A few weeks had passed and Emily had been so caught up in school and the goings on that so much time had flown by. The headmaster had announced the Triwizard tournament, and Emily had sat in silence with the rest of the school when Harry Potter had been called as the fourth champion. She had read up on Harry Potter and discovered his story. She had felt something of an affinity for him based on their similar tumultuous pasts and Emily found herself wanting more and more to stand up against the dark. However she did have her own qualms, it said that Lord Voldemort had been a Slytherin, and her family was Slytherin. Did that mean she was bad? She and Harry Potter were on something of a first name basis, something founded primarily on proximity but nurtured by similarity.

The hall was dismissed and she made her way back to the common room. The throngs of people were swirling around and Emily felt her small frame pushed from behind and she found herself thrown forward into a cape of fur as opposed to the silky black Hogwarts robes. The boy before her was propelled forward and Emily landed on her hands and knees. She looked up as the figure whirled around staring at her.

"How DARE 'ou shof me!" The tall boy snarled at her. Emily felt her brow harden to stand up for herself, but she couldn't help but feel panic run through her system. This boy was much larger than her.

"Bolden, leave her alone!" A voice snapped. Emily looked up seeing a familiar face walk towards them. Alexander Prince helped her up and he put himself between him and the tall boy.

"Dat…" he motioned to Emily "…is yours?" He asked.

"Yes, she is with me." Alex said in a cool crisp voice. His face was schooled into a look of calm disinterest, but his eyes were sharp and alert.

"So it es true? You haf left Durmstrang?"

"I now attend Hogwarts yes, but you know transfer was for family reasons and therefore out of my control." He said. Emily could feel Alex's hand on her shoulder and she certainly sensed that the layers to the current confrontation were something much deeper than she had thought. A few people had paused to watch the standoff but nothing had really happened so the crowd generally remained oblivious to the exchange. The heavy moment of contemplation on the boy's face was drawn out as he eyed the two.

"It is shame zat you haf left, our quidditch team es down a seekar." He said and Emily could feel the tension in Alex's body diffuse. The boy, bolden reached out a hand and Alex shook it once in affirmation, and then the group of Durmstrang students departed. Alex kept his hand on Emily's shoulder and led her through the halls. As they neared the Gryffindor tower he turned to her.

"Alex… thank you!" Emily said looking up to the boy. He searched her face for a moment.

"You're welcome. They won't bother you now, just be careful? I don't think they would ever hurt other students, but it doesn't mean that they're capable." He said.

"You were friends with them at Durmstrang?" Emily asked. Alex looked around for a moment before answering.

"Durmstrangs reputation for the Dark Arts is not far off. There is a certain... social system that the student body abides by." He said. Emily understood. Suddenly Emily saw what looked like a long white hair that was handing off of his sleeve. She reached forward to pluck it, but it disappeared. Alex looked down to his sleeve and Emily stared at her empty hand.

"Sorry… thought I saw… never mind. Thank you again, I appreciate it." She said to the boy. He smiled and then they parted ways.

XXX

Because of the TriWizard tournament, special allowances had been made for first and second years to attend hogsmead weekends, however, they had to be paired with an older student. Emily had been paired with Hermione Granger, and the bushy haired girl was pleasant and Emily found she had a lot in common with her as they headed down the long snowy path to Hogsmead. They had ended up talking about transfiguration most of the way and Emily felt a thrill at really discussing more advanced topics with a fellow student. Dumbledore had given Emily what was considered a monthly allowance from the ministry. Twenty-Five Galleons a month was allotted to a Hogwarts student who remained a ward of the ministry, and it was more than enough for Emily to be able to stock up on some new quills and ink.

"Have you been to Honeydukes yet?" Hermione asked her. Emily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Then we definitely must make a stop. You know our muggle sweet shops? Imagine that, but magical." Emily's eyes went wide at the thought. It was nice having someone like Hermione who understood what it was like to come from a muggle background. The older girl seemed to enjoy showing Emily around the magical village and educating her. When they entered the shop Emily felt her eyes go wide at the mass of swirling colours and shapes and candies. The girls had met up with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in the shop. They had originally been showing around a second year Gryffindor boy, but he had apparently met up with another group of friends.

"How are you, Harry?" Emily asked him. He looked down at her, and gave her a small smile.

"I'm doing well enough." He said.

"But really, how are you?" She asked again, she could see that he was quite stressed and with the Triwizard tournament he had been much more distracted than she had known him to be. He regarded her for a moment, his face a small mix of confusion before he took a breath to reply.

"I'm ok… I think. I just have to wait and see." He said. Emily rested her hand on his arm for a moment before heading off to find Hermione.

After the joke shop, they had left Harry and Ron, who headed to the three broomsticks while Hermione and Emily had headed over to the bookstore. The rest of the day they spent reading in the shops. As the sun started to set, the girls left the shop and as they were walking there was a series of loud bangs. Hermione grabbed her hand and drug her back into an alley between two houses. The screams grew louder and Emily could feel her heart racing.

"Death Eaters" Hermione gasped. Both girls drew their wands. Emily wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but she followed Hermione silently watching around corners.

"We need to find a teacher or make it back to the school." She whispered, and she barely was able to finish the thought before a flash of red light crashed into the house by their heads.

"Run!" They bolted down to the end of the alley, but they were suddenly cut off by a cloaked figure. Hermione threw a few spells at the man and they turned about and ran the opposite direction. As the narrow path came to an end, then took the only turn to find they were suddenly boxed in. When they turned around, there was the same man basically on top of them. His low chuckle seemed more like a growl. Hermione shot sparks up into the air with her wand and Emily could feel her heart racing in panic. As the man moved his wand Emily suddenly saw what looked like dark grey splattered threads pulsing around the man. Normally she saw just a wisp here and there on people, but right now she saw it clear as day, a strange dingy grey light that was a strong rim around the man. As he continued to cast Emily watched as it shifted, the grey light channeling up to his arm and to his wand. Out of sheer instinct within the moment, Emily reached forward and grabbed onto the closest thread. As soon as her hand touched it, she could feel the warm sensation of a life. It was definitely alive. As it first touched her hand, it was like a warm wispy light silk that had nearly no weight, but when she closed her hand around it, she felt it grow taunt, like a sheet of fabric.

The man loud out a choking sound, and as he finished his wand movements, nothing shot out of his wand except for a few lame sparks. Emily pulled back and she could see the threads pull away slightly. The man let out a loud howl of frustration.

"What are you DOING?" All Emily knew was that the man had stopped. She gave one last massive tug and she could feel a surge of her own power as the threads tore away from the man. She stumbled back on the ground and she looked at the wispy threads of light she was holding. Previously they had been a dull lame grey but now they were a pure and bright white and all too quickly she began to panic as the threads moved up her arm. She panicked, backing up in the snow trying to shake the thing off, but she could feel it envelop her, and she realized her own body was absorbing whatever she had just taken from the man. She could feel the heat growing in her limbs and suddenly everything went white for a split second. It was enough time for the man to cast his wand but nothing came of it.

"Crucio!" He gasped, and nothing happened. "Protego!" "Crucio, CRUCIO!" he screamed, and the girls watched his panic stricken face as nothing came from his wand.

"Stupefy!" Someone yelled and the girls watched as the man fell to the ground. Behind him they found professor Mcgonigal, her hat was askew and her hair was in disarray.

"Come along... NOW!" She said. Hermione grabbed Emily's arm and they were escorted back to the castle. Along the way they saw a few men in black who were being escorted by the ministry. Hermione and Emily were rushed up the path escorted by a ministry auror. As soon as he was out of ear shot Hermione turned to Emily.

"What happened back there?"

"I… I don't know! I just grabbed him… I think?"

"What do you mean? She pressed. Emily could feel her senses on high alert and everything felt very sharp, like it was too clear. She could feel and hear a sort of crackle around her ears like an annoying gnat that wouldn't leave her alone.

"I, I saw threads, and I grabbed it, and then I just pulled and he stopped." She said, surprise sounding in her voice at what she was saying. Hermione watched her very carefully and Emily couldn't help but feel the scrutiny the older girl was giving her.

"I think it best if you do not mention this to anyone other than the headmaster… Seeing things that no one else can see is never a good thing, even in the wizarding world." She said, choosing her words carefully.

"You didn't see it?" She gasped, Emily couldn't believe that the girl hadn't seen what she had.

"No, it looked like you had a hold of something, but I couldn't see anything." She said looked at her. Emily nodded to her uncomfortably, her eyes still wide with shock. They entered the common room to the roar and calamity of everyone gossiping to each other about what had happened. Emily watched Hermione glance back at her once before she went straight over to Ron and Harry. Emily fielded a few questions on her way through the busy room before she headed straight up the stairs to the girls dormitory and closed the door.

A/N

Wow, my first Author's Note. I feel all giddy. Thanks for reading, I'm just sort of busting these out, so sorry if they're a bit poor on the spelling/ grammar. Perhaps I'll head back and edit.

Your input is REALLY appreciated, so if you're confused about something, thing something is stupid, or just want to see something happen in the story, please let me know in a review. I'm more than happy to write and when you give me ideas I can go even further. Thansk! xx