a/n: I don't put notes at the top often just to try and keep things streamlined, but I feel it's super important to add one now. The website has been having a ton of trouble lately and I'm not the only one affected. So far, it seems the only way to receive reliable updates is through the app. I'll still continue to update on here, but if you're not on ao3 yet, I 100% recommend joining. The website has a bit of a learning curve, but it's very similar. Plus, I can respond directly to your reviews! If you're not following me over there yet, my name is the same - mymoonyandstars
Also, I'm dumb - I meant to write the review as a guest review explaining the situation so I can delete it later, but was still logged in. Hahahaha OOPS.
All right, onward!
Lyall was working in the garden when Emma finally made it back home, tears streaming down her face. She could care less about Greyback, but she was beyond worried about Sirius. What had possessed him to do such a thing with people around? He never dared to show himself in Hogsmeade, so why here?
"Grandpa!" she shouted, drawing Lyall's attention from the bush he was trying to trim. Buckbeak was pecking around for things to eat and gave a loud and annoyed squawk at Emma's outburst. Lyall was momentarily stunned. He watched Emma sit heavily on the stairs back into the house, but he quickly ran over to her.
"Where's Sirius?" Lyall asked urgently, gently lifting Emma's face and wiping her tears away. "What happened?"
"I-it was G-Greyback!" Emma cried. "Sirius, h-he –"
Emma couldn't finish her sentence, but luckily, she didn't have to. Sirius had transformed into Padfoot and ran into the yard. He looked all right, which was good, but it didn't make her any less terrified. The moment he spotted Emma and Lyall, he transformed back, looking at Lyall with large eyes. Emma was grateful to see that Sirius didn't look too beat up other than the start of a bruise over his right eye.
"Aurors are going to be coming," Sirius said quickly. "I managed to shake them off and transformed where they didn't see me, so they don't know that I'm an Animagus. They saw me head this way, though." He quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a penknife, and shoved it into Emma's hands. "I should have given you this before. Do not go anywhere without this. Ever. I have to leave."
"What about Greyback?" Lyall asked, helping Emma up in her frantic scramble.
"Disapparated the moment Aurors showed up. They got there quickly," Sirius said. He studied Emma's face for a moment before pulling her close to kiss the top of her head. "I am so sorry that I have to leave you again. Keep yourself safe, okay, Pumpkin? I love you so much. I promise you that we're all going to be together someday…"
Without a second glance, Sirius rushed over to Buckbeak and pulled himself onto the hippogriff. For the second time ever, Emma had to watch Sirius leave, and her heart broke for the millionth time. She looked down at the knife in her hand with a frown. What was she supposed to do with it?
"Shit," Lyall hissed, running his hands through his hair. "Come on, we need to get inside because things are going to move quickly."
The moment they were back inside, Lyall turned to Emma. "I want you to go around the house and find every possible trace of Sirius being here that you can find," he said quickly. He grabbed the stack of papers that Sirius brought with him and shoved them in Emma's free hand. "Hide them in your bag and hide them as best as you can. I know you don't have much, but…do your best. There's a strong possibility that they're going to take you with them."
"Who's going to take me?"
"The Aurors," Lyall said after a beat.
"What? Where are they going to take me?" Emma stammered, suddenly terrified of the idea of not being with Lyall. With Sirius having to leave so quickly, her grandfather was the last connection she had to family at all. "I don't…I don't want to leave!" As much as Emma wanted to be anywhere other than her grandfather's, the idea of being taken and moved somewhere else was too much. The only way she wanted to leave was so that she could go home.
"I don't know," Lyall admitted. "I don't know where they're going to take you. Sirius is right – they're going to come here. I have no doubt that they're going to question you – lie and say he was never here. You're not going to be able to get around saying that he was wherever you were, so don't lie about that. I have to fix the garden of Buckbeak's damage, and I'm going to try and get in touch with Dumbledore. Go – quick!"
Sirius had come with even less than Emma did, which was helpful. Still, she had to find whatever traces there were. A toothbrush out of place, too many chairs moved – anything that seemed off, Emma fixed. She ran to her room and shoved the papers from Remus and the penknife deep into the bottom of her messenger bag. She covered them with the rubbish that Sirius had mostly cleaned up. She shoved the parchment they had been playing games on into her bag, crumpling it up tightly. The dog hair was more of a challenge to take care of.
How much time had passed? How much time did they have? Having a wand would make the situation so much easier, but she scoured her room for every bit of hair she could find. It was fortunate that Sirius only stayed a dog in her room. Would they try searching her room? Emma hated every bit of what she had to deal with. Curious, Emma looked out her window to see how the garden looked. Somehow her grandfather had made it look entirely hippogriff free, vanishing all of the extra feathers and repairing the torn-up grass. For a moment, Emma even doubted that Buckbeak was ever in the backyard.
When she was sure that she had found every trace of dog hair and shoved it in her bag, Emma flopped onto her bed. She was panting hard, her heart racing from how quickly she had to move. Emma rubbed her hands down her face, annoyed at how tight it felt from her dried tears. Her life wasn't fair.
Emma was tired of crying, tired of being a massive and tightly wound ball of stress. She could feel herself starting to crack, small fissures breaking their way into her wall. Every part of her said to fall into old habits, just for relief, but she had to be strong. All she wanted was her father – that would make things easier. He always knew what to do or what to say to make her feel better, even when his advice was actually terrible.
With a shaky breath, Emma climbed up her bed to reach into her nightstand to pull out her stack of letters. Remus's last letter was right on top just so she could read his words over and over again. It was cruel that they had finally settled into life together as father and daughter only to be separated. Emma understood that things were always a risk having Remus as a father, but that was before they found out she was actually his. It was well before they learned that her mother was a surrogate for her father and Sirius – her fathers. One day she would remember they were both her father. The stakes were much higher now than ever before but made things even worse. She had no idea how any of this was going to get fixed.
A soft knock at the door made Emma jump, and she frowned as her door opened, and Lyall peeked in. "The Aurors want to talk to you," he said gently.
When had the Aurors even arrived?
Emma nodded, carefully folding Remus's letter back up and putting it back in her drawer. She wondered idly if she needed to pack up the few things she had and looked over at Aurora sleeping on her perch near the window. If they decided to take her, would she be allowed to take Aurora wherever she went? Surely, she had to be able to. They wouldn't dare stick a magical child in a Muggle home. Maybe she could go to the Longbottom's. Augusta scared her, but at least she would be fine there. Possibly even the Weasley's, but perhaps not – there were too many of them. She wouldn't want to be a burden.
She froze on the landing when she saw four very unfamiliar men standing around the living room. Emma looked up at her grandfather nervously, a hand coming up to seize the back of his shirt. With a slight whimper, she molded herself into Lyall's side. Apparently, she didn't work through everything with Dr. Wheeler like she'd hoped.
"There aren't any women available right now?" Lyall asked, putting his arm around Emma protectively. "I'm afraid there are too many of you, and she's not fond of men that she doesn't know."
"Not fond of men?" asked one of the Auror, a tan-skinned man with dark eyes that reminded Emma a little too much of Jude. Emma already didn't like him. "That's ridiculous."
"Walsh, would you shut up?" said another one of the men. "If anyone had to look at you, they wouldn't be fond either."
"Tonks, Smalls, and Honeycutt are out on other cases right now," said another Auror, a fair-haired, shorter man, "so no, it's just us right now."
The man who had snapped at Walsh plastered a smile on his face, stepping closer to Emma. "Hi, Emelyn –"
"It's Emma," Emma muttered, staring at the man dubiously.
"Pardon?" the man asked, looking slightly taken aback.
"My name's Emma. Not Emelyn. It's never been Emelyn."
The Auror looked back at the other three, who shrugged. He turned back to Emma and chuckled. "Well, your paperwork says Emelyn –"
"I'm aware of what the paperwork says, but that's not my name."
"Cariad," Lyall said gently, giving Emma a slight squeeze in a silent warning. It only made her angry, but she clamped her mouth shut.
"Right, well, Emma," the man said, thrusting his hand out and clearing his throat. "My name is John Dawlish, and we're here to ask you a few questions."
Emma shrunk back from the man's hand, glaring at him accusingly. She didn't want to talk to this man at all, and she pushed herself slightly behind Lyall. Dawlish stared at her for a moment and glanced over at Lyall in surprise.
"Why don't we sit down?" Lyall said, pulling a very reluctant Emma over to the sofa and sitting her down.
She shot her grandfather a traitorous look as he sat down next to her, and Dawlish sat in Remus's armchair. If Emma had her wand, she would have hexed Dawlish straight out of it. A part of her wondered if she could, anyway, but Lyall broke her focus with a hand to her shoulder.
"Right," Dawlish said slowly. "Now, we have eyewitnesses say that they saw Sirius Black over in the park down the road. Would you know anything about that?"
"No," Emma huffed in annoyance. "He wasn't there."
"You're absolutely positive that Sirius Black wasn't in the park?"
"I think I would know Sirius Black if I saw him," Emma said with a sniff. "Bit of a scary bloke, yeah?"
"Yes, and dangerous," Dawlish agreed. "While we didn't see Black, we did see Greyback when we arrived before he Disapparated. Do you know anything about that?"
Emma looked up at Dawlish. "He was there," she said, not caring about confirming his presence.
"What happened with Greyback? Where was he?"
"He was annoying me like he usually does. I suppose that means he was with me, but I didn't want him there."
"If you didn't seek him, was he trying to kidnap you and try to bring you back to Remus Lupin?"
Emma couldn't help the laugh that burst forth. "Not at all," Emma said. "The day he ever does that is the day that the world must be ending. He would never."
"What does that mean?"
"Oh, Greyback wants to take me, but certainly not to bring me back home. That's bloody brilliant. Thank you, I think you've cured my entire mental state over this whole ordeal."
Dawlish stared at Emma, trying to figure out if Emma was joking or not. He looked back over at Walsh, who had frozen in the doorway, looking curiously at Emma.
"Why wouldn't Greyback want to take you back to Lupin?" Walsh asked. "They're both werewolves like you are."
Emma looked over at Walsh, her eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't know why she was so afraid of the Aurors before when they were rather funny. "Well, here's the thing – I'm not a werewolf despite what the Ministry thinks," Emma said. "I don't transform. I get sick, but I don't transform, and I certainly can't infect anyone. If anyone cares to spend a night with me on the full moon, it's very easily proven. I'm pretty boring, though, as a fair warning. And my father doesn't like Greyback. Just because they're both werewolves, it doesn't mean that they're the same."
"All werewolves are savage beasts –"
"Tell me, and I'm curious to know, when you arrested my father, did he go willingly? Or did he fight? How many men did you insist on taking with you? Did you bring the Werewolf Capture Unit for good measure?" Emma asked, biting back her smirk when all four Aurors looked at each other and then back at her. "Not all werewolves are monsters like Greyback. My father certainly isn't."
Silence fell, and Emma sat back, crossing her arms. She felt smug for a small moment, proud of herself for sticking up for herself and her father. It wasn't going to be the last time she would have to do it, she knew that, but she still felt proud about it. Lyall didn't seem too amused, and neither did any of the Aurors, but Emma didn't care.
"Well, due to the nature of the situation, we've been given authorization to move you to a new location," Dawlish said. "We have an Auror out in Bristol with a car that was asked to make his way over. He should be arriving soon."
"Where am I going?" Emma asked, deflating slightly. "A car?"
"Not sure where you're going," Dawlish said, standing up. "Lyall, do you mind? Let's move into the other room to talk some more. Walsh, stay here and watch her. Make sure she doesn't try to leave."
The staring contest Emma had with Walsh only ended when her concentration was broken by one of the last voices she wanted to hear. Emma looked over at Ellis as he stepped through the entryway, shaking hands with Dawlish. "Received a message on the way over with Emma's assignment, so I'm ready to head back out," Ellis said to Dawlish.
"And where exactly are you taking me?" Emma asked, crossing her arms as she glared at Ellis.
There was a flash of something in Ellis's face that gave Emma pause, but he masked it quickly. He pasted a smile on his face, though it didn't meet his eyes. "Well, Dumbledore's got it in his head that you are best back in the children's home you lived in before. You were meant to be moved to the one in London, but we'll be heading up to York."
Emma's stomach sank. "Saint Nicholas?" Emma asked, losing all of her resolve. "You can't…I can't go back there."
"Well, you don't have a choice," Ellis said, keeping his tone level. "It'll be much easier if you don't fight us on this. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can get settled in."
"I don't want to get settled in. I want to go back home."
"You're not going back to Remus. The children's home is your new home now. Now, go pack your things so we can leave," Ellis said, giving Emma a once-over before following Dawlish to the kitchen.
Emma couldn't move from the couch. Going back to Saint Nicholas's was one of the worst possible things she could ever think of happening. She was sure that it was in her top three nightmares, though she couldn't figure out where it sat. It was a fiddly top three, and she was sure it fit somewhere between something happening to Remus and getting bit by Greyback. The memories of Saint Nicholas were vague, like the rest of her memories, but she remembered the last two weeks very clearly. The last two weeks had been the hardest and the best she had ever had. She didn't care what Jocelyn did to her those two weeks because she was finally leaving. Returning to the children's home felt like she would walk back into that all over again. Was Tracey still there?
"Are you going to pack?" Walsh asked sharply.
"I guess," Emma said quietly, standing up slowly. The only good thing was she would be close to home. 9 miles away from Upper Helmsley was nicer than nearly 313 miles. She was already forming new plans in her head. This could be an okay move.
Packing was much faster than it should've been. Her entire life once again fit into one bag, and she hated it. She had left Saint Nicholas's with a single bag, and she was going back with one. It felt almost ironic. She tucked her letters very carefully into her messenger bag and added the rest of her clothes. With a sigh, Emma picked up the jumper that Sirius had brought for her, and she held it close for a moment before deciding to put it on. Emma tossed the strap of her bag over her shoulder and lifted her arm with a quiet whistle for Aurora to join her.
It appeared that the other Aurors had left when Emma made it back downstairs. She looked between Ellis and Lyall with a slight frown. Somehow this was infinitely worse than having all of the Aurors around.
"What am I meant to do with Aurora? She has to come, but I don't have her cage because Dad's got it."
"Aurora stays," Ellis said. "You can't bring her."
"I can't bring Aurora? But she's –"
"It might be a mixed facility, but you can't bring her. There's nowhere for her to stay, and as far as anyone's concerned, you're going to be the only magical child present. Hogwarts letters aren't due out for another week, at least."
Emma looked over at Aurora, and her shoulders sagged. How was she meant to write to anyone without Aurora? Maybe someone's owl would be smart enough to find her, but she wasn't too sure. What if there were charms set up so specific owls couldn't reach the premises? Obviously, the Hogwarts owls were all right. Could she borrow one?
"Is it still Ward that's there?" Emma asked quietly.
"Mister Ward. Yes."
"Of course," Emma muttered, letting Lyall take Aurora from her. Lyall set Aurora on one of the armchairs and pulled Emma into a tight hug.
"Be careful, Emma," he whispered. "You're on your own now."
"I know," Emma whispered back. "But I'm a Lupin, and if there's one thing I'm proud of, it's being my father's daughter. If I learned anything from Dad last year, it's how to make trouble and be good at hiding it. I'll be fine."
Lyall squeezed Emma tightly. "That sounds exactly like him," he said, pulling back, resting his hands on Emma's shoulders. "Merlin, you have grown up so much."
"Can't really stop that," Emma said quietly, looking back at Ellis. "I'll be fine. I promise." With one final hug and a kiss on her cheek, Emma reluctantly followed Ellis to the car. She gave him a funny look when he opened her door for her and cast one final look back at Lyall with a small wave. It would be a while before she saw the house again, but it wouldn't be forever.
"I wasn't aware that you knew how to drive," Emma said at some point during the drive. It was strangely silent, and she didn't like it. She didn't particularly want to talk to Ellis, but it was better than just listening to the radio and music she didn't recognize. "Don't recall Persephone ever telling me that you drove anywhere before."
"It's a requirement as an Auror for instances like this where we have to transport someone to a Muggle location."
"Seems very Muggle to have to know how to drive a car," Emma muttered, resting her head against the window. She wanted to cry again, but she refused. "Seems very unlike you."
"It seems unlike me?"
Emma shrugged. "Dunno, driving a car seems beneath you, regardless of whether or not it's a job requirement."
"Yes, well, like I said – we all know how to drive a car."
"Does Sage?"
"No."
"Will Persephone or Caspian?"
"Perhaps if they decide they want to be Aurors."
Emma nodded, letting silence fall so that only the music playing could be heard. It had to be for the Wizarding Wireless Network as she didn't recognize a lot of the music playing. There was a vague mention of The Weird Sisters, which left Emma mildly confused, mixing it up with the Muggle band. It wasn't until she recognized a song by Celestina Warbeck that she realized her assumption was correct.
The further away they got from Swansea, the more annoyed Emma found herself getting. The entire situation was stupid, and she studied Ellis in the reflection of the rear-view mirror. It still seemed unreal that the man was working with Greyback on the side. Did Ellis know that he would be in the park waiting for her? Sirius said that the Aurors had gotten there quickly, and her stomach knotted painfully. Even if the other Aurors didn't know that Sirius was an Animagus, Ellis had to know. Even worse – if everything Remus had told her at Christmas, Ellis was the reason she was placed in Saint Nicholas's the first time.
"Tell me, Ellis, does this remind you of the first time you brought me up to Saint Nicholas's?" Emma asked, staring hard at Ellis as he looked back at her in the rear-view mirror, his eyes narrowing. "You know, taking me from Wales all the way up to York. Then again, you probably Apparated then."
"It's Auror Moon while I'm working," Ellis said tightly. "And what are you talking about?"
Emma pursed her lips slightly as she studied Ellis in the mirror. "Don't pretend as if I don't know, Ellis. I'm not stupid. You were friends with Jude. Did you think you were doing him a favor? Because Sirius gave away the location of where I was hidden, you could just swoop right in and take me when no one was around. I doubt anyone else would have had any sort of investment in trying to find me, so who else would it have been?"
"Why do you refer to Jude by his first name when he's your father?"
"That man is not my father."
"If it weren't for him, you wouldn't exist."
"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this mess."
"No, that would be Remus's fault. And if you were with Jude, you wouldn't be such a petulant little brat."
"Me being honest makes me a brat? Is that what your problem is with me? You don't like that I say how things really are?"
"The problem is you have had absolutely no discipline. You are consistently free to run around and do whatever you please, dragging my daughter into dangerous stunts."
"See, here's the thing, Ellis. How can you say I'm dragging her into danger when she's the one insisting on it? I've been the one to tell her not to do things, but she's the one who insists. How can you say that when I know that you were with Greyback in May. With Persephone. You were with him back in November, too, weren't you?"
If they weren't on a highway, Emma was positive that Ellis would have slammed on the brakes. She almost wished that he would so she could run away. It didn't matter that she had no idea where they actually were. Someone would be able to help her.
"What would make you say such a thing?"
"I saw you and Greyback coming out of the Hog's Head back in May," Emma said, pulling back her sleeve to look at the scar from Greyback on her wrist. She ran a finger along the smooth skin with a hum. "Seemed like you came from the same direction when Greyback attacked me in Hogsmeade, actually. You were quite keen to leave if I recall. I'm assuming that I was never meant to know he was there, yeah?"
Ellis's eyes darkened, and Emma wondered briefly if she had gone too far. She didn't like the look in his eyes, and the smirk that crossed his face made her ill. Ellis was going to be a bigger problem than she thought.
"You know, I wonder…" Ellis said slowly, lifting a hand from the steering wheel to run his fingers over his mustache.
"Wonder what?" Emma asked shakily, looking out the window to try and figure out where they were. She wasn't even sure how long they had been in the car.
"If you recall what happens to little girls like you…"
Emma's eyes shot up to meet Ellis's in the mirror once more, and she felt herself immediately cow at the phrase. She had become ambivalent to Ellis, not caring one way or another about the man, but that very phrase terrified her. Why did he know that phrase? Who did it even originate from? He was the second person she had heard the words from. Why did it affect her the way that it did?
"Interesting," Ellis said, almost to himself as he returned his eyes to the road. It was the longest car ride of Emma's life.
Several hours had to have passed as Emma finally started to recognize some of the streets they passed. She didn't travel too far south of where the children's home was, but they usually went south on the rare occasion they had a field trip. Emma couldn't believe that she was heading back again, and her stomach pitted itself with dread the closer they got to Saint Nicholas's.
She thought she might be sick when they pulled up in front of the massive brick building. When she left the children's home three years prior, she never thought she would set foot there ever again. It felt like a sick joke after being so worried that Remus would bring her back, no longer wanting to deal with her. Knowing that Remus would never have done such a thing made the entire situation worse.
This was all Snape's fault.
Ellis turned the car off and stepped out to open Emma's door. She didn't even realize that she had been locked in the entire time until she tried the door herself. Her hope of escaping and running off straight to Upper Helmsley had been dashed the moment she made that discovery. It was even further squashed by Ellis's firm grip on her shoulder.
Emma's breath hitched as Ellis led her through the gate and in through the front door. Life in Saint Nicholas's seemed to have frozen in time. Everything looked exactly the same; there was still a scuff on the wall that Emma could recall from one of the boys running a toy car along it. The plain chandelier overhead looked the same, perhaps a touch cleaner than she remembered it last. There still weren't any portraits in the entryway, just plain white walls and white tiles.
She reluctantly allowed Ellis to lead her down the left hallway right off the entranceway. The staff rooms and Ward's office were in this direction. The first door on their right led to the living area for staff, a joint break room and overall living space with several bedrooms. At the end of the long hall that went by several windows led to Ward's office. All the way down the hall and to the immediate right through an archway opened into a relatively warm and cozy room.
On one wall was a fireplace with squashy couches across from it and a table. This was where most families met their children for the first time. Emma had sat in this very room several times before being passed over. At the time, it had stung Emma more than anything, but she was grateful that no one took her. She never would have had Remus if they did, and a life without her father just didn't make sense.
There was one final door left, and Emma frowned. Ward's office. She couldn't say she was too thrilled to see it. Emma was even less thrilled when Ellis knocked, and the door opened by itself. It was one of those things that she never would've questioned a few years prior, but seeing it now, it all made sense. Emma wondered idly what tiny bits of magic existed that she didn't realize. She would have to investigate.
Ward looked as though he didn't age a day, and Emma shifted Ellis's hand off her shoulder, taking a few steps away as Ward looked up.
"Ah, Nickels," he said, standing up. "We meet again."
"It's Lupin," Emma said sharply.
"Oh, Ellis warned me that you were going to be a problem," Ward said with a heavy sigh. "Your paperwork says Nickels, so that's who you're being brought back in as."
"She'll be easy to deal with by tomorrow night," Ellis said. "Worst case scenario, things are still the same."
"Are they? Well, Alexander will be interested to hear about that."
"Who is Alexander?" Emma asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"No one you need to worry about," Ellis said sharply. "Need anything else from me, Broderick?"
"Not at all, Ellis. I can handle things from here," Ward said, extending his hand out and shaking hands with Ellis. "I'm sure that you're ready to head home."
Ellis looked down at his watch. "Yeah, just about done. I'll be leaving the car, and someone will pick it up overnight. Just need to clock out and head back to Sage and the kids. If you need anything, send an owl to the Ministry. I'm on call for the case along with two others." He gave Emma another look and left, leaving her to stand awkwardly where she was.
"Well, why don't you sit Nickels so we can go over a few things," Ward said, gesturing to the seats in front of him and sitting down. He returned briefly to whatever it was he was writing, the same brilliant quill Emma remembered in his hand.
Emma stared at him for a moment and sat down, holding her bag on her lap. "The last time I sat down here was for you to tell me I was leaving," Emma muttered, looking around. The office had little touches of magic. How had she never noticed the moving pictures before? Even one of the objects on the bookshelf was floating. The one set of glass cabinets clearly held potions ingredients. She found the spot where Ward's owl usually was and inclined her head towards it. "Why couldn't I bring my owl? Malachi have a problem with other owls?"
Ward looked over his shoulder at Malachi's perch and chuckled. "As a matter of fact, he does. Bit of a biter, you see."
"Seemed like it," Emma said, meeting Ward's gaze. She studied his face for a moment, taking in his facial hair and long hair. It was another one of those things she didn't question as a kid, but now it made sense. "Pure-blood?" she asked out of curiosity. Remus had mentioned to her that some Pure-blood men wore their hair long and commonly had facial hair similar to Ward's. She had noticed it a few times in Diagon Alley, and seeing Ward now made her curious.
"What gave it away?" Ward asked, setting his quill into his bottle of ink.
"The hair," Emma said with a slight shrug. She nodded to his quill. "Pheasant?"
"Rooster, actually."
Emma nodded slightly. "Fenrir bought me a quill that was supposedly from a Thunderbird," Emma said conversationally. "At Christmas. I think it's actually a fancy hippogriff feather, but I didn't buy it, so it's not a big deal to me."
Ward tensed up slightly, clasping his hands in front of himself. "Fenrir?"
"Greyback? You know him?" Emma asked with a good-natured smile.
"There aren't many who don't know Greyback," Ward said slowly, carefully.
Emma figured she was on a roll with digging herself into holes and decided to just keep going. "Interesting," Emma said just as slowly. "He gave me something that makes it seem as though you might be more familiar with Greyback than most."
"And what would he give you?"
"Nothing of importance," Emma said, crossing her leg with a sigh. She almost wished she had the photos Greyback gave her. "So, what do we need to talk about? Can't be too much different than the last time I was here." She tapped her temple and leaned forward. "Can't seem to remember too much, but I think I can recall the rules."
Ward's stare was intense, but Emma wasn't going to back down and held it. She would have beat Walsh in their staring contest earlier if Ellis didn't walk in. Emma had no doubt that she could beat Ward as well. She was nothing if not persistent.
"Well, after tomorrow night, it won't matter. Until you're moved again, you're going to go back to not remembering that magic even exists."
"Hmm, I don't think so," Emma said, crossing her arms. "I'm not going to lose anything else I've already lost. I'll be keeping my memories and my magic, thanks."
"Is that so?"
"That's correct."
"We'll see about that," Ward chuckled darkly. "And how do you plan on keeping those for the duration you're here?"
"Just going to have to see about that, aren't we?"
Ward studied Emma closely and rolled his eyes. "Well, we'll certainly see, won't we?"
"Yep," Emma said, popping the p with a smile.
"Remember, everything that you do here, I can report back to the Ministry," Ward warned. "If you knew what was good for you, you would be a good girl."
Once again, Emma found herself cowed into silence, and she felt her resolve threaten to break. While the phrase wasn't the same, Emma recognized there was some hidden meaning behind it. She didn't like it, and she pulled herself in tightly. Ward seemed pleased. That didn't bode well for her at all.
"Uhm, where will I be staying?" Emma asked quietly.
"Well, lucky you, it's been requested that you get your own room. Unfortunately, the Ministry seems to agree and has deemed you unsafe for dorm living. That means you'll be down here on the first floor in one of the overnight rooms for staff."
"Lucky me, indeed," Emma muttered.
Ward studied Emma closely. "I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here."
"Why?" Emma asked, eyes narrowing slightly before she understood. Her anger was back in full force. "Oh, yes. Don't want to deal with the poor half-breed girl, yeah? The poor little half-werewolf girl gets her own room because she somehow can't live with her werewolf father. Makes perfect sense."
Pursing his lips, Ward stood up from behind his desk. "Wasn't aware that you were going to be a handful the moment you set foot back here. Oh, well," he said with a sigh. "Let me show you to your room."
Her temporary space left much to be desired. If she thought the dorms were bare, the overnight rooms were even worse. The bedroom she was provided was a very odd-shaped room, almost like two rectangles put together, one offset from the other. A bed was tucked into the corner immediately in front of the door, facing out. A set of double windows were to the bed's right, and a single-window was set into the wall around the corner. Emma felt there was no need for the room to have three windows, especially with absolutely no shades or curtains. That was going to be miserable. A dresser sat in the offset section of the room with a small mirror hanging on the wall. This was not going to be enjoyable.
"Curfew still until 9?" Emma asked, glancing over at the clock. She hiked her bag higher on her shoulder. There was no point in putting it down. There wasn't much to take out of it, and she felt much better carrying her entire life with her.
"Still 9."
"Excellent," Emma said, giving Ward a tight smile. "I've got three hours, then. I'll be back."
"One second past 9, and it gets reported to the Ministry, remember that Nickels."
"That's not my name!" Emma shouted back as she made her way through the living area. If she was going to be stuck in Saint Nicholas's, she would at least try and figure out how to make it enjoyable.
Her first order of business was to try and see if there was anywhere in York she could borrow an owl. Remus would be up for some mischief-making, she hoped. As the daughter of two Marauders, she certainly was.
Hi Lu! Congratulations on being one of the only few people who managed to see the last chapter since the site has been SUPER weird. D: Things are getting so chaotic for poor Emma (and I feel terrible writing it), but the next chapter will be SO worth the chaos! :D Once a Marauder, always a Marauder!
