School was fast approaching and with it the end of summer and the return of Atlas to New York. Rory was disappointed, but she'd been looking forward to her last visit with him at Diagon Alley.

The Ministry of Magic was trying very hard to get on the good side of Harry and as such had rounded up loads of extra security to escort them to Diagon Alley.

This time Tonks' absence was noticeable to everyone and the excuse of her working didn't fly at all with anyone. Not only was Tonks' absence weighing on Rory's mind, but she also had an all too familiar sense of impending doom lingering in the back of her mind.

They perused Fred and George's joke shop in Diagon Alley while they waited for Atlas to join them. It was an impressive set up and the twins were so busy they hardly had a moment to say hello.

Atlas showed up and greeted Rory with a hug. She tried hard to perk herself up, but her mood was noticeable.

"No offense, but you do not look good," Atlas said as they set off to get dress robes.

"Sorry," Rory apologized. "I'm having a weird day."

"She gets like this whenever she feels like something bad is going to happen, but doesn't know what," Ron said.

Rory frowned. She really needed to work on not having a tell if Ron knew something was wrong.

"I'll be fine," Rory said. "Not like there's anything I could do about it even if I knew what would happen."

They walked into Madame Malkin's. They could hear tense voices where Madame Malkin was clearly sizing someone. The voice became familiar all too quickly.

"Careful where you're sticking your pins, woman," Draco scolded her grabbing hold of his forearm.

Hermione was just about to open her mouth, probably to suggest they leave, which Rory was all too keen to do, but then Malfoy spotted them. His irritation deepened, as did Narcissa's. She was standing on the other side of her son, scowling at them.

"Think we know why you've been feeling bad today," Harry whispered to Rory. She wanted to agree, but her dread went beyond any irritation she might feel from running into Draco.

"Something to say, Potter?" Draco asked.

"I was just saying that we have abysmal timing running into the likes of you," Harry said.

"Got a lot of nerve saying that after you and your friends decided to come and ruin my family's life," Draco said.

"I think your Deatheater father ruined things all on his own," Harry said. "Last I checked none of us tried to hand anyone over to Voldemort."

And just like that, Draco pulled his wand on Harry who was all too keen to pull his own out.

"Hey!" Madame Malkin shouted. "I won't have any of that in my shop."

"Let's go," Narcissa said pulling the half-finished robes from her son. "We don't want to solicit a shop that serves these kinds of people."

They discarded the robes to the ground and walked out of the shop, looking Atlas over as they went.

"Who was that guy? He pulled that wand on sight when you walked in," Atlas said.

"That was Draco Malfoy," Rory said. "He and his mother are charming aren't they?"

"That's that Malfoy kid?" Atlas asked turning to watch them out the window. "You were not lying about how blond he is. Even for a wizard, it's kind of unreal."

Harry apologized to Madame Malkin for the scene as she measured him for his new robes. Rory and Hermione stood chatting with Atlas at the window as the boys got measured. Atlas told them about Ilvermorny and the differences in the courses he took there versus what they studied at Hogwarts. But Rory's mind was still somewhere else. She kept finding herself staring out of the window watching the crowd passing by.

Then she saw Neville and his grandmother. A red flag went off in her head.

"Excuse me," she said. She walked out the door and caught up to them in the street.

"Rory!" Neville said greeting her with a hug. "There you are. I was afraid we'd missed you."

"Just got here," Rory said. Hermione and Atlas had come out of the shop. She introduced her brother to Neville's grandmother who went on her customary gushing spree. She was starting to feel a little relieved when Neville asked her a question.

"Is Matilda not with you?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "No. Should she be?"

"No, I guess not," he said with a shrug. "She said she was going to meet me here, but she didn't show up. I thought she might've run into you, but maybe she's ill."

Rory was only half-listening as everyone caught up. Her eyes were scanning the shops and the sidewalks. She spotted Kingsley, keeping watch a short distance away, and dashed over to him. He looked at her, slightly concerned.

"Can I help you, Aurora?" he asked.

Rory didn't know what to say exactly and searched for words.

"This is going to sound stupid," she said, "but do you think you could go and check in on my friend Matilda, or have someone check in on her? I've just had this bad feeling all morning and I guess she was supposed to meet Neville here but she didn't show up. It's probably nothing. I'm overreacting and—."

Kingsley put a hand on her shoulder. "If I'm going to take anyone's word on a bad feeling alone, it's yours. Don't worry."

Rory nodded. "Thank you."

He took a step back and disapparated.

"Dude, I cannot keep up with you," Atlas said joining her.

"Sorry," she said. "I just wanted someone to check in on Matilda."

"You sent an Auror to check in on your friend?" Atlas asked. "I wish I had your clout." Rory managed a chuckle. "I think your boyfriend is looking for you."

Harry and Ron had come out of Madame Malkin's, packages with new robes tucked under their arms.

Talking to Kingsley had settled that bad feeling a bit. She still had lingering anxiety over all of it but she thought she could manage now.

They walked around the rest of Diagon Alley, finally finding their way back to the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Rory wasn't the only one who was distracted.

"What's he up to?" Harry asked as he watched Draco disappear toward Knockturn Alley.

"Nothing good going there I imagine," Ron said nonchalantly. "Wonder why he ran off from his mum."

Rory could see the wheels turning in Harry's head. She shook her head. "There's no way you can sneak off and follow him without everyone noticing that you've gone and also he will see you."

"But what if I used my cloak?" Harry asked.

"Why'd you bring your cloak?" Hermione asked.

"Because how else is he supposed to covertly stalk Draco Malfoy through Knockturn Alley if he didn't bring it?" Rory asked.

"Cloak?" Atlas asked.

"Harry has an invisibility cloak," she whispered to him. "Not common knowledge."

"That's baller as hell," Atlas said. "Does seem kind of crazy to stalk some dude you hate right now."

"Unless he's getting up to the same old tricks his father did," Harry said. "We could—."

"I'm not going anywhere," Rory said. "You can take your friends and stalk Draco. I will stay here with my brother and not drag him into this nonsense."

"Aw, maybe I want to get into nonsense too," Atlas said with a frown.

"Hard no, mon frere," Rory said. "We can stay here and be a distraction."

"Tell me how your nonsense goes," Atlas said with a pout.

888

"No offense, but your friends are right. You're a psychopath," Atlas said. Rory laughed. "Who wants to take Alchemy?"

"I think it'd be interesting," Rory said. "And I like the challenge. I've always been good with potions and transfigurations. Alchemy is just—."

"A much harder, very niche combo of the two," Atlas said. "I respect it though. You can work smarter and work harder if you want."

"I tend to," Rory said with a nod.

"What do you want to do when you graduate?" Atlas asked.

Rory shrugged. "Dunno. I think I've unequivocally proven that I am not cut out to be an Auror after my abysmal dueling skills at the Ministry this summer. I'd be good at teaching, but I don't think I'd have the patience to put up with people who don't want to learn or put in an effort and you need that to be a good teacher."

"Know your limits," Atlas said.

"I've got the grades to do basically anything. My grampy thinks I should look into research and development, which sounds intriguing, but I don't know. I like the research part, but you can't really make a career out of just being a researcher," Rory said.

"Not with that attitude," Atlas said.

"Hello, children," Sirius said joining Atlas and Rory. "I was starting to get sick of Remus gushing over how proud he was of Fred and George and the spellwork they put into their products. Teachers."

Rory looked over to her Dad across the shop where he was happily chatting with Fred, holding one of their products in his hand.

"You got that look on your face again," Atlas said. "Does your brain ever turn off?"

"Not usually," Rory said. She looked to Sirius. "Is Tonks avoiding my dad?"

Sirius looked immediately like he regretted walking over to them.

"What would make you say that?" Sirius asked, failing to be nonchalant.

Rory frowned. "Can you not do this?"

"Why don't you just ask him yourself?" Sirius asked.

"You think he's going to tell me the truth about it?" Rory asked.

"No, but every time you ask me about it, he yells at me," Sirius said with a frown. "And yes, I have told him it could all be avoided if just told you the truth, but alas. You know Remus."

"I don't," Atlas said. "I need the tea. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Sirius said.

Rory scoffed. "Listen, I'm just confused. Because they were all into each other when I got back from school. She was at our flat every single day. I was third-wheeling in my own house. You know this. You were there. They weren't subtle."

"They were not," Sirius relented.

"Wait, are we talking about your dad and Tonks, our cousin, the Auror?" Atlas asked. Rory nodded. "Okay, I'm caught up. Go on."

"She just stopped coming around. And when she came for dinner they were arguing. Full on leaving the room put a silencing charm on the balcony door so I couldn't hear them arguing," Rory said. "And they both look miserable. Especially Tonks."

Sirius groaned. "Aurora, I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"What happened?" she asked.

"For once, I cannot," he said.

She huffed. "I was fully convinced they were together and he was just, I don't know, waiting around for the right moment to tell me, and then suddenly she was gone! Pulled the rug right out from under me. And now they're not even talking. Is she just never going to come around anymore? How is that fair to me?"

"So valid," Atlas said putting an arm around me.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not the one who—." Sirius stopped talking quickly and shook his head. "Listen, Aurora, I am new to this whole co-parenting thing, but I do know all about maintaining a united front."

"So you're going to be united on this thing you don't even agree on?" Atlas asked.

"I said I'm new at this," Sirius said.

"Hello," Remus said, "everything going well over here?"

"Just giving Sirius a hard time," Atlas said.

"Good. I have so little time to do that myself these days," Remus replied.

"That's not true, but sure," Sirius said.

"Have you seen Harry?" Remus asked, looking at Rory.

"He popped out with Ron and Hermione," she said quickly, ready to steer them away from the subject. "Has Kingsley come back yet? I asked him to check in on Matilda a bit ago."

"Oh, right he mentioned that," Sirius said looking around. "You know, come to think of it, I don't think he's come back yet. That's a bit strange."

"Why did you send Kingsley to check on Matilda?" Remus asked.

She explained just what she'd told Kingsley earlier and any lightheartedness Sirius and Remus had about the situation evaporated. The last time she'd had a bad feeling like this, she'd hyperventilated in the dining room at Grimmauld Place because Harry and his cousin had been attacked by dementors.

"I'm sure it's fine," Sirius said reassuringly.

Rory didn't feel reassured at all.

The shop door opened and Harry, Ron, and Hermione casually strolled back inside.

"Don't let her worry," Sirius instructed Atlas.

"I think that's just her default state," Atlas said.

"I am not always worrying," Rory said. "Just sometimes, and a lot more so recently."

"We saw someone vomit on the sidewalk and high-five their friend, so it looks like Fred and George are doing well," Harry said as he reached them.

"What's this I hear about you being an investor?" Sirius asked.

Harry's face reddened. "I gave them my winnings from the Tri-Wizard tournament. I only got it because Cedric died. His family wouldn't take it. I didn't want it or need it. So I gave it to them."

Atlas nudged me gently. "You sure this dude is real?"

"Would you believe me if I told you sometimes he carries my books from the library for me?" Rory asked.

"No one does that," Atlas said.

"Harry Potter does," Rory said. She reached out and took his hand.

"To be fair, she gets an excessive amount of books," Harry said.

"Atlas!"

Anna had walked into the shop.

Rory's heart sank. This was goodbye for the summer. They were going to talk to their respective parents about meeting up for winter break, but until then, this was goodbye. Sirius looked a bit down about it as well.

"Been good to see you again," Ron said clapping Atlas on the shoulder.

Her friends said goodbye. Sirius and Rory walked with him to Anna.

"Didn't cause any trouble did he?" Anna asked.

"None," Sirius said. "He actually helps Aurora be on her best behavior as well."

Rory and Atlas exchanged a glance, keeping to themselves that they'd help make sure no one knew Harry, Ron and Hermione snuck off to follow Draco. Their first secret together as brother and sister.

"I promise we'll make time to come visit this December," Anna said. "It's only goodbye for now."

Rory and Atlas hugged tightly, lingering longer than they had before.

"Make sure you write," Atlas said. "Try to make your handwriting semi-illegible so I feel better about myself."

"I will," Rory said. "And you write too. And feel free to make all your friends jealous by telling them your sister is dating Harry Potter."

"I'm absolutely going to do that," he said.

They let each other go. He patted Rory on the head.

"Love ya, sis," he said.

"Love you too," she said. "The head patting feels condescending."

"Good. It was meant to be," he said.

Rory rolled her eyes. She was going to miss him.

They went to Grimmauld Place after their day at the shops. Rory didn't have time to think about the Order meeting that was happening downstairs because Harry was telling her about his stalking of Draco Malfoy.

She rubbed her temples. "You think Draco is a Death Eater?"

"It did seem like it was possible," Ron admitted.

"He lifted his sleeve in the shop to show Borgin something. And Madame Malkin stabbed him with those pins in his left arm," Harry said. "I'll bet you he was showing him his brand new Dark Mark."

"Draco is 16-years-old. Why would Voldemort recruit a literal child to a Death Eater?" Rory asked.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and it swung open. She was surprised to see Kingsley there.

"Hello," he said. "Aurora, can we borrow you for a moment?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Was this about Matilda? Kingsley hadn't come back to Diagon Alley. Seeing him here at the meeting was a relief until now.

"Sure," she said getting to her feet.

She followed Kingsley down the dining room. The meeting appeared to be over. Most people had dispersed, but she was surprised to see Tonks still present.

"Did you check on Matilda?" Rory asked.

"I did. She's safe," he said, ushering her to sit down. Tonks, Sirius, and Remus were approaching her as well. Kingsley had said Matilda was "safe." Not that she was fine or that it had been no issue. Matilda was safe. Which meant she hadn't been before.

"What happened?" Rory asked.

"I got to your friend's house and it looked a bit off so I had Tonks come join me," Kingsley said. "When we went inside we found that Bryony Cerbus had been murdered."

Rory gasped and covered her mouth. Matilda's mother was dead? She'd just seen her a few days ago.

"Pike Cerbus was there also. It looks like he killed himself after he murdered her. From the looks of the house, he seemed to be looking for Matilda as well, but she managed to keep herself hidden," Tonks said. "She's staying with the Longbottoms for the time being."

Rory didn't know what to say.

"It doesn't look like he had any connection to Voldemort at all. Just an opportunist," Kingsley said. "But you likely saved her. Cerbus probably didn't end himself until he knew Tonks and I were there."

Rory wanted to see Matilda. But what would she say? What could she do? Her mother had just been murdered by her father who was also dead. Thank goodness she was with Neville for now. Thank goodness Rory had known something was off.

She was so angry with herself. She'd spent all summer biting back all of her predictions and her abilities because she was afraid of her power. But it had saved Matilda. It wasn't just about seeing people die or giving information that could get people hurt. She could help people with this too. She had to stop being so scared. She had to find a way to overcome the mind-fuck Voldemort had done to her brain.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked.

Rory brought her hands down and nodded. "I just can't believe this. I can't imagine how she's doing right now."

She was also very relieved to have Sirius and Remus in the room with her. Suddenly she didn't want to let them out of her sight.

"We have to get back to the Ministry and finish our report on this. Things are a nightmare there right now," Tonks said. "But I need to chat with you tomorrow."

Rory nodded. "Okay."

"Let me walk you out," Sirius said to her and Kingsley.

Remus sat down beside Rory as the room emptied.

"You're sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I just can't believe this happened. I wonder if she's alright. I mean, of course, she's not alright. I can't imagine how I'd be if something like this happened to you."

She thought back to the Department of Mysteries, the images she had in her head of Sirius falling through the veil. What would have happened if she hadn't saved him? How would she cope without Sirius around?

Her dad put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere."

Rory nodded, grounding herself back in the present.

"You'd better not," Rory replied.