She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…

Marauder's Phase

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

Anger

I was beyond angry – I was furious. How could Sirius have broken a promise to me? He'd never done that before. And at a funeral, with his own brother…I couldn't understand it. What had been said, to make Sirius hit Regulus that way?

My jaw ached only slightly now, but it wasn't the fact that I'd been hurt that made me upset – it was how it had happened, and who had done it.

I knew it had been an accident – but that didn't dispel the fact that it had still happened.

It wasn't easy being surrounded by people I either didn't know, or didn't want to talk to. I'm sure that if Bellatrix smirked anymore, her face was gonna fall off, especially when she saw how red my jaw was. I couldn't wait to get back to school.

Every time Sirius or Regulus attempted to talk to me, I would clamp my jaw shut and pointedly turn in the opposite direction. I thought that they would both get the hint, but they didn't give up trying to get me to talk to them until we were back at Hogwarts, and I finally snapped.

We had just exited Dumbledore's office, and were treading the familiar path toward the Great Hall (all four of us – I really wished that Bellatrix would leave, to say nothing of the other two) when Sirius and Regulus both said, at exactly the same time: "It wasn't my fault."

I stopped dead in my tracks (I was walking ahead of them, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible) and they all stopped too.

"I know you're mad," Sirius said quickly. (No kidding.)

"I understand," Regulus added. (Do you? Do you really?)

"But it wasn't my fault." They said again, and then I sensed that they glared at each other.

I whirled around to face them, and found that my sense was correct. "Not your fault!" I hissed angrily. "Not your fault!" My voice was rising. "I don't care whose fault it is! I don't care who got hurt, or who broke a promise to whom! Nothing, I repeat NOTHING either of you said to each other should have made you treat each other that way!" I looked from one startled Black to the other, before turning and stalking away from them.

They both had the sense to not follow me – I'd finally gotten rid of them.

But, instead of making me feel relieved, I felt sad.

Classes were in session that day (the others and I wouldn't go back to that until the next day), so I expected the common room to be empty when I got up there, but no such luck.

Lily, James, Peter and Remus were all there – James was watching Lily brush her gorgeous dark red hair, and Peter was trying to bribe Remus to get him to do his Transfigurations homework for him.

I stood back for a moment, watching them, until Remus seemed to sense my presence, and glanced up.

As soon as his golden eyes met my hazel ones, I wanted to run to him and hug him, but the feeling went away when Lily looked over, and saw the mark on my face where Sirius has hit me. "Emma!" She exclaimed, throwing her brush onto the couch as she got up to come over to me. "What happened to your face!"

"Looks like someone hit her." James stated calmly, although his eyes were troubled.

"Who?" Remus asked.

"Sirius!" I said sharply, and Lily's steps faltered. James and Remus exchanged a shocked glance, and even Peter looked stunned.

"E-Emma?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Never mind," I said, feeling tears threaten in my eyes again, and I ran straight up to my dorm before I could cry.

The first thing I saw was that stupid egg, and that's when I remembered the Second Task.

Oh, damn it.