Emma stared into the fireplace, watching the way the flames licked the air. It might have been April, but there was still a slight chill in the air. The warmth filling the living room was pleasant. She twirled a pencil in her hand, completely ignoring the paper sitting in front of her. It had been weeks since she had been able to draw anything. She didn't have the attention span to focus, and the itchiness of her skin was distracting.

Her thoughts continually turned to her mother, disturbed at how much smaller she had become since Christmas. Margaret had already looked thin then, but her skin was paper-thin, and she looked more skeletal than usual. Lyall had warned her before entering the ward, but there was no way to truly prepare her. Still, she put on a brave face and tried to act as if nothing was different.

Emma knew they weren't telling her everything. The evidence was all right there in front of her. It was the shared looks between Lyall and Remus, and it was the way that Remus held her closer than he usually would. It was the fact that she had been home for three days and had been to St. Mungo's to see her every day. The hours were long, and there hadn't been a lot of time spent at home. The worst part of it was the sympathetic looks from the Healers, the knowing and gentle, but sad smiles. They were the smiles that you gave to a child whose life was about to change. Her mother was dying, and there was nothing that could be done to change it – everything was changing.

Everything had changed, Emma realized. Not only had it changed, it had changed quickly and that was a terrifying thought. Although, a part of her quickly discovered that her entire life seemed to have taken on that pattern.

In one night, she had lost her entire family, though she didn't know it at the time. She was placed in a children's home and lived nearly ten bittersweet years within those walls. On one fateful morning, she received a letter that changed everything that she knew. After all, in the four walls of the children's home, magic wasn't real and belonged only in fairy tales. Another morning, and Emma was swept away from her old life and catapulted into the one she should have always known.

Only days later, she had become reacquainted with Remus. She had been terribly confused as to who he was but was even more confused as to why she felt she had known him forever. And then she was home.

"What are you drawing?"

Emma looked away from the fire, pulled out of her thoughts. Remus leaned against the wall near the closet, a cup of tea in hand. Emma wasn't sure that she had seen Remus without something in his hands the past few days. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't as though she wasn't doing the same but with a blade in the middle of the night.

"Nothing," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I can't think of anything to draw."

With a sigh, Remus crossed the room and sat down next to her. He placed his cup down on the table and put an arm around Emma's shoulder as she leaned into him. She tossed her pencil onto the table and watched as it rolled across and off the table. Typical.

"You're thinking too loud, little one," Remus said, gently rubbing her arm. "What's going through that brain of yours?"

"Too much, nothing – everything," Emma sighed, leaning her head on Remus's shoulder as she looked up at him. "The usual."

"I suppose that's to be expected," he said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry that we haven't been home very much…"

Emma turned her attention back to the fire, rubbing her wrists absentmindedly, guiltily. A small sigh left her lips as Remus reached his free hand over to take hers, stopping her from the compulsive rubbing of her wrist. "It's okay," she whispered. "Re? Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Mum's dying, isn't she?" Emma asked quietly. Remus's hand stopped rubbing her arm, clearly not expecting that to be her question. "Please, don't lie to me."

Remus took in a deep breath and kissed the top of Emma's head. "Yes," he said softly into her hair.

"Soon?"

"They believe so, yes."

Emma nodded, leaning more of her weight on Remus. "Is she in pain?"

"No. They've made sure that she's not in pain."

"Oh. That's good."

The silence that filled the room was comfortable, and Emma wasn't aware of how much she needed it.

"You're still thinking too loud."

"I know," Emma laughed. "I can't help it. If I don't…"

Remus squeezed her arm in understanding. "Well, I have something that might distract you from your thoughts."

Emma pulled herself away and looked at Remus with narrowed eyes. The smile on Remus's face and the twinkle in his eye made her suspicious. "What?" she asked slowly, observing him.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"The day after Easter? Am I supposed to know what tomorrow is?"

Remus's smile grew. "You don't know?"

"Am I supposed to?"

"Well, I would have hoped so," Remus chuckled, not bothering to elaborate.

Emma sat back against the couch cushion, crossing her arms as she tried to think. What happened last year? "Was I still at school?" Emma asked, trying to dig through her memories.

"No, you were here," Remus said, his smile broadening.

"I was here? What was – oh." Emma turned back to Remus with wide eyes. "You've been my…" Emma trailed off and stared down at her hands, aggravated that she still felt weird saying the word 'dad' around Remus. "It's been a year."

"It's been a year," Remus said with a nod. He reached out and cupped Emma's cheek, turning her face gently to look at him. "Don't feel as though you have to call me your father. When you're ready, if you're ever ready, you will; it doesn't matter to me. It's not going to change the fact I consider you mine."

"I know," Emma said quietly, forcing a small smile on her face.

Remus glanced over at the clock and dropped his hand down to Emma's knee. "Perhaps you should try and get some rest. It's starting to get late and we've had some very long days."

"Yeah, maybe," Emma said, standing up and stretching. She looked down at the cup of tea on the table. "Are you going to finish that?"

"No," Remus said shaking his head. "I didn't even drink any of it. Might be a little cold, though."

Emma picked up the cup with a shrug and took a drink before pulling a face. "You never put in enough sugar for yourself," she muttered as she made her way to her room.

Screaming. There was so much screaming.

Emma was confused and terrified. She didn't know where she was and the screaming she heard sounded painful. The room she was in was barren with the exception of a small bed and a dresser. Hearing the screams again, Emma turned to the closed door, deciding to investigate. Whoever was screaming needed help, but she needed to find them first.

Opening the door, Emma listened for any sound that would tell her where she needed to go. She glanced both ways down the hallway – one direction led towards what looked like a set of stairs and the other led to more rooms. Another scream pulled Emma's attention towards the stairs. Emma felt around for her wand and hesitated, unable to find it. She didn't want to venture unarmed, but the screaming pulled her forward.

Emma padded quietly down the stairs, listening carefully for noise, but the screaming had stopped. She paused on the landing, half-way between the first and second floor. Should she continue? She knew that she should, but she was scared and didn't have anything to defend herself with.

"What did I tell you about leaving your room?"

That voice. Emma had heard that voice before and it made her freeze, rooted to the landing. A shiver ran down her spine as a face appeared around the corner, cold, dark eyes meeting hers. Jude.

"What did I tell you?" Jude snarled, stepping onto the first stair, brandishing his wand. "I told you not to leave your room." He bared his teeth into a twisted smile as he took another step forward and Emma took a step back. "I told you that if you left you were going right to Greyback. And you know what Greyback does with little girls like you."

"No," Emma whispered, nearly tripping over herself as her heel met the steps. She glanced over her shoulder, and carefully stepped up. She knew that she needed to keep the distance between them and when Jude's wand started to swing, she turned and ran as fast as she could. She shrieked as red light touched her, her eyes closing as pain enveloped her entire body.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in her bed. It was still dark, but she felt that someone was in the room with her. She sat up, backing up instinctively as she turned on her lamp and was relieved to see Remus.

She leaned her head back against the headboard, closing her eyes, relieved to see a familiar face. But when she opened her eyes, she realized that Remus didn't really look like Remus at all. His eyes were gold and the expression he wore was unlike any that she had ever seen before. He looked almost like a predator that just found its prey.

Panic flooded her system and she pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes. That wasn't Remus – it couldn't be. When she pulled her hands away and flinched as a face was inches away from hers. Golden eyes met hers and Emma's scream died in her throat.

"Hello, pup," Greyback said huskily, his smile sharp and wide. His eyes darkened as he stared at her for a moment before a hand trailed up to the side of her neck. His face brushed up next to hers, the stubble scratchy against her cheek as he nipped along the side of her face, along her jaw, and down her neck. It was then that she realized that there was a heavy weight on her legs and Emma's panic turned to pure terror.

She tried to swing out to hit Greyback, but he caught her hands easily, holding both wrists in one hand. He pulled away, his gaze dark and unyielding.

"You know what happens to little girls like you…" The hand touching her neck suddenly pressed tightly to her throat, suffocating her until everything went black.

Emma shot up in her bed, taking in deep breaths. She had never had a dream that vivid or terrifying before. The other dreams she had were scary, but this one felt entirely too real. Her entire body was covered in a cold sweat and she was shaking violently. She looked around the room, almost positive that she was still in her dream. Her hands immediately went to her neck – she could still feel Greyback's hands on her. Emma's eyes darted over to the window, almost expecting his gold eyes to be staring at her. It was one of the few moments that she hated having sheer curtains. A creaking noise made her jump, the reaction jerky and violent with adrenaline.

With a frustrated groan, Emma slipped out of bed and opened her door cautiously. The entire house was dark and it made her nervous. She wasn't scared of the dark, but she felt incredibly uneasy. She stumbled the few feet to the bathroom and quickly turned the light on, jumping when she saw herself in the mirror.

"Bloody Hell," Emma muttered, clutching at her chest. "You idiot." She glared at herself in the mirror before leaning towards the sink so she could splash water on her face. She felt nauseous and she hoped the cold water would cool her down. When she straightened up, she looked in the mirror and gave a frightened shout as she someone else reflected to the side of her.

"Why would you sneak up on me like that?" Emma shouted, turning to Remus with a glare. "I thought you were asleep."

"I'm so sorry," he grimaced. "I just got into bed actually and got worried when I saw the light turn on. I wasn't sure if -"

"If what?" Emma snapped.

Putting his hands out apologetically, Remus sighed. "Nothing, I'm sorry," he said again, turning to head back to his room. "I'll go."

"Wait," Emma called out with an exhausted sigh. "I'm sorry." Remus turned back around, standing in the hallway, his face impassive. One of his eyebrows raised slightly as he awaited and explanation and Emma sighed again. "I had a nightmare."

Remus stared at Emma for a moment and his face softened. He disappeared into his room and brought out a vial of Dreamless Sleep. "You haven't been sleeping enough," Remus said, holding the vial up to show her. "I hate having to give you this, but I would much rather you get some rest. Get back into bed, I'll get you a glass of water to drink before taking that."

Emma nodded, turning the light off and slipping back into her room. She took another look out the window and gave a start when Remus came back into the room.

"That must have been a terrible dream," Remus remarked as he passed Emma the glass. "I've never seen you this jumpy."

"Thanks," Emma whispered, taking a generous drink of water. "I'm sorry about earlier." She placed the glass on her nightstand and took another worried glance out the window.

Remus gave her a gentle smile. "It's fine," Remus said, opening the vial and handing it to Emma. "At least now you'll sleep."

Emma took a deep breath and downed the vial of purple liquid. She shuddered slightly before settling into her pillows and handing Remus the empty vial. "Hate how fast it works," she murmured, her eyelids fluttering closed.

Once Remus was sure that Emma had fallen asleep completely, he took a look out Emma's window. His hand twitched reflexively towards his wand as he turned off her lamp and he conjured a chair to sit in. He made a mental note to get Emma new curtains and recheck the wards in the morning. Remus didn't move his gaze from outside, even as yellow eyes disappeared from his view.

Emma awoke feeling incredibly comfortable and warm. She stretched lazily and settled further into her blankets, her bed feeling like pure bliss. She couldn't recall the last time she had slept so well.

A hand touched her shoulder gently and Emma groaned. "Sweetheart, it's nearly noon. It's time to get up."

"But comfy," Emma whined, leaning her face into Remus's hand as he cupped her cheek. "I don't want to." She felt the bed dip as Remus sat down next to her.

"You don't want to get up?"

"No," she murmured, keeping her eyes stubbornly closed.

"Not even for cinnamon toast?"

"Cinnamon sugar toast," Emma corrected, opening a bleary eye to peer at Remus.

"Ah, yes. I always forget," Remus laughed.

"You look terrible," Emma commented as her vision cleared. She rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep from them and frowned. "Did you get any sleep?" She propped herself up on her elbows, studying his face. He had deep bags under his eyes and they were slightly bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept at all.

"A little," he answered. "I don't need much sleep."

"Except you look terrible…have you looked at yourself?"

"Rather honest this morning, aren't we?" Remus asked, his eyebrows raising.

Emma flushed and she gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry," she said, sitting up and stretching.

"It's refreshing," Remus said. "It means you slept well and that's all I could ask for." Remus stood up, squeezing Emma's leg. "Now, cinnamon toast?"

"Cinnamon sugar."

"Right, right," Remus said with a wink.

Emma shook her head, taking her time to wake up before joining Remus in the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon pulled her in with an appreciative hum.

"Emma, why do I have the feeling that you would go with a stranger if they had cinnamon toast?"

"It's cinnamon sugar," Emma said exasperated, snatching a piece off the plate Remus was preparing and taking a bite. "And possibly."

"Really? You can't even wait for me to finish making your eggs?"

"Nope," she said with a grin. She sat down at the table and smiled as she ate the toast in her hand. "What time did you wind up getting up?"

"Far earlier than you," Remus said, looking over his shoulder at Emma. She stuck her tongue out at him which made him laugh. "I thought maybe we could go into London again today." Remus said, adding eggs to Emma's plate and placing it in front of her.

"Again? Can't we just stay home? I don't want to see London for a while, not until I have to go back," Emma pouted.

"Is that what you'd like to do?"

Emma nodded. "I would prefer to. I – I don't know if you had anything planned so if we need to go, we can go," Emma said between mouthfuls of egg. "We just haven't been home much."

"I don't mind," Remus said, sitting across from her. He watched her for a moment, a smile crossing his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Emma asked, giving Remus a look. "It's weird."

"It's just been a while since I've seen you like this," he said. "So carefree…"

Emma's face fell and she stared down at her eggs, eating quietly. "I'm sorry," she answered after a while.

"Don't be. No more apologizing," Remus stood back up and stared at Emma for another moment. He wondered if he should ask her about her dream, but he didn't want to ruin the good mood that she was in. "I think I'll take a short nap."

"Good. You look like you need it," Emma said, taking a bite of toast.

"Cheeky little thing," Remus chuckled as he made his way to his room.

The day consisted almost entirely of naps. In their waking moments, Remus introduced Emma to Star Wars. She quickly fell in love, A New Hope capturing her attention just long enough to keep her awake.

"A lightsaber would be cool," Emma said, her eyes brightening. She rushed off to her room, grabbing her wand and brandishing it like a lightsaber.

"Okay, easy there, Luke," Remus said, pulling Emma's wand out of her hand. "You're going to take someone's eye out."

"Will not," Emma pouted, sitting back on the couch and curling up at the end of the couch. It wasn't long before she fell asleep and Remus joined her shortly after, stretching out on the other side. At one point, Emma had curled up next to him as he read, quickly falling asleep on his chest.

With both of them sufficiently rested, they both took the long walk into the town to find something for dinner. After an intense debate on pizza or Thai, they finally settled on getting Chinese. They camped out in the living room, setting their food up like they always did. Remus played The Empire Strikes Back for them to watch and Emma was drawn in as easily. For a moment, things were exactly how they should have always been.

Emma yawned sleepily as the end credits began to roll. "I feel like Luke," Emma said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Jude's Darth Vader, obviously," Emma said with a shrug. Her grin widened at Remus's shocked look on his face. "It's not true!" She said, trying to put on a pained expression but giggling. "That's impossible! Nooo!"

Remus wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or not, but he couldn't resist Emma's theatrics as she dramatically threw herself on the ground. "Perhaps that wasn't a good movie to show you," he said through his laughter. "I hesitate to show you the last one."

"No! I have to see it!" Emma shouted. "You can't show me two of them and then not let me watch the third one!"

"We'll see," Remus said, beginning to clean up their mess.

Emma began to help Remus clean, but the both stopped as a silvery mass landed right in front of them in the living room. A massive silver Newfoundland sat down on the floor and as its mouth opened, Lyall's voice came out.

"You need to get to St. Mungo's now. There's no time to explain."

The silver creature disappeared, and she looked at Remus, worried by the look on his face.

"What was that?" she asked, looking back at where the dog had just been.

"That was your grandfather's Patronus," Remus said, standing up quickly. "Don't worry about cleaning. We have to go."

It didn't seem fair to Emma that it had been such a wonderful day, and for her mother it wasn't. It wasn't fair that she was dying while Emma got to live.

In an act of defiance, she shakily climbed into the bed with Margaret. In the back of her mind, Emma knew it was going to be the last time she ever could. A dull ache clenched at her heart as she realized she couldn't even remember ever doing this – just being. As a child, she had to have, but she had no recollection. Remus and Lyall didn't comment on it as they went to talk to a Healer, leaving the two alone for a few moments.

Emma lay on her side, propped up on her elbow as she watched the harsh ebb and flow of Margaret's chest as she tried to breathe. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was slightly open as she took in labored breaths. With a deep breath, Emma took Margaret's hand in hers, suppressing a shudder at how cold it felt. Emma snuggled closer to Margaret, resting her head on the pillow next to her mother's head.

"Hi, mum, it's me," Emma started, silently pleading that her mother understood a word she was saying. "I – I really don't know what to say. I wish I knew what to say. I just hope that you know that I love you." Emma pulled her hand from Margaret's to wipe away the tears that had filled her eyes.

"Emma…"

"Mum?" Emma lifted her head slightly to watch Margaret closely, trying to figure out if she had imagined her mother saying her name. The sound was terribly familiar as if she had heard it a million times before, but it was impossible. Margaret had never talked before, and Lyall and Remus had never commented on it happening during a visit.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and she reluctantly pulled her attention from Margaret's face. Emma turned to see Remus motioning for her to get out of the bed, and she frowned. She didn't want to leave.

"Only so that your grandfather has a moment," Remus clarified, and Emma couldn't deny that. Emma studied Margaret for a moment and then kissed her cheek, trying to ignore the coldness of her skin. She was so cold. The moment Emma climbed out of the bed, she enveloped herself in Remus's arms, holding onto him tightly.

Lyall placed a gentle hand on Emma's back as he spoke to Remus, "You should go ahead and sit. We don't know…"

Remus understood and took a seat in the chair next to Margaret's bed, pulling Emma onto his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around her. Emma snuggled into Remus's arms, turning herself so that she didn't have to watch. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and rest her head in the crook of his shoulder. Another ache swept through Emma as she wondered how often she had sat on her mother's lap. Was it often? Did she only do it when she was hurt? She wouldn't ever know. To keep her tears from falling, she closed her eyes tightly and listened to Lyall's quiet speaking.

Lyall was telling a story from when Margaret was younger, chuckling sadly as Remus would add to the story. There was a point where Remus's voice began to waver that made Emma squeeze him tighter. After a while, Remus and Lyall switched places, and Emma held onto Lyall just as tightly.

Listening to Remus was a lot harder than listening to Lyall. While Lyall spoke of old memories, Remus spoke of promises and apologies. Apologies for not making more of an effort to be a better brother and promises to be a much better man for Emma. She didn't understand what Remus meant, but before she could reflect on it too long, Lyall and Remus switched places again.

Emma settled back into Remus's arms as Lyall gave his final goodbyes. She buried her face into Remus's shoulder, trying to keep herself from breaking, but the waiting was the worst part. The anticipation of what she knew would happen was crippling because it shouldn't be happening.

Long after their little curtained bubble had grown quiet, a Healer entered. Emma opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to watch the Healer as she waved her wand to run tests on Margaret. The Healer looked over at Lyall, and Emma immediately understood before she said a word.

"It's only a matter of moments," the Healer said sympathetically. The Healer looked over at Remus but didn't say anything, though Remus understood.

He tucked a piece of Emma's hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head. "Did you want to stay, love? She'll understand if you want to leave."

Emma stared at Remus and frowned, unsure of what she wanted to do. She rest her head on his shoulder and nodded after a moment.

"Are you sure?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Emma nodded again. She wasn't sure that she wanted to stay, but a part of her felt like she needed to stay until the end.

"Okay, sweetheart," Remus whispered, pressing another gentle kiss to the top of her head. "She'll stay," he said to the Healer.

"All right," the witch responded. "I'll be back in a few moments."

The only one that was familiar with sitting vigil was Lyall as he had done it with Hope when she had passed. Remus had been away, and Emma had been missing, and Margaret was precisely where she was now.

A particularly labored breath from Margaret pulled their attention, and this time, Emma was nearly positive that she didn't imagine things.

"Emma…"

Emma let out a breath of disbelief, looking at Remus for confirmation. Seeing his awestruck expression, she turned to Lyall, who looked baffled. Emma shakily slid off Remus's lap and climbed into the bed with Margaret, taking the spot she was in earlier. Without second-guessing herself, Emma took Margaret's hand in hers.

"I'm – I'm here," Emma whispered. "I'm here…"

The curtains moved, and Emma knew that the Healer returned, but she wasn't leaving. She couldn't leave. Emma braced herself, sure that the Healer was going to complain, but Remus stepped in. She wasn't sure what Remus said, but she heard the huff from the Healer as she left.

Emma reached her other hand back, wanting desperately for Remus to hold her hand. She wasn't scared anymore, but she desperately wished her mother could open her eyes or say something else. Her voice was so quiet that Emma couldn't even be sure that she remembered it anymore. She wanted to remember it.

Emma, Emma, Emma. Her mother knew her, she said her name. It made her stomach flip at the thought – her mother knew she was there.

A part of Emma knew when Margaret took her last breath well before it happened. It seemed that Remus knew as well since he gently squeezed her hand, but Emma didn't fight to stay. There was no point in fighting anymore. Margaret was gone.

As she stepped into Remus's arms, she found herself terribly confused. She was sure that she would have felt something – sad, possibly angry, maybe relieved that her mother no longer suffered. But she felt none of those things.

Emma felt nothing.