Everything Is Eclipsed by the Shape of Destiny

There had always been something off about Emerson, Bill had known that from the moment he first set eyes on her, but never would he have thought that she was endowed with magical abilities that allowed her to morph into an animal. That was unbelievable, even for a man that had grown up with magic, but there she stood, there she was in all her glory, and there could be no denying of the truth, there could be no denying of her abilities.

He stumbled towards her, willing each foot to go before the other. He felt like a small child approaching a puppy that his parents had just bought him, a puppy that – although harmless – still made him feel uneasy. He couldn’t help that feeling of unease, it was natural, and given the circumstances it was an expected reaction.

Bill stopped directly in front of Emerson, tilting his head slightly upwards to meet her gaze. He peered into her dark brown orbs, searching for any sign that would lead him to believe that it was someone else, but those eyes were the eyes that he had looked upon for countless years.

It was Emerson, he couldn’t deny that it was her, but as he peered into her eyes, he felt betrayed. Their friendship had always been a very open one, they were supposed to tell each other everything, but Emerson hadn’t. She had kept her abilities a secret from him.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” he whispered softly, burying his face in her fur. “I thought we were supposed to tell each other everything . . .”

His words pierced deep into her soul. She wanted to tell him that she had spent the last five years of her life trying to figure out a way to tell him, that every time she saw him she wanted to spill her soul out to him. She wanted to tell him that keeping him in the dark was the hardest thing that she’d ever had to do, but she couldn’t. All she could do was cuddle into him in hopes that he would take her gesture as an apology.

They remained in that position for a little while longer, pulling apart when Emerson took a step back. She trudged towards the nearby spot where she had placed her clothes. They were taken into her mouth and she disappeared into the garden.

About two minutes later she emerged completely dressed, her short hair an absolute mess and her face reddened from the physical toll that phasing took on her body, but she felt great, better than she had ages because Bill finally knew.

Kingsley and Remus spoke amongst each other quietly, both knowing that they wanted her on their side, all they had to do was figure out how things were going to work, if she was going to be in the Order, if she was going to be of as much use as she claimed to want to be, then she was going to have to make the move to England.

The two middle aged men were ignored by Emerson whom focused all her attention on Bill. She expected him to be upset with her. If he had hidden that secret from her, she would’ve been absolutely livid.

“How long have you been able to do this?” Bill avoided her gaze.

“About nine years,” she responded.

“Since you were sixteen?”

Emerson nodded.

“How did it happen?”

“Some vampires settled in San Francisco. There were two of them, a man and woman, in their mid thirties. They were nice, very nice but the moment that they moved into town, the change happened. It was about two weeks of hell, two weeks of thinking that I was going insane and then one day when I went out on a hike to clear my head I saw them hovering over dead deer and it happened. I phased.”

“Did you kill them?”

“No, they took off running; I didn’t see them again for another month when I ran into them at the mall. I wanted to kill them, they’d never done me wrong but I just wanted them dead. Thankfully they knew what I was, they explained as much as they could, told, me about their kind and then when my brother phased I was able to help him understand.”

“Both of you?” he ran a hand through his fiery locks. “How could both of you be these things and not tell me? We’ve been friends for five years and neither of you ever fucking told me.”

“That’s because we’re not supposed to tell people.”

“I'm not just people, Emerson, I practically lived at your apartment, I was there almost everyday for dinner, so don’t lump me in with the rest of the population, because I'm not, you know I'm not.”

“I know you’re not just some other person!”

“Obviously not, because if you did, you would’ve told me,” argued Bill.

“Well I'm telling you right now. I could’ve kept this a secret from you for the rest of our lives, but I didn’t. I'm putting everything on the line to lay my abilities at the service of your organization so forgive me for thinking that that means something, forgive me for thinking that that makes up for the fact that I didn’t tell you in the past.”

“You’re so bloody . . . ah!” cried Bill, shaking his angrily.

Emerson stepped towards him, placing her hand, on his chest. “I get that you’re mad at me, this is a lot to process, but I didn’t keep this from you because you weren’t important to me.”

“Then why did you keep it from me?” he finally met her gaze.

“Because this is a family secret,” repeated Emerson.

“If it’s such a family secret then why are you telling us right now?”

“Because,” she responded curtly.

“Because what?” Bill pressed.

“Just because,” Emerson didn’t want to tell him the true reason.

“It’s obviously not, just because, so why is it? Why are you telling me now? If you were so set on defeating Voldemort then you would’ve joined ages ago so what’s the real reason?”

“Already told you the real reason,” she replied.

“Emerson Marie Figueroa,” his voice was strong.

An involuntary shudder shot through Emerson’s being. He only called her by her whole name when he was upset with her or when something truly serious was happening.

“Emerson, would you mind coming over here?” spoke Kingsley.

“I’ll be right there.”

“This conversation hasn’t ended,” whispered Bill.

“Oh yes it has.” Emerson walked towards the two older men. “Sorry about the nudity. I would’ve left my clothes on, but then I would’ve ruined them.”

“That’s quite alright,” reassured Kingsley in his deep voice. “Remus and I were discussing and we would like to extend an invitation for you to join the Order. It is obvious to us that you have abilities that will be of great help to our organization but we have one concern.”

“What is it?” asked Emerson.

“Your current living arrangement,” stated Kingsley. “Bill says that you live in Mexico and we think it best if you move to England for the time being, perhaps take up residence with someone in the Order.”

It was now time for Remus to speak up. “I was telling Kingsley that you could live with me and my wife. She’s about your age, very eccentric and I could see you two getting along very well.”

“Thanks for the offer but I think it best that I stay home with my grandparents.”

“We must insist that you make the move, it not only makes organizing easier, but it keeps your loved ones safe. That way if anyone’s following you, they’ll follow you to a home that’s already being surveyed and not your grandparent’s house.”

“Good point,” mumbled Emerson.

“For the time being you may stay at your current home but we urge you to find a new residence by weeks end, my home is open and I assure you that my wife and you would get along.”

“Thank you,” was her response.

“There will be a meeting taking place within a few hours. That is where we will introduce you to the other members, we’ll keep your abilities a secret but be prepared for the onslaught of questions that they’ll ask,” Kingsley smiled kindly. “And thank you for lending your abilities to our cause, they’re much appreciated.”

“It’s an honor to have been accepted,” replied Emerson.

“Humble as well,” commented Kingsley, “Never thought I’d meet a humble American.”

“Not all American’s are pompous assholes, just the ones in power are.”

Shortly after, they parted ways. Kingsley and Remus leaving the Burrow to handle some business and Emerson stayed behind, standing a few feet away from Bill whom was waiting to yet again inquire as to why she was telling them her family secret.

“Are you ready to talk?” he asked.

“No.” Emerson turned to leave.

“Are you really not going to tell me?” the hurt in his voice was obvious.

“I already told you,” she turned to face him.

“All you said was because.” Bill stepped towards her.

“And that’s the reason.”

“Emerson,” his face was mere inches from her own. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt again,” she looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s my fault that Fenrir hurt you, had I been there that night at Hogwarts, he wouldn’t have gotten within five feet of you. He would’ve been torn apart, but I wasn’t there . . . it’s my fault that he hurt you.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is!” snapped Emerson. “Had Everett or I been there, things would’ve been a lot different. That madman would’ve been taken care of, he would’ve been stopped from ever hurting another person but because we kept it a secret he’s running wild through England, he’s hurting other people like he hurt you and I swear on my life, that by the time this war ends, I’ll have killed him.”

“Marie . . .”

“It’ll be a gift to you from Everett and I,” Emerson met his gaze.

“You don’t have to do that . . . he’s the most dangerous werewolf out there.”

“Have some faith in me,” Emerson patted his cheek.

“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that, right?”

“Nonsense,” Emerson sighed softly. “Are we going to go inside now?”

“Yeah, my mum’s probably standing by the door, eager to know what happened.”

“I have a feeling she’s going to scold me.”

“Oh, she will, but don’t be scared by her scolding, be honored. She only scolds people she likes,” Bill smiled softly. “She’s yet to truly scold Fleur.”

“I find that very hard to believe.”

“It’s true . . . hey Marie, does you being so hot all the time have something to do with your being a shifter?”

Emerson nodded. “I'm this hot so that I can survive in the snow.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“. . . So where are you planning to live?”

“Don’t know yet. I’ll figure that out tomorrow.”

“You know, you can live with Fleur and I, there’s enough room in our cottage.”

“I’d rather not intrude in your home.”

“How could you possibly intrude? You’re my best mate, having you live with me would be an honor.”

“Bill, it’s not right. We’re best mates, but we also used to . . . and although that didn’t mean anything, it wouldn’t be right for me to live in your house.”

When she uttered those words, she swore she saw hurt flash in his eyes, but she chased that thought out from her mind, she had imagined that, she had imagined that because she wanted to believe that what she had had with Bill was more than just sex to him, but it wasn’t, it was just shagging, nothing more, nothing less.

“I’ll rent a flat somewhere.”

“You can’t live by yourself!”

“Of course I can, it’ll be better that way.”

“No it won’t,” argued Bill. “If you live by yourself then you won’t have backup if something bad happens. No, you have to live with someone.”

“I'm not a child.”

“I know you’re not.”

“Then don’t treat me like one.”

“I just worry alright.”

“I'm not some weak person that can’t take care of themselves. I'm an accomplished witch that happens to be able to shift into a jaguar. I'm strong, I'm clever, so don’t worry about me. Worry about your wife. She’s the one that needs to be taken care of.”

Bill stepped closer, his breath tickling her upper lip. “I know that you don’t need to be taken care of. I know that you’re probably stronger than me and I know for a fact that you’re cleverer but I can’t help but want to protect you, you’re my best mate.”

“I'm not moving in with you.”

“Then at least live with my parents. My mum really likes you, so does my dad and the twins are quite fond of you.”

“We’ll see.”

“Marie.”

“We’ll see.”