Emma [On hold]

Chapter Five

I was bored on the train, so I wrote a chapter. Weird. 

The general idea of detention is to not have fun, but when your name is Emma, and the task given to you by Argus Filch is to colour code paint, it can seem hilarious. In fact, you can laugh for a whole twenty-five minutes if this is the case, while Filch stands there, completely confused. You can keep laughing until Filch hits you, hard, across the back of the head.

“Ow!” Emma yelped, jumping in shock. Her laughter broke that instant, and the smile vanished from her face.

“Just do what yer told!”He growled.

“I can’t do it –“ Emma started, but he hit her again. “Ow! Please —“

“Mr. Filch!” Shouted a heated voice. “How dare you raise a hand at a student!”

“Professor McGonagall, she wasn’t doing what she was told –“

“I don’t care.”

“Professor, it’s my fault, really.” Emma started. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble.

“Emma, I severely doubt that.”

“It’s wasn’t hard neither! It was only colour-coding –“

“Argus, Emma is blind.” McGonagall’s voice was colder than anything Emma had heard before, and she felt really bad for Mr. Filch.

“Oh.”

Emma felt a hand on her arm.

“Come on dear, I think you’ve had enough of a punishment for tonight.” McGonagall pressed the ‘Great Hall’ button on Emma’s device, and walked with her up the stairs. “It really wasn’t your fault that he hit you, Emma.”

“I know that.” Emma said quickly. “But I just didn’t want to hear anyone arguing.”

Professor McGonagall smiled at her. “Well, you can rejoin the feast at any rate.”

“Aren’t all my friends in detention, though?”

“You can spend the rest of the evening with Charlie Weasley – he’s a very nice boy. He’s a seeker, if you weren’t aware.”

“What’s a seeker?”

McGonagall gaped at her, “Are you aware of what Quidditch is?”

“No – well, yes – but I haven’t got a great interest in it, you see? Because I can’t.” Emma laughed internally at her own poor joke.

“Oh! Yes, I understand.” McGonagall said, shaking her head. She was annoyed at herself for continuously forgetting about Emma’s lack of sight.

They were about to enter the Great Hall before Emma spoke again.

“Professor, what’s a meal without friends?”

“Not really a meal at all.” She admitted.

“Exactly.” Emma smiled. “I think I’ll just go to bed – thank you for all your help, though.”

“I’ll see you around, Emma.” McGonagall smiled at her.

“You too, Professor.”Emma smiled back at her, and pressing the ‘Home’ button on her device, she began to walk back to her quarters.

***

“This is ridiculous.” John said, in the last potions lesson of term. “How is it nearly Christmas? I swear to god, it was just Halloween!”

“I can’t wait to see Mum and Dad, though.” Penelope said excitedly, adding some chopped scarab beetles to her incorrectly frothing potion.

“I’m excited to see my brothers and sister again.” Percy said with a massive grin. “I’m sure my younger brothers have planned something dangerous.” He added thoughtfully.

“It’ll be another fun-filled family Christmas for me.” Aubrey said sarcastically. “Just me and my Dad. Like always. I’d opt to stay here, but he’d get upset, and I couldn’t do that to him, you know?”

They all nodded in agreement as Emma added powdered ginger root to her wit-sharpening potion.

“What about you, Em?” John asked her. “Got any fun plans?”

“Well, I can either go hang out back home with all the other orphans and we’ll pretend it isn’t Christmas again, or I can stay here.” She’d aimed for an air of indifference, but her voice failed her, and her sorrow about the whole situation was apparent. “I think I’ll stay here, though. What do you reckon?”

Aubrey dropped way too much ginger into her potion at once, and it frothed and spat angrily. “Oh, shut up.” She told it, before turning back to Emma. “Why didn’t you tell us you were an orphan?”

“It never came up.” She shrugged but, again, it was apparent she cared all too much about the situation. She didn’t even face her friends out of fear of crying in front of them.

John punched her shoulder playfully, “Don’t be too upset about the whole thing, Em.” He said sweetly. “I mean, the feast is to die for, apparently.”

“Yeah – The food here kicks ass, and it’ll be even better at Christmas!” Aubrey said catching on.

“Save us some food, will ya?” Penelope added, smiling brightly.

Emma was fully aware of the fact that they were trying to cheer her up, but, admittedly, she did feel a lot better.

“There’s too much chatter going on over here.” Professor Snape said from behind them, causing the group to jump. “Split up.”

“Sir, I’m nearly finished my potion!” Penelope said indignantly.

“Scourgify.” He said pointing his wand into the cauldron. Emma knew that spell – it cleaned things up – and she assumed that he’d just emptied the cauldron. “Evidently, Miss Clearwater, you have not.” Snape smiled smugly at the girl, who promptly burst into tears. She lugged her cauldron away, and one by one, Emma’s friends dispersed.

She stood there, continuing to brew her potion – by smell and sound rather than sight. She knew it was pretty good for a first attempt at the potion – and she’d done well in the subject so far.

“Miss Young, your potion is almost entirely incorrect. It is orange, rather than pale blue.” Snape growled at her.

“I’m not finished yet, Sir.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“It is entirely the wrong colour – you must have added the powdered ginger before it reached the boil.”

“I did, but I haven’t added the scarab beetles either.” Emma sighed.

“Then the potion is a complete waste –“

“Just wait, sir. It’ll work.” Emma said, knocking back his hand that was going to clear her cauldron.

She waited ten seconds and added her scarab beetles. The potion fizzed and made a disturbingly loud whistling noise. Snape smiled in delight, knowing that she’d messed up. The whole class was watching, now. A plume of smoke erupted from the potion, but when it cleared, the potion was the palest of blues. Emma had absolutely no idea whether it had worked or not – she’d just had a theory that adding them in that order would be simpler.

“Is it blue?” Emma asked nervously.

“It is spot-on.” John said from across the classroom – he was standing on his stool to get a better look. The class let out a cheer, and a grin broke out on Emma’s face.

“Detention.” Snape told John.

“What? For telling a blind girl what colour her potion is? That’s a bit slack, Sir.” Aubrey added.

“You can join him.”

“Whatever,” Aubrey shrugged.

“Miss Young, I think you should try your potion to see if it is indeed a wit-sharpening potion, afterall.” Snape growled at her.

“Evidently, sir, her wit is already sharp.” Percy said, trying not to laugh. “Perhaps you should try in on someone with less wit?”

“Such as, yourself.” Emma added in a whisper, but Snape heard her.

They all (except Penelope) ended up with detention that night, but they were too busy laughing to care.