A/N: hmmwell, this chapter took a whileI'm sorry! It's kind of long, thoughso maybe it'll be worth itI had lots of fun with this chapterand the plot bunnies have attacked, so the next few chapters shouldn't take too long to get up
Disclaimer: I ownalmost nothingjust Emily, I thinkand Bella, in a wayI dunt own her name, but she's not the same Arabella Figg in the books (that's her aunt, who'll you'll meet very soonwithin the next few chapters)I own Liz and Anna toothat's all, I thinkand the plot
Chapter Nine:
Family Affairs
"What?" Emily stared blankly at the man.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus. 'Op aboard." The man repeated. Emily noticed he couldn't be too much older than herself.
"The Knight Bus?" Emily asked.
"Yes. 'Tis for witches and wizards all over the world. To summon it, a wizard simply 'as to lift 'is wand and shoot sparks."
"ButI'm not a witch, and I most certainly didn't shoot sparks into the air with my wand, so I believe you're mistaken."
"Why, a'course you didn'. You 'ave been called by Dumbledore. 'E asked me personally to deliver you to 'im."
"Dumbledore?" Emily looked absolutely befuddled.
"I'll explain what I know on the bus. Now, then, 'op aboard, Dollie." Emily nearly jumped at being addressed as 'dollie'.
She looked skeptical. "How do I know this Dumbledore character won't send me back to the orphanage?"
"'E won't." The man, well, boy, rather, looked down into her eyes. "Jus' take my word for it."
Emily considered this for a minute. Finally, she decided that this boy looked like someone she could trust. She didn't know about Dumbledore, but if he trusted him, then she could give Dumbledore a chance. If worst came to worst, she could always run away again. "Ok." Emily said, and climbed onto the bus. There were twelve identical, neat cozy-looking beds.
"Righ', then." The boy gestured toward a man behind the drivers' seat. "This is Ernie. I'm Frank, by the way. And you, dollie, are the famous Emily Potter."
"Famous? I'm not famous! How did you know my name?"
"Oh, nearly everyone knows your name, and your story. Especially since your brother 'as gone an' made 'imself one'a the most popular wizards in all'a England."
"Hmm? Tell me my story, then, and my brother's. Everything you know." Emily's curiosity had been peaked.
"Ok, but I'll warn you, dollie, it's not a very 'appy tale. It all started thirteen 'ears ago"
Lily stared, disgusted, as Matthew bowed down toward the man, whom she assumed was Voldemort, and kissed his feat. The man drew a sadistic smile as he saw James.
"Very well done, Matthew. You will be well rewarded for this. Now, then, let's get on with it. Let me kill the boy." Voldemort raised his wand above James' head and opened his mouth.
Before he could utter a spell, though, Lily did something quite stupid. "No!" She shouted, pulling off the invisibility cloak and knocking Voldemort to his feat. Of, course, she should have remembered that Voldemort was just about five thousand times stronger than her. He grabbed her around the neck and lifted her off of him.
"And who would this be, Potter?" Voldemort gestured to James, whose jaw was hanging and he was struggling to break free from Matthew's grip. "Well, this is even better. Lily Evans, I presume. I think I'll just do away with your little mudblood girlfriend."
"Oh, master. May I?" Matthew asked, letting go of James and turning toward him. "Stupid boy. You could run anytime, but you won't, will you?" James scowled. Lily seized the opportunity to throw him his wand. The grip on her neck tightened so hard that she felt the bones in her neck crack. Voldemort dropped her to the ground as she passed out.
James didn't waste a second in grabbing Lily and running as fast as he could. He heard Voldemort's voice behind him saying. "Don't waste your energy, Matthew. We'll get him another time. And for this, he'll die slowly, painfully. So will the girl." He then raised his voice. "If you're smart, you'll give in now. You don't want to face what I have in store for you, Potter. Mark my words."
"So, I s'pose you know 'ow James turned in your family? Poor lad" Frank said, a bit grimly.
"No, I don't know. Tell me, please." Emily replied testily.
"Well, you're brother did something not many people could do. 'E found out your parents were death eaters-" Frank was cut off by a confused Emily.
"They were what?" Emily asked.
"Death Eaters. Dark wizards 'oo work forYou-Know-'Oo."
"No, I in fact do not know who."
Frank waved his hands in the air. "'Is name doesn't matter. Let's just say 'e's a terrible dark wizard. 'E's killed hundreds'a innocent muggles. Pure evil, 'e is."
"So, my parents worked for him?" Emily asked miserably. Imagine what the children at the orphanage would say if they got hold of that information. She could hear them now; 'the apple never falls far from the tree, does it?' They had said that before. She had held her tongue and ignored them. There was nothing she could say in her parents' defense. They were probably right. Her parents had been evil, and she too would be. It was in her blood.
Frank looked grim. "Yes. And little James found out. 'E was only eight or nine, but 'e told 'is gram one day. Dear woman, died just before James graduated 'ogwarts. She was forced to turn in 'er own daughter and 'er daughter's 'usband. She was grieve stricken. Sent 'em to Azkaban, the ministry did."
"Azkaban? Ministry?"
"Azkaban is the wizard jail. 'Orrible place, Azkaban. You never want to 'ave to go there." Frank let out an involuntary shudder.
"And the ministry?" Emily inquired.
"England's ministry of magic. It runs everything in the magical world in different departments."
"Oh, something like Parliament?"
"Parliament?"
"Oh, nevermind." Emily sighed. "So, go on. The ministry sent my parents to Azkaban, what happened next?"
"Well, did you know you had another brother? 'Is name was Matthew. 'E was a good ten years older than James. Yer mum and dad got 'im into their business. 'E escaped capture for a good while, though. Last I heard 'e managed to convince the ministry that your parents put 'im under the Imperius Curse." Before Emily got a chance to ask, he continued. "It controls a person's actions. It's an illegal curse, but you could never put it past a Death Eater."
"Was he under the curse?"
"Oh, I don't know. All I can tell you is you Potters have a lot of power in the ministry. They'd jump at the chance to prove a Potter is innocent."
"And what about me? Why did they send me away to live with the muggles?"
"I don't know." Frank said, a bit too quickly.
"You're lying. Don't lie. Please tell me, Frank."
"You're tired. Here, go to sleep, dollie." He handed her a blanket.
"No. Tell me."
"Dumbledore will tell you what 'e wants you to know when we get there. It's not too long, I only 'ave to drop off two more people before you. Sleep now, I'll wake you when we get there." He said, soothingly. Emily wanted to know, but she had finally realized how tired she was and drifted quickly into sleep.
James was kneeling beside Lily in the Infirmary. She was still unconscious and James was very much blaming himself. He then saw someone in the doorway. He squinted in the dark and made out Anna's face.
"James, Dumbledore wants you. What's wrong with Lily?"
"I have to go. She'll explain later. Stay with her, ok? Madame Pomfrey gave her something, but I've always been pretty suspicious of that woman. I swear she tried to kill me every time I went to see her at Hogwarts. Wanted me to drink poison. I never did, and she refused to drink the 'medicine' herself. Ha! Nasty side effects, my foot!"
Anna giggled. "Just get to Dumbledore, you prat."
"Ah, James, you're here! Good, good." Dumbldore said, as James entered the room.
"Professor, there's something I have to tell you" James began.
"About Matthew? Yes, yes, pity we couldn't catch them in time. Now, I have something to talk to you about."
"Yes, headmaster?"
"Well, I suppose you remember your sister?"
"A bit, I guess. It was a long time ago. Why?" James frowned. He would rather not have to think about Emily right now. He most definitely didn't want Dumbledore surfacing memories that James was using all the strength he had to block from his mind.
"James, I know it's terrible to ask you this. You've had to go through with quite enough. I don't want to add to your workload. But, I think you might want to take this on." Dumbledore looked at him. "Your sister, she seems to have quite a bit in common with you." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "She ran away from her orphanage about a week ago. You more than all people know that she's not safe. I need you to protect her. I'd rather not send her back to that orphanage. The prophecies are constantly changing, I think she's needed in the wizarding world."
James looked shocked. "You-you're not afraid that she'llthat the old prophecies will be true?"
"The ministry thinks they can fight destiny. They most certainly can not. Emily has to know. She alone has the power to shape her own destiny. Hiding her was a terrible idea. She should be here any minute. I have Frank Longbottom doing me a favor and escorting her here through the Knight Bus. She'll be safe with Frank. He can watch her."
"Frank Longbottom? That new auror that everyone's been talking about?" James tried to hide his jealousy. He was supposed to be the popular auror. After realizing how stupid this was, he nearly laughed out loud.
"Yes, that's the one. He's got quite a future in store for him, that boy. He was the only auror I could get off the job to watch her. There was a big crisis this morning. If not, I would have asked a more experienced auror. But, I dare say that boy can take care of himself." Dumbledore finished just as there was a knock on the door. "Pepper Imp!" Dumbledore said loudly, and the door creaked open.
"'Eadmaster!" The glowing, young face of Frank Longbottom was smiling. "I've brought 'er, sir." A dark haired, light-skinned girl walked in without a hint of shyness.
"Hello." Emily said. "I'm Emily Potter, but I suppose you know that, since everyone seems to know more about me than I do. So, which one of you two is Dumbledore?"
James couldn't help smiling. She was not a disappointment in the least to the Potter name. "That would be me, Miss Potter." Dumbledore was smiling as well.
"Oh. That's nice." Emily said, without a hint of enthusiasm. "And who would you be?"
"I-I'm" James felt at a loss for words. He had no idea where to begin. Surely this girl hated him.
"My brother, James Potter." Emily finished. "I'm assuming, at least. I have you hair. I have your horribly ugly nose as well, I'm afraid to say."
James grinned. "You can blame Gram for that."
Frank had taken a seat. "Sorry to interrupt this family reuinion, but I believe Dumbledore 'as something to tell you both."
"Yes, indeed I do, Frank."
"Would you like me to go now, 'eadmaster?" Frank asked, his voice hinting he'd rather stay.
"No, you may stay here for now. I'd like to speak to you about staying here at the castle for a while. I have a job for you, and I'm sure Emily'd enjoy your company. James' a professor, and I believe he'll be pretty busy most of the time."
"Headmaster, if you want Frank to stay here just to watch over Emily, I assure you she's safe with me. In case you've forgotten, I wasn't such a bad auror myself. And you're here at the castle too, no one would dare touch her with you here. I have time for her, I do!" James most certainly did not want Dumbledore thinking that some new, young auror was more capable of watching out for his sister.
"I can assure you, James, this has nothing to do with your incapability of taking care of Emily. I have a favor to ask of him. You will find out more about this later, I promise."
"Well, I for one am glad Frank is staying." Emily, who had been being fairly quiet while they discussed the matter, said. "I'd rather not be alone with a bunch of complete strangers."
"Complete strangers? You've known him for about an hour and he's less of a stranger than your own brother?" James growled.
"Oh, and all of the sudden you think you know me?" Emily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the last time you saw me, I was in diapers!"
James frowned. "Fine. I don't know you. You don't know me either. Professor, with all due respect, I don't know what makes you think that we'll ever get along. How am I supposed to babysit this little brat?"
Emily shot James a death glare. "Excuse me, but I'm sixteen, almost seventeen, although I don't expect you to know that. And I most certainly don't need you to babysit me. But, I have to agree on the fact that we will never get along. I've only just known him for five minutes and already he's an insufferable idiot."
Dumbledore chuckled. "You two have quite a bit in common. I think you'll get along or, should I say, not get along, just fine. If I know James Potter at all, it's the people he doesn't get along with that he cares about the most."
"That is most certainly not true!" James defended himself. "And if you mean Lily, that's different. I never didn't get along with her, it was her that didn't get along with me!"
"Of course, of course." Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, now, let's get back to business, I suppose you have quite a few questions, Miss Potter?"
"Yes!" Emily nearly jumped. "I was thinking I'd never get my questions answered. Now, why did they send me to an orphanage and James to live with our grandmother?"
"To spare the wizarding world from you." James muttered, jokingly, and Frank laughed. Dumbledore, however, grimaced.
"It was a time of great fear. It still is, however the old minister of magic was a tad bit eccentric. He was very afraid of the dark lord; a bit too afraid for safety. As they say, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Anyway, when your parents were convicted, there were many prophecies concerning you. You have great power; power that only appears just about once in a century. Some predicted you would join forces with the dark lord as your parents did. People were fearful. Everyone loved the Potters. Your family was more prestigious than most other families in England. Still, when people got word of the prophecies, after seeing what happened to your parents, they wanted you to leave the magical world before anything happened. They sent you to that orphanage, hoping that if you didn't know magic you couldn't hurt us. The old minister has left office, though. When we got word that you had ran away, we decided to bring you back into our world. You most definitely weren't safe on the streets. I'm enlisting several of our staff members to teach you magic. We need you on our side, Emily. It is very important."
"So, they were afraid about me and not James? That's stupid. If you ask me, he looks like more of a threat." Emily stated.
"Oh, there were quite a few people afraid about James. An eight-year-old that could turn in his own parents, many people thought it was a sign of power hunger. No one could find good reason to take James away from the wizarding world, though. He already knew enough about magic to send him to live with muggles. That boy had been flying since he was in training pants, there was no way we'd be able to convince that child to live with muggles without a decent memory charm." Dumbledore smiled. "Good thing we didn't, also. England would've never won the cup without him."
"Why, thank you." James said, smiling.
"Any more questions, Emily?" Dumbledore asked, turning toward the girl who was still looking thoughtful.
"Millions. None are too important, though. Just things concerning your world. But-wait, what about Matthew? No one's told me anything about him."
James' expression changed quickly. Dumbledore began to explain. "Matthew got out of Azkaban by naming quite a few Death Eaters and claiming he was under the Imperius curse. He's just been caught working with Lord Voldemort, though, and the ministry is after him as we speak. Luckily, he has not managed to kill anyone." Dumbledore and James exchanged looks. Emily and Frank noticed the exchange and exchanged their own curious looks.
"What?" Emily asked. "Did he try?"
"None of your business." James said. "Professor, I'm very tired and I have to get up early tomorrow morning to teach."
"Of course, James. Oh, and tell Miss Evans that if she's not better tomorrow she doesn't need to feel pressured to go in to teach. I'll just find someone to fill in for her."
James snorted. "The day Lily takes a day off, I'll die of shock. She's probably begging Madam Pomfrey to get out of the hospital wing as we speak."
Dumbledore smiled. "I don't doubt it." He then turned to Frank and Emily. "You two will be sleeping some spare rooms in the staff corridor. Come, now, I'll escort you there. We'll see you tomorrow, James."
"Madam Pomfrey, I'm better now! I swear! I only passed out for a little bit. I can leave now! I'm fine!" Lily, as James had guessed, was arguing with Madam Pomfrey. James was watching the argument with great amusement.
Madam Pomfrey finally gave in. "Fine. Some chocolate may help you a bit, though. Here. Take this and go. But don't blame me if your head is still hurting tonight."
Lily grinned and ran out, followed by James. "You are the stupidest damn person I know." James said, grinning.
"What a coincidence. You're the stupidest damn person I know." Lily replied.
"I know, I know. I never should've trusted Matthew. I was stupid to actually-" James looked sadder than Lily had ever seen him.
"To actually want to have a brother." Lily finished. "Lord, James, you're an idiot. Stop blaming yourself. Anyone could've made the same mistake as you did."
"But anyone didn't. I did. God, Lily, you almost died! Why in hell did you come after me?"
"Hey, I figured if you died you'd want to know good old Lily was there with you." Lily grinned at the old joke, but James didn't return the expression.
"Lily, you could've been killed and it would've been all my fault!" James shouted.
"But I wasn't killed, was I? Don't be so hard on yourself. That's my job. Now, why did Dumbledore call you to his office?" Lily asked.
"How did you know?" James asked, slightly surprised.
"Anna told me." Lily explained.
"Oh, well, let's just say I had a little family reunion today." James grinned.
"What?" Lily looked befuddled.
"My baby sister decided to pay me a visit, I did tell you about Emily, didn't I?"
"Yes, I believe you did. But, I thought she was-"
"In an orphanage? So did I. That's why I was so surprised when she turned up in Dumbledore's office at first."
"Wow, James! That's wonderful!" Lily said gleefully.
"I suppose." James said dully. But, Lily, lost in her own happiness for James, did not notice his tone.
"So?" Lily urged James to continue.
"So what?"
"So, what is she like?"
"Horrid." James said flatly.
"What?!" Lily seemed taken aback.
"She struts in here as if she owns the place and she has this attitude. She's the most egotistical, annoying girl I have ever met. Besides you, that is."
"I'm touched." Lily smirked. "But, how could you say that, James? She's your sister!"
"Uh huh. And Matthew's my brother, but it wouldn't make a difference what I thought of him."
"That's different and you know it, Potter."
"How do I know it's different? As Emily oh-so kindly pointed out, I don't know her at all. The last time I saw her she was a toddler, she barely even spoke."
Lily sighed. "I give up. I'd like to meet her, though."
"She's in the faculty lounge, I think." James said. Lily made a swerve to the common room door, but James grabbed her and stopped her. "Wait, Lily. I need to ask you something."
Lily shifted uneasily, but nodded for James to go on.
"I know you'll hate my saying this, but you know it's true." James paused and took in a breath. "You mean more to me thanthan anyone I've ever known." Lily opened her mouth to say something, but James continued. "And you're killing me by doing this. Remember when we got here? We compromised on friendship, or at least the type of friendship we had at Hogwarts. Well, I'm tired of it. I don't just want to be your friend, Lily. Why don't you give me a chance? You know I didn't mean to kiss Victoria, you know I love you, Lily. You have to know. Why do you torture me like this? Just give me a chance, Lily. I could be whatever you want me to."
Lily was silent for a second, taking in his speech. "I don't want you to be anything. That's the problem." Lily began, softly. "James, you don't even know who you are. Stop kidding yourself. You have no idea who you are. You're too confused, lost. How could I possibly love someone who doesn't know how to love himself? How could you love me? James, it's not easy for me either. Maybe one dayin a long time, we can be together. But, I'm not ready to be with you, James. And you need to figure out who you are. Until then, this will have to last you." Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
A/N: muahahathat chapter took me a whilethe middle was pretty much just uneventful dialog untilthe very endwas it worth it? I hope so! And does anyone have theories about what's to come? I did a lot of subtle hintingI won't say where or about whobut if anyone caught on, or has guesses, I'd love to hear about them in a form of a review! I love it when reviewers give me input and stuff! So, feel free to ask questions, comment, give suggestions, or tell me theories! K? well, here's the thank-yous for the people who reviewed last chapter:
Kelton: I'm really glad you like it! And the plot twistsI don't particularly like how many plot twists I haveI think it makes it too confusingbut, I'm glad you like it! Thanks!
Kitty Prydew: yesh! Poor everyone! But, never fear, for Lily's oka bit shell-shocked, but ok all the same! And I'm glad you like the fic! I hope I didn't make you wait too long for this chapter!
Jess the Great: lmaoI'm sorry it's so confusing! And I'm glad you like it! And, I knowLily and James really need to hurry it upwell, thanks!
MegHarts: Thanks! Glad you like it! And I'm glad you like the characters!
Mooncancer (all three reviews): lolI'm such an evil writerglad you liked it! Thanks!
A/N: ok! Next chapter'll be up ASAP!