Hello again, Lu! So glad to find that you made it to the latest chapter. Thank you for your wonderful, wonderful words. I get a little worried when I'm writing as I try to take care in the situations and topics. It's nice to hear that you find it realistic. I can't wait to read your thoughts as many of your questions are answered throughout the rest of year three. Some questions will be answered very soon. :) I appreciate you taking the time to leave another review for me to read!

Even though Remus had lightened up her class load, Emma found herself increasingly exhausted. There was still a week and a half until the full moon and at least four days before she would start to feel its effects, but she was tired. Perhaps it was the amount of sneaking around she was doing. She was getting out to feed Sirius whenever she could, artfully dodging Draco, who had been aggravating her lately and trying to spend time with her friends. Emma still wasn't used to people other than Persephone wanting to do things with her.

Maybe it had something to do with her sitting in the library for hours on end researching laws and comparing court cases as if she were a magical lawyer. She would spend even more time trying to push the ideas out of her head so that she could get some semblance of peace.

Of course, Emma could never forget her frequent nightmares involving Fenrir's snapping teeth that led to her scrambling into Remus's room every night. She felt terrible over it each time, knowing that she was disturbing Remus's sleep as well. Just like with everything else he had to do when it came to her, he never complained. Instead, he would only sigh softly and pull her close, whispering nonsense to her in a mix of Welsh and English that calmed her down to fall asleep again. It just felt as though she couldn't catch a break.

The moment Charms was over, she rushed to the Defense classroom wanting to take a nap during lunch. Remus wouldn't mind in the least, and even if he didn't wake her up, Persephone would come to track her down. She was just grateful that she didn't have to go down to the dorms.

Emma dropped her bag off near the door and shucked off her robe as she crossed the classroom. Remus's office door was open, which meant that he was around, and that was helpful. It meant that she didn't have to leave him a note to wake her up. She was in the process of pulling her jumper over her head as she stepped into the room, not wanting to have too many extra layers. Her blouse would be heavy enough if she asked Remus to add a warming charm to her blanket.

"Hey, Dad. Just thought I'd come by because I –" Emma immediately trailed off the moment her jumper was off and blinked slowly, surprised to see two sets of eyes staring at her. A girl with long blonde hair was sitting in the chair in front of Remus's desk and smiling at her. Emma met Remus's eyes questioningly, unsure of who the girl was. It wasn't uncommon for Remus to have students in his office, but the way the girl was staring at her made her feel odd. It was like the girl was reading her mind.

"Ah, hello, sweetheart," Remus said with a gentle smile. "Come for a kip?"

"Er, yeah," Emma said, looking between Remus and the girl. "Hello…"

The girl continued to stare at Emma with a wide smile but said nothing. Emma stared at Remus, hoping that he could read her mind and explain who the girl was.

"Oh, right, right," Remus said quickly. "Emma, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is my daughter Emma. She's the one I was telling you about."

"Oh, hello, Emma," said the blonde girl, her dreamy smile still on her face. "Are you a werewolf, as well?"

"Uhm," Emma looked just past Luna to look at Remus, who gave a small shrug. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

"Luna figured it out very early on. My secret is safe, don't worry," Remus explained before turning to Luna. "No, Emma isn't a werewolf, but she has been inflicted with the disease to some degree. She experiences some of the effects of the full moon, but she doesn't transform every month like I do."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Luna said, looking over at Remus and then back to Emma, her eyes wide and unblinking. "At least you have someone who understands what you're going through."

Emma scratched her head, completely confused and unsure of whether she was talking to her or to Remus. She clamped her mouth shut and gave Luna a stiff nod with a polite smile. The idea of someone else knowing Remus's secret made her terribly uncomfortable.

"Emma, why don't you come join us?" Remus said, beckoning Emma over to his desk. "I was just about to make tea."

He seemed uncharacteristically unbothered, and Emma was sure that something had happened to Remus. This wasn't her father at all. Someone had taken him and replaced him with whoever this man was.

"Uhm, I was coming back to take a nap," Emma said quietly. "So, I think I might just do that if that's all right."

"Of course," Remus said, standing up and making his way to the wall to reactivate the hidden door. Luna clapped in delight as the door appeared as if it were a magic trick, and Emma shot Remus a look. "I'll be back in a moment, Luna." Remus smiled at Luna as he opened the door and allowed Emma to step in first.

Emma waited for Remus to close the door again before whirling around to look at him. He held his hands up to keep Emma from speaking first.

"I know you're worried," Remus said, "but I can assure you our secret is safe. Even if Luna were to say something, people wouldn't believe her. She's incredibly misunderstood, but she's very smart."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? Dad, the more people who know…"

"Emma, I can assure you – it will not leave the walls of the office." Remus quickly pulled Emma into his arms when he saw her panicked look. He sighed as she held onto him tightly. Remus had noticed that Emma held onto him a little tighter lately as if she was afraid he would disappear. "There are a few other students who have figured it out, unfortunately. Your generation is apparently a lot smarter than mine was. Everyone has been sworn to secrecy, but Luna, in particular, is not someone to worry about. She's a very sweet girl." Remus kissed the top of Emma's head. "In fact, I think the two of you could be good friends."

"Is this a not so subtle dig at me and my friend choices?" Emma asked as she leaned back to look up at Remus. He only smiled but said nothing, and Emma groaned, burying her face into his chest. "Well, aren't you cheeky?"

"That's not it," he said gently. "Luna won't mind me telling you this, but she lost her mother when she was younger. I thought, perhaps, she could be someone you could talk to sometimes. You don't really talk much about your mother, and she would understand. She doesn't have a lot of friends, and the ones she does have, she keeps close."

"So, you're making friends for me, then?"

"I just think you need someone who understands you, and because Luna knows what I am, you could speak freely with her."

Emma sighed, pulling away from Remus and shaking her head. "Maybe next time," she said. "I really would like a nap."

"You look like you need one. You look absolutely exhausted. Did you sleep at all?"

Emma frowned slightly. "I did, but I'm still tired."

"Well, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me since I still find you've made your way into my room most mornings," Remus said with a slight frown. "Emma, there are a few things about Luna you need to know…"

"All right, forget it," Emma groaned in exasperation. "Make the bloody tea, let me go out and talk to her. If she wants to tell me, she can tell me herself." Remus gave Emma a pleased smile as she made her way back to the office. "Git," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that!" Remus said as Emma started to open the door.

"That was the point," Emma said back, stepping through the door and leaving it open. "Hi, Luna."

Luna turned her head slowly to look at Emma, and Emma couldn't help but feel Luna's eyes were far too big for her head. They were large and unblinking, and her expression seemed to maintain an air of being mildly surprised. "Oh, did you decide to join us, Emma?"

"I did," Emma said, taking the empty seat next to Luna in front of Remus's desk. She looked down at the floor, unable to keep eye contact with Luna and immediately frowned. For some reason, Luna was only in socks with no shoes in sight. "Luna, pardon me for being rude, but where are your shoes?"

"Oh," Luna said, looking down at her feet and wiggling her toes. "Well, they seem to have disappeared. People like to take them and hide them from me. I don't mind, it's all in good fun."

Emma looked up at Luna, blinking slowly. That didn't seem fun at all. "People take your things? Why?"

"Well," she shrugged. "I believe that they think me a bit odd, you know."

Emma wasn't sure what could really be odd about Luna. Her first impression of the girl was that she seemed airy, but Emma was sure people could say the same about her. Remus said there were other things that she needed to know about Luna, but what? Was he referencing the fact that people took Luna's shoes? It was something that reminded her of something Jocelyn used to do to her at the children's home. Part of the reason she left Saint Nicholas's with so little was that Jocelyn had taken and hidden some of the few belongings she owned. Did that mean Luna was bullied for being a little different, too? Emma gave herself a moment to try and figure out what Remus was talking about by throwing her jumper back on.

She knew that she should say something to Luna, but she wasn't sure what to say. When Luna pushed her hair back behind her ear, that's when Emma noticed the soft scars on her wrist. Emma nearly let out an audible gasp when she saw them. Luna was just like her. Her head snapped over to Remus the moment he stepped back into the office.

"I took the liberty of preparing them for both of you," he said, giving Emma a questioning look. "I hope I made them both correctly."

Emma looked between Luna and Remus as he set their mugs down on the desk. She cleared her throat and turned to Luna, plastering a smile on her face.

"Luna, I know you came to have tea with my dad, but did you want to take a walk? I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind us taking our tea to go," Emma said with a soft smile. "Er, I can let you borrow a pair of my shoes, too. I think they might fit."

"Oh, you don't have to," Luna said. Emma wasn't sure if Luna was surprised because her eyes were already so wide. "I don't want someone to take your shoes as well."

"No, it's fine. It's terribly chilly out. We're half-way through November, I don't think it would be comfortable walking around in socks."

"Well, I suppose that would be nice. Do you mind us taking our tea with us, Professor Lupin? I imagine your mugs are very well-loved and I don't want to take it out if you'd rather they stay. They look as though they have a wonderful home."

"I don't mind at all," Remus said, giving Emma a fond smile as she rushed back through the door to go to her room.

Emma returned with her well-worn beat-up Converse high tops that now had her last name written along the heels. If anyone dared to take them from Luna, Emma would be the first to know. Lyall would buy her another pair if they really went missing, but she was partial to the pair that she had. She didn't mind sharing with Luna, though. Emma understood all too well what it was like.

"They're a little beat up," Emma said sheepishly as she handed them to Luna. "I hope you don't mind, but…they're my favorite pair. You're welcome to borrow them as long as you need."

Luna smiled as she took Emma's shoes. "They're very you," she said as she carefully put them on her feet.

"They are?"

"They're yellow. You're like the color yellow," Luna said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Like sunshine."

"You know, Luna, I have to say that I agree," Remus said, his terribly fond and loving smile still on his face. "Just like sunshine."

Emma felt her cheeks heat up, and she ducked her head for a moment, reaching a hand up to touch her necklace. She cleared her throat again and reached out for the mug that Remus passed her, and she took a tentative sip. "Oh, you made it perfect. Thanks, Dad." Emma turned to Luna. "Ready to go?"

Luna nodded, taking her mug from Remus and taking a sip. "Wonderful as always, Professor Lupin," Luna smiled.

"Let's go," Emma said with a grin.

"Emma, before you go, may I talk to you for a moment?"

"I'll wait downstairs," Luna said. "Thank you, Professor Lupin. I'll be sure to return the mug."

Remus waited until Luna had made it downstairs before turning to Emma. He wore possibly the proudest and extremely loving look he had ever given her, and she felt herself turn bright red.

"Dad don't look at me like that," Emma said, taking another drink of tea so that she could hide behind her mug. She pointed a finger at him in warning. "And don't start, either."

"Emma," Remus started, walking over to Emma slowly and putting his hands on her shoulders. "You are a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful girl…"

"Daaad," Emma said slowly. "I told you not to do this."

"You have such an incredibly kind heart…"

"Dad!"

"You're brilliant…"

"Oh, Merlin…"

"If there were more people like you, this world would be a much better place…"

"Are you done?"

"And I am so incredibly proud of who you are." Remus leaned down and kissed the top of Emma's head. "I am the luckiest man in the world because I get to call you my daughter."

"And you are an incredible sap," Emma said, pulling herself from Remus's grip. She couldn't mask her pleased smile as she left, though. She cleared the corner of the office door but immediately popped her head back in to give Remus a beaming smile. "I'm the luckier one, by the way, because I get to call you my father."

Remus sighed as he listened to the girls talking as they left the classroom to wherever they decided to go. He had caught on early to Luna's struggles and frequently had her visit for tea. Remus had no idea why he had waited so long to try and bring the girls together because their stories were similar enough. He had been alarmed when Luna had brought up his lycanthropy during tea one day, but she wasn't bothered in the least. Remus didn't like other people knowing, but she was far from the first.

For the first time in a long time, Remus found himself not worried about letting Emma leave the confines of their shared space. Emma's shyness would be easily overcome by Luna's easygoing nature, and they could find solace in each other, he was sure of it.

No longer having anything to do or people to entertain, Remus had no idea what to do with himself. He'd been able to catch up on most of his grading as Emma mellowed out, and his lesson plans were set until the winter holiday. So much of his time had been devoted to Emma, to his work, to his colleagues, and to his students that Remus wasn't sure how to handle himself. He could honestly say that he enjoyed nearly every moment, but he wasn't used to being by himself with nothing to do anymore.

He made his way to the living room, took a look around, and picked up the first book he found with a smile. If no one was there to see him picking up his now extremely worn copy of Fellowship of the Ring, a book that now evoked extremely fond memories, it never happened.

Remus settled himself on the couch, stretching out with a groan. He was just as exhausted as Emma was. He smirked at the fact he didn't take off his shoes, much like Emma, and began to read.

On the other side of the castle, Emma and Luna had found their way onto the grounds. Emma and Luna had somehow gotten onto the topic of the Thestrals, and Luna thought it would be a good idea to visit them. Luna mentioned that she frequently went out to see the Thestrals out at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Emma was surprised to find that they ran wild, but she supposed it made sense. Most of the student body couldn't see them, so it wouldn't be fair to keep them in a paddock.

"The Thestrals are really sweet," Luna said, gently petting one of the strange horse-like heads in front of her.

Emma looked over at Luna, her brow furrowed slightly before doing the same. Remus mentioned that Luna's mother had passed, but it didn't occur to her that Luna would have seen it happen. Instead of asking, Emma turned to the Thestral in front of her and ran a tentative hand over its face. She had to agree that they were rather sweet. They were strange, but they were adorable. If they got to work with creatures such as the Thestrals in Care of Magical Creatures instead of Flobberworms, the class would be a lot better.

"Professor Lupin said it was your mother who passed?" Luna asked softly.

"Yeah," Emma said quietly, glancing over at Luna, who kept her attention on the Thestral. "Just this past April. It wasn't unexpected, I think they wanted me to leave so I didn't have to watch her die, but it didn't seem right. She gave birth to me and was there for my first moments; it was only fair that I was there for her last. I just wish I would have gotten the chance to know her, you know?"

Emma tried to be subtle about rubbing the tears out of her eyes. She hadn't ever even talked about any of this with Remus. They had spent so much time yelling at each other over different things that normal conversation had been impossible. Instead, they grieved in private, processing Margaret's death on their own time, only just barely coming together. The moment had simultaneously brought them closer and torn them apart. Then again, Emma had done an excellent job of pulling the two of them apart several times herself.

"My mum, too," Luna said softly. "I was nine. She was experimenting with a spell, she did that rather often, but it went bad. I think a part of me knew that that was how she would go. I like to think that her final moments were happy because she died doing something she loved."

"I'm sorry," Emma said quietly. "That had to have been terrible to see."

"It was scary, but I've still got my father," Luna said serenely. "We have each other, and it was hard for a while, but we take care of each other."

Emma nodded in understanding. Remus was the one who did most of the caring, but that was well before she knew the truth. Now that she knew, she wanted to do whatever she could to help Remus as well. They needed to figure out how to take care of each other, too.

"You know, I see you have a lot of Wrackspurts around you," Luna said.

"Wrackspurts?" Emma asked curiously. "What are those?"

"They're invisible creatures. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy," Luna said, walking over to the tree stump she had set her cup of tea on. She began to bat at the air surrounding her with her hands as if small bugs were surrounding her. "You always have them, I've noticed. They've been going away, though. Sometimes they come back when you're around George Weasley or Draco Malfoy, and you get a little funny. But when you're with Professor Lupin, they go away entirely."

Emma stared at Luna curiously, unsure of what to make of that. She had no idea that Luna had even paid attention to her at all when she'd never noticed the girl before. At first, she had been annoyed with Remus for trying to make friends for her, but she was finding Luna more and more enjoyable. Emma didn't understand half of what she was saying, but somehow it all made perfect sense. "Luna, if Wrackspurts are invisible, how can you see them?"

Luna smiled at Emma, almost mysteriously. "I just know." Luna tilted her head as her gaze turned to peer past Emma. "Oh, it looks like someone's come to see you."

"Who?" Emma asked, turning to see Padfoot watching curiously. "Oh, that's who. Come over here, Snuffles. She's all right."

Padfoot looked between Emma and Luna before slinking over slowly, his head low. He sat dutifully next to Emma, his tail wagging lazily, and Emma snorted. She couldn't believe that Padfoot had come over as if he were her pet dog.

"Luna, come say hello to Snuffles," Emma said, crouching down next to Padfoot and rolling her eyes as he licked her face. She had given up on finding it weird and just accepted it. She had a werewolf for a father; nothing could be stranger than that. "He seems scarier than he is with how big he is."

Luna smiled, set her cup back down, and approached them, bending low. "Hello Snuffles," Luna said, holding her hand out and smiling as Padfoot placed his paw in her outstretched hand. "It's very nice to meet you. I rather like your name. My name is Luna." With introductions made, Padfoot stood up and began to prance around Luna with happy yips, clearly wanting to show off.

"In case you haven't noticed, Snuffles can be rather playful," Emma said, unable to keep herself from smiling. "He's a bit of a show-off. He's done that for me several times." Emma could vaguely remember something from long ago where he had done something similar for her. Perhaps she had even ridden on his back as he pranced around, almost like he was a show horse. The thoughts coming to her mind were terribly fuzzy, and she wasn't sure if she was making them up. She would have to ask Sirius the next time she saw him.

Emma stood back up and returned to the Thestral she had been petting just to watch. She ran a hand over its side, still unsure if its skin was velvety or scaley because it looked like both in the daylight. Watching Padfoot with Luna was rather sweet, but then Padfoot turned to look at Emma curiously. He cocked his head to the side in question.

"Yes, I can see the Thestrals, Snuffles. Mum, you know," she said quietly. Immediately Padfoot returned to her and jumped up on his back two legs putting his front paws on her shoulders. Emma couldn't hold back her snort – he was as tall as his human-sized self when he stood up on his back legs. She reached up to scratch his back and shook her head. "You didn't have to give me a hug, you know. It's hard, but I see them because I've accepted it. Besides, the Thestrals aren't as scary now that I've really looked at them. They're rather pretty, actually."

"Oh," Luna said suddenly, her hands flying to her mouth to cover it. "The Wrackspurts around you are gone again! How lovely!"

Emma looked over at Luna, gently pushing Padfoot's face away before he could try to plant another kiss on her cheek. "They are?" Emma asked, wishing she understood what exactly a Wrackspurt was. Perhaps Remus would know.

Much like how their conversation had gone, Luna suddenly switched tangents. "You know, my mum always said that the things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the ways we expect."

A small frown crossed her face as she turned to look into the grey eyes that were staring back at her. Was Luna letting on more than she knew, or was it a general statement? She had been starting to feel as though she was missing something about Sirius, but she didn't understand what. Emma had found it increasingly curious that Sirius seemed to always remind her that he loved her when he could. What did it all mean?

Sirius was almost like her shadow while on the grounds. Even if he didn't approach her, she knew that he was watching, almost as if he was trying to keep her safe when Remus was busy. Sirius watched her in the same protective way that Remus always did. It was curious, and she was sure that there had to be something more to her story with Sirius.

"Luna, does my dad have Wrackspurts, too?" Emma asked, giving Padfoot another head scratch before gently pushing him off of her.

"Oh, yes. Fairly often, but they go away when he's with you, too."

Emma looked down at Padfoot, who still continued to stare back at her. She turned to look at Luna, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. Wrackspurts had to mean something else; they couldn't be real.

"Can animals get Wrackspurts?"

"Oh, of course," Luna said with a nod. "Anyone can get Wrackspurts."

"Does Snuffles have Wrackspurts, too?"

"He did when he was sitting over there," Luna said, pointing towards a spot in the forest. "But just like Professor Lupin, they went away around you."

That had to mean that Wrackspurts stood for something else, but what did they symbolize? Emma tried to run through the few things that Luna told her about the invisible creatures. If her Wrackspurts went away around Remus, and his Wrackspurts went away around her, what did that mean? Even more curious, the same thing happened with her and Sirius together? But Luna said that she had Wrackspurts around George and Draco.

"Luna, do I get Wrackspurts around anyone else?"

"You get a lot of Wrackspurts around Persephone," she said, looking almost nervous. "I would suggest moving your hand around to keep them away."

Emma grinned at Luna's advice and felt she was starting to understand. Perhaps Wrackspurts were meant to be a sort of metaphor for love? She did still get butterflies around Persephone, and she certainly got them around Draco. Emma even had to admit that she sometimes got them around George. However, Emma was a little stuck on the fact that the Wrackspurts seemed to go away around Remus and Sirius. Perhaps it didn't stand for love, though if the Wrackspurts went away. She would have to think about it more. Emma had a suspicion that Remus had thoughts on the matter, and she was curious to see what he had to say.

She turned to look back at Padfoot and crouched down, petting his head gently. His tail was swishing behind him as he looked at her. If Sirius's supposed Wrackspurts went away around her, then Emma was really missing something. With a sigh, she leaned forward to kiss Padfoot's nose, an action that made his tail wag faster.

"You know, Luna, I think your mum was right," Emma said softly.