shrugged nonchalantly, pulling her feet up onto the bench so she could turn and face Sirius. "I'm a half breed. Not a half blood, I wish, but a half breed. My father is a Wizard. A fairly famous wizard, actually. Marcus VanHort, you might have heard of him. He's that Dark Wizard that's been rampaging across the United States and Canada for the last ten years killing thousands." Sirius' face dropped, but Emry continued before he could say anything. "Oh, and that's not the worst of it. My mother, where I get my mage powers, is Esmeralda DeLavain; reigning Queen of the Magi."

"Bloody hell," James swore softly, effectively breaking the silence that had settled around them. "Your family's more messed up than the rest of our put together."

Emry burst into laughter, leading tiredly against the window and stretching her legs out across the bench, propping her feet up on Sirius's lap. Sirius's mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish, but recovered smoothly by pulling Emry's boots off to give her a foot message.

"Oh I could get used to this." Emry muttered, sighing contently.

"Don't." James, Remus, and Sirius all chorused.

"You know Emry," Sam said from her place on the floor, still surrounded by her things and James' feet (of which she had tied the shoelaces together already) "We thought it was bad with only one guy around. Now there's four of 'em."

"Scheiza, we're screwed." Emry replied with a smile, yelping as Sirius pinched her toe.

"No, but seriously," Emry continued, still smiling. "There's someone about to bang on the door, you all want me to drop the shield?"

"You can tell someone's coming?" James asked, leaning forward interested.

"And what shield?" Peter put in, looking around for something tangible.

Emry shook her head. "It's just a simple air crafting, compresses the air so sound doesn't move out, and no one can hear our conversation. As for the person about to bang on the door, well, you can kind of see her through the glass. And she kind of looks pissed too."

A moment later an exasperated red head slammed the door open, stomping into the trashed compartment to glare at Remus. Emry noticed that James gulped audibly, but tried to cover it with a brilliant smile.

"Potter do not start with me!" She grumbled angrily at him. Somehow James kept a smile on his face, even if his eyes said he was devastated. "Remus there you are! I've been looking all over the train for you. We were supposed to meet for the Prefects meeting ten minutes ago. Marshall thought for sure you'd been left back in London because you're never late and… Who are you?" The red head asked confused as she noticed Emry sitting with her legs still propped up on Sirius' lap and Sam sitting very un-lady-like on the floor of the compartment.

It only took a split second for Emry to answer, her expression remaining calm and serene.

"I'm Sirius' whore, here to fulfill his every whim and desire. Who the fuck are you?"

The entire compartment froze, with the exception of Sam who was trying to cover her laughter behind a box of tampons which she pretended to read the label on.

The red head looked absolutely flabbergasted, as if someone had run over her kitty and handed her the carcass. Her emerald eyes were wide, marring her otherwise very pretty face. Emry could see why James fawned all over her.

Sirius broke the silence a moment later with a loud peal of his bark-like laughter.

"I… Uhh… I'm…" The girl stuttered, still trying to take in what Emry had said. She tried to compose herself by straightening her skirt, but her mouth still opened and closed without anything comprehendible coming out.

"Oh stuff it Emry." Remus said harshly, though Emry could tell he was trying to hide his own laughter. "You know that's Lily so save the act."

Lily's shocked face turned to Remus, her voice once again working. "That's Emerald?" She gasped, pointing to the other red head in the cabin.

"Hey!" Emry snapped back. "I take offense to that!"

"Wait, you told Lily about these two but not us?" James accused, finally finding his own voice. "I'm offended too!"

"Yeah, blood hell Remus, don't you trust us?" Sirius added, now looking slightly offended as well.

Remus held up his hands as if to defend himself from the verbal onslaught. "Relax, please. Yes Lily, that is the infamous Emry, and I'm sure you'll recognize Samantha as well."

Sam waved up at Lily, who finally smiled back at her.

"Oh hi, I've heard a lot about you." Lily said, waving with a friendly smile on her face.

"See!" James snapped again, running a hand through his messy hair. Emry figured that was why it always seemed to stick up all over the place. "Bloody hell Remus, why'd you never tell us?"

Remus took a deep breath, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "And what would you two have done if I told you I was very close to two beautiful girls? Hmm?"

"We would have said that brothers share Remus!" Sirius said, rubbing Emry's legs where they still stretched over his lap.

"Eh!" Emry snapped, kicking Sirius in the ribs. "I am not shareable."

Remus chuckled as Sirius rubbed his sore ribs. He shook his head, but stood up, indicating to Lily that they should go.

"Be careful with that one Sirius, her nickname wasn't Spitfire for nothing."

And Remus walked out of the compartment, hands shoved into his pockets and whistling a tune.

Lily paused for a moment in the doorway, looking back in at its occupants.

"Umm, nice to meet you both." She said sweetly as she walked briskly from the room.

"Wow, isn't she beautiful?" James said as he stuck his head out of the doorway to watch Lily walk down the train. Sirius only rolled his eyes while the girls giggled.

"Save it Prongs," Sirius muttered, "She's out of your league."

Sam laughed, sweetly and brightly, "Well aren't you the optimist."

Sirius shrugged, smirking a charming smile as he said, "Well my name is Black."

"Ugh, give it a rest and let's play already." Emry said as she leaned over Sam to pull out a pack of Exploding Snaps cards, waving them in front of the boys as she said "Any takers?"

"Oh you are so on." James laughed.

They spent the rest of the train ride laughing and getting to know their new friends. By the end of the long trip, everyone was sporting singed eyebrows or hair except for Emry. Sirius leaned close as the others were packing up and whispered in her ear.

"You cheated."

Emry looked back at him and smiled, replying just as softly, "Always."

Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review :)