Hey, I'm sorry this is posted kind of late. I wanted to add some things to this chapter (namely, the scenes with Harry), but I had no time whatsoever until tonight. If you don't believe me, listen to this: I had eight tests this week and still got a mountain of homework for the weekend! Anyways, thank you to those of you who have been reviewing. I especially like it when you reply to my reply to your review then keep messaging me about the story (cough, cough I-Siriusly-Love-Black). In answer to a question someone asked, no I am not going to be skipping to when they go to school now, and there's two reasons for that. One, I wanted to show the differences in Emily's and Harry's childhoods, and two, I wanted to have some fun with magical incidents at muggle schools.
Disclaimer: So as usual, J.K. Rowling gets her fair share of credit, but I still claim some credit for what goes on in this story . This is a longer chapter, so I hope you enjoy.
Emily awoke to autumn sun shining through her window onto her face. She blinked blearily and looked around. All was quiet. Stacey, Jake, and Max had already left for the school in the village. Until the children were old enough to attend Hogwarts, Mike and Mary sent them to the Muggle school in the village to learn reading, writing, and how Muggles lived. This year would be Emily's first year in the Muggle school, but she didn't start until tomorrow.
Emily climbed out of bed and padded down the steps to the kitchen. Mary was sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea and reading The Prophet. "Morning, Emily," she said looking up as Emily came in.
"Morning," she replied sitting at the table where there was a glass of juice and a plate of toast, eggs, and bacon.
"After breakfast, I have something to show you," commented Mary absently as she turned a page of the newspaper.
"What is it?" Emily asked eagerly, her curiosity aroused.
"You'll see," said Mary cryptically and wouldn't say anything more. Emily hurriedly wolfed down her breakfast; the sooner to find out what Mary wanted to show her.
"I'm done!" she declared bouncing up from her seat and putting her dishes in the sink. "What are you going to show me?"
Mary looked up at Emily and laughed. "My, someone's in a hurry. Come on," she said getting up and leading Emily to the den. Emily sat on the couch next to Mary and looked around.
"What-" she began but then saw Mary pulling a small bundle out of her pocket. "What is it?" she asked curiously, leaning in for a closer look. Mary handed it to her. The bundle was a small bag.
"Your mother gave it to me when she left you here. It held some clothes, books, and jewelry among other things. It's yours, and since you now know the truth, I thought you should have this as well."
Emily reached into the bag and felt around. "There's no bottom!" she said surprised.
Mary nodded, "There's an Undetectable Extension Charm on the bag."
Emily reached farther in until her whole arm up to her shoulder was inside the bag. Her hand hit against something hard, and she pulled it out. It was a photo album. The cover read
Lily Evans and James Potter
Married August 27, 1979
Emily looked at Mary then back at the album. Then slowly, her hand trembling, she turned the cover. Her eyes grew watery as she turned the pages; there was their wedding, Harry and Emily's christening ceremony, pictures of her, her parents, and Harry. On the next page there were no pictures. It simply read Lily. Emily turned the page and found herself staring at the picture of a red haired girl who looked exactly like her.
"You look like Lily," commented Mary. "Except for the eyes, you have your father's eyes."
Emily stroked the page in amazement. She did not turn the pages anymore. She could look at the other photos another day. She could look at the rest of the items in the bag another day. For now, she just wanted to look at the picture of her mother, a woman she could not remember but whom she looked exactly like. She was so absorbed in the photo that she didn't notice when Mary, after awhile, quietly rose and left the room, leaving Emily to look at the photos of her lost family in privacy.
Harry woke up to the sound of Dudley stomping down the stairs above his head. He woke Harry up like that every day and would never get tired of it. Harry yawned and stretched his arms as far as they could go over his head. Staring at the bottom of the stairs of his cupboard he remembered the dream he had had the previous night. He shuddered just remembering it. It was the worst dream he could ever imagine having. What did it mean he wondered again as he climbed to his feet and crawled out of the cupboard.
On the way to the kitchen Harry caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. His black hair was as messy as usual, standing up every which way and resisting all attempts to control it with a comb. His green eyes looked stared back at him from behind a pair of broken glasses. But what had caught his eye was the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He had had it as long as he could remember and just took it for granted. He never wondered where he had gotten it from until now.
Harry knew, without being able to explain how he knew, that his scar and the dream he had last night were somehow related. He continued to the kitchen with thoughts of his dream and his scar filling his mind.
As he entered, Aunt Petunia looked up from by the stove. "Oh, you're up," she said irritated.
"Aunt Petunia," said Harry suddenly, "how did I get my scar?" He didn't even know why he asked. It sort of slipped out.
Aunt Petunia looked at him sharply, a strange look on her face. "You got that scar in the car crash that killed your parents," she said slowly. Then regaining her customary brisk tone, "Now, don't ask questions, Understood?"
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," said Harry dutifully. A car crash? His parents died in a car crash? Then what was the green light and the laugh? He was so sure his dream was about the night his parents died, but it just didn't seem to fit. Harry didn't know what to think anymore. As he ate breakfast, he kept glancing over at Aunt Petunia who would always be watching him with a strange look on her face, as if she knew something more, something she wasn't telling.
Emily skipped happily holding Mary's hand the next day as together they walked to Cranbrook Primary School. Today was her first day at the Muggle school, and she couldn't wait. She was going to make lots of friends, and school would give her something to do when Stacey, Jake, and Max went to Hogwarts and left her all alone.
The early morning streets were crowded as Muggles bustled to and fro, going to work, to school, to the store. In the distance, Emily could make out the tall, three-story red-brick building that was the school. It loomed ever closer as she and Mary maneuvered their way through the crowds.
When they reached the school, Mary stopped and looked down at Emily who was staring at the school. She felt a slight twinge in her chest. Emily was growing up so fast. Today, she was starting primary school, but in a few years she would start at Hogwarts, and not long after that, she would be of age and move out of the house. Mary could feel her eyes beginning to tear up and quickly blinked before they could spill over. She squeezed Emily's hand and said, "Well, Emily, are you ready?"
Emily turned toward her and nodded, her hazel eyes shining. "This is exciting!" she announced. But then she leaned in towards Mary and whispered, "But it will be even more exciting when I get my letter."
Mary laughed. "Of course not, but that's not for a few years still. Today you're starting primary school, so shall we go inside?"
Emily nodded and followed Mary up the steps and into the school still holding her hand, albeit a bit more tightly. Now that they had arrived, Emily discovered she was nervous. She'd never been around Muggles her own age before. She was afraid she would say or do something wrong, and they would know there was something strange about her. Biting her lip, Emily looked around as she followed Mary down a long hallway, around a corner, down some steps, and then down another hallway. At the third door on the right Mary stopped, and Emily peered inside. The classroom was full of five- and six-year old boys and girls laughing and playing together.
Emily turned to Mary and, staring up at her wide-eyed, said, "Don't go yet."
Mary reached down to hug Emily, and Emily hugged her tightly back planning to never let go if she could help it. "I have to go, Emily, but I'll see you this afternoon. Everything will be fine; you'll have a great time today and make lots of new friends. I love you."
"I love you, too," said Emily, her head buried in Mary's sweater. Mary reluctantly disentangled herself from the little redhead's grasp, and Emily watched as Mary turned around and walked slowly back down the hallway, up the steps, and around the corner. Biting her lip again, Emily turned back toward the classroom and stepped inside. She stood just inside the door with her back to the wall and watched the other children talking and laughing loudly. In a corner at the back was a large brown desk covered in books and papers. Sitting in the chair behind the desk was a young woman with curly brown hair and glasses. In front of her desk was a blue carpet covered in giant red, green, purple, and yellow circles.
Just then a bell rang loudly right above Emily's head. The woman looked up, clapped her hands, and called, "Children, could you all please take a seat on the carpet?" Emily joined the group moving toward the carpet and took a seat on a red circle at the end in the back. A girl with white-blond hair and light blue eyes sat down next to her. On the other side of the blond girl was a girl with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes.
"Hi," said the blond girl. "My name's Sara."
"And I'm Charlotte," said the brown haired girl.
"I'm Emily."
"Your hair's really pretty," said Charlotte. Sara nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Thanks," said Emily quietly. Then gaining more confidence added, "You have pretty hair, too. And eyes." The three girls smiled at each other. And simple exchange was the beginning of a close friendship that would last years.
Harry followed Dudley and Aunt Petunia up the steps to a large gray brick building. Little Whinging Public Primary. He and Dudley were both starting primary school. Harry, unlike Dudley, had been looking forward to starting school. Today, he had the chance to make friends that Dudley couldn't scare away. It was all Harry could do to stop himself from skipping up the steps. He didn't want to show Dudley how excited he was; if Dudley knew, then he was sure to make sure today was the worst day of Harry's life. Fortunately, Dudley was too wrapped up in his own problems to care about Harry.
"Why do I have to go?" he cried up ahead dragging his feet along the steps. "I don't want to go to school."
"Shh, shh," said Aunt Petunia trying to calm him down. "It's okay, darling. You're going to have so much fun; you'll meet so many friends today."
"Why is he here?" cried Dudley again, pointing at Harry. "I won't be able to make any friends if he's around. He'll scare them all off." More likely they'll run away scared the minute Dudley opens his mouth, thought Harry to himself with a grin, long before they even meet me. But then his grin faded. Dudley was going to scare the other kids, so they wouldn't want to play with him. Dudley enjoyed making Harry miserable, and this was the best way to do it. Suddenly, Harry wasn't looking forward to his first day of school as much anymore.
Up ahead, Aunt Petunia had finally calmed Dudley down and was leading him inside. Harry hurried to catch up. It would be just his luck to get lost on his first day. He knew Aunt Petunia wouldn't wait for him; she wasn't even looking back to see if he was following. When they reached the classroom, Aunt Petunia made a big show of kissing Dudley goodbye while he tried to push her away. She ignored Harry.
When she left, Dudley immediately made his way towards a group of boys playing with trains in the corner. He towered over them, and they looked up. "I'm playing with that one," he said pointing at the train one of the boys was holding. The boy handed the train to Dudley without a word. "You guys can still play trains with me, but you have to play with those ones. I get these." They nodded, half intimidated, half impressed. In future years these boys would become Dudley's gang, just as intimidated of and impressed by him as they were the day they first met.
Harry moved to the opposite corner, as far away from Dudley as he could get. A brown-haired boy was building a castle out of cardboard blocks. "Can I help?" Harry asked quietly.
The boy looked up. "Sure," he replied cheerfully. Harry sat down next to the boy and started to build a tower for the castle. He wanted to be friends with this boy. "My name's Harry," he said.
"Sam," the other boy replied.
Just then a shadow fell across the castle they were building. Dudley was behind them. "I'm warning you, Sam," said Dudley. "Stay away from him. You think he's nice? He's just pretending. He's really a nutcase, real crazy. It would be better for you if you stayed away from him. If you don't, you'll regret it." Then Dudley walked straight through the castle they were building, knocking it to the ground, and back to the boys who were playing with the trains.
Sam looked at Harry fearfully then scampered away without a word. He seemed scared that what Dudley said was true. Or maybe he was afraid of what Dudley would do to him if he didn't leave. Harry watched him go sadly. He knew they could've been good friends, and even with just one friend in the entire world, Harry would have been happy. But he knew that Dudley would do anything to make sure he was miserable. If he made another friend, Dudley would scare him away just like Sam. Harry watched Sam across the room, already playing with another boy, and Dudley in the opposite corner, already commanding the other boys to do whatever he wanted, and resigned himself to more unhappiness, at school as well as home now.
Well, what do you think? Let me know by pressing that little button that says "Review." Poor Harry, right? He definitely will not have as carefree a childhood as Emily will. Anyways, next chapter there will be a bit of a time jump, and soon we'll be coming up to some magical incidents that happen to both twins at school. They should have an interesting time
