Chapter 1
Emily looked down at the letters in her hands for the hundredth time. One from the president of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, one from the headmaster of Ilvermorny, and one from Headmistress McGonagall of Hogwarts School. All three were requesting, nearly demanding, the same thing - could Emily please travel to Hogwarts and assist with rebuilding after the Battle?
On paper, it seemed like a perfect plan. At just 22 years old, Emily had achieved a myriad of academic successes, but lately she had been wanting to have a change of pace. At the very least, she knew she had to get out of New York, where she had lived since graduating from Ilvermorny. It was too busy here, too many people. She had received other enticing offers for research positions around the country. And yet, she had a sense of foreboding at moving to another continent. She couldn't put a finger on it (after all, she had never studied divination), but she felt that this choice would set her life on a new, irreversible course. Was that what she wanted? Or needed? She sighed heavily, and suddenly put the letters down on her desk, as if she had just, in that very moment, come to a decision.
She tucked her light red hair behind her ear, and set to work writing out her replies. Three owls left Emily's window that night, and they reappeared the next morning with many words of appreciation. Emily read Professor McGonagall's letter again.
Dear Ms. Newport,
The whole of Hogwarts extends its gratitude to you. With your assistance, I am confident we will be able to have Hogwarts rebuilt in time to begin our term on 1 September. Shortly after you arrive, you will give instruction to our Restoration Task Force. They are all highly qualified witches and wizards, but none of us have your expertise in magical restoration.
The Ministry of Magic is requiring that you sign the attached contract, as your employment is being orchestrated between MACUSA and our Ministry.
We expect your arrival in Hogsmeade via portkey on 1 June. MACUSA will provide details.
Kind regards,
Minerva McGonagall
It sounded as if everything were perfectly arranged. Something was giving her pause though. This was a very extensive project, and it had to be done right. What if she failed? What if the project wasn't done in time? She would hate to let everyone down. But she couldn't think of any particular reason not to go - this was Emily's chance to have a fresh start on her own terms.
As she was packing her bag, she thought about how many times prior to this she had been made to gather her belongings and go to a new home once again. Her No-Maj parents had died when she was quite young, and until she turned 11, she'd had no idea what made her so different. MACUSA did not operate its own foster care system, so Emily had been thrust into a world with some of the worst kinds of No-Maj people. She shuddered to think of what had happened to some of her foster siblings, who hadn't been lucky enough to receive letters from Ilvermorny. She had spent every holiday and every summer at the school, mostly keeping to herself with her books. It had been lonely, but immensely preferable to the American foster care system.
She hadn't made many friends at Ilvermorny, though, even within her academically minded house of Horned Serpent. After school, her research was done mostly alone, with the occasional colleague assisting. She was generally uncomfortable and nervous when talking to people. Lectures were fine - there she had confidence. But interpersonal relationships…
She hadn't needed to talk to people about anything other than work back at MACUSA. Her work there was considered quite essential, but not many had the desire to join her. Magical restoration was a new field of study, and everyone seemed to be already pigeonholed into their designated areas. Emily couldn't fathom this - one of the joys of magical restoration was the exposure to so many different subjects. Her research combined the use of transfiguration, charms, and arithmancy, all in the pursuit of restoring magical artifacts that had been destroyed by time or dark magic. She had had a few students who would now take over the department, and they had worked well together. But they were not friends.
Perhaps it was her obsession with her work that made friendships difficult. After all, magical artifacts didn't bring personal problems to the work table and were quite preferable to people. She wondered if Hogwarts would be any different. At least McGonagall seemed interested in Emily's work, and it seemed as if the Restoration Task Force would be willing students. After all, it was their school, their national heritage, that had been threatened with destruction. They would likely be very eager to do the work correctly. Emily was starting to feel hopeful about this new job, even though she still couldn't shake the sense that this was the beginning of something big.
Emily walked into the MACUSA building in New York on June 1 with a feeling of trepidation. Nerves were always her downfall. She took a deep breath and headed toward the President's office. His secretary showed her the correct portkey and then bustled off to her desk to finish taking care of the memos tapping her desk. Everyone in this office knew that Emily was quiet and preferred to be left alone, so there were no tearful goodbyes.
Emily made sure the shoulder straps of her bag were fastened tight, and she closed her eyes as she reached out a finger to touch the broken pen which would take her to Hogwarts. Here goes nothing, she thought.