As Emily suspected, that summer was different than any before that.
At first it was just like it always was, except instead of imagining what Hogwarts would be like, James was sharing what he knew it was like. The stories were absolutely fascinating to Emily. For the first week.
After that, Snivellus, Lily, Remus, and Pettigrew, became old news. That wasn't even counting the stories about him and Black. She was almost glad when Black came over for a few days in the middle of summer. It meant that she wouldn't have to listen to the same stories yet again.
Almost glad.
The first day Black was there, they locked themselves in Jamie's room and only came out for lunch and then dinner. They claimed they were working on homework, but even Emily didn't believe that. Still, there parents left the boy's alone for the day.
Emily spent the day talking about potions with her mom and then flying with her dad in the afternoon. They flew over the woods around their house. It was nice to spend time with him they talked about nothing and he shared some of his own stories about Hogwarts, somehow it was easier to listen to his stories. Despite the fact she knew them all by heart.
"How are you doing, Ems?"
The girls blinked her green eyes up at him, not really understanding, "Fine, I guess. Why?"
"You've been quiet since James left for Hogwarts, I thought it might be better by now."
She shrugged, "I'm fine. It's just… different."
Charlus looked down at her with a smile, "I know it seems like he's leaving you, but he's just doing something new. When you're both at Hogwarts it'll be just like always. You'll see."
"Kay." She didn't really believe that, but maybe she was wrong, "Can we race around the house?"
Her father grinned, "Sure. Ready… Set…" He took off, "GO!"
"Hey!"
Emily's laughter echoed through the air long after she had passed her father and landed amongst the flowers in the garden.
(0,0)
The next day she unfortunately had to deal with Black and his wonderful personality.
Breakfast was fine. Turns out that Black wasn't much of a morning person and sat focus dedicated to eating his food for the majority of the meal. Any attempt to draw him into the conversation was faced with a death glare. This meant that Emily and James got to talk like they always did. There was a lot of teasing and laughter in the air that morning.
"How about we settle this over a Quidditch match?" The boy grinned over at her.
Emily smirked, "I don't know, how bad are your Quidditch Skills after a year off? I wouldn't want it to be too easy."
The mention of the popular game brought Sirius out of the morning blues, "You think you can beat James? I've seen him fly, he's almost as good as me."
"Is that supposed to impress me?"
Before James could warn Black, the other boy opened his mouth, "How about a game then?"
"There are really enough of us for a game. No one can play a real game with three people. But would position trials work?"
"Works for me. You, me, and James. Deal?"
"You wanna join Dad?"
The man in question shook his head, "'Want to' Emily. But I'll pass this time. Although I can be a referee for you all."
Black nodded and reached across for Emily's hand, "Deal?"
Emily smirked and her brother was once again cut off, "Deal."
James finally gained a moment to speak, "You're in big trouble, Sirius."
"C'mon. You know I'm better than you."
"Only at beater. But you're going to regret this."
"Never."
Emily cut in, "We'll see about that."
(0,0)
Breakfast finished on a lighter note with Black taking a little more interest in the conversation. While the house elves cleared the table, Emily led the way to the broom shed.
She pulled out her new Cleansweep and handed a newer Shooting Star to Black. He sneered (definitely Slytherin blood there) and stated that he had his own broom.
"Alright, Mimsy!"
A house elf cracked into the small shed already bowing low, "Can Mimsy be helping Miss Emily?"
"Can you grab Black's broom from the guest room, please?"
"Mimsy be doing that." The elf cracked out and back again in a few seconds, "Here it be, Miss Emily."
"Thank you, Mimsy."
"Miss Emily being welcomes."
The elf cracked away once again leaving her standing with Black, James and her father. Black looked at her like she was crazy.
"Why are you so nice to them? They're just servants."
"If I'm nice to them, then their nice to me. It's always good to have nice people working for you."
That said James grabbed his broom and the four of them headed off to the small pitch in their yard. Black looked dubiously at the girl as she struggled to mount her broom properly. Almost sliding off a few times. He turned to James who was staring at her with absolute confusion marring his features.
"I thought you said she was good."
"She's amazing, I don't… I don't understand."
She smiled slightly at them tucking her hair behind her ear while biting her lip and blushing, "Sorry, it's been a while since I've flown."
James blinked at her while her father chuckled lightly, "I'm sure you'll be comfortable soon, Emily. Why don't you try a lap or two to warm up?"
She smiled at her father and made a slow and faltering path towards the edge of the field. Black turned his back to her to say something to James and the young girl quickly sped around the field doing a few loops and spins. She cut off her path halfway around the circle when she saw Black stiffen slightly at the fact James was obviously watching her.
By the time Black turned around she was only meters away from where he had last seen her and she faltered slightly nearly crashing into the boundary.
"James? Do you let her win when you play? Is that why she thinks she's the best thing to ever happen to quidditch?"
The messy haired boy only shook his head, "I haven't let her win since I was seven and she just got her first broom."
"… I'm starting to think you took a potion the last time we played, Potter."
"You wish, Black."
They smiled at each other but were interrupted by the sound of Emily's voice, "I think I'm warmed up now, Father."
Black conceded that she looked almost stable on the broom, but her tense posture proved that she could only be staying there by luck.
They took to the air and traded positions as Chaser and Defender. Emily would be Defender for Black. James would be Defender for Emily. Black would be the Defender for James.
James went first, out of ten shots the boy succeeded in making five past Sirius. Mr. Potter and Emily were slightly impressed, this was usually James' game. Emily went next and snuck five past James as well. Much to Black's confusion. It was bizarre, one second she would be barely holding onto the broom then she would slip just perfectly and end up around her brother with a clear shot at the hoops.
Black's turn went just the same. He only managed to get four Quaffles into the hoops past Emily. The boy stared disbelieving. It was just like watching her with James. It seemed like every time the girl slipped, she managed to just knock him off balance or tip the quaffle out of his grasp. Once she blocked his shot with the edge of her broom.
Needless to say by the time the first competition was finished, Emily was trying to hide her smug smile and Black was fuming. Emily giggled to herself, muffling the sound with her hand while hiding behind her curtain of black hair.
The Slytherin turned Gryffindor must have sensed her amusement. He turned to her with something resembling a sneer.
"You got lucky, Potter. Just wait, I'll get you in the Beater game."
Emily barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. The boy may have the strength needed to redirect the bludger, but she would be willing to bet her aim was a thousand times better. The only issue would be continuing to pretend that she couldn't fly all that well. But it would be worth it.
"Alright as it stands, Emily is winning with 6 blocks and 5 scores. James in second with 5 and 5. Sirius you're right behind him with 5 and 4. The next game is for beater technique. Who wants to go first?"
Black suddenly appeared and snatched the beater's bat from the stand. He cast a sneer over his shoulder.
"I'll go first. Let's see the little sister beat this."
James gave a shout of encouragement. Emily gave a half smile and ducked her head. 'Little sister' or not she had a mean bludger. She doubted the Black sisters had ever beaten Black at 'his' game. The Black heir was in for a surprise.
Black hovered in the center of the pitch looking at the thirteen figures around him. Seven green, five red, and one blue. They represented the thirteen other players usually on the field. Two points for every green (representing the opposing team) target hit, a loss of two for every red (your team mates) target hit, and one point for hitting the blue (representing your fellow beater).
The idea of the drill was to teach aim and to encourage using your fellow beater and trusting them. The best beater pairs were two players who trusted each other and built up a camaraderie that allowed them to instinctively read each other.
The timer started and the targets started flying around. Within the first ten seconds Black had hit one target of every color. Emily winced as another red target took a hit. It looked like she had been right about the boy's aim. By the time the end of the drill came, he seemed to have gained some kind of rhythm.
Next was Emily's turn, James always wanted a target score to beat. It made him a better player. She sat on her broom with the bat in her hand, not even trying to fight the usually drifting of her broom as the extra weight caused a little drag. She made sure to take in the locations of the other targets and waited for her father's signal to start.
She made a decision as the first bludger went flying into a red target. She would forget flying badly and settle for making sure the momentum from each swing flew her backwards. She decided her plan was a success when a hit off of the beater target smashed into a green one. When the countdown hit zero, Emily was proud of her run. Though she had to admit, she did a lot better with James in place of the beater target.
James came last a completely trashed both her and Black's scores. He landed from the drill with a smile on his face, firmly ignoring the giant bruise on his side that Emily was sure he must have. One of the bludger hits had rebounded into him hard and fast.
Her father was quick to read out the scores before Black could say anything about teaching James all he knew.
"First is James with a score of 14 points in the beater game and a bonus of 5 points for not hitting a single member of his own team; bringing him to a total of 29 points. Second is Emily with a total of 25 points. Sirius is still in third with a score of 19 points."
Black was muttering under his breath about not having the time to properly care for his broom before the match and something about charmed targets but Emily decided to just prove him completely wrong in the next two games.
"The Keeper's game! Each of you will block five shots from the other two for a total of ten attempts."
They all nodded, this game was probably the simplest of the lot, aside from the Seeker's game. You had a total of ten shots and ten blocks. That's all there was to it.
Black must have taken a page from James. When her father called out for a volunteer to go first the grey-eyed boy smirked at her.
"Ladies first."
She couldn't resist the temptation, "Don't feel pressured. I don't mind going before you."
She flew off (shaking slightly on her broom) to the sound of his indignant response and James' laughter. It was good to know that she could still make her brother laugh like that, she had been worried. Not that she would ever admit that to him. She had an image to uphold after all.
…And he would never let her live it down.
She hovered just below the center hoop putting her equidistant from the center of every hoop. Theoretically it was the ideal spot. But she learned long ago that a theory was rarely a hundred percent sure thing.
By the time James had finished his turn she was pleased to admit she only missed two of the boy's attempts. A tie for her record so far. And she couldn't contain her smirk when Black couldn't even get a blade of grass past her defenses. The boy's took their turns. And she had to admit that Black was a very good Keeper.
"Alright," Her father's voice once again echoed through the air, "James is still in the lead with 37 points. Emily has 33 points. Sirius is gaining with 28 points. Everyone down on the ground for a brief meeting."
James and Emily exchanged a look. What could their father want to ask? What was there to ask about?
"You all know that there are two different Seeker games, correct?"
They all nodded.
"Good. You can either do a solo, timed attempt at the snitch for a score tied to your time or you can try a group attempt at the snitch for ten points to the winner. Either one is a decent test, it's up to you."
James and Emily had long ago decided to stick with the timed attempts as the time started when you spotted the snitch. And Emily usually spotted the small golden ball far sooner than her brother. It was just a fairer game.
But Black didn't know that.
"I say we do a group game. It'll be a good demonstration of who is actually the best seeker."
Emily looked at James who shrugged. She was ninety percent sure that her brother was as annoyed at Black's rants about his 'bloody amazing' quidditch skills as she and her father were.
"Group game it is."
The three teens took to the air, Father stepped forward and raised the snitch up with a small smile, "Start on my word."
With that he released the snitch. The golden blur flew up to hover between the three players for a brief moment. Teasing them before it disappeared into the sun. Emily smiled as she watched Black's futile attempts to track the ball's motion.
"Three… Two… One… Seek!"
The boy's took off to opposite sides of the pitch while Emily slowly circled around the center. James' move was born out of years of experience. He knew that the only chance he had was the small chance that he was closer to the snitch than his sister was. She expected that Black's was merely a move that had no tactic or plan behind it. He merely wanted to do something.
Ten minutes later- None of them had caught the snitch. Emily had seen it several times but had decided against going after it. She wanted to see how long it took Black to spot it. But seeing as the last time it had appeared a mere meter above his head before fluttering off, she decided the game would take hours to end unless she took matters into her own hands.
Suddenly a golden blur flew through the edge of her vision. She whirled on her broom and scanned the sky…
There! On the opposite side of the pitch. Emily forgot that she was supposed to be pretending to be a horrid flyer. She lay as close to the broom as she could and urged herself forward. She was off like a shot. James followed her line of vision and groaned when he saw how far the snitch was. He had next to no hope of catching it. But the brave Gryffindor he was, James folded himself in half and raced towards their target.
It was then that Black noticed the snitch. He started towards it with a smirk, thinking he was the only one who had spotted it. Emily could see the instant he spotted her and James racing towards it. He blinked before speeding forward. Just as Emily and Black drew near the snitch banked. Emily had to drop out of the chase to avoid being flattened by her brother's best friend.
Glaring after the boy she pressed herself even faster, flying below both the boys and the snitch. She really hoped that the snitch would dive instead of flying straight up.
Thankfully her prayers were answered.
The snitch carved a path towards the ground and Emily was able to follow it while James and Sirius ended up on her tail. Unfortunately, their larger weight gave them an advantage while descending like this. Soon enough they had drawn even with her. But she was almost there, arm outstretched.
The snitch flew right, just past Emily's grasping hand. Hissing under her breath she did something she didn't even know she could. Dropping one leg and pulling up on her other arm, the young girl demonstrated a perfect barrel roll over the back of one shocked Sirius Black. In seconds she was back on the trail of the snitch and just as it went to climb- Emily lunged and caught the golden ball firmly in her fist.
Emily grinned and landed as quickly as she could before running over her father, "Did you see that?!"
The laughing man gripped her around the waist and pulled the small girl into the air swinging her around before wrapping her in a hug.
"I most definitely did!"
"It was just like when that girl from the Kestrels at the game last month! I didn't even think about it, it was so cool!"
He chuckled and squeezed her one last time before setting her on the ground, "That it was. That it was."
"I demand a rematch! She cheated!"
Emily rolled her eyes at Black's outburst.
"I didn't cheat, I merely made sure you made an incorrect assumption about my flying. I didn't know it was considered cheating to be bad at something."
The boy spoke through clenched teeth, practically snarling at the 'unfairness' of it all, "I was not given all of the information."
"I heard James tell you that I was a fantastic quidditch player. You're the one who decided a wobbly start on my broom meant that all of what James had said was a lie."
"But.. But…"
"'But'? 'But' what? I won. That's all there is to it. Next time you challenge someone to a game, make sure you know all of the facts."
(0,0)
June 31st came and went and Emily was one year closer to her own Hogwarts' letter arriving in her mail. And could hardly wait when James' got his own school list.
Black had gone home not long after the quidditch loss and Emily had been glad to see him go. The boy had been a menace, dropping things on her, tripping her, and even once throwing food at her, after her win. Talk about a sore loser.
"I think we can go to Diagon today. We'll get all of James' things and a few new robes for Emily. Is there anyone you want to invite?"
Emily groaned at the thought of seeing Black again when she had only just gotten rid of him, but James' words surprised her.
"Can we owl Lupin? I don't know if he has anyone else to go with."
Their mother smiled in approval and the letter was sent. Emily couldn't help but be proud of her brother. She knew that he usually hated people who were poor. It wasn't a blind hatred, it was more that he didn't understand and he thought them to be gross. The fact that he was asking to meet up with someone whose robes he complained were patched and second hand meant he was growing up a little.
The brother and sister spent the day together and Emily wished that it would never end. They played wizard's chess (James won the game, Emily had no patience and was more content to send her pieces to their doom for talking back to her). He played a few games of gobstones with her despite the fact neither of them were very fond of the game. They ate lunch then talked for the rest of the afternoon.
They didn't hear back from the Lupin's until dinner time. James had seemed excited as he pulled the note from the owl's leg. Suddenly he grinned and looked at his mother.
"He can come! He just needs to know when we're planning on going, cause they have a few evenings that are full in the next week or so."
Emily almost rolled her eyes, because that wasn't obvious at all. The new moon had been a week and a half ago. The full moon would be in five or six days. They should really try harder if they were trying to keep the fact he was a werewolf a secret.
"Ask him if he's free for Tuesday. We can meet them all there or we can pick young Mr. Lupin up before we head over. We'll make a day of it, shopping and eating and whatever else you two wish to get up to."
James nodded and called a house elf to ask for parchment and a quill. Within minutes the letter had flown off with one of the family owls. Hopefully they would be heading the Diagon soon and they could all meet another one of James' friends.
Emily could only hope this one had a better sense of decorum. Maybe he could teach James' a thing or two about manners if that was the case.
(0,0)
When they met the Lupin's at the Leaky Cauldron a few days later the boy looked as though he was dressed in his best robes. They were worn thin but looked to be made out of fine material, and they also smelled…stale. Like they hadn't been out of the closet for very long.
The boy was thin with brown hair and pretty green eyes. They weren't as bright as Emily's but she liked him anyway. Especially since he was only a little taller than her, unlike James and Black who both towered over her.
"Lupin!" James called out and stepped forward slightly, as though the boy hadn't looked at them the instant they had stepped through the doors of the Leaky Cauldron.
"Potter." The boy smiled and greeted James with polite excitement rather than trying to draw the attention of everyone in the building.
Then he looked behind James and gave a small nod to each of the others in turn, "Lord Potter, Lady Potter, Miss Potter."
Emily liked him a lot. He was polite without being aloof. Money may not be excessive in their family but at least they knew the value of good manners. Father greeted him with a smile.
"No need to be quite that formal. You may call me Mr. Potter if you wish, but I would prefer you call me Charlus if you feel comfortable with that."
Mother nodded, "The same for me. I would be delighted if you referred to me as Dorea."
James seemed terribly shocked by all of this. Black had been told to refer to the Potters as Aunt and Uncle from the day he was born as they technically were family. But they never complained when the boy forgot and referred to them by their titles. To have them accepting Remus that way probably confused the poor boy to know end. And Emily did so love confusing her brother.
She smiled and stepped forward until she was even with James, "I would rather you call me 'Emily,' if you don't mind. Miss Potter seems oddly formal even to me, Mr. Lupin."
The boy actually laughed, "It does sound rather ridiculous doesn't it. Very well, I would like it if all of you called me 'Remus.' Mr. Lupin either sounds like my father or like Ja…I've just gotten in trouble from Professor McGonagall."
Emily grinned at him, "I'm guessing you get in trouble by association then? I know how James is, how many detentions has he dragged you to?"
Green eyes looked up into the surely amused eyes of her parents before glancing at the distressed James Potter next to her. He winked slightly and leaned in to stage whisper a little closer to her ear.
"I have no idea. I'm sure I lost count within the first month."
Emily giggled and Remus smiled while all of the parents shared amused looks. Eventually it was Remus' father who stepped forward and drew the attention away from the young children.
"It seems as though your daughter has managed to distract my son. I'm afraid I shall have to introduce myself." He gave Remus a halfhearted glare and the young boy blushed slightly still laughing along with Emily, "My name is Lyall Lupin and this is my wife, Hope Lupin."
"Charlus and Dorea." Father smiled at him and shook his hand.
Soon enough the adults were engaged in a conversation that none of the children found entertaining in the least. They were eager to head in to Diagon. No matter how many times you went, you were always enraptured by the magic of the place.
She waited until there was a brief pause in the conversation before reaching up to brush her fingers against her mother's hand. The woman glanced down at her with a warm smile.
"Yes, Emily?"
"Might the three of us go into Diagon? We'll be careful…"
Mother was going to protest but Father gently touched the back of her shoulder before speaking, "Why don't you all go to Madame Malkin's and get your school robes? Emily can pick out something if she wishes as well. It will do you good to get the worst chore of the day done first. We'll meet you there shortly."
Emily nodded before either of the boys could protest and dragged Remus out the door with a hand gripping the sleeve of his robes, "C'mon! This will be great!"
She could feel James rolling his eyes at her antics. She paused just inside the door, as though she had just remembered something and rushed back to the parents.
"My apologies, I did not mean to rush off like that. It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Lupin. I hope you have a wonderful day!" She blushed lightly at her slip up and gave a small curtsy to the Lupin's.
They returned her well wishes and Emily smiled before rushing back to the door and pushing the boys out into the alley behind the building. Thankfully, an older wizard was just preparing to enter Diagon himself and was more than willing to let the three eager 'young'uns' to follow him through the arch way.
The instant they were through the arch way, James started to pout. Emily ignored his whining to thank the man who smiled at her before accepting her thanks and sending her on her way with the wish of an enjoyable outing.
"Emily! I really do not want to go to Madame Malkin's. It's not fair. Why should the best part of the day be spent with a magical measuring tape that smacks me all the time?!"
She rolled her eyes at her older brother, "No one wants to go to Madame Malkin's. She doesn't carry very much in the way of fashionable every day wear. Usually she does uniforms and office robes. Secondly, the tape measure would not attack you if you would just stay still."
That said the youngest Potter started down the street easily dodging her fellow shoppers and leaving the two boys to try and keep up. When she stepped into the doorway of a store her shadows followed without hesitation.
And it was only when they joined her looking at the product lining the shelves that they came to a rather obvious conclusion.
"Em?" Green eyes scanned the shelves as she nodded to indicate she was listening, "You do realize that Madame Malkin's doesn't sell candy, right?"
The young girl looked over at the brown haired boy next to her, "And here I was so convinced that I was lookin at various colors of ties. I must properly thank him for saving me from my naïve assumptions, what a dear older brother he is."
"Alright. Check the sarcasm, Miss Potter. Father said we should go to Madame Malkin's."
"No he said we should go there before making the rest of our stops."
"Exactly."
"I don't remember stopping for sweets being on our agenda, therefore I am following Father's instructions to the letter."
"I really doubt this is what Mr. Potter had in mind…" Remus spoke quietly for the first time since entering Diagon.
"He speaks!" The boy blushed, "I know that. But he did indicate that we should have plenty of time before they joined us. It only makes since to indulge in a treat now as it is unlikely all of us shall be fitted at once. Truthfully, we are probably saving time by giving ourselves something to do. It'll keep us from distracting and annoying Madame Malkin at the very least."
James blinked, "I have a feeling this is why no one ever believes me when I say you're evil. You've got everything planned out don't you." It wasn't really a question.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, brother. Besides, the reason they believe me is that I'm the cuter one. Now if you'll excuse me for just a moment."
She disappeared almost instantly and Remus was almost considering apparition. He turned to James with a smile that Emily noticed from her spot in line to check out.
"You know… I think I'm going to like you're sister. When is she coming to Hogwarts again?"
"Next year. And don't remind me."
(0,0)
They made it to Madame Malkin's ten minutes later. And Emily came to a decision shortly after their arrival.
She liked Remus a lot better than Sirius. Even if she had only known him for minutes versus the years she had known the Black heir. The new boy was quiet but not because he was shy or cocky like most of the 'shy' children she knew. He merely liked to listen and only spoke when it would make a good impression. In general, he was just a nice guy. Too nice to be around James if she was honest.
At the moment she was sharing some of the sweets they had gathered. Or she and James had gathered anyway. Remus had briefly fingered the few coins in his pocket before shaking his head. He didn't need any sweets. He also refused to let either of the Potter's buy some for him.
But when Emily was offered a bargain and ended up with more candy than she could possibly eat, he was more than willing to help her with the disposal of something that 'could only hope to make her ill in the future.' He was a wonderful Gryffindor that way.
As the two fast friends began carefully picking their way through the sweets on the seat between them (Emily picking the hard candies and the sweet flavors while Remus enjoyed the chewy kinds and some of the saltier choices). They divvied the chocolate between them while they chatted amiably. Occasionally they paused their conversation to laugh at James. The boy had yet to learn to stand still and as such was suffering through several attacks by the enchanted measuring tape.
James had been picked to go first by Madame Malkin because they all knew he was going to take the most time to get fitted. The other three stools were filled with others also getting ready for the school year. And Madame Malkin and her two assistants were struggling with one more than customer than they were strictly prepared for.
Eventually a Ravenclaw accepted her robes with a smile and a thank you, before handing over the asked for price and a nice bonus. She slipped out the door just as Madame Malkin turned her eyes on Emily who was still laughing with her brother's room mate.
"Miss Potter?"
With a longing sigh at the last of the chocolate she moved up to the empty station and waited patiently while the measuring tape began flitting around her. She hoped Remus would save her some chocolate, but she had a feeling that was too much to ask of the boy. Green eyes closed as her thoughts began to drift and she let herself relax.
"Miss Potter?"
She blinked up looking into the eyes of the seamstress and family friend.
She smiled, "Yes, Madame Malkin?"
"What can I get you fitted for today? You're not off to Hogwarts yet, are you?"
"No, ma'am. One more year for me. I was just looking for a new cloak, just something basic, I still have the one you made me a few years ago."
The woman frowned, "That won't do. The growth charms will be reaching their limit soon, if they haven't already. I have something you may like though. It's a good quality and should work all year if you wanted it to."
Emily shrugged, "I don't really need a new cloak as nice as all that. I have several good ones, just something simple to replace the blue one."
"Nonsense. You stand right here and I'll be right back."
The woman disappeared into the back much to the dismay of those waiting in line for assistance. Her assistants attempted to calm the patrons while finishing up their own customers as quickly as they could.
The Hufflepuff fifth year had just stepped down when Madame Malkin came back through the door. All eyes were on the woman, but she ignored the angry glances in favor of smiling at the young girl just in front of her.
"Here it is…"
Emily gasped at the gorgeous color of the cloak she was shown. A deep green that seemed to shift between emerald and black in waves as the light reflected off it. The inside was a cream color that complimented the dark outside perfectly. A muttered phrase from the seamstress had the cloak shimmering slightly. When her eyes were able to focus again, Emily saw that the cream lining had turned to fur of the same color and a trim decorating the hood around her face.
Emily was almost scared to try on the beautiful creation. She just knew that if the cloak settled around her shoulders she would not be able to take it off. Eventually though, the temptation was just too great. She let her fingers brush against the delicate material. When the fabric sat heavy on her shoulders she looked at her speechless reflection, reaching a delicate hand up to brush against the smooth, warm surface.
The green was dark enough that it brought out her pale skin while brightening her already bright eyes. The cream lining was only a touch darker than her skin but would go wonderfully with some of her darker dresses and outfits. It was a fair bit too big on her, but it could be hemmed and taken in, it would keep the sizing charm from wearing the fabric as fast.
She brushed her fingers along the soft green and took a deep breath. Preparing to turn down the marvelous cloak that was far outside her self-inflicted budget and probably a little more ostentatious than she needed. And she tried to avoid frivolous purchases. After convincing herself that she was making the right choice she took a deep breath.
"What a marvelous cloak, darling." And her mother walked in.
"Madame Malkin you have truly outdone yourself." Along with her father.
"I was thinking of your lovely daughter when I chose the colors. But I must say, it flatters her far more than even I expected."
"What do you think, Emily?"
Suddenly every single eye in the building was on her. She didn't even want to think of the price tag. Even if her parents could no doubt afford it- she really hated spending money on herself.
"It's really gorgeous, Madame. I don't know where I would possibly wear it, though. It would be a shame to let it sit in my closet until the sizing charm wears out."
"Nonsense. I'm sure you could find several occasions to wear it. It's possibly your best work yet, Madame. Can you send it to our home?"
The seamstress smiled, "I would be honored, Lady Potter."
Emily's mother turned expectant eyes on her and the girl could feel the slight reprimand behind the instructions.
"Thank you for the lovely cloak, Madame Malkin. I'm flattered that you would think of me while designing such wonderful creation."
"It's much easier to design with an inspired muse."
Emily accepted the comment with a nod and stepped down to find that Remus had already finished his own fitting. Emily herself had given the seamstress instructions that Remus was to have decent robes, not the best but better than he requested. She didn't want him to feel guilty or like he was a charity case. She just wanted to take care of her friends.
With a nod from Madame's assistant indicating that Remus' robes had been handled as she requested Emily lead the way out of the shop, hoping her mother would wait until they returned home to give her a lessons in the 'proper manners expected from a young lady of proper heritage'.
Unfortunately, it didn't look as though her mother was willing to oblige those plans. The Lady Potter was next to her within seconds of leaving the shop. Emily took a breath to prepare herself, and yet she was still unprepared for the voice that spoke next to her ear.
"Can we go to Flourish and Blott's next, Mrs. Potter? I still need to get my school books."
"Of course, Remus. Let's head that way now, shall we?"
The Gryffindor smiled at her before offering his arm to the young girl next to him with an exaggerated bow, "If I may Miss. Potter?"
She couldn't contain her giggle, "I would be honored, Mr. Lupin."
Their laughter echoed down the alley way and Emily gave him a smile and a warm thank you. She was not looking forward to a lecture in public, no matter how obscure or calm it might have been. Although she was quite sure she would still receive a lecture when she got home.
Madame Malkin was a close family friend after all. It would be rude to refuse something that she specifically made for them, no matter the cost. And it could reflect poorly on her entire business. It didn't matter than Emily didn't need another cloak. She was a Potter, she didn't need anything, she didn't want for anything. If she liked it, she did her best to get it.
And that was just one thing that Emily didn't necessarily agree with.
(0,0)
Emily once again travelled with her parents to Platform 9¾ to see James off to another year at Hogwarts. This time however she wasn't on the platform for long before Remus pulled her away with only enough of a greeting to her parents to be considered polite.
"Sorry, but you're later than I thought and there's someone who wanted to meet you. So we got to hurry before the train leaves."
The little girl gave her apologies repeatedly as the taller boy pulled at her leaving her to run into and trip over anyone and everyone waiting on the train. Finally, Remus slowed and brought Emily around him to face a girl with red hair and bright green eyes almost the same shade as her own.
"This is Lily. This is Emily." The girls smiled and nodded at each other failing to look anything but uncomfortable at least on Emily's end. She couldn't help at wondering how she and Lily could be sisters.
"Emily, this is Severus." Lily's words cut through her thoughts and Emily turned to face the boy she hadn't even noticed at first.
"Nice to meet you. Both of you, I'm Emily." She greeted him, taking in his shoulder length black hair and black eyes.
"So I've heard." His complete dead pan moment had Emily grinning.
"I suppose you did."
Lily cut in, "I hear you're coming to Hogwarts next year."
"That's right! I'm really excited. What are your favorite classes?" she made sure to include all of them in her question.
"Potions."
"Charms."
"Transfiguration."
"I love those, too. Although I personally think I'll be better at potions and charms."
She suddenly caught sight of Severus' raised eyebrow and blushed, "Well, I've loved reading about them so far. My parents won't let me try anything yet, though. But the theory is fascinating and I can't imagine that I wouldn't like the practical part of it."
"Many people think they'll enjoy something until they actually try it. Why would you be any different?"
Emily gave him a look that even she could feel the disbelief coming off of, "Because I refuse to define myself by the standard of others." Judging by the expressions around her, not many people talked back to Severus, "Besides- I've enjoyed hours of stumbling through reading material written in the blandest way possible. Why wouldn't I enjoy being able to apply my gained knowledge beyond the pages of my notes? It's not nearly as satisfying being clever unless everyone else knows it."
A smirk turned up one side of Severus' mouth, "You know- Despite the act you're small and thus far quite annoying, I believe I may learn to tolerate your presence."
"Oh goody, my dream has finally come true. I can die happy." She made sure to mimic Severus' flat expression as she spoke.
Her impression of the dour boy had everyone laughing and even Severus had an undeniable twitch of his lips.
"I take it back. I would hate to make someone else happy. It would totally ruin my reputation."
"Humph." Emily's pout drew even more laughter from the group. It wasn't long before all four of them were laughing (or chuckling on Severus' part).
The train's whistle echoed suddenly across the platform. Emily smiled at her new friends, raising a hand in farewell. She went to move away from the throng to say a final goodbye to her brother and find her parents.
Unfortunately, someone chose that moment to step on her cloak. Emily went tumbling to the ground before she could think to catch her balance. She let out a small squeak as she stumbled backward into a pair of arms. She glanced up to see Severus behind her.
"Thanks, Severus."
"Let's hope there isn't another time."
"I agree."
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SISTER!"
Suddenly, Emily found the support behind her being shoved away. And she was surprised to find herself on the ground. She blinked up at Severus to find him standing face to face with her brother. Who had apparently shoved the other boy away from her.
"I would never touch your sister. Anything with the name Potter has been contaminated by you I prefer to remain a respectable human being."
Emily found herself in shock as so saying the boy moved over to her and extended his hand to help her up. She reached for his hand not thinking about it and was shoved away once again by her so-called protector.
"I just told you to leave my sister alone, Snivellus."
"What are you talking about?!"
Finally, Emily grabbed a hold of her senses and managed to shove herself up to her feet to stand between the two older boys. She looked quietly at everyone around her and tucked her head, "I think they're boarding the train."
Eventually the group around them moved away towards the train and they were left on the platform with just a few people. Emily turned to face her brother, still standing between him and Severus.
"Back off, James. He was just keeping me from embarrassing myself by falling on the ground."
"But he touched you, it's disgusting."
Black was standing next to him nodding and went to say something but quieted at the look Emily shot at him.
"You are being a brat. So far he's proving to be a better person than you are."
"And as for you," She turned to face the other boy, "Thank you for helping me. But just so we're clear- it is considered rude to insult someone's family name. Emily Potter at your service and I find your comment very offensive and would prefer you keep any further comments to yourself. My brother does not represent my family any more than you represent the entirety of yours."
"I'm sorry if my plebian half-blood words offended the noble Potter blood."
Emily lost any hint of teasing she may have had, "Congratulations. You just managed to sink below the level of your opponent. In case you're wondering, that means you're as big of an arse as both he and Black. I didn't know that was possible."
James smirked at Severus, "Congratulations, Snivellus. You now have one more person who hates you."
"Shut up, James." The boy turned shocked to his sister.
"Goodbye Remus, Lily. I hope you guys have a great year. Write to me okay? I'd like to get to know you better. Goodbye Severus. I hope you learn some manners over the next year and you do really well in potions. James, Black, Have a great year and grow up if you could. Now, I believe you're about to miss your train."
She was very proud of herself for managing the situation without drawing unnecessary attention to their little group. As the rest of them moved onto the train, she got a brief hug from Lily and Remus, before heading back to where her parents were waiting.
"Did you get along with James' friends?"
"Mostly. There seems to be a few of them who are a little more immature than others."
"There are always a few, Ems, always a few." She smiled at her father's words.
(0,0)
Emily stared blankly out her window.
She had just finished her response to Lily's latest letter. The girl took great joy in writing to her to complain about James and Black. She also talked a lot about Remus, Severus, and a few of the other girls' in her year. She had a lot of friends in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, not to mention Severus who she learned was in Slytherin.
Her brother had kindly mentioned that and every other possible 'fault' that he thought Severus 'Snivellus' Snape had in one of his letters. He was a Slytherin. He had greasy hair. He liked to read in the library. He was a Slytherin. He lived in the dungeons. He was always snarky.
After said letter Emily had written back reminding him that their mother was a Slytherin. Half of their family were Slytherin's. And that James needed to grow up and pick up a book of his own once in a while and stop living with his head in the clouds. He hadn't been very happy with that response
James had written her another two times since the beginning of the school year. Which was almost three months ago. A far cry was the nine or ten times he had written their parents. She was really starting to miss the days before he had decided Black was his new best friend. The only thing she was glad of at the moment was that the semester ended in a few days and James would be home for the Yule celebration then. It would be nice to see him.
(0,0)
"What do you mean?"
"James asked to stay with the Black's for Yule. We decided it would be good for him to spend time with another part of the family. And we were asked to join them for their actual celebration."
"Oh." Emily straightened her back and looked at her parents, "Alright. I'm going to write to some of my friends and head to bed. Good night."
"Good night, dear." Her parents chorused at her as the young girl left the room.
The tears didn't slip down her cheeks until she was leaning against her closed door, her face hidden in her knees.
"He could have at least written me…"
(0,0)
"Did you have a good time, Ems?" Emily looked up at her father after they returned from the Black's Yule celebration.
Truthfully, she didn't remember much of what had happened that day. She spent most of it trying to get her brother's attention and glaring at Black.
"I did. It was nice to see Andy, Cissy, and Bella again. Even Regulus was fun today, it was nice to see at least one boy can act mature on occasion."
Her father laughed, "Don't be fooled, Emmy. It's amazing what some people can fool you into thinking."
"I did say 'act' mature."
"That you did. Good night, sweetie."
(0,0)
'Miss. Potter,
'Lily informs me that my actions towards you on the day of September 1st were highly inappropriate. She also encouraged me to write to you and inform you of my own feelings on the matter.
'I was highly unprepared to face a Potter who was decent after my experiences with your brother for the past year. I admit I did not react in an appropriate manner regarding the situation. I allowed your brother to upset me and I apologize for any offense I may have unwittingly caused you. I meant to anger your brother and had no intention of insulting your person.
'I realize this does not render my actions appropriate nor does it deem them forgivable. That being said I hope to receive the honor of your company in the future and to begin a correspondence with you in the up coming months.
'I hope you had an enjoyable holiday,
'Severus Snape.'
(0,0)
'Severus,
'I understand that my brother can be rather frustrating. Especially in his moments of uncomparable idiocy. That being said, I cannot forgive you for insulting my family when you had only experienced the company of a single member, no matter how incorrigible that member may be. However, I would welcome the continuance of our correspondence so long as we can dispense of the formalities.
'My name is Emily and you are more than welcome to use it. I hope you're holidays were also enjoyable, I hear that you celebrated at the castle? I'm afraid that you are one of Lily's favorite topics in her letters. How was that?
'Hope to hear from you soon,
'Emily Potter'
(0,0)
After that Emily was writing back and forth with several people. Severus was only writing her every couple of weeks but he always wrote long letters, or long comparably anyway. Remus and Lily wrote to her more often, but it was usually really brief notes about something interesting they had learned in class or something funny that had happened with one of the students. She even heard from Black a couple of times during the year, almost as much as James.
Eventually there came a week when she was told by three of her correspondents that she shouldn't expect a letter for a few weeks. They were all reviewing for their finals and Emily could not fault them for choosing their studies over writing to her. Plus, she could always write to them more over the summer.
Two weeks letter came a brief note from James:
'I hate finals. I'm so glad they're almost over. Lily and Remus have been studying for weeks now. I've barely had a chance to talk to them. Not that Lily talks to me very often any way… But you know what I mean. I can't wait to come home.
'Sorry about not writing more. See you in a few days.
'Love you,
'James
'Oh and I learned a few tricks on the team this year. I might even give you a run for your money this summer.'
Emily smiled to herself. James had written to her. He was coming home for the holidays. With any luck this would be more like it used to be between them. All smiles and laughter and no friends to ruin it. Only annoying cousins they had to put up with on occasion.
Besides that, she had friends to write to for the first time ever. Even if they were all James' age, it was nice to have friends of her own. (And yes, she was claiming Remus. James still hadn't figured out that he was a werewolf. Friends couldn't possibly be that oblivious.)
Her last summer before she got to join James at Hogwarts, finally able to use magic the way she wanted to rather than the random accidental kind that seemed to surround her. This was going to be the best year yet!
Hey everyone! Sorry about the lack of updating going on. I was trying to update both of my stories once a week but I'm working nearly forty hours a week now and I also do a lot of volunteering not to mention my own interests outside of both of those and trying to figure out school work. Plus I actually am trying to have a social life (it's an experiment at the moment and so far being social beyond the realm of my computer is proving to be a waste of time and energy-but I'll keep you posted on my progress) Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter and I hope to hear from more of you, especially since I've never written anything like this before.
I also need votes on where Emily should be sorted. She can kind of go anywhere at the moment and I sort of have an idea but I would love to hear your thoughts. The next chapter will be a little more exciting since Emily will actually be in school, instead of just writing letters and eating with her parents.
Love to everyone!