DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the content referenced/quoted. Warning for swearing.

...

Summer Nights

The summer after Cass' first year is a hot one. A heat wave sweeps over the country, and even in rural Scotland, the temperature soars creating longer, stickier days.

Emilia isn't a huge fan of summer. With summer came sweaty fringes, clammy hands and a hayfever that consistently plugs up her nose. She isn't sure how Cass manages to travel by fireplace so often without melting, but travel, her sister does. Her mum picks up more shifts at the local cafe, leaving Emilia at home with only Scratchers to keep her company and the odd letter from Remus and Sirius.

While the local kids splash in the burns and hike the nearby hills, Emilia sits in the shade of her garden and reads and reads and reads. She follows barrel riders to misty mountains and solves mysteries onboard expensive trains; Scratchers naps on her lap and occasionally she even finds time to do some summer homework.

But even with all these wondrous adventures, she still feels lonely.

One morning, Emilia watches the dark sky lighten over the hills. Grey clouds give way to deep purples and pink-tinged sky, the break of dawn looming like a bruised peach. She watches it until the blue takes over.

Her mum leaves for work with a mischievous smile, warning her to behave. Cass leaves shortly after, hopping into the floo with half a scone in her mouth and a bag full of danish pastries Emilia had made the day before.

Emilia spread eagles on the carpet, Scratchers snoozing on her stomach as she stares up at the ceiling. She isn't expecting guests.

So when a lanky boy tumbles out of the floo and into her front room, Emilia's first reaction is to throw the closest thing at the intruder.

"Ow!"

Remus is sitting in a heap in front of her fireplace, rubbing his head where a large, flying hardback copy of Little Woman smacked him.

Emilia stares.

Then with a squeal, she launches herself at him. He groans as she tumbles them back down to the carpet.

Despite his grumbling, Emilia catches a slight smile on Remus's face as she hugs him even tighter.

It is a weary sight. He wrote recently to say that he was poorly, but the gaunt pale look on his face, the raised marks on his neck are worse than she expected. She hasn't told him yet that she's started keeping track of whenever he is ill.

She softens her hug, before helping him to his feet.

"What are you doing here!"

"Your mum invited me," Remus grins. "She said you might be looking for some company."

"You're here all day?"

"All day," Remus nods. "Your mum asked me to stay for dinner."

"Thank you."

"What for?" Remus asks.

"For coming," she smiles at him. Remus flushes and rubs his neck awkwardly. He turns to look around her living room.

"So this is your house, huh?" He peers at the landline her mum keeps on a side table. "Is this a tellyphone?"

Emilia snorts at him.

"What?"

"I forget you wizards are weird sometimes," she says. "It's a telephone."

"That's what I said."

"I thought you said your mum was a muggle?"

"Yeah but we don't keep telephones in the house. Me and Dad's magic just shorts them out and she got fed up with buying new ones." He points at something else, "What's this?"

Emilia shakes her head as she starts to push him out of the room, much to his protest as he tries to pester her with questions on everything he sees.

Outside, the clear blue skies have heralded bright sunshine. She leads Remus down the rural track towards the village near her home. There's a brisk breeze, but she just clutches Remus' arm tighter, ignoring the way his face tinges pink.

Their first stop is the ice cream parlour, where the owner watches amused as they debate the merits of strawberry ice cream versus strawberry sauce.

"I just think that if you want the strawberry taste so badly, why wouldn't you pick the ice cream over the sauce?"

"Because it's gross," Emilia replies, rolling her eyes.

"Emilia!"

A girl falters in front of them with an awkward smile, she waves at Emilia a little.

"Hello Morag," Emilia says.

Remus glances between the two girls.

"How has your summer been?" Morag asks.

"Ok. Yours?"

"Yeah, good."

A beat of silence before Morag's smile tightens.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in school."

"Yeah, bye."

Morag runs off as Emilia watches. She catches up with another group of girls and starts whispering to them frantically. The group look over their shoulders and giggle.

"Is that a friend of yours?"

Emilia shakes her head.

"Not for a long time." She tugs at Remus' arm, "Come on let's go."

Remus looks between the girls and Emilia one last time before he lets her pull him away. He doesn't mention the girl again.

They spend hours wandering through narrow cobbled streets, chatting about school, magic, and friends. Emilia tells him of Cass and Lily's big falling out over Snape, how her mother has picked up another job, how often she is left alone in their house watching life pass by under her window. He tells her of Hogwarts, of James and Sirius' cockiness, how it sometimes rankles him but he's never sure what to say about it.

"Just tell 'em it's wrong."

He blinks at her, "What?"

"If you don't agree with it, just tell them," Emilia says. The wind has turned sharper now, but they're almost at the top. She burrows herself deeper into her jacket.

"But...what if…"

"What if what?"

He stops, shuffles his weight and averts his gaze from her, "What if they don't want to be friends with me anymore?"

"Screw 'em," she powers ahead, leaving him staring at her open-mouthed.

"But...but they're my friends!" He races forward to catch up with her.

"They're not if they can't appreciate your opinion. They'd just be bullies."

"They're not bullies."

"Aren't they?" She glances at him over her shoulder. The last of the dying sun catches on her hair, setting it alight. Her eyes are big and wide and so sure, he feels like he could drown in them and never be afraid. Her face is sharper, the baby fat that had rounded it now shedding as she grows older. He forgets sometimes she's not the kid who cajoled him into being friends with her sister anymore.

When he doesn't reply, she smiles sadly at him, "I thought so."

As twilight approaches, she leads him out of the village and through the rolling green fields back towards her home. Remus holds her hand tight as they walk.

They finally reach her home in silence, him deep in thought and her huffing and puffing the last few metres. As they come to a stop, the last of the sun fades behind the distant mountains. Rolling fields spread before them like an endless green sea, her house a single bright spot tinged with warmth.

"Wow." Remus is breathless at the view. The sunset paints everything with warmth, and it feels like the whole world is stretched out before him.

"It's pretty, right?"

"Yeah," Remus says.

She turns to smile up at him. As she looks up at him, something takes root inside, ribs contracting as something green grows in her chest. A tiny shoot, a beginning. Remus squeezes her hand tightly, "Thank you for showing me this."

She squeezes back, "Thank you for coming with me to see it."

They head into her house after that, walking in silence. Isobel greets them cheerily, and they share a bright, warm meal together.

Even as he laughs at Emilia's bad jokes and comments on Isobel's embarrassing stories, Emilia's words tumble around inside his head.

She doesn't meet him before the train leaves to cart him off to second year. But as her mum frets over Cass, she spots him over the top of the crowd. Sirius and another boy she's never seen before are standing before him looking downcast while Remus looks cross, hands on his hips as he tells them off. Two small children stand beside him giggling.

He rolls his eyes, averts his gaze and meets hers over the crowd. She grins at him and he smiles back, his chest puffing with pride.