Chapter 2: Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

As Emma Black sat down on her bed, she thought of her favorite uncle, her only uncle, the one she missed so terribly. She thought of the way he would look at her when no one else was watching. This look was filled with so many emotions; pride, love, sadness, anger, happiness, and so many more inexpressionable emotions. They were so close that they could understand each other, just by looking at the other. That was the one and only thing that Harry disliked Emma for. Other than that, everyone liked her (if she allowed them to).

"How can I have so many friends and yet feel so alone?" she thought to herself in dismay.

Tonks had been out for such a long time. All she had said was that she would be out for awhile. She definitely acted differently with Emma than she did with the others because normally Tonks would have said something to explain what she was doing.

"Two days is definitely awhile! And especially with no reason said." Emma thought angrily to herself. "At least I know that it most likely is nothing very important because I, out of all people, am willing to help and not goof around for once."

Sighing, she lay down on her back and remembered Sirius again. All she really wanted to do was see him again, talk to him again.

"If only, if only..." she thought.

She actually had not seen him since a few weeks before his death. She would probably envy most everybody who got to see him just before it for a long time. (Such as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Harry, and the others.)

"If only, if only..." she thought to her self yet again.

Ever since that horrible night, everyone had just ignored the fact that Sirius was dead. Emma absolutely hated it. All accept one person. That one person was Harry. Luckily, he was the only person she really had questions for, the only person she could relate to. To the anger of it all, to the pain, especially to the pain.

Just then, she sat up abruptly.

"Was that an owl?" She said to Kreacher the Black's house elf who had just been entering the room, as she went over the window of her house, but he didn't answer.

It was an owl! A beautiful midnight black owl that Emma had never seen before. It looked like it had a letter tied to its foot.

Was the letter addressed to her? She couldn't tell because the lettering was hard to make out in the mist... but of course it was for her because no one else was in the house besides Kreacher and Buckbeak and they would never get mail.

Emma decided to wait until Kreacher was out of the room to open the window and see what the letter was and who it was from.

By the time Kreacher left the room, after trying to find something that apparently was not in that particular room, Emma's heart was beating very, very hard on her rib cage. (She never did well with waiting.) She leaped to open the window as she reached out of the window, she realized who it was from and what it was about.

"OH IT'S THE O.W.L. RESULTS!" Emma shrieked. She had been waiting for the results to come for some time now.

She let the midnight black owl in and took the letter. Emma could hardly contain herself for excitement.

As she started to open her O.W.L. results, there came a crash and an ear splitting shriek from downstairs. Tonks was home. She dropped the letter and went out of the room.

"I hope you brought an explanation about where you were!" Emma yelled over the noise as she sprinted down the stairs to help her friend try to close the curtain that normally covered the portrait of Emma's grandmother. Who was now screaming things about filthy little mudbloods and traitors that had been in her house the last time she had been awakened.

Once Tonks and Emma finished the very difficult task of putting the very old picture's curtain back in its place, they went down to the kitchen. Not before Emma could give Tonks a great big hug. (After all, Tonks was the only one Emma felt she could still give her heart to after what had happened to her uncle, her one and only favorite person...except for maybe Draco Malfoy)

In the kitchen, they sat down and Emma made Tonks explain herself.

"Where in the bloody hell were you?" Emma practically screamed at her old friend. "I have been alone for the past two and half days with nothing but Kreacher and Buckbeak to talk to!"

To that, Tonks replied frankly while changing her hair to spiky blonde, "I have been to places I should not speak of to you and I am sorry that I left you alone for such a long time."

"Was it something to do with The Order?" Emma asked disappointedly as she turned to start making dinner. Tonks nodded.

"Why can't you let me join The O.T.P.? I know almost all about it from the times I've listened in to you 'adults' converse. Now don't chide me for doing so; I actually think it is quite good that I have heard what I have because I like to know what is happening in our world. Not just the things in the Daily Prophet, but real things.

"I think that I could do the Order some good...nay, not just me, but the whole clan of us young people: Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Fred, George, and me. I mean, we're not that much younger than you." At that, Emma turned around and looked at Tonks. "So, will you consider it?"

After a few silent minutes where the only noises came from Tonks and Emma, who were making their dinner, Tonks spoke.

"And what about Harry? Don't you want him in the Order?" Tonks stated as she screwed up her face and in a few seconds, her face looked like Harry's grinning down at Emma.

Normally Emma would have laughed so much that she would have fell on floor, but not this time. This time she only replied hesitantly, "... Y-y-yeah Harry too."

Upstairs after dinner, Emma opened her O.W.L. results under the eye of Tonks.

It read:

Ordinary Wizarding Levels Standardized Test

For

Emma Padfoot Black

Defense against the Dark Arts: O

Potions: O

Arithmancy: O

Transfiguration: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Astronomy: O

"I got all O's!" Emma screamed while dancing around with Tonks, who had just read the letter.

The next morning, Emma's studying was disturbed by another bird; this time it was not an owl. It was a falcon, with no doubt from one of the Malfoys. Emma detested every one of them...except for maybe Draco, at times. She walked over to the window with no hesitation and cranked it open to let the bird in and to take the letter addressed to her in her foe's hand writing.

As soon as Emma had removed the letter from the beautiful falcon's leg, she ripped it open to see what it read.

Dear Emma,

I am pleased to inform you that I received all O's on my O.W.L's. I was wondering what you received, not that it matters?

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Marvolo Malfoy

"That little..." Emma muttered to herself as she went over to her desk, where she had been doing her studying, to get a quill and a piece of paper on which she wrote:

Dear Elizabeth,

I am pleased to inform you that I have received all O's on my O.W.L.'s, too.

Sincerely,

Emma Padfoot Black

P.S. I would like to congratulate on your scores on your O.W.L.'s. (You must be very happy; as I am.)