A/N: see bottom of chapter for notes

Emma didn't mind having to fulfill social obligations, but this was the one time she wished she would have just left. Every part of her knew that she should get up and just go straight to the castle, but she didn't. She was stressed and confused, and her head was spinning with everything that Fenrir had said. None of it made sense, and it only made her realize how much she didn't know about her own past. The idea of not actually remembering a decade of her life was terrifying. It made no sense, but Fenrir had a point. What did that potion from the children's home do to her?

Did she know Fenrir more than she thought? Was there truth to her knowing Remus over the years? Was Remus truly correct in feeling as though he was hers – a small fact that was confirmed by Fenrir himself? Was anyone telling her the truth anymore? It was evident that she couldn't even trust her own thoughts anymore, so what was she meant to believe?

She was mostly quiet during lunch with Ellis and Persephone. Emma only spoke to order her food that remained untouched and to answer questions she didn't care about. Emma continually ran her hand over the spot Fenrir's teeth had been, only half-listening to what Ellis was saying. It might have been some business with the Ministry he was discussing, but Emma wasn't sure. She wasn't really paying attention.

"How's Remus handling the news of Sirius being out of Azkaban?" Ellis suddenly asked Emma. "I'm afraid Remus and I didn't get to chat much before you girls left for school."

Emma met Ellis's gaze with wide eyes. She glanced over at Persephone, who was looking at her questioningly and then returned her attention to Ellis with a shrug. "I mean, he's taking it as well as he can, I imagine. We don't really talk about Sirius, so I wouldn't know."

Ellis nodded slowly, picking up his glass of whiskey. "I suppose that would make sense. I imagine he must be hurt, though. They were a popular couple when we were in school. It's such a shame what happened."

"My dad and Sirius were together?"

Ellis froze, his glass nearly at his lips. "You didn't know?"

Emma shook her head. "No," she said quietly, finding herself even more confused. Why was she learning information from every other person besides Remus? Certain things she could understand, but learning he was with Sirius should have come from him. "I had no idea. I knew he was with someone while at Hogwarts, but I wasn't aware that it was Sirius."

"Well, that's incredibly embarrassing," Ellis said, taking a drink and not looking embarrassed at all.

Emma's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Ellis. She had never seen Ellis seem anything less than caring, but this was a different man. It was almost like he was distant, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. There was an air around him that reminded her almost of the memories she had with Jude, but perhaps that made sense. They were friends, after all. Emma decided to blame it on the alcohol. She had never seen him drink anything more than wine at dinner.

"Em, you haven't eaten anything," Persephone said, breaking up the silence.

"Not really hungry," Emma said quietly, looking down at her uneaten sandwich in front of her. She lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck, only looking up as Persephone gasped.

"Emma, why are you bleeding?"

"What?"

"Y-your wrist. Em, you weren't…not again?"

Emma stared at Persephone for a moment before looking at her wrist with an almost choked breath. She had been running on pure adrenaline the entire time that she didn't realize that Fenrir had managed to cut into her skin. Emma blanched, looking at the cut that ran up the inside of her wrist. With absolute horror, Emma realized it had to have been when Fenrir snapped the bracelet off of her wrist. She was too focused on trying to get out from underneath him that she wasn't paying attention. Now that she was aware of it, she could feel the burning itch of her skin.

"N-no, it's not that," Emma stammered, covering her wrist up quickly. She started to gather her things, almost frantic. "I need to go. I never should have come here."

"Emma, what happened? What is that cut from?"

Emma froze, looking at Persephone, her coat half put back on. "That is from Fenrir Greyback," Emma said slowly. "Which is precisely why I was trying to get to the castle in the first place."

Ellis choked on the last of his drink. "What did you just say?"

"Before you grabbed me an insisted that whatever I had to do could wait, I was trying to get to the castle to tell my Dad that Fenrir was here," Emma snapped.

Persephone looked over at her father, looking nervous. "Dad," she said quickly, grabbing onto his arm.

"Go," Ellis said, waving Emma off. "Had I realized – shit. I have to leave. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I tried, sir," Emma said dryly as she tugged the rest of her coat on. "If you had given me a chance to talk, I would have told you that it couldn't." A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped, not expecting it at all. She turned quickly to shoot whoever it was a glare and felt herself relax at the realization it was only Remus. However, he wasn't alone. Elara stood just off to the side of him, looking relieved.

Remus gave Emma a quick once over before turning to Ellis with a polite expression. It was a testament to Remus's self-control that he could manage to make himself look so calm.

"Ellis, I didn't know that you would be here today," Remus said, his tone clipped. "If you had sent an owl, I would have come to join you."

"I thought I would come and spend some time with my daughter," Ellis said, standing up and pulling on his cloak. "However, it now appears that I need to make a stop at the Ministry. I doubt they'll be too thrilled to hear that Greyback was here."

Remus's grip on Emma's shoulder tightened as he pulled her back into his side. "I agree," Remus said tightly. "Persephone, were you planning on staying longer? You're welcome to come back with us."

Persephone looked between her father and Remus, nervously. "I was planning on staying," she said quietly, standing up and pulling on her cloak. She looked over at Emma. "Em, were you –"

"She'll be coming back to the castle," Remus answered, pulling Emma a little tighter to his side. He gave Ellis a terse nod and started to steer Emma towards the exit.

"Emma," Persephone called out. Emma turned herself to look at Persephone curiously, trying to read her expression. Persephone looked over at Elara for a moment, giving her a small grin when she realized who it was and then turned back to Emma. "I'm sorry…" Emma stared at Persephone for a moment before nodding, tucking herself back into Remus's side.

DotM*DotM*DotM

Emma couldn't remember the last time she sat on the floor in front of the fire just to watch the flames and think. She was leaning back against the coffee table, a cup of tea held in her left hand, staring as the crackling fire licked the air. It felt like she had the longest day ever, and she was equal parts awake and exhausted.

The moment they stepped foot back into the castle, it felt like things moved incredibly fast. Remus immediately pulled Emma into a side room off the Great Hall that she felt had too many people. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, and Pomfrey were standing waiting for their arrival. Pomfrey had immediately swooped in, but Elara politely had the woman step aside so that she could assess Emma herself.

It was a sheer miracle that the only wound Emma had was the single cut on her wrist, which Elara delicately healed with Dittany. As an afterthought, she rubbed powdered silver gently into the cut that only half-healed.

"I thought powdered silver was only for bites," Emma had said shakily as she watched Elara work.

"If this were any other werewolf, I wouldn't have bothered," Elara answered her softly. "I'm not taking any chances with you."

Elara had gone slightly pale when she noticed the red marks on Emma's neck but was quick to mask her horror. Remus, on the other hand, was not. Despite being across the room talking to Dumbledore, his wide eyes were fixed on the spot Fenrir's teeth had been. The only thing that broke Remus's intense stare was Emma shoving her hand over the area, but it was too late. She knew he was imagining the possibility.

"Is it bad?" Emma whispered to Elara in concern.

Elara shook her head. "No, but you can see what he was trying to do," she answered back with a sigh as she glanced over at Remus. "It'll fade by tonight."

With Elara's job complete, Emma had to tell everyone the story of what happened. It was near impossible for Emma to get through retelling her encounter. After several panic attacks in a row, Pomfrey gave Emma a Calming Draught. With Remus's arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders and Elara holding her hand, Emma was finally able to explain what happened. There were a few spots where the adults all looked at each other in obvious concern, but by the time Emma reached the end, they looked ill. Emma was careful not to mention Sirius – he wasn't a big part of the situation and didn't need to be brought up.

The room was quiet, except for Emma's sniffles. Remus pulled her a little tighter into his side, gently rubbing her arm as he passed silent messages with Dumbledore with his eyes.

"I think that we need to start back at the beginning to find the answers that we are looking for," Dumbledore eventually said. "Thank you for being brave enough to tell us what happened today. I think, for now, you deserve some rest."

With Remus's gentle urging, he managed to convince Emma to go upstairs with Elara so that he could speak with Dumbledore and the others. She didn't want to leave Remus's side, but she desperately wanted to take a shower and change. Emma quickly learned that she didn't mind Elara's presence at all. Elara was calm, and she seemed to know the things that Emma desperately needed. To Emma's embarrassment, Elara didn't even care that she fell asleep on her. She had already felt terrible that Remus Floo called Elara to meet him in the village on her day off to try and track her down but falling asleep felt worse. Emma had become relaxed by Elara brushing her hair out after her shower and her aimless storytelling, but Elara honestly didn't care. Emma had to admit that she was sad to see Elara leave when Remus finally returned hours later.

Things had fallen silent with Elara gone, both Emma and Remus trying to process the day on their own terms. Dinner was quiet, they were quiet, everything was still and calm – relaxed as they navigated towards the point they would finally talk. Emma had been sitting on the couch, staring at the same page of her book, when Remus approached her with a cup of tea. She took it with a half-hearted smile and had moved from the couch to the floor as Remus departed, lighting the fire as he left.

Emma was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't aware of Remus's return.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her back into the present. Emma noticed that he was already sitting down, which meant he'd been there for a while. His lips pressed into a thin line. His expression was sympathetic as he lifted his hand to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"About as well as one would feel after dealing with Fenrir," Emma said, giving Remus a small smile. She returned her gaze to the fire, rubbing her neck for what felt like the millionth time. It was almost a compulsion to run her fingers over the ghosts of where Fenrir's teeth were. Emma lifted her cup of tea to her lips, froze upon seeing the silver-filled scratch, and placed her cup down on the floor in front of her. "I can't figure out if I'm relieved or bothered knowing that he's truly never going to stop coming for me."

"I'm bothered by it," Remus said, picking up Emma's cup of tea and taking a drink.

Emma snorted, turning her wrist to watch the subtle shine of the silver in the light of the fire. Elara had decided to mix powdered silver with Murtlap essence instead of Dittany before leaving just to soothe the burning, and the silver still shined. Elara refused to take any chances. "Would you say this is my first battle scar? Or are all of my self-inflicted scars my first?"

Remus looked at Emma in disbelief. "You're joking."

"Nope," Emma said, looking up at Remus, her lips twitching slightly. "I think I'm going to say this one's my first. I think saying I was attacked by a werewolf sounds much better than saying I was depressed."

"Only you could somehow find a way to try and turn the situation around."

"Well, it's certainly better than the alternative, yes?" Emma took her cup of tea from Remus's hands to take another sip and handed it back. "When did we start sharing things like this, anyway?"

"Back in June when it didn't really matter anymore," Remus sighed. "I'd already infected you by that point. There wasn't much use in worrying anymore."

"Right," Emma said with a small nod. Her breath caught as all of her emotions started to catch up to her again. "Today was really scary…"

Remus set the cup of tea aside so that he could envelop Emma in his arms and hold her close. "I know, baby girl," Remus whispered into her hair. "I've got you. You're safe right here with me."

"I don't know what I did to deserve this," Emma whispered, her voice breaking.

Every time Remus thought Emma couldn't break his heart any further, she managed to find something else that would destroy him. He was sad, and he was angry, and he was absolutely terrified for her. It wasn't fair that she was brought into a situation she had no choice in, and he had to figure out how to stop it before it escalated.

"Nothing. You did absolutely nothing – none of this is your fault."

"It feels like it is."

"This is the work of two incredibly sick men. This is not your fault."

Emma sighed, wrapping her fingers into the fabric of Remus's jumper. "They're monsters…"

Remus shifted Emma a little closer, resting his chin on top of her head. "They are." He couldn't stop himself from squeezing Emma tightly. "I didn't know that I could be so terrified in my life. I could have lost you again today. If I'm going to be honest, I never want to let you go again."

"Then don't," Emma said quietly, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I don't understand how so much he said made sense and yet didn't. I don't know how I feel about the possibilities…"

"Which is why we're starting right back where we started – all the way back at the beginning. For Fenrir to know so much, we're missing something from when you went missing, but we're not sure what."

"Does that mean there's a possibility he was telling the truth?"

There was a long pause before Remus finally answered, his voice thick with emotion, "I think it all was."

Emma leaned back so that she could look up at Remus. "Which means we've always known each other, then? But how? Wouldn't you have known it was me if you saw me?"

"Do you remember when I told you that I wasn't a good person?"

"Which I don't believe one bit, still," Emma said earnestly. "I told you, you were hurting yourself in a different way. I still stand by that."

"That is because you think far too highly of me," Remus said, leaning down to kiss Emma's forehead. "The problem, at least on my part, is that I'm not sure I would have recognized you. Nearly that entire time was spent in a haze because I couldn't cope. I only functioned enough to get through whatever job I had at the time, but…" Remus trailed off, swallowing hard. "I don't know that I would have ever recognized you because I could barely recognize myself."

Emma sighed, snuggling back up against Remus. "I would hope that I would have at least recognized you," she said quietly. "But I truly don't. It's not like with Grandpa, where I immediately knew him because I remembered him. With you, I knew that I knew you somehow, but I had no real recollection. It was the same feeling the first time I saw Fenrir."

"Do you think you recognized Fenrir because of your nightmares?"

"No, I don't think so," Emma said. "His face never started showing up until I saw him, and that was when my nightmares changed, though they always took place in the same meadow." Emma trailed off thoughtfully, slowly piecing things together. "Daddy, when Elara and I were talking earlier, she mentioned that she was with Fenrir's pack for a while. Was that where you met her?"

"No," Remus sighed. "I met her in another pack, but she made her way to Fenrir's pack later on."

Emma ran through her thoughts some more and rubbed her forehead as she felt a headache start. "Was Montgomery even real?"

Remus tensed up at the mention of Montgomery. "He was very real."

"I get the feeling you don't want to tell me about the story behind him," Emma said quietly.

"Because I don't. Fenrir brought it up because he wanted you to see me differently and have you ask," Remus admitted.

"Why?"

"Because Fenrir wasn't entirely at fault for Montgomery's death."

"He wanted you to be the one to do it," Emma said after a beat. "Is that why you don't want to tell me?" When Remus didn't immediately answer, she knew that was precisely why he didn't want to say anything. It made her a little nervous that Remus could genuinely be capable of such a thing. She only knew him as he was with her – gentle, kind, and very loving. Emma couldn't imagine the possibility of him killing someone, but she still had a lot to learn about him. "You don't have to give me details," she added quietly.

Remus carefully separated himself from Emma and pulled his knees up, hugging them to his chest. "I did terrible things to people during the war just so I could survive. I tried to avoid it whenever I could, but Fenrir's pack was brutal during that time. Everyone was on edge, not sure of what was going to happen next, and everyone was angry all the time. Some days could be harmonious, but Fenrir liked to encourage fighting to weed out the weak members. Not even the few women and children were safe… I only benefited because Fenrir, well…you know that he had a specific interest in me.

"Montgomery had only been attacked a few months prior, and he was always fighting with someone. He was confused, and even though I tried to convince him otherwise, he was determined to follow Voldemort to the end. One day, Montgomery completely disappeared, and when he returned, it was with Fenrir – beaten and bloody beyond belief. Fenrir's only explanation was that he had harmed one of the children in the pack, but no one knew which child as everyone was accounted for. Of course, no one was going to ask more. Fenrir was…he was angry. It was better to just accept his word.

"I never expected him to demand that I be the one to kill Montgomery. I had no issue with Montgomery, that I knew of then, and didn't feel comfortable doing it. But I had a mission to try and complete; it wouldn't have done me any good to deny Fenrir. I knew he was testing my loyalty to him, something that would have given me additional privileges and a chance to overthrow his power. But…"

"You couldn't do it," Emma said quietly.

Remus shook his head. "I couldn't do it. I paid for it dearly, but I couldn't."

"Did you ever actually kill anyone?"

"No, never."

Emma hummed quietly to herself in thought. She was tempted to ask Remus if he ever used the Cruciatus on someone, but she didn't want to know. "So, do you think it was Montgomery and not Fenrir, then? With me?"

"After what you said, I have almost no doubt it was Montgomery who hurt you," Remus said, glancing at Emma. "As much as it pains me to admit, Fenrir has a sense of decorum with his pack, especially with the children. That's not to say that he wasn't cruel, as he often was, but he would take care of the younger children as if they were his own. I wouldn't have put it past him to be the one to hurt you, but you certainly would have been far too young for him to have considered it. I'm not too sure how I feel about it – it doesn't make it any better."

"I'm not sure that Fenrir and decorum belong in the same sentence," Emma said, scrunching up her face. "It partially fits the few things that I do remember."

"And that's why we're starting back at the beginning."

"What if that's the wrong move, though?" Emma said thoughtfully. "You know how you told me in class one day that perhaps I need to read things backward to understand? What if that's what we should all be doing?"

Remus looked at Emma with a glimmer in his eye. "And here I thought you didn't pay attention in my class," he said with a slight smile.

Emma grinned back and gave him a playful shove. "Don't be stupid," Emma said quietly. "I've looked in your grade book. I know I'm tied with Hermione."

"You've gone into my things?"

A flush crept up Emma's cheeks, and she giggled. "I would never do such a thing," she said.

"Merlin, you are my child," Remus said with a chuckle. "It's the exact sort of thing I would have done if I were you."

"That's because you were an absolute swot."

"Do I need to repeat what I just said? You are my child, fy nghariad bach."

"I am not a swot!" Emma said indignantly. She let out a huff and looked down at her hands, playing with her fingers. "I'm not much of anything…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I don't know anything about myself and everything I thought I knew. I told myself that if I ever saw Fenrir again, I would fight him, but I did the exact opposite. I froze."

Remus stretched his legs back out and pulled Emma back under his arm. "Are you really not aware of how incredibly brave you were today? Cariad, I know it didn't seem like it, but you stood your ground and did more than what most would do in your situation."

"I floundered!"

"You fought. It might not have been much, but you dared to try and do something."

"I wish I could see it the way you see it."

"Emma, Fenrir is much larger than you and caught you by surprise. You're fourteen, and I think you forget that sometimes. It's not fair to blame yourself when most grown adults wouldn't even know what to do. You are the bravest little badger I have ever met in my life."

Emma snuggled into Remus's side with a frown. "I think you think too highly of me."

"I think too highly of my daughter?" Remus said with mock offense. "There's no such thing."

"At least one positive came out of today," Emma said with a yawn.

"What's that?"

"You were right about me being yours." A sleepy smile crossed Emma's face as another yawn took over. "Not sure that I particularly like who the endorsement came from, but...I think that was the only thing I truly believed right away from him."

"I just wish I understood how," Remus said. "I love the idea of you being mine, but I don't understand the circumstances. I desperately wished I could ask your mother."

"Work backward, like you've told me to do. At least I can help with anything recent."

As yet another yawn escaped Emma's lips, Remus chuckled. "Perhaps it's time for bed for you, Little One."

"I'm not that little," Emma grumbled, throwing her arms around Remus and snuggling as close as she could possibly get. She wasn't leaving until she felt like it. "Besides, I'm not done talking to you."

"Can it wait until the morning? You know the full is tomorrow night, and we both need rest to get through the day."

"No, it can't wait," Emma said with a huff. "There are two more things I want to talk about tonight."

Remus sighed, kissing the top of Emma's head. "What's the first thing?"

"Something Fenrir said that I didn't understand. He said that if you accepted me as yours, it would change things. What did he mean by that?"

"Ah," Remus said in understanding, almost nervously. "Because it does to some degree. It involves some bizarre magic that isn't covered in books since only werewolves would know about it. It's a little difficult to explain, so I need to show you. Hold out your hand."

Emma pulled back from Remus to look up at him curiously, but she held her hand out. She watched as Remus laced his fingers through hers, pressing their palms together.

"Do you see how our hands are connected? This is how close I felt to you the first time I held you. That moment created a connection that I wasn't even aware existed. I heard stories from other werewolves – parents – who spoke of a connection with their children, but I didn't believe it. I just thought it was something that all parents say, but the connection I have with you feels almost tangible like this. It's the strongest when we're together, but the moment I realized I saw you as mine, our connection has always felt like this."

Remus pulled his hand away so that their palms were no longer touching, but their fingers were still laced together. "When we're separated, to some degree, this is how I know that you are still all right. We're still connected, even though we're apart. I don't know how you're feeling, of course, but we're connected. This was how it immediately felt when I saw you for the first time all over again. It like a loose string being tightened after being slack for so long."

A sigh escaped Remus's lips as he pulled his hand further away so that only the tips of their fingers were touching. "And for the entire time you were missing, this was how my connection to you felt. We were connected, but we weren't. Some days, it was the only thing that kept me going because I knew wherever you were, you were at least alive. Sometimes the connection would disappear completely, and it broke me. But then it would come back, and I would know you were okay again. Some days it would be even stronger than others for no reason at all."

"I think to some degree I've always felt that," Emma said quietly, lacing their fingers back together and studying their joined hands. "Not as strong as you feel it, I imagine, but I think I know what you mean. Is it like that with anyone else?"

"The people I'm closest to, yes, but you especially so. As ridiculous as it sounds, I'll have to use Fenrir's phrasing, but it's…it's like we're our own little pack. It's…it's a very possessive trait to have, and I hate it. And the reasoning Fenrir finds it fascinating is worse."

"Why?"

"Because, if it came down to it and he truly challenged me, I would…" Remus trailed off, clearing his throat.

"You would what?" Emma asked quietly, slightly worried over what Remus could possibly mean.

"Is it all right if we talk about this another time? It's too close to the full, and if I think about it too much…"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emma said, feeling her face heat up. "I understand."

"Don't apologize," Remus said softly. "Any other time I would be, well, I don't want to say I'd be fine as I don't really like to talk about it, but…"

"You don't have to explain it to me if you don't want to," Emma said, glancing up at Remus. "I know you don't like talking about it." Emma took a deep breath, pulling her hand from Remus's. "Everything is going to change again, isn't it?"

"It's all to keep you safe, cariad. I'm not letting anything happen to you – ever. Besides, the good news for you is I've completely given up on the bracelet to keep track of you. For the most part, it's been completely useless."

"Except to bother me in the astronomy tower?" Emma asked with a slight smile.

"Which you weren't supposed to be in, might I add," Remus said. "But I do suppose that I deserved it," he added softly.

"Another victory for Emma Lupin," Emma said with a grin. "I love it when you admit that I'm right."

"Yes, and you seem to remind me of every time you're right whenever you can. But I'm sure that wasn't the second thing you wanted to talk about."

Emma looked up at Remus, suddenly nervous, and sat up straight. She looked down at the floor and began to trace aimless patterns with her finger, watching the invisible shapes she made. Emma wasn't entirely sure she could look at Remus for her next question. "It's something that Ellis brought up, actually."

"Oh?" Remus said, intrigued. "And what did Ellis bring up?"

"He…uhm," Emma dared to look over at Remus, "he said that you and Sirius were together."

Remus's expression was closed-off as he stared back at Emma, his jaw clenching slightly. His posture was tense for a moment before his shoulders slumped, and he hung his head, a disbelieving smile crossing his face.

"It appears that it's impossible for me to tell you things on my own time," he murmured.

"It's true?"

"Yes," Remus whispered in response.

Emma wasn't sure that she could process any more information. She was just glad that Remus admitted to being with Sirius because Remus still often deflected the things he didn't want to talk about. However, his admission made things quickly fit into place, and it was adding to her overwhelm.

Her musings of what Sirius was to her had been floating around her thoughts after talking to Luna. There was something more to Sirius, and Remus confirmed it by his admission that he had been together with the man. Her thoughts took a sudden turn, but the idea in her head didn't make complete sense. She knew that she could just ask Remus the question she had, but he was already uncomfortable. It had been an incredibly long day, and she didn't want to make things worse.

Emma nodded slowly, trying to run through her spiraling thoughts. "I should probably go to bed," she said quietly, rubbing her forehead. "I don't know if I can handle much more information."

"You haven't really had a moment to decompress today," Remus said softly. He stood up, wincing as his knees popped. "I know that you have more questions, and I promise that I'll answer them…just perhaps not this week."

"Wouldn't be me if I didn't have questions," Emma said, taking Remus's outstretched hands and letting him help her up. "I think I'll try staying in my room tonight and leave you alone for once."

"Are you sure? I know that today was hard for you."

"I think I'll be fine," Emma said, giving Remus a quick hug. "Not sure I could handle your snoring tonight, anyway," she added with a cheeky grin.

"I do not snore," Remus said, trying to bite back his smile.

"No, of course not," Emma said, making her way towards her room. She paused before she rounded the corner of the living room and turned back to look at Remus. "Daddy, can I ask you one more question?"

"You don't have to ask it," Remus said quietly, his expression pained. "I know what you're going to ask me."

"You do?"

He nodded, shoving one of his hands in his pocket and running the other through his hair with a half-hearted shrug. "I am still utterly and hopelessly in love with Sirius," Remus said, shoving his other hand in his pocket and clearing his throat. "I've never stopped," he added shakily.

It wasn't quite the answer she was expecting, but she could understand. Though she knew very little about Sirius, it was clear that Remus and Sirius were close. Several photos she'd looked at showed a closeness that she should have realized was more than just a close friendship. There was a hidden fondness for each other in their expressions.

Rather than making Remus suffer further, she decided she would talk to Sirius instead. She wasn't sure when she would be able to, but she needed to hear what he had to say. Her story with Sirius was more closely woven together than she initially thought. She just wondered how close it was actually meant to be. Perhaps she also needed to work backward, as well. If she couldn't talk to Sirius right away, she had her mother's diary. There had to be something hidden within the pages that would help.

Rather than let her father wallow in his self-pity, Emma smiled at him in response. "It's a little scary that you always know what I'm thinking," Emma said, hoping that Remus understood what she was trying to convey. She wasn't going to be upset with him for who he loved.

A soft and relieved smile crossed Remus's face. "You have a terrible memory," he said.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, her brow furrowing.

"You're my daughter. Of course, I know what you're thinking," Remus said, giving Emma a pointed look. "Do you mind if I ask you a question before you go to bed?"

"What do you want to ask me?" Emma asked, looking at Remus curiously.

Remus studied Emma for a moment, looking unsure of whether or not he wanted to ask the question he had. He eventually sighed and shook his head. "Never mind," he said. "It's not that important. Get some rest, sweetheart. We'll talk in the morning."

Emma nodded, giving him a small smile. "Nos da, Dad."

"Nos da fy nghariad bach."

Closing her door quietly, Emma sighed and looked longingly at her bed. She wanted to sleep, but she knew her mind wasn't going to be quiet anytime soon. Instead, she made her way to her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

While a lot of things made sense, there was still a lot more she wasn't sure that she understood. She brushed her fingers over her face in the same pattern as Remus's scars and frowned. Would Fenrir really rake his fingers through her face like that? Her stomach knotted fiercely, and she dropped her hands to the counter, holding tightly to the edge to keep steady. If she couldn't figure out how to keep herself safe, then there was a strong possibility that he would.

Not wanting to think about Fenrir anymore for the night, Emma let her other thoughts take over. She stared at her reflection hard, her forehead wrinkling in concentration. If Remus was with Sirius and she was always meant to be his, then a lot of unanswered questions made sense. Elara was free with her information but refused to tell her who they thought her actual father was meant to be. Fenrir confirmed that biologically she was Jude's, but that wasn't meant to be the case. Remus's avoidance of telling her about Sirius answered some of her questions about the man. The worst part was Emma's sudden understanding of why Sirius worried so much about her.

Tears filled Emma's eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day as Sirius's words from the bridge came to mind. "Because I have always loved you," he had told her that night. "I have never stopped loving you." She had found his words curious and slightly annoying at the time because she didn't want to hear it, but they suddenly made sense.

The idea made absolutely no sense, but as she tried to imagine herself with Sirius's dark hair and silver eyes, she knew the truth. There was no other explanation.

Emma was meant to be the biological child of Sirius Black and not Jude Nickels.

With an aggravated huff, Emma shut off her bathroom light and threw herself into bed, curling up under her blankets. One twist of fate had changed her entire life to become what it was, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

She buried her face in her pillows to silence her crying so that Remus wouldn't come and check on her. As she tried to imagine what her life should have been, she was unaware that Remus was doing the exact same thing on the other side of her door.

Remus stood just outside Emma's door, hand on the door handle, but he slowly dropped it back to his side. He knew that eventually they would talk about everything, but it wasn't the right time – not yet. Remus had no doubt that Emma's hasty retreat meant that she had worked out her unanswered questions on her shaky paternity herself. It didn't change Jude's involvement from the very beginning, but there were potions to change that. Remus had opted to give her the very exact brew that made her entirely his and created more issues, after all.

He remembered when Elara was the one who had suggested the possibility that Margaret was playing surrogate when she showed him the birth certificates at St. Mungo's. It was at his meeting with Dumbledore earlier that month that things started to make sense. The Headmaster was the one who had suggested Sirius was meant to be the other party.

Remus was both heartbroken and overjoyed at the idea – Emma could genuinely and be his. But if that were the truth, why had Sirius never said a word to him? Why had Margaret never said a word? There were two years that they both could have brought it up. If that were the truth, why would Sirius ruin all of their lives by defecting to the wrong side of the war? Why would Sirius break up their entire family – all of the Marauders?

A shiver rolled up Remus's spine as he thought about Sirius. He knew that Emma had been seeing him – he couldn't miss Sirius's scent on her skin – but he couldn't outright ask her. He had brought up his concerns to Elara, but she had never confirmed or denied what Emma was doing. He wanted to ask, he nearly did, but it scared him. If Fenrir didn't get to Emma first, would Sirius decide to be the one to hurt her? Or worse – what if Emma decided she loved Sirius more than she loved him?

Remus lingered outside Emma's door for a few moments longer before retreating to his room with a heavy heart. He knew that they would have to talk about it, but they needed to get through the incident with Fenrir first. As soon as the Christmas holiday arrived, Remus knew they would both be in a better place to handle that conversation. Remus just had to help Emma get through the next three weeks and keep her as relaxed as possible. Sitting down on his bed, Remus heaved a heavy sigh. Emma was no longer the only one with a lot of work to do.

Hello, there! I realized today that I never include my notes from Ao3 on here, so I'm going to start adding them. That being said, I didn't forget about my lovely reviewers because you are the sweetest things in the world, I swear. I'm going to start adding my responses to you down here, as well to keep everything neat and tidy! :D

Guest: I feel like I know you. Do I know you? If I do, hello! If not, well - hello! xD Last chapter was 100% a nail-biter for me to write. That was the sixth version of it, so I put myself through a lot of torture to get it just right. I think your reaction tells me that I did. I see that you're reading more into the mystery of things...hhhhmmmmmm...

Lu: I was waiting very patiently for your review and you didn't disappoint! A lot happened and there are more mysteries to solve! I bet no one was expecting Fenrir to be the one with more information. Perhaps I should make mystery one of the tags for this story because poor Emma has a lot to discover. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Notes from Ao3:

There was A LOT to unpack this chapter. It's probably the longest in the entire series (I'll have to check), but it needed to all be put out there.

I'm finding I like writing notes at the end of chapters the further I get into the series. I hope you don't mind them. I read something online about someone hating notes in Fanfics, so I apologize if you hate these. I have a lot of thoughts on my own writing and this series overall. This is the first series I plan on seeing through to the end, and I really like talking about the little alternate universe I created.

First, let me get into the ending of this chapter - it wasn't originally planned, and it changes things (but not entirely). This entire series is a fix-it - of sorts...

Second - dabbling into werewolf culture is super weird. I have done an insane amount of research, and I think I know way more than any sane person should on werewolves. The mix between Potterverse canon, myths, and urban legends has provided me with a decent insight on how it all works? Of course, I don't believe there's any specific correct answer, but wow - there's a lot to work through.

I think the hardest part for me is working through which werewolf tropes I like and don't like. I understand why they're tropes, but some are just a little weird to me especially when you consider they're humans every day except for one night. I believe in the idea of werewolf magic, as they're essentially magical "dark" creatures, but there are definitely things that I think don't apply.

If anyone is interested in my random bullet point thoughts on werewolves in the Potterverse, I'll make a post on my Tumblr about it. I also like to make really stupid comments on Twitter. I've recently started drawing my characters, so if you ever want to see what they look like, stop by Twitter. You can find me on both Tumblr and Twitter as mymoonyandstars

Third - I love you all, and I hope that you don't hate me for the last chapter. I also make no guarantees that he's not coming back in this book. Oops.