Chapter Thirty Three: Duelling Lessons
The next couple of days passed and Emalia had not heard anything about her duelling lessons. She was getting impatient and was snapping at her friends and everyone else for no reason. Potions proved to be difficult, with Emalia and Alicia being paired together.
Snape seemed to have made it his mission to torment the Gryffindors, which caused Alicia to be more skittish that usual. It was the second time that hour Emalia snapped at Alicia in potions over something very minor, which caused Fred to eye her suspiciously.
After potions, Emalia apologised profusely to Alicia, who brushed it off 'It's ok Em, you can just help me with my potions essay in return' she grinned. Emalia nodded, but deep down she felt bad. She hated that her friends were constantly getting the brunt of her emotional outbursts. Emalia moped around for the rest of the day, guilt coursing through her. That was until Fred pulled her aside just before lunch.
'Spill it' he said.
Emalia looked at him 'What' she shrugged, avoiding his eye.
'Come on Em' sighed Fred 'I'm not the only one who has noticed that something isn't right.'
'I'm just tense – and angry. All the time.'
Fred looked at her, he could see the worry in her eyes, and a hint of fear. He pulled her into a hug, after a moment she relaxed in his embrace. She took a deep breath, breathing in Fred's scent, she could feel him hold her tighter to him.
'You know you are not alone Em, you have us. Just let us in, tell us what is going on' he said when he finally pulled away from her.
Fred didn't want to pull away from her though, as soon as he let go of her, he wanted to bring her close to him again. She wasn't even standing that far away, but he needed her closer. Emalia nodded and smiled at him.
'Come on' she said as she playfully punched his arm 'I'm starved' as she walked into the Great Hall. Fred laughed and followed close behind her.
The third years had double charms at the end of the day, when they filled in Professor Flitwick was already standing at the top of the class. There were tables laid out with a variety of objects lying on top of them, everyone looked up at Professor Flitwick curiously.
'Come in, come in' ushered Flitwick 'Put your bags away and take your seats. Today we are going to be practicing the seize and pull charm, more commonly known as Carpe Retractum.'
They spent the next two hours practicing the charm. Emalia was the first to cast the charm perfectly which elicited praise from Professor Flitwick. Fred and George soon followed Emalia, having successfully seized the object from their tables.
Before class ended, Flitwick informed them that they would be using that charm in the next class to pull themselves towards an immovable object. As the class packed away their stuff, Professor Flitwick called out 'Miss Potter, if you would remain behind for a moment please.'
Emalia nodded, 'I'll see you at dinner' she muttered to the twins, they cast her curious looks as they walked out of the room.
Once the last student had left the classroom, Professor Flitwick began to speak.
'Miss Potter, the Headmaster has asked me to consider teaching you how to duel. I have considered his request and decided that I will accept his request. However, I have certain conditions.'
Emalia nodded enthusiastically.
'First of all, you will listen and abide by every instruction I give you. Second you must not share what I am teaching you with any of your peers. And finally, you must not use any of the spells or techniques I teach you on any of the other students. Is that understood?'
'Yes Sir, I promise to follow your rules.'
Professor Flitwick beamed at her 'Well then I will see you on Thursday evening at 7:30 pm.' Emalia smiled widely and could barely contain her excitement. When she exited the classroom, she did a little dance for joy and ran off to the Great Hall for dinner.
Thursday seemed to take a long time to come around and Emalia was getting antsy. She was excited to have something to funnel her anger into, something physical where she could let all her frustrations out.
One morning at breakfast Fred had joked with her that maybe she should replace him as beater in the first Quidditch game. The previous evening Emalia had thrown her book at him. He had been annoying her and she managed to hit him right in the back of the head as he ran away from her laughing.
Oliver overheard him and nearly swallowed his spoon as well as his cereal, and Fred had to explain that it was a joke four times before Oliver launched into a rant about how important this season was and how he spent time crafting the perfect team.
At 7:15, Emalia ran from the Common Room to the dungeons, where the old duelling club used to meet. She arrived early, panting out of breath as she had run the entire way, excited to get started.
Professor Flitwick was already there setting up when she opened the door. 'Ah! Miss Potter' he exclaimed when he saw her 'You are early. Eager to get started?'
'Yes sir, I have been looking forward to it ever since you held me back after class' replied Emalia enthusiastically.
Professor Flitwick smiled at her enthusiasm 'Duelling is a popular sport, but it is also a useful skill that may save your life at some stage. In a sport we abide by certain traditions and rules; but in the real-world people are not so generous.'
He sighed before continuing 'In competitive duelling the aim is to disarm, stun or defeat your opponent. But in a fight for your life, well, let us hope that will never happen.'
Emalia nodded, she was hanging on to every word.
Flitwick then proceeded to show Emalia a number of accepted duelling stances, making her practice each one and finding the one that felt the most natural to her.
She spent the next hour practicing casting a variety of spells on a dummy Professor Flitwick had conjured into the room, until she found the stance that suited her. When she found that stance, her spells and movements became more fluid, more confident, more powerful and focused.
'Well done Miss Potter!' beamed Professor Flitwick. He looked at his pocket watch 'Well I think that is enough for now, next week we will begin to look at different spells, we may even try nonverbal spells. It will be a massive test for you, and it will take a lot of focus, but I think you are very capable of tackling this.'
Emalia nodded, she was excited, for the first time she felt like she was finally grasping back control of her emotions. When she was casting spells at the dummy, she was channelling her emotion, specifically her anger into her attacks.
It was cathartic in a way working through her feelings physically, but she still felt that ache in her heart. She knew she was grieving and adding trying to figure out how best to control her emotions and work through them sometimes left her gasping for air, both literally and figuratively.
'I will see you this time next week Miss Potter. Great work today' said Professor Flitwick encouragingly 'Go get some sleep, goodnight.'
'Goodnight Sir' replied Emalia, she was still smiling appreciating the praise she had just gotten. She was on her way back to the Common Room with a smile on her face when she ran into Roger Davies, who was returning from a late night Quidditch training session. He broke out into a smile when her saw her.
'Hey Potter' he called after her. Emalia kept walking pretending as if she had not heard him. She was nearly at the Fat Lady, she figured if she quickened her pace she could get into the Common Room before Roger reached her.
'Potter? OI POTTER' he roared. Emalia flinched, there was no way she could ignore him after he shouted.
She spun around, an irritated look on her face 'Look Roger, I don't have time for this. So, let me say this one more time, hopefully this time it will sink in. I will not be going out with you at any stage in the future.' She looked at his face, and she could see the anger at her rejection flit across his face briefly.
'Have a nice night' she finished as she turned and made a beeline for the Fat Lady.
'Pig Snout' she muttered hurriedly and hurdled inside.
When the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever had gotten in Roger the last couple of weeks was beyond Emalia. Before this they had never really talked, but now it was as if Roger thought they were on the verge of starting an epic romance.
He was obviously seeing things that did not exist, as Emalia had barely said as much as a hello to him over the past year. She could see how much Roger's antics were riling up Fred, so she had to do something about it sooner rather than later.
It was the morning of Gryffindor's first Quidditch match, Emalia was down in the Great Hall with her friends. Alicia was nervous but excited, it was the first match where she would be starting. Emalia looked down the table where she could see Harry sitting with Ron and Hermione.
Harry looked nervous and was pushing his food around on his plate. Emalia managed to catch his eye and give him an encouraging smile. 'Good Luck' she mouthed to him. Harry smiled back at her weakly. Fred poked Emalia in the shoulder 'Ow!' she exclaimed as she turned to look at him. 'Where is my concern Em?' he teased.
'To be honest Fred, I'm more worried about the Bludger you will be hitting. What did it ever do to you?' she teased back. Fred grinned and opened his mouth to retort, but Oliver Wood had come over and demanded that the Gryffindor team make their way to the dressing rooms immediately.
'Good luck!' said Emalia as her friends walked out of the Great Hall. She jumped up out of her seat and ran after Fred and George. 'Hey' she called, the two Weasleys turned to face her. 'Keep an eye on Harry out there. For me?' she asked. They grinned at her. 'You didn't have to ask that Em, we had already planned on it' said George.
Just then Oliver roared at the Weasleys. 'OI YOU TWO! STOP FLIRTING AND GET TO THE DRESSING ROOMS NOW.'
The twins turned, saluted him and made an exaggerated show of marching after him. Emalia giggled to herself as she watched them.
She walked back into the Great Hall and located Hermione and Ron. They were sitting with others from their year. 'Mind if I join you?' she asked smiling. Hermione nodded and scoot aside allowing Emalia to sit and join in on their conversation.
By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Emalia joined Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus and Dean. Madam Hooch was refereeing the game between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Emalia watched as the two teams flew out onto the pitch. Her eyes immediately sought out Fred, but she could not see him. When she saw Adrian she gave him a small wave, he waved back in response. When she saw Fred, he was grinning at her so she stuck her tongue out at him and then grinned back. She didn't know if he could see but it didn't stop her from doing it.
The game began, which was colourfully commentated by Lee Jordan 'And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too-'.
Emalia grinned to herself, she was sure Angelina would berate him for that later, as if Professor McGonagall wasn't currently doing that.
Emalia turned her attention to the match. She kept going between Fred and Harry, watching them anxiously, hoping neither of them would get hurt. A few moments later, Hagrid joined them in the Gryffindor section of the stand. He had come to watch Harry play his first Quidditch match, when he saw Emalia, he immediately invited her down for tea next Friday, which she promptly accepted.
Emalia watched as Adrian dropped the Quaffle, distracted by what people were shouting was the snitch. Next thing they saw the Slytherin seeker diving, but Harry was right there beside him. In fact, Harry was faster. When suddenly Marcus Flint blocked Harry, nearly knocking him off his broom. There was uproar from the Gryffindors in the stands.
Emalia was seething and made a mental note to get back at Flint in the near future. Not that it took long for revenge, Fred managed to whack a bludger back at Flint, hitting him square in the back. Emalia grinned, taking pleasure in the revenge.
The match continued with the fouls getting dirtier. Emalia was fuming, though she was glad to see that Adrian was the only one who seemed to be playing fairly. She smiled to herself and began to seek out Harry once more.
When she finally found him, her brow furrowed. Something was wrong. It looked as though Harry's broom was trying to buck him off. It was carrying him higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.
'Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing' Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. 'If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom … but he can't have …'
Suddenly people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Emalia stood up, her eyes fixated on him, terror over her face. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and he swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.
'Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?' Seamus whispered.
'No' Emalia responded hoarsely 'Only powerful dark magic can mess with a broom. Someone is doing this.' Her eyes never left Harry.
Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd. Emalia was not paying enough attention; her sole focus was Harry. She reached into her robes and gripping her wand tightly, ready to do something if necessary. She was too busy wracking her brain, going through all the possibilities and outcomes that she didn't notice Hermione leave.
The whole crowd were on their feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasley twins flew up to try and pull Harry safely on to one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still.
Fred glanced at Emalia, even from where he was, he could see the worry and terror on her face. He motioned for George to follow him. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell. Even Adrian had joined the twins underneath Harry, keeping a watchful eye on him.
Hermione fought her way across to the stand where Snape was stood and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down pulled out her wand and lit the hem of Snape's robes alight with bright blue flames.
It took about thirty seconds for Snape to register that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job, and it was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back onto his broom.
Emalia let go of the breath she was holding as relief flooded her, she loosened her grip on her wand but did not let go of it entirely.
Harry was speeding towards the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick – he hit the pitch on all fours – coughed – and something gold fell into his hand.
'I've got the Snitch!' he shouted waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion. Emalia, Ron, Hagrid and the rest of the Gryffindor's erupted into roars of joy. Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Emalia pulled Ron into a hug whilst jumping up and down excitedly. Ron, celebrating like everyone else had turned a noticeable shade of red.
Most of the Slytherin team were surrounding Madam Hooch howling complaints at her. Adrian on the other hand had flown down to Oliver and shook hands with him, congratulating him; then ran up to see if Harry was ok and congratulated him on a brilliant first game.
Emalia pushed her way down to the Quidditch pitch and made a beeline for her cousin. She pulled into a hug 'I was so worried; I honestly don't think I took a breath until you managed to swing back up onto your broom again' she rushed her words all into one.
Oliver Wood had made his way down to the rest of the Gryffindor team. Before he could pull Harry away from Emalia, she congratulated him heartily.
Emalia turned to face the Weasley twins who were beaming at her. 'Have I ever told you how brilliant the two of you are?!' she grinned and pulled them into a hug. 'Well, we did promise you Em' responded George.
'Yeah and to be honest, we really didn't fancy having to face your wrath after the match if we let him fall' grinned Fred, who laughed when Emalia punched his shoulder playfully.
Emalia caught sight of Adrian, and she excused herself from the Weasleys and walked over to him.
'Thank you, Adrian,' she smiled at him. Adrian sighed 'I like to play a fair game Em, and I couldn't watch on and let something happen to your cousin.'
He looked down at the rest of the Slytherin team, a look of mild disgust crossed his face when Flint motioned for him to come over. 'I'll talk to you later Emalia' and with that he walked off rather despondently.
Emalia watched him retreat to his team, her eyes narrowed when she saw Flint watching her. She was going to get even with him. No matter the consequences.
The celebrations that evening in the Common Room were raucous, and when Percy could not deter the revellers, and eventually he had to call on Professor McGonagall to shut down the celebrations.
Before Professor McGonagall had disbanded the celebrations, Fred and George had somehow managed to raid the kitchens and came back to the party weighed down with food. Emalia eyed them both as they looked at her smugly 'Still not going to tell me how you two manage this?' she asked her eyebrow raised questioningly.
The two of them grinned at her and declined to answer. She opened her mouth to object, but she was pulled away by Alicia to discuss the game, and minutes later McGonagall came and sent them all to bed.
Christmas was coming and one morning in mid-December, all of Hogwarts woke to several feet of snow and the lake had frozen solid. Fred and George had gotten detention, they had bewitched several snowballs, so they followed Professor Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.
Emalia was one of the lucky few from their year that had actually witnessed the spectacle and had laughed so hard that her sides hurt. When Fred and George sat down opposite her in the Great Hall, she congratulated them 'Honestly, apart from it being hilarious, the magic you used was impressive.' Fred and George took a quick bow, relishing in the praise.
Potions had become miserable; the dungeons were freezing. Everyone's teeth were rattling throughout class, as they tried to huddle around their cauldrons for some semblance of warmth. After Potions, Emalia decided to run straight to the library, which surprised no one. What did surprise them is when she came back, a proud smile on her face.
'You are all going to love me' she said smugly. They all looked at her expectantly. 'I figured out a solution to our problem' she continued.
'Which problem?' asked Angelina curiously.
'Yeah, some of us have many' replied Fred nodding his head towards Alicia.
A cushion hit Fred square in the head 'Watch it Weasley' she hissed. Fred laughed.
'Well, a solution to a common problem' said Emalia who was grinning at Fred and Alicia. 'Oh, come on Emalia, tell us!' exclaimed Angelina impatiently.
Emalia walked over to Fred and pulled him up out of the chair, as he protested, she said 'I need a volunteer.'
Begrudgingly he got to his feet, he was a little more apprehensive when he saw Emalia whip out her wand. Subconsciously his hand travelled to his face, his fingers brushing over his eyebrows. Emalia noticed and stifled a giggle.
'Stand over here' she ordered. When Fred got to the place Emalia had pointed to, Emalia pointed her wand, waved it and muttered 'Focillo' and suddenly Fred was enveloped in a warmth. His clothes were heating him gently.
He looked at her gleefully 'Please don't share this with the Slytherins.' Emalia laughed.
Everyone was looking from Fred to Emalia, utterly confused. 'I found a charm that will gently heat your clothes, so we will be nice and warm in potions' she explained. The rest of the group whooped and laughed, finally they would not spend potions freezing their asses off.
A couple of days later, Professor McGonagall was making her way around the Great Hall, making a list of students who would be staying for the Christmas holidays. Emalia immediately put her name down on the list. Professor McGonagall was just about to walk off when Fred and George stopped her and put their names down on the list.
Emalia looked at the two boys in surprise. 'Did we not tell you?' said George looking at her surprised expression. Emalia shook her head dumbly. 'Mum and Dad are going to visit Charlie in Romania for the Christmas holidays' said Fred, smiling brightly at her.
Emalia's face lit up with delight. 'Seriously?' she asked eagerly. The twins nodded vigorously, Emalia jumped out of her seat and reaching over the table, pulled them into a hug, laughing joyfully.
Once the holidays started, the school became quiet. As usual most of the students had returned home, but unlike last Christmas Emalia was not alone. Not only did she have Fred and George to keep her company, Harry was also staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.
Many times Emalia, Fred and George trapsed into the Common Room laughing when they found Ron and Harry sitting in the good armchairs near the fire chatting and toasting marshmallows. 'Got anymore?' asked Emalia as she plopped down on the couch near them. Fred and George followed suit, almost sitting on Emalia. 'Oof get off me, you guys weigh a tonne' she exclaimed laughing.
Emalia had tried to get a start on the long list of homework the Professors had given them, but often times Fred and George distracted her or pulled her into exploring the secret passageways all over the castle. Every evening ended the same, with the three of them joking and laughing in the Common Room; Emalia was beyond happy.
Christmas day finally arrived, and for once Emalia slept late. When she woke the bright winter, light shone through a crack in the curtain. She stretched in bed; her left foot hitting a small package at the end of her bed. She sat up and smiled.
She had told Albus that this year she would spend the morning with her cousin which he agreed with wholeheartedly, but she did promise that she would run up to visit him and exchange gifts with him after breakfast.
She reached down and picked up one of the packages. She opened it and found a personalised ink well from Adrian, she hoped he liked the book she sent him about the history of Quidditch.
The next package was from Alicia, which was a set of hairbands that changed colour depending on her mood. Emalia grinned to herself.
'At least now everyone will know how you are feeling'
read part of the letter. The last package that lay on her bed was bigger than the rest, she looked at it curiously wondering who it was from. She opened the gift, inside was a box of homemade chocolates and a purple jumper with a burnt yellow 'E' on the front of it. She opened the letter and read its contents.
'Dear Emalia,
Arthur and I wish you a very Happy Christmas. We hope that you are keeping well, and if you ever need anything please do not hesitate to ask. We hope to see you soon.
-Love, Molly.'
The letter was short and sweet, but it brought a tear to her eye. She felt honoured and touched that Mrs Weasley had thought of her. She pulled the jumper over her head and hugged it to her. It felt warm and familiar imbued with love, as if someone was hugging her.
She hopped out of bed and grabbed the presents she had bought for her cousin and the Weasleys. She walked down to the Common Room but there was no one there, she looked up at the clock on the mantlepiece. '9:30' she thought to herself 'Surely they would be awake at this stage.'
She ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, checking Fred and George's dorm first, their beds were empty. She then made a beeline for Harry and Ron's dorm, where she hit the jackpot and found all four boys sitting chatting on the beds.
'Merry Christmas!' she exclaimed as she entered the room. The four of them looked up at her and grinned at her. 'Merry Christmas' they chorused. George looked at her before saying 'Hey! Mum sent you a Weasley jumper too!'
Fred smiled at her 'It looks good on you Em.' She beamed at him, a slight pink hue crept onto her face. Before she let Fred try and fluster her more, she handed each of them their presents. For Harry she had bought him a miniature working model of his broom, the Nimbus 2000; which he let fly across the room. 'Thanks Emalia' he beamed at her.
Emalia had gotten Ron a Chudley Cannon scarf. 'Wow, thanks' he said in awe of Emalia. She grinned back at him 'No problem Ron.'
Fred and George opened their presents next; their eyes went wide when they saw the contents of their box. 'Are these?' whispered Fred as he looked up at her.
Emalia nodded 'Muggle pranks? Yeah. I figured you guys would find a use for them. Charmed or otherwise.' She grinned mischievously 'I was thinking you could charm the Whoopee Cushion to stick to someone or to disappear after the fact.'
Fred and George exchanged a look, as if they were mentally communicating about the possibilities.
'What's all this noise?'
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly come halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy jumper over his arm.
'Emalia!' he cried out 'What are doing in the boys' dormitories?'
Fred seized Percy's jumper.
'P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on we're all wearing ours, even Harry and Emalia got one.'
'I – don't – want-' said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the jumper over his head, knocking his glasses askew. Emalia, Harry and Ron tried to stifle their laughter at what was unfolding in front of their eyes.
'And you're not sitting with the Prefects today, either' said George. 'Christmas is time for family.'
They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his sides by his jumper. Emalia smirked after them and shook her head. She too jumped from the bed and turned to leave 'I'll see you later at Christmas dinner.'
She went back to her dormitory and got out of her pyjamas and into jeans and a t-shirt. She pulled the jumper Mrs Weasley had sent her. She grabbed the present she had gotten Albus and made her way to his quarters.
She knocked on Albus's quarters, the door swung open and there stood Albus. She hugged him as soon as she saw him. 'Merry Christmas Emalia' he smiled at her. She pulled away and looked up at him 'Merry Christmas Albus.'
They sat down and had breakfast together talking and laughing as they went. 'So' began Albus 'how are your duelling lessons going?' Emalia paused for a second and considered her answer. As a whole, her lessons were going pretty well. Professor Flitwick was impressed with her progress, even went so far as telling her she was a natural.
But her anger remained. Maybe not at the same level as it was before, it was more manageable, but it was still there.
She sighed and looked up at Albus. She did not have to say anything, the look in his eyes told her she already knew the answer. He nodded as he watched her. She decided to change the subject and the emotional state of the room by pulling out the present she had gotten Albus. She pushed it across the table to him as he smiled.
He gently pulled the wrapping paper off it revealing a rather large box of sherbet lemons, a chamber music record and a pair of woollen gloves that Emalia had knitted herself. She had also charmed them that they would keep the wearers hands at the perfect temperature.
Albus put on the gloves and immediately they warmed up his hands. He looked at Emalia, impressed. 'Did you do this yourself?' he asked.
Emalia feigned offense 'Did I do this magic?' Albus chuckled at her reaction. Emalia grinned at him 'Yeah, I figured out a way to charm clothes so they would heat to the perfect temperature, its handy on cold days.'
Albus smiled as he put her present on top of the table.
Emalia pulled it towards her eagerly and unwrapped it rather excitedly. Inside were clothes, books and an assortment of muggle sweets. She looked up and thanked him profusely. Before Emalia left, 'I see Mrs Weasley sent you a Christmas present' mused Albus.
'Yes, I was very surprised' replied Emalia, 'I will send a thank you note to Mr and Mrs Weasley with Grif when I get back to my dormitory.' Albus nodded, proud that she had thought of it herself and did not need to be told to do so. Emalia hugged him once more before leaving. 'I will see you at dinner' called Albus. Emalia nodded as she ran out the door.
True to her word, when Emalia got back up to her dorm, she wrote a thank you letter to Mr and Mrs Weasley. She immediately ran to the Owlery. She tickled Grif and wished him a Merry Christmas, before attaching the letter onto his leg and watching him fly off into the sky.
Christmas dinner was, like last year, a fantastical spread of delicious food. There were not many students staying for the holidays again this year, so they all sat together at one of the tables.
Emalia sat in between Fred and George, Harry and Ron sat opposite them. The dinner was spent eating their fill of food, pulling crackers. Emalia pulled one with George and they were engulfed in a cloud of blue smoke.
When it cleared, Emalia was left wearing a tiara while George had gotten a set of false teeth that would bite anyone who touched them. Which provided much amusement when Percy's hand brushed against them, causing the fake teeth to bite down on his hand.
Everyone was eating and drinking to their hearts content, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Even the Professors were much more relaxed, much to Harry and Ron's amazement.
Emalia leaned over to whisper 'You should have seen them last year, Hagrid kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek.' The two boys looked at her dumbfounded. Low and behold, half an hour later Hagrid was doing just that and much to everyone's surprise Professor McGonagall blushed and giggled.
Harry, Emalia and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds. Emalia managed to bewitch a number of snowballs, that pinned down Fred and George in one section of the courtyard much to the delight of Harry and Ron. 'No fair Em' called Fred, happiness and laughter lighting up his face.
Cold and wet, the five of them eventually returned to the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. There Emalia used the drying spell to quickly dry out everyone's clothes. Harry had taken to breaking in his new chess set but lost to Ron spectacularly.
After a tea of turkey sandwiches, trifle and Christmas cake, everyone lay on the couches in the Common Room full to the brim. Harry and Ron had started another game of chess and were in the midst of that.
Emalia, on the other hand, was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed crying tears of laughter watching Percy chase Fred and George all over the Gryffindor Tower because they had stolen his prefect badge.
The next couple of days went by in relative peace. Emalia had managed to sneak off to the library to get her homework done, but the Weasley twins soon found her. 'Oh come on Emalia, you'll have plenty of time to do homework at the weekend' complained Fred as he tried to pull her out of the library.
Emalia stood firm, her hands on her hips 'Ok, fine, but I swear to you Fred Weasley, if you do not let me finish my homework at the weekend, I will continuously hex you until you're one hundred and three.'
Fred held up his hands, as if surrendering but there was a mischievous glint to his eyes, as if he was challenging her. 'Ok Em, I promise.'
Emalia sighed and quickly stuffed her belongings into her bag and followed the Weasleys back to the Common Room.
The three of them spent the rest of the day exploring the secret passageways, one of them leading them straight to the cellar of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. The three of them snuck out and made their way to the Three Broomsticks, sat down and had a nice warm flagon of Butterbeer.
When they arrived back at the castle, the snow was still blanketing the grounds. George ran up to the dormitory, found Ron and Harry and dragged them outside for another afternoon in the snow.
This time however they built a snowman and Emalia managed to enlarge and animate it, making it chase after each of the boys. She was in hysterics, as were the others, as they watched the giant snowman fumble around the castle grounds.
Fred looked at her, the cold had turned her nose and cheeks a bright pink, her silvery blonde hair flowing out from under her woolly hat, laughter lighting her face up, her eyes sparkling.
'Wow.' He thought to himself. He was in awe of her, her soul, her beauty and her intelligence. His feelings for her had continue to develop the more time he spent with her, and he only hope that she felt the same way about him.
As promised, the Weasley twins allowed Emalia to complete her homework in peace. In fact, they joined her in the library and completed their homework as well. Once that was done, they were able to enjoy the last few days of the Christmas holidays in peace.
Fred had been tossing and turning all night, he was restless, and he knew why. He had to tell Emalia how he felt, and soon. Spending the holidays with her only made him more determined to share how he felt.
The next morning after breakfast, the five of them made their way up to the Common Room, the snow had begun to melt, and the grounds were slippery and muddy because of it. So, they decided to stay inside until the snow had melted completely.
They altered between playing exploding snap and chess, with Ron beating all of them at chess. 'Well done Ron, that was a brutal game' said Emalia who was impressed.
George had taken over playing against Ron, promising his younger brother that he would not go easy on him this time. Harry sat between them engrossed with the particularly brutal game that was unfolding between the two brothers.
Fred decided to seize the opportunity that was in front of him. He turned to Emalia who, unsurprisingly was reading but would cast an eye at the chess match every minute or so.
He nudged her 'Hey Em, want to go for a walk outside?' he whispered. She looked up from her book and smiled 'Sure! Let me just go get my coat.' She jumped off the couch leaving her book in her wake and walked up to her dormitory.
Fred walked over to where he had dumped his coat yesterday and out it on. He looked over and saw George looking at him questioningly. Until Emalia returned and it clicked into place with him. He smiled smugly at Fred, who stuck his middle finger up at George before grinning.
Fred visibly swallowed as Emalia walked over to him. 'It's now or never Freddie' he whispered to himself. The two of them walked down to the courtyard, and proceeded to walk around the grounds aimlessly, chatting all the time.
'Have you ever come across the forever blooming cherry blossom tree?' asked Emalia eagerly. Fred shook his head 'I've never even heard of it' he responded.
'It was a gift from the students of Mahoutokoro school in Japan. Follow me, I'll show you' she smiled as she took his hand and pulled him along with her. Fred smiled as she took his hand and led him to the small grove of trees that lay just beyond the greenhouses.
When they got there, the blossoms of the tree were swirling around in the breeze, the pale pink petals littered over the snow. Emalia and Fred looked on its beauty in awe, the tree stood out from the rest of the grove, which were either bare or were dark green in colour.
They both sat underneath the tree, wrapped up warm against the cold weather. Fred's arm automatically wrapped around Emalia bringing her closer to him. She pressed to him and looked up and giggled.
He looked at her confused 'What?' he asked smiling.
'You have petals in your hair' she told him as she reached up to pick them out. Her face was incredibly close to his.
Fred gently put his hand underneath her chin, bringing her face closer to his, before lowering his lips to meet hers. He wrapped his other arm even tighter around her pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
Emalia was not expecting this. This tender kiss with Fred in, arguably, the most romantic place in Hogwarts. Emalia and Fred just melted into the kiss. Eventually the broke apart, slightly breathless, pink flushed across both of their faces.
'That was …' began Fred looking at her, his eyes shining.
'Wonderful' finished Emalia, the flush on her face deepening to a bright red colour. Fred smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her again.
'Merlin I could kiss her all day' he thought to himself.
Their second kiss was just as tender as their first, but maybe not as tentative. When they pulled away from each other again Fred looked down at her. 'Does this make you my girlfriend?' he grinned down at her.
Emalia rolled her eyes at him, a big smile on her face. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before replying. 'Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?' she teased.
Fred looked down at her, his eyes sincere as he looked into hers. 'Emalia Potter' he said, as if it was almost a whisper. Emalia held her breath, nervous about what was coming next. 'Do you want to go out with me? I mean, will you be my girlfriend?' he asked hopefully.
Emalia beamed, happiness radiating out of her, she was almost glowing as she opened her mouth to answer 'Yes Fred Weasley, I would love to be your girlfriend.' Fred smiled at her once more before capturing her lips with his once more.
They sat there, arms wrapped around each other, enjoying each other's company and their newly minted relationship.
'We better get back' said Fred, albeit rather reluctantly when he felt Emalia shiver beside him. Emalia nodded got to her feet and extended her hand to help Fred up.
They made their way back to the Common Room, they each grasped onto one another's hands, relishing their newfound closeness. When they arrived back at the Common Room, Ron and Harry were playing against each other again.
George was lounging on the armchair, sending small pieces of paper flying at Percy. When Fred and Emalia walked into George's line of vision, he looked them up and down, his gaze lingered on their intertwined hands and a smug smile crept onto his face.
Fred grinned at his twin sheepishly, while Emalia flushed bright red. The two of them sat down on the couch next to George, Fred instantly put his arm around Emalia pulling her close to him.
'Welcome to the family' teased George.
Emalia stuck her tongue out at him 'Shut it Georgie before I hex your tongue.' George held his hands up in surrender and went back to annoying Percy, a huge grin on his face.
Over the course of the following day people started to arrive back to Hogwarts for the next term. Alicia and Angelina arrived back in the Common Room and found Fred and Emalia on top of each other in the throes of a tickling fight. Neither of them noticed their two friends standing there, Angelina cleared her throat attempting to get their attention.
Fred and Emalia were too engrossed with each other to hear her the first time, but by the third time she cleared her throat, this time more aggressively, they broke apart from each other. 'What's going on here?' asked Angelina her eyebrow raised questioningly.
Fred grinned at her, because rather than telling her he decided to show her and pulled Emalia's lips to his kissing her. Emalia was taken aback but she smiled against his lips and kissed him back. They were interrupted by a squeal from Alicia who hugged them both. All of them dissolved into laughter before Alicia exclaimed 'Well it's about time!'
