1995. 9. 9

Four days had passed since she had followed Harry from his Defense Against the Dark Arts class but failed to talk to with him. These past four days she had been busy exploring the upper floor of the castle, avoiding Draco at all cost. How? Well, she had come upon a marvelous discovery on the seventh floor. A magical room that only appeared when she needed something. The Room of Requirement is what she later discovered it was called. For the past three nights, she had spent the night in there, so that she did not have to return to the Slytherin dorms, where Draco and Snape would surely reprimand her for being so off-focus. The castle was so magnificent; Emma simply could not help herself.

She was foolish, however, to think that she could hide from Draco and Snape for long. As she was turning a corner on the fifth floor, she collided with a random figure, knocking her to the floor. When Emma opened her eyes, she gazed upward to see none other than her tutor, Severus Snape. Eyes wide open, Emma gulped, knowing that she was about to get a serious lecture.

"Stand."

Once Emma was on her feet, Snape motioned for her to follow him, which she did so hesitantly. The two of them walked all the way to Snape's office in silence, making Emma feel even more dread. Snape locked the door with his wand behind him, muttering another charm that Emma did not hear. Then, he turned to her and asked, "What were you thinking?" When Emma did not answer, Snape continued, "Did I not warn you that the Dark Lord is not a patient man? You have one day. If you do not convince Potter to meet you tomorrow afternoon... there will undoubtedly be consequences." Emma glanced at Snape's eyes. Was that concern or bottled anger she saw? At the moment, she couldn't tell.

"Okay, I'll... I'll tell by the Shrieking Shack tomorrow... say five?"

"Good, I will inform the others."

Emma took this as a cue that she was allowed to leave. As she made her way to the door, Snape added, "And Emma? Don't disappoint." With a nod, she used her gift to open the door without a wand and left Snape's office. What was she supposed to do now? Find Harry? What was so important about him anyway? Emma had heard that he was the child of prophecy. But what did that even mean? Her father, Sirius, was only infatuated with him, because he was James' son. Had he not of been, Harry would mean nothing to Sirius, right? What would her father think of her doing this? Emma thought of her uncle Regulus, who was a Death Eater, and how much her father wished he could have helped him before he was killed by Voldemort. However, he did not come to that realization while Regulus was still alive. Sirius and Regulus didn't get along at school. Would he think of her like his brother? A traitor? Emma would not be able to bear that, no matter how much she wanted Harry out of the picture.

Harry this, Harry that, that's all her father would talk about after speaking with Harry through letters or the fire place. He was always worried about Harry's safety at school... Was he worrying about Emma in the same way now? Snape had said a few days ago that Sirius had told Dumbledore to make sure Snape was taking care of her. Did he ask that about Harry as well? Feeling a little saddened, Emma decided to visit the library, hoping to have some alone time.

However, upon entering the library, Emma came face to face with Draco Malfoy. A little too obviously, she turned around and ran down the hallway, hoping he would not follow her. Thankfully, he did not. As Emma slowed her running, she heard voices coming around the corner. Quickly, she hid behind a nearby curtain, waiting for the group to pass by.

"Maybe Hermione is in here."

"I dunno, Harry. She said something about the third floor, didn't she?"

Harry Potter? Emma peaked through the curtains and sure enough, it was him. Was now a good time? What should she even say? Hi, my name is Emma Black. I'm Sirius daughter, bug off? No, she had to befriend him, right? Hi, I'm Emma. I knew your dad. Want to talk about it? That was better but still not enough. While she was trying to think of what to say, Harry and his friend had already rounded the corner and were gone.

Emma stepped out from behind the curtains with a sigh. "Sneaky, sneaky, peaky. You're not supposed to be here." An enormous, blue-headed figure came floating towards her. "Who are you?" "Oh, I'm insulted! I know who you are. You're the child of the murderer." How did this spirit-monster know that? Emma started feeling very uneasy. What was she supposed to say? The creature knew who she was. "I'm Peeves the Poltergeist." The Poltergeist then proceeded to start shouting, "Intruder in the castle! Intruder in the castle!" In a panic, Emma ran from Peeves down to the dungeons where, thankfully, he did not follow her. Great, that Poltergeist was probably going to tell Dumbledore, getting her and Snape in trouble.

A few hours later, Emma left the dungeons, hoping Peeves had gone to bother someone else. She only had until tomorrow afternoon to convince Harry to meet her near the Shrieking Shack. How on earth was she going to do this?