"Hey Ems, have you heard? There's a Christmas ball in two nights,
wanna go?" Jay asked, looking hopeful. Emily rolled her eyes and sighed.
"No, sorry, I'm going with someone else" Emily told him. Jay's eyes widened and his expression was slightly hurt.
"You are? Who with?" Jay questioned.
Emily quickly scanned the Gryffindor table and her eyes landed on the younger Remus Lupin. She quickly walked over to him and whispered.
"Please help me, Jay won't leave me alone, can you just pretend that you're going to the Christmas ball with me?"
Remus looked at her in surprise and nodded.
"What's your name?" Emily asked.
"Remus. Remus Lupin. Actually, you'll be rather surprised by this, but I'm your father at the age of fifteen. I accidentally traveled back in time with my friends" Emily's eyes widened in shock, then she went bright red.
"Oh, that would explain why you looked so familiar. I've seen quite a few pictures of you at the age you're at right now, except I don't really hear nice things about you from mum" she muttered.
"Hey, who's this bozo?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow at Remus.
"This is . . . my date" Emily said, trying to suppress giggles.
"Right, okay and you could've had the better looking guy" Jay said with a smirk. Emily's eyes flashed dangerously.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Emily asked in a deadly calm voice, something that Remus flinched at.
"Aw, c'mon Ems, stop playing hard to get and just go with me" Jay whined. Emily smirked and folded her arms over her chest.
"Forget it Black because it ain't happening"
"And why not?"
"You're a womanizer, that's why. Don't you remember a few months back when I was actually going to say yes to a date with you, only to find that you were making out with whats-her-name in the broom cupboard?"
Jay cringed at this and so did Remus.
'Gosh, he's more like Sirius than I thought' Remus mused.
"Yeah, well . . ."
"Do you have a reasonable explanation for that? Because I don't see one" Emily said with a strange gleam in her eye.
"Well, she cornered me" Jay started, while Emily snorted.
"That must be one of the most pathetic excuses I've ever heard, I still can't forgive you for that" and with that, she started walking off. Halfway back to Gryffindor tower, they bumped into the younger James, Sirius and Lily. Jay was still pleading for her forgiveness.
"Look, No means no! I can't forgive you. Got me?" Emily said, starting to lose her patience. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the younger Remus appeared.
Jay was now, by this time, on his knees with his arms around Emily's legs.
"Please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE?!"
"My god Padfoot, I never knew your son was so . . ." James trailed off, not really knowing which word to use.
"Pathetic? Annoying? Weak?" Lily glared at them both and smacked them round their heads.
Emily managed to get out of Jay's grip. She then yelled at him.
"The day I manage to forgive you and go out with you is the day I become the next Lily Potter" she told him and started to walk off, when Jay stood up and yelled out her name.
"Hey Ems!" Emily sighed in annoyance and turned around, her eyes ablaze.
"What?!"
"Truth or Dare?" Emily couldn't help grinning at this. Ever since they were little kids, Jay and Emily had always played Truth or Dare at the strangest times. She slowly walked back over to him, until she was about an inch from his face.
"Dare" she said simply. Jay immediately put on a mischievous grin.
"I know that I'm going to regret this" Emily said with a sigh, but it didn't stop her from grinning.
"I dare you to go to the Christmas ball with me" Jay's grin had widened considerably. Emily moaned.
"I can't believe I didn't see that one coming, oh . . . FINE THEN! Just promise that you'll stop asking me out after that" Jay shook his head.
"Sorry, not making any promises"
Emily swore under her breath.
"Oh well, I'm going to go and see *Dad*, you coming with me?" Jay's face lit up.
"Sure, anyway, from what I've heard your dad's a really cool Defense teacher"
"Hey, wait for me!" Emily and Jay whirled around to see Harry running after them. He stopped by them, gasping for breath.
"If-you're-going-to-see-Prof. Lupin,-let-me-come-with-you" Harry gasped.
"Okay, why?" Jay asked.
"Need to talk to him about something" Harry said with a grin.
"Mind if I ask about what?" Emily asked.
"The Marauders map" Harry said, simply. "The what?" Jay questioned, looking confused.
"Long story, anyway, our dads. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and this other guy called Peter Pettigrew made a map while they were at school. It shows you all the secret passages out of the castle and it also shows you where people are" Harry told them. Jay and Emily looked at him in awe.
"D'ya reckon that's why our mums didn't want us near our dads? Because they broke rules?"
"They became Animagus by their fifth year"
"Really? Freaky. I'm an Animagus. Guess I must've taken after dad in that department" Jay told him. Harry's jaw dropped.
"You're a-an Animagus?!" Harry questioned, looking shocked and impressed. Sirius, James, Remus and Lily looked impressed as well.
"Yeah" Jay said, offhandedly.
"What's your Animagus form?" Harry asked.
"A panther" Jay replied in a whisper "Just to let you know, I'm not registered either"
"He did it for me" Emily said with a hint of gratefulness in her voice.
Harry smiled, but then his eyes turned to horror, when he saw someone behind Jay and Emily.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Emily and Jay spun around and came-face-to-face with none other than Snape.
"Who are you?" Jay questioned with a raised eyebrow. Harry felt the colour drain from his face. If Snape had heard about Jay being an unregistered Animagus, he was in big trouble.
"I'm Professor Snape" Snape said curtly. Jay immediately looked curious.
"Snivellus Snape?" Jay asked with a grin this time. Snape flushed at this. Sirius, James and Remus sniggered.
"I heard that Snivellus was your old nickname, did you wipe your nose on parchment or something?" Jay asked, looking innocent. Snape went bright red and his eyes flashed. Emily, who couldn't hold it in much longer, burst out laughing. She ended up having tears falling down her cheeks.
"S-S-Snivellus?! Oh god, that's a good one!" Emily cried. Harry was making frantic signs for them to shut up, but unfortunately, it seemed to be making Snape madder.
"It's a shame that you two haven't already started Hogwarts, I would have personally made sure that you were in detention for a month for insulting a teacher" Snape spat. Harry put his hands together in a prayer motion for them to shut up and amazingly, they did.
"Potter, what on earth are you doing?" Snape asked coldly. Harry was looking up at the sky and mouthing 'Thank you'.
"Um . . . nothing Professor" Harry said, trying to look innocent.
"You're just like your father Potter, trying to weasel your way out of things, let me warn you now that I'm keeping a close eye on all of you" and with that, Snape left.
Jay and Emily turned back to Harry looking curious.
"What was that all about?"
"He hates me because I'm his worst enemy's son, he reckons I'm just like my dad, he'll probably start picking on you two because he hated your dads too" Harry told them.
Emily rolled her eyes.
"Men are so immature"
Harry and Jay glared at her.
"Hey! I am not immature! I'm a really nice guy!" Harry said defensively.
"Sure"
"Hey! If I get near a girl I like, I go tongue-tied!" Harry told them, then cursed himself for saying it.
Emily stared at him.
"You do?"
Harry blushed and nodded. Suddenly, for some strange reason, Emily had a dreamy look on her face and she was staring straight at Harry.
"Um . . . why is she staring at me like that?" Harry questioned Jay, looking apprehensive.
Jay waved a hand in front of her and she didn't even blink. Jay shrugged.
"Girls, I'll never understand them" Harry smiled weakly. It was unnerving that Emily was just staring at him and not even blinking.
Harry made to say something, but Emily got there first.
"Harry, has anyone ever told you that you have gorgeous eyes?" Harry, who was taken completely off guard by this, blinked a few times, then went bright red. Jay went bright red as well, but not from embarrassment.
"Uh, well, um . . ." Harry cleared his throat "No, I-I don't think so"
James, Sirius and Remus just stood there with their jaws dropped in shock, while Lily was trying her best not to giggle.
Emily grabbed hold of Harry's arm and clung onto him, while Harry went even redder. Jay's expression was one of hurt and fury.
"Um . . . Emily, could you-d'ya think that you could maybe um, let go of my arm?" But Emily didn't seem to have heard.
"Harry, there you are, I've been looking all over for . . ." His voice died when he saw Emily clinging onto Harry's arm. Harry whirled around to see James with his jaw dropped.
"Dad, um, hi!" Harry said brightly.
"I, uh, wanted to talk to you, but it looks like your busy, so I'll just be going" James said and moved to walk off, but Harry quickly pried himself out of Emily's grip and ran after his dad.
"Dad, please save me! Emily's acting weird around me and it's scary!" Harry said, looking terrified. James laughed.
"She just likes you a lot, that's all"
"Yes, well, it's still scary!"
James laughed again.
"It's called love at first sight son"
"Yes, well, how do I make her not love me? Jay seems to really like *her* and I wanna get to know *him*, but I can't do that if *he* gets jealous if *she* goes near another guy" Harry told his dad.
"Hmmm, we'll have to ask Sally what really makes Emily tick, then you can use that against her" James said, looking thoughtful.
"Okay then, what was it you wanted to talk about dad?"
"Well, your mother and I needed to go and do some Christmas shopping, so we were gonna go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, we were wondering if maybe you wanted to come?" James questioned. Harry beamed.
"I'd love to go!"
"Okay then, great, meet us at the entrance of Hogwarts at 9am tomorrow"
"Gotcha"
"Great, see you then, I gotta go talk to Moony and Padfoot"
"Okay bye dad" and with that, Harry and James went their separate ways.
"No, sorry, I'm going with someone else" Emily told him. Jay's eyes widened and his expression was slightly hurt.
"You are? Who with?" Jay questioned.
Emily quickly scanned the Gryffindor table and her eyes landed on the younger Remus Lupin. She quickly walked over to him and whispered.
"Please help me, Jay won't leave me alone, can you just pretend that you're going to the Christmas ball with me?"
Remus looked at her in surprise and nodded.
"What's your name?" Emily asked.
"Remus. Remus Lupin. Actually, you'll be rather surprised by this, but I'm your father at the age of fifteen. I accidentally traveled back in time with my friends" Emily's eyes widened in shock, then she went bright red.
"Oh, that would explain why you looked so familiar. I've seen quite a few pictures of you at the age you're at right now, except I don't really hear nice things about you from mum" she muttered.
"Hey, who's this bozo?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow at Remus.
"This is . . . my date" Emily said, trying to suppress giggles.
"Right, okay and you could've had the better looking guy" Jay said with a smirk. Emily's eyes flashed dangerously.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Emily asked in a deadly calm voice, something that Remus flinched at.
"Aw, c'mon Ems, stop playing hard to get and just go with me" Jay whined. Emily smirked and folded her arms over her chest.
"Forget it Black because it ain't happening"
"And why not?"
"You're a womanizer, that's why. Don't you remember a few months back when I was actually going to say yes to a date with you, only to find that you were making out with whats-her-name in the broom cupboard?"
Jay cringed at this and so did Remus.
'Gosh, he's more like Sirius than I thought' Remus mused.
"Yeah, well . . ."
"Do you have a reasonable explanation for that? Because I don't see one" Emily said with a strange gleam in her eye.
"Well, she cornered me" Jay started, while Emily snorted.
"That must be one of the most pathetic excuses I've ever heard, I still can't forgive you for that" and with that, she started walking off. Halfway back to Gryffindor tower, they bumped into the younger James, Sirius and Lily. Jay was still pleading for her forgiveness.
"Look, No means no! I can't forgive you. Got me?" Emily said, starting to lose her patience. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the younger Remus appeared.
Jay was now, by this time, on his knees with his arms around Emily's legs.
"Please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE?!"
"My god Padfoot, I never knew your son was so . . ." James trailed off, not really knowing which word to use.
"Pathetic? Annoying? Weak?" Lily glared at them both and smacked them round their heads.
Emily managed to get out of Jay's grip. She then yelled at him.
"The day I manage to forgive you and go out with you is the day I become the next Lily Potter" she told him and started to walk off, when Jay stood up and yelled out her name.
"Hey Ems!" Emily sighed in annoyance and turned around, her eyes ablaze.
"What?!"
"Truth or Dare?" Emily couldn't help grinning at this. Ever since they were little kids, Jay and Emily had always played Truth or Dare at the strangest times. She slowly walked back over to him, until she was about an inch from his face.
"Dare" she said simply. Jay immediately put on a mischievous grin.
"I know that I'm going to regret this" Emily said with a sigh, but it didn't stop her from grinning.
"I dare you to go to the Christmas ball with me" Jay's grin had widened considerably. Emily moaned.
"I can't believe I didn't see that one coming, oh . . . FINE THEN! Just promise that you'll stop asking me out after that" Jay shook his head.
"Sorry, not making any promises"
Emily swore under her breath.
"Oh well, I'm going to go and see *Dad*, you coming with me?" Jay's face lit up.
"Sure, anyway, from what I've heard your dad's a really cool Defense teacher"
"Hey, wait for me!" Emily and Jay whirled around to see Harry running after them. He stopped by them, gasping for breath.
"If-you're-going-to-see-Prof. Lupin,-let-me-come-with-you" Harry gasped.
"Okay, why?" Jay asked.
"Need to talk to him about something" Harry said with a grin.
"Mind if I ask about what?" Emily asked.
"The Marauders map" Harry said, simply. "The what?" Jay questioned, looking confused.
"Long story, anyway, our dads. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and this other guy called Peter Pettigrew made a map while they were at school. It shows you all the secret passages out of the castle and it also shows you where people are" Harry told them. Jay and Emily looked at him in awe.
"D'ya reckon that's why our mums didn't want us near our dads? Because they broke rules?"
"They became Animagus by their fifth year"
"Really? Freaky. I'm an Animagus. Guess I must've taken after dad in that department" Jay told him. Harry's jaw dropped.
"You're a-an Animagus?!" Harry questioned, looking shocked and impressed. Sirius, James, Remus and Lily looked impressed as well.
"Yeah" Jay said, offhandedly.
"What's your Animagus form?" Harry asked.
"A panther" Jay replied in a whisper "Just to let you know, I'm not registered either"
"He did it for me" Emily said with a hint of gratefulness in her voice.
Harry smiled, but then his eyes turned to horror, when he saw someone behind Jay and Emily.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Emily and Jay spun around and came-face-to-face with none other than Snape.
"Who are you?" Jay questioned with a raised eyebrow. Harry felt the colour drain from his face. If Snape had heard about Jay being an unregistered Animagus, he was in big trouble.
"I'm Professor Snape" Snape said curtly. Jay immediately looked curious.
"Snivellus Snape?" Jay asked with a grin this time. Snape flushed at this. Sirius, James and Remus sniggered.
"I heard that Snivellus was your old nickname, did you wipe your nose on parchment or something?" Jay asked, looking innocent. Snape went bright red and his eyes flashed. Emily, who couldn't hold it in much longer, burst out laughing. She ended up having tears falling down her cheeks.
"S-S-Snivellus?! Oh god, that's a good one!" Emily cried. Harry was making frantic signs for them to shut up, but unfortunately, it seemed to be making Snape madder.
"It's a shame that you two haven't already started Hogwarts, I would have personally made sure that you were in detention for a month for insulting a teacher" Snape spat. Harry put his hands together in a prayer motion for them to shut up and amazingly, they did.
"Potter, what on earth are you doing?" Snape asked coldly. Harry was looking up at the sky and mouthing 'Thank you'.
"Um . . . nothing Professor" Harry said, trying to look innocent.
"You're just like your father Potter, trying to weasel your way out of things, let me warn you now that I'm keeping a close eye on all of you" and with that, Snape left.
Jay and Emily turned back to Harry looking curious.
"What was that all about?"
"He hates me because I'm his worst enemy's son, he reckons I'm just like my dad, he'll probably start picking on you two because he hated your dads too" Harry told them.
Emily rolled her eyes.
"Men are so immature"
Harry and Jay glared at her.
"Hey! I am not immature! I'm a really nice guy!" Harry said defensively.
"Sure"
"Hey! If I get near a girl I like, I go tongue-tied!" Harry told them, then cursed himself for saying it.
Emily stared at him.
"You do?"
Harry blushed and nodded. Suddenly, for some strange reason, Emily had a dreamy look on her face and she was staring straight at Harry.
"Um . . . why is she staring at me like that?" Harry questioned Jay, looking apprehensive.
Jay waved a hand in front of her and she didn't even blink. Jay shrugged.
"Girls, I'll never understand them" Harry smiled weakly. It was unnerving that Emily was just staring at him and not even blinking.
Harry made to say something, but Emily got there first.
"Harry, has anyone ever told you that you have gorgeous eyes?" Harry, who was taken completely off guard by this, blinked a few times, then went bright red. Jay went bright red as well, but not from embarrassment.
"Uh, well, um . . ." Harry cleared his throat "No, I-I don't think so"
James, Sirius and Remus just stood there with their jaws dropped in shock, while Lily was trying her best not to giggle.
Emily grabbed hold of Harry's arm and clung onto him, while Harry went even redder. Jay's expression was one of hurt and fury.
"Um . . . Emily, could you-d'ya think that you could maybe um, let go of my arm?" But Emily didn't seem to have heard.
"Harry, there you are, I've been looking all over for . . ." His voice died when he saw Emily clinging onto Harry's arm. Harry whirled around to see James with his jaw dropped.
"Dad, um, hi!" Harry said brightly.
"I, uh, wanted to talk to you, but it looks like your busy, so I'll just be going" James said and moved to walk off, but Harry quickly pried himself out of Emily's grip and ran after his dad.
"Dad, please save me! Emily's acting weird around me and it's scary!" Harry said, looking terrified. James laughed.
"She just likes you a lot, that's all"
"Yes, well, it's still scary!"
James laughed again.
"It's called love at first sight son"
"Yes, well, how do I make her not love me? Jay seems to really like *her* and I wanna get to know *him*, but I can't do that if *he* gets jealous if *she* goes near another guy" Harry told his dad.
"Hmmm, we'll have to ask Sally what really makes Emily tick, then you can use that against her" James said, looking thoughtful.
"Okay then, what was it you wanted to talk about dad?"
"Well, your mother and I needed to go and do some Christmas shopping, so we were gonna go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, we were wondering if maybe you wanted to come?" James questioned. Harry beamed.
"I'd love to go!"
"Okay then, great, meet us at the entrance of Hogwarts at 9am tomorrow"
"Gotcha"
"Great, see you then, I gotta go talk to Moony and Padfoot"
"Okay bye dad" and with that, Harry and James went their separate ways.
