Despite everything happening, Harry thought the day of the Astronomy OWL was kind of excellent. The practical exam was ridiculously easy and quick. They had a free hour before lunch and afterward, Harry managed to take an exquisite nap. It was the same as a regular nap, but it was preceded by a lot of kissing Rory. He woke up with her curled against his chest and he thought he could happily die when she woke up and gave him a sleepy smile and kissed him some more.
Harry had missed her immensely. Even though she immediately wanted to review for astronomy after cutting their post-nap snogging short, he felt so lucky to be able to just spend time with her without having to think too hard about it.
She was still in her head about her Divination exam, though she was trying incredibly hard not to be. But Harry could tell she'd still been turning over the experience in her mind whenever her thoughts drifted away from her. And with her dad's hearing tomorrow, anytime anyone mentioned their History of Magic exam, she got antsy. The hearing was scheduled to intersect with their OWLs so she'd been given special dispensation to take them at the Ministry with an examiner after the hearing. She doubted she'd be able to focus no matter what the outcome was.
"Do you think you'll take astronomy next year?" Harry asked.
Rory nodded. "It'll be useful for divination. Even if I am cursed, I still might as well hone that-."
She stopped mid-sentence. A faraway look came over her features. She closed the book in her lap.
"Rory?" he asked, though he knew she'd seen something.
"Hagrid," she said.
Harry's heart sank. "They're going to sack him?"
She nodded. "Tonight. While we're taking our astronomy exam."
"Well we've got to go and warn him," Harry said.
Rory shook her head. "You said he already knows it's coming. Even if we did warn him it's not like he could stop Umbridge or change her mind." She climbed from his bed and slid her shoes on.
"Then where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm not worried about Hagrid," she said. "We need to talk to Professor McGonagall."
"About what?" Harry asked as he climbed from the bed as well. He followed Rory to the door and she stopped when her fingers twisted around the knob.
"It's coming," Rory said. "Something is about to be set in motion tonight. That prophecy…"
Harry's pulse quickened. "The one about Sirius?"
She nodded. She let go of the handle and turned around to him. "Can you promise me something?"
"Anything," he said.
"I know it's the exact opposite of who you are as a person, but I need you to not act rashly," she said. "Tomorrow I won't be here to help you see sense… Though I suspect that's probably part of the problem."
"What's going to happen tomorrow?" he asked.
Rory shrugged. "I think we're going to be stuck in a permanent shit show for the 24 hours following that exam. The hearing. The History of Magic OWL… It's all about to go to shit."
"And what's it got to do with McGonagall?" he asked.
"I need to tell her not to help Hagrid tonight," Rory said.
McGonagall had seemed completely defeated when Rory told her that they planned on storming Hagrid's hut and throwing him out of the school that night.
Much to Rory's dismay, McGonagall seemed completely indifferent to her plea that she not interfere with Hagrid's removal.
"She's going to get hurt," Rory grumbled as they walked to the astronomy tower.
"The only teacher in the whole school who's a better duelist than her is Professor Flitwick. I think she can take care of herself," Harry insisted.
"As if Umbridge is going to fight fair," Rory said.
And Rory was right. She sped through her Astronomy OWL. She was nearly done by the time Umbridge and her squad came out to attack Hagrid and force him out of his hut. The whole class watched in horror and McGonagall came out of the castle, trying to defend Hagrid, and was struck in the chest three times with a stunning charm.
Rory thought for certain she was going to fall to pieces afterward. Instead, she was numb. She didn't know what to do or say. She had images flashing in her head, pieces and parts of events and things that she couldn't make sense of. All she knew was that McGonagall getting attacked tonight had set something into motion.
She stayed up most of the night, scribbling and drawing in her journal, trying to make sense of it all. When her alarm went off the next morning, she'd definitely not slept enough to endure the day that was coming.
Harry was waiting for her in the Common Room when she walked downstairs. He frowned at her.
"Tell me you slept at all," he said.
"I'm freaking out," she admitted.
"About the hearing?" he asked.
"Everything," she said. "Hagrid. McGonagall, the hearing, OWLs. Harry, something bad is going to happen."
She didn't want to put it into words. She'd been brushing off her "maybe" Sirius will die prediction as a maybe. But now it felt uncomfortably close. She was afraid that the bad thing coming was losing Sirius. She'd gotten so close with Sirius. The thought of him dying made Rory feel ill. And she couldn't help but feel death looming on the horizon.
And she hadn't been wrong. She hadn't been wrong so far and she couldn't fathom knowing that Sirius was going to die and not being able to stop it. But what else could it be?
"It will all work out," Harry said. He took her hands and kissed her. She rested her head against his shoulder.
"I'm scared," she said. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
"We'll figure it out," he said.
They walked down to breakfast and they were mostly silent. Everyone had been rattled by the events of last night. No one at breakfast had much to say.
The hearing and exams weren't until the afternoon. She had planned to work on review before the exam, but Harry was having none of that. They lay in her bed and she tried to rest, but she was too anxious. Every five minutes she was telling Harry a different nightmare scenario that was playing out in her head. He did his best to reassure her and keep her from worrying, but her body was on high alert. She did manage to shut her eyes for 20 minutes or so, but that was the extent of that.
Rory couldn't feel worse if she tried, so naturally the day continued to go downhill when they went back downstairs for lunch.
"Lupin, there you are," Malfoy said walking up behind her towards the end of lunch. "Heard you're slumming it with Potter again."
"Can you kindly fuck off?" Rory said.
"Message from Umbridge," Malfoy said. "She says that Professor McGonagall is indisposed at the moment, so she wants you to come to her office for your hearing at the Ministry today."
"Thank you for the information," Rory said.
"I hear we're going to be roommates come this summer," Malfoy said. "Be a chance for us to bond, won't it, cousin?"
Rory rolled her eyes. "Draco Malfoy, let me be perfectly frank with you. I would rather spend the rest of my life in Azkaban than spend a single second of my life cohabitating with you outside of this school."
Malfoy gave her a condescending slap on the shoulder.
"We'll see if you really mean it once you and your werewolf father are waving the white flag," he said.
Rory got to her feet and smacked Malfoy as hard as she could across the face a wave of gasps rippled through the students around them.
"I told you to kindly fuck off, so let me tell you unkindly this time to get the hell away from me before I smack you again, cousin," she said.
"You think this makes you look any better?" Malfoy asked. "Think this will make people think that werewolf raised you better?"
Rory went to smack him again, but Harry was on his feet and had grabbed her.
"Let's go," Harry said, pulling her away. She finally noticed that everyone in the Great Hall was watching the confrontation, not that it would've stopped her from following through on her threat.
He led her from the Great Hall. She could hear Malfoy shouting behind her but was too angry to really listen to what he was saying.
"I hate to agree with Malfoy, but he's right in thinking that hitting him in the face is not a good look today of all days," Harry said.
"I didn't smack him because my dad didn't parent me properly. I smacked him because he's a dick," Rory said.
"I know, but try to calm down," he said. "Weren't you telling me just yesterday not to make any rash decisions today?"
"That wasn't rash. I think about hitting him in the face constantly," she said.
"You're hopeless," Harry chuckled. He pulled her into a hug. "I know you're scared. But do you trust me?"
"Yes," she said.
"Then believe me when I tell you that it's all going to work out," he said. "Even if today ends up being one big shit show."
"It definitely will be," Rory said.
"Then we'll figure out what to do about it when you get back," he said. "You just worry about yourself and getting through that hearing and your exam, okay?"
She nodded. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but when he said it she could almost make herself believe that it would be.
Harry walked her up to Umbridge's office and Rory's stomach squeezed itself into a knot. She hadn't been back in that office since Umbridge had locked her in the closet.
"I have something for you," he said reaching into his pocket. He took her hand and slipped a familiar piece of braided nylon onto her wrist.
"My fish bracelet," she said. "You kept it."
"You said you thought not being here would be the reason I did something stupid today," he said. He held up the owl bracelet she'd gotten him and put it on. "But now I've got a little piece of you with me. And you've got a little piece of me with you."
Rory smiled and then kissed him. "I love you. Don't be stupid."
"Same to you," he said.
Umbridge's door opened and she gave Rory and Harry a sickly sweet smile that made Rory want to vomit on the floor again.
"Thank you for your prompt arrival, Miss Lupin," she said. She pushed the door open and beckoned her inside.
Rory gave one last look to Harry. He gave her an encouraging smile.
Remus' interview at the Ministry had been as uneventful as Tonks had expected it to be. She'd observed the interview while Dawlish spoke with him. She was close with his daughter after all and they wanted to make sure there was no bias.
He left quickly to ready for the hearing. Levi was supposed to be waiting to have his turn, but after 15 minutes had passed, he still hadn't shown up.
"Won't get him here in time before that hearing at this rate," Dawlish said.
"They'll push the hearing," Tonks said.
"Wouldn't be surprised if they tossed the whole thing after we talk to him," Dawlish replied.
That's what Tonks was hoping for. Those hopes were dashed immediately when Scrimgeour came into the room.
"Goldfinch here yet?" Dawlish asked.
"He won't be coming," Scrimgeour said. "The Minister agrees that it's likely this cult is interested in Aurora Lupin, but finds it unlikely that her uncle is involved in any way."
That's because Cornelius Fudge is a bloody idiot, Tonks thought to herself.
"So we don't even get to interrogate him? He's been dodgy since he turned back up in December. We'd be fools not to follow up on this," Tonks said.
"I have to agree with Tonks on this one, Sir," Dawlish said.
"What did you think of Lupin?" Scrimgeour asked.
"Not him," Dawlish said with a firm shake of his head.
"The minister is afraid that that Lupin might be sympathetic to Sirius Black," Scrimgeour said.
"I've looked into Remus Lupin to see if he has any connection to Sirius Black about a hundred times at this point. If Black was hanging around, he'd want his daughter as far away from him as possible," Tonks said.
"We can't rule out the possibility that he's working with Black. He could be the one orchestrating the Servants of Pythia," Scrimgeour said.
"I'll give you that Black raising up a cult isn't outside the realm of possibility," Tonks lied. "But I don't think her dad is connected to him."
"All the same, I'll want to see him back here, soon. I'm going to have Kingsley do some extra digging into Lupin's background. He's a werewolf. Their connection with dark magic can't be ignored. As uncooperative as Goldfinch has been, he doesn't have any connections that would suggest he would be involved in something like this," Scrimgeour said.
"I understand, sir," Tonks said. "But in the interest of ruling out all possibilities, I think we should still—."
"I'll revisit the matter with Fudge at a later date. In the meantime, Goldfinch is off the the table," Scrimgeour said. He walked off and Tonks let out a frustrated sigh.
"Can I tell you something in confidence?" Dawlish asked.
"Sure," Tonks replied. She was already keeping about a million other secrets for everyone. What was one more?
"I think the Minister is just trying to throw whatever shit he can at Sirius Black and see what sticks," he said. "I know you said you agree, but I don't think it makes sense at all for Black to be behind the Servants of Pythia."
This was a surprise. Tonks agreed with him and knew with one hundred percent certainty that Sirius was not, in fact, a cult leader. But even from an investigative standpoint, it didn't make sense.
"If Fudge was right and Sirius Black did breakout all of his Deatheater buddies from Azkaban and rallied them to this new cause, why aren't any of them the ones doing the attacking in the name of their 'Bright One?'" Tonks asked.
Dawlish nodded. "My thoughts exactly. But what do we know? We're just trained investigators. Have to leave all the decision-making up to the politicians who know better than us."
Tonks shrugged. She knew she didn't have to worry about the hearing. She knew her mother would come through for Aurora if they railroaded Remus out of custody of his daughter. But she didn't think Fudge came up with this idea in a vacuum. Someone had been whispering in his ear about this. And Tonks had a pretty good idea who it might be.
She left Dawlish and headed to the main corridor to go back to her desk, and there she saw none other than Levi standing outside the Auror office. She marched up to him.
"Auror Tonks. Lovely to see you, as always," he said. "I was just looking for—"
"Stop talking," Tonks said quickly, holding up a hand. "I'm not going to listen to you talk me in circles or try to play mind games with me today. You understand?"
"Maybe I might if you explain yourself," he chuckled.
"I know you're Apollo," she said. Levi raised an eyebrow. "I can't prove it without further throwing your niece's life into turmoil, but I want you to know that I know what you're up to. And I don't know how you got in Cornelius Fudge's ear to weasel your way out of my investigation, but make damn sure you know that I'm going to drag your sorry ass back here myself when the time comes for it."
Levi stared at Tonks for a moment before chuckling. "You're very bold aren't you Auror Tonks?"
"Yes, and another thing," Tonks said, "I don't care how this farce you've orchestrated goes down, the only way you're getting any kind of custodial authority of Aurora Lupin is going to be over my dead body."
He gave Tonks a firm pat on the shoulder. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you. Never know, I might just take you up on that." He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "I wouldn't even have to do it myself. I have a very far reach when it comes to my Bright One."
He took a step back from her and smiled. "Besides, this is all going to be a bit beyond you at this point. Can't stop what's already been put into motion."
Levi walked past Tonks and made his way toward the lifts. Tonks clenched a fist at her side. She wouldn't be able to go to the hearing, she'd just have to trust that her mother would take care of things while she was working. But Levi had left a sour feeling in her stomach.
Rory couldn't stop her hands from shaking. Keeping them folded neatly in her lap was not helping. She felt like she wanted to throw up and scream and cry all at the same time even though nothing had even happened yet. She was in a smaller room than she'd been for Levi's hearing. There were two seats at the front of the room, presumably for whoever would be presiding over this hearing. Rory was sitting perpendicular to these seats on a small bench with a table. There was space just enough for two people. Across from her on the other side of the room were two rows of benches. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were already seated there, along with a handful of faces she didn't recognize.
Rory nearly jumped out of her seat when her dad walked into the room. He sat down beside her and she tossed her arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could manage.
"I was going to ask how you're doing, but that answers my question," he said patting her on the back. "I'm going to assume any insights you might have about this hearing are—."
"Bad," she said. "Last night. Today. All bad. Everything is just not good."
"What happened last night?" Remus asked.
"You didn't hear about Hagrid?" Rory asked. "Some Aurors and about a dozen hit wizards chased him out of his hut last night. Presumably, he's hiding out in the Forbidden Forest somewhere. McGonagall tried to stop them from attacking him and just escort him from the school like civilized human beings and Umbridge attacked her. Hit her in the chest three times with a stunning charm. She's been in the hospital wing all night. We were taking our Astronomy OWL. Everyone watched the whole thing."
This was clearly news to Remus and he seemed, rightly, horrified. She wanted to ask if he'd talked to Tonks at all today, but he likely hadn't otherwise she was sure that he'd have heard about what happened.
"Also, something weird happened during my Divination exam," Rory said. "They had Aurors there observing us."
Remus nodded. "I'll explain all that to you later, but I promise it's nothing to worry about. I'll just say that they had me here earlier asking about the Servants of Pythia."
Rory raised an eyebrow. "The Ministry thinks it's something to do with me?" Remus nodded. "Is that good or bad?"'
"Hopefully, it has absolutely nothing to do with you at all and you never need to worry about it," he replied.
Rory scoffed. "I've been in a permanent state of worrying for the last year if you hadn't noticed."
"I have. I don't want this to get added to your list," he said. "Do you think you did well on your exam despite being observed?"
"Too well," Rory cringed. "Wasn't quite as cryptic as my session with Harry that was definitely not a seance, but that might've given my examiner more comfort. Now she just gets to be anxious and worried about something bad happening to her. At least I didn't tell her that the bad thing that's going to happen is her untimely death, but I think she might've put the pieces together on her own."
"Wow," he said.
"Yeah," Rory replied. "At least she's got some warning I guess?"
The door opened again and Levi entered the room. He flashed Rory a smile and sat down across from her on the bench with the Malfoys. Rory wanted to stand up and shout at him, tell him she knew exactly who he was. But she thought of Theo and Atlas, and then Tonks and Kingsley and the avalanche of trouble she'd be causing for everyone if the Ministry didn't put the puzzle together on their own.
Fudge walked in and sat down at the head of the room, just as another couple walked in and sat as far as humanly possible from the Malfoys.
"Those are Tonks' parents," Remus said.
"I'm guessing Andromeda Tonks likes her sister about as much as I like her nephew," Rory said. "Also, just in case it comes up, I did smack him this morning."
Remus groaned. "Can you try—."
"I know, I know," Rory said. "But I was already not in a good mood and he came strutting over to intentionally make it worse."
Remus placed a comforting hand on Rory's back.
"I know," he said. "No matter how things turn out today, just remember that I'm always going to be your dad, no matter. Okay?"
Rory nodded, just as Umbridge entered with an elderly, frizzy white-haired woman with large glasses walked into the room. She took the seat beside Fudge and shook his hand with long, pale, fingers. She looked vaguely skeletal she was so thin. Fudge cleared his throat.
"Seems all parties are here, so let's get started," Fudge said.
