set during the first week of classes in Daughter of the Moon
Emma was interrupted several times during Charms class to a very annoying little, "Ahem" to her right.
"Yes?" Emma asked, shooting Hermione an aggravated glance.
"You're holding your wand incorrectly," Hermione said, reaching directly over Ron to grab onto Emma's hand. "You're meant to hold it like this," she explained as she tried to adjust Emma's grip.
Emma winced at Hermione's not-so-gentle manipulation of her hand and shared a look of annoyance with Ron.
"Merlin's beard, Hermione," Ron said, watching in confusion as Hermione tried to fix Emma's grip. "You might as well rip her bloody hand off."
"It feels like she is," Emma grumbled, tugging her hand out of Hermione's and dropping her wand on the table. "My grip is fine, Hermione."
Hermione was about to make another comment when Professor Flitwick piped up from the front of the room, "Pay attention to your own feathers!" which silenced Hermione almost immediately. Emma gave Flitwick an appreciative look as she massaged her hand and reattempted to hold her wand.
Professor Flitwick slowly got down from his stack of books to check on everyone's progress. He would stop at a student's desk to ask how they were doing. His progress was slow as he had to spend extra time with Neville, who was nervous about the school year's start.
Hermione continued to cast glances at Emma from across the aisle just past Ron. Susan, who sat to Emma's left, seemed to be doing the same but looking over at Hermione with curiosity.
"I think she's going to try and help you again," Susan muttered under her breath to Emma. Emma couldn't stop herself from looking over at Hermione with a sigh.
"I think you're right," Emma said back.
Hermione looked as though she was struggling with herself, her wand held up with her feather already hovering in the air. Ron seemed to be less focused on what he was doing and more focused on Hermione. Emma tried pointedly to ignore Hermione and focus on her feather that refused to float. She had been able to do it so easily while at home with Remus helping her but being back in the classroom presented too many distractions – her biggest being one Hermione Granger.
"Emma, I really feel like you just need to –"
"Miss Granger, please pay attention to your own feather!" Flitwick said while walking in their direction. Professor Flitwick momentarily paused next to Hermione and Ron, looked at Ron's feather with a sigh, and then turned to Emma and Susan.
"And how are you two doing?" he asked, a smile on his face.
"We're doing all right, Professor," Susan said politely. Emma only gave a small nod, keeping her gaze focused on her feather that had barely moved up in the air.
Emma couldn't understand what the issue was. She had done so well at home in the safety of the cottage and had been doing all right until Hermione started watching her. With Flitwick so close, even with the promise of helping her, Emma could feel the frustrated tears coming to her eyes. She should have spent more time working with Remus to figure out how to do things correctly, but it felt like there was no time at all.
"Just keep doing your best," Professor Flitwick said. "It takes time to get back into the swing of things after such a long break. Miss Lupin, why don't you see me after class? There's something interesting I would like to show you."
"Professor, I really think that I should help Emma. She's doing it wrong, and I –"
"Miss Granger, that will do," Professor Flitwick said, turning back around to acknowledge Hermione, who looked back at him in surprise. His sudden sharp tone seemed to have surprised Hermione as her eyes grew wide as saucers as she stared back at the Professor.
"Did Miss Lupin ask for your assistance?" Flitwick continued.
"Well, no, but –"
"Then that will do."
Hermione looked as though she was about to protest once more, but Flitwick gave Hermione one final annoyed look. When he turned back to face Emma and Susan, his smile seemed more genuine.
"Remember, see me after class, Miss Lupin," Flitwick said before moving along to Justin and Wayne's desk. Hermione stared at Flitwick, her jaw dropped, and smacked Ron's arm when he started to cough to cover his laugh. She sat back in her chair with a huff of annoyance.
Emma dreaded the end of class and felt her face heat up at the glances in her direction. Everyone seemed to have such an easy time getting their feathers in the air once more, except for Neville. She had taken great pride in keeping up with Hermione the past two years in most classes, but this year didn't seem to be the case. Hopefully, the entire year wouldn't be like this.
Rather than pack up with the rest of the class, Emma waited for the class to clear out. Professor Flitwick decided to let the class out a little early, and Emma was relieved. She cast Hermione a sidelong glance as she left with Harry and Ron. Emma looked over her shoulder to find Ernie and Hannah lingering a little longer than everyone else, packing up far more slowly than the others. Emma couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes as she started to place her books back into her bag. She wasn't surprised that Ernie and Hannah would try and find out exactly what Flitwick wanted with her.
Wanting to buy some more time, Emma knocked one of her books off the desk, creating a loud echoing BOOM as it connected with the floor. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning at Hannah's shout of surprise.
"Best run along to dinner, Mr. Macmillan and Miss Abbott," Professor Flitwick said, sounding not at all surprised by the sudden loud noise Emma caused. "I'll be a moment with Miss Lupin."
"Oh," Hannah said, "we thought we would wait for Emma!"
"Yeah," Ernie said hurriedly. "Then she doesn't have to wait for Cedric. You know, because of –"
"That will do, Mr. Macmillan," Flitwick said, his tone firm. "Miss Lupin may leave when Mr. Diggory arrives and not a moment sooner. Now, please be on your way."
Emma looked back over her shoulder as she picked her book off the floor. Hannah and Ernie looked at each other for a long moment, having a silent conversation, and turned to Flitwick with muttered, "Have a good night, Professor."
"Are you all done putting your things away, Miss Lupin?"
"Yes, Professor Flitwick," Emma said, straightening up in her seat.
"Wonderful, why don't we take a quick walk? I'd like to show you something," Professor Flitwick said. "You may leave your things here."
A slight frown crossed Emma's face as she stood up from her desk. What was Flitwick planning to show her? Still, she followed the tiny professor out of the room and down the hallway. Recognition slowly caught up with her the further along they went, and she thought of what rooms were connected to the Charm's corridor.
"Professor, where exactly are we going?" Emma questioned.
"The trophy room," Professor Flitwick said cheerily. "I want to show you a few things."
"This isn't just you trying to show off, is it, Professor?" Emma teased.
"You are just as cheeky as Remus," Flitwick chuckled. "It's refreshing to see."
"Seems a lot of people are saying that to me this year," Emma sighed, following Flitwick into the trophy room. She couldn't understand why Professor Flitwick would want to show her the trophy room. It was a place that she visited very infrequently, there were only so many times she could look at the same photos, after all, but here they were.
Professor Flitwick stood in front of a photo along one of the walls and looked between Emma and the portrait in front of them. Emma wasn't entirely sure what she was meant to be doing, and her eyes flicked from Flitwick to the portrait. A hum of confusion escaped her lips, and she gave Flitwick a sheepish look, her shoulders raising in an unsure shrug.
"What do you see, Miss Lupin?" Professor Flitwick asked, motioning to the photo in front of them.
Emma turned to look at the photo once more. In it was a younger Professor Flitwick and a Ravenclaw student holding their wand at the ready.
"I see someone looking as though they're ready to start a proper duel," Emma said slowly, still unsure of what Flitwick wanted her to look at.
"Look at how he's holding his wand," he said gently, prompting Emma to return her attention to the photo.
Still frowning, Emma tried looking closer at the portrait. The student in the photo would hold their wand at the ready and then would shift into a more neutral pose. It took Emma a few moments to notice that the student didn't hold their wand in a "typical" fashion, their grip somewhere higher up on their wand. Flitwick, seemingly noticing Emma's moment of recognition, gently pulled her along to the next photo.
"And what about this one?" he prompted, motioning to the photo of the younger Gryffindor standing beside him.
This student kept a neutral pose in their photo but held their wand almost at the very end. It was so dangerously close to the edge that it made Emma wonder how they maintained a hold on their wand. Flitwick brought her to several more photos making sure that she paid attention to how each student was holding their wands.
"None of them hold their wands the same," Emma said quietly to Professor Flitwick.
"Exactly," Flitwick said excitedly. "None of them hold their wands in a typical fashion. They hold their wands in a way that feels comfortable to them. All you have to do is find what works for you and not listen to what others have to say. What works for one person doesn't work for everyone."
"So, even though I feel like I need to hold my wand funny, it doesn't matter?" Emma questioned.
"Correct," Flitwick replied. "I think with a little bit of time, we can figure something out for you that's comfortable. You're not going to be left behind this year, Miss Lupin. We're all going to make sure of that."
"It's really okay that I might not be able to hold my wand normally?"
"Of course, it's okay, Miss Lupin!" Flitwick said cheerily. "Whatever feels comfortable for you is what's normal. That's all that matters."
Emma looked between Flitwick and the photo in front of her, nervously flexing the fingers in her right hand. She wasn't sure that she would be able to handle a wand in a typical fashion, but the photos Professor Flitwick showed her it didn't matter. As long as she could still do magic, it didn't matter how she held her wand. All that mattered was that she could do magic; that would never go away. With just a little bit of help, things would be okay in the end, and the school year didn't seem so bleak after all. It was going to be a good year.
a/n: This one shot was written almost entirely on two separate Twitch streams I did! This was the topic that was decided on, and we all wrote the one shot together. So big big thank you to whoever came out to write with me!
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