A/N: I'm here again with one more chapter for you. I'm glad that you
like what you have read so far, I really appreciate all your reviews.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing.
Chapter 5 ~ Last Goodbyes
It was late in the afternoon when the members of the household woke up. The sun was shining bright and a cool breeze flew among the town.
James was up before anybody else and after taking some food walked toward his garden. He didn't regret showing it to Lily, he imagined that now it would become their garden and would become a place where they could be together out of anybody's sight. He took the small golden key in his hand and muttered something as he gently tapped it with his wand. A second key appeared. He muttered something else and a golden chain appeared though the key. He smiled and went back to the house.
He walked silently through the hall leading to the bedchambers. He stopped in front of Lily's door. He kneeled and pushed an envelope through.
Lily was stirring in her bed. She blinked a couple of times trying to gain her bearings. The room was bright with sunlight. A steaming pot of hot chocolate stood in a tray beside the bed. With a pleased smile she reached for it. When she leaned over the side of the bed, she noticed something by her door. Intrigued, she left the tray were it lay and stood up. She walked toward the door and saw the small envelope on the floor. With a frown, she reached for it. She opened it and a small key with a golden chain fell on her hand. She smiled. She knew what door it opened and who had given it to her. The memories of last night came flooding through her mind.
James and Lily spent countless minutes in each other arms after their initial kiss. They both knew that they couldn't go back to that innocent relationship they had during their last year at Hogwarts. Events interfered then, but this time they were more mature and they planned to make it work and make the most of it.
Lily returned to her chocolate after she clasped the chain around her neck. With a smile she began a new day.
Emma was laying on the bed staring up the ceiling. Remus had been so attentive the night before. He kept her entertained during the victory party and got refreshments for her whenever she was in need of some. He had walked her back to the house at the end of it. He even asked if she was tired, he said he wasn't too tired and wouldn't mind carrying her to her room if she preferred. She had smiled and said it wouldn't be necessary.
She sighed. It would be so easy to fall back to their old relationship. And she truly wished that they could, but things were different now. Then, it had been him the one to break their relationship up. She understood his reasons, and even though it had hurt her, she knew that it had been for the best. Now it was too late to try again. She would be leaving soon, she didn't know to where and for how long but she did know that in her new life there would be no room for Remus.
The sun streamed through the curtains. Birds were chirping by the window. And Emma continued lost in her thoughts.
Katie was standing by the window. She was in high spirits this day. She had seen James leave the house earlier and then saw him return. She smiled. She had a feeling that Lily and James would be all lovey-dovey for the next days, not that she would mind at all, she had other things in mind. Well, she should say someone else in mind. She turned to look back at the bed. The sheets looked like she had been turning and kicking the whole night. But that hadn't been the case. Sirius had left her room earlier that morning waking her up with a kiss before leaving. She smiled smugly. She knew what her friends would think if they knew about her nightly activities, but she also knew that they couldn't be too naïve to think that Sirius and she hadn't been together before. They had been in their relationship for four years now, and now they were engaged. And they knew that Sirius was no innocent.
Katie smiled and went back to bed. She felt a bit sore, but she didn't mind. With a smug smile she went back to sleep.
It was during dinner that everybody saw each other again. Everybody had left their room at different hours of the day and had been so involved in their own affairs to pay attention to anybody else.
Everybody was in subdued spirits. The Harvest Fair was over. No more treats to look forward to. James had received an owl earlier from Professor Dumbledore who will be coming to see them soon enough. Everybody knew that it meant that Emma was going to leave soon. Emma had joined them for dinner that evening and it seemed that it had become a farewell dinner because of the way everybody kept asking her how she felt and tried to avoid the reason for Dumbledore's letter. She sighed and kept her mind on her food, she really didn't want to think about leaving either.
"Well young men." Said Mr. Evans breaking the silence that had taken over the table. "That was some game last night."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Mr. Evans. That is the only Quidditch game open to muggles in our world, usually you wouldn't have been able to see it." James said.
"Indeed. I suppose it is against the rules to let us see it." Mr. Evans replied.
"It is. That is why the Professional games are played in areas away from population. There are charms and hexes that keep muggles away. This Pitch also has charms protecting it from muggle eyes, but it only works with muggles that have no knowledge of the magical world, they would just see a soccer field. Most muggles in town have family members who are magic, so they can see the games, they just can't participate in it." James explained.
The rest of dinner was spent with talk of last night's game and with James, with some help from Remus and Sirius, trying to explain all the rules of Quidditch to Mr. Evans. The women kept half an ear in their conversation and soon started to turn the conversation to the party.
Dinner broke up some half an hour later. Because they were all still tired from the previous evening they decided to go to bed. Soon after, the house was dark. The night was clear and the stars sparkled. And a shadow detached itself from the woods nearby, a pair of eyes keeping watch over the sleeping Manor.
The weather started to get colder by the next morning. James was out all morning with his tenants making sure all the harvest had been collected and stored. The kitchen pantry was completely full of fresh vegetables, grain and fruit, enough for a whole month. Mr. Evans, Sirius and Remus had taken a couple of rifles out and had gone to hunt in the Manor woods. Only the girls remained behind.
Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans were in the back parlor with their embroidery while Emma, Lily and Katie were in the music room playing and chatting. The twins were all over the house, followed closely by one member of the staff. Their squeals and laughter could be heard all over the house.
By luncheon time, the men were back. A light repast was served in the deck outside the family dinning room. The day had gotten a little warmer and everybody agreed that a meal outside would make for a nice change.
The afternoon was spent in quiet entertainment. Mr. Evans had gone to the library while his wife and Mrs. Potter were in the kitchens deciding on the menus for the rest of the week. Lily, Katie and Emma were in the back parlor looking through some magazines and listening to the radio, they were a bit sad after James had announced during luncheon that Professor Dumbledore would be coming over for dinner. James, Sirius and Remus had taken over the game room and were playing billiards.
"Do you think he will take Emma tonight?" Asked Remus as he watched James play with Sirius.
James shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say anything about it, just that he was coming tonight."
"Don't worry, Moony, old friend. Maybe he is coming to prepare her." Sirius said.
"Perhaps." Answered Remus with a thoughtful expression.
They continued to play in silence for a few minutes before James continued.
"I received an owl today from Peter." He said. "What does the old boy has to say? I haven't received an owl from him for a while." Exclaimed Sirius.
"You know he is busy taking care of his mother." Replied Remus.
"Yes, but he could sit for a few minutes and write." Sirius said.
"Well, he wrote that his mother is better and will be going to a friend's house for a little while so he will be coming here." James explained.
"Hey, that would be perfect for that plan of your Prongs." Sirius shouted.
"Really Sirius, there is no need to shout. And what plan are you talking about?" Asked Remus.
"That plan he had to go back to Hogwarts for the next full moon." Sirius said.
"It would be perfect, the four of us will be together then. All we need is to apparate in Hogsmeade, sneak into the Shack and wait there for the transformation." Said James.
"And then we will have Hogwarts' grounds for ourselves. We did have fun then, didn't we?" Said Sirius with a sigh.
"You are getting melancholic Sirius. Never thought that Padfoot here would be so sentimental." Laughed Remus. "But I don't know. So many things could go wrong."
"Don't worry Moony, everything will be fine." Sirius said once more.
"I will tell Dumbledore tonight that Remus wants to use the shack for his next transfiguration. I'll tell him that there isn't a safe place around here for him to do so and that we could only think of the Shack. He'll say it's fine and he will make sure that nobody is on the grounds on those days." James said.
"Oh very well, but if something goes wrong, I'm blaming you." Said Remus.
"Fine." Both Sirius and James said.
The girls were also worried about Dumbledore's visit.
"What if he is coming to take Emma." Said Katie.
"I don't think so, he would've said something. After all, she is not ready to leave yet." Lily said.
"Maybe he is just coming to check on me. If he thinks I'm better, then he will tell me when I leave." Emma replied.
"Oh. Maybe we should put you in bed and tell him you aren't completely healed." Said Katie.
"No Katie, I have to go eventually. Nobody knows that I'm here and if Voldemort finds out, then not only I am in danger, but everybody who is here, and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened because of me." Emma said.
"But I don't want you to leave." Katie said with tears gathering in her eyes.
"I know, I don't want to go either but I must." Replied Emma.
"Well, let's not think about it, let's hear what Dumbledore has to say first." Said Lily trying to sound cheerful.
"You know, I think the boys are planning something." Said Emma as she tried to keep her mind from her departure.
"What makes you say that?" Asked Katie.
"I don't know, it was a feeling I got." Emma said.
"Well you know them, there is always something that they are planning. If we were still in Hogwarts, I would be wary about it, but they have behaved themselves for quite a while." Lily said.
"Besides, Mrs. Potter is here, James wouldn't dare to do anything with her here." Katie said.
"Well let's just hope that it isn't dangerous." Emma replied.
Katie laughed. "You know that if there is danger involved they will most likely do it. Let's hope it's safe and boring, that will keep them away from danger." She said.
Lily and Emma laughed. It was true, the boys liked a bit of danger in their lives, they wouldn't be friends if it wasn't so.
Dinnertime was soon approaching. The young men had left the game room to go to the entertainment room were the young ladies soon joined them.
The entertainment room was located in the second floor, near the family chambers. It was decorated with muggle posters of movies, singers and teams on the walls. There was a special section of the wall that with a tap of a wand it would transfigure the posters upon it to posters of Quidditch teams and players. Against the longest wall was an entertainment center. A large T.V. at the center and several modern equipment beside it. There was a video tape recorder, which had first appeared in the market a few years ago. There was a large stereo with a record player. In the middle of the room were couches facing the television arranged in a semicircle.
On this evening, the young people were watching muggle television. Wizards had not found the way to have a wizarding channel yet.
Soon they were being called to get ready for dinner. Professor Dumbledore would arrive any minute.
Everybody was sitting in the family parlor waiting for their visitor. Remus kept watching out the windows while Mrs. Potter kept her eyes in the fireplace. There was no laughter, no talk, the twins were taking dinner in the nursery and everybody in the parlor was nervously waiting for Professor Dumbledore.
"He is here." Remus suddenly said. Everybody turned to look at him.
"He just apparated, there is someone else with him." Remus reported.
Soon after, the doorbell rang and they heard Roberts greeting someone at the door.
The door to the parlor opened and Roberts appeared.
"Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch." He announced.
Two men came in. One was very familiar with the people waiting. The other was unknown to most of them even though his name wasn't. He was the new Head of the Department of Magical Enforcement.
"Good evening." Professor Dumbledore said as soon as he entered the room. "Let me introduce to you Mr. Crouch, I'm sure you must know who he is."
"Of course. Welcome Mr. Crouch, why don't you make yourself comfortable." Said Mrs. Potter as she motioned her visitors to take a seat.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter." Mr. Crouch said. He seemed eager to make the acquaintance of the Potters. It was know in the Ministry that whoever had the support of the Potters, that person would become the next Minister of Magic. Mr. Crouch obviously had plans for his future. He was introduced to the others while Dumbledore greeted each like old friends, which most of them were.
"I hope my visit is not trouble for you Mrs. Potter, I know that you weren't told that I was coming but it was decided at the last minute." Mr. Crouch said after greeting everybody in the room.
"That's all right Mr. Crouch, Professor Dumbledore can tell you that there is always enough food at our table." Mrs. Potter replied.
"Special with young men like these three." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. The girls giggled while the three young men in question just smiled.
"Well yes." Said Mr. Crouch, he obviously wasn't a frivolous man. "I came because we thought it best to get Ms. Holmes ready for her departure."
"When will I be leaving Mr. Crouch?" Emma asked.
"In three days most likely. There are a few things that we still have to do, but The Lady has agreed to take you on." Mr. Crouch.
"Don't worry my dear, she will take good care of you, she will keep you safe." Professor Dumbledore said.
Emma nodded.
"Who is this Lady?" Sirius wanted to know, he wanted to make sure that Emma would indeed be kept safe. Everybody else had the same question in mind.
"I'm sorry Mr. Black but that is something that you cannot know. But I guarantee you that Emma will be safe." Professor Dumbledore said.
Sirius reluctantly nodded.
"Very well, I'm sure we can continue this after dinner. Why don't we all go to the dinning room?" Mrs. Potter said.
She took Professor Dumbledore's arm and led the group into the adjacent room.
Dinner was rather subdued compared to previous ones. Nobody knew whether it was the fact that Emma would soon be leaving or if it was the presence of Mr. Crouch. He seemed like a kind of person that didn't have a frivolous bone in his body. His conversation revolved entirely around the Ministry and politics. Needless to say, the young people got bored soon enough and wanted dinner to be over soon.
When the food platters were returned to the kitchen with food upon it, Otty, the cook elf, was rather worried that Master James and his friends might be ill. He resolved to send soups and juices up to their rooms before they went to bed.
After dinner, Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch closeted themselves with Emma in the library. The others stayed in the parlor hoping that they would soon find out what was going on behind the closed door. Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch left some time later, Emma was rather silent and didn't respond to the questions her friends had and excused herself to go to her chamber. The others followed her example soon after.
Lily woke rather earlier the next day. Mr. and Mrs. Evans would be returning to London that morning and she wanted to make sure she took breakfast with them before they left.
She dressed in silence. She would miss her parents, but unlike Emma, she knew she could see them whenever she wanted. It wouldn't be the same with Emma, according to what little her friend had let on, Emma would be leaving to a secret location where nobody would be able to contact her. They didn't know for how long she would be gone, the only thing they did know was that as long as Voldemort was in the loose, Emma would be in danger.
Lily shook her head. There was no need for her to think about it, all she needed was to make the most of the time she still had with her parents and friend.
Half an hour later, she made her way to the dinning room. She could see Roberts working in the entrance hall, polishing the brass. Footmen were helping him as all the carpets and pictures were also being cleaned. She also noticed some of the elves popping here and there helping with the cleaning. She had never thought of how much work it was to keep the house clean. The staff and the elves seemed to know what to do, even if there was nobody around.
Lily made her way to the family dinning room. As she entered, she noticed that only her father was there.
"Morning Princess." He said with a smile.
Lily smiled back. Even though she was now twenty one, her father still called her by the pet name he had given her when she was only a toddler. "Morning Daddy. Where is mum?"
"Making sure all the packing is done. Those elves are god sent, otherwise I would still be up there trying to pack everything back." He said.
Lily laughed. Her parents seemed to be getting used to magical life, she was afraid that they would soon like to have an elf on their own to help around the house and she was sure her sister, Petunia, wouldn't be too impressed.
She went round the table choosing from the food upon it. "Has nobody come down yet?" She asked as she took a seat near her father.
"Young James was here earlier, but he had to go and check on the house of one of his tenants, it seemed that their roof was damaged somehow." Mr. Evans said.
"Oh, I'm sure he will be back soon. When are you planning to leave?"
"I want to be off before luncheon, I want to get home before it gets dark."
"Thanks for coming."
"Oh, we wanted to see you Princess. We missed you." Mr. Evans said looking at his daughter with loving eyes.
"I missed you too." Lily responded.
"I'm sure Young James will take care of you. I made sure to let him know that if he hurt you again he will certainly be sorry for it." Mr. Evans shook his finger at Lily.
"Daddy, you didn't?" Lily exclaimed.
"Of course I did, just because you decided to give him a second chance doesn't mean I will."
"Daddy!"
"You didn't think that we wouldn't know that you are back together again, did you? We are not blind Lily, we know what is going on with our children. We don't need magical powers to see it."
"I know you are not Daddy, and I was going to tell you but with Emma leaving I kind of forgot about it." Lily said with a sheepish expression.
"Well that's all right then. But he better be good to you, or he will be answering to me." Mr. Evans said.
"I'm sure that everything will be fine." Lily replied.
Mr. Evans didn't say anymore, Mrs. Evans soon joined them at the table.
The meal dragged on for a couple of hours, Sirius, Remus, and Katie joined them after some time. Soon it was time for the Evans to prepare for their trip. Lily accompanied them to their room to help them with their luggage. Even though the Evans only stayed in the Manor for less than two weeks, they had brought a lot of luggage with them. It took the servants a couple of trips to gather all the baggage and pile it in the entrance hall. The Evans' car was brought round and was waiting for them at the door.
"Take care of yourself dear. Remember to owl me." Said Mrs. Evans as she hugged Lily at the entrance hall.
"I will mum, have a nice drive." Lily replied.
"Now Princess, don't let this young man here give you any trouble." Said Mr. Evans motioning toward James who was waiting by the door.
Lily laughed. "Don't worry Daddy, Mrs. Potter will take care of him if he does something." She said.
"Oh, you can be sure that I will." Said Mrs. Potter who was standing by Lily waiting for her turn to say goodbye.
"Take care Susan. I hope to hear from you often." Said Mrs. Evans as she hugged Mrs. Potter.
"Oh, you bet I will. Nothing short of death will keep me from it." Susan Potter replied. "Take care Rose, don't worry about Lily, we will take care of her."
"I'm sure you will Susan." Said Mr. Evans turning to his hostess. "I'm happy she ended up with you and nobody else."
After more hugs and goodbyes, the Evans climbed into their car. The trunk and back seat were piled with baggage. The Evans waved goodbye before starting up the car.
Lily and James stood upon the steps of the house waving as the car slowly disappeared in the distance.
Lily sighed. James turned to look at her.
"They will be fine." He said putting his arms around her.
"I know. But I can't help but worry. They didn't say anything while they were here but I know that Daddy hasn't totally recuperated from his illness. I'm not even sure what it was that made him sick. Mother never mentioned it." Lily said leaning her head against his chest.
"If they didn't deem it important to discuss it maybe it wasn't very serious. Don't worry Lily, if anything happens they will let you know." James tried to soothe her.
"Perhaps you are right." She said.
"Come." He said and pulled her toward the gardens.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"To our garden of course." He said with a smile.
Lily smiled back. Since that night when James showed her the garden, they had been meeting there whenever they wanted some privacy.
The weather was warm. The sun was shinning. And everything seemed peaceful. They all liked it that way. Soon enough they would have to think about the problems that their world was getting through. But for now, they liked to think that everything would continue as it presently was.
While Lily and James spent some time alone in their garden, Emma was sitting at the piano in the music room. Remus was sitting in a couch nearby listening with his eyes closed. "Perhaps you should go to your room and rest. You seem a little tired." Said Emma as she stopped playing.
"I'm not tired. I enjoy your playing, don't let me stop you." He said with a smile looking at her with his lids lowered.
Emma shrugged and continued playing.
They were silent as Emma continued with her playing. Both found the music soothing and kept their minds off their separation.
Both hoped that things could be different. But both also knew that they couldn't do anything to stop the course of fate. All they had left was to do the best they could of their remaining time together.
Everybody in the house spent the time in quiet entertainment. Lily and James spent most of the time in the gardens. Emma and Remus were in the music room. Katie and Sirius were in the nursery playing with the twins, and Mrs. Potter spent the afternoon with her housekeeper talking about linen, menus and housekeeping.
Dinner was quiet that evening. The night was getting chilly. James had told them that Peter would soon be joining them, probably in a couple of days. Lily and Katie were making plans with Emma to spend some quality time together before it was time for Emma to leave them. The twins had joined them for dinner this time. They made everybody laugh with their questions and points of view.
Nobody wanted to stay up for tea afterwards. The twins were taken to the nursery by Minnie. James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Katie and Emma went to the entertainment room and spent some time watching a muggle show. And Mrs. Potter retired to her room to rest.
The night was quiet. The scenery peaceful, and the town calmly sat in the middle of the valley.
The next couple of days were pretty much the same. Everybody tried to think of ways to keep Emma entertained and spend their time together. They came up with picnics, rowing in the lake, quiet games of chess, impromptu musicales, and special dinners in the evening. The last day soon arrived. Dumbledore had owled James to remind them of his visit that evening. As the time before, Mr. Crouch would be accompanying him.
Emma was sitting quietly on her bed that afternoon. Lily and Katie had just left from helping her with her packing. She didn't have too many belongings with her. Only what she needed the most and her most special belongings had been packed.
She was sadly looking down at her luggage on the floor when there was a knock on the door.
"Enter." She called without looking up.
"Ready?" Remus asked. Emma quickly looked up and smiled at him.
"As ready as I will ever be." She said.
"I wanted to give you something." He replied as he pulled something from his pocket.
"There is no need for you to." She argued. Tears were threatening to fill her eyes and she didn't want him to see her cry.
"I wanted to. Something to remember me by." He said. He opened a small squared box. A ring with a small solitaire diamond sat in the satin lining.
"Oh Remus!" She exclaimed with a sob.
"I'll get your answer as soon as you return." He said pulling the ring from the box and reached for her hand.
"Oh dear, you are going to make me cry." She said with a sad smile.
Remus slid the ring in her finger. He didn't let go of her hand, instead he brought it up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles tenderly.
"You are very dear to me Emma. I'm sorry that I couldn't see that before and we lost some precious time together. But after all this is done, I promise I won't let you go." He whispered.
"I won't let you." She said.
Remus smiled and put his arms around her. She willingly stepped into his embrace. It was a moment that she would never forget. He slowly leaned down and smiled down at her before pressing his lips to hers in a swift and tender kiss.
It was some time later when Emma and Remus finally made it to the parlor room. Luckily, they were early than the others and didn't have to answer the questions that their friends would surely have if they had seen them come in together.
They didn't have to wait very long before the others arrived. They were all too distracted to notice Emma smile sweetly at her hand before turning to smile at the young man sitting beside her.
They were all waiting for Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch to make their appearance. They knew that it might be a while for them to do so, Roberts had brought in a tray with tea and biscuits to hold them over until dinner was served.
Soon they heard the doorbell ring. They heard Roberts opening the door and greeting the visitors. Soon footsteps could be heard coming their way.
"Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch, Ma'am." Roberts said.
"Thank you Roberts. Welcome Albus, Mr. Crouch. I trust you had a nice day." Mrs. Evans greeted the two men that came into the room.
"Hello Susan my dear. Looking lovely as always. Mr. Potter, I trust you and your friends have been behaving yourselves." Said Professor Dumbledore as he entered the room.
"Oh were have been quite angelic. Everybody can tell you so." Laughed James.
"Indeed. If you had seen us like it at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall would've said that we were ill." Said Sirius in what he thought was a surprised expression, when in fact, he looked quite mischievous.
Dumbledore laughed. He had missed the mishaps this particular group seem to leave in their wake at Hogwarts. The students seemed too quiet and studious after this lot had left.
Mr. Crouch silently greeted those around the room. He envied Professor Dumbledore the intimate relationship he seemed to share with the family. It was no wonder that the Ministry had been after him for ages to run for Minister. It was also no secret that he had declined the offer several times. He wished he was as loved as the old man was. Even though he had the respect of his peers, the common people would be the ones choosing the next Minister and the love and respect of the people was something tricky to win. The only one in their world who enjoyed those things was Dumbledore. No matter what odd things he did at Hogwarts and how much some families complained. The old Headmaster had been able to retain the love and respect from his students. And if you kept in mind how long he had been in that position, that meant that most of the young witches and wizards remember the old man with fondness, and the future generations would remember him that way.
Roberts announcement of dinner broke Mr. Crouch's thoughts. Mrs. Potter led the way to the dinning room with Professor Dumbledore and the others followed behind.
Dinner was quiet and subdued. All of the young people were not very eager to end dinner soon. They knew that as soon as dinner was done, one of their members would leave. But like all good things, it eventually came to an end.
The group quietly made its way to the parlor.
"Are you ready Ms. Holmes? We should be going." Said Mr. Crouch as he noticed the time.
"Yes, of course." Said Emma quietly. Some elves appeared in the room with Emma's trunk and bag. Emma quietly took them in her arms. The shrinking spell was done and the items stored. She then turned to look at her friends. "Good bye." She said.
"Oh Emma, take care." Exclaimed Katie. Tears starting to fall down her face.
"Bye Katie. Be happy, don't let Sirius overwhelm you." Emma said.
"Oh don't worry. I won't let him." Katie laughed as she tried to dry her tears with the sleeve of her blouse.
"Remember that we are here and that we always will help you if you need us." Lily whispered as she hugged her friend.
"I will never forget you. I know you and James will be happy. Take care my friend." Emma whispered back.
Lily nodded, her eyes were starting to fill with tears.
James and Sirius had their turn saying goodbye, both tried to lighten the mood and succeeded in making the girls smile.
Finally it was Remus' turn.
"I'll miss you." She said. Her eyes were getting moist once more.
"I'll miss you as well. Don't forget me, I know I won't." He whispered in her ear as they hugged.
"Oh Remus, I wish I didn't have to go." Sobbed Emma.
"I know, I wished that as well. But I want you safe, and if this the only way for you to be then so be it. Be careful." He said.
"I will. Be careful as well. I want a fiancé to come back to." She smiled sadly.
"Bye." Renus said.
Emma stepped back and looked at her friends with tears in her eyes. "Bye." She whispered.
Mr. Crouch led her through the door. Professor Dumbledore followed. By the time the group arrived to the entrance hall to wave them goodbye, they had disappeared from sight.
Katie and Lily turned to James and Sirius crying. The boys took them in their arms and tried to comfort them. Remus left them and went to the music room. He needed to spend time alone.
The next day was rather quiet around the house. Even the twins, who were as energetic as always, sensed the subdued atmosphere around them. They didn't understand what had happened, they only knew that a friend of their uncle's left and that the adults were rather sad about it.
On this bright morning, Lily tried to continue teaching the girls. She didn't notice that the girls were uncommonly attentive to their lessons and unlike other days when they tried to get away from the schoolroom to play, they stayed in the nursery the whole day and did as they were told.
James took Sirius and Remus with him on his rounds around the estate. He thought it would be a good day to keep their mind of Emma's departure. Especially Remus who was really too quiet for his own good. James and Sirius were planning to keep him entertained for the rest of the day.
Katie was helping Mrs. Potter with the gardening. Katie liked flowers and always found peace and serenity every time she worked in the garden.
Meal times were rather subdued compared to the previous days. The only good thing the boys were looking forward to was the arrival of the fourth member of their little group. James and Sirius had started to make plans for their upcoming 'guy's night out' as they started calling it.
A/N: Sorry it took me a while to prepare this, school and work takes much of my time. I know this chapter is short compared to others, but I hope you enjoy it. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing.
Chapter 5 ~ Last Goodbyes
It was late in the afternoon when the members of the household woke up. The sun was shining bright and a cool breeze flew among the town.
James was up before anybody else and after taking some food walked toward his garden. He didn't regret showing it to Lily, he imagined that now it would become their garden and would become a place where they could be together out of anybody's sight. He took the small golden key in his hand and muttered something as he gently tapped it with his wand. A second key appeared. He muttered something else and a golden chain appeared though the key. He smiled and went back to the house.
He walked silently through the hall leading to the bedchambers. He stopped in front of Lily's door. He kneeled and pushed an envelope through.
Lily was stirring in her bed. She blinked a couple of times trying to gain her bearings. The room was bright with sunlight. A steaming pot of hot chocolate stood in a tray beside the bed. With a pleased smile she reached for it. When she leaned over the side of the bed, she noticed something by her door. Intrigued, she left the tray were it lay and stood up. She walked toward the door and saw the small envelope on the floor. With a frown, she reached for it. She opened it and a small key with a golden chain fell on her hand. She smiled. She knew what door it opened and who had given it to her. The memories of last night came flooding through her mind.
James and Lily spent countless minutes in each other arms after their initial kiss. They both knew that they couldn't go back to that innocent relationship they had during their last year at Hogwarts. Events interfered then, but this time they were more mature and they planned to make it work and make the most of it.
Lily returned to her chocolate after she clasped the chain around her neck. With a smile she began a new day.
Emma was laying on the bed staring up the ceiling. Remus had been so attentive the night before. He kept her entertained during the victory party and got refreshments for her whenever she was in need of some. He had walked her back to the house at the end of it. He even asked if she was tired, he said he wasn't too tired and wouldn't mind carrying her to her room if she preferred. She had smiled and said it wouldn't be necessary.
She sighed. It would be so easy to fall back to their old relationship. And she truly wished that they could, but things were different now. Then, it had been him the one to break their relationship up. She understood his reasons, and even though it had hurt her, she knew that it had been for the best. Now it was too late to try again. She would be leaving soon, she didn't know to where and for how long but she did know that in her new life there would be no room for Remus.
The sun streamed through the curtains. Birds were chirping by the window. And Emma continued lost in her thoughts.
Katie was standing by the window. She was in high spirits this day. She had seen James leave the house earlier and then saw him return. She smiled. She had a feeling that Lily and James would be all lovey-dovey for the next days, not that she would mind at all, she had other things in mind. Well, she should say someone else in mind. She turned to look back at the bed. The sheets looked like she had been turning and kicking the whole night. But that hadn't been the case. Sirius had left her room earlier that morning waking her up with a kiss before leaving. She smiled smugly. She knew what her friends would think if they knew about her nightly activities, but she also knew that they couldn't be too naïve to think that Sirius and she hadn't been together before. They had been in their relationship for four years now, and now they were engaged. And they knew that Sirius was no innocent.
Katie smiled and went back to bed. She felt a bit sore, but she didn't mind. With a smug smile she went back to sleep.
It was during dinner that everybody saw each other again. Everybody had left their room at different hours of the day and had been so involved in their own affairs to pay attention to anybody else.
Everybody was in subdued spirits. The Harvest Fair was over. No more treats to look forward to. James had received an owl earlier from Professor Dumbledore who will be coming to see them soon enough. Everybody knew that it meant that Emma was going to leave soon. Emma had joined them for dinner that evening and it seemed that it had become a farewell dinner because of the way everybody kept asking her how she felt and tried to avoid the reason for Dumbledore's letter. She sighed and kept her mind on her food, she really didn't want to think about leaving either.
"Well young men." Said Mr. Evans breaking the silence that had taken over the table. "That was some game last night."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Mr. Evans. That is the only Quidditch game open to muggles in our world, usually you wouldn't have been able to see it." James said.
"Indeed. I suppose it is against the rules to let us see it." Mr. Evans replied.
"It is. That is why the Professional games are played in areas away from population. There are charms and hexes that keep muggles away. This Pitch also has charms protecting it from muggle eyes, but it only works with muggles that have no knowledge of the magical world, they would just see a soccer field. Most muggles in town have family members who are magic, so they can see the games, they just can't participate in it." James explained.
The rest of dinner was spent with talk of last night's game and with James, with some help from Remus and Sirius, trying to explain all the rules of Quidditch to Mr. Evans. The women kept half an ear in their conversation and soon started to turn the conversation to the party.
Dinner broke up some half an hour later. Because they were all still tired from the previous evening they decided to go to bed. Soon after, the house was dark. The night was clear and the stars sparkled. And a shadow detached itself from the woods nearby, a pair of eyes keeping watch over the sleeping Manor.
The weather started to get colder by the next morning. James was out all morning with his tenants making sure all the harvest had been collected and stored. The kitchen pantry was completely full of fresh vegetables, grain and fruit, enough for a whole month. Mr. Evans, Sirius and Remus had taken a couple of rifles out and had gone to hunt in the Manor woods. Only the girls remained behind.
Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans were in the back parlor with their embroidery while Emma, Lily and Katie were in the music room playing and chatting. The twins were all over the house, followed closely by one member of the staff. Their squeals and laughter could be heard all over the house.
By luncheon time, the men were back. A light repast was served in the deck outside the family dinning room. The day had gotten a little warmer and everybody agreed that a meal outside would make for a nice change.
The afternoon was spent in quiet entertainment. Mr. Evans had gone to the library while his wife and Mrs. Potter were in the kitchens deciding on the menus for the rest of the week. Lily, Katie and Emma were in the back parlor looking through some magazines and listening to the radio, they were a bit sad after James had announced during luncheon that Professor Dumbledore would be coming over for dinner. James, Sirius and Remus had taken over the game room and were playing billiards.
"Do you think he will take Emma tonight?" Asked Remus as he watched James play with Sirius.
James shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say anything about it, just that he was coming tonight."
"Don't worry, Moony, old friend. Maybe he is coming to prepare her." Sirius said.
"Perhaps." Answered Remus with a thoughtful expression.
They continued to play in silence for a few minutes before James continued.
"I received an owl today from Peter." He said. "What does the old boy has to say? I haven't received an owl from him for a while." Exclaimed Sirius.
"You know he is busy taking care of his mother." Replied Remus.
"Yes, but he could sit for a few minutes and write." Sirius said.
"Well, he wrote that his mother is better and will be going to a friend's house for a little while so he will be coming here." James explained.
"Hey, that would be perfect for that plan of your Prongs." Sirius shouted.
"Really Sirius, there is no need to shout. And what plan are you talking about?" Asked Remus.
"That plan he had to go back to Hogwarts for the next full moon." Sirius said.
"It would be perfect, the four of us will be together then. All we need is to apparate in Hogsmeade, sneak into the Shack and wait there for the transformation." Said James.
"And then we will have Hogwarts' grounds for ourselves. We did have fun then, didn't we?" Said Sirius with a sigh.
"You are getting melancholic Sirius. Never thought that Padfoot here would be so sentimental." Laughed Remus. "But I don't know. So many things could go wrong."
"Don't worry Moony, everything will be fine." Sirius said once more.
"I will tell Dumbledore tonight that Remus wants to use the shack for his next transfiguration. I'll tell him that there isn't a safe place around here for him to do so and that we could only think of the Shack. He'll say it's fine and he will make sure that nobody is on the grounds on those days." James said.
"Oh very well, but if something goes wrong, I'm blaming you." Said Remus.
"Fine." Both Sirius and James said.
The girls were also worried about Dumbledore's visit.
"What if he is coming to take Emma." Said Katie.
"I don't think so, he would've said something. After all, she is not ready to leave yet." Lily said.
"Maybe he is just coming to check on me. If he thinks I'm better, then he will tell me when I leave." Emma replied.
"Oh. Maybe we should put you in bed and tell him you aren't completely healed." Said Katie.
"No Katie, I have to go eventually. Nobody knows that I'm here and if Voldemort finds out, then not only I am in danger, but everybody who is here, and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened because of me." Emma said.
"But I don't want you to leave." Katie said with tears gathering in her eyes.
"I know, I don't want to go either but I must." Replied Emma.
"Well, let's not think about it, let's hear what Dumbledore has to say first." Said Lily trying to sound cheerful.
"You know, I think the boys are planning something." Said Emma as she tried to keep her mind from her departure.
"What makes you say that?" Asked Katie.
"I don't know, it was a feeling I got." Emma said.
"Well you know them, there is always something that they are planning. If we were still in Hogwarts, I would be wary about it, but they have behaved themselves for quite a while." Lily said.
"Besides, Mrs. Potter is here, James wouldn't dare to do anything with her here." Katie said.
"Well let's just hope that it isn't dangerous." Emma replied.
Katie laughed. "You know that if there is danger involved they will most likely do it. Let's hope it's safe and boring, that will keep them away from danger." She said.
Lily and Emma laughed. It was true, the boys liked a bit of danger in their lives, they wouldn't be friends if it wasn't so.
Dinnertime was soon approaching. The young men had left the game room to go to the entertainment room were the young ladies soon joined them.
The entertainment room was located in the second floor, near the family chambers. It was decorated with muggle posters of movies, singers and teams on the walls. There was a special section of the wall that with a tap of a wand it would transfigure the posters upon it to posters of Quidditch teams and players. Against the longest wall was an entertainment center. A large T.V. at the center and several modern equipment beside it. There was a video tape recorder, which had first appeared in the market a few years ago. There was a large stereo with a record player. In the middle of the room were couches facing the television arranged in a semicircle.
On this evening, the young people were watching muggle television. Wizards had not found the way to have a wizarding channel yet.
Soon they were being called to get ready for dinner. Professor Dumbledore would arrive any minute.
Everybody was sitting in the family parlor waiting for their visitor. Remus kept watching out the windows while Mrs. Potter kept her eyes in the fireplace. There was no laughter, no talk, the twins were taking dinner in the nursery and everybody in the parlor was nervously waiting for Professor Dumbledore.
"He is here." Remus suddenly said. Everybody turned to look at him.
"He just apparated, there is someone else with him." Remus reported.
Soon after, the doorbell rang and they heard Roberts greeting someone at the door.
The door to the parlor opened and Roberts appeared.
"Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch." He announced.
Two men came in. One was very familiar with the people waiting. The other was unknown to most of them even though his name wasn't. He was the new Head of the Department of Magical Enforcement.
"Good evening." Professor Dumbledore said as soon as he entered the room. "Let me introduce to you Mr. Crouch, I'm sure you must know who he is."
"Of course. Welcome Mr. Crouch, why don't you make yourself comfortable." Said Mrs. Potter as she motioned her visitors to take a seat.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter." Mr. Crouch said. He seemed eager to make the acquaintance of the Potters. It was know in the Ministry that whoever had the support of the Potters, that person would become the next Minister of Magic. Mr. Crouch obviously had plans for his future. He was introduced to the others while Dumbledore greeted each like old friends, which most of them were.
"I hope my visit is not trouble for you Mrs. Potter, I know that you weren't told that I was coming but it was decided at the last minute." Mr. Crouch said after greeting everybody in the room.
"That's all right Mr. Crouch, Professor Dumbledore can tell you that there is always enough food at our table." Mrs. Potter replied.
"Special with young men like these three." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. The girls giggled while the three young men in question just smiled.
"Well yes." Said Mr. Crouch, he obviously wasn't a frivolous man. "I came because we thought it best to get Ms. Holmes ready for her departure."
"When will I be leaving Mr. Crouch?" Emma asked.
"In three days most likely. There are a few things that we still have to do, but The Lady has agreed to take you on." Mr. Crouch.
"Don't worry my dear, she will take good care of you, she will keep you safe." Professor Dumbledore said.
Emma nodded.
"Who is this Lady?" Sirius wanted to know, he wanted to make sure that Emma would indeed be kept safe. Everybody else had the same question in mind.
"I'm sorry Mr. Black but that is something that you cannot know. But I guarantee you that Emma will be safe." Professor Dumbledore said.
Sirius reluctantly nodded.
"Very well, I'm sure we can continue this after dinner. Why don't we all go to the dinning room?" Mrs. Potter said.
She took Professor Dumbledore's arm and led the group into the adjacent room.
Dinner was rather subdued compared to previous ones. Nobody knew whether it was the fact that Emma would soon be leaving or if it was the presence of Mr. Crouch. He seemed like a kind of person that didn't have a frivolous bone in his body. His conversation revolved entirely around the Ministry and politics. Needless to say, the young people got bored soon enough and wanted dinner to be over soon.
When the food platters were returned to the kitchen with food upon it, Otty, the cook elf, was rather worried that Master James and his friends might be ill. He resolved to send soups and juices up to their rooms before they went to bed.
After dinner, Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch closeted themselves with Emma in the library. The others stayed in the parlor hoping that they would soon find out what was going on behind the closed door. Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch left some time later, Emma was rather silent and didn't respond to the questions her friends had and excused herself to go to her chamber. The others followed her example soon after.
Lily woke rather earlier the next day. Mr. and Mrs. Evans would be returning to London that morning and she wanted to make sure she took breakfast with them before they left.
She dressed in silence. She would miss her parents, but unlike Emma, she knew she could see them whenever she wanted. It wouldn't be the same with Emma, according to what little her friend had let on, Emma would be leaving to a secret location where nobody would be able to contact her. They didn't know for how long she would be gone, the only thing they did know was that as long as Voldemort was in the loose, Emma would be in danger.
Lily shook her head. There was no need for her to think about it, all she needed was to make the most of the time she still had with her parents and friend.
Half an hour later, she made her way to the dinning room. She could see Roberts working in the entrance hall, polishing the brass. Footmen were helping him as all the carpets and pictures were also being cleaned. She also noticed some of the elves popping here and there helping with the cleaning. She had never thought of how much work it was to keep the house clean. The staff and the elves seemed to know what to do, even if there was nobody around.
Lily made her way to the family dinning room. As she entered, she noticed that only her father was there.
"Morning Princess." He said with a smile.
Lily smiled back. Even though she was now twenty one, her father still called her by the pet name he had given her when she was only a toddler. "Morning Daddy. Where is mum?"
"Making sure all the packing is done. Those elves are god sent, otherwise I would still be up there trying to pack everything back." He said.
Lily laughed. Her parents seemed to be getting used to magical life, she was afraid that they would soon like to have an elf on their own to help around the house and she was sure her sister, Petunia, wouldn't be too impressed.
She went round the table choosing from the food upon it. "Has nobody come down yet?" She asked as she took a seat near her father.
"Young James was here earlier, but he had to go and check on the house of one of his tenants, it seemed that their roof was damaged somehow." Mr. Evans said.
"Oh, I'm sure he will be back soon. When are you planning to leave?"
"I want to be off before luncheon, I want to get home before it gets dark."
"Thanks for coming."
"Oh, we wanted to see you Princess. We missed you." Mr. Evans said looking at his daughter with loving eyes.
"I missed you too." Lily responded.
"I'm sure Young James will take care of you. I made sure to let him know that if he hurt you again he will certainly be sorry for it." Mr. Evans shook his finger at Lily.
"Daddy, you didn't?" Lily exclaimed.
"Of course I did, just because you decided to give him a second chance doesn't mean I will."
"Daddy!"
"You didn't think that we wouldn't know that you are back together again, did you? We are not blind Lily, we know what is going on with our children. We don't need magical powers to see it."
"I know you are not Daddy, and I was going to tell you but with Emma leaving I kind of forgot about it." Lily said with a sheepish expression.
"Well that's all right then. But he better be good to you, or he will be answering to me." Mr. Evans said.
"I'm sure that everything will be fine." Lily replied.
Mr. Evans didn't say anymore, Mrs. Evans soon joined them at the table.
The meal dragged on for a couple of hours, Sirius, Remus, and Katie joined them after some time. Soon it was time for the Evans to prepare for their trip. Lily accompanied them to their room to help them with their luggage. Even though the Evans only stayed in the Manor for less than two weeks, they had brought a lot of luggage with them. It took the servants a couple of trips to gather all the baggage and pile it in the entrance hall. The Evans' car was brought round and was waiting for them at the door.
"Take care of yourself dear. Remember to owl me." Said Mrs. Evans as she hugged Lily at the entrance hall.
"I will mum, have a nice drive." Lily replied.
"Now Princess, don't let this young man here give you any trouble." Said Mr. Evans motioning toward James who was waiting by the door.
Lily laughed. "Don't worry Daddy, Mrs. Potter will take care of him if he does something." She said.
"Oh, you can be sure that I will." Said Mrs. Potter who was standing by Lily waiting for her turn to say goodbye.
"Take care Susan. I hope to hear from you often." Said Mrs. Evans as she hugged Mrs. Potter.
"Oh, you bet I will. Nothing short of death will keep me from it." Susan Potter replied. "Take care Rose, don't worry about Lily, we will take care of her."
"I'm sure you will Susan." Said Mr. Evans turning to his hostess. "I'm happy she ended up with you and nobody else."
After more hugs and goodbyes, the Evans climbed into their car. The trunk and back seat were piled with baggage. The Evans waved goodbye before starting up the car.
Lily and James stood upon the steps of the house waving as the car slowly disappeared in the distance.
Lily sighed. James turned to look at her.
"They will be fine." He said putting his arms around her.
"I know. But I can't help but worry. They didn't say anything while they were here but I know that Daddy hasn't totally recuperated from his illness. I'm not even sure what it was that made him sick. Mother never mentioned it." Lily said leaning her head against his chest.
"If they didn't deem it important to discuss it maybe it wasn't very serious. Don't worry Lily, if anything happens they will let you know." James tried to soothe her.
"Perhaps you are right." She said.
"Come." He said and pulled her toward the gardens.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"To our garden of course." He said with a smile.
Lily smiled back. Since that night when James showed her the garden, they had been meeting there whenever they wanted some privacy.
The weather was warm. The sun was shinning. And everything seemed peaceful. They all liked it that way. Soon enough they would have to think about the problems that their world was getting through. But for now, they liked to think that everything would continue as it presently was.
While Lily and James spent some time alone in their garden, Emma was sitting at the piano in the music room. Remus was sitting in a couch nearby listening with his eyes closed. "Perhaps you should go to your room and rest. You seem a little tired." Said Emma as she stopped playing.
"I'm not tired. I enjoy your playing, don't let me stop you." He said with a smile looking at her with his lids lowered.
Emma shrugged and continued playing.
They were silent as Emma continued with her playing. Both found the music soothing and kept their minds off their separation.
Both hoped that things could be different. But both also knew that they couldn't do anything to stop the course of fate. All they had left was to do the best they could of their remaining time together.
Everybody in the house spent the time in quiet entertainment. Lily and James spent most of the time in the gardens. Emma and Remus were in the music room. Katie and Sirius were in the nursery playing with the twins, and Mrs. Potter spent the afternoon with her housekeeper talking about linen, menus and housekeeping.
Dinner was quiet that evening. The night was getting chilly. James had told them that Peter would soon be joining them, probably in a couple of days. Lily and Katie were making plans with Emma to spend some quality time together before it was time for Emma to leave them. The twins had joined them for dinner this time. They made everybody laugh with their questions and points of view.
Nobody wanted to stay up for tea afterwards. The twins were taken to the nursery by Minnie. James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Katie and Emma went to the entertainment room and spent some time watching a muggle show. And Mrs. Potter retired to her room to rest.
The night was quiet. The scenery peaceful, and the town calmly sat in the middle of the valley.
The next couple of days were pretty much the same. Everybody tried to think of ways to keep Emma entertained and spend their time together. They came up with picnics, rowing in the lake, quiet games of chess, impromptu musicales, and special dinners in the evening. The last day soon arrived. Dumbledore had owled James to remind them of his visit that evening. As the time before, Mr. Crouch would be accompanying him.
Emma was sitting quietly on her bed that afternoon. Lily and Katie had just left from helping her with her packing. She didn't have too many belongings with her. Only what she needed the most and her most special belongings had been packed.
She was sadly looking down at her luggage on the floor when there was a knock on the door.
"Enter." She called without looking up.
"Ready?" Remus asked. Emma quickly looked up and smiled at him.
"As ready as I will ever be." She said.
"I wanted to give you something." He replied as he pulled something from his pocket.
"There is no need for you to." She argued. Tears were threatening to fill her eyes and she didn't want him to see her cry.
"I wanted to. Something to remember me by." He said. He opened a small squared box. A ring with a small solitaire diamond sat in the satin lining.
"Oh Remus!" She exclaimed with a sob.
"I'll get your answer as soon as you return." He said pulling the ring from the box and reached for her hand.
"Oh dear, you are going to make me cry." She said with a sad smile.
Remus slid the ring in her finger. He didn't let go of her hand, instead he brought it up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles tenderly.
"You are very dear to me Emma. I'm sorry that I couldn't see that before and we lost some precious time together. But after all this is done, I promise I won't let you go." He whispered.
"I won't let you." She said.
Remus smiled and put his arms around her. She willingly stepped into his embrace. It was a moment that she would never forget. He slowly leaned down and smiled down at her before pressing his lips to hers in a swift and tender kiss.
It was some time later when Emma and Remus finally made it to the parlor room. Luckily, they were early than the others and didn't have to answer the questions that their friends would surely have if they had seen them come in together.
They didn't have to wait very long before the others arrived. They were all too distracted to notice Emma smile sweetly at her hand before turning to smile at the young man sitting beside her.
They were all waiting for Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch to make their appearance. They knew that it might be a while for them to do so, Roberts had brought in a tray with tea and biscuits to hold them over until dinner was served.
Soon they heard the doorbell ring. They heard Roberts opening the door and greeting the visitors. Soon footsteps could be heard coming their way.
"Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Crouch, Ma'am." Roberts said.
"Thank you Roberts. Welcome Albus, Mr. Crouch. I trust you had a nice day." Mrs. Evans greeted the two men that came into the room.
"Hello Susan my dear. Looking lovely as always. Mr. Potter, I trust you and your friends have been behaving yourselves." Said Professor Dumbledore as he entered the room.
"Oh were have been quite angelic. Everybody can tell you so." Laughed James.
"Indeed. If you had seen us like it at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall would've said that we were ill." Said Sirius in what he thought was a surprised expression, when in fact, he looked quite mischievous.
Dumbledore laughed. He had missed the mishaps this particular group seem to leave in their wake at Hogwarts. The students seemed too quiet and studious after this lot had left.
Mr. Crouch silently greeted those around the room. He envied Professor Dumbledore the intimate relationship he seemed to share with the family. It was no wonder that the Ministry had been after him for ages to run for Minister. It was also no secret that he had declined the offer several times. He wished he was as loved as the old man was. Even though he had the respect of his peers, the common people would be the ones choosing the next Minister and the love and respect of the people was something tricky to win. The only one in their world who enjoyed those things was Dumbledore. No matter what odd things he did at Hogwarts and how much some families complained. The old Headmaster had been able to retain the love and respect from his students. And if you kept in mind how long he had been in that position, that meant that most of the young witches and wizards remember the old man with fondness, and the future generations would remember him that way.
Roberts announcement of dinner broke Mr. Crouch's thoughts. Mrs. Potter led the way to the dinning room with Professor Dumbledore and the others followed behind.
Dinner was quiet and subdued. All of the young people were not very eager to end dinner soon. They knew that as soon as dinner was done, one of their members would leave. But like all good things, it eventually came to an end.
The group quietly made its way to the parlor.
"Are you ready Ms. Holmes? We should be going." Said Mr. Crouch as he noticed the time.
"Yes, of course." Said Emma quietly. Some elves appeared in the room with Emma's trunk and bag. Emma quietly took them in her arms. The shrinking spell was done and the items stored. She then turned to look at her friends. "Good bye." She said.
"Oh Emma, take care." Exclaimed Katie. Tears starting to fall down her face.
"Bye Katie. Be happy, don't let Sirius overwhelm you." Emma said.
"Oh don't worry. I won't let him." Katie laughed as she tried to dry her tears with the sleeve of her blouse.
"Remember that we are here and that we always will help you if you need us." Lily whispered as she hugged her friend.
"I will never forget you. I know you and James will be happy. Take care my friend." Emma whispered back.
Lily nodded, her eyes were starting to fill with tears.
James and Sirius had their turn saying goodbye, both tried to lighten the mood and succeeded in making the girls smile.
Finally it was Remus' turn.
"I'll miss you." She said. Her eyes were getting moist once more.
"I'll miss you as well. Don't forget me, I know I won't." He whispered in her ear as they hugged.
"Oh Remus, I wish I didn't have to go." Sobbed Emma.
"I know, I wished that as well. But I want you safe, and if this the only way for you to be then so be it. Be careful." He said.
"I will. Be careful as well. I want a fiancé to come back to." She smiled sadly.
"Bye." Renus said.
Emma stepped back and looked at her friends with tears in her eyes. "Bye." She whispered.
Mr. Crouch led her through the door. Professor Dumbledore followed. By the time the group arrived to the entrance hall to wave them goodbye, they had disappeared from sight.
Katie and Lily turned to James and Sirius crying. The boys took them in their arms and tried to comfort them. Remus left them and went to the music room. He needed to spend time alone.
The next day was rather quiet around the house. Even the twins, who were as energetic as always, sensed the subdued atmosphere around them. They didn't understand what had happened, they only knew that a friend of their uncle's left and that the adults were rather sad about it.
On this bright morning, Lily tried to continue teaching the girls. She didn't notice that the girls were uncommonly attentive to their lessons and unlike other days when they tried to get away from the schoolroom to play, they stayed in the nursery the whole day and did as they were told.
James took Sirius and Remus with him on his rounds around the estate. He thought it would be a good day to keep their mind of Emma's departure. Especially Remus who was really too quiet for his own good. James and Sirius were planning to keep him entertained for the rest of the day.
Katie was helping Mrs. Potter with the gardening. Katie liked flowers and always found peace and serenity every time she worked in the garden.
Meal times were rather subdued compared to the previous days. The only good thing the boys were looking forward to was the arrival of the fourth member of their little group. James and Sirius had started to make plans for their upcoming 'guy's night out' as they started calling it.
A/N: Sorry it took me a while to prepare this, school and work takes much of my time. I know this chapter is short compared to others, but I hope you enjoy it. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!