"I hate him," Lily Evans said decisively as she thumped the third-year girls' dormitory door shut behind her. Alice and Emmeline looked up from where they were laying on their beds, Alice reading and Emmeline twirling her wand around her finger.
"What'd Potter do this time?" Alice asked with a laugh.
"He—him! Argh!" Lily let out a small scream and threw herself down onto her bed, slamming her pillow over her head.
"What'd James do, Lily?" Emmeline persisted.
"Hskkedmout." Lily muffled a shriek again into her pillow, also speaking to the bag of feathers.
"He what?" Alice and Emmeline chorused. They traded glances, having suspicions.
Lily raised her head, green eyes snapping. "He asked me out!"
The other two girls were very careful to avoid looking at each other. "He asked you out?" Emmeline said in a controlled voice. "That's unexpected. You said no, I take it."
"Unex—of course I said no!" Lily burst out. "Only an idiot would say yes to that—to that—"
"…adorably cute…" Alice muttered over Lily's sputters.
"That—what? He is not cute! He is not at all! He is rude, and mean, and immature, and—"
"Very attractive," Emmeline muttered to Alice.
"No! How can you even think—" Lily got up and stalked over to the window, sitting down moodily in the seat. "He has stupid hair, and he does that stupid ruffling thing with it, just because he's halfway decent on a broomstick he feels the need to show off even more, and he wears dorky glasses and his shirt hangs out of his pants in both the front and back all the time!"
"You've been staring at his arse?" Emmeline asked mischievously, then added, "It is a nice one, isn't it Alice?"
"Oh yes, very," Alice responded over Lily's screech of fury.
"You two! I come up here for sympathy and you give me snide little comments about Potter's arse!" Lily threw a look of perfectly leonine disdain at the two and stomped out of the dormitory, presumably to the library. Alice and Emmeline exchanged looks and burst out laughing.
"Honestly," Alice said after they'd wiped away tears of mirth. "If she hasn't seen this coming she's blinder than James without his glasses."
"I know," Emmeline choked out, then managed to contain her laughter better. "Ten sickles that she hexes him the next time he asks her."
"I'll actually take that," Alice said. "If she blew up at him like she was just now, she may have scared him off. Come on—let's go heckle him mercilessly."
Emmeline stood up and practically skipped to the door, opening it with a lavish curtsy. "After you, m'dear." Alice fluttered her lashes outrageously and pranced out, managing to trip down the stairs. Emmeline shouted out a laugh and hurried after her friend, spiraling down in tight circles after Alice.
When she reached the bottom she found an interesting sight—Alice had apparently been caught by Frank Longbottom, in the Prewett twins' year. She was blushing like a tomato while he had a slightly bashful grin on his face. Emmeline stopped quickly, a smile creeping over her face. Alice was stuttering something out, Emmeline didn't know what, and Frank's cheeks were slightly pink as well.
Emmeline was fully aware that Alice was in the process of growing up. All of the third-year girls were—Mary MacDonald had already boasted proudly that she had both kissed a boy and let him feel her breasts. Emmeline and Alice had been taken shopping for bras by Marlene, Alice's older sister, that summer. Benjy had been banned from that trip, and he'd sulked around the Sea Tower until Emmeline had informed him what they were going out for. Madam Malkin had fitted her robes somewhat differently that summer as well and Benjy had glared at the poor woman, muttering about 'indecencies.' Emmeline snickered at that thought—Benjy was more protective than a mother bear over her. It suited the nickname people had given him—Emmeline's Tiger.
Alice interrupted her thoughts with a vice-like hand on her arm and dragged Emmeline out of the common room. "Ow, Alice, what?"
"In here!" Alice said in a whisper-like shout, pulling Emmeline into a bathroom. "Oh Merlin!"
"Alice, breathe!" Emmeline snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face.
"Did you see? Did you see? He—we—oh Merlin!"
Emmeline was thoroughly confused. "Alice, he caught you at the bottom of the stairs. Okay, he blushed a little—"
"He blushed?" Alice cut in, suddenly even more panicky than before. "He didn't like it? He didn't like me? Oh, of course he wouldn't, he's such a handsome fifth year and I'm just a puny, skinny, messy-haired little knobby-kneed third year…"
Emmeline was alarmed at how quickly her friend went from exhilaration to depression. "Alice! I think blushing is a good sign. And he didn't let go of you and walk off instantly, did he?"
Alice raised her head off from her hands and blue eyes met brown. "You think?" Alice breathed.
"Um, yes?" Emmeline let out an undignified squeak as Alice leaped up and grabbed her around the neck for a hug. "Ow—Alice, I can't breathe!"
"Sorry." Alice stepped back. "Oh, wow…"
"Calm down, Alice. It's not like you kissed."
"I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. I wish we had."
"Uh huh," Emmeline muttered. "Alice, you can keep daydreaming but we've got Care of Magical Creatures next." She gently steered the dazed girl out of the bathroom and down out of the castle to their evening class. It had been scheduled specially because of the creatures they were studying, Auguries. Professor Kettleburn had told them that the Augurey preferred the dusk to noonday sun, and that they'd have a rainstorm that night anyway, though the class strongly suspected he'd rescheduled the class because of his not-so-subtle hangover.
Once out on the lawn Alice appeared to regain some of her wits and shook her head like a dog trying to get water from its ears. "My Auntie Susan has an Augurey. She gets annoyed with it during the winter because it never shuts up." Drops of rain began to patter down on the girls, but before they could get too wet someone muttered a spell behind them, creating a sort of umbrella that was transparent and floated of its own accord above them.
"Hello, lovely ladies," Gideon and Fabian Prewett strolled up behind the girls, each offering an arm. Alice and Emmeline looked at each other and simultaneously accepted, thinking that a fit of gallantry was not to be frowned upon when it was raining. "Kettleburn showing you the Auguries as well on this drizzly evening?"
"He told us to meet down here instead of the morning class… mind you, this should be interesting."
"Where the man got the bright idea of double teaching two classes full of Gryffindors and Slytherins, I've no idea."
"But don't you two be fearin'… we'll watch out for the prettiest Gryffindors around." They spoke trading back and forth, and Emmeline and Alice couldn't restrain their laughs by the end.
Emmeline coughed herself into somberness. "We'll never fear with you two around. Or get soaking wet in the rain, either."
Her escort, who'd kindly worn a shirt with an 'F' on it that day (though she recognized could easily mean nothing—it could really be Gideon playing a trick on her), nodded up at the umbrella. "Nice spell, isn't it?"
"Very excellent. Charms aren't my forte… what is it?"
"It's a secret." Fabian smirked at her pouting scowl. "So if you ever need to go somewhere in the rain, you'll have to take me with you."
"Then," Some dim, underused part of Emmeline's brain raged at her to recognize this as flirting, so she played along, "if this keeps up you'll need to escort me back, gallant sir."
He stopped and bowed over her hand, kissing it lightly. "It would be my honor, fair maiden." She restrained a nervous giggle and hoped the heat in her face was only in her imagination as they approached the small, bedraggled gathering of students, Gryffindors and Slytherins clearly separated. The twins bid the girls farewell for the time being and greeted their friends. Alice and Emmeline went to stand with the other third years while the umbrella followed them.
James and Sirius were glaring at the Slytherins while Remus tried to talk sense, enlisting Peter to lend a restraining hand on James's shoulder. He eventually gave up as they ignored him, muttering to each other under their breath about planning nasty things, and came over to talk with the girls. Shaking his wet hair out of his eyes like a dog as he entered the rain-free area still chivalrously provided by the Prewett twins he shot a rueful grin at them. "It's like talking to a wall," he said with a hesitant laugh, as though not sure he'd be accepted there.
Alice snickered. "I'll bet. You should have heard Lily go off this morning about James asking her out."
Remus blinked. "James did what?"
"He didn't tell you?" Emmeline asked.
"Um, no." Remus turned around halfway to regard his friend with a slight frown. "Well, I won't rub it in his face that he was rejected. And I won't even tell Sirius."
"Probably a good idea," Emmeline said. "I think Lily chewed him up and spat him back out—he doesn't need teasing from Sirius as well."
The three turned as the professor limped up, half his right leg gone and leaning on a cane as he held his wand in front of him, levitating a cage. Without further ado, he whipped off the sheet covering the cage and set a magical barrier around their area, lines glowing in the air. He opened the cage door with another flick of his wand and the birds flew out—somewhat ugly and looking like a vulture, but with greenish black plumage. They beat their wings heavily through the air but couldn't pass the barrier, though rain continued to fall through it. "Auguries," grumbled Kettleburn. "Listen to 'em, just give 'em a minute."
Sure enough, the birds began to let out their throbbing cries, low and penetrating through the rain. They swooped through the air, not seeming entirely comfortable with having two classes looking up at them. "They cry with the approach of rain—damned useful to have around to predict the weather. They're also called the Irish Phoenix. They nest in brambles and thorn—why aren't you lot writin' this down?"
There was a sudden scramble for quills, and Emmeline was grateful for the magical umbrella as her parchment didn't get damp in the rain. She quickly scrawled down the information as he carried on, telling them the characteristics of the Augurey while the birds flew around them.
Soon enough the class was over and Professor Kettleburn retrieved the birds. The magical umbrella glowed brightly as Fabian and Gideon stepped back over to Alice and Emmeline smoothly, taking their arms in a symmetrical gesture once again. Alice and Gideon walked quickly, but Emmeline set a slower pace for her and Fabian. "I like the rain," she explained.
"Shall I get rid of the shield?" Fabian asked, twirling his wand around his fingers.
She smiled up at him, somewhat shyly. "If you don't mind. Not like we have to keep dry for class now."
A flick of the light-wooded wand and the barrier was gone. Rain fell down softly, dampening her hair. Fabian's own hair got slicked down quickly, plastered against his forehead. They walked down by the lake as darkness fell gently around them, light from the castle falling in golden pools on the dark grass and rain-rippled waters of the lake.
Emmeline caught Fabian looking at her and ducked her head, looking away. "What?"
"You looked very lovely just then, Emmeline."
"Call me Emm." She had nothing to say to the lovely comment.
"Well, don't speak then. But you did. I know a beautiful girl when I see one, and you, Emm, are a very beautiful girl."
Again she didn't speak, and she thought she heard him laugh gently. "Not used to compliments, are you?" She shook her head. "You will be. Give it a few years, and the boys will be falling at your feet. I'm just ahead of the game."
"Fabian, really—"
He stopped and put a finger to her lips, shushing her. "Don't call me a liar until you've been proven so very wrong, Emm." He traced the line of her lower lip very lightly, then removed his finger and looked down at her, giving her his trademark grin that was somewhere between a smile and a smirk. "As it is…" He dipped his head a few inches and pressed his lips to hers, mouth warm against the cool rain.
Muffling a squeak of surprise (and annoyed that she almost squeaked for the second time that day—squeaking was extremely undignified), she suddenly realized that Fabian Prewett, who could cause most girls to sigh by just giving them a wink, was kissing her. And… she liked it. So, she did what any sane girl would do. She kissed him back.
He broke off the kiss first, but he only moved back slightly. Their breath mingled and steamed in the air. "Now," his voice was rougher than she'd expected. "I'd best be getting you back to your tower. Don't want anyone to worry."
"Or get the wrong idea," she muttered, surprising herself with her own voice. It too was deeper, but more melodic. Like her mother's had been. Thinking of her mother caused sudden, unexpected tears to boil into her eyes and she turned her head away quickly, but not quickly enough.
"Emm, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie to me, lass." His fingers were gentle as he cupped her chin to turn her face to his. "What's got you cryin'?" His accent, born of some place north, was more prominent than it had been before.
"My Mum. She… you know she was killed last year."
"Aye, lass."
"Well, I was just thinking about her voice, and how—how much she'd like to know that I'd finally gotten my first kiss, but I can't tell her. I'll just have to tell Benjy instead."
Fabian looked slightly alarmed. "Steady on there, m'dear! I've no wish of being brutally murdered yet!" That caused a watery chuckle.
"I've got to tell him, though. He'll find out anyway, and believe me, he doesn't like it when things are hidden from him. It'd be better if I just told him. And he won't kill you."
"No, just send a cursed envelope t'tear me eyeballs out."
"I don't think your eyeballs are what he's going to have a problem with, Fabian. Try the balls a bit lower down." Emmeline slapped a hand over her mouth as Fabian roared with laughter, the sound echoing out over the dark lake.
"I didn't ever think t'hear ye say somethin' like that, Emm."
"Me neither." She said fervently.
"Ach," he sighed, kissing her gently again before adding, "we'd best be getting' ye back to yer dormitory, just in case yer guardian tiger put any wards around yer bed to let him know ye'd been out after curfew."
"Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised," Emmeline muttered as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and accompanied her back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was empty as he gave her one last chaste kiss.
She paused at the top of the staircase to the girls' dorms, smiling down at him as he whispered, "Sleep well, fair Emmie-mine Vance."
She bit her lip to hold back a laugh and blew him a kiss, then walked up to the top of the spiral staircase, opening her door quietly.
"Talk." Three girls directed their wands, shining with the lumos charm, in her face. She blinked at the sudden brightness and Lily took pity on her, lighting the lamps with a gentle gold flame from her wand. "Okay, now talk."
"And why are you sopping wet?" Alice asked. "Didn't your gallant twin shelter you from the rain? Gideon did. Not that we got sidetracked…"
"Can't I change and dry off first?" Emmeline begged. The other three girls sighed, but Mary nodded. Emmeline went into the bathroom gratefully, stripping off her robe.
She caught a glance of herself in the mirror—hair dripping onto the floor, skin pale from lack of sun in the recent days, but her eyes were glowing and her lips were bright red, curving into an unstoppable smile. She smothered a wild giggle and changed, drying her hair with a quick charm as she walked out again.
Emmeline lay down on her bed and nodded to the others that she was ready to talk. "What do you want to know?"
"Fabian Prewett?" Mary asked, her voice high in slight disbelief. "How could someone like you ever get Fabian?"
Lily and Alice glared at her, then Emmeline, who wasn't hardly paying attention to Mary and certainly not caring about her comments, dreamily said, "He told me I was beautiful."
"Oh, Emm!" Alice cried out, looking very happy for her friend.
Mary narrowed her eyes at Emmeline, appraising her. "So he goes for dark haired and flat chested, huh… Who would have thought it?"
"Mary!" Lily chastised. "Emm is pretty. Fabian clearly thought so," she finished wickedly, smiling cheekily at the blushing, now glassy-eyed Emmeline.
"Shut up. Anyway, I need to write to Benjy."
Alice blinked. "Do you want Fabian to die young? I thought you liked snogging him."
"Alice!" Emmeline scowled. "No, but he'll find out anyway. It's better if I just tell him." She flopped off the side of her bed, retrieving her school bag and drawing out parchment and quill, one of the Self-Inking quills that were new that year. She heard the other girls turning into bed as she wrote, lighting her wand to do so.
Dear Benjy,
Sorry I haven't written in a while—third year is busier than I thought. My Care of Magical Creatures class is really fun, and Ancient Runes is fascinating. Transfiguration is still the best though. I guess everyone knows (unless you have your head stuck under a rock) that Professor McGonagall is a cat Animagus, but seeing her transform is really amazing. We're supposed to be turning hedgehogs into pincushions and I was third in the class to get it. Only James and Sirius were quicker than me, and they're annoying about it. One day I'll beat them at something.
I've been thinking of trying out for Beater on the Quidditch team. Our replacement for you, Hooper, caught a nasty hit to the head during yesterday's game, and Captain Bones is panicking to find a new Beater because this is his seventh year team and "Dammit, we are going to WIN this thing! Now, I'll see you all at the five am tryouts on Saturday!" He's incredibly overenthusiastic about this whole Quidditch business, but I'm trying out anyway. Could you do me a favor if I get onto the team, and buy me the new Starchaser, the one that came out this summer? Only if I get onto the team though, which I'll write about as soon as possible. Could you maybe give me some tips about being a Beater? Captain Bones says that you're his inspiration.
Anyway, the real reason that I'm writing is that… oh, don't kill him, but Fabian Prewett kissed me this evening. Now, after you've finished squawking and howling and throwing things and making a scene in the Auror office, pick up this letter again and finish, because he's really changed and not the idiot I used to complain about. Though Lily asks me if you will break James Potter's nose for her—he asked her out today, and she didn't appreciate it. Anyway, DO NOT come up to the castle because a boy kissed me. I know you care but that would be the scarily overprotective streak kicking in again, and I don't want the boys here to be scared of kissing me because of you and your rashness when it comes to defending me.
Why, you ask? Why do I want those slimeballs touching me at all, when you could come up here and deal with them all so they never even think about even THINKING about me again? Because, Benjamin Fenwick, I rather liked snogging (it really was more snogging than just kissing) Fabian and I daresay I'll like snogging other boys as well. No, don't throw books or charm plates to break themselves, you'll scare people. So keep your nose out of it. I just thought I should tell you because you'd find out anyway, and then you'd really go irrational.
Much love, always and forever, from your little sister
Emmie
Emmeline sent the letter off the next morning with Arrow, who'd come down to breakfast to steal some of Emmeline's toast. Fabian kept shooting her not-so-subtle looks, making her blush slightly. Alice and the other girls kept their mouths shut, as per Emmeline's wishes. After all, she reasoned, it was just a kiss. What could he mean by it? Although, the looks were telling her that it might be more than just a kiss…
She was both grateful and sad when the bell rang, signaling the students to get the their classes. She managed to evade Alice's constant notes and pokes by throwing extra effort into her notes, paying strict attention even in her History of Magic class.
Fabian dragged her into a closet during the passing time for lunch and kissed her soundly before saying anything. "Afternoon, Emmie-mine. How are you on this fine day?"
"I am very well, thank you. And yourself, Fabe?"
"Excellent as well. Tell me, m'dear—have you sent off my death letter yet?"
"Yes, I wrote to Benjy last night and sent it this morning. Have you sentenced me to die yet?"
His brow furrowed. "What?"
"Have you told anyone who might tell other girls?" She clarified.
"No, but how would that sentence you to die?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to snicker. "You, Fabian Prewett, are a very attractive wizard, are you aware of this?" He pretended to ponder, then nodded cheerfully, making her smack his head lightly. "Modesty is a virtue. Anyway, in knowing that you are handsome, you attract many witches. Many other girls would like to be me, if they knew. And that is something that could cause harm to me, such as but not limited to slaps, punches, cuts, thrown books, tears, and so on. Do you follow me?"
"I could kiss your hurts better," he offered. She rolled her eyes.
He let her out of the closet after both checking that the coast was clear and kissing her soundly again. "I shall see you later, dearest. Try not to pine."
"I'll pine when you're a holly bush, Fabe. See you." He blew a kiss after her as she slipped out of the corridor and into a bathroom to straighten her hair. She splashed some water onto her face after she pointed her wand at her hair, returning the errant strands to their tight braid. She looked into the mirror as she dried her face off, trying to subdue her telltale grin.
Darting out of the bathroom and down to the Great Hall for lunch, she managed to defer the questions asked with smirks from Alice and Lily. She ate quickly and then they headed to Charms, where Emmeline employed the same tactic that she'd used earlier—utmost concentration on her notes and spellwork. A prank involving Severus Snape made Potions more enjoyable for the Gryffindors, and Sirius, James, Peter and Remus were the honored ones that night in the common room, again drawing attention away from Emmeline.
The next morning dawned bright and early as Emmeline danced into the shower, using some of the cinnamon and vanilla shampoo from her first compliment from Fabian, as she recalled it now. She was feeling happy enough to sing… so she did. Lily had the habit of listening to Muggle music in their dorm room, by way of a tricky little charm on the wireless set, and Emmeline had always had a knack for remembering lyrics and tunes. "Here comes the sun, do do do do…"
She massaged the shampoo into her hair. "Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun… here comes the sun, and I say it's all right!" Her voice echoed around the small shower, muffling Alice's shouts to get out of the bathroom.
She rinsed off and donned her robes, drying her hair with the charm again. "Sun sun sun, here it comes!" She sang as she exited, while Lily laughed as Alice stomped into the bathroom, rolling her eyes. "Sun sun sun, here it comes!"
Emmeline was hunting around for her shoes as Lily joined in. Neither of their voices were classically pretty, but as neither one of them had any training and they didn't care, it didn't matter. "Little darling, the smile's returning to the faces. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun…"
"So how is Fabian?" Lily asked when they finished the song.
"Haven't seen him this morning. Knowing him, he'll drag me into a broom closet for a little breakfast treat." Lily made an odd little choking noise as Emmeline continued. "How's James?" She asked wickedly.
Lily groaned. "He asked me out again!"
"Oh really? What'd you say?"
"I didn't say anything. I hit him with a hex to make his head get bigger, demonstrating his abnormally large ego."
Emmeline grinned, then shouted at the bathroom door. "Alice! You owe me ten sickles! Lily hexed James!"
A muffled complaint echoed out from the bathroom, then Alice opened the door in a puff of steam, straightening her robes when Lily entered and shut the door. "I thought she'd have scared him off."
"Well, she didn't. Pay up."
Alice grumbled as she removed ten sickles and handed them over. "Go ahead and meet Fabian, I know you want to. I'll stay with Lily. Have you seen Mary?"
"No. She's probably out to make sure I don't take her record for kisses among the third years. I'll see you down at breakfast." She waved a quick goodbye as practically flew out of the common room.
She was slightly disappointed that Fabian didn't drag her into a broom closet that morning, but she joined him for breakfast. Even without it being public knowledge that they were a sort-of couple, it was normal enough for her to sit with the twins, because they had been friends of Benjy even though he had claimed to find them very annoying. Emmeline idly wondered if he'd automatically hate the both of them because of the kissing thing, then answered her own question. Benjy would feel that it was his duty to hate them.
She leaned into Fabian's shoulder much like she used to do with Benjy, not caring who saw. Picking up a peach and munching on it, Emmeline used her wand to clear excess juice away from it so she wouldn't muss her robes or get sticky fingers and face. She listened to the murmur of conversation in the Great Hall, then sat up slightly at the arrival of the owls.
Everyone's attention was caught by the leader of the owls, her own Arrow. Suddenly Emmeline got a bad feeling that intensified as she spotted the red envelope that was already smoking in her bird's talons. Arrow didn't even stop as she delivered the letter, screeching as she banked in the air and flew back out the window after dropping it in front of Fabian Prewett.
Fabian audibly gulped as he looked down at the smoking red envelope, with his name written on it in a scrawl that Emmeline recognized instantly as Benjy's writing when he was extremely unhappy and mad. The redheaded fifth-year turned somewhat accusing eyes to Emmeline, though she could tell his heart wasn't in his anger. "I told you he was going to kill me with a cursed envelope."
"Well, this one is only cursed to shout at you and… well, really loudly shout at you. Nothing else. Just open it, they get louder the longer you wait." Emmeline didn't know whether to laugh or curl up and die because of the idiot she called her brother. Maybe she should send him a Howler back, embarrass him at the Auror office. Especially since he was a trainee… yes. She decided what to do as the envelope shot open and Benjy's magically magnified voice filled the hall, shouting at Fabian.
"YOU FILTHY DISGUSTING BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU LAY HANDS ON MY LITTLE SISTER! YOU WILL STOP THIS MOMENT OR I SWEAR TO MERLIN I WILL COME UP TO HOGWARTS TOMORROW MORNING AND I KNOW SOME DAMNED GOOD CURSES, MORE THAN ENOUGH TO HEX YOU TO NEXT WEEK WITHOUT SOME IMPORTANT BODY PARTS THAT YOU NEED IF YOU EVER WANT TO SHAG! YOU'LL FIND OUT HOW MUCH OF 'EMMELINE'S TIGER' I CAN BE! AND THE FULL FORCE OF MY HATRED AND RAGE WILL BE DIRECTED AT YOU! EMMIE COULD DO SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU IF SHE FELT LIKE IT BUT SHE DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT BECAUSE SHE'S GOING TO BE A NUN AND NEVER HAVE CHILDREN OR KISS ANYONE ELSE! EVER!
"AND AS FOR YOU," the Howler directed its blast of noise at Emmeline, who suppressed a cringe. "IF HE DARES EVEN LOOK AT YOU AGAIN YOU TELL ME, YOU HEAR? OR ANY WIZARD! MEN ARE TROUBLE AND YOU ARE MUCH TOO YOUNG—TRY AGAIN WHEN YOU'RE FIFTY, YOUNG LADY! NO MORE SNOGGING FABIAN PREWETT! AND I AM NEVER IRRATIONAL!" The letter burst into flames and the ashes fell in Fabian's goblet.
The Great Hall broke into titters of laughter at the ashen-faced Fabian, though Emmeline was glaring at the spot where the Howler had burned. "Be a nun?" She asked the air. "Oh, I don't think so. Fabe, Gid—either one of you know where I can get a Howler? Or how to make one?"
Gideon nodded, struggling to keep his face straight and not roar with laughter at his scared-looking brother. "Yeah, I can get you one. To Ben, I assume?"
"You assume correctly."
Later that night Emmeline barred her friends from their dormitory and sat with the red letter in front of her, twirling her wand as she debated how to phrase what she wanted to say. Speaking quickly and clearly, she said, "Benjamin Fenwick, if you ever dare embarrass me like that again I will get you back. And if you ever even thought for a second that I was going to become a nun and never fall in love you're not only horribly deluded, you're also completely naïve when it comes to girls. It doesn't matter if I'm your sister or not, idiot.
"Now, I trust this is sufficiently embarrassing you. To add to that embarrassment I want to tell you that the Tower had better be free of dirty socks and you're doing all the cooking when I come home for Christmas, or you're banished to the broom shed outside. And, to make up for completely humiliating me and making my personal life public, you sodding arse, I'm sending an owl to that arithmancer you like, Miss Vector, and telling her that story of when you got Stinksap all over you by playing with the mimbulus mimbletonia Alice Prewett brought to class last year. And just for good measure, I'm going to swear once more. You absolute prudish ARSE, Benjy Fenwick!"
Emmeline sealed the letter with her wand and smiled at a job well done. She knew she wasn't livid, which would have made the Howler more cringe-worthy, but the spell on the letter would magnify her voice and cause him mortification in the office. Or so she hoped.
Satisfied with a job completed, Emmeline returned to the common room and tied the red letter to Arrow's leg (the owl somehow knowing that she was wanted for service), who looked at her in reproach. "I know you don't like Howlers, Arrow, but Benjy deserves it." Arrow hooted and took off into the night, while Emmeline joined her friends.
"What were you doing up there?" Lily asked. "I know you weren't with Fabian, because the stairs don't let boys up."
"Nah, I was sending a letter to Benjy."
Gideon laughed. "Make good use of that Howler I got for you?"
She nodded and grinned at him. "That I did. He's going to be humiliated in front of the entire Auror department if Arrow delivers it at the right time tomorrow morning, not to mention the girl he likes as well. I sent her a letter about the Stinksap incident—you remember that."
Gideon winced. "I'd hate to get on your bad side."
Emmeline smiled angelically. "Don't send me Howlers regarding who I snog and we'll be good. Who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"
Benjy appeared to be sufficiently cowed by her letter/Howler combination and didn't make any more comments about Fabian, or boys in general. Lily's parents were going to some Muggle holiday place so Emmeline invited her to the Tower for a wizarding Christmas, which the girl gladly accepted. Alice said they were all invited to a Christmas Eve party her parents were holding, and soon enough everyone was packing for the train.
Benjy was waiting at the station to Apparate the girls home. "Emmie!" He greeted her with a bear-like hug.
"I missed you Benjy! You remember Lily Evans, right?" She asked, hugging him back tightly.
Benjy clapped the redhead on the shoulder and nodded. "Of course. You're going to have to tell us how Muggles spend Christmas—how do they manage not to burn down their homes with the candles?"
Emmeline caught Fabian motioning to her out of the corner of her eye, while also looking warily at Benjy. She slipped away while Lily had Benjy's attention, letting Fabian pull her into a small, dark nook along the side of the platform. "I'm going to miss not seeing your lovely face every day, Emmie-mine."
"And I'm going to miss not snogging your handsome face off every day, Fabe."
"We'll have to remedy that when we get back from break, won't we?" He breathed into her hair while he hugged her close. She murmured agreement into his robes, then he tipped her head back and their lips met…
"Ahem."
Emmeline stifled an annoyed growl and showed a couple of choice fingers to the intruder, nuzzling her face into Fabian's neck. Surprisingly enough, she felt him step back and cough, which made her look around and meet Benjy's none-to-thrilled green eyes. He had his arms crossed and Lily was standing off to the side behind him, trying hard to keep a straight face.
"Have you finished saying goodbye?" Benjy asked dryly.
"Not yet," Emmeline snapped back, standing on tiptoe and pulling Fabian's head down, kissing him firmly. "I'll see you after break, Fabe. We'll continue our conversation then."
Benjy made a choking noise and grabbed her arm, dragging her away. "That's enough, Emmeline."
"Oh, don't 'Emmeline' me, you great prat. We weren't doing anything."
"Well, excuse me for not wanting to see my sister being messed around by—"
"We were NOT messing around, you idiot! It's called kissing! Try it sometime, it's actually nice, not that you would know because you're such a prude…"
Benjy glared down at her. "I am NOT a prude. I've had experience kissing. But you're too young!"
Emmeline rolled her eyes and turned to Lily. "This is Benjy, he's annoying. See, everyone at school thought he was a great guy, all the girls loved him, he could do no wrong… now you see the real Benjy Prewett. He's a prudish prat who changes track in conversation because he knows he's losing and enjoys making his little sister's life a loveless hell and insists she's going to become a nun."
Lily giggled. "I'm sure he only cares about you."
Benjy nodded to her cordially. "Yes I do. Thank you Lily, I'm very thankful for the vote of support and confidence."
Emmeline raised her eyebrow, still ignoring Benjy. "Lily, have you ever heard of overprotection?" She asked as Benjy took her arm and turned them into the crushing darkness.
The trip back to the Sea Tower was short, and Lily gasped on seeing it. "You live in a lighthouse?"
Emmeline nodded. "It has lights inside, yeah."
"No, I mean… Muggles call buildings like those lighthouses. When ships need to be warned of rocks in the water, there's a lighthouse to guide them at night so they don't crash."
"How can a house guide something?" Benjy asked.
Lily shook her head as Emmeline started to open the gates, but then Benjy held them shut, though Lily said, apparently without noticing, "No, there's a light on top of the house and it flashes. Muggle ship captains know that this means rocks in the water so go careful."
"Muggles are confusing," Benjy replied. "Emmie, I learned some new spells to ward the place with—you'll need to vouch for Lily before she enters. Tap your wand and say, 'I, Emmeline Demelza Vance do swear that Lily… whatever her full name is… is not barred access from the Sea Tower, home of the Vance family under the ward of Benjamin Prewett until I do so come of age at seventeen, when, in accordance with wizarding law, I shall be a legal adult.'"
Emmeline raised an eyebrow at him. "Could you have made that any more complicated and confusing?"
"Once you turn seventeen and I'm not warder anymore, you can drop that last part. It's just a good idea to keep as many protections as we can around our houses in times like these. I can get through because I'm the legal keeper and I set the spell. When you turn seventeen you'll need to let me in officially, though. It's linked to your voice and those words are key, go on."
"What do you mean, times like these?" Lily asked as Emmeline recited what Benjy had told her in a murmur, placing her wand against the gates.
"It's not too much to worry about if you're not a pureblood, the Ministry has it mostly under control, but there's a wizard rising in power with some questionable ideas."
"Why are purebloods worrying?" Emmeline asked as she finished the declamation to allow Lily into the grounds and building of the Vance home.
Benjy looked like he was about to say something, then bit his lip and sighed. "I'll explain later. Right now, let's get Lily settled in. She's taking the highest spare room, right?"
"Lily, you can choose which room you'd like. The highest guest room has the best view of the sea. The Tower's pretty big, but it's just me and Benjy here." Emmeline unlocked the door and entered as Benjy flicked his wand to open the window, illuminating the inside of the Tower.
Lily gasped as sunlight poured into the Tower, open doors alongside the spiral staircase flying up the center of the main tower glowing golden in the late afternoon blaze. Emmeline nudged her to start climbing the staircase and she did so, though she peered into every open room on her way up. "You live here?"
"Yeah," Emmeline said with a shrug. "It's not as grand as some of the old wizarding families' homes—the McKinnons have a castle, did you know? We'll go there for the Christmas party; they always have fun gatherings."
"Alice has a castle?" Lily gaped at Emmeline as the dark-haired girl pushed open the door, which creaked slightly.
"This is your room. You've got a great view of the ocean." Emmeline pointed out the big bay windows in the curving room, the walls echoing the circle of the tower. "I'm just up the stairs and to the right if you need anything, the bathroom's across the hall. If you want a shower go ahead, otherwise," she paused and sniffed, "Benjy's cooking dinner downstairs if you want to go talk to him, there's a library on the third level and an observatory on the seventh. I'm going to change into something more comfy. I'll give you the tour later."
Emmeline left her friend still staring in amazement around her room, then ran up the stairs into her own room which was on the second highest level of the Tower, just beneath the observatory. She tossed her school robes into the corner to deal with later, pulling on a sleeveless sweater and loose pants. She braided her hair back in front of her mirror and then went back downstairs, settling into a deep red armchair in the open main level of the Tower, watching Benjy cook across the way. By the sounds of water running upstairs, Lily was in the shower.
Emmeline smiled across at Benjy. "I really missed this place."
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "And me as well, right?"
"Of course! How's training going?"
"Good," he flicked his wand and a bottle of Butterbeer floated across to her. "My mentor is really crazy. His name's Moody, Alistor Moody. He's one of the best—your father was his trainer."
Emmeline's breath caught in her throat, but she took a gulp of Butterbeer and managed a smile. "Oh, Emmie, sorry," Benjy seemed to realize that he'd said something wrong almost instantly. "I shouldn't have mentioned… only, Moody said that your father was one of the people he looked up to the most when he was my age."
"It's okay, Benjy. It's just hard, sometimes, realizing that… that Mum and Dad won't be home for Christmas. Anyway, Alice McKinnon invited the three of us to a Christmas Eve party at her place."
"You need me to take you?"
Emmeline rolled her eyes. "And you could even stay yourself. She invited all three of us."
"Who's going to be there?" Benjy asked gruffly.
"Hell if I know. What're you making for dinner?" Emmeline asked as Lily walked down the stairs, eyes still looking around in wonderment.
"We're having shepherd's pie tonight, is that good with you, Lily?"
She smiled at him, taking a seat across from Emmeline in another once of the chairs. "It sounds wonderful. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Besides giving Emmie lessons in manners no, but thanks for asking. I'm just going to put it in the oven for an hour or so, then we'll eat. Blackberry tart for dessert."
Emmeline leaned her head back against the chair as Benjy shut the over door and took a seat on the couch. "See, Lily, this is why I keep him around. To cook for me."
"Oh, shut up Emmie." Benjy blushed slightly. "I like cooking," he explained to Lily. "Emmie makes fun of me for it, but she'd starve at home without me. And she knows it too."
Emmeline nodded. "Sadly enough, he's right. I'm not much good with the householdy things, and neither really is Benjy, but he can cook and I'm okay with laundry, so we make it work."
"And there's always scourgify for the floors. Anyway, Lily—what's it like living with Muggles?" Like most young wizards, Muggles were the realm of Muggle Studies classes for Benjy, and he'd never bothered with the class.
Lily shrugged. "It's like living with wizards, but without magic. I mean, Muggles want the same things as wizards do—a good home, their children to succeed, food on the table every meal, enough money to go on vacations. They just live without magic."
Benjy shook his head as he tried to contemplate living without magic. Emmeline was lost on that front as well, as her parents had always used magic for everything, then later so had Benjy. Now Emmeline herself was using magic on a regular basis, with the exception of holidays.
The shepherd's pie was excellent and the trio was quiet as they ate, and then finished with tea and the blackberry tart. They sat on the carpet, chatting softly and watching the fire until around midnight, then yawns forced them to go to sleep.
The next few mornings all dawned grey, then snow fell on the morning of December 24, which prompted a huge, three-way snowball fight out on the grounds of the Tower. Benjy got out his broom and launched an aerial assault on the girls. Emmeline and Lily ran to the broom shed under a hail of snowballs and Emmeline climbed onto her broom. Lily remained on the ground while lifting ammunition to Emmeline, both girls pummeling Benjy from above and below.
They called a truce around midday, Lily suddenly remembering Alice's party. Benjy grumbled about being forced to dress up but did so anyway, and they were ready to leave around five.
Emmeline was wearing her hair up, as usual, and a deep red dress that Benjy tried to order her to change out of, on the grounds that it was too revealing. Lily took Emmeline's side, saying that a dress that barely left the collarbones bare and just the tops of the shoulder blades was in no way too revealing. Lily herself was wearing a green that matched her eyes perfectly, cut into a simple, long-sleeved dress. Her hair was down and she'd gotten Emmeline to place tiny golden bells in it, in the spirit of the season.
The three grabbed black cloaks, Benjy's matching his dress robes perfectly, and walked out into the light snow. At the end of the drive he sealed the locks and wards, taking the arms of the girls and spinning them into blackness.
The McKinnons' always had a huge party for Christmas and the castle turned into something that looked like a Christmas seasonal shop had exploded over it. Lily gasped at the huge display of lights, magical snow, reindeer pulling sleighs, gaudily dressed witches and wizards, and decorations draping the castle. They stood at the end of the causeway across the moat into the castle, and soon enough a reindeer-drawn sleigh stopped in front of them.
Benjy gave the girls an arm up, then climbed in himself as the reindeer began trotting across the bridge to the castle, pulling the sleigh under massive stone walls and into a courtyard. The courtyard was a square with a circle in the middle housing a fountain and small garden. The sleigh was drawn around it and the reindeer stopped in front of huge double doors, thrown open wide to show bright yellow light gleaming, witches and wizards laughing and walking around.
They stepped down from the carriage and Benjy offered his arms to the girls, who giggled and accepted his shepherding up the wide, shallow steps of the main entry. At the top they were met by Alice, who hugged Emmeline and Lily excitedly. "Welcome! Hi Ben! Let's see if I can't find you some escorts… oy, Fabian! Gideon! Get over here, you two!"
The twins arrived quickly, Gideon giving Alice a rueful smile. "Thanks for getting us away from Auntie Muriel… she's a right pain in the arse and no mistake. Hey you three," he smiled at Benjy, Emmeline and Lily.
Benjy didn't return the greeting, as he was too busy glaring daggers at Fabian. "I'll be Emmeline's escort this evening, thanks all the same, Alice."
Alice rolled her eyes. "Fine. Make me look like a bad hostess then. Actually, Lily, I had someone else in mind for you. Go away, Prewetts. You're not needed anymore." The twins laughed and started to meander away, steering visibly clear of their aunt, who was shouting at some hapless wizard who had offered her champagne.
Alice vanished then returned almost the same instant, dragging James Potter along by his sleeve. He gulped as he looked at Lily, then grinned suavely and ruffled his hair. "Evening, Evans. You look lively tonight… save me a dance?"
"Urgh, Alice! No, Potter, I will not dance with you. Gideon, get back here!" The twin turned bemusedly as Lily grabbed his elbow. "You're my escort for tonight."
"Why?" He asked with a laugh.
"Because if you're any kind of gentleman at all, you'll save me from the horror of dancing with Potter."
"Alright, sweetheart. Then may I have this dance without you dismembering me, my gorgeous redhead?"
Lily visibly fought to hide a blush, her former bravery when it came to getting away from James Potter vanishing at the look from the handsome and extremely flirty Prewett twin. "Um, okay." She gave a bit of a wild laugh as he whirled her out onto the golden dance floor, Emmeline and Lily giggling helplessly behind her.
Benjy scowled as Fabian looked back at Emmeline while the girl shrugged and grimaced in Benjy's direction. The fifth-year grinned ruefully and winked, then vanished into the crowd as Emmeline and Benjy took to the dance floor.
Emmeline's mother had taught both of them how to dance when they were young, and so their movements tended to match perfectly. It wasn't a trial to dance, and Emmeline often wished that Hogwarts had more dance opportunities. A ball of some sort would be wonderful… she sighed to herself. Yes, of course the professors would want to supervise a group of emotionally-charged teenagers for a night of dancing.
After a few dances Benjy let her go, Emmeline smirking as she saw the current object of Benjy's desires, a young, sweet-looking witch named Mirabella Weasley, the trademark Weasley hair glinting in the lamplight. Benjy brushed off his robes and ran a hand through his hair, then sauntered off to engage the pretty witch in conversation. Emmeline's shoulders were shaking as she stifled her giggles, watching as Mirabella became flustered as Benjy worked his charm on her. He eventually bowed over her hand, kissed it, then led her out to dance.
"Can I approach you now without the tiger guarding his sister?" A low voice muttered in her ear.
Emmeline glanced sideways at Fabian, brown eyes matching grey. "Possibly. For safety's sake, let's go somewhere else. Alice's place has all sorts of little hiding places." He took her hand and they walked off into the halls of the castle, passing other kissing couples and tipsy people.
Fabian was more at home in Alice's castle, the Prewetts and McKinnons being great family friends, both with large families. He took her up a set of spiral stairs and stopped by a window looking out onto the northern part of the grounds, a cleared field large enough for two Quidditch pitches. He pulled Emmeline tight to him, her back resting against his chest as she looked out the window into the snowy night. "It's so beautiful," she whispered.
"Yes, you really are," Fabian muttered into her neck. Emmeline laughed softly as they resumed their interrupted 'conversation' from the train station, thinking that Benjy wouldn't be happy.
Soon enough it was time to go back to school, and Benjy dropped the girls off at the train station with another warning to Emmeline, directing his friendly advice to Lily as well, to keep away from boys. They found a compartment and then Benjy left after helping magic their trunks to the racks overhead. Alice joined them soon after, looking disgusted.
"Why do older siblings have to be so annoying?" She groaned by way of greeting.
Lily and Emmeline exchanged a look. "What happened?"
"Marlene. Ben apparently flirted with her at the party and we just saw him outside the station. He said hi and she hasn't stopped talking about him."
"Well, what's it been, five minutes? Can't be that annoying. Mind you, you're talking to me, whose big brother sends a Howler to the guy I'm snogging, so I probably have a different idea of annoying."
"Ugh. Never mind. Anyway, I reminded her that he was flirting with Mirabella more, so she left me the moment I got over the barrier. I had to ask a prefect for help with my trunk."
Lily snickered. "I'm sure Frank Longbottom would have helped."
Alice sighed longingly. "If only. It was the Ravenclaw prefect, Seamus Moran. Cute, but not as wonderful as my Frank."
"Your Frank?"
"In my mind, I can call him whatever I want." The girls laughed at that and chatted away the rest of the journey, though Lily had to leave to get her prefect duties from the Head Boy and Girl..
Classes resumed with the usual January weather—absolutely horrible for Quidditch. Emmeline returned scowling from every practice, James likewise, from the rain and sleet and snow that the heavens battered them with. Their bad mood was somewhat infectious, or at least it didn't help with general good feeling and morale around the Gryffindor Tower.
Emmeline was walking back from the library, trying and failing to smother yawns behind her hands as she headed to the Tower in late January. She had a stack of books in her arms, too tired to even bother with a Hover Charm. It'd probably just explode, the way her luck ran with Charms. She'd gone from being decent enough to scrap a pass for her first two years, and then she just didn't understand any more. Lily and Alice helped, Alice being the best in their dorm at Charms, but Emmeline still wasn't proficient. Flitwick was threatening her with tutoring if she didn't improve.
She swore under her breath as a book, Charming for Dullards, went crashing to the stone ground. She knelt down and shifted awkwardly to rearrange the stack, then paused as she heard the sound of lowered voices. Benjy sometimes called her his little cat, and the Prewett twins had stuck the nicknames of 'Emmeline's tiger' and 'little kitten' onto them, so naturally she had a cat's curiosity to match the titles.
"..don't care what Mummy says, you're at Hogwarts now…"
Emmeline frowned. That didn't sound nice, and she thought she recognized the voice. After looking around shiftily, she tucked her stack of books into a corner niche with a suit of armor and walked silently to the corridor where the voice was echoing slightly.
A whimper, seemingly released against its owners' will, was accompanied by, "You slimy little Slytherin git!"
Emmeline chanced a quick look around the column, eyes widening as she identified the aggressor and prey. She slunk down against the wall, biting her lip as she debated what to do. On one hand, there was House loyalty. He'd hate her if she stepped in—actually, they both would. But on the other hand, there was right and wrong. Her mother had lectured her on always doing the right thing, even if it was painful for those involved.
"Easier said then done, Mum," Emmeline whispered under her breath. However, she stood up and squared her shoulders, setting her chin high as she stepped out into the dim lamplight of the corridor. "Stop that right now, Sirius," she directed with a hint of her Mum-voice, one designed to make the addressee feel guilty.
The dark haired boys looked around at her, one annoyed and the other hiding relief. "Get out of it, Emm. This is family business."
"Bullying your little brother?" Emmeline shot at him. "That's not family business, that's wrong."
"Go away, Emmeline." Sirius growled, using one hand to pin his brother against the wall and the other to aim his wand. "It's nothing to do with you."
"Shut it, Sirius. You're a part of my House, and Gryffindors have honor. What honor and chivalry is there in threatening your brother in a back hallway? None. That's what cowards do."
"Are you calling me a coward?" He released Regulus and turned to Emmeline, grey eyes flashing. Emmeline spared a seconds' thought for how different his eyes were from Fabian's, even though they were the same color. Fabian's were always warm and loving when he looked at her, with that glint of mischief she loved, whereas Sirius's were cold and shadowed while he glared.
"And if I am? You're intimidating a first-year; if you want to pick a fight, go with someone older. Only a coward scares someone younger and weaker." Her hand found her wand hidden beneath her robes. She didn't want to cross spells with him, but she would if she had to. "Are you really so weak?" She taunted, hoping that Regulus would use the opportunity to get away.
"I'm not weak! And I'm not a coward!" Sirius snarled at her, advancing as Regulus scrambled away down the dark corridor, descending the staircase at the end. Emmeline let herself breathe a quick sigh of relief, then focused back on Sirius.
"You—" Emmeline dodged out of the way as Sirius sent a jet of light her way. She knew he couldn't do non-verbal spells yet, none of the third years could, so she suspected it was more rage-driven than anything powerful. Still, she didn't want to test.
"I don't—" She managed to get out before he shouted a curse and she ducked it, flinging a Jelly-Legs hex back at him. It missed. "Morphus falcae!" She shrieked as he bore down on her, a wild look on his face. It wasn't something she'd ever tried before, only a Transfiguration spell she'd read in a book.
He let out a scream, looking in horror at his hands, which had sprouted talons. It didn't stop him from retaliating though, with a roar of "Miasmere!"
Emmeline blinked and waved her hands in front of her face as a grey fog clouded her vision and dulled her perception. A whip seemed to be searing her hands and face and she screamed, then all went black.
She blinked her eyes open in a place that seemed to have white on every available surface. A kind-looking nurse bustled over to her as Emmeline moved slightly. "Oh, my dearest, what were you thinking, wandering around alone in the hallways? Here, drink up. This will help with your hands."
Emmeline swallowed some of the potion, looking around. "Where am I?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.
"Hospital Wing, dear."
"Why?"
The nurse sighed. "You were unconscious when they brought you here. That nice prefect Seamus Moran brought you in, him and Frank Longbottom. Do you remember who cursed you?"
Emmeline blinked. She remembered quite clearly fighting with Sirius, but if Frank and Moran hadn't gotten him then he'd run off and not been caught… she bit her lip, appearing as though she was trying to remember. What was the code of Gryffindor? Chivalry. Honor. It would be neither to turn Sirius in. Slowly, she shook her head. "No. There was some kind of fog… and I don't remember anything."
The nurse gave her a look that suggested she guessed she wasn't getting the full truth and that Emmeline needed to work on her lying skills, then sighed. "Very well, I thought as much. You'll be free to go as soon as you've finished that. Your hands will have those welts for a while, and I can't do anything about magical scarring, so you'll probably get a few from that as well. But curse scars can sometimes be helpful. The ones on your face will fade, however."
Emmeline nodded her thanks and finished the potion. After glancing at the clock to see what class she should be in she left with a wave to the sweet-natured nurse. She made a quick trip to Gryffindor Tower, which was mercifully deserted at that hour, then grabbed her things for her last two classes.
The halls were strangely quiet as she walked to Transfiguration. Shrugging, she pushed open the door to McGonagall's classroom and let herself in.
"Emm!" Alice shouted, her and Lily rushing over to hug their friend. Emmeline hugged them gingerly back, wary of the scarlet marks on her hands. Most of the rest of the class welcomed her with smiles and as well, before Professor McGonagall restored order with a throat-clearing. Alice and Lily forced Emmeline to sit between them at their desk, small as it was.
Emmeline had trouble with notes that day, attempting for a few minutes to take them before Alice hissed in sympathy and barred her from even touching a quill, insisting that she'd copy everything after class. Emmeline accepted happily, glad that both she didn't have to do anything and McGonagall didn't care.
She ate sparingly at dinner that night, finding it hard to manage fork and spoon. The potion that the hospital nurse had given her also made her feel strangely full, and she wasn't hungry despite eating very little as they headed back. Emmeline was slightly overwhelmed by the number of people that accompanied her back—Lily and Alice, of course, along with the Prewett twins and the majority of the Marauders (Emmeline didn't see Sirius, and didn't know what she'd do when she did see him), Frank Longbottom and Seamus Moran, the prefects who'd found her, and even the two Heads, a Ravenclaw girl and Hufflepuff boy.
She managed to escape up to her dorm room with only Alice, Mary and Lily. Alice immediately turned to her best friend and hugged her tightly again. "You've been out for three days, you know."
Emmeline gasped. "I have?"
Lily nodded. "Whatever they cursed you with, it was spelled to keep you asleep."
"And mess with my memory," Emmeline interjected before they could ask. She didn't want it getting out that Sirius Black had hurt her. For one thing, he'd never survive the wrath of Fabian and Benjy combined. Or even just Benjy alone, Emmeline amended to herself. The rest of Gryffindor Tower would turn from him and mutter among themselves that he'd been bound to go bad, it really had only been a matter of time before he snapped. She wouldn't have that, no matter what she felt about him. "I don't remember who attacked me, I'm sorry."
"Emm, don't be sorry about what you can't help. It's better for him if you don't, anyway. We'd kill him, or at least mangle him and then leave him for Benjy and Fabian. They'd murder him, and not a quick and simple AK either. I bet Benjy would gladly crucio that bastard," Alice grinned deviously, nastily.
"Alice, don't joke about things like that. I've got a few things I'd like to say as well, though," Lily commented, her tone light but eyes meaningful.
Emmeline felt herself drifting off to sleep as the others continued to mutter to themselves about the things they'd do to Emmeline's attacker. Her last impression was of Alice coming over and tucking up the blankets to her chin and kissing her cheek much like her mother would have done. "Get some sleep, Emm."
A surprise waited for her the next day at the Gryffindor Table in the form of Benjy, who swept her up into a hug and held her tightly. "Emmie, thank god," he whispered into her hair. "They wouldn't let me come up, Dumbledore said he had everything under control, but I've been so worried. Who did it?"
"I don't know, Benjy. I'd tell you if I knew." They sat down, Benjy still with his arm draped over her shoulder. Emmeline chewed her toast thoughtfully as girls giggled around them, presumably about Benjy. She wondered what to do about Sirius. For one thing, if she confronted him she didn't know what he'd do. They were friends but not close. She had the feeling that he'd always been grateful to her for what she'd done in their first year for him, but Emmeline knew that if she'd hexed her little brother and had been caught, then cursed pain and a three-day sleep onto the person she felt she owed something she'd feel horrible. More than horrible.
Maybe she just shouldn't say anything to him at all? She could feed him the loss of memory hippogriff dung that she'd given everyone else, and hopefully he'd accept it as a moot point to argue. And anyway, who actually wants to admit that they were a first class bastard to someone, especially someone as well liked as Emmeline? Not that she was trying to be egotistical or anything. That was the domain of James Potter.
Benjy nudged her shoulder and she looked up at him. "I've got to get going, Emmie. Tell Prewett that if her ever lets anything like this happen to you ever again, I'll first kill the bastard that did it and then I'll kill Prewett. Love you."
"Oh, get out of it, Benjy. I love you too, eat your vegetables and don't break the house." She kissed his cheek as he stood and gave him a slight hug, watching him go as he left the Hall, cloak billowing dramatically behind him. "Come on," she muttered to her year-mates. "We've got to get to Potions."
