Emelyn found herself in a very green meadow. Trees were spread out along the horizon, and a pond lay in the middle of the green expanse. The grass was dotted with multi-colored flowers. Emelyn felt entirely at peace. She had been here before in her dreams, but she was sure that she had visited this place in person.

She found herself exploring the meadow, stopping in patches of flowers to run her hands over the bright and fluffy petals. She was smiling. The sun was out, the field was warm, and the light wind passing through rustled the foliage in such a melodic way. Emelyn was alone in the meadow, and there was no evidence that any homes or any beings were nearby. It was just herself, the flowers, and whatever might exist in the pond.

Emelyn made her way to the pond slowly, just enjoying her time. The closer she approached the pond, the darker the sky would get. But Emelyn didn't care; she was entirely at ease with everything in her life.

The pond was just as brilliant as the foliage surrounding it. Cattails rocked in the breeze at one end of the pond. A few lily pads lay smack in the middle of the water. The underwater vegetation was just as beautiful as the rest of the meadow. Long trailing grass threatened to tickle the pond's surface. Rocks looked to be laid down in just the perfect manner as if someone had gone in and laid everything in the pond by hand.

As she admired the pond, she felt the wind picking up. She felt the air growing colder, the sky becoming darker, and she could swear that she heard the rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance.

Emelyn was incredibly alone in that meadow with nowhere to run if a storm were to arrive. She looked off into the distance, judging how easily it would be to get to the trees. But you're not supposed to go to the trees if there's lightning, Emelyn thought to herself. She looked around quickly and noticed that there appeared to be a small cabin that she hadn't seen. Had it appeared out of nowhere? Or was the cabin always there? Emelyn wasn't sure, but she did know that she had to make it to the building for shelter.

In an instant, the sky opened up. Heavy rain began to pelt Emelyn and the ground, putting large rippling divots in the pond. Emelyn began to run.

As she ran towards the hut, she found herself looking towards the trees again. The once empty expanse on the horizon now had large dark figures slowly exiting the trees. She found herself running faster, watching the dark masses starting to move towards her. The hut seemed to be moving further and further away as she ran while the creatures were moving closer and closer.

Suddenly, she heard a howl…

Emelyn awoke with a start, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She took in a deep breath, feeling as though the air in her lungs had disappeared entirely. She had dreamed of the meadow before many times, but she had never had strange creatures appear. She sat up, rubbing her eyes quickly, trying to clear the blurriness and sleep.

The wetness of her eyes was startling, and she shivered as she registered the cold sweat that covered her body. Though she had been sleeping in the same room for a few nights, everything seemed grossly unfamiliar. The half-drawn curtains had light filtering in, though the room was still bathed partially in darkness.

She looked down at her hands that were shaking in her lap with shuddering breaths. She began to run them shakily through her hair, needing something to do. That particular dream had never been so vivid before in all of the years she had it. It was like breaking through a fog that she wasn't aware had been there. Was it because she wasn't taking that odd potion Remus told her about? It had to be. There was no other logical explanation that she could think of.

"Are you all right?"

Emelyn's head swiveled around quickly, her eyes widening in shock. She watched as Remus rushed over to her side, a crease appearing between his brows with worry. With a flick of his wand, the oil lamps were ignited to add light to the room. She was grateful that he didn't immediately pull open the curtains.

She took a closer look at Remus and found that she wasn't entirely sure she had ever seen someone look that concerned over her before. It gave her stomach a funny fluttery feeling that filled her with warmth because she liked it. The fluttery feeling went away quickly to be filled with dread. She didn't want him to think she would be a problem and send her back.

"I'm fine," Emelyn exclaimed quickly, her face flushing deeply out of embarrassment. "It was just a bad dream."

Remus gently placed the back of his hand against her forehead. He was concerned that Emelyn had a fever after not having the potion from the children's home for the first time. It wasn't clear what side effects she would have after discontinuing the potion. The last thing he wanted was for her to get severely ill from stopping it without tapering her off of it. It was made clear to him that she had been taking it for nearly a decade, and such prolonged use was worrisome. When he was satisfied that she was at the correct temperature, he dropped his hand to clasp her shoulder instead.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers.

"Yes, I'm sure," Emelyn said, nodding. She let out a heavy sigh, relaxing slightly at the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. She found that she didn't mind it at all. Her natural reaction was to flinch away from most people, but she felt surprisingly at ease. "Where's Professor Dumbledore?"

"Professor Dumbledore left last night," Remus said with a soft smile. "He said to tell you that he would see you on the first day of term and to send him an owl if you wished."

"An owl? But I don't have -"

Emelyn suddenly heard a low hooting noise from near the door. She peered around Remus and was surprised to see a tawny-colored owl sitting in a cage on the table by the door. It looked exactly like the one she had been looking at in Eeylops the other day.

"What was that you were saying about not having an owl?" Remus said, his smile growing wider at Emelyn's look of excitement. The owl, though a little expensive, was clearly an excellent purchase. The salesperson had been an enormous help, mentioning that a young girl had looked at that particular owl several times. After a back and forth with the salesperson, Remus deduced that Emelyn visited every day. The absolutely delighted look on her face made it well worth the purchase. Her smile was just as infectious now as it had been when she was smaller.

"Is she mine?" she asked, throwing the blankets off of her body and jumping out of bed. She rushed over to the cage and gently placed her fingers through the bars, grinning as the bird nipped at her fingers.

"She's yours," Remus said. "You can open the cage if you'd like; I'm sure she wouldn't be opposed to being out for a moment. We'll let her back out before we head home; she'll know where to go."

Emelyn looked back at Remus, slightly unsure, but a broad smile crossed her face. She turned back to the cage and carefully unlatched the cage door, and laughed as the bird took flight and landed on one of the armchairs, fluffing her feathers. The owl regarded Emelyn with its dark eyes set in its white heart-shaped face. Emelyn extended a hand to the bird and giggled as the bird placed its head into her hand, allowing her to gently stroke its feathers. The owl was even more beautiful up close.

"She's a barn owl. I thought you might want to be able to talk to your friends during the holidays. Maybe even write to me while you're at Hogwarts if you'd like, of course," Remus added as he watched Emelyn pet her new owl.

"I love her," Emelyn cooed, admiring the owl as she stroked her feathers.

"You do?"

"Yes, she's beautiful," Emelyn said, giggling as the owl ruffled its feathers and gently nipped at her fingers again. "Thank you," she said earnestly as she looked back over at Remus.

"You're welcome," Remus smiled. "She still needs a name, so think about that. Are you hungry?"

Emelyn's stomach growled, and she giggled with embarrassment. "Very much," she said. It felt like it had been ages since she had dinner. So much seemed to have happened in the past twenty-four hours.

"Well, then we can go downstairs and eat. I imagine you'd like to take a bath?" Emelyn nodded. "All right, take your bath, and get ready. We'll head to breakfast after," Remus smiled, making sure to commit the moment to memory. He never thought he would get to see Emelyn again, and he didn't want to forget this. "Perhaps it might be a good idea to put your owl back in her cage."

Emelyn smiled back as she ushered her owl back into its cage. It had been a process, but she figured out how to do it with ease. She went into her backpack, where she had packed her things, and pulled out a change of clothes. In practically no time at all, Emelyn had showered and changed, running back out and moving to the large mirror by the door to start fixing her hair.

"Is it warm out?" Emelyn asked Remus, taking in what he was wearing to decide whether she should put her hair up. She wasn't sure what to make of the weather with his outfit. Remus was wearing a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway up his forearms and slacks with oxfords. She scrunched her nose as she looked at herself in the mirror, wishing that she had different clothes to wear.

"It's fairly warm," Remus replied thoughtfully. "It's not terrible, but there have been much warmer days." He was absentmindedly petting Emelyn's new owl through the open cage door; it really was a pretty bird. Remus closed the cage door and turned to watch Emelyn decide what she wanted to do with her hair. He hadn't realized just how long it really was.

"Up it is," Emelyn said with a decided nod. She pulled an elastic off of her wrist and began to gather her hair up to put it into a ponytail. As she put her hair up, she noticed just a few moments too late that the skin underneath her shirt was marked with dark bruises that she had received in her final days at the children's home. She glanced up in the mirror to see Remus's disturbed face reflected back at her in the mirror. Emelyn quickly dropped her hands to try and pull her shirt down, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

She let out a gasp as Remus gently grabbed her left wrist before she could fix her shirt. The man moved far quicker than she expected, and she had to blink back the nervous tears that filled her eyes.

"What was that on your back?" Remus asked steadily. He felt a fit of unexpected anger threaten to bubble up to the surface but held it back. He didn't want Emelyn to get more upset; he already felt terrible over how glassy her eyes were in the mirror's reflection.

"I-I don't know," Emelyn answered quickly. She stared back at Remus in the mirror, her face set, trying not to give her thoughts away. Emelyn wasn't sure that she would be able to explain to him what the past few weeks were like for her at the children's home. She certainly didn't think he would understand why she didn't say anything. Emelyn cast her eyes away from Remus's, unable to handle his intense stare. He was staring at her as if he was trying to read her mind.

The final weeks at the children's home had been miserable. The moment her roommates realized she would be leaving, they made it their goal to make things as terrible as possible. Emelyn thought they would perhaps leave her alone and move on, but they had other plans. Instead, they followed her everywhere she went, relishing in the moments they could get her by herself. Jocelyn, in particular, was the worst of the bunch – like always. It wasn't anything new.

Despite everything, Emelyn had been sad over the idea of leaving the children's home; after all, it was the only home that she had ever known. However, she couldn't have been more excited to leave the endless bullying and pain that surrounded her. The day she left could have come any sooner, but now she was afraid Remus would send her straight back. No one wanted a problem child.

Remus quickly let go of Emelyn's wrist, letting out a sigh. He had felt that they were getting off to a good start, but he was worried that things would take a quick turn. He had clearly scared her, though she tried not to show it on her face. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide her nervous trembling.

"I'm sorry," he said, brushing a hand through his hair. Remus knew that he was acting like an absolute ogre, but the mottled coloring of her skin worried him. She was so pale that the harsh colors stuck out in stark contrast. "May I? I just want to see what it is."

Emelyn glanced back up at Remus's reflection in the mirror, hesitating for a moment before nodding. She shuffled nervously and gulped, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't feel that Remus would hurt her, but she had also never let anyone see her bruises before. It was the one thing that Emelyn always made sure to cover up.

Remus lifted the hem of Emelyn's shirt with deliberately slow movements, holding back his gasp. He didn't have to move Emelyn's shirt far to see that her back was dotted with fresh dark purple bruises and bruises in varying stages of healing. He lowered the hem of her shirt and noticed with a frown that the greenish tints of older injuries could be seen on the back of her arms. Had she been abused while at the children's home?

"What happened?" Remus asked, spinning her around to face him.

"I f-fell," Emelyn stuttered out, keeping her eyes downcast. If she didn't have to look at Remus, she wasn't going to. She feared that she would begin to cry if she did, and Emelyn didn't cry.

"Those aren't just from falling," Remus whispered, trying to bite back his anger. No child should have as many bruises as she did. "Do they hurt?"

"A little," Emelyn whispered back, almost curling in on herself. "Mostly if I think about them or if I move funny. But they're not bad."

Remus leaned down and cupped Emelyn's chin, tilting her face up to look at him. No one prepared him for how devastating the expressions from such a small human could be. His heart broke at the look on her face – a mix of sadness and fear. It was nothing like the sweet and happy smiles he remembered from when she was a toddler. He didn't like it.

"You don't need to be brave, Little One," he said, "I need to know so I can help. Don't be afraid to tell me if they hurt. That's what I'm here for now."

Emelyn felt a burning sensation in her nose and a prickle at the inner corner of her eyes. She held Remus's gaze in the mirror's reflection and then looked away, trying to hold back her tears. The last thing Emelyn wanted to do was to appear weak. She had already spent the past few days being able to put the pain to the back of her mind, but now that the bruises were on her mind, she couldn't deny that they hurt.

"I'm fine," Emelyn said resolutely, biting her lip in a vain attempt to keep from crying. She couldn't cry; she refused to cry – bad things happened when she did.

Against his better judgment, Remus let Emelyn go. He was angry, but he knew his anger wouldn't help either of them. The girl in front of him was upset, and he didn't want to make her feel worse than she probably already felt.

Remus would be a liar if he said he didn't know exactly what she was feeling. There were hundreds of times that people asked him about his cuts and bruises, and he never wanted to answer. Remus completely understood, and he wished that he didn't. He would find out what happened in time, and he would ensure that she never looked like that again.

He straightened up and plastered on a reassuring smile for Emelyn. "Come on, let's go eat. We'll both feel better after we've had breakfast."

Breakfast for the two was a hushed affair. Emelyn was still embarrassed, and Remus tried to settle his anger. She was his niece, but it had been nearly ten years since he had laid eyes on her. It wasn't as though he still had that same connection with her as he once did. He had been surprised by his immediate reaction to Emelyn's bruises, but that shouldn't have been too surprising.

I would feel the same way if it were any other child, he thought to himself bitterly. But would you, Remus? Would you be feeling this way if it were another child? Or is it because you should have done more to have prevented it? She is your goddaughter, after all. He drank his tea, staring into his cup, lost in thought as they sat at the table together.

Emelyn pushed around the last of her eggs on her plate, sneaking glances at Remus. She wasn't sure if she was more embarrassed by what happened or if she felt more guilty. She had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she felt the burning sensation in her nose once more.

"I'm sorry," Emelyn whispered, staring at her fork as she traced circles on her plate. The silence felt stifling, and she felt it was her fault.

Remus looked up at Emelyn, pulled from his thoughts. "What are you sorry for?" Remus asked her curiously. He gave her a puzzled look.

"I-for...for making you mad," Emelyn said quietly.

"For making me mad?" Remus gave a slight start as he sat up and placed his teacup on the table. "Do you think that I'm mad at you?"

"I dunno," Emelyn replied, peering up at Remus for a moment. "I just thought you would be mad. I mean, you seemed like you were earlier."

"There's no reason for me to be mad at you," Remus sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. This was not going off to a good start. He had no idea how to act with children and certainly not Emelyn, not anymore. It was so much easier when she was smaller. "I'm not mad at you, Emelyn. I'm mad because you shouldn't be hurt the way you are. They were supposed to be taking care of you and evidently weren't doing a good job of it."

"No, they were," Emelyn said quickly, her eyes growing wide. "It's all my fault, really."

"Emelyn," Remus started, "whatever happened was absolutely not your fault. Did you manage to cause all of that to yourself?"

"No, but –"

"Then it is not your fault," Remus said gently. "I don't know what happened where you were, and I don't know why they happened, but it was not your fault."

There was a silence between the two as they stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. Emelyn looked back down at her plate, feeling her face heat up.

"I'm sorry," Emelyn repeated quietly.

"Now what are you sorry for?"

"For…being sorry," Emelyn offered, a sheepish grin on her face.

Remus didn't mean to, but a hearty laugh snuck its way to the surface. Emelyn's eyes grew wide in surprise, not sure what she said that caused him to laugh.

"I'm sorry," Remus said. "There are several houses at Hogwarts, and I believe I have an idea of where you'll be sorted already."

"Sorted? You get sorted at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Remus smiled. "Are you finished with your breakfast? We can take a walk through Diagon Alley before we need to leave. Dumbledore has arranged that all of your things will be brought home and waiting. All that he asked is that we enjoy the day…and celebrate."

"Celebrate?" Emelyn asked. "Celebrate what?"

"New beginnings, a new adventure – your new home," Remus said. He thought about it for a moment and added, "and for a second chance."