Everything Is Eclipsed by the Shape of Destiny

Emerson stood with her back pressed against the wall, breathing in deeply as she looked into the night sky. In only a matter of minutes she would be introduced to the other members of the Order and be placed in the same room as the person she hated most in the world, Fleur. Emerson knew that harboring ill feelings towards Fleur wasn’t right.

The Veela had never knowingly done her ill, she had no idea that she had wed Emerson’s imprint and all in all, she had done nothing but be friendly to Emerson but Emerson couldn’t stand to be in her presence. Emerson couldn’t stand to see Fleur because it reminded her that Bill wasn’t hers.

And that was enough to make Emerson throw reason aside and hate. A hatred that grew with each passing day, a, hatred that rendered Emerson unable to live with the newlywed couple out of fear of accidentally murdering the young Veela, it sounds horrible, but it’s the truth.

There would be no way that Emerson would be able to endure watching Bill play house with Fleur without lashing out and before the first week would be up, Fleur would lay slain. That’s why Emerson didn’t want to live with them. That’s why she had to find another place to crash for the duration of her stay in England.

Her thoughts instantly went to Avery whom was living in London while she worked in the American Ministry. The apartment that Avery was staying in wasn’t large, but it had two small bedrooms, a decent sized living room and a cramped kitchen. Emerson was sure that Avery would let her live there, but Emerson wasn’t certain if she was willing to put her best friend at risk.

If anything were to happen to Avery, Emerson wouldn’t be able to live with herself. The more Emerson thought about it, the more it became apparent that living with Avery wasn’t an option. She would either have to live by herself or with someone in the Order, she was leaning towards the first, she didn’t want to have to live with strangers.

“Are you alright?” asked Bill as he emerged from within the house.

“Fine.” Her eyes remained firmly fixed on the sky.

Bill sighed softly. He knew that something was wrong. Emerson was always radiated happiness but as she stood there, there was nothing remotely joyous about her it was all very distant and cold. She only behaved in that manner when something was bothering her and he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“If you want to back out that’s fine. You don’t have to feel obligated to go through with this.”

“I'm not backing out.”

“Then why are you being so distant?” he pressed.

Emerson turned to face him. “I'm not being distant, just being quiet.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Maybe for someone else, but not me,” Emerson cleared her throat. “So what time is this thing getting started? I thought you said ten minutes an hour ago.”

“Remus is telling them about you right now, Kingsley sent me out here to see if you were alright and to ask you to come in. So, let me ask again, are you alright?”

“If it gives them peace of mind then yes, I am.”

“How are you really?” Bill stepped in front of her. “If there’s anything wrong you can talk to me about it, right?”

“I know,” she struggled to force a smile. “I'm alright though, just thinking about how I'm going to tell my grandparents that I'm leaving, oh, and the ministry. Fuck. I forgot about the ministry.”

“Are they going to be fine with it? You shouldn’t risk your job. I know how much you’ve always wanted to work in the Aztec ruins.”

“It’ll be alright. I'm just an archeologist, not an Auror or anyone whose presence is crucial for national security. They’ll just scold me and reassign me somewhere lame when I go back, but it’ll work out.”

“How can you be so chill about risking your dream?” Bill had remembered hearing her speak about the Aztec ruins with fiery passion on numerous occasions. He didn’t understand why she was being so whatever about it.

“I have other dreams.” Emerson stood up straight. “Let’s go inside. I'm getting cold out here.”

Bill led the way into the living room where the members of the Order were gathered. Remus had just finished informing them of the American that had recently joined their ranks. They, for the most part, were not pleased to hear that some stranger had been admitted so easily. They feared that the stranger could be a spy that the Voldemort had sent, that she wouldn’t be trustworthy. Those fears were widely shared and the only people that trusted Emerson were the Weasley’s.

“How can you know she can be trusted?” inquired Dedalus Diggle.

“She’s not a spy!” bellowed Bill.

“Calm down,” Emerson told him before facing the crowd. “I understand the distrust. These are trying times, very trying times and it’s natural to distrust a stranger when loved ones are disappearing and being murdered everyday but I assure you that I'm no spy. I hate dark magic with a passion. I think that there’s no place for it in this world and I'm here because I would like to help. This may not seem like my war, but I believe that it’s the responsibility of every able person in this world to uproot evil and hatred so, if you like; I’ll drink a gallon of veritaserum. I have nothing to hide and it’ll put your minds at ease.”

“Are you sure that an imposter has not taken on her appearance?” Dedalus asked Bill.

“Positive, this is Marie, I mean Emerson,” Bill quickly corrected himself. “I call her Marie, her middle name, she’s not very fond of it but that’s what I call her. And she is who she is. No impostor has usurped her place. She’s very talented, very skilled at dueling and I'm sure you’ll all trust her.”

“I already do,” declared Tonks as she stepped forward. “I'm not sure if you remember me from the wedding, but I could never forget a woman whom brought new life to a tuxedo. Bloody hell, I haven’t introduced myself, I'm Nymphadora Lupin, you, can call me Tonks.

“Nice to meet you Tonks, I'm Emerson, you can call me Emery.”

“Hate your whole name? It’s alright, I do to, which is why I go by my maiden surname,” explained Tonks.

“Your Remus wife!” exclaimed Emerson. “No wonder he said we’d get along.”

“He said that?” Tonks smiled. “Well I'm glad to know he was thinking of me. We don’t get many new people, everyone here is pretty much everyone we’re comfortable with so it’s nice to have some fresh blood in the mix. Tell me, do you like Radiohead?”

“Do I like Radiohead? What kind of a question is that? I love Radiohead!” Emerson beamed.

“We’re going to be best mates, you and I, so are you going to live with me and Remus? We’d love it if you did,” Tonks would’ve kept talking had Remus not interjected.

“Tonks, I think the others would like to talk to her as well,” interjected Remus.

“Well then they should’ve jumped at the opportunity and not lingered in the background,” Tonks smiled triumphantly. “So Emery how is America? I’ve always wanted to go but just haven’t been able to.”

“Its great, I really enjoy being home when I can.”

“What part are you from?” Tonks was eager to know more.

“I'm from West Covina. It’s in California and it’s a suburb of Los Angeles.”

“That’s near Hollywood, will you take me? Oh, you must take me. It’ll be a trip,” Tonks smiled brightly. “We’ll go on it when the war ends.”

“We will,” Emerson found it impossible to deny Tonks. They had just met but she could tell that Tonks would be a good friend.

“Did I miss the entire meeting?” asked Charlie when he walked in through the front door. “Is that you Emery? What are you doing here? Bill, what is she doing here?”

“I’m in the Order now,” answered Emerson, holding her head high.

“In the Order, you?” a hearty chuckle erupted from Charlie’s lips. “Merlin’s beard, this is quite the development. Since when did you want to be in this thing? It’s just so random.”

“Why is it random? If gingers can do it, then I can to,” joked Emerson.

“Gingers are tougher than you give us credit for,” Charlie placed his jacket on the nearby coat rack. “So what else happened?”

“The same as usual,” responded Kingsley. “Do you have any news from the east?”

“Yes,” Charlie grew grave. “A few Death Eaters made an appearance in Romania today. That is why I was late to the meeting; I was doing a bit of spying. Uh, they were trying to convince some of the dragon trainers to let a few dragons disappear, thankfully, they, said that they would not but I fear that the Death Eaters will return. Rejection is not something they take likely.”

“Would you like reinforcements?” asked Kingsley.

“No, I think I should be able to handle things. The trainers they approached are friendly to our cause. Many of them lost family in the first war and they aren’t keen on helping that fiend.”

“Very well then,” Kingsley stared out the window. “I believe that this meeting has reached its end. Get home safely. Farewell.”

And with that said he left.

The others were not eager to leave, no, they wished to become better acquainted with Emerson. She was bombarded with questions from everyone present. They inquired after her education, her career choice and family. They wanted to find something wrong with her, something that they could plant the seeds of distrust in, but found none.

Emerson was an honest, open book. No question was left unanswered and she was perfectly amiable to everyone. By the end of the night, fears had been eased. Not all the members completed trusted her, but with time they would learn to confide in her as they did in others.

“‘ow do you like everyone?” asked Fleur when people began leaving.

“They seem nice,” answered Emerson, trying her best to hide how uncomfortable she felt.

“Tonks really likes you. She is nice to everyone, but she seems to have taken particular interest in you. I zink it is because you are so similar in style, both as you say, alternative.”

“That and I think our personalities are very similar.”

“Emerson, I ‘ave a question . . .”

“There you are,” bellowed Charlie when he found Emerson. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Why?” asked Emerson.

“Because the twins want to show you something and they demanded that I find you so come on, oh, wait. Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” answered Emerson who was eager to be rid of Fleur.

“Right then, well come on, the twins are terribly impatient and they might prank us if we take to long.”

“Prank us?”

“Yes,” Charlie stopped in his tracks. “I hope you’re alright with having pranks pulled on you because if you’re going to be around the Weasley’s it’s going to become an everyday occurrence.”