The inquiry was meant to have lasted longer, so instead of returning home after leaving the Ministry, Rory and Remus returned to Grimmauld.

Everyone was clearing up from lunch and was surprised to see the pair back.

"Did it go badly?" Sirius asked. "You both look a bit shaken."

"I thought it'd still be going," Harry said.

"Things derailed immediately and spectacularly," Rory said taking a spot up beside Harry.

"The evening edition of The Prophet will certainly be thrilling, however," Remus said.

"Did Levi put on a show? He was always good at the dramatics," Sirius said.

There was a crash from the hallway and the sound of Tonks swearing before she entered the room looking disgruntled.

"You're here too?" Molly asked.

"Pretty sure Scrimgeour had an aneurysm. Everyone was questioning him about the department's handling of Sirius' case. It's a shit show. Sent Kingsley and I home early because no one's getting anything done anyway," Tonks explained as she regained her composure. "Also, Fudge is beside himself with anger. You really set him off, Aurora."

"They were asking me dumb questions," Aurora said.

"I didn't realize they were going to be questioning you as well," Harry said.

"I didn't realize it either," Aurora said.

"She made them come to regret that decision pretty quickly," Remus said.

"Just one of my many talents," Aurora said.

"What on earth happened?" Molly asked.

"She called Fudge and Dolores Umbridge idiots," Tonks said.

"I did not. I said they were being purposefully obtuse," Aurora clarified. "And I said that instead of calling them ignorant."

"And then you told them they were bad at their jobs," Remus said.

"Well, for starters, they are bad at their jobs. And secondly, I said that if they can be so easily shaken by a 15-year-old boy who is supposedly a liar, they might not be as good at their jobs as they think," Aurora said.

"You said that in front of the entire Wizengamot?" Sirius asked.

Aurora nodded. "Yep. And that's not even the most interesting thing that happened."

Remus took over relaying the rest of the inquiry; he knew his daughter would repeatedly get off track. Everyone was silent as he told them about Levi's photographs.

"He's got proof Wormtail is alive?" Sirius asked.

Aurora nodded.

"They're having the photographs authenticated. I reckon they'd still want Pettigrew to corroborate the story, but when it comes to light that he's alive people are going to start to question things," Tonks said.

"Well," Sirius said, sitting back in his chair, "didn't expect Levi to ever go to bat for me, but I'll take it."

"What do you think comes next?" Harry asked.

"This is wildly unprecedented, so I don't know what to begin to expect," Tonks replied.

"What if the Ministry tries to bury it like they do everything else?" Ron asked.

"Unfortunately, I think this was far too public of an event for Fudge to dream of doing that," Remus said. "I expect he was planning for this to be more of a public reprimand, and that he was going to somehow validate all of the negative press he's been levying against Dumbledore."

"Sucks to suck," Aurora said.

"You lot can go. I'll finish up here," Molly said.

The children seemed to recognize they were being dismissed and slowly slinked from the room. They'd likely have their own questions for Rory. Even so, when they were gone, Tonks was the one to charm the door so they couldn't use any of their tricks to overhear.

"Is there something else?" Sirius asked.

"Not exactly," Tonks said. "I just was wondering if this all seems a smidge too convenient, too perfect?"

"You think he's lying?" Remus asked.

"I'm sure he's telling the truth about some things, and I'm sure he was withholding information from Fudge. And I think it's entirely likely that he's going to give you a more detailed version of his story when you have dinner with him," Tonks said. "But he has evidence to exonerate Sirius, proved Theodosia is alive, is talking adamantly about how Voldemort is alive and the Ministry is clueless?"

"If anyone other than Levi Goldfinch showed up saying all this I think we'd all suspect they were a plant," Sirius said.

Tonks nodded. "I'd just be cautious. Because I don't think Rory is going to think anything of it. Or at the very least she's going to assume his intentions are good."

"Couldn't really blame her for that," Remus said.


Rory was not used to going out to nice restaurants. Occasionally, her grandfather would take her out, but even then it was nowhere she felt she needed to dress nicely. When Levi's letter came to their flat early that evening, apologizing for not stopping by to speak to Rory and her dad before he left the ministry, he also insisted on buying them dinner at a restaurant in London. It was the kind of place Rory and her dad would never have dreamed of going to, but there was no time to refuse.

And that was how they ended up feeling wildly out of place at La Roseraie as they were escorted to their table where Levi was waiting, still wearing the gold embroidered robes from earlier.

"Remus," Levi said, rising from his chair and motioning for him to sit. "Been a while."

"Indeed," Remus replied. He put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "And this is Aurora."

"Of course, it is," Levi said. "Can't make out if you favor your mother or Sirius."

"Just look like me, I suppose," Rory replied.

He chuckled. "Well said. Please sit."

The trio sat and Rory couldn't help but feel eyes on them. The evening edition of The Prophet had come out and naturally Levi was splashed across the front page of it. It didn't take rocket science to deduce who she was, especially since she was no stranger to being in the paper these days.

"Sorry for the stir I caused earlier in the inquiry, but I was wanting to make a point," Levi said. "Although directly telling them that they're being ignorant is certainly an easy route to take."

"Aurora is not known for her tact," Remus said.

"I did try," Rory said defensively.

"I'm sure you believe you did," Remus said.

Rory shrugged. She really had tried, even if she'd failed.

"In your letter, you said you'd make things clearer, but I think I have more questions now than I did before," Rory said.

"Fudge has them too. I got home to a letter informing me that I'll be getting a visit from an Auror tomorrow with some follow-up questions," Levi said.

"Given the circumstances, I suppose that makes sense," Remus said.

A waiter came and sat down three glasses of wine before leaving them to look over the menu.

"I'm sure I didn't make a good first impression in the inquiry, Aurora, but I assure you, I was only evading questions because there are certain things about my sister that I'm not sure I want the Ministry to know about," Levi explained. "You're friendly with Harry Potter, I hear."

"That's one way to put it," Rory said.

"I didn't realize the ministry was going to be so interested in your relationship," Levi said. "It's funny, I didn't have it in my head that you'd be dating. Last time I saw you, you were an infant. And here you're practically a grown-up," Levi said. "Not that it matters. Harry Potter. I've heard about the smear campaign they're leveling against him. Not sure what kind of teenager would throw themselves to the wolves for attention, but delusional people in power will think what they like, I suppose."

"So I've noticed," Rory said. "You said at the hearing that you didn't think Voldemort was dead."

Levi didn't shudder at the sound of Voldemort's name the way most people did, though he did seem surprised to hear it come out of Rory's mouth.

"I think some extraordinary magic saved Harry Potter's life that night. And I have no doubt that there might be something special in that boy, but a defenseless baby accidentally killing a powerful dark wizard?" Levi asked. "Tall order. I think You-Know-Who miscalculated somehow and that Potter got very, very lucky."

Rory nodded. She wanted to spew out everything, tell him about the Order, the tournament, everything that had transpired at Hogwarts the past five years, but she knew they had to keep their own secrets. At least for now, until they were sure Levi was trustworthy.

"You said Theo is still alive," Remus said.

"Very much so," Levi said. "Technically at least. I didn't say so before, but she's a bit off these days. Lives like a hermit. Wasn't until this one started at Hogwarts that she started to come out of it a bit. She's been waiting."

"For what?" Rory asked.

"She said you needed something," Levi explained. "A tool to help you see properly."

Rory's eyes widened a bit. That's what Trelawney had told her at the start of term.

Levi raised an eyebrow at Rory. "That sound familiar to you, Aurora?"

Rory's mouth went a bit dry, and she was saved from having to explain herself by the waiter returning to take their orders.

She couldn't be the one to bring up that she was a seer. Levi would have to do it. He'd alluded to it in his letter, but he'd have to confirm it.

"Theodosia wasn't much into Divination. Never even took it at Hogwarts. Thought the whole subject was rubbish mostly. But then you were born and she started telling me things. Saying she had dreams and whatnot. I thought she'd lost her marbles a bit, the way some women do when they have children," Levi explained.

"Are you referring to postpartum psychosis? Because it's an actual medical condition and it's highly overlooked, especially in the wizarding community," Rory said. Remus placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Another day," he said.

Right. There were more important things to discuss right now. She could get on her soapbox later. "Sorry. You were saying."

"Yes, my sister started saying things, things that just sounded paranoid. Given the times we were living in, all that she and Sirius and the Potters, Remus, were involved in with Dumbledore and You-Know-Who, it wasn't as if she was too far off the mark considering the climate of everything," Levi said. He took a drink of his wine. "I wasn't lying about sightseeing in America. That is why I really went there. I needed a break from all the turmoil here. And Theo wasn't talking to anyone else about what was wrong. It was overwhelming being her sounding board. I needed a break. Thought I'd let that boyfriend of hers handle it."

"You don't think she told any of this to Sirius?" Remus asked.

Levi shook his head. "Said that she couldn't. That he wouldn't understand her, as if I did."

Rory felt a pang of sadness for her mother, having visions, seeing things, and not being believed. Rory could relate.

"So I was gone. Then I found out about the Potters and Sirius and suddenly she was presumed dead. I was going to head back, but then she showed up on my doorstep," Levi said. "Told me she saw Peter kill all those muggles, saw them take away Sirius. All about James and Lily. I told her to go talk to the ministry straightaway, to go get her daughter, but she was adamant."

Knowing what she did now, Rory didn't entirely blame Theo for disappearing. If she was having visions of Rory causing her death, maybe she was right to stay away. Rory had predicted two deaths already and was certain she'd see more with the way things were going.

"I thought it was a bit harsh of her to call you a harbinger of death, but she also said you were special. You might muck up her life and my life by hanging around, but you could be useful if you stayed with Remus. If she waited," Levi said.

"Waited for what?" Rory asked.

"Until you knew what you were," Levi said. He took another drink of his wine. "Do you know what you are?"

"Do you?" Rory asked.

Levi smirked. "I admire your caution, but I assure you, I can be trusted."

"I respect that you feel that way and I understand that we're family, but I don't actually know you. So you'll have to prove that you actually are trustworthy," Rory said. She flashed him a smile for good measure. She was cautious. It wasn't that she instinctively distrusted Levi, the opposite in fact. He was definitely holding back something, telling half truths. That aside, she couldn't quite get a read on him, and it didn't sit well with her.

"I suspected that a skilled seer such as yourself would be able to sense my intentions," Levi said. "At least that's what the textbooks say."

Rory shrugged. "You'd know more about that than I do. The Hogwarts library isn't actually rife with information on the subject."

"Have you tried the restricted section?" Levi asked.

"It's restricted and the current Hogwarts administration isn't keen to grant me access," Rory replied. But she had checked the restricted section for information on her abilities because she was fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who had an invisibility cloak and a map that showed the location of all the people inside the school.

"And anyway, what I am or am not capable of doesn't really feel like suitable dinner conversation," Rory said. "What I do want to know is why she was waiting until I knew I was 'special.' How is contacting me now different than just sticking around if she thinks her life is on the line?"

"She wasn't going to contact you. Not directly anyway. I was the one who made the decision to reach out and she decided that if I wanted to take the risk that our meeting would somehow result in my death, then so be it. Only makes bringing the truth of things out easier," Levi said. "And as I said before, Theodosia thinks you can be useful. She also thinks you can be dangerous if you're… Led astray."

"And by astray you mean Voldemort," Rory said.

"You say his name so cavalierly," Levi said. "Do you know what would happen if You-Know-Who got his hands on a girl as bright you?"

As if anyone in the Order would ever let her forget why they were taking so many precautions with her this summer. Rory wouldn't doubt if there was someone keeping an eye on the restaurant right now.

"Sorry to interrupt," Remus said, clearly not liking the tone of the conversation and wanting to steer it back to tamer water, "but for Theo to have known all of this about Aurora she'd have to be a seer herself."

Levi nodded quickly. "A bit, though she insisted she's far from as talented as you. Did help her get the photograph of Peter though."

"If she's a seer why would she risk going anywhere near Voldemort or any known Deatheaters in the first place?" Rory asked. "You just said so yourself that it'd be dangerous for someone like me to fall into his hands."

"He had something she needed to give you," Levi said. "To help you see better, remember?"

"And she had to get it… from Voldemort?" Rory asked. Levi nodded. "And she took this from him?"

"Not directly, but as I said, she did manage to get ahold of Pettigrew who was doing an abysmal job of being a Deatheater," Levi said. "Around six weeks ago is when she finally made her move."

And then Rory remembered something. Not anything to do with her, but with Harry and his unquestionable link to Voldemort. He'd told Rory that Voldemort was angry, that he'd seen him punishing Wormtail for something. It had been about five or six weeks ago. His story did add up.

"And what was it?" Rory asked.

Levi smiled. "Not appropriate dinner talk as you put it. But, rest assured, it will come to you soon."

For a moment the three sat in silence. Rory could think of a thousand other questions, but she only had one.

"Does Theodosia really believe that disappearing, that being afraid of whatever I am, was worth letting Sirius Black sit in prison for something he didn't do?" Rory asked.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Theo did what she thought was best. That's all I can say for her part."

"And for yours?" Rory asked.

"I trust my sister," Levi said.

Rory nodded and said nothing.


After dinner they returned to Grimmauld Place. The dining room was quiet except for Sirius and Tonks who were almost certainly waiting for them.

"How did it go?" Tonks asked.

"The restaurant was uncomfortably posh," Rory said. "Half the menu was in French which is, like, the lowest form of cuisine. I don't care how much people love Julia Child."

"Whose child?" Sirius asked.

Her dad sighed and put a hand on Rory's shoulder.

"Why don't you head to bed? I'll get everyone caught up here," he said.

"I won't argue with you," Rory said. She didn't feel like recounting the evening. She was still mulling it over. Something about Levi didn't sit right with her. He wasn't lying to her. She knew that much, but it still didn't feel like he was being honest with her somehow.

Mostly she couldn't read him, and that made her uncomfortable. No, being a seer was not something she would have chosen for herself, but she'd gotten used to it by now. She wasn't getting bombarded with information all of the time now, thank goodness, but there were things she couldn't control. She could sense their "aura" as Trelawney had put it.

But she got nothing from Levi. He was blank. Utterly aura-less.

And she had no idea what that meant.

She walked down to her bedroom where, to her surprise Ron and Harry were also sitting with Hermione and Ginny.

"Bit late to be visiting isn't it?" Rory asked.

"Mum said we could wait up for you as long as we were quiet," Ron said.

"Simply could not wait to interrogate me, could you?" Rory asked.

"We're not interrogating you," Hermione said. "It's all just a bit bizarre. He shows up and he knows all these things and has all this information."

"I know," Rory said, sitting on her bed beside Harry. "It was a lot. My mother is a hermit and kind of a seer I guess. She thinks if she comes within breathing distance of me that I'll somehow cause her death. She thinks the same thing of Levi, but he thinks she's gone a bit mad—what with the visions and the solitude."

"So she really left you because she thought if you stuck around, you'd kill her?" Harry asked.

"I interpreted it as being indirectly being responsible for her death, but yes," Rory said. "Even though I was dangerous to her, it might not be so bad if dad looked after me. And then I guess she was waiting around for me to know I was a seer and for Voldemort to turn back up so she could get something from him."

"Get what?" Harry asked.

Rory shrugged. "Levi didn't say. Only that it would help me see better."

Harry had been there with her that day she talked to Trelawney at the beginning of the year. He'd heard the same phrase uttered.

"So she turned back up to rob Voldemort to help you with divination?" Ron asked.

"I guess," Rory said.

"Must be awfully important," Ginny said.

Rory shrugged.

"You think he was telling the truth about it all?" Hermione asked.

"Seemed like it," Rory replied. "But there's nothing to do but wait and see what happens I guess."

"You'll know before the rest of us I expect," Ginny said.

Maybe Rory wouldn't know. His reappearance into her life had been a blindside, his testimony at the inquiry and their conversation at dinner had been an equally surprising. Their conversation at dinner had felt like a blank wall.

"We should get to bed," Harry said.

Ron nodded in agreement.

"I'll walk with you," Rory said. She pulled off her shoes and tossed them aside.

"All finished being average height for the evening?" Ron teased.

Rory leered at him, but couldn't help but smile. She'd been holding an uncomfortable tension in her shoulders since dinner and it felt good for her to semi-normal again.

She walked with the boys up to their room and Harry lingered outside in the corridor with her as Ron went inside.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Rory replied, keeping her voice low. "Something seems off about him."

"What?" Harry asked. "Did he give off bad vibes or something?"

"No vibes is more like it. He was like a blank piece of paper. There was nothing. I couldn't gauge anything apart from what he was saying to me," Rory replied. "He certainly wasn't telling us everything. He makes me nervous. I mean, don't you think it's suspicious that he shows up and drops all of is this into our laps, but at the same time I can't tell if he's trustworthy or not?"

"Maybe he genuinely just wants to help and has a guilty conscience or something," Harry said.

"I hope so," Rory said. "It doesn't explain why I can't read him though."

"Maybe it has nothing to do with him. Maybe it's just a fluke. There's bound to be one, right?" Harry asked.

"I suppose, but it still feels weird," Rory said.

"Have you forgotten what it feels like to not know what's coming?" he asked.

Rory chuckled. "Maybe." She wrapped her arms around Harry and held him tightly. "More than anything, I think I'm just ready for this to all be over."

"Definitely agree on that one," Harry said. He tilted her head upward a bit and kissed her. Then his eyes seemed to glance behind her toward the stairwell.

Rory chuckled. "Feeling a bit nervous?"

"You haven't even been here all day and I'm pretty sure Sirius was still making a point of knowing my exact location at all times," Harry chuckled. He kissed her again. "Speaking of which, we'd better get to bed before you get us into any more trouble."

Rory feigned shock. "Excuse me, but if I recall correctly I did say we needed to go to bed and you seemed to merely take it as a suggestion."

Harry's cheeks tinted pink at her words. "Well, you didn't argue your point very hard."

Rory chuckled and kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you," he repeated back to her. "You look lovely tonight, by the way. I mean, you always do, but your dress is just fancy so it's like, I dunno."

"You're cute when you're flustered," she said.

"So always?" he teased. He kissed her one last.

"Goodnight, Harry," she said.

"Goodnight," he said.

Rory let him go and turned to the corridor where, to the shock of absolutely no one, Sirius and her dad were "casually" passing by the doorway at that moment. Rory rolled her eyes and walked passed them.

"Goodnight," she said firmly as she walked down the stairs. She knew it was mostly her own fault that they were lurking around, but that didn't stop it from being annoying.