By Monday morning, Emma had found the files and was making her way through the Ministry to get them to Tonks, not really trusting that things she sent via interdepartmental memos and such would make it untampered with.

"Hey," she said, noting that Tonks looked even less perky than she usually did. Perhaps it was all the extra shifts she was doing at Hogsmeade. "I found those files you wanted."

"Thanks," Tonks said hollowly. "Go ahead and put them here," she said, motioning to a small stack that seemed to all be about Katie's case. Emma did as she was told.

"Do you know how she is?" Emma asked softly, doing her very best not to look down at the papers she knew weren't meant for her eyes.

"Unchanged," Tonks intoned, signing a sheet of parchment in front of her and putting it at the bottom of a stack, shoving them off to one part of her desk. "But stable, from what Stilgoe says. I'm not sure how much I trust Stilgoe's judgment, but there you are."

"I'm going to see Borgin today," Emma blurted out. "I figure if I catch him unawares maybe he won't have a chance to hide things from me."

Tonks nodded as if there were some merit in this plan, but Emma knew that it was absurd. The likelihood that Borgin hadn't tampered with his records as soon as such an item was bought, knowing exactly what the item would be used for, was virtually impossible.

Still, it was her job.

"I'd ask you to give him a kick from me, but I suppose that's not very professional, is it?" Tonks said, and if she'd been a bit more cheerful about it, Emma would have been able to convince herself that the old Tonks had made a brief return. But it had sounded as dead as Tonks looked.

Emma took her leave of her pathetic friend and went back to make sure she'd closed up everything she ought to in her office before heading out to London.

"Oh, Miss Norwick," said a sickeningly sweet voice behind her. There were two reasons Emma almost didn't turn around, one being that she knew who it was and didn't want to face her, and the other because no one had referred to her by her former surname since she'd last seen the Minister.

"Madam Umbridge," Emma said as respectfully as possible, although she wanted to gouge the woman's eyes out.

"I hope you're not trying to skip out of work early, Miss Norwick," Umbridge said with a small giggle.

"Not at all," Emma said with a forced smile. "I'm going on an inquiry on behalf of the Auror office. They wanted me to check in on a purchase at Borgin and Burkes. It seems I spend half my time in that shop these days."

"Indeed," Umbridge said patronizingly, and Emma knew, even as the woman went off down a corridor, that she would be checking up on Emma's claim, but she didn't have time to dwell on it if she wanted to get home for dinner.

She Disapparated straight into Diagon Alley, following the familiar pathways, but turning to Knocturnally, which was still vastly an unknown to Emma, as she only ever went there for work. She hoped she never had any need to go there for another reason.

It was a blessing that Borgin and Burkes were located so near to the front of the Alley, likely so that the more 'respectable' clients didn't have to delve too deeply into the filth, but rather pop in and out discretely.

She opened the door and Borgin came at once from the back of the shop with his oiliest manner, and Emma noted that his face fell slightly when he realized that it was just her.

"Miss Norwick, here on official business once more, I presume?"

Emma nodded, moving up toward the front of the shop.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Borgin," she said in her most professional tone. It was difficult to be commanding with someone so much older than herself, and to be kind when she wanted to strangle the man. But she had to do both, so she did her very best. "I trust there won't be any problems?"

"Never, Miss Norwick," he said smoothly, or rather, slickly. "What seems to be the trouble, now?"

"There was necklace," Emma said, reading out for him the description of both necklace and curse. He nodded understandingly as she read. "Somehow, it found its way into the hands of an unsuspecting girl who is now, luckily, stable and in the hospital."

"How fortunate for her," he muttered.

"Yes," Emma replied, perhaps a bit colder than she should have. "The necklace in question has also been on file as being responsible for multiple Muggle deaths throughout the years, and has been rumored to have come from your establishment."

She talked round and round with Borgin for what felt like forever as she tried very hard not to lose her patience with the man. He showed her his logbook, and certainly there was no record of such a necklace ever having been in the store, much less sold to anyone in the recent past.

But that didn't mean it hadn't been there, in fact, she was going to be paying a visit to Hogwarts to see this necklace very soon, and she expected to recognize it as one that she had previously seen on display in that very shop, in spite of their lack of records stating such.

However, there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment, and she was tired of having her time wasted with the run-around.

"Thank you, Mr. Borgin," she said professionally, although she didn't have anything to thank him for at all. "You have been most helpful." More lies.

"I only wish I could have been of better service, Miss Norwick," Borgin lied, and they parted ways, both obviously itching to be rid of the other.

Fred realized that she was upset the moment she got home, so he didn't pester her about anything right away and hurried to make dinner while she locked herself up in their room and began to cry.

Katie had always, always been there for Emma. What if she failed? What if Katie died? What if she never fully recovered and there was something Emma could have done and she failed?

It would fell like Sirius dying all over again, except perhaps worse because she and Katie had been such close friends for as long as Emma could really remember without straining her memory too much.

After about half an hour of sobbing into her pillow, Emma decided that it was time to explain to the twins what had happened, or there would be no understanding for them. With a sigh, she straightened her hair and clothes, dried her eyes and pillow, and took a deep, determined sigh before unlocking the door and heading out to the kitchen, where the boys were setting out some shepherd's pie with concerned expressions.

"Hi, darling," Fred said softly as she sat down beside George at their table. "Are you…. Are you feeling any better?"

Emma sighed heavily, deciding to tell them the truth.

"No," she admitted. "No, I'm not any better. I… I'm sure you know about Katie?"

"We heard," George said darkly. "I think half the wizarding world has heard by now. I actually visited her in the hospital today. She's in a bad way."

Emma shivered, barely acknowledging when George put a hand comfortingly on her arm.

"I had to visit Borgin and Burkes' today," she said softly, sticking a fork in her hot pie, frowning at the steam rising off slightly. "I had to try to track down the trail of the necklace that she touched."

"And did you have any luck?" Fred asked eagerly.

"Of course I didn't," she groaned. "There's no luck to be had with Borgin! He doctors his books so well that if everything he ever sold was used in a crime it would look like he'd never sold a thing in his life and somehow stayed in business! It's absurd!"

She was so frustrated, so worked up, that she hadn't even noticed that she'd been stabbing her pie with her fork viciously until Fred put a comforting hand on hers to stop the motion.

"But you know he had the necklace?" he asked soothingly, knowing that she was about ready to stick her fork in anything that blinked at her wrong, even his eye if that's what it was. She rarely got so angry, but she was dangerous when so provoked.

"I'm very nearly positive," she said, admitting subtly that she really couldn't be completely sure, even though she was as close as one could get without real proof. "I know I saw the necklace in his shop. I know I did!"

"Well, we'll just have to find a way to prove it, that's all," Fred said gently. "Don't worry, love. We'll figure it out together."

They continued to eat dinner and Fred and George lifted her spirits with tales from the joke shop, some so fresh she was sure they'd happened earlier that day, others she'd heard a time or two before but said nothing because she knew they were trying so very hard to cheer her up. It did work a bit, and by the time George was scooping ice cream for dessert, Emma was curled up onto Fred's lap on the sofa, even smiling a little as he told her about George's reaction to the WonderWitch product testing for the third time since the occurrence itself.

"And then his face went so orange I thought it was going to start growing a tree out his head!" Fred recited proudly.

George snorted derisively at the joke they both new was bad, but nobody commented on just how awful it was as he passed ice cream around and sat down next to them on the sofa.

"You know what I reckon?" George asked. "I reckon this whole war thing will be over as soon as Harry graduates and has time to track down Voldy and not a minute before."

Emma shivered.

"Don't say that," she moaned.

"Why not?" George asked, confused.

"Because he's still got another year and a half to go at least," she said softly. "I can't bear the thought that the war could last that long. Can you imagine… can you image how many people would die?"

She knew that thinking of it only as a possibility and not a reality, as Fred and George obviously did, she was fooling herself. The odds of the war being over with any speed were so slim that it was like asking Father Christmas to bring her presents twice a year and expecting Christmas in July.

Fred and George and Emma finished their ice cream in silence for the first time, each staring at their bowl and its contents, the silence punctuated by the sounds of spoons clinking bowls. Emma had never really appreciated before how expensive and high quality their bowls were before, but for some reason it seemed the appropriate time to admire them in silence. When they'd finished, George quickly washed the dishes and put them away while Fred led Emma off to their room to sleep.

Or at least, she thought they would be sleeping.

Of course, they did sleep eventually, but it was a long time coming. Fred told her to relax, stripped off her clothes, and made certain that they put a strong silencing charm on the door before bringing her to several screaming climaxes, after which she collapsed sweetly in his arms.

"What was that for?" she sighed, nuzzling her face into his neck gently.

"That was for being the best wife a man could ask for," he whispered. "I love you, Emma, and no matter what happens with this necklace, you know Katie wouldn't want you to upset yourself over it."

She nodded vaguely, knowing he was right and falling asleep very soon after, still wrapped up in his arms.

The following day Emma woke up early, sent a note to Arthur in the office that she would be visiting Hogwarts at the beginning of her shift and wouldn't be in to work until she was finished there, on Ministry business. She knew he would keep her out of trouble to the best of his ability, and despite what people said of the man, he was certainly very good at keeping her out of trouble, at the very least.

She sent a Patronus up to the castle to announce her arrival at the gates and waited as patiently as possible for someone to let her in.

Someone, ironically, happened to be Professor Snape, who looked down at her with a particularly somber expression. Suddenly Emma had the feeling that she'd missed his class or something.

"Miss Norwick," he said in a way that almost suggested he knew she'd legally changed her name. "Ministry business, Albus tells me."

"Yes, Professor," she spat out almost automatically. "I'm here to get a look at the necklace Katie Bell touched."

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly and then he said, "So the Ministry thinks that a girl who knows Dark Arts only from school books will have better knowledge of such an artifact than myself?"

Emma blinked with surprise, not thinking that he would take such offense to her coming to look at the necklace. In hindsight she supposed it was reasonable.

"No, no, sir," she said as quickly as she could manage. "Nothing like that. I just need a report on the Muggle nature of the artifact. To be honest, sir, the very fact that I'm involved in the investigation is a bit…. Well, it's more than a bit silly."

He sneered at her in a way she supposed she could at least tell herself was a sort of smile, for Snape at least, and he led her up to the castle, to his office, where the necklace was being kept in a warded case until, he said, he had Ministry permission to destroy it completely. That wouldn't come until Katie was healed.

"Take a look, but don't touch," he said firmly.

As if she would be so stupid.

"Yes, sir," she said, though, not wanting to lose whatever goodwill she might have earned with this man.

Emma drew her wand and could almost instantly sense the evil pulsating from the necklace. She nearly dropped her wand, but Snape grabbed her hand and firmly closed it around the wood.

"Good, you can feel it," he said, like a teacher in the middle of the lesson.

"What… what is that?" she gasped, horrified at the sensation moving from her wand to her hand.

"That is the connection between your wand and yourself recognizing the Dark magic in this necklace," he said smoothly. "It takes an incredibly old and powerful spell for a wand to react so firmly, and a very good wand to owner connection to feel it enough to realize that it's even real."

He removed his hand from hers and Emma was no longer so shocked about the sensation and she whispered, "This must be very evil."

"Indeed," Snape's voice said in that same smooth baritone. "If you have yet to determine more than that, I doubt your report will be of much use."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," Emma admitted. "Still, the report has been ordered and so it shall be given. Really I'm trying to determine whether this necklace had been purchased by the perpetrator at Borgin and Burke's."

He stiffened slightly, quickly locking the necklace back behind the case with one swift movement of his wand, setting the wards up again with another.

"I'm sorry," she said slowly. "Did I say something-?"

"I assure you, Miss Norwick," Snape said firmly, authoritatively, "that this necklace has not been on the shelves of Borgin and Burke's in your lifetime."

She blinked.

She could have sworn that she'd seen it there. Perhaps it had been there only briefly?

"And you know this because…?"

"Because, Miss Norwick, as part of my duties for the Order, I've spent a fair amount of time in that shop," he said sharply, "and I know its contents as well as the owners or better. It has never been there."

For a split second she wanted to accuse him of lying to her, but she had no proof and his word on the matter was much stronger than hers. More than that, she felt very wrong about the idea of accusing him of anything, as he was still, in her mind, a professor. Although, admittedly, he was no longer her professor and thus had no real power over her.

She could have been wrong, of course. She'd been wrong about plenty of things before, and she'd certainly not spent too much time in that awful shop. She always was in and out as quickly as she could manage.

"I'm sorry," Emma said softly. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, then, professor. I assure you I won't come asking after it again. I'm afraid I'll have to be especially disappointing in my report."

His expression softened slightly and he said, "I apologize, Miss Norwick. You are merely doing your job. But I'm afraid there is nothing more for you to do here. It's best you go."

All the way out of the castle Emma felt the distinct sensation that there was something she was missing, something she wasn't thinking about. Despite what Snape had assured her of, she was certain she'd seen the necklace in that shop, and no matter how she tried to change her mind about it, she knew she'd seen it before.

But if it hadn't been in Borgin and Burke's, where could it have been? And if she couldn't figure it out, how on earth was she to be expected to help Katie?