A/N: Well, howdy all! Just want to say thanks for the reviews and I truly appreciate it. Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to drop a few a line or two letting me know what you think. Thanks and rock on!
Chapter Three - There and Back Again
"Emerson! Get down here right now or we'll be late!" Harry called from the foot of the stairs on the
rainy, gray morning of September first. The Hogwarts Express was leaving at eleven o'clock, as usual, and it was
already half past ten.
Meanwhile, his daughter was loitering as if they had all the time in the world.
"What more could she possibly be trying to take to Hogwarts?" he grumbled as he took his seat behind the wheel of their car.
They'd bought the sleek Jaguar just after Ben was born when it became evident that the infant loathed Portkey travel, and since Ballynore had never been connected to the Floo Network and Apparation was out of the question, buying a car was their only viable option. Conventionally, Jaguars weren't family cars but they'd had it remodeled to their specifications. And with the growth of their family, rather than upgrading to another vehicle, they'd simply added the appropriate expansion charms as well as a few modifications solely for convenience's sake.
"Well, you know girls," Hermione said from beside him. She tried to hide a smile but Harry noticed anyway and it irritated him. What could possibly be funny about this? Besides-
"You were never like that!" he raged, turning to look at her.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
Harry mouthed wordlessly for a second. "Well.. you.. but-"
"Exactly," his wife replied smugly just as Em got in and slammed the door.
"Sorry," she said breathlessly. "Ok, vayamos!"
"What's vayamos?" asked Luke, from the middle row where he was sitting beside Davina in her car seat. Emerson and Ben were in the back seat, Ben flipping through a Martin Miggs comic book.
"It means 'Let's go' in Spanish."
"Vayamos!" yelled Luke.
"Vayamos!" cried Davina, swinging her legs. She was fully recovered from her illness and was her usual cheery self again.
Hermione grinned. "Well, you heard your customers."
Harry glared at her but he couldn't stay annoyed for long, not with his children chattering and laughing behind him. Ben was reading aloud from the comic book and doing the character voices, to the loud amusement of Luke and Davina, and he found himself relaxing in spite of himself.
Thankfully, with the aid of the enhancements on the car, they reached King's Cross with ten minutes to spare. Hermione went through the barrier first with Davina, the other three kids went next (Luke bunny-hopped; so much for being inconspicuous.) and Harry followed with Em's Hogwarts trunk.
As soon as he stepped onto Platform 9¾, Harry's senses were assaulted by the noisy chaos that always brought him back to his own school days. There was the chatter of students greeting friends, the hisses and assorted noises of cats and other pets disgruntled at being caged and the odd sounds that the gleaming scarlet engine emitted. The platform was teeming with youngsters and their parents and siblings out to see them off for another year of learning.
Harry smiled as he watched Emerson already happily chattering with her best friend, who was holding an excited Davina. Hermione was greeting Tonks, who was looking rather sedate today with a short, dark-brown bob of a hairstyle.
"Howdy, Harry," said a voice behind him and he turned.
"Remus! How're you?" Harry said, giving the older man a quick hug.
It was rather scary to Harry sometimes when he thought about the fact that he and Remus had daughters who were within a month of each other's ages. It made him feel distinctly old, even though he knew that he was young enough to be Remus's son. Remus had started a family rather late in life, though it seemed to suit him. Certainly, being the father of two daughters and the husband of such a vivacious woman as Tonks had largely diminished the aura of despair that had always seemed to linger about him.
"Can't complain. Their second year, huh?" Remus said, gesturing at their giggling girls.
Harry shook his head. "I can't believe it, either. Seems just yesterday I was terrified of even burping her and now-"
"- there are three others," Remus finished for him, smiling.
Harry grinned. Yep, there were three others. Instinctively, his eyes sought them out through the crowd and his heart lightened further when he found them. Ben was over by the train doors talking to the conductor, no doubt grilling the poor man to death. Luke was nowhere to be seen - no, there he was jumping up and down in front of Bill Weasley, who was seeing his and Fleur's seventeen year old son, Etienne, off for his final year at Hogwarts. And Davina was now clinging to Emerson, obviously not wanting to be parted from her sister again so soon.
The first warning whistle blew and Harry and Remus quickly leviated their daughters' trunks onto the train. Most of the kids were hurrying aboard and Remus went off to hug and kiss his girls goodbye. Then Emerson and Carolyna came over and Harry hugged them in turn.
"Have a good term, girls," he said, plucking a very upset Davina off Em. A part of Harry wished he could cry too, but how would that look? His time at Hogwarts had been some of the best of his life, near-death experiences notwithstanding, and he couldn't deprive his daughter of such an integral part of growing up. Still, he couldn't help wishing she wasn't going so far away from home.
Ben and Luke reappeared to hug their big sister and finally Hermione held Emerson close. "Send us an owl when you get there, alright?"
Em nodded. "Bye Mum. Bye Dad. Bye Ben and Budget! Don't cry, Vina. I'll be home in two weeks for yours and Mum's birthdays, ok?"
Davina only wailed louder just as the final warning whistle blew behind them and the two girls spun around and ran onto the train. After closing the doors, they leaned out the window and waved at their parents and siblings on the platform. Most of the parents Disapparated when the train started moving, Remus and Tonks included, but Harry and Hermione stayed until it had faded out of sight.
Finally, he sighed and looked around at the rest of his brood, rubbing little Davina's back soothingly. "Well, vayamos a casa. Let's go home."
********
Emerson and Carolyna dragged their trunks to an empty compartment and flopped down onto their seats.
"Whew," Lyna said, fanning herself. "That is always the hardest part of September first, isn't it?"
Em nodded, looking miserable. "I hate leaving them. Especially Vina."
Carolyna's warm, honey-colored eyes softened. "But you'll see them in two weeks like you said."
"Yeah." Emerson jumped up. "C'mon, I need to go to the bathroom."
The girls bumped into old classmates and other people they knew, lingered over greetings, exchanged snippets of news. On their way back, Lyna was telling Em about how the sunburn she'd gotten in Texas was healing. Emerson, with her olive complexion, tanned excellently but even with all the Anti-Burn Spells that had been placed on her, Carolyna had still sustained a few painful sunburns.
"Mum put some kinda salve on it and it just-" Lyna's voice trailed off.
"It what?" asked Em, looking up at her friend. She turned her gaze to the direction Lyna was staring in and Em's eyes narrowed. Her least favorite person at Hogwarts, Jerrianne Youngleer, as well as her usual sidekicks, Janie Crestmore and Maria Ingalls ("The Fakers" as Em referred to them) were prancing down the corridor as if they owned it.
Em felt a great rush of dislike. Jerrianne was the leader and always walked about with Janie and Maria flanking her, which invariably led to a rather slanted look since Janie was taller than Jerrianne, who was taller than Maria. Maria was the nicest of the three, if "nice" were a word that could be applied to them. She was as pale and freckled as a redhead but with dark eyes and hair as ebony as Emerson's. Janie had chin-length dark blonde hair and light blue eyes that always seemed to be squinting in disdain at whatever she was gazing at. And Jerrianne - she looked like a ridiculously expensive china doll, there was no other description.
These three girls had been the only blights on her first year at Hogwarts, largely because she had tried to be friendly and, inadvertently, had let them walk all over her somewhat.
Well, not anymore.
She decided to give them a fresh chance first, though. "Hi, Jerrianne, Janie, Maria," she said cheerfully as the three girls drew abreast of them. "Have a good summer?"
Jerrianne and the Fakers walked right by Em and Lyna without a word, though Jerrianne gave Em a filthy look before tossing her perfect blonde hair over her shoulder.
Well, nobody can say I didn't try. Emerson twisted around to watch them. "Right back at ya!" she called to their retreating backs. Turning around, she scowled. "Hags. I'm telling you, Lyna, I'm not letting them fu-"
"Don't say that word," interrupted Lyna, frowning.
Em widened her eyes innocently. "What word?"
Carolyna's frowned deepened and after a second, Em smiled. "Ok. I'm not letting them mess with me this year. And you're right. Merlin knows Mum and Dad would probably cut my tongue out if they knew what a dirty mouth I have."
Lyna snorted and the two of them burst out laughing. As they neared their compartment, they saw a mousy-haired boy, obviously a first year, sitting on his trunk in the corridor and looking near tears.
"Hi. Are you ok?" Em asked once they'd reached him. "Why are you sitting out here?"
"All the compartments are full," he muttered, not looking up.
She looked over at Lyna, who shrugged. "What's your name, love?"
The boy looked up and Em saw that he had amazing blue eyes. "William."
"William," she repeated. "Can I call you 'Will'?"
He nodded.
"Will, I'm Emerson. This is Carolyna."
Lyna smiled. "But you can call me Lyna. Come on, you can sit with us."
Will's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Em nodded. "Really. Up you get, now."
They helped Will drag his trunk to their compartment that, miraculously, hadn't been discovered and invaded. The hours went by quickly. Will turned out to be hilarious, for all he had initially seemed so reserved. They learned he had three younger brothers, that his dad was a Muggle. His mum was a witch though, and had told him all about Hogwarts.
"I hope I'm in Gryffindor," he said excitedly. "It sounds like the best house!"
Em and Lyna exchanged grins. "It is."
Will's eyes widened. "Are you in Gryffindor?"
They nodded. "Yep," Em said. "We'll cross our fingers for you that you'll get in too."
The compartment door slid open and a tall, blond boy stuck his head in the doorway. "Ah, I should have known," he said, looking grave. "When I hear talk of 'getting into' something, I shouldn't be at all surprised that Emerson Potter is somehow involved."
Em blushed crimson while Lyna nudged her and giggled. Emerson had the biggest crush on Etienne Weasley, Hogwarts' new Head Boy. She'd known Etienne her whole life and she thought him to be the most gorgeous specimen of the male gender that she had ever beheld. Those crinkled blue eyes! That too-long blond hair that he was forever shaking aside!
"For your information, Etienne, I was merely expressing my support for Will here to get into Gryffindor House. You know, the one you're a part of?" Em was proud of her voice for not wavering, though her face was still hot and she couldn't quite look head-on at his magnificence and brillia- ahem, his face.
Etienne grinned. "I'm just joking, Little Sis," he said, sprouting that nickname he had for her that Emerson hated because it always brought her back to reality. Which was basically that he was practically her brother. Or at least, a cousin. Deep in her heart, she knew it was all superficial on her part anyway; but it was just so much fun having a crush!
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Will," Etienne was saying. "Now I know I'm not supposed to show favoritism, but just between you and me, Gryffindor is the best house. Good luck at the Sorting."
Will grinned. "Thanks."
"Hey there, Carolyna. See you around, Little Sis. Stay out of trouble, but that's asking the impossible, isn't it?"
The door slid shut behind him and Em huffed. "He makes it sound like I'm some kind of raving terror. Everybody knows that's Marc and Marissa. I only did something like that once and it was an accident!"
"Well, you gotta admit it was pretty funny," giggled Carolyna.
"What did you do and who are Marc and Marissa?" asked Will, his eyes alight with anticipation.
Em leaned back in her seat and pretended to pout as she listened to Lyna tell Will about how she had "accidentally" filled the Great Hall with huge, soap bubbles that smelled like lavender and which refused to pop for hours. It wasn't long, though, before she was laughing too as she recounted how Jerrianne's perfect blonde hair had gotten soaked and how the other girl had freaked out as if it were the end of the world to have limp hair.
That had been the whole point of Em's prank, anyway - although it had gotten out of hand. She'd been given detention but it'd been so worth it, especially with the bonus effect that the soap bubbles had on Jerrianne's hair. They'd turned the blonde's locks a slight, but noticeable, shade of lavender that didn't wash out for a week.
That little thing was extremely weak compared to what Marc and Marissa Weasley got up to, however, and the rest of the trip was occupied with telling Will about the exploits of this set of infamous Weasley twins and the other Weasley grandkids.
When the train arrived at Hogwarts, the girls said goodbye to Will, who would be taking the traditional first-year boat ride to the castle. Em and Lyna took their places at the Gryffindor table, optimistically saving a seat for him.
"Emerson, my girl! How're you?" somebody said loudly right by Em's left ear.
She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Hello, Brandon. I'm fine, thanks for asking. And I'm not your girl."
Brandon grinned. "Ah, come on now. Aren't you done playing hard-to-get yet?"
"I don't want to be 'gotten', Brandon," Em said wearily. At least, not by you.
Brandon Wood had been after her since she was ten years old, which Em thought was really creepy. Whenever she'd complained though, the adults had just chuckled and said he just liked annoying her. Well, he certainly did that. He was always at Ballynore since his dad, Oliver Wood, was co-owner of Puddlemere United with Harry and his little brother, Andy, was Ben's best friend.
It wasn't that he was gross or anything; he was actually kind of cute in a generic sort of way, with his brown hair and eyes. Em just didn't like him like that. But the obsession gene ran in the Wood family and Brandon was relentless in his pursuit. Worse, he was a fifth year so she still had two more years of him to endure. Unless something changed before then, which she highly doubted.
"Brandon, I swear to-" Em began.
"Oi, Brandon!" somebody interrupted. "Harassing young Miss Potter already? And term's barely started. Why don't you give it a rest? The girl ain't interested."
"Hey, Marissa," Brandon said to his Quidditch teammate. And to Em's surprise, he blushed. "Just kidding around, you know."
Marissa rolled her eyes. "Leave the girl alone, Brandon, for God's sake."
Brandon grinned. "I will if you give me a peck on the cheek."
Marissa arched an eyebrow. "Don't push your luck, pal." She sat down beside Em, who sighed.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. You're still trying out for Quidditch next week, right?"
Emerson smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Just then the doors of the Great Hall opened and a long line of first years came in.
"Keep an eye out for Merrick," Marissa whispered, referring to her younger brother who was starting his first year.
A hush fell over the Hall as the Sorting ran its course, punctuated by the periodic outbursts of applause as the new students were placed in their respective houses. Merrick Weasley joined his brother and sister, of course, and Em and Lyna cheered particularly hard when one William Shriver was also placed in Gryffindor.
The meal went by quickly - they were all starving - and after announcements, they went up to Gryffindor Tower. After saying goodnight to Will, Em and Lyna found their dorm, where their trunks had been placed on opposite ends of the room with another bed between them.
"Shit," Em muttered, frowning at the beds.
Last year, hers and Lyna's beds had been right next to each other, which had come in very handy for whispered conversations late in the night. The arrangement had obviously gotten messed up.
Lyna went to check whose trunk was in the middle. "Darn, it's Maria Ingalls'."
One of the Fakers. Em looked around the room. They were the only ones there so far. "Quick, let's switch the trunks before they get here. They'll never know."
They had gotten halfway through shoving Maria's trunk to the other end when the door opened and Jerrianne and the Fakers came in. They stopped short in the doorway, staring down at Em and Lyna who had both frozen when the door opened.
"What're you doing?" asked Jerrianne, wrinkling her perfect nose.
"Hey, that's my trunk!" cried Maria. "What're you doing with my trunk?"
Em straightened up. "We were just... arranging it. See, it was kinda to the side so we wanted it to be clear which bed was yours."
Jerrianne was watching her with a shrewd look. She smirked. "Nice try. Did the two of you get separated? And you were trying to move Maria's trunk so you could be together, right?" She stepped forward regally into the room. "Sorry but sleeping arrangements are final."
Em glared at her. "Says who?"
"Says me," piped up Maria, marching to the middle bed and plopping down onto it. "This is my bed and I'm not moving. You'll have to kill me first."
"That can be arranged," Emerson replied, smiling sweetly. But her eyes told a different story.
Lyna grabbed Em's hand. "C'mon. It's not worth it."
The two girls climbed onto Lyna's bed and yanked the hangings closed.
"Stupid, fucking sheep," Em grumbled. "I bet she doesn't even want to be in the middle like that. She's just doing it because she knows it annoys us and that's what Jerrianne wants."
Lyna didn't answer, only lay back on her pillow. That was Carolyna. She had a serenity to her, like her father Remus, and Em couldn't help but calm down. Now Emerson was generally very even-tempered, but something about Jerrianne Youngleer and her two lamb chops irritated the bejesus out of her.
Her first year she had tried to be nice, to be friendly and Jerrianne had pretended to share the sentiments. It was only when she'd overheard Jerrianne telling Maria and Janie how much she couldn't stand her that Em realized her efforts had been wasted.
That wasn't what made her loathe the other three girls, however. Emerson wasn't so arrogant as to expect herself to be endeared to every living creature. But what she had heard Jerrianne say next about her best friend was what had ensured that Em would forever feel only the utmost dislike for her. Emerson had stormed out of her hiding place and given the three shocked girls a piece of her mind and the 'friendship' had soured dramatically. It sucked that they were in Gryffindor House too, not to mention the same year.
She had never told Lyna what she'd heard Jerrianne say about her. It would only hurt Carolyna, who was the sweetest person in the whole world and whom Em loved like a sister. Maybe she should take a page out of Lyna's book and not let those girls ruffle her feathers so much.
She blew out a deep breath. "You're right. They're not worth it. Besides, we're still in the same room together. And we can always budge up on each other's bed like this, right?"
Carolyna smiled. "Exactly."
"That'll have to wait till tomorrow, though," Em said, stifling a yawn. "I'm completely knackered." She started to open the hangings. "Oh. Good night, sleep tight-"
"- don't let the bed-doxies bite," Lyna finished and they both laughed and hugged each other before Em climbed off the bed.
Ignoring the other girls, she changed into her pajamas and got into her bed. Her last thought before she fell asleep was "This is going to be a great year."
She could not know how wrong she was.