Emma had settled in for the trip. The sun was sinking in the sky and she had discarded her hat and cape, and was reading from the Daily Prophet her mother had put in her suitcase. Lord Voldemort had written an editorial on admissions to magical schools, comparing the standards between Durmstrang and Hogwarts, which was why her mother had left it in there. She knew Mother thought the Daily Prophet was far too pro-muggle.
There was a knock on her compartment door, and on the other side stood the slim figure of Narcissa Black, holding a chocolate frog box and smiling. Emma jumped to her feet.
"Cissy!" She exclaimed and hugged the witch who entered her compartment.
"Emma! You're so tall now! And so glamorous." She pulled back the hug and looked at the sight of her old friend. Emma was stylish, in her black turtleneck dress and tall leather boots. Her chestnut brown hair was shiny and thick and she stood two inches above the blonde, petite Narcissa.
"Oh who cares what I look like, show me your ring, and share that chocolate." Emma squealed.
The two friends sat opposite one another on the seats as Narcissa opened the chocolate frog and Emma rifled through her small valise, which had been set with an expanding charm.
"Accio wine." Emma finally said, with a flick of her wand. A bottle of French red wine snapped into her hand, and with a twirl of her wand it was uncorked.
"I knew you'd have a few tricks up your sleeve after two years in France." Narcissa laughed and took a swig from the bottle of red wine.
"You have no idea all I learned there, Ciss." Emma replied, nibbling the chocolate.
"Like what?" Narcissa asked.
"So much. The French are so different, both snobbier and yet more egalitarian than we are in Britain. They are incredibly uptight, very obsessed with the prestige of their government, community and school. But not a single French witch or wizard knows their accurate blood status. A muggleborn and a pureblood are exactly the same-partially because nobody knows who is who." Emma said.
"Surely they must have some idea," Narcissa looked confused, but continued, "I mean, people can keep their own family records. The Black family archives are more detailed than the ministry's, for example."
"But that is the thing," Emma paused, taking a sip of wine, "Even the ones like us, they just don't care. It was very odd."
Narcissa and Emma were silent for a few minutes. Emma could tell that her old friend didn't like this conversation, and she felt guilty for suggesting anything was wrong with her family. She should be proud to be a pureblood, Emma thought to herself.
"Enough about me, I want to hear all that has happened at Hogwarts in the last two years. Who made the house quidditch teams, who are head boy and head girl, what unsuspecting first year has been accidentally drafted into the Slug Club." Emma asked with a nervous laugh.
"Well, in your year I know that your cousin James Potter and my cousin Sirius are quite the popular duo. They have two half-blood friends they're never seen without, but I don't know their names. Slytherin has taken the house cup every year since you've left, and head boy and head girl are Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewett. It seems we can't escape the shadow of Gryffindor." Narcissa sighed.
Emma harrumphed. Despite her newfound political curiosity, she still knew one thing: Gryffindors were to be loathed.
"At least they're purebloods." She remarked, with a twinge in her stomach as she said it.
"Hardly. They may have the right blood but that Alice has made something of a protege of a mudblood in your year. Lily or Rose or some flower name. Slughorn adores her, a real potions genius they say. If Lucius was still here it would drive him up the wall." Narcissa said with a twirl of her blonde locks.
"It's about time you told me of your engagement." Emma giggled. She felt a little sorry for Narcissa, after what her mother had said to her on the platform, but she pushed it into the back of her mind.
"Oh there isn't much to say. I'd known him because he was in Andro-, I mean, he was in my sister's year." Narcissa stumbled over her older sister's name. When Andromeda had married Ted Tonks three years ago, she had become nobody to her family.
"Anyway," Narcissa continued, "I saw him at the All Hallows Ball last year, at the Lestranges, and again at the Christmas party at Grimmauld Place. I know he is a bit older, but he's a good match for me. And to think, someday I will be lady of Malfoy Manor."
Emma smiled, seeing her friend happy. Not a word of love crossed Narcissa's lips, but such was the way with pureblood families. Love was not the most important thing in marriage: power was. Happiness for them was in the strength of their bloodline, not the fervor of their feelings.
Just at that moment, the door to the compartment slid open, and there stood Emma's older brother Lewis, a 7th year with Narcissa.
"Lewis!" Narcissa exclaimed, and a strong flush rose over her cheeks.
Lewis ducked his sandy blonde head and nodded to Narcissa.
"Hello, Miss Black," He said quietly, "Em, I came to tell you that we've caught sight of the castle. Best to pack up your, um, reading materials before they make final inspections." He looked up and Emma saw that his face was just as crimson, from the nape of his neck to the roots of his sandy brown hair.
He disappeared as quickly as he had come. Emma turned a confused eye to Narcissa, whose eyes looked shiny with tears.
"Well, best you pack up and get ready for the sorting. I know your little brothers have to make up for your placement." She said with a snap to her voice.
Emma was shocked at Narcissa, who had never disparaged her sorting before.
"I'm sure they'll succeed wherever they go Cissy." Emma replied, quietly, and with a confused voice.
The two girls gave a curtsey to one another, as purebloods often did alone, and Narcissa blinked her eyes rapidly to dispel the liquid, and left. The train slowed and Emma realized her compartment was a mess.
"Shit." She muttered as she picked up all her books and papers, taking extra care to make sure that Gaunt's Registry of Illustrious and Pure Wizarding Families was at the very bottom of her valise. She knew that Professor Dumbledor strictly forbade such books in the castle. She swung on her knee-length blue cape, put on her hat, and walked briskly down the corridor. The train was empty and by the time she reached the carriages, there was only one left. A tall, dark haired young man in Gryffindor colors was waiting beside it, and he offered his hand chivalrously when she approached, clearly not recognizing her after two years away.
"Sirius Black, at your service ma'am," he said.
"Yes, I know." She replied.
Sirius wore a face of puzzlement. The whole carriage ride to the castle, he sent a barrage of questions at her, trying to figure out who she was, why there was such a gorgeous fifth year he'd never met before.
"Hm." or "Oh." Was all she would say in reply. She was enjoying his confusion and curiosity. She had a member of the most ancient and noble House of Black enthralled with her. Mother would be proud.
"How's the quidditch looking this year?" She asked him a question in return.
"Gryffindor is bound to take the cup this year. Ravenclaw lost their seeker to Puddlemere United and Slytherin's beaters are a revolving door." He said haughtily.
Emma's ears perked up. Raveclaw needing a seeker? She had always wanted to play on a Hogwarts house team…
Sirius must have kept bragging about his own quidditch skill, but Emma wasn't listening, as the carriage pulled up to the front entrance of the castle and she caught her breath. It was even more impressive than she remembered, the imposing turrets and the dark stone illuminated by the moon. She felt wonderfully at home for the first time in years.
"It's beautiful." She whispered, standing up.
"Have you never been here before?" Sirius asked. Emma remembered that he was still in the carriage with her.
"Not for some time." Emma replied. She looked back down at the attractive young man with her and felt a warmth in her chest. She didn't know if it was from the sight of him after so many years, or from the feeling that she was finally at home again.
Whatever it was, she knew that her next three years at Hogwarts would change her life.