Huntress Mage Chronicles

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing

The next morning, half the castle wakes to the sound of most of Justice House screaming in pain from a blood adoption ritual. The only Justice not screaming, or in pain, is Emerald because she did her pain session back when she was seven. Once the pain ends, each member of Justice House celebrates their new membership in Emerald's Clan Deathbringer by adding Death to the end of their name.

The next few days, everyone in first year talks about the Flying lessons coming up on Thursday except for Emerald who attends a Wizengamot meeting and arranges for Madam Bones to be her proxy while she attends school. Unfortunately for the Justices, they have Flying lessons with the Slytherins starting Thursday. While most first years are excited, a few like Neville and Hermione are nervous. In Neville's case, he has never been on a broom before. Partially because he has plenty of accidents on the ground.

Hermione knows you can't really learn flying out of a book, but still tries. At breakfast on Thursday she bores the Justices stupid with flying tips she got out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville hangs on her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else is very pleased when Hermione's lecture is interrupted by the arrival of the mail.

Emerald hasn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy has been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl is always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opens gloatingly at the Slytherin table despite Emerald going to her home every night and even between some classes.

A barn owl brings Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opens it excitedly and shows them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seems to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explains. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it like this and if it turns red – oh…" His face falls, because the Remembrall has suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…"

Neville is trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who is passing the Justice table, snatches the Remembrall out of his hand.

Emerald and Ron jump to their feet. Ron is half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who can spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, is there in a flash.

"What's going on?"

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Scowling, Malfoy quickly drops the Remembrall back on the table.

"Just looking," he says, and he slopes away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Emerald, Ron, and the other Justices hurry down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It is a clear, breezy day, and the grass ripples under their feet as they march down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees are swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins are already there, and so are twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Emerald has heard Fred and George Weasley complaining about the school brooms, saying that some of them start to vibrate if you fly too high, or always fly slightly to the left.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrives. She has short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barks. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Emerald glances down at her broom. It is old and some of the twigs stick out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," calls Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouts.

Emerald's broom leaps into her hand at once, but it is one of the few that do. Hermione Granger's simply rolls on the ground, and Neville's doesn't move at all. Perhaps brooms, like some animals, can tell when you are afraid, thinks Emerald; there is a quaver in Neville's voice that says only too clearly that he wants to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch then shows them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walks up and down the rows correcting their grips. Emerald and Ron are delighted when she tells Malfoy he's been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," says Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushes off hard before the whistle has touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouts, but Neville is rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Emerald sees his scared white face looking down at the ground falling away, sees him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and – in the blink of an eye Emerald is fifty feet from where she was a moment ago and Neville is safely sitting in front of her on her broom while his Remembrall is held tightly in her right hand.

"EMERALD DEATH-POTTER!"

The Heads of House are running towards them.

"Detention I'm guessing since any other punishment would require the cooperation of Hogwarts." Emerald says as the Heads get within reasonable conversation distance.

"As much as I would like to see a Potter punished, you may actually be rewarded for that display of flying skill," Professor Snape replies. "Where did you get that custom broomstick?"

"This… was a school broom." Emerald says as she looks down to find the old broom now looks brand new.

"Madam Hooch can give you an overview of Quidditch at the end of class if enough of your House mates are decent flyers. You can inform us at the staff meeting after dinner if you are forming a team," Professor McGonagall says before all five Heads of House return to the castle.

By the end of class, Neville has shown enough improvement to be a poor quality Chaser while Dean, Ron, and Susan are the Keeper and remaining Chasers and the Patil twins make surprisingly good Beaters. Emerald is designated the Justice team captain and Seeker.

Halfway through dinner, Malfoy shows up to cause trouble.

"Having a last meal, Bitch? When are you getting on the train back to the Muggles since there is no way you have enough decent flyers to field a Quidditch team?"

"You certainly talk big. Why don't you put your money and wand where your mouth is? Professor Flitwick can referee. If you win, any debts the House of Malfoy owes me are waved and I leave Hogwarts to become a Malfoy slave, but if I win, all debts are due immediately and you become a slave of the Justice clan." Emerald says as she finishes the food on her plate.

"An honor duel? I accept," Malfoy says as Professor Flitwick rises from his seat.

After glancing at Dumbledore, Flitwick clears an area for the duel and places wards to protect the audience. At Professor Flitwick's start signal, Malfoy opens his mouth to cast a spell only to be hit by emerald green ribbons from a wand less silent spell cast instinctively by Emerald. The spell ribbons hit so hard Malfoy flies through the wards and hits the wall before falling unconscious and the terms of the duel are enforced. The most obvious sign being the vanishing of Malfoy's robes and wand.

"I'm guessing the Malfoy debts exceeded their net worth. Join the house elves in the kitchen if you know what is good for you Draco No Name." Emerald says as she turns to leave the Great Hall.

"When my father hears about this…," Draco starts to say.

"He'll lock himself in the bedroom with your mother because they don't have access to any clothes if they are anything like you," Emerald says just as a house elf calling himself Dobby reports to her that all former Malfoy belongings have been shrunk and stored aboard the Hunter's Spear.

AN: Thanks for reading and please review with crossover suggestions and FFX/FFX-2 ability/dress sphere suggestions