Miss Quinn

1 ~ Going to Hogwarts

When the day came, Emma woke up so early that her mum hadn't even gotten out of bed by the time Emma was ready to go. Beatrice Quinn gave Emma one last present before they went to Kings Cross. It was an owl, a beautiful raven-black owl with striking green eyes. Emma named him Shadow, because he was dark enough to blend in with the shadows.
Hannah and Fiona came by to see her off. Emma knew they probably wouldn't see each other very much anymore. Not even over the summer. By this time next year, they'd have a completely new group of friends. And so would Emma.

Emma and her mum apperated to Kings Cross Station and went through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.

The Hogwarts Express loomed in front of them when they reached Platform 9 3/4.

"Mum, do you think I'll be a Hufflepuff like you?" Emma asked. She knew it was a little late to be asking that question, but they hadn't really discussed it at all. Beatrice was mainly focused on Emma actually getting into Hogwarts, not necessarily what House she'd be sorted into.

Beatrice answered, "I doubt you'll be a Hufflepuff. You are too much like your father, from what I knew of him."

Emma nodded, smiled, and hugged her mum. Then she boarded the train to Hogwarts, dragging her trunk behind her. Shadow, asleep in his cage, was sitting on top of Emma's trunk. It was a wonder the cage didn't topple over, but she was magical and living in a magical world, so miracles could happen.

Emma had trouble finding a compartment, but she finally found an empty one about a third of the way down the train.

She put her trunk in the rack above her head and pulled out Hogwarts: a History. Emma had only read a few pages when three noisy boys entered to compartment with a girl that was practically clinging to one of them.

The boy was smirking, and his white blonde hair was slicked back so that none of his hair was in his face. And since his hair wasn't in his face, Emma had a clear view of the most stunning grey eyes she had ever seen. The girl hanging onto his arm had short, dark hair and dark eyes. She wasn't extremely pretty, but the boy seemed to like the attention she was giving him. The other two boys were large, they both had very beefy limbs and their faces were quite pudgy.

Emma stretched her feet out on the three seats on her side of the compartment. It was a simple, but clear sign that she did not want them sitting with her.

The blonde boy spoke first, "You mind moving your legs?"

Emma stretched them out even further.

"How about closer to you so we can sit?" He asked again.

Emma scooted her legs in so that one person could sit next to her, but only one.

The boy sat down, leaving the girl to sit with the overweight boys on the other side.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." The boy said. He held out his hand, as if he was expecting her to shake it.

Of course, Emma thought. She'd thought she'd recognized him. He looked remarkably like his father, whom Emma had met briefly during a Christmas party thrown by her mother's colleague.

"Figures," Emma said calmly before going back to her book.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco Malfoy asked.

"You're arrogant and rude. Figures you'd come from a Pureblooded family."

Draco Malfoy's friends -- if you could call them friends -- looked at him in awe, almost as if waiting for him to snap back at her. He didn't, though, he asked her something instead.

"Who are you, then?"

"Emma." She said.

"Emma who?"

"Emma Quinn."

Malfoy's jaw dropped open, as did everyone else's. There was a prophecy about Emma Quinn, though it wasn't nearly as famous as the prophecy about Harry Potter. Draco's father had told him of the prophecy, but he had taken no notice of it until now.

"Emma Quinn?" The girl asked, "As in the Emma Quinn, the one in the prophecy?"

Emma looked at her strangely, she didn't know about any prophecy.

Draco Malfoy gave the girl a look and said, "Pansy, shut up."

The girl -- Pansy -- looked like a kicked puppy. She obviously liked Draco Malfoy a lot and it hurt her when he was rude to her. Emma almost kicked him for being so rude to someone who admired him. But she didn't. She just went back to reading about the history of Hogwarts.

Draco watched this girl, Emma Quinn. She sure didn't look like a really powerful witch, but she was a little bit pretty. She had a plain face, with large, round, hazel eyes and an upturned nose. She had long, light brown hair that was braided simply, as if she didn't put much effort into it. She didn't seem like anything special. But there was something there, almost hidden in the background. Something magical was working secretly in the corners of Emma Quinn's life, and Draco was determined to find out what.