"Good afternoon, Aurora" Rory looked up from her paper-covered desk and saw Albus Dumbledore, "I hope you have a batch of some of your delicious brownies ready for me?"

Rory let out a short laugh as she stood up, "That would require you actually telling me when you are coming to visit." She moved around her desk and gave the old wizard a hug, then motioned for him to have a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Alas, the fates seem to not be in my favor. Perhaps next time then." He replied with a light-hearted chuckle as he sat down in one of the offered chairs.

Rory rolled her eyes, the smile still on her face, "Or perhaps include more in your letters. Not just: 'I have been thinking of your wonderfully delicious brownies recently. I hope that I will have the opportunity to have some soon.'" She countered, quoting the letter she received from him earlier that week. She moved to sit down behind her desk, trying to tidy up all the papers and patient, trying to restore some sense of order in her office. As she did she peeked up at Dumbledore, "So I'm going to assume you aren't here just to talk about my delicious pastries."

Dumbledore gave her a knowing smile then proceeded to pull a folded piece of parchment from his robe pocket, and held it out for her to take.

Rory sighed and took the paper from his hand, "Where are you sending me now?" She asked as she unfolded the paper and began reading, assuming he was sending her on another assignment. "Wait this isn't..."

"Madame Pomfrey is looking to retire in the next few years, however before she leaves she would like to train her replacement personally." He gave the young witch a smile with a twinkle in his eyes, "You were her first recommendation."

"You want me to work at Hogwarts..." Rory looked up at Dumbledore, unsure on what to think of the job offer.

Dumbledore nodded, "It would be a joy to have you back in the school, I'm sure you will feel right at home in no time."

Rory sighed and leaned back, "I don't know Professor. I mean I honestly would love to work at Hogwarts, but at the same time I have to think about it income wise. I would be taking a major pay cut."

Personally, Rory couldn't care less about money, but she had more to think about than just herself. She had to think of Remus who didn't have a steady income to rely on. She also felt the constant need to be prepared for the day she got Harry back.

Ever since Harry was taken from her twelve years ago she, along with a few others, have tried to find ways to get Harry back to her. While each failure felt like a knife to her heart, she did not let it stop her from fighting.

"I will actually be paying you exactly what you are making here." Dumbledore said, snapping Rory out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened slightly but before she could respond he continued, "Of course I am also factoring in the work you do for me personally."

She did always have a knack for finding out secrets, she was always on top of the latest gossip when she attended Hogwarts, and always knew how to find out what she wanted to know. Dumbledore, who had kept an eye on her during her years at Hogwarts thought she would be a good asset to the Order of the Phoenix. So once she graduated she was inducted into the Order and got to work right away.

The blond waved her hand, "Dumbledore you do not have to pay me for that! You don't pay the other Order members."

Dumbledore nodded, running his hand over his long white beard, "Well the others haven't continued working well after the war has ended."

Rory shrugged as she leaned back in her chair, raising her legs to rest them up on her desk, "It keeps me in the know, and I also enjoy doing it. So it is honestly no trouble at all."

"Well it is truly no trouble for me to pay you for your services. I know for a fact that you would rather be with your godchildren, than running around right and left for an old wizard." He countered.

Rory sighed, knowing well enough that Dumbledore was going to get what he wanted, "Okay, you can pay me."

Dumbledore stood up, a smile on his face, "Wonderful, I shall inform Poppy of our decision!"

Rory jumped up, "Whoa! Slow your roll there Professor, I agreed to let you pay me for the missions I do for you, but I'm still not sure about the school healer position. There are many more factors that go along with switching jobs!"

Dumbledore chuckled and sat back down in the chair, "Well what other concerns do you have, Aurora?"

"For one, I wouldn't want to leave Remus all alone. You know he can't find steady work due to that blasted registry. Secondly... well I guess that's it. Remus is family and I have to make sure he is taken care of."

Dumbledore smiled at her, a knowing look in his eyes, "Well that will not be a problem seeing as I have already offered Mr. Lupin a teaching position at Hogwarts."

Rory's eyes went wide, "Seriously? Because that's nothing to joke about."

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes my dear, I offered him the post of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. It did take some convincing, but he has accepted."

A huge smile spread across Rory's face as she rushed over to the Headmaster and threw her arms around him, "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to him!"

Dumbledore let out a laugh and patted the woman on her back, "Nonsense my dear, I have only picked the one I felt was right for the position."

Rory pulled back, the smile still on her face, "Still, thank you for giving him the chance. I haven't spoken to him yet but I know he is over the moon... No pun intended."

Dumbledore nodded, "I'm sure he is. But I will consider myself the grateful one to have someone competent teaching the class. Last year was truly a..."

"Disaster." Rory finished, leaning up against her desk, "There's no need to sugar coat it Professor."

Dumbledore nodded, "But back to the subject at hand, since I have already fixed the only reservation you had, I am going to assume that you will also be joining my staff at Hogwarts."

Rory laughed and threw her hands in the air, "Oh hell why not."

Dumbledore smiled and stood up, "Wonderful! I shall inform Poppy of the good news, and if all goes well I will see you at Hogwarts." And with that Dumbledore vanished in the blink of an eye.

It had been a month since Rory had accepted the job as the new healer at Hogwarts, and time seemed to fly by and kept her busy. From getting everything ready for her departure from St. Mungo's, to helping Remus prepare for his new position; Rory barely had any time to relax.

So when the opportunity came to meet up with the Rosier family for lunch, Rory immediately took the opportunity to relax for the afternoon. She had even convinced Remus to join her.

As the pair walked into the Leaky Cauldron, Rory couldn't help but notice all the wanted posters for the escaped murderer, Sirius Black. It made a shiver go down Rory's spine, seeing how someone who was called her friend now looked absolutely mad.

Remus seemed to notice his friend's discomfort and placed a hand on her back, gently guiding her towards an empty booth in the corner of the inn, "Don't worry Rory, Dumbledore won't let him get near Harry."

Rory sighed, "I'm just worried. Not just about Sirius, but Dumbledore said that the Minister is having the dementors stationed at Hogwarts for extra protection." She explained as they sat down at the table.

It was Remus' turn to sigh as he shook his head, "I'm sure that he is trying to keep-"

Rory scoffed, "Then he should have brought in some aurors. Dementors, in my opinion, are the worst of the worst. They won't know the difference between a criminal and a student." The blonde ran her fingers through her hair before continuing, "And with how much Harry and his friends get themselves into trouble you know it's only a matter of time before they run into them."

Remus reached over and placed a hand on Rory's, "Dumbledore will explain the importance of staying away from anywhere the dementors are. Harry is a smart lad, he will understand the importance of laying low this year."

Rory nodded, "I hope you're right... I feel a lot better knowing that you'll be there."

Remus chuckled and sat back in his seat, "He will have you there as well."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Yeah well I haven't done him any good for him yet." She muttered mostly to herself but Remus heard her.

He shook his head, "You have run yourself ragged, Flitter. You've done everything you can to help that boy. Lily and James would-"

"Be extremely disappointed in me that I haven't gotten him away from his horrid aunt and uncle? Yeah they would be. I'M disappointed in myself."

The man sighed, "Rory when Harry was a baby you would sneak into the Dursleys' house every night and watch over him. You were there for his first day of primary school and his first day at Hogwarts. You broke the bank buying him a Nimbus 2000, for goodness sake!" Remus let out a laugh, "You have been behind the scenes the entire time, protecting him and making sure he is loved even when you can't be there."

"Yeah except when he is with the Dursleys." Rory countered, "You know they say that the best way to erase bad memories is to replace them with happy ones, how am I supposed to erase that much pain and trauma from his life?" Rory asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Remus was about to respond when a voice rang out through the room, "AUNT RORY!"

Rory turned toward the voice with a wide smile, "There's my favorite girl!" She held her arms out and a young girl ran into them. Rory squeezed the girl against her before letting go and brushing some dark curls out of dark brown eyes. Eyes just as curious and mischievous as the day Rory helped her into the world.

"Morena! Are you excited about another year at Hogwarts?" Remus greeted from behind Rory. The girl turned and gave Remus a hug just as tight as she did to her godmother with a grin she answered with a resounding "Yes!"

"Well! What am I? Chopped liver?" A throaty feminine voice asked. Her tone too amused to have any real bite to her words.

Rory laughed as she stood up to greet her best friend Carmen Rosier, "How could I ever forget you! You never give me the chance!" She hugged Carmen tightly.

"Well since you have left me all alone at St. Mungos I can only assume that you have forgotten me completely." The beautiful hispanic woman retorted, making Rory roll her eyes.

Elias Rosier came forward to clasp Remus by the hand, his grin reminiscent of the one his daughter had just given him. His green eyes glowing with genuine warmth towards the other man. "Good to see you again Remus, how are the travel preparations going? Ready for your first day?"

Remus laughed, "All the bags are packed and I already have my first lesson planned." He then motioned to the empty seats at the table, "Please have a seat everyone. I was just about to flag down Tom to take our orders."

Morena's eyes lit up, "What's the first lesson going to be?" She asked as she took a seat between her mother and godmother, "Please don't tell me it's a pop quiz about your eye color, I might physically vomit."

Carmen laughed and nudged her daughter's arm, "Don't be so dramatic missy, and no sassing your Uncle Remus when he is acting as your teacher."

"Of course I won't sass him, when he is acting as my teacher," Morena replied with a practiced coolness to her face and speech.

"You still have a ways to go to master an organic looking straight face, dear. You know full well what your mother meant and you will not twist words." Elias chuckled despite his words and gave his daughter a teasing look, which Morena returned with a smile of her own.

Rory rolled her eyes at the tiny Slytherin's attempts to be sneaky, but turned to her goddaughter, "So what kind of broom did you get?"

Morena's smile grew at the mention of her latest purchase, "It's a Cleansweep 8! Only slightly newer than the Cleansweep 7 since they are coming out with the 9 soon, but this one had their first attempt at an Anti-Jinx varnish and was made from Spanish Oak."

Remus raised a brow, "Are you planning on joining the Quidditch team this year?"

The young soon-to-be second year nodded, "Yes! I'm going to try out for the chaser position. Draco has even been giving me some tips and tricks in order to impress the team Captain, Marcus Flint."

Elias dramatically groaned, "Oh yes! The family owl has stayed quite busy these last few weeks, going back and forth between our house and the Malfoy's."

Carmen laughed and ran her fingers through her daughter's curls, "Well she just wants to be prepared. She gets that from me."

Elias playfully scoffed, "I am prepared for nearly everything."

This was Rory's turn to laugh, "Uhhh didn't you forget the wedding rings at yours and Carmen's wedding?"

Morena let out a laugh, "OH I bet mom was mad." She then turned to her mom and saw the utter shock on her face. Her eyes were wide and she swung her head to meet Elias' sheepish gaze.

"Unfortunately, your mom did not know...until just now. Might I remind the table that I did say 'nearly' everything." He heaved a great sigh as he waited. Mount Carmen was about to erupt, one of the explosions that he has spent over a decade keeping from detonating.

Carmen pulled herself together and slowly narrowed her eyes at her husband. She lifted her chin and drew in a big breath ready to lay into him when the door swung open and a shock of red hair entered into her periphery.

"Morena!"

A one Ginny Weasley sped towards their table, nimbly dodging tables, chairs, and other patrons.

"Ginny!" Morena got up from her seat and went over to hug her best friend, "How was Egypt?"

Ginny returned Morena's hug, "It was awesome! Fred and George almost locked Percy in a tomb!" The two girls giggled and started to catch up, each sharing details about their summer activities.

The four adults were about to go back to their conversation when another voice rang out, "Rory Willows!"

This time Rory looked up and saw Molly and Arthur Weasley making their way over to the table, a group of kids following behind them. Rory smiled at the red haired couple and stood up, "Molly, how are you?"

The plump woman brought the blonde in for a tight hug, "I am better now after seeing you! It has been far too long dear."

Rory hugged her back, "It has been, work has been keeping me busy that's for sure."

The two women started catching up, not noticing the stare of one green eyed boy that was with the Weasley children.

Harry, who had been out most of the day exploring and shopping in Diagon Alley, came back to the inn with the Weasleys. He saw the blonde woman and was immediately filled with a feeling of familiarity.

The woman looked so familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen her before, so he then turned to Ron. "Hey, who is that woman talking to your mum?"

Ron, who was talking to Hermione, turned his attention to the woman in question, "Oh that's Healer Willows. She is a family friend and also helps out mum and dad when one of us is sick."

Hermione looked at the messy haired boy, "Why do you ask Harry?"

Harry shrugged, "She looks really familiar is all."

The red haired boy looked at Rory for a second and then back at Harry, "Maybe you've seen her around Hogwarts, dad says that she helps out Dumbledore a lot as well."

Hermione scrutinized at the healer for a moment, "She does look awfully familiar. I feel as though I have seen her before, as well."

The trio was silent for a few moments, each trying to remember where Harry and Hermione might have seen the blonde witch before, when suddenly a light went off in Hermione's head.

"I KNOW!" She exclaimed and then grabbed each boys' hand, dragging them to the staircase, "Quickly, let's go to Harry's room."

Ron took his hand from the girl's tight grip, "Whatever for? Just tell us here."

The bushy haired girl rolled her eyes, "Will you stop being so lazy Ronald! We need Harry's photo album!"

Harry caught on after that and quickly followed Hermione up the stairs and to his room, Ron trailing behind.

Once they made it to Harry's room he quickly pulled out the album and handed it to Hermione. She quickly flipped through the pages until she came to a photo of Harry as a baby in the arms of Healer Willows.

"There she is!" Hermione pointed out as she took the photo out of the album. Sure enough there was the blonde woman, a big smile on her face as she looked down at the little baby in her arms.

Harry took the picture from Hermione and stared at it for a beat, "She knew me when I was a baby. That must mean she knew my parents as well."

Ron was about to say something when he noticed some writing on the back of the photo, "Hey what's that say on the back?"

Harry flipped the photograph around and read aloud, "Four month old Harry with his favorite Aunt Rory."