Practice

Thanks you for your review - this is one of the last stories I\'ve written and I wasn\'t too sure if I achieved what I wanted to in the end. That\'s why feedback is so important, people!!! Oh, he calls her Jack coz it\'s her surname. Just a playful thing between them - like teachers call you by your surname sometimes at school - or they did when I was at school - all those thousands of years ago. I mentioned it in the beginning in regards to Remus getting called Lupin but then realised I didn\'t make it really clear. Oops! My bad.



WARNING: No sex - it\'s still coming (no pun intended) Keep reading though - once they start it heats up fast.





Chapter Two



A week before they were leaving, Mrs Lupin took both Emma and her mother along to Diagon Alley to get the children’s school belongings. Mrs Jack and Emma were stunned to see the world that existed alongside their own; a world they’d known nothing about but had now been dragged into.

‘Oh my God,’ Mrs Jack muttered as they walked into Gringott’s bank.

Emma shrank into her mother’s side as they stared at the goblins that worked there.

‘Try not to stare,’ Mrs Lupin warned them and they quickly looked away while Mrs Lupin organised the exchange of Muggle money for Wizarding cash.

Remus sat and explained the gold, silver and bronze coins to Emma and Mrs Jack while his own mother took a cart deep down into the bowels of the bank to their vault. He carefully avoided touching the silver Sickles - they’d burn his hand if he touched them. Silver was deadly for a werewolf.



‘Right,’ Mrs Lupin said when she came back. ‘I think that we should get the uniforms and wands first before these two get fidgety.’

She looked at the eleven year olds who looked as though they couldn’t wait to get amongst the unfamiliar stalls and stores outside. ‘Then we can let them wander around while we get their books and supplies. It’ll be quicker if we do it ourselves.’

They made their way to a store where they were both stood on stools and measured for robes, the witch explaining that the uniforms were magical.

‘When you are sorted into your House, you will see the lapels of each cloak change to your house colour. The school will supply your ties after the Sorting.’



Emma was about to ask about the Houses when she was distracted by the woman shearing off some extra material around her hem with a wand. ‘You can use wands for everything?’ she asked and the woman looked up at her with a chuckle.

‘You’re from a Muggle family, aren’t you, love?’ she asked and Emma nodded, blushing when the woman laughed again.

‘Wands can be used for almost anything,’ she told her, then frowned down at the hem.

‘These are my smallest robes and I’ve still had to take off a bit of material,’ she told Emma’s mother. ‘She’s so petite. Let’s hope she doesn’t have a massive growth spurt or you’ll be looking for new robes.’

She wandered over to choose some shirts and Remus looked over at Emma.



‘You look hilarious,’ he teased. The robe still looked too big for her. ‘Like you’re trying on your mum’s clothes.’

‘She is really small,’ he thought, noticing for the first time how much taller than her he was now.

They’d both always been a bit short and skinny but he realised he towered over her by an inch or two now.

Emma glared at him and poked her tongue out. ‘Hate being short,’ she muttered grouchily, then closed her mouth when the woman came over to finish with them.

They both stood in front of a mirror when she was done, staring at themselves in awe. ‘This is awesome,’ Emma breathed and Remus grinned.

‘Yep,’ he agreed.



They left their robes to get final adjustments and went to a wand store, a small man with silver eyes staring at them as they walked in, their mother’s waiting outside. ’Best to let them do this themselves,’ Mrs Lupin said to Emma’s mother, who looked nervous.

‘Ah, Hogwarts, yes?’ the little man said, smiling a little creepily at them.

He gestured them forwards and they shuffled nearer, Emma sliding her hand into Remus’ as they pressed closer.

‘Hmm,’ he said, cocking his head slightly as he looked at Emma. ‘You’re going to be difficult.’

He turned to Remus instead and told him to hold out his wand arm as a tape measure flew at him, taking measurements every which way. Emma watched nervously as the man wandered through towering stacks of long, thin boxes, then saw him pull a couple out.



‘Try this one first,’ he said to Remus, handing him a wand. ‘Cherry and Hippogriff Talon.’

Remus waved it in the air but nothing happened. ‘Nope,’ the man stated, yanking it out of his hand. ‘Next - Mahogany and phoenix feather.’

Remus repeated his actions but again, nothing happened. ‘Why aren’t they working?’ Emma whispered to her friend, but it was Mr Ollivander that answered.

‘The wand chooses the wizard, my dear. There is a perfect wand for every person. We just have to find it.’

He handed Remus another wand and this time, he felt it quiver as it touched his skin, Emma also feeling it as she held his hand. Yanking her hand out of his, she backed off a little as the wand emitted several gold sparks.

‘Put it down,’ she told him but Ollivander shook his head with a smile.

‘That’s the wand,’ he said, taking it and polishing it. ‘Oak and Dragon heart string.’

Emma looked at Remus, who looked thrilled. ‘He doesn’t actually mean a dragon, does he?’ she asked him and he nodded.



‘Now, young lady, it is your turn,’ the man said, turning to look thoughtfully at her before disappearing into the stacks.

The tape measure wrapped around her right arm, flying away when Ollivander returned. ‘You are a little more difficult, my dear,’ he told her. ‘You have only just discovered what you are…you have no sense of yourself as a witch yet. You could be good. Very strong.’

He looked at the half a dozen boxes he’d bought to the counter, pushing two aside. ‘Try this one first. Rosewood and Chimaera scale.’

She looked reluctant but took the wand, feeling nothing but cool wood. ‘Did it work?’ she asked and he shook his head, handing her a second wand.

‘This one is Veela hair and Yew.’

‘What the hell is a Veela?’ she mumbled, but took the wand, again feeling nothing.



Ollivander stared at her then turned abruptly to walk to the back of the store. ‘Strong wand,’ he muttered then turned back to Emma with an appraising look. ‘Hold out your wand arm.’

She did and he smiled. ‘Think of yourself holding a wand,’ he told her.

Emma glanced over at Remus, who shrugged. She sighed and closed her eyes, imagining herself with a wand. She felt something hit her hand then heard a thump as she opened her eyes.

‘Ahh,’ Ollivander said with a smile. ‘Willow and unicorn hair. A good wand. Strong but flexible. Try it - but there’s no doubt it’s yours.’



‘Are there really unicorns?’ she asked incredulously, watching him untie the box.

‘Of course,’ he said, with a smile. ‘I plucked this hair from the mane of a magnificent female - proud, strong. Don’t know why I didn’t think of this one myself.’

He held the wand out to her and she closed her hand around it, instantly feeling it warming her skin. Gold sparks shot out the end of the wand, as it had done for Remus, and she nearly dropped it. Emma let out a shuddering breath and looked around at Remus who was smiling at her.

‘Cool, Em,’ he said softly. She grinned and turned back.



Mr Ollivander took the wand off her and polished it before putting it back into the box.

‘You’ll be strong,’ he told her as they paid for their wands. ‘Once you overcome your fears.’

His eyes turned to Remus, and the boy felt as though the man was seeing into his soul. ‘So will you,’ he told him with a smile. ‘Once you accept who you are.’

Remus felt a little shiver and had no doubt that the man knew exactly what he was.



They collected their wands and went out to show them off to their parents. ‘Can we go now?’ Remus asked, bouncing a little. He wanted to show Emma around the world that he’d wanted to tell her about for so long.

‘Is it safe?’ Mrs Jack asked as she looked around.

‘Perfectly safe,’ Mrs Lupin assured the other woman. ‘Remus has been here many times.’

She looked at her son. ‘Stay in the main alley,’ she warned him. ‘No detours-particularly not Knockturn Alley. Here’s some money for lunch. We’ll meet you in a couple of hours in the Hogs’ Head alright?’



Remus nodded, taking the money and waiting impatiently for Emma’s mum to sort out the Magical money then grabbed Emma’s hand and ran off.

‘They are just friends, aren’t they?’ Mrs Jack said, with a frown. ‘They’re so young but they grow up much quicker these days than we did. They’re going off to school together and, although I’m grateful she’ll have him…’

‘I don’t think any alternative to friendship has even occurred to them yet,’ Mrs Lupin said with a smile. ‘Remus adores Emma. He’d never hurt her - boyfriend or not - and Hogwarts is supervised well. Don’t worry so much, Kathy. She’ll be fine.’



Remus and Emma explored, Remus thrilled to be able show Emma around. He dragged her to the store where the flying broomsticks were, Emma marvelling that so many things she’d thought were fairy tales were true. He finally convinced her to stop for lunch.

‘I’m starving, Em,’ he moaned until she gave in.

She peppered him with questions all through the meal, looking through one of the books she’d bought. ‘How do they get the pictures to move?’ she asked, wide eyed, watching the people in the photo’s shifting and waving.

‘Smphiminzeprffezn,’ he mumbled, mouth full of sandwich.

She looked up at him and giggled. ‘What?’ she said, closing the book finally and taking a bite of her own food.

He swallowed and said, ‘Something in the processing.’



He watched her look around while she ate, grinning at her. ‘What’s so funny?’ she asked, catching him and he shook his head.

‘Just happy I can finally show you all this,’ he told her, finishing the last of his drink. ‘I’m sorry, Em. I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t.’

‘I know,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I could do magic.’ She laughed. ‘That sounds really strange.’

Remus grinned then stood up. ‘Ready to meet our mothers?’ he asked and she nodded, grabbing her books.



They caught the train a week later, Remus’ parents taking Emma through the brick barrier after a tearful goodbye with her family.

‘Will you sit with me?’ she asked as they tried to find a seat.

Remus heard the waver in her voice and knew how nervous she was.

‘Course I will,’ he said, squeezing her hand quickly then they found seats alongside some other First Years.

Emma didn’t pay too much attention, distracted by the thousands of butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach.

‘I’m not a witch,’ she thought, biting her lip. ‘There’s been a mistake. I can’t do this.’



She and Remus talked quietly after lunch, Remus showing her Chocolate Frogs and Emma deciding she was going to stick with Muggle Jelly beans after getting a sardine flavoured Bertie Botts bean.

‘We can order some chocolate from Honeydukes,’ he told her. ‘Mum gets some in for me for my birthday and it’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted.’

He told her only good things - how good the feasts were supposed to be at Hogwarts, how they’d be learning to do spells with their new wands; how they’d be able to send messages to their parent’s with the owl they decided they’d share. Happy to see her smiling more, he kept going, emphasising the positive and playing down the fact that she knew so little still about this world she’d be living in.



Emma smiled, inwardly laughing. She knew exactly what he was doing, and was grateful. He was calming her down, just like he always did. Remus was so…patient, and sweet. He was rational and sensible, making her stop and think before she flew off into a tizz. Even she had to admit, she was easy to rile up - headstrong, passionate and not usually put off her game, getting back up quickly when she was knocked down.

Until the last few weeks.



It was dark when they arrived at the train station, both Emma and Remus’ eyes opening wide when they saw the huge, hairy man calling out for the First Years to follow him. Emma snagged a seat next to Remus in the small boats they were taking to the castle.

‘Hello, again,’ a dark haired boy said, smiling at them. They’d met him on the train. Emma thought. ‘What was his name again? James or was it the other one? Um, Simon? Sirion?’

‘Sirius!’ she heard someone call and he waved across to another boat.

‘So, what house do you two want to be in?’ the boy with the glasses said.



‘He’s James,’ Emma remembered.

‘My mum and dad were in Ravenclaw,’ Remus said with a shrug. ‘I guess I will be too.’ He looked over at Emma who frowned. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘What’s the best one?’

James grinned and said, ‘Gryffindor, of course.’

She smiled at the look on his face and shrugged. ‘I guess I’ll just go where Remus does,’ she said but James shook his head.

‘You don’t choose,’ he told her. ‘You get sorted.’

‘I don’t have a choice?’ she said with a frown which deepened when he shook his head.

Remus saw her looking worried and piped up. ‘I’m starving,’ he said. ‘Is it true they have a feast on the first night?’

The rest of the way, they talked about what might be waiting for them.



Their guesses weren’t far wrong - the castle was huge and imposing and, when a teacher led them into the Great Hall, Emma started to shake.

‘It’s alright, Jack,’ Remus murmured, though he’d started to feel a little nervous himself. ‘We’re sticking together no matter what, alright?’

He saw her nod and take a breath, stiffening that back bone of steel he knew she had. She was gutsy, getting him into all kinds of trouble at home. It was a little disorientating for them both to have a bit of a role swap - Remus being the strong one and Emma needing picking up.



Remus got called first to get sorted and, to his surprise, was sent to Gryffindor. ‘Hope you get into Gryffindor,’ mumbled a voice and she turned to see James grin at her. ‘I’m sure I’m going to.’

She looked a little startled but when he winked at her, she couldn’t help smiling.

‘James Potter,’ called the witch in front, James grinning as he sauntered to the front and got sorted exactly where he’d wanted to. A red headed girl was also sent to Gryffindor then Emma’s name was called.



Sitting up straighter now, Remus clenched his jaw. ‘Gryffindor,’ he thought hard. ‘Please be Gryffindor.’

He wanted Emma to be in the same house as him for both their sakes. He needed a friend.

The look of relief on Emma’s face when the hat called out, ‘Gryffindor!’ made it obvious she’d been praying for the same thing.

‘Thank God,’ she muttered to him as she fell onto the seat next to him.

He laughed and hugged her before she was greeted by some of the older students.



When everyone was sorted, the Headmaster spoke for a few moments then the food appeared from nowhere on the table, startling all the new students. They ate, Emma relaxing as she talked to the other students. The red head was Lily Evans, there was also a blonde girl called Mary and a girl with light brown hair called Alice. Remus too was getting to know his room mates, meeting Peter Pettigrew and Frank Longbottom, the other First Years boys, for the first time. James Potter was sitting next to him and nudged him in the ribs.

‘Hey, Remus,’ he whispered. ‘Emma’s pretty. Is she your girlfriend?’

Remus looked surprised and shook his head. ‘No,’ he muttered, quickly glancing towards his friend.



He’d never really thought of her as pretty but now he looked he supposed she was. Her long reddish brown hair was held back in a long plait but he knew when it was loose, it hung down to her shoulder blades. She had big, blue eyes that couldn’t hide any thought or emotion to save her, a straight nose and nice smile. One tooth on the top was slightly crooked and she had a splattering of freckles across her nose that he knew she hated with a passion, as she did the white scar on her forehead that he’d given her four years ago. They’d been mucking around at his house and he’d pushed her. She’d tripped over a toy and hit her head on the coffee table.



As they stood up to find their common rooms, he noticed she was smaller than the other girls by an inch or so and she looked pretty scrawny.

‘What’s up with you?’ she asked, feeling his gaze on her.

‘Nothing,’ he said, then fell back to walk with her.

‘James asked if you were my girlfriend,’ he whispered once the other boys were out of earshot. ‘He thinks you’re pretty.’

She looked at him sharply with a frown. ‘He just came out and said that?’ she asked in astonishment and he nodded, grinning at her.

‘You’ve only been here a few hours and you’ve already got a guy after you, Jack,’ he teased. ‘You’ll make all the boys fall for you after a week.’

‘Shut up, Lupin,’ she muttered, turning red as she stalked off to walk by herself.

He chuckled and caught her up, teasing her softly until they reached the stairs where they were distracted by the moving portraits.