The next day, the two Gryffindor boys and the Hogwarts Princess walked together to the Great Hall to eat some breakfast. Although, the two boys seemed disheartened from receiving detention for the 'entrance' they created the day before. Emma was currently sipping her tea while reading another muggle book called Lord of the Flies. At one point, her crown almost slipped from her hair, the reason was being so invested by the muggle novel. It's an interesting book discussing topics such as man's true nature of evil, loss of innocence, and savageness between others. Anyway, Hermione came along but there was a slight stiffness in the way she said "Morning."
Her actions told Harry that she was still disapproving of the way they had arrived, cringing about the constant reminder of his first day as a second year. Emma casually talked with her brother and Hermione, with the brilliant brunette hair gush about the new Professor for The Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Moore siblings stared at each other, before rolling their eyes at her, but listened to what Hermione was chiming about anything.
Emma then glanced around, seeing the shy Weasley girl standing alone by the entrance of the Great Hall. She grinned at her, waving her hand over to motion Ginny to sit down with her. The young Weasley smiled softly before walking towards her friend, gracefully sitting down between Emma and Justin. However, Emma was zoning out for a bit of listening to what Neville Longbottom was discussing with Harry and Ron.
"Mail's due any minute — I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot." Neville grinned excitedly, just when there was a rushing sound overhead.
About a hundred owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters or packages into the chattering crowd. A big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head and, a second later, something large and gray fell into Hermione's jug, as she shrieked in surprise. Ron looked above as he spotted his family owl flying through the air, on his beak held a red envelope.
"Errol!" Ron shouted, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. His eyes widened, pushing the envelope away from him as far as possible. "Oh, no —," Ron gasped.
"Look, everyone. Weasley's got himself a Howler." Seamus announced to everyone, causing all of them to laugh at Ron. Emma rolled her eyes at them, as she walked over to the ginger boy. The girl patted his left shoulder faintly, alerting him that someone was right behind him.
"I'm sure it'll be alright, Ron. Maybe they're just worried about you," Emma spoke softly, but Ron shook his head in disagreement.
"Go on, Ron. I ignored one from my gran once. It was horrible." Neville told him, making the poor boy even more nervous. Harry looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope, not understanding the big deal about the letter.
"What's a Howler?" Harry questioned his friend. Emma sighed, realizing nothing would help him, watching Ron began to open it before dropping the Howler onto the table. Smoke began to appear at the corners and not a moment later it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge hall, everyone nearby had to cover their ears from the shrieking.
"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!" Mrs. Weasley's shrill voice echoed through the Great Hall. Emma covered her ears, as she stared at the Howler letter before turning to Ginny.
"Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud." Mrs. Weasley said in a soft voice, almost as if she switched personalities. Everyone around saw the Howler ripping itself apart, and then it was dead silent in the Great Hall.
"At least your mother isn't here," Emma spoke up, trying to lose the tension, yet, Ron glared at her futile effort. A few people laughed and, gradually, conversations broke out again as if the incident never occurred. Hermione looked at the ginger boy as she slowly started, "Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you —"
"Don't tell me I deserved it," Ron snapped at Hermione, as the brunette Gryffindor huffed annoyed but Professor McGonagall abruptly appeared moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out their schedules. The Professor also mentioned to Emma that she would be in some Slytherin courses along with the Gryffindors. The young girl nodded in understanding, but her friends didn't like that their best friend was going to be with Slytherins.
The quartet noted that they had double Herbology with the Slytherins first. Therefore they walked through the outer hallways and crossed the vegetable patch towards the greenhouses. Other students were inside together with one another, as Emma was placed towards the Slytherin side with all the other students. She was placed beside Draco, greeting him with a warm smile. Suddenly, everyone heard something tapping the pot, thus the students turned and saw Professor Sprout.
"Good morning, everyone." The professor greeted them, as everyone's attention went towards her.
"Good morning, Professor Sprout." Everyone greeted in unison.
"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Now, gather around, everyone. Today, we're going to re-pot Mandrakes. Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" Professor Sprout asked, causing Hermione to raise her hand immediately. Emma knew the answer, but she believed that Gryffindor needs the point. The head of Hufflepuff house noted Hermione's eager to answer. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been petrified or curse to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." Hermione explained, almost as if she recited the textbook.
"Excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, the Mandrakes we have are only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet, but they could knock you out for several hours. Which is why I've given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. So could you please put them on right away?" Professor Sprout asked, making everyone in the class shuffle around to put the earmuffs on. Emma put hers correctly, but she noticed Draco's earmuffs were a bit slanted. She turned to face him, although he was taller by two inches.
"Here," Emma mumbled, fixing his earmuffs correctly, knowing that the plant will most definitely cause auditory damage. Draco just stood still, eyeing the Slytherin girl as she held a kind smile. Emma didn't notice Draco's stare, instead, she held a small blush on her cheeks. The young girl even felt the tips of her hair turn to Magenta, something she was desperately trying to hide. Once Emma was done, she nodded, "There…. All done."
"Flaps tight down, and watch me closely. You grasp your Mandrake firmly... you pull it sharply out of the pot." Professor Sprout said promptly, as she then pulled the Mandrake out of the pot, causing it to let out a high pitch scream. Everyone swiftly covered their ears, trying to eliminate the muffled screams. The Professor then placed it in the pot, as she continued, "And now you dunk it down into the other pot and pour a little sprinkling of soil to keep him warm."
Harry didn't focus on Professor Sprout, rather, that Emma was getting a bit cozy with Draco. The Hogwarts Princess felt someone staring at her, glancing at Harry's harsh glare at Malfoy. She rolled her eyes at him, but realized that Neville was being unconscious, until he fainted and dropped onto the ground. "Poor, Neville," Emma muttered.
Professor Sprout let out a sigh, before answering, "Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs."
"No, ma'am, he's just fainted," Seamus explained, not knowing what to do with Neville.
"Yes, well, just leave him there. Right, on we go. Plenty of pots to go around. Grasp your Mandrake... and pull it up!" She instructed everyone, and without a second thought, Emma pulled out the Mandrake's out of the pots, causing the entire room to fill with high pitched screaming. Emma and Draco gave each other disgusted expressions, before placing it into a new pot and pour new soil to muffle the shrieking. They continued with their lesson, by the end of class, all the students were sweaty and covered in dirt.
Everyone ran back to the castle for a quick wash, trying to look decent enough for their next lesson. Fortunately, it was Transfiguration, meaning that Professor McGonagall will most likely give them exercises for the first day. Some students managed, but Ron was having difficulty with his wand, which was splintered and damaged beyond repair. He tried patching up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape, yet, it didn't do much.
Unfortunately, Emma had to split up from her friends since she had Ravenclaw Quidditch practice, bidding goodbye to them. Emma swiftly went back to her dormitory, before changing to her Quidditch outfit. She grabbed her Nimbus Two Thousand with the rest of her gear as she raced down through the corridors before spotting some fellow Ravenclaws.
"Hi guys," Emma called out cheerfully, causing some of her teammates to turn around before smiling at the girl. They greeted her back getting to know some new people and perhaps make some new friends.
"Alright, Alright. Gather around everyone I have important news about this year," Roger Davies, Ravenclaws captain announced to every one of his team members. He cast a glance at all of them, noticing their star-player Emma right beside Marigold Peregrine, one of the Chasers who's a fourth-year student.
"But first, I'd like to welcome everyone back for another year! Now, I devised the most perfect and devious plan over the break, wondering what we need to win this year. Therefore, I created a strategic schedule that we will train three times a week. And practice will be longer the closer we get to the championships." Roger stated, before clearing his throat continued, "Now, any questions?"
Emma raised her hand having her captain notice it before asking with a smile, "Yes, Emma?"
"Well, I don't know if I can make it to all the Quidditch practices cause of the other teams, but will it be fine that I practice after lessons end for the day?" Emma questioned nervously, while her captain thought about the request.
"I believe that will be alright, but at least try to be here by any means," Roger said seriously, taking a short breath, "Okay… any other questions?"
No one else said or did anything, Davies clapped his hands together rubbing them as he declared, "It's settled then! Now, everyone takes three laps around the field before we start with our training."
Emma nodded as she swiftly grabbed her Nimbus Two Thousand, skyrocketing through the air enjoying the winds and how it's a stress reliever. After doing the laps, Emma was instructed to practice along with three other people, training Emma new techniques when she's grabbing the Quaffle and trying to score through one of the hoops. Eventually, training for almost one hour it was time to head back inside the castle. The Hogwarts Princess bid goodbye to her teammates, changing into her robes in one of the girls' lavatories. The young witch then muttered a spell, transporting her items into her dormitory somewhere safe.
Eventually, Emma found her way back to the Great Hall for some lunch, which she was desperately craving. Once, she arrived she sat between Hermione and Ginny, who let out a slight laugh, watching Ron struggle with his wand. Harry and Ron were on the other side of the table, while Harry didn't utter a word. "Stupid — useless — thing —," Ron grunted in frustration, before he let out a long sigh of disappointment, "Say it. I'm doomed."
Ron was still moaning about his broken wand, and Emma understood why. After receiving the Howler, Ron is trying everything he can to stay in Hogwarts. Harry and Emma looked at each other and smirked widely, deciding to have a little fun. "You're doomed." They said simultaneously. Harry then suggested, "Write home for another one."
"Oh, yeah, and get another Howler back," Ron retorted stuffing the broken wand into his bag. Ron grumbled while Hermione was displaying her abilities in Transfiguration, causing Harry and Emma to groan mentally.
"What have we got this afternoon?" said Harry, hastily changing the subject. Emma nodded in agreement, looking for her schedule before spotting one class. Hermione said at once, "Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Why," demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, staring down at it before his face formed into a disgusted expression. "Have you outlined all of Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"
Hermione gasped loudly as she snatched the schedule back, blushing furiously. Emma put on a wide smile along with a giggle. Hermione blushed, even more, beginning to stutter slightly at the attention she received.
"Hi, Harry!" A kid in Gryffindor robes greeted him before taking a picture of Harry. The muggle camera had the flash on, causing Harry to jump a bit from the sudden brightness.
"I'm Colin Creevy. I'm in Gryffindor too."The boy introduced himself, not wanting to seem rude. "I hope you didn't mind that I took a picture."
"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly, continuing to rub his eyes from the flash. Ron and the girls shrugged at the sudden interruption, not wanting to be part of it.
"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, not once letting his camera down. The Gryffindor boy continued with his rant, "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead."
Harry's friends gave each other knowing looks, this Colin Creevey seemed the type to be an extreme stalker. Even Harry was a bit on edge from the boy's knowledge of his backstory. "So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to my dad, who's a milkman. And it'd be really good if I had one of you." Collin looked imploringly at Harry, before looking at Ron. "Maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you?"
Ron rolled his eyes at Creevey's rudeness, but the boy then glanced at Emma before staring at her crown. "You must be Emma! I never heard anyone being placed in all houses before. What must have it felt like to be the first student here at Hogwarts to do something so extraordinary?"
Emma became flustered feeling her blonde hair turned green from being nervous and became alerted that he was talking with her. "W-Well, I w-wouldn't say extraordinary. And I don't k-know really. All I k-know is that i-it was u-unexpected." Emma stuttered nervously.
"Do you mind if I take a picture with you as well? I can be between you two and then, could you sign it?" Colin Creevey asked excitedly. Emma nodded, not able to form a verbal response as Ron and Hermione tried to muffle their laughter.
"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the Great Hall. He had stopped right behind Colin, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco smirked at the opportunity, Malfoy roared for all the houses to hear, "Everyone line up! Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"
"No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."
"You're just jealous," piped up Colin, trying to defend Harry feebly.
"Jealous?" said Malfoy, who no longer needed to shout anymore, since everyone was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."
"Eat slugs, Malfoy," said Ron angrily.
"Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "You don't want to start any trouble or your mommy I'll have to come and take you away from school." He put on a shrill, piercing voice, trying to mimic Mrs. Weasley. "If you put another toe out of line —"
"Draco that's enough! Why must you do this every time?" Emma accused her friend, practically shouting for his behavior.
A group of Slytherin fifth years nearby laughed loudly at this, causing Malfoy to turn beet-red from embarrassment. Draco scowled at her before he turned his attention to Weasley and Potter. The blonde boy smirked, "Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter. It'd be worth more than his family's whole house —,"
Ron whipped out his Spellotaped wand, but Hermione swiftly whispered harshly, "Look out!"
"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders, "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry! Come on then, Mr. Creevey," Lockhart stated, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you."
Colin fumbled for his camera and took the picture as the bell rang behind them, signaling the start of afternoon classes. Everyone groaned, but especially Ron and Emma who knew that they would have Professor Lockhart's class. The blonde girl ran after the brilliant brunette, who kept mumbling to herself. It was about Professor Lockhart, almost every single girl's dream man.
Emma however, thought of the man as a narcissist who craves attention. The Hogwarts Princess even believed that her uncle, Charlie was more charming than him. Emma sat down next to Hermione in class, causing her to whisper to her, "I just don't get it."
"Don't get what?" Hermione asked rather shocked, rather than Emma didn't understand something.
"Why that Lockhart is considered good-looking? I personally find him a bit strange," Emma retorted, not caring that other girls behind her were glaring at her. Harry and Ron were sitting at the table behind the two girls, listening in on the conversation.
Hermione turned to face Emma with a disgusted look on her face. Then all of a sudden she starts smiling with a dreamy expression, "Emma, he just is. I mean all that he has done for the Wizarding World. And he's dreamy."
The young blonde rolled her eyes for the twentieth time, and it was a miracle that she didn't lose her eyes just yet. The office door suddenly swung opened and out stepped Professor Lockhart, walking slowly down the stairs. He held his brilliant smile, causing the girls to swoon at his actions.
"Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... me. Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." Lockhart said before smiling, which made Emma's face into one of discomfort.
"I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about — just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in —," When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes… start… now!"
Emma looked down at her paper thinking it was material from her textbook, but instead was all about… him. Was this guy serious? Emma read some of the questions thinking about how utterly redundant this is. She glanced at Hermione, who was writing away as fast as she could. The girl shook her head, not caring about her answers whatsoever. Although, she purposely wrote some answers wrong to annoy the Professor. Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class. He read over the responses with some people that barely knew him, he was sorely disappointed.
"Tut, tut — hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully — I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples," Professor Lockhart stated until he reached to Emma's paper. Her responses were vaguely incorrect, confused as to why she didn't know much about him.
"Although I'm a little disappointed that Miss Moore here didn't get some of the answers right. I'm sure your parents talk about me all the time, am I correct?" Lockhart eyed the girl with his 'winning' smile towards her. Emma mentally cringed at his way to persuade her with spilling some information.
"Sorry Professor but neither of them have mentioned you. You know, they are always busy working for the Ministry." Emma said in a sickly sweet voice to match with her small smirk, although it's true that neither mentioned him. Lockhart momentarily paused from the confession, while Hermione was whispering Emma about not offended him.
"Oh… what a shame. Although I understand that they work at the Ministry of Magic, especially with their expertise on high-level magic. You know, I knew your mother when we went to school. She's a lovely woman, she is. Perhaps, it's reasonable that they have other important duties to take care of."
"Yes Professor, I apologize sincerely that they didn't mention you. But, perhaps it was for the best, maybe." Emma smirked softly as she continued with her little banter.
"Yes, I understand. However, your father was fortunate to have her, although she was better off with someone else, I would say." Lockhart declared with an undertone of admiration for her mother? Emma was now disgusted that someone else liked her mother, knowing for sure she never mentions him. And no matter what, her father was always destined to have Emma's mother as his soulmate. And there was nothing that can change that.
"Of course, Professor," Emma said bitterly. That was odd… her mother never came to Hogwarts, rather that she attended Beauxbatons for all her years. Something's wrong about him… very odd. Emma didn't like that he was confident about what he was trying to tell everyone. Even her blonde hair transformed into a dark brown color, to match with her troubled eyes and expression.
Nonetheless, she bites her tongue to prevent her from saying a snarky response and all she did was form a small grin. Ron and Harry stared at each other with confused expressions as to why Emma's hair suddenly changed as well as her demeanor. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gasped when he mentioned her name.
". . . but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions — good girl! In fact" — he flipped her paper over — "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"
Hermione raised a trembling hand, continuing to swoon at the sight of him. "Excellent!" Lockhart beamed, at least one student knew much about him. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so to business —" He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.
"Now... be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind!" Lockhart begins as he knocked on the cage, making it rattle. Emma quirked her eyebrows curious as to what he has for the lesson. "You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them!"
Lockhart pulled off the cover off the cage dramatically, revealing small blue Cornish Pixies. Emma couldn't help but let a small giggle on how silly it was. Really? Cornish Pixies?
"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies." Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. Some people snicker loudly, all laughing on how ridiculous this was.
"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus questioned.
"Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them." Lockhart simply said before opening the cage door. Emma's grin faded swiftly as the Cornish Pixies started coming at everyone. The young blonde quickly got off the chairs before she tightly gripped her wand. "Round them up. They're only pixies."
The said pixies were creating mayhem and destruction on whatever they touch. Some pixies were ripping pages out of textbooks, destroying some materials, and even harming a few fellow students. Two of them seized Neville by his ears, who was crying out in pain and lifted him into the air and onto the chandelier.
"This is madness," Emma shouts out, as she placed her wand away before muttering under her breath. A faint glow appeared on her hands as she slowly placed them inside the cage. However, some pixies smacked Emma and one pixie even held a tight grip on her hair and started pulling. Emma had to stop what she was doing to defend herself, as she yelled harshly, "Get off me!"
"Hold still," Harry told her, holding a book. She stopped fidgeting and watched as Harry smacked the pixie off her hair. Emma smiled at him before she tried to continue what she was doing.
"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" Lockhart used the spell but two pixies took his wand and threw it out an open window. Lockhart than ran straight up to his office, on his way he tried getting one of his pictures from a few pixies but failed. Once Lockhart was up he looked down at the four of them. "I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage."
Emma's lips curved into a scowl as she sarcastically said, "Well, then what am I doing?" He said nothing else, only that he ran into his office. "Unbelievable," Emma muttered annoyed.
"Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.
"Yeah no kidding," Emma retorted as she tried to focus on her task.
"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," Hermione defended the professor, taking out her wand as she shouted, "Immobulus!" All the pixies freeze around the room, thus Hermione asked Emma to place them inside the cage.
Once that was done, Harry sighed in relief before stating, "Hands-on? Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing —"
"Rubbish," said Hermione. "You've read his books — look at all those amazing things he's done —"
"He says he's done," Ron muttered, causing Emma to nod her head in agreement. Hermione nonetheless smiled and placed her wand safely away. Then they all heard a voice call out, "Why is it always me?" Neville questioned, still hanging from the chandelier. Emma sighed as she gently used her wandless magic to place Neville safely down.
"Thanks, Emma," Neville thanked her, who just nodded thinking about who really was Gilderoy Lockhart?