DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the content referenced/quoted. Warning for swearing.
...
The Missing
Em never thought she'd again settle into a routine without Remus. Yet, as the biting English wind heralds the start of Autumn, he's nowhere to be found.
It's lonely at first, with Cass away at St Mungo's or travelling to see Isobel so often and the boys away on mysterious missions they can't talk about. Em spends the long nights staring at the moon, watching it cycle from toenail to globe and back again. She worries about Remus, and as the days between his missives grow longer and longer, so too do the boys.
When they'd first told her about the Order, she hadn't been sure how she would be able to continue on with her work at the shop without fretting about them constantly. But she quickly discovers that her time in the shop offers a rare escape from her constant worries. It's hard to find time to fret about missing friends and a sister in danger when there are children begging for books and harried Hogwarts students trying to rush order textbooks.
Even on the quieter days, when she sees only a few other souls, Em finds the time to bury herself in tales of barrel-riders and dragon tamers.
It is on one of these days that a letter from Danders arrives in the shop.
"Fucking hell."
Em stares down at the parchment in disbelief. She can't believe that it's real because it couldn't be right? Why would Danders do such a thing.
She places the letter down gently on the counter like it might jump up and bite her if she handles it too roughly.
The bell above the door rings sharply, and Cass slips into the shop.
"Alright there, sis?" Cass greets her brightly.
"Uh huh," she nods, still staring at the letter.
"It's chilly out there today, ain't it?" Her sister sheds her outer layers, embracing the warmth of the little shop as she moves towards Em.
"Uh huh," Em replies.
Cass pauses, looking at her sister, who continues to stare at the letter on the counter before her, "Em?"
She doesn't reply.
"Em!" Cass snaps her fingers in front of her face and her sister jumps.
"What!"
"You're fucking freaking me out just staring at that letter there," Cass says concernedly, "What the hell is going on?"
"Danders isn't coming back."
Cass blinks at her shocked sister, "I'm sorry what?"
"Danders isn't coming back," Em repeats, staring at her sister. "And he's left me the shop."
"What do you mean he's left you the shop."
"I mean," Em says, spreading the leaves of parchment across the counter for her sister to see, "Danders has given me the shop. It's mine. Sheila is mine."
"Wait, who's Sheila?"
"The shop."
"You called the shop Sheila?"
"Really, out of everything I just said, that's what's concerning you?" Em squeaks at her sister.
Cass moves to read the paper strewn before her, eyes skimming over the thick text. As she reaches the bottom of the documents, she exhales heavily.
"He's really left you the shop."
"It's my shop." Em repeats dully.
"Congratulations! That's amazing!" Cass squeals, reaching over the counter to pull Em into a hug. "It's so exciting! Why are you not more excited! Em, be fucking excited!"
"I am," Em says, "I'm just…whelmed?"
"Well, snap out of it," Cass says, slapping Em's cheeks slightly, "This is good news."
Em stares at her sister as a grin stars to slowly grow across her face, "It is, isn't it? Good news, I mean?"
"It is!"
Em rushes forward to grab her sister with an excited squeal, and the two embrace, jumping up and down with excitement.
"Come on!" Cass declares suddenly, peeling away from her sister, "Let's go celebrate!"
She starts to go through the motions of closing up the shop.
"But wait!" Em stutters, fluttering behind her, "We're supposed to be open right now!"
"Who gives!" Cass says, starting to stack the chairs away neatly. "You just got a shop, one day off isn't going to hurt! Now, go empty the till!"
Em allows herself to be pushed towards the till, a wide grin still splitting her face. She can't believe it. Her very own shop, hers!
It takes them some time, but before long, the sisters have packed up the shop for closure.
Em locks up the front door and turns to her sister when a sudden crack echoes through the shop.
She squeals as Cass screams and turns to the source of the noise, her fist flying before she can stop it.
Thankfully, Sirius has always had the quickest reactions and ducks under Cass' weak punch before it makes contact with his nose.
"Bloody hell, Cass!"
"Sirius!" Em cries out, at first overjoyed by his sudden appearance in the shop. He grins at Em, until Cass takes a swat at his ear.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" She cries, face flushed with anger, "You gave me the bloody fright of my life!"
"Nice to know that your reactions are as quick as ever, Withers," James intones behind Cass and she turns to scowl at the boy. Em laughs at the two as Sirius sweeps her into his arms for a hug.
"Idiots, the both of you," Cass says, swatting James too before he can duck under her reach. "You could have been anyone!"
"We're sorry!"
"Oh! Why I oughta," she huffs, scowling at the two, who at least have the decency to look halfway sheepish.
"We just wanted to know if Em wanted to come to the pub?" James says, "I wasn't expecting you to launch yourself at Sirius."
"The pub?" Cass raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Lily and Marlie are going to be there. Pete was going to come too but he ducked out at the last minute, his mum's pretty ill," Sirius says.
"So what do you say, just like old times?" James asks.
Em glances over at Cass with a shy look and then at the two boys, the hope bright on their faces beneath the purple bruising around Sirius' eye and the scrape across James' chin. She thinks back on those nights, so many months ago, where they had huddled around her coffee table, drinking and singing. Remus' face grinning down at her, the arm that had slowly crept towards her over the course of the night. It makes her want to cry.
Because it won't be like old times, and she knows this, and James and Sirius know this, and they all know this. But she thinks sometimes that they forget between the missions, the meetings, the murmured conversations and the war, that they're all still teenagers. The past few months have aged them.
Cass groans in defeat, "Fine! I suppose we were heading that way already, might as well join you losers."
"You were?" James perks up.
Cass wraps an arm around Em and pulls her close, her face shining with pride, "My little sister here just got a shop."
"Em has-"
"-a shop?"
"Yup," Cass says, "Danders is staying in Canada with his daughter, so Em gets the shops."
The boys crow with delight, sweeping Em into a group as they congratulate her.
"This calls for a pint, Prongs!"
"Why I do believe you are correct, Pads!" James turns to Em with a twinkle in his eye. He holds out an arm each to the two women, "May I escort you to the public house, miladies?"
"You may," Em giggles as Cass gingerly takes up the other arm.
"What about me?" Sirius pipes up.
"You may bask in the glory of our presences, peasant," Cass snipes as James leads them towards the front door. They didn't Apparate with Em anymore, not after the throwing up on Remus' shoes incident.
Em giggles as Sirius grumbles after them. On a sharp winter evening, two young women and two young men set out onto a Hogsmeade street, quickly. Their laughter mingles with their breath, which rises in a cloud of happiness.