Emma had never been less thrilled to head back to Hogwarts. The moment she made it to the platform, she avoided Persephone at all costs. Avoiding Persephone on the platform was easy, but the train was a challenge. Each time Emma would find a place to sit, Persephone would follow, prompting Emma to get up and start the cycle anew. Luckily, Emma found a nearly full compartment and joined a group of older Hufflepuffs that she had only seen in passing.
One of the boys, Cedric Diggory, was very kind and tried to include her in the conversations with his friends. Emma knew Cedric in passing and knew that most of the Hufflepuff girls had crushes on the dark-eyed boy, but she wasn't interested in getting to know him. She glared at Persephone as she popped her head into the compartment, her eyes locked on Emma's, but seeing the other Hufflepuffs, she decided to leave. Persephone gave Emma a sad look as she went on her way to find a new place to sit.
"Is everything okay?" Cedric asked as he followed Persephone with his eyes as she left.
"Yeah, everything is fine," Emma said, pasting a smile on her face. She decided to try and listen to the group's conversation, only half paying attention as she reflected on the rest of the Easter holiday. Emma nearly laughed out loud as she had done that on the trip back to Hogwarts after Christmas.
The entirety of the rest of the holiday was odd. Remus had become incredibly protective of her for the duration of the holiday. The moment she woke up, they made their way to her grandfather's. As soon as Lyall found out what happened, he was equally as protective. Remus seemed to keep a constant eye on Emma, though he always seemed to prefer to stick close. Lyall wasn't any better. Whoever Greyback was, it was clear he was dangerous if they were so worried.
Emma managed to convince Remus that he didn't have to stay with her in her room. More than once, she caught him standing in her doorway, wand held tight in his hand, looking alert. She wasn't entirely sure if she felt comforted by his protectiveness or not. One night, Emma had looked out her window to see Lyall casting charms along the fence line. She wasn't sure what he was doing and had to pry the information from Remus. He didn't want to tell her anything, but he couldn't deny that Lyall was doing something.
Neither man seemed willing to divulge information on Greyback, which frustrated Emma to no end. She wanted to know who he was and what his real relationship to Remus was. If he was going to be a problem, she wanted to understand why, and she wanted to figure out how she knew who he was. Emma desperately wanted to know why Lyall would pale considerably each time she brought up the name and why Remus would quickly change the subject. She had so many questions, and every single one of them went unanswered.
In all of the time she spent with Remus, she felt it was inappropriate to ask about Remus's scars on his face, but she felt brave enough to ask. Just like everything else, both Remus and Lyall would change the subject or bring the conversation back to Emma and something in her life. Emma hoped that by asking them enough, they would finally break down and answer. It was clear they knew that was her plan because they started answering her, just not how she expected.
"I fell," Remus said one time.
"Remus was a clumsy child," Lyall would add.
"My friends were a little wild at school. We had a prank go wrong," Remus said another time before launching into a story from his time at Hogwarts.
"Remus was very distracted studying for school and walked straight into an enchanted tree," Lyall told her at a different time.
Emma believed absolutely none of what either man said. The only stories she could possibly believe were Remus's school day stories. While she thought that those stories were true, she couldn't accept the rest of their excuses. There was something that they weren't telling her, and she was determined to find out what. As soon as she set foot back into Hogwarts, she was determined to figure it out.
There was an odd finality to Remus's farewell at King's Cross that she couldn't quite understand. His hug lingered, and he held her tighter, almost as if he was afraid to let her go again. The look on his face as he held her face in his hands after kissing the top of her head worried her. It was like he was looking at her like he would never see her again. It didn't feel like he was telling her, "See you soon," but instead, "Goodbye."
She spent the entirety of the trip back to Hogwarts, trying to figure out what was going on in Remus's brain. A part of her was worried that something was going to happen to Remus, and it was going to be Greyback's fault. As the train's horn rung out when they approached Hogsmeade station, Emma gave a start. It seemed like they had made it back in no time at all. She shivered wanting to push the thought out of her head. As annoying as Remus had been the past week, the last thing she wanted was for something to happen to him.
The moment the train stopped, Emma launched herself out of her seat and onto the platform. She wanted to get to the castle as quickly as possible.
"Emma!" Persephone called out to her.
Apparently, Persephone was trying to do the exact same thing she was. Emma only walked faster, not wanting to deal with Persephone.
"Emma!" she called out again.
Emma continued to ignore Persephone, trying to push through the slow walking crowd of students in front of her.
"Emma! Will you please talk to me?" Persephone shouted at Emma, running to catch up to her. "You have ignored me all day, and I don't know what I did." Persephone grabbed onto Emma's arm, causing her to freeze.
"Why didn't you come back to my house when you said you were coming?" Emma snapped at Persephone, whirling around to glare at her. "And why didn't you respond to any of my owls?"
"What are you talking about?" Persephone asked, alarmed at Emma's sudden outburst. "I was worried about you the entire holiday because I never heard anything."
"Persephone, I sent you several owls, and you wrote back to me in the beginning. You got my letters."
"Em, I really didn't," Persephone said, her shoulders slumping. "The last I heard from you was when I went home because you were sick. I didn't hear anything from Remus, and I was worried the entire time. I wanted to write, but I thought you might still be sick. I didn't want to bother you if you were still really sick."
Emma stared at Persephone and snorted at the ridiculousness of what Persephone was saying. "I don't know why you're lying to me, Persephone."
Persephone's hand shot up, her pinky held out towards Emma, her face serious. "I don't know if this is what you're supposed to do, but it's the only thing I can think of to prove to you that I'm telling the truth." Persephone stared at Emma for a moment before casting her gaze downward, her hand dropping. She stood up straighter and held Emma's gaze, offering her pink again, with an eyebrow quirked. "Just because I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean I would lie to you. We're sisters."
Emma stared at Persephone's pinky with a frown and then wrapped her pinky around her friends, still wary. "Then, how did I get a response from you?" Emma asked.
"It wasn't me, Em."
Emma gasped as she let go of Persephone's pinky, a thought coming to her mind. "I think I know what might have happened," she whispered. "Come on, we need to get back to the castle, and I'll tell you everything."
Emma and Persephone found themselves out by the lake once their carriage arrived at the castle. They decided to risk getting in trouble being outside so close to curfew to talk. Emma was lying in the cool grass while Persephone sat against their favorite tree.
"So, you're telling me that you sent me an owl, I responded, but never showed up, and then a strange man broke into your room?" Persephone shook her head in disbelief. "Em, are you sure that you didn't imagine it?"
Emma huffed in annoyance. "Persephone, if I imagined it, I don't think Remus would have been so concerned. Grandpa was worried about it too," Emma said with a sigh. "Whoever this man is, he's trouble. And even worse, I tried to send you more letters after the fact, and you never wrote anything back."
"Were the other letters even in my writing?"
"Yes, Persephone. It was your writing. You've passed me enough notes that I'm pretty sure that I could even write a letter from you to myself."
"Maybe you did," Persephone suggested. "You were really off after everything, so maybe you thought I replied."
"Persephone," Emma said sharply. "I didn't imagine it."
"All right," Persephone said, holding her hands up in surrender. "So, let me run through this again – you started to get better, Remus told you to write me a letter to come back, I responded and never showed up, and then Remus had to leave." Emma nodded in confirmation. "Okay, so then that same night, a strange beast of a man named Greyback broke into your room, and then you proceeded to try and get ahold of me after the fact, and I never responded?"
"Yes!" Emma said excitedly, glad that Persephone was starting to understand.
"And you think that this Greyback man is who actually responded to your letter? And that was how he knew that you would be home by yourself?"
"Yes, Persephone. He had to have gotten ahold of one of your letters, used a spell to copy your writing, and then sent it instead. There's no other explanation as to how it could have happened."
Persephone considered Emma for a moment with a grimace. "Emma, do you know how absolutely mad all of this sounds? I'm going to have to start calling you Loony Lupin."
Emma rolled her eyes. "I know it sounds mad, but when has anything in my life made sense this year?"
"Well," Persephone sighed, "if you're going mad, I suppose I might as well join you. Let's figure out who this Greyback character is."
The rest of April faded into May, bringing in warmer weather. The castle was abuzz with students studying for exams, and just as many students were inside the library as there were students on the grounds. After being trapped in the castle all winter, everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the sunny days.
Emma and Persephone were not the students enjoying the outdoors. Instead, they spent just as much time as Hermione in the library trying to discover who Greyback was in between studying. It was a move they were sure they would regret, but Emma was determined to get her answers.
"Emma! I didn't expect to see you here."
Emma looked up to see Hermione staring at her with a look of awe. Persephone had departed the library for her next class, leaving Emma alone.
"Hi, Hermione," Emma said with a yawn. She laid her head on the pages of the book she had in front of her. "What are you doing?"
"Some research," Hermione said, plunking her pile of books down on the table next to Emma and sitting down. "What are you doing?"
"You know I do come here, right?" Emma said, staring at Hermione with a small frown. She lifted her head up and put her head in her hands. "I'm trying to do some research, too."
Hermione studied Emma for a moment before pushing her pile of books away and taking Emma's book. "What are you trying to research?"
"I'm trying to figure out who someone is," Emma muttered, feeling defeated.
"Oh!" Hermione said, sounding excited. "That's what I'm trying to do. Well, I found who I was looking for, at least." A smug smiled crossed Hermione's face as she flipped through the pages of Emma's book. "Who are you trying to find?"
"Erm, his name is Fenrir Greyback."
Hermione immediately stopped flipping through the pages of Emma's book and shot her a look. "I've seen that name before," Hermione said, closing Emma's book. "This isn't the right book. Why are you looking up Fenrir Greyback?"
Emma hesitated at the expression on Hermione's face. Clearly, Hermione had reservations on Greyback, and she wasn't entirely sure why.
"I just heard the name in a conversation and wanted to know who he was."
"Right," Hermione responded slowly. "I don't believe that for one bit."
"Well, you're going to have to because that's exactly why I'm looking."
Hermione frowned, standing up and picking up her pile of books. "Do you have your copy of Hogwarts, A History that I gave you for your birthday?"
"I brought it home during Christmas holidays," Emma said apologetically. "I didn't get to read the whole thing, but that's where I need to look?"
"Read the last few chapters. You need to read the more recent chapters…you'll find what you're looking for there," Hermione said. "Good luck."
A few weeks later, after waiting for the book to become available again, Emma found herself in the Great Hall trying to read Hogwarts, a History. The book was very informational, but there was an incredible amount of text for her to wade through. It was putting her to sleep rather than helping her find what she was looking for.
"What are you doing?" Persephone said, startling Emma as she threw herself down on the bench next to Emma. "Reading? Or falling asleep?"
"Both," Emma said, stretching. "Hermione told me that I needed to read this monstrosity to find out who Greyback is."
"Er, Professor incoming," Persephone said, staring over Emma's shoulders.
"Which one," Emma asked quickly, closing the book in front of her and straightening up.
"McGonagall," Persephone hissed to Emma, before putting on a wide smile. "Hello, Professor."
"Hi, Professor," Emma said, turning around to look at McGonagall, suddenly no longer sleepy.
"Good evening Miss Moon, Miss Lupin. I trust your evening is going well?"
"Very well, thank you," Emma said, trying to smile at McGonagall, though she was sure it came out as a grimace. "Was there something that you needed, Professor?"
"Actually, yes, Miss Lupin. I was wondering if you could please accompany me for a moment. You can leave your things; we won't be long."
"Uhm, sure, Professor," Emma said, standing up slowly. She gave Persephone a look as she followed McGonagall, who set off walking wordlessly.
The two walked out into the empty entrance hall and down a hallway before McGonagall stopped abruptly.
"Miss Lupin, I must ask that you cease what you are doing," McGonagall said, her voice soft, but her eyes sharp.
"I-I don't know what you mean," Emma said, confused. She tried to think about all of the things that she could have possibly done wrong but couldn't think of anything. Unless, of course, McGonagall was bringing up the fact that Emma had dropped a dung bomb into Persephone's bag before class. That could be the problem, but she got it from Justin, and she needed to put it somewhere. It wasn't as though she had any other choice; she wasn't going to stick it in her bag.
"What you're researching," McGonagall said quietly. "I know that you're trying to discover who that man was, but I ask that you please stop."
"You know about that?"
Professor McGonagall sighed, her eyes softening. "We all do."
"Word travels fast when it comes to me, doesn't it?" Emma said, kicking the ground.
"Remus cares very deeply for you, Emelyn," McGonagall said, placing a hand on Emma's shoulder.
"Let me guess - he knows that I've been trying to research Greyback? And I'm going to guess that he's not too thrilled about it."
"Word travels fast," McGonagall offered apologetically. "I felt it would be better for me to talk to you rather than Remus storming into the castle, wand raised and ready to wreak havoc because he's worried."
"Is…is that something that Remus would do?" Emma tried to imagine the sight. She almost wanted to see that, but perhaps it was best it never happened at all.
"He will deny it to the grave, but he and his friends were absolute terrors while in school. I loved them dearly," McGonagall said fondly. "And Remus – I thought by making that boy a Prefect he would be able to keep his friends in line, but I believe the allure of causing mischief was more his calling."
"I can't imagine him being like that," Emma said, amused. "He's so…"
"Proper? Yes, well, don't let him have you fooled. There are many layers to our Mr. Lupin," McGonagall sighed, almost as if she felt she was revealing too much information. "I've come to you as a favor to Remus, but now that my obligation is done, I have one more thing to say."
"And what's that, Professor?"
"Don't judge a book by its cover."
Emma raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Exactly as I said," McGonagall said, not offering anything that Emma felt helpful. "Whatever you learn, understand that there is more than what you see. You're very bright, Miss Lupin. I know you'll uncover the answers that you're looking for, just…"
"Just what?"
"Just take care. And perhaps take some time to study for your exams. Mine won't be easy if you don't study."
"I will, Professor," Emma said, unable to stop herself from grinning. "Thank you."
"I'll tell Remus that I spoke to you," McGonagall said, her face becoming serious, though the hints of a smile pulled at her lips. She let go of Emma's shoulder and clasped her hands in front of herself, inclining her head. "Carry on, Miss Lupin."
May turned into June, and Emma and Persephone finally took the last of their studying and research outside.
"I don't understand why Hermione told me to read Hogwarts, A History," Emma muttered, trying to get through the same chapter she'd been reading for weeks. "I've found absolutely nothing."
Persephone sat next to Emma with a copy of the book. Emma had borrowed Hermione's copy while Persephone borrowed the copy from the library. Emma had wanted to write to Remus and ask him to send her copy, but she didn't want to raise any suspicions. McGonagall was doing her a huge favor by not saying anything to Remus.
"There has to be something," Persephone said, scanning the pages quickly.
"But why couldn't she just tell me?"
"You know how Hermione is," Persephone answered, looking at Emma venomously. "It's Hermione Granger, brightest witch of our age. Of course, she's not going to give you the exact answer."
Emma let out a bitter sigh as she tried to continue reading. "This is like trying to sit through Professor Binn's class."
"I dare say it's as bad as Quirrell's lately."
"I don't even know if we learned anything in his class," Emma said with a snort.
"The bare minimum, if anything," Persephone said. "Such a dodgy fellow."
The girls were quiet as they flipped through their copies of Hogwarts, A History until Emma let out a sharp gasp.
"What did you find?" Persephone asked, clutching her chest. She wasn't at all expecting the noise that came from Emma.
"The Werewolf Wars." Emma heard a howl after Greyback left. This had to be what Hermione told her to look for!
"The Werewolf Wars? That's a thing? But what does that have to do with Greyback?"
"Apparently," Emma said, paling. "I don't know yet, but there has to be a reason why Hermione told me to read these chapters."
"Well, out with it – read what it says out loud!"
"Fine," Emma said, settling the book on her lap and beginning to read the passages aloud.
"The Werewolf Wars are one of the few wars that aren't discussed during our times, though the war could have had dire consequences. After Voldemort's fall, Hogwarts castle still wasn't safe from these dangerous creatures.
"Shortly following the fall of Voldemort, the two largest werewolf packs of Britain and Europe grew furious. They had been promised a better life during the Wizarding War that ultimately would never come to be. The European werewolves wanted to live their lives as normal witches and wizards, seeking a more peaceful existence compared to the werewolves of Britain. The promises the Britain werewolf pack made had created discord amongst the European werewolves, thus leading to a declaration of war between the two packs. The Werewolf Wars could be considered as dangerous, if not more so than the Wizarding War.
"The European werewolf packed, led by an unnamed werewolf at the time, sought to destroy the werewolf pack of Britain. Despite the anger on their side, the European werewolves wanted nothing more than to live peacefully among who they considered their equals. The British werewolf pack had other ideas, seeking to bite and create as many new werewolves as they possibly could to increase their size."
Emma froze at the next sentences of the passage, her stomach dropping and a lump forming in her throat.
"What is it, Em?"
"The leader of the British pack began to make plans to attack the students of Hogwarts, feeling that having an army of young, educated witches and wizards would help his cause. If it weren't for the quick thinking of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore…Fenrir Greyback would have succeeded."
Persephone was quiet, her mouth hanging open. She quickly took the book from Emma's lap and scanned what Emma had just read.
"Em…"
"I don't understand, Persephone," Emma said quietly, her brows pulled low as she frowned. "I really don't understand. I remembered seeing him before, but I don't know why."
"Wait, you remembered seeing Greyback?"
"I never told you everything," Emma whispered. "I didn't want to seem even madder. You already thought I was off my rocker." Emma let out a gasp. "And-and when I had to do that check-up at St Mungo's, the Healer was a werewolf, too!"
With her brow furrowed, Persephone shook her head, trying to piece together everything Emma was trying to say. "But what does that -?"
"Persephone, I have nightmares about werewolves. I don't know why I have nightmares about werewolves, but I remember Greyback." Emma frowned, realizing how ridiculous she sounded. "But I don't understand how any of it fits together."
"How does Remus know so many werewolves," Persephone whispered, scanning the pages in front of her again. Her frown grew the more she read, and then she turned to Emma, eyes wide. "Em, you don't think -?"
Emma stared into her friends' eyes, trying to figure out what Persephone was trying to ask and then felt all of her energy draining. "No, he can't be," she whispered. "Remus can't be a werewolf, too."
"How else would he know other werewolves? Why would Greyback sneak into your room and just so happen to be a werewolf?" Persephone closed the book and stood up quickly. "What day did this happen?"
"I-I don't remember," Emma said, watching as Persephone ran to her bag and began pulling out loose bits of parchment and a notebook from her bag, practically throwing the contents of her bag everywhere. Her tongue stuck out between her teeth as she searched for the notebook she was looking for. "Aha!" She ripped a dark brown leather notebook out of her bag and ran back to where Emma sat, flipping through pages quickly. "April, right?"
"Yes, this was all in April. It was for Easter hols," Emma said. "But Persephone, what are you looking for?"
"Do you not pay attention in Astronomy?"
"I do, but…"
"Then you should have been tracking moon cycles, you git." Persephone shook her head as she scanned her notes from April and gasped loudly. "Em, that was the night of the full moon."
"No, it can't have been," Emma said, ripping the notebook out of Persephone's hands and paling as she saw the date. She immediately went into her bag to find her own Astronomy notes, thinking that perhaps Persephone had written down the wrong date. Scanning through her own notes, she felt her shoulders slump as their notes were the same. "Persephone, there's no way. It's just a coincidence."
"But haven't you mentioned that he's gone away before?"
"Yes, b-but that's for work. He works with a private bookseller and has had to go away to make the purchases. At least I'm pretty sure that's what he was doing. He never said what he was doing the last time."
"He's a brilliant and talented wizard, who's working a Muggle job? Em, I'm sorry, but that's suspicious. Does he ever tell you where he's actually going?"
"No, but -"
"Em, it's really suspicious."
"I…I don't want to think about it. Or talk about it. Forget we ever read anything," Emma shouted, shoving her notebook back in her bag. There was no possible way that Remus could be a werewolf, and she wasn't going to even think about it. It was absolutely ludicrous. "We need to study for our exams anyway."
Emma's first year at Hogwarts quickly came to a close. She couldn't believe that she had gotten through her first year so quickly. Emma had given up on her research, not wanting to know any more than she already did and had devoted her time to feverishly studying with Persephone.
They spent long nights together, quizzing each other, and making sure they were as prepared as they could possibly be. They had spent so much time doing their research that they had less time than the rest of their classmates to study and spent most of their study time fretting over how terrible they were going to do. With Emma's prior warning from McGonagall, the girls spent a lot of time practicing their transfiguration skills.
They were pleasantly surprised after each of their exams. However, Emma was worried that she had botched her Potions exam, unnerved by the way Snape watched her during the exam. It didn't matter that it was one of her best classes, she was worried.
With the final days of school upon them, Emma and Persephone made their way to the Great Hall together, ready for the farewell feast. Emma was shocked at the expanse of green and silver hangings that covered the room.
"You badgers really need to work on your points," Persephone said, letting out a small cheer as she saw the Slytherin house colors everywhere.
"Oh, shove it," Emma said. "At least we're not in last place."
The girls sat down at their respective tables, Emma taking a seat between Sally and Megan. They all talked excitedly about how they thought they did on their exams. Emma enjoyed the company of her Hufflepuff friends but didn't quite have the same relationship with them. The Great Hall suddenly grew quiet as Dumbledore stood up and began to speak.
Emma nearly let out a laugh as the Slytherin table erupted at the announcement they had won the house cup. The joy on Persephone's face was infectious, but the entire Great Hall suddenly grew quiet at Dumbledore's announcement that he had additional points to give. As Dumbledore announced extra points for Gryffindor, the table erupted into similar joyous excitement as the Slytherin's.
As additional points were awarded to Hermione, Emma couldn't help but clap along with the Gryffindors.
When Dumbledore announced points awarded to Harry, the rest of the houses began to join in with the yelling, amazed that all of a sudden, Gryffindor was tied with Slytherin. With Gryffindor and Slytherin being tied, the other houses began shouting to each other, wondering what would happen as the houses hadn't tied in years.
Suddenly, Dumbledore announced an additional 10 points to Neville, and the entire room erupted into loud cheers. The previously green and silver hangings turned to scarlet and gold. It was an unprecedented turn of events, but it was an exciting one for everyone (except the Slytherins) all the same. Even though it now meant that Hufflepuff had come in last place, the look on Persephone's face made it all worth it.
The next day they received their exam results. Emma was pleased to see that she had passed all of her classes with either an Exceeds Expectations or an Outstanding. Well, except for History of Magic, which she received an Acceptable for. Emma was incredibly proud of herself, and she hoped that Remus would be, too. She was surprised that she had managed to get through Potions at all and was relieved. Snape had been mildly annoyed that he could no longer sarcastically refer to Emma as "Lupin" any longer.
All too soon, the castle was clearing out, and Emma found herself on the Hogwarts Express once more. Persephone and Emma sat together in their compartment, trading stories of their favorite moments from school and wondering what the next year was going to hold.
"You know, you've had an exciting year," Persephone said as the train began to pull back into King's Cross Station.
"It's been a strange year," Emma said with a laugh. "I suppose it's been rather exciting, though."
The girls walked off the train together, waiting impatiently to get off the platform. Persephone wasn't too excited about going back home, but the promise of returning back to the cottage over the summer was enough to make the reunion with her parents' worth it.
"You have to come to my house this summer," Persephone pleaded with Emma just before they were given the okay to walk through the barrier. "Please spare me from another summer with just Caspian."
"Caspian isn't that bad," Emma said with a laugh as they walked through the barrier together, holding hands as if they genuinely were sisters.
"He's horrid," Persephone said, scrunching up her nose.
The two walked into the station to allow the others to come through the barrier and looked around. "Well, Remus isn't too hard to spot," Persephone said, laughing as she noticed him towering over most of the people in the station. "Too bad you didn't get those genes. I would never lose you."
Emma gave Persephone a small shove. "Your mum's not too hard to miss either," Emma said, spotting Sage looking as proper and well dressed as ever with Caspian at her side. They seemed to have chosen the furthest possible spot from where Remus stood.
"Eh, forget her," Persephone said, giving Emma a hug. "Promise that you'll write me?"
"Only if you promise to actually, you know, receive my letters."
"I make no guarantees," Persephone said, separating from Emma with a smirk.
"You're terrible," Emma said, giving Persephone's hand a final squeeze before letting go. She looked up to see Remus watching the two of them with a smile. Emma felt a pang of guilt in her stomach as she realized she had spent the rest of her time at Hogwarts feeling bitter towards Remus. Seeing him again made her realize how much she missed him, and she was glad to see that he looked all right.
"You're not any better yourself, Little Lupin," Persephone said, pointedly. She reluctantly parted ways with Emma and made her way towards her mother, giving Emma a look over her shoulder.
Emma could only shake her head as she watched Persephone for a moment before walking towards Remus. She paused slightly seeing that there looked to be a fresh scar that lined his face and cut through the beard that he still wore. Emma gave Remus a questioning look, but he shook his head in response, holding his arms open for her to walk into. The anxiety that she had harbored since she had last seen Remus was swept away. She wrapped her arms around Remus, inhaling deeply and taking in his familiar scent.
She was momentarily glad for the height difference as she hid her face, the thought of what she had learned about Greyback coming to mind. She had stopped her researching after that day and had pushed the idea away, but being back with Remus, the thought came back quickly. If Remus was a werewolf, why wasn't he telling her? She held onto Remus tighter as he began to pull away, wanting a moment to try and mask her expression.
When she was sure that she no longer looked as though a dark thought had crossed her mind, Emma finally let go. Emma smiled at him, genuinely happy to see him. She tried to ignore the fact that his eyes seemed to be searching her face as though he was suspicious. Emma nearly let out a sigh of relief as Remus returned her smile.
"Are you ready to go home, Little One?" Remus asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
Despite everything that had happened, Emma couldn't deny that she was ready to go back home. It still felt funny to her that she could say that she had a home to go back to. Not only did she have a home, but she had a father and a grandfather, as well. Everything had changed for her, and she couldn't be happier.
Part of her was a little worried about returning to the cottage, but Remus had written in his letters that he had wards set up like at Lyall's. Knowing Remus, the cottage was probably as safe as Hogwarts. It would be nice to have a break from Hogwarts for a few months.
Emma shifted her bag on her shoulder and glanced over to where Persephone's family had been. A sad smile crossing her face when she noticed they had already gone. As she looked back up at Remus, she saw the look of concern on his face. With a smile, she gave him another hug, more than content to just stay where they were.
"I already am."