It's too bad the only characters I own in this story are Emma, Elizabeth, Tom, Jenny, Lorena, and Melanie.
It would be fun to own the others too! Except they're J.K. Rowling's and for her to keep.
Chapter Four:
As Emma sat on the window sill of her bedroom window, she thought about how her friends were finally coming to number twelve, Grimmauld Place the next day, except for Melanie, who was coming that night, and she couldn't help but be excited. She hadn't seen anyone her own age or around her own age in what seemed like ages.
She smiled to herself as she remembered the Weasleys. Fred and George, Melanie's and Emma's idols, they always had some new joke or trick to teach to them for the next year at Hogwarts, Ron, with his long, gangly arms and legs and height, and Ginny, one of Emma's best friends, with her flaming mane of red hair. After sighing for what seemed to be the one hundredth time, Emma turned her thoughts to Hermione and Melanie. Hermione was a wonderful friend, although she did get in the way of some of Emma's and Melanie's pranks and then, there was Melanie, the daughter of the current Minister of Magic and Emma's very best friend. Melanie and Emma were always together.
Emma couldn't bring herself to think about the other person who was also going to come to stay at her house because it was just too painful to think about him.
Suddenly, there was a crash and then a shriek.
Emma whipped around and screamed, "Tonks! What did you do this time?" over the yells of her grandmother's portrait of herself.
"I just tripped on the stupid umbrella thing again! Could you come down here to help me close the curtains before she starts waking up the other paintings?" Yelled Tonks in a muffled voice.
"Ok! Hold on a second!" And Emma jumped up from the window sill and ran down the stairs only to see a sight that she would never forget on account of seeing it so many times, Tonks struggling to put the curtain that normally covered the painting of Emma's grandmother back into place with no success.
Laughing, Emma ran up to grab one of the sides of the curtain where she saw Tonks smile a relieved, but thankful smile.
As they tried to pull the curtains closed, they listened to the painting scream unpleasant things about Mudbloods, blood traitors, and Emma, once the painting noticed her, but Emma didn't care, all she wanted to do was close the curtains. And finally after about 20 long minutes of pulling, Tonks and Emma succeeded and retired to the kitchen to talk.
"I can't wait until everyone gets here! Can you, Tonks?" Smiled Emma at Tonks when they were safely in the kitchen.
"No, I can't wait. I love having the house full of people. More people to help with putting the curtain back in its place; in front of you grandmother's horrible portrait."
"Yes. Let's start to work on making dinner before Melanie comes or she'll try to help and you know what she's like in the kitchen! It's even worse than in potions with Snape breathing down our necks!" Emma laughed as she stood up and started over to the cupboard followed closely by Tonks.
"What shall we make tonight?" Tonks asked in a very fake French accent and Emma smiled as Tonks scrunched up her face and transformed her face before Emma's eyes into a French one.
"I don't know. Let's see what we have." Emma said in a voice that told Tonks that she was trying not to have a laughing attack as she opened the door of the cupboard and reached in only to find a package of butterbeer, some well packaged chicken, and some rice. "Let us begin cooking."
"Did you hear that, Tonks?" said Emma who was just finishing setting the table. "It sounded like someone knocking on the front door."
"Well then, I guess I'll go and see who it is!" Tonks said brightly.
"Oh, no you don't! We both know what will happen if you go up there." Emma stated warningly. "I'll go."
"Oh, ok. Make sure not to make too much noise."
"Don't you worry about anything. I'll be as quiet as a mouse, as the muggles would say." Emma assured her older friend as she crept up the steps of the kitchen stairs to the door. Which she opened as slowly as possible just incase the door squeaked too loudly.
As Emma walked along the hall to the front door, she remembered to skirt all of the furniture and the paintings.
Then, when she finally reached the door, she reached out with her left hand to turn the doorknob and her right hand with her wand in it to unlock the door only to hear, "Come on, Emma! Let us in!" said in a deeper voice than Melanie's.
With her hand on the doorknob she hesitated wondering who was outside the door, but Emma didn't hesitate for long because her curiosity kicked in and made her unlock the door and turn the doorknob so that she could open the door and see whom it revealed.
When the door finally opened Emma ushered in not just Melanie to her own surprise, but Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Harry, Hermione, and Melanie.
"Why are all of you here so soon?" Emma whispered to them as they all formed a line and started for the kitchen door.
"Tell you when we're in the kitchen," whispered Ginny back.
For the rest of the journey to the kitchen door, they all didn't speak a word. All they did was concentrate on not making a sound and following Emma, who happened to be in the front, until she opened the door and they all rushed down the kitchen stairs as quickly as possible.
"Well, hello all of you! I didn't know you all were coming today! Emma said that Melanie was the only one!" Tonks said enthusiastically after scrunching up her face so that she had now a round face with dimples on her cheeks and purple hair.
"I know! I didn't even know before answering the door that people besides Melanie were coming tonight! Luckily we made enough food for a small country!" Emma cried. "But really, you should tell us why everyone is here so early."
"Well, we all knew how lonely you were and how much you missed us..." replied Ginny who was interrupted by Melanie.
"So, we all wanted to come and cheer you up!"
"Really!" Emma asked feeling the burning sensation of tears in her eyes as she saw all of her friends nod with smiles on their faces. "You are the best friends any girl could have!"
"Well actually I came tonight for one more reason than that."
"And what reason is that, Harry?" inquired Emma with curiosity in her eyes.
"Could I see you over there, Emma?" Harry said while pointing over to the pantry.
"Sure," Emma said while walking over to the pantry closely followed by Harry.
When they stopped, Harry took a piece of parchment out of his pocket and held it out to her to read. It read:
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
The Slytherin House Quidditch team would like to invite you for a friendly scrimmage in two days time. You may name to field. We would like to note that the following Slytherin team members have their own: Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Theodore Nott.
Thank You,
Elizabeth M. Malfoy
Draco A. Malfoy
After reading it, Emma looked up at Harry and said, "Well have you replied yet?"
"No, I was waiting until I could see what you thought. Then, after I told you, I planned on showing the others." Harry replied.
"If you want to know what I say; I say that we should go and choose none of those Quidditch fields, but Melaie's Quidditch field." Emma stated.
"Ok. Let's go see what the others say." Harry said as he turned to the other people in the room who all turned away guiltily.
"Did you hear anything they said?" said a voice that seemed to be coming from behind the group, but was really Emma who had thrown her voice.
"Who said that?" Ron asked while spinning in circles trying to see where the voice had come from. He was the only one who hadn't noticed that Emma was now on the floor laughing.
"Ron, that was Emma throwing her voice. Why do you always have to be so stupid?" Ginny said in a voice that showed that she was trying not to laugh.
"No, we didn't hear what you said, Emma, you guys were talking too softly." Melanie informed Emma.
"Ok, then. Harry, are you ready to tell them our plan?" Emma asked Harry.
"No, you tell them." Harry answered back.
"Ok. I will." She said to him. Then she turned to the group of people on the other side of the kitchen. "The Hogwarts Malfoys have written a letter to Harry. It says:
"The Slytherin House Quidditch team would like to invite you for a friendly scrimmage in two days time. You may name to field. We would like to note that the following Slytherin team members have their own: Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Theodore Nott.
Harry and I have decided that we should reply saying, 'Yes' and that we would like to play on Melanie's Quidditch field. If that's alright with Melanie," Melanie nodded. "So what do you think about that?"
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Melanie said in response to Emma's question.
"I don't like the sound of that, they could be tricking us," said Ron with much dislike.
"Well we think..." said George.
"... That you should go," said Fred.
"Yes, you should," stated Hermione and Ginny in unison.
"Well Ron, I'm sorry, but it looks as if we have to trust the Malfoys for just this once," Emma said. "Now that that's settled, is anyone hungry?" And they all settled down to eat.
"May I be excused? I'm going to go and send an owl to the Malfoys with our reply. Ok?" Emma asked as she scooted back her chair and stood up.
"I'll go with you." Harry said after standing up and walking over to Emma.
"Ok. We'll see you later then?" Ron asked dejectedly because he felt like he was being left out.
"Yeah. Well see you later," said Harry.
Once Harry and Emma made it to the top of the first flight of stairs, Harry asked, "Should we use Hedwig or Midnight?"
"I don't care, I guess Midnight because she stands out less because she's black."
"Ok. Then, you're going to be doing the writing and the tying of the letter to her leg. I don't want Hedwig to get jealous."
"That's fine. Well here we are," Emma said as she opened the door to her's, Melanie's, Ginny's, and Hermione's room and walked in.
"So, what are we going to write in response?" Harry asked reddening in the face as he walked through he had never been in a girl's room, never mind four girls' room.
"I don't know. Maybe: Dear Mr. Malfoy, The Gryffindor Quidditch team would like to accept your offer for a friendly scrimmage in two days. Although, we don't want to play on any of your team member's fields, so we choose Melanie Fudge's, the Minister of Magic's daughter, field. Sincerely, Harry J. Potter, Emma P. Black." Emma said in a bored voice while sitting on her chair and searching her desk drawers for a piece of clean parchment, a quill, and some ink.
"Yeah...maybe..."
"Wait one second! Don't you think we should send owls to the other Gryffindor players; Lorena Parker, Tom Megolorie, and Jenny Smith."
"Oh, yes. We really should."
"Ok, then. I'll do the writing."
"That's fine."
"So should we say something like: Dear Lorena, Tom, or Jenny, We have been challenged to a Quidditch scrimmage by the Malfoys and the rest of the Slytherin team. Ron, Harry, Melanie, and I say that we should do it. We just wanted your input. Thanks, Emma?"
"Yeah. That's good," smiled Harry from Emma's bed, which was closest to the desk.
"Ok." And Emma started to write three different copies of the same letter to Lorena, Tom, and Jenny. When she finished, Harry and Emma tied Lorena's letter to Hedwig, Tom's to Midnight, and Jenny's to Pig.
"Now, all we need to do is wait."
The first bird to return was Hedwig with Lorena Parker's reply:
Dear Emma,
Sure. Why not. Owl me when you hear from Angelina and Alicia. Then we can plan to maybe meet at the Leaky Cauldron and then head on over to Melanie's house for the day to practice and then we can sleep there and be ready for the Slytherins the next day.
Sincerely,
Lorena
Emma who had read that out loud to the others now said, "Is that fine with you Mel? And you dad?"
Melanie looked at Emma as though she was crazy. "Of course that's fine!"
About ten minutes later, Midnight arrived with Tom Megolorie's reply:
Emma-
That's fine by me. Owl me when you know what's going on.
Tom
"Ok, so our answer all depends on Jenny's answer," stated Ron "wisely."
"You notice everything don't you, Ron?" asked Fred while laughing at his little brother, whose ears turned read with embarrassment, with George.
Then, about an hour later, Pig came twittering through the open window with a letter tied around his leg. This letter read:
Dear Em,
That sounds good. Owl me with the details as soon as possible!
From,
Jen
"Ok, so it looks like all of us are going to go with Lorena's plan of meeting at the Leaky Cauldron, then going to Mel's house from there to practice. I write Lorena, Tom, and Jenny again to tell them. Then, when they reply I'll write to the Malfoys."
"So, are all of us going to go or are just the current Hogwarts Quidditch players going?" asked Hermione.
"Whatever you want," Emma replied.
Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,
The Gryffindor Quidditch team has accepted your offer for a friendly scrimmage in two days. Although we don't want to play on any of your team member's fields, and because you gave us the privilege of choosing what field to use, we choose Melanie Fudge's, the Minister of Magic's daughter, field. On the day of this friendly scrimmage, Harry, Melanie, and I will meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at ten in the morning and then, we will all travel together to Melanie's home.
Sincerely,
Emma P. Black
Harry J. Potter