Everything Is Eclipsed by the Shape of Destiny

Emerson had thought that cleaning would take two hours, three tops, but nearly five hours were spent cleaning the mess that spanned the kitchen, living room den, and most of the upstairs area. It was absurd how filthy the spaces were. There was not a clean space on the floors; they were all covered with bits of broken items that were patiently waiting to be cleaned. How Tonks had managed to break so much stuff was beyond Emerson. The mess was too great and it wasn’t done by magic, the damage showed that it had been done by hand which made Emerson question how Tonks had managed to move about the house in such a fury.

But the more Emerson thought it over, the more she realized that the mess wasn’t as outrageous as she had initially believed. It was just the standard mess that any person suffering from a broken heart is capable of causing. It was simply the physical manifestation of Tonks’ broken heart. That was how Emerson made sense of the situation.

She herself had been in a similar situation not to long ago and had created a disaster so massive that it had taken two days of vigorous cleaning to sort. Cleaning that she honestly hadn’t been in the mood for, not in the emotionally exhausted condition she was in and that was why she volunteered to pick up after Tonks, because she knew her host wouldn’t want to clean, especially since she was pregnant.

When the cleaning ended, Emerson toyed with the idea of falling asleep for a few hours but it was already a quarter to six which meant that she had to be up in less than four hours to get ready to meet up with Charlie to head out to Diagon Alley. She knew that if she fell asleep she wouldn’t wake up in time so instead of resting, she decided to cook a large breakfast for Tonks. A breakfast that consisted of eggs, whole wheat pancakes, fresh squeezed orange juice and decaffeinated coffee.

She finished cooking breakfast quickly and then proceeded to make some lunch for Tonks. By the time that Tonks stepped into the kitchen, her lunch was being placed into containers that would then be put into a lunch bag that Emerson had dug out from her belongings.

“What’s all this?” asked Tonks, her eyes darting across the kitchen.

“Breakfast,” answered Emerson. “And I'm glad you woke up because if you’d been in bed another ten minutes, I would’ve personally dragged you down here to eat.”

Tonks feigned horror. “You can’t drag a pregnant woman. That’s abuse!”

“Fine, I’d sling you over my shoulder. That better?”

“Much, but how’d you be able to carry me? We’re the same size.”

Emerson piled food onto two plates. “I'm a shifter, remember?”

“Ah. I always forget. You’re appearance is just too . . . I don’t know, you’re just too friendly to be a shifter. I always imagine those creatures as being really standoffish in their human forms, but you’re always smiling and being helpful.”

“I can act like a bitch if you want. Just ask Bill, I'm sure he’ll vouch for my being a real bitch at times.”

“How do I know Bill’s not lying?”

“If the right corner of his lip twitches slightly, you’ll know he’s lying.”

Tonks sat down. “He does that when he lies?”

“Mhm, he doesn’t lie often though which is why most people don’t notice that but I have an eye for small details and that ginger has stolen more than one band shirt from me and tried lying about it, which is why I know.” She placed a plate before Tonks. “Hope you like it. I was going to make the pancakes from the mix you had but I went to the store to get some whole wheat mix instead since it’s probably better for you and the baby. Oh. That reminds me, the coffee’s decaf.”

“Decaf?” she was not a fan of decaf. Tonks only had it in the house because Remus drank it. “Did we run out of regular coffee? I can run down to the store to get some.”

“There’s regular coffee, but you just can’t drink it. It’s not recommended that pregnant women drink regular coffee,” Emerson elaborated. “But I made you fresh squeezed orange juice and its way more delicious than coffee.”

“That’s not true.”

“I know that’s not true but this orange juice might not be a steaming cup of French roast coffee but it’s delicious and really good for the little one so drink up.”

Tonks lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. “It’s good but I just want to let you know that I'm a right troll when I don’t have my caffeinated coffee.”

“As a fellow coffee addict, I understand.”

“Are you going to torture me by drinking it in front of me?”

“Of course not!” she was insulted that Tonks would think her so cruel.

“But you are going to keep drinking it, right? Because we can’t both be trolls, one of us will end up killing the other.”

“Then for our safety, I’ll continue this addiction but if I ever overdose, just know that you’re going to get haunted.”

Tonks laughed so hard that orange juice gushed from her nose.

“Awe, Tonks! Just because you don’t like the juice doesn’t mean you should do that with it.”

Tonks wiped away the remnants of the juice. “Don’t make me laugh when I'm drinking. I always make a mess when I laugh.”

“But at least you won’t have to clean the mess.” Emerson refilled Tonks’ glass. “So drink up!”

“You need to stop spoiling me or else I'm going to be positively useless when you leave.”

“Oh no, I can’t stop spoiling you! I haven’t even started. Just you wait until you come home from work, which reminds me what time do you get off?”

“Around five, but I have to meet with Kingsley after work so probably six or so.”

“Then when you come home, I’ll have a true treat to spoil you with!”

Tonks set down her fork. “What do you have up your sleeve?”

“Mmmm,” Emerson tapped her chin with her right index finger. “I'm thinking a delicious dinner with desert and if you’re up for it, a movie.”

“But there’s no teli.”

“I’ll bring mine from home and I’ll enchant it so it runs on magic. It’ll be fun, promise.”

“Oh, alright then, but just so you know, I'm not in the mood for any of those romantic movies. Don’t need to be blubbering over someone else’s misery.”

Emerson pursed her lips together. “Ugh. The movie I want to see has some romance but not a lot, it’s more like an epic drama with some romance sprinkled in but it has a lot of action. You’ll love it. It’s one of my all time favorite movies so I'm sure you’re going to be as obsessed with it as I am.”

“If you like it that much, then I’ll give it a shot but if I say to take it off, then you best do it or else you’re going to have an angry pregnant woman plotting against you.”

“Hah. I promise I’ll take it off, don’t want your hormones to blind you with rage and order you to kill me.”

“I wouldn’t want that either. Hate to be locked up in Azkaban.” Tonks leaned into the back of her chair. “So what are your plans for today?”

“I’m going to Diagon Alley.”

“Alone?” Tonks gasped, shaking her head in disapproval. “Oh no, no, no, you can’t go by yourself. You don’t know the area.”

“That’s why Charlie’s taking me.”

“Weasley?” inquired Tonks.

“Mhm,” Emerson replied.

“What are you two going to do? Just wander about or is there a shop in mind?”

“The twins’ joke shop,” she stated. “I promised that I’d visit, but as you pointed out, I don’t know my way around so Charlie volunteered to take me on his day off,” Emerson explained. “And since today’s his day off, we’re going.”

“And Bill’s not going with you lot?” Tonks thought it strange that Bill hadn’t been mentioned.
Emerson shook her head. “He’s working today and it really doesn’t make sense for him to take the day off when Charlie’s perfectly capable of showing me around.”

“That’s true,” agreed Tonks. “But it’s odd for him not to be there. He’s always around you. Just yesterday he came knocking because he wanted to check up on you. Acts like he’s in charge of you, he does.”

“That’s just because he’s scared my brother will fuck him up if something happens to me.”

“And your brother’s like you, right?”

“Mhm. Only his jaguar is a little bigger than mine which is weird since I'm stronger than him but I guess the spirits thought that men should look stronger than women, even though they’re not.”

“Bet those spirits are men.”

“Probably are.” Emerson stood up to fill her plate with more food.

Breakfast ended shortly thereafter.

Tonks left for work and Emerson was left to tidy up which didn’t take long since she had already washed the dishes that had been employed for cooking. As soon as she finished tidying, she ran up the stairs to her bedroom where she grabbed a clean change of clothes and a towel so that she could shower.

She took about forty minutes in the shower. Her showers always lasted that long because she liked to sit down in the middle of them, her back to the water as she lowered her face and thought. That was where Emerson did her most productive thinking and that day was no different. She contemplated everything that had happened and what was yet to happen. At the end of it, she felt lighter, freer.

She dried her body and got ready for the day, applying some light make up and product to her dark brown hair that had grown a considerable amount since Bill’s wedding. It wasn’t boyishly short anymore, not it was mid length and fell about her face, framing it in a messy manner. The length annoyed her. She had always preferred short hair but hadn’t had a chance to get a trim, something that she had to do every two weeks since her hair grew so quickly.

At a little before ten, Charlie arrived.

The pair then left the house and apparated to Diagon Alley.

Since Emerson had never been there before, she took hold of Charlie’s hand, holding on tightly as he apparated them both. Within a matter of seconds they had arrived at Diagon Alley. Emerson had expected to find a vibrant community that would be filled with people roaming the streets. That wasn’t the case. The streets were practically deserted. There were only a few people on the sidewalks and they didn’t look like they wanted to be there. They scurried about with their heads hung low like mice heading towards their hole in the wall.

“This is it?” she whispered before thinking.

“Not as grand as you imagined?”

“Not really. I thought there’d be more . . . life.”

Charlie let out a booming laugh. “It is lacking in life but with things the way they are, it makes sense but I promise that the twin’s shop is loads better.”

“And where’s there shop?”

“Just a bit up the road here,” he motioned to their left. “Four or five minutes we should be there.”

“Should I take some flowers or something?”

“Why?” Charlie was clearly amused.

Emerson shrugged. “I don’t know, people always take gifts when they go to people’s houses so it made sense to take them something but I guess not since you’re looking at me like I'm crazy.”

“That’s because you are. Proper etiquette doesn’t work with the twins. Just show up, smile and laugh at their inventions and they’ll be happy, especially since they fancy you.”

“Not even!”

“They do,” Charlie shot her a smirk. “They’ve been pestering Bill about you. Bill had to tell them to bugger off when they asked him if they could see you phase because apparently they figured out that it works better when you’re naked.”

Her cheeks flooded with color. “Your brothers are perverts.”

“They are,” Charlie chuckled. “Mum smacked them the other day when they were plotting about how to get some love potion in your goblet.”

“Perverts with sexual predator instincts, I fear for my safety.”

“They just plot. They’d never go through with it though, they know better than that.”

“Still not taking anything to drink from them, wouldn’t want to make up face down, ass up.”

“Serious risk when you’re around the twins.”

The pair continued their conversation, bursting into laughter every so often as they walked up the street to the twin’s shop. Emerson had never spent much time with Charlie, only a few hours, but as she walked alongside him, she felt as if she were walked with a dear old friend instead of someone she was just getting to know.

“There it is.” Charlie pointed towards the only brightly colored shop on the block.

Even if he hadn’t told her that that was the twins’ shop, she would have been able to figure it out just by its exterior. The store front screamed Fred and George. There was a coat of a blue/purple paint that had been spread on the brick, making it stand out against the grey brick on the nearby stores but that wasn’t the only feature that set it apart. No. What made it truly Fred and George was the massive replica of them.

“Fucking aye,” mumbled Emerson, her eyes taking in every detail. “This is amazing.”

“Took them ages to make it,” commented Charlie.

“But it was worth it,” her lips curled into a smile. “This is so rad. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“That’s because the twins are one of a kind. Their crazy is a rare sort.” Charlie stepped into the entryway, stretching his hand until it grabbed the handle. “Come on in.”

Charlie opened the glass door, allowing Emerson to enter the joke shop that was filled with products. Her eyes jumped from one shelf to the next as she attempted to stare at every single item. The store was unlike any she had ever seen, truly original, and it amazed her that a pair of teenagers had started up such a business.

“Bout time you two showed up!” bellowed George when he spotted them walking down the muggle joke section. “We were beginning to think you flaked on us.” He turned to Emerson, bowing his head slightly. “Morning Emery, hope Charlie’s been good company.”

“Good morning George.”

“How’d you know it was me? You’ve only met us a handful of times!”

“That’s because I'm very observant and you have a freckle right here,” her finger graced the skin beside his right eye. “And Fred doesn’t.”

“The fact that you noticed that makes me want to marry you so what do ya say? Want to be Mrs. George Weasley?”

“Don’t be daft. She’s going to be Mrs. Fred Weasley, not George Weasley,” declared Fred as he emerged from the downstairs office.

“The only way I’ll marry either of you is if I'm under the influence of a very strong love potion.”

“That can be arranged,” joked Fred. “Isn’t that right George?”

“Quite right,” spoke George. “But enough about that blasted love potion, let us give you a tour, here you go, take this hand, it’ll keep you safe during our journey through Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes!”

Emerson held back her laughter as she linked her arm with George’s.

“That hand won’t can’t even keep you safe from a muggle child. This arm,” Fred extended his left arm to her, “Will protect you against all enemies!”

“You’re absurd.”

“But devilishly handsome,” Fred winked.

Emerson took his arm. “Quit complimenting yourself and show me the store.”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist. We’ll show you the store but you’re going to have to let us compliment ourselves, we’re a bit too brilliant to not do so.”

“Fred speaks the truth,” proclaimed George from beside her.

“Do you guys make a habit of talking like old men?”

“Only when we feel like it,” George patted her hand. “Now this is –“

The twins had planned on giving her a thorough tour of their shop. That was why they told Charlie to bring her before they opened for business at eleven but just as they were getting ready to commence the tour. The door was blasted open and through it, emerged several hooded Death Eaters that had their wand at the ready.

Spells immediately began to zoom through the air, blowing up nearby shelves that had just been restocked. Emerson immediately reached for her wand, her superhuman reflexes helping her draw it long before either of the Weasley men had.

“Protego Duo!” Emerson yelled, a bright, transparent blue light shooting out from her wand to form a protective shield before her and the twins.

Charlie pointed his wand towards the group of Death Eaters. “Bombarda Maxima!” his spell hit a large shelf area, destroying it upon impact and sending the rubble hurling towards the Death Eaters.

“You two need to leave!” spoke Emerson after she cast another spell.

“We’re not leaving!” Fred had a look of fierce determination.

“This is our bloody store and we’re going to fight for it.” George drew his wand

Before she could answer, she threw the conjunctivitis curse at a foe and used the Mobilicorpus spell to send their body flying out the window.

“CRUCIO!” cried a Death Eater, the spell striking Emerson directly in the chest.

The spell would have hurt more had she been completely human, but its effects were short lived and it only served to fuel her anger. She had planned on fighting a clean fight, on not using dark magic to win but if they were going to torture, then, she would as well.

“CRUCIO!” her spell struck a Death Eater, knocking them onto the ground. With them on the floor she proceeded to use the Incarcerous spell to bind them.

“Fred, George, leave!” ordered Charlie as he dueled two Death Eaters. “More are coming in and this store isn’t going to make it so get going!”

The store didn’t make it. Within five minutes, ten more Death Eaters had stormed the store to aid their fallen companions. The Weasley’s and Emerson kept fighting, hoping that by some miracle they would win, but when the killing curse was thrown their way, they decided to retreat to The Burrow, with their injuries and wounded pride.