"Where the fuck are you going, Emma?" Persephone was following Emma out of the Great Hall at a brisk pace. "You promised!"
Emma's morning was not going at all like she expected. Sneaking out of her room and back to the dorm to change had been far easier than she expected despite Remus being asleep on the couch. He could be an incredibly light sleeper, but apparently, he had been just as exhausted as she was. However, Persephone was quick to change Emma's overall mood. After spotting the fresh pink scarring on her wrist, Persephone was even quicker to voice displeasure. Loudly. Emma was sure the whole entire castle knew what had happened again. How long would it be before the rumors started again?
"I promised what?" Emma shot back at Persephone over her shoulder as she made her way to the stairs.
"That you weren't going to do that again!"
Emma ignored Persephone as she walked. She thought she had been better at hiding the cuts, but Persephone had been checking every morning without her realizing it. That knowledge had set Emma off. Everyone had been on her case the entire time, and she was tired of it. They didn't understand what had happened or what led her to what she did. It wasn't like she could tell anyone, either. Emma started to storm up the stairs to go to the library and escape, but that wasn't meant to be. Remus was coming down the stairs for breakfast duty, and she let out a frustrated shout. Could her morning get any worse? The two people she didn't want to deal with stood on either side of her.
"Emma!" Persephone shouted, one foot planted firmly on the staircase, and the other on the ground floor. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know," Emma shouted, whirling around to look at Persephone. "I don't have a fucking clue. My only concern right now is getting away from you."
"Emma? Persephone? What's going on?" Remus paused on the stair next to Emma, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Merlin's saggy tits," Emma muttered under her breath. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "Don't touch me," she growled, shooting Remus a look.
"Don't be like that, Emma," Persephone said in disgust. "He didn't do anything."
"Oh, he didn't do anything?" Emma said, stomping down the stairs, not caring people were watching. She threw her hand back to point at Remus as she stood in front of Persephone. "He is the problem. But no, wait, perfect Professor Remus Lupin could never be a problem, could he? No, my father's an absolute bloody saint that can do no wrong in the world. Had me fucking fooled for years."
Persephone stared at Emma in shock, glancing over Emma's shoulder to look at Remus, who hadn't moved from where he stood. "Emma, don't do this in the middle of the entrance hall like this," Persephone pleaded.
"You're the one who fucking chased me out of the Great Hall while I was trying to actually eat, Persephone. So, therefore, I will do whatever the fuck I want because, surprise! I'm back to being the massive fuck up all over again." Emma shoved her way past Persephone and stormed through the massive front doors and out onto the grounds.
"Just give her space for now," Remus said, watching Emma's retreating form.
"What happened? Why has she been like this?" Persephone asked. "Is this actually because of Draco? Did he do something? I'll kill him…"
"No," Remus chuckled bitterly. "No, it has nothing to do with Draco. She received some distressing news, and she's struggling to cope. This time it really is my fault."
"To the point that she's cutting again?" Persephone asked with a dry sob. "I thought she was past that."
Remus sighed as he descended the stairs. "She was, for a little while. She's done wonderfully the past few months, but accidents happen. It was an accident, and she feels guilty over it."
"She feels guilty? She certainly doesn't act like it," Persephone said with a huff. "Emma shouldn't have said that about you!"
"She wouldn't be so angry if she didn't feel guilty. Trust me, she's said much worse to me before," Remus frowned, looking out the open doors again. "I should probably make sure she doesn't do anything rash."
Persephone's eyes widened, quickly understanding what Remus wasn't saying. "She wouldn't…She promised."
"Yes, well, I don't think she's in the right mindset to think clearly. Would you mind going back to the Great Hall and telling Professor McGonagall that there's something I need to take care of? She'll understand." Remus said, stepping around Persephone. "If you'll excuse me…"
Remus rushed through the doors and into the bright outdoors. He walked quickly through the courtyard, trying to figure out where Emma actually went. His first thought was to the bridge, but he didn't want to entertain that thought. With a sigh, Remus started to head in the direction of the lake. With any luck, she would just be sitting at the tree. It was one of her favorite spots to go when she wanted time to herself, just like it had been his at one time.
It had felt like ages since Remus felt adrenaline running so steadily through his veins, even though it hadn't been that long at all. His entire body ached with the sheer force of it as he propelled himself quickly forward. He desperately wished he could just Apparate on school grounds as it would make the entire situation that much easier. Remus swore that Emma was going to be the death of him.
He couldn't stop himself from panicking as he approached the lake and didn't immediately see Emma. Remus wasn't even aware that he could move quicker than he already was as he got closer. He sucked in a deep breath when he finally spotted her, tucked into the deep-set middle of the tree trunk. She was so small that the tree hid her incredibly well, though he was sure that was on purpose. She didn't want to be found.
"What the fuck do you want?" Emma snapped at Remus as he approached. She angrily wiped away the fresh tears on her face and glared at him.
Remus studied Emma for a moment before sitting down next to her. He was a little taken aback, but not too surprised by her reaction. She was scared, and that made her lash out. It wasn't the worst thing she'd ever said to him.
"Do you always come out here?" he asked curiously.
"Usually," Emma muttered. "But normally people leave me alone if I'm out here. Or at least don't get comfortable unless I asked."
Remus hummed but said nothing to that and just peered out at the lake. The squid was out today.
"What are you doing out here?" Emma asked, breaking the silence. "Aren't you supposed to be making sure students don't muck up the Great Hall?"
"Ah, yes, well…as it turns out as your mentor, my duties can be adjusted at a moment's notice. As luck would have it, I'm also a professor, which means I need to be concerned about the wellbeing of my students." Remus looked over at Emma. "And as your father, you will always be my priority. We need to talk."
"I don't want to talk to you," Emma said, starting to get up only to be pulled back down by Remus's grasp on her wrist. "Will you let me leave?"
"No," Remus said firmly. "Things need to change, and if you're not willing to talk, then I will."
"I'm supposed to work with Professor Sprout today."
"I took care of that before leaving my office this morning. Your Saturday is free."
Emma growled, tugging her wrist out of Remus's grip and pushing herself back to sit against the tree trunk. "Is there any reason why you insist on interfering in my life?"
"Because I'm your father, and right now, I need to intervene - not interfere - with your life. I'm worried about you, love."
"That's great, but maybe you should have thought about that before you lied to me."
"I know," Remus said quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Now you're sorry?" Emma scoffed, folding her arms in front of her. "Great timing."
"Emma -"
"No. I don't want to hear it, because quite honestly, I really don't bloody care to hear what you have to say."
Remus stared at Emma for a moment, his expression blank as he nodded. "Well, unfortunately, you have to hear it," he said quietly. He turned his face back towards the lake. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, Emma. I know you're angry at me, and understandably so, but you can't keep hurting yourself. If you're trying to hurt me by hurting yourself, it won't work. It worries me immensely, but there are far more effective ways of hurting me."
"I wasn't…" Emma sighed, rubbing her hands down her face. She didn't want to do this right now. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, not exactly. Believe me, I'd like to because I'm so bloody angry with you, but I just..."
"You just what?" Remus looked back over at Emma.
"I just wanted to feel something other than anger." She pulled up her sleeve and looked down at her wrist. She brushed a finger over one of the new pink lines. "But then I realized last night that I'm scared. I'm angry, and I'm scared, and I don't understand any of this. I don't understand…me. What even am I? Who am I?"
"You're Emma," Remus said simply. "You are Emma Lupin. That will never change. You are incredibly stubborn and far too proud to admit when you need help. But I'm proud of you for coming to me because you needed help," Remus said. He tentatively lifted his arm as if he was going to put it around her shoulders. She eyed him suspiciously, but slid closer, tucking herself underneath his arm and against his side. "You're forgetting I've gone through a lot of what you're experiencing, too. I meant it when I told you that you're not going through any of this alone. You never will; I've been exactly where you are right now."
Emma sniffled as fresh tears threatened to fall. She laid her head on Remus's shoulder and wiped at her eyes. "Am I always going to feel like this? With…whatever I am?"
"I can't say for certain, because the circumstances are different," Remus said, draping his arm around her shoulders, "but no, I don't think so. There are a lot of things we don't know. I would like to bring Elara here to do some more tests. I would have Madam Pomfrey do them, but Elara would be far more knowledgeable on the subject."
"Ugh," Emma groaned. "I don't want to see her. Even us right now is a stretch."
Remus chuckled, pulling Emma a little closer. "I know you don't, but I think we need her to check a few things. Who better to help figure things out than another werewolf? I fear that something might have...changed, but I'm not exactly sure what."
"Like what?"
"How about we go inside for this conversation? I'd rather not have it where someone could hear. I know there's no one nearby, but I'd rather not take the chance."
"Not yet," Emma said quietly, glancing up at Remus. "I'm not ready."
"All right."
Remus settled in and gently stroked Emma's hair. Her eyes slowly began to close as she relaxed, and he smiled at the sight. These were always Remus's favorite moments – when they weren't fighting and could just be content in the moment. She could become so incredibly relaxed, but those moments were nowhere near as frequent as they used to be.
He knew that Emma was angry still, but he was grateful they were at least communicating. Remus wasn't entirely sure that she would be interested in talking to him later on, though. It became evident that morning that he needed to utilize the monitoring bracelets with Emma. He had hoped they wouldn't get to that point, but the moment had arrived, and he couldn't put it off.
For the time being, he would take the reprieve that they had. It wasn't often that he got to see Emma looking somewhat at ease. He wanted to prolong the moment for as long as he could. It meant that for just a little bit he didn't have to worry.
After a while, Emma finally opened her eyes, and she looked up at Remus with a half-hearted smile. "I think I'm ready to go in now."
Things were not any better when they returned inside the castle and made their way to their shared quarters. Emma had every intention of staying in the dorms, but Remus wasn't allowing that to happen.
Remus more than expected the tears when they made it back to their quarters and he told her he was going to use the bands to monitor her. What he wasn't expecting was the pushback to it - an actual pushback. Emma was not a violent person in the least, but it was almost like an entirely different part of her took over. To have her fight him to the point where he had to hold onto her until she stopped fighting? It was miserable, and he didn't like the guilt provoking feelings he felt because of it. This was his fault.
Was it the stirring of her own wolf? It had to be; there was a flash of it in her face – this wasn't like her. She wasn't a full werewolf, was she? This particular behavior was unexpected. They knew they were stepping into dangerous territory to keep her alive, but this was terrifying. What had they actually done to Emma? Her reaction only proved his point that something changed, and he wished that it didn't.
He felt terrible having to hold onto her, her back pressed to his chest as he kept his arms locked around her to keep her arms down. His father had to hold him exactly like this so many times when he was younger, and Remus felt like it was payback. It was worse when he was freshly turned, every feeling and emotion too intense to handle. That had to be what was happening with Emma. It took him a long time to figure out how to control himself, but the sad looks from his mother and the disgusted look from Margaret forced his hand. He couldn't act out anymore, and he worried he would have to teach Emma the same restraint.
The worst part was the fact Emma was incredibly strong. She might be tiny, but she knew how to throw her weight around, and he had to brace himself. If she had any real experience fighting like he did, she could most likely stand her ground. It was a terrifying prospect, but slightly relieving that she would fight if she needed to, but this wasn't one of those moments.
He would have to get ahold of Elara much sooner.
"Are you done?" Remus asked the moment Emma sagged in his arms. She had finally worn herself out, but the sharp gasp that came from her told him she broke out of her haze. Her entire body grew tense, and for a moment, he thought she was going to struggle again. Instead, she nodded weakly and leaned against him for support.
"If I let you go, will you try to run again?"
"No," she whispered, her voice faint.
Remus relaxed his hold on Emma just enough to test if she was lying. All fight and energy had left her body as she was practically a ragdoll in his arms. He felt her body begin to shake as she started to cry. She didn't understand what happened any more than he did. With a sigh, he bent down to scoop her up in his arms and carried her to her room. He deposited her on her bed, and she turned on her right side, staring out her window listlessly.
"I'll be right back," Remus said, though he wasn't sure if she had even heard him. She barely reacted when he returned and sat down on the edge of the bed. He set the small box he brought with him down and peered down at her, his heart breaking from her tears. He hated to see her cry. "Cariad?"
She let out a breath as he pulled her out of her thoughts, and she turned her face ever so slightly to look at him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping away her tears. "I don't know what happened…" Emma glanced down at the box. "Is that -?"
Remus picked up the box, opened it, and pulled out a thin black band. It wasn't at all like Emma expected, but she eyed it warily all the same.
"It's not the end of the world," Remus said, taking her left hand in his so he could extend her arm out. He carefully fastened the band around her wrist, whispered something quietly, and the band glowed for a fraction of a second before sealing itself shut. "This is to keep you safe. Do you understand?"
Emma pulled her hand back to investigate the strange black band around her wrist. It wasn't entirely molded to her wrist and had a tiny bit of give, but it felt stifling. There were no visible clasps that she could see, just a thin black band. Her charm bracelet jingled as she moved her arm to test the band's movement, and she scowled at it. She didn't like the two bracelets together. She shoved her arm back out towards Remus. "Could you take it off for me?" Emma asked. She sighed at Remus's look and added, "The charm bracelet."
It took a moment, but Remus carefully undid the gold bracelet and placed it on her nightstand along with the box. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I don't know," Emma whispered back, pulling her hand close to her face so she could investigate the band further. "How does this even work? You're not wearing one."
"I had it keyed into my watch for during the day. I'll only wear the receiving one at night. If there is a pressing matter, it'll heat up. I'm not going to go into the specifics. Of course, at any given time, it'll inform me of wherever you're at. Don't think about any midnight jaunts, you won't get very far. I might consider taking it off at night while you stay here, but for the time being, it's staying on full time."
"You make it sound as though I frequently go on late night walks." A wry smile crossed Emma's face, and she pulled her pillow close and snuggled into it. "I don't want to feel like this anymore…"
"You won't. I told you we were going to work through things and -"
"That's not what I mean," Emma said, giving Remus a reproachful look. Her eyes moved to where his bite mark was hidden underneath his sleeve for a moment before she closed her eyes with a huff. "What were you talking about outside? About something changing?"
"I fear that there's a possibility that you might be a little more like me than I anticipated."
Emma cracked open an eye to look at Remus curiously. "What do you mean by that?"
"There is a certain duality to being a werewolf. It's like two separate beings are sharing the same body; there are two different minds. It's always there, but the closer the full moon is, the worse it becomes."
"That's why you called the wolf Moony a few weeks ago?" Emma asked, trying to understand. "To differentiate your thoughts?"
Remus nodded. "It became convenient to refer to the wolfish side of me as Moony. I don't really like it having a name, though. I'm starting to think that there's a possibility of you having the same thing, to some degree."
"But you don't know."
"I don't know. And I don't think you know either. You haven't expressed anything that would say otherwise," Remus said quietly. "There are certain things that I know are a given, such as your food preferences, but the mood swings are troublesome. I don't think that they're entirely related to you growing up. I'm trying to determine what is going on with you, so I understand how to help you."
"For a werewolf, you don't really know much, do you?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows.
"The issue is that your situation is unique," Remus explained. "There's a very strong possibility that you're the only one like you. It's not exactly standard medical practice to introduce werewolf blood into another's system the way we did. I don't think I need to explain to you that what we did to keep you alive would be highly frowned upon. If people were to find out…"
Emma sat up and looked at Remus, her expression nervous. "What would happen?"
"Never you mind, love," Remus said, cupping Emma's cheek and wiping away the remnants of her tears. It wouldn't do well for him to scare her with the possibilities. He had done that enough to himself, and she was stressed enough. "Would you be opposed to me seeing if Elara can come to see you tonight? I think after what happened earlier, it might be better to see her sooner rather than later."
A blush crept into Emma's cheeks, and she deflated. "I'm really sorry about that," she whispered. "I suppose that would be all right."
"Don't apologize. I'm sure it won't be the only time it'll happen, especially if you have two warring forces. I've dealt with far worse, believe me," Remus said, standing up and picking the box up off the nightstand. "Have a kip – you didn't sleep much last night. I'll see if Elara can come tonight."
As it turned out, Elara could visit that night. Whether she did it as an emergency call or whether she was working already, Emma wasn't sure. She didn't particularly like making the trek to the hospital wing, but she did it only because Remus let her go by herself. She decided it would be best to take advantage of her permitted freedom.
Madame Pomfrey led Emma towards the back of the hospital wing, closed the curtains, and Emma was utterly alone. It was almost funny that she had rejoiced in her solitude the past few weeks, but now she hated it. When the curtains were pulled, a silencing charm was put up, and it was far too quiet in her little bubble. She folded her legs underneath her and folded her arms, unsure of what else to do by herself. Perhaps she should have brought a book with her, that would have at least distracted her from her swirling thoughts.
"Hey, kid," Elara said, popping around the curtain. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Hi," Emma said quietly. "Not long at all. I don't think. Lost track of time, actually."
Elara smiled back at her. "I would've knocked, but it's not quite the same with curtains." She grabbed the chair next to the bed and placed it in front of Emma and sat down. "What's going on with you? I hear you've been having a rough time."
"Something like that," Emma said dryly, earning a snort of amusement from Elara.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to laugh, it's just sometimes you open your mouth, and your father comes out. You two are incredibly alike."
"Ugh," Emma groaned. "Stop it. Everyone keeps saying that." She stretched her legs out in front of her and dangled them over the side of the bed. "I just wasn't expecting to find out just how alike we really are."
Elara reached into her robes with a wry smile and pulled out a folder which Emma assumed held her medical records. It looked similar to the one Remus had. "Don't be mad at Remus for that; be mad at me. It was my suggestion to use the potion because it was the best way to get you to pull through. He was entirely against it in the beginning."
"I understand that. I really do." Emma shrugged as she tried to think of what she wanted to say. "Don't get me wrong, I am mad at you, but only because you didn't tell me either. I didn't get the truth from you, and I didn't get it from him. I only found out about Dad because Snape's a dick, and one of the girls in my year figured it out and went off on me. Then the rest all came out, and I'm…I'm confused."
"I know," she said, cringing slightly. "You're not mad about what we had to do?"
"I'm alive, aren't I?" Emma said quietly. "I just wish I would have known sooner, so maybe I could have started to understand. Like, what am I? I'm not a werewolf, am I?"
"No," Elara said quickly, shaking her head as she tossed the folder on the bed next to Emma. "You're not a werewolf. Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
"To put it simply, you don't transform ergo you're not a werewolf."
"Oh," Emma said, feeling stupid. "I should have known that…"
"Not really," Elara said thoughtfully. "You're not a werewolf, but you do carry the disease. It's a werewolf's saliva at the full moon that generally causes the change. However, because your transmission is unique, we don't know what the end result will be. What we do know is that you get ill around the full moon, which is very common in werewolf caused wounds. Your food preferences have changed, and obviously, you heal a lot faster than the average witch or wizard now." Elara glanced at Emma's arm. "Although, I did hear that you needed some assistance last night. How do things look now?"
"God, I can't keep any secrets, can I," Emma said, pulling her sleeve up to show Elara since she clearly wanted to see the damage.
"Unfortunately not," Elara said, sliding the chair closer to Emma and taking a look at the pink lines that marked Emma's wrist. "He used Dittany to heal them?"
"Yes, the one was…deep."
"I think if you use Murtlap for the next two days, there will be considerably less scarring this time. Just a drop or two and rub it into the cuts. They should disappear," Elara said, leaning back and looking at Emma. "You used a razor this time?"
Emma's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"Your father. Plus, the lines are smoother."
"How did he know?"
"You're apparently not the best at hiding things, kid," Elara said, giving Emma a knowing look. "Remus knew the morning term started that you took his razors. He went through your bag and found them after he noticed them missing. He left them because if you were to start hurting yourself again, he wanted you to have something clean. The scissors were not one of your better ideas."
"That's wonderful." Emma covered her face with her hands, embarrassed that Remus had known the entire time.
"Emma, it's fine." Elara stood up and pulled her wand and a quill from her robes. "He's just worried about you." She picked up the folder and moved it to the side table, opened it, and set the quill up. "You know the drill with this."
Emma watched as Elara began to wave her wand in the usual complicated patterns, and she sighed. She didn't want to do this anymore. "So, now that I know everything, what are you actually looking for?"
"Well, I really am looking to see how the rest of you is functioning, but I'm more concerned with how the lycanthropy could be spreading. There's quite literally no research on your situation. I'm just trying to make sure that we're not going to have any surprises. Do you mind me asking you a few questions?"
"Not like I can go anywhere," Emma sighed. "Might as well."
"That's the spirit," Elara said with a snort. "Other than what we know, have you had any discomfort any other time? Any sickness, any moodiness you don't have an explanation for?"
"Well, that's a rather loaded question, isn't it?" Emma asked. "Dad's quick to write a lot off on me being a teenager, so I don't really know how to answer that."
"Have you perhaps been extremely angry? To the point where you want to attack someone?"
"Uhm…today," Emma said with a flush.
"That's why Remus was worried. That's incredibly common with new werewolves," Elara said. Elara gave Emma a gentle smile when she noticed her panicked expression. "Don't worry about it – he's been with the packs before and has dealt with far worse. Do you feel that way often?"
Emma frowned at Elara with that information. Had she ever accidentally made Remus that mad before outside of the full moon? "Other than Dad waking me up too early? No."
"Getting pissed at your father for waking you up early in the morning is normal teenager, so that's good," Elara grinned. "However, having such a strong reaction is concerning. Perhaps we could blame it on the past few weeks and an emotional outburst, but I'm not too sure."
"I didn't mean to act that way. I've never felt like that before," Emma said quietly, once again embarrassed.
Elara hummed, peering over at the folder. "How have you been doing with the past few doses of Wolfsbane you've been taking?"
"It's all right, I suppose. Tired, achy, the usual, I suppose. It's absolutely disgusting."
Elara knew all too well how disgusting the potion was, and she laughed. "Well, for the most part, it sounds like the Wolfsbane has been helping. I'll know if we have to readjust the dosage once I'm done. Now, leading up to the full moon, do you ever feel like there might be someone else in your mind?"
"What do you mean? Dad and I talked about it, but I don't really understand exactly what he meant. He makes it sound like a Jekyll and Hyde situation."
"That's a surprisingly apt description, actually," Elara said with an impressed hum. "But I'm mostly wondering if you have you done anything lately that you might not ordinarily do? Gotten into any fights, perhaps? Or, perhaps felt more amorous than normal?"
"Amorous?"
Elara grimaced slightly as she reworded her question, "Have you wanted to just have a shag with someone you normally wouldn't? Like something is telling you it's a good idea when you might not consider it any other time of the month? To erm, jog your memory, have you done something that might have given your father a near heart attack two weeks ago?"
Emma's face went bright red. "Oh," Emma said quietly. "Oh! Oh, no." She covered her face again, realizing what Elara was bringing up. "I didn't…I…Oh, Merlin, I knew that he knew that I was with...We snogged! That's it! Does Dad think I went and had sex with someone before his class?"
"He is, er, acutely aware that something might have happened," Elara said slowly. "But he didn't want to outright ask or accuse you of anything. There's no other way of putting it, but because we're werewolves, we're very aware of chemical changes, and well…"
"Is that how he knew what Persephone and I were doing?" Emma yelped. She had read that little bit of trivia in the books she had gone through while trying to research, but she had forgotten about it. Emma was sure that it couldn't have been accurate and had ignored it entirely. It just seemed bizarre that enhanced senses were an actual thing and surely a work of pure fiction. This was not good.
"Not entirely, no. Remus told me that he really did arrive home earlier than normal, and it took him a while to figure it out," Elara said, watching as the quill finally stopped. "You can hide now if you'd like." Emma immediately laid down and grabbed the pillow to cover her face. "The reason I ask is I'm trying to figure out what's you and what could possibly be wolf talking for you. There's a strong possibility your thoughts are heavily swayed from the condition."
"Because I share Dad's lycanthropy?" Emma asked, lifting the pillow slightly to look at Elara.
"Unfortunately, yes," Elara sighed. "And that's partially what we're trying to figure out with you. We can't blame the wolf for everything, but I believe that we can blame it for a few things."
"And that's why the Wolfsbane Potion is important for me, as well? As a 'just in case?'"
"Yes and no. It does a far better job in the pain-relieving properties for you than a regular potion, but there's more to the potion than that."
"What's exactly does the Wolfsbane Potion do? I can't get into the restricted section, and I wasn't about to ask dad to sign the form for me, so I couldn't look it up myself."
"The main function is mind alteration, but there are a lot of pain relief properties to it as well," Elara explained, glancing up from the folder to meet Emma's eyes. "It doesn't remove the pain of the transformation, but it'll alleviate a majority of the symptoms leading up to the full moon. It's partially why we're struggling to find the correct dose for you. I'm trying to piece together a specific recipe for you that won't harm you."
"So, you both think that I might have…two sides of me?"
"To some extent, possibly," Elara said, picking up the folder and flipping through the papers to compare the readouts. "It's harder to decipher as you don't transform, but I think there's a much stronger possibility than we think. Would you be all right with letting me take a blood sample so I can actually compare? I get a fair amount of information through magic, but actual testing is helpful. I'm going to ask Remus if I can take one from him as well, so I can get a better idea of what's happening."
"Urgh," Emma groaned. She hated needles, and she shivered. She thought she would never have to see one again with magic. "If you think it'll help…"
"I'll do it before I let you go," Elara smiled. "Don't worry about it just yet. I have to get your father down here, so there's time."
Emma frowned, but she nodded. A thought crossed her mind as she tried to understand what Elara was saying. "So, does this mean my thoughts aren't entirely my own?"
"I don't want to say that your thoughts aren't your own, because they are, they just might be more skewed the week of the full moon. And you might be a little more, er, horny and angrier during that time, which does not help with you being a teenager. Hormonal teenagers are scary as it is. Hormonal teenagers with lycanthropy? Your father has his work cut out for him," Elara said.
Emma screwed up her face at the thought and then immediately paled. "Ew. Ew ew ew! I don't need to think about that," Emma groaned, covering her face with the pillow again. She lifted the pillow up a fraction a few moments later and looked at Elara, her eyes wide. "So, if he knew about Persephone and me…and he thought that Draco and I might have done more than kiss. Erm, does that mean he knows with just…er, me?"
"I'll just say that he gives you your space and leave it at that," Elara said, biting back her amused grin.
Emma gasped and immediately pulled the pillow back over her face and screamed into it. This was a nightmare.