The castle was magnificent. There was no other word for it.
Twinkling lights lit up every window and reflected in the murky depths of the Black Loch as spiralling towers disappeared into the night sky and a twisting path, illuminated by flaming torches, leading up the hillside to the school's front doors. It looked like a fortress and a haven but it felt like home.
The dark waters of the Back Loch lapped at the edges of the train tracks and some of the first years were splashing around in the shallows as Emmy shivered in the cold.
The others headed off to the carriages with the promise of saving her a seat at the feast and she was left alone at the station surrounded by eleven year olds. She looked around awkwardly, pulling her robes tightly around her shoulders.
"Alright, you lot?" came gruff but cheerful voice from behind them. Emmy turned and her eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of the man. He had to be at least seven feet tall and his thick beard shook as he spoke.
"My name's Rubeus Hagrid an' I'm the gameskeeper o' the grounds here at Hogwarts. Now, it's three to a boat an' if anyone falls in, I'd like to make you aware that I cannae swim. So good luck to ya!"
With nervous laughs and terrified side-eye glances, they gingerly clambered into the row boats, seaweed sloshing around inside.
Emmy ended up in a boat with only one other student. She had bright pink bubblegum hair and a personality to match, introducing herself as Tonks.
"Ooh, I'm nervous, aren't you?" she chatted excitedly, as the boats began to float across the loch.
"A bit," Emmy smiled, "Can't wait though."
"So, what's up with you then? No offence but you look a little older than eleven," she continued.
Emmy laughed, "Oh, I've just transferred from Beauxbatons. I'm going into fifth year."
"Ah I see! Do you know what house you want to be in? I've always fancied either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," she bubbled away.
"Probably Gryffindor, I think. Though I wouldn't mind any of them really."
"I just can't wait to get there! Do you think these boats go any faster?" she said, tipping the boat as she craned her neck to see in the water.
"I seriously wouldn't do that if I were you, there's not a chance the creepy loch by the magic school doesn't have monsters in it," Emmy replied hurriedly.
Tonks just giggled and stuck her hand in.
"You're probably right. Do you think they're friendly?"
Emmy burst out laughing at the look on her face.
—————
The Great Hall was a sight to behold. Airborne candles light up the room like stars and four long trestle tables ran along the flagstones.
It was like nothing Emmy had ever seen before. No matter how beautiful the gardens and halls of Beauxbatons, she was in love with this rugged landscape, the flaming torches and biting wind in a way she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to put into words.
The other students had begun to walk down the centre of the room following a woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.
She looked to be in her thirties and wore delicate brass spectacles, her hair in a neat bun and emerald green robes that flowed behind her as she strode towards the headteacher standing behind a golden owl lecturn thats feather moved as if alive.
Already halfway down the room, Emmy realised that if her brother had been hiding away on the train, he was almost definitely going to be visible now.
Looking around the hall, Emmy caught the girls peering over the heads of their classmates and once Lily had pointed her out began waving frantically, Marlene gesturing enthusiastically at the seat beside her.
Emmy grinned and waved back.
And that's when she saw him.
Remus Lupin, about 6"2 and much older than she thought he'd look.
And he'd seen her too.
His mouth was hanging open in disbelief, staring straight at her. His friends were trying to figure out who he was looking at, and once they'd spotted her, bewilderment passed across their faces.
Transfer students weren't common at Hogwarts for starters, but if she knew her brother at all it probably wasn't likely he was caught staring at girls in such a manner very often.
The second option seemed more likely the reason for their confusion as the one with messy dark hair and glasses laughed and shook Rem's shoulder.
The other boys, one with longer dark hair and a very impressive jawline, the other with a rounder face and short blond hair, were both still taking in the sight of her.
Surprisingly unable to meet Remus's eyes, she caught Jawline's eyes and to his credit he didn't look away immediately, instead gave her a lazy smile and nod.
If he couldn't see her eyes rolling he surely would have heard them.
The first few names were being called out, each person being sorted by a strange old hat that shouted at them.
It was entertaining to watch for sure but by the time all the first years had been sorted and she was left standing in the middle of the hall on her own, the feelings of nervousness and hunger were gnawing away at her.
"And last of all we have Emmeline Lupin," announced McGonagall, holding the hat out for her atop the dais.
Murmurs resounded around the hall, Remus obviously hadn't told anyone about her.
A surge of anger and impatience took surged through her and she clenched her hands under her robes to keep them from shaking. Her head was held high as she marched up the stairs and sat on the rickety stool.
The Gryffindor table was in uproar, the girls having rounded on Remus and his friends unable to find the words to defend him.
"Ah, another Lupin I see!" spoke the Sorting Hat, "Now what shall we do with you? Brave... extremely brave, and stubborn too. But what's this? Creativity! And resourceful, good at getting what you want..."
It paused for a minute and murmured, "You're a tricky one aren't you? But I really have to say... GRYFFINDOR!"
Cheers rose up around the hall as a relieved Emmy passed back the hat, thanking it. It simply smirked and said,
"Oh, we'll see."
She skipped down the steps to her seat next to Marlene and the girls crowded her excitedly.
Remus was a little further down the table and refused to make eye contact as she sat down.
"You didn't tell us Remus was your brother," accused Marlene. Emmy shrugged, the pain of him ignoring her stinging her throat.
The boys seemed to be having a sharp word with Remus, but he still refused to looking over.
"We're not close," was all she could manage.
He jumped up from the table as soon as the meal finished, and the boys jogged after him flashing her quick glances over their shoulders as they walked away. Emmy helped herself to an extra spoonful of strawberry ice-cream and sighed in frustration.
—————
The Gryffindor house inhabited the tallest tower on the north face of the castle overlooking the Quidditch pitch and the Forbidden Forest.
The early morning sunshine drifted through the air and onto Emmy's bed. She'd deliberately left the curtains open so she'd be awake early but right now that felt just a little too early. She groaned and sat up, pulling her bedsheets close around her.
Leaning back against the headboard she watch as the sun slowly rose over the treetops.
There was something so magical about dawn.
It was like she was the only person left in the world.
She eventually got up to take a shower, wincing as he feet squeaked the floorboards, not wanting to wake the others.
As the flowing water washed over her she sang quietly,
"Someone told me long ago,
There's a calm before the storm, I know..."
Hot steam rose off her skin and moved through the air in swirling patterns,
"But I want to know,
Have you ever seen the rain?"
Emmy's voice drifted off as she sang the last few lines,
"I want to know,
Have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day..."
She could lose herself so easily in music and it was often the only thing that could distract herself from those memories that threatened to tip her over the edge, an escape from the world around her.
Feeling much better than the previous morning, Emmy wandered through to the dormitory and pulled on her school uniform.
The girls were groaning and staggering out of bed as she pulled her hair into a half up half down style tied with a thick red ribbon. It contrasted brilliantly with her golden hair that curled in messy waves around her face.
With only twenty minutes until breakfast she noticed Marlene was still in her pyjamas and the rest of them were all only half-dressed and still half-asleep so she took to passing around hair brushes and make up and ties until they miraculously made it down on time.
The castle looked different in this light, brighter and more vibrant. She could see the earthy green of the forest and slopping mountainsides through the expanse of windows as they made their way downstairs.
Emmy searched the tables for her brother yet again, but he wasn't there, and neither were his friends.
"He's just left, by the way," said Marlene. Her surprise must have been obvious as she then clarified, "It is Remus you're looking for isn't it?"
"How did you know?"
"What can I say? I'm psychic," Marlene grinned as she walked off down the centre aisle of tables. Emmy laughed and headed after her, rolling her eyes.
—————
The potions classroom was down in the dungeons near the Slytherin common room and lit only by narrow windows that looked out onto the shores of the Black Loch, water sloshing across the bottom of the glass leaving Emmy feeling a bit seasick. The shelves were filled with jars of both morbid and fascinating liquids and artefacts that she couldn't help but peer at as she walked by.
Professor Slughorn greeted her kindly and allocated her to the work bench where Marlene, Dory and another Gryffindor, Dirk Cresswell sat. The latter promptly introduced himself to Emmy and she immediately took a liking to him. He seemed kind and was obviously doing his best to make her feel welcome. Saying that, he seemed to have taken quite a liking to her too judging by the amount of times he kept trying to catch her eye during the class.
As they got started on the Volubilis potion, Marlene began pointing out some of their classmates.
"Well that's Xeno Lovegood," she said, gesturing with the tip of her knife as she chopped the stewed mandrake. Emmy winced internally at her lack of tact but he hadn't seemed to notice. He was sniffing suspiciously at his cauldron and muttering under his breath, his long platinum hair swaying with each movement. "Bit of a nutcase really but is actually quite nice. Pretty funny too."
"And the guy sitting next to Alice is Frank Longbottom, real nice guy."
The two of them were smiling at each other as Emmy looked over, their knees very obviously touching under the table as he leaned in to whisper something in her ear that sent her into peals of laughter.
"They've liked each other since first year, you get used to the flirting eventually. Not sure if they're actually together but it wouldn't take much."
Truthfully Emmy thought it was very sweet, they seemed as thick as thieves.
"Then there's James Potter," she indicated a boy with thick glasses and a mass of dark messy hair. Emmy recognised him as one of Remus' friends from dinner last night.
"He's completely besotted with Lily, like it's actually a bit weird sometimes. I mean, we all know she likes him really but all the same..." she trailed off.
"Anyway, that's Peter Pettigrew sitting next to him, and Sirius Black on the other side."
Sirius looked up at the sound of his name but he was unable to find the source as Emmy and Marlene ducked under the desk, stifling their laughter. He went back to trying to dye his friend's hair with his wand; so far he'd only achieved a light blue colour, though Peter was totally oblivious.
Emmy peeked up slowly, watching him as he worked. She had to admit that with his grey eyes, gelled black hair and brilliant smirk, Sirius was incredibly good looking.
She felt a smile drift onto her face as Peter whipped around and Sirius feigned his innocence as he measured out the Syrup of Hellebore, face schooled into well-rehearsed surprise at the deep blue shade of the boy's hair.
Emmy jumped as a Marlene spoke from beside her,
"Oh no, no, no. No way are you getting involved with him. He's trouble that one."
She raised an eyebrow and her friend sighed,
"Extremely handsome trouble, but trouble none the less."
Emmy simply smirked back at Marlene who groaned loudly at the look in her eyes.
———————
hope you enjoyed! i loved writing this chapter and introducing some of my favourite characters, does anyone else have a soft spot for Xenophilius Lovegood??
also, the song emmy sings is 'have you ever seen the rain?' by credence clearwater revival. i take no credit.