Harry being entered into the Triwizard Tournament was not something any of the Hufflepuffs ever expected. They were beyond excited that one of their own had made it into the tournament, but as usual, Harry had somehow wheedled his way in. Emma thought she could be open-minded over the idea considering her relationship with him, but even she was skeptical. Still, it didn't stop her from celebrating with everyone in the common room when Cedric returned from the Great Hall.
"So, what did they say, Ced?" someone shouted from across the common room once the cheering died down upon his arrival.
"They said the first task is designed to test our daring!" Cedric said through his laughs as several people practically tackled him. "The first task is on November 24th!"
"That's really close," Emma said to Justin. "I don't know why I thought there would be more time."
"Just a little over three weeks," Justin said with a slight shrug. "Besides, it's Cedric. He'll be able to handle it."
"What else did they say?" someone else asked as Cedric slowly made his way to the sofas.
"We're not allowed to accept any help from a teacher, and we'll receive information about the second task after the first," Cedric said, plunking down between Emma and Justin on the couch and throwing his arm around their shoulders. "And we don't have to take our final exams."
"Lucky you," Emma said, nudging Cedric with her elbow.
"So, did Potter tell you how he entered into the tournament?" someone else asked.
"Ah, no," Cedric said, his cheeks pinking up when he noticed everyone staring at him anxiously. "He said that he didn't do it."
There was a sudden upswing in noise in aggravation at Cedric's declaration that Harry said he didn't enter the tournament. It didn't seem to make sense that he didn't, and Cedric went over everything that happened while in the chamber with the other champions. The more he talked, the less things made sense – he had to have entered.
"There's no way that he didn't enter himself," Cedric said with a shrug. "But nobody has any idea how he did it."
When the conversation of how Harry entered the tournament was exhausted, they all moved along to celebrating. Even though they had all eaten far too much food at the feast, it didn't stop them from bringing in more from the kitchens. Someone had even decided to bring out their hidden supply of alcohol which Emma very gladly took advantage of. Her father would never know.
Except, she realized, he would probably have an idea of it when she would write to him to tell him who the champions were. She realized that something odd stuck out in what Cedric had told them all about Harry. She mulled over what Cedric said about his experience in the chamber, nursing her cup of whatever potent concoction was made with vodka. She took a sip, running through her thoughts, and frowned. Moody had mentioned the possibility of someone entering Harry with the intention of him dying. That seemed absolutely mental.
Emma excused herself from the festivities to make her way into the dorm, rubbing her head with a groan. Drinking on a Monday night was a terrible idea, and the Hufflepuffs would pay for it dearly, but it was worth celebrating. She was careful not to overindulge, but whatever drink she had in her cup was obnoxiously strong. Emma couldn't figure out if it was better or worse than drinking Firewhiskey.
She practically threw herself into her bed, not bothering to get changed, and grabbed her notebook. It took her a little longer than it should have to activate the book, but eventually, she got it working. She flipped through the pages and pages that were filled with writing, some hers, some her fathers, some Elara's, and a small, sad smile crossed her face. The notebook held so many memories, both good and bad, and it was hard to believe she hadn't even had it for a full year yet.
With a fair amount of difficulty, Emma managed to scrawl out a quick, 'Are you up?'
She wasn't entirely sure if it was written well or correctly at all, but it would have to do. She already knew the answer and that her father would be up, but it felt rude not to ask. Emma peered over at her clock and hummed to herself. It was around two in the morning, and Remus would definitely still be up if she knew him well enough. His sleep schedule was horrendous with her around and even worse without her home, she learned.
'Yes,' came the terse reply. Emma frowned at Remus's response, looking at her writing, trying to judge if her father knew that she was possibly a little bit intoxicated. She couldn't help that the seventh years made something strong for the celebration, and everyone was celebrating. It was a good night for all of them. Emma really couldn't help that the Triwizard Tournament champions were announced on a Monday.
'What do you need?' Remus added after what felt like ages. Emma huffed out her aggravation as she pressed her quill to the page.
'They announced the Triwizard champions,' Emma said. 'Viktor from Durmstrang, that girl with white hair from Beauxbatons, and Cedric.'
'Cedric is the champion for Hogwarts?' Remus wrote back. 'Must be exciting for Hufflepuff, then. I know you mentioned Cedric planned to enter.' Emma had no idea why she gave him a very audible yes even though he couldn't hear it, and she immediately started to giggle.
'Yes, very exciting,' she finally managed to write. 'But we've got two champions!' Emma made sure to write multiple underlines under the word two for emphasis.
Remus's reply took longer than she expected. Emma was about to put her notebook away out of fear he fell asleep when his response finally arrived.
'What do you mean there are two champions?' he wrote. 'There are three.'
'Nooo, two Hogwarts champions!' Emma wrote back. 'Of course, special little Harry had to enter the tournament too. Nobody knows how he did it, though.'
Emma frowned at what she wrote. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to write, but perhaps it was. It made her sound angry, and she wasn't angry, was she? She didn't want to enter the tournament, not when she had too much to worry about. Why did she sound so bitter?
'Emma, get some sleep. You are very obviously drunk, and you're making no sense. There's no possible way that Harry could have entered the tournament –' Emma couldn't stop her scoff at reading her father's reply and rolled her eyes ' – and I am disappointed you would make up such a thing. I am even more disappointed that you would get drunk on a Monday of all days. I understand that tonight was exciting for Hufflepuff, but we have gone over this before. We'll talk more in the morning.'
Emma glared at the pages in her notebook and slammed the book closed. Remus wasn't going to believe her? Fine, he wasn't going to be told good night then. She practically threw the notebook onto her nightstand and flopped down onto her mattress with a huff. That would show him.
Except whatever alcohol Emma had decided to curse her the next morning with the gift of a head-splitting headache. Someone's alarm went off and was immediately silenced as quickly as it started. Emma groaned at the uncomfortable sensation of how dry her mouth was, and her tongue felt like sandpaper as she tried to wet her lips. She let out a pained moan and covered her head with her pillow to hide away from the sun.
"Em?" someone called out from across the dorm. "Are you up?"
"Yeah," Emma yelled out with a groan.
"You feel like shit?" she heard Megan ask.
"Yes. You?"
"Shitting hell, yes."
Emma snorted. At least she wasn't the only one who was struggling that morning as Megan wasn't known to swear. Emma rolled over to peer through her half-open curtains so she could watch everyone else. The rest of the dorm was waking up slowly, rubbing their temples and moving as slow as ever. Half of the girls had managed to get changed for bed, but the rest were like Emma and had only succeeded in making it to their beds at all.
"How do you think the boys are doing?" Sally asked, stretching out with a groan.
"Probably worse than us," Hannah replied. "Roger and Wayne went a little overboard."
"What even were we drinking? Ben said it was going to be good!"
"Well, it obviously was good," Emma pointed out. "Otherwise, we wouldn't all feel like the Hogwarts Express ran us all over."
The other girls made similar noises of agreement and started to schedule who would take the first round of showers. With six very hungover girls and only three showers it was a much-needed discussion. They all felt mildly grimy and were in desperate need of freshening up.
"I'll take the second round," Emma said as they continued to debate. She sat up, pressing a hand to her notebook, and hummed thoughtfully to herself when she felt it was warm.
With a sigh, Emma cracked the book open and immediately cringed. It was no wonder her father knew that she was drunk because her writing was terrible and a lot more garbled than she thought. She wondered how exactly he even figured out what she wrote, and his aggravation made sense.
True to his caring nature, Remus wrote out instructions for curbing her hangover as best as possible. He made sure to pepper in his disappointment that she would drink to the point of getting drunk in between his advice, but he tried to be sweet. Emma couldn't help but feel slightly vindicated when he apologized for not believing her about Harry being entered in the competition. She knew that Remus was frequently doubtful, but she hated when he didn't believe her.
Remus promised he would try to listen to her more, but he wasn't sure that he could believe what she said considering the state she was in. He said they would talk about it later, but in the meantime, she had more important things to worry about.
Emma had blissfully forgotten that the next Hogsmeade trip was the next week, and she hadn't thought about what to do with Fenrir. If she was going to be honest with herself, she didn't feel that she would know until she saw him. She knew what she wanted, but striking deals with Fenrir was dangerous. It wasn't guaranteed he would bother keeping to whatever deal they made, but she had to remain hopeful. Fenrir still being willing to negotiate was a miracle in itself – it wasn't a common practice with the werewolf. She would have to tread very carefully around him. But first – she had to get through the day.
The Hufflepuffs were dragging themselves up to the Great Hall, far too exhausted and pained from their celebrating. Durmstrang seemed to be handling themselves a little better than Beauxbatons, which appeared to have a strange divide at the Ravenclaw table. Half of the French school seemed content to sit next to Fleur, but the other half sent angry glares her way.
As soon as Emma sat down, she loaded her plate up with toast, filled her goblet to the brim, and took a long drink. Pumpkin juice had never tasted better in her life, and she munched on her toast, trying to drown out the din of the room. The Hufflepuffs were the quietest they had ever been, but the rest of the Great Hall was loud.
Emma looked up from the book she was reading when she noticed that someone was heading in the direction of their table. She cast a nervous glance over at Justin when she saw that the girl from Durmstrang was striding over in their direction with purpose. Not wanting to acknowledge that the girl was heading their way, Emma quickly returned to her book. Perhaps she was going over to the Gryffindor table behind the Hufflepuff table to say something to Harry.
It appeared that Emma was about to have no such luck. The girl from Durmstrang strode around the table and sat down next to Emma. Emma peered up slightly from her book to glance over at Justin, who shrugged somewhat in response.
"Hello," said the girl, her accent much thicker than Emma expected.
"Er, hello," Emma said slowly, no longer able to pretend that the girl wasn't there to talk to her. The girl had heavy features – dark, thick eyebrows over top dark brown eyes, a long nose, and full lips. She was broad-shouldered with very pale skin. She was intimidating, but Emma found her pretty. The girl stared at Emma for a few moments longer, her brows pinching slightly together as she studied Emma's face.
"You vere attacked by a verevolf," the girl said simply, her gaze suddenly fixed on the bite mark not on Emma's shoulder but on her forearm. Most people simply searched for the one on her shoulder, more fascinated that Fenrir didn't simply go for her neck instead. It wasn't as though Emma was willing to advertise that Fenrir wasn't trying to kill her – at least not yet.
"Er, yes," Emma said slowly, looking over at Justin, who suddenly looked unsure of what to do. Emma really had no idea what to do. She decided to pick up her goblet of pumpkin juice to avoid further scrutinization by the girl. The girl nodded, seemingly pleased that she had correctly identified that Emma was indeed attacked by a werewolf.
"It vas Fenrir Greyback, yes?"
Emma nearly dropped the goblet in surprise, pumpkin juice slopping over the top. She wasn't expecting the girl to bring up Fenrir's name, and it made Emma question just how far his reputation went.
"Uhm, yes," Emma said, frowning. She studied the girl closely, trying to judge whether or not the girl was a werewolf or not. "How did you know?"
"Your scars," the girl said. "It is Greyback's mark. He likes to strike faces."
Great, Emma thought to herself. She had no idea that it was that obvious, and Fenrir's comments about people knowing she belonged to him hit her hard. It had been a while since that thought had crossed her mind, and she was horrified that it was true. Emma could recall vague comments Elara said while she was under her heavy doses of potions saying something of the sort.
"He wasn't transformed when he attacked me," Emma said, not sure what the girl wanted.
"I know," the girl replied, inclining her head slightly to the bite on her shoulder. "The bites are not correct for verevolf. Ehh, is a little, but too different."
"Oh," Emma said, feeling mildly relieved. She had tried to compare the bites to photos she could find in the library, and they were very similar, especially with Fenrir. The girl seemed to struggle with herself for a long moment as she stared at Emma.
"I am Alexi," she said with a slight bow. "Alexi Farkas."
"I'm Emma Lupin," Emma said after a long pause, unsure of whether she should hold her hand out to allow Alexi to shake. She hesitated for a moment and decided not to do anything at all, and closed her book. "Erm, how do you know about Fenrir?"
Alexi's lips pressed into a thin line, and she shifted slightly next to Emma, dropping her hands to her lap. She fidgeted with the bottom of her uniform's top, her face hardening as she looked elsewhere.
"He killed my family," Alexi finally said, meeting Emma's eyes.
Emma's stomach dropped. There wasn't anything accusatory in Alexis's gaze, but Emma still somehow oddly felt like it was her fault. She knew that Fenrir willingly killed people, had known that when he killed Ward and his family, and was ready to go after her little first years. Fenrir had nearly killed Greyson's mother, and Emma honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he had gone after her again in the end. Emma knew all of this, and yet…
She had to remember that her purpose in joining Fenrir's pack wasn't just because she felt compelled to. It wasn't because she needed to rely on his protection in some way to keep herself safe from Jude and whatever else might come her way. Emma was terrified of the idea, but she still wanted to take down Fenrir in some way. When she listened to Greyson's story, it felt like he had given her yet another huge reason to want to destroy Fenrir's reign. It seemed as though she was about to get another reason.
"I'm sorry," Emma said quietly. Alexi shook her head, gaze dropping to her hands in her lap.
"I vas vith my grandmother at the time," Alexi said. "My father – he made deal vith Greyback that vent vrong. Greyback killed them all – my mother, my father, and my two brothers. Did not get me."
"I'm sorry," Emma repeated again, scratching her head. What was she supposed to say? It wasn't like Remus ever prepared her to hear about the fallout of Fenrir's action directly or indirectly. At least Greyson's story she had time to sit with because of Persephone, but this…this was difficult.
"You did not do it," Alexi said. "But our Headmaster, he has told us of you."
"Of me?" Emma asked in alarm. The hangover she had seemed to disappear instantly, her entire mood sobering completely. She looked over at the staff table to find Karkaroff amongst the other teachers and stared at him for a moment before turning back to Alexi. "Why?"
"He has told us that you are familiar vith Greyback."
Emma's lips parted in surprise, and she looked back over at Karkaroff, thinking about what Remus had told her only the day before. He told her to be careful around the man, mentioning that he was one a Death Eater. Considering Fenrir's allegiances, it made sense that Karkaroff would be familiar with him, but did that mean Fenrir still talked to him? Or was Karkaroff's information coming from another source? Emma wasn't sure if Karkaroff's comment was meant to be a bad one or not
"Is that true?" Alexi prompted when Emma didn't respond.
"I…" Emma cleared her throat, rubbing the back of her neck. "It depends on how you want to look at it. It's not entirely willing."
"But you are villing?" Alexi asked, her tone sharp.
"Because I want to ruin him. I want to take him down however I can."
Alexi looked taken aback by Emma's vehement declaration. Her chin lifted slightly as she searched Emma's face, not quite believing her. Emma knew that it had to sound ridiculous coming from her considering how small she was.
"I know it seems mental," Emma said. "But I know Fenrir, and I know Fenrir well, unfortunately. He…I was taken away from my family very young, and you could say that Fenrir raised me."
"He still attacked you?"
"Yes," Emma said quietly. "Among other things. I don't agree with Fenrir or his actions. He attacked my father too and threatened to kill a few of my friends. I don't like Fenrir at all, but I think I can take him down."
"Your father – he is verevolf."
"Yes. He was Fenrir's first. But my father's kind and is nothing like Fenrir."
"And you are not."
"Yes. I'm half, but not full."
Alexi studied Emma for another few moments, and Emma glanced back at Justin, who was listening to the conversation in curiosity. She had told Justin most of what she had just told Alexi but never mentioned wanting to take Fenrir down, and the panic on his face was evident. It was the same look that Greyson had given her when it had slipped out in her anger. Emma quickly realized that she had said too much, and if Fenrir were to know, it wouldn't end well. She was sure that he already knew, but if word got back to him that it was true, she would be in trouble. Word got back to Fenrir scarily fast, and she had to see him the next week – it was dangerous timing.
"I vill tell the others," Alexi finally said. "This changes things. They are not trusting of you."
"Your Headmaster can't know of my plans," Emma said quickly, panic rising up and making her chest tighten painfully. "If Fenrir hears what I want to do –"
"He vill not know," Alexi said, standing up and looking up at Karkaroff. "He is fair, but ve do not like him. Ve like Greyback less. He is menace."
Emma watched Alexi make her way back over to the Slytherin table, and she scrubbed her hands over her face. She didn't understand the entirety of her interaction with Alexi, and she wasn't sure why she still felt guilty. It wasn't as though she was responsible for Alexi's family being killed, but she couldn't help but somehow feel responsible. But then Emma found herself wondering what exactly Alexi meant by things being changed. What did that mean?
Emma was startled when she felt someone touch her arm and her head snapped over to look at Justin.
"Em?" Justin questioned. His brows were knit tightly together, a crease forming between them.
"What?" Emma asked.
"Emma."
"Yes?"
Justin was quiet for a moment, and he frowned. "What was that you were saying about wanting to ruin Fenrir? You were just saying that, right? You're not going to actually try anything?"
Emma fell silent, stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth and shoving her book bag into her bag. Rather than answer, Emma said nothing at all. If she didn't admit it twice, she could deny that it was ever said.
"I'll see you in Defense," Emma said before making a hasty departure from the Great Hall.
It seemed like time moved into a weird state of moving far too quickly and much too slowly at the same time. The castle seemed divided once more, and Emma was glad that it wasn't because of her for once. Nearly the entirety of Hogwarts was excited to have Cedric as their champion, and the other half was aggravated that Harry was as well.
Emma was firmly in the middle on the Harry situation, unsure of what to think. Whatever information Remus might have learned from Dumbledore he kept silent, which didn't help. She still hadn't decided whether or not she was jealous or not. The tournament was known to be dangerous, but Harry was supposed to be like her little brother. That's what Sirius told her time and time again. If Harry had found a way to enter the tournament, he could have told her even if she wasn't going to answer. Then again, Emma's thoughts kept going back to what Cedric said Moody had insisted on while in the chamber.
After talking to Alexi, the students from Durmstrang seemed to warm up to Emma a little. Whatever Alexi said had apparently been favorable, and they always seemed interested in what she had to say when she sat at the Slytherin table to talk to Persephone. She never had anything fascinating to say, but the students from Durmstrang listened to her as attentively as the others. A small wave of smugness would sweep through Emma's veins each time the Durmstrang students ignored Draco in favor of her. Emma couldn't help but wonder if their opinions would change further if they knew she was a Black. Did the Black family name have a reputation outside of Great Britain? However, the Durmstrang students weren't the only students who started to warm up to her.
It was purely accidental that Emma found a way to connect with the students of Beauxbatons on a very minimal level. Nothing brought people together like shared experiences or sharing a class, after all.
She had been walking along the first-floor hallway, wandering during lunch, when she heard classical music playing from one of the classrooms. At first, Emma thought it was Flitwick working with the frog choir, but then she listened a little closer. It didn't sound like there was singing at all, and she decided to follow the music.
Curious, Emma peered into the half-open classroom door when she found where the music was playing. Her jaw dropped in surprise when she realized what exactly they were doing. Dressed in leotards that were the same color as their school uniforms, Emma watched for a few moments as they ran through ballet exercises. She wondered if everyone at Beauxbatons took ballet, but she noticed that only a few students were standing at the barre. Perhaps they were different levels? She suddenly had a lot of questions and was very curious.
Emma froze solid when one of the students noticed her in the mirror and turned to the person behind her to say something. She was about to leave, but their teacher was at the door before Emma could get far.
"Yes?" the teacher asked, her expression pinched as she looked at Emma. "What are you doing? Do you need something?"
"Sorry," Emma said quietly at the teacher's accusatory tone. It was weird to be watching, but in her defense, the door was open. Any other person could have walked by and done the exact same thing she did. "I was walking by and heard the music. I didn't realize that ballet was taught at Beauxbatons."
"It is for after class," the teacher said slowly. "It is not a normal class."
"Oh," Emma said, peering past the teacher for a moment. "Just thought it was interesting to see. I was just thinking about how much I miss my classes. But I'll go –"
"Wait," the teacher said, forcing Emma to turn back around. "You have taken ballet?"
It took Emma a few moments to realize that the teacher in front of her didn't have a heavy French accent like the others. She wasn't entirely sure where the teacher was from, but she had gotten used to hearing random snippets of French that she forgot other countries went to Beauxbatons.
"Yes," Emma said quietly. "I was to start going en pointe before I received my Hogwarts letter, actually."
The teacher studied Emma for a moment, humming thoughtfully.
"Stay here for a moment," she said, returning to the other students and talking to them. The students cast Emma furtive glances, one of the boys sneering in Emma's direction and rolling his eyes. Emma shifted nervously where she stood, unsure of what exactly was being said, and she straightened up quickly when the teacher returned. "Do you have your things with you?"
"I do," Emma said. "Everything is in my trunk."
"Good," the teacher said. "We meet here at lunch three times a week. Join us on Thursday."
Emma didn't mind having her time filled up with different things, and she didn't mind trying to make new friends, but she felt odd. The entire school year had proved to her that she didn't quite fit in with any single specific group. She had her friends, of course, but that sense of belonging wasn't entirely there. It only served to keep Emma as confused as ever.
The Hogsmeade trip was rapidly approaching, and Emma found herself not focusing on the day as much as she should. Emma could count her days in ballet lessons with the Beauxbatons students, pick-up games of Quidditch, guitar lessons with Cedric, and the overall celebrating in the common room. When she wasn't shadowing Madame Pomfrey, most nights were spent in the common room debating what the first task would be in the tournament. So far, their favorite theory was having to take on Hagrid's Blast-ended Skrewts. Anyone would need to have their wits about them along with daring and nerve to deal with them.
Emma, feeling bad about how the school was treating Harry, decided to try and talk to him and play the role of older sister. She had noticed that Ron wasn't hanging out with Harry, and it seemed odd to see the trio not being all together. Emma wasn't sure what that was about, but she still decided to give things a try. Their relationship wasn't the best, but Emma understood how terrible it was to be talked about and had been on the receiving end for weeks. It was lonely, and even though she was obviously supporting Cedric, it wasn't like she couldn't be Harry's friend.
However, Harry was immediately on the defensive the moment Emma approached.
"Have you come here to talk about me to my face, or have you decided you only want to talk to me because you want the bloody map?" Harry snapped at her at breakfast.
Emma stared at Harry, taken aback, and raised an eyebrow in Hermione's direction when she didn't say a word. Emma was astonished that Harry would dare say such a thing when she had been nothing but pleasant. She still talked to him during classes and kept things friendly, not daring to ask how he had entered the tournament. To have Harry have an attitude right away with her was bothersome. She had been nothing but pleasant to him over the years, had defended him during their second year when no one was there for her either. Emma was starting to think she would never have a real friendship with Harry, and whatever hopes Remus and Sirius had for them being close were long gone.
"You know, I was coming to be your friend, but never mind," Emma said sharply. "In case you've forgotten – everyone has talked about me the entire school year. At least I made an attempt to try and talk to you when everyone else has been a right arsehole."
Emma felt only the smallest amount of guilt when she helped Draco make adjustments to the support badges made for Cedric. She giggled along with the other Slytherins when they finally figured out the proper spells to adjust their buttons. The buttons would appear normal, glowing red letters reading: Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – the Real Hogwarts Champion. The letters would change to brilliant green with a press of the button and read: POTTER STINKS. It was the funniest thing she had ever been a part of. When some of the other Hufflepuffs caught wind of the adjustments, Emma was suddenly back in some of her housemate's good graces. Even Cedric had to admit that the buttons were a little funny, but as Prefect and champion, he told them off. Although, he made only a half-hearted attempt to stop the others from wearing the buttons.
Remus would be disappointed in her if he knew, but she would make excuses that it helped her work on her charms. It was innocent in comparison to the things the Marauders were doing in their school days. As long as it never got back to Sirius, it would be fine. Harry was Sirius's golden boy, after all…
Emma's mood was admittedly miserable the entire rest of the week after Harry's comment. By the time Friday came, Emma didn't think it could get worse. Emma left her appointment with Dr. Wheeler that night with the unexpected news it would be her final session with no real explanation why. She couldn't help but wonder if Fenrir had gotten to the doctor, but something told her Jude was the real culprit.
She plunked herself down in her bed after her session with Dr. Wheeler, scrubbing her hands over her face. She wondered if Remus even knew that the one thing that kept her mildly sane while at Hogwarts was forced to an abrupt halt. It wasn't like Emma needed to continue going to therapy. She was armed with multiple methods of taking care of herself, but she had grown to like it. She had been so averse to trying things out, but nearly a year later, Emma found herself appreciating the hour-long sessions every two weeks. Emma had really been looking forward to it knowing that she would have to be with Fenrir the next day.
With a grumble, Emma pulled out her notebook to write to Remus. She wanted to know if he had known that it would be her final appointment, but to her surprise, her notebook was already warm. That was never a good sign.
It took Emma nearly everything she had not to throw her notebook across the room in frustration. She read the words over and over, a mixture of anger and fear sweeping through her – why did everything have to be so complicated?
'I can't be in Hogsmeade tomorrow like planned. I have to attend an emergency meeting tomorrow because they're questioning Sirius's involvement in your life. I'm so sorry, fy nghariad, but in a way, this is good – it means they can no longer use me as an excuse to keep you away. Just go with what you feel is right, and if we need to change things, then we'll both go to Fenrir. I love you so much.'
Emma felt Soleil practically nipping at her heels, and Emma's skin bristled with her frustration over the entire situation. The full moon was the next week, and she could already feel the pull of it. If it wasn't one thing, it was another, and Emma didn't even know what to focus on anymore. She found her thoughts so overwhelming that her energy had been devoted to being annoyed with Harry instead of where it needed to be.
All she wanted was to know that she could return home at the end of the school year where she belonged. She wanted everyone to be safe – Remus unharmed, Sirius free and not on the run, and Elara no longer under the threat of execution. Emma wanted Sirius to love her the way that he seemed to love Harry, but she felt that was impossible if he was never in one place. She knew that Sirius loved her, but it was clear that it wasn't entirely the same. Sirius had to go back on the run, and in the time he had been away, she had heard from him once while he wrote to Harry several times. Remus tried to tell her that Sirius suffered severely from survivor's guilt, but she was his child, not Harry. Remus was all she really needed at the end of the day, but it didn't take away the hurt she felt. At the moment, she was Emma Black, and she wondered if the Ministry had picked up on that piece of trivia finally or if it was just Sirius's criminal status.
She wanted to understand what exactly Jude had done to her mother and wanted to understand Persephone's involvement in everything. She wanted Jude gone. Emma wanted to figure out precisely who Fenrir was, not even just for herself, but to give Greyson some form of clarity. It always felt stupid that Fenrir raised her as his own when his son was right there. Fenrir had his own flesh and blood out in the world – he didn't need her for anything. Even though Greyson was better off and didn't blame her for anything, Emma hated that she had the sort of relationship he should have had with his father. Everything was utterly backward, and Emma wasn't the only one who suffered for it.
She wanted to right every possible wrong that she could and still be able to have her freedom while taking care of the people who needed it most. There were so many things that Emma wanted to do – change laws, create safety nets, and protect innocent werewolves. Emma wasn't even sure if she could do any of it and had no idea what to do.
Until she finally did.
It was going to be risky – terribly risky, but she was angry. She was mad at Jude, pissed at the Ministry, and even more furious with Fenrir. Fenrir had the opportunity to do so much more for her, could have ignored her for someone else, but he was blind in his obsession for power. She knew exactly what Fenrir wanted, and she had to start thinking like him; be shrewd and demanding just like he was. Emma had no idea how much Fenrir would agree to, but a plan slowly formed in her head.
The only person who would change things was her, and Fenrir was going to help her do exactly that.
a/n: I have very few excuses over why this chapter took so long, but I also have a million reasons why. OOPS. This be a filler chapter, I think. Not my favorite, but you all seem to like the chapters I'm not fond , why am I oddly excited for another Fenrir chapter so soon? HEH.
That being said, some of my time has been spent working on a modern AU novella-type fic for all of my Greyson x Emma lovers titled "Written in the Stars." I'm totally admitting that it's meant for a competition over on Wattpad, but the names are totally changed over on there (please don't judge me - I'm trying to branch out a bit). I swear it's 100% me, though if you somehow come across it. It'll be super cute - plenty of romantic fluff and aaahhhhhh. Please please please go check it out. It'll be less than 40k words, so it'll be a challenge for me to write, but I hope you all enjoy it all the same!
Anyway, to all of my late night readers, please go to sleep! I love you and good night! To all of my other times of the day readers - I hope you had a wonderful day, and I love you!
Maricate - I am saying nooottthiiiinnnggg!
Shard - IT'S STTAAARRRTTTIIINNNNGGGGGGG!