A week had passed since Emery dreamt of her father.

According to her, it was the slowest week she'd ever had at Hogwarts. The reason being her misery. Although she was making a big deal of losing her hat, the main reason of her misery was that she finally felt the absence of her father. 

True, she lost him when she was eleven, and quite some time had passed since that date. She had spent six years in his absence, but the void only felt empty now.

Pranks had stopped, her food had gone low, and she barely spoke to anyone, not even Peeves and Cecilia.

Cecy, on the other hand, tried her hardest to coax Emery out of her mood, and often did funny things to make her laugh. But not once did Emery even smile. She spent all day in silence, or crying secretly.

Cecilia had a secret. She hadn't told Emery, and Emery had no idea that Cecy was keeping something from her. Usually, it was very difficult to keep a secret from Emery, who could solve anything, and everything within a matter of seconds.

Except the strange note.

The note that came with her hat.

Emery carried it everywhere she went. If it was not in her pocket, then it was in her bag, if not in her bag, then in between one of her books. She had gotten no closer to solving it than before, and she hoped she could find a clue of some sorts in the Hogwarts library.

It was this that kept her busy.

She searched all the books in the Hogwarts library for any lead, but with no positive result. She spent all of her time in the library, or in her dormitory, and felt like a walking and talking puppet with no strings.

She even ate her meals all alone in the kitchen, and sneaked out after curfew either to the astronomy tower, or the kitchens.

That gave her solitude.

She was able to cry all she wanted, and be alone with her thoughts, where nobody could disturb her, or annoy her.

It was a week that felt long.

Monday passed, then Tuesday came even slower. Wednesday travelled at snail-speed. Thursday felt like a double lesson of History of Magic. Finally, Friday came.

Emery was heading to Herbology, the last lesson of the day, and Cecy was chatting animatedly with the rest of the Ravenclaw girls.

They were talking of the upcoming Christmas ball.

According to Emery, the ball was still three months away, and she found no need to start talking of makeup and dresses so early.

But Cecy and the other girls were different from her, so she just let them be.

Herbology was held with the Slytherins. Professor Sprout had arranged them all into partners, each from different houses.

Emery was paired up with Narcissa Black, whose mother was quite well acquainted with Emery's.

Narcissa and Emery got on quite well together. They were supposed to collect the juice from puffapod plants, and make sure they didn't damage the flower while doing so.

At last, Herbology ended, taking away all the weeks stress with it. Emery was free, even if it was just a a couple of days.

As the bell rang, she gathered her things and rushed out of the greenhouse and up to her dormitory, not watching where she was going.

She bumped into someone, and crashed to the floor, all her books falling to the ground.

A boy.

She'd seen him in quite a few of her classes, and a couple of pure-blood dinner parties too. He was tall, and had a mass of shaggy black hair that reached his shoulders. 

He had high cheekbones, and a sharp jawline, as well as a broad forehead. He had stunningly silver stormy eyes, and a grin of surprise was plastered across his face.

Emery knew him of course, as a Narcissa's cousin. 

She didn't know his name. 

"Oh, erm, I'm sorry," she muttered, in a haste to pick herself up from the floor.

She looked up at him. 

He was standing, and offered her his hand. Shying away, Emery slowly placed her fingers in his palm. 

Gently, he pulled her up.

"Didn't see you there," he said cheerfully. Then on seeing her face, he seemed to remember something.

Emery didn't say anything, but rather stared at him.

"Oh, I was looking for you," he continued. 

"For- for me?" she inquired.

"M-hmm," he answered swiftly, looking at his fingers, which Emery noticed, were covered in numerous rings of different varieties.

"Why?" asked Emery.

He looked at her, and then bent down to help her pick her books. 

"No, no, no," said Emery, waving her hands to stop him. "You don't have to pick them up. I'll do them."

He winked at her. "Shh. It's my pleasure," he said, his stormy eyes twinkling.

As he picked them up, he froze when he saw a piece of paper he just picked up. He looked at it intently, and his brows furrowed. 

"Is this yours?" he asked her.

She peered over his shoulder, and nodded. It was the note.

"I don't know what it means though. Someone sent it to me," she explained. 

He nodded, then gave it to her. She said nothing, and put it in her pocket, clearly embarrassed. 

"Anyway," he said, as he clapped his hands together. "I'm Sirius. Sirius Black."

He offered her his hand once more. 

"Emery Fowl," said Emery, taking his hand. 

He grinned childishly. "I know. You're the girl who gave McGonagall the nickname 'Minnie'. It's nice to finally meet you."

She giggled.

"You've stopped pranking this week," he pointed out. "I believe I know how to cheer you up," he said. 

She bit her lip, and smiled politely.

"Now come along!" he said enthusiastically. "I've got something to show you."

And he pulled her hand behind him and he rushed through the deserted corridor, taking Emery through secret passageways she'd never been to at top speed.

Finally, they stopped, before a large portrait of a fat lady wearing a pink lacy dress. Emery knew this to be the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

She looked down at her and Sirius' hands, still clasped together.

At this, Sirius looked down too. "Oh, sorry," he said, and quickly let go. Then he cleared his throat. 

A pink blush dusted both of their cheeks, and they avoided eye-contact.

"Wait here," said Sirius, and he disappeared through the portrait hole.

Emery sat down on the stone bench engraved in the wall. Here she was, sitting outside the Gryffindor common room, brought by a boy she'd never met. She was listening to him, and waiting for him.

He was a stranger, yet why did Emery feel safe next to him?

He was known for being a flirt, and Emery knew it was wrong, but she still felt drawn to him. Perhaps there was something beneath his bad-boy façade, something Emery was drawn to.

She felt protected with him, and she had only known him for a few minutes.

At last, he emerged, carrying a box with him. Smiling at Emery, he gave the box to her, and sat beside her. 

"I believe this belongs to you," he said.

Slowly, she looked up at him with her blue eyes. 

"Go, on," he pressed. "Open it."

She hesitantly nodded, and gently lifted the lid off the box.

She gasped.

Inside, lay her lost hat.

a/n: hello.

happy thursday. hope you guys had a pleasant week. i also hope this chapter was satisfactory.

was it moving too fast?

please let me know. 

on another note, this is important...

i have made a new chapter, for CAST. please check it out if you want a gist of how Emery looks.

thanks.

Love, Elsie.