Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, brilliantly created by J.K.
Rowling. Most situations are based on those created by J.K. Rowling.
Note: I fixed a typo that a reviewer caught that I wasn't even aware of in Chapter Eight. I accidentally put in Charlie and Dawn's son "Jack" which was a mistake since of course, Jack belong to Ron and Hermione. Charlie and Dawn's son is actually named Owen.
Chapter Eleven: Emma's First Day
Emma Weasley opened her eyes to bright sunshine coming through the small opening in the slit of the curtains surrounding her bed. She yawned widely and sat up. Pulling the curtains back, she saw that some of the other girls in her dormitory had already gotten up and left the room. "Cornelia?" she called softly, speaking to her newest friend, asleep in the bed next to hers.
"Hmm?" came a sleepy voice.
"I think we'd better get up," said Emma. "We don't want to miss breakfast."
Emma heard a groan come from Cornelia's bed, and she laughed before getting up to change into her robes for the day. She waited until Cornelia was ready, and the two girls headed down to the common room together. "Heading to breakfast?" came a male voice, and the girls turned to see James, along with Aidan and two other Weasley cousins (and fellow Gryffindor first years) Matthew and Brian, coming from the third year boy's dormitory.
"Yup!" said Emma, now excited to have begun her very first full day at Hogwarts.
"Hey, wait for me!" called another girl's voice as the group reached the portrait hole. They stopped and waited as Stacey came running down the steps, clearly having almost slept too late, from the third year girls' dormitory.
As they walked down the stairs towards the Great Hall, Emma only half listened as James and Aidan told her and Cornelia the secrets of Hogwarts. She was still reeling from her experience the night before, when she had traveled across the lake and entered the Great Hall. She confessed to James later that she was rather nervous during the Sorting, even though everyone in her family was convinced that she would be a Gryffindor, just as her parents - and grandparents - were before her. Still, there was always that hint of doubt, that knowledge that anything could happen at Hogwarts. Being a Weasley put her close to the very end of all the new first years as far as order goes, so her nervousness mounted as she watched each child go before her. However, her fears were diminished as soon as the hat hit her head and immediately called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" She had joined James happily, introducing herself to another first year girl on her left, who turned out to be Cornelia.
The feast impressed her more than she thought it would, having heard about them numerous times from her various family members. She gladly dug in. Though her appetite was nowhere near what her father's had been at her age, she had learned to appreciate food as much as he did. She was starting to feel very drowsy by the time the Gryffindor prefect led the first years up the stairs, and showed the girls to their dormitory.
Before going to bed the night before, the girls in the dormitory had gotten to know each other, finding out where each was from, and how they found out they were going to come to Hogwarts. Emma was pleased to meet a muggle, who had been shocked the day she received her letter. However, it was Cornelia Ward that she seemed to have the most in common with, and they became fast friends, already talking about how they planned to study together.
"Come on, Emma," Cornelia was saying now as they neared the top of the marble staircase. Emma broke out of her thoughts and saw that the group had gotten quite a bit ahead of her, and Cornelia had doubled back to make sure she was still with them.
"What were you doing?" Stacey asked when Emma had rejoined the group.
"Just thinking," said Emma, and they headed into the Great Hall.
* * *
Breakfast was a noisy affair, with students both excited about and dreading the first day of classes. James and Aidan spent the meal looking over at all the girls at their table - as well as the other House tables - to see who had changed over the summer. Each noted that Rachel Rowan, a Hufflepuff girl, had changed quite a bit, and had gotten quite pretty as her face had cleared of some unfortunate acne.
"You should ask her into Hogsmeade," said James, seeing that Aidan seemed already smitten with the girl.
Tonks, who had been at Hogwarts for quite some time and was the new Head of Gryffindor House, passed out the course schedules. Emma and Cornelia eagerly took theirs and read them. James peered over Emma's shoulder to see what she had.
"Not too bad today," he said. "Defense Against the Dark Arts will be fun, even though you won't have my dad yet."
"That's too bad," said Emma, and she turned to Cornelia. "Uncle Harry's really cool."
"What else do you have?" Aidan asked, and he took a glance at his brother's schedule. Devin Finnegan was another first year Gryffindor.
"Transfiguration," Emma said.
"That's Professor Tonks," said James. "She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, until dad came here. My dad transfiguration used to be taught by McGonagall, but I guess she's too busy now."
"Well, she IS the headmistress, James," said Emma matter-of-factly. "I imagine she's got a lot to do."
James glanced up at the staff table and saw his father gesture to his wrist. James looked down at his own watch. "Uh-oh! We'd better hurry," he said. "or we'll be late for Herbology! You'd better get to class too, Emma."
"I can get to my own classes on time, James," said Emma, suddenly feeling a little resentful of her older cousin's watchful eye. She turned to the first years around her. "Let's go then." The three boys and Cornelia stood to join her, and they headed off to their first class.
* * *
"Homework already!" Brian groaned as they walked out of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "I thought Tonks was cool!"
"She IS cool, Brian," said Emma. "She's just doing her job."
"Who decided that homework was a good idea," said Matthew.
"I hope you plan on doing it tonight though," said Emma, "or you'll get behind."
"Don't worry!" said Brian. "We can handle it." With that, he and Matthew headed back towards the Great Hall for lunch.
Emma turned to Cornelia. "Want to do homework together in the common room later?"
"Sure!" said Cornelia. "I can't wait to try out the spell!"
"Emma!" came a voice, and the girls turned to see James standing there. "I've been looking for you. I wanted to make sure that you could find your way to the Great Hall again."
"James," said Emma, "I've been here before, remember? I know how to find my way around."
"I know," said James, "but your dad told me to keep an eye on you."
Emma's eyes widened and James knew he was in for it. He had had many a fight with Emma over the years, and the signs that she was about to blow were hard to mistake. "James Potter, you do NOT have to watch out for me everywhere I go! I am NOT a baby, and I don't need a baby-sitter!"
James had been determined to keep his own temper down, but the moment he heard Emma yelling, the old cousins' rivalry flared up in him again, and he was ready to hash it out. "I just wanted to help!" he yelled back at her.
"You're not helping!" Emma shouted. "You're just annoying me!"
"FINE!" James yelled back. "I'll just stay away from you then!"
"Good!" Emma said, and it seemed to end the argument, though neither party knew quite where to take it from there.
James spoke first. "Just don't complain to me when you need help with something," James said, and he glared at his cousin before walking past her and Cornelia, headed for the Great Hall.
Emma watched him go. "The nerve of my dad," she said. "He thinks I can't take care of myself."
"I'm sure he's just worried about you," said Cornelia.
"Or he just wants to treat me like a baby my whole life," said Emma, and she started to walk. Cornelia had to move quickly to catch up with her.
"It's not really your cousin's fault then, is it?" she asked.
"Of course it is!" Emma said, her stubborn nature taking over. "He listened to my dad, didn't he?"
"I guess," said Cornelia. Emma took this to mean that Cornelia agreed with her, and the two girls moved along to lunch in silence.
* * *
That night in the common room, Emma still refused to speak to James, and vice versa. While Emma and Cornelia sat in a corner working on their homework, James and Aidan were discussing Quidditch near the fireplace. Some of their fellow Gryffindor team members spoke with them.
"I still don't get this," said Emma as she tried the spell again.
"Maybe you're just not concentrating," said Cornelia as she performed the spell perfectly for the tenth time.
"I might be able to concentrate," said Emma, "if it weren't so loud in here." She cast a glare in James' direction.
"You know, you can't stay mad at your cousin forever," said Cornelia.
"I can if I want to," said Emma, in a tone that told her friend that she was finished discussing the matter.
* * *
Later that night, Cornelia had headed up to bed, but Emma had stayed in the common room reading. She was engrossed in her book, so much so that she didn't hear someone come creeping down the staircase from the dormitory.
James crept up behind his cousin, smiling. He had spent the day giving her the evil eye, simply to please her. He knew that sometimes she relished in being mad, and in truth he enjoyed enraging her. For a long time, James had considered Emma - as well as Ron and Hermione's other children - more like a sister (or brother, in Jack's case), and anything that made her mad was something that mad James happy. However, he was getting tired of her ignoring him, and decided that he would put a stop to it before it continued past the day.
Once James was behind the couch where Emma was sitting, he planned his next move carefully, for he was certain she would hear him if he fumbled. Suddenly, he sprang up and shouted, "BOO!" Emma leapt off the couch in fright, throwing the book she was reading in the air. The book promptly came down for a landing - right on James' head.
Emma and James stared at each other for a moment - and then each began laughing hysterically, James running a hand over the top of his head to try and soothe the spot where the book had landed.
"Are you okay?" Emma managed to ask him between laughs.
"I think so," said James, and this made the pair laugh even harder.
"What were you thinking?" Emma asked.
"I just wanted to scare you," said James.
"Well, see what that got you?" Emma asked. They continued to laugh together for a few moments, but the sounds died down until all they could hear were the sounds of the fire.
"Look, I'm sorry I listened to your dad and watched you all day," said James.
"It's all right, I guess," said Emma. "I guess I should be mad at dad, and not at you."
"I wanted to make sure you were okay though," said James. "I mean, you don't have any big brothers to look after you."
"I'm the oldest," said Emma. "I know how to take care of myself. AND I know how to take care of other people too!"
"I know you do," said James. "But you've never done it by yourself."
"You don't have any big brothers or sisters either," Emma pointed out. "And you came here alone."
"That's different," said James.
"How?" said Emma, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you're a girl," said James.
Emma looked as though she would like to give James a piece of her mind at that moment, but instead she said, "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."
"I know that," said James. "I guess I just like taking care of people."
Emma rolled her eyes. "If you have to watch me like a hawk, I feel really bad for Lily when she gets here!" This caused the two of them to laugh again. Then Emma smiled at him. "I suppose it's nice to have a big brother, though."
"So we're friends again then?" James asked.
"As long as you don't follow me around," she said.
"I promise," said James.
"If you do," Emma said, heading to the staircase, "I'll just tell Rachel Rowan what you and Aidan were saying about her at breakfast today." She smiled mischievously and ran up the stairs laughing before James could do anything to stop her.
Note: I fixed a typo that a reviewer caught that I wasn't even aware of in Chapter Eight. I accidentally put in Charlie and Dawn's son "Jack" which was a mistake since of course, Jack belong to Ron and Hermione. Charlie and Dawn's son is actually named Owen.
Chapter Eleven: Emma's First Day
Emma Weasley opened her eyes to bright sunshine coming through the small opening in the slit of the curtains surrounding her bed. She yawned widely and sat up. Pulling the curtains back, she saw that some of the other girls in her dormitory had already gotten up and left the room. "Cornelia?" she called softly, speaking to her newest friend, asleep in the bed next to hers.
"Hmm?" came a sleepy voice.
"I think we'd better get up," said Emma. "We don't want to miss breakfast."
Emma heard a groan come from Cornelia's bed, and she laughed before getting up to change into her robes for the day. She waited until Cornelia was ready, and the two girls headed down to the common room together. "Heading to breakfast?" came a male voice, and the girls turned to see James, along with Aidan and two other Weasley cousins (and fellow Gryffindor first years) Matthew and Brian, coming from the third year boy's dormitory.
"Yup!" said Emma, now excited to have begun her very first full day at Hogwarts.
"Hey, wait for me!" called another girl's voice as the group reached the portrait hole. They stopped and waited as Stacey came running down the steps, clearly having almost slept too late, from the third year girls' dormitory.
As they walked down the stairs towards the Great Hall, Emma only half listened as James and Aidan told her and Cornelia the secrets of Hogwarts. She was still reeling from her experience the night before, when she had traveled across the lake and entered the Great Hall. She confessed to James later that she was rather nervous during the Sorting, even though everyone in her family was convinced that she would be a Gryffindor, just as her parents - and grandparents - were before her. Still, there was always that hint of doubt, that knowledge that anything could happen at Hogwarts. Being a Weasley put her close to the very end of all the new first years as far as order goes, so her nervousness mounted as she watched each child go before her. However, her fears were diminished as soon as the hat hit her head and immediately called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" She had joined James happily, introducing herself to another first year girl on her left, who turned out to be Cornelia.
The feast impressed her more than she thought it would, having heard about them numerous times from her various family members. She gladly dug in. Though her appetite was nowhere near what her father's had been at her age, she had learned to appreciate food as much as he did. She was starting to feel very drowsy by the time the Gryffindor prefect led the first years up the stairs, and showed the girls to their dormitory.
Before going to bed the night before, the girls in the dormitory had gotten to know each other, finding out where each was from, and how they found out they were going to come to Hogwarts. Emma was pleased to meet a muggle, who had been shocked the day she received her letter. However, it was Cornelia Ward that she seemed to have the most in common with, and they became fast friends, already talking about how they planned to study together.
"Come on, Emma," Cornelia was saying now as they neared the top of the marble staircase. Emma broke out of her thoughts and saw that the group had gotten quite a bit ahead of her, and Cornelia had doubled back to make sure she was still with them.
"What were you doing?" Stacey asked when Emma had rejoined the group.
"Just thinking," said Emma, and they headed into the Great Hall.
* * *
Breakfast was a noisy affair, with students both excited about and dreading the first day of classes. James and Aidan spent the meal looking over at all the girls at their table - as well as the other House tables - to see who had changed over the summer. Each noted that Rachel Rowan, a Hufflepuff girl, had changed quite a bit, and had gotten quite pretty as her face had cleared of some unfortunate acne.
"You should ask her into Hogsmeade," said James, seeing that Aidan seemed already smitten with the girl.
Tonks, who had been at Hogwarts for quite some time and was the new Head of Gryffindor House, passed out the course schedules. Emma and Cornelia eagerly took theirs and read them. James peered over Emma's shoulder to see what she had.
"Not too bad today," he said. "Defense Against the Dark Arts will be fun, even though you won't have my dad yet."
"That's too bad," said Emma, and she turned to Cornelia. "Uncle Harry's really cool."
"What else do you have?" Aidan asked, and he took a glance at his brother's schedule. Devin Finnegan was another first year Gryffindor.
"Transfiguration," Emma said.
"That's Professor Tonks," said James. "She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, until dad came here. My dad transfiguration used to be taught by McGonagall, but I guess she's too busy now."
"Well, she IS the headmistress, James," said Emma matter-of-factly. "I imagine she's got a lot to do."
James glanced up at the staff table and saw his father gesture to his wrist. James looked down at his own watch. "Uh-oh! We'd better hurry," he said. "or we'll be late for Herbology! You'd better get to class too, Emma."
"I can get to my own classes on time, James," said Emma, suddenly feeling a little resentful of her older cousin's watchful eye. She turned to the first years around her. "Let's go then." The three boys and Cornelia stood to join her, and they headed off to their first class.
* * *
"Homework already!" Brian groaned as they walked out of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "I thought Tonks was cool!"
"She IS cool, Brian," said Emma. "She's just doing her job."
"Who decided that homework was a good idea," said Matthew.
"I hope you plan on doing it tonight though," said Emma, "or you'll get behind."
"Don't worry!" said Brian. "We can handle it." With that, he and Matthew headed back towards the Great Hall for lunch.
Emma turned to Cornelia. "Want to do homework together in the common room later?"
"Sure!" said Cornelia. "I can't wait to try out the spell!"
"Emma!" came a voice, and the girls turned to see James standing there. "I've been looking for you. I wanted to make sure that you could find your way to the Great Hall again."
"James," said Emma, "I've been here before, remember? I know how to find my way around."
"I know," said James, "but your dad told me to keep an eye on you."
Emma's eyes widened and James knew he was in for it. He had had many a fight with Emma over the years, and the signs that she was about to blow were hard to mistake. "James Potter, you do NOT have to watch out for me everywhere I go! I am NOT a baby, and I don't need a baby-sitter!"
James had been determined to keep his own temper down, but the moment he heard Emma yelling, the old cousins' rivalry flared up in him again, and he was ready to hash it out. "I just wanted to help!" he yelled back at her.
"You're not helping!" Emma shouted. "You're just annoying me!"
"FINE!" James yelled back. "I'll just stay away from you then!"
"Good!" Emma said, and it seemed to end the argument, though neither party knew quite where to take it from there.
James spoke first. "Just don't complain to me when you need help with something," James said, and he glared at his cousin before walking past her and Cornelia, headed for the Great Hall.
Emma watched him go. "The nerve of my dad," she said. "He thinks I can't take care of myself."
"I'm sure he's just worried about you," said Cornelia.
"Or he just wants to treat me like a baby my whole life," said Emma, and she started to walk. Cornelia had to move quickly to catch up with her.
"It's not really your cousin's fault then, is it?" she asked.
"Of course it is!" Emma said, her stubborn nature taking over. "He listened to my dad, didn't he?"
"I guess," said Cornelia. Emma took this to mean that Cornelia agreed with her, and the two girls moved along to lunch in silence.
* * *
That night in the common room, Emma still refused to speak to James, and vice versa. While Emma and Cornelia sat in a corner working on their homework, James and Aidan were discussing Quidditch near the fireplace. Some of their fellow Gryffindor team members spoke with them.
"I still don't get this," said Emma as she tried the spell again.
"Maybe you're just not concentrating," said Cornelia as she performed the spell perfectly for the tenth time.
"I might be able to concentrate," said Emma, "if it weren't so loud in here." She cast a glare in James' direction.
"You know, you can't stay mad at your cousin forever," said Cornelia.
"I can if I want to," said Emma, in a tone that told her friend that she was finished discussing the matter.
* * *
Later that night, Cornelia had headed up to bed, but Emma had stayed in the common room reading. She was engrossed in her book, so much so that she didn't hear someone come creeping down the staircase from the dormitory.
James crept up behind his cousin, smiling. He had spent the day giving her the evil eye, simply to please her. He knew that sometimes she relished in being mad, and in truth he enjoyed enraging her. For a long time, James had considered Emma - as well as Ron and Hermione's other children - more like a sister (or brother, in Jack's case), and anything that made her mad was something that mad James happy. However, he was getting tired of her ignoring him, and decided that he would put a stop to it before it continued past the day.
Once James was behind the couch where Emma was sitting, he planned his next move carefully, for he was certain she would hear him if he fumbled. Suddenly, he sprang up and shouted, "BOO!" Emma leapt off the couch in fright, throwing the book she was reading in the air. The book promptly came down for a landing - right on James' head.
Emma and James stared at each other for a moment - and then each began laughing hysterically, James running a hand over the top of his head to try and soothe the spot where the book had landed.
"Are you okay?" Emma managed to ask him between laughs.
"I think so," said James, and this made the pair laugh even harder.
"What were you thinking?" Emma asked.
"I just wanted to scare you," said James.
"Well, see what that got you?" Emma asked. They continued to laugh together for a few moments, but the sounds died down until all they could hear were the sounds of the fire.
"Look, I'm sorry I listened to your dad and watched you all day," said James.
"It's all right, I guess," said Emma. "I guess I should be mad at dad, and not at you."
"I wanted to make sure you were okay though," said James. "I mean, you don't have any big brothers to look after you."
"I'm the oldest," said Emma. "I know how to take care of myself. AND I know how to take care of other people too!"
"I know you do," said James. "But you've never done it by yourself."
"You don't have any big brothers or sisters either," Emma pointed out. "And you came here alone."
"That's different," said James.
"How?" said Emma, raising an eyebrow.
"Because you're a girl," said James.
Emma looked as though she would like to give James a piece of her mind at that moment, but instead she said, "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."
"I know that," said James. "I guess I just like taking care of people."
Emma rolled her eyes. "If you have to watch me like a hawk, I feel really bad for Lily when she gets here!" This caused the two of them to laugh again. Then Emma smiled at him. "I suppose it's nice to have a big brother, though."
"So we're friends again then?" James asked.
"As long as you don't follow me around," she said.
"I promise," said James.
"If you do," Emma said, heading to the staircase, "I'll just tell Rachel Rowan what you and Aidan were saying about her at breakfast today." She smiled mischievously and ran up the stairs laughing before James could do anything to stop her.