Emmeline brushed the hair out of her brother's eyes as he finally drifted off to sleep. John sighed, then shifted on the bed and drifted back into oblivion. Emmeline pressed a kiss to her brother's hand, then quietly stood up, dimmed the lights, and left the room.
The exhaustion Emmeline felt was so familiar now that she hardly noticed it anymore. Her own health was unimportant compared to John's anyway. Her poor brother John, only fifteen, had been suffering from a terrible case of osteomyelitis for so long now. The painful bone disease was sometimes treated and gone in a matter of weeks, but it wasn't uncommon for the condition to last for months like John's was. There was not much to be done except give him the antibiotic potions, some sleeping draughts, and draughts to ease the pain, but Emmeline did all she could. She spent all day each day preparing the potions needed and looking after her brother. In Emmeline's mind, there was no other choice in the matter. Her brother was so dear to her, and she would do anything she could to help him get his health back. Even abandoning the medical career she had been promised after outshining many of her peers during the two years she'd spent in the training program at St. Mungo's, and essentially abandoning the rest wizarding society as well.
There was plenty of time for regretting the loss of what seemed like such a bright future, but it was exhausting and discouraging, and Emmeline had done enough of it. Emmeline had been approached by various senior healers about joining their teams when her brother's condition had appeared. With two younger sisters and a brother besides John, Emmeline knew her parents couldn't afford the cost of professional treatment for John, and it wasn't necessary when she could do it. Naturally her parents hadn't wanted Emmeline to give up her progression as she was making her own way in the world, but it was plain there was no dissuading her.
It had almost been a relief to leave the wizarding world for now, though. Between a terrible break up and a full scale war, it wasn't a place Emmeline was really missing.
Emmeline padded quietly into the kitchen and put a kettle on the stove to make some tea. Emmeline leaned against the counter, flipping idly through the newspaper, as she waited for the water to boil. She heard quiet footfalls on the stairs, instantly recognizable as her mother's, and turned to look at her mum as she appeared in the kitchen. She gave a small smile, which her mother returned.
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Late?" she asked, shrugging.
Her mother sighed. "How is he doing?"
"He's sleeping well for now," Emmeline answered. "His fever was a little high this evening, but I've coaxed it back down. We talked for a little while before he fell asleep again."
"Good. I'm sorry this has been so hard on you, dear."
Emmeline shrugged again. "I don't mind. I actually think he's improving a little each day now."
"I'm so glad to hear that," her mom said, putting her hand over Emmeline's and squeezing gently. "I'm so proud of you, you know. Your father and I both. Our little girl has become an amazing woman." Her eyes were glistening, and she enveloped Emmeline into a hug.
Emmeline embraced her tightly, feeling secure in her mother's arms.
"Sleep soon, all right, dear?" her mother urged, pulling back.
Emmeline nodded. "I will."
Her mother squeezed her shoulders, kissed her forehead, and then left Emmeline in the quiet of the kitchen again.
Emmeline quietly made her tea and sat at the table, tucking one leg up to her chest. She'd snatched the day's paper from the living room on her way to the kitchen, and she opened up to the only section she really dabbled in anymore. The cryptic crosswords. Half of her was determined to figure one of the puzzles out completely, but mostly she only worked until she was too frustrated to continue. Depending on the puzzle, she could figure out a fair amount of the answers, but usually she got to the point where she felt the effort of figuring out some puzzle in the paper wasn't worth wracking her brain that much. She would much rather finish her tea and settle into bed with a book at that point.
She was still ruminating over the puzzle when there was a quiet pop that made Emmeline nearly fall out of her chair, spilling some of her tea across the table. There was only one thing that resulted in that popping sound. Someone was in the garden in the back of her house. She drew her wand and waited. Her heart was pounding incessantly, loud in her ears, yet she felt like she couldn't breathe, not while she waited in the silence that seemed so oppressive and deceptive. Someone was out there, after all. She crept closer and closer to the back door. The lack of any noise other than that of the constant tick of the clock on the wall was unbearable.
The silence was halted by what was a soft knock on the door, though it sounded much louder to Emmeline than it actually was. She jolted, putting her hand up against the door. "Who's there?" she asked. She spoke only loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear.
"Someone you need to talk to."
Emmeline frowned. "I need a name, proof I can trust you. What sort of fool do you think I am?"
"I can give you the name Eric Knight. It's too dangerous to reveal more out here where anyone could hear. As to whether or not you can trust me, keep in mind that if I wanted to, I would've already blasted the door off its hinges and killed you."
Emmeline closed her eyes, wrinkling her forehead in thought. He was right, but did he honestly expect her to blindly trust him off of that?
"Emmeline, it's freezing, and we really don't have time to waste. Your life and the lives of your family depend on what I need to tell you." His tone didn't hide any of the worried urgency his words suggested.
She took a deep breath and opened the door, feeling like she was throwing caution out as she did so. She stepped quickly aside and let the man in. She closed and he set up several charms and wards for privacy as she locked the door. "Mr. Knight, what you have to say better be pretty damn important, worth risking the lives of my family for."
"I already told you what I have to say is imperative for their safety. You've already compromised them, Emmeline." Eric wasted no time getting down to the point, "Your use of magic in this predominately Muggle area is beginning to draw attention. The Death Eaters will kill any Muggle, they really don't care, but a witch or wizard helping Muggles is something they can resist even less. In fact, they're eager to find people like you."
"Well, my brother, heā”"
"Don't you think we know?" he cut off her interruption.
"Who's we?"
"The Order of the Phoenix. We've been keeping a look out, but frankly, it's too dangerous for you to stay any longer. You need to leave with me tonight. The longer you stay, the more danger you attract."
Emmeline tried to process all of this. "I can't leave, though! My brother's conditionā”"
"Is at a point where Muggle doctors can help him into a full recovery. You've done an admirable job of seeing him through this far."
"How do you know that?"
"We've been watching."
"The Order?" She asked. "Who's the Order, and how long have they been watching?"
Eric continued on in his quick explanations. He seemed to have expected the conversation to go something like this. "The Order of the Phoenix is a group assembled by Albus Dumbledore to help fight, well, it's obvious who."
Emmeline nodded.
"As for just how long we've been watching, I can't give you a firm answer. Dumbledore's the only one who knows everything, but I've been keeping watch now and then for about the past month. But, like I said, you can't stay anymore."
"My parents can't afford a doctor, though."
Eric thrust a bag onto the counter. The opening was loose, and she could see the money inside. "Your brother's health is nothing if your family isn't even alive. I'm telling you again, Emmeline, the longer you stay, the more dangerous it is for everyone."
She bit her lip, tears biting at the corners of her eyes. "How can I leave them? Where will I even go?"
Eric seemed to soften then. His blue eyes, so powerful, warmed a bit, and the taught set of his jaw relaxed. He was a man of great stature, probably somewhere in his forties, but his hair had already gone almost completely white.
"We have a safe house ready for you. If I return in the morning, can you have said your goodbyes and be ready to leave by then?"
Emmeline put a hand to her forehead. For some reason, she did trust Eric Knight, standing before her with nothing but honest concern, a calm yet conscious figure. She sighed. "I really don't have a choice, do I?"
He nodded. "There's always a choice, but for people like us, there's only one right choice." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. It felt odd, surprising, but not unnatural. "I'll meet you in twelve hours. Pack smartly, because we'll need to travel away a bit to find somewhere that the use of a Portkey wouldn't be a magnet for Death Eaters to show up at. I'll be in the park down the street, waiting at that bench next to the fountain."
Emmeline took a deep breath and then looked into the man's eyes. "Why do I feel like I can trust you?"
Eric stared back into her eyes for a moment without saying anything. Then he shrugged and said, "Sometimes we just know things, and the truth of it in our souls is irrevocable. To be careful though tomorrow, we need a security phrase."
"Okay."
"'East of the sun, west of the moon.'"
Forfeit Your Whole Kingdom by electronicquillster
Chapter Notes: 1] This is a story that started as part of the SPEW LoveNotes project in February of 2008. On a whim, I thought I should maybe Google my prompt because it didn't seem like it could be just a random string of words. Sure enough, there was something more to the phrase. Specifically, there is a Norwegian tale that bears the prompt I had as its name: East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I read it and loved it, so I drew some elements out of that tale for this story.
2] Medical information obtained here. I'm totally not a doctor.
3] Thank you to my wonderful beta Roommate of the Quillster for helping me iron parts of this out.