Chapter 22: Invitation
Emily hummed and massaged the shampoo into her hair, letting herself relax as the warm water hit her back, getting the tension out of her muscles.
It was a month or so into the summer and she had used her time to relax and forget about her troubles, which all seemed to revolve around two certain brothers.
At the beginning of the summer she had prepared herself to avoid the intruder of their household all summer, but surprisingly, Sirius wasn't staying at their house and had found an apartment of his own. Apparently someone from his family actually didn't hate him and left the disowned boy some money.
What surprised her most, however, was the cold goodbye the Sirius and James had exchanged. Also the lack of replies James was sending back to Sirius after James received an owl from Sirius.
They must be fighting, but over what?
She pondered as she searched her closet for something to wear, a towel wrapped around her body and one wrapped around her head.
It was a rare occurrence for James Potter and Sirius Black to be mad at one another. Although, it seemed more like James was mad at Sirius, while Sirius was trying to apologize.
Well Sirius can be very stupid.
She thought to herself as she stared at herself in the mirror, smoothing out the wrinkles of the dark purple robes she wore. They complimented her tall, lean figure and made her skin look a little pale, causing her long black hair stand out.
Emily scrunched up her face in thought and placed a hand on her lip, staring at herself.
"Hmmm, something's missing." She tapped her bare foot and ran a hand through her hair. She watched her hand glide through the straight black hair and suddenly her eyes lit up. Grabbed a purple hair tie and put her hair up into a high ponytail.
She nodded to her reflection, grabbed and pocketing her wand, even though she couldn't use it legally outside of school, and left her room, closing the door behind her. Her footsteps echoed as she walked down the stairs, heading through the living room and into the kitchen.
She was immediately greeted by a house elf.
"Good morning Mistress Emily." Gremin squeaked and bowed, his long nose almost touching the floor.
Emily nodded. "Morning Gremin." She took a seat at the kitchen table, looking around the empty kitchen.
"Is there anything you need Mistress Emily?"
"Where are my parents and brother?" She asked, ignoring the question.
"Master and Mistress Potter have gone to the hospital and Master James is still asleep." Gremin said bowing again.
Emily sighed. "Right, then please prepare my breakfast."
The house elf bowed for the third time and returned to the stove. Emily leaned back in her chair and felt a little worry. This was the third hospital visit her parents had to take. She knew her parents weren't young anymore, and were getting older and more frail by the day, but she didn't like the weary look in her mother's eyes, or the way she couldn't bend over, or lift heavy objects, and the sudden weight loss.
Death was an inevitable thing for everyone, but Emily was too young for her mother, her beloved mother, the only one that showed her love, to die.
Her father too.
Although they didn't get along, he was still her father and deep down she held some compassion for him. Also, he hadn't disowned her from her inheritance after she was sorted into Slytherin. So either he cared for her back, or her mother didn't let him. Either way she didn't really want him to die either.
Why the hell would they have children so late in life? If they had tried earlier then they wouldn't be…like this.
Emily snapped out of her thoughts when a plate was set in front of her. She looked down at the pancakes, eggs, and bacon, all covered with syrup, and then smiled at the house elf. "Thank you Gremin, this is lovely."
Gremin smiled and bowed once again. "It pleases me to make you smile Mistress Emily, when it is quite a sight to see."
Emily picked up her fork and twirled it in her hand absentmindedly. "Are you saying that I don't smile enough?"
Gremin gasped and shook his head. "Of course not Mistress Emily! I did not mean to insult you. I shall punish myself if you see fit."
Emily laughed. "No, no Gremin, I was just kidding. You may go."
Gremin smiled and bowed before disappearing with a snap of his fingers.
Emily sighed and began to eat, enjoying the silence of her kitchen, and not having eat with the eyes of the judgmental Slytherins watching her every move, looking for some sort of mistake. Waiting for her to make a fool of herself and show them she wasn't worthy of being in the noble House of Slytherin.
Emily placed her empty dish in the sink and leaned against the counter, closing her eyes and taking a deep calming breath.
As she began to think of her House, she began to think of her Housemates, and then began to think of Regulus.
I wonder what he's doing now…
Regulus sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling.
Emily…
"Oh quit sulking Regulus, this is a happy occasion."
Regulus looked across the table at his cousin Narcissa, and scowled.
"I am not sulking."
Narcissa laughed. "Of course your not, but that look on your face tells me exactly what you're thinking of, or rather, who you're thinking of."
Regulus glared. "I'm not thinking of anyone."
Narcissa smirked. "I'm sure. Why you even broke up with her is beyond me. She would have made such a nice addition to our family."
Regulus clenched his hand into a fist and glared at the table. "I thought you didn't like her."
Narcissa shrugged as she shuffled through the papers in her hands. "Well I didn't at first, becauseshe had spilled that hair growth potion on me, the most humiliating thing to ever happen to me in my life, I wanted to make her life a living Hell."
Regulus smirked. "I thought you looked quite smashing with a beard and mustache."
Narcissa ignored his comment, although she did throw him a glare. "However, once she came out of her shell, I came to find her quite a charming girl, witty too. It was your mistake to let her go Regulus."
"She betrayed me."
Narcissa blinked and looked up at him. "Really, how?"
He opened his mouth, but closed it again. "I'm not going to tell you."
Narcissa smirked. "If you're not willing to tell me then you must not want the reasoning to get out, which either means that you still care for her, or it doesn't matter. And both just make me think you should take her back even more."
"It's complicated."
"You're probably making it more complicated than it has to be. If you love her, and she loves you back then you should be able to forgive her for anything she's done. Do you love her Regulus?"
"She doesn't love me." Regulus said simply.
"You don't know that." Narcissa said with amusement. "Girls like Emily can hide their emotions easily. You wouldn't be able to tell if she loved you unless she told you."
"She doesn't love me." He repeated, looking intently into Narcissa's blue eyes.
"What does love have to do with anything?" A third voice interjected. "Relationships should be built on compatibility and reputation, not love."
"You are a true romantic sister." Narcissa said sarcastically.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and took a seat in the chair next to Regulus. "You should learn that a marriage in our family is not based on love."
"I love Lucius, and we will be getting married after I graduate." Narcissa protested.
Bellatrix smirked. "Yes, but first you were paired because you two were compatible, just as Rodolphus and I were. The Malfoy and Lestrange families are perfect matches for two women from the Black family."
"You're getting married in three weeks. Shouldn't you at least pretend that you're looking forward to it?" Narcissa asked sternly.
"I am looking forward to it," Bellatrix said. "But not for the same reason you're looking forward to the day you marry Lucius."
Narcissa pursed her lips and looked back down at the papers in her hands.
Bellatrix grinned before turning her steely gaze to her younger cousin. "It is time that you also begin to think of your future Regulus. Either you find yourself a compatible match or your mother will find one for you. The Potter family is an ancient pureblood family, and Emily has the potential of being a great asset to the Dark Lord's reign. She has proved that she can handle pressure, and that she can handle power. Don't be stubborn Regulus. Whatever she's done doesn't matter because one powerful name is good, but two would be much greater when you kneel in front of our Lord to give your servitude."
Regulus looked away from Bellatrix and stared at his hands.
"Do you understand Regulus?" Bellatrix pressed, her eyes narrowed.
Regulus nodded. "Yes."
Bellatrix leaned back in her chair and smirked. "Good." She looked across the table at her sister. "Are those the invitations Narcissa?"
Narcissa nodded absently. "Yes."
"Please add one and send it to Miss Emily Potter."
Regulus's head snapped up. "What?!"
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "I thought when you said you understood that meant that you were going to try and get her back. What better place then at my wedding?"
Regulus scowled and stood up, glaring at Bellatrix. "I don't want her to come!"
Bellatrix laughed. "It's not about what you want Regulus, it's about what I want, and I would like her there. Even if you won't take her back she could still be an important asset. I could use this opportunity to speak to her about her joining our ranks."
"What makes you think she'll even join?"
Narcissa and Bellatrix exchanged a glance.
"Is there any reason for her not to Regulus?" Bellatrix asked.
Regulus looked away, remembering Emily's words.
Because Sirius kissed me!
I-I kissed him back. I…I didn't push him away.
Yes. I kissed him, and I enjoyed it.
Regulus clenched his hands into fists.
If she enjoyed it so much then she will take his side over mine. She probably won't even come to the wedding.
"Well, Regulus?" Narcissa prodded.
"No, there's no reason." He said quietly before leaving the room.
Narcissa watched him leave before turning her attention back to Bellatrix. "So send her an invitation?"
Bellatrix nodded and smiled coldly. "Yes, as I said, I have to speak to her."
Emily watched her brother over the top of her book as he walked into the living room and sat on the couch next to her. He crossed his arms and stared at the fireplace.
She raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"
"No." He said shortly.
Emily smirked. "Well there is this strange expression on your face that looks as if you're thinking, but that's preposterous."
James glared at her. "You wouldn't understand."
Emily closed her book and stared back. "Try me."
"Sirius told Snape about Remus."
Emily raised an eyebrow. "He told Snape that Lupin is a Werewolf?"
"No, but he knew that Snape wanted to know about Remus, so he thought it would be funny to tell Snape about the passageway under the tree and how to get into it. So Snape ended up seeing Remus transform, and if it wasn't for me Snape would have been killed."
"You saved Snape? Why? No one really likes him anyway."
James glared. "I wouldn't let anyone just die Emily, no matter how much I didn't like them. And I wouldn't let Remus live with the guilt of knowing he killed someone."
"Right." She spoke with disinterest. "Wouldn't want him to feel guilty about anything."
James glared at her sharply.
"So,this is why you're mad at Black? Seems to me that it was just a prank on his part. He's known for his cruelness to Slytherin."
"He took it too far." James said leaning back into the couch. "I know he hates Snape, but he put his own friends in danger just because of a prank."
Emily opened her book and continued to read. "What makes you think it was just a prank?" She asked absentmindedly.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh nothing." She said with smile.
Unless of course, he stupidly did it because of me. She thought to herself sarcastically.
"But you shouldn't let a stupid boy's mistake ruin a friendship. Black is an arrogant idiot who lives in the present. You of all people should know that when he does something he doesn't think things through. When he told Snape about the passageway, he probably thought it would be funny for Snape to get a great scare by encountering a Werewolf. He didn't see that he was endangering Lupin, and he most definitely didn't think that you, someone who hates Snape just as much as he does, would be mad at him. I don't think it'll be very good for either of your sanity if you stay away from each other."
James stared at her, remaining silent.
Emily glanced at him. "Although, as a result Snape is now indebted to you."
James scoffed. "Like I would ever need something from Snape."
No, but thanks to you I think that's what got Snape off my back.
Emily shrugged. "Who knows what the future holds."
James narrowed his eyes and sat up. "I know how Sirius acts and how he views things, but how do you know him so well Emily?"
Emily glared. "I don't like what you're insinuating, darling brother."
James smirked. "I'm not insinuating anything, loving sister. I'm merely asking why you know so much about my best mate, hm?
"Oh so he's your best mate again?"
"Never stopped." He said. "Now answer the question."
Emily pursed her lips and the two siblings stared at each other.
Sudden taps on the window made the two Potters look up. There was large eagle owl at the window, an envelope in its mouth. Emily shot out of her seat, willingly taking the distraction from the current conversation.
She opened the window and the owl swooped in gracefully, landing on the arm of the couch.
"Guess it's for me." She muttered, taking the envelope from the owl. She stared at the wax seal of the envelope for a long time before breaking it and taking out its contents.
"What is it?" James asked.
Emily furrowed her eyebrows, the letter held tightly in her hand. "It's an invitation."
She looked up at her brother.
"To Bellatrix Black's wedding."
