The first time they actually talked without having strange eyes hovering and watching every little interaction, they were in the library.
Meetings used to take place in the Grace Field library, and this would be no different.
Emma was ecstatic. The night before, just before curfew, Ray had walked past her and Ginny in the hallway and pretended to bump into Emma—only to hand her a note.
The note was simple and straightforward, but written in Norman's fancy handwriting, telling her to come to the library during lunch, they would be at the end of the aisle of books on Muggle studies and societies—the aisle furthest from everything and the one that almost no one went to.
One of the first things Emma realized in this world was that being a Muggle, a Muggle-born or a half-blood was almost a curse in the eyes of pure-bloods.
The demons were against Mujika's blood and his “kind”, but that didn't stop them from changing the minds of an entire society.
Emma wished the Purebloods were less selfish. Even Lewis had changed, but she doubted this society could be readjusted.
As she walked down the hallway, her heart was pounding and she could hear her heartbeat. Her breathing was rapid, but nothing could stop the smile on her face.
Norman and Ray were there, as they always were.
They promised. She promised. They managed to keep their promises.
“For each other, always. Until the end.”
Norman had a friendly smile on his face, leaning against the bookshelf. Ray, on the other hand, had an unusual smile of longing, as he adjusted the weight of his body against the wall behind him.
Emma ran when she saw the two of them.
Not like her life depended on it. Her soul depended on it.
She hugged them both so tightly, as if she would never let go.
Maybe she really didn't let go. Longing and separation didn't go together.
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Their arms felt so comforting around her back. The warmth, all too familiar, brought back memories.
When Emma said goodbye to Norman. When Emma saved Ray. When the children escaped and found themselves on the other side of the cliff. When Emma said goodbye to Mujika and Sonju. When Emma said goodbye to her family to go to Goldy Pond. When Emma woke up, after four weeks, with several familiar and hopeful faces around her. When Emma was reunited with Norman.
Of everything.
“I… I missed you so much,” she whimpered into his shoulder. “I thought… I thought we’d never see each other again.”
Ray was the first to let go of the hug. Soon after, Norman.
Ray smiled, “I missed you too, Emma. But I knew you’d find a way.”
She swallowed hard, but smiled. “I guess so… we always find a way.”
Norman, although he had let go of the hug, was still holding her hand. “It seems like we’ve met again.”
She laughed, wiping away her tears. “Yes, we met again!”
***
They sat at a low table, catching up on each other's lives. More so for Emma, since Norman and Ray had been blessed with the chance to meet years before.
At Grace Field, they didn't need to catch up on each other's lives. Ever.
Norman wrinkled his nose as he talked about his family. The Malfoys weren't the nicest people, and Norman, though ambitious like any other Slytherin, didn't exactly follow his family's standards—he didn't hate non-purebloods.
He had long ago learned his lesson from the untamed red-haired girl.
Norman told of his first experience with memories. He was five years old and thought he would never forget that nightmare.
The nightmare would not pass. The nightmare was, in fact, his life.
It all made sense when he met Ray at the age of seven. Ray was the boy with the disturbing green eyes.
Although he didn't have much affection for his family, Norman spoke of them fondly. Narcissa did her best as a mother and his father, Lucius, never really learned any other way of life than that. His brother, however, was a sore point.
Draco hated being challenged as much as he hated losing. No one could ever say that those who weren't purebloods deserved more dignity around Draco. Apparently, six-year-old Norman learned this the hard way.
But his opinion wouldn't change. The girl of his dreams wouldn't let him say any of those atrocities about people.
Ray, on the other hand, spoke of loss. His mother, in this life, passed away before Ray even received the memories of his past life.
He only knew what love and affection were because the tall woman with violet eyes and dark hair was in the back of his memories.
Having no other family, Ray was taken in by Severus Snape, his mother's brother. His treatment was indifferent, he only looked after Ray out of obligation.
Although she was forced to take care of the children because her wife's life depended on it, she never stopped loving what she did.
Ray received his memories at age six. He woke up crying, flooded with bad memories—even though he had good people by his side. Ray vomited for hours on the first day, until he passed out from exhaustion.
For the first time, Severus showed some compassion. He sat on Ray's low bed and tried to make sense of it all. "It was just a nightmare," he said, along with other kind words. Finally, he offered Ray water and some sweets, telling him to go back to sleep.
However, Ray vomited for the next few days, and was nauseous for over a week. Severus asked if there was anything he could do to help, but there was nothing. The nightmares would not go away.
Because they weren't nightmares. And the red-haired girl and the albino boy were real. The demons were real. Everything was real.
As a last resort, Severus asked if erasing or getting rid of his memories would make him better. Promptly, Ray said no. A heated argument about this ensued, he said.
His memories could never be erased. There was no way he could get rid of them.
If the girl with the untamed hair refused this proposal from a self-proclaimed God, why wouldn't Ray refuse the one from his own uncle?
At age seven, Ray finally had a name for the albino boy, Norman. His life changed and his memories made sense.
Norman was the calm albino strategist. The red-haired girl, however, remained nameless.
According to them, her name — Emma — only really came to them when they were eleven. When Norman finally saw her, in the Diagon Alley bookstore.
Ray and Norman, with Emma's name in mind, promised each other that they would do everything they could to keep her memories alive—even if she didn't remember.
His promises were made to be kept.
And his promises would always be kept.