Emmeline felt somewhat mortified. She had tripped into Sirius Black and she hoped she hadn't come off as some unhinged witch obsessed with the dark arts. She set her books down on a chair and sighed. He was quite handsome she thought. She often heard girls giggling about him and she'd seen him snogging plenty of girls through the years. He was always a bit too much of a pretty boy for her. But he did have very striking eyes.

She looked at her books again. She'd have to explain those to Filch if he caught her carrying them. They were books that would most probably be in the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library.

In truth, Emmeline aspired to be an auror like her father had been. And to be an auror, one had to anticipate the thoughts of dark wizards. As Emmeline had a fondness for reading, books were the most practical resource to study for aurorship. She only hoped she would scrape by with enough NEWTS by the end of the year.

A knock on the compartment door interrupted her thoughts and Lily Evans stepped in.

"Hey Emily. Mind if I join you?"

Emmeline smiled and nodded.

"How was your summer Lily?"

"Eh. Petunia was being so awful and I had to tolerate her boyfriend who was fat, sweaty, and daft. And James kept pestering me with owls every other day despite my lack of reply".

Emily noted the twitch at the corner of Lily's mouth and smiled to herself. Lily perhaps didn't realize just how much she talked about James lately. Despite James' arrogance, Emily knew him to be a good natured and studious boy and she hoped his sincere persistence would pay off this year.

"How was yours Em?" Lily asked.

"Uneventful I suppose. Although I was able to borrow some wonderful books from the corner library at Diagon Alley." said Emily thoughtfully.

Lily laughed. "I suppose that would constitute a fun summer for you."

Emily smiled. As she was raised by a muggle in a muggle community, she couldn't help but find books on magic especially fascinating.

Emily was glad when two more sociable Gryffindor girls joined the compartment. She wouldn't have to contribute to the conversation any longer. It's not that she didn't enjoy Lily's company. She'd just been rather keen on returning to one of her books.