Miss Quinn

157 ~ Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

Emma knew she had to get home. She had a job. She had things to do. But she couldn't bring herself to pack up quite yet. She wasn't sure when she'd get to come back. Things in the Wizarding World weren't looking so great at the moment. She'd have her hands full once she got back. And here, the war was over. The danger had been defeated. The sun was shining. The grass was greener. And her family was here. Annabeth, Percy, Will, Sadie, Fawn, Connor, Kayla, Austin, David. And with all the injured demigods coming in and out of the Apollo Cabin, she barely got a break to enjoy their company. She wished she could just sit under the stars with them and catch up, tell stories, watch a movie or something.

But Sunday came, and Emma's portkey was scheduled to depart at noon. She rose with the sun, the way a child of Apollo was meant to. Will and the others escorted her to breakfast, where they had one last meal together before Emma's departure. They sat together at the Apollo table telling jokes and stories, laughing, and enjoying one another's company. They all knew about Emma's other life by now, even David. And all of them wanted to know about Hogwarts, and her friends there, and what classes she had. Austin and David were convinced she was making it all up, but the girls and Connor held onto her every word. After all, if magic existed in some form for demigods, why couldn't it exist in other forms in other parts of the world? Emma didn't mention that there were wizards in America, too. She thought that might be too much for them. They'd only just discovered Camp Jupiter, and look how that had ended up.

"I don't want to go back," Emma admitted to Will sadly as they took a walk around the lake.

"Why not? Your friends are there. Your life is there..."

"I have friends here, too. A life here, too," Emma countered. "Is it selfish of me to want to live in this world a little longer, where the evil has already been defeated?"

Will took her hand, squeezed it. "Of course not, Em. But you're needed there just as much as we needed you here. You're a Child of a Prophecy over there. You have to make the choice about which version of Emma you'll be. You can't just hide here forever."

"What if I choose wrong?"

She'd never said the words aloud before, though she'd thought them countless times. It was a constant fear in the back of her mind. What if, after all her training and belief in the good in the world, she still ended up destroying it? What if the decisions weren't so much a question of her morality, but of her inability to control herself? Not only her temper. Her self-sacrificing nature, too. What if she sacrificed herself to save the world, only to have her death be the key to breaking it apart? What if she doomed humanity by doubting her own ability to save them?

Will stopped, turning her to face him. "Emma, you are the strongest, rationalist, most capable person I know. You think you're going to fail because you'll make the wrong decision. Em, we all make wrong decisions. But you don't give up. That's always been something I've admired you for. Even if you make the wrong decision, you'll find a way to right it. You'll do what you need to do. And trust me, I have complete faith in you."

She felt her lips spread into a slight smile. Her brother had always known what to say. He, Venus, and Annabeth were perhaps the three who knew her best, the three who would always be there to back her up, to help her out, and to be her rock.

"Thank you, Will," she said, squeezing his hand. "Now, what's this I hear about you and Nico di Angelo?"

Her brother blushed even as he grinned. "Nothing, yet. I'm still working on it. But I like him."

Emma laughed. "Good. I'm glad you found someone. You'll give me updates, won't you?" Emma sensed, rather than saw, Will roll his eyes.

"Only if you give me updates on this Draco Malfoy of yours." He'd said it with a joking tone, but Emma's heart still sunk in her chest.