"Here."
Sirius handed her a blanket from the couch. Aurora took it, not looking up from a spot on the floor. She was perched on the kitchen island and her mind was going over everything that had just happened.
Tom Riddle had killed someone.
She had witnessed a murder.
A murder that was met with applause.
She'd seen a mermaid.
That mermaid knew she was using magic.
Did it know what kind?
"Rory," Sirius said slowly. "What were you doing outside?"
She blinked. She needed to answer him. She needed to act normally or he might start asking questions she couldn't answer. "I, uh, couldn't sleep. I wanted some air."
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.
"And when I got outside, I saw a figure in the water. I went into the water to get a better look. When I realized it was a mermaid, I –"
"Mermaid?"
Aurora jumped as Remus stepped into the kitchen.
"You saw a mermaid?"
She nodded.
"I found her half-way in the water," Sirius told him, with an edge of worry.
Remus looked down to her wet, sandy feet.
"I'm going to get another blanket from upstairs," Sirius said.
He left and Remus stared at her.
"Mermaids are attracted to magic, you know," he said carefully.
"I know."
"Especially dark magic."
Her breath caught in her throat. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's very rare to see a mermaid in the ocean."
She didn't like his tone. "What, exactly, do you think I was doing out there, Remus?" she asked him coolly, knowing it might be the best deflection.
"I don't know."
They were staring at each other when Sirius returned. James and Lily were in tow.
"What's going on?" Lily asked.
Aurora frowned. Did they always stand that close together? Did Lily look..? And James's hair…well, his hair was always messy, wasn't it?
Next to her, Sirius was frowning as well. "Are you two –"
Lily's eyes met Aurora's with a touch of panic rising.
Her mind sputtered for a moment and then had an idea. There was no time to evaluate the idea before it was already coming out of her mouth.
"Remus accused me of dark magic."
Everyone swirled toward their tall friend, a chorus of disbelief.
"Aurora."
"Well, you did."
He exhaled. "I merely pointed out that merfolk are attracted to dark magic."
James's eyebrows knitted together. "You think someone was doing dark magic nearby?"
Lily made a sound of frustration. "James, Aurora wasn't –"
"Of course not Aurora," he interrupted. "But someone else could have been out there."
Her eyes went wide. "You think someone is outside practicing dark magic?"
Slowly, they all looked to the window.
Ten minutes later, Aurora and Sirius were walking along the beach, looking for signs that someone else had been there. Aurora tried to hide her frustration as she feigned searching, knowing nothing was out there.
Besides, it's not like there is worse dark magic then the kind I was performing.
"I don't really think there is someone out here," Sirius said. "But let's walk a little bit further and then turn back. Give Lily and James a few more minutes alone."
Aurora smiled.
"He's going to be impossible to live with if that turns into something. She's all he has talked about since fifth year," he continued, shaking his head. "Unrequited love."
She laughed. "Maybe not entirely unrequited."
He lifted an eyebrow.
"That's all I'll say."
He laughed. "I think it's going to be an interesting year then."
They stopped walking and he looked out at the water. She knew they were both thinking about going back to school – and the people they would see when they did.
Aurora shook her head. "I haven't heard from him."
She could see Sirius's expression fighting to stay neutral.
"I think he might be angry with me. He hasn't written me once this summer."
He shrugged, perhaps a little too casually. "Well, Reg doesn't usually stay angry for long."
Aurora thought about her last conversation with Sirius's brother and wondered if that would still be true.
She turned back to say something else but her eyes caught on a shadowy figure behind Sirius's shoulder.
But her heart didn't skip. Her breath didn't catch.
She knew that figure. It had been following her all summer.
"Let's go back," she told Sirius.
They met the others by the house. Remus opened his mouth as she approached, but she cut him off. "It's fine, Remus. Let's just go to bed."
They made their way upstairs
The beach house had five rooms, so the boys were sharing but Lily and Aurora each had their own. When Aurora closed the door behind her, her eyes immediately went to the window.
A piece of parchment was waiting on the other side of the glass.
Opening the window, she pulled it inside. Unfolding the note, she read the single line.
Well done with the Bludger.
Unsmiling, she carried the note to her desk and opened a drawer. She dropped the note inside with numerous others like it.
Pushing the drawer closed, her eyes caught on a bit of emerald on her desk. She grabbed it and pulled out a card she had nearly forgotten about. Her eyes ran over the embossed black letters.
Narcissa Black cordially invites you…Willowbourgh Lane…Friday the 29th…
She had nearly forgotten.
Well, she wished she had nearly forgotten.
Whether or not to attend the party had been on her mind since she had received the invitation a few weeks before. But now, after speaking with Sirius, she knew she had to go.
Silence hadn't been the best choice this summer.
She needed to speak with Regulus.