DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the content referenced/quoted. Warning for swearing.
...
The Spring Visit 1974
The spring of 1974 comes on a bitter wind and clear skies. Em is usually impatient for the wash of blue, streaked with wisps of white, that usually heralds the start of the Scottish springtime, but this year the calm weather feels almost eerie.
A quiet calm creeps over the Wizarding World, magical and muggle alike waiting with bated breath to see what move the followers of Voldemort would make next. In the tranquillity of the early spring, Em finds herself spending more and more time with her mother at her job in Hogsmeade.
The tiny village is not far from their own home and not far from Hogwarts itself - a fact which Isobel had latched onto with a furious might. As whispers of attacks against muggles and muggleborns grew in 1973, Isobel withdrew from the towns plagued with the possibility of danger and further and further into the Highlands. Her Glasgow publishing job allowed her to do most of her work remotely - but the opportunity to advise one Daedulus Danders on muggle books allowed her to be closer to Cass.
At the time, these are the furthest thoughts from Em's mind, who is endlessly fascinated with Hogsmeade's rare and odd magical curiosities, including Dander's Bookshop.
Run on a mixture of magical and muggle staff, it housed some of the oldest books in Britain - and its vast and varied collection was a point of great pride for its owner Daedalus Danders, who took Em under his wing the moment she'd asked about The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
When Em's school finishes early for the Spring holidays, she divides her time between learning the workings of the shop and reading in the nooks and crannies of Hogsmeade - watching the dark sky lighten and give way to a deep purple and pink-tinged sky, the break of dawn looming over the village like a bruised peach.
Sometimes she goes out a bit farther, into the rolling fields that surround the village like an endless green sea and imagines the blades of grass are waves knocking against the wooden boards of the Dawn Treader, that there are new adventures just waiting at the end of horizon. Other times, she reads her letters from the boys, looks up at the silhouette of Hogwarts in the distance and counts down the days until the haze of summer begins once again.
It's on one of these fair Spring days that Em learns about Hogsmeade Weekends. She's heading back to Dander's shop, navigating the winding paths that run alongside the neat rows of thatched cottages and rickety shops, when she first hears the low hum of chatter from the High Street.
She almost stumbles as she walks out onto the street to the largest crowd she's ever seen in the village. Everywhere she looks there are groups of friends laughing and talking, magic flying over heads as they flood the cobbled streets.
A sparkling firework sails past her head, missing by inches. She laughs in delight as it swoops past - until her eyes catch on a familiar head of scruffy brown hair. A wide grin splits her face, and she's dashing forward, pushing through the throngs of folk before she can stop herself.
She launches across the last few feet, grasping a hold of Remus' middle. He stumbles forward under the unexpected weight and squawks loudly. James and Sirius scream as Remus flails wildly and ungracefully, sending Em into spurts of unbridled laughter.
"Remus!" She grins, "what are you guys doing here?"
"Em?" Remus asks as he tries to peer at her over his shoulder.
"Of course, silly," she laughs as Remus spins around to unsuccessfully look at her. She follows his circle, and Remus' only success is looking like a dog chasing his tail - an image which amuses Em no end.
She smiles at Sirius and James' shocked faces as she passes them on her circular path, "You know you guys have surprisingly high voices, how did you manage to scream so high?"
The comment seems to shake some sense into the boys. Sirius coughs, and replies, lowering his voice several octaves, "I don't know what you mean, Withers?"
"Uh huh," she nods. As she passes the boys on her third circle, she notices the small boy standing on James' left.
"Hi! You must be," she pauses as Remus completes another circuit and she dodges out of his way, "You must be Peter! It's nice to meet you!"
"Eh, hello," the boy, Peter, mumbles at her with wide eyes.
"Em, would you… Em," Remus huffs. "Em, would…Em, would you just stop, I'm serious."
"I think you'll find I'm Sirius, mate."
Em groans, "That was awful, please never pursue a career in stand-up comedy- ah!"
She squeals as Remus finally gets a good grip on her, and swings her into the air in a wide circle.
"Remus!" She cries, kicking out as he spins her. "Put me down! I mean it, I'll puke on you! Remus!"
The boys laugh at their antics and she scowls at them. A few people glance up at the noise.
Finally, Remus places her back on the ground with a thump and she stumbles slightly, dizziness overwhelming her. He laughs at her, his face light despite the gaunt sharpness of it.
"That was mean," she says when the world stops spinning around her.
"That was payback."
"Payback for what? You're the one who kept going around in a circle." Em sticks her tongue out at Remus, who copies her.
"Alright, children, break it up," James says, stepping between them. He turns to Em, "What are you doing in Hogsmeade anyway, Best Withers?"
"Best Withers?" Peter mouths to Sirius, who just shrugs.
"I work here," she says. "What are you doing here?"
"You work here?" Remus repeats, "Here? In Hogsmeade?"
"Well my mum does and sometimes I help out," she shrugs.
"What about school?"
"It's the Spring holidays, numpty," she says. "Anyway you've not answered my question, what are you doing here?"
"It's Hogsmeade Weekend!" James replies cheerily, "My best chance to ask out my precious Lily-flower!"
"How's that going for you?"
"Brilliantly."
"Awful."
"Horribly." The boys answer at the same time. Em snorts as James scowls at them, muttering 'traitors' under his breath. Sirius nudges him in the side, to which James quickly retaliates, accidentally pushing Sirius into a bewildered Peter.
"Danders' shop is here?" Remus asks Em quietly as Sirius and James start to bicker.
"Yeah, just around the corner," she points down one of the narrow paths off the High Street.
Remus's face tenses, "I didn't realise you were so close."
"To what? The school?"
"No, I…you're being safe right?"
"Safe?" Her brow furrows, "I guess so…"
"So, Em, what do you think?"
She turns to look at the expectant faces of James and Sirius, and blinks at them.
"Think of what?"
"Joining us in our Hogsmeade plans. We were planning to grab a couple of butterbeers, plan some pranks-"
"Watch Lily from a distance like a weirdo." Sirius adds.
"Well actually, Danders told me there's this really cool tearoom near here that he recommended," Em says. "I think he said it was called Madam Puddle-something. Have you guys heard of it?"
The boys shudder.
"You mean Madam Puddifoot's?" Peter asks quietly.
"Yes! That's the one!" Em grins, "You want to come with me?"
Her question is met with stumbling excuses, the boys red-faced and studiously avoiding her gaze. She turns to Remus, peers into his eyes.
"Remus? Would you go with me?" She asks, "Please?"
He tugs on his ear, face bright red, "I s'pose…"
"Great!" She grabs his hand and starts to pull him along. "Bye guys, see you later!"
Remus starts to protest as she pulls him down the street, grip tight on his hand. She pushes through the crowd before taking an abrupt left.
"Wait, Em, you're going the wrong way!"
She grins at him over his shoulder, "I know!"
Remus splutters, "What do you mean, you know?"
"I just told them I wanted to go to Madam Puddifoot's cause I know it would scare 'em off."
"Em…"
"They'll be fine, I promise," she says. "I just wanted to show you something."
Remus starts to slow, hesitating behind her.
"Come on!"
Remus follows her through the cobbled paths of Hogsmeade, and out into the fields beyond. As they leave behind the village, Em points out the small, delipidated cottage that sits apart from other homes of Hogsmeade.
"They call it The Shrieking Shack," she tells him, "because of some nonsense to do with it being haunted."
His grip tightens on her hand, "You don't believe it's haunted?"
She shakes her head, "I mean, I've heard the noises coming from it once, but I don't think it was a ghost."
Remus almost stumbles in shock.
"You've heard m-them? The noises?"
"Yeah," Em shrugs, "Mum was working late one night and I was helping out and I heard them."
"...and you…you weren't scared?"
"No," she says. "I just thought they sounded lonely."
Remus blinks at Em, who smiles softly at him before tugging him past the house and onto a rough hewn trail where they start to climb.
She talks to him about the books she's discovered lately, about the weekend market that had started running at home and about Danders' recent offer of shifts at the shop.
"Maybe, you could visit me while you're out for Hogsmeade weekends?" She smiles.
He squeezes her hand, "Maybe."
The wind turns sharper now, but they're almost at the top of a hill. Em burrows herself deeper into her jacket.
"Em?"
"Yeah?"
He stops, shuffles his weight and averts his gaze from her, "Do you…do you really think the Shrieking Shack sounded lonely?"
She blinks at him slowly before nodding, "Yeah, I did. Did you know that the house is still for sale even though it's been abandoned? I want to buy it. "
Em powers on, leaving him staring at her open-mouthed.
"But...but it's the most severely haunted building in Britain!" He races forward to catch up with her.
"So?" She glances at him over her shoulder. The wind blows, catching her hair and whipping it in his direction. He inhales the scent of oranges, sweet and sharp on the breeze, and something in his chest warms.
Em watches as the tension leaks out of his shoulders, his face still pale and scarred but there's a warmth in his eyes now.
"Besides," she says, "Even if there are ghosts in there, maybe they're just looking for a friend."
Remus says nothing as they continue up the side of the hill. They reach the top in silence, him deep in thought and her huffing and puffing the last few metres.
"Woah." Remusgrows wide-eyed at the view. The rolling green fields spread endlessly before him and the sunset paints Hogsmeade in various shades of red, casting a warm glow over the village.
"Pretty, huh?" Em says.
"Yeah," Remus moves his gaze towards her, "I guess it is."
She grins at him, the small green thing that lives in her ribs warm at the ease on his face. Em reaches for Remus' hand and grips it tightly. He squeezes it back.