A/N: This chapter is dedicated to new reader/reviewer leafstone. May you enjoy it as much as the previous chapters which enticed you to this story!

-C

As could have been reasonably expected, Percy made a muck of things and broke his mother's heart all over again, and Harry refused to be Scrimgeour's puppet, and life went on much as it had been. The students went back to school. The employed went back to work. Fleur and Molly went back to driving each other mad.

And as far as Emma could make out, Remus went back to the werewolves, went back to a world where Tonks was not in the picture.

"But he does love her," Tien said as the two girls lunched one day. "That's fairly obvious. In my experience, such things do tend to work themselves out in the end."

"And what experience do you have, then?" Emma said with a laugh.

"You and your freckle-faced husband."

Emma hissed to quiet her friend, glancing around the pub to see if anyone they knew was nearby, but there was not a familiar face to be seen.

"That was different," she said, smoothing her hair and frowning at her bottle of butterbeer. "You happened to take that into your own hands. Nothing worked out by itself."

Tien just laughed for a moment before she said, "Well, you had me and Georgie. Tonks and Lupin have you and Molly Weasley. I expect that the two of you will eventually find a way to sort the whole mess out. Yes, I know Fred has asked you to stay out of it, but I also know you. You'll find a way in the end. An opportunity will present itself."

Emma hoped that her friend was right, but it was very discouraging, seeing Tonks at work looking like death. And what with a war on, she wasn't especially fond with manners of speaking, like "in the end," when very many people were constantly meeting their ends.

"So," Emma said, perking up and lifting her bottle once more. "Tell me more about the changes you're thinking of for the Day-Dream charm."

While Tien never crossed the boundaries of confidentiality, even with Emma, she was always eager to talk about what parts of work she was allowed to talk about. Anything to do with the special Ministry line was off-limits.

The girls talked for quite a while and then went their separate ways, Tien back to Diagon Alley and Emma back to the Ministry. When she arrived she began speeding through the more basic paperwork on her desk, eager to get to things that mattered.

Not that much came across her desk that mattered. The only thing that really meant anything to her or to the Order, it seemed, was the unfinished report sitting at the bottom of her bottom drawer on the necklace Katie touched. And every time she thought of it, as promised to Snape, she dutifully pushed it out of her mind.

But Katie was still in hospital, and Emma knew that whatever was going on at Hogwarts, it had to do with Draco Malfoy and Snape and Dumbledore alike were trying to keep it quiet.

Emma pondered Remus's words to Harry, about it all coming down to whether or not you trusted Albus Dumbledore's judgment. Remus seemed to, which did him some credit. After all, Dumbledore had given him the right to go to Hogwarts, given him a job when he was destitute. He gave Remus a purpose for his lycanthropy in his Order work.

But although Emma had joined the Order, although she was under Dumbledore's instruction, she couldn't help but think of Sirius, think of how much he suffered because Dumbledore didn't support him during the post-war period, because Dumbledore cooped him up in Grimmauld Place knowing that he would go mad in that house. If there was one thing she did have a hard time trusting, it was Dumbledore's judgment, not of Snape, but of the way to treat people. The situation with Katie's health was a strange one for Emma, and she ran her thumb along the edge of her desk wondering if there wasn't some way to look into the matter without breaking her promise to Snape.

But in the end she could think of nothing, and Arthur knocked on her door, poking his head in, distracting her from the impossibly difficult situation.

"Do you have a minute?" he asked. "I wanted to chat and run a few things by you."

Emma smiled, waving in her father-in-law and clearing the part of her desk between them so that they didn't have a massive stack of papers in the way.

"What's on your mind, Arthur?"

He sighed, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses.

"Having you and the twins for Christmas was an absolute pleasure, Emma. I hope you know that. Things have been very tense with Molly and Fleur, as I'm sure you've noticed, and Molly takes every opportunity to harass Remus. I've told her that he knows perfectly well what she's up to, but she doesn't seem to care." He began tapping his fingers on the desk. "Anyway, I want to apologize for...Christmas morning luncheon. I know that can't have been comfortable for you. At least you weren't sprayed by the parsnips, I suppose. There's something."

Emma laughed and said, "No, Arthur, it's really fine. Unexpected things happen. I certainly enjoyed spending more time at the Burrow, in spite of Celestina Warbeck. I suppose that's something I will have to get used to." Arthur gave an apologetic smile and she continued, "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"Ah, yes," he said, lifting a couple of files. "I had a few Muggle-related questions I need to throw your way for a case on the use of tarot."

"Tarot? The cards?"

"Yes, there's a fraud trying to tell people if they're going to die in the war," Arthur said darkly.

Emma shook her head and leaned forward for a better look at the file. It never ended.

/-/

After work, Emma took a couple of files with her to Hogsmeade for a few hours at the Three Broomsticks before heading back to the shop. She didn't feel like sitting in the flat alone, and she the boys weren't closing for some time yet. She didn't wan to get in the way, either.

To her surprise, however, she saw Snape sitting in a corner by himself when she walked into the Three Broomsticks, and after a moment of hesitation, she summoned all her courage and walked right up to his table, feeling as though she'd taken leave of her senses.

"May I join you, professor?" she asked.

Snape looked up at her with a blank face, gripping his drink tightly, simply staring at her. He seemed to be weighing her motive, but as he didn't immediately shoo her away, Emma decided it was safe to sit down. She slid onto the seat across from him and glanced around the room.

"Do you come into the village often?" she asked, forced casual. "I would have thought you wouldn't like to be in such a noisy place."

He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "What has Albus been teaching you young ones? Noisy places are the best place to be alone, or to hold a private conversation. Everyone is minding their own business, and those who aren't are less likely to hear you above the noise."

"Sirius mentioned that," Emma said, letting her thumb pick at a small divot in the table. Snape's face went cold at the mention of Sirius, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. "Professor, something is coming, isn't it? Something that we won't be told about. Should I...should I be worried?"

The only clue she had that he had softened a bit toward her was the fact that his eyebrow lowered again. His stare remained otherwise blank.

"Being worried is healthy in times like this," he said darkly. "A little bit of fear might save your life. Of course, what good is one life if the world goes to hell?"

Emma actually sat back in the chair a bit, moving away from him instinctively at this bitter outburst. He hadn't said it in a way that was cruel or threatening, but the words alone made her uneasy, and Snape could say anything with a tone of utter boredom and still have it be unnerving.

"I'm not afraid of dying," she said honestly. "I'm afraid of dying poorly, and I'm afraid of what would happen to the people I love if I were gone."

He raised his eyebrow once more, picking up his drink and smirking at her slightly.

"You continue to surprise me, Mrs. Weasley," he said softly, his black eyes darting around the room to see if they were being watched. "Perhaps you should have been a Gryffindor like your husband after all."

"Perhaps I'm not the only one," she said, and she could have swallowed her own tongue with the look he gave her.

To say she had come into her own since joining the Order, since marrying Fred, since working for the Ministry, would have been an understatement. This teacher who used to reduce her to tears in nearly every lesson was now looking at her like he didn't know who she was anymore.

Some days, Emma didn't know who she was anymore, either.

"I see you've brought work with you," he said, not even looking at her satchel, where he obviously knew she had files. "Nothing you want me to look at I hope."

"Of course not," Emma said, raising an eyebrow. "I would never bring work to you unless I had to. I know you've got a lot on your plate."

"More than you know," he muttered, taking a long pull from his drink while she watched.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was wrong. If it had been anyone else, she would have said so, would have asked. But even if this hadn't been Snape specifically, the mere fact that he knew so many things he could tell no one kept her from asking. Instead, she waited for him to say more, knowing he would only say what he felt he could in front of her.

When he set down his glass he frowned and said, "There are many things, Mrs. Weasley, that I cannot tell you, or anyone else. And there are many things I can tell that I never would. For your own safety there is much you merely have to take at my word. Although you trust me now, Merlin knows why, there will undoubtedly come a day when your faith in me will be shaken." Emma sat up a bit straighter, wondering what he was about to impart to her. She felt very important, having him say this to her. It almost felt like the talks she'd once had with Sirius. "But whatever comes, know that you can trust me. I... I will not be able to tell you why, or explain anything, but it is imperative that you trust me regardless."

Emma tilted her head.

"For my own safety?"

He gave her a wry smirk.

"No, Mrs. Weasley. I promised not to lie to you. The very fact that I'm telling you this much puts you in a unique kind of danger. No, for the good of the war. After all, I will need someone, just one person, who trusts me. And who better than the one person no one would expect to be my...oh, accomplice of sorts?"

Emma narrowed her eyes and nodded, but before she could press him for more, he stood, nodding a brisk parting, and walking out of the pub without another word. She couldn't tell if she was doing the right thing, or making a deal with the devil.

When she checked her watch, however, she realized that it was about five minutes to closing and the boys would be eager to have dinner soon. If she took too long getting back they would start to worry, so she got a bottle of butterbeer to go, stuck it in her satchel carefully, and Disapparated back to Diagon Alley, six steps from the door to the shop.

Fred greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as he was counting the profits for the day.

"Good day at work?" he asked as she pulled out the butterbeer and opened it.

"Yes, not bad," she sighed, sitting on the stool behind the counter, watching him count. "A lot of signing things and a chat with your father. Stopped for a drink on the way home."

"I can see that," he teased, leaning forward with his mouth open. Emma rolled her eyes, but she poured a bit of butterbeer into his mouth before continuing to sip her beverage. He was such a child, sometimes. "Well, we had a pretty good day here. Tien's really tearing it up with product improvements. Our sales are up by fifteen percent since she introduced the new wave of adjustments."

Emma spent that night listening to the boys, secretly turning over Snape's words in her mind, half-hoping that if she just ruminated over them long and hard enough, everything would suddenly become clear. But that was the child in her talking. Emma knew well enough that anything Snape had told her would only become clear when something big happened, likely something terrible from the sound of things.

Grateful though she was to have the following day off, Emma didn't like having to be alone with her thoughts. A nightmare that faded too fast upon waking jolted her out of sleep well before Fred was awake, and she kissed his forehead before crawling out of his arms, out of bed, and showering quickly. She dressed, dried her hair, and set about making breakfast for the twins to try to take her mind off of Snape's words, to make her hands stop shaking.

She'd just put the kettle on when George came out of his room rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, stretching the other arm out in that just-woke-up way. Fred did that, sometimes.

"Morning," he sighed, sitting down at the table and looking up at her with a sleepy smile as she set a plate of bacon in front of him. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep," she said, quickly taking the kettle off the heat and pouring George a cup of tea. "You know how it is, with the war and all. Nightmares... Anyway, busy day expected today?"

George shrugged, stirring a bit of milk into his tea while she poured her own.

"It's hard to gauge. The holidays are over, so things will probably calm down a bit with students back at school and starting a fresh term. Winter's not a bad time for pranks, but it's a limited month for money for most students. They've spent all their allowance on gifts and sweets and they're having to conserve a bit while they recover from the holiday season."

Emma shook her head. Sometimes it truly amazed her, what savvy businessmen the twins had become, George especially. Inventing and creating the products was one thing, but to have both the creativity to do that and the sensibility to do the marketing and daily economic considerations was more than could be asked for from most men.

"Do you think business will pick up when the war is over?" she asked, picking up her tea cup in both hands to feel the heat against her fingers. "I mean, business is surprisingly good for wartime. But people will want cheering up when it's all over and safe again, won't they?"

George shrugged.

"It's not surprising. People want cheering up now. That's why it's so good. And when the war is over, we won't likely have the Ministry contracts. Everything will have to be joke-based. But we'll also have a more free environment to focus and develop new material. I think it'll all be all right, but I'm not sure we're going to have it any better necessarily."

Emma nodded. They sipped their tea in silence and Emma watched George eat toast and bacon. She asked if he wanted eggs and set to frying up eggs and potatoes in anticipation of Fred's waking up, which would happen any time in the next ten minutes.

"Emma?" George asked as she began putting the eggs and potatoes on a plate.

"Mmm?"

"When are you two going to finally announce that you're married? You're not going to wait until the war's done, right? Because what if it goes on for years? What if...what if you spend the next ten years pretending to just live together because the war's not over?" Emma chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously. "What if something happens to one of you?"

"We're legally married, George. The paperwork would kick in regardless."

"That's not my point," he said darkly. "If you don't tell my mother, if you don't get a chance, how do you think she'll feel, finding out from paperwork and her husband that you were actually her daughter-in-law for however long? Look, I'm not saying drop everything and tell her as soon as possible. It's obviously a decision you and Fred are going to have to make balancing a lot of things. But...don't wait too long. Don't forget that nothing is guaranteed."

Emma nodded, turning the words over in her mind both as they regarded her own situation, and as possible things to point out to Remus the next time she had an opportunity to intercede on Tonks's behalf.

The thoughts were interrupted, however, by Fred coming out of the bedroom, stretching just like George, and George and Emma both greeted Fred, dropping the topic altogether.