10. Arithmancy

Uh-oh.

So they were looking at Karmic Lessons? That sounded kind of scary and somewhat confronting. What Lesson would she have to learn?

E-M-I-L-Y E-L-L-O-U-I-S-E M-O-R-G-A-N B-R-O-W-N-E
5-4-9-3-7 5-3-3-6-3-9-1-5 4-6-9-7-1-5 2-9-6-5-5-5

Examining her digits, Emily bit her lip. It appeared as though she was missing digit 8.
Frowning she flipped through her text book again.
What karmic lesson was she missing!?!?

8: Authority, finances, business, success, material wealth, organisation, self-mastery

What in the blazes did that mean?!... was she not successful enough for Karma?!... rude.

"Professor?... Karma's wrong,” she said defiantly, half-hoping she'd miscalculated something, even if she was rarely wrong.


OOC: Dedicated to PhoenixRising and her lovely Arithmancy Class, term 27.

59. Ignore

“BAH!” Emily yelled out in frustration. The pain shot down her arm faster than a strike of a lighting bolt.
Wincing slightly, she looked down to gauge the damage she had done … it could have been worse. Her arm was still attached.
Shaking her head, she cast another spell at the reinforced mirror. This time she was quick enough to summon her shields before impact.

Again!

Gritting her teeth, ignoring the blisters that were forming along the bloody gash on her arm, Emily directed her wand back at the mirror. Determination etched in her brows, she cast another curse.

33. Classroom

School map in hand, Emily attempted to navigate the GIANT castle for the first time. It was Monday morning, she'd found her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast and was now eager to get to her first class, Charms. She felt like an explorer, and adventurer, as if she was following a treasure map to the holy grail … knowlegde!

Turning the corner on the third floor, Emily entered through an open door.

Whoops! This was NOT the Charms classroom... it was a cupboard.

Consulting her map, Emily backed out of the cupboard and continued down the hall.

64. Nap

Emily knew exactly how important NEWT's were, in fact, she had lectured a group of third years about committing to their studies sooner rather than later. EVERY NEWT counted. EVERY one. Especially if she wanted to get into the Youth Auror Training Initiative. There were only a limited number of placements available each year.

Sitting at one of the study tables in the common room with a text book and some parchment, she studied. Her head dropped closer to the pages as time passed and soon enough her parchment was pressed against her forehead. The ink slowly absorbed into her skin.

96. Socks

It was Christmas! AND there was hardly anyone left in the castle, so in theory – and this was a VERY good theory, the castle was hers! The first year tied her hair up in a perky ponytail which swished and bounced when she walked. Dressed in black jeans, a thick chunky-knit jumper in electric blue and matching socks, Emily raced down for breakfast.

There were a few students in the Great Hall, but the smell of sausages and baked beans captured her attention. Emily launched forward, SLIDING across the sleek polished floor to a vacant seat. Breakfast is served!

18. Whomping Willow

“WHOA! LOOK AT THE TREE!”

Emily stared in mock amazement at a tree which was perfectly normal for the wizarding world. Her muggle-born peers however were sincerely amazed, their eyes bulged in their sockets.

“Yeah, it's huge, and dangerous! If you get too close it'll PULVERISE you!” So, the idea was to stay away from it and NOT get pulverised.

“Would it... can it... eat you?” Asked one of the girls.

Emily rolled her eyes, this could be fun.

“Oh yeah! Witch mince is their favourite.”
Emily smirked as the colour drained from the girls face.

66. Pace

With her neck arched, eyes forward-facing, steady well-timed breaths, Emily pumped her arms beside her as she pushed herself forward. Her feet hit the concrete with precision, echoing slightly beneath the canopy of evergreens. If there was anything predictable about her, it was her routine morning runs at Hyde Park. She never took the same route to get there, she never ran the same paths and she never looked quite like herself. Some called it paranoia, others called it caution. Disguised as a random muggle she had seen the previous day, Emily quickened her pace as she passed Speakers Corner.

92. Chocolate

It wasn't usual for her to wake up on the couch, the light blaring through the curtains.
Peeling herself from the white leather sofa, Emily attempted to sit upright, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck. Sleeping on the sofa in an awkward position was a TERRIBLE idea, it would never happen again.

A brown substance was smeared across her track-pants and arm caught her eye.

Face screwed up, she sniffed it.

Nothing.

Flaking a bit off and raised her finger to her lips, dropping the brown substance on the tip of her tongue.

"Yum, left over chocolate."

83. Fearful


Emily was scared, and that didn't happen very often. Leaning over the big pot on her stove, Emily sniffed at its contents. Cooking was definitely not one of her strong suits, but then again, how hard could it be?

After dipping her wooden spoon into the tomato infused sauce, Emily raised it to her lips. Hesitating just a little, she closed her eyes and tasted her concoction. It was surprisingly tangy, not bitter, but not sweet. Had she finally succeeded at something homely?

Smiling to herself, Emily set down her utensil and let the pot simmer for a while longer.

26. Quill


If she had a least favourite subject, it was definitely History of Magic. Blah blah blah goblin rebellions, blah blah blah Harry Potter, blah blah blah Statute of Secrecy. It was all just so dull! Why couldn't they do a re-enactment? And blow stuff up instead?

While it looked as though she was taking notes, Emily spent most of the lesson drawing a snowman on the corner of her page. Maybe she would charm it later to make it move and dance. In the mean time, she dipped her quill in her inkwell and penned the snowman a striped scarf.

71. Untie


If there was one thing she loved most about living in muggle London, it was her neighbour Mrs Foster. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the woman, except for her baking abilities and her kind nature.

After putting in some extra hours at the Ministry, Emily finally arrived home, only to find a box was sitting on the doormat to her apartment. After looking down the corridor, and making sure the box wasn't cursed- occupational habit- she took it inside and untied the brown string holding it together. Mrs Foster's home-made double-choc cookies were the best she'd ever had. Yum.

13. Quidditch


It was definitely spring time again. The air was SLIGHTLY warmer and there was something cheerful about it, which made Emily's stomach churn. Winter was a much nicer time of year. Plus, quidditch was much more bearable when it was cold, it reduced the extent of sweaty armpits and made quaffle hunting and point SCORING just that little bit easier. Not that she was handicapped.

With quidditch in mind Emily grabbed her broom. On the way down to the practice pitch, she made a point of treading on as many dandelions and wild flowers as she could. Take that Spring!

16. Dragonhide gloves


There was something refreshing about December, and it wasn't just the weather. Everything seemed full of promise and hope, the atmosphere was festive and pleasant. Emily didn't think much of Christmas, what with shopping and gifting... it was all too much work, and she never got anything worth having.

Her fifteenth Christmas morning was like any other she'd had at Hogwarts, except she found only one small package from her parents. Obviously they weren't as generous this year. Ripping apart the overly cheerful reindeer wrapping paper, she found a brand new pair of dragonhide gloves.

Finally! Something she could actually use.

39. Duel


You stand off to the side of the raised stage. The various phases of the moon which decorate the stage catch your attention, distracting you from the two seventh years that take their positions at either end of it.

Even beneath the dim torchlight, you can see the determination etched on the competitors faces as they stand poised for attack... or defence. Your own fists clench and unclench rhythmically, wishing you were up there. You bounce on the balls of your feet, trying to get a better view of the duel. Sparks fly, casting interesting shadows along the wall behind you.

77. Cheerful


Granted, she wasn't the most pleasant company in comparison to other young witches... with their bubbly, sparkly personalities. But today was maybe an exception. Emily Browne was actually cheerful. Grinning from ear to ear and practically waltzing around the room, Emily busied herself with unpacking her belongings – all by hand – for the second time since graduating from Hogwarts.

Her new apartment was a little bigger than her last, but it was comfortable. She could do WHATEVER she wanted, WHENEVER she wanted.
“There's nothing better than a fresh start,” she mused while placing her cutlery in her new kitchen drawers.

74. X-tinguish


The low light from the jack-o-lanterns flickered up the walls and along the ceiling. Emily ran her fingers along the wall in a sad attempt to capture the light between her fingers. But she couldn't. Oh POOP!

Despite it being her seventh Halloween, she only remembered the last three, so this holiday was still new and exciting. Dragging herself onto a stool, Emily placed her chin on the table and stared into the mouth of the fiery pumpkin. Extending her fingers curiously, she pinched at the flame inside, accidentally extinguishing it.

“WHOOOOOOPSY DAISSSYYYY!” she exclaimed in the dark.

2. Muggle Studies


Fashion...

It wasn't that she didn't like it, it's just that there were far more useful and far more important things to learn, like magical combat and spells and potions and stuff. Why did Muggle Studies have to be so boring and useless? Blah blah blah trends, blah blah blah materials, blah blah blah manufacturing.

Emily could see the assortment of muggle footwear on the table up the front but she didn't care about their uses and their significance to muggle-kind. Besides, was it necessary to learn what kind of shoes are appropriate for everyday wear in muggle community? Wasn't it obvious?

89. Past

Sneaking through the window to the room she once called her own, Emily stood on her tiptoes, arms extended for balance. There wasn't a single sound. The place had been abandoned, which didn't surprise her. It was only one of her numerous family homes, but it meant the world to her... at one point.

Pulling a shoe box out from under the old dust covered bed, Emily lifted the lid. Inside were a number of childhood items. A stick she used as a make believe wand, an ornate hair pin, a paper butterfly and a doll with its head snapped off.

90. Present

If she had a motto, it was 'live in the present' … or 'get in my way and I'll hex you', but at any rate, Emily enjoyed living and certainly enjoyed living HER life. Quill in hand, pressed against a leaf in her notebook she hastily drafted a list of things she wanted to achieve within the month. On the top of this list she had:

1) Get a tattoo.

This was something she could get done today if she wanted to, but there were more pressing matters. Being a Ravenclaw, she had to think this through now rather than later.


OOC: Dedicated to BanaBatGirl for RPing our tattoo-obtaining experience.

91. Future

“The future?” she repeated.

What about the future?! He didn't... surely... he didn't mean. GULP. Marriage. Or worse... children.

Because really, anybody would have to be crazy to suggest SHE consider those things in HER future.

Emily frowned. Refusing to process the idea that one day she might settle down and committ to someone PERMANENTLY and become all homely and ... wifey and... stuff. Just the thought of wiping snotty noses and cooking wholesome FAMILY meals like roasts on weekends made her wrinkle her nose in distaste. Couldn't she just stay the way she was, career driven, epic and kick-butt?

34. Parseltongue

Parseltongue. Apparently that was a 'cool' skill to have. But aside from reading about it, she'd never witnessed anybody with the talent of snake speech. Pouring over a pile of books, Emily attempted to teach herself the unique gift.

Emily eyed a snake laying in the bottom of a large glass tank, designed for fish.
“Ssssssshhhiiiiooooosssiiaaannn sssisssttiioooo,” she hissed out loud. What did it mean? She had no idea. But she figured if she tried different sounds, maybe, somehow she'd trigger something.

The snake shrunk backward.

“Did I just threaten to eat you?” she asked the snake. STARE.

28. Timeturner

Emily was EXCITED. Not only did she get to do all the subjects she wanted, but she also got to play around with... ahem... utilise a very powerful magical item. A FRIGGIN TIMETURNER! She could turn back time! Of course, she wasn't about to abuse this power. She was going to need every second of every repeated hour to study and complete her homework and assignments on time. But being strong with time management, maybe she could get away with a couple of adventures throughout the year.
Her parents were proud, her teachers approved, so therefore... she was rather epic, right?

37. Animagus

“What would yours be if you had one?” asked Xavier.

Emily shrugged, picking at the grass.
“Maybe a bird?”

“Boring!”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Go on then, what would yours be?”

Xavier paused for a moment.
“Something big and strong... like a lion.”

Emily laughed. Seriously, what was the point in being something so ridiculous?!
“Uhuh... super stealthy,” she replied.

Xavier frowned, pushing his black fringe away from his eyes.

“At least with a bird you could get around without raising suspicion. And besides, my wand would kick your lion-animagus butt any day.”

31. Dress robes

“Pink? Really?” she asked herself. Wondering why in the name of Merlin's god forsaken polka dotted underpants her mother got her PINK dress robes. Did the woman not know her at all? If there was any colour that could physically make her sick, it was pink!

Was it worth going to the dance?... In PINK?

Weighing up the decision to look awful in pink or ditch the dance, Emily mentally tallied up a pros and cons list.

Pros: Food and music.

Cons: Pink, the kiddy table, and old witches, wizard and warlocks pinching her cheeks repeatedly saying “How ADORABLE!”

29. Pensieve

So naturally, when Dad says “Don't touch that”, you're SUPPOSED to touch that. Or so I thought. Even to this day, I sometimes think he meant for me to do the opposite of what he said, so that I would learn some sort of lesson, or a moral of a story.

There was this one time, I remember it well, I snuck into his study which was conveniently unlocked and unarmed, and there it was... his pensieve, swirling with mysteries, secrets and skeletons. I'd tell you what I saw, but if I did, I'd have to kill you. No joke.