The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Emma had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing from how uncomfortable she felt. She wasn't expecting so many people to be at the meeting, and she felt out of her element. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Sprout sat on one side of the desk, talking silently to each other. Emma was getting tired of having to wait, and that's what the entire weekend felt like. She had to wait to see her friends, she had to wait to do anything mundane, and she had to wait to hear what anyone had to say.

Emma picked at the hem of her skirt, keeping her eyes downcast. Remus sat to her left, a hand resting protectively on her knee. His foot was tapping anxiously on the floor as he waited for the Professors to stop speaking.

"Well, none of us are getting any younger just sitting here," Dumbledore finally said, turning his attention to Emma. They had all finally finished their discussion, and now it was Emma's turn. "And I think that we have all but exhausted this conversation. Emma, you are aware that starting next year, precautions will be put in place, correct?"

Emma nodded, but Remus took her hand, giving it a small squeeze, and she sighed. She looked up to meet Dumbledore's gaze. "Yes," she said quietly.

"I understand that you made the decision to stay for the last week," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes staring into Emma's. It wasn't the easiest decision to make, but she figured another week at school wasn't going to make much of a difference. "And you understand some of those precautions will be put in place as of today?"

"Yes." It wasn't as if they hadn't already gone through her things. The first thing they had made sure to take from her was her wand and her potions kit. It had become evident that she wasn't going to have much freedom.

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Now, it is to my understanding that there was an incident involving you and Miss Carmichael two weeks ago," Dumbledore said, causing Remus to look over at Emma with raised eyebrows. He clearly didn't know. She ducked her head, trying to act as though she felt bad about it, but she watched Remus out of the corner of her eye. "Unfortunately, as much as you may believe she deserved to have been hit, I'm afraid that you will still have to serve your detention."

Emma didn't miss the way Remus's lips twitched slightly, but never fully lifted into a smile. He squeezed her hand again, and Emma had to bite the inside of her cheek. He might not have been proud of the things she had done lately, but he was certainly proud of that.

"Now, Professor Snape has made it clear that he will not have you in his classroom for the rest of the year," Dumbledore said, causing Emma's head to rise quickly. She had completely forgotten her detention was supposed to be served with Snape. "Instead, you will be serving that time with Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout. Your time with Madame Pomfrey will be during your first and second period on Tuesday, your full afternoon on Wednesday, and your sixth period on Thursday. You will be joining Professor Sprout during your fourth and fifth period on Monday and your entire morning on Friday."

It could be worse, Emma thought to herself. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Snape's scathing comments.

"For your safety, you will not be permitted to attend your final astronomy class. You will have an escort for each of your classes. Depending on the situation, this will range between another professor or a student. Your free period must be spent in either your common room or the library. Miss Moon and Mr. Longbottom have already been given permission to join you in your common room if you would like their company," Dumbledore explained, pausing to wait for Emma's acknowledgment.

With Emma's small nod, Dumbledore continued, "If you have interest going onto the grounds, a member of staff will need to remain with you at all times, regardless of whether another student joins you. As I have canceled final exams, all I ask from you is patience and your honesty. None of this is to make your life harder, it's to make sure that you stay safe."

Emma frowned slightly. Remus had already prepared her for most of what was said, but if this was just for a week, what was the next year going to be like? "I understand," she said quietly.

"Perfect," Dumbledore said, turning to Professor Snape and Professor Sprout. "I think that will be all."

Professor Sprout gave Emma a small smile, but Snape didn't look her way as they went to leave.

"Wait, Professor Snape," Emma said, pulling her hand from Remus's grip and turning around in her chair. She was surprised when he actually stopped and turned to look at her, his gaze cold.

"What, Lupin?" Snape drawled, an eyebrow raising. "If you are going to insist that I let you into my classroom for the rest of this year, you are sorely mistaken."

"No," Emma said quietly, ducking her head. She stood up slowly, ignoring the looks she was getting from Remus. "I wanted to apologize. I wasn't thinking."

"You are correct. You weren't thinking, and you were extremely selfish."

"I know," Emma said quickly, cutting Remus off before he started speaking. "I just – I need to know what I did wrong." She met Snape's sharp gaze for a moment and then turned her attention to a spot on the floor. "I've been trying to figure out where I went wrong, but no one's explained to me exactly what I did."

"Sweetheart, please," Remus said softly. "You don't need to do this right now."

"No, I need to know," Emma said, fixing Remus with a look. "No one has told me a thing, and I think I deserve to know."

"You think you deserve to know?" Snape asked slowly, his eyes narrowing.

Emma turned to look at Snape. "Maybe I don't deserve to know," she said quietly, feeling her face flush. "But if I'm not allowed back in your class, then I need to figure things out myself. If I don't know what I did wrong, then I can't figure out how to teach myself in the future."

Snape stared at her for a moment, his face like a stone. His eyes moved practically imperceptibly over her shoulder to look at Dumbledore. Just when Emma was sure Snape was about to leave Dumbledore's office, he straightened himself out and stared into Emma's eyes.

"You poisoned yourself, Lupin," Snape said. "And not well, might I add."

"That was as far as I had gotten," Emma admitted, swallowing hard. She could feel Remus's eyes boring into the back of her skull. She wasn't sure how much more she could handle him staring at her while she tried to keep eye contact with Snape.

"There were several steps that you did incorrectly. Ultimately, the amount of that mess you consumer would have been your demise had it been brewed correctly. However, that was not the case because what you considered a complete Draught of Living Death was lethal in another way. Why would that be?"

Emma thought about it for a minute. If she had poisoned herself, then she had most likely messed up on – "My measurements weren't correct," Emma said after a moment. "I don't think there was enough Sopophorous bean juice."

"Did you follow the instructions exactly?"

"Yes," she said.

"What did the instructions say to do?"

"It said to cut the beans."

"Would there have been a more effective method? Or do you believe that your method was correct."

This gave Emma pause. "I could have crushed them instead of cutting. If I decided to cut them again, then I would need more beans to compensate."

Snape's eyes narrowed slightly but was apparently intrigued enough to continue his line of questioning.

"What makes the Draught of Living Death toxic?"

"Emma," Remus repeated, trying to draw Emma's attention, but she ignored him.

"Wormwood is considered a toxic ingredient when used in high amounts. Asphodel isn't considered toxic except for the root," Emma said, running through the steps in her mind. "Because the draught requires the use of powdered root, the combination leads to high toxicity."

Emma paused, looking down at the floor as she went back through the steps she had to take and what the instructions required. It was almost like a lightbulb went off in her mind as she started to figure out what exactly had gone wrong.

"When both ingredients are mixed with the Sopophorous, it dilutes the toxicity level because it acts as a binding agent, not mixing," Emma started to talk faster, everything started to make sense. "My measurements of asphodel and wormwood weren't as perfect as they should have been. Even if they weren't exact at the start, if I had compensated with additional Sopophorous, the potion would have been brewed correctly. By crushing the Sopophorous right at the beginning, I would have been able to fix the over-compensation of wormwood and asphodel."

She looked up at Snape, trying to read his expression. Unable to figure out what he was thinking, Emma looked back down at the floor.

"There was another mistake that was made, one that was crucial and would have caused an adverse side-effect," Snape said after a moment.

Emma felt her blood run cold, knowing immediately what he was referring to. "The valerian. I didn't take enough care to make sure that the reduced liquid wasn't free of root when pouring it," Emma said slowly, shivering slightly as she remembered how cold everything had been. "There was too much root, so the sedative qualities were, for lack of a better word, canceled out the moment it bonded with the wormwood and asphodel. And that was why everything got cold before…"

There was a sharp intake of breath from someone, but Emma refused to turn her head to see who it was. She kept her eyes trained on Snape's, refusing to look away despite that weird feeling she had.

"As idiotic as you were attempting to brew a potion far past your skill level, I will take this conversation into consideration when making my decision," Snape said curly after a moment. He held Emma's gaze for another moment and swept out of the office.

Emma let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and sat back down slowly in her chair. Remus gave her a look but placed his hand back on her knee.

Dumbledore only gave Emma an appraising look, and McGonagall only wore a soft smile.

"If only you talked like that in my class," McGonagall said, drawing an embarrassed smile from Emma. "Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised after the glowing reviews I've heard from Professor Sprout."

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore said. "Potions and Herbology go well together, after all."

Emma couldn't help but duck her head to try and hide her blush. She couldn't understand how they could compliment her after what she had done. McGonagall took the opportunity to leave the office, stopping to squeeze Emma's shoulder as she left.

"Now, I know that you have been pestering your father to give you information all weekend," Dumbledore said, causing Emma to look away in embarrassment. She just wanted to understand what was happening. "I promise that I won't keep you waiting much longer, but I need to tell you something first before I delve into our next topic."

"What's that?" Emma asked quietly.

"Your past does not define you, Emma. I know that things have been difficult and that you have had a difficult year, but I trust that you will learn from your mistakes," Dumbledore said, smiling as Emma nodded. "There are a lot of people who love you and would be very disappointed to not have you here."

"I'm sure that there are more that would be glad if I wasn't," Emma said bitterly and instantly regretting it as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Emma, don't you dare ever say that again," Remus chastised. "That's not the truth, and you know it."

"Sorry," Emma muttered, flinching slightly.

"Remus, remember that she still needs time," Dumbledore said. "She'll figure it out in time, and it's best that we remember that."

"Of course," Remus said after a moment.

"Now, Emma, I suppose that we shouldn't keep you waiting any longer," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, I have to tell you we don't have all the answers, even after our very long discussions. We believe that there is a validity to the dreams you were having."

"They're not just dreams?" Emma asked, unsure if she was more nervous or relieved by the possibility.

"They are not just dreams," Dumbledore confirmed. "At least, not all of them."

"What do you mean?"

"For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to them as dreams as they only come to you in sleep," Dumbledore said, looking to Remus to continue.

"The dreams that you have been having are mostly based on real places," Remus said carefully, glancing over at Dumbledore. "We have reason to believe that you remember places, and in some instances, even events."

"Which ones?" Emma asked curiously.

"All of them, but for different reasons," Remus answered. "Emma, do you recall any of those places outside of your dreams?"

"No," Emma said quietly. "The only thing that's always been familiar has been…" Emma trailed off with a shudder.

"Greyback?" Dumbledore asked, filling in Emma's sentence for her.

Emma nodded, watching as Remus and Dumbledore passed a look between each other. "But what does that mean?"

"It means that there are more questions that we need answers to," Dumbledore said. "We have some answers, but we don't have all of them."

Remus hesitated before turning to Emma. "And that means we're going to look more into Jude."

"Does that mean that you believe me?" Emma asked, her eyes wide.

"It's not a matter of anyone not believing you," Dumbledore answered. "The issue right now is discovering what we might have missed and what else might have gone unnoticed. We are not taking this lightly."

"Emma, do you recall the dream you had that we had an argument over?" Remus asked, watching as Emma crossed her arms.

"Yeah," Emma said, her confusion quickly turning to terror. She forgot that she had omitted a very crucial piece to that dream. "Oh…"

"Why didn't you tell me everything?"

"I didn't think it was important," Emma said slowly. "I mean…it's not like you're actually like that, right?" She laughed nervously, looking away quickly.

Remus was grateful when she looked away so that he could steel himself. He looked over at Dumbledore, who only raised his eyebrows in return, but Remus wasn't ready. A part of him knew that Emma had to know what he was, but he still couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Of course not," he said, forcing a smile on his face. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I mostly wanted to bring it up because I was wondering if you knew where you were?"

"Should I know?"

"It was your home," Remus said, glad that he had a moment to reset his face as Emma looked at him.

"That was where I lived? Before?"

"It was how your home looked when you went missing," Dumbledore clarified. "I'm sure you noticed that it didn't appear as though many people lived there."

"I did find that weird," Emma said quietly. "But if I try to remember it while I'm awake, I couldn't tell you anything about it. At least not everything."

"We believe that while you're sleeping, you become relaxed enough that you begin to remember things," Dumbledore said, looking over at Remus. "We're not sure what causes you to remember certain things, but not others."

"And you're not sure what's real and what isn't?" Emma asked, swallowing hard.

"That's correct," Dumbledore nodded.

"So, now what?"

"Now we wait and see. I will be taking part of the summer to look into some of the things that we found concerning. I make no guarantees that I will find the answers, but I will do my best."

"And I'll make sure that I really pay attention to what you tell me," Remus said, squeezing Emma's knee. "I don't think I can ever apologize enough to you for not listening to you."

"I wish that we could give you more than the promise that we are going to try to figure out what your dreams mean," Dumbledore said. "After all, our dreams are meant to tell us something."

"Thank you," Emma said quietly to Dumbledore.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start my search in finding a new Defense teacher for next year," Dumbledore said, giving Remus a pointed look.

"I think that's our cue to leave," Remus said, helping Emma up. She looped her arm through his, though she was having a much easier day walking.

"I wasn't aware that you enjoyed potions that much," Remus said as they left Dumbledore's office.

Emma shrugged. "It just makes sense to me. At least mixing things makes sense. Spellcasting is weird."

"I'm disappointed, though," Remus said, his tone lighthearted.

"What did I do?" Emma asked, worried.

"You don't seem interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Remus said, giving her a cheeky grin.

"You wouldn't either if you didn't have a decent teacher." Emma sighed. "Hey, maybe you should take the position," Emma said excitedly.

"As wonderful as that sounds, I can't," Remus said. "I don't have the qualifications."

"I think you should do it. Will you at least think about it?" Emma asked with a pout.

Remus stopped and turned to Emma, holding her at arms-length. "I'll think about it, but I don't think that it'll be possible," Remus said. "Try not to get your hopes up."

The rest of their walk was quiet, but Emma felt herself growing more upset the closer they got to the entrance hall. She wondered if she should just go home early, it wasn't as though she would be allowed to do much anyway.

"Are you going to be okay until the end of the week?" Remus asked as they stood in the entrance hall.

Emma anxiously shuffled, looking down at her feet before she nodded, a cheeky grin crossing her face. "Are you?"

"What am I going to do with you?" Remus laughed, stroking her cheek.

"Take me home now?" Emma asked, almost pleadingly.

"Did you want to go home today?"

"I don't know," Emma answered. "I want to, but I feel like I need to stay…"

"It's up to you," Remus said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "If it were my choice, I would just take you home today."

"Emma!"

Emma turned to see Persephone and Neville standing in the entrance of the Great Hall waving at her, and she frowned. "It's lunchtime, right?"

Remus looked at his watch, "It would appear so." Remus watched as Emma's brow furrowed as she looked at Persephone and Neville. "It's okay if you want to stay. I won't get that offended."

A huff of a laugh left Emma. "Are you sure?"

"Are you?"

Emma smiled, wrapping her arms around Remus. "I'm sure," she said, pulling away.

"Then so am I," Remus smiled. "Go, don't keep them waiting. You know how impatient Persephone gets." Remus pulled Emma in for another hug and watched as she joined her friends.

Persephone and Neville pulled Emma into tight hugs, and Remus worried for a moment as Emma tensed up. It took her a moment, but Emma finally relaxed, and when she turned to give him a broad smile, he knew that she would be okay. He eventually made his way through the large wood doors when he saw that the three had finally disappeared into the Great Hall. They would all be okay.

At first, Emma wasn't sure that staying at Hogwarts had been the best idea. It was very inconvenient to have to wait for someone every class period and for every meal. It was even worse when she needed to use the toilet and was escorted by a male and would then have to wait for a female to take her to the lavatory.

She felt naked without her wand, but she didn't mind not having to wear her robe. The weather had gotten hot, and she didn't mind not having to wear the extra layer. It made the last of her classes difficult as they reviewed, but it allowed Emma to get ahead on their summer work. She wondered how things were going to work the next year if she wasn't allowed to have her wand, but she decided she would worry about it when it was time.

One of the benefits of having to be escorted everywhere was Jocelyn didn't say a word to her. To Emma's surprise, Jocelyn didn't even look at her, and neither did her friends. Emma wasn't sure if any of them had been talked to, but she didn't care. They were leaving her alone, and that was all she could ask for.

Working with Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She didn't enjoy having to help Madame Pomfrey clean out bedpans and the other mundane activities, but she did enjoy helping her organize. Emma found that she really enjoyed helping her when other students would come in needing care. Madame Pomfrey seemed to have realized the same thing and offered for Emma to start shadowing her if she was interested. Emma said that she would think about it.

Emma found that she enjoyed working with Professor Sprout just as much as she enjoyed working with Madame Pomfrey. Emma was even treated to visiting one of the other greenhouses, which held some of the more dangerous plants. The greenhouses were warm, and Emma was left covered in dirt and sweat, but the knowledge she learned was invaluable. She enjoyed being able to share the new information she learned with Neville. Persephone didn't understand, but she listened anyway.

At one point, McGonagall had taken pity on Emma and offered to escort her and Persephone out onto the grounds and sit near the lake. Emma took the opportunity to finally bring her sketchbook back out. Emma and Persephone sprawled out on the grass, enjoying the sun. To Emma's delight, the squid seemed to somehow know what she was doing and appeared to almost wave at her as she drew. McGonagall sat nearby in what looked to be a very comfortable chair, grading papers.

When McGonagall decided it was time for them to go back inside, she hummed in surprise at Emma's drawing. "I see you've picked up Remus's artistic talent," she said, almost as if she wasn't surprised by the revelation. Emma could only smile in response.

The final feast of the year had been bittersweet. Emma's housemates had finally started to talk to her again. Ernie had finally apologized to Harry and spent a lot of time apologizing to Emma. She was even more surprised when Chloe had apologized to her after the feast was over.

"She's my sister," Chloe told Emma, wringing her hands nervously. "But none of us should have done what we did. I'm not talking to her anymore." Chloe had bit her lip, cringing slightly as she thought about everything that she had done. "I know that you won't want to be friends, but…I want you to know that I'm really sorry."

Emma knew that she should say something as Chloe walked away, but she couldn't find it in her to say a word. Maybe next year.

"Can you believe it? We're third years now," Persephone said as they walked up the stone steps to board the Hogwarts Express the next morning.

"I'm nervous about our new classes," Neville admitted, grabbing onto Trevor as he tried to leap out of his hands.

"I'm only a second year," Caspian complained.

"Trust me, you'll wish you were still a first year," Emma said, causing Persephone and Neville to laugh in agreement.

Emma, Persephone, Caspian, and Neville settled into an empty compartment. Emma still found it funny that Neville tagged around with them, but it was nice. Persephone and Caspian didn't seem to mind, and they were two people that Neville seemed to feel comfortable around.

The train departed the station, and they all let out a collective sigh of relief. The summer had finally started. The air in the compartment suddenly changed as they looked at each other, everything feeling much lighter than before. Surrounded by her best friends, Emma finally realized something – she had almost everyone she needed next to her. She was loved, and she was important to everyone in that compartment. As they discussed their plans for the summer, Emma couldn't help but smile.

She would be okay.

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you for once again joining me on this journey. It's been a very long one and it was very difficult for me to write. It forced me to relive some of the darker moments of my life, but allowed me to finally come to terms with some things in my past.

I hope you'll join me and Emma for her third year.