Rory said that she wanted to study in the library alone for a few hours after classes that day so no one would look for her while she worked with Harry.

She'd taken him to an abandoned classroom on the seventh floor. It wasn't an area regularly patrolled by Filch or teachers or students. It wasn't out of bounds and they were allowed to be there, but Rory suspected that being alone in a seldom-used part of the castle with Harry Potter would be seen as suspicious.

"How'd you stumble on this place?" Harry asked.

"Ara and Susan found it. Used it for secret choir rehearsals," Rory said. "Kind of impressive that they managed to hide here for three weeks with no one noticing."

"Helps that no one ratted them out," Harry said. "Speaking of which, Marietta's face is starting to look much better."

Rory chuckled and reached into her school bag. She pulled out her journal and flipped it open to where she'd written a few notes about Legillimency.

"You still use that?" Harry asked.

She looked up at him and he motioned to the journal. "Why wouldn't I? I'd already started using it. Couldn't just chuck it in the bin if I wanted to be able to look back on a dream or something. Plus the numerology references are incredibly useful."

"Oh, well. I'm glad," he said.

She flashed him a smile before returning to the journal.

"So, there's a certain degree of wandless and wordless magic involved in Legillimency. But it all seems to fall under the umbrella of things I can do simply by nature of being born a fucking weirdo," Rory said. Harry chuckled. "And I was worried I might muck up your brain if I didn't know what I was doing, but thankfully it seems like if I mess up, it simply won't work and I won't see anything. But if it does work, I can see basically anything."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

"You're sure you want me poking around in your head? Or trying to poke around in your head?" Rory asked.

"Better you than Snape," he said.

"Is it though?" Rory asked. "You can ignore Snape. You talk to me basically every day."

"And I basically tell you everything anyway," he said.

She shook her head. "You don't though. And if I'm being honest it feels very invasive to have free access to my ex-boyfriend's head. I mean, do you want me to know every single thing you've ever thought about me or Cho, real or imagined?"

Harry's cheeks reddened, but he managed to keep his composure.

"Well, if you do this properly and I also do this properly, then no one should see anything, right?" Harry asked. Rory nodded. "Good. No pressure then."

They sat on the floor across from each other, Rory's book in her lap.

"Close your eyes and let's get started, shall we?" Rory asked.

Harry did as instructed and closed his eyes. She knew it wasn't technically necessary for him to do this but, she couldn't imagine how she'd be able to do this and also look him in the eye. She referenced her book one last time, delaying the inevitable. She remembered the last time she'd tutored him in a private classroom last November. This was a lot different than practicing the summoning charm though. Dragons had never seemed simpler in comparison to her current situation.

And then she dove in.

At first, she wondered if she was doing it properly, if the magic was guiding her in the completely wrong direction. She could feel Harry, the pulse of his aura, the anxiety that thudded in time with his heartbeat. She had to go past that.

She saw glass breaking, as easily as if it had been happening right in front of her, but she knew it had been in Harry's head. She groped for more, trying to make sense of what she'd seen.

It wasn't glass she'd seen. It was a crystal sphere tumbling from her hands, shattering against the stone floor. Rory saw her own face, a shy smile. She saw the crystal ball in her hands again. Watched it careen through the air and smash against a wall.

It was all flashes of pictures, fleeting bursts of feelings, a big complicated puzzle that she could only make sense of because she knew what the whole picture looked like.

Then she felt a push back and she could no longer see anything. She opened her eyes and grabbed Harry's arm.

"Sorry," he said. "After a while, it just feels—."

"Don't apologize!" Rory said. "You're supposed to push me out, remember? That's the whole point of this."

"Oh, right," Harry said, his cheeks heating again. "I don't think I ever managed to do it with Snape."

"Well, Snape is a very advanced Legillimens while I have only made my first attempt at it today, and I didn't really try to fight you on it," Rory said. "But progress in any form is spectacular. You should be proud of yourself."

"You too. Divination and Legillimency. Is there anything you can't do?" he asked.

"Look out the window of a moving vehicle without getting ill," she said.

Harry laughed. "There is that."

"Do you want to try again?" Rory asked.

Harry sighed and nodded. He looked a bit tired and Rory wondered what exactly it must feel like to him, having someone in his head. Maybe it was easier because this was a shared memory. There was no chance of her stumbling upon something she didn't want to know or see or feel. But would it be harder for him to push her out or for her to see if it was actually something he wanted to keep to himself?

Rory felt the discomfort about all this rising within her again, but she knew there was only one way to find out. She didn't know how to control what she was seeing in his head or if he had some hand in it, but she had to push anyway.

It came to her in flashes again. A dim lightbulb on a string. Cobwebs. A threadbare mattress. A small hand holding a crayon. Messy, but familiar handwriting working its way across a sheet of paper. "Happy Birthday Harry" taped to a dusty wall. The heat of a bruise blossoming against Harry's cheek. A stout, blond boy ripping the paper into pieces.

She felt Harry push back against the memory, but she pressed on. Watched Harry helplessly flail his tiny hands against his cousin. His uncle appearing and scolding Harry. The light in the tiny cupboard went out and the door slammed.

Rory was shoved out of his head again. Harry looked ragged this time, and irritated, embarrassed. He'd told her about his life in Surrey, obviously. Not with any great detail. He'd mentioned his cupboard under the stairs, the torment he suffered at the hands of his cousin, and the disregard his aunt and uncle seemed to have for his very existence. But she felt sick inside having seen it. Angry even. She wanted to take the train to Knight Bus to Surrey right then and tell his aunt and uncle exactly what kind of people she thought they were.

But she couldn't. Instead she and Harry locked eyes. Before he could say anything she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He was tense in her arms, but Rory didn't relent until he hugged her back.

"Thanks," he said.

"We can call it a day if you want," she offered.

"No," he said. "This is fine."

She couldn't remember the last time she'd hugged Harry. He still smelled the same. His arms still felt the same wrapped around her. She wondered if there other things about him that were still as intoxicatingly familiar as this embrace was. She let him go before she was tempted to find out.

"Let's try again," he said.

Rory nodded. And so it went.


Rory had been dreading career advice. She knew McGonagall would help steer her in the right direction, that was her job after all, but Rory didn't even have a jumping-off point.

She hated even more than she was missing Divination for her meeting. All of her other classes were stressful as they ramped up towards OWLs. Divination was the only class that Rory took any enjoyment because it came so easily to her.

She knocked on McGonagall's office door.

"Come in, Miss Lupin," McGonagall called out.

Rory pushed the office door open. McGonagall was scowling, likely because Umbridge was sitting in the back corner of the office.

"I thought these were private," Rory said, despite knowing Umbridge also sat in on Harry's just two days earlier.

"Yes, well, after that stunt you pulled with your friends in the Hogwarts choir, I thought it might be helpful to make sure your interests aren't… Misplaced," Umbridge said. "Just think of me as an observer. You'll hardly know I'm here really."

Dolores Umbridge had never waddled into a room without making sure that everyone was very aware of her presence. Still, Rory wanted to try to get some guidance while she was here.

Rory sat down and set her bag on the floor beside her.

"So, Miss Lupin," McGonagall said, "still unsure?"

"Unfortunately," Rory said. "Dad still wants me to sing."

"There are few people that would disagree with him," McGonagall said.

"I've done some research into music programs," Rory said.

"You're considering this seriously?" Umbridge chimed in.

Rory looked over to her. "It's one of the things I've considered."

"You know, the chances of having a successful career in music are astoundingly low," Umbridge said.

"I'm aware, thank you," Rory replied through clenched teeth. She knew Umbridge was just doing this to get a rise out of her, but Rory did not want to send another letter to her father telling him that she had detention for telling Umbridge off again, especially because she'd narrowly avoided expulsion just two days ago. "But it's just one of the things I've considered."

"I understand you're looking into something that will help you utilize your academic talents," McGonagall said, steering the conversation in a positive direction.

Rory nodded. "That's what I'm hoping for."

"Speaking from my personal experience with you, you're quite advanced in all of your subjects, especially the more complex ones," McGonagall said. "Have you considered taking alchemy next year?"

"Alchemy?" Umbridge chimed in. "You're quite certain she's capable of that?"

"Aurora Lupin is one of the most remarkable students in her year. I understand that might be difficult to gauge without any tangible proof of that in your class being that they have no practical applications for you to judge them," McGonagall said. "However, in my class, she repeatedly demonstrates skill far beyond her peers, even when compared with my NEWT level students."

Rory felt herself blush. She knew she was impressive, but it felt good to hear it coming from another teacher.

"I recommend taking it next year, regardless of your career plans. It will be a good challenge for you," McGonagall said. "Mister Cornfoot expressed interest in taking it. We'd be happy to put the class on your schedule even with just the two of you."

Rory nodded. "I'll do that, thank you."

"Any other aspirations?" McGonagall asked. "Professor Firenze says you are the most remarkable and gifted seer he's seen in his life, as witches go."

Umbridge chuckled again. This time Rory and McGonagall ignored her.

"I definitely plan on honing that skill, but I'm not sure anyone would take me seriously as a seer. Most people don't take seers seriously as it is," Rory said.

"Well, you want to do music. I'm sure you'll be taken just about as seriously there," Umbridge said.

Rory seethed and she could feel McGonagall seething as well. Unfortunately, she knew at that moment she was going to be writing to her dad about detention with Umbridge.

"There's one other thing I thought I might be suited to," Rory said. "Politics."

At this, Umbridge looked to Rory.

"For the ministry?" McGonagall asked. "In what field?"

"I'd like to be able to create change within the magical community, so to do that I'd have to work with the Minister. Maybe as a staffer or even a senior undersecretary," Rory said. Umbridge chuckled, but Rory pressed on. "There are a lot of really, outdated and bigoted laws in existence right now. For instance, there's a lot going on to reduce the territory for merpeople and centaurs. Our textbook still deems them as magical 'creatures' when they're sentient beings with their own cultures and systems of governance. And then there's the werewolf registry that makes it nearly impossible for any werewolf to get a job and yet the ministry offers no meaningful form of assistance to the very real people who are affected by a condition which they have no control over. And don't get me started on the state of magical education in Britain which is-."

"That's quite enough, Miss Lupin," Umbridge said. She was red in the face. Who wouldn't be after having every single piece of legislation they'd spearheaded torn to pieces one by one?

Rory smiled. "You know, Professor McGonagall. I really think the ministry is the place for me. I think I owe it to myself and all those who aren't able to defend themselves against our government's current tyrannical power structure to stand up for something. It'd be a good use of my brain."

"I think it might be," McGonagall said. "You'll need four OWLs for that, history of magic, arithmancy, defense against the dark arts, and charms. Easily doable for you. I look forward to seeing what great things come of you, Aurora."

"Thank you, Professor," Rory said getting to her feet. Then she turned to Umbridge. She knew she shouldn't poke the bear, but she couldn't let it go. She wouldn't let it go. "Professor Umbridge, I'm glad you were here today. It really helped give me some direction. I'll be sure to send you an owl every time I overturn one of your ghastly, bigoted, and purely racist pieces of legislation to remind you of how it came to be possible."

"Excuse me!" Umbridge shouted, rising to her feet. "I'll see you in detention Friday evening. You'll watch your mouth."

Rory flashed her a smile. "I'm always very careful with my words, Professor."


Tonks was getting ready to head home at the end of a long day. Tomorrow, she was going to be taking in a handful of cultists for questioning and needed to get some rest. Dawlish was likely to be no help. He'd all but checked out since the Servants of Pythia had started talking about seers. This was fine by Tonks because it meant it would take longer for them to make the connection to Aurora.

She'd just gotten to the door of the office when it opened and Percy Weasley stepped in.

"Auror Tonks," he said, "glad I caught you. The minister wants to see you before you head home."

"Of course he does," Tonks sighed.

"He's in with Scrimgeour at the moment. I'll lead you there," Percy said.

Tonks could obviously make her way there without being led, but she was too exhausted to argue. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get home to her flat and go to bed.

They got to Scrimgeour's office and Tonks walked in. She went to sit, but Fudge shook his head.

"No need to sit. This won't take long. You're close with Aurora Lupin? Have her best interest in mind at least?" Fudge asked.

Tonks nodded. "Yes."

"Excellent. We were in touch with Levi Goldfinch this morning. He seems to have changed his tune about a few things. Thanks to you he says."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Really? Most of the time I speak with him and I think he's taunting me."

"Well, you seem to have gotten through to him, at least in regards to his niece," Scrimgeour said. He handed Tonks two envelopes. "He maintains that his sister is likely deranged and, that when she entrusted care of her child to Remus Lupin that maybe she was misguided."

"Misguided?" Tonks asked. "What exactly is this?"

"One of them is for your mother, Andromeda Tonks. The other is for Remus Lupin. At Mister Goldfinch's request we've also delivered on to Narcissa Malfoy," Fudge said. "He's requesting a hearing about the custody and upbringing of Aurora Lupin to determine whether it would be suitable for her to perhaps live with an actual relative."

Tonks was in disbelief. "You want to take her away from her father?"

"He's not—." Fudge started.

"He's the only one she's ever known. She thinks more highly of Remus Lupin than she does of any other person on the planet," Tonks said. "She's not going to want this. She's nearly 16 as it is. By the time this gets sorted, she'll be old enough to have a say in this."

"We'll be expediting this matter so I wouldn't worry about her having a say in it. She's a child, and after seeing her behavior on Monday and speaking with Dolores today about her most recent interaction with the girl, I think I would agree with Mister Goldfinch that a firmer hand might be needed in caring for his niece," Fudge said. "Normally, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wouldn't be involved in civil matters like this, but given the circumstances, we don't want another Sirius Black on our hands, do we?"

Because Tonks needed her job, she agreed with a nod.

"Yes, sir. Of course," Tonks said.

"We don't want any trouble out of Lupin, so I'd like you to deliver this letter to him personally," Fudge said. "And make sure he doesn't give Goldfinch any trouble."

Levi Goldfinch was going to have some trouble, but it wouldn't be coming from Remus. Tonks was going to march over to his house and have a word with him as soon as she could figure out a way to do it without getting in trouble for threatening him because she was absolutely going to do that.

"I'll see that it's done, Minister," Tonks said.

She left the Ministry, but she didn't go to Remus' flat or to Grimmauld Place. The first place she went was home, to her parents.

Andromeda Tonks was always excited to see her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug.

"And what did we do to earn a visit from you this evening?" Andromeda asked. "I was sure Dumbledore and the Ministry were keeping you too busy to see us these days."

She was forever grateful that her parents were in the know about the Order of the Phoenix, otherwise, she didn't know how she'd ever tell them anything.

"Ted," Andromeda called out before Tonks could explain herself. "Nymphadora's here for dinner!"

"Mum," Tonks started to protest.

"You're staying for dinner," Andromeda said. Tonks sighed. No sense in arguing with her mother.

"Did you say that my favorite girl is here?" Ted asked, walking out of the kitchen. He had a dish towel slung over his shoulder and was already looking very cozy in his pajamas and slippers. He pulled Tonks into a hug. "You're just in time. I'm cooking for your mother, although I should be a little looser about saying that I'm 'cooking.' I've essentially warmed up your mother's bolognese sauce. And I suppose she also made the pasta herself and any idiot can boil water—."

"Yes, but you're not an idiot, my dear," Andromeda said sweetly.

"I do have that going for me, don't I?" Ted said with a wink. "Go, sit. I'll get a plate for you."

Tonks took off her cloak and joined her parents in the dining room. There was something magical about going home and eating dinner with her parents. It was like being enveloped in a big warm blanket. She already felt less irritated about the events that had taken place at the end of the night.

She listened to her parents chatting while she ate dinner, not wanting to pop the nostalgia bubble she was currently immersed in, but it wouldn't last.

"So, tell us, what's new with you?" Ted asked, casual as always. That was one of the things she appreciated about her dad. He could tell something was troubling her, but wasn't going to pry. Just knew she'd talk about it if she wanted.

"More trouble with those Servants of Pythia?" Andromeda asked.

"Not exactly," Tonks said, though she was positive this latest move by Levi was somehow related to his cult activities. She reached into her pocket and slid the letter over to Andromeda.

"For me?" her mother asked.

Tonks nodded. "Levi Goldfinch has requested a custody hearing for Aurora. He's been kind enough to request the attendance of her closest relatives, so you and—."

"Narcissa," Andromeda said, rolling her eyes. "Always a delight to see my sister."

"What's his problem with Remus?" Ted asked. "You make it sound like he's doing a fine job."

"Excellent, even," Tonks said. "But Aurora is, undeniably related to Sirius. And on top of the secret club, the choir shenanigans this past Monday—."

"I read about that in the paper!" Ted said with a laugh. "They said it was nothing more than a lighthearted prank."

"It was, but Fudge and Dolores Umbridge take any and every type of embarrassment as a form of personal attack, so naturally they're using it to frame her as being out of control. Especially after she made a spectacle of herself at that hearing in December," Tonks said.

"And Fudge thinks it's wise to give her another opportunity to call him out on his incompetence?" Andromeda asked, reading over her letter.

"I doubt she'll be given the opportunity this time," Tonks said.

"They don't have a leg to stand on with this," Ted said.

"I think it's rubbish. Aside from behaving like a teenager, what could they possibly say about Remus' parenting that makes him unfit?" Tonks asked.

"Well, he's a werewolf," Andromeda said, not looking up from the letter. She didn't like her mother's casual tone and frowned. Andromeda seemed to notice the awkward silence that fell over the table and looked up. "Sorry. I think Remus is wonderful obviously, but all they have to do is say that he's a werewolf and that'll be that. They don't need any other legs to stand on. Simply say she isn't safe in his care and that she's better off raised by someone safer and more stable."

Tonks huffed and reclined back in her chair. "I cannot give him this letter and tell him that they're going to take his daughter away because he's a werewolf. Levi likely doesn't even want Aurora. He just wants to get her away from Dumbledore and the Order so he can use her for whatever his stupid cult is up to."

"Probably," Andromeda said.

"Mum," Tonks said. She needed her to stop agreeing and start telling Tonks that she was missing some silver lining.

"Remus is smart. I'm sure he'll put this all together the same as you have," Andromeda said.

"So he's just supposed to let Levi take her?" Tonks asked.

Andromeda shook her head. "No. Not at all. But, Cornelius Fudge is going to take Aurora away from Remus."

"Don't sound so bleak," Ted said.

"Didn't mean to. Besides, Levi Goldfinch has made an error in putting his little together," Andromeda said. She smiled at her daughter. "He's decided to involve me in it."