One Again, I would like to say that there are parts in the chapter that are taken and changed a bit from J.K. Rowling's version of Harry Potter.

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Harry Potter books/movies/characters

But I do own the character Emma and her Aunt Clarice and her mother

Enjoy!

-Hopeful Intentions

--

My Name is Emily Riddle

Part Two: Home Sweet Home

I was Home!

"Blimey," said Ron, shaking his hair, sending water everywhere, "If this keeps up, the lake's going to overflow for sure. I'm soak – ARRGH!" A large, red, water filled balloon dropped from out of the ceiling, onto Ron's already soaked head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry just as a second balloon dropped, narrowly missing Hermione. It burst at Fred's feet. "HEY!" he shouted, looking around. Ginny and I laughed heavily. I looked up and saw Peeves, the poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves come down here at ONCE!" Ginny and I ducked into the Great hall as Peeves pointedly ignored Professor McGonagall and flew around, dropping more water bombs. "Well, that was a mess," I commented as we sat down at the Gryffindor table. Suddenly, Ginny jumped up, "EMMA, LOOK OUT!"

I looked at her then looked up in time to see a rather large water balloon falling from the ceiling. I managed to jump out of the way but tripped on someone's foot then fell to the floor, my head hit the wooden bench along the way.

"… you must leave her be now Mr. Weasley. She has suffered a rather serious concussion. She needs her rest!"

"What do you mean a serious concussion? She cracked her head on that bloody bench and nearly bled to death! I just want to make sure she is alright…"

"I don't thing that is such a good idea Mr. Weasley…"

"Please!"

"Well, I don't know… You have ten minutes!"

"Thanks!"

I kept swimming in and out of consciousness but this was the first time I had heard voices, signs that anyone was actually around. I still was sure where I was or what was happening. My eyes just wouldn't open, they felt so heavy… I managed to open my eyes a bit, but the effort was too much, I slipped back into unconsciousness.

"George? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ginny, I um…"

"It's alright, it scared me too. It was horrid! I mean, there was blood everywhere!"

"Yeah…"

This time, there was a new voice. What I heard just kept echoing around in my head to the point where I couldn't understand the words. Instead of trying to open my eyes, I fought to stay conscious but that plan failed.

"Mr. and Miss Weasley, you need to go back to your common room. It is past bed time."

"But professor!"

"Do not worry Miss Weasley, Miss Gene will be alright and in her classes by morning,"

I was pretty sure I heard one of my professors this time, but still couldn't understand the echoing.

"Miss Gene… Miss Gene…"

This time, the voice was much clearer and my eye lids felt much lighter. I was able to open them though it took while before I could adjust to the darkness. At the side of my bed, I saw Professor McGonagall. "What happened?" I asked shakily, placing my hand to my head where I felt a soft cloth wrapped around the top of my head.

Professor McGonagall smiled lightly. "You hit your head when you fell and began to bleed. You scared a lot of you friends quite badly." I nodded not really following. "I am going to take you to your dorm so that you can go to your classes tomorrow. Come along now," I stood up, hanging on to the professor's arm filling a tad bit dizzy. When I was in my bed, I wasn't sure how I had gotten there so quickly.

And then, I once again, drifted into a rather deep sleep. This time, waking up seemed much more normal. Opening my eyes, I saw the sun filtering through the seemingly familiar crack in the curtains around my bed. I sat up, momentarily confused. Then, the nights events came back to me. I remembered Ginny shouting a warning before looking up to find a humongous water balloon right above me. I had moved but someone had thought it funny to trip me. Then I had hit my head on something hard and I had blacked out. McGonagall had told me there had been a lot of blood. And someone had been visiting me but I couldn't quite remember who.

I shrugged, and then looked at my watch, it was only six. It was early but I found myself quite hungry, considering I had missed out on the feast. I stood up, planning to be the first down to breakfast. I slipped on my robes after a quick shower then applied what make up I ever used. I was at the long wooden table under the red and gold Gryffindor banners, quietly yet hastily eating my eggs, toast, tangerine, and oat meal, when the other students began to come down. The first to notice me was a boy named Seamus Finnegan.

"Oi Emma! Glad to see your okay. That sure was a nasty shock you gave us." And he walked away. He wasn't the last either. A girl named Alana Ishan in Hufflepuff stopped by, patting me on the shoulder. "Good to see your okay," she whispered. As expected, anyone who was heading to the Slytherin table made fun on me and my clumsiness. Though, when Ginny came in, she ran over immediately. "Oh Emma, Really, you should have been more careful! You really scared us all. Especially Hermione, it looked as if she was going to faint!" Ginny shrieked hugging me.

"Actually Ginny, I'm pretty sure that was Ronald," Hermione said, sitting across from us. "Hey, I heard that!" Ron exclaimed sitting down between Hermione and Harry whom had just sat down as well. I laughed, "So, what I'd miss?" I asked, suddenly curious. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with unusual excitement. "Well, besides your wondrous fall," Harry started, "you missed the announcement that the Triwizard Tournament is back on and we'll be the ones hosting it!" "You're joking!" I said, excitement growing inside of me.

For some reason, I just started laughing. "Aye, you okay?" Ron asked, suddenly looking concerned. "Sorry, I was just, that was the last thing I expected to hear, but seriously?" They all nodded though Hermione looked rather concerned. "So are any of you guys entering?" I asked. That is when Ron groaned. "We can't, you have to be seventeen! Isn't that horrible?" Ron groaned, putting his head in his arms. "Well, at least we'll get to watch…" I offered. Harry nodded, seeming to think about something else. Ron only groaned some more.

After maybe four more minutes of silence, I spoke again, "So when do we decide the champions?" Hermione looked up from her cheesy grits. "On October 31st, the day after the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrangs arrive," she answered for me. I smiled as I continued to eat. Only fifteen minutes later, we all got our schedules. I looked at mine; I had Charms first off, then Transfiguration, lunch, Double Potions. "That's not too bad…" I mumbled. "Sure I've got Snape but… hey, who's Professor Moody?" I asked. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Ron said after gulping down as large spoonful of eggs.

The sound of swishing wings sounded through the Great Hall, announcing that the morning post had arrived. I, out of habit placed and empty plate over my pumpkin juice to protect it from any unexpected droppings. "Good idea," Ginny muttered, doing the same. I only laughed as everyone else did the same. "Oh man, there isn't an extra plate!" Ron said, looking around. He sighed, picking up his goblet, shielding it with his hand. He obviously didn't notice the dropping that had landed in his birds nest for hair, though everyone else did.

Harry fell off his seat laughing while Hermione choked on her toast. I put my head on the table, pounding my fist, laughing as Ginny tried to keep calm. "Uh… R-Ron, your- your goblet isn't exactly w-what you should be worried a-about!" Then she fell over laughing on my shoulder. Ron looked around confused. "R-Ron, your head!" I nearly shouted. He reached up with his finger and drew back when he felt the stickiness. "Oi blimey!" he muttered. I laughed even harder.

He stood up frustrated. "Come on Harry, your coming with me!" he said, pulling Harry along by the elbow. Hermione, Ginny, and I continued laughing. I didn't notice my impatient owl that was perched on top of my goblet until he screeched loudly in my ear. I jumped up, surprised. "Oh, Sven, I am so sorry buddy, I didn't see you there!" I quickly took the emerald green envelope and newspaper he was holding tightly in his talons. "Good boy," I whispered, stroking his head. He flew off, probably heading for my dormitory. He was rather smart and knew I always kept the window cracked for him. Sven was a rather small barn owl whose feathers were nearly silver. He was rather handsome with brilliant white eyes. My father had given him to me so that we could keep contact, not that we did.

"Hey, can I see that newspaper?" Ginny asked, twisting her head so she could see the picture on the bottom. I nodded; handing it to her then slipped the envelope into my pocket. I had recognized the symbol imbedded in the silver colored wax that sealed it. Suddenly, all at once, the hairs on my arm stood up and I looked up to see Dumbledore glaring down at me, there was a large crash from somewhere up stairs, and a loud clap of thunder sounded through the hall.

At the sound of the thunder, I looked up at the ceiling which imitated the weather outside, then towards the large double doors. I was the only one who looked back up at the table. Dumbledore, I saw was gone. "What's going on?" I whispered. Ginny sitting next to me opened her mouth, taking a deep breath, when every light in the hall went out, leaving everyone in complete darkness. There was five seconds of silence before there was an eruption of terrified screams.

I felt Ginny clutch my sleeve, making sure I was still there. The screams seemed to grow louder with every second and I soon had to cover my ears from the pain. Suddenly, something clutched the sides of my robe. I immediately reached down in time to feel a hand slip in and out of my pocket, taking something along with it. It was square, flat, and felt like parchment. Oh, no, the letter! Five seconds after the hand had gone, the lights came back on. I slipped my hand in my pocket and pulled out only one thing out of two that should be there. It was the letter, but my schedule had gone missing. Someone had tried to take the letter, but got my schedule instead. "What in the world…" I muttered to myself.

No one heard me. They were all still looking up at the ceiling then up at the table in the front and back again, confused. "Emma?" Ginny called, "Are you okay? You look awfully pale!" Ginny sounded alarmed which made Hermione look back as well. "Ginny, are you okay?" she asked, keeping her voice low. The hall was silent and it seemed that the slightest noise would seem somehow, to be a notion of guilt. Ginny shook her head. "No, its Emma, I think there is something wrong with her. She is all… pale. Look."

I had tuned them out, still starring down at the envelope in horror, feeling frightened and confused. Someone knew I had a secret to hide. Some one knows… someone knows… someone knows I had received a letter. For some reason, I was not scared or concerned at all. I was just shocked. I though I had been so careful. "Emma… Emma!" called Ginny, "Emma snap out of it! We need to get to charms class. It won't be very nice to be late on the first day!"

I looked up. Had it really been that long? Half of the hall was empty and the rest were running to classes. I nodded, standing up and pulling my brand new bag up with me that was stuffed with books. "Hey?" Ginny said, stopping me, "Are you sure your okay?" I laughed, trying to convince her. "I am fine! Just a little bit woozy is all! Come on, like you said, we will be late!"

We hurried off to Charms where Professor Flitwick, standing atop his usual stack of books, was waiting. On the chalk board, words were writing themselves. Ginny took out a quill and piece of parchment, immediately copying it all down. I too began to take notes, trying hard to concentrate though I ended up repeating several lines in my sudden anxiety. By lunch, it had all worn off, thank Merlin!

"So how was your first day?" I asked brightly, sitting down with the others. Ginny seemed as bright faced as Hermione and I but Ron and Harry merely grunted in response. We all knew and recognized what they meant. "Well, it looks like your feeling better Emma!" Hermione chirped. I stayed silent as Ginny rolled her eyes. She was frustrated that I wouldn't give a clear response as to what was wrong with me earlier that morning. I helped myself to rice and gravy then adding some chicken as if it were an after thought. I had not had a chance to look at the letter yet. "OI, Ron, Harry! Guess what!" One of the Weasley twins hurried over with the other not far behind. "Hey guys!" Harry said. "What's up?" One of them sat down between me and Ginny while the other sat on the other side of Ginny.

"You still want in on the Triwizard Tournament?" one asked, I think it was George, who was on the other side of Ginny. Ron had brightened up now. "What's it to you?" he asked. "Well," Fred answered, "We have a solution!" "What are you talking about?" Hermione interjected. Her expression was that of a mother who had just discovered the plot of her two sons and disapproved greatly. "You know Hermione," Fred sighed, "If you really wanted to know, I am sure you could figure it out all by yourself! You are all grown up you know."

"An aging potion!" George whispered, leaning over to Harry and Ron. "Started gathering the ingredients for it this morning. Just put the wolf bane in the pot to boil for a day or two. Then we will be able to add the lace wings but we will half to wait for about a week before we can snatch any fluxweed," Fred added. They both looked thoughtful for a moment. "Harry, can we borrow your cloak so we can sneak into ole Snape's private stores tonight?" Harry shrugged. "Sure, why not. But I think I will skip my portion of the aging potion." Fred shrugged as well, "Suit yourself. How about you Ron?" he offered. "Sure, why not?" shrugged Ron. "I guess it's worth a shot…

Hermione had a fierce look in her eyes. "It won't work…" she warned them but they ignored her. As the others continued eating, I told them I would be right back, that I needed the wash room. The guys waved me away while Ginny offered to come with. "No thanks Ginny," I told her hurriedly. So that they wouldn't change my mind, I hurried off to the lavatory on the wing opposite the Great Hall. I ran into a stall, ignoring the greeting I received from Lavender and Parvati while ignoring Pansy's rude comment on my hair this morning. Sitting down on the toilet seat, I reached for the letter in my pocket, shakily reading Barty Crouch Jr. shaky handwriting.

Riddle,

There are spies everywhere. Keep low. Don't contact us, we'll contact you!

-Jr.

I nearly screamed. I could not believe they couldn't tell me this sooner!

"Emma? Are you in here? We need to get to potions!" I recognized the voice of Ginny. "Coming," I answered, flushing the letter down the toilet.

There was absolutely nothing new when it came to potions. Snape treated all the Slytherins as royals and the Gryffindors like vermin! It infuriated me especially when he forced Ginny to down a small vial of some Polly Walker Antidote she had made herself. Luckily, she had done it right and nothing serious happened. If she had done something wrong, it would have either turned her hair purple or shrink her head. One or the other, it would have been down right humiliating for her.

It was a slight satisfaction, seeing the look on Snape's face when her head didn't shrink though when a Slytherin boy who happened to be quite tubby, accidentally sloshed his antidote down his front, splattering Snape's feet, that was even more of a satisfaction. Snape's feet happened to shrink to the size of a peanut and the boy's neck turned purple. Of course, Snape was furious. Just because Snape was one of my father's most loyal servants, didn't mean we had to like each other. In fact, I had a great feeling the Snape loathed me very much. No it was more than a feeling. Unless… the one and only time my cauldron had melted, flooding the dungeons, it was only a coincidence that Snape was stowing his wand. I had gotten detention for over a month which consisted of me scrubbing the floors, causing my hands to erupt in nasty blue boils. Luckily, Hermione knew how to treat them.

Ginny and I were packing up our bags, ready to take them back up to the common room so that we could spend out free time at the lake. "Did you get your permission slip for Hogsmeade signed?" Ginny asked as she stuffed her potions book into her bag. I nodded, "Yeah, Aunt Clarice reminded me. Good thing because I had already forgotten! You?" I asked as I fastened the straps on my bag. She nodded as I stood up straight. "Well, Mom actually had to send it to McGonagall because we were in such a hurry that she forgot to give it to me at the station."

We began the journey out of the dungeons and to the great moving staircase which eventually lead up to our common room. The paintings around us were visiting with each other and dozing soundly. We were in front of the fat lady's portrait when some kind of white mist floated forward and I felt as though I had been doused with ice cold water. I nearly screamed as Nearly Headless Nick turned around to apologize. "Oh, dear girl, I am so sorry," he said when he was turning around again. He turned around suddenly, causing his unstable head to wobble a bit. "Oh my, you are the young lady who was taken to the Hospital Wing last night. My, my I hope you are quite alright."

I laughed a bit, shrugging it off. "I'm fine as you can plainly see." I assured him, then turned to the Fat Lady saying, "Marry Marshes." She swung forward on her hinges and Ginny and I crawled through, hauling our bags behind us. Once through, we were greeted by a thunderous roar of applause. "Gross!" Ginny muttered as Fred and George went through the process of demonstrating a series of candies that were supposed to make you seem sick so you could get out of class including bloody noses or throwing up. We hurried up to our dormitory and dropped off our bags, then headed out to the lake to sit under one of the old oak trees there.

"So, do you think it will work?" I asked Ginny as we continued to the lake. She looked at me a bit confused. "Do you think Fred and George's plan will work? The aging potion… Triwizard tournament?" Comprehension dawned on Ginny's face. "Oh! Yeah, maybe… I don't know. It depends on how they plan on keeping younger students from entering the competition. I mean, Dumbledore will defiantly tell the judge when he sees it."

I studied Ginny's face as she looked out over the lake. She seemed dazed and a bit troubled. "What's wrong Ginny? Lately, you have been distracted and a bit upset." I whispered. Ginny shrugged. "I guess it is the new school year or something. I guess…" but she didn't finish. Instead, she looked back to the lake, not really seeing it.

I looked across the lake as well, paying attention to it only when a large tentacle rose from the shiny reflective surface. Ripples formed where it had appeared and I stared at it long after the ripples had flattened into a flat surface again. Like Ginny, I let myself slip into my own little world. Somehow, on days like these, where it ended and my life seemed almost normal, I was rested. And then, there were the days when I knew that I was only betraying all my friends. Guilt shattered my void of dreams. It was only a silly dream, to think that everything could change.

That night, I sat on the edge of my bed; waiting until Ginny's breathing slowed and became the peaceful buzz which she made when she slept. Only then did I dare to bring out the photo I carried everywhere with me. Silently, I drew my curtains shut and looked down at the tattered and crumpled moving picture in the photograph.

It was winter in the setting. Trees surrounded two laughing love birds in the center of a clearing that were chasing each together around and rolling in the snow. There was a man with shaggy brown hair, similar shade to my own and honey colored eyes. The woman was my mirror image except for the hair. Hers was long and blonde. Though everything else was mine. Her joyous blue eyes and crimpled smile. Her beautiful complexion and many freckles which decorated her face were mine also. Her cheeks were ruddy from the cold. I often wondered if they were always slightly red as mine were, even when it was room temperature. She was me, except prettier. My mother and my father in their teenaged days chased each other around during their Christmas break.

It was one of their happier moments, I know. One I will never share with my father like my mother did. Is that why he hates me so?

Sighing, I slid the photo beneath my feather mattress and pulled the heavy quilt over me, snuggling deep into its warmth. Within seconds, I was asleep.