Hello everyone, welcome back to Emma's story.

I'm very sorry it's taken me so long to make progress on the fourth book. I can only hope it was worth the wait.

As I say, it is the fourth book, so if you're new to this story, you should really go to my profile and start from the beginning.

Anyway, here you are.

Chapter 1 - Home

When Emma and Hermione got back to the Grangers, they fell back into their usual patterns, but first they spent a day or two talking about what had happened over the year. Most of it they'd already told by way of letters they'd both sent back throughout the year, however, there were a number of things too delicate to mention.

The main topic was the Time Turner. McGonagall had made Hermione promise not to tell anyone, and that included her parents, but she hated keeping things from them. She explained how she used it to get to all of her lessons, and Richard was particularly interested in it, being a big fan of Science-Fiction.

When Emma and Hermione started talking about how they used it to rescue Buckbeak and Sirius, that's when the questions came. Normally Richard and Jane would just listen intently, occasionally chiming in with the odd thought, but now they were eager.

'Wouldn't that have caused a paradox?' asked Richard.

'Sirius? That criminal? Rescue him?' stuttered Jane, concerned.

'No, Dad.' said Hermione, a little put out at being interrupted. 'It can, if used improperly, and the consequences are not pleasant, but we didn't change anything, because we'd already done it, if you follow? And yes, Mum, we'll explain.'

Together they told the story of the last day of their exams, when they thought they'd witnessed Buckbeak being executed, and then what followed in the Shrieking Shack. As engrossed as the adults were, the girls could see the worry on their faces when they were, yet again, listening to them putting themselves in danger. It got particularly bad when they described Remus turning and going feral. The Dementors weren't taken so well either.

Richard and Jane were about to complain when the story got to the hospital wing, when they thought it was over, until the girls kept going and talked about travelling back in time and all that transpired there. Of course, that included Emma nearly dying again, but, curiously for Emma, Hermione didn't even give a brief mention of getting Emma to bite her. Emma was still guilty about that, so she kept silent on the subject too.

When they were finally done, Richard and Jane were understandably shaken. It worried them, not just by what the girls had done and how many different ways they both could have died, but by how nonchalant the two of them were about the ordeal. Of course, they knew Emma was a vampire, and she'd died before, multiple times even, so her sense of danger would be naturally skewed, but Hermione was behaving the same way. They had no risk aversion and the problem was that this kind of thing just kept happening, year after year. To the adults, it was yet another reason to blame the school, and again, like the previous year, they tried to persuade the girls to move. Hermione had mentioned Beauxbatons while they were in France, and they wondered if perhaps they could go there instead.

'But neither of us can speak French...' complained Emma.

'I'm sure the two of you could learn it before you go back to school if you put your minds to it.' said Jane, softly.

'And all our friends are at Hogwarts...' said Hermione, in the same tone as Emma.

'Harry and Ron?' asked Richard.

'Yes,' replied Hermione. 'and they wouldn't last a week without us.'

'They could go too?' suggested Jane.

'There's also Ginny, and Luna.' sulked Emma, realising how few real friends the two of them actually had.

'We can't leave Hogwarts.' said Hermione.

The discussion lasted for a short while longer, but the girls refused to even consider the idea, and so Richard and Jane eventually gave up, again.

'Alright, alright.' said Richard, calmly, as tempers were beginning to flare up. 'We're worried about you both, that's all. We just want to keep you safe.'

Things were a little strained over the next couple of days. The girls focused on their homework and the adults mostly kept out of their way, though Jane wasn't quite willing to leave the topic of the previous year alone. She asked them about how they did on their exams, happy they'd both done so well, and also wondered about Remus.

'So, he's a werewolf?' she asked, cautiously.

'Mmhmm.' mumbled Emma, a quill in her mouth as she was moving some books around on the table, then taking it out. 'He was turned before he went to Hogwarts.'

'Like you then.' smiled Jane. 'I can see why you liked him.'

'It wasn't just that, Mum.' said Hermione. 'He was one of the best teachers we've ever had. He was kind, knowledgable, and tried to get everyone to participate, even Emma.'

Hermione grinned at Emma wickedly, who frowned back, remembering, before Hermione's expression changed, and she looked troubled too.

'He really didn't deserve to leave, just because of one slip-up.' finished Hermione.

'Well, I can understand why other parents wouldn't want him there, if there's a chance-'

'Mum!' growled Hermione, glaring.

'Don't worry, I won't bring that up again. You've both made your feelings known, and you're old enough to be making decisions for yourselves, after all, you'll be fifteen in a few months.' said Jane, diplomatically, smiling at them. 'If nothing else, I can trust the two of you to protect each other. You're closer than I ever was with any of my friends at school.'

With that comment, Emma, who was smiling too, immediately blushed and looked away, suddenly very interested in her homework again. Of course, her subconscious, the part of herself she'd been calling the vampire, took that moment to remind her of the time she nearly kissed Hermione, and how much she undeniably loved her. What was also obvious, painful and upsetting, was that she couldn't actually tell Hermione that. She knew she couldn't because Hermione didn't feel the same way, and doing so would irreparably destroy their friendship. She couldn't risk that happening again. What they had now was far better than that.

Jane, however, knew otherwise, because she could see the both of them. Just as Emma was looking away, blushing, so too was Hermione. Jane had known how Emma felt since the last holidays, even if the little vampire hadn't realised it herself. It had been as plain as day in her body language. Hermione, however, had been a different story, and Jane hadn't been as sure about her last year, whereas now, it couldn't be more obvious, and yet, the two of them were utterly oblivious. She grinned widely at them for a moment and shook her head.

'You two really are as bad as each other.' chuckled Jane.

'You always say that.' complained Hermione, and Emma nodded in agreement.

'Because it's true.' said Jane.

'What did we do this time?' asked Hermione.

She was clearly aggravated and getting impatient. Emma felt the same, and would have asked too, but she didn't feel comfortable saying anything. Richard and Jane weren't her parents and generously let her stay with them, so she often felt that speaking up would be rude.

'I can't tell you that.' said Jane, her cheery mood becoming a bit more serious.

'Why not?' asked Hermione, confused and frustrated.

'You're just going to have to work it out for yourselves.' replied Jane, with a bit of finality.

Hermione frowned deeply and turned to Emma, who looked back, both their awkwardness replaced by bewilderment. They had no idea what Jane was talking about.

'Mum...' sighed Hermione, looking back down at her unfinished essay, lost for words.

'Trouble in paradise?' asked Richard, as he stepped into the kitchen-dining room moments later, sensing the tension in the room.

'Pardon?' asked Emma, finally speaking up.

'Never mind.' chuckled Richard, and he continued into the room to make some tea.

'Ugghhh...' huffed Hermione, really angry now. 'Whatever it is you're both up to, please, stop it! We're trying to work here!'

The adults chuckled a little at the girls who were both really flustered. Jane agreed to let it go, and that was the last comment from her about it, but Richard didn't agree to anything. He continued to make off-hand remarks whenever he entered the kitchen and laughed to himself, and both the girls tried their best to ignore him.

Over the first two weeks of the holidays, they both studiously worked during the mornings and afternoon, doing very little else. They did work on one other thing during that time that wasn't school related though. As Remus had suggested, they made a letter for Sirius, asking him for details about what it would take to become an Animagus, and they sent it off with Nephthys. During the evenings, however, they usually relaxed in the living room, either watching the television or reading.

It was when they were finishing up one afternoon, getting ready to set the table for dinner, that two owls flew in through the open kitchen door. One of them was carrying two letters from school, and the other, a rather large pouch of money, quite a bit larger than the one Emma would normally get.

The letters were the usual list of supplies; potion ingredients, parchment, ink, cauldron, robes, new books, etc.. The last item on the list, however, was very curious.

'Dress robes?' asked Emma. 'Like... formal wear?'

'I guess so...' replied Hermione. 'I wonder why we'll need them...'

Emma shrugged and shook her head. The only thing she could think of was a dance, but that was only because when she thought of dress robes, she imagined those Victorian-style ball gowns from her dance lessons leaflet. It seemed unlikely to her that that would be why they needed them, so she didn't mention it.

Emma's letter also contained a note about the increased amount of money she now had. A part of it seemed to be a small amount to cover the cost of some second-hand dress robes, but the rest was from Madam Pomfrey. It seemed that she had managed to persuade Professor McGonagall to pay Emma for her work in the hospital wing over the last year. It wasn't a great deal of money, but it was certainly more than she'd ever gotten before. Of course, Emma tried to give some of it to the Granger's, after all, they'd already given her so much already, but they wouldn't accept it.

When they went to Diagon Alley the next day to spend their money and buy all their supplies, it turned out that Emma's image of dress robes wasn't far off reality. They made their way to the Leaky Cauldron and through, like every year, and walked down the alley to the bank. Emma and Hermione walked ahead of the adults, looking into each shop as they walked by, thrilled to be back. Their excitement was brought short, however, when Jane's voice spoke up behind them.

'When did that start?' she asked, smiling.

'When did what start?' asked Emma, confused.

'That.' said Jane, pointing at Emma and Hermione's hands, held together.

'Oh!' said the two of them, simultaneously, letting go quickly and looking very embarrassed.

'It... uhm...' stuttered Hermione. 'Last year, when Emma was... having trouble... with hunting.'

Emma nodded and shrank inward a little, guilty, reminded of how bad she'd been, and how often Hermione had to help her by supplementing her diet, but the adults were still smiling.

'But she's not having trouble now?' asked Richard, turning to Emma. 'Are you?'

'Not now, no.' said Hermione, after a few seconds, when it was clear Emma wasn't going to reply.

'So...?' added Jane, looking back and forth between the two of them.

'Force of habit.' shrugged Hermione, dubiously.

'Okay.' said Jane, innocently, as she and Richard were grinning together.

The two of them seemed to be in on their little inside joke again, annoying the girls, who, as a result, did not hold hands again for the rest of the day.

They were forced away from their awkward thoughts, however, when they had finished in the bank and made their way inside Gladrag's Wizardwear. They'd been to the shop in Hogsmeade, but that was a pale imitation of the one in Diagon Alley. This one was a very large shop with all manner of clothes. There were a myriad of socks, gloves, scarves, shoes and robes, among many others. They took quite a while walking through the shop, where Richard looked bored out of his mind, and Hermione stopped to eye some knitted jumpers. In particular, she said she really liked a light-cream one with a dark brown pattern around the neckline. They were specifically there for dress robes though, so Hermione said she'd wait to get a jumper until afterwards.

'So, who's first?' asked Jane, turning to the two girls.

They both shrugged, feeling shy for no apparent reason, so Jane decided for them and chose Hermione. She then sent Richard and Emma away to get all the rest of their supplies and get Emma some new school robes. Jane said to give them at least an hour.

They both did as they were told and went away, buying everything they needed for school, and some more treats for Nephthys and Crookshanks. All in all, with getting new school robes as well, it took about an hour and a half, and when they returned, Jane and Hermione were waiting outside, Hermione with a bag in one hand, presumably containing her dress robes, and a wide grin on her face. She was obviously happy with her choice. Emma wanted to see, but Jane, for some reason, was against it and ushered her inside to pick out hers.

So, with Richard and Hermione going off to get her new school robes as well, Emma stayed with Jane, looking over some dresses and trying the ones she liked on. Jane already had a few she thought Emma would like after looking through with Hermione, which meant that Emma didn't take nearly as long.

First Jane suggested a pure black, lace dress, and while Emma really liked it, and could see herself wearing it, she wanted more colour. Something a bit brighter than just black, something Hermione wouldn't be expecting or roll her eyes at, something surprising. So, the second one she tried was a dark green dress. This was much nicer, but the style was far too revealing for Emma's taste and the colour screamed Slytherin, which was a deal breaker for something she would be wearing at school.

She tried on a few more of varying colours and styles until she found the perfect one; a very simple, sleek, chiffon dress that started black at the chest and single wide strap that went over the right shoulder, turning slowly to a light blue as it trails onto the floor. To Emma, this was the best of both worlds, a good contrast of light and dark, and even though it was blue, matching Ravenclaw, she didn't mind.

Happy she'd gotten something nice, she went with Jane to pay for it, along with accompanying shoes and jewellery, however, Emma remembered something else.

'Just a second.' she said as they neared the counter.

She quickly ran to find that cream and brown knitted jumper that Hermione had been interested in, and thankfully forgotten about, then returned with it to buy that too.

'For Mia's birthday.' said Emma, at Jane's confused look, which turned to a curious smile and a nod.

Abruptly, it occurred to Emma that she'd never used her nickname for Hermione in front of Jane before and flushed a bright pink, quickly paying to distract herself. Jane and Emma then left the shop, Hermione's present at the bottom of a bag, underneath her dress, and they went to find the other two. They were currently eating some ice-cream at Florean Fortescue's, with a third for Jane too.

Immediately, Emma and Hermione wanted to show each other what they'd gotten, but again, Jane was strongly against it.

'Why not?' asked Hermione, sulking a little.

'Something tells me you'll both appreciate the surprise when you actually wear them, and you'll be disappointed if you already know.'

Emma considered that for a moment. If there was going to be a dance, and judging by the style of the dress robes on offer, it looked more and more likely, she did think it would be nice to be surprised. She wasn't going to know what anyone else would be wearing either, so it made sense, even if it didn't stop her being disappointed.

Since they had everything they needed, they returned home, hid their dresses at the bottom of their trunks and began reading all their new textbooks. They didn't have any new subjects, in fact, they had fewer than last year, so there wasn't anything really new, it was just more complicated.

They didn't have a lot of time to read though. A few days after returning home, the tiny owl that Sirius had given to Ron on the train back from school flew in the window and began racing circles around the kitchen, excitably. Emma eventually managed to catch it and found that it was carrying two letters, one was to Hermione and Emma from Ron, and the other was addressed to Mr and Mrs Granger, in writing far too tidy to be Ron's. They handed the second to Jane and opened theirs.

'Hermione, Emma - DAD GOT THE TICKETS - Ireland versus Bulgaria, Monday night. You should have Mum's letter to your Hermione's parents to ask you both to stay over.

If they say yes, send Pig back with your answer pronto, and we'll come and get you at five o'clock on Saturday. We'll be getting Harry on Sunday even if the Muggles say no.

See you soon - Ron.'

Hermione read the letter, suddenly excited, looking to Jane expectantly, while Emma pretended like she hadn't read it and went back to her Care of Magical Creatures book. Jane frowned a little, passed the letter to Richard and sat down with the girls. She was slow to give her permission, asking many questions, including whether it would be safe, but after hearing the Ministry itself would be in charge of security, she finally agreed.

'Thanks, mum!' cheered Hermione, ecstatic.

'Yeah... great.' said Emma, glum and sarcastic, not even looking up from her book.

'What? You don't want to go?' asked Hermione. 'But, Emma...'

Emma petulantly kept quiet, pretending not to listen.

'Come on, Em. I know it's Quidditch, but it's the World Cup. There'll be people from all over the world there. We'll get to see Ron's house, and Ginny.' said Hermione, gently, trying to think of things to persuade her. 'You really don't want to go?'

Emma lowered her book and shook her head, sulking a little. Going seemed like it would be just torture. She couldn't imagine finding any of it enjoyable and with the Ministry in charge of everything, there was definitely going to be some amount of risk involved for her.

'Okay then.' said Hermione, flatly, after a long pause, reaching for a piece of parchment. 'I'll tell Ron we're not going.'

Emma looked up, confused, and stared right into Hermione's eyes. She was clearly very conflicted, but mostly unhappy and very stubborn. It made Emma feel very guilty again.

'I'm not going to force you to go, Em,' said Hermione. 'but I'm not going without you.'

Emma shook her head again, vigorously. Hermione had been looking forward to this ever since Ron mentioned it on the train, and there was no way Emma could let her down like that over something so trivial. She'd just have to put up with being bored out of her mind the whole time.

'No, tell him we're both going.' she said, quietly, sighing, and picking her book back up again.

Five days later, on the Saturday, at nearly five o'clock, Emma and Hermione were waiting in the living room, their trunks by the sofas, ready for Mr Weasley and the twins to arrive.

They weren't sure how they were going to get there, but at nearly half-passed five, they had their answer. Suddenly, the fireplace erupted into green flames and out burst Mr Weasley, getting soot everywhere, and scaring the living daylights out of Richard and Jane. The twins followed quickly after.

'Ah, Richard.' said Mr Weasley, pleasantly, holding his hand out to shake hands. 'And Jane, good to see you both again.'

'Arthur.' greeted Richard, a little stunned.

Mr Weasley then introduced the twins and got them to take Emma and Hermione's trunks back through the fire.

'Be safe this year, both of you.' said Jane, hugging the girls as they said goodbye.

'We'll try.' said Emma, smiling.

'We'll do our best.' added Hermione.

'Alright, then.' nodded Jane, as the girls hugged Richard too. 'Write to us when you get back, so we know you're safe.'

'We will.' they agreed in unison.

After another hug, the two girls took a pinch of powder off Mr Weasley, threw it into the fire, said The Burrow loudly, and for the first time, felt the tremendously uncomfortable experience of travelling by Floo.