After quitting Granny's diner, and with her self-esteem at an all-time low, Emma hires Ruby to be her assistant in order to help her discover what it is in life that she's good at while also investigating Kathryn's disappearance without her family to help.

***

"Dad," Emma sighed, handing David a cup of tea how she knew he liked it before taking a seat at her desk in front of him. "You know why you're here don't you?"

David nodded, wrapping his hands around the heated cup. "I hope Kathryn is somewhere warm, not in the cold," he admitted.

Emma sighed again and nodded. "Now I know you had nothing to do with this, but it doesn't look good with your wife - cursed wife - missing and you being with Mom. Plus, there's this, which people will absolutely question." She held up the phone records from Kathryn's phone and hands it to him, and David glared at the highlighted line. "There's an eight-minute phone call between you both, and while I know that you were with us at that time and haven't called her, it's still there."

David shook his head in frustration. "Well, seeing as I didn't do this, it's clear someone is trying to frame me. Emma, you know I had nothing to do with this. I didn't do anything to her."

Emma nodded. "I know that, but the others don't. The Mayor, Glass, and Gold all believe you have something to do with this, even if you don't. Plus, you know my lie detector. It'd be telling me if you were lying, and I know you're not, and so does my lie detector. It also helps that liars have better material."

David laughed, nodding in agreement. "So where do you . . . we . . . go from here?"

"You can't exactly be my detective while this investigation is going on, so go help Harry with his studies, and I'll see you later," Emma replied. "I'll tell Newt to put his sleuthing cap on for this one."

David nodded in agreement, and Emma stood from her chair to hug him. He held her tightly against him, and he chuckled softly as she smiled into his chest. "Definitely my daughter," he said decidedly, dropping a kiss on top of her head.

Emma just laughed at him as he walked out. After he was gone, however, she frowned at the phone call records, already plotting who to call next. She knew these records were a lie . . . now she just had to prove it.

***

Victor watched Ruby and August with Remus and Queenie as they sat at a booth and listened to August recount his traveling stories. "You can't be serious!" Ruby gaped. "A whole year without a roof over your head?"

August shrugged like it was no big deal. "You get used to it after a while. Plus, I had the motorcycle so, if I didn't like a place after a while then I could - "

He was cut off abruptly with a shout of Ruby's name. He peered past the waitress, but Ruby shook her head, choosing to ignore the call. "I've never even been out of Storybrooke," she said, leaning against the table and watching August intently. "What was your favorite place?"

When August laughed, charmed by Ruby's attention, Victor and Remus both narrowed their eyes at the man's back, and Queenie laughed at the scowls on their faces. "Nepal," August declared with a grin. "Best people. They have these prayer temples carved into mountains that are overrun with lemurs."

Ruby blinked. "What's a lemur?"

"Ruby!" Granny called again.

Ruby growled under her breath. "Give me a sec!" she shouted in return, and she leaned in closer to August expectantly.

August raised an eyebrow, but he continued to speak. "They're little animals. And they have these eyes that reflect light, so at night, it looks like they glow."

Ruby smiled with wonder. Before she could ask another question, however, Granny's irritated bark made her smile vanish. "Ruby! Stop flirting and get over here!"

The older woman knocked twice on the counter, and Queenie gasped as she was pulled into a scene, vivid green eyes frantic and moving rapidly under her eyelids.

A man knocked on a cottage window, and Ruby's voice carried it out of it. "Who's there?"

"Let me in!" the man tells her, and Ruby's voice carries again.

"I'm just a poor, old widow. Spare me!" Her voice is full of amusement.

The man crossed his arms. "Let me in, or I'll. . ."

"Yes?"

"I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the - "

He was cut off by Ruby opening the shutters, a wide grin visible on her face under the ruby red cloak she wore. "You'll huff and puff?" she giggled incredulously.

The man shrugged sheepishly. "I couldn't think of nothing," he said.

Their voices faded to background noise as Queenie carefully observed her surroundings. The illustrations of Henry's book hadn't done the Enchanted Forest justice, for every memory Queenie witnessed blew her mind. She could hear the crackle of the fire from inside Ruby's cottage, could feel the bitter cold as snow blew past her face . . . and Ruby's smile as she looked at the young man was as wolfish as Remus's could be. "Red Riding Hood," she whispered in realization.

"You'd better watch out," Ruby giggled. "Your air of danger is slipping." She quickly kissed the man then said goodbye, shutting the shutters.

The scene shifted, and Queenie watched a man with a group of villagers with torches talk to Granny as Red entered the room. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Granny snapped. "Just a bunch of fools trying to get themselves killed over a few dead sheep."

"Wolf took out a dozen last night," the man at the front of the group said, his eyes narrowed.

Red huffed in annoyance. "So, you called me in here to what? Just to keep me in sight?'

The man talking to Granny nodded at Ruby. "Good evening, Red. We're just forming up a hunting party."

Red's eyes lit up in excitement. "You're hunting the wolf?" She looked hopefully at her grandmother. "Can I go with them, please? I'll be safe in a big group!"

Granny scoffed and shook her head. "Don't be ludicrous. You are staying inside and keeping that hood on. You know red repels wolves."

Red pointed to the men. "They're not wearing red."

Granny humphed. "They're damn fools, too. There's only two more nights left in Wolfstime– let it take a few sheep. Now, go home." She said to the group

She shut the door in their faces, and Ruby scowled, crossing her arms. "I hope they kill the wolf. Then we can have lives again."

Granny scowled at her. "You just want to roam around the woods with that wastrel, Peter."

Ruby gritted her teeth. "He's not a wastrel. He works hard. He has plans."

"Oh, I am sure he does. Now, come on. You know what to do." Queenie tilted her head, watching Granny and Red barricade and lock the doors and windows, then Granny pulled up a chair in front of the door, hefting a crossbow into her arms. "Now, go to sleep, girl," she ordered. "And wear that hood!"

Red bowed her head. "Yes, Granny," she mumbled and walked off to bed.

Queenie gasped as she opened her eyes, mind playing over what she saw. She had never seen a scene that long before, and it took her a couple of seconds to process it all, but then she looked over at Ruby, who was partially hidden in the kitchen, and sighed, thinking over what she had seen.

She turned to Remus and Victor who were both looking at her, concerned. "Are you okay?" Remus asked, the only one between the two who knew what had just occurred.

She nodded, "I'm okay," she said with a smile at them, and Remus raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything.

Victor was busy looking at Ruby. who all three could see in their booth by the door. "I can't believe you did that," Ruby hissed, her cheeks faintly red. "That was humiliating!"

Granny merely raised an eyebrow. "I want you to start working Saturday nights," she told her, going back to the books next to her dealing with the diner.

Ruby's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Come on, we have an agreement about Saturday night!"

"I want to start training you to do the books and the reorders," Granny explained with a gesture to said books. "Business is booming lately and with more money comes more paperwork."

"Yeah," Ruby snorted, wrinkling her nose. "None of that sounds good."

"It's gotta be done," Granny huffed.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Is this a punishment?" she demanded, gesturing behind her to August's table, the man himself ducking his head and pretending he wasn't eavesdropping. "For talking to August?"

Granny tilted her head back in a sigh. "If I wanted to punish you, I'd have better reasons. For one thing, you were late." Granny gestured to her outfit. "For another thing, Liza, you dress like a drag queen during fleet week."

Granny's cool exterior was already halfway to pissing Ruby off, everyone could see it, and the young woman narrowed her eyes to slits. "And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates' mother," she fired back.

August hastily covered his mouth to muffle a snicker, and Granny shook her head. "Ruby, you're a grown woman!" she snapped. "You can't keep acting like some kid!"

Ruby stiffened. "You just want me to act like you until I turn into you," she accused, leaning in towards her grandmother. "Well, I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with lemurs!"

Granny sighed, slamming her hand down and closing her book. "Well, as long as you work here, you are gonna listen to me."

She started walking off, and Ruby followed her on the other side of the counter, arms out in exasperation. "I didn't ask to work here!"

"Well then, what's keeping ya?" Granny asked, not looking at her.

Ruby paused half a heartbeat, then she grabbed her jacket. "Nothing," she answered. "I quit!"

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Granny to stare after her in shock. While silence had fallen over the diner, Victor and Remus immediately stood up, looked at each other, nodded, then grabbed their own jackets and followed after Ruby, leaving Queenie to fold her arms and glare at Granny.

***

Ruby was halfway across the road when Remus and Victor caught up to her. "Ruby!" Remus called, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a stop on the other side of the road.

"I can't believe her!" Ruby seethed, ripping her hand out of Remus's and pacing on the sidewalk. "She's always been bad, but lately she's been awful. I don't know what to do!" She yelled out, not at either of them, but in anger that her grandmother would be as careless as she is with her wishes.

Victor eyed her. "You know that's how she is. She's always been like that."

Ruby huffed, nodding. "Yeah, I know. I just wish I could have a little more freedom than she likes to give."

Remus sighed. "Maybe it's a good thing that you quit, love. She seems like the type of woman who knows she's hurting you but doesn't know how to stop it."

Ruby scoffed, looking into his eyes. "Yeah well . . ." She trailed off, scoffing as she watched a bird fly from the electric line. "And now I need a new place to stay, since I just walked out on the woman who provided me with a home."

Victor smiled at her, taking her hand. "You have options."

"Yeah," Remus agreed, taking Ruby's other hand as they started walking. "Remember, you're the one who helped set up several people in very large rooms that can fit multiple people."

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Intrude?" Remus snorted. "Right."

***

"Emma!" Her name was called from behind her, and she smiled when she realized it was Mary Margaret following after her. "There you are! I've been looking for you!"

"Really?" Emma raised an eyebrow, slowing down so the schoolteacher could reach her. "What's up?"

Mary Margaret was flushed and wearing a jacket over her dress, which was odd, considering that it was summer and close to 70 degrees out right now. "Aren't you cold?" she asked, shivering and rubbing her hands over her arms.

"No, not really," Emma shrugged. "It's almost 70 degrees out here, Mary Margaret. So . . . what's up?"

Mary Margaret shrugged helplessly. "Any word from Kathryn?"

Emma sighed, shaking her head. "No," she said. "Nothing new."

Mary Margaret's brown eyes were wide, but she looked upset. "Did you check with Boston again?"

Emma huffed. "She's not there, Mary Margaret." She could see the resemblance of herself and her mother, but she didn't realize it was also their stubbornness that rivaled each other.

"So . . . we have no idea what happened to her?"

Emma shook her head. "All we know is that you two talked, and then she disappeared."

Mary Margaret paused, coming to a full stop. "Wait . . . you think I had something to do with her disappearance?"

Emma turned towards her mother and sighed. "No," she said. "I'm just preparing you for what everyone else is going to think. The town already knows David left Kathryn for you, so you two are going to look bad until we figure the truth out."

"You mean David?" Mary Margaret balked. "Th-That people are going to think in order to . . . be free with me . . . "

"Some are," Emma said, doing her best to not sound unkind. "So we need to do everything we can to make sure we pin down your whereabouts that night."

Her mother shook her head in disbelief. "He was with me," she said, anger coating her tone. "You saw us! He stayed with me almost all night!"

Emma sighed, pulling out her phone as it rang. She raised her eyebrows when she saw that it was Remus calling. "Hello?" she asked, grateful for the change in topic. "Remus, is everything okay?"

"Hi, Emma." Remus's cheerful tone made her suspicious. "Yes, everything's fine now. We just wanted to let you know that while Draco and Harry were practicing their Stunners, Harry's strong magic rebounded off Draco's shield and knocked him into the wall. He's fine, but he had a bit of a concussion that was fixed as soon as it happened." He paused. "And he's asking for you," he added.

Emma groaned, tilting her head back. "You should've led with that, Moony."

"Emma?" Mary Margaret frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Emma snorted. "You mean besides the fact that my son is extremely clumsy and has probably given himself a minor concussion? Yeah, everything's peachy."

"By the way, Emma." Remus's voice still had that cheeriness, indicating there was another bomb waiting to drop. "Do you have the space for another guest?"

Emma blinked. "Who?"

***

At the station the next afternoon, Henry and Harry were in the middle of searching the Internet for a job for Ruby. Ruby sat next to them, staring at the phone on the desk that rang every few minutes until Henry peered up at her from where he was sitting at the computer. "Want to be a bike messenger?"

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "A bike messenger?" she repeated in disbelief.

Henry hummed. "That's about taking things to people in a little basket," he explained, pointing to the job description on the monitor.

She immediately shook her head. "Nope. Yeah, see, I'm not so great at bike riding."

Henry bit his lip, tilting his head and scrolling. "How about taking things on foot to people in a little basket?"

Harry looked at Henry with an incredulous look, but Ruby snorted in amusement. "I'm not so sure that's a real job there, kid." The phone rang again, and Henry and Harry both shook their heads and groaned. "Why do the phones keep doing that?" Ruby frowned, sitting up in her chair and peering at the phone.

"That's the non-emergency number," Harry replied. "The calls go to a machine when Mum's busy."

The phone rang again, but Ruby answered it that time. "Sheriff's station, how can I help you?" she asked in a bright voice that made Harry look at her in surprise. "Mmhmm. I'll get her to return. Thank you, too." The phone rang just as she was about to hang up, and she pushed another button to answer. "Sheriff's station." She blinked in surprise. "Hey, Ms. Ginger!" She blinked and cleared her throat. "Uh, no, that's not a prowler. That's Archie's dog – Pongo. Throw him a vanilla wafer, he'll quiet down. Did you still want to talk to Emma?" She smiled brightly. "Great. Glad I could help."

Harry and Henry were both staring at her, but Emma's voice startled them. "How's it going, you guys?" she asked, putting her jacket down.

Ruby shrugged. "Great," she muttered. "Except I can't do anything."

"I'm sure that's not true," Emma looked at Harry, who shook his head in agreement. "Well, I just saw you on the phone. That was good!"

Rub scoffed, looking at it. "That?" She gestured vaguely to it. "That's nothing."

Emma shook her head. "No. No, it isn't." She watched Ruby shake her head, her face downcast and she slouched into the chair. "I actually have some money in the budget if you want to help out around here."

Ruby shot up from her chair, nodding happily. "Yes! Thank you! Yes, um, I could answer phones and help out. Um, is there anything else that you need done? Organize files, cleaning up?" Emma blinked in surprise at Ruby's enthusiasm, and the young woman blushed. "Please – I want to be useful."

Emma laughed and nodded her understanding. She had been the same way when Queenie had first tapped her to help out at the bakery. "I'm swamped with the Kathryn Nolan thing. If you maybe want to grab us lunch, I would never say no to a grilled cheese."

Ruby nodded, moving to grab her bag, looking at Henry and Harry. "You boys want anything?"

Henry grinned. "Um, two chocolate chip cookies, an apple pie, and a hot dog."

Emma rolled her eyes fondly. "He ate at school."

Ruby laughed. "How about you, Harry?"

Harry hummed. "Grilled cheese and cinnamon hot chocolate, please!"

Emma laughed. "Definitely my kid."

As Ruby left, Emma walked into her office where her cell rang as soon as she sat down. She groaned, but she smiled when she saw her father's name on the screen. "Hey, Dad," she said as she answered.

"Hey, Emma," his voice came through. "I have an idea."

"What's up? Does this have to do with Kathryn?"

He laughed, sounding pleased. "Perceptive as always. I was thinking . . . Regina is obviously trying to frame me, right?"

Emma huffed. "She's always trying to frame everyone," she muttered darkly. "But yes."

David hummed his agreement. "I was thinking about how if she were to frame me, she'd go down by the toll bridge where I was found," he said. "Don't you think a clue or something would be down there?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Yes, that's genius, Dad! I'll go check it out with Ruby when she gets back!"

"Ruby?" he asked in surprise.

"I employed her. She quit Granny's and needed a job," Emma explained, wishing not for the first time that her godmother actually knew who she was. "Harry's here, do you want to come get him and take him somewhere?"

"Of course," David said. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay," Emma agreed and hung up. "Harry!" Not ten seconds later, Harry and Henry were both standing in front of her desk, knocking into each other, and Emma shook her head in exasperation. "Buddy, your grandpa is on his way, so just be ready for when he gets here."

Harry cheered in delight and Henry shrugged. "I've got to meet mom anyway." He smiled at his happy brother and laughed when Harry stumbled over his shoes and fell.

"Harry James," Emma warned, shaking her head. "Careful."

"Sorry, Mum," he giggled, and both boys took off outside the office to return to the computer.

Emma smiled fondly as she watched her sons, then her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She picked it up and checked the text, and her eyes widened. How could she have forgotten?

Full moon tomorrow night. Helping Lucius and Narcissa since Queenie is getting the bakery ready.

Emma sighed and typed out a confirmation to Newt, rubbing her temples. Now she was very glad she had Ruby for help since the rest of the family was occupied.

***

Ruby takes a deep breath before walking into Granny's Diner and walking up to the counter to order Emma's lunch. She felt the eyes of patrons on her back when she reached the counter, and she raised her chin when Granny spotted her and narrowed her eyes. "I need a couple of grilled cheeses and a cinnamon hot chocolate to go," she told her. "I'm working over at the sheriff's station now."

Granny wrote her order down and huffed. "Ah."

Ruby smiles serenely. "Sort of like a . . . like a Deputy, you know? I guess sometimes, your fate finds you."

Granny raised her eyebrows and took the order to the window, not even looking at she hung it for the cooks. "Seems kind of like you're doing the same thing you always done."

Ruby tilted her head. "Plus so much more."

Granny nodded. "Right. Those will be right up."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah."

Granny walked back to her books, gesturing to the window with a wry smile. "Tony has to unwrap the cheese slices."

Ruby smiled uncomfortably. "I help solve crimes."

Granny smiled placatingly. "I'm sure you do," she said. "I hope you're finding what you're looking for."

Ruby nodded, swallowing down the knot in her throat. "I am."

***

Emma smiled at Ruby as she came back to the station, carrying a bag and cup holder. "Harry, come get your hot chocolate before you leave!"

Harry, with his bag, grabbed his hot chocolate and grilled cheese from Ruby with a smile. "Thanks, Ruby!" he cheered before taking off to where Ruby had seen David's truck pulling up.

"Have fun, Harry!" Ruby called in reply.

"Okay, kid." Emma started, walking over to Henry. "Don't mean to kick you out, but I gotta go see if your grandfather is right," she said, lowering her voice so Ruby wouldn't hear as the brunette set the bags down and removed her thin jacket.

"It's okay," Henry nodded, plopping his storybook into the desk and sliding the drawer shut. "I'm supposed to meet my mom anyway." He locked the desk drawer shut and jumped from his seat to grab his backpack, then he looked at Emma expectantly. "You know, you can let Ruby do more. She's Little Red Riding Hood."

Emma raised her eyebrows, shaking her head, knowing very well who she was. "With the little basket? Yeah, she seems like a badass."

Henry nodded. "She is. She just doesn't remember how cool she is or what she's capable of. But it's true!" He walked out of the door.

"Hey, Emma," Ruby said, gesturing to the bag and cupholder. "Got your grilled cheese!"

Emma smiled, taking her lunch. "Thank you." She paused, seeing the sullen look on Ruby's face. "You all right?"

Ruby shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. "I guess. I mean, this is something I know how to do, so . . . " She held up her cup in a mock salute. "Yay."

Emma smirked. "Okay, let's pack these back up, and we can eat it in the car." Ruby blinked in surprise, and Emma tucked her phone into her pocket. "I need to do a little wilderness search, and I need your help."

Ruby scoffed. "I'm pretty sure I'm just going to screw it up. I mean, I'll screw it up with flair, but . . . "

Emma grinned with all the finesse of a regal witch. "No, you won't," she denied, plucking the cup from Ruby's hand and putting it back in the cupholder. "Come on – you can do this."

***

Both women get out of Emma's bug, both women's faces as dark as the clouds in the sky. The fog added to the eeriness that both felt surrounded by the woods like they were. Emma started towards where she knew the troll bridge was, and Ruby followed her, wincing when she stepped on a twig that snapped loudly. "This place is massive," she muttered, tugging her jacket tighter around her. "How are we supposed to know what we're looking for?"

"Well, the good news is we're almost to the bridge," Emma said, glancing warily at the sky.

Ruby scoffed, absently kicking a rock in her path. "I shouldn't even be here. I'm just going to screw everything up."

"Hey," Emma scowled, stopping in her tracks and grabbing Ruby's hand. "You are not going to screw up, OK? And even if you do, sometimes that's part of the job. You don't learn otherwise."

Ruby sighed and meekly nodded. "Fine." She followed Emma down the path by the toll bridge, frowning as she looked around. "I thought you said you planned on having Newt help you with this case."

"I did," Emma winced. "He, uh . . . something came up."

Ruby frowned, but Emma walked further ahead before she could inquire further. Ruby remained further up the shoreline, and while Emma walked along the edge of the river, Ruby looked down at the ground when she stepped on a wooden plank that definitely didn't belong there.

She kicked at it with her foot, wincing at the loud noise as it scraped across the gravel. A wet patch of sand was underneath, and she swallowed hard. "Emma!" she yelled, grabbing a stick to start digging through the sand. Emma quickly turned and ran back to Ruby, and her eyes widened when Ruby's stick stabbed something that sounded hard. Emma bent and grabbed her wand from her jacket pocket, gently waving it over the patch of sand. A wooden container with gold detailing sat innocently in the hole, and Ruby reached down to pick it up. "It looks like a jewelry box," she remarked.

Emma unlatched the lid and carefully opened the box, and Ruby screamed.

***

At the station, Emma and Ruby stared at the opened jewelry box sitting on the desk, but its contents hadn't changed no matter how hard they wished they would. "Is . . . " Ruby gulped, her face scrunching in disgust. "Is that what I think it is?"

Emma nodded with a heavy sigh. She had seen a lot of gruesome things in her life, especially once when she met Harry, but this . . . a dismembered human heart was not something she'd ever thought she'd see. "Yeah," she whispered.

Ruby turned and shook her head, her pale face tinged green. "I can't look."

Emma quickly shut the jewelry box with a gloved hand and turned to her friend in concern. "You okay?"

Ruby shook her head with a bitter laugh. "I don't know what I am."

"It's going to be all right," Emma said, squeezing Ruby's shoulder comfortingly. "We can figure out what happened now. Ruby, you did good."

Ruby stared at her in disbelief. "This is doing good?" she asked, gesturing frantically to the jewelry box.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Emma nodded. "I know you say you don't know what you are, but whatever it is, I got to say . . . I'm impressed."

"Don't be," Ruby shook her head, laughing shakily as she reached up to brush away a tear. "I'm . . . I'm scared out of my mind."

Emma raised her eyebrows. "But you did it anyway."

***

When Ruby walked through the diner doors the next afternoon, she did so without tight and skimpy clothes in sight. Her dark hair with bright red strands hung straight down her back, and there was a new confidence to her that made Granny pause in filling out the books in front of her. "You look good," she remarked.

"Thanks," Ruby smiled proudly, placing her purse on the hook nearby.

Granny smiled back at her. "Want something for the Sheriff?"

Ruby shook her head, taking off her jacket next. "Nope."

Granny opened her mouth to speak again, then she winced in pain and reached for her forearm. "Ah!"

Ruby frowned in concern, stepping closer to glance at the deep, angry scars on Granny's forearm. "Your arm okay?" she asked.

Granny seethed, absently rubbing the scars. "Same as it is every full moon." She readjusted her dress sleeve and returned to her books. "What are you doing here, Ruby? Are you here to tell me more about your fine new job?"

Ruby bit her lip and walked to stand in front of Granny. "I want to come back."

Granny did a double take. "Why?" she asked, looking at Ruby in surprise. "You were pretty mad."

Ruby sighed, tapping her fingers on the counter. "I wasn't mad."

Granny scoffed dubiously. "Looked like mad from here."

Ruby shook her head. "Mmhmm, yeah. Here's the thing." She fidgeted and brushed her hair behind her ear nervously. "Um . . . you were talking about having me do all this stuff, and I. . . wasn't sure. I . . . I said that you wanted me to turn into you, but what I meant was . . . I don't know how to be you." Granny looked up at her in surprise, and Ruby gulped. "You're a tough act to follow, Granny," she rushed out, and she looked slightly to her left to see Victor sitting at a booth and smiling softly at her. Seeing the doctor nod encouragingly gave her the confidence to continue.

"Oh," Granny's smile dimmed, and she looked down at her work.

Ruby stole a glance at Victor again and sighed. "And then you wanted me to take on all this extra responsibility, and I . . . guess I just got scared."

Granny shook her head at once. "Don't be," she said, stepping around the counter to Ruby's side. "You shouldn't be."

Ruby shrugged helplessly. "Well, I am. But it's okay. I can do it anyway." She smiled slightly. "I sort of found someone in myself that was more than I expected."

Granny raised an eyebrow. "What about adventure?" she pressed. "What about lemurs?"

Ruby snorted and giggled. "Emma was my lemur," she said, making Granny blink. "Did that, found out I could do that . . . and also that I don't want to. I don't want a job where a good day means ruining someone's life. I want to do something that makes me happy." She ran her hand over the countertop with a wistful smile. "Somewhere I love."

Granny sighed, grabbing her pen. "Look . . . just so you know, I wanted you to do the books and everything, so you could take over when I retire. Own the whole place."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Own it?!" she parroted in shock.

Granny nodded, smiling at her as she came around the counter. "Sure. I mean, who else would I give it to but someone who loves me back?"

Ruby grinned in delight and lunged forward to hug Granny. Granny chuckled and patted Ruby's shoulder, whispering into her hair. "Proud of you."

Ruby smirked a wolflike grin as she pulled away. "What was that?"

Granny rolled her eyes. "You heard me." Rubby giggled and moved to check the books. "Oh," Granny turned to look at her. "And one more thing, about the other night." Ruby looked up at her expectantly, and Granny sighed. "I know you weren't flirting with that August fellow." Her eyes slid past Ruby, and her lips quirked in a smirk when she saw Victor doing his best to pretend he wasn't very interested in their conversation. "You have made it very clear which man has your attention."

Ruby blushed, smiling shyly at Victor. "Yeah . . . I know I have."

"Or, well, men," Granny amended, and Ruby looked at her with wide eyes. "You certainly haven't been shy about Remus Lupin, either." Ruby's blush deepened, and Granny sighed, shutting her book with a snap. "You could do worse." She adjusted her glasses and walked to the register, muttering under her breath. "Though I guess he decided to pull a disappearing act."

Ruby did a double take. "What does that mean?"

"Hmm?" Granny looked up and blinked. "Oh, Remus. I haven't seen him since the day before yesterday."

Ruby balked. "What?!"

***

It was while I was editing this chapter that I remembered "oh . . . full moon . . . right" XD Sorry, Remus . . . guess your "furry little secret" isn't going to be much of a secret much longer.

We've got another interlude coming up, and then the big arc towards the end of Season 1 really begins! We're getting near the end of summer, guys!

***

Sorry it's been so long! Life just decided to get in the way! Anywho . . . this was a beast to write for no reason other than it was just my attention span not cooperating with me. I struggled XD Poor Remus. But. . .plot.

Anyway, how'd we like this one? What did we think about the longer "Queenie seeing a longer vision thing?"

Anyway, stay safe, stay warm, and stay reading <3 <3