Chapter Text
I had been so angry with Harry when he had gone to that school and left me on my own, with them. I was right to be angry, the Dursley’s were dreadful, despicable and cruel. Though I had to admit they were always harder on him. At least I was allowed to pick out clothes from thrift stores, I couldn’t very well wear Dudley’s hand me downs. That would raise too much attention among the neighbors. Still that year without him, while he was at Hogwarts, had been long and I had been on edge for nearly every second of it. I was glad to have him returned home safely at the school year’s end.
Spirits had been high and he had gladly shared a photo album from Hagrid with me. However as summer continued his mood had fallen with each passing day that brought no letters from his friends. Poor Hedwig was getting impatient and restless in her cage too. Uncle Vernon had wanted her gone, but to my surprise Petunia had said she could stay.
I had spent the entire summer studying Harry’s school books and listening to stories about his time there. I was glad he had been able to make some friends and I wasn’t surprised to hear that he had made some enemies too. But I was a little worried when I found out the truth of what had happened to our parents. Harry and I had always been told they had died in a car crash. To find that an evil wizard had killed them was rather unnerving. Then to find that Harry, as a baby had killed that wizard was even more insane. But what terrified me the most was learning that the wizard had come back and tried to kill Harry again while he was at school. I could only hope that the wizard had been killed once and for all,
Harry and I went up to our shared room just before Uncle Vernon’s work guests arrived. Upon entering the room, we discovered an odd looking creature upon the bed. An ugly thing with a long crooked nose, bat-like ears, and eyes the size of saucers. He wore a tattered shift, possibly a pillow case, but I couldn’t be sure. It looked as though it had been white, but was now a sickly green color.
“Hello,” I said softly, venturing into the room, afraid of startling it, “What’s your name?”
As I drew closer, Harry’s hand closed around my arm, holding me back from the creature.
“Dobby, miss.” The creature squeaked.
“Hello Dobby, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of creature might you be?” I asked gently. It felt as though we were walking on a razor’s edge, I feared what would happen if he tumbled off, but curiosity won out.
“Dobby is a house elf miss.” He was quite sweet, I had to tread carefully, I did not wish to hurt his feelings.
“Fantastic, and why might you be in our room?”
“Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter, not to return to school this year.”
Harry stepped forward, “Why not?” His voice was harsh, he loved Hogwarts. Nothing this elf would say could sway him, Harry was going to Hogwarts no matter the cost. So was I. It wasn’t as though we would stay here a moment longer than absolutely necessary.
“Master has unleashed great dangers at Hogwarts, it is not safe for Harry Potter to go back. Oh Harry Potter say you won’t go back.” The little elf pleaded.
“No.” Harry’s voice was hard, he would not change his mind, no matter what.
“But your friends have forgotten you, they haven’t even written you a single letter.”
“How do you know my friends haven’t been writing to me?” He took a step closer, abandoning his place by my side.
Out of thin air Dobby pulled several envelopes, thick with parchment inside. The creature had been taking his letters! How dare he!
“You’ve been stealing my letters!”
“Dobby hoped that if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him, he would not return to Hogwarts.” This elf was delusional if he really thought that would work.
“Give me the letters!” Harry growled and took another step towards the elf.
“Say Harry Potter will not return to Hogwarts!” Harry lunged for the elf but he danced out of the way and ran into the hallway. Down the stairs. Harry barreled after him. Uncle Vernon would be furious. By the time I made it down the stairs, Dobby had dropped Aunt Petunia’s dessert onto one of the guest’s head and vanished into thin air. Uncle Vernon’s face had grown a deep purple and he was screaming and spitting at Harry.
“Room! Now!” Was all I could make out before Harry was turning and running up the stairs, I followed him.
He had not managed to get the letters.
****
The rest of the summer was worse than any ever before. Six locks had been added to our bedroom door, on the outside and a small, swinging, dog door had been added to it, for food to be pushed through. Bars had been added to the window and we were only allowed out of the room for brief bathroom time. It was a prison.
Uncle Vernon was spitting man and would promise us with every visit to our door, that he was never going to let us go to Hogwarts.
****
“Happy Birthday Harry.” I said into the darkness. I had barely gotten the words out when twin lights were shining down the street. No not on the street, above the street, and there was the rumbling of a car engine. A flying car. I was up in an instant, Harry by my side as we peered at it, flying toward us. It stopped on the other side of our barred window, and inside it I could just make out three red headed boys. Two were identical to one another, Fred and George they must be, and the other, Ron. They attached a hook to the bars and the car accelerated, pulling the bars straight from the window. Harry was flying around the room, packing his trunk and tossing Hedwig’s cage to me. She screeched indignantly and I hushed her. But already it was too late. There were footsteps in the hall. Uncle Vernon had heard the commotion and was coming to force us to stay. I pulled open the window as Harry began furiously throwing books into his trunk. I handed Hedwig’s cage over to Ron and he settled it into his lap.
“Hurry up Harry!” Fred or maybe it was George called. I clambered out the window and into the awaiting car. Uncle Vernon was turning locks, keys jangling in his haste. The car turned and the trunk popped open, Harry flung the trunk in none to gently. The trunk snapped shut and the car was wheeling back around, Harry lunged for the car, just as the bedroom door slammed open revealing Uncle Vernon’s ample purple frame. He ran faster than I thought possible for a man of his size through the room and launched himself at Harry. But Harry kicked him off, the rest of us pulling him into the car as Fred drove away. I turned back just in time to see Uncle Vernon crashing into the bushes below.
“Happy birthday Harry.”
***
The Weasley’s were a wonderful family and I truly had to applaud Harry on his choice of a best friend. Fred and George spent our first breakfast telling me all about the wonderful pranks they had played on their siblings over the years. And there was a girl, Ginny who was in my year at Hogwarts.
Everyone in the family had been rather surprised though, except for Ron of course, because none of them had known that Harry had a sister. Apparently my name had never appeared in the Daily Prophet or even in our parent’s obituaries. How strange.
I began to worry, what if no one in the magical world knew I existed, then how would I get my letter for Hogwarts? My worries faded though when an owl swept in (after hitting the glass of the window) with all of the letters for the year. Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry and I all opened ours together. I was so thrilled to finally see mine. Everyone was supposed to receive their letter on their eleventh birthdays, but that only actually happened if your birthday was after December and before September. If your birthday fell between September and December then you would just receive your letter when everyone else got their supply lists. And since my birthday was October 15th, that rule applied to me.
After breakfast, it was decided that we would all go to Diagon Alley to get everything we needed for the year. I had never been before! We all traveled by floo powder, but of course, Harry messed it up and ended up going a grate to far. He’d be fine, but still Molly worried.
I had already gone to Gringotts and purchased the majority of my things when Harry finally turned up. He was with Hagrid who said to have found him in Knockturn Alley. Harry was always one to find trouble for himself. Her line had joined us only minutes before ran to embrace Harry. She preformed some magic to repair his glasses and gave an exasperated sigh.
The last thing we had to do was buy all our school books at Flourish and Blotts. There was a very boisterous man inside who introduced himself to the crowd as Gilderoy Lockhart. I instantly did not like him, he was so arrogant, so full of himself, certainly he had been a Gryffindor. He recognized Harry immediately and grabbed him for some pictures. Poor Harry, he looked as though he would rather have been anywhere else in the world in that moment, well aside from at the Dursley’s.
Harry looked to me for help, and I quickly escaped up the stairs to avoid being dragged into the situation. I found myself to be in the company of a stranger. He looked to be about my age, maybe a little older, with the whitest blond hair I had ever seen.
“Perfect Potter, can’t go anywhere without being recognized.” The boy scowled.
I let out a scoffing laugh at that. Perfect? My brother was anything but perfect, but I had to agree with the being recognized part. I had been with him in the magical world for less than three minutes and he had already had his picture taken for the Daily Prophet.
“What are you laughing at?” The boy asked, turning to me, then his face changed, filled with sudden recognition. “Red hair, you must be a Weasley.”
I let out another laugh, “No, I am not a Weasley.”
He turned to look at me fully then.
“Do you go to Hogwarts already or will this be your first year?” I asked him, I had a feeling that this boy was Draco Malfoy, but I wanted to confirm it.
“I’m going to be a second year.” He said proudly, chin high.
“This is going to be my first year, what house are you in?” If he said Slytherin, then there would be no doubt in my mind as to who he was.
“The best house,” Was his only answer, and I realized he was testing me, he wanted to see what I regarded to be the best house.
“So Slytherin then?” I decided to play along.
It seemed I had pasted the test, as he gave me a real smile and extended his hand, “Draco Malfoy.”
I took it and said, “Emma Evans.”
Harry and I had discussed it over the summer. For whatever reason, the wizarding world seemed to have no idea that I existed. For my own safety, we thought it would be best to go by Lily’s last name, so if Voldemort ever did come back to power, there wouldn’t be a target on my back.
Maybe I could keep some of my anonymity at the school too.