"Transfiguration is not an easy subject. Changing one thing to another is not simple. We will begin simple however. We will start by turning needles into pins. Needles and pins are made from the same material and they have similar proportions, that make them easy starts," Professor Skrewt explained at the beginning of our first class with her. It was with the Slytherins and no one but Lela-Rose would so much as look at me with the combination of my memories being restored and my punching the new Slytherin last night…Well let's just say I wasn't going to be voted Miss Popularity any time soon.

We all found out very quickly that Skrewt hadn't exaggerated when she said that transfiguration wasn't easy. It turned out that it was not only not easy, but extremely difficult. By the end of the class all I had done was closed the eye-hole in my needle, but it couldn't be used as a pin, because there was no pin head to catch on the fabric. I did however do better than a Slytherin girl named Amelia, who had a natural gift for transfiguration. The problem was that she couldn't direct that natural gift and she accidently turned her needle into a snake.

The break for lunch was not welcome. It made it all too apparent how few people I could even call friendly, even if they were not my close friends. Those who were friendly turned out to be all of two people, Lily and Stella. James was studiously pretending I did not exist, and Albus was a friend just as much as Rose, Scorpius, or Lela-Rose. The other four Ravenclaw girls tried to pretend they didn't have to share a dormitory with me, and the Ravenclaw boys were doing their best not to look like they were watching me for fear of reaching the same conclusion as the Slytherin, who it turns out is named Brayan, which is unfortunate because it is a very similar name to my uncle, Bryan.

It was a definite relief to go to Charms class where I could pretend to be so caught up in the lesson that I didn't notice that the other students weren't willing to talk to me. Or really look at me for that matter.

Charms was taught by a very short man who had to stand on books to see over his desk. He was introduced as Professor Flitwick and I took an instant liking to the small aging man. I also took an instant liking to the subject of charms. It was straightforward spells, the kind I had expected Hogwarts to be full of. Flitwick started us with charming things to move just a little. I managed it on my first try. Professor Flitwick was so impressed he awarded fifteen points to Ravenclaw.

By the end of Charms my quill and ink bottle were waltzing around my desk in tune to Lela-Rose's music. It was the most convenient at that moment, and I was trying to show Lela-Rose what her music sounded like. It was hard to learn how to listen for another person's music, and many people never mastered it. But even if Lela-Rose could master this skill she would never be able to hear her own music. Just like how I had never heard my own song.

When Charms finished we were sent off to enjoy our free period. Lela-Rose and I decided to take a look at the library, which was supposed to be rather impressive. I was rather looking for books on past time travel in this World, and Lela-Rose was looking for a book on muggle sports in Asia. I wished her luck in her search, but I doubted she would find anything. Of course I rather doubted I would find what I was looking for either.

The library was impressive, there were hundreds of shelves and each shelf had at least a hundred books when not four or five hundred. They were divided into sections, but I couldn't figure out which section might contain books about time travel. I looked for someone who might be able to tell me and found an old and aging woman who I suspect no longer had all her wits. I spoke to her and in a short conversation found her name was Madam Pince and she was truly beginning to lose her wits. She did manage to lead me to a section on magical objects where I managed to find a book which mentioned something called a Time Turner. It didn't give many details, but I was able to deduce that they were hourglasses that when turned took you back in time one hour for each turn. That was it. I couldn't find anything written by anyone who had actually used one. So I assumed they were theoretical, and I couldn't depend on their existence if I needed to move through time.

I have lost my ability to travel through time as I used to. I can't simply imagine myself in the Streams and follow them to another time or place. If an emergency were to come up I was helpless, and without another form of time travel I was going to have to pour everything I have into my studies here. But I suppose that's how most people would do everything anyway.

We spent the entire break searching the shelves and went contentedly (only getting lost once) back down to the Great Hall. There we found our fellow Ravenclaws were not inclined to speak to us. It was altogether depressing in its own way. Rose and Scorpius were even late for dinner so I ate fast and tried to make excuses to run away to the dormitory, preferably with enough time to pretend to be asleep (or really fall asleep) before the other girls could get back. Unfortunately when Rose and Scorpius arrived with their hands entwined they relayed to me that I was to go up to Professor Potter's office after dinner. I looked up at the High Table where Potter was conversing earnestly with Hagrid who was next to him. It looked as if Potter was trying to convince him of something, but I really couldn't think what.

I left immediately and rushed up to Professor Potter's office where I hoped I could escape the accusing eyes of the rest of the first years. I was disappointed. Albus was already there, and my new awareness of him (spawned from my admission of feelings for him) left me feeling acutely uncomfortable.

"Hey, how was your first day," Albus asked with an obviously forced smile. I'm rather sure that he had already heard about the shunning of Emma Macay.

"I passed out in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I'm being shunned by all the first years," I told him with my old temporarily forgotten sarcasm and cynicism. He looked completely shocked by this turn of events and confused by my tone of speech. I guess he hadn't heard about my shunning, "When I passed out I got my memories back, all of them."

"Really? That's great!" Albus said still forcing a smile, but now he was trying to force cheer into his voice. Did he think I was going to leave?

"I'm not leaving though. It turns out I never knew how I got here, or how to leave," I was lying through my teeth, but suddenly his smile wasn't forced anymore. I swear, I love that smile.

"Oh you two are already here," Potter said happily as he entered the room.

"Yes, I was trying to get away from Violet Dunmaid, she won't believe that I have no interest in her," Albus told his father in a tone that hinted that it was an old grievance not likely to be solved any time soon.

"I'm being avoided by all the first years and a number of the older students as well," I told him quietly. I was still trying to figure exactly how I managed to confuse Harry Potter with my long dead father. It was truthfully baffling me.

"What? Why?" Potter seemed genuinely concerned for me, and for a second it felt like being in my mother's teenage years again. I resided there for a good amount of time because I was trying to stop the violent time I grew up in from ever happening. But in that time Lan, my father, had taken care of me as if I was already his daughter. But I knew (although I never told anyone) that Lan would never see me at that age again. It colored all that time, but all the same it was a happy time for me. I think it would be a happy time for anyone to see their dead father alive and well again.

"Because I punched a boy last night and ---"

"You punched someone?" Albus asked sounding truly in awe of me.

"Yeah, well, he was ogling me. He's a Slytherin by the way. He's still got the black eye too," I told him smiling. I was rather proud of that black eye. Usually I had to revert to the knife I used to carry in a fight, but I suppose in this World and Time, people weren't used to fighting.

"He was…He was…what?!" I stepped back a little, I had never seen Albus this angry, and I must say it disturbed me a little. He was getting paler by the second and I was illogically surprised that when I looked down all his blood wasn't pooling beneath him, so much of it had left his face.

"Hey, what's the noise about?" James asked swaggering into the room his little sister in tow.

"Oh, Albus is raging over the act that someone was staring at Emma last night," Potter said dismissively. "But I wanted to talk to you four because I need to explain why I didn't tell you this summer that I would be teaching. It's because I knew you would all feel as though I had stolen from you a place that was parent free. But you must understand that I'm one of the most qualified in teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts in all of Great Britain. I'm an auror, and I've taught this same subject before, to the same age group even. I know what needs to be taught in this subject and when. I know how useless simple theory is without the spells and practice that must go along with it. Hogwarts is the perfect place for me, it was home long before I had a place that felt like home. You must forgive me for not telling you when Professor McGonagall first proposed the idea at the beginning of the summer. I didn't formally accept until after the lists had gone out, but I had made it clear several times before then that taking the job would be well within my abilities. I will never give any of you special treatment, and I won't be any harsher on you than you deserve, but I wanted you to understand." Potter explained to us. I watched him and I realized that I really didn't have a place in this gathering.

"Yes, sir," was the chorus all o us gave although I didn't understand. We all went to leave, but Professor Potter held me back I waved cheerily and the others left without me.

"Emma, I called you with my three because I want you to feel like a part of my family," Potter looked at me seriously, and I felt a sting in the back of my eyes.

"I already do," I told him thinking once more of Professor Potter's resemblance to Lan. Then I realized that Lela-Rose was a lot like Emily. N fact the resemblance was uncanny. I'm sure if my mother had been there she would have told me something about how our lives repeat themselves, we meet the same people, and how we love the same people over and over again.

"Good, now Emma, your memories…Do you know where your real family is?" Potter asked concerned. I stopped and listen for my mom's and dad's songs.

I could almost think I heard them. My mother's two part song, one part moving slowly but energetically, the other part was fast and bouncing the notes of each part weaving in and out forming one song. My father's which reminded me of a river at times it was placid and slow, pondering life's mysteries, but at others it was fast and furious, even violent.

"No, I grew up in the United States though," I told him quietly.

"I really do wonder how you fell into our laps then. But you can stay with us as family as long as you like," Potter told me calmly. I must say I was rather touched that he would be this interested in me.

"Thank you, sir. I should really go to bed," I told him preparing to make my leave. He didn't say anything, so I left and, using the Marauder's Map liberally, found my way back to the common room.

~*~

This one was hard to choose a stopping point. But the next chapter talks about the Ravenclaws a bit, and I wanted it separate. But I wondered if anyone had realized that Harry was the only one who has considered Emma as part of the family. Because Rose thinks of Emma as a fascinating new friend, and who knows what Albus is thinking, because I don't think he even knows. And I'm the author, that makes it sad.

I also noticed that I had them in Double Defense Against the Dark Arts on Tuesday mornings (I decided arbitarily that September 1st is on a Monday this year), and they have another class right after. This was a stupid mistake, so I'm going to go back (eventually) and take out the double bit, All the classes fit correctly when you do that.

I did notice that a few of my dates in the first chapter are off, and I apologize, but I can't change them because then Emma would be laboring under the impression that she's 13 and…I don't want to go there.

Also I'm a day late on this one (usually you would find this an amazing new chapter on a friday evening), but that's because Swim Practice was killer yesterday, and I was just too tired to do it. Also becasue of the way the next couple chapters are set up this will be the only chapter this week, I'm sorry if I disappoint anyone.