"Is Caspian upset that he won't be with the rest of you for the holiday?" Emma asked Persephone. The train was slowly pulling into King's Cross, and she was glad to be far away from the castle. It was a much lighter crowd on the train for the Easter holiday. Unfortunately, Jocelyn was one of the few that decided to go home. After spending an oddly quiet ride home with Persephone, Emma was hoping she could avoid Jocelyn and just get off the train as quickly as possible.

The entire train ride had been quiet up until the sights of London had appeared. There was something heavy hanging between Emma and Persephone, and it had been lingering since before they even got on the train. Rather than acknowledge that anything felt wrong, the two had decided to take naps and start working on their holiday classwork. The entire ride made Emma feel anxious and itchy, and she had too much energy that she didn't know what to do with.

"He'll be fine," Persephone said with a shrug. "He's got friends, and I'm sure mum will send him something. We're not staying there for the whole holiday."

"You're not?" Emma was surprised to hear that. Only a few days ago, Persephone had told her they would be spending the entire time in France. "I thought you were going to be there the whole time."

"We were, but dad has work to do at the Ministry," Persephone explained, her cheeks flushing. "Mum and dad decided to just cut the trip a little shorter instead of not going at all."

"Oh," Emma said quietly. She wondered if Persephone had lied to her and had already forgotten the lie she had told.

"Yeah," Persephone said, standing up to gather her things. "It's fine. Maybe I could come over at some point? Or you could come over – whichever."

"That would be good," Emma said, forcing a smile on her face. She pulled her bag off the seat and exited the compartment so she could get to the door.

"Oi, off to see your dying mum?"

"Shit," Emma muttered as she looked over her shoulder at Persephone. "Does she have a bloody radar?" Emma peered past Persephone to see Jocelyn sauntering down the aisle towards them.

"Just ignore her," Persephone said, glancing back at Jocelyn and turning back to Emma. "She's stupid."

"She's right behind us…"

"OI. Did you hear me?" Jocelyn practically shouted.

"What do you want, Josie?" Persephone asked, turning around and folding her arms over her chest. Emma stood warily next to Persephone, glaring at Jocelyn, who, much like everyone else, was taller than her.

"I was wondering what this one was doing," Jocelyn said, giving Emma a shove.

"Don't you fucking dare," Persephone snarled.

"Oh, what's this? You need your girlfriend to save your sorry arse, Em? Pathetic."

"For your information, I do not need my girlfriend to save me," Emma said with a laugh. "What do you want, Jocelyn?"

"I asked you a question. You didn't answer me."

"You didn't ask me a question worth answering."

"What was that?" Jocelyn asked slowly.

"Your question was stupid, so why would I bother answering it?"

"Because I asked you a question about your bloody dying mum. That's why."

"And what about yours, Jocelyn?"

Jocelyn froze, her eyes narrowing. "What?"

"Oh, you think I didn't know?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew it was a low blow, but something in her was starting to crack, and she couldn't take it. "Funny how you seem to give me such a hard time over mine when clearly you killed yours."

"Shut up," Jocelyn snarled.

"No. It has been years, Jocelyn. You have treated me like shit for years, and I have done nothing to you. Ever. All you try to do is make me seem like I'm the problem." Emma took a few steps closer to Jocelyn, annoyed that she had to look up at her instead of down.

"Oh, is that so?" Jocelyn's laugh was bitter, echoing through the hall and drawing a few curious faces to peer out of their compartments.

"It is. Why else would you still bring up shit from the children's home, Jocelyn?" Emma couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. "You don't know how to let go, and instead of dealing with it, you decided to make it your life's mission to make me miserable. So, because you killed your mum, you've decided to project that on to me."

Emma had known that Jocelyn had been stewing in anger, but what she didn't anticipate was Jocelyn's fist flying directly into her face. The audible crack and the jolt of pain had surprised Emma, making her head spin as she tried to process what had just happened. She raised a shaky hand to her nose to feel it and let out a small gasp as she pulled it away to find it covered in blood. She glared at Jocelyn through watering eyes, wanting to hit her back, but not letting herself. Persephone stared at Emma for a moment in shock before turning to Jocelyn with a snarl.

"You bitch," Persephone shouted, hands swinging out and ready to grab onto the front of Jocelyn's shirt.

"No," Emma said, grabbing onto one of Persephone's arms with her clean hand. She shot Jocelyn a look and pulled Persephone back weakly. "It's not worth it."

"She just broke your fucking nose!" Persephone shouted, prepared to lunge at Jocelyn, who took a few steps back, her face smug.

"It's not worth it. Let's just go." Emma pressed her sleeve to her nose and groaned, seeing that the blood didn't seem to want to stop. Persephone growled and turned to Emma, trying to figure out what to do as curious faces peered out of the compartments.

"She's bleeding!" Someone shouted, and then the train erupted into noise as others began to look around and try to figure out what happened.

"Come on," Persephone said icily, pushing her way down the aisle to get off the train. Emma tried to take a deep breath through her mouth and regretted it immediately. With a shiver, she pinched her nose to try and stanch the bleeding. With a whispered, "ow," she kept her sleeve close so that she could keep her face from being covered in blood.

The wrath of Persephone made most students back away and into the compartments to allow her to pass. Emma was grateful for it as it meant they were among the first to get off the train and next in line to get back onto the platform.

"I can't stay because we're heading into France for the holidays, so I guess we'll say goodbye here," Persephone mumbled, looking at Emma and cringing. "I'd kiss you, but…"

"Oh, you're not into fighters?" Emma joked as Persephone's lips twitched slightly. "I can't even breathe anyway," Emma moaned, trying to ignore the ticket checker's gaze as they stared at her. "How bad is it?"

"Horrendous," Persephone admitted.

"Well, I'm sure Re's going to appreciate this one," Emma said glumly. "Trading one broken kid for a different type of broken."

"You're not broken," Persephone said exasperated. "Why are you still not calling him dad?"

"Is this really the conversation we should be having right now? I thought it would be all declarations of love." Emma pulled her sleeve away from her nose and tried to figure out if the bleeding stopped. Unsure, Emma placed her hand back.

"It would've been if you didn't get decked in the face," Persephone snorted. "You should've let me hex her or – or something."

"I'm sure you'll do something as soon as we set foot back in the castle," Emma muttered, trying to keep her voice low, so it didn't sound as nasally. "I sound like a bloody trumpet."

"Isn't that just a hair too literal?"

"Oh, shut it," Emma said. The ticket taker gestured for them to walk into the station, and Emma cringed. "Guess I might as well get this over with," she said glumly as she covered her face with her sleeve again and followed Persephone through.

"I'll write when we get to France," Persephone said, turning to Emma.

"All right," Emma said. "Have fun. I still can't believe Caspian didn't want to go."

"Caspian isn't as refined," Persephone said with a small smile. "Mum said for me to meet her outside. Maybe I'll see you over the holiday."

Emma nodded and watched as Persephone practically floated off and took a look around the platform. She was surprised to see Lyall instead of Remus waiting for her, but her surprise was short-lived as he rushed over to her.

"Cariad, what happened? Wyt t'in iawn? A yw'n brifo?" Lyall held Emma at arm's length, shocked.

"I'm fine," Emma grumbled, pulling out of Lyall's grip. "I just fell getting off the train."

"You fell?" Lyall looked at Emma skeptically before muttering, "Rwy'n amau hynny." He gently placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you someplace that we can get you…somewhat cleaned up."

With a groan, Emma covered her face with her sleeve and let Lyall guide her towards the closest set of bathrooms. He took a quick look around to make sure that no one was around and cast a quick Muggle repelling charm and whirled around to look at Emma. "What happened?"

"I told you! I fell," Emma said lamely, wincing as she brushed her hand against her nose. "Ow…"

"I've raised two children," Lyall said with a frown as he took Emma's face in his hands and looking at her appraisingly. "This doesn't happen from just falling."

"Where's Re?" Emma asked, trying to change the topic.

"At St. Mungo's, actually," Lyall said, letting go of Emma's face and crossing his arms over his chest.

Emma looked at Lyall, confused. "Did mum -?"

"She got worse, yes," Lyall said sadly. "I suppose it's fortunate we're heading over there, though. At least it seems like the bleeding's stopped…" He gestured towards the bathrooms with a frown. "I would try and take care of your nose, but I'll let a Healer take care of it. Get yourself cleaned up. Wouldn't do well to be walking the streets of London in your current state."

Feeling much cleaner after washing her face and in a clean shirt, Emma and Lyall set off for St. Mungo's. She was self-conscious of the bruising that had formed and her swollen nose and kept her sleeve up to her face.

"Thanks for carrying my bag for me," Emma said quietly after ten minutes of walking.

"Of course," Lyall said with a smile.

"Is there any reason why we didn't Floo?"

"Because it would've taken more time to walk to The Leaky Cauldron than it would to walk to St. Mungo's," Lyall said.

"Oh," Emma said quietly, looking down at the ground so that she didn't have to look at people as they passed by.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you two, and when you didn't show up, I got worried."

Emma groaned and ducked behind Lyall as she heard Remus's voice heading their way.

"There was a situation as the station," Lyall said.

"A situation?" Remus asked. "Emma? Why are you hiding?"

"I dare say it's because she was the situation," Lyall said brightly, earning him an aggravated look from Emma as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked slowly. "Emma?"

"Hi," Emma said, peering from behind Lyall so that most of her face was still hidden. She watched as he took a similar stance to Lyall from earlier, crossing his arms over his chest with an eyebrow raised. It was scary how alike they were sometimes.

"Emma, is there any particular reason why you're hiding behind your grandfather?"

"Erm, not sure, but if you find out why could you let me know?" Emma said, trying to smile but immediately wincing as it made her nose twinge.

Remus shot Lyall an exasperated look. "Da?"

Lyall looked back at Emma with a sympathetic look. "Sorry," Lyall said, stepping to the side before Emma could protest.

"Merlin's beard," Remus said, spotting the bruising around Emma's eyes that she couldn't easily cover.

"Thanks," Emma said sharply to Lyall as she was subjected to Remus's inspection.

"It's not like you would've been able to hide it for long," Lyall said simply, a smirk crossing his face.

"What happened?" Remus asked, turning to Lyall.

"She says she fell."

"I did," Emma groaned, grabbing onto Remus's arms to try and pull his hands off of her face.

"This didn't happen just from falling," Remus said sternly, turning back to Emma.

"That's what I said," Lyall said, looking pointedly at Emma.

Emma finally pulled her face free from Remus's grip and looked between Remus and Lyall. She couldn't believe what was happening. "Seriously? Both of you are ganging up on me now?" She covered her face again with her sleeve. "This isn't fair."

"If I'm going to be honest, I'm glad that someone is finally on my side," Remus muttered, glancing over at Lyall. "There's no point in lying, Emma. What happened?"

"Can we talk about this later?" Emma whined. "It…it hurts."

Remus's gaze softened, and he sighed. "All right," he said softly, meeting Emma's eyes. "But don't lie to me. I want to know the truth."

Emma nodded reluctantly. "Can we go now?"

"Yes," Remus said, stepping next to Emma and putting an arm around her shoulder. "The Healers wanted to talk to you," Remus said to Lyall. He motioned for Lyall to hand him Emma's bag and slung it over his other shoulder.

"Not surprising," Lyall said. "I suppose we shouldn't keep them waiting. And I suppose that we should get a certain little one fixed up while we're there."

Forty-five minutes later, Emma found herself sitting cross-legged on an exam table, trying to avoid Remus's gaze. "So, uhm, nice weather out here in London," Emma said conversationally.

"Emma, what did I tell you earlier?" Remus asked, staring at her from across the room.

"Not to lie," she mumbled.

"What was that? Not sure I heard you."

"Not to lie," Emma said a little louder, pouting slightly.

"Right," he said, "and I would like to know what happened before someone comes in here. I have an idea of what happened, but I would rather hear it from you."

"I, uh…might have said something that made someone mad," Emma said vaguely.

"And let me guess – that person was Jocelyn?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Well, it could have been from you falling," Remus admitted with a sly grin, earning him an aggravated look. "But I learned very quickly that if you're injured, and you say you fell, it's from Jocelyn. You don't have a habit of lying about what actually happened except when it comes to her."

"That's embarrassing," Emma muttered.

"Tell me something," Remus said, his eyes sparkling.

"What?"

"Did you at least hit her back?"

"What?" Emma huffed and kicked her legs out from underneath her, dangling them over the edge of the bed. "Did you really just ask that?"

"It would've been the perfect excuse," Remus said with a shrug. "Where was Persephone during all of this?"

"Right next to me. We were trying to get off the train," Emma said, her eyebrows raising. "Are you telling me that you would be okay with me hitting her?"

"Not normally, no. But it would be good for you to stand up for yourself."

"Persephone tried to go after her, but I told her not to."

"Why?"

"It wasn't worth it."

"Noble of you – are you sure you're not secretly a Gryffindor?"

"I just don't want to stoop down to her level. I mean," Emma sighed. "I did, and that's why she hit me, but… But in any other case, it makes me as bad as her. Although, a part of me really did want to hit her."

Remus opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock at the door, and it opened.

"Knock, knock, remember me?" A silvery haired witch with kind eyes peered around the door, stepping in with a smile.

"I remember you," Emma said with a bright smile that quickly fell. "Ow," she muttered, throwing her hand up to her nose and immediately regretting it as she accidentally smacked it. She groaned as her eyes began to water. She was glad to see a familiar face even if she had only spent a half-hour with Elara at St. Mungo's last year.

"Saw Lupin as I passed by the doors and decided to take over," Elara said, giving Remus a grin and dropping the file in her hand on the counter. "Nice to see you again, Remus. Although it seems it should be for a much better occasion."

"Are you here all the time?" Remus asked. "I'm sure it's been, er…a busy week."

Elara shrugged, picking up the fact Remus was referring to the full moon that had been a few days prior. "Yeah, it's been a little rough, but today was my first day back," she said, turning to Emma. "And what happened with you, kid? Normally we don't see Hogwarts students this early into holiday. The train only got back, what, nearly two hours ago?"

Emma opened her mouth to speak, prepared to use her usual excuse, but backtracked quickly, seeing the look on Remus's face. "I uh, got punched in the face."

"I can see that," Elara said, surprised. "Doesn't look like that feels nice. Is it all right if I take a feel?"

"I have a feeling I don't really have a choice," Emma said.

"Not really," Elara laughed, giving Emma a sympathetic look as she approached. "I just want to see how bad it is. Let me know if it hurts a lot."

"Right," Emma grumbled, closing her eyes tightly. "Just as long as I don't need to watch what you're do – ow! That hurt."

Remus snorted from the corner, and Emma opened an eye to glare at him. He quickly steeled himself, his face impassive, but a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well, the bad news is it's broken," Elara said, biting back a smile. "But the good news is a few potions, and you'll be fixed up in no time. Perhaps a bruise salve to get rid of the bruising quicker – two days tops since this just happened."

"I hate taking potions," Emma pouted.

"No one likes taking them," Remus said sagely. "Trust me, there are potions that taste worse."

"Anything else we need to worry about while you're here?" Elara asked, giving Emma a wide grin.

"Do we have anything else to worry about?" Remus asked.

"No," Emma said quickly, shaking her head as she glanced at Remus. She turned away, ignoring his narrowed eyes.

"Perfect," Elara said, walking over to a tall cabinet and pulling out a vial and passing it to Emma. "Drink up, kid. It'll help."

Emma pulled a face but unstopped the vial and downed it. "Oh, that's terrible."

"But, does your nose still hurt?"

Emma carefully brought her hand up to her face and touched her nose, letting out a sigh of relief. "No," Emma said quietly, dropping her hand.

"There you go," Elara said brightly, returning to the cabinet and pulling out another container. "Here," she said, opening the container, "let's get some of this salve on now, so it's one less thing to worry about later." She began to gently apply the paste to Emma's face. "I'm surprised – most kids complain about how cold this."

"She's very well acquainted with it, unfortunately," Remus said.

"With the bruise salve?" Elara looked over at Remus in surprise before gently rubbing the salve into the fresh bruises. "Really?"

"For the same reason she needs it now, actually."

"It's the only reason I've needed it in the first place," Emma corrected.

"Yes, I suppose that's right," Remus agreed. "Honestly, you shouldn't need it at all."

"Well, I hope you don't need this for a very long time after this," Elara said. "Aaanddd you're all done."

"Emma, why don't you head on up to see your mother?" Remus suggested. "I need to talk to Healer Douglas about something."

"You're not coming with me?" Emma asked, looking between Remus and Elara curiously.

"Your grandfather is upstairs, and they know you. They'll let you in."

Emma pouted and placed a gentle hand to her nose, still not trusting that it wouldn't start hurting immediately. "Can I at least get a hug before I go up, then?" She asked, jumping off the table.

"Of course," Remus laughed, opening his arms for Emma to walk into and squeezing her tightly. "Now go. I'll be up shortly."

"Fine," Emma said with another pout. "Thanks," she said shyly to Elara. She left the room but gave Remus another curious look before she closed the door.

Elara turned to Remus and grinned. "Well, fatherhood suits you well," she said, leaning against the counter.

"Believe it or not, that was something I only figured out a few months ago," Remus said sadly.

"A few months ago? Hasn't it been a year since you went through all the creepy magic?"

"A year on Monday, actually," Remus said quietly, before giving Elara a look. "Did you just refer to it as 'creepy magic?'"

"If you think about it, it is," Elara laughed. "I didn't think things needed to get that far – using ancient blood rituals to make sure that the family bond is intact? Never would've figured that. There are other ways to make sure that the bond exists. But what do you mean, 'a few months ago?'"

"I mean that I am a complete fool and should have considered things further."

"You regret it?"

"I could never regret it – she's brilliant. I just didn't consider the fact that it would be okay for me to step in as her father. But I will regret it if…"

"If you're found out," Elara said, knowingly. "The fact you've never been placed on the registry… Well, that's enough said right there. You risked a lot for that little girl. I know we've never been very close, but I know you well enough that it wasn't an easy decision."

"Unfortunately, as it turns out, it needed to happen as it did. At least part of it."

"Okay, you need to backtrack for a minute because I'm lost. Part of it?"

"It was explained to me that only the initial, for lack of a better word, blood donation, would be needed to ensure that things worked correctly; that just inhaling the potion would be what was needed."

"So, neither of you actually drank it? I mean, really only Emma would have to, but as a show of good faith normally, that's how the entire ceremony is done."

"Merlin, no. Elara, you know that I could never do that."

"Why not?"

"What if I passed my condition to her?"

"As if being a werewolf is the worst thing in the world?" Elara asked with a laugh. "It's hard, but it's not like she would be dead."

"At that point, she might as well be. Especially if I was the reason why? She doesn't need to be subject to that. It's already bad enough that she met Greyback."

Elara froze and looked at Remus as if she misheard him. "She met Greyback?"

Remus sighed, running his hands through his hair. "There were initial issues after the entire ceremony that caused the wards to not be as solid as they should've been. We had figured that her magic accepted mine, but she grew terribly ill. For a few days, I thought maybe something went wrong, and she was infected anyway. I had to leave as it was the full, and one of her friends was supposed to stay with her, but her friend never showed up." Remus leaned against the wall. "We think the owls might have been intercepted, and Greyback took the opportunity to…introduce himself."

"He didn't hurt her, did he?"

"No, thankfully – surprisingly. I think it was more of a warning for me, but it scared Emma."

"I guess it's a good thing that her friend didn't show up. It could've been both of them."

"Trust me, I've had the thought. It haunts me often."

"Remus, can I ask you a question?"

"You don't have to. I still haven't told her."

Elara grew quiet, trying to process that Remus still hadn't told Emma the truth. She took a deep breath before speaking, "I said it last year, and I'll say it again – she's not going to hate you. It's undeniable that she loves you. Merlin, the child asked you for a hug before leaving."

"I know she does," Remus said, "but it's all…terrifying, especially now."

"Because of Margaret?"

"You're up to date?"

"I visit her from time to time. I know that you and your father can't be here all the time, and no one deserves to be alone," Elara said. "I wish there was more that I could do."

"You and I both," Remus said sadly. "I don't think she's going to last much longer."

"You're worried about Emma," Elara said, suddenly understanding Remus's fear.

"More than you can imagine. Christmas was tough, and she's already been struggling emotionally as it is. She's taken a huge blow to her self-esteem this school year. She seems to be okay for right now, but even just a week ago…"

"But, you worry that it's only going to get worse?"

Remus nodded. "It's not really a matter of 'if' at this point, it's a matter of 'when.' She's very sensitive, and I know how easy it is to just…give up."

"You and me both," Elara muttered. "Well, you already know that the wizarding community is terribly behind on mental health. I can make recommendations for Muggle therapists, but I don't know that'll help in the long run, statute of secrecy and all." Elara frowned, trying to think. "Obviously tell Pomfrey so that she's aware. She's a Hufflepuff, right? So, Sprout…McGonagall. The more people she has, the easier it'll be."

"I've let them know of the possibility already," Remus said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "They seem to have been keeping an eye on her, but that doesn't make me any less worried. I can't be there to help her."

"Then don't be worried about that now," Elara said. "Get Emma focused on something else for the time being. There's no point in worrying her for something that hasn't happened just yet," Elara suggested. "I know it's not easy for you either, but she's still a kid, and she'll feed off your energy."

Remus gave Elara and appreciative smile. "I suppose you're right," Remus said.

"Have I ever been wrong in all the time you've known me?" Elara asked, returning his smile.

"There was that one time…"

"Oh, shut it. Just admit that I'm right. Most of the time, at least," Elara laughed, standing up straight and stretching. "Go, get out of here. She's probably wondering what's taking you so long."

"I have no doubt about it," Remus said, strolling towards the door. "Thank you, Elara."

"Anytime," she said, touching Remus's arm gently. "You know where to find me. I'll send you an owl with my schedule just in case."

"I appreciate it. I'm sure I'll need to bother you sooner rather than later."

"Whatever you need. Emma seems like a really good kid, and I'll do what I can to help."

Remus nodded and began to open the door.

"Remus? Do you mind if I suggest something?"

"What do you suggest?"

"You mentioned that there were complications with the magic? I know that we have several vials of the potion here, almost like an insurance policy – why don't you just finish the process?" Elara said thoughtfully, giving him a small shrug. "The chances of her becoming a werewolf are practically non-existent, especially since the potion was made so far outside of the full."

"Have you been talking to my father? He's said the same thing," Remus said skeptically, but Elara gave nothing away.

"I'm just saying – it could help in other ways. Especially with the healing. She won't bruise as much. Think about it."

"It's too much of a risk," Remus responded politely. "But thank you." As Remus left the room, he heard Elara give an exasperated sigh. It wasn't something that he could ever consider – the risk was far too great.

Wyt t'in iawn - Are you okay?

A yw'n brifo - Does it hurt?

Rwy'n amau hynny - I doubt (suspect) that