Work Text
Emma wasn’t one for solitude. For as long as she could remember, solitude meant insanity. She surmised it had to do with her upbringing. Prince Manor had always been bustling with activity, and Ilvermorny had been a school full of magical teenagers given relatively few rules. Over the years, Emma had learned that silence usually meant trouble.This only made Grimmauld Place all the worse. It wasn’t enough that she was in an neglected, angry house with countless Dark artifacts and strange portraits. No, she was alone in an neglected, angry house with countless Dark artifacts and strange portraits.She heard a bang from one of the upper floors of the townhouse. Well, she thought wryly. Not completely alone. Sirius Black was a menace. At least, Emma thought he was. Admittedly, the man had yet to come down from the hideout he shared with his hippogriff. He hadn’t said a word to her, and she had been in his home for almost four days. With no Order members seeing it fit to visit Headquarters since her arrival and all Emma’s lesson plans finished, she was going a bit stir-crazy.To be fair, the house elf checked in with her from time to time to ask if she needed any food, tea, or a stiff drink. Usually, Emma quite liked house elves-- they were lovely creatures with a truly fascinating culture-- but Kreacher had said a few too many slurs for Emma to consider him pleasant company. The poor wretch hadn’t gotten any better with age.Glaring at the ceiling, Emma meandered idly into the kitchen, putting the kettle on so she could have another cuppa. That’s what she had missed the most while she had lived in the United States— some good, strong tea. Most American tea was a disgrace, and she had been loath to part with the amount of money required to ship enough decent British tea to her townhouse in Manhattan. Not that she couldn’t afford it, but if felt wrong to spend her family fortune on something so frivolous, especially since her cousin still refused to access a vault that should be his by right.Emma ruminated on the merits of tea and whether or not she should ask her cousin for Aunt Eileen’s biscuit recipe when she heard footsteps. She glanced back towards the sound, but elected to ignore it, instead pouring herself a mug of tea and sitting down to read Hogwarts: A History.A few minutes later, a person entered the kitchen. Emma held up a finger as she finished a paragraph describing the Hufflepuff Common Room-- the entrance was truly ingenious. After she finished, she marked the page and closed the book. Grasping the mug of tea in her hand, Emma looked up at the intruder.He must have been drop dead gorgeous at some point, she noted, but that had been before his thirteen year stint in Azkaban. He was still handsome, though, with a sharp jawline, regal nose, and shoulder-length hair a rich shade of ebony. But his eyes were wild, his body was haggard, and his countenance was crazed.“Sirius,” Emma greeted him amiably. “A pleasure.” She took a sip of her tea, making a mental note to ask Percy for some of that organic honey he was obsessed with next time they spoke.“And you are?” Sirius asked haughtily, his eyes surveying the kitchen as he pointedly waited for her to draw attention to herself. He was obviously looking for something to be angry about. Emma smirked inwardly, knowing that feeling all too well. Isolation always made her itch for a fight. But she wouldn’t take the bait.“Emmaline Victoria Prince,” she replied lightly, watching him for any sign of a reaction. When he didn’t look at her, she took it as a victory. He didn’t need to know about her cousin. Not yet anyway.Sirius would dislike her on her own merit. Not on anyone else's.Emma grinned and patted the seat next to her.“I’ve been here going on four days," she informed her host breezily as he sat down. “Alastor dropped me off noonish on Sunday. Said you’d make it down to greet me eventually."Sirius still didn't look at her, but the crazed look in his eyes was retreating a bit. “You’ll have to excuse that,” he replied sheepishly. “I’m still recovering.”Emma nodded, feeling a surge of pity for the man. No matter what Sirius had done to her cousin, even he recognized that the twelve years Sirius spent in Azkaban were beyond wasted. Sirius would obviously need some time to recuperate after that much exposure to dementors–- Never mind that he still hadn’t had an opportunity to properly mourn his friends.Sirius finally looked up, then, perhaps picking up on her less frosty attitude, and Emma had to sigh as he did a double take. Her scarring was still bad, even years later, but she tended to forget how strangers reacted. It had been so long since that night that when Emma looked in the mirror, it was just her face looking back at her–– not a reminder of dear Aunt Bella’s madness.“I know you,” he murmured, a pained expression flitting across his face for a brief moment as he studied the left side of her face.“Do you?” Emma responded quietly despite herself, flushing from the scrutiny and hiding her face in her mug as she took a large swallow of her now lukewarm tea.“Yeah,” Sirius answered, shaking himself. He brightened. “You’re Marcus and Mariah’s youngest, aren't you?”Emma nodded mutely, glad that Sirius knew enough not to comment on her face. She hoped Sirius didn’t know enough about the Prince family tree to make a connection. Not that it would matter in a couple of hours, but she had gone an awfully long time without human conversation. Even Sirius Black's company had to be better than no company at all.“I was sorry to hear about them,” he continued, albeit more quietly. “They were always good to me, even after I was disowned. They helped me get my first flat after Hogwarts, actually. Saved my life, that did.”Emma smiled sadly. That did sound like her parents, but she had no doubt that the rest of the family had been oblivious to the aid they sent Sirius. Marcus and Mariah Prince may very well have had hearts of gold, but they kept them closely guarded for protection. Little that had helped them in the end.“I’m sorry that Bella got to your family," Sirius mused. “Your parents were good people, even if they decided to stay neutral in the war.”Emma bristled.“They may not have chosen a side,” she retorted. “But you’ll recall correctly they were joined by the majority of Wizarding Britain.”“Well, of course,” Sirius furrowed his brow. “But all of the big families declared for a side. The Order could have used them.”“If my memory is accurate, they were a bit too Slytherin for the Order’s taste.”And too Jewish, too, Emma thought resentfully, but she swallowed that accusation quickly. She wasn't sure where Sirius stood on the Panics, and now wasn't the time to find out.“Allowances would have been made.”Emma snorted derisively while Sirius just looked confused. She shook her head, marveling at how deep these inter-house prejudices ran. Slytherins were useful for money and information. But past those, who cared?She felt a rush of affection for Ilvermorny, with its large, spacious dining hall and round, inter-house tables. She missed her friends in all four houses, the lot of them a blend of the Founders’ dreams. Ilvermorny used houses as a method of organization and a starting community for the firsties, but Hogwarts put too much stock in the divisions.Apparently, though, Sirius took Emma’s silence as agreement, beginning to chatter about his Hogwarts days once he saw the book in her hands. Emma feigned politeness with the occasional nod or noncommittal noise, but was all too aware of what everything he was saying was leading up to. She slowly folded into herself, praying she wouldn’t hear the two names she knew all too well, knowing she might not be able to hide her reactions.Of course, Emma’s luck had never been good.“Most of the Order members are old school friends,” Sirius explained. “Known the lot of them for years— we get along nicely for the most part. But Merlin, I cannot wait for you to meet Snivellus.” Sirius chuckled at the image.Emma tensed.“Sure, he says he’s reformed," he said, oblivious to Emma’s reaction. “But that big-nosed, greasy bat never had one decent bone in his body. Don’t know how he'd find it now. Especially when he’s meeting up with all his Death Eater mates.”Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to scream, she decided. She was going to scream and hex Black into next week. She was fingering her wand, ready to cast a particularly ugly jinx when the Floo roared to life. Within the next hour, the entire Order of the Phoenix was milling around Sirius’ kitchen. Apart from a two people who stared at her scarring (she thought their names were Fletcher and Diggle), the room was busy enough that no one paid her much heed. Though, Emma smiled inwardly, her marred face was probably nothing compared to the terrible visage of Alastor Moody–– and scarring was nothing that a vigilante army would be too hung up on.Albus was talking softly to Kingsley across from her, his hands twitching. He looked nervous, but Kingsley didn't seem to be picking up on it, something that confused Emma. Honestly, his tells were rather obvious to any self-respecting observer. But then again, Albus Dumbledore wasn’t really in the business of trusting those with too much self-respect, now was he?The talk died down after awhile, and the group seated. But Albus didn’t start the meeting, instead looking pointedly at Emma as if the one absence was entirely her doing. She shot Albus a tremulous smile that he did not return, his ice-blue eyes instead flicking to the Floo in a meaningful gesture. Whispers began to circulate along the table, connecting her cousins absence with a word Emma hated.
Traitor.
Oh, he was going to kill her. She silently prayed to whoever was listening for a quick, painless death. He liked her well enough after all these years. He wouldn’t want to draw it out. Would he?She didn’t get to finish her request to the heavens before he stalked into the kitchen, face stony and eyes livid. When he met her nervous gaze with his black eyes, she gave a small wave. He narrowed his eyes infinitesimally. The rest of the Order watched with bated breath as he gestured for her to get up and walk towards him. She complied, not being to help the mirth in her eyes at seeing just how much her cousin’s colleagues feared him. They were practically falling out of their seats in apprehension.Emma was snapped out of her incredulous reverie as a silky voice spoke."What," Severus asked. “Do you have to say for yourself?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I love you.”“Try again,” Severus snorted, seemingly ignoring the stares from the rest of the room.“You’re my favorite person in the entire world?”“Is that a question or an answer?” Russ raised his eyebrow, clearly not appeased.“Does it help any?”“No.”“Oh, alright.” Emma sighed. “Just give me a moment, will you?”“By all means, Em, take all the time you need.”Emma gulped audibly. She wasn’t really scared, she was a grown woman, after all— and Russ wouldn’t murder her, at least not in front of this many witnesses. But she knew how tenuous his position was with the rest of the Order, and Albus’ trust really only went so far. Since he hadn’t informed any of the Order of the deviation from his usual schedule, his tardiness would undoubtedly be construed as somehow indicative of his true allegiances, no matter how much of a reach it was. Emma was going to start groveling when she saw the tea.“Russ!” Emma all but squealed, pulling the box of PG Tips from his hands. He raised his eyebrows, but Emma could tell he was pleased by her reaction, the bloody sap. “I love you so much. Oh my God. You’re amazing, Severus, really. My light, my love, my life, thank you! Thank you!”Emma launched herself at him, glad when Severus wrapped her up in a tight hug, smiling as he cupped her head with a calloused hand. She had missed him so much, not having heard from him in a week. She had begun to think the worst… But that didn’t matter now. Not when she had tea. She pulled away from Severus to go to the counter to carefully place her package of perfection in a nearby cabinet. With a sly smirk, she turned back to face the rest of the Order, all of whom looked as if they had seen a ghost. She chose then to begin her tirade."So, Russ,” Emma began brightly, and she smirked as Severus’ eyes narrowed at her. He knew her too well. “How’s Posie? I do miss the dear— she’s always telling me I need to come home more. Do you think that's true? I mean, I always try to see her for holidays, but I know that house elves like having someone to coddle… Do tell me you visit her, darling? Oh of course you do, you’re always such a sweetheart. Did she give you the tea?”“No,” Severus replied curtly. His right ring finger twitched. My, he’d must have had a terrible day if she'd got that much of a reaction out of him just by calling him sweetheart. “I went to get it for you.”“Oh, you’re such a dear, Russ.”“I only did it so you’d stop sending all those ruddy owls bemoaning your lack of proper tea.”“Come off it, love. Your life would be dreadfully dull without my letters.”Severus sighed. “Well, I certainly wish I could refute that, but it seems I have been bested. Don’t get too used to it.”“Oh, never.”Emma shook her head ruefully before she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the chair next to her. She pushed him down and patted his shoulder as she took her seat to his right. Severus sighed as he always did whenever she manhandled him, but Emma knew he liked the reminder that someone cared about him. Emma had to smile at the astonished stares being sent their way. She thought taming a bloody manticore would be less impressive to this lot than what she just did. Severus had truly outdone himself with this whole “greasy-git” schtick. Emma was really quite proud of the man.“Ahem,” Albus cleared his throat, and slowly the attention of the room turned back to him. “As you can see, we have a new member to the Order. Professor Prince, if you would…” He trailed off, and Emma nodded.“Alright, then,” she began brightly, ignoring all the incredulous looks around the room. These people were really awfully dreadful at being subtle weren’t they? No wonder Severus was the only spy. “I’ll start with my name–– Emmaline Victoria Prince. But please call me Emma. I will be taking up the History of Magic teaching position at Hogwarts for the foreseeable future, since your ghost has decided to take a sabbatical and haunt the Ministry bookshelves for the next two years. Hmm… right, my credentials. I went to Ilvermorny and graduated from House Great Horned Serpent with high honors, then went onto to receive a Masters in Magical History with concentrations in Wizarding Politics and Sociology of Magic. I’m obviously going to be at Hogwarts to teach, but my other goal is to bridge House divides. For example, I hope to foster dialogue between the Slytherins and the rest of the school. All aspects of social theory suggest––”“Wait a moment,” Sirius interrupted incredulously. “You want to let the Slytherins infiltrate the other Houses? Are you mad?”“No, Sirius, I’m not mad, just disfigured, but thank you ever so much for your concern,” Emma answered brightly. She wasn’t going to let him get to her. “And the Slytherin students are not going to infiltrate anything. My goal is to keep them from being alienated by students and staff alike and to integrate them with the rest of the Hogwarts community. I want to give them a reason to fight for the Light.”“And beating You-Know-Who isn’t reason enough?” Sirius replied hotly, mouth set in a firm, furious line.“To us?” Emma said, struggling to keep her cool. “Yes, of course. No one at this table believes Riddle’s bigoted bullshit. But a twelve year old kid who grew up in the pureblood community that sings that madman’s praises? A half-blood or Muggleborn child who was labeled monster as soon as they put on a green tie, never mind that they had nothing to do with the last war? They won't fight for us unless they are accepted as they are, they don't think they have any reasons to. There were four founders of your school for a reason, and alienating and punishing children who don’t have any other frame of reference only swells the Death Eater's ranks.”“I managed---”“You managed to overcome that one form of prejudice, yes,” Emma stated firmly. “But you had access to the kind of support that few Slytherins have the chance to enjoy, and I would argue that you still have a way to go.”Emma didn’t think Severus meant to smile slightly at her retort, but it was clear that Sirius picked up on it.“You just love this crap your little girlfriend’s spouting,” Sirius growled. “Don’t you, Snivelly?”Emma couldn’t help it. She had meant to hex Sirius for the use of that awful name, she really did. But, Sirius had called her… Oh, it was too good. Peals of laughter bubbled out from her, and she had to lean on Severus for support and she convulsed with giggles. Severus was shaking silently, so Emma knew that he would have been roaring with laughter if he hadn’t liked his fearsome reputation so very much.“Emma,” Severus struggled to maintain his composure. “I was unaware that you harbored such strong feelings for me. Unfortunately---”“Oh, stop!” Emma sighed dramatically. “Don’t say it, Severus, please--- I know our love can never be realized. You’re just too good for me.”“Now, Emma,” Albus commented mildly, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. “The Order is a very tolerant organization, of course, but we do have to draw the line at blatant incest.”Severus clearly didn’t give a damn what the others thought of him, then. Hearing his mentor join in on the joke made him burst with laughter, his grin warming Emma’s heart. Just to keep him laughing, Emma turned to Albus.“How can you, Albus? You’d lose half your base. Why, I think the romantic love between first cousins is positively innocent compared to what some purebloods get up to at family reunions.”Her comment managed to encourage a couple snorts from around the room, but the woman with pink hair let out an outrageous guffaw, slapping her hand onto the wooden table.“I think,” she gasped, still giggling. “That, you, Emma, are my new favorite person.”“Thank you,” Emma answered primly before grinning cheekily in Severus’s direction. He suddenly sobered and rolled his eyes. “Glad to see that I rank that high for someone around this table.”“I am not going to dignify that with a response.”“Oh, bugger. And I had just sent Leonard Cohen a fruit basket and everything.”A few more chuckles circled around the room before Emma decided to turn back to look at Sirius. He was fuming, his eyes hard and icy. Emma glared at him.“Since you have proven yourself incapable of recognizing simple facts, Black,” Emma began frigidly, leaning towards him and leaning her elbows on the table, intertwining her fingers. “I better explain the joke. Severus’ mum was my estranged aunt, and however close you thought you were to my parents? He was closer. He has been my legal guardian since my parents and Eddie died, but he doesn’t need to have any sway over me for it to be obvious just what kind of shite you’re spewing. And, in regards to your previous slander regarding Russ, if you believe for one moment that Severus is still a Death Eater, you’re leagues more stupid than you look.”Emma paused, and took in the absolute stillness of the room. Every eye was on her and Sirius, and even though Emma was no Slytherin, she knew a good move when she saw one.“So if we’re all done airing our decades-old dirty laundry, I’m going to continue. I would really love to defeat Voldemort in this century, if that’s quite alright with you. Where was I? Oh, yes….”Her piece flew by in moments, it seemed, but Emma stayed alert long after the discussions concerning her were through. Her eyes remained pinned on Black, and her hand remained wound tight around Severus’ underneath the table.