Emaline Goode: The Raven Of Ilvermorny: A Secrets Of The Gordian Knot prequel

Chapter 3 - The Raven Approaches

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry, Hagrid and Emaline made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, and back through the Leaky Cauldron, which has become empty. Emaline returned to her room and dropped off all of her supplies, and then returned to the pub to meet with Hagrid and Harry, who were having a large bowl of stew. "You all right, Harry?" said Hagrid. "You seem a bit quiet."

"He killed my parents, didn't he? The one who gave me this?" Harry said as he touched his scar. "You know Hagrid, I know you do."

"Course I know. Who do yeh think carried yeh out o' yer parents' house, On Halloween night, ten years ago?" said Hagrid, "Who do yeh think brought yeh ter Dumbledore an' watched him lay yeh on yer Aunt an' Uncle's doorstep? 'Course I know, Harry." He then pushed his large bowl of soup to the side. "Firs', understand this; 'cause it's important: not all wizards are good. Some go bad. A few years ago, there was this one wizard who went as bad as you could go. And his name was V---" He stopped abruptly. "Maybe if you wrote it down?" said Harry. "No, I can't spell it," said Hagrid. "All right. Voldemort," he said with a whisper. "Voldemort?" said Harry very loudly. "Shh!!" Hagrid and Emaline said. "Keep your voice down!" Emaline said quietly. She did not say another word after that. Harry looked around to see if anyone had listened.

"Dark days those were, Harry," Hagrid continued, "Voldemort started lookin' some 'fer followers. Brought them over to the dark side. Anyone that stood up to him ended up dead. Your parents fought against him. No one lived once he decided to kill 'em. Nobody. Not one. 'Cept you."

"Me?" Harry said quietly. "Voldemort tried to kill...me?"

"Yes," Hagrid replied. He pointed at Harry's scar. "That ain't no ordinary cut on your forehead, Harry. A mark like that comes from being touched by a curse. An evil curse."

"Whatever happened to Vol...to You-Know-Who?" Emaline asked.

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. I reckon. Nope, but I think he's out there somewhere, jus' too weak to carry on." said Hagrid, "But one thing's fer certain, Harry. Somethin' about you stumped him that night. That's why you're famous. That's why ev'ryone knows yer name. You're The Boy Who Lived."

"Emaline," said Hagrid, "Harry and I should be going. We'll see you tomorrow at King's Cross Station."

"I'll be there," she said. Hagrid shook Emaline's hand.

"Bye, Emaline," said Harry. He reached his hand out to her to shake it. "It was a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Mr. Potter.", she said, shaking his hand and bowing before him. "See you at school." She winked at him and Hagrid and then they walked away. As soon as she returned to her room, Emaline put on her pajamas and took out a piece of parchment and a pen, and wrote a letter to her mother:

Dear Mom,

The first day in London went well. Got all of my supplies in Diagon Alley, a new broomstick for Quidditch, and a new owl. I named him Newton. You'll meet him when you get this letter. But that is not the best part, I met Harry Potter and hung out with him all day long! It was a dream come true! Anyway, I hope things are going well over in the States. Be sure to give Dad, Thomas, and Allie all my love. I can't wait to see all of you this Thanksgiving. I miss you a lot.

With love from,

Emaline

She gave Newton her letter and he flew off. Emaline then turned off the light and went to bed.

King's Cross Station. A few days later.

After a few more days at the Leaky Cauldron, the day she has been waiting for had finally arrived. Emaline was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. She put on her Quidditch jacket, a Portland Timbers jersey from the 1970s, and put her belongings into her Thunderbird messenger bag from Ilvermorny, which she enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm. After paying for her room, she walked out to the courtyard where she, Hagrid, and Harry entered Diagon Alley and apparated to King's Cross Station. She was learning how to do it from her father, who was a master of it. She still has yet to suffer the side effect known as splinching. "Need to find a place to get all of my stuff out," she said. Emaline walked into an alley, brought all of her belongings out from her enchanted messenger bag, and began walking to the station to Platforms 9 and 10. Suddenly, she saw a familiar face. A boy with black hair and glasses and that recognizable scar.