The bright and sunny morning was a deception of what was about to come. The whole world was oblivious to the fact that Lord Voldemort was making final plans to his journey to Godric's Hallow. Not even James or Lily Potter could have predicted that only in a few hours, they would be dead and their only son would become one of the most famous wizards that the world have ever seen. The only two people who did know what was about to happen were Voldemort himself and Peter Pettigrew. But, this did not stop Emmeline Potter from blaming herself for the deaths of her brother, and his wife, her best friend.
At 7 o'clock, like every morning, the alarm clock went off. The sleeping person on the bed harshly smacked the alarm until the annoying buzzing went off. Grumpily, she got out of her bed. What they didn't tell you when you became an auror was that coffee would become your best friend. She greedily wrapped her fingers around the warm mug, and inhaled the coffee within seconds. Even something as simple as brining the mug to her lips made her aching arms hurt. Pushing the tears back, she recalled the events that occurred previously.
The raid last night had been a bad one. Her whole body was sore from where she had been hit by multiple curses. Two of her closest friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom, were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Their current condition was unknown, and their son Neville was now living with his grandmother. The danger was expected when you were in a war, but usually it came slowly, and not all at once.
Slowly everyone Emmeline knew was being taken away from her. The Mckinnons, a family close to the Potters, had been murdered a week earlier, and the dark mark was left above their house. Doracas Meadows was killed in a raid, three days prior. Fabian Prewett, who had been in Emmeline's year back in Hogwarts, was also killed in a raid the night before the last, his brother Gideon had just barely escaped. Back in Hogwarts, he and his brother were never apart, without Fabian, he was a total wreck. Benjy Fenwick was hit by a curse that blasted him into small pieces. Caradoc Dearborn went on a mission for Moody, but never returned. The Auror department could only guess that he had died. Alice and Frank was just the end to a "perfect" month.
Mad Eye had been working the remaining aurors into the ground. On some nights, Emmeline worked triple shifts. She was both physically and mentally drained. Not only were her brother and his family in hiding, but their parents were too. When a man by the name of Tom contacted both James and Emmeline through letter, Lisa and Henry Potter threw a fit. Tom reached out to them many more times before they realized his true identity. James was appalled by the idea of Voldemort thinking he could make the siblings switch sides. The thought had made Emmeline feel sick.
Of course, after James knew this information he did everything in his power to defeat the infamous dark wizard. This made him a target, which is why he is in hiding. Dumbledore thought it would be best if all of the Potters went into hiding. Emmeline refused this option. James would have too if Lily hadn't begged him, for Harry's sake. He finally gave into Lily's pleads and went into hiding. When Dumbledore had suggested that the Potters go into hiding, Emmeline believed that they would all be together in Potter Manor. That was not the case. Lisa and Henry hid in the Manor, but James and Lily took harry to their cottage in Godric's Hallow. Because of this, Emmeline had not seen her brother, best friend, or godson in weeks. Between her crazy auror schedule, and the constant nagging from her parents about their boredom, she couldn't find the time to make the trip down to Godric's Hallow.
When she returned to the kitchen to put her mug away, she saw her parents sitting quietly at the kitchen counter, Not wanting to disturb what looked like an intense conversation, she quietly made her way to the sink and disposed of her mug. Apparently she didn't go unnoticed because a pair of arms brought her into a bone-crushing hug.
"Henry! Let the poor girl go! If you don't she'll be late for work."
"But dear, I don't want to let my little girl go."
"Daddy," a name she hadn't said in years, "I am coming home tonight. Promise."
"Fine, fine, fine, but tell Moody that I don't want you on triple shifts anymore."
She left the kitchen smiling. Her parents could always put her in a better mood. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her navel. Apparating was something she would never get used to. Missing her aim by a few steps, she landed on half a stair, and began to slip. She felt a large hand grab her arm, and she stabilized herself. Trent Harwood was standing next to her, with a large smile on his face. "Watch yourself Missy."
"Thanks for the catch."
"No problem, but those stairs were the least of your problems. Moody is looking for you, and he looks furious."
"Oh bloody hell. That's just how I wanted to start my day."
Grunting, Emmeline stormed off to The Head Auror's office. Being called to the Head Auror's office was like being called to the Headmaster's office back at Hogwarts, something that had never happened to Emmeline. You could hear Moody yelling from all the way down the hall. Not a good sign. Wearily, she opened the door and stepped into the office. Moody's face was flush with rage. He was violently yelling at a tall figure in the opposite corner of the room. The person in the corner had a long white beard and soft, friendly eyes. Dumbledore.
"I. Um… I can come back."
"No, Potter stay. I have a mission I need you to go on. Greyback is on the loose. You and Spencer can go find him."
"Alastor," Dumbledore started to speak.
"Albus, I am working with a limited amount of people here, and I need everyone of the on duty."
"It will only be for a day. I'm sure you can spare her for the day."
"Not when she's the best damned auror in this department." Moody's retaliation made Emmeline's heart swell. Moody had called her the best auror in the department, behind himself of course. She knew she had skills, but she never knew they were that good. Even James had admitted that she was skilled with magic, and Quidditch. Not many wizards, none on record actually, have become an animagus at the age of thirteen; James had ditched her for Sirius one summer, and she thought she would experiment a little. Professor McGonagall made her Quidditch captain at the age of fourteen, and at fifteen she had won the Tri-wizard tournament.
"Please Alastor. He's going crazy, and you and I both know that I don't kid. Lily is worried about him. All he wants to do is see her."
"Fine. One day. You can have her, but only for one day."
Dumbledore grinned, and motioned for Emmeline to leave the room. If that conversation had been about her brother, that was not good. James was not the type of person who could sit in the same room day after day and be comfortable. No, James had to be active all day everyday, and he wasn't getting that being stuck in the cottage. The elderly wizard turned, and gave her one of his friendly smiles. He held out his hand to her, and waited patiently for her to take it. She took her old headmaster's hand, closed her eyes, and felt the sharp tug near her stomach. When she reopened them, they weren't in the ministry anymore, but on the front steps of her brother's familiar home. Before she could ask what they were doing there, Dumbledore had already left.
Emmeline felt excited butterflies in her stomach. She brought her knuckles to the door, and waited to be let in. Lily opened the door. The next thing Emmeline knew, Lily was crushing her in a tight embrace. Emmeline could barely breath, "Lils, please..." She was gasping for air at this point. "'I'm going… uhhhh… to need you… to let go of me." Lily apologized immediately, and let go of her sister-in-law.
Lily and Emmeline had been friends since their second and first year respectively. James had once asked Emmeline to find out why Lily hated him so much; somehow this had led to the two girls forming a friendship. Although she was his sister, Emmeline had no problem listening to Lily's rants about her wild brother, as long as she didn't say anything to James. Lily wasn't the only one of James's friends she was close with, the Marauders were like her second family; the mischievous brothers that she had never wanted. Her brother's three friends had weaseled their way into her life, and now she couldn't picture it without them. Well Remus and Peter where like brothers, Sirius was a different story.
It had been the summer after her 7th year; James and Sirius were still living at Potter Manor. For some unknown reason, James had disappeared that summer for two weeks, and her parents were on a mission. Something had just clicked between them. That had been two years ago. That whole time, they had been living a fantasy, moonlight picnics, strolls in the park; lots of dates where no one could find them. Sirius didn't want to tell James about his relationship with his sister. James could be overprotective at times, and Sirius didn't want to deal with his wrath. No one knew about their relationship, except for Remus, but that was a mistake. Since no one knew, that meant she had no one to comfort her when she broke up with him last month. Emmeline didn't want to deal with the secrets anymore, so she called it off, and she hadn't seen him since.
Lily brought Emmeline into the kitchen and began to make tea.
"So where is my egotistical brother? I heard that he's going a bit bonkers being locked up in the house."
"He's still asleep. Harry kept him up all night. I've never heard him cry like that before."
"Mind if I go up while you make the tea?" Lily nodded her head, and Emmeline started to walk up the stairs. There were four rooms upstairs, two on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway. The one on the right was Harry's bedroom. Emmeline stood in the doorway and peered into her nephew's bedroom. The blue room had a large crib in the center of it, with a broomstick mobile hanging over it. Plastered on the door was a huge Gryffindor banner. On the wall, next to the crib was a picture of Emmeline and Sirius holding Harry in the hospital. There was another picture with all four Marauders, holding Harry on his first broomstick. In the corner of the child's room, Harry's dresser was also covered in pictures. The first was a picture of Lily and James at their wedding, another one of Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James holding Emmeline up with her Tri-wizard cup. Next to that was a picture of Lily and Emmeline after graduation. Emmeline picked up the pictures and held them in her hands. She missed this; she missed the normality that she used to have.
Across the hall from Harry's room was the guest room, pretty much made form Emmeline. She had helped pick out all of the decorations, and pretty much made the room her own. A place for her away from home. Another guest room was next to Emmeline's. That room was made specifically for the Marauders. It said so on the door, For Marauders Only. Emmeline made her way to James and Lily's room. There he was, on the bed, with Harry lying on his chest. Emmeline missed him more than she wanted to admit. Growing up together, you would have never guessed that Emmeline and James were related. Emmeline had green eyes and curly, dirty brown hair. Unlike his younger sister, James had unruly black hair that would never stay down no matter how much gel was in it. Although they looked different, their personalities were somewhat similar. Both Potter children were at the top of their classes, but Emmeline studied, not like her brother. They were both fierce, and protective friends.
Emmeline quickly transfigured herself, and stood with her face barely an inch away from her brother's. Harry wasn't awake yet, so she quietly picked her sleeping nephew up and cradled him in her arms. With Harry secure in her arms, she proceeded with her attempt to give her brother a heart attack. She tapped James a few time on the shoulder until he tried to swat her away. "Lily, go away, let me sleep." Emmeline decided to take control of the situation and turn it into her favor. She brought Harry to his room, and placed sleeping baby into his crib. Rapidly, she transfigured herself again, to make herself look like Claire Drake, one of James' ex-girlfriends.
She went back to her brother's room, and placed a silencing charm on it, so James's screams wouldn't wake Harry up. What she was about to do might scar her for life, but it would be worth it. Again, she went to wake her brother up. Shaking his shoulder, James grumbled again. "Lils, love, let me sleep, please." Stifling a laugh, Emmeline clamped a hand over her mouth. " James," she said in what was supposed to be a sexy voice, "It's not Lily." That caused James to wake up. He opened his eyes slightly, as if he didn't believe "Claire". When he saw that it was indeed, not Lily in their bedroom, James shot straight up and tried to wrap his bed-sheets around him, as if he was trying to cover himself up. He made some kind of strangled noise that came from the back of his throat, and fell of the bed.
"Claire! What the hell are you doing here?"
"Don't you remember last night?" Emmeline had no idea what she was saying. She was kind of making it up as she went.
"Last night?"
"Well you called me up, told me to come over, so I did."
"You're joking. Dear Merlin, what the bloody happened. I don't even remember being drunk!" James was turning an odd shade of green. Emmeline would have felt bad if the situation hadn't been so funny. She decided to end her brother's misery before they both threw up.
"Oh Jamsie, you are so easy to toy with." Only one person called him Jamsie, his mother, and only three people knew about that nickname, his father, Sirius, and Emmeline.
"Merlin Emmeline, you nearly gave me a heart attack." He pushed himself off of the ground while Emmeline transfigured herself back to normal. The shocked expression on her brother's face was worth the nightmares she would have in nights to come. He flopped down onto the bed, with a pout; he looked like a little kid, who was upset that he couldn't have a cookie before dinner. "James, stop sulking. I know you're glad to see me."
This was the first time she saw him smile since she had arrived. He got off the bed and pulled Emmeline into one of his famous James hugs. As a kid, even now, James' hugs could pull her out of any mood, and put her in a better one. His hug made her safe, and for a moment she was able to forget about all of the bad things that were going on in her life. When he ended the hug, her disappointment was clearly etched on her face. James was immediately worried. Now that he actually looked at her, Emmeline looked exhausted. Dark black bags hung under her eyes, her green eyes, which used to shine, were now dull and cloudy. It looked as if she hadn't brushed her hair for days, and her hands were scarred with old cuts, but there was also a trace of red on them, which meant that there were also new cuts.
"What happened?"
"James, don't do this to yourself. Nothing is going to change what happened. It will only make you feel worse." Emmeline knew her brother well enough to know that if he heard bad news now, he would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day, maybe even the rest of the week.
"Well, if I ever get out of here, I'm going to need to know which one of my friends are dead because they were out fighting, while I was in here hiding."
"James-"
"Just tell me!"
"The McKinnons, all of them, Doracas Meadows, Fabian Prewett, Caradoc Dearborn, Benjy Fenwick, and" She couldn't do it. James was just as close to Frank as Emmeline was to Alice. It would crush him.
"And who else." It wasn't James who had asked, but Lily. Neither Emmeline nor James had heard the crying baby that caused Lily to come upstairs. The redhead was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, holding a now calmer Harry in her arms. Lily was also a friend of the Longbottoms; Emmeline couldn't break her heart too.
"Last night, there was another attack. Moody assigned six people to the mission. Trent Hemmingway, Emeline Vance, Edgar Bones, Me and," she stopped talking. Emmeline didn't want to be the one to tell them that their friends are in a coma for who knows how long. Not even magic could fix them. "And the Longbottoms." Lily gasped when she said this. Her legs began to shake, and strangled noises began to escape her throat. James walked over to her and took Harry from her arms. He guided her over to the bed before she passed out. "They're not dead," Emmeline began to explain, "Bellatrix used the cruciatus curse on them both last night. You and I both know that one person can only take so much of that before you start slipping away. They didn't die, but they're in St. Mungos right now, and Addison says thy aren't very stable." Addison Orthro was a Ravenclaw in Lily and James' year back in Hogwarts. She was one of Lily's close friends, and a healer at St. Mungos. Addison was sending Emmeline hourly owls to keep her updated on the Longbottom situation.
Surprisingly, Lily was able to comprehend what Emmeline said faster than James. "And Neville? Where's Neville." This was Lily's maternal side taking over. She could be scary when someone tried to hurt Harry. "Neville is staying with Frank's mother right now. I'm going over there later to drop some clothes off." All Lily could do was nod her head. The smiling baby in her brother's lap was the only thing keeping Emmeline from crying. Harry began to giggle, which caused Emmeline to smile. "Why don't I take Harry, you guys go get changed, or go back to sleep? I'll even make us some breakfast. And James, take a shower, you smell."
As she walked down the hallway, she could hear laughter coming out of her brother's room. She put Harry down on his play-matt, and went through all of his drawers looking for something he could wear. At the bottom of the drawer she found a onesie that she had bought Harry for his first birthday. It had red and gold stripes on it, and on the back it read future Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. She, James, and Sirius had a bet going. James bet that Harry would be chaser, Sirius thought that he would be a beater, and Emmeline bet seeker, like her. She had been on the team since first year, and became captain in her 4th year. Emmeline took the onesie over to Harry, and he started to clap. She figured it meant that he approved, so she changed him, then brought him downstairs. She rummaged through the fridge, and then realized that Lily and James could not go food shopping, and no one had done it for them in a while. Lily's owl, Cinder, was sitting in her cage. Emmeline quickly wrote a note to Remus asking him to bring some groceries over when he stopped by later that day. She knew he was coming over because she had told her two days earlier.
Harry was getting irritated by the lack of attention, and began to cry. Emmeline was brought out of her thoughts, by the screaming baby, and took him out of his high chair. She placed him on the carpet in the living room, and then went to the hall closet, to get his broom. Sirius had given Harry his first broom for his birthday, it only hovered two feet in the air, but it was enough to give Lily a heart attack. Emmeline walked back to the living room, with the broom in her hand, and placed it down next to Harry. She gave Harry her hands, and he pushed himself up into a standing position. Then she helped him swing his legs over the broom, and he sat down. As soon as he touched the broom, he shot up two feet in the air. At this point, the boy was better at walking than he was at flying.
Emmeline could hear the shower running, which was a good sign. Being James' sister, she knew that James always calmed down after he took a shower. In an odd way, that where he did his best thinking. Harry's miniature broom had a string attached to the front of it, so that Emmeline could pull him around the house. She made sure not to go to fast, because if he fell off, Emmeline would be a dead person. There was a knock on the door, so the two of them made their way over to it. When Emmeline opened the door, Remus Lupin appeared behind it. He stood on the steps bearing bags of fruits, vegetables, and potato chips (for James of course).
"Hey," Remus said to Emmeline, as he hugged her before he came in. 'Mmmh, you brought food. What do you want me to make?"
"Waffles!" Remus shouted. He helped Harry get off of his broom before Harry began to shout at "Reme." Everyone had been jealous that "Emme" was the first thing he said, not mom not dad, but Emmeline's name. Of course, this made Remus and Sirius try to shorten their names so that Harry would be able to say them. This made James protest, he had said something about how he had given Harry life and it should have been his name that Harry should say first.
Emmeline went to the kitchen, put away the groceries that Remus brought, and then took out supplies so that she could start making waffles. She had just put the batter into the waffle machine when the doorbell rang again. "Reme, will you get it?"
"I have a small one year old on my back, I'm a bit busy," he called from the den.
"I'll get it," called James, who was running down the stairs while buttoning his shirt. He was still on the stairs when the banging on the door grew louder. "PRONGS OPEN THIS DOOR BEOFRE I BREAK IT DOWN!"
Emmeline almost dropped the plate she was holding. Sirius. They hadn't talked since the breakup. Emmeline didn't have to be near the door to know that two Marauders had just walked in. As far as Emmeline knew, this was the first time that all the Marauders had been together in three months. She ignored her urge to run away and hide in the closet, and instead continued to make waffles. She had about 10 finished, but since all four Marauders were there, she knew that 10 wouldn't be enough. Luckily, for her, Peter was the only one who went into the kitchen. Form her guess; Peter and Sirius had just come back this morning from their Order Mission. Judging by his looks it didn't go to well. Peter had always been a chubby boy, but recently he had lost a lot of weight, so much that his clothes didn't even fit properly. The bags that had always been under his eyes grew darker, and he was always nervous, more so than usual.
"Waffles? There's syrup in the pantry." She didn't wait to hear his response, because she walked over to the living room. It was now or never, and she had fought at least 30 dark wizards, she could handle her ex boyfriend. Lily had come down without her knowing, and she was yelling at Sirius for letting Harry fly too high. James was lying on the floor with his arms over his chest, laughing at something that Remus had said. The first person to notice her was Sirius. When she looked into her eyes, something started to tug in her chest, and it felt like she had just run into a brick wall. "There are waffles in the kitchen. I made enough so that you guys could have six each so eat up."
James sprung up off of the floor, and picked up his sister. He swung her around as she hit him in the back. "Em, you truly are the best." Before she could even say anything, Sirius and James had already run to the kitchen. "Merlin Wormtail, would you share some of those waffles with the rest of us?!" Sirius' screeching could be heard from the living room.
"Those savages." Lily and Emmeline couldn't help but laugh at Remus' remark.
"Remus, I swear that you're the only normal one in that lot."
"Emmeline, you're only figuring this out now?"
They walked over to the kitchen where Peter, James, and Sirius were devouring waffles. The Marauders were pretty content eating their waffles, but Lily was struggling putting Harry into his high chair. Emmeline, who had already eaten, took Harry from his mother, and brought him into the playroom. The playroom had been designed by none other than Maia Potter. When she heard that she was going to become a grandmother, she went a little overboard-buying presents for her grandson. Inside the room, Harry had every toy he could ever want.
Emmeline sat down after she shut the door, and let Harry bring the toys to her. At first they played with the puzzles, then his hippogriff toy. The next time she glanced at the clock, it read 10:42. She had been in the room with Harry for twenty minutes, and although she thought it was impossible, he was starting to get bored. The noise coming from the kitchen told her that breakfast was not yet finished. She mumbled a spell, and bubbles began to spring out of her wand. Harry, immediately noticing the bubbles, ran around the room, trying to catch them. The door opened behind Emmeline, and Harry ran over to the figure in the doorway.
"Hey buddy, how are you?" Sirius asked the baby. The only response Harry gave was a few claps, and a tug to Sirius' hair. "If you want," he started to say, "I can take over Harry duty." Emmeline didn't fail to notice that while Sirius was talking, he never looked at her. This is what their relationship had come to. Emmeline didn't even know if they were still friends.
"I still want to be."
"What?"
"You asked me if we were still friends."
"I did?"
"Yeah, just because we aren't, you know, together anymore, doesn't mean that I want to stop being your friend. This time, when he spoke, he was actually looking at her.
"Good, because that's what I want too."
They stared at each other, and both of them could feel the room become more awkward with each minute. When she had pictured her life with Sirius in it, this was not what Emmeline has pictured. She left Sirius in the playroom with Harry, and walked into the kitchen, where Lily was doing the dishes. Lily was angrily making grunting noises at the dishes since the sticky syrup would refuse to come off. At the table, Peter, Remus and James were having what looked like a serious conversation, well Sirius for the Marauders.
"I'm sorry we couldn't be there with you the other night Moony. You know that I would have been there if I could." Emmeline knew that her brother felt awful about the fact that he couldn't be with Remus on the full moon. She knew that after she had started making the wolfsbane potion for her furry friend, the Marauders had started spending the full moon with her; at least that's what they told her.
Back in their Hogwarts days, Sirius had played a life threatening prank on Severus Snape, which turned out not to be too funny. Severus was upset, and wanted revenge. Who better to mess with than one of the Marauder's very own? He had left a note on Emmeline's trunk telling her that Spencer Wilkins wanted to meet her at the Shrieking Shack, and how to get into there. That night just happened to be the full moon. When she went to the Shrieking Shack, she was met with a very frantic looking Remus. She couldn't understand why until he began his transformation. Knowing that a werewolf's bite would only influence a human, she quickly transfigured herself into her animagus form. It wasn't easy galloping out of the tunnel as it was getting in, but she tried her best. After that moment, she didn't pity Remus, but admired him. From that moment on, Emmeline had made the wolfsbane potion for him, which allowed Remus to be sane while he was in his wolf form. As far as she knew, her brother and his friends stayed humans during the full moons.
"Well I know that I'm not James, Peter, or Sirius, but I think we had a good time, right?" She asked Remus.
"I think you were just as great as they were."
"WHAT?!" James and Sirius yelled at the same time, both for different reasons.
"You were with Emmeline on the full moon?"
"You think she's better than us?"
Remus looked so uncomfortable, that Emmeline actually pitied him. "What's the big deal?" She couldn't understand why her brother was so upset. At first she had thought it was jealousy, but the fire in his eyes told her that it was much more. Emmeline couldn't believe that his brother was being so shallow; Remus must have been feeling awful.
"What if the potion didn't work? What if something bad happened? No offense to Moony or anything, but Emmeline come on!"
"Merlin James! You are such a hypocrite. I know that you spend the full moons with Remus so why can't I? I'm not 11 anymore, incase you haven't noticed I've grown up."
"James-" Remus started to say.
"Not now Moony, she needs to know the danger-"
"You think I don't know what its like to be in danger?
"That's not what I said. You can't go and put yourself in a dangerous situation."
"So you think that Remus is dangerous?"
"Hey! I never said-"
"JAMES! Would you just listen for a second?" This shut everyone up. From time to time, Remus would get angry, but he would never yell. "You think that if I thought I was dangerous, I would let Emmeline stay with me?" Before James could even answer, Remus began again. "James she's not only your sister, but she's ours too. Of course I wouldn't put her in danger. I know that there's a possibility that the potion could malfunction, so that's why I declined her offer. But, when she came to me as a horse, there was no way to get out of it."
"Wow Remus, way to make me feel loved."
"You know I love you, we all do, that's why we want what's best for you. But James, Emmeline's right, she isn't 11 anymore. I hate to say it mate, but she's even more brilliant that all of us combined, she could take us all on right now, and beat us without an effort."
"Hold up," Sirius called, "Moony, did you say she came to you as a horse?"
"Well what else would I have gone to him as, a dog?"
"You're an animagus?" both James and Sirius said in shock. Emmeline just loved how much her brother has paid attention in the last 6 years. Emmeline remembered when she had told James about her animagus transformation, she was so excited. James on the other hand, couldn't care any less. He was with Sirius, which meant that Emmeline was no longer important.
"How could you not know that you're sister is an animagus. She showed us her certificate." Remus was always Emmeline's favorite.
"Remus, you were always my favorite," she said flashing him a smile.
"When did you become an animagus?" Sirius said, as if he was jealous.
" Third Year", she said proudly.
"THIRD YEAR! Merlin's beard. How the bloody hell did you manage that?" This time it was James in shock instead of Sirius.
"Well I have you two gits to thank for that. Over the Christmas holiday, you two were off planning pranks, and not so subtly I might add, left me to fend for myself in an empty house. I got bored, and was up for a challenge. Becoming an animagus was what I decided."
"You became an animagus in… in a week?" Now it was Remus' turn to be shocked. Just like Remus, her parents were very skeptical when she asked to go to the Ministry and fill out the paper work to become an official animagus. Becoming an animagus takes years to master, so she understood why her parents were skeptical.
"Moony you were right, my sister is a bloody genius." The fight earlier was now forgotten. Emmeline began to explain how she became an animagus. She didn't realize that while she was talking, there was another conversation going on.
"Prongs," Sirius whispered discretely to James, " you git, if you actually had listened to your sister, becoming an animagus would have been so much easier."
"Shut it Padfoot."
Before they knew it, they had started reminiscing about the old day. The time where there was no war to be fought, when none of their friends were dying, when they could go outside and not worry about dark wizards trying to kill them. Life was so much easier back then. She missed those carefree days, they all did. Lily came back into the room carrying, a sleepy looking Harry. It was already 1 o'clock, and the poor baby had been up since 7:30. Harry just reflected what Emmeline was feeling on the inside. She was exhausted.
"James do you think you could put Harry down for a nap?" James took Harry from Lily's arms and started towards the stairs. When he was halfway up the stairs, Emmeline offered to help put Harry down. She wanted to spend all the time she could with her family, because she didn't know the next time she would see them. As quietly as she could, Emmeline walked up the stairs up to Harry's room. She stood in the hallway, leaning against the door. In this moment, it was almost as if there was no wrong in the world. James putting Harry to sleep did something to Emmeline. Out of nowhere, she could feel tears streaming down her face. James was slowly rocking Harry to sleep, then gently put him into his crib. Emmeline had the throw her hand over her mouth to stop the sob from escaping her mouth.
She couldn't understand what was going on. Something about this whole situation was pulling on her heartstrings. When James finally turned around, she was full on crying. Not even waiting to ask what happened, James rushed over to his sister and pulled her into a hug. Now, she couldn't even stop the sobs from coming out. Emmeline was sure that everyone downstairs could hear her, but she couldn't stop the tears from coming. All James could do was stand there and rub his sister's back. He was never good with comforting someone when they were upset, he didn't even know why she was upset.
Emmeline and James stood in the doorway for a while. James was getting panicked. He wished that Lily was the one up here instead of him. He didn't know how to help his sister; all he knew was that she was making him feel awful.
"Emmeline, shhh its okay, we're okay, you're okay."
"No… no I'm not okay. This is not okay."
"Shhh, what are we talking about?"
"Everything is falling apart. Everyone is dying, I can't stand it." After she said this, Emmeline and James could hear the footsteps coming towards them. She didn't want anyone else to see her like this, but she couldn't stop. The next thing she knew, four other people had wrapped their arms around her. No matter how different they all where, this was her family. The werewolf, the perverted genius, the meek chubby boy, the red head with the temper, and her brother with untamable hair, this was her family and she wouldn't have it any other way. Emmeline had finally gotten her sobs under control and pried her arms out of the hug so she could wipe the tears from her face.
"Alright you guys, I'm fine. I won't be in a few minutes if you don't let me breathe."
They all left the room before they could give Harry a chance to wake up. Emmeline went to the bathroom to wipe her face, and the others went to the living room. The tension in the room had risen to a high, all the five friends could do was sit and stare at each other.
"Would someone like to tell me what was going on upstairs," Sirius asked. This was the question that was on everyone's mind. It was not like Emmeline to break down, especially in front of other people. This made them all nervous.
"I don't know. One minute I was putting Harry down for a nap, and the next thing I knew she was standing in the doorway crying." James had to sallow the lump in his throat before saying this. He felt awful. The only thing worse than seeing Lily and Harry in pain, was seeing his sister in pain. Despite all of their fights, he still loved her.
" James, I'm worried. We pretty much lived together for seven years, and out of all of those years, I have never once seen her cry."
"Same here mate. I've known her for a long time, and she's never cried before," Sirius said.
"We talked the other night. She's told me what's happened on these raids. I think the stress of all of them is finally getting to her. Emmeline is tough, but she can only take so much. For the past few months, she has had to watch her friends die in front of her. That's going to be hard on anyone."
"The more you care, the more you have to lose." No one had noticed Emmeline coming into the room. " You guys are right, it's hard watching the people you love die, and lately, I've been doing it a lot. I'm sorry; I guess I just snapped up there. I've been fighting this war, and the whole time I kept telling myself that I'm helping to make our world a better place. When I went upstairs, I realized that I'm not just fighting to make the world better for other, but for my family. I'm fighting so that sleeping baby upstairs, can have a better life, so that he doesn't have to grow up in a bad place."
"I couldn't have said it better myself Em." When he wasn't being a perverted prankster, Sirius could actually be sweet. Their moment was interrupted by Harry, who had finally woken up. "Lils, do you mind if I get him?"
"Go ahead Sirius."
Sirius left the room, and things became awkward again. "Well I'm starving so how about some dinner?"
"James, we ate five hours ago." Emmeline swore that Remus was the only levelheaded one of the Marauders.
"Exactly, that was five hours ago."
"If you guys want food," Lily said, "You are going to have to cook dinner yourself."
"Sure love, anything you have in mind?" James cheekily asked his wife.
"Surprise us."
The Marauders scurried into the kitchen. As soon as they were out of sight, Sirius re-entered the living room with a smiling Harry. Lily stretched her arms out, and her baby boy was placed into her arms, where he belonged. Knowing that the Marauders were capable of destruction, Emmeline offered to help out in the kitchen, to witch Lily hastily agreed to. Two minutes they had been there, and already all hell had broken loose. Flour was all over the cabinets, and sugar was scattered all over Lily's pristine floors. Peter was hiding between the refrigerator, and the counter. He looked like he was fighting off a charmed whisk. Sirius and James on the other hand were involved in a full-blown food fight, which even included the classic tactic of throwing eggs in your opponent's hair.
"Oi! Prongs! Where is the chocolate?" Sirius called out. Apparently they were skipping dinner, and going straight to dessert.
"Padfoot, why would need chocolate?"
"You git, how else would we make chocolate cake?"
"Is that what we're making? I thought we were making pancakes?"
"Accio chocolate." The chocolate powder landed in Emmeline's hands, and she tossed it over to James. Before he could even ask, "And yes, I do know how to clean this up, but I figured you're just going to mess it up again, so I'll clean later."
Emmeline walked over the kitchen counter, and plopped down next to Remus. He picked up his second spoon, and handed it to her. She grabbed the jar in front of him, and scooped herself a large spoonful of vanilla icing. "Mmmmh, that's good." All Remus could do was nod his head in agreement. Just as she was reaching to get another spoonful, a glass of water was flung towards her. "Protego," she muttered the incantation, putting up a shield, which protected Remus and herself from the flying water.
The cup of water was just the ammunition they needed to get a food fight started. Remus and Emmeline versus Sirius, Peter, and James. Spoon-fulls of chocolate batter were being flung onto the walls, while sugar coated the countertops. As Sirius was getting ready to throw more batter, a very agitated redhead walked into the disastrous kitchen. "What the bloody hell is going on in my kitchen?"
Lily abruptly walking in didn't stop Sirius from flinging chocolate in her direction. The chocolate hit Lily in the face before she even had the time to react. "OH! ITS ON!" Harry protested when Lily tried to put him down, so she handed him of to Emmeline. Forgetting about the spoons, Lily used her hands to fling chocolate at her husband. Even Harry wanted to be involved, and accidently threw a spoon at Peter's head.
Before they knew it, they had been fighting for two hours. 'Merlin is it really 7 o'clock?" Emmeline cried, she was supposed to go to the Longbottoms' house so she could bring clothes to Augusta.
"Yeah, I guess it is," replied Remus.
"Scourgify." At the wave of her wand, Lily had cleaned the entire kitchen, and everyone inside of it. The walls were once again white, instead of the tan shade they had been minutes earlier, and the floors were sugar free.
"I have to get going," Emmeline said. She walked towards Lily, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Em, please be careful."
She let go of her friend, and smiled at her, "Don't worry about me Lils. I promise, I will be fine. All you have to worry about is James becoming stir crazy."
Giving a quick hug to each Marauder, Sirius' being the most awkward, she kissed Harry on the cheek, and then walked over to her brother. It was James, not Emmeline, who initiated their hug. Not wanting to let go, Emmeline hugged James even tighter. "Promise that you'll write more often, my owl obviously can never find your house." James laughed and promised that he would indeed write to her. Emmeline jogged over to the living room and grabbed her cloak. Before she left, Remus reminded her that he would be stopping by Potter Manor later.
Emmeline left Godric's Hallow, unknowingly saying goodbye to her family for the last time.