Chapter 2: Emeralds

Tweet. Tweet tweet. Tweet tweet tweeeeeeeeeeeeeee- "Shut it!" Julie chucked a pillow at her window. Unfortunately, the pillow got caught on a sharp hook on the metal decoration above her window pane. The hook cut through the pillowcase as easily as a knife, forming an ugly slash in the fabric. A tuft of stuffing flew out of the elegant purple pillow as it hit the ground.

Julie sighed as she ruefully picked up the pillow. Normally, she wasn't in such a foul mood in the mornings. But Julie was having a wonderful dream. Not a dream in which she went to Hogwarts, being the best of best in everything sort of dream, but a pleasant one, one that made her happy. Not a joy of fantasy, but a peaceful calm that erased all worries.

A girl with startling green eyes and vivid red hair, much like Julie's, is talking to her. Simply speaking, but the world they are in, just a bright, clean, white world, gives her a feeling of purity, elation inside. In this world, there are strange, but kind looking people roaming about. A man with a long, silver beard and half moon spectacles. A handsome man with lopsided glasses, messy raven black hair and hazel eyes chatting happily with a man with curly black hair, light skin, and gray eyes. A woman with bright bubblegum pink hair, holding the hand of a brown haired man with patched clothing and circles under his eyes. A lanky red haired teenage boy grinning mischievously and a tall, handsome teenager with grey eyes, light skin, and brown hair, with an eagle on his yellow and black shirt. Many others wander as well.

"Our world was once a world of terror and danger. An evil wizard was taking over the wizarding world, and soon the Muggle one as well. But a boy, now a man, defeated the dark wizard." Julie notices the pretty girl seems to show pride as she speaks these words.

"But hundreds of lives were lost. Many were innocent Muggles, others were people battling for the cause to defeat the dark wizard. The man, though happy in vanquishing the evil, still suffers from the loss of his friends, and all those who died. You must help him. Help him finish his grieving and move on!" The girl looks Julie in the eye. Julie is startled to see that the girl seems desperate.

Julie gapes for a second, taking in what the girl just told her, speechless. Soon, Julie regains her ability to talk. "Wh-hy me?"

The girl dips her head. "Because you are destined."

"And who must I help?" Julie asks.

"You must help-"

That was when the stupid birds awakened Julie. Who did the girl say to help? And speaking of the girl-was she Julie? A Julie in another universe, speaking with her? The girl did look like Julie. But how did the girl know this much? What sort of world were they in? Was the dream even real? All these questions came in a flurry, clouding her mind.

In a heartbeat, though, the mass of thoughts was dominated by one other thought, one that was clear, true, not confusing, and exciting.

"It's my birthday!" Cried out Julie excitedly.

Hurriedly, the new-found 11-year-old dressed and made her bed. Sitting down by her vanity, Julie brushed her hair and braided it to the side. In one quick movement, she snatched up the letter she wrote the previous night and bounded out the door.

Darting up a few flights of stairs and sprinting through a corridor, Julie arrived at the owlery, panting and holding onto the sides of the entryway. Quickly she found Zeus, who was eating something furry and bloody, but Julie was determined not to look at it.

The short girl waited for the eagle owl to finish his meal, then tied the letter to his leg. Lifting Zeus delicately onto her arm, she walked to the window.

Julie whispered softly to the owl. "Fly back to Alex, Zeus."

Zeus clicked his beak in understanding. He spread his wings out wide, pushed down on Julie's arm, which caused the girl to yelp in pain, then soared out the wide window. Julie watched the bird fly away into the distance, until it was only a speck of black in the distance.

Julie ambled down the steps to the living room, where her parents were busily waving their wands, streamers and balloons erupting from the tips. Brightly wrapped boxes and parcels were flying around, piling neatly into a large mound.

"JULIE!" Her mother squealed, rushing over to her daughter. "My dear, we were not expecting 'you this early in the morning!"

Julie looked at the clock. 7:40 certainly was quite early for a Saturday. But how would she explain the dream?

"I had to send my reply to Alex before Zeus went hunting again." Julie lied, cleverly acting nonchalant. "Besides, I slept early last night." This part was true. She had fallen asleep at 9:30.

Julie's mother, luckily, believed her. "Alright then, please go to your father and my room and we will get you when you can come down."

Julie took a moment to figure out what her mother was saying. Though the girl could write, read, and speak French fluently, her mother insisted to speak English. Mrs. Blakewood, though, had much trouble with the pronunciation of some of the consonant sounds. Since those were particularly common sounds, her speaking skills were much further behind than her writing and reading, which were as fluent as an English born person, despite knowing a large variety of words.

After quickly deciphering what her mother said, Julie nodded and reluctantly trudged up to her parent's room.

If you could think of the biggest understatement of the year, it would be that the Blakewoods' room was big.

It was massive.

In the center of the room was a 7-foot-tall mahogany four-poster king size bed. On the roof of the bed was an intricate design of birds, flowers, and stars. White silken curtains hung from the sides, and an elegant quilted blanket, comforters, and sheets lay neatly on the bed.

On either side of the bed lay matching nightstands. Next to one of the nightstands was a long table, with a large mirror. The room also had a large window opposite to the bed with light, semi-transparent curtains.

On another wall hung many pictures of Julie, Alex, and their parents. Julie smiled fondly as she saw herself as well as Alex running around on the beach when they were very young in one of the pictures. Another photo showed the Blakewoods sitting around the Christmas tree and exchanging gifts, laughing and smiling.

"Julie, you can come down now."

Julie jumped at the sudden voice. She turned around to see her father's head peeking through the door, smiling lightly at her.

"Alright, daddy." Julie replied.

The father and daughter headed down the flights of stairs, passing floor after floor to where the family living room resided.

"Just to make sure you don't peek..." Julie's father summoned a piece of cloth from his wand, and gently wrapped it around Julie's head.

Julie giggled and took her father's hand. He led his daughter to the living room, and carefully sat her down in a large armchair.

"Okay," Julie's mother clapped her hands together excitedly, "open your eyes now!"

Suddenly, the blindfold on Julie's face vanished, and she was met with the most wonderful sight. A neatly stacked pile of wrapped gifts in various colours, patterns, shapes, and sizes lay in the corner, inviting Julie to just jump into the pile and begin tearing off the paper. An entire buffet of delicious-looking dishes levitated by one wall, and encircling the room were dozens of balloons and streamers in bright, neon colours. Julie's parents were watching her for a reaction.

"It's so wonderful!" Julie exclaimed exuberantly. "I love the decorations! They are so bright and colourful, and just seeing the presents lifts my mood up sky-high! The aroma of the food smells absolutely scrumptious, and I-I just can't even!"

Julie's mother flashed a dazzling smile. "We are so glad you like it! Your father and I have worked so hard on it, with the help of the House Elves, of course."

Julie's father nodded in agreement. "But darling, if you are so excited about this, you'll be absolutely thrilled to hear what we have prepared for this evening!"

Julie's eyes widened in shock. "What have you planned?" She asked eagerly.

"Oh, the most brilliant party!" Julie's mother replied with relish. "Or as we French would call it, 'la meilleure fête d'anniversaire!'"

Mr. Blakewood laughed. "Indeed, it will be the best birthday party! We are inviting all your relatives, as well as around twenty other families-all wizarding, of course. There will be delightful food, and the Dragon Heartstrings are even coming to play live music for us."

"The Dragon Heartstrings? Are you talking about the actual acoustic rock band?!" Julie cried out excitably.

"Yes, indeed," Julie's father affirmed.

Julie squealed in delight. "Oh, they're my favourite band ever! Next the the Weird Sisters, that is. Nothing can beat 'Do the Hippogriff!'"

"We wanted to have the Weird Sisters play," Mr. Blakewood said bitterly, "however they have a concert tonight."

Julie shrugged. "It's okay, I love the Dragon Heartstrings too! Who are you inviting?"

"Just some friends from the Ministry, and your aunts and uncles." Julie's mother replied.

Julie grinned. "Oh, I'm so hyped for this! Shall I dress formally?"

Julie's mother nodded. "Yes; the celebration will be held in the ballroom."

"Brilliant!" Julie responded in apparent jubilation.

The family began to load food on their plates as they went around the "buffet."

"Mmmm..." Julie closed her eyes, savouring the delicious chocolate soufflé. It wasn't something one would typically have for breakfast, but it still tasted heavenly.

After she finished off the soufflé, Julie looked at all the other treats. A warm crepe with sweet, fluffy frosting and strawberries. Red velvet cupcakes with light, cream cheese frosting. Blueberry muffins sprinkled with powdered sugar, and chocolate pancakes with vanilla ice cream on top. Sugar cookies lathered with butter cream icing, and banana pudding. Julie even considered eating an entire pile of pumpkin pasties, or a whole plate of mint chocolate chip fudge. If Julie got too many cavities, though, she could try some poached eggs, or some Dutch cream waffles.

The list went on and on, and even before Julie had taken at least a bite from all the choices, she felt as if she could never eat again.

"Ohhh..." Julie clutched her stomach. "I feel sick, yet I still want to try everything..."

"Save some room for tonight, dear!" Julie's mother called out as she daintily bit into a peanut butter cookie and creme sandwich. "I've only had a bit to munch on-there will be even more delicious foods at the party!"

"Yes, we've instructed the House Elves to cook delicacies from foreign countries, too. Sushi, baklava, dumplings, and lots more! So save your appetite." Julie's father added enthusiastically, digging into a large scoop of strawberry ice cream.

After the family's chins had been wiped clean and the leftovers (though there was a scarce of that) taken away, it was time to unwrap the gifts.

"Woah," Julie gasped as she unwrapped a glass globe with a brass ring. "This is amazing!"

"It's bewitched to play traditional music from each country you press on. For example, touch China." Julie's father instructed.

Julie readily obeyed, and much to her delight the the globe began to emit a lovely tune that did seem Oriental. Julie quickly tapped on Ireland, and a fun, fast-paced dance song replaced the Chinese music. Julie laughed in glee.

Julie also acquired many aesthetic items. Some of her favourites were a set of emerald jewelry that matched her eyes, as well as a gorgeous green dress with silver details and light brown suede accessories. "I think I might wear this to the party tonight." Julie commented happily. "With this pair of hazel ballet flats."

"Good choice." Julie's mother nodded her head in approval.

Julie's father hesitated. The dress did show some skin, particularly in the lower half. But, he figured that it wasn't too revealing, so he agreed with his wife. After all, the dress was stunning, and it was Julie's birthday.

At last, Julie delicately unwrapped the last parcel, which was a large package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She looked around at the ground, which was littered with piles of colourful paper.

"Oh dear," Julie said sheepishly, "what a mess I have made."

Her parents laughed, and merely with a snap of his fingers Jasper the House Elf had all the wrapping folded up neatly in a stack.

"Thank you, Jasper!" Julie exclaimed gratefully.

"It is not a problem for Jasper!" Jasper replied excitedly. "Jasper has another surprise!" Jasper snapped his fingers twice this time, and suddenly the stack of wrapping paper was gone, and in its place one last present. Jasper quickly ran over to the gift and picked it up. He bowed deeply, his ears almost touching the ground, and carefully presented the gift to Julie.

Julie took the parcel, baffled by what was going on. Julie looked at the wrapping paper, and gave faint smile. She could see all the designs of the wrapping papers in the pile the gift was Transfigured from, giving the wrapping a very peculiar look. There were stripes and polka dots, balloons and candles, and alphabetical letters here and there in various shapes and sizes.

Julie opened the present, and she gasped when she saw what was inside. A magnificent hair piece, which seemed to perfectly match Julie's dress. Shaped like a flower, the hairpiece had silver sparkles and small, suede designs on it. What probably made the hairpiece the most marvelous was probably the shining emeralds, glinting like eyes, dangling from the petals of the flower. Julie was struck with a strange feeling as she looked at the emeralds. As if she had seen them before. No-as if they had seen her before. Julie shook of the odd feeling.

"Oh, Jasper," Julie whispered. "thank you so much. It is beautiful!"

Jasper bowed again. "It is from all three of us House Elves. Jasper, Mixi, and Walby all helped craft the hairpiece."

"Thank you to all of you."

~*.*~

Julie walked happily up the stairwell to her room. The House Elves had immediately gathered up all of her gifts and put them away the the rooms they would most likely be used in. For example, her new set of Gobstones went into the recreation room, the globe went to Julie's private study, and all the candy in a bag dangling from Julie's wrist.

Currently Julie was snacking on a Chocolate Frog. She hadn't gotten a new card, but there were still more to unwrap. When Julie walked into her room, she dropped her bag of candy when she saw what was lying on her bed. A handsome, ginger Persian kitten was sleeping soundly on it. Julie rushed over to the kitten in excitement (the half-eaten chocolate frog flung onto the ground, forgotten) and noticed a piece of parchment that lay next to it. She picked it up carefully.

Julie,

Happy birthday! We hope you genuinely enjoyed your gifts. You may think that the last one you opened downstairs was the last gift, but you thought wrong. We have gotten you a Persian kitten-only 4 months old! The ginger fur reminded us of you, as did the green eyes. We really hope you take good care of your new feline friend.

Love,

Mum, Dad, and Alex

p.s.

You can name her whatever you would like!

Julie stroked the kitten as she sleepily opened her eyes. She clumsily climbed onto Julie's lap and lay down again in contentment. Again, Julie was flooded with another strange wave of déjà vu as she looked into those eyes.

"Emerald..." Julie laid back against her pillows as she began to feel sleepy as well. "Welcome to the family, Emi."