Sorry it's kind of a filler chapter, but you need them, right?

Beta-ed by Ash-Caro-Lynn.

Their 12th birthday was on a Sunday, a week before Easter. Emma and James eagerly awaited their parents' owl and they were not disappointed. Unfortunately Hermes didn't know whether to fly to the Gryffindor or Slytherin table, and ended up flying in dizzy circles until it dropped between the two tables. The twins looked at each other: they always sat facing each other out of habit - they could still have their twin conversations in peace. The Great Hall burst into laughter as McGonagall called for silence.

'And whose bird is this, may I ask?'

'Mine miss!' the twins chimed.

'Would you mind removing it from obstructing the path, Potter?' She raised an eyebrow.

Albus Dumbledore chuckled quietly at the unintended joke. Professor McGonagall blushed a little as she sat back down.

They rushed to the owl.

'Okay so this is for you, and this is for me,' James said, separating the two parcels. 'Mine is bigger than yours,' he stuck his tongue out and skipped back to his table.

Emma rolled her eyes and glanced back at the Slytherin table: all the first years were pretending not to be interested in her present.

'Better get Hermes to the Owlery,' she said.

'I'll come too,' Alecto hurried over.

Half an hour later, the owl was looking a lot happier. Alecto was pampering him with Owl Treats while Emma turned the parcel around and around in her hands. It was simple brown paper, held in place with knotted string.

'So? Do you think your parents are still annoyed that you're in Slytherin? I thought they were okay with it?' Alecto asked in a rush.

'I don't know,' Emma said thoughtfully. 'My mum is, not too sure about Dad.'

'Only one way to find out!'

Emma pulled the string off. A small box fell out of the wrapping paper.

'Well go on,' Alecto said quietly. 'Open it.'

'I'm scared of what it'll be,' Emma admitted.

'Okay, so imagine if it's the worst,' Alecto put a hand over her friend's. 'You still have us.'

'Does that "us" include Helen?' Emma asked sarcastically.

'Oh come on Ems, nobody gives a flying rat's arse about Helen,' Alecto laughed. 'Besides, Narcissa and Bellatrix Black love you, and no one messes with a Black.'

Emma thought of Regulus, the quiet boy who had managed to get her throughout the first few weeks, before the others had deigned to give her a chance. Even at eleven he had that quiet aura of control that had other kids clamouring to be his friend.

'You don't, do you?' Emma smiled. 'Thanks, Alecto.'

'Anytime,' her best friend winked. 'So…Are you going to make me die of curiosity, or what?'

But neither of them expected what they saw next. An oval locket with a silver chain and glass covering was nestled on a piece of parchment that said "Open me". Emma quickly found the catch on the side. The inside was black velvet, and another piece of parchment was folded up.

Dear Emma,

Happy 12th Birthday! We just wanted you to know, that it doesn't matter what House you were sorted in. It only matters that you are happy, make friends and enjoy yourself at Hogwarts. If that means you have to be in Slytherin…Well the Sorting Hat has its reasons.

PS. Anytime your father seems to forget that, just look at the front of the locket! (Love, Mum)

PPS. Don't lose it Ems! (Love, Dad)

Emma quickly turned it back around. Beneath the glass casing was a green snake made up of tiny emeralds, set on a background of gold. The snake was shaped like an S.

'It's beautiful,' Alecto breathed, as Emma blinked back tears. 'Here, let me put it on you.'

It must have been made of solid gold, because it fell heavily on Emma's chest. But she liked the weight, it seemed like a physical proof that her family still loved her. I'll never take it off, she silently vowed, but she hid the note from Alecto.

This was something she wouldn't share with anyone. Not even James.

The rest of the year passed quickly, but Regulus and Sirius's parents never came back to the Potter's house. When pressed, Natalie and Charles would reply with vague answers about being busy, or not having the same interests. Besides, their parents had their own friends anyway.

The summer was spent at Natalie's sister's house in France and their cousins: Lou and Pierre. Pierre was five years older than them, and a distant stranger, but Lou was only a year older and they had fun at the beach. When Dumbledore came to visit, James and Emma were scared that he had caught onto their nightly walks and was there to expel them, but he just wanted to talk to Lou's parents in private. They told her about their lives in Hogwarts, and she told them about Beauxbatons and etiquette lessons.

In the second year, to their great surprise and Charles's great pride, both twins became chasers for their respective teams. Emma was respected for being the youngest player, but it was a bit daunting to play with the others towering over her. Luckily the team captain Rachel was a girl, and she was a Chaser too. Regulus was made Seeker, and was a pretty good one at that.

They won their first game against Gryffindor 180-60, but James liked to remind Emma that he had scored three of Gryffindor's goals, so he still beat her. In the summer, she found him reading about Animagi, though she didn't believe him when he said he was just curious. In the end she got him to admit that he wanted to try it, and though he spent the majority of the summer at his friend Remus's house, she weaselled information out of Lou, who learnt a lot more about Animagi in Beauxbatons.

By the end of their third year, Emma and James hardly saw each other anymore. James was keeping a secret from her, and it hurt more than she cared to admit. The older Gryffindors jeered at her, saying that she couldn't deal without her brother to protect her, but she used a hex Bellatrix had taught her on one of her nicer days. They stopped, but they looked so angry that she wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Severus Snape was worse, because he was everywhere she looked. He knew exactly how to get under her skin, though she had developed the impregnable mask that so many Slytherins did to survive, though everyone's was different.

Hers was the chameleon kind, adapted to the person in front of her, but with Severus Snape he knew just what to say to make her hurt. She blamed it on that shared train ride in first year. Though they had grown apart, James still hexed Snape – "Snivellus" – whenever he got the chance, so she knew that her brother was still on her side no matter what. The outside world seemed a far-off place, but rumours of wizards torturing Muggles for fun reached even Hogwarts, and people whispered of a new Grindelwald.

She had underestimated the Gryffindors. One day she went to the Gryffindor Tower to wait for James - it was his turn for the Invisibility Cloak, and the only class they had together was Care of Magical Creatures. They had come out of the portrait hole and seen her standing opposite. She had asked them if they could get James – politely, in her opinion. But they ignored her, telling her that she was lucky James wasn't there, because then he would know that she had used Dark Magic on them – it turned out that Bellatrix's hex wasn't so innocent after all – and that she would pay. They didn't use magic, but they hauled her to the window to watch them drop her bag in the fountain below. When she went to retrieve it, all of her quills had been broken and her textbooks ruined. She went back up to the Tower – after all, she had promised James – but he never came out, and she never forgave him.

Fourth year rolled around, and James confessed his secret – Remus's secret – though only because he didn't want her in the Forbidden Forest when it was the full moon. Emma also discovered the Marauder's Map and their shouting matches could be heard from the other side of the grounds. Emma felt like James had betrayed all the secrets they found together and she was hurt that he had hidden it from her. James defended himself and his friends with the eternal excuse that they had sworn not to speak of it to anyone. In the end they made a deal: Emma could borrow the map if she told James about any secrets she found without him, but it wasn't the same.

That summer, Lou and Pierre's parents died. By now Pierre was a curse-breaker travelling around the globe, but Lou was in her fifth year at Beauxbatons. Natalie and Charles wouldn't tell the teens what happened, but they learnt from eavesdropping that Lou's parents were working for Dumbledore on something dangerous. Apparently, he had promised Lou's parents to take care of her, so she was Sorted into Ravenclaw in Hogwarts and moved to Dumbledore's own home. Emma had wanted her to move to the Potters', but Dumbledore refused.

When James asked if Lou could help them become Animagi, she was glad of the project to take her mind off it. By the end of summer, James had managed to turn himself into a stag.