Lucky

Good Times

          Emma almost choked on her Cheeri Owls. "What?" She hissed, thumping her chest. Morgana sighed, watching as Professor Flitwick stuck another poster on the wall of the Great Hall. "Come on, Em, it'll be fun. A New Year's Eve Ball. It'll be great. And besides-" she smirked to herself. "I hear Bryce Miller's got a bit of a thing for you!"

         Emma slapped her. "No he hasn't. We just study together sometimes." Morgana raised her eyebrows. "Ok." The New Year's Ball had taken everyone by surprise. The posters were very simple, very vague, and no one knew what had put McGonagall in the mood for a party. But they were hardly going to object.

         They stood up from the breakfast table, John following a little anxiously. "Emma, will you go with me, I don't want to go alone," he begged, adjusting his glasses nervously. Emma sighed. "Johnny, you can't go to a ball with your sister. And I can't go to a ball with you - no offence, John, but I'd like to graduate Hogwarts with at least three friends." She sighed at her brother's disheartened expression. "Just ask someone nice, someone in Ravenclaw, maybe, you study with them a lot?" Morgana sniggered. "Yes, Emma will also be going with someone she studies with a lot, a Ravenclaw, maybe."
  
           Emma glared at her and crossed her arms over her chest - before she was tapped on the shoulder by Bryce Miller. Morgana flung herself around the corner, laughing uncontrollably, and peered around the corner to watch. "So, Emma, I was wondering if you had a date to the ball?" Bryce asked, his handsome blue eyes twinkling. Emma shook her head quickly, looking at Morgana crossly and mouthing "help me!" Bryce smiled. "Oh, really. I thought you might have a date. Well, I don't have one either. Do you maybe want to go together?"

         Emma looked terrified as she nodded slowly. "Yes, that would be great. Amazing. See you then!" She was staring at Bryce like he was bonkers. "Bye!" She called, running off in Morgana's direction.

         The two of them ducked around the corner. Emma slapped Morgana playfully. "Shut up!" She cried. Morgana laughed. "Em, I didn't even open my mouth!" Emma scowled at her. "But I know you will. It's sort of your favourite pastime." The incident of the Hogsmeade trip shoved to the back of their minds, they both slipped off to the dorm to write to their families, asking to send their dress robes.

___________________________

  
         "Merry Christmas!" Morgana blinked sleepily as she felt Em jump onto her bed. "Come on, Morgana! It's Christmas Day! Get up!" Morgana sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She yawned widely. "Merlin, I can't believe it's Christmas already!" Emma smirked. "Maybe you will when you see the pile of presents on our floor."

        Morgana sat up, taking in the piles of gifts on the dormitory floor. "Wow..." she breathed. Emma nodded. "I know. Let's open ours, and then we need to go to the boys' dorm. I promised Johnny we'd be up to see them." Morgana groaned. "Does that mean I have to be in the same room as that awful Brookmore?" Emma shook her head gleefully. "Nope! He's gone home. Just me, you, Johnny, and Teddy. He's coming up too."

          They started opening their own presents quickly. Harry and Ginny had sent Morgana a beautiful Diary bound in smooth, black leather, as well as a large box of Weasley's supplies. James and Albus had made a Christmas card, which even Lily had signed - with a long, squiggly line, but that still counted. Ginny had also sent Morgana's dress robes for the ball. The Potters had sent Emma a box of chocolate cauldrons and a diary like Morgana's. She was practically family, too. Then there was a bottle of perfume and a pretty spiral-bound notebook from the Granger-Weasleys (obviously selected by Hermione and Rose). There was also a large box of chocolate frog cards with a note attached in James Potter's messy handwriting.

To Morgana,

        I knew you collected Chocolate Frog cards, and me and the other boys have loads of spares, so we sent you all our spares so you and your friends can have them. Happy Christmas!

         James

   And Albus and Fred and Hugo.

     But it was James's idea.

    No it wasn't !

    Bye

            Morgana smiled at the splatters of ink near the bottom of the page where Albus and James had clearly been squabbling over the quill. She was touched that all the boys would do that, and slid the box of cards under her bed to share out later with a little smile.

          Finally, there was a squarish object wrapped in messy red paper. A note was attached to it.

     Dear Morgana, Emma, John and Teddy,

          Merry Christmas! Please open this when all of you are together, I wish I could be there to see you open it.
    Scarlett Cross xx

      Morgana smiled, wondering what the sweet, creative Scarlett could have got them. She and Emma raced up the stairs to the boys' dorm, knocking apprehensively before entering. "You're all decent, yes?" Morgana inquired, shielding her eyes jokingly. She and Emma leapt onto an empty bed which Morgana assumed belonged to one of the boys who had gone home. They sat on the four poster with their legs crossed, while the boys sat on John's bed beside them.

         Teddy pulled a huge, lumpy package off the floor, heaving a sigh as he set it on the bed. "Victoire asked me to deliver these. From her grandmother." Morgana could predict what Molly had sent them. She grinned as Teddy pulled a deep blue jumper with a yellow "M" out of it. Yep. Weasley jumpers, a classic Christmas tradition. Teddy had a white and red striped jumper, while Emma's was purple and John's was blue-green. "You look like a candy cane!" John teased Teddy. "You look like a cave troll," he retorted, and they began wrestling, while the girls giggled. "Hey guys," Morgana interrupted. "Scarlett says Happy Christmas, she sent us a present." John immediately sat up and came over to the bed to see it.

         They ripped the paper off to find a huge, heavy, leather-bound book. Emma flipped open to the first page and read a small, handwritten note.

This scrapbook belongs to Scarlett Cross, Morgana Black, Emma Fortis, John Fortis and Teddy Lupin. It contains all our best memories of our Hogwarts years.

        They all grinned at each other as they flicked onto the next page. Scarlett had stuck in a train ticket from their first time on the Hogwarts Express, a copy of her acceptance letter and a chocolate frog card. The rest of the book contained pictures of them, interesting clippings from the Prophet and posters which had been up in the common room over the years. There was a note from McGonagall telling the five of them to report to detention, and even a slightly crumpled and torn note they had passed in Potions class one day.

          Morgana smiled. "I can't believe Scarlett kept all this stuff!" Her heart fluttered with affection for Scarlett, and she continued to flick through pictures of the five friends. Finally there was a large picture of all five of them sitting, a little uncomfortably, in a tree in the school grounds. Morgana remembered how they had all been sitting on top of each other, piled onto a sturdy branch, while Grace McMillan, the photographer of the Gryffindor girls, took their picture. The picture was followed by several blank pages. "I suppose we'll be making lots more memories in this place," John said fondly. Morgana grinned. "Definitely. These are the good times, guys. The times we'll remember in ten or twenty years when we've graduated and got jobs, families, all sorts. We'll remember times like this."

          Teddy suddenly laughed. "Look, Scarlett's labelled this page "New Year's Ball Photos, fifth year." They all laughed. "Well, she seems to have been planning this for awhile." They closed the book and pulled on their Weasley jumpers before rushing downstairs to breakfast.