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

Chapter 13 - New Constellations

Chicago, Illinois. 4 days later... 

Emaline had a fantastic weekend with her family and she was happy to be at home once again for the first time in months. She got the chance to see her brother play Quidditch with his team in Astoria. They went on a hike to Mount Rainier National Park, and she attempted to find a book on Nicolas Flamel at Hermione's bequest at her favorite bookstore. Nothing came up. She showed Tulip the famed Shanghai Tunnels and she got all of her homework done in no time at all. But hers and Tulip's vacation went as fast as it began. Emaline let Professor McGonagall know that she and Tulip will be coming back to Hogwarts on Tuesday morning. After 4 days of being with family, Emaline and Tulip returned to the portal in Chicago with Allison, who was heading back to Ilvermorny. It was 1 in the morning. Emaline and Tulip had to be at school in 3 hours, so they put on their Ravenclaw robes and uniforms. "Ms. Goode? Ms. Karasu?" said Pat, the house-elf, "The portal is ready. We're waiting for you."

"Are you coming back home for Christmas, Lil' sis?" said Allison. 

"I probably won't. But I should be back at Ilvermorny by springtime. I'll miss you, Allie." She gave her big sister a big hug. "I love you. Tell everyone I said hi."
"I will. Love you, too. Tulip, it was nice to meet you."
"Same here." she shook Allie's hand and then hugged her. They began walking towards the portal, ending up back in the cellar at Honeyduke's Sweets Shop. It was pitch black in the tunnel. 

"Lumos," said Emaline, as she brought out her wand. The light was strong enough to illuminate the tunnel. They began walking.
"Mr. Flume?" said Tulip. "We're back from vacation. Are you here?" Suddenly, a pair of footsteps walked down the flight of stairs.
"Welcome back, girls! My wife and I just woke up and we're getting ready for work," said Mr. Flume. "I trust you had a splendid vacation?"
"We did, sir. Thank you." said Emaline, "It felt great to spend some time at home."
"Wonderful!" he said, "Anyway, Hagrid is on his way to come and pick you up. I have some more American goodies in stock, just for you, Ms. Goode. You came at a good time. The store isn't even open yet."

He escorted Tulip and Emaline up the stairs into the shop, which was closed. While they were waiting for Hagrid to come and get them, the girls took a look around and Emaline restocked on all of her favorite American candies, most of which she ate on the trip back to Oregon with her sister and Tulip and she wanted to share a few with her friends tonight. Mrs. Flume was nice enough to bring the girls a cup of coffee while they were browsing. After paying for all their sweets, they started walking back towards the castle, up until Hagrid showed up. "Hi, Hagrid," they both said.

"Good morning, ladies! I was just on my way to get you," he said cheerfully, "Had a great vacation?"
"Yes. Tulip enjoyed herself most of all. I got all of my homework done."
"That's good. School is starting in an hour an' a half. I'll bring yer luggage up ta the Ravenclaw Common Room and you head down to the Great Hall and get some breakfast in." 

As they approached the Great Hall, Hagrid went ahead to drop off their luggage at the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was empty, but there were some students already pouring into the Great Hall for breakfast. Emaline and Tulip returned to the Ravenclaw table and took a seat. "Whoo!" Emaline exclaimed, "I'm so tired!"

"Me too," Tulip replied. "It's good to be back at Hogwarts. Thanks for taking me with you. It's the most fun I've had in a while. And thanks for the Boom Boom Balls. These will come in handy for my pranks."
"You like pranks?" Emaline asked.
"Oh, yeah. I think the best prank of my career was at that time when I Dungbombed the Owlery." Emaline sniggered. "I think these Boom Boom Balls are gonna work great for me." She opened one of them up from their wrappers and threw it into the air to see what would happen and it hit the ground. On impact, it exploded, releasing a thick cloud of brown smoke. Tulip sniffed the smoke. It tasted sweet. "Mmm! What is that?"