Following their first Potions lesson, the Potter twins and Ron walked together across the school grounds toward Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry found that he was rather curious about the Forest, and what exactly resided there. When he voiced this curiosity aloud to Emma and Ron, Emma shrugged her shoulders and impatiently brushed her wayward dark hair out of her eyes.

"Acromantulas, unicorns, centaurs," she listed off. "Among others." Harry wanted desperately to respond, but by that point, they were nearing Hagrid's, and he became distracted; he stowed that information away in his mind to ask his sister about later.

Harry reached up to knock on Hagrid's door and they immediately heard a scrambling sound, accompanied by loud barking, from within. They could also hear Hagrid's voice, saying "Back, Fang- back."

Once Hagrid had successfully gotten Fang to back up from right in front of the door, he opened the door to them and let them in, although he was still holding onto the collar of a large black boarhound. As soon as Fang caught sight of Emma, he became even more frantic, his barking turning to a desperate, happy sort of whining.

"Oh, alrigh'," Hagrid sighed, letting go of Fang, who sprang forward in an attempt to reach Emma, who laughed and knelt down, seemingly unconcerned with the liberal amounts of drool that were getting all over her black school robes. Clearly, she and Fang were old friends.

"Make yerselves at home," Hagrid said to the other two.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was busying himself with preparing tea and arranging rock cakes on a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, clearly having taken in Ron's red hair and freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."
As Harry and Ron pretended to enjoy the rock cakes that Emma had long-since learned not to touch with a ten-foot pole, let alone her mouth, the girl herself turned to Hagrid with an inquisitive expression.

"Hagrid?" she asked.

"Eh?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Harry?" she inquired. For some reason, her anger at Dumbledore didn't carry over to Hagrid. She simply couldn't bring herself to be angry with the gamekeeper the way she was with the headmaster.

"Dumbledore," he answered immediately, looking at her with earnest eyes. "Made me swear not to tell yeh anythin'." It was the answer Emma had been expecting, and she nodded, choosing to drop the subject. Hagrid, for his part, did not seem keen on taking that conversation any further, either, as he changed the subject to their first week of lessons.

Harry and Ron were delighted when Hagrid referred to Filch as 'that old git'. Emma, on the other hand, adopted a slightly disapproving expression. She knew that it was the popular opinion on Argus Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts. Even so, she'd never had any real problems with him, and she always felt mildly uncomfortable when she heard people talk negatively of him. She knew he could be difficult, but in her experience, he wasn't that bad.

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime," Hagrid was saying.

"Hagrid!" Emma said reproachfully, looking up from where she was petting Fang on Hagrid's floor. All three of the others looked over at her; Hagrid in reluctant acquiescence, the two boys in inquisitive curiosity.

"I think she's sweet," Emma said defensively. "Just...misunderstood." Harry and Ron looked at her doubtfully and she rolled her eyes at them.

Harry told Hagrid that they'd just had Potions with Professor Snape.

"He doesn't seem to like me at all," Harry divulged.

"Well, Snape doesn' like any o' the students, does he?" Hagrid replied offhandedly.

"He seemed to like me," Emma said softly. Hagrid looked between the two boys and Emma, his expression one of confusion.

"It's true," Harry confirmed. "She answered all his questions, though." Emma had gotten the feeling it had been more than that, but the subject was dropped in favor of discussing Ron's older brother Charlie, who was working with dragons. Emma loved all magical creatures, dragons included, so she was listening attentively. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Harry pick up a copy of The Daily Prophet that was lying on Hagrid's table.

A moment later, Harry caught the attention of the other three.

"Hagrid!" he said, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there."

Emma watched as Hagrid determinedly did not meet Harry's gaze. Instead, he attempted to change the subject, but Emma watched him, her curiosity piqued.

"Harry," she said as the trio headed back up to the castle sometime later. Her brother looked over at her. "What did that article say about the Gringotts break-in?" Harry was grateful Emma had asked; the break-in and Hagrid's response had been bothering him.

"It said that the vault in question had been emptied that same day," he replied. Emma furrowed her brow at him, remembering what Harry had said when he'd been recounting to her his first visit to the wizarding bank.

"Didn't you say that Hagrid emptied the vault he took that little package out of?" she asked. Harry nodded immediately, glad to find that Emma seemed to be thinking along the same lines that he was. Emma suddenly recalled the day in July that she'd overheard Albus instructing Hagrid about going to get Harry.

"I'll also need you to pick up that package from Gringotts that we discussed," Albus had said gravely. Emma had paid it no mind at the time, but now it seemed markedly more important, and she wondered what had been in it.

They remained quiet, each of them lost in thought, as they completed the trek to the castle for dinner, while Ron attempted to nibble at the edge of one of Hagrid's rock cakes, as oblivious as ever.

Later in the week, following a notice that was pinned up on the board in the common room, the first-year Gryffindors were preparing for their first flying lesson.

"Typical," Harry was saying darkly. "Of course we'd have flying with the Slytherins; just what I always wanted, to make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"You might be good at it," Emma remarked. She'd only flown a couple of times herself, but she had overheard Draco Malfoy talking about how great he was at Quidditch, and had gotten the distinct feeling that he wasn't quite as good as he had been telling people.

Neville Longbottom, who shared a dormitory with Ron, Harry, and two other boys that Emma didn't know well, had informed Emma in an anxious voice that he had never been on a broomstick because his grandmother had never let him near one. She and Harry agreed between them that she probably had a point with that rule; Neville was very clumsy and accident prone.

As they'd been getting ready for bed the night before, Hermione had told Emma that she was extremely nervous about flying; it wasn't something she could learn from a book, after all. Hermione had tried, though; at breakfast that morning, she could be found rattling off flying tips she'd gotten from a library book called Quidditch Through The Ages, which, judging by Hermione's boring facts, was a book Emma never wanted to read. Neville, however, was paying very close attention to every word Hermione said. He was the only one that was upset when the arrival of the mail interrupted her.

The mail brought a package for Neville from his grandmother, which turned out to be a Remembrall. Emma quickly explained to Harry and Hermione that the little sphere was a device meant to tell the owner if he or she had forgotten something; if they had, the white smoke inside would turn scarlet. As she explained, they all watched the smoke inside Neville's new Remembrall turn colors, and a worried expression came over his face.

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, sauntered over to their table and Malfoy snatched the Remembrall from Neville's hand casually.

Harry and Ron immediately jumped up, ready to fight Malfoy if they had to. However, they never got the chance, because Professor McGonagall, who could smell trouble a mile away, had materialized out of nowhere and was ready to diffuse the situation.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Draco scowled and dropped it back on the table, and after he left, Ron and Harry sat back down, both of them looking mildly disappointed.

That afternoon, the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins made their way down to the lawn for their first flying lesson. There were lines of broomsticks on the ground there as well, and as Madam Hooch, their flying instructor, arrived, Emma and the others took their places next to the broomsticks. They were instructed to hold their hands over their brooms and shout, "Up!". When they did, Harry, Emma, Draco Malfoy and two others were the only students whose brooms flew straight into their waiting palms. Emma closed her hand around the wooden handle, glad to find that it seemed she and her brother had this in common, as he was looking surprised and pleased. They were all taught how to properly mount their brooms, and then Madam Hooch marched up and down the rows, correcting their grips when necessary; most of the Gryffindors, but especially the Potters and Ron, were pleased to overhear her telling Draco he'd been doing it wrong his whole life.

Madam Hooch instructed them to kick off when she blew her whistle and then to hover above the ground before landing by leaning forward. However, before she had even blown the whistle, Neville had kicked off the ground in nervous anticipation and before Emma had a chance to process what had happened, he was rising above them at an alarming rate. Madam Hooch was shouting for him to come back, but it was to no avail. As they all watched, Neville slipped off his broom and came crashing to the earth below him, while his broom continued to rise, drifting lazily toward the Forbidden Forest.

As Madam Hooch helped Neville up and headed off to the Hospital Wing with him, she firmly instructed the rest of the students that they were to stay on the ground while she was gone, or face expulsion.

Neville and Madam Hooch were no sooner out of earshot did Draco Malfoy burst into laughter, leading the other Slytherins, who quickly joined in whilst the Gryffindors glared in his direction.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" asked a hard-faced Slytherin girl called Pansy Parkinson. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look!" said Malfoy, and Emma watched him walk over and pick up Neville's Remembrall out of the grass. Emma and Harry exchanged a look, and then, silently, the two of them approached Malfoy together.

"Oh, look who it is," Malfoy sneered. "The Potter Twinsies."

"Give that here, Malfoy," Emma said, her voice dangerously low. Everyone had stopped talking to watch the exchange. Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find- how about- up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled. He was too late, though, because Malfoy had gotten onto his broom and had taken off. He hadn't been lying, Emma realized; he could fly well. He hovered near the top of a nearby oak tree and called, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry reached for a broom, and Emma held out a hand to stop him.

"Harry, come on," she implored quietly. "You've never flown before." Harry had just opened his mouth to respond when Hermione interrupted.

"No!" she shouted. "Madam Hooch told us not to move- you'll get us all into trouble." Harry glanced between Hermione and his sister, then shrugged, feeling rather reckless, yet at once wonderfully brave.

He climbed onto his broom and kicked off the ground, soaring high into the air until he was level with Malfoy.

"So much for not having as much nerve as I do," Emma muttered under her breath, stepping back to watch the exchange between her brother and Draco Malfoy, who was looking rather shocked, a fact which made Emma feel proud.

"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh yeah?" Malfoy replied. Emma watched him attempt to look as confident as he had before, and fail. It seemed that Harry's lack of experience was trumped by natural talent and instinct; he shot toward Malfoy, who only just got out of the way in time.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.

"Catch it if you can, then!" Malfoy shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air. For a moment, Emma was certain it was going to come crashing down; there was no way Harry would be able to catch it...right?

Yet, as she watched, he did just that, catching the ball only a foot above the ground, by which time Emma was more concerned about Harry than the Remembrall. However, he pulled neatly out of the dive and toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched in his hand. He looked up and met Emma's gaze; she laughed and smiled proudly at her twin. He grinned back at her, and she felt something warm flood her chest, only to be replaced a moment later by intense dread at the sound of a familiar voice, in a tone that made her wince.

"HARRY POTTER!" shouted Minerva McGonagall, and Emma watched Harry turn pale. As McGonagall sputtered various pieces of sentences- a sure sign she'd really been taken aback, Emma knew- and various Gryffindors tried to defend Harry, Emma frowned in disgust at the triumphant looks from the Slytherins.

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall was saying, "Potter, follow me, now."

Harry shot Emma a somewhat sad look over his shoulder as he followed the professor, and Emma was left to wonder if her time with her brother was about to be cut short before it had a chance to really begin.