Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I associated with JK Rowling or any of the publishing companies. OCs are my own.
So, for some reason, this chapter was ridiculously hard to write. My beta got the first draft and said that it was probably the worst piece I have written, so after LOTS of work, here it is (finally!).
Chapter 20: The Living Dead
Emma woke in the early morning light. The house was quiet in the last moments before the rest of its occupants began to stir, and Emma decided to use the quiet moments to her advantage. Slipping from her bed, she changed out of her nightclothes into jeans and a light sweater before she stepped into the circle.
She had cast the time-altering spell so often that she simply left the circle in place.
Third time has to be a charm, she thought. In actuality, it was more like the ninth time, and Emma wondered if the third set of third times would be the charm.
Emma whispered the spell and felt herself being pulled through the veil, that slimy, chilly feeling as she felt the wind whirl about her.
**
Emma pulled her mother's tatty invisibility cloak around her as she found herself in the center of the labyrinth, the triwizard cup there before her. Cedric and Harry crashed through the shrubbery and emerged in the clearing.
"Still a Hogwarts victory, right?" Harry said and Cedric smiled.
Emma reached forward and touched the cup the same time the boys did and felt the hook of the portkey that pulled her out of the labyrinth and into the cemetery. The moment before their feet touched solid ground Emma swiveled and threw her cloak over Cedric.
They landed hard and Cedric fought as he felt himself confined. "Shh," Emma whispered as they rolled and she tried to ensure the cloak covered them both.
"Cedric?" Harry asked confused, then silently looked up to see Wormtail and a shadowy form of Voldemort.
"What the bloody hell?" Cedric asked as he fought, an elbow catching her in the nose and she felt blood trickle down her face. Before she could react, Cedric had rolled too far and out from under the cloak.
"Where did this one come from?" Wormtail pondered confused.
"It doesn't matter, we don't need it. Dispose of it," Voldemort rasped.
Cedric cast a shield but the green light struck its target as Emma was pulled back into her room at The Den.
**
Emma sat in the middle of her bedroom, numb. How many times was she to see him die? She had hoped if she could find a way to separate Cedric from Harry, safely, and gain his trust quickly, she could solve half the problem.
The other half seemed even more daunting. In the eight previous trials, she had learned that she needed Cedric to die, Cedric's body had to come back to Hogwarts in order to stir everyone's passions, especially Harry's. The only solution she could come up with was to have Cedric be in two places at once—not that it was much of a solution seeing as how she had no idea how to make Cedric be in two places at once and both live and die at the same time.
Emma stepped out of the circle and decided to take a shower, hoping to wash away the despair and grime of watching Cedric die. Again.
It will all be worth it if you can save him! she told herself. It was the only thing that kept her sane after watching his death so many times.
She felt Draco stir awake. He wasn't sleeping well thanks to the pressure the Carrows were putting him under. Emma felt guilty for the added stress she must be adding with her attempts to save Cedric.
'You tried again?' Draco asked.
'You didn't know? What does it feel like for you when I cast these spells and I am gone?' Emma wondered.
'Like you are at the other end of a very distant tunnel. I know you are there, even if I can't really sense you. But it only lasts a moment.'
Emma shut the water off, thinking about that. Unlike a time-turner, the spell only lasted a moment according to real time, sending the castor back to their original place and time a second after they cast it. 'I wonder what it would be like if I was using it to see something longer? Like if I was spending more than just ten minutes or so elsewhere? What if I used it to relive the decade of the 60s? I wonder how much time would pass back here.'
'I don't want to know, I don't like the thought of you using the spell on your own. If you decided to relive anything longer I hope you wouldn't abandon me here, although, if it was the hippy era I might prefer to stay.'
'ha ha' Emma rolled her eyes.
Shaking her head, she emerged into the little dining area to find Lupin making breakfast. "Isn't he adorable?" Tonks grinned as her hand rested on her swollen belly.
"Kippers and eggs, will you get the juice and coffee Emma?" Lupin asked. Emma gathered those plus plates and silverware and they sat down to what appeared to be a cozy breakfast.
Emma pretended they weren't just waiting to fire questions at her.
"Where is me Da?" Emma wondered.
"He is off, as always. He sometimes pops in occasionally to check on us, he stays at your house rarely, but no one seems to know where he is. He has an uncanny ability to show up when you need him, though," Tonks mused.
"He happened to be here when we got word, from Harry through Bill, about your supposed death, and we kept him here to keep an eye on him," Lupin added as he poured himself some more coffee. "Once we learned you were, in fact, alive and well, he stayed since this was the most logical place you would come to."
"Is this the mysterious note?" Emma asked. "Da mentioned he received a note I was fine, but from who? Harry thought I was dead." The only person she could think of who could have possibly sent the note was Lucius or Narcissa Malfoy, but why would either of them do such a thing?
Furthermore, how would they have gotten it to her Da when he was here, in a house fully protected?
"Em," Lupin started with all seriousness, then stopped and looked at Tonks who pointedly was studying her third serving of eggs. Realizing he wasn't going to get any help from his wife, he turned back to Emma. "Em, at the end of your sixth year, on that night Dumbledore was killed, some things were said, and I need to learn from you what is the truth and what is fiction."
"I was wondering if we would get through breakfast or not before you began with your interrogation," Emma smirked.
"I thought I might need the fortification against what your answers could be," Lupin sighed.
"Don't listen to the sourpuss, Em. Remus and I have had long discussions and I think he is finally coming around to our way of thinking," Tonks beamed mischievously.
"Long conversations about what, Dora?" Emma asked.
"Don't be angry with me…" she began but Emma cut her off.
"I'm not, don't worry Dora."
"Have you, at any point in the past, dated Draco Malfoy?" Lupin threw out so suddenly he even surprised himself. It was hardly how he intended to begin this conversation.
Tonks and Emma shared a look. "Yes," Emma acknowledged.
Lupin shot a look to Tonks who gave him an 'I-told-you-so' look. "Why on earth would you go out with Malfoy? Those rumors about you being used by him were so terrible, Em. You are too intelligent to fall into the trap of wanting some bad boy."
"He isn't bad!" surprisingly, it was Tonks who came to her cousin's defense.
"And how, in Merlin's name, could you possibly know that?" Lupin asked. "You have never even spoken to your cousin!"
Emma felt like this was a conversation the married couple had argued many times and she was now a spectator. "Remus, he is not inherently evil! Look at Sirius, and even my own mother! If anything, there is a predisposition to buck the family tradition in our family. He just needed a little push in the right direction and Emma is exactly that!"
"Yet he coordinated an attack on the school, one that led to Albus' death! He is a death eater, and his father is one," Lupin pointed out vehemently.
"May I say something?" Emma spoke up, startling the other two. "I will tell you what you want to know if you tell me who sent the letter," Emma said. "I just thought it should be said, for the record, that Draco and I are still dating." That effectively silenced everyone at the table for different reasons. Lupin wore a face of shock, Tonks smirked in an 'I told you so' kind of way, and Emma simply continued eating.
For while Lupin had his suspicions about it, and Dora telling him the same for months, hearing it confirmed by Emma left him shell shocked.
"Why, Em?"
Sweet Maeve, where to begin, Emma wondered. "First tell me, does Da know? Or suspect?"
"Before, no, but now? I'm not sure," Tonks said.
"Before what?" Emma asked confused.
"The whole dead-not-dead incident," she clarified, leaving Lupin to his own thoughts. "Bill arrived, telling us that Harry and the others were at his house. He wanted to break the news in person about you, thinking hearing it third hand from his parents wouldn't be best. He is a brave young man," she shook her head to rid herself of those horrible memories. "It was a few hours later, just at dawn, that we were all surprised when your house elf, Lily, arrived with another house elf, Dobin. Imagine all of our surprised faces when we discovered that the house elf belonged to none other than the Malfoy Family claiming to have a letter from his mistress for Master O'Neill. "
"Wait, so it was Narcissa who wrote to da?" Emma said surprised. She wasn't sure she was more surprised that Narcissa Malfoy would write to her da, or realize that House Elves were the perfect means of moving a message around since Voldemort considered them below wizards and forgot about them.
"You didn't know?" Lupin asked, finding his voice.
"I never saw Narcissa or Lucius, how could I have known? What did she say?"
"She wanted to tell Riley that you were safe, that you were not dead in case rumors spread to the contrary. And rumors are spreading, Emma. I think your father has fallen on old habits and has let it circulate that you were killed, only this time, instead of you-know-who it is said that it was Fenrir," Dora said cautiously.
"Great, so I am dead again?" Emma wondered.
"Your father is trying to keep you safe," Lupin said. "This was in the paper this morning," he said handing her the Daily Prophet.
On the first page, bottom right hand corner was an article that read:
MINISTRY CONFIRMS DEATH OF UNDESIREABLE
After due investigation by the Ministry of Magic, it has been confirmed that the daughter of rogue Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riley O'Neill, has indeed been killed by the hands of Fenrir Greyback. The late Emma O'Neill, undesirable no. 4 , has only recently been realized to be the previously thought-to-be-deceased Emma O'Neill, who's mother, Emily O'Neill, was formerly Emily Potter. Emma, as most readers will remember, became fourth on the list of undesirables when it was realized she was cousin to the undesirable no. 1, Harry Potter, and possibly working with her cousin in efforts to bring down the ministry.
With the death of Emma O'Neill, Harry Potter, who remains undesirable no. 1, is, once again, the only remaining Potter.
"So is Da planning on leaving me here? Hiding me from the world again?" Emma demanded, her voice icy.
"At least people know you and Harry are cousins, eh?" Tonks asked trying to cheer her up.
"I don't think he has that planned yet, but if he knows that you are dating Malfoy, he may lock you up permanently," Lupin smirked. "It is a very good idea, I think."
Tonks and Emma glared at Lupin. Needing time to digest what she had learned, Emma headed back into her room, locking the door. Being in her room, however, only reminded her of how useless she felt in coming up with a solution for Cedric. How could she get him to be in two places at once? Even if she solved that scenario, what was she going to do with him afterwards? He couldn't very well continue on with what his plans were, working for her dad at the ministry. People had to think he was dead, which meant there was no way he could work in the public. He would have to have a new identity, and leaving the country was probably the easiest, safest thing.
So where would he go?
Her father had connections all over the world, he was using them now to get people out of the country safely. Maybe Emma could use that to get Cedric out.
But…what if he ends up somewhere and a refugee, four years later, recognizes him? Emma mused. Besides, you would have to explain to Da what you are doing…
Needing a break and wanting to talk to someone face to face who was on her side who could help her with her problems even if she didn't know what they were, Emma knew exactly who she was longing to talk to.
Emma used her wand on the mirror on her dresser to cast a modified version of the two-way mirror spell. She had used it successfully to talk with Snape, but now she needed to converse with another empath. She needed to talk to her oldest friend.
Looking at the clock, Emma was relived to discover that with the time difference in California it was late but not horribly late. She hoped.
A tired looking Jane appeared in her mirror, sitting at her own dressing table. "Em?" Jane gasped, startled, her head jumping up from where she was resting it in her hands having just taken out her hair pins. Jane quickly looked down; her brown hair cascading till her face was covered while she reached for her rose-tinted glasses. Once they were on she finally looked up.
"I was hoping you would call, I had no idea how to reach you. I don't know if you are with Harry, or Draco, or your dad, or Romy, or some combination of them," Jane gushed out.
"Did I call too late?" Emma worried. "And I thought mirrors blocked auras? Why are you wearing your glasses?"
Jane shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but it didn't work with her best friend. "Where are you?" Jane changed the subject.
"Romulus' and Dora's," Emma sighed. "And let's just say that after breakfast, I am not looking forward to the rest of the day."
"Why?" Jane asked concerned, frowning. "Wait, I read the Daily Prophet," she guessed. "You found out you have 'died'. Again. Is that it?"
"That, and Lupin finally was forced to face the fact that I am dating Draco."
"Uh, that sounds like a lovely way to start off your day. Was your dad there too?" Jane asked.
Emma smiled, and not for the first time thought of how much she secretly envied Jane for being able to express herself. And express herself she did, Jane had no qualms with making sure people knew how she felt. "No, I don't know what he knows. Is here there, in America, right now? I know he is running people out of the country underground, but I haven't seen him since dinner last night."
"Hun, it is a big country. For all I know, your dad could be in Wichita, Kansas," Jane smirked.
Emma watched as Jane rubbed her eyes under her glasses. "Are you okay?" Emma asked. "I know it's late, but you seem…weary."
"Mom just had a dinner with her advisors, friends, and such—you actually know everyone there— the pretense being an intimate supper with old friends. What goes on behind closed doors, though…" Jane trailed off.
"So who was there?"
"Mom, me, her Vice-Wizard and Secretary of Defense, plus Francois and his family, the now former Prime Minister of France, plus some Bulgarians, Germans, and Enrique's family who are the only people being vocal about the cause in Mexico. "
It seemed it was a good portion of people Emma knew from her childhood when her father kept rotating stations around the world. "What was the dinner about, then? Besides old friends catching up."
"Who is going to come fight. I'll be there, just don't tell mom."
"I don't want you to risk it," Emma sighed.
"Em, listen to me. You are my oldest and dearest friend. I would do anything to help you. You hear me? Anything. You just have to pop in and leave your problems to me, understand? Give me your lonely, your near-death, your angry masses and all that. Of course I will be there. I am always here for you."
Emma studied her friend. What was she going on about? Unfortunately, with the mirror, she couldn't read her friend's thoughts or emotions. "I know you would, and I would do the same for you, you know that right? I just … I am already going to lose so much during this war; I don't even want to think about you getting hurt."
"I won't," Jane grinned. "That I can guarantee. Besides…"
A knock on Jane's door was quickly followed by it opening and a man in his early twenties appearing in the door way. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped seeing Emma in the mirror, Jane stiffened when she saw him enter, and Emma watched it all in confusion. Without saying a word, he backed out of the room quickly.
"Awkward," Emma whispered. "Who was that?"
"Zachary," Jane said quickly and grabbed her brush to brush her hair jerkily. "I've told you about him."
"Yeah, and I know what you don't say about him, too, I can read between the lines you know," Emma smirked. "So that is Zachary. But what was with the awkwardness?"
"It isn't everyday you pop in and see someone starring back at you in the mirror!" Jane said defensively. "Sorry," she apologized for her tone. "Things are just… awkward. Let's talk about your boy problems, okay?"
"I'd rather not. Talking about them could make me depressed, and I am already stressed out over something else. I don't want to risk projecting something and sending Tonks into labor. I don't even know what the plan is for when she goes into labor. We can't exactly go to Saint Mungo's, and how can you explain a werewolf labor to a muggle hospital?"
"Okay, well, what is your other problem?" Jane asked as she braided her thick brown hair. "Something you can only talk vaguely about or else it will bring about the end of the world?" she teased.
"Not the end of the entire world, but I will be just as disappointed and heartbroken."
"Em," Jane said seriously as she finished changing out of her evening clothes and into her nightgown. "I know you can't, or won't, tell me explicitly. That's fine. But I know whatever it is you are working on is drastically important. I am rooting for you, Em. My advice: take a tiny bit of time away from it and think outside the box. Don't be afraid to ask for help from those who can give it to you. Please."
Emma was slightly surprised by the pleading tone in Jane's voice. "Are we talking about the same thing?" Emma wondered.
"You'll figure it out," Jane winked. "I have to go check on Zack, but keep me posted, alright? I'll call you soon, and keep me posted, k? Think outside the box, and don't forget to ask for help."
The mirror revealed nothing but her own reflection. 'What was she going on about?' Emma asked.
'You are the empath and leglimancy one,' Draco pointed out.
'I can't sense through mirrors. Didn't she seem cryptic? She knows something, but how could she know anything? What does she know?'
'You don't need anything else to stress over, Em. If you are going to focus on anything, take her advice: think outside the box. Anything having to do with Dumbledore, and theory for that matter, requires a person to think outside the box.'
'I feel like I am beating my head against a brick wall.'
'Who else would Cedric trust his fate to? I have faith in you, and he would to. If he knew, or could somehow voice his opinion.'
Emma sighed, and summoned her ipod. There was really nothing much else to do. Emma scrolled through her list of artists, seeing if anything jumped out at her. Something rock? Something more mellow?
Just as she was about to go with a rock-opera selection and play Nightwish, she sensed Remus at her door. "Em? Can we talk?" he asked.
Blaise waited for Draco to pass out of the great hall before he cornered him. Walking nonchalantly, they passed through the throng of students who were eagerly moving out of their way. "Did you get the prophet this morning?" Blaise asked.
"I don't subscribe to the paper, it is redundant now," Draco shrugged.
"Then you already knew this?" Blaise asked, handing him the paper with the article about Emma's death on top. He studied Draco's reaction closely noting how he reacted.
"So? The ministry actually accomplished something? No wait, technically it was the mutt who did it," Draco drawled.
"Good enough to fool me, and here I thought I should make sure you didn't reveal too much in front of the wrong sorts."
"I don't know what you are implying, Blaise, but here? Everyone is the wrong sort. My underlings have been given free range by the tyrants, who are trying to usurp power in the school, and Pansy doesn't seem to want to cut her losses, I can't get rid of her to save my life."
"The Carrows are good at giving her reasons to keep nipping at your heels. One couldn't help but notice you didn't put me on your list."
"And where do you stand, Blaise? You act like you are trying to help me out, yet you throw things like this out as if you are trying to catch me in some trick? What would it matter to me if they have done this?" Draco asked, thrusting the paper back in Blaize's hands.
"Fine, I wasn't expecting you to actually come right out and say anything. I just didn't want you to see this from the wrong people. And don't let that Malfoy pride blind you to who your real friends are here, there are too few for you to throw away carelessly."
"What do you want? I don't have the time or patience to try to decode your every word."
"There are two things I know for sure about you, Draco: you have the Malfoy ability to save your own neck, but somewhere, somehow, you learned not to discard people you actually befriend. So basically I am counting on you to survive this hellhole, and not to forget those who helped you."
"Well, at least you are up front about it," Draco said with a carefully masked face.
"Well, if we are talking about me being honest, I'll admit that I thought you would be more cut up about the news of O'Neill. You've used and tossed aside girls, Draco, but last year just seems different. Grant it, you were plotting to kill the headmaster, that could have had something to do with it," Blaise countered.
"Yeah, that might have had something to do with it."
"The Carrows are letting Crabbe and Goyle run detention this week, you might want to make sure your new buddy Finn doesn't do anything to deserve it. They have no problem punishing him despite the fact he has been our roommate for seven years."
"You are just sharing a plethora of information today, Blaise."
"Like I said, I am banking on you, Draco. Merlin knows you are the only one who stands a chance."
"What are your plans for when this year is over?" Draco asked.
"I was thinking of going abroad. If things are still the way they are here, I was thinking a nice, long tour of the continent. Maybe two or three continents" Blaise smirked. "It would be perfectly tolerable for some of my position in society to go traveling. You should think on it, mate, but with that," he gestured to Draco's arm, "it will be more difficult. And here comes the grunts," Blaise sighed, seeing Crabbe and Goyle stomping over to them. "In a way, I am almost disheartened to hear about undesirable no. 4, even if she was half Potter."
That certainly made Draco raise an eyebrow. "What on earth are you talking about? I doubt you even know her name."
"Oh, I'll confess I didn't know about O'Neill much before, she was fairly invisible for most of our first six years. Then you went and changed that, putting her in the spotlight for the entire school to notice. Probably how it came out she was half Potter. But I blame her for your touch of morality. Lucky for me," Blaise said, waiting till Crabbe and Goyle arrived to make his excuses and leave. Last thing either of them wanted was for the dimwit minions to guess that Draco preferred the friendship of someone he considered an equal, that he was even starting to grow tired of his minions.
"I guess Blaise told you about the paper then, Draco. Didn't that happen at your house?" Goyle asked.
"Don't mention my house," Draco ordered, not wanting to think about the fight and the punishment that ensued.
Emma and Lupin sipped tea while Tonks pretended to tidy the nursery up, giving them time to talk. She knew that just because she was ecstatic about the idea of Draco and Emma as an item didn't mean her husband would even tolerate the thought. Lupin was more likely to hex Draco for dating a person he loved like a daughter.
"Dora has been trying to get me to see this as a good idea; I daresay she is thrilled with it. She claims you are an excellent influence on Draco."
"You are less than thrilled by it then," Emma pointed out.
"To put it mildly. I know his father, Em, and his mother, and his family on both sides. Malfoys and Blacks are not kind, nor caring, nor what most would consider decent human beings. Sirius was the exception to the rule," Lupin sighed.
They sat in silence for awhile before Emma spoke up, "You aren't asking; don't you want me to answer?"
"I'm debating if I can handle the answers to my questions."
"We met when we were 11, in Diagon Alley before we even left for Hogwarts," Emma surprised him.
"So long?" Lupin wondered. She felt when realization dawned on him. "It was him the entire time, wasn't it? The 'mysterious friend of yours'. And to think, I was actually happy because you had a confidant, someone you could go to. Had I known…"
"You would have stopped me from being friends with Draco," Emma guessed.
"Why?"
Emma shrugged. "We were friends for years, secretly. I mean, no one else even really knew I existed, except Cedric."
"How long have you been dating?"
"It just sort of happened," Emma shrugged, deciding she would not admit to the bond. "Since fifth year technically."
"He tried to kill Dumbledore, and he is a death eater like his father, Em. You, of all people, I never expected to fall for the bad boy."
Emma took a deep breath, wanting desperately to know if that meant he was disappointed. She couldn't handle it if Lupin was disappointed with her. "Lupin, please don't feel like this," Emma said sadly. "He isn't as bad as everyone thinks he is, and I am not saying that because I am blind and enamored with his bad boy image. Why is it dating Draco upsets you more than me just sitting by and watching Peter die?" Emma wondered.
"There is a difference between justice and blindness."
Emma shook her head, wishing she could get out of the small confines of the house. "He didn't want to hurt Dumbledore, he didn't even want to be a death eater. Bellatrix stole him away and took him to you-know-who, presented him up like a sacrificial lamb, and after Lucius's disappointment, Draco became a lamb for the slaughter. He was only 16!"
"He portrayed it like that, I'm sure…"
"I can smell a lie a mile away, Lupin," Emma deadpanned. "Even when people are lying to themselves. He delayed everything as long as he could, till the very end of the year despite the punishment it brought from you-know-who. Because he was trying to save me, too. Then Snape and Dumbledore betrayed us . They told us they had a plan, that Snape made the unbreakable with Narcissa to save Draco. We had no idea they planned for Snape to kill Dumbledore himself."
Silence seemed to overwhelm them again. "Please, Lupin, I was going to tell you and Da as soon as the year was over. I need you to accept this just as much as I need Da to. You know that you are one of the most important people in my life, you are the only person I have left, Romulus. What would I do if I lost you or Da?" Emma sighed. "Please don't be disappointed in me."
"This just takes some time, Em. Do I wish you were dating someone else? Yes. Do I hope that this will just be a teenage, hormonal phase? Yes."
"It isn't."
"And that is what I am afraid of," Lupin confessed. A knock on the door startled both of them.
"It has to be a friend, right?" Emma pondered. "Unless the Evil Lord is going door to door conducting a census?"
Lupin grinned as he stood, wand at the ready just in case. When he opened the door and revealed Sean, her father's assistant and former member of the society, Emma was surprised. "I apparated right on the doorstop, no one saw me," Sean said quickly as Lupin ushered him in, whispering the password.
"I saw the paper and just couldn't believe it, then Riley told me not to believe it, and I came here just to make sure," Sean continued, looking up to see Emma sitting at the table and he grinned. "Can I just say that I am very glad you aren't dead?"
"Thanks. But you came for another reason, didn't you?"
"Still can't surprise you, I see. Use to drive Cedric mad that he couldn't surprise you with anything. Do you mind if we have a moment of privacy?" Sean asked Lupin who went to go help Tonks.
"How is Bridget? And did she have a boy or girl?" Emma asked.
"We have a little boy," Sean said proudly, and took out a photo of Bridget holding their baby. "We are already betting if he is going to be in Hufflepuff, like me, or Ravenclaw, like Bridget," Sean grinned.
"He is adorable! He has your nose and chin," Emma studied and Sean's ego inflated.
"I thought so," Sean grinned as he put the photo away, and sobered up as he brought up the business that brought him. "I needed to talk to you, because if you are alive, this has to come to you first."
"Why? What is it? Society matters should go to Sinead, I can get a message for you," Emma offered.
"Sinead never stepped up to the leading member of the triad, she is quite content to let you remain the crone and she the mother. Technically, you have not graduated or been tossed out of school, so you are still considered a student, so you can still retain your position. Everyone was unanimous in this decision, by the way. So this comes to you, and the fact you are outside of school is all the better for it.
Working with your Da I have learned a lot about who the different death eaters are, and what they are doing. Part of my job is to track their movements; who is targeting what parts of society and such.
Anyways, some of the deatheaters are us, Em," Sean said soberly. "Maureen McDonnell, and Diarmuid Savage," he named them for her, and Emma recognized Maureen's name. Part of being the crone meant knowing everyone who had been a crone before you.
"Is Maureen's guard still loyal to her?" Emma asked. Some people became incredibly close during school and their friendships lasted a lifetime. If Maureen's guards were working for her in committing these atrocious acts…
Sean shook his head. "No, in fact, Maureen even killed one of her former guards, Brian Ferriter, when he tried to fight back and defend others. And it's more than simply killing witches, wizards, and muggles, Em. They are death eaters, yes, but they are using the tricks we learn in the society, the stuff we do," Sean furiously spat out, his anger and disgust that their way of magic could be turned dirty by a death eater.
"We will get them," Emma promised. "To be honest with you, Sean, I would bet all my money in Gringotts that there is going to be a final battle between Harry and you-know-who before the end of the year. If we don't get them before then, they will definitely be at that battle. We'll stop them."
"No one else knows you are alive, I promise Riley I would keep mum quiet about it. But if you need anything, Em, or if you find them, you just ask for help, you hear? Everyone who has ever been in the society is keeping an eye and ear out for them; they may not be alive when this final battle happens. You know," Sean sighed, running his hands through his brown hair, "Bridget and Ally are talking about what to do when the war is over. Ally is staying with us," Sean told her, bringing up the woman who was leader of the society when Emma first joined and who was Cedric's mentor. "They are anxiously waiting for when the war will be over and they can reopen their shop. They are also planning something big, I won't spoil the surprise because they want to talk to you about it," he grinned. "Some days, I come home just thankful I am home, and I wonder how they can plan ahead like that, to a world where the war is over and we won. Then I think how it just feels right. It is why we keep resisting. And I think Cedric would have done the same. I also think he would have gotten a kick out of working with your dad, and the plans Bridget and Ally are making."
Just then, a shout from the nursery caught their attention and they rushed in to see Lupin panicking and Tonks trying to comfort him. "Her water broke!" Lupin yelled out.
"I'll get your father," Sean said and rushed out, apparating as soon as he was on the doorstep.
"What is the plan?" Emma asked as she followed Lupin who was helping Tonks to the bedroom.
"It isn't bad yet, darling," Tonks soothed him. "The contracts aren't even start-" she was cut off as a contraction set in.
"Plan?" Emma demanded Lupin again.
"Uh, plan, yes," Lupin said frazzled. Emma made him look at her so he could concentrate. "We can't go to Saint Mungo's," Lupin said.
"I guessed that much. You don't even have a bag packed," Emma pointed out.
"Bag? Should I get a bag packed?" Lupin asked Tonks.
"Where would we go?" Tonks grinned. "Bora Bora would be nice."
"Why is Sean getting da?" Emma asked.
"He has contacts," Lupin said as he rushed to get Tonks a glass of water.
"Isn't he adorable? Your father knows doctors and nurses who are on our side, and who know more about werewolf labors," Tonks explained calmly.
As soon as Lupin entered, Tonks was bearing down on another contraction. "This is too soon," Tonks panted. "I mean, I thought contractions were to be further apart at first!"
"Just breath through it, ok, and Riley will have a doctor here soon. Do you want me to tell your mother?" Lupin asked.
"I doubt she'll care, but yes, tell HER!" Tonks groaned.
"Where is your father? Do something to help her, Em," Lupin asked.
"What? The only births I have experience have been my own and Harry's, and I really don't want to go digging through my mum's memories. Some memories are just way to icky to peek at."
"Then floo Andromeda and let her know what is happening, and the sooner your Da arrives with medical help, the better."
Emma wanted to point out the floos were being monitored by the evil lord but didn't, Lupin was already too frazzled to care. Instead, she searched around the living room till she found what looked like a small muggle whiteboard. Emma grabbed the marker and wrote: Hello, Mrs. Tonks?
The letters wormed around until they read: Who is this? Give the password.
"Lupin, what is the password?" Emma hollered out.
"Quenyan!"
Emma scribbled it on the board and an instant later the word Sindarin appeared. Emma read it out and Lupin hollered it was the correct response.
Mrs. Tonks, Dora has gone into Labor.
A moment later and Emma read her response: I will be there soon.
The door being flung open had Emma jumping. Instead of Andromeda, though, it was her dad and a petite, red headed witch. "They are in the bedroom. Can you give Lupin a sedative?" Emma teased as the red head walked towards the room Lupin was leaving.
"I doubt he can be any worse than James was when Lily went into labor," Riley smirked. "He actually flooed to Saint Mungo's and forgot Lily."
"You forgot to put on pants," Lupin greeted them. "Emily, I recall, refused to have you within a three floor radius of her until you were properly covered."
"Well, at least you are here and fully clothed," Dora sighed as the nurse began to check her vitals.
"Everyone, this is Michaela."
"I was a nurse at Saint Mungo's for the past eight years," she told Dora and Lupin. "And I have been in two dozen births where there were extraordinary circumstances."
"If Riley trusts you, that is good enough for me," Dora said.
"I would like to know her qualifications," Andromeda spoke up behind them, making everyone jump.
"Your blood pressure and temperature are higher than normal, but since this baby is part werewolf, that is perfect,"
"Will the child…will the baby be born a wolf?" Andromeda asked.
"No, each child is unique in how much of the syndrome they inherit from their parents," Michaela talked as she tended to Dora. "If the child is able to shift, it won't until a full moon, and perhaps not until it is older."
"I don't care if he or she is born in fur with a tail," Dora spat out.
Emma wanted to soothe Dora both of the labor pains and the emotional pain her mother always seemed to cause. Instead, she sat on one side of Dora while Lupin sat on the other. Emma was glad she was torturing Lupin's hand and not hers.
'Thank you for not sharing this experience,' Draco's voice filtered through. 'This is not something I am keen to see right now.'
'Birthing is a miracle,' Emma pointed out.
'Ask Dora if she thinks it is a miracle right now,' Draco drawled.
What felt like hours later, but was in fact only one hour filled with Dora nearly breaking Lupin's hand and Lupin apologizing profusely for everything, Michaela announced that it was time to push.
Andromeda and Emma switched places and Emma couldn't help but notice that it was because Andromeda wanted to comfort her daughter, but wasn't sure what to do with the child.
'Is she honestly afraid she is going to get infected?' Emma fumed.
'She is frightened, Em. Besides, it goes against everything we are taught as purebloods, just touching someone who is infected makes you unclean and dirty by association,' Draco explained.
Emma decided not to focus on the horrible rationale of Andromeda but on the miracle that was happening right before her eyes. Michaela expertly guided the baby and caught it in a towel, wiping off a good portion of the blood and fluids before gently setting him on Tonk's chest. "You have a beautiful baby boy," Michaela announced happily.
Lupin could have been pushed over with a feather, Emma mused as he took in the sight. "Does the dad want to cut the umbilical cord?" Michaela asked.
Everyone left the new parents with their new bundle of joy. Emma poured everyone tea as they took a moment to relax. "Teddy is alright?" Emma asked Michaela.
"His temperature is higher than what you would expect for a newborn, but it is typical for babies with his genetics," Michaela explained. "The hair color changing, though, is not something I expected," she confessed.
"That the child gets from my daughter," Andromeda said proudly.
Just when Emma expected an awkward moment, Lupin appeared. "I am off to tell Harry and the others," he announced, sounding so much like his younger self that for a moment, Emma would have sworn he was back in Hogwarts, off to share something with Sirius and James.
Emma summoned a note and handed it to Lupin. He read the name scrawled on the top and nodded. "They are both taking a nap, I won't be gone long," he told everyone before stepping on the front stoop and apparating away.
Emma sat, wondering what Harry and the others were doing. What a crazy family they made, she mused. Here, Emma was planning on bringing someone back from the dead, and her cousin was planning a bank robbery of epic proportions.
'Let's hope his godparents aren't horrible influences on little Teddy, then,' Draco mused.
HUGE thanks to my marvelous readers LikeWow, AnimeCrazy, CrossRoadsofLife, Alicam, for the wonderful reviews!