It was strange for Sirius to be here now. Remus had spent 12 years believing that his best friend was a killer. Remus thought he was raising Sirius' daughter to have a healthier family than she would have if she stayed with the Black family.

But now, Sirius was standing at Aurora's bedside. Then he looked to Harry. Both children were sleeping, which they needed after the night they'd had.

"James and I always joked about Aurora and Harry being together. Now it seems kind of surreal that it's happened," Sirius said. His voice was low, so he didn't wake them. He'd told Remus what he'd heard earlier that morning. They were in love. It was clearly the first time either of them had said so to the other.

"Breaks my heart a little," Remus said as Sirius walked back to him. They stood at the foot of their beds. "I'm glad she's happy, to be sure. But it's strange to watch as someone else becomes the most important person in her life."

Sirius loosed a deep breath. "I always imagined my life with Aurora included Theo. I don't know how you did it on your own. And she's… She's perfect."

"I'm inclined to agree," Remus said. "It wasn't always easy, but she was… I can't believe she grew up to be this person. Especially since she came from you."

Sirius chuckled. "Did a better job than I ever could have."

"She loves you," Remus told him. "She tells me so. She feels a connection with you, which is understandable. You are her father. And you're so much alike. Annoyingly so."

"Annoyingly so?" Sirius chuckled. "You must be referring to her telling Severus he was a 'salty bitch.'"

Remus groaned which caused Sirius to laugh again. "Exactly. And she told me she keeps back talking him to 'set boundaries.'"

"Sorry. That absolutely sounds like my child," Sirius said. "But she's so well-spoken because of you. She's like me but with a better vocabulary."

"And yet the words she chose for Severus were 'salty bitch,'" Remus said.

"Sometimes you can't go wrong with simplicity," Sirius said.

Remus nodded in agreement. "And yet she is still perfect."

"I agree," Sirius said. "But you did all the hard work."

"She's just started dating a boy. I don't think I've begun the hard work," Remus said.

"Even if it's Harry? Sirius asked.

Remus nodded. "I remember what James was like when he was Harry's age."

"Well, in James' defense I was much worse," Sirius said. "Although not by much."

"All that means is that we'll have to worry about both of them," Remus said.

"Do that plenty already," Sirius said.

"She told me before the third task that if she'd known having a boyfriend meant she'd have another person worrying after her she might've passed on it," Remus said.

Sirius laughed. "That she gets from Theo."

It was hard to think of Theodosia. Sirius had been so in love with her, but she was gone now. Where and what happened to her he didn't know. No one knew. It made him angry to think that maybe Aurora's mother had just walked out of the door and never come back. When Sirius went to Azkaban, he'd thought that at least his daughter would have her mother.

But he'd been wrong. And he missed the idea of Theodosia now. If she ever turned back up, Sirius couldn't say if he might care one way or the other where he was concerned. Now he wondered what it would do to Aurora to meet her.

Perhaps that day would never come. Maybe they'd never know what happened to her mother. Sirius could live with that. Because he'd been reunited with his daughter and she was all that mattered.

Miserable wasn't the word. Misery simply did not do it justice.

Sometimes when Rory closed her eyes, she saw Crouch's face. Other times she saw Cedric's. And sometimes she saw nothing but a black, inky void where the walls crept in around her, threatening to squeeze the very life from her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, all she could feel was terror.

It was that terror she felt the first night she slept in her dorm. She thought she might be dying and she'd been so frantic that her roommates thought she might be as well. But Matilda managed to walk her to the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey told her that she was having a panic attack.

There was a whole week of school left, so Rory didn't care. A dreamless sleeping draught every night until she went home was going to be the only way she and her roommates got any sleep. When she got home, she'd figure out what to do then.

But the week dragged. And all Rory wanted to do was go home, sleep in her own bed, and be away from Hogwarts and all the horrible things that had happened this year. Even if it meant she wouldn't see Harry for a while.

Harry was equally miserable. He complained of bad dreams and his restlessness showed on his face. He'd had to meet with Cedric's parents which he'd described as being horrible. He didn't want the money he'd won from the tournament, but Cedric's parents wouldn't take it either.

Additionally, Dumbledore insisted that Harry spend at least part of the summer with his aunt and uncle in Surrey before visiting the Burrow with Ron later.

"I hate to think of you going back there after all this," Rory said. They were sitting on the couch together waiting for the leaving feast.

"I'm sure they'll just leave me alone like they always do," Harry said.

"But you shouldn't be alone," Rory said. She couldn't imagine feeling like she did and being alone. She didn't want to imagine having to go home and then being ignored. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm going to write to you so much you get sick of me."

"I see you every day and you think writing to me will make me sick of you?" he asked. "I think it'll just make me miss you more. But that's part of the deal with this, isn't it? Absence makes the heart grow fonder right?"

"So they say," Rory said. "But I'd still rather be with you."

Harry had an arm around her and held her close. "Me too. But at least I'll be able to look forward to seeing you. I'll need something to look forward to. And I look forward to seeing you every day already. Although I think I might explode with happiness when I get to see you again."

"Try not to explode. I quite like having you around," she said. She lifted her head and kissed him. "I love you."

It still felt strange to say it aloud, to feel it. To know he felt it as well was even stranger.

"I love you too," he said. Hearing the words warmed her all over. It made her heart does backflips. How was she going to survive spending so much time away from him? Even with all this darkness around them, he made her feel so much light and happiness. Sometimes she felt like he was the only good thing in her life.

She knew that wasn't true, but it was hard to see anything beyond the glow Harry seemed to give off for her. She kissed him again. All she wanted to do all day, every day was kiss him and hold him and be near him. And to kiss him. She really, really, enjoyed kissing him.

They did eventually extract themselves from the couch and made their way back to the Great Hall. Things were somber there. All of the banners and curtains were blacked out of respect for Cedric.

Before the feast, the choir sang a traditional wizarding mourning song, and Dumbledore gave a speech about Cedric, talked about how Voldemort was responsible for his death, and that everyone should look out for each other in the meantime.

Rory hoped that the request did not fall on deaf ears.

The train ride back to London was too long. In a departure from the norm, Rory had the shade up in their compartment and the window open. It was hard not to feel trapped and confined in the small box of a space she and her companions had put themselves into.

She'd promised Matilda and Neville no more secrets, but she didn't want to talk at all about shaken the incident with Moody had left her. She'd only told Harry. He was the only one who would truly understand what was wrong.

But no one questioned why she wanted to have the window open.

"It's not that I want to see him crying," Matilda was saying, "but at least pretend to be a little broke up about it."

She'd broken up with Fred a few days earlier. She was only a little distressed about it and more concerned that Fred wasn't.

"You two were just fighting all the time," Hermione said, turning the page of her book. "I can't imagine he feels anything other than relieved. You do."

"There is a small Fred-shaped hole in my heart where he used to be, but I will soldier on. I mean, I'm too pretty to be sad," Matilda said. "Is your brother Bill single, Ron?"

"You're not going to date your way through my family. You already Fred. The rest of us are off-limits," Ron said.

Matilda groaned and slouched in her seat. "Fine." She looked to Hermione. "Are you going to see Viktor this summer?"

"Don't think so," Hermione said. "I think we'll just be friends."

"What a shame," Matilda sighed. She looked over to Rory and Harry. "Looks like you're the only champion couple who managed to survive past the Yule Ball. Although, Cho and Cedric didn't actually break up." Matilda sighed again. "Merlin what a year."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"Oh!" Hermione said. "I forgot to say, I found out how Rita Skeeter was getting all of her information."

"How?" Rory asked.

"Well, remember how Harry kept saying the school was bugged even though I kept reminding him electricity doesn't work in the castle because of too much magical interference?" Hermione asked.

"I think everyone remembers," Ron said.

Hermione elbowed him. "It got me thinking. And I was right." She reached into her bag and pulled out a jar with a beetle inside. But it was curious looking. "It's her. Rita Skeeter. She's an unregistered animagus. Terribly easy to eavesdrop when you're a beetle."

"Whoa," Harry said looking at the jar. "I guess you could say Hogwarts really was bugged."

"You proud of that joke?" Rory asked.

"Yep," he replied.

"I've promised not to report her to the ministry as long as she takes a break from writing for an entire year," Hermione explained as she put the jar back in her bag. "And none of the things were talked about in the hospital wing, where I caught her last week, will come out either."

"So, wait," Rory said lifting her head from Harry's shoulder. "You've been holding Rita Skeeter prisoner in a jar for a week?"

Hermione paused. "You know, I didn't really think about it because she's a beetle, but I suppose you're right."

"That's super fucked up," Rory said.

"It kind of is," she replied. She let out a sigh. "Well, what's done is done I suppose. She won't be bothering us anymore."

Rory wanted to comment further but didn't have the energy. Rita Skeeter was in a jar in Hermione's purse and that was just going to have to be that.

"I'm glad this term is over," Matilda said. "Skeeter didn't even write about me and I'm exhausted with The Prophet. And that last article she wrote about Harry was just nasty."

"Well, he killed someone so it'll be difficult to act like it didn't happen," Harry said.

"But what happens now? What if the ministry keeps acting like nothing is wrong?" Neville asked.

"The truth is going to come out one way or another," Rory said. "We may just need to be patient."

"Who needs patience?" Matilda asked. "Give me instant gratification or give me death."

Dread found its way into Rory's bones as they pulled into King's Cross station. It was the regular kind of unmagical dread that came with the sadness of being away from her friends all summer. Especially given everything that happened this last year.

Even though he was standing beside her as he pulled their trunks from the overhead compartment, Rory already missed Harry.

"Don't look so sad," he said when they were alone in the cabin. "It'll only be for a few weeks probably."

"Still too long," Rory said. "You'll write to me, won't you? I know you don't particularly like writing."

"I think I can make myself get over it for you," he said. He kissed her. He started to pull away, but Rory pulled him back and deepened the kiss. Harry didn't protest and he leaned into her. She wanted to savor this. This kiss might have to last her all summer.

When they broke apart from each other Rory wrapped him in a hug.

"I wanted to kiss you goodbye, but I didn't want my dad to see," Rory said.

Harry nodded. "Good call on that one." He kissed her one last time and then stared into her eyes. "I love you."

Rory could not imagine ever getting tired of hearing him say that. "I love you too."

They got off the train and joined their friends in line to exit the platform. They exited to King's Cross together. She didn't want to leave Harry, but she also felt incredibly relieved when she saw her dad waiting for her. She did want to go home and sleep in her own bed. She wanted to have coffee and toast with her dad while she listened to her ABBA records in the morning. Her love for Harry could not replace her love for her father.

"Take care of yourself," Matilda said. "I'll be writing."

"Of course," Rory said.

"Do you think you'll be able to come around at all?" Neville asked.

The last three years Neville, Matilda, and Rory got together on Neville's birthday. Last year, Neville's grandmother invited Rory's dad and put "Harry Birthday Neville and Aurora" on the cake and she'd cried. She wasn't sure she could deal with a display of kindness like that again.

"I'll try," Rory said. Even if she ended up sobbing again, she did like the three of them being together for at least one day out of the summer. It gave her something to look forward to.

"I'm going to go before Mrs. Weasley spots me," Matilda said. "Harry, you'll be hearing from me as well."

"I bet," he said.

Rory had a strong feeling that, no matter what, Ron and Hermione would definitely be around this summer. Harry was the only wild card.

"Stay safe," Rory said.

"You too," he replied.

She pushed herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek. Then she walked away, not really wanting to, but she did. She made her way to her dad and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so glad to be going home," Rory said. "This last week has felt like a year.

"I can only imagine," Remus said. "How've you been holding up?"

As they walked from the train station, Rory told her dad about the panic attacks, the claustrophobia, the nightmares. He seemed as though it shaved a year off his life with every word she spoke.

"Hopefully some time at home will do you some good," Remus said.

"Gonna take a lot of Mama Mia to help me get over this," she said.

"And time," Remus said. "Mostly time."

Rory sighed. "It feels like I'm going to feel like this forever. That I'm just meant to be terrified the rest of my life. Or that I'm going to be so sleep deprived that I fall into some sort of psychosis."

"You will be fine. Not right away, but eventually," Remus said.

It wasn't a long walk from the train station to their flat. Rory loved her "new" home, although at this point they'd been living there since the end of her third year. It was a far cry from the shabby, tiny flat they'd had before.

Rory had her own bedroom and her own bathroom. The size of the kitchen was respectable, rather than the world's tiniest oven with two burners and a sink. And just off the living room there was a balcony she sat on in the mornings with her dad while they had breakfast if it was nice out.

Sharing a room and a bathroom with four other girls felt akin to torture now that she had all this space to live in during the summer.

"Oh, I've got a surprise for you," Remus said when they reached their door.

"You got Meryl Streep in there?" Rory asked.

Remus chuckled. "Afraid not. Although, this person might be just as dramatic."

He unlocked the door and let her inside. To her left was the kitchen and to her right the small corridor that led to her bedroom. Straight ahead she could see clear through to the living room and out onto the balcony.

And sitting in her living room on the couch was Sirius Black.

"You're here!" she said excitedly. She gently sat her trunk down and walked over to hug him. "Sorry I wasn't able to properly hug you last time I saw you."

"Concussions will do that to you," Sirius said. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh," Rory groaned. "Not great. But better now that I'm home. And you're here. Are you staying long?"

"A few more days, but don't worry. I've acquired alternative lodging," Sirius said. "Your couch is lovely though."

Rory turned to her dad. "You didn't let him stay in my room?"

"Oh, he did, but somehow it felt strange to sleep in a room with Viktor Krum staring at me all night," Sirius said.

Rory nodded. "Gonna have to take the poster down since he's dating Hermione. Or was. She dumped him."

"What for?" Sirius asked.

"Just wants to be friends is what she said. Plus he's a few years older than her," Rory said. "Though I suspect it also has something to do with the fact that she and Ron have basically been in love with each other since second year."

"Really?" Remus asked. "I did not pick up on that at all."

"You should've been around for the Yule Ball," Rory said. And she told them all about Ron and Hermione's argument in the Great Hall and the subsequent shouting match they had in the common room, followed by sitting up with Hermione for an hour while she cried and ranted about Ron.

"And then what happened?" Sirius asked.

"And the next day they acted like none of it even happened. Can you believe?" Rory asked. "I was a little impressed honestly because I told Harry that I liked him and he basically 'thank you' and I could not even look him in the eye after that."

"When did this happen?" Remus asked.

"Right before he asked me out. I literally said 'I like you' and he said something along the lines of 'I'm glad we're friends too.' I was so embarrassed, but it turns out he had no idea what was going on until Mattie and Hermione made him think it through," Rory said.

"Boys are idiots," Sirius said.

"That was Harry's excuse also," Rory said. "Don't know how heavily he can rely on that excuse now that he's managed to escape death at the hands of Voldemort twice now though. The first time might've been luck, this last time had to involve some degree of intelligence, right?"

"Trust me, being book smart and being able to read a room do not go hand in hand," Sirius said. "I think your dad knows all about that."

"You're so bad at reading a room that you landed in prison for 12 years for a murder that you did not commit," Remus said.

"He's got a point there," Rory laughed. Sirius patted her on the head. "Oh, Daddy can we have Thai for dinner tonight? Please, please, please?"

"You'll be happy to know that I already called to order from Bangkok Thai and they'll be delivering your panang curry within the hour," Remus said. "While we wait can you please go unpack all of the things from your trunk? I promise Sirius isn't going anywhere."

Rory sighed. "All right. And when I'm done I have to tell you about Matilda and Fred and George and Ludo Bagman and the blackmail."

"What?" Sirius asked.

"When I'm done," Rory said, catching a glance from her dad, knowing that now was not the time to indulge Sirius. Clearly, she'd inherited her chattiness from him.

She wheeled her trunk into her room, leaving the door open just a touch. She opened her windows and let the warm evening air in. She didn't imagine she'd be sleeping with the window closed any time soon, but she did feel safer than she had at Hogwarts.

Remus had always protected her. He was her father through and through. No one made her feel safer. Not even Harry. And having Sirius around, at least for a few days, also made her feel safer. She knew neither of them was a dark wizard in disguise.

But she still missed Harry. Part of her felt like it was a good thing that they'd have some time apart. They were both so consumed with each other most of the time. It would be good to have some space. But she also hated the idea of space. She wanted Harry to never be more than a quick run across the hall to the boys' dormitory.

Instead of immediately unpacking her trunk, she pulled out a piece of parchment and sat down at her desk to write a letter.

Harry,

I made it less than 10 minutes in my house before I started missing you. I won't have my dad post this until tomorrow evening so I can retain some of my dignity, but I'm thinking of you. I think it's always going to be that way now. Thinking of you and missing you when you aren't here.

I'm so scared of what's to come. I hate that for some reason the universe chose to send all these trials your way. But you'll always have a better chance of knowing what's coming with me by your side I suppose.

If those muggles continue to be nasty to you, just casually toss out that your girlfriend's dad is a werewolf. My dad could not fight his way out of a wet paper bag most days, but if the threat of a serial killer being your godfather doesn't quite do the job, a werewolf might.

I love you like mad, Harry Potter. I know our time apart is only temporary, but it doesn't give me any comfort. I want to be where you are always, and I hate that I'm not with you right now. I'll be counting the days until I see you again. And whatever is coming for you, for everyone, I want to be with you when it happens.

Love,

Aurora