Only Sirius and Remus remained once the meeting was over. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Rory had gone to bed for the evening rather than travel back to his house for the evening. Sirius assumed they'd all want to stay and chat anyway. Sirius didn't mind spending a night in his old room.

And anyway, he had to have a chat with Remus about his upcoming assignment. Once the children went off to school, Remus would spend a few months with a wolf pack, gathering information, and turning them away from Voldemort. It would be dangerous, being out there, with no wolfbane potion, and no communication with anyone.

Sirius was worried.

"I understand that you're the only one who can infiltrate a pack of werewolves," Sirius said, "but it still seems risky to have you do it."

"Does it?" Remus asked as he finished wiping down the table.

"It's dangerous," Sirius said. "Granted, everything we do here is dangerous to some degree, but I thought Dumbledore might be hesitant since you've got Aurora to come back to."

"She'll be at school. She won't have time to sit around and worry over me," Remus said. "Besides, it wasn't Dumbledore's idea."

Sirius stared his friend down. "You volunteered for this assignment? You came up with this?"

Remus nodded. "It seemed like—."

"Stop," Sirius said. "However you're about to justify this act of brazen stupidity is not going to save you from a scolding. Did you happen to run this by Aurora at all?"

"I haven't told her yet," Remus said.

Sirius sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Of course you haven't." Because why would Remus ever tell Aurora anything?

"It's fine," Remus said. "She'll have you."

"Yes, she will, but I have to say, maybe we should have discussed this," Sirius said.

"What for? She'll be at school and if she needs anything she'll have you. I'll be back before Christmas," Remus said as if this were no big deal.

"You're her father. She's going to worry about you being out there alone whether she's here or not," Sirius said. "She writes to you every week. Do you think she'll like not being able to speak to you at all? Why would you even suggest doing—"

Sirius stopped. Of course.

"Is this about Tonks?" he asked.

"Why would this be about her? She's not even speaking to me," Remus said.

"She's not speaking to much of anyone outside of these meetings if she knows you'll be there. Be a lot easier for everyone else if you weren't around wouldn't it?" Sirius asked.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Remus said.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about," Sirius said. "You're the only person I know who'd be in love with someone and then actively avoid being with them, but this is ridiculous even for you. And I'm sure Aurora would agree."

"She doesn't need to be bothered by this," Remus said.

"She is bothered by it, actually," Sirius said. "She misses seeing Tonks. She's put together that Tonks is avoiding you. You should talk to her at least."

"Talk to her about what?" Remus asked. "I don't want to upset or confuse her."

"She's already confused!" Sirius said. Remus looked at him incredulously. "She told me so earlier today. She thought the two of you were together and then suddenly Tonks was just gone from her life with no explanation. I didn't tell her what happened, by the way. But I could tell that she liked the idea of the three of you as, I don't know, a unit."

"I have gone out of my way to give Aurora the best upbringing I can. But I know she recognizes that things would be easier if I weren't, well, a werewolf," Remus said. "She would understand why I know that Tonks would—"

"I promise she would think you're a bloody idiot," Sirius said.

"And you're not?" Remus asked. "What exactly is going on with you and Theo?"

Sirius frowned. Aurora described them as being in a "situationship." A relationship of convenience based on proximity with no real label being put on it. It was a valid and accurate observation.

"Theo and I have two children together, but she also let me sit in Azkaban for 12 years so we've got some things to work out," Sirius said. "But this is about you. You're worried about confusing her, but she's already confused because, as I told you, she sees more than you realize. She said you look miserable. And everyone has noticed how Tonks has been. And your answer to all of this is to run away?"

"I'm not running away."

"Then what are you doing, Remus?" Sirius asked. He'd never been more frustrated with this man in his entire life than he had been right now. "If you're not running away because you think Tonks and Aurora will be better off without you hanging around, what are you doing? You didn't pull this plan out of your ass to help the Order. You're avoiding your own problems."

Remus let out a long sigh but remained unfazed. "Goodnight, Sirius."

He turned to go to bed. The man was infuriating.

"Aurora's going to ask you about it. About Tonks," Sirius said. "Are you going to keep lying to her?"

"I'm not going to keep having this conversation with you, Sirius," Remus said. "Leave it alone."

Harry and Ron made their way downstairs in the morning for breakfast, they found Hermione and Rory standing outside of the door, listening.

"Meeting?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said. "Sirius and Lupin are arguing about something."

"Me," Rory said, her ear still to the door, a frown on her face. "It's always about me. Their co-parenting skills suck."

"They're trying," Harry assured her. "And they both said so themselves, they mostly communicate by bickering."

"They do it all the time. It's non-stop," Rory said.

"Is a bit annoying."

They were startled by the sound of Theo's voice. They turned around to her.

"And I promise it's not always about you," Theo assured Rory. She walked up to the door and listened. "Usually when they're being this unobservant of their surroundings it's about—" She stopped herself. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that they're both just being idiots. Sometimes I think they forget they're not 16 anymore. No offense."

"None taken," Harry said. He was sure he was bound to do all sorts of stupid things.

"Give me a moment," Theo said. She opened the door and stepped into the room, closing it behind her.

"What else would they be arguing about?" Ron asked.

Rory shrugged, but she gave Harry a knowing look. There was something else going on. She would tell him later when the others weren't there.

The door opened and Theo smiled at them.

"Good morning," she said ushering them in. Rory still looked displeased, as did Sirius and Remus.

"Hope you've managed to at least make coffee," Rory said.

"And risk your ire?" Sirius said motioning to the pot on the table.

"Professor McGonagall was here last night," Remus said, his composure slowly returning. "She said that it looks like there was enough interest in Alchemy that you'll be able to have it on your schedule."

"Wonderful," she said filling a mug. She looked over to Harry. "I have some books you can look at if you'd like to get a head start."

Harry got the feeling Rory would have him looking at the books whether he wanted to or not. To be fair, he could probably use the help.

"Might as well. Give you something to help me with aside from Quidditch," he said.

Rory managed to crack a smile at this, which was good.

"Tonks'll be by later. She wants to take you out for lunch," Remus said.

"That's nice of her," Rory said. "I was starting to feel a little abandoned."

Sirius and Remus looked deeply uncomfortable at her comment which seemed to be her intent.

"You, er, you got a letter from your grandfather this morning as well," Remus said.

"Oh," she said as he passed her the letter. She glanced over at Harry and then took a sip of her coffee.

"Remus, help me with breakfast," Sirius said.

"I'll supervise," Theo said flashing them a smile.

"We don't need supervision," Remus said as they walked to the kitchen.

"You needed supervision when we were in school and you need it now," she said.

The door to the kitchen closed and Ron let out a breath.

"Well that was bloody uncomfortable," he said. "What's going on with them?"

"I don't want to get into it," Rory said opening her letter from her grandfather. "They'll be fine. It's just annoying at this point like Theo said." She started reading her letter, turning slightly away from the others, clearly in no mood to chat right now.

"Are you really going to take alchemy?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Rory's right about spending the extra time with Slughorn. And taking the extra class won't hurt me. Besides, at this point, Rory might strangle me if I drop it, especially if it means she can't take the class."

"You would be right about that," Rory replied, still reading over her letter.

Harry chuckled. "It'll be interesting. Maybe I'll even be good at it."

"You can do anything, Lovey," Rory said, putting the letter down. She turned back to him. "He wants me to visit before I go back to school."

"You should," Harry said. "You'll regret it if you don't."

Maybe Lyall Lupin wasn't a fan of Harry's. Maybe Harry didn't care for him for the way he seemed to feel about his son. But this was a person that Rory loved. Maybe he could change, and he wanted Rory to mend the relationship if she could. Lyall could dislike Harry forever but it wouldn't stop him from being with Rory.

She nodded and folded the letter. She looked at the kitchen door. "Wonder if it might be better to visit without Dad."

"You think?" Harry asked.

Rory nodded. "He's said that he only started speaking to him again because of me. Maybe he'll be better off with some space from him. And maybe our conversation will be more honest without Dad around."

"You know best," Harry said. She took another drink of her coffee and then rested her head on his shoulder.

Tonks arrived at Grimmauld Place to see Aurora and Remus sitting in the dining room together. She'd had to be around Remus several times in the last few days, but the interactions were always brief and she made a quick escape. Taking Aurora out to lunch was not only a good way to catch up with her, but to also be away from Remus.

"There you are," Aurora said, grinning. "I don't know if you noticed, but I did away with that horrible umbrella stand. You're welcome."

Tonks chuckled. "Appreciate it. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," she said getting to her feet. "I'll see you later, Dad."

"Don't get into too much trouble," he said.

"I've had enough trouble for a lifetime," Aurora replied. She kissed her dad on the cheek and then practically danced over to Tonks. She embraced her tightly, which took Tonks a little by surprise.

Her gaze went over to Remus who looked a bit surprised also. Suddenly she felt horrible about avoiding Remus. It meant not seeing Aurora, who clearly missed her much more than Tonks anticipated.

Tonks hugged her back and Aurora finally released her.

"You're sure you're alright with this?" Tonks asked, still looking at Remus. It wasn't the lunch date that Tonks was unsure of. It was what she wanted to talk to Aurora about.

Remus nodded, meeting her gaze. "She's more than capable of making her own decisions."

Tonks agreed but still hated that they had to have this conversation at all.

"Let's go then," Tonks said.

They left Grimmauld Place. They walked for a short bit to a pub, a muggle pub. Tonks didn't want to chance anyone listening in on them, and even then, once they got a table Tonks put up the Muffliato charm to keep them from being overheard.

Aurora had been telling Tonks all about Atlas. Tonks met and chatted with him briefly while at Matilda's party. He had the unmistakable air of being Sirius Black's child about him. But there was a sweetness to him too, a softness, that she saw in Aurora often. Tonks always chalked it up to Remus' parenting, but maybe there was something of them in Theo as well.

"I've been thinking of all the things I could get at Hogsmeade to send him a little gift when I get to school," Aurora was finishing.

"I'm sure he'll like whatever you get him," Tonks assured her. "You two get on so well."

"Yeah. I think he's the only good thing to come out of all this craziness," Aurora said. "You should come around the next time he's here."

"I will," Tonks said. Remus be damned, she would be there. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much this summer."

Aurora took a sip of her beer, for a moment Tonks was astonished she was old enough to have a beer with her right now. When she sat he cup down, she poked at one of the chips on her plate, thinking carefully with her words.

"I know it's because you're avoiding my dad," she said.

Tonks' mouth went dry. "What do you mean?"

Aurora frowned. "Can we not do this? Can you just be honest with me? Please? I know. I've known since I came home at Easter. I went home to our flat and there were… Well, there were just little pieces of you everywhere. And Sirius told me that—"

"You talked to Sirius about this?" Tonks asked, suddenly horrified.

"Yes. I asked him if there was something between you two and he said no but that I wasn't entirely off the mark," she went on. "And when you were over this summer I just thought… I thought 'well any moment they're going to stop pretending they're not together and just tell me.' But then I went with Dumbledore to get Harry and you just disappeared."

Tonks felt ill. All this time she'd thought that Aurora didn't know, but it was clear she knew everything. It was obvious to her. How must she feel? How could Tonks explain this to her?

"I haven't talked to my dad about it because… Well, you know how he is," Aurora said.

Tonks knew exactly how Remus was, which was part of the problem.

"You wanted to have lunch so I thought why not just ask you about it," Aurora went on.

Tonks let out a sigh and then took a drink of her beer, mostly to give her more time to think about how to answer.

"Sometimes things just don't work out like we plan them to," Tonks said. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Remus and I, we were never really together or dating or anything like that."

"But you nearly were?" Aurora asked.

Tonks nodded slowly. "Things just didn't quite go that way." No matter how much Tonks had wanted them to, or how much Remus wanted them to for that matter. "We weren't on the same page about things."

"Is it because he's a werewolf?" Aurora asked.

"Merlin, no. Never. Never ever," Tonks said quickly. "Remus is one of the best people I know and being a werewolf has no reflection upon his character at all. It never factored into how I feel about him. Ever."

"Then what changed?" Aurora asked. "If you two got on so well then why did you just end it?"

She didn't want to have this conversation, but at the same time, didn't Aurora deserve some closure? Remus was never going to tell her. Couldn't Tonks give her a watered-down version of the truth?

"Aurora, your dad cares so much for everyone around him. Even me, I know that," Tonks explained. "And he wants everyone he cares about to be safe. To be happy. Even—"

"Even if we don't like it?" Aurora asked. She sank back in his chair. "It is because he's a werewolf. You're just not the one with the problem."

Tonks took another drink, choosing not to confirm that statement.

"It's difficult for me to be around Remus right now," Tonks explained. "And I'm sorry that I haven't seen you because of it. And I promise I'll do my best to be there for you more. I didn't realize—"

"I know," Aurora said. She let out a deep sigh and turned her attention to the window beside them. "Thanks for telling me, as much as you could anyway. And for what it's worth, Sirius refused to tell me anything about why you and dad weren't talking."

"Glad I can trust him for that at least," Tonks said with a chuckle.

"Can I tell you something?" Aurora asked.

"Of course," Tonks said.

"I think Sirius is upset about it," she said. "They've been sniping at each other all summer. It's been driving me insane. I know that's how they communicate sometimes, but this has been different. They're best friends, but you… Sirius thinks of you like a sister. If my dad upset you somehow, of course, he would feel torn about."

"You haven't been putting your people reading skills to the test lately have you?" Tonks asked.

Aurora smiled and shook her head. "Haven't really seen much of a need to."

Tonks was glad that she was changing the subject but dreaded having this conversation.

"Speaking of that, I wanted to talk to you about something," Tonks said.

"Related to the whole seer thing?" Aurora asked.

"Yes, and please know that I am under duress doing this. I didn't want to bring it up at all, but I'm being hounded at work," she said.

"What is it?" Aurora asked.

Tonks took a deep breath, then a drink of her beer. Then another drink of her beer.

"They want you to see what information you can gather about the Servants of Pythia. Whatever prophecy they found that spawned their origins, things that they're up to—"

"No," Aurora said shaking her head. "No."

Tonks relaxed. "Now I can tell them you said no."

"You can tell them that that's exactly the reason Voldemort kidnapped me and I'm not interested in revisiting any trauma for their sake so they can get fucked. And how dare they try to use your relationship with me to convince me," Aurora said.

"I know, I know," Tonks said. "I've said all of this until I'm blue in the face, but they won't take my word for it. Scrimgeour really wants to speak to you, and to Harry."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "So I can tell him to fuck off in person?"

"I didn't say that exactly, but I did indicate that you would not be open to conversation," Tonks said.

"Then I'll send him an owl and tell him personally," Aurora said. She took a long drink of her beer. Then she sat it down. "What is this anyway?"

Aurora had requested Tonks order a drink for her; she was nervous being in a muggle pub.

"A shandy," Tonks said. "It's kind of like beer and lemonade mixed together."

"Interesting," Aurora replied. "I kind of like it. Though I think I'd really enjoy being the kind of person who goes out and only drinks, like, champagne and wine."

"Very classy," Tonks said.

Aurora took a bite of her food and then smiled at Tonks. "Thanks for taking me out, by the way. I really have missed you."

Tonks smiled. "I've missed you too. And I'm sorry."

Aurora's smile weakened a bit. "I'm sorry too."

Tonks could tell something else was on her mind. "What is it?"

"Your hair," she said quickly. "That's because of Dad too, isn't it?" Tonks paused before she nodded slowly. Rory took a drink of her beer. "I always used to think my dad was perfect. That he was the smartest person I knew. And don't get me wrong, I still feel like I can go to him for anything but…"

"Remus is human. Just like you are. Just like I am. He's allowed to not be perfect. And he can be a great dad, even if he's not perfect in other ways," Tonks said.

Aurora nodded.