The DA meetings renewed something in Harry. He felt like he was doing something actually good. Not to mention, he really did have a knack for it. Rory was even more talented at breaking specific things down than he was. They were a great team.
And things between them cooled down. Harry went out of his way to not talk to Cho more than was necessary. Usually just "hello" and "goodbye" and the occasional correction or good word during their DA meeting (because Rory still didn't want to interact with Cho at all if she could help it).
Interestingly enough, distancing himself from Cho made it glaringly obvious that Cho liked him. She repeatedly went out of her way to talk to him and even lingered behind after their meetings to talk to him. To her credit, Rory didn't cling to him or watch him over her shoulder when he talked to Cho (that he noticed). He'd just tell her that he couldn't chat because he had plans with Rory and Cho would always leave.
Also, to her credit, Rory didn't tell him "I told you so" about it.
Instead, he and Rory had been taking advantage of the Room of Requirement. Their impromptu date nights were nice. After the rest of the DA had cleared out of the room, Rory and Harry discussed the meeting briefly, then they would read or do homework, fool around, and chat. Once they'd even fallen asleep on the plush cushions and had to sneak back to Gryffindor under Harry's invisibility cloak at nearly one in the morning.
But it was wonderful. Since school had started, he and Rory had been arguing so much. It was a relief for them to be back to normal. He felt like he'd missed her even though they hadn't been apart a single day since the beginning of August.
The night before the first Quidditch match of the season, Harry was nervous again. Rory also seemed to be nervous, which was never a good sign because she usually knew how things were going to play out.
Mostly, Harry was worried about Ron. When Ron did well, it was great, but if he made even the slightest mistake, it shook his confidence. It didn't help that the Slytherins had been at nearly every practice taunting Ron incessantly. This last week, Snape had even booked the pitch solidly for Slytherin so that Gryffindor had no chance to practice at all.
Harry left his dorm early the morning of the match and was surprised to find Rory waiting in the common room for him. For the most part, her sleep schedule had gone back to being somewhat normal, so she didn't usually wake this early.
"Don't tell me you've still got Quidditch nerves too," Harry said.
"Always," Rory said. "Where's Ron?"
"Not up yet," Harry said. "Why?"
"Don't let him see the Slytherins. I've already been down to breakfast and they are excelling with their assholery today," Rory said.
"What did they do?" Harry asked.
"They made pins," Rory said as they left the common room. "They say 'Weasley is our king.'"
"What does that mean?" Harry asked.
"Who knows, but I'd rather not let Ron get in his head about it," Rory said.
Harry sighed. What a day this was already shaping up to be.
"Any more bad news?" Harry asked.
"No," Rory replied. "But I did see Luna. She's made a hat. Looks like a lion. Roars and everything. I'm jealous I didn't think of something so outlandish and prideful myself."
Harry nodded and remembered something. "Back at the start of term, when we were getting into the carriages, you and Luna said you could see the things that pulled the carriages all the time."
Rory nodded. "Right. I did say that."
"What are they?" Harry asked.
"Thestrals," Rory replied. "They… They're visible to people who've experienced death. Seen someone die, I mean."
Harry swallowed. "So Cedric then."
Rory nodded. "I'm sorry."
But Harry had another thought. "You didn't see Crouch murdered until April. How's it you've been able to see them the whole time?"
"Freak accident. I saw someone get hit by a bus when I was nine," Rory said.
Harry gasped and covered his mouth. "My god."
"There was blood everywhere. And the sound of her head hitting the concrete. I had nightmares for weeks," Rory said. "But I bounced back from it relatively okay. I mean, it was an accident. I don't particularly care for snowy walks down the streets of London anymore because she slipped off the sidewalk on a patch of ice, but I'm alright."
"I can't imagine how," Harry said.
"Maybe I just knew there was worse coming," Rory replied.
Harry frowned. "Don't like that."
"Accidents are terrible, but they happen. Someone actively tried to kill me this spring. And you. And who knows what is going to happen in the coming months," Rory said.
Harry sighed. He put his arm around her. "We're going to do something special for our anniversary."
"So you say," Rory said.
"I think you deserve something special for putting up with me for a whole year," Harry said.
"Well, I haven't yet technically," Rory teased.
Harry chuckled. "Well, to mark the occasion I'll do something special."
They reached the Great Hall where Harry was able to see the Slytherins and their pins in full force. He was definitely going to have to steer Ron clear of them until the match.
"Harry!"
Harry and Rory turned to the voice and saw Cho approaching them.
"Oh, hi, Cho," he said.
"Do you know what's going with Slytherin and those pins?" Cho asked.
"Nothing good I imagine," Harry replied.
"Slytherin's not very good. I'm sure you'll beat them easily, how ever Ron plays," Cho said.
Rory stiffened beside him. "Ron's a little wet behind the ears, but I'm sure he'll do an amazing job. And if he doesn't you can't expect someone to play perfectly during their first-ever match, especially with the whole of Slytherin being shit to him."
Cho's cheeks flushed and Harry was kind of warmed to hear Rory standing up for Ron like this, even if she was being a little overly aggressive towards Cho.
"You're right," Cho said. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"We'll see you at the match, Cho," Harry said, taking hold of Rory's hand.
"Good luck," she said and walked off to her table.
"Sorry. I'm just tired of everyone ragging on Ron. If he could catch his breath I'm sure he'd do wonderfully. He's got the right spirit for Quidditch," Rory said.
Harry remembered their first day of classes and listening to Rory encourage Ron to try out for the team. She was sweet. And maybe Ron would get better. Maybe he'd get out onto the pitch and show everyone what he could do. Rory was certainly hopeful that he could.
"Did you see the pins?" Hermione asked as he and Rory sat down at breakfast.
"I already told him to make sure Ron doesn't see," Rory said.
"This is a nightmare," Harry said. "I can't get him to relax. And if he can't relax that's what's going to nail him."
Hermione sighed.
"Again, fist fighting everyone in Slytherin is something I would absolutely do for Ron and the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Rory said.
"Or because one of them looked at you sideways," Harry said.
"But mostly, I'd do it for Ron," Rory said.
"I think he'll survive. He has to," Harry said.
The Quidditch match went about as badly as it could go without Gryffindor losing.
The Slytherins, led by their fearless leader Draco Malfoy, came up with a song about Ron. After the match, there was some sort of confrontation between Harry and George on the field. Harry officially joined the leagues of people who physically assaulted Draco Malfoy.
Ron hadn't gotten back to the Common Room; Fred and George, both looking rather sour had returned and stomped off up to their room. Rory was full of anxiety when Harry got back to the common room a full twenty minutes later.
He laid down on the floor in front of the couch, putting his head in Rory's lap.
"What happened?" Rory asked.
"A lifetime ban from Quidditch," Harry said. "Umbridge gave me and Fred and George a lifetime ban from playing Quidditch here."
Harry looked blank and didn't react to the words he was saying, but Rory knew he must've been devastated. Harry loved Quidditch. He'd gone an entire year not playing and had hated it. He'd been looking forward to this season more than anything and Umbridge snatched it away from him.
"Lovey, I'm sorry," Rory said, raking her fingers through his hair. "It's ridiculous. Malfoy was clearly the instigator."
"Well, he lives to play Quidditch badly another day," Harry said. "Angelina is beside herself as well."
Rory leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I wish there was something I could do."
"I feel like if Umbridge even looks at you before class on Monday, she'll expel you just to spite me," Harry said. He took Rory's hand, the one with the disgusting words scarred onto the back of it, and kissed it. "She took my broom."
Rory's jaw dropped. "Your Firebolt from-."
"Yeah," Harry said.
Rory's heart sank even deeper. "I hate her. I really, truly hate her."
"Me too," Harry said. He kissed her hand again. "Have you seen Ron?"
"He hasn't come back yet," Rory replied. Harry frowned. "It's not his fault. He did his best considering his circumstances."
"I know," Harry said letting loose a deep breath. "It's Umbridge that is the problem. And Malfoy. I'd have hit him harder if I'd known this would be the outcome."
"Rory?"
Rory turned her head to the stairs and Matilda was standing there, red in the face, tears streaking her face.
"Mattie, what's wrong?" Rory asked.
"Go," Harry said, sitting up. "I'll be fine. I'm going to wait for Ron."
Rory didn't need to hear another word before she was at Matilda's side.
"What happened?" Rory asked, leading her friend back upstairs.
"It's Fred," she said.
"Are you upset about the Quidditch match? It's bloody unfair that Umbridge banned him. He didn't even do anything wrong," Rory said.
"It's not that," Matilda said. She pushed open the door to their room and collapsed onto her bed. "He broke up with me. Again."
"For what?" Rory asked, sitting beside her friend. Gently she stroked her back.
"Because he's in a mood over Quidditch I guess? He just said he didn't think this was going to work out. That we'd run our course. Beyond messing around together we weren't compatible," Matilda said.
Rory frowned. There was a knock on the door and Neville leaned inside.
"Sorry. I saw Mattie crying," he said.
"Oh, Nev Nev," Matilda said, sitting up. Neville walked over and she pulled him into a hug. She sobbed loudly into his chest, pulling him as close as she could muster.
"Fred's broken up with her," Rory said.
Neville nodded and wrapped his arms around her.
"You were right. You were right. I shouldn't have gotten back together with him," Matilda said.
"You can't blame yourself for listening to your heart," Neville said.
"My heart is stupid," Matilda said. She let go of Neville and wiped her eyes. She turned to Rory. "I wish I could have something perfect like you and Harry have."
"Harry and I aren't perfect," Rory said.
"Well, you love each other," Matilda said. She laid down on her pillow. "I don't think Fred ever loved me. Not really anyway."
"You'll be alright," Neville said. He sat on the other side of Matilda and she wrapped her arms around his midsection, pulling him close to her.
"Neville, you're the only boy I trust, you know that? The rest are absolute curs," Matilda said.
"I know," Neville said, patting the top of her blonde head. "You can always trust me."
"Thank you," Matilda said. "And thank you, Sweets, for also being my rock."
"Of course," Rory replied. She looked over to Neville who was starting down at Matilda who'd all but crawled into his lap. Rory joked about the two of them a bunch, but the scene before her put things into a new perspective.
"Ugh. I left my stupid bag in his room," Matilda said.
"We'll get it," Rory said getting to her feet. "Right, Neville?"
"Sure," he replied.
"We'll be right back," Rory said. She pushed Neville from the room and quickly pulled the door shut behind her.
"What was that about?" Neville asked.
"You fancy Matilda, don't you?" Rory asked. Neville sputtered and his face turned crimson. "Merlin. For how long, Neville?"
Neville rolled his eyes. "Since always I guess."
Rory frowned. "Oh, Neville."
"You can't tell her," he said. "She needs a friend and… Well, I've always been her friend. That's more important."
And that was why Rory knew they would be perfect together. Because they were already truly best friends. The second Neville showed up, Rory was all but chopped liver to Matilda.
Rory hugged him. "Neither of us deserves you, you know that?"
"I know," he said. "That's why you're going to send me by myself to get her bag aren't you?"
"Definitely," Rory said.
Neville paused for a moment. "Things alright with Harry now?"
"Were they not before?" Rory asked.
"You two were arguing a lot," he said. "Especially about Cho. People noticed."
"We're not perfect, like I said," Rory replied. "But things are good now. No worries about Cho or-."
"Have you told your dad about your hand?" Neville asked. Rory froze for a moment. "I know you love Harry, but don't lie for him."
"I'm not lying for him," Rory said.
"Then tell your dad about your hand and the detention," Neville said.
"What is this meeting about again?" Tonks asked. Her brain was mush today. She'd been up all night guarding the Department of Mysteries. On only five hours of sleep, she'd come back into work. And now she had a meeting with Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, along with Cornelius Fudge.
"Sirius Black update," Kingsley said.
Tonks nodded. Right. Kingsley was leading the Sirius Black investigation and had requested Tonks be moved to the case to assist him. So they were in charge of getting and receiving updates on Sirius. It had worked out in Tonks' favor that someone had reported that Sirius was spotted in London back in September. It gave her an excuse to look into the Goldfinch family.
"We usually get more of a heads up about these don't we?" Tonks asked.
"Scrimgeour mentioned that he had some important information a few hours ago. Important enough that he wanted to share it with the Minister first," Kingsley said.
"Do you think it's accurate?" Tonks asked. What she really wanted to ask was "Should we be concerned?" Kingsley picked up on it well enough.
"I think it's actually to do with the Goldfinches," Kingsley said as they reached Fudge's office.
"Ah, I can be useful for once instead of your protégé that listens diligently," Tonks said.
Kingsley chuckled as he knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Fudge called out. Kingsley pushed open the door and they entered the office. "Kingsley, Tonks. Thank you for coming on such short notice." He motioned for them to sit.
"Of course, sir," Tonks said, sitting down.
"I received an owl a few hours ago. It took some time to verify its authenticity, but after looking at the reports you've put about the Goldfinch family, Auror Tonks, we feel certain that the sender is who he claims to be," Scrimgeour explained.
"And who was the sender?" Kingsley asked.
"Levi Goldfinch," Scrimgeour said.
Tonks sat forward in her seat a bit. "Was he in the states then?"
"Yes, it seems you were correct about that," Scrimgeour said. "Says he plans to return to England in the coming weeks to help clear up some of the mess his sister's alleged murder."
"Is he aware of what happened to her?" Tonks asked.
Scrimgeour and Fudge both exchanged a look.
"He claims that Theodosia Goldfinch is still alive," Fudge said.
"Did he elaborate on that?" Tonks asked.
"Goldfinch says that he can provide proof that his sister is alive, but she is not willing to come out of hiding any time soon. He wouldn't explain why other than she wanted nothing to do with Aurora Lupin," Scrimgeour said.
That is probably exactly what Aurora would want to hear: that her mother left the country because she wanted nothing to do with her own daughter.
"Have you told her? I mean Aurora Lupin and her father?" Tonks asked.
Scrimgeour held up a letter. It was addressed to Aurora.
"Goldfinch says he reached out to his niece and plans to establish contact with her when he arrives in the country, but felt he might be more easily believed if they were told through official channels. I do feel it might be wise to alert Remus Lupin and also Dolores Umbridge of this," Fudge said.
Inside Tonks was screaming. But she was listening to Kingsley talk now, she was the diligent and attentive protégé once more. She definitely didn't have anything constructive to say. Mostly she was thinking that she was going to have to be the one to tell Sirius that Theodosia was alive.
"Tonks, because you've seen so much into the Goldfinches, I'd like you to inform the girl's father of Goldfinch's return. He mentioned that when Black was first sent to prison Lupin did try to contact him," Scrimgeour said. "If you'll do that today I would appreciate it."
"Yes. Of course," Tonks said. Because Remus was going to be her first stop no matter what Scrimgeour wanted her to do today.
"And tomorrow I'd like you to go to Hogwarts and speak with Dolores. I'm sure it will be quite the circus in the papers once they get wind of Goldfinch's arrival," Fudge said. "And speak to the girl."
"And what of the investigation into Black?" Kingsley asked.
"What of it?" Fudge asked.
"If Theodosia Goldfinch is alive, it puts his whole case into a new light. If he didn't murder her, he may've not killed Pettigrew either," Tonks said. "Perhaps his case should be-."
"Just because he is innocent of one crime does not mean he is not guilty of the other. And don't forget we have evidence to prove Pettigrew's death, not to mention a dozen dead muggles," Scrimgeour said.
Tonks nodded in agreement and thankfully kept her eyeroll to herself.
"I'll keep you both updated when I have more correspondence from Goldfinch," Scrimgeour said. "In the meantime, you're both dismissed. Tonks, speak to Lupin as soon as you can. He should be home. I hear he doesn't work so he shouldn't be terribly hard to get ahold of."
Again, Tonks kept herself from rolling her eyes, but she seethed internally. There was a reason Remus didn't work and they were both part of it.
"I'll send word of your visit to Hogwarts to Umbridge," Fudge said.
"Thank you, sir," Tonks replied.
Tonks and Kingsley left the office and made their way back to the lift. She tapped her foot impatiently as they stood inside.
"Don't start," Kingsley said.
"I just have a lot of feelings right now is all," she said.
"Keep them to yourself for now," he replied.
"Believe me, I am," she said with a sigh. "I'll go by and see Remus now. Will you come by this evening?"
"Yes. And I'll let Dumbledore know what's going on as well," Kingsley said.
