A/N: First off, I must say thank you to all my reviewers of the previous chapter. I appreciate it so much. Please keep it up. Many thanks to Lissanne for the beta. Enjoy!
VIII
December 25th
It was just after dawn when Emerson woke up on Christmas morning and found herself unable to fall back asleep. Feeling
faintly disgruntled, she yawned and wrapped her comforter more snugly around herself, giving up on the futile efforts
to rejoin the land of Nod. It was all those Harvard early mornings, she was certain. Getting up to add another
paragraph or two to an essay; setting her alarm for five o'clock so she could get another hour of studying in for a
chapter that most of her classmates wouldn't be encountering for another term, at least. Such was the price she
paid for trying to cram a four year program into two years.
Em sighed. It was no wonder her body was so accustomed to the routine she had settled it into. A mere week back at home wasn't going to undo a good four months of conditioning.
Not that she could deny that it was bloody fantastic being home again.
A smile bloomed on her face as she reveled in the happiness of being with those she loved most in all the world. Her whole family, Brandon and Lyna had been waiting at the London IMA terminal to welcome her home. She had fallen into their arms, hugging and kissing and being hugged and kissed and smiling so hard that her jaws ached afterwards. There were no words to describe the emotions that fountained within her at seeing her father, her mother, Ben, Budget and Vina again. It had been a loud, happy group that headed to Corelli's, Em's favorite restaurant in Muggle London. They'd scarfed down plates of tasty Italian food, talking and laughing long into the night so that Vina was nodding off against Em's shoulder by the time they left the restaurant.
And then the week had sped by. Endless cups of tea with her mother or Lyna, conversing animatedly and honestly about what seemed to be everything under the sun. Hanging out with her Dad at his Puddlemere offices, trying not to grin too widely at the way almost everyone still regarded him with wide eyes. Hours spent catching up with Ben; hearing about Vina's first year at Hogwarts. Luke's run-ins with Professor Snape, whom Em was certain would never die but would live forevermore, black eyes always at the ready to catch some Potter descendant up to no good.
Though from the sound of it, Snape will never be able to keep up with Budget, Em thought, grinning at the picture of herself and her siblings that was on her nightstand. The kid is a whirling dervish.
And Brandon. Always Brandon. His laughter, his voice, his arms around her. She was so happy to be around him again without that nagging dread in the back of her head that soon the weekend would be over and he would have to leave. They spent hours cuddling in his bed after making love, talking about absolutely anything and everything. They gleefully revisited their old haunts and hangouts, reminiscing and catching up with the friends they had in each place, Brandon's arms holding her as they laughed.
How she missed those arms right now! Even though they hadn't been able to spend any full night together since she'd been home, they'd still managed to have a lot of alone time, during which they got caught up with each other in the very best of ways.
He wasn't here though, and Em sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. Any thoughts of staying with him last night, even though it was Christmas Eve, had been rendered moot when her father had said, "You'll be staying here tonight, won't you?"
There'd been something so final about his voice, almost as if his statement was a fact and not really a question. Startled, Emerson had turned to him and blurted, "Of course."
And it was only afterwards that she realized what she'd agreed to. There was no way to back out of it obviously, and when she thought about it, she knew that it was for the best, anyway. This way she could participate in all the Christmas morning traditions that her family had established over the years. Brandon had understood (he had his own family traditions to take part in, after all) and they'd parted for the night after some hungry snogging.
But if there was one thing that wasn't quite "happy-happy-joy-joy" (as Krishna would say) about being back at home, it was the slight tension brewing between Emerson and her father in regards to Brandon. Em couldn't understand it. This tension had never existed in any of her past relationships. Oh, it wasn't always there. It was only when Brandon came around or was mentioned that her father would get that look in his eyes and his mouth would tighten just the slightest bit so if you didn't know what to look for, you would miss it.
She didn't miss it but so far, hadn't had a chance to talk to him about it. Not yet.
"Hey, you. Merry Christmas," came a voice from across the room.
Em looked over and smiled. "Happy Christmas, Kady."
Her Harvard roommate smiled back. "Have you been awake long?"
"Not really. It's much too early to be awake, but hey, it's Christmas."
The two young women smiled at each other and not for the first time, Em felt a twinge of pride in herself for the gesture she had made. She'd invited Kady to spend Christmas with her when, upon returning to school after Thanksgiving, she'd asked Kady about her holiday.
Her roommate had shrugged. "Same old, same old. Not that Nana even knew I was there."
"What do you mean?" Em asked, frowning.
Kady looked at her. "Didn't I tell you? My grandmother had a stroke about two years ago and she's pretty much still paralyzed. Additionally, she's in the middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. It's a Muggle illness of elderly people, where they gradually lose their memory." She sighed. "Nana is at the point where, when she manages to recognize me, she thinks I'm my mom."
"I'm sorry," Em said softly. "Where is she?"
"In a nursing home. She has a lot of rich friends and they're paying for her to be there. Which is great because otherwise, I don't know what would happen. I have no money myself and no idea if my mother is alive or dead. And if she's alive and miraculously got in touch, the chances that she has money are slim to none."
Em stared at her, feeling suddenly overcome with gratitude at how fortunate she was. To have her own huge family, immediate and otherwise. Was Kady planning to do the same thing for Christmas, spend the holiday with someone who had no idea who she was?
"I love my grandmother, Emerson," Kady said, her eyes filling up. "She's the only one who's ever given a damn about me, who's ever believed that I could be something. And besides, the alternative is to spend the holiday here alone and that's just a bit too depressing to stomach, sorry."
"Come home with me," Em blurted.
Her roommate gaped at her. "What?"
Em walked over and grasped Kady's hand. "Come to England with me. You can spend Christmas with us. I know my family would love to have you."
"What? No, I can't do that, Emerson. I can't intrude on such a sacred time. And besides, what about my Nana? I can't just abandon her. I can't."
"We'll go and see her before we leave," Em said, thinking quickly. "We'll buy her presents and take them to her, help her open them. She'll have Christmas, just a week or two early."
Kady still looked uncertain, her eyes still shining with tears. "I don't know."
"Kady, your grandmother would want you to be happy, wouldn't she?" Em asked, squeezing her hand. "She would want you to have a good holiday, with people who care about you. I care about you. And once they're around you a bit, my family will care about you, too. Trust me."
The brunette sniffled, looking up at Em with burgeoning hope in her eyes. "Are you sure? Are you sure it would be okay?"
"I'm sure it'll be okay! We have a huge extended family: the Weasleys, the Lupins, the Malfoys, the Woods. We have people over all the time. You'll love it."
Kady threw her arms around Em. "Thank you."
Smiling at her roommate now, Em knew Kady had enjoyed her time in the crazy Potter household thus far. As she'd expected, her parents had welcomed Kady with open arms and Em's siblings had warmed to her instantly. Kady and Ben had taken to having long, heated discussions about the American stock market and if any thoughts occurred to Em about how on earth Ben knew about capital gains and compound interest, they were quickly squashed. Her brother read so much that he tended to know a little about a lot of things.
Luke and Kady had a strange sarcastic rapport, which had been established on the evening of her first day at Ballynore. Budget and Vina had been bickering about something or other and Kady, looking amazed, had exclaimed, "I can't believe how normal you guys are!"
A brief silence had descended before Luke, distracted from annoying his little sister, commented dryly, "Yeah, imagine that."
Any other person would probably have been mortified at the mild slight but Kady, though blushing, had laughed and lamented her "dorkiness". And the mode of their interaction was set.
Em recalled that the first time she'd met Kady, the thought had come to her that Kady and Lyna would get on famously, and she was right. It was really neat to see her lifelong best friend and her roommate chatting so easily, almost as if they'd known each other for years. The three young women had gone out to lunch more than once, sometimes accompanied by Davina, whose mass of auburn curls Kady couldn't stop oohing and ahhing over. Em was happy that her roommate seemed to be having a great time, even if it meant she couldn't spend nights with Brandon like she wanted to do. But she just didn't feel right about leaving Kady alone at Ballynore, even though the petite brunette had reassured Em more than once that she wouldn't mind.
All in all, it had been a great week and now it was Christmas Day. After spending an hour just talking quietly, Em and Kady ventured downstairs to find both her parents already up and drinking coffee.
"Happy Christmas, Mum, Dad!" Em exclaimed, hurrying over to hug and kiss them.
They hugged her back and Em felt a warm glow when her father touched her cheek briefly and murmured, "I'm glad you're here, Moppet."
Kady expressed Christmas greetings as well and blushed when she was hugged just as warmly as Em had been.
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Mum asked, standing up and heading into the kitchen.
Em and Kady followed. "Yep! And stiticky buns!"
"What?" the petite brunette inquired, looking puzzled.
Em laughed and began telling her the story of Luke mispronouncing the word "sticky" as a toddler and thereby launching another Potter family tradition. The four of them were just sitting down to mugs of hot chocolate when the subject of their conversation meandered into the room, his curly dark brown hair tousled from sleep.
"Happy Christmas, all," Budget said, stifling a yawn. "Ah, yes! Sticky buns!"
Kady, looking gleeful, peered at him. "Don't you mean stiticky buns?"
Luke colored and shot his family a disgruntled look. "Well, thanks ever so much."
"You're welcome," Em replied serenely. "You know I love you, don't you, Budget?"
"You have a funny way of showing it," her brother mumbled, but Em could tell he was trying not to smile.
Before too long, the rest of the family had woken up and wandered downstairs, following their noses to the source of the delicious smells that filled the house. The day drifted by in a flurry of traditions: opening presents in the family room, visiting the Burrow to exchange gifts and loudly fellowship with a fruitfully multiplied Weasley clan. The young people had a great time staging an epic snowman battle in the front yard, in which they each built snowmen and charmed them into life. A ferocious war was raged, which quickly disintegrated into mirthful chaos, from which no clear victor emerged because nobody was quite sure whose snowman had been the last one to be relatively intact.
Just before her family and Kady returned to Ballynore, Em and her cousin, Rory Weasley, serenaded the crowded room with a duet of "White Christmas", which earned them raucous cheers and applause.
"I had no idea you had a voice like that!" Kady was still raving ten minutes later as they sat around Ballynore's family room, sipping mugs of hot apple cider. "How come you don't sing more often?"
Em shrugged. "The urge comes and goes."
"You should have been here when she was little," Dad said, chuckling. "She could never shut up." He looked over at Hermione and grinned suddenly. "Remember that song she wouldn't stop singing after her first visit to Dallas?"
Mum laughed. "Home on the Range, wasn't it?"
"It should've been, except she kept messing it up. How does it go again?"
"I'm an Oklahoma girl. It's one of the first songs I ever learned. But I can't sing, so: Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam," Kady recited. "And the deer and the antelope play. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not clouded all day."
Dad grinned over at Em, who was pinking up. "If I recall correctly, she was saying, 'Oh give me a comb where the buffalo foam.' " He chuckled again. "She finished it up with, what was it, Hermione?"
"And the skies are not crowded all day," Em supplied sportingly, then sighed. "Can we move on now?"
"Ah-ha! How the tables have turned," her green-eyed little brother said, smirking evilly at her. "Tell the story about the rubber chicken, Dad."
Emerson blushed crimson as her whole family burst out laughing. Crossing her arms with a huff, she leaned back and listened to her father tell the story yet again of her first birthday party and the peculiar attraction she'd developed to a plucked, rubber chicken from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Kady was practically rolling in her seat and Luke was guffawing as he quipped about that being where Em's love of animals had started, wasn't it?
"Oh, sure, laugh it up," Em muttered, but she was trying not to smile. This was the thing she loved best about her family, they were so warm, open and easygoing, embracing what appeared to be everyone and anyone. She loved them so much and this day had truly been almost perfect.
Almost.
Because she hadn't seen Brandon all day. He'd had to spend the day with his family, which consisted primarily of his parents, his paternal grandparents and his brother, all of whom she knew he loved just as much as she loved her own family. She couldn't begrudge him that time with them, just as she knew he didn't begrudge her the time she had with hers. But she missed him so much. She wished he was here, holding her, supplying one more facet of her blessings.
As if in answer to her silent yearning, the Ballynore arrival chimes began to ring and Em's heart pounded in her chest. Somehow she just knew it was him and jumping up from the couch, she hurried from the room, missing the knowing looks that her family exchanged.
He was standing at the designated Apparation spot in the foyer, pulling off his gloves and Em let out a squeal of pure joy. "Brandon!"
She ran to him and he caught her, staggering back a step at her enthusiastic greeting. And then his arms were around her and his lips were on hers and Emerson's knees went weak. Their kisses were alternately frantic and gentle, hands clutching at each other as if to make up for the past hours of separation that they'd endured.
"I missed you," he whispered, dropping a light smattering of kisses all over her face.
She returned the favor, the male roughness of his jawline and chin against her lips sending a jolt of delicious sensation through her body. "I missed you, too." They hugged each other for a long moment. "Did you have a good Christmas?"
"Yeah, I did," he answered, smiling at her. "I don't need to ask the same of you. I can tell."
Em rolled her eyes. "They were just having a rousing crack up at my expense."
"The Great Rubber Chicken Obsession strikes again?" Brandon asked, his mouth twitching in amusement.
"Et tu, brutè?"
He laughed and hugged her to him again. "Well, at least I was actually present at that infamous event so that should take the sting out of it a bit. Your dad telling me the story wouldn't be as mortifying for you as it was when he told it to your earlier blokes."
"That is so true. Oh, before I forget-" she pulled away and searched in a pocket of her jeans for a few seconds before fishing out an envelope, which she held out to him. "Happy Christmas, Brandon."
He took it and leaned forward to kiss her lingeringly. "Thank you." Then, opening the envelope, he removed a long, official-looking strip of parchment. His eyes widened as he stared at it and his voice was incredulous when he spoke. "No way!"
"Way," Em replied, grinning with delight at his response.
"But- how? Every single one of these games is completely sold out! Not even I could find a ticket, and I work for the bloody Department of Magical Games and Sports!"
She smiled sweetly. "Ah, I can't give away my sources, can I now? But this way, you'll get to see one of the most hotly anticipated matches of the season and be able to hang out with that buffoon, Eric Huckleberry."
"I am so giddy right now that I'm going to ignore your cruel jab at my best mate," he sighed, gazing rapturously at the ticket in his hand. He looked up at her. "Thank you, Emerson."
"You're welcome," she answered, blushing a little at the intensity of his gaze. He leaned in to kiss her again and her body, perhaps in an effort to remind her that it had now been almost thirty-six hours since it had last experienced him in that very best of ways, fired up the furnace. She moaned into his mouth as he backed her into the wall, his hand cupping her breast under her top and Em almost forgot that they were in the entrance foyer of her childhood home. She wanted him and if he had begun going further right there, she knew she would've been helpless to protest.
As it was, their modesty was spared when the arrival chimes began to ring again and a second later, Brandon's brother, Andy, was standing mere feet from them. "Crikey, what a sight to arrive to! Get a room, you two."
He strolled away into the house and within a minute, they heard him loudly greeting Ben; the two boys were still the very best of friends. The urgency receding for the time being, Emerson sighed into Brandon's chest and wrapped her arms around him. He dropped a kiss on her head.
"We should go in there, you reckon?"
"Yeah."
Hand in hand, they headed to the family room and the reaction to Brandon's presence was pretty much uniform. Ben and Budget called to him loudly, Kady smiled and waved, Vina blushed while saying "Hi", and Mum gave him a warm hug.
And Dad? There was that look again, vanishing almost as quickly as it'd come but Emerson knew that she hadn't imagined it. He shook Brandon's hand and asked genially if he'd had a good Christmas and what madness had old Oliver gotten this year?
Brandon's grin seemed a bit nervous to Em, which made her feel a twinge of irritation at her father. "Well, as you probably know, he didn't get the one thing he'd really wanted, which was that Brookridge girl for the reserve team."
"Oh, man!" Andy exclaimed mournfully. "I don't blame Dad for being bummed about it. Have you ever seen her play? She's frigging brilliant!"
Ben chimed in his agreement and the conversation was quickly and exuberantly plunked into a lengthy Quidditch discussion. Still puzzling about her father's attitude towards Brandon, Em didn't participate very much, content to lean back and listen with Brandon's arm around her. One thing was certain, she needed to talk to her father. With a quiet sigh, she turned her attention back to the discussion.
"And sweet Merlin, she is so hot," Luke was gushing reverently. "She's like hotness in a hot package full of hot stuff."
Loud laughter.
"Gotta love your eloquence, Budget," Ben said, grinning at his little brother. "But sadly for us, the Wasps snatched her up. And we can be sure that when our teams meet, she'll be coming down on us like Sir Brian against the villagers."
Most everybody chuckled except for Kady, who looked puzzled. "I'm sorry, Sir Who against the who?"
There was a sudden silence before Luke, sounding appalled, said, "Sir Brian. You've never heard of Bad Sir Brian?"
"Erm, no," Kady said.
The gleam that appeared in Budget's eyes made Emerson grin and she knew everybody else had seen it too. Mum, looking amused, leaned back in her chair and lowered the book she had picked up when the Quidditch talk had flared.
"We have to act it out for her," Luke sighed gravely, as if that were a heavily unwanted burden of mandatory behavior. But one would have to be blind not to see how gleeful he really was. "I'll be Sir Brian."
"Aren't you always?" Vina commented, rolling her eyes.
Ben stood up and waved his wand to brighten the lamps. "I'll narrate. Can you make the weapons, Mum?"
"Sure," Mum replied, waving her own wand and within seconds, laid out on the coffee table was a large battle ax and a frightening pair of boots with evil-looking spurs.
Upon seeing Kady's perplexed look, Ben chuckled and began to explain. "Bad Sir Brian Botany is a poem by A.A. Milne, the same bloke who gave the world Winnie-the-Pooh. Our late grandfather, Mum's dad, taught it to us and Luke especially really took to it. One rainy day, we were bored so we decided to act it out and we've been doing it ever since. Our whole extended family knows it now and usually takes part when we stage a production."
Budget was pulling on the boots. "Em, Vina, Brandon and Andy, you're villagers, right?" They nodded and he stood and picked up the battle ax. Upon seeing Kady's alarmed expression, he grinned. "Don't worry. It's foam."
The actors took their positions and after a few explanations regarding the setting of the play and the fact that Mum would be providing sound effects via magic, Ben straightened into a formal pose and began.
"Sir Brian had a battle ax with great big knobs on;
He went among the villagers and bopped them on the head. "
Luke was gleefully prancing among the "villagers" and threatening them with the foam battle ax.
"On Wednesday and Saturday, but mostly on the latter day,
He called at all the cottages, and this is what he said: "
Luke puffed his chest out and stepped forward, battle ax held high.
"I am Sir Brian!" (Ting-ling)
"I am Sir Brian!" (Rat-tat)
"I am Sir Brian, as bold as a lion -
Take that! - and that! - and that!"
The villagers appeared to shriek and yell as Sir Brian's battle ax repeatedly came down on their heads but Em knew that, like her, all of them were camouflaging laughter. Kady of course, being the honored guest of the performance, had no reason to hide her reactions and was nearly crying with mirth.
His hazel eyes twinkling behind his glasses, Ben continued.
"Sir Brian had a pair of boots with great big spurs on,
A fighting pair of which he was particularly fond.
On Tuesday and on Friday, just to make the street look tidy,
He'd collect the passing villagers and kick them in the pond."
Luke, battle ax discarded, strode forward with exaggeratedly high steps, green eyes dancing with wickedness as he deliberately showed off his evil-looking boots.
"I am Sir Brian!" (sper-lash!)
"I am Sir Brian!" (sper-losh!)
"I am Sir Brian, as bold as a lion -
Is anyone else for a wash?"
Vina was openly laughing by now, hanging onto Em as they both were "kicked into the pond". Looking around, Em could see her parents grinning unabashedly at the spectacle before them and Kady was holding her stomach in hysterics.
"Sir Brian woke one morning, and he couldn't find his battle ax;
He walked into the village in his second pair of boots.
He had gone a hundred paces, when the street was full of faces,
And the villagers were round him with ironical salutes. "
Emerson, Brandon, Andy and Vina surrounded Luke, the maniacal grins now adorning their faces instead of his. They grabbed his hands and spoke in unison.
"You are Sir Brian? Indeed!
You are Sir Brian? Dear, dear!
You are Sir Brian, as bold as a lion?
Delighted to meet you here!"
The terrified look that Luke conjured up was so comical that even Ben lost control for a bit and needed a few moments before he could continue.
"Sir Brian went on a journey, and he found a lot of duckweed:
They pulled him out and dried him, and they blipped him on the head.
They took him by the breeches, and they hurled him into ditches,
And they pushed him under waterfalls and this is what they said:"
Needless to say, the villagers were really getting into the groove and manhandling Budget, who was playing the part of the harassed Sir Brian to a T. Obviously knowing what was to be said next, he alternately simulated laughter and tears at his treatment, and the villagers delightedly hurried on.
"You are Sir Brian - don't laugh,
You are Sir Brian - don't cry;
You are Sir Brian, as bold as a lion -
Sir Brian, the lion, good-bye!"
The villagers retreated, leaving a bedraggled Sir Brian standing in the middle of the room. He resolutely pantomimed the next stanza as Ben narrated.
"Sir Brian struggled home again, and chopped up his battle ax,
Sir Brian took his fighting boots, and threw them in the fire.
He is quite a different person now he hasn't got his spurs on,
And he goes about the village as B. Botany, Esquire."
Em, Brandon, Andy and Vina approached Luke again and, looking panicked, Luke blurted:
"I am Sir Brian? Oh, no!
I am Sir Brian? Who's he?
I haven't got any title, I'm Botany -
Plain Mr Botany (B)."
"Bravo! Bravo!" Kady cried, clapping her hands as all the performers bowed and curtsied. "Oh my gosh, that was too funny!"
Everybody chuckled happily as they settled into their seats again, and Emerson was beginning to feel a bit drowsy. It had been a long and fun-filled day. But she couldn't afford to sleep yet because she hadn't yet had what was, in some ways, the very best aspect of love. Glancing over at her boyfriend, she saw that he was deeply engaged in conversation with Ben and she sighed. As much fun as this all had been, she ached to be alone with him now, just the two of them loving each other.
Kady nudged her gently. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Em answered, then blurted, "Actually, I want to get out of here."
"With Brandon?" her roommate asked, smirking.
Knowing her cheeks were reddening, Em nodded. "Yes. But I'll wait till tomorro-"
"Em, it wouldn't bother me if you left," Kady said, softly.
Em tried not to look too hopeful. "Really? I don't think I should, Kady. You're my guest and-"
"No, Em, I insist," Kady interrupted earnestly. "You've been so awesome to me. How can I begrudge you one night? At least one of us is getting some."
They giggled together for a moment. "Thank you," Em whispered and her roommate waved her hand dismissively.
Just then, Budget looked up and called over, "Hey, Kady. Remember that chess match you owe me?"
"You mean the defeat you can't bear to accept so you keep going for a rematch?" she returned. "Yep, I remember, Little Man. Why?"
Luke pointed menacingly at her. "You are going down. As soon as I take care of something."
"Bring it on, boy-o," she chirped, pointing back at him. Her brow furrowed when he stood up and began to walk out of the room. "Where are you going?"
"Loo," Budget called over his shoulder. "Welcome to the world of the Potters, Kady, where we poop just like everybody else."
"BUDGET!" shrieked Vina, looking revolted, while everyone, save Mum, burst out laughing. Shaking her head, Mum picked up her book again and opened it.
Kady slumped back against her seat, her face red but her eyes were still twinkling with amusement. "He's never going to let me live that one down, is he?"
"Nope," Em replied, smiling at her. "Budget can be very single-minded. But he's a good kid. I think I'm gonna go now, though."
Her roommate smirked. "Okay."
Standing up, Em walked over to where Brandon and Ben were sitting. He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey," she said back. "Seems we'll get to hang out tonight, just you and me."
He must have seen the look in her eyes because she immediately saw it reflected back in his as he grinned widely. "Yeah? Cool."
Brandon stood up while Emerson hugged her brother. Then the two of them walked over to Kady, who was setting up the chessboard for her rematch with Budget.
"Brandon and I are going out," Em said to the room at large. "Kady, you sure about this?"
Kady winked. "I'm sure. I have a score to settle, anyway. But have fun."
"All right, then," Em said, winking back. She leaned over to hug her little sister tightly.
"What time will you be back?"
Her father's voice cut through the room and Emerson straightened up and turned around. The tone of his voice made her both uneasy and annoyed so that Em knew that it was only the fact that her younger siblings and their guests were in the room that prevented her from returning something like, "Whenever it is that I get back."
Instead, she took a deep breath, looked up at him and spoke calmly, "I don't think I will be tonight."
Her father frowned, his eyes landing on Brandon almost accusingly and Emerson's irritation mounted. "Is that a prob-"
"We'll see you tomorrow, then," Mum interrupted quickly but firmly, her eyes on Dad but clearly speaking to Em.
The progress of the tension brewing in the room was restrained a bit and Em gave her Mum a small smile of gratitude, trying to ignore the way her father was glaring at her mother. "All right. Bye, then."
"Good night," Brandon said quietly, taking her hand.
He led her back to the foyer and Emerson was so steamed that it took her a few minutes before she could even focus on Disapparating.
"Your place or mine?" Brandon asked.
"Yours." A second later, they were there and Em flung her bag aside. "Argh! He makes me so mad! Why does he have to act like that?"
Her boyfriend didn't respond, only reached up to unfasten her cloak.
"Thank you," she said, shrugging out of it. "I-I mean, I can understand that he's protective. Fathers are that way with their daughters. But I'm not a child anymore. I go to college a continent away, for God's sake!"
"Well, I imagine he's nervous for you, what with our relationship being so serious all of a sudden," Brandon mused.
Em scoffed, plopping down on his sofa. "Oh, please. He's known you since you were in nappies! What could he possibly be nervous about?"
Brandon sat down beside her, running a hand through his thick hair. "I think it's more the fact that we're, you know, sleeping together that bothers him."
"Why should it bother him? That's so hypocritical! I bet he was screwing around a lot more when he was my age! At least we've known each other all our lives and are in love. He just doesn't want me to grow up, like I'm going to be his innocent little Moppet forever and ever."
"Come here," he said softly and she went to his open arms and settled against him with a sigh. He held her for a long moment, not speaking. Reaching up, he released her hair from its ponytail and gently kneaded her scalp with his fingertips. "Don't let it upset you so much."
"I know. It just hurts that he doesn't seem to trust me. And if he has something to be nervous about, why doesn't he just talk to me about it instead of going around giving looks?" She sighed, her eyes drifting shut as the gentle fingers continued to massage her scalp. "Mmm, that feels so good."
He tipped her head to one side and nipped at her neck. "I can make you feel even better."
Em smiled, opening her eyes to look at him. "Show me."
He stood up, took her hand and led her to his bedroom and Em resolved not to think about her infuriating father any more. Of course, once Brandon kissed her, that task was immediately accomplished. Brandon's kisses always drove her mind blissfully free of anything unrelated to him and the goodness in store for them both. And once they'd cast a contraceptive charm (which they were using as a backup since Em knew that the Estralevon Potion was due to expire any day), they collapsed on his bed, eagerly undressing each other.
For the next hour, nothing else existed but him and trying to show him how good she could make him feel. Fulfilled at last, they slumped against each other, breathless and trembling. Em snuggled weakly against him, listening to his heartbeat gradually return to normal as he trailed his hand slowly up and down her arm. He sighed and she felt him settle more into his pillow.
"I love you, Brandon," she whispered.
He smiled and lightly kissed her nose. "I love you, too. Go to sleep."
Em closed her eyes, intending to do just that. A small sound reached her ears, however, and she opened her eyes again. After a minute, she decided that she must have imagined it but then she heard the sound again, louder this time. It sounded like- but how could that be? Brandon didn't have-
"Brandon?" she whispered, nudging him. "Did you hear that?"
"No," he mumbled. "Go to sleep."
But as if sensing that it had an audience, the noise came again and Em sat up. "Brandon, I think there's a cat in here. Can't you hear it mewing?"
"Oh God," he groaned, pushing the covers off and sliding out of bed. Grabbing his wand, he lit some candles and stumbled away naked as the day he was born, muttering about insatiable women who wore him out and then wouldn't let him sleep.
Em grinned as she watched him. He had a rather cute bum, she noted for the umpteenth time, and such a strong well-muscled back. She loved his body, all of it, and not just because it had introduced her to the true joys of her own. His hands, his long, athletic legs. His eyes, so expressive and deep, with flecks of green and gold enhancing what would otherwise have still been a pleasing brown. His nose that had once gotten broken during a Quidditch practice in his final year at Hogwarts. His lips, so full and well-shaped, which could turn her knees to water with a single kiss. The lips that dedicatedly suckled her breasts, as if truly expecting to receive nourishment from them. And then, more often than not, those lips would wander downwards to work their magic between her legs, until she was screaming and clawing at the sheets. Or whatever surface she happened to be upon.
Oh, and there was his smile. Nothing quite melted her like his smile.
He was coming back, hiding something behind his back, and she let her eyes wash slowly and appreciatively over him before they returned to his face. She grinned. "What do you have there?"
"Your Christmas present, which I was too distracted to give to you earlier. Sorry," he said. He brought his hands around and flashed her that smile that she loved. "Happy Christmas, Em."
"Ooh," Em cooed, kneeling on the bed as she gazed at the tiny, soot black ball of fuzzy fur that Brandon held in both hands. "Oh my gosh, he's so cute!"
The kitten, who had huge gray eyes, mewed loudly.
"Oh baby," Em whispered, taking him. She cuddled him to her and he began purring so hard that his little body visibly quivered. "Aww, I like you, too."
Looking up with shining eyes at her boyfriend, she simply beamed at him and he chuckled. "Just thought it was about time the vet got a pet. Your Mum helped me get permission for you to keep him in your dorm at Harvard."
"Thank you, Odie," she whispered, kissing him lingeringly. "So much."
He climbed back onto the bed and they both lay down again, this time with the kitten between them. Perhaps deciding that the arrangement was a bit too confining for his tastes, the little fur ball began wiggling in Em's hands and she put him down on her other side. Smiling, she watched him stumble on tiny, wobbly legs to the edge of the bed and curl up into a ball.
"Look at him!" she gushed.
Brandon snorted. "In this light, he looks like a blob of axle grease on the edge of my bed."
Em laughed, then looked up suddenly. "That's what I'm going to call him."
"What, Axle Grease?" he asked, looking at her strangely.
"No! Just the first word, but I'm going to spell it A-x-e-l," she said, grinning. "You know, as in: And if I stared too long, I'd probably break down and cry. Sweet child o' mine. Sweet love of mine."
He reached out and touched her cheek, his eyes adoring her. "I love when you sing."
Em blushed, and silently resolved to sing for him more often. "Thank you. But what do you think of the name?"
"Well, I imagine it's a pretty cool honor to be named after such greatness."
"My thoughts exactly," she said, giggling. She turned back to the kitten. "Axel."
The sooty kitten raised its head, looked at her and mewed quizzically.
Em was delighted. "See! He knows his name. Axel, come here. Come here, Axel."
Axel mewed again and wobbled back to her hands and Em was utterly in love with him. She cuddled him to her bosom, kissing his tiny head as he purred happily within her embrace. His front paws kneaded her breast for a few seconds before he, apparently finding something familiar, startled Emerson by trying to latch onto her nipple. She squealed and held him away from her, then began to laugh.
Brandon was pretending to scowl but his eyes were laughing too. "Hey, pal. I'm the only one allowed to do that. Understand? Bloody womanizer."
Axel just closed his eyes and rumbled even louder. After a moment, Em and Brandon lay down again, he yawning hugely. "I'm knackered."
"Me, too," she replied, stroking Axel's forehead. "Does he have food and water?"
"Of course. They're in the corner over there. His litter box is a little ways away and he's already trained."
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he yawned. "Come sleep."
Em sat up and placed Axel back at the edge of the bed where he'd gone to before. Laying down again, she snuggled up with the man she loved, who put his arm around her and promptly fell asleep. It took her a little while to follow him though, because her mind was whirling with all that had happened that day, all the good. And the bad.
She just needed to talk with her father the next day, that was all. This simply could not be put off, could not go on any longer. The decision made, Em exhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, another Christmas Day now a memory to be treasured always.
Being thoroughly worn out by their exertions of the night before, both she and Brandon slept late and upon waking up, were quickly consumed by each other again. They lost track of time in the shower and it wasn't until the water abruptly turned cold that they, she shrieking and he laughing, hurried to get out. They made breakfast and lavished attention on Axel, who seemed determined to position himself atop the table and share their meal.
"Where'd you find this glutton, Brandon?" Em asked in mock exasperation, after plucking the fuzzy ball of fur off the table and depositing him on the floor yet again. The kitten mewed mournfully at being thwarted.
Brandon chuckled. "From a shop in Diagon Alley. He's part Kneazle so he'll be even more of a handful than a regular kitten."
"Thanks a lot," she commented dryly, but she was lowering her fingers to the floor so Axel could eagerly lick them. "Maybe it's the kneazle in him because normal cats generally don't eat stuff like maple syrup, which is what he's licking off."
By the time they finished the meal and managed to clean up, it was after one o'clock in the afternoon; they'd kept getting distracted.
"What're you looking so smug for?" Em asked her boyfriend when they finally made it back to the living room.
He was smiling in a very self-satisfied way and looked over lazily through half-lidded eyes. "Well, it was a fantasy of mine to take you from behind against the kitchen sink. And now I have."
Emerson blushed. "For God's sake."
She stood up and began shrugging into her cloak, trying to hide how pleased she was. It always thrilled her that he seemed to want her so much. Of course she knew they were young and it was normal for men his age to be very randy, but that didn't make it any less gratifying. Every woman wants to be desirable to the man she loves and Em knew she was no exception. And his desire for her made her desire him all the more herself. Of course it didn't hurt that he was so damn sexy.
"I'm heading over to Ballynore now-" she began but gasped when his arms came around her waist. He pulled her back against him and when he spoke, the warmth of his breath against her ear made her shiver deliciously.
"You loved it, though, didn't you?" he whispered. "It excited you that I couldn't even wait for you step out of your jeans and knickers; I just fucked you with them bunched around your ankles. That's why you got so wet so quickly. You protested but you were backing into me, weren't you?" He squeezed her nipples through her shirt, making her gasp. "And you came before I did. Didn't you?"
Em nodded, her heart pounding in her chest, her breaths coming faster. "Yes."
His hands wandered down and he began undoing her jeans again, all the while whispering wicked and naughty things in her ear. His hand slipped into her knickers and she moaned when he found her. His other hand touched her face and turned it until their lips met and she kissed him back as he stroked her, first one finger then another sliding into her, rocking and rolling while his tongue plundered her mouth. His lips wandered to her neck, nipping and sucking as his fingers worked her faster, the pressure building like a heavy load within her lower belly. She cried out when she came, standing in the middle of his living room, his hand buried down the front of her jeans, the other caressing her left breast as she shuddered against him. He held her until she calmed, then his hand left her and he zipped and buttoned her jeans again.
Turning her to face him, he kissed her flushed cheeks, her forehead, her nose and finally her lips. "I adore you, Emerson Potter."
She looked at him with tears in her eyes and had to swallow hard before she could speak. "And I adore you, Brandon Wood."
They kissed tenderly for a long moment before pulling apart. "I'll see you tonight," he whispered.
Em nodded, picked up Axel and, armed with his love and prepared to defend it against anyone, even her own father, she smiled at him and Disapparated.
The arrival chimes had barely faded before she was pounced upon by Davina, but her little sister's attention was almost instantly captivated by Axel, who began purring and just being generally cute like the little attention hound (or was it kitty?) that he was.
"Oh my gosh, Em! He's just the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Davina exclaimed, cuddling the rumbling fur ball.
Em smiled. "Yeah, well, don't get any ideas. I'm not giving him away. And don't give him any food, Vina, no matter how much he cries. He's very greedy and I don't want him to get sick."
"Okay," Vina answered, then began cooing to the kitten as she carried him into the family room.
"Where's everyone?"
Her sister plopped down on the floor, undid the ribbon holding her hair back and began dangling the colorful strip of cloth at Axel, who pounced and swatted at it. "Ben, Budget and Kady went to Diagon Alley for something or other. Mum's in her office and Dad's either with her or in his office. Yay, you got it, Axel! Good job!"
Smiling to herself, Em headed to her mother's office. The door was open and Mum looked up when she knocked on the jamb. "Hi. Can I come in?"
"Of course!" Mum said, standing up to hug her tightly. "How're you?"
"I'm very well," she answered, sitting down. She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "How's, you know, everything?"
Mum looked at her closely. "You mean, what happened after you left last night? Nothing."
"Nothing?" Em asked, frowning. "Dad looked pretty ticked off when I left and I was definitely pissed at him myself. It's good that you nipped it like you did."
Her mother chuckled. "That's true. The two of you can be very bullheaded and the trick is to head it off before it gets too far. But really, there's nothing to worry about; the evening wasn't ruined. Kady once again firmly trounced Luke at wizard chess and he went to bed in a temper. That's about it."
"Did he?" Em grinned. "It's strange how they get along, isn't it? Almost like she's an older version of-"
"Davina," Mum supplied with a smile. "Yes. He and Vina bicker all the time and now he and Kady bicker all the time. I think the image is helped by the fact that she's so small, even though she's your age."
Em sighed. "Thanks for embracing her, Mum. I didn't doubt that you all would, or I wouldn't have invited her. But it means so much to her, I know. She's virtually an orphan."
"I know. When I first met her, she reminded me a bit of Harry," her mother said thoughtfully, looking over at the picture on her desk of a young Harry Potter, who was beaming with his arms around a waving Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. "That same lost quality in their eyes." She looked up at Em and smiled. "Of course, your father doesn't have that look anymore."
My father. "I need to talk to him, Mum."
"Yes, you do. He's in his office."
Emerson didn't move for a time, just stared at the picture on Mum's desk, hesitating. She needed to clear the air, to get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering her father, and yet... she was nervous. Looking up, she blurted, "Do you know what-"
"Go talk to him," Mum interrupted gently, but in a tone that left no doubt that the matter was closed. She leaned over and squeezed Em's hand. "Just get it over with."
Nodding, Em stood up and headed to the door.
"Emerson?"
She looked back. Mum was smiling at her.
"I'm making lasagna for dinner."
Em smiled back. "Okay."
She climbed the gleaming marble stairs slowly to her father's office, her heart pounding within her. Once there, she stood staring at the mahogany door for a moment, took a deep breath and knocked. Upon hearing his voice say, "Come in", she opened the door and stepped inside. A rush of all sorts of memories came to her, the earliest of which consisted of her as a preschooler in her father's arms, pointing at the stars through the wide windows that overlooked the back porch and asking, "Daddy, who lights them when they go out?"
"Ah, I've wondered the same thing myself, to be honest," he'd answered, rubbing his chin. "And I've wondered where to find the missing bits of the moon when it's not round."
Her eyes had widened as she'd gaped at him. "Me too, Daddy! And how do birds know how to build nests? Their mummies and daddies show 'em, I reckon, but who showed the first bird? And why is the grass green? Why isn't it purple? I'd have made it purple."
He'd laughed and hugged her to him. "My Moppet."
Blinking back tears at the memory, Em looked over at him. He was sitting behind his desk, a roll of parchment forgotten in his hand as he looked back at her. For a long minute, they just stared at each other and Emerson found that even though he could make her so mad, she loved her father dearly. He was Harry Potter and his name, his image, his scar still commanded incredible respect in the wizarding world and always would. But he wasn't that, he had never been that to her or her siblings. To them, he'd always been just Dad, the man they all more or less secretly worshiped and whom they strove so hard to please. She admired him so much, all that he had endured and overcome to become the man he was.
The two of them had always had a very close and easy relationship, and she hated this rift that had been building between them ever since August. She needed him more than ever, she realized, his support, his approval, his love.
"You can sit down."
His voice broke her out of her reverie and she walked over and sat on the chair across from him. Em stared at her hands for a minute, taking deep breaths before looking up and blurting, "Dad, how do you honestly feel about me and Brandon dating?"
His eyes clouded slightly behind his glasses. "I'm fine with it. I've known him all his life, watched him grow up into a fine young man."
"Then what's the problem?" she cried. "Ever since he and I got together, there's been this... thing just mushrooming between you and me. I-I don't like it."
"I don't like it either," he said softly and his green eyes, identical to hers, were troubled.
Emerson found herself blinking back tears again. "I love him, Daddy. I never thought I could love someone so much."
Her father stood up abruptly and walked to the window, which he stared out of for a second before turning back to her. "That's what scares me."
"Why?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't want you to get hurt." Em opened her mouth but he held up his hand. "Let me say this. I know what it's like to be in love like that. I understand. And loving in that way, that freely and deeply, leaves you very vulnerable." He sighed, walked back to his desk and sat down again. "I remember the names of every single one of your boyfriends," he said, changing tack.
Em colored slightly and rolled her eyes. What did that have to do with anything? "This is different."
"I know," he said. Smiling slightly all of a sudden, he continued. "Since before you could even walk, almost everybody who met you would wish me luck for when you grew up, saying that I'd be beating the blokes off with a stick. Ron even commented once that you'd grow up to be a real heartbreaker. And you did."
Feeling her face heating up even more, Em ducked her head. "Dad, you're embarrassing me."
He chuckled then sobered, a pained look crossing his features now. "But I also remember how you cried every time one of those relationships ended. I hated that I couldn't do anything to ease your pain."
"You did," she whispered, blinking back her tears. "Just by being there, you did help, Dad."
He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "But you recovered. You always did, because none of them was the kind of love or the depth of feelings that's involved now." He paused for a second. "You know, I think a part of me knew it would happen eventually."
"Me and Brandon?" she blurted in surprise. Mum had essentially echoed Dad's statement when Em had first talked to her about being with Brandon, and even Vina had picked up on Brandon's feelings long ago. Was it really that obvious? And how could she herself have missed it?
He was nodding. "Yeah. I could see it building between you two for a long time, but I think another part of me didn't want it to happen. At least, not yet." He frowned suddenly. "That's why I'm not too happy with Wood these days. I think it was selfish of him to proposition you when he did."
"What do you mean? He didn't proposition me!"
"Confessed his feelings, whatever," Dad said impatiently.
Emerson gaped. "Dad, he'd waited seven years to tell me how he felt!"
"Exactly. So what was two more? You were going away to college; you would have a lot on your plate. Why couldn't he wait a little longer?"
She stared at him, feeling upset, perplexed and annoyed all at the same time. "I can't believe you would say that, especially when you and Mum went through almost the same thing, with having feelings for each other but keeping them inside. You know how horrible that feels and yet you expected Brandon to have done it anyway?"
"Just for a while. Look, I know that sounds cold towards Brandon," he said, leaning over the desk, his eyes heavy. "But you're my daughter. I have to think about your well-being first and foremost. And I just worry that you're trying to do too much, with this four-year program in two years and now, on top of that, you're trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. I just wanted you to have lived a little more, be a bit more mature, be a bit older, a bit wiser before... this." Upon seeing her slightly hurt look, he hurried on. "Not that I don't think you're mature, Emerson. But you're still young and nobody can be too wise. I guess I was just hoping that you would discover yourself a little more before you found that one person."
Em sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I understand. But I did discover myself, Dad. I'm discovering myself even now, going away to college so far away from you all. But even beyond that, I'm discovering even more about myself through Brandon. I've never been as happy as I've been since he and I got together. I love who I am with him. I love how he makes me feel."
Her father cleared his throat loudly, becoming suddenly fascinated with a quill on his desk and Em blushed as she realized how that last sentence must have come across. "I don't mean it that way! Though I do love- I mean-" Both of them were coloring now and Emerson suddenly scoffed. "Honestly! We're both adults here. Dad, Brandon and I are lovers and I'm not ashamed of that fact. There's nothing wrong with expressing love-"
"Nothing at all," her father interrupted. "Next point?"
She gaped at him for a moment before starting to laugh, while his eyes twinkled at her from across the desk. After a while, she sighed. "What I'm trying to say is I know who I am. You and Mum have raised me so well that I could never ever forget myself if I tried. But you've also taught me to not just let life pass me by; that I need to actually live it. And I wouldn't be truly living if I passed up a chance at love just because the risk of getting hurt is there. Anything worth having comes with a risk."
She looked up to see him smiling at her and was startled when he took his glasses off to wipe his eyes. "You're all right," he said, sounding rather choked up.
Em smiled. "I'm more than all right. I'm happy."
"And that's all I've ever wanted for you, your brothers and sister - your happiness." He stood up and came around the desk, and Em jumped up and threw her arms around him.
"I love you, Daddy."
He squeezed her tightly. "I love you, too. I'm sorry I made you worry."
"It's okay," she said, pulling away and gazing up at him. "You were just being a father. But Dad, could you at least talk to Brandon, let him know you're okay with us being together? Just to put his mind at ease?"
Her father's brow furrowed. "Now why would I want to do that? I must remain the mysterious and intimidating Harry Potter so they don't get fresh with my daughter, don't I?"
Em rolled her eyes. "There's no they this time! Brandon used to call you Uncle Harry, for Pete's sake. But of course he's picked up that you aren't too fond of him anymore, which really concerns him. Although he tries to convince me that it's no big deal, I know he's worried."
Dad chuckled and hugged her quickly again. "I'll talk to him. You staying for dinner?"
"Hell, yeah," she replied, pulling open the door and leading the way downstairs, from which loud voices were drifting up. "Mum's making lasagna and nobody makes lasagna like my Mum."
"And it's Boxing Day, so don't forget we're going to Woodhaven later," Dad said, speaking of the Potter family's annual tradition of spending the evening after Christmas at the Wood family estate.
Em smiled up at him. "Excellent. You can talk to Brandon there." Her father mumbled something under his breath but Em ignored it and linked arms with him. "Come meet my kitten. He's my Christmas present from Brandon."
They spent the next few hours talking and playing with Axel, who was in heaven at all the humans worshiping him, which was their sole purpose for existing anyway, as far as he was concerned. Em and Budget set the table and everybody happily headed to the dining room. Dinner was delicious, long and leisurely and was occupied by rousing conversation about music, particularly Guns 'n Roses, and the many bands that had been influenced by that particular band. The conversation drifted to Muggle weapons (guns) and then to capital punishment in the United States, of all things. It was also periodically punctuated by someone or other plucking a soot black kitten off the table and onto the floor, where it protested loudly for a few minutes before trying to scale the table again.
"I mean, my state has the hardest line on capital punishment, doesn't it?" Em said, plopping Axel onto the floor yet again. "Texas executes more people that most of the other states combined. Papi was talking about that over Thanksgiving."
Kady nodded. "It's true. Oklahoma borders Texas but the stance on capital punishment is a bit laxer. Usually, it's a state like California that puts more people on death row, but they never seem to get around to the actual 'death' part."
"Papi was talking about that too, about how some states are trying to do away with the death penalty while Texas is trying to put in an express line, where certain crimes make you 'jump ahead', so to speak, on the execution list. The message being sent is basically 'If you come to Texas and kill somebody, we will kill you back.'" She took a sip of her pumpkin juice and looked over at her father. "What do you think of that, Dad?"
Dad sighed. "Well, every case is different, and I can certainly see their point. At least those people don't have to face anything as foul as a dementor."
He and Mum exchanged looks and not for the first time, Em sensed that they were recalling a world that she would never know, and which they had faced death more than once to ensure that she, Ben, Budget and Vina would never know. That all the many nameless, faceless generations to come would never have to endure the horrors that they had.
And yet, the world will never be really free of horrors, Em thought, putting a squirming Axel on the floor again. As long as there are people, newer, scarier and more horrible things will pop up. That's just the way it is.
But she was feeling too full and warm and safe to dwell on such depressing thoughts and they quickly fled her mind. Her evening was very relaxing at Woodhaven and it was made even better by the sight of her father and boyfriend conversing quietly in one corner. The two men talked for a long time and shook hands before they parted, and Em caught Mum's eye and smiled.
Yes, everything would be just fine.
Of course that sentiment began to leak away as the days sped by and before she knew it, it was the beginning of January and she would have to return to Boston, to Harvard and her studies. Em found herself trying to squeeze the most out of every day, especially with Ben, Budget and Vina, the latter two returning to Hogwarts the evening before she and Kady would go back to school. Vina cried in her big sister's arms and Em was teary-eyed too, promising to write to her as much as she could. She hugged Budget and told him to give old Snape a break, couldn't he?
"Yeah, right," Luke replied, smirking and they both laughed. Then he turned to Kady and hugged her too. "It was nice to meet you. You're like another big sister. A more annoying one, though."
"Well, thanks," Kady said, with a little laugh but Em knew she was touched. "Have a good term."
They watched the Hogwarts Express pull away, waving until it sped out of sight. Then they all Apparated back to Ballynore where Em and Kady went upstairs to finish their packing.
"Why is it that your stuff fits when you first pack but when you're packing to leave, it never does?" Kady asked, struggling with her suitcase before giving up and shrinking everything to fit. "Thank goodness for magic, that's all."
Em and Brandon spent that night together (which was only their second overnighter since she'd been home), talking, making love and crying. "I already can't wait for later this month," she sniffled into his chest and felt him stiffen. Pulling away, she saw that he was staring down at her, looking stricken. "What?"
"I can't believe I forgot to tell you!" he groaned. He grasped her hands. "Em, I can't come over this month."
She sat up, her heart constricting. "What? Why?"
"I'm so sorry. It's work. I'm just booked for every single weekend next month. Two weeks all over this continent - France, Italy, Belgium, here. It's just a lot of contracts with the Quidditch Cup Federation are up for renewal and all of us will be on our feet. And then there's South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong. I'm also penciled in to cover Uganda and Transylvania. It's crazy, and I won't be able to get away."
"I u-understand," she managed numbly, biting her bottom lip so as not to burst into tears.
Brandon looked crushed. "I'm so sorry, Em. I don't know how I'll stand it, being away from you." She started to cry and he hurried on, sounding slightly panicked. "But there's February! Look, I think I can be there for Valentine's Day. Our first one together. What do you think?"
He sounded so desperate that Em tried very hard to compose herself. Succeeding somewhat, she smiled weakly at him. "Yeah. Valentine's D-Day."
"Oh God," he moaned, hugging her to him. "This is insane, Emerson. What are we doing?" She sobbed into his chest and he cried too, both of them quailing at the prospect of not even the one-weekend-a-month lifeboat to look forward to. Instead of two to three weeks before next seeing each other, they were facing five to six weeks of separation.
"I don't want to go back," Em sobbed. "I can't leave you again. I c-can't!"
Brandon pulled away and peered at her, his eyes wet. "You must," he said softly but firmly. "Remember your dream, Em. Remember your practice, the one with two offices, one for the wizarding world and one for the Muggle. Remember the wall like the one at King's Cross that will let you go back and forth between the two sides; the wall that will allow me to spirit the good doctor away sometimes and play with her naughty bits."
She laughed even as tears continued to spill over. "That had better be me you're talking about."
"Only and always," he whispered, almost fiercely. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," she choked before his lips were on hers again, hard and bruising.
He took her desperately and she was in tears the whole time, her nails digging into his shoulders, her legs wrapped tightly around him as if trying to absorb his entire being into her. The release was as harsh as their lovemaking had been, so that they both cried out, helpless against the onslaught, and collapsed bonelessly against each other, too wrung out to do anything else but breathe until sleep claimed them at last.
When they parted the next day, she didn't cry. It was as if she had used up all tears, or else was too exhausted to even muster them up. They didn't talk or even kiss very much while they waited for her Portkey, just held each other fiercely, occasionally pulling apart to look into each other's eyes. She touched his face, tracing his familiar features with her fingertips and he closed his eyes so she could touch the lids.
When the Portkey was called, she went to her parents and only then did her tears begin. They both held her, whispering how much they loved her, how proud they were of her and she cried in their embrace. Her parents hugged Kady too.
"Thank you so much for having me," the petite brunette choked out, her blue eyes filled with tears. "Your family is so wonderful!"
Mum hugged her again."It was our pleasure, Kaydia. And you are welcome any time."
Emerson hugged Ben, who would himself be returning to Oxford for his second term. "I'm coming over to see you as soon as I can get away."
"Really?" Em asked, surprised. "That's cool!"
But watching Kady and her brother hug and whisper, she realized that Ben's coming over to visit probably had less to do with her and more to do with her roommate. There was no time to think about it, though. Not now.
Em and Brandon spent one last minute holding each other. "Write to me."
"I will," he answered, looking deeply into her eyes. "I will."
"I love you, Odie," she murmured against his lips, as the final Portkey announcement came over the loudspeaker.
They pulled apart reluctantly and Em smiled as best she could. There was no more time to linger and she and Kady hurried towards the counter to collect their baton, turning back one last time to smile and wave before they entered the departure booth. The Portkey activated less than a minute after they'd entered the booth and she emerged from the Boston terminal feeling emotionally, physically and mentally drained.
Somehow, she managed to muster up enough concentration and energy to Apparate into her dorm room on campus. She hugged Kady tightly for a moment, accepting her roommate's tearful gratitude before heading to her room and shutting the door. Kicking off her shoes, she found presence of mind enough to set out Axel's food and water bowls, as well as his litter box, before shrugging out of her jacket, falling onto her bed and immediately passing out.
She slept heavily and deeply, fully clothed, with the fuzzy black kitten curled up at the top of her pillow, his warm weight a comforting caress against her head.
*******
TBC
*******
End Notes:
1. Corelli's, Em's favorite restaurant, is actually here in the city where I live. It's special to me because it's where my husband proposed :)
2. The instances where Budget says "...hotness in a hot package full of hot stuff." and "Welcome to the world of the Potters...where we poop..." are adapted from comments that Zac and Ike, respectively, of my favorite band (Hanson) made at some time or the other.
3. As I said in the chapter above, Bad Sir Brian Botany is a poem by A.A. Milne, the same guy who gave us Winnie-the-Pooh.
4. Obviously, Axel is named for Axel Rose of Guns 'n Roses; and the lyrics that Em sang are from their "Sweet Child O' Mine"