"Dad?"

"Yes, love?"

"I think I want to visit mum's grave."

Remus looked up from the pile of tests he was still grading, tilting his head as he looked over at Emma. She was carefully repairing her mother's diary page-by-page with a repetitious and meticulously cast mending charm. He was already impressed by how well Emma could cast the spell, but her multiple attempts had made that particular charm flawless. He was sure that if she really wanted to, she could cast it as a nonverbal spell and still have the same effect.

Things had been difficult for them over the weekend. When Remus wasn't meeting with Dumbledore, they spent their time pouring through the entries that had been ripped out. It was overwhelming to go through, and they were processing the information slowly. There was no doubt that their dynamic had changed, and it felt like they were navigating their lives together for the first time all over again.

Margaret's diary had made it very clear who knew the truth and what was to occur if something happened to her. Remus was furious that his father had known the entire time, and Emma was just left in such a confused state that it made Remus angrier. It wasn't fair to either of them, but he knew it affected Emma more than she let out.

It was evident from the pages that there was much more information hidden in the folder in Fenrir's clutches. They had no idea how to safely get it. Between Remus and Dumbledore, they weren't sure if another folder existed but based on Emma's information, it seemed it was never replicated.

The good thing about the entire situation was that they were a united front in their hurt. It only served to push them closer, but it was had because the information came indirectly from Fenrir. Remus could only guess at the older werewolf's motives for granting them such a favor.

When Remus didn't say anything, Emma glanced at him, an almost sad smile crossing her face. "It's only right," she said quietly. "I might be yours, but she still carried me and took care of me for two years." Emma paused, looking down at the page in her hand with a half-hearted shrug. "Or she tried to as best as she could considering the circumstances."

That was another unexpected piece of information to learn – Margaret had suffered just as much as Emma did at Jude's hand. The threat of Fenrir had kept Margaret right where she was, not wanting to tell anyone of what Jude was doing. Margaret felt she had a duty to keep Emma as safe as she could and had lamented in later entries that she felt she failed. Remus felt incredibly guilty for leaving so much on missions when he would have stayed had he known any of it. He still couldn't figure out what to think about Sirius's contribution to the situation.

Remus was overjoyed that the not-so-little girl sitting across from him was his, but he was frustrated that Sirius kept her a secret. She should have been their little girl – he should have never been a single parent. Even though Remus had eventually come around to the idea in more recent months, it was much different now. Remus had to more than make up for lost time, and he wasn't sure if he could.

Remus supposed it made sense that Sirius never said a word, but it hurt knowing that everyone thought he was working with Voldemort. He would have died rather than consider actually working for the dark wizard. Having to pretend to be on Fenrir's side made him disgusted as it was – for any of them to believe he would switch from the light to the dark stung. Being a dark creature was more than enough darkness for him.

The small smile on Emma's face turned to a frown. "You think it's a stupid idea?" she asked, looking slightly worried, and Remus finally pulled himself out of his thoughts. So much for having a relaxing holiday.

"No, not at all," Remus said, straightening up in his chair. "I think it's a wonderful idea. I think we could fit it in after your appointment. Or the day after, if you'd prefer."

Emma studied Remus for a moment, nodded, and went back to piecing together the diary. There had been around 150 pages to go through, and each page painted an entirely different story than what Remus knew. He had spent his entire life thinking Margaret hated him, but she had spent just as much time thinking he hated her. It only added to Remus's guilt, but he pushed it aside as he returned to grading. If he worked long enough, he could get all of his grading done before leaving for London in a few days.

"You know, I was thinking about it," Emma said, breaking through the crackling fire, the scratching of his quill, and her quiet mutterings of Reparo. "I don't think I was calling you MooMoo when I was younger."

"Oh?" Remus said, unable to stop his smile when he noticed Emma's cheeky grin.

"I think I was trying to call you Mumma," Emma snickered.

Remus snorted, shaking his head. "That's exactly the sort of thing you would have done when you were smaller, quite honestly," Remus sighed wistfully. "You were an incredibly cheeky little thing, even then. Nothing humbles you more than a toddler telling you what they really think."

"As if anything I said as a toddler could be worse than what I've said to you."

"Oh, no, it was worse," Remus said dryly. "Much worse."

"What could be worse than all of the comments I made while you were teaching because I was mad at you?"

"At least that I understood. But when you were younger? I had no idea. You told me I was mean and that I couldn't read to you anymore."

Emma stopped repairing the diary to fix Remus with a disbelieving stare. "That's worse than what I was saying to you?"

"Yes!" Remus said adamantly. "I still don't know what I did to make you get so mad at me. I'm pretty sure I had just walked in the door of your grandfather's, and it was the very first thing you said to me."

"Well, you must have deserved it if I said it so quickly," Emma said, quirking an eyebrow.

"I was wounded by it. Took me a good week to get over it."

"Are you aware of how dramatic you really are?"

"I'm not being dramatic," Remus huffed. "It hurt! I was so excited to see you, and you came up to me with such a scowl on your tiny little face and said that. It was alarming."

"I suppose I apologize for that then. I'm sure my tinier self didn't mean to hurt you," Emma said, setting aside the diary and her wand and stretching. She looked over at the quill that remained sitting in its box and seemed to find a permanent home on the coffee table. "What do you think I should do with the quill?"

"What do you want to do with it?"

Emma had been waffling over the idea of what to do. Her first instinct was to burn the feather, but she really liked it. Emma wasn't sure that she could detach the fact that Fenrir was the one who purchased it for her, but she could argue that he actually paid for it. It was far more expensive than she thought it would be at 5 Galleons, and she never would have purchased it herself at that price.

"I don't know," Emma frowned, setting her things on the table and lying down. She tucked a pillow under her head and tugged the throw blanket down over herself, getting comfortable. "I really do like the quill, but…"

"Then keep it," Remus said with a shrug.

"What? Have you gone mental?"

"Or you could toss it in the fire like you wanted. You didn't pay for it."

"You're really not making this decision easy at all," Emma muttered. "You're supposed to tell me what I'm supposed to do, and you're not."

Remus looked over at the quill and then over to Emma. "Because I've taken gifts from Fenrir, too," he replied. "I'm not really the best gauge of what you should or shouldn't do in this situation."

"But you didn't have a choice, did you?"

"Not really, but unfortunately, neither did you, even if it seemed like you did."

Emma let out a long breath and curled up. "I'm going to bed. You're not helping, and I don't want to think about it right now."

"Nos da fy nghariad bach," Remus whispered. He didn't know why he bothered as Emma had fallen asleep before he had finished his sentence. He allowed himself to watch her for a few minutes, grateful that for the first time in months, she was finally sleeping peacefully.

For the longest time, Remus was sure that sleep wouldn't come easy for her, too plagued by her nightmares. It seemed as though having to face her nightmare in person once more had shifted something in her subconscious. She still struggled with her demons, but they weren't as crippling as they were. It was only the other night that she had woken him up, crying with relief that she wasn't scared like she usually was. She felt terrible waking him up, but he was glad that she did. Remus wanted to share her joys with her, along with her pain.

Emma was a much different person than she was a year prior, and even more different than at the start of term. Remus knew that she didn't see it yet, but she was much stronger than before. She was more open and willing to talk things through and didn't fight him nearly as much as she used to. What once had been epic tidal waves of emotion had started to settle into gentle ebbs and flows. He could read her feelings easily and anticipate what she needed. Emma wanted to get better, which had been a turning point to her recovery, but it was still a journey she was on. Remus could only hope that having another outside influence would help her.

Remus credited a lot of Emma's improvements to Elara, though. As much as he would love to take credit, Elara had been instrumental in getting Emma to open up. Elara related to Emma on a different level than he could, and Remus was grateful to have her as a friend. There had been many times Elara had expressed how much she loved Emma, and he was sure the Emma loved her as well. It made Remus wonder how he ever could have worried that she wouldn't accept what he was – what they were. The only thing that bothered him about Emma loving Elara was he had realized Emma desperately wanted a second parent. Elara could never be that person.

Sirius floated back into his mind far too effortlessly for his liking. Emma was their daughter – the circumstances didn't change a thing. It didn't matter that Emma shared none of Sirius's DNA; he could so easily see him in her personality. Emma had every bit of Sirius's humor, his recklessness, his charm, and his spontaneity. She was passionate and persistent and was impulsive and stubborn. The knowledge of who she was meant to be only made the realization that much more jarring.

Emma, of course, shared traits with Remus, as well. She was intelligent, gentle, observant, and equal parts cynical, nervous, and withdrawn. Emma possessed a hidden mischievous nature that rivaled both him and Sirius when she let it free. She was absolutely perfect, even at her worst, and he was increasingly thankful that life hadn't completely destroyed her spirit. But he worried every single day – he didn't know what Sirius was capable of. The fact Emma saw Sirius at all, on a few occasions, was concerning.

He knew what to worry about with Fenrir, but with Sirius? Remus wasn't sure. Emma still hadn't said a word about seeing him, and there were several points she might have thought about it but didn't. In her defense, he hadn't had the best track record in handling what she had to say, so she was scared to bring it up. Remus wanted to know what Sirius had to say. He wanted to believe that he never would have broken up the family he didn't realize they had together. Remus wanted to believe that Sirius never killed Peter, but there had been too much proof. Right?

Sirius never had a trial.

Remus let out a quiet groan, rubbing his temples. He hadn't thought about the possibility of Sirius actually being innocent in years, but he was beginning to wonder. The fact Sirius didn't have a trial meant that he never got to plead his case, and Remus never bothered to try and get to Azkaban to talk to him. He had been too busy dealing with the loss of Emma and everyone else to consider it. There had been too much pulling him elsewhere, and it wasn't as though they had been talking too much in the end.

Would it have made any difference? Would Remus have known if Sirius was telling the truth, or would he have been too confused and hurt? The only saving grace Sirius had was that he didn't harm Emma in any interactions. He had gotten into the castle and destroyed the Fat Lady's portrait, but what if there was a reason outside of getting to Harry? It didn't sit right that Sirius could see Emma and not hurt her when Harry was just as much his as Emma was. Remus wished he could desperately talk to Sirius, but he couldn't do that – especially not as a professor. There had been enough questioning of his loyalty when Sirius got into the castle. Besides, Remus wasn't sure that he could see his…were they even ex-boyfriends? Ex fiancés? They had never settled on any single label, just being content to have each other, but what were they?

They had never officially ended things, and Remus never truly moved on. They had talked about marriage, and children, obviously. If they didn't, Emma never would have been a possibility and then an eventuality. He felt blessed to have her, but…

For a while, Remus tried to move on. There was a long string of one-night stands, and even the possibility of something long term, but he could never commit. Sirius had given him a ring with the promise they would get married as soon as the war was over, but that never happened. The war had ended, and everything was lost along with it.

The only possible link they had was sleeping across from him. Still, Remus couldn't risk the possibility of losing her just so he could be selfish.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Remus started to gather his things. It was steadily growing later, and he had too much on his mind. Trying to grade would be pointless when Remus knew he would be too distracted. Remus stood, running through his nightly debate of whether or not he would move Emma to her bed. Usually, he would, but she looked too relaxed – he didn't want to disturb her. Instead, Remus brushed her hair off her face and leaned down to kiss her cheek. He went and brought out her jar of blue flames, settling it on the table, and made his way to bed with a heavy sigh. It was going to be a long break.

DotM*DotM*DotM

Emma had come to love being at Hogwarts like she had in her first year, but this year was different. Though they weren't staying at the castle the entire time, she was experiencing her first Hogwarts Christmas. The castle held a different air with the holidays, and it filled her with glee. The noisy hallways were quiet, the twinkling lights were beautiful, and Emma loved having nearly free reign of the castle. Remus was holding true to reserving his punishment for the start of term, wanting Emma to actually relax for the holiday, and she was grateful. Although she wasn't sure how much she could relax with all of her thoughts.

Emma found herself lying on her back on the floor of the Great Hall in front of the fire and reading. There were so few students left in the castle that the tables had been moved, and most meals were being taken in the dorms. Of course, one could go to the Great Hall if they wanted, but it wasn't a requirement. There was no point in having to leave the dorms if you didn't have to, but Emma had started to wander with Remus's blessings as long as she didn't leave the castle. It was a rule that Emma didn't mind obeying for once.

The discovery of the Marauder's Map had inspired her and having Remus at the castle gave her a little immunity from Mr. Filch. Mrs. Norris tailed her as if she was doing something wrong, but Emma was only taking long walks. No one needed to know that she was secretly looking for hidden passageways. After a brief encounter with Peeves that morning that left her completely soaked through from a bucket of water, Emma had given up on her adventuring for the day.

She didn't want to head back to her room just yet, so off to the Great Hall she went. No one seemed inclined to pass through, and she would be left to her own devices to dry off.

A sigh escaped her lips as she put her book down on her stomach for a moment to think. She was a jumble of emotions, but they weren't all bad for once. She was hurt, yes, but she was working through the situation with her father, and that made things easier – they had each other. This was something that was shared, and they had to work together to figure it out.

Her father. The very thought made her stomach still do a funny little squirm and brought a stupid smile to her face. All of her silly daydreams were real. Even better, Remus's instincts were right, and he had figured it out early on. His thoughts and feelings might have been based on whatever werewolf magic existed, but he knew. Her chest grew painfully tight at the idea of what she had nearly done out of fear. She was so close to doing something incredibly stupid, but Sirius had been the one to start and convince her not to do something rash. All of the words Sirius had said to her that night stuck out, practically ringing in her ears as if he was still whispering them to her.

Perhaps, if things worked out and Sirius was innocent, she could have two fathers, and that was much better than one. She loved Remus, but it was difficult having to go to him for everything. Elara helped, but Emma didn't think Remus was interested in her. Was he? Just because he was still in love with Sirius, it didn't mean that he couldn't be in love with someone else, too. Remus had spent countless nights telling her it was more than all right to like one person; it was how she acted on it that made a difference. Since she wasn't committed to any one person, it was fine. Could Remus feel the same way? Could he love Sirius, but still be interested in Elara? 12 years was a very long time to not see the person you loved, and Sirius couldn't possibly have expected Remus to wait for him. Sirius had a life-time sentence, after all.

No, Emma would know if he had any interest in Elara. They were friends, and that was obvious. Close friends, even. They had a fair amount in common besides their lycanthropy, so it made sense. At least her father even had friends. She never heard Remus talk about anyone, so Emma wasn't sure if his life ever really revolved around anything other than her. He was dedicated to his work, and of course, to her, but Remus could honestly stand for a bit of fun. She would have to think more about that.

Emma picked up her book and allowed herself to get lost in it. At least until a shadow appeared overhead.

"What are you doing?"

Emma peered to the side of the book she was holding high over her head to find Hermione giving her a funny look. Emma glanced just past Hermione to see Harry and Ron giving her equally puzzled looks. "Uh, reading," Emma said, lifting an eyebrow. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

Hermione let out a huff as Ron and Harry began to snicker behind her.

"Oi, what are you two uglies laughing about?" Emma asked, looking at the two boys who looked at her in surprise. They clearly weren't expecting to be pulled into Emma's sarcasm.

"We're not ugly!" Ron said sharply.

"Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately, mate?"

That set Harry off into full-blown laughter, doubling over.

"Harry, you shouldn't be laughing," Emma said dryly, smirking as Harry looked at her in alarm. "You and Ron make quite a fine couple."

"Gods," Hermione said, covering her face with her hands.

The boys looked at each other and then to Emma in surprise before bursting into laughter, holding onto each other to keep upright. A small swell of pride flooded Emma's being at making both boys laugh, especially Harry. In a different world, they would have been siblings. There was a slim possibility they still could be. She closed her book and sat up, looking at the still laughing boys and Hermione's exasperated face.

"What are you lot doing?" Emma asked, folding her legs in front of her. "Thought you would all wind up staying up in Gryffindor."

"Nah, got too boring. We're the only Gryffindors staying this year," Ron moaned. "We think there are a few Ravenclaws that stayed, but we don't know. We haven't seen anyone else."

"I think nearly everyone went home because their parents are worried about Sirius Black," Hermione said with a shudder.

"Hermione's been doing too much homework, so we decided to force her to leave," Harry said with a laugh as Hermione pouted. "She doesn't know the meaning of relaxing, which is what we're supposed to be doing."

Emma tried to smile at that. "Wouldn't be Hermione if she didn't relax," Emma said, sharing knowing looks with Harry and Ron. "So, what were you all actually doing?"

"Keeping Hermione from the library mostly, except now she's seen you reading," Ron said with a dramatic sigh.

"No, she didn't," Emma said, shoving the book behind her back. "I was just laying here because Peeves dropped a bucket of water on me."

"Emma, you just stuck the book behind your back," Hermione said, crossing her arms.

"What book?"

"The book you were reading – Anne of Green Gables, it looked like."

"I was reading?" Emma tilted her head, giving Hermione a questioning look.

Harry and Ron looked at Emma as though she had gone mental, but then they slowly understood.

"Emma wasn't reading, Hermione," Harry said, doing an excellent job of biting back his grin. "I didn't see a book, did you, Ron?"

"No, I didn't see a book."

Hermione turned to look at the boys. "She just put it around her back!" Hermione said, annoyed.

Emma took the opportunity to quickly shove the book under her jumper and tuck it into the back of her trousers so it wouldn't fall. By the time Hermione turned around, Emma was sitting as she was before. It was almost too easy. "Hermione, I really wasn't reading, and I don't have a book behind my back." Emma stood up slowly to avoid dislodging the book. It was incredibly difficult for Emma to not smile when Hermione shouted in aggravation that the book was nowhere obvious to be seen.

"You had a book, Emma!" Hermione said. "I saw it!"

"Hermione, there was no book," Ron insisted.

It was a stroke of genius that Hermione grew annoyed with Ron and turned back to him. Emma took the opportunity to pull the book back out, and hastily passed it to Harry. He was prepared to pretend he had it the entire time. Emma and Harry shared a smirk and quickly schooled their expressions to look confused. When Hermione was tired of yelling at Ron, she nearly shrieked, seeing the book in Harry's hand.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked innocently.

"Nothing!" Hermione shouted, throwing her arms up in aggravation.

Emma was so sure that Harry would have handed the book back to Emma, but he held onto it as if it was his. It was tough not to laugh, and she cleared her throat to try and mask her giggle. She ran a hand through her hair, suddenly feeling awkward over what she was about to ask.

"I, uhm, I know we don't really hang out, but did you lot want to do something? There's not much to do right now, and I'm afraid I don't know what to do, but we could go up to my room and…and maybe play Exploding Snap? Or Gobstones? Dad's got a set of Gobstones, and he tries to make me play with him, but I'm terrible at it."

"Does he have wizard's chess?" Ron asked, perking up.

"He's got regular chess," Emma said with a shrug. "I know it's not the same, but…"

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione for a moment and then smiled at Emma. "I think Exploding Snap would be fine."

"R-really?" Emma asked in surprise. She had only ever had Persephone and Neville anywhere near her room. The idea of having Harry, Ron, and Hermione there seemed almost like it was an impossibility. Would Remus care? No – he wouldn't. He had been trying to convince her to make more friends. Remus would be pleased to see Emma trying to be friends with them.

"Yeah, why not?" Ron shrugged.

Hermione seemed almost excited. "Oh, I've always wondered what a professor's quarters are like!" she said in excitement.

"Well, then wait 'til you see it's exactly like home, then," Emma said, perking up. "Come on!"

The closer they approached the Defense classroom, the more nervous Emma became. She wasn't used to sharing this part of her life. She wasn't ashamed of her life with Remus, but she was well aware that they didn't have as much as most. Neville and Persephone were well off, but she trusted them more than anything, and they didn't care. Would Harry, Ron, and Hermione hate it or judge them for what they had?

"Why are we going to the Defense class?" Ron asked.

"Oh," Emma said, realizing that it seemed odd as they stepped into the room. "Our quarters are attached to the office. I'm not sure if it's like that for everyone, though."

"I believe Professor McGonagall's rooms are attached to her office as well," Hermione said. "I think everyone else has separate living spaces."

Emma hummed quietly as they walked up the stairs to the office. She frowned slightly seeing the blank wall, which meant Remus either sealed the entrance to not be bothered or he was with Dumbledore again. Without a second thought, Emma pressed her hand to the wall to activate the door.

"Whoa," Harry breathed out when a door appeared. "It's like getting into the Slytherin common room."

"Except there's no password," Emma said, putting her hand on the doorknob. "Only Dad and I can get in. Although Neville and Persephone can get in, too," Emma added thoughtfully.

"Neville has been here?"

"A few times," Emma said, pushing the door open with a sigh. The interior rooms were dark, which meant Remus wasn't actually around. "He's never mentioned it?"

"I think Neville's mentioned it a few times," Hermione said thoughtfully.

Emma nodded in surprise. Was she closer to Neville than they were? "Well, come in," Emma said, stepping over the threshold and gesturing for the others to join her. She watched nervously as they stepped in and let out the breath she was holding when they looked fascinated.

"This is where you live?" Ron asked in awe, looking around the living room. Emma wondered if it was the same look she had when she stepped foot into her home the very first time. She tried to look around to imagine that moment all over again. The cottage was quaint, but it was very comfortable, and most of the comforts of home were replicated in their quarters. The books not in the classroom were set up at home, and even the decorations.

"Yeah," Emma said, rubbing the back of her neck as she watched Hermione peering through the books. Ron and Harry had made their way over to the photos sitting on the mantel, and Emma sat down on the couch. "Make yourselves comfortable. It's a near-exact recreation of our home, including down to the furniture," Emma explained. She thought about it for a moment and decided to get up and take Remus's armchair instead. "'Course my room's bigger here, but I like feeling like I'm home."

"Oh, good, you're back." Emma watched in near horror when Remus suddenly walked in, staring at a piece of parchment in his hand. He was utterly oblivious to the fact that there were three other people in their living room, and they all froze. "I thought that we could head out tonight to head home. I thought it might be good…" Remus trailed off, finally looking up and blinking in surprise at the three teenagers standing in his living room. "Er, hello."

Emma gave Remus a sheepish grin as his gaze met hers. "Hi, Dad," she said nervously. "I hope you don't mind. They weren't doing anything. and I thought we could play Exploding Snap for a bit. Sorry, I should have asked first."

Remus's face was unreadable as he looked at all four teenagers, and then his expression softened, and he shook his head. "You didn't have to ask," Remus said, relaxing. "It's your home too, you know. Besides, it's the holidays." Remus smiled warmly at the others. "Did Emma offer you anything? I know it's just after lunch, but are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Emma immediately blushed. She was so used to Persephone just raiding the cabinets, and Neville usually came by after eating that Emma didn't even think to ask. Remus gave Emma a knowing look and winked.

"Oh, no, we're all right, Professor Lupin," Hermione said quickly.

"Well," Ron said slowly.

"I'll make everyone tea," Remus smiled, heading off to the kitchen.

"The magic to set this all up is impressive," Hermione said, looking around curiously. "This is really a recreation of your home?"

Emma scratched her head, starting to feel a little embarrassed. She knew the cottage was nothing like other homes, but she loved it. "Er, yeah."

"You should see the Burrow," Ron said. "At least everything is in one piece here. If it weren't for magic, I would be afraid the entire house would fall down."

"The Burrow is amazing," Harry said excitedly. "It's huge! There are five floors! Ron's room is all the way at the top!"

Ron grinned proudly. "There's the attic, too, mate. My room's not at the top," Ron said. "Hey! Now we can say we've been to Professor Lupin's house! How many people can say they've been to a professor's house?"

"Really, Ron?" Hermione said. "That's what you care about?"

"You know, Neville's been to my actual house," Emma said. "He hasn't just been here."

"Neville's gone to your house?" Ron asked in surprise. "Merlin, he doesn't tell us anything!"

"Your home is very lovely," Hermione said politely.

"Thanks," Emma grinned. "I'm rather partial to it."

"Thank you, Hermione," Remus said, levitating mugs to everyone and setting down a tea tray. "I hope tea bags are all right. Harry already knows I haven't had a moment to get anything else."

"We're sick of tea leaves," Ron said, sitting down on the couch. Hermione agreed.

Remus understood all too well, having to listen to Emma complain about it for weeks. "I think it's safe to say that none of you are interested in Divination?"

There was a resounding groan from all four teenagers.

"Dad, it's break," Emma said. "Please don't bring up Divination."

"I'll make sure not to bring it up again," Remus said, biting back his grin. "Emma, do you mind if I have a word with you in the kitchen?" Emma gave him a curious look as she slowly set down her cup of tea. "You're not in trouble," Remus added, and Emma relaxed slightly.

"I'll be right back," Emma said, standing up to follow Remus into the kitchen. She stared at him and watched as he pulled out a vial with blue liquid from his pocket. Emma completely forgot that she needed to start her doses of Wolfsbane Potion a day early.

"Severus caught me while I was with Dumbledore," Remus said quietly, handing Emma the vial. "I didn't know you had to start your doses early. Why is that?"

"It's because he's adjusting the aconite levels," Emma said, scowling as she unstopped the vial. "He has a theory, and unfortunately, I get to test it."

"Does Elara know?"

"Mmhmm," Emma said, taking the vial in one swallow. She pulled a face and thrust the container back at Remus. "She knows, and she's okay with it. The goal is to get me down to twice a week instead of every other day. Less waste and less stress if we can adjust to that. Elara wants to try and cut down my exposure to aconite unless I absolutely need it and wants to supplement with other potions instead."

Remus nodded slowly and frowned. "Why hasn't she said anything to me?"

"Not sure," Emma muttered, having a glass of water to wash down the flavor of the potion. "God, that bloody potion is terrible."

"Fairly positive you have said that about every single potion," Remus remarked with a sad smile.

Emma was about to make a comment, but she knew Remus would quickly sink into his melancholy self if she did. "It's all right that I have…well, Harry, Ron, and Hermione over?" Emma asked, wanting to change the subject. "I'm sorry, I really should have asked, but you weren't here…"

"Nonsense," Remus said, giving Emma a reassuring hug. "It's your home, too. Now, if you tried this when term started, then we would be having a different discussion. I'll give you a pass this time." Remus kissed the top of Emma's head before letting her go. "I thought maybe we would head home tonight, but if you want to spend time with them…"

"Oh," Emma said quietly, looking down the hallway towards the living room. "I don't know. I haven't really packed yet."

"I'll start," Remus smiled. "If we have to leave tomorrow morning, then we'll leave tomorrow. It's not a problem."

Emma gave Remus another hug with a smile. She was never going to take Remus for granted for as long as she lived. "Thanks, Dad," Emma said quietly before rushing back into the living room to join the others.

Instead of starting to pack, Remus decided to have a cup of tea as well and settled himself in the kitchen. He didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but he couldn't help himself. It was nice to hear more voices, and he was glad that Emma was trying to make friends.

"Hermione, know what I thought of the other day?" Emma suddenly said before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Oh, I'm afraid to know," Hermione said nervously.

"All I'm going to say is Madam Malkins."

"Oh, no," Hermione moaned. "Please, do not remind me."

"Well," Emma said slowly, making Remus start to chuckle. He was curious to hear this story.

"Emma, please don't! I'll never hear the end of it!"

"Oh, come off it, Hermione. You can't tell me that you don't find it funny now. Please let me tell it!"

"Tell it!" Ron said excitedly.

"Right, so you lot remember the measuring tapes Madam Malkin uses, correct? The one that just does it all itself, and she just walks off? Well, I was fitted first, and Madam Malkin set things off to do whatever it was she was doing, I don't really know, and was working on getting Hermione fitted. Well, Madam Malkin just up and left, and poor Hermione had absolutely no idea and had an entire conversation as if the witch was there. I didn't have the heart to tell her."

"I was so cross with you!" Hermione huffed as Harry and Ron laughed.

"You just kept going!" Emma exclaimed. "I don't even know if you took a single breath the entire time!"

"You still could have told me!"

"In my defense, I tried to get your attention a few times, but you were too busy going on and on and on. Just be glad your parents weren't there because your mum would have made fun of you, just like when we went to the apothecary!"

Remus smiled, listening to the four laughing. It reminded him of late nights in the Gryffindor dorm with the rest of the Marauders. With a sigh, Remus realized that the second generation of Marauders was sitting in his living room. It almost felt wrong. He should have done more for Harry, too.

"Do you lot remember the troll?" Ron suddenly asked, drawing Remus's attention further. Emma had never talked about what happened with the troll, and he was curious.

"Oh, God," Harry said with a snort. "I felt as though I was pulling troll boogers off my wand for weeks."

"I just can't believe you wedged it so far up its nose," Emma said, laughing.

"And Ron did the best levitation spell I've ever seen," Hermione said.

"It was rather good, wasn't it?" Ron said with a grin.

"It was brilliant," Emma said brightly. "I thought that was the end for all of us – especially Harry. What made you think of it?"

"Dunno," Ron said after a moment. "It was the first thing I thought of, and I had no idea whether it would work."

There was silence, and then the four teenagers immediately burst into laughter, and Remus smiled over his mug. He knew that Emma was afraid of trying to be their friend, but it seemed that she was worried for no reason. Remus hoped that James and Lily would be proud of who their children were. He knew that he was.

a/n: I honestly spent most of today trying to think of just the CHAPTER name. I'm not too happy with this chapter's name, but it'll do. Hope you all enjoyed this one!

What sort of things do you want to see me talk about down here? I'm going to start posting random nonsense on Tumblr I think. MAYBE. Haven't decided - I have it, but need to use it more. My Twitter game is an absolute mess.

Lu! I'm so glad you enjoyed the past few chapters! There's still quite a bit of mystery to go for Emma, and as of now, that'll all be answered by the end of year 4! Greyback definitely has something up his sleeves.

Guest~ I needed them to have a happy little GOOD life-changing moment together. It was bittersweet, but they needed it. Oooh, Greyback. He's inspired many jokes over the duration of me writing this series because he is the actual worst, but has become a very necessary evil. I have to admit that somewhere along the line, he has become one of my favorite characters to write just because you never know with him. Padfoot and Moony are officially safe, and I'm declaring that now for EVERYONE to see since they don't have Twitter. Tissues and chocolate will be needed for other moments, but Wolfstar will live on. :D

I apologize to anyone hoping for future Remadora - I think that ship has sailed.