The Emerald Fire*
By: SilverPhoenixWings
A/N: To clear up some
things: Lily smiled because she thought Liane and Emily were going to
both be alive. I am not trying to focus on Callie, it's just happening.
Most likely she'll get sick or something to get her out of the way for a
while.
One of my best internet
friends, ~*~Hermione~*~, has been seriously injured in a car accident.
This chapter is dedicated to ~*~Hermione~*~ and her destiny. She may not know
it now, but to everything there is a season. Get well,
~*~Hermione~*~!!!!
All questions, comments, or
concerns should be sent to indigophoenix2005@yahoo.com.
All get well wishes shall then be forwarded to ~*~Hermione~*~.
Life is so short,
but we live so long,
One day we're here,
and the next we're gone.
~from "Essence", by SPW
Jen sighed and slammed the book shut. The library was the only quiet place around school. Everyone was whispering. No one cared who heard them, they just thought they did. It was unnerving to walk around with Liane and have her turn every time her name was uttered. Didn't they realize this was what her paranoia was based upon?
Her
friends. They were all broken in one way or another. Callie was withdrawn so
much that it was making her sick. She was in the hospital wing right now,
staring at the ceiling. Lily wrote in her diary every spare minute, and no one
even noticed besides Jen. Sirius hadn't dated in the month since Emily had
disappeared, and he looked worse for wear than the trolls that they were
studying in Defense Against The Dark Arts. James and Peter spent all of their
free time in the common room, pondering over some prank or another.
Pranks.
They hadn't played a prank in ages. Jen imagined they had quite a stash by now,
but none had been followed through. Jen sighed again. Remus was gone. He was
off for the rest of the week, painfully transforming by night. Jen looked down
at her hands. She was permanently cold and shaky. Things like this should not
happen to people, she thought.
She
rose slowly from the library table and made her way back to the common room. It
was a Hogsmeade day, so she was alone expect for the wandering first year. When
she climbed through the portrait hole, something odd struck her. Someone, or
something, was sitting in an armchair.
"Emily?"
Jen choked out. No, it couldn't be. But everything was so familiar. The figure
turned, and Jen held back a scream. Emily was a ghost.
"Yo."
Emily said cheerfully.
"You're
a…a….ghost, dear." Jen said. Emily smiled.
"Pretty
cool, huh?" Emily laughed.
"Um,
okay." Jen said.
"You're
the first to know, besides Dumbledore, that is. I had to go through a lot of
crap before I could come." Emily said. Jen shook her head in amazement. Emily
was….Emily.
"Um…okay."
Jen nodded.
"Oh
come off it, Jen. Did you really think I'd let you guys have all the fun?"
Emily asked.
"Not
really, but why weren't you here earlier? Crap?" Jen asked. Emily nodded.
"I
had to be questioned by the Ministry. Annoying little prats, they are. But now
I'm forbidden to talk about it." Emily smirked. Jen swore.
"Are
you planning on telling everyone?" she asked. Emily nodded.
"Will
you come with me?" Emily asked. Jen nodded. Emily beamed. "Great! I don't want
to miss a moment!" And with that, the girls were off to Hogsmeade.
Lily
gasped when Jen entered the Three Broomsticks. Jen had a look on her
face like she held the secrets of the universe in her hands. It was that sort
of look that made you want to gasp. Jen strode over to Lily and whispered in
her ear. Lily nodded and stood up.
"C'mon
guys. Jen has a surprise." Lily said happily. Sirius and James grabbed their
Zonko's things while Callie closed her book. Liane looked startled and Peter
looked confused. The group paid their bill and left the pub. Jen led them up
the hill and into the park. She stopped.
"Okay!"
she called out. From behind a tree came the ghost-Emily. Lily smiled widely,
and Liane backed away. James put a hand on her shoulder and nudged her forward.
Sirius looked stuck between a smile and a scream.
"Hey
guys." Emily said. She walked(floated?) over and put a weightless hand on
Sirius' shoulder.
"Emily….you're
a ghost." Peter pointed out.
"No
shit, Sherlock." Emily laughed.
"Emily?"
Liane said, finally believing. Emily walked over to her friend and hugged her.
Again, weightlessly. Liane started crying. "Oh my lord. He….Emily… I've been
waiting for you. Why haven't you come earlier? Why'd you leave me here?" Liane
asked. Emily shook her head.
"Shh…you
aren't dying. I've come back to stay with you guys. It's okay. I'm sorry….I'm
sorry." Emily assured her. Liane wiped her cheek with a sleeve and smiled.
"So,
can you go through walls?" she asked, grinning mischievously.
"Yep.
Any walls." Emily said. "You should see the Prefects' bathroom. Oh man…." Emily
looked over at Sirius who was raising an eyebrow. "I mean…no walls. What on
earth are you talking about?" The group shared a hearty laugh for the first
time in ages.
The
week that finished May was interesting, to say the least. Things were back in a
semi-normal state. All of Hogwarts knew about Emily now, and things were the
way they had been before Voldemort. Liane came out of her Wilderness of
Mirrors, and all was happy again. Emily attended classes, for 'moral support',
as she called it. Callie seemed much better, and everyone could laugh again.
James asked Lily out the next Saturday, and they were horribly teased for it.
Things were back to normal.
As
exams came up, Emily laughed at her friends. Then, Dumbledore reminded her that
if she was to move up with them, she had to test as well. That put everyone in
an exceptionally 'I told you so' mood until faced with the exams. As June
rolled along, the group got their marks. Lily, James, and Jen had extremely
good marks, and were expected to be prefects. Sirius might be a prefect,
but most likely not, seeing as how group him with James was not the most
smiled-upon idea. The end of the year was a happy one, and the train ride home
was as well. Emily was not allowed to return to her parents, but she was able
to write them everyday. The times had many sides, faces, and aspects. This was
one of many.
FIN