The following morning, Harry's 14th Birthday had approached. I said farewell to Sirius before Remus apparated me to Little Whinging. It was a tough goodbye, Remus and my brother having a short conversation before my Godfather would leave us both. No formalities were exchanged between Vernon or Petunia Dursley this time, the two of us quickly making our way towards the train into London. I gave Harry his gift; this year being a Quidditch shirt and scarf with the colours of Bulgaria; who had made it into the final of the Quidditch World Cup and we would be seeing them in a few weeks.
We found the Leaky Cauldron quickly, sneaking into the back without being spotted as we made our way into Diagon Alley; my brother deciding that was where he wanted to spend his birthday so it took the pressure of Remus taking me himself. He was weak from both the full moon and the night's previous events, after all.
First, we had to stop in Gringott's to withdraw some money for our day shopping and the new school year. Quickly stopping in Flourish and Blotts, the both of us grabbed some books necessary for the next school year. Harry hadn't grown much from the previous school year, so most of his robes still fit. However, I found myself desperately in need of some new ones, popping into Madam Malkin's to make my purchase.
Although there wasn't anything that could top Harry's Firebolt broom, we popped into Quality Quidditch Supplies and grabbed some necessities; if I was going to be a successful Captain, I needed to make sure I was fully prepared. By this point, our bags were getting heavy so we stopped in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for a very sweet snack; Harry chose the Bubblegum Blue Sundae and I chose the Chocolate Brownie Delight. As we fought with our spoons to get the smallest remnants of syrup from the bottom of our bowls, we talked Quidditch and the New School Year.
"Who do you think our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor will be, this year?" Harry asked, licking his spoon clean. I shrugged, momentarily remembering something Dumbledore had mentioned at breakfast, one morning, "I think Dumbledore mentioned someone who works or worked for the Ministry. Possibly an Auror?" I pouted, to which my brother nodded, a slight glint of excitement in his eyes, "That would be so cool, to have an actual Auror teaching us."
Humming in agreement, I finished the last of my treat before we grabbed our things and continued through the rows of shops. Harry wanted to stop in Gambol and Japes, but neither of us decided on buying anything. Next, Sugarplum's Sweet Shop; where we bought some snacks for when we would visit the Weasley's; Dumbledore allowing me to stay at their Burrow for a short while before the World Cup.
As we crossed the street I found my eyes scanning a shop I hadn't noticed before. 'Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions.' Hardly realising I was staring at it, I jumped as Harry joined my side, "You're not seriously thinking about going in there are you, Sis?"
"Oh um...No. Course not." I stammered, ridding my mind of the thought before continuing onto the next row of shops, ignoring Harry's internal judgement. I suppose caring about how you look came with growing up.
"Miss Potter?" Flinching again at the voice, I tried not to bump into the person it belonged to. Without even glancing up, I knew it was Severus Snape. But my eyes found his dark ones, nonetheless; a slight look of confusion and disbelief in them for a moment before returning to their usual, stern composure. "Severus." I addressed, taking a step back to look him up and down; he donned his black cloak, even in the summer heat. Making me feel suddenly warm in my summer clothes.
His mind was a fortress, preventing me from even getting a small look inside. But I had mastered my ability to block thoughts from entering my mind well, our classes having paid off over the summer.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, my brother joining my side as he eyed Snape with suspicion. The Potion's Master stood a little taller, "Professor Dumbledore has requested I bring you back to Hogwarts. I will apparate Mr Potter home, beforehand."
"Is everything alright, Professor?" Harry quizzed. Snape merely eyed him, "That's not really your concern, is it, Potter?" The man appeared slightly bored, Harry and I exchanging a short glance before nodding. It was getting late, after all.
Severus extended an arm for us both to take and I found myself trying to subdue my anger at his distaste towards my older brother, accepting his arm, nonetheless. Within a few moments, we were in Surrey, once more; the familiar urge to vomit rising in my chest. It was short-lived, however, as Harry was pulling me into a hug. "Write me and let me know everything's okay." His voice whispered, too low to Snape to hear.
"I will." I nodded, leaving my bags on the floor as I helped him take his own to the front door. Only Petunia Dursley was waiting to greet us both. "Emerald. How are you?" She queried, to which I nodded and forced a smile. "Very well, thank you, Aunt Petunia."
'So much like her mother.'
The woman's thoughts echoed through my mind as I took a deep breath, turning back to face my brother, "I'll see you in a few weeks." Harry's gaze averted solemnly to the ground, "Yeah. Love you, Sis."
"Love you too." And with that, I turned to walk back down the path and meet Severus, who was waiting in tje street.
"You!" Petunia's voice startled us all, turning to face the woman whose husband had came to the door, holding his wife back as she struggled to release herself from him. "You're that boy she used to play with!" She spat with such ferocity, prying herself away from Vernon and stomping towards us both. "Emerald, take my arm." Severus instructed, causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion. The devastation was evident in Petunia's eyes as she fought to quickly reach the man beside me.
Just as the woman neared the end of the path, Severus grabbed the bags and my hand, disapparating us from the scene as my aunt's voice echoed through my mind; the words she could not bring herself to say aloud but Severus had fought to prevent me from hearing, breaking through at such a ferocity I stumbled upon landing in Hogsmeade.
'You're the reason she's dead.'
***
A/N
Okay, I'm really sorry this was such a short chapter, but I thought it would make sense to end it with this new revelation. I'm planning on putting another chapter up shortly, so you won't be waiting too long, rest assured. But I'm writing this note because the Yule Ball for the Goblet of Fire will be coming up shortly and I am completely stumped for a few ideas of what I would like Emerald's dress to look like. I know it seems rather trivial in such a serious, dark turn of a book but I love figuring out what outfits I want her to wear for certain situations and I feel like this is one of those important ones. It's been hard, due to Emerald's age (will be 13 by the time of the Ball), I wanted something quite modest, so I've pulled together some ideas and put them down below. Please let me know what you think would be best in the comments. And if you have any other ideas (story-wise or other) that you can think of, please also let me know in the comments.
1 (top) - 6 (bottom)
All the best,
Rebecca xoxo