Author's Note:
I do not own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does! I only own Emily Blanchett, Delilah Hopkins and any other Elementals! I also own Merlin Towers, and anything that comes along with it:D
Chapter 7!
PLEASE TAKE NOTE:
To aviod confusion, I have changed all the Major's ages to 17 so they roughly attend all the same classes together. A reader pointed out about why Hermione was Headgirl, so I've changed her to Prefect. Heh, silly me. I'm not really a big fan of the book and it's events, but more about the entire magical aspect. I hope you understand!
And once again I'm sorry for not posting for so long - It's very hard when my exams are all around the place. HOWEVER, I WANT ALL OF YOU TO READ THIS: THIS IS VERY, VERY VERY IMPORTANT. My computer had a virus and it blacked out, I can no longer access it so it's in the shop for servicing. However, they will reformat the whole computer, so my entire story is gone. I will have to write from scratch, but really, thank God I had this chapter and half of chapter 8 written already. I heavily depend on the script, but it's not on the net so I'm not sure what I will do next. At this moment, I'm using my brother's Macbook to write and update this long-forgotten chapter, but I can't hold his computer for long. I'm sorry and I'll try to get the next one up as soon as possible!
Chapter 7
Explaining
"Dragon's Snare." Jack muttered under his breath, as the Majors returned back to the Common Room. All but Holly, of course, who had seemed to disappear somewhere. The Majors silently suspected that Holly had gone off with the giggling and the mocking Draco Malfoy, but it was just a feeling that majority of them had.
As they walked further into the Common Room, everyone turned and stared, pointing to a certain Major. That particular Major, still looking down at her palms, was silently thinking to herself. Suddenly, it struck her. They deserved to know, thought Emily. After all, it couldn't hurt to let a few more of my new friends know, right?
Looking up from her palms, Emily was startled to find that almost everyone in the Common Room was staring at her - but when Emily glanced at them, they seemed to get back to whatever they were doing in the first place. But as Emily glanced away from them, they turned to stare and mutter, yet again.
"Mind your own business, and stop staring!" Delilah shouted across the room, her eyes furious.
A few scrambled back to their own stuff, now not daring to stare at the huge group of Majors who was furiously defending their friend. However, there were still a few stubborn ones that still wanted to look - like Parvati Patil, Emily noted. The girl at the table, from the feast.
"Do you want me to kaboom your ass?!" Cressebella suddenly barked, her voice distinct and sharp as she pretended to lunge forward at some of the students who were continuing to stare. Now, everybody had panicked, obviously not wanting to be at the end of Cressebella's lightning bolts and returned to their own business.
"Guys..." Emily suddenly felt a huge wave of gratitude towards these loyal friends of hers. They were constantly by her side and they never let go, despite the circumstances. Emily felt a warmth engulf her, as she turned to face the group. "Thanks, really." Her eyes continued to waver between the group, between Jonathan, Cressebella, Jeslyn, Delilah, and Jack.
The group smiled back at her, a comfortable silence covering them all.
"Do you.." Emily started. "Do you think you could help me gather the rest of our Gryffindor friends?" She continued, despite their confused looks. "I think they deserve to know. After all, they've been kind to us so far."
At that, Cressebella let a loud 'ooooh' and nodded her head. "I'll go call everyone here, you just wait!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
Emily couldn't help but smile a little at Cressebella's enthusiasm and energy, like a constant lightning bolt that kept bouncing about, like a bunny that never ran out of energy.
Minutes later, Cressebella had gathered everyone and upon Delilah's request of, "A comfortable place should do.. With lots of cushion, maybe ice cream so we can hang out later! And music, definitely music. A piano? Guitar?", the group then followed Fred and George, who claimed to know the perfect place for that.
The Gryffindor comrades consisted of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, George and Fred. Cressebella wanted to go find Katie, Angelina and Lee Jordan, but they weren't in the Common Room.
The group of them continued to walk, and after lots of climbing of the magicked steps, they suddenly stopped outside a wall.
"There, my friends!" Fred began. George started to laugh, as Fred pulled Delilah out and forced her in front of a wall.
"..it's just a wall." Delilah muttered, a little confused as why they wanted her to stand facing a wall.
"Just a wall?" Fred questioned.
"Now, it's not just a wall!" George continued.
"Walk along the wall three times, and think about the room that you want." Fred explained.
Delilah frowned. But Emily couldn't help but stifle a giggle. The twins were really funny. And not to mention cute, too.
She began walking along the wall, eyes shut, the perfect picture of the cosy room in her mind.
As she passed by the wall the third time, suddenly a door emerged out of nowhere, causing Cressebella to squeal in surprise. Jonathan, who was beside her, grinned.
Delilah opened her eyes at Cressebella's squeal, and true enough, right in front of her was a door. Curious, she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, peering inside.
"After you, m'lady." Fred began, and gently guided Delilah inside. Next, Harry, Hermione and Ron entered the room, then Cressebella and Jonathan, then Jeslyn, and Jack gently laid a hand on Emily's shoulder and softly pushed her inside the room.
"Wow..." Emily heard Delilah mutter. "I love magic."
"Welcome, to the Room of Requirement!" Fred announced, as he grabbed a red beanbag and settled himself down.
George followed his twin's actions and grabbed another red beanbag, and settled around the fireplace.
The room was not large, nor was it small. It was a cosy space, tiny enough for everyone to have their own comfortable space. There was a large fireplace at the side of the room, with cups of cocoa lining the room. Beanbags of many colors filled the room, and the floor was a soft carpet, a greyish color.
Emily smiled to herself. Delilah, I simply love you. She thought, as she hurried forward and hugged Delilah really tightly. "Thanks, Dee." She muttered, still embracing her best friend.
The group looked a little confused at the sudden embrace, but then Jack began to explain. After all, he had been Emily's other best friend since they were young, and often accompanied Delilah and Emily in their escapades.
"This is an exact replica of our room.." He began.
"..our?" Hermione questioned.
"Yes, our room. Delilah, Emily and myself's room." Jack explained, as he grabbed an orange beanbag and settled himself down near the fireplace. "We convinced Delilah's mum to transform her basement into our hangout place." He continued, chuckling softly. "We had many fond memories there."
Delilah grabbed a green beanbag, and Emily a blue beanbag, and settled down among the group, The Majors each grabbed a beanbag - Jeslyn got a white one, Cressebella a yellow one and Jonathan a grey one, and continued to look at Emily.
"I'm sorry if I'm being rude..." Hermione began, "But why did you ask us here in the first place, Emily?"
Emily looked slightly taken aback at the bluntness of the question, but was slightly comforted by it because now, she didn't need to get the ball rolling. Hermione had made the first move, now it was all up to her.
"Thanks for coming, firstly.." Emily began. "I asked you guys here, because I wanted to explain what happened during Defense Against the Dark Arts today. I'm supposing all of you have heard of the rumors..?" She guessed, since most of the people in the Common Room had reacted the way they did when she entered the Common Room, and they weren't even in her year, or her class.
After a series of nods from everyone, Emily began her story.
"My mother, was Melissa Ross." It felt weird saying her mother's maiden name, after all these years. "After marrying my dad, she became Melissa Blanchett." Emily continued. "They met in a private magical school, fell in love, and got happily married." She explained, a small smile playing on her lips. "My dad was quite a wealthy Pureblood, and a few years into their marriage, my dad was offered the role of a Death Eater by Voldemort himself."
At the word 'Voldemort', the whole lot of them flinched, except Harry and Jack.
"Of course, my dad turned it down." She murmured. "Voldemort came and tried to kill my father and mother, saying something about my dad and how he's going to regret that decision. But they escaped him, apparating to Delilah's house. Our parents were good friends back then..." Emily continued. "After a few years, Delilah and I were born. My parents thought it would be over, that Voldemort wouldn't hunt them down anymore, so they went back to the house and continued to live there."
"However when I was eligible to enroll at Merlin's Towers, that fateful day..." Emily began, her voice suddenly shaking. "I could remember it really clearly.. The morning breeze was blowing into my room, I was trying on my uniform for the umpteenth time and adjusting my robes.. Then I proceeded downstairs, only to be greeted by this cloaked person who had long, black hair. When she spoke, I knew she was a woman." She murmured.
The group of people in front of her were perfect listeners. The twins had the most suitable expressions on their faces, at certain parts of the story their expressions would turn to suit the mood. The Majors, of course, had heard the story before.
"Then she said something about revenge, about regret.. The next thing I knew, she had whipped out her wand and grabbed my mother, saying something about hurting the thing most precious to him..."
"You'll regret this, Blanchett!" She screamed wildly, laughing. "You should have never rejected the Dark Lord's offer!"
"..no, no please don't hurt my wife!" Benjamin began. But it was too late.
"Dear, dear Benjamin.." The woman's tone had turned sickly sweet. "Do you know what's the worst punishment someone could get?" She asked. Without even waiting for an answer, the woman continued. "Hurting the people closest to you for your mistakes!" At that, the woman began her wild laughing, the maniacal laughter filling the air.
"Crucio!" The woman cast a spell, and it hit Melissa. She began screaming, the hot feeling of pain filling her body. It was like a thousand knives being stabbed repeatedly into her chest, only to be removed, and then stabbed back in again. It was like having hot flames rolling off her body, and unknowingly, she began to cry.
Emily couldn't stand it, standing at the top of the stairs. She crept back to her room and opened the door slightly, to see the sight. Thank Merlin, thought Emily, the lady was too engulfed in the torturing of her mother that she hadn't noticed the small girl.
The cruel woman had let go of her mother, and cast an unknown spell to her father, causing him to fall on the steps, the impact almost making him unconscious.
"Crucio!" The woman cast the spell again, Melissa continuing to scream, her screams torturing her own daughter's ears. The pain that Melissa was experiencing was indescribable - of course, in a bad way. Like how a thousand pound truck would run over you, how a train would run over you and severe you in half.. How it would feel to be electrocuted, to have knives digging into your skin, into your body..
When the woman lifted the spell of her mother's body, Emily was actually naive to think that it was over.
Sadly, it wasn't.
"Have you heard enough, dear Benjamin?" The woman began, her voice now sickly sweet. She approached the man's figure and caressed his cheek. "If you had just accepted his offer..." She began. "None of this would have happened!" The woman roared, the caressing turning into a slap that resounded through the house.
From the room above, Emily could hear her mother's heavy panting and the crazy laughter of the woman..
"Avada Kedavra!"
A bright green flash, a rushing noise, a final scream.. And it was done, her mother was dead.
"No! MELISSA!" Her father roared, as he scrambled over to his wife's dead body.
"No.. No.. No.. This can't be happening! No.. Mel..." Benjamin sobbed, hugging the now dead woman. Her black eyes were lifeless, her body limp, her long brown-blond hair hanging limp like a curtain.
"Aww.. How pathethic." The woman cooed, her black, sharp boots digging into the dead body of Melissa Ross.
"..I promise... Dear.. I promise.."
"Aww, is witty Benjy going to keep his wittle promise?" She cooed, yet again.
"Dear.. I'll.. I'll.. I'll keep Emily safe..."
Suddenly, at this, the woman's eyes flung wide open. "There's another girl in the house?" She began, her voice suddenly normal. "Your daughter, I presume?" The woman exclaimed.
Emily heart started beating furiously at the mention of her own self, and suddenly realized that the lady would be coming up for her soon enough.
"I shall have a little fun, shall I?" The woman's sickening voice boomed over the entire house, the sound of her heels hitting the marble floor filling the air.
"No!" Benjamin roared. "You'll never hurt Emily!"
"Aww.. Is that true?" The woman asked, her voice turning yet again, sickening sweet. However in a split second, it turned to the menacing tone it was born to be. "Crucio!" She roared, the curse hitting Benjamin this time.
Emily couldn't help but frown. The screams of her father was beginning to sound pathetic to her... Her mother's sounded more controlled, yet out of the pain she just had to scream. But her father.. She sighed softly. It was just different. Only after suffering five seconds of the curse, the woman lifted the spell off Benjamin, and from above, Emily could hear his heavy panting.
As the sharp sound of the woman's heels hitting the floor approached quickly, Emily scrambled up to her feet.
I have to get out of here.
The eleven year old girl grabbed her wand, a 13" Holly with a Chimaera Scale core, and tightening her robes around her, she leaped out of her window and landed carefully on the soft bushes below. She knew she had to be fast, so she ran, ran, ran and ran with all her might. She knew where she would be running to, thought Emily.
Delilah's house would be perfect for hiding.
When Emily's story was over, she didn't know it - but she had tears leaking out of her eyes, traveling down her cheeks and leaving behind shiny, wet trails.
"Oh, Em..." Delilah suddenly began, as she lunged over and gave Emily a huge hug, a hug that she really needed.
Emily continued to cry silently, as she thankfully leaned into the embrace.
"But.. But.. Emily.. Why are you telling us all this?" Ginny's soft voice spoke.
Emily sniffed, then brought up a hand to wipe away her tears. "Well.. Well.. I'm not too sure myself, actually." Emily suddenly said, chuckling miserably to herself. "But you guys are my hosts.. And I don't think that I should leave you guys out in the dark. Like what happened today, in class.." She continued. "..I feel partially responsible if I had humiliated you guys in any way.. But you're my friends, and I feel like I can trust you guys." Emily spoke softly.
She looked up, and saw the group smiling ever so slightly.
"Thanks for trusting us, Emily." Harry suddenly began.
"...I'm hungry, Mione!" Ron interrupted in a whiney tone.
Emily suddenly couldn't help it, but started laughing at Ron's behavior. It was honestly really random, abrupt, and funny.
"Ronald!" Hermione hissed. "Don't you know it's rude - "
Emily interrupted, with a wave of her hand. "It's fine, Hermione. I was starting to get hungry too anyways." She commented, as she got up from her beanbag. "Come on, it's dinner time."
The group began to murmur between themselves, and as the majority of them walked out of the Room of Requirement, only four stayed behind. Emily, Delilah, Jack, and George.
..George?
What was he doing, staying behind?
George had a sudden uneasy look around him, and he was wringing his hands together nervously. It looks cute, though. Emily thought with a small smile.
"Guys, I'm fine, honestly." Emily began. "I feel much better after telling someone." She explained. "You guys go ahead first, I'm sure you're hungry." Emily commented, giggling. Jack was always known to have a huge, bottomless stomach but always seemed to appear ever so fit.
"You sure?" Jack questioned.
"Yes, I'm sure." Emily insisted, with a smile on her face. It was indeed true, she felt loads better after when she came in. It was a huge relief, to finally tell someone. As she watched Jack and Delilah exit the room, Emily turned to face George.
"Emily.." George suddenly began, surprisingly nervous. "I really appreciated you doing what you did today. I respect that." He commented.
Emily couldn't help but smile. She surprisingly felt calm around this boy, not nervous, not anxious. She felt like she could actually be really good friends with him. "..thanks." She gushed.
"Are you..." George started to say. "Are you sure you're okay?"
The way he said it, Emily actually started to doubt what she was feeling. True, she felt much better.. But was she okay?
"I think.. I'm fine." Emily concluded after a pause.
"Want a hug?"
The question was so sudden and abrupt, that it had Emily's heart beating furiously in seconds. A blush crept up her cheeks, as she found herself nodding her head meekly.
George's arms widened, and circled around Emily's waist. Emily herself opened her arms and circled around George's neck. She leaned her head against George's shoulder, feeling suddenly very comfortable. She felt safe in his embrace, like nothing could go wrong. His embrace felt warm, and the warmth from the fireplace couldn't definitely compare to that.
Emily felt a surge of happiness engulf her, and she couldn't help but grin, as the two broke apart.
"Thanks.." Emily suddenly began. "I mean, thanks for being so concerned." She murmured, the grin still on her face. A look at George's face proved that he too, was smiling like there was no tomorrow.
"No problem." George replied, and walked Emily out of the Room of Requirement, silently closing the door shut, and walked her to the Great Hall.
