10. Owls, noses and threats

Kitchen at the Potter's house

Emilia's POV:

Owls flew in, one after the other, dropping three letters on the dining table. Hogwarts owls, Hogwarts letters.

We all snatched up our respective letters.

"We should take turns," James said.

Sirius nodded, "Emilia, go first."

"Wait why me?"

"Because yours doesn't have O.W.L results."

I sighed and opened up the envelope. I took out the usual book list first, nothing of interest there. A shiny Prefect badge came out next. Looks like I'd gotten it.

"Yay!" Mum cheered.

"No wait, let's not celebrate just yet," I said, digging into the envelope for the letter from Dumbledore, skimming through it quickly. "We all knew I was going to get it. But-" And there it was. "Damn it," I yelled, throwing the letter on the table.

"He got it?" Eva asked. She'd joined in today to key into the drama.

I buried my face into my hands. "He got it."

"Wait, wait, let me see," Sirius said. I watched through my fingers as his expression confirmed what I was dreading. He and James started laughing.

"Who got what?" Mum said, confused.

"Let's just say lucky Aaron Warner also opened his envelope today to a Prefect badge," James grinned.

"And now I have to bear the awkwardness for the next three years."

"Well, Moony will be there. You'll be fine," Sirius said.

"Lily will be there too," James added. I rolled my eyes. James and Lily were only on a first name basis when she wasn't around.

"Good job, anyways, love, we're proud of you," Mum said. "At least one of my kids gets to be a Prefect."

"In all fairness, James would be a terrible Prefect," I said.

"Yeah, Moony being a Prefect was bad enough," James said.

"What's wrong with being a Prefect?" Mum asked.

"We challenge the authority Mum," James said exasperatedly.

"Well, the best way to challenge the authority is to become it," I said.

"She's got you there," Dad said.

James frowned at me. "Since when did I stop being able to think of comebacks for you?"

"I think you lose a bit of your intelligence every time you shave your non-existent beard," I said.

Sirius laughed. James hit his shoulder.

"What?" he said.

"What are you doing?" James demanded.

"I'm laughing. I can't laugh?"

"Not at my expense," James said.

I smiled to myself.

"Alright you two open yours now," Mum said.

They looked at each other. "Together?" Sirius asked. "Together," James nodded.

So dramatic, Eva mouthed to me. I grinned.

They both opened their letters, scanning their own results, and then each other's. They grinned and nodded and whispered amongst themselves.

"Okay, what?" I asked, growing tired of the suspense.

They passed their results around the table. They'd done incredibly well, passed all of them with Os and Es.

My eyes widened as I saw Sirius' result. "Okay who gets an O in Potions?"

He grinned, "You saw my notes."

"There were barely any," I retorted.

"Still did better than you, didn't I?" When I rolled my eyes, he said, "I could tutor you if you want."

Eva laughed, loudly. I looked at her funny.

"What, I can't laugh either?"

"I didn't say anything." To Sirius I said, "I would rather die than get tutored by you."

"Now who's being dramatic?" He quirked an eyebrow. Eva and I laughed. I couldn't believe he'd caught that.

"We have to go shopping," Mum said. "When are all of you free?"

"I can do tomorrow," James said.

"No, I've got Sadie's birthday party tomorrow," I said. Sadie was my best friend from school, and she was turning fifteen.

"Well, we're going to London with Marlene the day after," Sirius said.

"All right, we'll go the day after that," I said. They both nodded.

"I can't believe I have to book appointments with my own children," Mum complained.

James winked at me. I smiled back.

"Sirius," I called after him, after breakfast. I had to ask him, James would just say no.

"Yeah?" he turned around. He looked at the bridge of my nose with a slight smile that made his eyes dance with mirth.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my nose self- consciously.

"Nothing," he grinned.

I sighed exasperatedly, but pushed it aside. "If you're going to London, can you get something for me? It's just paint and stuff."

He nodded, still holding the same smile.

I looked away, trying to figure out what he was so happy about. When my mind came up with nothing, I gave up and said, "I'll make you a list."

"Mhmm," he said, smile still on his face.

I huffed, "Stop it," I said.

"Stop what?"

"Stop smiling like that."

His smile only widened, exposing his perfect teeth. He looked me up and down. Butterflies erupted in my stomach.

"Get me that list, yeah?" he said. He tapped the bridge of my nose with his pointer finger and then walked off.

I started at his retreating back, cheeks warm from the interaction. What the hell was that?

As promised, we were all in Diagon Alley two days later.

We'd already brought our books, and potion supplies, and now we were at Madame Malkins, getting robes.

Mine were already done, so I stepped out of the crowded shop to go buy some ice cream.

I was about to cross the street to reach the ice-cream parlour when a throat cleared to my right. I turned to see a lady, dressed in expensive taste, make-up perfectly enhancing her high cheekbones and aristocratic features, and long, dark hair contrasting her porcelain skin. When I felt her hand encircle my wrist, I looked down to see perfectly manicured nails digging almost painfully into my skin.

A 'perfect' woman, yet something made me want to run the other way.

"Do I know you?" I said, ignoring my original impulse.

"No, but you know my son," she replied. When she spoke, something clicked in my mind. Mrs. Black. My face paled, and she must've noticed, because she nodded.

"Good, you've recognised me now. I need you to tell him," she drawled. "To come back home."

I said nothing. Her eyes bore into mine, chilling me to the spine.

"I'm his mother," she pressed on. "You don't want to keep a child from his mother, do you?"

I kept quiet again. I didn't know what to say, how to get away from this woman.

"You tell him, you tell him, no one will treat him better than his own mother."

Now that struck a nerve.

"You don't know what you're talking about." I said, but it came out quieter than I would've liked. Oh, how I wished I was badass and loud like James or Sirius.

"I do, I do know. I know more than you think. Mother's intuition and all that. No love like mother's love, yes?" She smiled. It made me want to puke.

"You don't love him, and you never treated him right. He won't come back, because he doesn't want to. He's found his place with us. You'll leave him alone." I tell her, a little more confident this time.

She stepped back, but didn't loosen her grip on my wrist. She dragged her eyes up my body, smiling slightly when she reached my face. She looked like she knew something I didn't. "I will, if you break up with him," she said. "I'll kill him and myself if he starts canoodling with Blood Traitors," she continued, but mostly to herself.

"What's going on here?" James' voice boomed. I had never been happier to see him.

"Nothing, I was just leaving," Mrs. Black replied. "Lovely seeing you both, you'll keep what I said in mind, hmm?" She said to me. She then turned around and left, not waiting for a reply. Good, because I didn't have one.

What did she mean, break up with him? We weren't even dating. Did I even want to date him? And oh, my Merlin, she'd just threatened to kill him. This woman, this woman who was supposed to be his mother. How in the world-

"Emilia!" James' voice pulled me out of my thoughts. His hands were on my shoulders, shaking me violently.

"What?" I breathed.

"I've called you three times now. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

He looked at me doubtfully. "What did she say?"

"Um, nothing. She was just- being a bitch."

His jaw clenched, and he shook his head. "C'mon." He slung an arm around my shoulders and walked us to the ice-cream parlour.

"Don't say anything to Sirius," I told him. He nodded. "Of course not."

He paid for both our ice creams. Well, that's new, I thought, smiling to myself.