Emma didn't bother asking how Fenrir knew where her room was and just allowed him to pull her along. It was going to take her some time to memorize the house's pathways, and she would have to make sure she did that. She idly wondered if she could convince Remus to walk her through the steps of making the Marauder's Map so she could make her own. A map of the Moon household with all of its occupants could be a smart idea, but would it work? The Marauder's Map was reliant on all of the magic that existed in Hogwarts – would just her magic be enough?

Fenrir opened the door to Emma's room and motioned for her to head in first. How chivalrous, Emma thought to herself, rolling her eyes. She pulled her hand out of Fenrir's and walked in. She was delighted when Figaro stopped playing and looked her way and was about to bend down to pick her up, but Figaro ran right past her. Emma watched in horror as the kitten ran straight up to Fenrir and climbed up his trousers and shirt to perch on Fenrir's shoulder.

Emma's jaw dropped as she watched as Figaro rubbed her face on the side of Fenrir's. He looked far too amused, and Emma was floored as she watched Fenrir carefully pull Figaro from his shoulder.

"Figaro, you little traitor," Emma hissed, glaring at the kitten that was sitting very happily between Fenrir's hands. "You are such a little shit!" Emma growled, not happy that the cat was enjoying Fenrir petting her. "You are not supposed to be enjoying that!"

Fenrir smirked and set the kitten down gently on the bed. When he turned to Emma, his gaze was sharp. She curled in on herself slightly, bracing herself for the Fenrir she experienced at the river the one night. Emma almost felt like if the ocean was closer, he would toss her in with his aggravation.

"Why are you here?" Fenrir barked out. "You're supposed to be at home."

"I can ask you the same thing! You're supposed to be…" Emma frowned and gestured vaguely around the room. "Elsewhere! I don't even know where you live, but you should be there. The fact that you're here at all is very suspect."

"I'm here because I was planning to remind Jude, who actually has the power in your situation," Fenrir said, punctuating his sentence with a growl. "Clearly, I was wrong."

Emma stormed up to Fenrir and glared up at him. "Clearly, if you bothered to tell me your damned plans, it would have been a different story!" Emma said sharply. "You – are – an – idiot!" Emma said, slamming her fists into Fenrir's chest between each word. "What did you do?"

"I was trying to help you."

"Well, you did a real shit job at that!" Emma said, punching Fenrir as hard as she could and growling at him when he started to laugh. "Stop laughing, you arrogant prick!"

"This is adorable," Fenrir laughed, grabbing onto Emma's wrists to keep her from her feeble assault. "Are you trying to hurt me? Because I guarantee you're hurting yourself more than you're hurting me."

Emma's breath came out in aggravated little huffs as she glowered at Fenrir. "You're like a damned brick wall!" she shouted. "It's not fair."

Fenrir sighed, let go of Emma's wrists, and grabbed her underneath her arms, ignoring her indignant shout. He brought her over to the bed and forced her to sit down, watching in amusement as she crossed her arms.

"Are you done with your little temper tantrum?" Fenrir asked.

"I could knock your arse completely out that window right now if I wanted to," Emma growled.

"You know, if you're going to do something, it's probably best not to give away your plans."

"I said if I wanted to. Don't be thick," Emma said, turning her attention to watching Figaro, who had quickly grown bored and was playing with a toy mouse.

"So you're not mad at me anymore? Last I recall, you were quite angry with me."

"Careful," Emma growled. "I might stab you again."

"Oh, really? And where is your knife? Not many places for you to hide it in that outfit of yours."

"Don't test me, Fenrir."

Fenrir studied Emma for a moment before pulling off his suit jacket. Emma eyed Fenrir suspiciously as he unbuttoned his shirt sleeves and started to roll them up.

"I'm surprised that you know how to find clothes that fit," Emma muttered.

"Sage has expectations when I visit," Fenrir said simply. "And I figured I might as well get comfortable as I'm not going anywhere tonight."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

Fenrir drew so close to Emma that she was forced to lean back. His hands were on either side of her legs, and he bent low. His nose was nearly touching hers. Emma hated when Fenrir did this exact thing, hated how he tried to intimidate her. She wasn't going to let it work, but she shivered at how close he was. Unfortunately, Emma didn't think she would ever shake the shred of fear she felt. Then again, she would probably be stupid to not have it when it came to Fenrir.

"You, fy lleuad bach, have earned yourself a week with me, at the bare minimum so I can make sure that you're safe. Congratulations."

"Oh, wonderful," Emma drawled. "How lucky for me…"

"Why do you think I call you Rabbit? You're lucky." Fenrir said, kissing the tip of Emma's nose and laughing at Emma's growl as he straightened up. "My God, when you let Soleil out, you really let her out, don't you?"

"Or you piss me off enough that I don't care."

Fenrir chuckled and inclined his head. "That could also do it," he said. "Now, explain to me what exactly happened. Today should have been easy for you if you paid attention to anything I ever tried to teach you."

"Jude had a solicitor," Emma said, rubbing her nose to keep it from twitching. She knew that if it did, Fenrir would call her out on it. He enjoyed reminding her how much she reminded him of a rabbit. "And I had the unpleasant experience of dealing with Umbridge. I hardly doubt I have to explain how that went."

"Jude had a solicitor?" Fenrir questioned, an eyebrow lifting. Emma gave a nod, and Fenrir hummed thoughtfully. "The bastard. You were fucked before you even got into the room."

"Yes," Emma said. "I figured when sent your note this morning that it had something to do with Jude. I don't think even if I knew about your ridiculous plan, we would have stood a chance. Between the solicitor and Umbridge, it was brutal. Neither of the other two children's homes were willing to take me because the directors didn't want to get on your bad side. My suggestions of where to go were shot down, Jude suggested here, and well…."

Fenrir nodded in understanding and sat down heavily in one of the armchairs across the room, propping his head on his hand. He didn't often lapse into thought, and Emma watched him for a few moments. She wanted to pull her legs up, but she didn't think it would be easy to do in her dress and opted for crossing her ankles. She didn't need to give Fenrir any ideas.

"You know, you could have told me what you were doing," Emma said, giving one of Figaro's mice a light kick so the kitten would chase after it. "That would've been nice information to know."

"And risk you ruining everything before you needed to know it? Absolutely not," Fenrir said, meeting Emma's gaze. He studied Emma's face and snorted. "Then again, I also thought it would have been obvious."

"Papa was the only one who questioned it," Emma said, "but he didn't really focus on it for long. Daddy and Papa said I didn't smell any different, so that was that."

"You don't smell different," Fenrir admitted. "The changes were too subtle. Unless someone knew what they were looking for, they wouldn't know."

"So, do you think Dad doesn't even know?"

"He's too observant. He knows," Fenrir said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt. "He wouldn't dare mention it to you unless he had concrete proof. I know him just as well as I know you, remember that."

That thought was not reassuring, and Emma didn't need the reminder. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to yell at Fenrir about, but she wasn't sure where to start. The last thing she wanted was to spend so much time with him again, but there was no point in trying to argue with him. Whatever Fenrir was going to do, he was going to do, and Emma wasn't going to let herself worry about it until it happened. She still wasn't entirely comfortable being around him, she couldn't forgive him for what he'd done, but she couldn't deny he tried to help. If she had been left alone with Jude at dinner, she had no idea what she would have done.

She wished she could understand Fenrir and wished she could get a much better read on him, but he was confusing. Even though Remus insisted that there would be a day she would be able to separate her feelings, Emma was beyond terrified she wouldn't. Fenrir would be arrogant and act like the monster people knew him as, but then he would act the exact opposite. It was almost like Fenrir worked hard to forget his humanity, while Remus clung to every bit of it that he could. If Emma was ever turned, she wanted to be like Elara and sit somewhere in the middle. She didn't want to give in entirely to Soleil, but she didn't want to fight her either.

"You really do look lovely, just so you know," Fenrir suddenly said.

Emma looked up from watching Figaro to find Fenrir staring hard at her. "Thank you," she said, hoping that she didn't blush, and she ran a hand through her hair anxiously. "That one night when you were dressed nice like tonight, was it because you were here?"

Fenrir gave a slight nod in response to Emma's question. "Shorter hair suits you. You're beautiful with long hair, but shorter hair makes you look strong. Might have taken you more seriously a few weeks ago if you looked like this, even in a dress."

"You're the one who said that a werewolf with a wand is dangerous," Emma said pointedly. "I believe that one was your fault. You should've known better."

"You know you're terrible at accepting compliments. Every single time I've tried to compliment you, you always have to turn it around somehow. You won't accept it."

"Well, considering I've never looked like the same person, it's a bit hard to," Emma said with a slight snort. "Every time I've gotten used to how I look, I've changed. You didn't exactly help with that…"

"I told you, I did it to protect you."

"So you decide to scar my face up? The bites I could have accepted, but my face?"

"I told you that I would," Fenrir shrugged. "I wasn't about to half-ass it. Besides, with the timing, there were no guarantees you would have been admitted."

"But I don't understand what exactly you were trying to supposedly save me from. You won't tell me."

"Tell me something, who was there the night of the full?"

Emma frowned, crossing her arms again. "Ellis."

"Right. And when did Jude leave Saint Mungo's?"

"The same night…"

"Good, you paid attention to that much," Fenrir said. "Now, did Ellis have you do anything strange? Something that made absolutely no sense?"

"Well, yes, but I would have done it anyway. I wouldn't have left all of my things had I realized that I was going to be moved into a different room."

Fenrir shook his head. "You have to think about this differently," he said. "That would have been the sensible move to pack your things. Leaving your things out would have been stupid, but have you considered how easy it would have been to kill you because you had everything with you?"

"No?"

Fenrir hummed, glancing over at the window before reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his box of cigarettes. He plucked out a cigarette and held it between his teeth as he lit it and took a long drag.

"It would have been so easy to stage and perfect timing because you would have been far too weak to do a thing," Fenrir said, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows on his knees. "You had no wand, and you were exhausted. They could have taken you without a trace, and by having all of your things, well, –" Fenrir's let out a single bitter laugh "– they could have left a piece of clothing here, a piece of clothing there. It would just seem like the little half-werewolf girl decided to run away. If you were found dead, it would just be an unfortunate accident – or not. If you had to deal with Umbridge, then you know exactly what people say about werewolves."

"And how exactly do you know this?"

"Because it's exactly the sort of thing I would have done if I wanted you dead," Fenrir admitted. "It would have been far too easy. However, your father had the sense to mention that it would be important for you to be moved to a different location for the night. I'm sure he made the suggestion because he was worried that I would be the problem. He didn't know that he kept you from being kidnapped, but you weren't out of danger just yet. Someone apparently did some research into things and realized Ellis's relation to you through Persephone, and he was pulled from the case. That changed things because that was Jude's ticket to getting his hands on you. He decided to take things into his own hands and was conveniently all right and left the hospital."

"So then why did you still attack me? If Ellis was no longer an issue, and neither was Jude, what was the point?"

A twisted smile crossed Fenrir's face, and Emma paled. "They didn't know that Ward was no longer part of the equation," Fenrir said, sounding far too pleased with himself. "But I wasn't about to risk them finding that out too soon. If they found out right away, they would have taken advantage, and in the shape you were in, you wouldn't have had a fighting chance. If I didn't intervene, you would have either wound up killing yourself, or they would have done it for you."

The logic behind Fenrir's actions made too much sense, and Emma was lost for words, hating the idea that she could understand. She searched Fenrir's face looking for any sign that he could possibly be lying to her, but there was none. There had been multiple points where Emma had wanted Fenrir to lie to her, and she found herself feeling that way again. She didn't want there to be any logic behind what he did to her. She wanted it to be a completely mindless attack, to give her a reason to hate him, but she couldn't. It was a terrible plan, one that hurt her and terrified her, but it was effective. She would be scarred for life, but she was alive.

"Like I said, I was never the villain in your story," Fenrir said, leaning back in his chair and resting his ankle on his knee. "It's about time you figure that out."

"But the things you did to my father –"

"He's not part of this. This is about you."

"But I can't excuse the things that you did to him."

"Things that you weren't around for? Half of which happened when you weren't even born? He knew what he was getting into," Fenrir said. "Here's the thing you need to understand about your father – he detests everything about being a werewolf. Your grandfather led him to feel that way. As much as Lyall insisted he changed his tune, he never did, not entirely. If your father had been with me the entire time, like he should have, he would have been completely different. In fact, the more time he spent with the pack, the more he started to become at peace with himself. Don't let him fool you because of his feelings towards me."

"But Fenrir –"

"Don't try and use your father as an excuse to try and rationalize your feelings towards me," Fenrir said sharply. "I feel that's an inherited Lupin trait because I know you didn't learn that behavior from me, and you've acted like this your entire life. It drives me mental that you come so far, and you let your thoughts get in your way." Fenrir was back up on his feet, the last of his cigarette held between his lips. He held Emma's head between his hands and tipped her face up to look at him. "You are brilliant, and you refuse to show it. I shouldn't have to provoke you to pull that brilliance out and make you see your full potential. I'm telling you right now, things are changing, and they're changing quickly. You're not going to be on the wrong side."

"But I can't stand what you do. You take the whole dark creature thing and roll with it."

"There is no light or dark. You can't keep separating the world into two different lines of thinking; that's incredibly foolish."

"Then your logic regarding werewolves is incredibly flawed. You don't let anyone in your pack keep their wands."

"That's not true," Fenrir said, shaking his head. He let go of Emma's face for a moment to flick his cigarette butt out the window. "Trusted individuals, loyal pack members, keep their wands," he said, cupping Emma's chin to keep her looking at him. "A werewolf with a wand is dangerous, but that's what makes us superior. Everything about us is pure magic – surely you understand that. We're stronger, we're faster, we can pull magic from the earth and from the elements to do as we wish."

"Then answer this for me – why me? What makes me any better than someone else?"

"Because you – are – perfect," he said. "I had my doubts about you, believe me. You were – still are – small, but that is part of your advantage. You pay attention to what's going on around you; most times, you think before you act. I didn't even have to mold you into what I wanted because you were exactly what I've been looking for. You don't even understand how powerful you'll be the moment Soleil can come completely forward."

"I already told you, I don't want to be powerful."

"That's a lie, and you know it," Fenrir said with a smirk. "I could see it in your eyes. You had that taste of power, and you wanted to run with it until you got scared." Fenrir lifted his hand from Emma's chin to stroke her cheek. "Get yourself washed up and go to bed. You look exhausted."

Emma frowned slightly as she watched Fenrir sit back in the armchair he was occupying. Her frown deepened as Figaro climbed up the chair to crawl onto Fenrir's lap and curl up.

"You're such a bloody traitor, Fig," Emma huffed, kicking off her heels. "I'm really stuck with you all night again?" she asked Fenrir, as she grabbed her pajamas.

"If you're lucky, might be all day, too," Fenrir said, petting Figaro as if it was something he did every day. "Depends on how often Jude plans on hanging around, so we'll see."

Emma cast Fenrir a reproachful look and took a mental countdown of how long it would be until she got to go home. It was going to be the longest ten days of her life.

Her first full day in the Moon household could have gone much better. Even though it wasn't the first time Fenrir had gotten her up, the fact he was even still in the room with her was frustrating. To make things worse, he didn't even bother hiding the fact that he once again went through her things.

"Why do you always have to go through my things?" Emma huffed as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She stared at the parchment in his hand, trying to figure out what exactly he was reading. It took her a few moments longer to realize he was in completely different clothes, and she wondered just when he had a chance to change.

"Curiosity," Fenrir shrugged.

"You're like a child - can't keep your hands where they belong, going through people's belongings as if it's yours. It's rude."

"Where's your potions essay?" Fenrir asked, setting the parchment in his hand down to pick up another. "I've read every other essay, but there's none for potions."

"Didn't do it," Emma shrugged, flopping back down in the bed. She turned her head to look at the clock and groaned. Remus had been letting her sleep in as long as she wanted, but Fenrir had gotten her up at 7. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Yes," Fenrir said simply.

"When? I have never seen you sleep."

"Probably because you're asleep when I'm sleeping," he said pointedly. "I fed your cat for you already."

"Of course, you bloody did," Emma said, pulling her blanket back up over her face, only to have it ripped away.

"Get up," Fenrir said. "Don't make me tell you twice."

"Buggering fuck, Fenrir," Emma said, covering her face in exasperation. "Is this how you are with your pack?" Emma startled as Fenrir was suddenly overtop of her, holding himself up to keep a slim distance between their bodies.

"Do you want to find out how I am with the pack? Because I don't think you want to know what I do to pups that don't get up."

Emma's shock gave way to annoyance, and she swore under her breath in Welsh. "Fine, I'll get up," she grumbled, sitting up slowly when Fenrir rolled off of her. She watched as Fenrir tossed her notebook onto the bed.

"Book's warm. Better let your father know you're all right."

Emma couldn't recall ever telling Fenrir what exactly the book was and frowned. "Did you –"

"I don't know how to get it to work. Tried for an hour before figuring it wasn't worth it. I'll let you have your secrets."

Emma wasn't at all surprised he tried to get into the book. She was so incredibly grateful that Remus had taken time to add as many enchantments as he could, including one to make it seem like a regular journal when closed.

Sage didn't seem happy to have another house guest, and Emma had no idea whether or not she was supposed to apologize or not. A part of her wanted to, but when Jude walked into the kitchen for breakfast, Emma suddenly saw the appeal of having Fenrir around. Jude took one look at them and walked the other way. Perhaps she could continue to tolerate Fenrir provided he didn't slip into the same behavior as the last full moon.

Fenrir stared at the doorway where Jude left for a moment and stood. He placed his hand on the top of Emma's head and left without a word.

"Interesting," Emma said slowly, continuing to eat her breakfast.

The moment Sage felt Fenrir was far enough, she turned to Emma with wide eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Has he hurt you?"

"No, he's behaving himself," Emma said, giving Sage a small smile. "I think he's more interested in Jude right now. I much prefer it that way."

Sage nodded in agreement and reached out to take Emma's hand. "I'm really sorry," she said earnestly. "None of this is right."

"It's…" Emma wanted to say that it wasn't Sage's fault, but she couldn't. "I've just accepted that this is how my summer is," Emma said. "Just counting down until I can go home and be with Dad."

"I wish they didn't put so many rules in place," Sage said. "I would gladly have let you stay with Remus all day and come back here at night."

"We went half the summer without each other. What's another few more weeks, right?"

"If you need anything, absolutely anything, please – Mitzy has been instructed to cater to your every want and need," Sage said, squeezing Emma's hand tightly. "If I can do anything for you…"

That got Emma thinking about her new-found discovery and the new reality of who her family finally was. She wondered just how far family loyalty extended, especially considering her grandmother (Merlin, that was weird to say) had disowned Sirius. Was Walburga Black the catalyst to destroying Sirius's connection to the rest of the family? That would extend to her, but practically overnight, she had become the last remaining heir of the Black family. Of course, the "last remaining" bit was only until she had children. But then she remembered Fenrir and the initial deal he made with Jude and Merlin's saggy tits. That was a predicament she would have to try and get answers on. The last thing she needed to ask Fenrir about was his desire for "pups," but she needed to know. If that was still a plan, she had to figure out how to get around that.

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know," Emma said, giving Sage a small smile. It was all she could offer.

Sage nodded once more and slowly stood up to putter around the kitchen. Breakfast was the only time the house-elves didn't have to work, though they tried desperately. Sage enjoyed cooking, though she did it infrequently, and breakfast was her time.

"I know it doesn't seem it, but I am glad that you're here," Sage said suddenly in the middle of discussing the day's plans with one of the house-elves. Emma looked up from the book she had brought down with her, and she tilted her head slightly. Sage gave Emma a soft but sad smile in response.

"As a parent, there are certain things you wish for your children," Sage said, turning and grabbing something to clean the counters with just to distract herself. "One day you'll understand, hopefully in the way that you'd like and with no external pressures. I've completely failed as a mother – not just for my daughter, but for you. I'm fully aware that I have been complicit in your situation and the damage I've done. If I had any idea of what was truly happening, I would have done more for you. My…husband…was very careful not to reveal your identity to me. I was too busy taking care of the home, acting out my other duties, that it never occurred to me to see who he was taking Persephone to see. All I knew was that Fenrir had a child that needed to be exposed to other children, and Persephone would be kept safe. Why wouldn't I have a reason to trust my husband? I wasn't fond of the idea, but I trusted Ellis."

Sage sighed, turning back around and crossing her arms. She leaned back against the counter and met Emma's gaze; her eyes were glassy. Emma found herself hanging onto every word.

"I was beyond startled to make the connection at Christmas your first year. I was very clipped that night because I suddenly understood what was happening," Sage admitted. "I made Ellis tell me everything, and I have never been more disgusted in my husband. Between you and me, I confess that wasn't the first time I was disgusted with him. I thought we had moved past the worst of it, but clearly, I was wrong.

"As angry as I was with Ellis, I started to find hope. Persephone had always been difficult growing up, and I didn't understand why. When she finally spent time with you, she changed, and I thought maybe I could finally have my daughter back. She was happy and more open with me, and I was the happiest I had ever been. All I've ever wanted is for my children to be happy. I wanted my daughter more than anything," Sage turned around so that her back was facing Emma, and she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. "I think Sirius did a wonderful job of naming you, you know. Emma Hope – couldn't have been a more fitting name for you," Sage glanced over her shoulder at Emma, her smile sadder than before.

"Yes, I know about that," she said when she noticed Emma's surprised look. "Jude hated it and hated it even more when he realized who named you. I thought it was a beautiful name, but it wasn't my place."

Emma had completely stopped eating and closed her book. How was she supposed to eat after all of this? She had her doubts over who she could trust, but something told her that Sage was telling the truth. Sage had been so earnest in Diagon Alley, and to hear her now, her voice breaking every few sentences struck Emma hard and left her confused.

"The point I'm trying to make is that I hope that your time here isn't completely miserable. I hope that my daughter realizes that she's been brainwashed by her father and that there is another way to live. And I hope that you can eventually find it in yourself, somewhere in the distant future, to forgive me for my ignorance," Sage said with a watery chuckle as she turned back around. "I'm well aware that Walburga burned Sirius off Black family tapestry, but we're family now, Emma. I can't control the Ministry, but I can control as much of your situation here as I can. I'm not sure how to handle Fenrir, but…"

Sage trailed off, and Emma was stunned. She swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in her throat and picked up her fork to start eating again. The only noises were of Sage quietly talking to the house-elves and Emma's utensils hitting her plate. Deciding it would be best to make it seem everything was normal, Emma opened her book again, but her eyes didn't move. She felt oddly numb.

Fenrir returned to the kitchen long after Emma had finished eating. She was nursing her cup of coffee for as long as possible, and her brow furrowed at the bottle of blue potion in his hand.

"Is that mine?" Emma asked in mild annoyance. Fenrir grunted in response and shoved the bottle at Emma. "How did you get it?"

"Well, I was in the middle of having a little chat with Jude when out stepped Severus Snape himself from the Floo," Fenrir growled as he sat down next to Emma, crossing his arms. "Thought I'd have a little chat with him, too."

Emma's mouth fell open, and she stared at Fenrir. That was another unexpected aspect of her morning. She jumped when Fenrir looked at her, his eyes still darkened with his anger.

"What are you doing? Drink it," he barked out. Emma jumped again and decided it would be best to not argue if Fenrir was in a mood. She really wanted to know the details of how that particular conversation went.

If Emma thought Remus could be overbearing, Fenrir was twenty times worse. He had no intention of leaving, and twenty-four hours with Fenrir was just too much. She had plans of trying to relax, but Fenrir wasn't about to let that happen. He would leave her alone to have her privacy, but Fenrir never strayed far.

Persephone thought it was the funniest thing in the world when she stopped by Emma's room only to find she was doing her potion's essay. Emma scowled at Persephone from her desk, not wanting to work on the partially written essay in front of her.

"My God, Fenrir actually made you do your homework?" Persephone laughed, sitting on the edge of Emma's mattress and playing with Figaro on the bed.

"See, I used to be able to argue with him over it when I was smaller because he didn't dare do anything to hurt me," Emma grumbled. She growled as she snapped the end of her quill again in her frustration. "Believe it or not, I would yell at him over it while in primary school. I absolutely hated doing homework, so just picture this for a moment. I was barely taller than his waist, and I would give him the dirtiest look I could manage with my hands on my hips while arguing my point. Needless to say, that did not go over well when I tried it today."

"What did he do?" Persephone asked, her eyes wide.

"He literally picked me up and sat me down over here and grabbed my things," Emma said. She tried to get up from the chair and gave Persephone an unamused look. "He added a sticking charm for good measure, so I can't get up, and I can't wiggle out of my jeans in this position."

Persephone burst into hysterical laughter. "Why don't you cancel the charm out yourself?" she asked through her tears of laughter.

"I've tried," Emma said sharply. "He gives Dad a run for his money. Fenrir's a bloody menace and apparently a stickler for homework. 'If I let you get an education, you best take advantage of it,' he says," Emma said in her best mocking impersonation of Fenrir's voice. "'You know it's perfectly within my rights to make you do whatever I please because I'm Fenrir Greyback, and I'm the biggest and baddest werewolf of all time.'" Emma probably should have stopped her impersonation of Fenrir, but she was beyond annoyed with being literally stuck where she was.

"That's not what I sound like."

Emma shrieked; she was so startled by Fenrir's voice. She had been so focused on impersonating Fenrir while trying to work on her essay that she had missed him coming into the room. Emma whipped her head around to look at Fenrir, terrified that she had angered him, but he looked thoroughly amused. Her eyes darted over to Persephone, who had her hands clamped over her mouth, bracing herself. She shot Persephone a look; she could have said something to keep her from being caught.

Fenrir snorted and stepped up behind Emma's chair to look at what she had done so far. He hummed to himself, the sound very displeased. "You should have had more done by now," he said, taking his wand out and ending the sticking charm to Emma's relief. "Take a break. You can finish this after dinner."

Emma was frozen and looked at Persephone for help.

"D-do you want to go flying?" Persephone blurted out. Emma scrambled out of her chair as fast as she could. Flying sounded like the perfect idea.

Being on her broom made her felt free, and it seemed silly that there was a time where it petrified her. She felt safer on her broom than she did on the ground – she was untouchable, or at least she thought she was. Emma felt in control of things – her broom responded to her however she pleased. Whatever she wanted it to do, it did, and so when she dared to lie down on it as if she were sitting in a tree, she felt fine. It was the exact level of relaxation that she needed, and things didn't seem as bleak as they were before.

"I wonder if I'll make an actual spot on the Quidditch team this year," Emma said idly as Persephone tried to lie back the same way as Emma.

"I don't know that there'll be Quidditch this year, actually," she said, meeting Emma's confused expression. "Dad's been talking, and there are talks of this big event at school this year."

"A big event?"

"A dangerous one, apparently. It's been a while since they've done it – the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"What is that?" Emma asked, thoroughly intrigued.

"No idea," Persephone said, giggling as Emma let out an annoyed breath.

"Well, that's no fun. Can't tell me things and then not have information to go with it – especially when I was all excited for Quidditch this year."

"As if there won't be pick up matches even if this tournament thing is real."

Emma supposed that Persephone had a point, but she had been looking forward to actually playing on the team. She supposed there was always fifth year, but first, she had to make it through their fourth. That seemed like a much better focus of her time.

The awkwardness of dinner started well before it began when Emma returned to her room to find her closet full of dresses that weren't there before. The shoes at the bottom of the closet were all beautiful, working with multiple pieces of her new wardrobe. Emma had her suspicions of where they came from, but she needed to be sure. She ran her hands over them, marveling over the incredibly soft fabrics, amazed that they were all in styles she would wear.

"Mitzy," Emma called out, bracing herself for the pop of the elf's arrival.

"Yes, Miss Emma?" the elf asked.

"Where did these dresses come from?" Emma asked, staring hard at the elf.

"Miss Persephone mentioned to Mistress Sage that you were having nothing to wear for dinners. Mister Greyback overheard. They asked that Mitzy find appropriate dresses for Miss Emma to wear."

Emma looked at the dresses again and placed her fists on her hips with a frown. What was she going to have to owe Fenrir for this one? Emma looked down as she felt something touch her hand, and she saw the elf was holding a notecard. She reached out to take the card and gave the elf a quiet thanks.

"This is only a small portion of what I'm willing to offer you if you agree to what I ask of you," Emma read out loud. "Your loyalty for mine, and I'll make sure you never have to worry about a thing in your life. Yours, Fenrir." It didn't take long for Emma to realize he was referring to more than just money and material things. "Buggering fuck," she muttered, sucking in a deep breath. The temptation to give her loyalty was going to be hard to resist if things were more dire than she thought. She wanted to write to Remus and find out what to do, but there just wasn't enough time that night.

Dinner was a much easier affair to get through, even with Jude present. Fenrir served as the perfect buffer between her and Jude and was subtle in finding ways to keep him quiet. Emma refused to lean forward to look at Jude and kept her gaze low. Listening was a much safer option, though nothing of note was being said. She was secretly hoping for information to figure out what she needed to do, but the conversation was careful. Emma felt as long as she paid close attention, someone would slip somewhere, but she needed to wait and see.

Emma could see the appeal of Fenrir as a bodyguard of sorts and quickly understood why he was hired as such. He was intimidating and attentive, but the approaching moon made him volatile, and that scared her. She didn't care when his ire was directed elsewhere, but Emma didn't want to get back on his bad side again. When they returned to her room that night, she quickly went through her routine of getting ready for bed. Instead of climbing into bed, she felt it was much safer to finish her potions essay like Fenrir planned for her to do. She wasn't going to give him a chance to remind her to do it, and he seemed quite pleased to see her work without being prompted.

"What do you want?" Fenrir asked from the small sofa in the room. He was stretched out with Figaro curled up on his chest. Emma had given up on trying to get the kitten to stop curling up with Fenrir.

"What?" Emma asked, turning around in her chair to look at Fenrir.

"Exactly that. What do you want?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that," Emma said, pursing her lips as she turned back around to work on her essay.

"While you're here, Rabbit," Fenrir said, voice dripping in amusement.

"Well, I suppose saying I want to be home is out of the question," she muttered bitterly. Fenrir's low chuckle made her want to punch him.

"Wishful thinking, fy lleuad."

"Well, for one – it would be wonderful if you stopped calling me your moon," Emma said. "Just because I'm absolute bollocks at speaking Welsh doesn't mean I don't know what you're saying."

"Ah, I was wondering about that," Fenrir said. Just to annoy Emma, he decided to speak in Welsh. "And why would you want me to stop calling you my moon? You are, after all."

"It's annoying," Emma said, grimacing at how her Welsh sounded. She didn't speak it frequently and understood it much better because Remus spoke it often when he thought aloud. "I'm not your moon."

"Aren't you, though?"

Emma turned back around in her chair to shoot Fenrir a look. "No."

"We'll get there someday," Fenrir said, finally switching back to speaking English. "But really, what do you want while you're here. Anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything. Besides me leaving, of course."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Fenrir," Emma said sarcastically. She set her quill down and rubbed her eyes. "I want to keep taking my dance classes. I was supposed to go today."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were in a mood, and I didn't feel like pushing," Emma said with a shrug. "I learned my lesson from the last full moon with you. I don't need to be taught the same lessons twice."

"You learn quickly."

"I learned that from you." Fenrir's growl was pleased, just like Emma thought it would be.

"When are you due back for another lesson?"

"Thursday," Emma said. "Provided that I can manage to get to that point without getting too sick. I never know how my weeks will go even with the Wolfsbane."

Fenrir was quiet, which wasn't a good sign. Emma nearly turned back around to look at him, but she decided to wait. She worried that if she turned around and could see his calculating expression, she would scare herself. Emma wasn't stupid enough to believe that he wasn't planning to turn her again, but she was hopeful that he would wait. Even if she couldn't figure out a way to stop taking the Wolfsbane, she hoped that if it came down to it, she could reason with him. She would be digging into every possible resource she could to keep him from biting her while transformed, but she didn't care. If agreeing to be loyal to Fenrir was how she had to avoid being turned, she would do it. She wasn't ready.

"How is the quality of your Wolfsbane?"

That wasn't what she expected Fenrir to ask. "It's adequate, I suppose. Snape's brewing is efficient, but that's all it is – efficient. It does exactly what it's supposed to, but it's lacking. I find that I do much better when I make it myself. However, I haven't decided whether or not it's my mind playing tricks on me," Emma admitted, turning around to finally look at Fenrir. "I think all the extra time I spent brewing for the hospital wing's stores helped, but I also give a shit about the quality of the potion. Snape does not."

"Do you want to be a Healer?"

"A Healer? No," Emma said. "You know what I want to do, and it's certainly not being a Healer. Although I won't lie and tell you that my desire to learn any form of Healing didn't have a very specific motivation."

"Would you be happier if you could make the potion yourself?"

Emma searched Fenrir's eyes, not daring to be hopeful that he would make that happen for her. Still, she nodded.

"Consider it done," Fenrir said, sitting up and placing Figaro down on the ground. He reached into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes. "You should know by now that all you have to do is ask. You're a wolf, Emma, and the only ones that will ever take care of you correctly are other wolves – and the dog. You should figure that out, or else your heart's only going to get broken." He twirled his finger around in a circle, gesturing for Emma to turn back around. "Finish your essay."

There was something that sat underneath the surface of Fenrir's words that Emma wanted to think about, but she did as she was told. She would have time to figure that out later on, but it felt like a clue. If only she knew what his real name was…

It was hard for Emma to put into words just how excited she was when she woke up to find fresh ingredients to make the Wolfsbane Potion. Everything was much higher quality than she would ever get herself, and she picked each ingredient up from her table with a wide smile. It was all the quality that she hoped to purchase consistently for everything she made.

When Fenrir said it was hers provided he got to watch her make her dose for the day, she readily agreed. Her only stipulation was that Remus would get his doses from her. As long as Remus took delivery from Snape, no one had to know if he took it or not. That led to Fenrir adding the condition that he try her brew; he wasn't hiding his intentions. Emma was only slightly reluctant to shake on it and grabbed her notebook to tell Remus her plans.

She didn't mind having company while brewing, and the potions lab in the Moon household was exquisite. Everything was of high quality, and it made Emma envious. The cauldrons were large and clean, ingredients plentiful. The glassware was made of shiny crystal and sparkled in the sunlight. Emma loved it.

"You know you can afford something like this, you know," Fenrir pointed out as he watched her.

"I know," Emma said, "but it's stupid if I'm not home to use it. It would be a waste and while taking advantage of Jude's money seems like a fantastic use of my time, I would like to be around to use it. I don't want to have to touch Papa's money if I don't have to. Speaking of which, you've yet to explain how you managed to pull off your wonderful little trick."

"Never thought I'd hear something like that come from you," Fenrir laughed. "You're too innocent. It's almost wrong coming from you."

"Yes, well, I don't particularly give a shit about Jude," Emma shrugged. "And perhaps you don't know me as well as you think you do. Now – how am I somehow part of the 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?'"

Fenrir's intelligence knew no limits, and Emma was beginning to see how he had survived for so long. He always thought ahead, and while he wasn't entirely expecting to attack Sirius, it worked in his favor. Several very well placed scratches ensured that Fenrir had the blood he needed. Emma stared at Fenrir curiously over the cauldron she was working at.

"So you were planning on setting things up to make me Papa's the entire time?"

"Only when they kept you away from your father," Fenrir said. "It was convenient that it worked out the way that it did. It was one of the things I planned to talk to you about, but it didn't matter anymore."

"Do you have a single potions supplier, or do you have multiple? I'm assuming that you have one in particular that you go to because I doubt you would trust just anyone with delicate potions."

"You always were smart."

Emma snorted and shook her head. "If I was smarter, I would have realized why you wanted to watch me work sooner," she said with a sigh. "What do you think? Am I meeting your expectations?"

"We'll see."

It was as much of an answer as Emma would get, and she was silently grateful when Persephone very slowly walked into the room. She sat in the furthest possible seat she could from Fenrir, watching just as curiously.

"Making the Wolfsbane Potion?" Persephone asked, humming quietly to herself when Emma only nodded in response. "So, the Quidditch World Cup is on Monday," she said. "I can't wait. Cas and Elijah won't shut up about it."

"Oh," Emma said, trying to sound as if she had no idea. She tried to mask her disappointment in the topic of conversation. "Who's going to be here with me since I'm obviously not going? I imagine Jude's not going to pass up that opportunity just to show off. Guess that's to my benefit, really."

"What do you mean you're not going?" Fenrir asked, eyes narrowed.

"Don't have a ticket, and clearly, I wasn't invited," Emma said.

"Do you want to go?"

Emma shrugged as she worked. "It's after the full, so it's not like it matters too much."

"That's not what I asked you."

"I…I suppose I want to go," Emma said. She sighed as she cut the heat to the cauldron and went to find a bottle to pour Remus's dose into. With all the care that she could manage, she ladled the potion into the bottle and called for Mitzy. "Take this to Lupin cottage and do not leave until my father drinks it. He'll protest taking it but tell him I said to not be stupid." The elf curtsied and went on her way with a crack.

Emma tried to ignore that she was essentially setting herself up to become a werewolf as she poured out two glasses of the potion. Wolfsbane always looked ridiculous in an ordinary drinking glass, but she wasn't about to try and procure a goblet for it. "Am I serving you, or are you perfectly capable of coming here and taking your glass yourself?" Emma challenged, much to Persephone's surprise.

Fenrir looked less than amused, but he stood up to cross to where she was. He picked up the glass and waited for Emma to drink it first.

"My God, Fenrir," Emma huffed as she grabbed her glass. "You just watched me make it the entire time. If I was going to try and poison you, I wouldn't have given my father a brew from the same batch." She stared back at Fenrir, her eyebrows raising, but he wasn't relenting. It wasn't worth the fight, so she downed the potion and immediately pulled a face. "Much better than Snape's, but still dreadful."

"And just think – your senses aren't even enhanced," Fenrir said, waiting a few moments to make sure Emma had no adverse effects.

Emma watched Fenrir with crossed arms, waiting for him to finally drink it. He gave the glass a small sniff making Emma roll her eyes, and then he finally drank it. Emma half expected him to be overdramatic about taking the potion, but he gave a slight shiver, and that was it. There was silence as she waited for a reaction.

Fenrir gave Persephone a once over as he placed the glass down. "You want to go to the World Cup?" he asked again.

"Yes," Emma said quietly.

"Consider it done," Fenrir said. He looked at the cauldron for a moment and jerked his head towards the bottles lining the wall. "Bottle the rest of that up. I have some sales to make." He left without another word, and Emma let out the breath she was holding.

Persephone rushed over to the door and closed it, casting a muffling charm. "Emma, what did you just do? You gave him the potion?"

"It means that Dad gets a higher quality potion, and I could have one that I felt confident in," Emma said. She made her way to the wall to grab as many bottles as she could carry.

"But he could –"

"I know very damn well what he could do," Emma said. "I have a plan, but it's going to take a bloody miracle to pull off. I'll figure it out one way or another. In the meantime, I suppose I should enjoy my last few days of being human if I fail…Who knows what'll happen come Sunday night."

a/n: Help. I like writing Fenrir now. How did this happen?! Also, as Lucasjan said in their last review - come join us on Discord! It's fun and I would love to have more friends to talk to because you all crack me up. The link on my twitter bio should make it a lot easier to access now! :D

To my lovely readers - go to bed if it's late. I love you all, good night!

ShardAura - *screaming from the mountaintops - Jude is trrraaaassssshhhhhhh.* Fenrir is straight up scary, but when he's okay, he's *okay* and that's all that matters for right now. There's a lot of fuckery, omfg. I was discussing it earlier with someone and I'm like...crying and laughing at the same time because it's just a MESS. Jude's fate? Oooohhh I know it...but there's some time until we get there. D:

Lucasjan - yes, thank you as always! :D Everyone join Discord!

Lu! I love that everyone hates Jude more than Fenrir! It's so funny to me! Fenrir is a confusing fellow, but he's...he *can* be decent when he wants to be. Jude is just very very terrible. Merry Christmas! :)