Emma sat impatiently by the fireplace, waiting for it to light up. Her attention was pulled between the television, the clock, and the fireplace. Persephone had sent another note saying she would be at the house at around five, which was much preferred for Remus. However, the clock had just rolled into nine that evening, and there was no sign of Persephone arriving.
She knew that there was a way to use the Floo to make a call, but she didn't know how to do it. Emma didn't think it was a good idea to try and figure it out without Remus. Though she was okay with being in the cottage by herself, she felt incredibly alone in the house by herself.
With a huff, Emma tried to read one of the many books still lying about. It didn't take long for her to get bored with the pages. Unable to focus for long, Emma tried listening to music, but that didn't catch her attention either.
If Persephone wasn't planning on showing up, Emma didn't understand why she didn't send a note to let her know. She frowned, looking at the fireplace and considered taking the Floo to her grandfathers, but she didn't want to scare Remus, even if she left a note. Plus, he made the point before he left that she wasn't entirely well enough to travel yet. As if her body knew, she yawned. Remus had a point; she was too exhausted to try leaving the house. She didn't need to somehow land in someone else's fireplace.
Frustrated, Emma got up off the couch and went through the motions of checking that the windows were shut, and the doors were locked. She turned the living room lamp off and made sure that the rest of the lights in the house were off. The light of the full moon provided more than enough light in the house. If Persephone showed up, it wasn't as though there were many rooms for her to check for Emma. Persephone could figure out where to go.
The moment Emma stepped into her room, she shivered. The hair on her arms raised and her eyes shot towards her window. Something was wrong. She had never felt as though she was being watched before, but something made her feel uncomfortable. That was silly, though. There were no houses for miles, and no one would be around. It was one of her favorite things about the cottage. All there was were the animals in the woods and the cottage. No one was around to bother them.
Emma shook the feeling off and got changed into her pajamas. She went through the rest of her nightly routine, brushing her hair and putting it up, washing her face, and brushing her teeth. When she stepped back into her room, she closed her door and then double-checked her window just to make sure it was locked. That strange feeling she was being watched was still there, but she blamed it on being by herself. That had to be it. She was nervous about spending the night in the cottage by herself because clearly, Persephone wasn't showing up. A frown crossed her face as she closed her curtains, leaving a small sliver open so that she still had light. She should have done that before getting changed.
She sat down on her bed and stared at her lamp, wondering if she should leave it on. She debated for a few moments and decided that if she was going to wallow in her disappointment, she was going to do it in the dark. Emma turned her lamp off, climbed under the covers, and began to rehearse all of the things she would say to Persephone when she finally saw her. Amongst her grumblings, Emma wished that she had her teddy bear brought home from the school. Having her teddy bear would help get rid of that funny feeling she had.
The more Emma grumbled to herself, the sleepier she became. She refused to sleep, though. Emma told herself she would stay up until Persephone arrived. However, she should have considered that if she closed her eyes, sleep would come far too easy.
Emma stirred as she heard a strange noise in her room. She hadn't realized that she fell asleep, and she mentally cursed herself for it. For a moment, she thought that Persephone had finally arrived, but Persephone wasn't known for being quiet. Her friend would have been very loud upon her arrival, probably knocking into things on accident. There was something different that had gotten her up, but what? She felt a chill go through her body as she began to wake up further, that feeling of being watched felt much stronger.
She felt a breeze brush across the back of her exposed neck, and her eyes shot open. Emma was positive that she had closed her window – she checked it twice. There was no reason why the breeze from outside should be coming into her room. She lifted her head, brow furrowed, to turn her gaze towards the foot of her bed as she felt the mattress dip. Had Remus come back early? That didn't make sense – her door was still closed. Remus would have left the door open if he had come to see her. Lyall would have done the same – it wasn't her grandfather either. Her blood ran cold at the realization.
This was someone else entirely.
Immediately, Emma pulled her legs up and pulled herself away from the figure that was sitting at the end of her bed. She pressed herself up against her headboard, trying to keep herself as small as possible and immediately looked over at her now open window. She was beginning to doubt that she had actually locked it, but she didn't understand. She had checked it. How did they get in?
Emma tried to look at whoever was at the end of her bed, but they were smart. Whoever this person was made sure to be careful to stay out of the light of the moon. The only information she had was the faint outlines of a hulking figure. No matter how hard she tried to get her eyes to focus, she couldn't figure out who this person was.
Gulping, Emma reached carefully for her wand and turned her lamp on. She didn't want to sit in the darkness anymore, and if something was going to happen to her, she wanted to know who it was. The moment the light turned on, Emma wished that she had left the lamp off instead.
Emma was left completely voiceless as her eyes met the amber eyes of the man sitting across from her. He lifted a single clawed finger to his lips, a smile twisting on his scarred face.
"Don't make a noise," the man said, his voice thick and raspy. He turned his gaze towards the window for a moment before fixing Emma with his stare. "Although, I doubt anyone would even hear you out here. Perhaps it would be worth getting a squeal or two out of you."
Before Emma had a chance to react, he leaned forward, ripped Emma's wand out of her hands and tossed it on the floor. She let out a pathetic cry knowing that the only thing she had to defend herself with was her lamp, but she didn't think it would do much. He didn't seem like the sort of man that would be entirely phased by girls like her trying to use a lamp to save themselves.
Breathing hard, Emma held herself close, hugging her knees close to her chest, and took in the man's appearance. He had long dark, matted hair that was held back. His face was covered in dark stubble that was flecked with grey. A thick scar went up the right side of his face, from his cheek to just over his eyebrow, with another smaller scar cutting through his eyebrow. The scars on his face were oddly similar to Remus's but much deeper, and it made Emma wonder why. As much as she wanted to let her mind wander, she couldn't. This wasn't safe, and she needed to be somewhat alert, even if she couldn't do much.
He wore what was once a pair of denim jeans, torn at the knees to be a ragged set of shorts with heavy boots on his feet. The dark button-down that he wore had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and was mostly unbuttoned in the front. His chest was muscular, stretching the shirt tight over his torso, and his arms bore long scars. She allowed her eyes to travel back down, and she noticed his legs were equally as muscular as the rest of his body. Emma wasn't sure there was much of the man that wasn't covered in hair, but she kept her eyes locked on his. She didn't want to look at any more of him than she needed to.
Emma swallowed hard but found her mouth was dry. If she wanted to scream, she wouldn't be able to. He seemed to realize the same because his face twisted in even further amusement. The man was enjoying himself.
"It's such a shame," the man said, inching closer towards Emma. "I would think that Remus would teach you to always triple-check that your windows are locked. Especially since he's left you all alone for me to find." The man's smile was twisted, his pointed, yellowed teeth glistening in the light. "You're a pretty little pup, aren't you?"
"Who are you?" Emma managed to whisper, unable to speak any louder. She tried to back herself away as the man got closer to her, but the only direction she could go was into the corner of her bed and the way. A quiet whine escaped her lips, and it only seemed to make the man surge closer to her as if he liked the noise.
"A friend of your fathers," the man replied, leaning in closer to her. His smile faltered slightly as if he remembered something, but it came back quickly and much broader. Emma wasn't sure if he'd amused himself or if he was amused by her. "A very old friend."
"I don't think a friend of his would sneak into someone's room," Emma said testily, trying to find her voice again. She gasped as the man moved even closer to her, one of his hands gripping her knee.
The man's smile grew impossibly wider as he watched Emma, his eyes studying her face as she tried to keep herself away. It didn't seem there was a part of her that he hadn't looked over thoroughly, and Emma felt terribly exposed.
"Ah, your father and I have a…different kind of friendship. He likes to hide things from me, and I love to find them."
"W-why are y-you here?"
He inched closer, laughing as Emma flinched as he lifted his other hand to bring it close to her face. "I thought I would come and see Remus's little pup with my own eyes. Knowing him, I knew he would try to deprive me of the opportunity to set my eyes on such a pretty little thing again. After all, word travels fast…"
Emma squeaked as the man pressed his hand to her cheek, stroking it gently and running his clawed fingers down her face. His fingers brushed against the curve of her jaw, down the side of her neck, and stopped dangerously at the front of her throat. Another whine escaped her lips, and she turned her face, not wanting to look at the man anymore. He seemed to have other plans as his finger crooked itself underneath her chin, and he turned her face back to look at him.
However, something strange seemed to click in Emma's mind. She recognized his face, but she didn't know his name. His face was almost as familiar as when she saw her grandfather, but at least she had known who he was. Emma couldn't pull up specific memories of this man, but she could see his face, almost like a ghost in her mind. Where had she seen this man before?
"I've seen you before," Emma whispered, her eyes growing wide. Emma wasn't sure why she felt the need to tell the man, but she did. "I know you…"
The man's eyes darkened suddenly beneath his thick brows as he stared into Emma's eyes. His smile faltered slightly, and he drew his face closer to Emma's, gripping her chin tightly in his hand. They were practically nose to nose, and he was much too close for Emma's liking, but she couldn't find it in her to fight. While the man didn't seem entirely displeased that she knew who he was, he didn't look entirely thrilled by it either.
"Well, well," he said with a low growl. "That makes things interesting." His breath was hot and disgusting on Emma's face, but his grip on her chin kept her from moving. He smelled terrible.
"W-what's your name?" she asked. If he was going to do something to her, she felt that she needed to know his name. It didn't make any sense at all, but her mind was racing, and her heart beating in her chest was starting to hurt. She was too scared to try and think sensibly.
To Emma's surprise, there was hesitation from the man as his eyes narrowed. Emma tried her best to maintain eye contact with the man, not wanting to back down and show how terrified she truly was. However, she felt he already knew because his smile barely faded.
"Greyback," the man answered slowly. "Fenrir Greyback." He placed a surprisingly gentle kiss on the top of Emma's nose, and she yelped in surprise, ripping her face out of his slackened grip. Greyback let out a barking laugh at Emma's reaction and turned his gaze quickly to the window with a growl. The moon was slowly finding its way outside of the clouds, and it was almost like he was drawn to the glowing orb. With another growl, he turned his gaze hungrily to Emma as she shrunk into the corner. There was no other word to describe his expression. He looked as though he was ready to devour her.
"There will be no need to tell Remus that I was here. He'll know and understand my message loud and clear," Greyback stood up from her bed, not taking his eyes off of her. An almost pleased sounding grunt left his throat, and it made Emma feel sick. "Pity…I would love so much to enjoy such soft and tender flesh tonight. You're lucky that I need you alive. I'm not sure that I could hold myself back tonight."
Emma watched in horror as Greyback slipped back out of her window. After a few moments, Emma shot up from her bed, ran to her window, and slammed it shut, locking it tightly. Shaking, she closed her curtains, reached down for her wand, and threw herself back into bed. She stared at the window, clutching tightly to her wand as if Greyback was going to come back into her room. It was the chilling howl outside her window that made Emma break down into terrified tears.
No longer feeling safe in her room, Emma ran straight to Remus's room, not bothering to turn off her lamp. She slammed his door shut, crawled under his blankets, and hid in his pillows.
Even though Remus wasn't home, being surrounded by his things and the lingering scent of his cologne made her feel better. Clutching tightly to her wand, she let herself lay down, and as her head touched the pillow, she found herself half-asleep from her nerves. The sun was just starting to peek in through the window above Remus's bed when she finally drifted off. The loud, echoing howl continued to play in her mind over and over and over again.
When Remus arrived home, he knew right away something was wrong. The air smelled different, the noises were all wrong, and the birds that liked to sit in the bushes near the fence weren't singing. He remained frozen at the front door, trying to figure out what was wrong. Remus realized that he heard absolutely no noise from inside the house. As the breeze blew by, he picked up a familiar scent, and his blood ran cold.
Recognition quickly swept through Remus. Greyback had been at the cottage.
"Shit," he hissed to himself, ripping his wand out of the inside pocket of his jacket and unlocking the door. He pushed the door open quickly and stepped cautiously into the house. For the first time, in a long time, Remus was beyond terrified. This was the exact thing he had wanted to avoid, and the fact there was no movement in the house was concerning. He closed the front door, locking it tightly, and looked around.
The living room didn't seem disturbed, and he was worried that he couldn't recognize any signs of Persephone being in the house either. The only signs of life that existed in the house was Emma's open door and the very faint light from her lamp. He moved slowly towards her room, petrified of what he might or might not find. If he was the reason that she was hurt or lost again…he had no idea what he would do with himself. Remus gulped, silently praying that Emma had just slept in and was still in her bed.
When he looked around the corner into her room, his heart dropped out of his chest. Not only was Emma not in her room, but Greyback's scent was strongest in her room. He rushed over to her window, checking it, and was confused when he found it locked.
Remus ran his hands through his hair, becoming frantic that Greyback had taken Emma. Even worse – Greyback had taken Emma the night of the full moon, which meant if they tried to find her, there might not be anything of her to find. He just didn't understand how the window could be locked, but that was just the sort of thing Greyback would know how to do. It wasn't a secret that the werewolf that detested most things magic had no issue using it if he found a need. A frustrated shout let Remus, and he froze as he heard the click of a door opening.
Were they still in the house, and he'd walked into a sick hostage situation, and he missed Greyback's scent elsewhere? Holding his wand out in front of him, he cautiously looked around the corner of Emma's door, nearly dropping to the floor in relief. He leaned heavily against the doorjamb, breathing out and pressing a hand over his heart. He was so much more exhausted now than he was before arriving.
Emma was staring at Remus, tears in her eyes, and looking absolutely terrified. His blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and her wand was held tightly in her hand. She looked as though she wasn't sure if it was really him looking back at her. Her soft and scared whimpers broke Remus's heart.
He quickly crossed the hallway over to Emma, taking her face in his hands and inspecting her carefully.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Remus managed to choke out, turning her face gently to make sure that her face bore no visible marks. Satisfied that her face was untouched, Remus gently unwrapped Emma's fingers from his blanket and let the blanket drop to the floor. He checked her fingers, her hands, and her arms, breathing out a sigh of relief that everything else seemed to be in order. Remus dropped down to his knees in front of her so that he could be level with her. It appeared that she wasn't hurt, which was a complete miracle with Greyback, but she was scared.
"I-I'm fine," Emma whispered, biting her lip to try and keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She dropped her wand on the floor and wrapped her arms around Remus's neck tightly, and finally started to cry. Remus held onto her tightly, never wanting to let go of her for fear of something else happening.
"Where's Persephone? Were you here by yourself?"
"I-I d-don't know," Emma choked out through her sobs. "S-she never s-showed up."
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so, so sorry," Remus said, kissing her cheek and squeezing her tighter as another sob ripped through her body. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. I should've made sure that you were somewhere safe." He rubbed soothing circles into her back, thinking about how every decision he'd made was officially a bad one. He never should have adopted Emma, he never should have left her alone, and he certainly shouldn't have let her back into his life. She would have been much safer anywhere else than with him, but the damage was already done. Remus wasn't sure if he could ever fix things.
If Remus thought his courage was tested earlier in the week, nothing matched up to the fear he felt now. Greyback getting anywhere near Emma was his biggest nightmare next to passing his lycanthropy. He was absolutely disgusted with himself that he let the unimaginable happen in his own home – their home. It was meant to be a place for Emma to feel safe, but now it was tarnished.
He was relieved that Emma wasn't hurt, but the fact that Greyback didn't harm Emma was dangerous. The werewolf wanted something, and whatever it was, Emma was now right in the middle of it. His stomach flipped at the thought – what if Emma was what Greyback wanted and leaving her untouched was a warning to Remus? Remus didn't want to think about it.
Remus locked his arms around Emma and carefully stood up, holding her in his arms as he stepped carefully back into his room. He set Emma down on the edge of his bed and unwrapped her arms from around his neck and knelt back down in front of her. With a frown, he reached up to cup her cheek, guilt settling itself in his stomach as Emma immediately flinched back. Greyback had touched her there, and he could practically see the pattern of his fingers on her skin. He went to touch her knee, but not even that was safe. Not sure of where was safe, Remus dropped his hands to his lap, feeling even more useless than before. Nothing he did was going to be able to comfort her.
"He-he said that you know that he was here," Emma said in a shaking voice. She wiped her tears away, her lower lip trembling as she tried to hold back her tears. "How did he know that?"
"Our relationship…is different," Remus answered carefully. "He shouldn't have come. Did he do anything to you?"
Emma shook her head and curled in on herself as she started to cry again. She lowered herself to the floor to settle in the space between the bed and Remus and wrapped her arms around him, digging her face into his chest and crying softly.
Remus held Emma close, rocking her gently and rubbing soft circles into her back again. It was the only thing that she seemed to feel comfortable with him doing, and he wasn't going to push. As he held her, he realized in horror that he had lived this exact moment as a child, but instead of being the terrified child, he was now the parent. Remus held her a little tighter, burying his face in her hair and ignoring Greyback's scent. This was never how things were supposed to be.
Feeling Emma starting to calm down, Remus leaned back from her. He lifted a hand and carefully brushed away her tears with his thumb, glad that she at least allowed that. Then again, she seemed too tired to even care anymore.
"Oh, my sweet girl," Remus murmured sadly as he really studied her face. "You didn't sleep much at all, did you?"
"No," she said quietly, closing her eyes and trying to hide her face.
Remus sighed as she whimpered again, and he pulled her close. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her. He desperately wanted to promise her that it would never happen again, but he wasn't sure that he could. He would try his best, but he had no idea what Greyback wanted, and that was a terrifying prospect. "You need to get some rest, Little One."
"I'm so tired," Emma whispered back, relaxing into Remus's embrace.
With another sigh, Remus adjusted his hold on Emma so he could pick her up. As he stood, he felt the sting and pull of his muscles stretching and had to still himself for a moment. Emma was light, but his muscles and bones ached. The surge of adrenaline had been able to keep him going, but he was starting to feel the pain again. He had to be strong for Emma, though, and so he pushed through the pain. Remus lowered Emma back down onto the bed to try and lay her down, but she refused to let go.
"Emma, love," Remus whispered, "you have to let go." He was leaned over with one hand on his bed, and the other was supporting her back. The position was painful in his fragile condition, but he didn't dare dream of ripping himself away from Emma with how scared she was.
"I don't want to," Emma muttered into his shoulder.
"I know you don't," Remus said softly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here with you, I promise."
Emma reluctantly let go of Remus and stared at him, taking in his appearance. A frown crossed her face, and Remus could see the gears turning in her head. He looked terrible, and he quickly caught the guilty look on her face. Emma thought it was all her fault, but she didn't know she didn't do a thing.
"I know what you're thinking," Remus said, raising his eyebrows at her. "It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong."
Remus straightened up and stretched, cringing as his joints cracked. He moved out into the hallway to retrieve his blanket and Emma's wand. Remus placed Emma's wand down on his dresser and brought the blanket back to her. She quickly wrapped herself in it and watched him cautiously. He returned to his dresser and searched through a few drawers to find what he was looking for. It wasn't his first choice, but Emma needed a more potent potion to get some sleep.
As he turned around, Emma eyed the small vial in his hand. She recognized that it wasn't an ordinary Sleeping Draught, but she wasn't entirely sure what it was. Emma met his eyes questioningly.
"This is Dreamless Sleep," Remus explained. "It's stronger than a normal Sleeping Draught and does exactly as it says. One of these, and you will wake up from the best sleep of your life." Emma opened her mouth the protest, but Remus quickly shook his head to silence her. "If you take this for me, we can go to your grandfather's later. You haven't had enough sleep in days, and this will help."
The promise of going to Lyall's seemed to placate Emma as she held her hand out for the vial.
"Get yourself comfortable and drink the whole thing," Remus said, opening the vial and handing it to her.
Emma frowned and got herself as comfortable as she could. "You're not leaving?" she asked with trepidation.
"I promise that I'll be right next to you." Still not quite believing him, Emma studied Remus carefully. To try and prove that he wasn't lying to her, he toed off his shoes and took off his jacket and settled in the spot next to her. "I'm not leaving."
With a slight scowl, Emma tipped the vial into her mouth, pulling a face. "Gross," she muttered, settling into the pillows.
"You won't be saying that when you wake up feeling a million times better," Remus said, watching as Emma quickly drifted off with a quiet hum. He watched her for a few minutes, listening to her soft snores, and ran a hand down his face. As much as he wanted to sleep, he had too much he needed to do. He couldn't let something like this happen again.