[A/N: Going to be taking a brief hiatus while I finish up writing this s series and while things quiet down at my job since we're into our busy season! Thanks for your understanding!]

Hermione was wrong to be pleased about having a break from being uncomfortable around Rory and Ginny. She'd spent the last week driving herself insane. Ginny had not given up on her pursuit of Harry, and Harry refused to tell her off in a house full of Weasleys (which Hermione supposed was fair, but also didn't make her life easier). Ron was oblivious because "Harry doesn't even like Ginny" so what did it matter that Ginny was interested in him?

When Rory and Matilda walked into their bedroom Friday evening, Hermione felt so relieved.

"Rory, I hate to jump on you immediately when you've walked in the door," Hermione said, closing the bedroom door.

Rory groaned. "Are you about to tell me something I don't want to hear about Harry Potter?"

"More like Ginny," Hermione said. "And her relentless pursuit of Harry."

"I don't care," Rory said.

"She does care," Matilda said. Rory glared at her. "What? You do. You've spent days being wishy-washy about breaking up with him."

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Do not repeat that back to him," Rory said. "And she's exaggerating. Harry and I just had a conversation before I left-"

"It seemed more like Harry talked and you listened," Matilda said.

"It was a conversation," Rory said, throwing a glare at Matilda. "But it made me think about things now that I have more information."

"She means now that she's aware of how insane she was about Cho," Matilda said.

Rory looked so exasperated.

Hermione didn't have time to unpack all of that. At the very least she had to give Rory a heads-up about Ginny.

"Look, about Ginny, I told her to lay off Harry. She all but told me she likes him," Hermione said.

"Anyone with eyes can see that," Matilda said. "She has since stepped off the train to school her first year."

"Well, he tried to tell her off. He used the exact words 'you're like a sister to me,'" Hermione said.

"Ouch," Matilda chuckled. "That is the go-to phrase boys use when they want to make it clear you're in the friend zone."

"Ginny's rebuttal to this is that she's not actually his sister and that he eventually has to get over Rory," Hermione said.

"You have to admire her stick-to-itiveness," Matilda said.

"I'm just giving you a heads up. She's even getting on my nerves, and I don't think she'll back off just because you're here," Hermione said.

Rory sighed. "Awesome. Where is Harry right now anyway?"

"With Ron in their room. With Ginny," Hermione said.

"Of course," Rory replied. "Well, I need to talk to him."

"Good opportunity to work on your skills not being jealous and irrational," Matilda said. "And remember, until he starts acting like he's got some sense and you start acting like you've got some sense, try not to snog Harry Potter."

"I'm not going to snog Harry," Rory replied. "I just want to talk to him so things stop being so weird and awkward."

"Good thing Harry's not the weirdest most awkward boy in our year," Matilda said.

Rory rolled her. "You said I should talk to him."

"I did. and I definitely think you should," Matilda said. "I'm just curious about how you want the conversation to go."

"You exhaust me," Rory said, her cheeks turning pink. She walked out of the room and Hermione looked at Matilda who was chuckling.

"Did Harry tell you what he said to Rory before we went to her flat?" Matilda asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I didn't know they talked."

"That makes sense. Otherwise, you'd be as curious as I am about what's going to happen," Matilda said.

"You think she wants to make up with him?" Hermione asked.

"She says she doesn't know," Matilda said.

"And what do you think?" Hermione asked.

Matilda smiled at her, "I'm wondering if we should start taking bets on when they're going to make up, or do you think that would be inappropriate?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Highly inappropriate."


Rory was not, in fact, looking to have a conversation with Harry about getting back together, but she did want to clear the air. It was like Matilda has told her, she and Harry needed each other. There was no way they were going to be able to get along without having a conversation.

She got up to his room and, just as Hermione had said, Harry was with Ginny and Ron. Rory was thankful to see Neville there as well unpacking his things.

"Hello friends," Rory said.

"I'm jealous. Neville told us you watched television and used a computer," Ginny said.

"Yep. Matilda was really fascinated by everything," Rory said.

"Almost to the point of annoyance," Neville said. "Although the computer was pretty cool."

"Most muggles have one these days," Harry said.

"I can't believe we've been using owls to communicate when muggles have something as fast as e-mail," Neville said. "I still remember when you introduced me to ballpoint pens. My Gran still talks about it."

"If I change one witch or wizard's life by introducing them to modern muggle conveniences, then I've done my job that no one asked me to do," Rory said.

"So what brings you?" Ginny asked.

Rory felt a flicker of irritation. It's not like this was Ginny's room. She'd obviously come up to see Neville, Ron, or Harry. But that was why Ginny was asking. She wanted to double-check that Rory was not there to see Harry, which annoyed Rory more than it should.

But, Rory reminded herself, Ginny was welcome to like whomever she wanted. It wasn't her business. And it had nothing to do with Harry.

"Actually, Harry, I wanted to talk to you. This time without being rude and confrontational," Rory said.

"So you say," Harry replied, but Rory could tell he was teasing. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Rory said. "But I was hoping I could talk to you in private, actually."

"Oh," Harry said, clearly surprised since their last conversation had been so weird.

Harry walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. They took a few steps down the hall so they were out of earshot of their friends.

"Sorry to drag you away," she said.

"It's fine," Harry said. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Before I left we talked. Kind of. I've just been thinking a lot about what you said. And, you're right. Besides, before we broke up things were... Kind of awful."

"That's a polite way to put it I guess," Harry replied.

"The night when everything kind of went to shit, I was wanting to talk to you. And kind of get a read on how things were with us," Rory said. "And I think that it might be worth it to still have that conversation."

Harry was stunned. "You're serious?"

Rory nodded. There was too much left unsaid. Too much guilt. Too much everything for them not to talk. She didn't know how things were going to turn out when they finished, but it was going to be worth it to have the conversation at least.

They walked down to the lounge. Rory sat on the chaise and Harry sat on the floor across from her.

"Suppose this is kind of a debrief then," Harry said. "Layout all of the things that happened."

"I guess so," Rory said. "You kind of did ready I think."

"Did I?" he asked.

Rory nodded. "You told me I was irrationally jealous from the moment I saw Cho on the train. And I was. And you were right, I told you that I was fine with you talking to whoever you liked, but I didn't want you to talk to her at all. It was unreasonable and immature."

"Sure, but I should have-"

"No," Rory stopped him. "The only thing you should have done is tell me that I was being insane and unreasonable and irrational and that I should actually mean it when I say I trust you."

Harry turned this thought over in his head before speaking again. "So you didn't trust me?"

"Harry, you used to always tell me I was perfect. All the time. Perfect. Everything you did for me had to be wonderful and sweet because you thought I was so perfect. And it made me really insecure because... I was afraid that you would figure out that I wasn't. And with Cho, you used to like her and she was suddenly available and interested in you. What if you decided you liked her more than me?" Rory said. "I let my insecurities turn me into a monster."

"Since we're being honest, yeah. I agree," Harry said. "I felt like I was spending all of my time reassuring you that I didn't want anyone else but you just refused to listen."

"I know. And I can't help but feel like... Maybe if I hadn't been so insecure, I'd have never been so jealous and angry, and maybe..." Rory couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Even if you feel that way, I shouldn't have let her kiss me," Harry said. "Every time you tried to tell me how uncomfortable you were I'd get angry because it felt accusatory. But insecurity is about trust and... Feeling safe. Secure. And I guess I just don't know what I did to make you stop feeling like that."

Rory sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"What are you thinking? We're supposed to be honest right now," Harry said. "So what did I do? I can handle it."

Rory wanted to phrase this properly.

"I was jealous from the beginning, that's true, but you were also really dismissive of me from the beginning. I felt like you were never taking my feelings seriously," she said. "Cho never respected our relationship, which wasn't anything to do with you, obviously. But it felt like you didn't have much respect for us either, or you'd have made a point to be very clear with her every time she was out of line."

Harry seemed to contemplate this for a moment. He nodded his head.

"If I could go back I would do things differently," Harry said.

"Me too," Rory said with a nod. "I blamed you for everything. And you didn't deserve that. I don't think either of us was very nice to the other at the end. And I think we stopped listening to each other."

"And all it took was us breaking up for us to have a moment of self-reflection," Harry said. Rory managed a smile. "So where do we go from here, exactly?"

"For my own part... I can't even be in the same room as Ginny without wanting to scream at her. I cannot get past how angry Cho makes me. I still don't know how to be rational about any of this. About you," she said. "I want to figure my shit out. Grow up. I say that if I could go back I'd do it differently, but honestly, I'm not even sure that I'm capable of that right now."

"That's fair," Harry said.

"But I feel like it'll be easier to relay any predictions of you ending up in mortal peril, and I'm sure I will eventually if we're friends," she said.

"Right," Harry said. He didn't seem angry or confused. She couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"If you tell me that you want me to take my 'let's just be friends' spiel and shove it, I understand," Rory said.

"No. I get it," Harry said. "It's not like I can expect you to forget what happened."

Rory shook her head. Every inch of her body wanted her to forget what happened, to play stupid and go back to the way things were before. But Harry needed to grow up. Rory did too, maybe her most of all. And every time she got close to waving the white flag and making up, she'd see that kiss in her head and her stomach would turn into a knot.

"Can I be honest with you about something else?" she asked.

"Of course," he said.

"Everything else aside, Harry, is that I don't… I didn't trust you before, whether I knew it or not, but after you kissed Cho, I just don't trust you the way I did before. In the beginning," Rory said.

"I know. I count it as the dumbest mistake I've ever made," Harry said.

"I know it seems like a dumb mistake to you, but to me it was…" She let out a shaky breath. She was trying to will herself not to cry, but she needed to tell Harry this. "You know everything about me. I told you things that in a thousand years I wouldn't tell Mattie or Neville or my dad. I tried to watch Mama Mia when I was home, but I couldn't even enjoy it because everything I love, all of my favorite things, are wrapped up in you. I loved you more than anyone on the whole planet and you… You made me feel like it meant nothing to you by kissing her."

"You know I don't think we were nothing," Harry said. "You were everything."

"And so were you. Which is why, not to be dramatic, it might've just felt like a dumb mistake to you, but walking into that room and seeing you with her… It felt like the worst thing that ever happened to me," she said. She was crying now. She was trying very hard to wipe the tears away, but they came and they came and they came all the same.

"Rory, please don't cry," he said, putting a hand on her knee. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, and it truly felt that way. There had been times in the past when she doubted Harry when he reassured her, but now "I never meant… Rory, I didn't know."

She wanted to laugh, but it made more sense to keep crying. What else could she do but cry? Rory had seen someone murdered right before her eyes. Someone had tried to kill her. She'd run through the forest in the dark of night chased by a werewolf, her father when she was 13-years-old in an attempt to save her biological father from a fate worse than death.

But Harry Potter, kissing Cho Chang in the room of requirement? That had been her undoing. That had been the thing that made the world seem unbearable. He'd been the one person in her life who she could trust without a second thought. She told him everything, anything. He was her everything. And then he just wasn't anymore.

She felt stupid for missing him, but how could she not? He'd thoroughly embedded himself into her life. Every good thing she loved, she'd shared with him. And now it was all tainted. And that was why it was complicated. That was why she couldn't bring herself to start over and try again. Why she didn't just say to hell with it all and kiss him.

"I think the worst part of all this is that you didn't know how much I love you. And how easily you could… How easily you kept hurting me," she said.

He shook his head. "There's no apology I can give you that's going to make any of this better, but I still… I'm sorry, Rory. For all of it."

Rory was going to speak again, but then she saw her father's head peek from around the corner. She quickly wiped tears from her eyes.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"I heard tears," he said.

"I said I'm fine," she repeated. "You don't have to keep checking up on me."

"Okay," Remus replied and he backed away down the hall and back downstairs.

"He was checking up to make sure we aren't arguing again," Harry said.

She waved a dismissive hand. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"Not today, anyway. At least not yet. The day is still young. There's a wealth of possible ways I could screw it all up," he said.

Rory managed a laugh, despite herself. Harry smiled back.

"I do want us to get along," he said, moving from the floor to sit beside her. "That will make it easier for everyone. For us."

"Good," she said. She extended her hand. "Friendly handshake to agree to not be assholes to each other anymore?"

Harry sighed, but he shook her hand. She felt kind of stupid again for the way her heart lifted just because they were touching, but she ignored it.


Rory was having her own relationship problems, or pretend problems since she wasn't actually in a relationship. It was a Harry Potter problem was more what it was.

But to distract her from this, she had another relationship that needed meddling in.

Rory stalked around the house until she found Sirius in the kitchen.

"What are you doing down here?" Rory asked.

"Molly mentioned that there was a smell down here. Wanted to make sure Kreature hadn't crawled down here and died," Sirius said.

"You should be so lucky," Rory teased.

"He'll outlive us all," Sirius said.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I just saw Kreature glaring at me from the stairs on my way down here so he's not dead in the walls," Rory replied. "Probably just a dead rat or something."

"Excellent. I'll set Kreature on that then," Sirius said, finally turning around to her. "How are you doing? Have a nice break being at home."

"Yes. Much needed," Rory replied.

"Don't mind me saying so, but it seemed a bit like you might murder Harry if you hadn't left," Sirius said. "Not that I blame you. He told me what happened, with that other girl."

"Really?" Rory asked. That surprised her.

"Yes. He feels dreadful over all of it. Again, he should, obviously. But it is difficult to see him upset over it," Sirius said. "To see both of you upset I should say. Regardless of the circumstances."

"I get it," Rory replied.

"Anyway, you're doing fine?" Sirius asked.

Rory nodded. "We had a chat. Like an actual one that didn't involve arguing or passive-aggressive commentary. There were tears though."

"I didn't take Harry to be a crier," Sirius said.

"Bucket loads," Rory said.

Sirius chuckled. "I'm glad you're getting along. Very mature of you to have an actual conversation instead of just letting things fester. Help get you to a healthier place."

"I hope so. I don't know what I was expecting, honestly," Rory said. "I guess it makes sense that if we laid everything out we'd be able to just... Make up and do better the second time around."

Sirius nodded, clearly treading lightly. Rory was trying to be more honest with the adults in her life, to a point, of course. But Sirius was obviously trying to do his best to make sure he didn't overstep or say the wrong thing and scare her off.

"And… Is that… Something you're interested in?" Sirius asked.

Rory shrugged. "He pointed out to me that not only was I jealous of Cho, but I was jealous to an irrational degree. And that sometimes I would get upset with him and just not talk to him about it. So, I think I need to work on myself because I don't know how to not be that way."

Sirius smiled softly.

"Wow. Incredible that you share fifty percent of my DNA. Being rational about being irrational," Sirius said. "If I may be so bold though, it sounds a bit like you have got yourself well worked out. Self-awareness goes a long way."

"I know, but he's still an idiot. And no matter how badly he feels, he still kissed another girl and then dated her. And I get that he had a lot going on where Voldemort was concerned, but he could be a real jerk sometimes. That being said… He's still Harry," she said.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "And that means?"

"It means he's Harry. How can you not love Harry?" she asked. Not only that, but Harry was an excellent kisser and obnoxiously cute and always made her laugh, but Sirius didn't need her commentary in that regard. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Of course," Sirius said. "What can I do for you?"

Rory paused for a moment as she carefully thought over how to phrase this question. Then she decided that being careful with her words was never really her thing, nor did it appear to be a Sirius trait. "Is my dad dating Tonks?"

Sirius' eyes went wide. He definitely knew something. "What ever do you mean, Aurora?"

She frowned. "He knows how to make risotto. He could barely boil water when I left for school."

"You exaggerate," Sirius said.

"All the same. He's never kept any wine that needed to be chilled in our fridge before. And the two sets of glasses and plates he kept out, and she helps him with the shopping," Rory went on. Sirius continued to play dumb. "I know you know what's going on."

Sirius glanced behind Rory. "You didn't hear this from me."

"Dad will deduce it anyway," Rory pointed out.

Sirius groaned. "Fine. Fine. Fine. There's nothing going on." She frowned again. "Or so they say."

"Do you have to be so dramatic all of the time?" she asked.

"Yes, obviously," he said. "Anyway, I suppose, no, they aren't together. Tonks is convinced she's misreading the situation. On the other hand, your father has many excuses about why it can't work."

"Is it because she's like seven years older than me because I literally could not care less," Rory said.

"That is a factor, yes," Sirius said. "He worries about their age gap. About how he doesn't work. And then, of course, he's a werewolf."

Rory shrugged. "So what? Tonks won't care. I mean, if she did care, he wouldn't like her in the first place. What's his malfunction?"

Sirius sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Aurora, I have been wondering that for months. For years even. Alas, your father has always been stubborn in that regard."

"Months?" Rory asked. "This has been going on for months?"

"The fact that you are only catching on now is incredible. I feel like they've been making eyes at each other since they met," Sirius said. "Although it's hard to pay attention to other people when you're busy canoodling with someone every time you get a moment alone."

"Now you're exaggerating," Rory said.

"Not really," he said. "Aurora, listen. Remus, he's always been like this. When we were in school, there were a few girls he dated. But he always broke things off for one reason or another. The truth though, is it always came down to-"

"He's a werewolf," Rory said. She hated that it needed saying. Something about the way her dad carried on gave the impression that he didn't deserve the good things he had in his life. She wondered sometimes if he felt that he'd ruined Rory's life by taking her in. No, she knew for a fact that he felt that he'd somehow done Rory wrong by raising her.

"I don't pretend to know how his brain works, but maybe you can talk sense into him. I've never been able to," Sirius said.

"And you think I have?" Rory scoffed. Then she frowned. "Sometimes I think he's afraid to be happy."

Sirius shook his head. "What else is new?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Very helpful."

Sirius gave her a pitying look. "Sorry. But you have to understand. Remus has been living in fear of people finding out who he is since he was a child. Not only that but he's afraid that he could hurt someone. Taking you in had to be the bravest thing he's ever done, but it's certainly the thing that's made him the happiest."

"Sure," Rory said. "But what happens when I'm, like, off on my own doing my own thing? When I don't need him to always look after me and take care of me anymore?"

"He doesn't need you looking after him despite what you may think," he said. "Remus will be fine. He always has been."

"I think he should shoot for better than just fine," she said. "Maybe he doesn't need anyone looking after him. But I want him to be happy. That's not asking too much, is it?"

Sirius sighed again as if he'd explained this all before.

"You can't make someone happy if they don't want to be," he said. "And I have tried. Sometimes, people are so afraid of losing things they reject them outright so they don't have to lose them at all."

Rory had always believed that all boys were stupid, with the sole exception being her dad. But now it seemed like even her dad was an idiot, at least about some things.

"It'll all work out," Sirius assured her. "Trust me. If it's meant to be, it always does."

Rory hoped that was true. She wondered if one day she and Harry would find their way back to each other or if they'd laugh that they'd ever been together in the first place. It left Rory thinking.

"Can I ask you something? Like, about you," she said.

"Of course," he said.

"Did you love my mother?" Rory asked.

Sirius sighed deeply and placed a hand on Rory's shoulder. Sometimes, he looked at her like he'd seen a ghost. She wondered how much she was like her mother, but Sirius and her dad never talked about her.

"I did love Theo. I still have love for her now. You wouldn't exist without her. I will love her for that always," Sirius said. "But, honestly, I don't think we'd have lasted. I was not great at the monogamy thing."

"That tracks," she said.

"And despite her absolute aversion to the government being involved in her romantic life, she was very serious about us just being us. And then there you were and she loved you, but I could tell she had... Some regrets. Maybe she never wanted to be a mother at all. She swore you'd be her only child," Sirius said. "But before everything went sideways, I loved being a dad. You may not believe this, but I was very paternal."

"You still are," Rory said. "Not to me, but like, Harry."

Sirius seemed a little pleased with that statement.

"Well, when I got out of Azkaban, you were the first person I looked for. When I found out Remus took you in, I knew that you were his," Sirius said. "Like I told you, your dad opening himself that way, it was unheard of. If he did that for you, I knew there'd be no going back."

"Think he'd ever open up for anyone else?" Rory asked.

Sirius shrugged. "He hasn't he so far."


To his credit, Harry did not stare at Rory as she walked into the dining room for dinner that night. And he did a remarkable job hiding his delight when Rory sat down and gave him an amiable smile.

He didn't know what expected to hear from Rory when they talked. He didn't know what he wanted from the conversation. But he was glad they'd talked. Because it had solidified something for him. He missed Rory. He wanted her back if they could really work things out. For now, he was happy with them being friends. Worst case scenario, they stayed friends. Best case scenario, they'd be back together. It was a no-lose situation.

There was one other thing he'd have to do though. He'd have to change. He'd really have to follow through on every single promise that he'd made to her and make up for all the ones he'd broken.

But before any of that, he had to learn how to be normal around her again.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Matilda said, to Rory. "You're taking the OWLs for Ancient Runes? You don't even take that class."

"Well, I want to take it next year," Rory said.

"Even though you've never taken it?" Matilda asked.

"She studies my notes. She's actually quite proficient," Hermione said.

"You're both psychopaths," Ron said.

"What value will that ever have in your future career?" Neville asked.

"Well, I don't know what I want to do, but it'll just be nice to learn more about it," Rory said.

"You'll have like a million classes if you add that one on," Matilda said.

"No, I won't. I'm not taking Divination next year," Rory said.

"I can't wait to never take another divination class in my life," Ron said. "But I'd take it over Ancient Runes any day."

"I understand, Rory," Hermione said. "That's why I had the time turner after all."

Neville and Matilda exchanged glances.

"Time turner? You have a time turner?" Matilda asked.

"Had. Third year. That's how I was able to take all of those classes. I'd go to divination, then go back one hour and take ancient runes," Hermione said. "Same with Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies."

"Why would you take Muggle Studies if you're muggle born?" Matilda asked.

"I suppose it would be interesting to get a perspective on Muggles through the lens of the Wizarding World," Lupin said.

"Thank you! That's exactly it," Hermione said.

"Psychopath," Ron reiterated.

"Sorry, I feel like we really glossed over the time turner," Neville said.

Hermione explained how she got the time turner, how burnt out she was during third year, and how she used it, in the end, to help save Sirius and Buckbeak.

"Ron, where were you during all this?" Neville asked.

"In the hospital wing because someone nearly ripped my leg off," Ron said shooting a glance toward Sirius.

Sirius scoffed. "I was aiming for the rat."

The door swung open Tonks walked in. She'd clearly just woken up and plopped down into a chair.

"You good, fam?" Sirius asked. Beside him, Lupin rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine," Tonks insisted. "Just had a tough day at work. More eventful than I'm used to. But it's fine. Just tired. Totally fine."

"You don't seem fine," Mrs. Weasley remarked. "Let me make you some tea."

"Thank you," Tonks said.

"You're sure you're fine?" Lupin asked.

"Never better," she replied. She was clearly lying. In addition to being tired, she looked frazzled. Harry guessed that whatever was bothering her wasn't something that she wanted to talk about until he and the rest of the teens had gone to bed.

Mrs. Weasley returned a few minutes later with a pot of tea and a mug in hand.

The tea did seem to settle Tonks a bit, but she kept whispering to Sirius occasionally who looked annoyed that she wasn't telling him what was happening. Although, Harry noticed his eyes glance over to Rory for a quick moment.

When dinner was over, Mrs. Weasley ushered them all from the dining room.

"I wonder how your life is about to be upended this time," Ron teased Harry.

"I think it has to do with the Goldfinches actually," Harry admitted.

"I also got that vibe," Rory said.

"Was your inner eye giving you the scoop?" Matilda asked.

"No. Sirius kept looking at me. He's not very subtle," Rory said.

"So it's genetic then," Harry teased.

"Don't sass me, Harry Potter," Rory said, a hint of amusement in her voice and a smirk on her lips. "All the same, it's probably nothing good. Kind of used to getting bad news these days."

"Yeah your life is kind of a shit show," Matilda said. Then she looked at Harry. "Yours too."

Harry shrugged. "I just hope that whatever bad thing happens next is at least funny."

Rory chuckled. She was still the only person in the room who thought he was funny, then again she was the only other person in the room also in the line of sight of a dark wizard. She needed the levity. He needed her levity.


Tonks didn't relax a stitch until all of the children were.

"You know, I didn't actually expect you to wake until tomorrow," Sirius said.

"I would've but I have important information to pass on," Tonks said. "I had a special visitor at work today. Anna Crosby,"

"Really?" Remus asked. "I thought she didn't want to talk to you."

"She didn't. She came all the way from New York to slap me and tell me to leave her alone," Tonks said.

"Goodness! Someone smacked you?" Molly asked.

"I'm fine, Molly," Tonks insisted. "She didn't tell me why she and Levi went their separate ways, but she did say that the story he was spinning about Theodosia was nonsense, that he's crazy, and that Aurora would be safer and better off staying far away from him."

"Well, shit," Sirius said. "That doesn't bode well now does it."

"She didn't explain at all why she thought all this?" Remus asked.

Tonks shook her head. "But then she mentioned something and it sent me off digging for the whole afternoon," Tonks said. "Anna Crosby has a son, He's just turned 14 years old."

"Is he Levi's kid?" Sirius asked.

"I'm still working on getting a hold of his official records, but timewise, it adds up perfectly," Tonks said. "And if Levi is trouble she wouldn't want him around. She hasn't spoken to him in 13 years."

"Something serious must have happened if she doesn't want a child seeing his own father," Molly said.

"I agree. I'm still looking into it but I would be more cautious about Aurora corresponding with him. Anna told me to ask Levi when he last spoke to his sister before she resurface," Tonks said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "He said Theo's been mostly a hermit. You think they've been corresponding regularly the whole time?"

"Possibly. My investigation is still ongoing as they say," Tonks said.

"I'll have a chat with Aurora to see if she's been able to glean anything from his letters," Remus said.

"Good idea," Tonks said. "Unrelated, when were you planning on telling her about the Servants of Pythia? I want to make sure she's being careful when she goes back to school."

"Might as well make it one conversation. She'll have time t digest all of this before she goes back to school," Remus said.

"She's an early riser," Molly said. "If you don't want the other children listening in, I'd find her before she goes off to make coffee in the morning."

Tonks groaned. "Not thrilled at the prospect of waking up early, but I agree."

Remus nodded. "Tomorrow morning then."


Aurora was visibly startled to find Tonks, Sirius, and her dad in the kitchen when she came down. It was show time. Time to come clean,

"Hello," Aurora said unsurely. "Bit early for you."

"We needed to chat with you and be inconspicuous about it," Tonks said.

"This doesn't seem very covert," Aurora said.

"If we'd pulled you aside it'd be very obvious what we were discussing last night," Sirius said.

"We all know you were talking about me. You kept looking at me," Aurora said.

"I told you," Tonks said, smacking Sirius on the arm.

"Just lay the bad news on me," Aurora said impatiently. It really said something about the state of her world that she was expecting bad news, but also being completely cavalier about it.

"There's something we've been keeping from you, just in the past few weeks. We wanted to be certain before we told you," Remus said. "It's why we wanted you to come back for Easter."

"The Order of the Phoenix keeping secrets from me? Who'd have ever suspected," Aurora said.

"Don't be cheeky," Remus said. "I need you to listen."

Aurora let out a breath and nodded.

"That cult I've been following, I'm sure you've heard me mention it," Tonks said. Aurora nodded. "They're a cult that worships you and thinks you're destined to help some 'Apollo' ascend to power."

Aurora blinked at them for a moment and then she started laughing. Tonks nodded. It was a completely valid reaction.

"Okay, what's actually going on?" she asked.

"The cult, the Servants of Pythia, are a cult that believes you are a seer so powerful that you will help their leader, Apollo, ascend to power, or kill him a seize power for yourself," Tonks said.

Aurora looked to Remus and then to Sirius. Then back to Tonks.

"Okay... Excuse my language, but what the actual fuck," Aurora said. "How is that even possible?"

"Divination. Allegedly your birth was prophesied or something," Tonks said. "Except any prophecy about you didn't wind up at the ministry. Kept it to themselves. They must have been around for a while and popped back up now."

Aurora continued to think for a moment. "This is insane. Who even is this Apollo person?"

Tonks shrugged. "Would make my job a lot easier if I knew. But we do know that you're their prophesied 'bright one.' That woman you saw at Hogsmeade, she was one of them. Then hyacinths are one of the flowers related to Apollo. And she told you to-."

"'Be bright'," Aurora said as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head. "Can you excuse me for a moment?"

She dashed out of the room. Tonks looked over to Sirius and Remus.

"Any idea what that was about?" she asked.

"I seldom know what goes through her head most days," Remus said. "This is surely a lot to consider, especially before breakfast."

Tonks conceded this. They waited a few minutes and almost went to find her, but Aurora returned, a piece of parchment in her hand. She held it out to Tonks.

"What's this?" Tonks asked.

"Sorry. It's just, that 'be bright' stuff sounded familiar and I remembered why," Rory said. "I think we might actually know who Apollo is." She unfolded the letter and motioned to the last line:

I'm sure you are remarkably gifted, and I get the sense that there is more within you than you will ever know. May that light inside of you shine and dispel the darkness around you. Be bright.

Levi

A knot formed in Tonks' stomach. "Oh, fuck me."

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"Levi," Tonks said.

"He signs off all his letters that way. 'Be bright.' That's the one he sent me for Christmas. But every other one is the same," Rory said. "He's always given off a very weird kind of vibe like he didn't even have an aura I could read or anything. And he talks so weirdly."

It would explain why Anna Crosby wanted nothing to do with Levi. If he was the head of an insane cult that thought his niece was going to be some kind of powerful seer that could destroy Voldemort, no wonder she'd want him as far away from her child as possible.

"I have a headache," Tonks said.

"But this is good right?" Sirius asked. "I mean, it's not 'good' but you know who Apollo is so you can go after him."

"I can't," Tonks said. "Not without telling the Aurora is a seer and that I got all this information from her."

"And telling them about the Order," Aurora said. "What are you going to do?"

"First and foremost, we're going to be keeping you safe, no matter what," Tonks said. "Next, I'm going to the Auror office and seeing if I can find any way to link this all back to Levi without bringing you up."