The Mini Marauder.

Chapter 11

"Where on earth did she go?" Sirius asked frantically searching the room. Then James spotted the open front door. 

"I think she went outside." 

They both went outside and searched the garden. Eventually they found her and Regulus lying on the ground with Regulus pointing out every star to her. Sometimes she knew the names and sometimes she didn't. 

"Emerald!" James yelled. "You know you aren't allowed outside without permission." 

"I asked your dad and he said yes." She mumbled as she got up. 

"What so he just watched us searching for a good twenty minutes when he knew where you were all along." James rolled his eyes. He picked her up and hugged her tight. "No disappearing, especially with all these other people here." 

Sirius and Regulus were staring at each other in silence. They hadn't spoken since Sirius had left last Summer. 

"I was just looking at the flowers then I was talking to Regulus. I'm sorry." 

"Oh it's okay Teddy Bear. Just don't do it again." She nodded vehemently. 

"Come on let's go inside." Sirius muttered turning away from Regulus and walked back to Potter Manor.       

Emerald pushed herself out of James's arms and ran up to Regulus. She hugged him tight while he stood there a bit shocked. Eventually he leaned down and hugged the child back. 

"Bye bye Regulus." She said letting go and running back to James who picked her up. 

"Goodbye Emerald." 

Sirius, James and Emerald all reentered the ball room. All Emerald wanted was to go to bed and sleep. 

"James can I please go to bed?" She begged. 

The prank was going to go off in a few minutes and neither James or Sirius wanted to miss it. "Do you know your way to your room?" James sighed and she nodded. "Fine you can go. But no getting sidetracked. You go straight to your room." She nodded again and ran out of the room. 

On her way she got sidetracked twice talking to portraits but eventually got to the third floor where her room was. She saw a woman with long black hair standing in the hall. 

Emerald didn't really want to go up to her. She looked scary. 

The woman turned towards her and sneered. Emerald knew that look. It triggered all her old instincts. She stood up straighter and blanked her features. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked. 

"My room is on this floor Ma'am." She answered not looking the woman in the eye. 

"You're the girl being looked after by my disgrace of a son." Walburga Black realised. Emerald wisely decided not to reply. "Well are you?" 

"Yes ma'am." 

"Oh and how is he doing. I would guess he's failing at that just like everything else." 

Emerald didn't know how to reply. Sirius was very good at everything except Potions. She didn't understand why the woman was being so mean. 

"He's very nice." She replied quietly. 

"Nice?! Nice gets you nowhere in life. He's going to be a failure just like the rest of his bloodtraitor and mudblood friends." 

Emerald flinched at the slur even though it wasn't aimed at her. She kept her mouth shut to keep the woman from getting angrier. 

"Going off to school and into Gryffindor. It disgusts me. Then making friends with the Potter brat. Don't even get me started on those horrible mudblood friends of him. The very sight of him repulses me. Then those pranks he pulls has he no shame." The woman was getting closer and closer to screaming and Emerald was getting closer and closer to bolting and going to find James and Sirius. 

"You were such a well behaved girl and imagining you being defiled by all their Gryffindor nonsense is revolting." Emerald recoiled slightly at being the subject of the one sided conversation. "A Slytherin being looked after by a Gryffindor it is downright offensive! They are probably just using you for one of their many pranks. Sirius used to complain about you all the time it would do my head in." 

Emerald fully flinched now. Sirius didn't like her. Why not? Had she done something to him when she was older. 

"A pureblood lady being looked after by such scum as them is appalling."

"ENOUGH!" Sirius shouted from the end of the hall. He had been adding some finishing touched to the prank when he had heard the screeching voice of Walburga and everyone bar Emerald was in the ballroom so there was only one person she could've been shouting at. 

"AH SEE HERE HE IS. The disgrace of the family. I was having a little chat with your ward." She smiled cruelly at Sirius who repressed a shudder. Emerald was edging her way towards her bedroom hoping to escape. 

"Walburga she is five years old she doesn't need you killing the braincells she has." He replied scathingly. 

"You dare speak to me like that you brat. You're lucky I haven't struck your name from the family tree yet." 

"You might as well. I'm not coming back!" 

"As if we would accept a little bloodtraitor like you back into our household." 

"AT LEAST MY MIND ISN'T SO ADDLED BY INBREEDING I CAN THINK STRAIGHT." Emerald had never seen Sirius raise his voice and gave up on all thoughts of being sneaky and ran for her room. 

The two Blacks let her leave without a thought both of them wrapped up in their shouting match. 

Emerald buried her face in her pillow covering her ears memories of her parents arguing flowing through her mind. 

"SHE NEEDS TO LEARN TO BE A LADY!" Her mother shouted. 

"SHE'S FOUR YEARS OLD WOMAN SHE SHOULD BE PLAYING WITH HORSES AND DOLLS NOT THINKING OF FUTURE BETROTHALS." Her father shouted back. 

Emerald was hiding under her bed trying to block out their screams. 

"SHE'S A FAIRY. SHE SHOULD ALWAYS BE THINKING OF BETROTHALS." 

"JUST BECAUSE SHE'S A DIFFERENT SPECIES DOESN'T MEAN SHE SHOULD GROW UP QUICKER." 

"YES IT DOES. FAIRIES NEED TO GROW UP FASTER." 

"NO THEY DON'T. SHE IS FOUR YEARS OLD AND DOESN'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT GETTING MARRIED TO ANYONE. SHE DOESN'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT GROWING UP. SHE DOESN'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT HAVING KIDS. SHE DOESN'T NEED TO WATCH HER WEIGHT. YOU JUST KEEP PUTTING THOSE IDEAS IN HER HEAD." 

Antonin crawled under her bed beside her and held her tight whispering a fairy tale in her ear trying to distract her. 

Emerald mumbled the story of Peter Pan to herself under her breath. She liked the story a bit more than the other fairy tales. 

Finally the shouting ended and she heard her door opening. 

Sirius crept over and hugged her tight. "I'm so sorry Pup. She's a horrible woman." 

"Sirius?" She asked looking up at him with watering eyes. "Do you not like me?" 

"Where on earth did you get that idea? Nevermind I think I can guess where. No Pup I love you. You're my little friend." 

"Do you promise?" 

"I promise."