A week into October, Aurora's dad finally had some news for her — and a black eye to show off, that made her heart stop when she saw it. "We went to Malfoy Manor," he started, "as you can see."

"Are you okay?" It felt like a stupid question. He didn't look okay. The skin around the bruising was mottled purple and yellow, and she could see where the skin had been broken and crusted over with blood.

"I'm alive. We all are." No further comment. That was not a good sign. "Your mate was right, this Theo."

"Voldemort was there?"

All of a sudden she felt sick to her stomach. She could picture more clearly, that house she had spent so much of her childhood running around in, infested with darkness and the madman who was so determined to take Harry's life and ruin those of so many around her. "He was. Along with about a dozen of his Death Eaters. We got Rabastan Lestrange."

"Arrested?"

He gave her a flat look, and her heart plummeted. "He's been given the Dementor's Kiss. Travers, too."

"Which one?"

"Gabriel."

Lucille's uncle. She had a mad urge to either laugh or cry, unsure what sound was about to burst from her. "And what — what else? What happened?"

"We got in there. I didn't know what we were facing, but, Kingsley's Ministry work meant he was able to use some ward disabler he'd snuck from the office. We Apparated right into the great hall; they had maybe ten seconds of warning. Voldemort Apparated out immediately, but the rest stayed to fight and see what was happening. Bellatrix was after Dora and me, that distracted her, and Kingsley managed to fend off Rodolphus and get the other two."

"And Narcissa?" Is she okay? the words stuck in her throat and she was unable to bring herself to say them.

"She never was a fighter." Her father's face was grim. "Kingsley's gotten the evidence we needed, the Manor's been compromised, and if we can, we'll get her to Azkaban same as her husband." And Draco would be alone. That shouldn't have bothered her, but it was odd to think. All that she had envied him for — a stable family, little worry — she had snatched away from him. "She's hurt. We sent off a flare that alerted the Ministry, and they came and swarmed the place. We ran off and Kingsley circled back, but Bellatrix was still there. She's getting carted back to prison, and Narcissa done for conspiracy."

Her head rang, anxiety pulsing between her eyes. Narcissa, in Azkaban. She wouldn't last, she knew she wouldn't. The floor seemed to lurch up towards her, the world spinning in greater clarity. Merlin, what had she sentenced her to? Was it right? Was it fair? Had Narcissa even wanted this? Of course she had, she told herself, she had married Lucius Malfoy, she had let him turn his back on her, and the way she had looked at her in Madam Malkin's...

But Lucius had almost tried to save her. Draco had spent a night sat at her bedside and crept away before they could acknowledge it.

"Aurora?" her dad's voice was soft, and she shook herself. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Fine. That's — that's good news." Then why did she feel like she was about to throw up? "Sorry, I just — I — I forgot I have to go help Leah with some choreography."

"Oh." Her dad blinked, suspicious. "Hey, you know you did the right thing, don't you?"

"I do." It just felt so hard, so wrong, when it shouldn't, and that made her feel wrong, too. Shame writhed beneath her skin. "I was really worried."

His face softened. "I know. But we're all alright. Hey, your Hogsmeade trip is next weekend, isn't it? Dora told me she's on duty, but I was thinking we could meet up, the four of us. It's really Harry she's guarding anyway."

"Yeah. Sure." She had been planning on going with Gwen and Leah and Sally-Anne, but Sally-Anne had a date now and Gwen was sulking about Robin and Leah was nervous about leaving the castle. And she had already had multiple boys ask her — unsuccessfully — on a date. Not that she would tell her dad that. He would demand a thorough vetting of all of them, even the ones whose names she had forgotten.

"We found a few things at the Manor, too, things that'd clearly already been missed by the Ministry. Moody's taking a look at them now."

"Oh. Right. Good."

"I have to say, there's nothing that would work with what Harry thinks Draco was asking about in Borgin and Burke's. But, I thought, maybe you could take a look, once we've sorted all the magical side."

"Me?"

"Well, you're the most likely to recognise their personal possessions as opposed to stuff brought in my Voldemort or his followers. Apart from Snape, I suppose, but he's not to know. Moody doesn't trust him. Dumbledore doesn't know about the raid yet, or at least hasn't said anything, and he won't be happy, but, Snape gave him his assurances there was nothing going on there." He spat out the words, face twisting with anger again.

"Surely you have to kick him out the Order."

"Moody thinks so, too. He's never trusted him. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. Now I don't know if that's always the case, but Snape? He'll always be a slimy git." Even the insult didn't do much to amuse Aurora. Her father's face fell. "Are you sure you're alright, sweetheart? This isn't about more than the raid?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, "it's Quidditch practice tiring me out, that's all. I'm not quite with it."

He didn't believe her. Of course he didn't. She didn't believe herself either, when she could hear the hollowness of her own distant voice, and see the pallor of her face reflected in the silver. "You get some sleep, Aurora," he told her, "you look like you need it."

As if she had been able to sleep even when she had tried. She kept having nightmares, or else the sort of dream that felt too real to shake the next day, creeping up on her at odd times, creatures bearing the faces of the dead. "I will," she lied, grimacing. "I really should go — be careful, won't you? Especially with Snape. Don't — don't kick off at him about this, not in a way that he might retaliate."

"I won't," he promised, "apart from anything else, you and Harry still have to contend with him at Hogwarts."

She sighed, nodding. Snape was the least of her worries recently, but she supposed she shouldn't have let herself fall into a false sense of security. "And if you speak to your old friend Nott," her dad added, just as she was about to sever the connection, "tell him thank you, alright? From me."

-*

When she got to the breakfast table the next morning, she saw Draco sat, ashen-faced in his usual spot, poking scrambled eggs around a plate while Pansy whispered in his ear. Her stomach turned and she had to avert her gaze, slipping into a seat beside Leah. Gwen was still getting ready, as was Sally-Anne, and so when she sat down alone Leah said with glee, "Something's happened to Malfoy."

"Mhmm." Aurora raised her eyebrows, taking a slice of toast. "What happened?"

"Don't know. From the sounds of it, they've been found out for harbouring You-Know-Who — not that that's a surprise."

"Oh." Aurora didn't have the energy to react in the way she ought to; she had hardly slept the night before, sleep wracked by dreams of Regulus and Narcissa and Draco, of Lucius and Bellatrix and searing green light.

Leah frowned at her, suspicious. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she lied, "fine. Just... Had a difficult sleep, that's all. Bad dreams."

Her friend's face filled with sympathy instead, and she nodded. Leah faced her share of bad dreams too, nowadays. They rarely spoke of it, but they both knew; too many mornings had been spent slipping as much caffeine into their breakfast drinks as possible to stay awake.

The day seemed to pass in a haze. Aurora tried to focus on her work, but then her thoughts would drift to Draco, and then as soon as she looked at him she felt like she was going to burst into tears. It was ridiculous — she knew that — but it felt like she had done something terrible. Her cousin had left Potions halfway through class after seemingly throwing something at Blaise and storming off, muttering under his breath while everyone else stared after him, shocked.

"What was that about?" Harry hissed to her, twisting round in his seat to stare after the door.

Aurora shrugged, bent over her beetle legs. "I don't know. Probably Draco being a drama queen again."

"I've never seen him like that."

"Ah, yes," she drawled, trying and failing to sound amused, "I forgot you've been stalking him all term."

Harry pursed his lips, while Ernie looked over, wary. "I'm just saying. Maybe I should follow him."

"Maybe," Aurora said with a sigh, casting him a sideways look, "you should sort your potion out."

"It's fine," he said, "I've got everything under control."

Annoyingly, it looked like he did. Aurora wanted to spit in the cauldron, but thought that would be rather petty, and also beneath her. Instead she just turned to her own work with a grimace, trying to emulate the smooth, silken consistency of Harry's potion.

When class was over, with her almost satisfied with her potion, she followed Harry and cornered him, pressing their mirror into his hands. "You need to speak to my dad," she told him in a whisper, "he'll tell you everything I know and can't tell you right now."

"Is this about—"

"Just speak to him," she urged, wary of anyone passing them. "As soon as you can. He's fine," she added, at the worried look that flitted over his face, "but there's just something you need to know."

She hurried away to the common room after that, for a free period before break. Most of her peers were in Herbology, which granted her time to sit in quiet and watch the Marauder's Map. There was no sign of Draco anywhere in the castle. He had run off again.

Aurora paused, watching. She had about an hour before her Alchemy class started, just about long enough to go to Hogsmeade, have a snoop about, and return. It would be close, but if Draco had snuck out, she had already let it slide once before. She didn't want to again, especially in the light of what had just happened.

And it was McGonagall taking Alchemy today, not Snape. She was still strict, but if she was a couple of minutes late, she was looking at a warning and minor point deduction, rather than a detention.

With that, she made up her mind and and snatched up the map, hurrying out and towards the statue of the one eyed witch on the third floor. The walk to Honeydukes was long and draughty; she wished she had brought a cloak with her, when she stepped out into the still-cold cellar and cast a Disillusionment Charm about herself. It wasn't her best, but it would do the trick for now. No one was looking for her, and so hopefully, their eyes would just glide right over her.

The village was cold and still. Only a couple of people went around the streets, wary, glancing over their shoulders every few paces. There was little of note; hardly any opportunities to sneak in anywhere unnoticed, given nobody else was going in and out of the shops, but even looking in the windows, Aurora couldn't spot Draco anywhere. He was hiding well, or maybe he had gone somewhere else.

Annoyed and cold, her hands were like ice by the time Aurora got back to the castle, only just making it to Alchemy, keeping her head down. Theo, in the seat next to her, glanced over, a frown furrowing his brow. "You look cold," he whispered, while the class was set about chattering.

"Went for a walk," she hissed back, cheeks warming at the fact he had noticed. "How was Herbology?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Draco was missing."

"Shocker."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, second-guessing himself. They left it at that during the class, but after, before lunch, both by happenstance needed to pick up some books from the dungeon, and so went down together in a wary, distant silence only punctuated by the sounds of other, merrier students running about around them.

"So," Theo managed to say once they had reached a quiet corner, "Draco."

"I take it something's wrong?"

"Rabastan Lestrange has been arrested, and so's Narcissa."

"So I heard." She bit her lip and said in a whisper, "My dad said to say thank you."

He blinked, surprised. "You told him it was me who told you?"

"Well, yes." She stared at him. "Who else?"

A pause hung between them in the air. Aurora hurried onwards, feeling suddenly embarrassed that she had said anything at all, and then Theo caught up to her, and the feeling of him hovering at her side made her relax somewhat. "Do you think they're treating her alright? Narcissa, I mean."

"My dad didn't say. But the people who're involved... They're some of the decent ones." Kingsley wouldn't have her hurt; they were past the days of Barty Crouch, torture and coercion and curse-to-kill.

"Good." He let out a shaky breath. "For all that's happening... It's not her fault."

"She was harbouring Voldemort and a bunch of murderers," she said flatly.

"Yes, but — I don't think it's by choice, Aurora."

"She's still doing it." She was still trying to convince herself. What did it matter what Narcissa's intentions were, and how could she ever know them truly anyway? She had still encouraged Draco's prejudice, supported her sister and her husband. "You're the one who told me this, Theo."

"Yes, I know, but — I don't want to see her hurt. She's been kind to me."

"Yeah?" She shouldered her bag, anger flaring in her chest. "Is that what matters? Not the fact she's been aiding people in the murder of innocents, just whether or not she's nice to you?"

"You know that's not what I mean," he bit back, frowning.

Aurora turned away anyway, hastening towards the common room door. "I'm not saying she should get away with it, or she's a good person, just — they're under a lot of pressure."

"Nott," she snapped, turning around, to see his face fall. "I don't give a fuck."

"Don't call me Nott."

"Don't talk like a prat."

His cheeks reddened and Aurora almost regretted it; but it still felt good to be angry, even if she wasn't sure who she was angry with. "I'm not—"

"Pendragon," Aurora cut him off as they reached the common room door, saying the password to let them in.

As soon as they were inside, they fell out of step, but Aurora's heart still pounded in her chest, and her mind replayed Theo's words. She knew he didn't mean what Narcissa had done was fine — he wouldn't have told her about it if he didn't think something should be done — but his defense of her made her want to scream. Maybe Leah had been right — maybe he had only done anything for their side because of her, maybe it was all part of some rebellion against his grandfather.

Looking back, she hoped to see something in him to convince her otherwise. But her gaze had lost him, and when she saw him again he was talking to someone else — Lydia Rowle in the year above. She swallowed down the sudden urge to scream.

-*

She faced Chang, Cartwell, and Theo that night at Duelling Club, already in a bad mood. As such, she was restless by the time she got to the Great Hall, and ready to blow off some steam. Chang was fierce on the offense but left herself open too often; Aurora got lucky with a well-aimed stunner and sent her sprawling back into surrender. Cartwell, on the other hand, she was yet to get a proper read on.

He was quick, and agile, and put up a stoic defense. It was more a dance than a duel at times, each darting around the stage, trying to hook a jinx in always-tightening gaps in their respective armour. For his stunner she put up a quick rebound shield that made him stumble; for her blasting curse he made a shield that channeled the energy into the ground between them, making a crack race through the stage. Aurora sidestepped it, as he countered her next move, a dance of give and take and turn, until he caught her with a tripping jinx while she was too busy trying to deflect a low-level stunner coming from a different angle.

She fell onto her side on the stage, grimacing. Her wand clattered out of her hand and the strength disappeared from her suddenly, head pounding.

"Accio!"

She was too slow to stop it as her wand leapt into his hand. Traitor. She turned with a spinning head to see him standing over her, two wands in hand, grinning. "You're pretty good, Black. Surrender?"

No wand. She caught her breath, and it took too long — more than the five seconds she was allowed. "Surrender," she said bitterly, as Cartwell grinned and helped her up. He handed her wand back and she tried not to glare at him. This was only fair. She just didn't like losing.

"You played a good round," he told her nonchalantly, as they returned to the bench to allow Harry and Hermione to take their turn. They were fun to watch; both always held back at first, until they hit a certain point two minutes in and, seemingly bored, went for each other's throats. "And we're even now."

"Suppose so," she said, watching the other two take their starting positions. She was still somewhat light-headed, and the room too hot. "I'll kick your arse next time, though."

She wasn't sure what made her say it, but it made Cartwell laugh, and there was something nice about the fact that she could do that. "I'll hold you to that," he promised, twirling his wand in his hands.

Harry defeated Hermione just three minutes in — she held back too much like she always did, overthinking each move when Harry leapt about on pure instinct, technically imperfect but landing more blows. Hermione left disgruntled as ever, muttering criticisms of herself under her breath. Then, Susan and Cho, and Aurora allowed herself to glance over at Theo as they warmed up.

They had been off all day, after that almost-argument in the corridor. The stress of the change made something boil beneath her skin. When she was called up, she was itching and suddenly brimming with nervous energy, feeling like she had to prove something, anything — she just didn't know what.

"Good luck, Lady Black," he said when they were called up, bowing to her as he took up his position.

"Same to you," she said stiffly, bowing, "Lord Nott."

She didn't miss the way he grimaced at the address.

It was always easiest to launch into the duel with Theo for some reason. Like there was nothing either of them could do that would hurt them more than they already had; it was quick and fierce and combative, their wands and spells easy extensions of themselves, tangling in the air and then pulling apart with ferocious energy. He was always evolving though, always changing his tactic when she just thought she had caught ahold of him. And she did the same, of course, and a part of her relished the way it made him frown with confusion when she threw him off, when the lights of their spellfire ricocheted off one another in something spectacularly like a firework show, sparks showering down on the hall.

This time, he feinted and she didn't catch it. Her stunner hit off the windows behind them, split in half and and raced back at her, weakened but still bright, and she only had time to duck that before Theo sent an immobulus hurling at her, catching her ankles. She went down onto the crash mat just as he tripped on the tail end of her stunner, thrown across the podium towards her and collapsing in a heavy heap, just inches from her, hovering only a little above the ground.

A silence fell between them, as Aurora was acutely aware of how close together their bodies were, of just how little it would take for them to touch, of the fact he was above her and that still did something to her, and her mind clouded with thoughts of him and the smell of him and the remembered feel of his hands on her body.

Five seconds passed, and then more. Aurora's breathing grew laboured as Theo rolled over, standing up, wand in hand. "Surrender?"

Of course, she could not speak. Another five seconds as she tried to recollect her thoughts, and then the spell was released, and Theo grinned, offering her a hand. All she wanted was to feel his skin on hers again, to know if those hands still felt the same and fit hers as perfectly as they always had.

But she had to have some resolve, she reminded herself, pushing herself up off the floor and ignoring his outstretched hand. She watched his face fall and tried not to feel a pang of guilt. "Congratulations, Nott," she said in a strained voice, hating the weakness in her knees. "Well-played — did you know how reflective that window was?"

Theo shrugged, smirking. "I took a gamble. It paid off, too, by the looks of it. You are alright, aren't you? Your stunners are pretty strong, even as a rebound."

Trying to wrap around the fact he still cared enough to ask, she shook her head. "I'm fine, Nott. Thank you, though."

She hopped down off the podium before she could embarrass herself by feeling any more.

"Alright, everybody," Flitwick announced as Draco flattened Blaise on the other side of the hall. "That's all for tonight! Good work, everybody, but I think we need to work on some more shielding techniques next week — perhaps do some more reading up on that. I'm sure Professor Snape has some excellent practical resources on using shields in battle — and of course, I'm more than happy to talk about technical casting! Have a good evening!"

Chatter broke out around the hall as everybody went to fetch their belongings. "That was a good session, wasn't it?" Hermione said brightly to her and Harry as they got themselves together. "You did well to catch me out at the end there, Harry."

Harry shrugged. "I've told you before, you need to stop overthinking every move. That's all it was."

"You do hold back on Harry, too," Aurora put in, and Hermione sighed. "I know you don't mean to, but you do."

"Well, you and Nott—"

"Hey," Tobias Cartwell's voice broke in behind them, and Aurora startled, blinking as she turned round. "Aurora. Could I grab you for a minute?"

She stared at him, confused. Behind her, Harry snickered. "Of course," she said, frowning. Dread rolled inside of her. Merlin, he wasn't about to do what she thought he was? She wasn't sure she could take another date question. "What can I help you with?"

"Well," he started, glancing nervously over her shoulder — she caught the sound of Hermione chiding Harry and shoving him away. "You probably know there's the Hogsmeade visit next Saturday. I'm free, so if you're free, too…" She arched an eyebrow. "I'll be blunt, alright? I like you — you're a brilliant duellist, I think you're really interesting, and you're bloody gorgeous." Blunt was one word for it; Aurora was sure she stopped breathing for a second, and had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. "So, if you think similarly of me, and you don't have other plans this Saturday, I'd really like to take you out."

She paused for a moment to behold the expectant, slightly nervous look in Cartwell's eyes. All the other offers, she had turned down. They were all too boring, or she didn't even know them, or they were only after her title and her name. Most, she doubted would even like her at all if they had to spend a moment together in conversation instead of just ogling her body. But Cartwell was a decent duellist, held small talk that wasn't completely mind-numbing, was one of the better conversationalists in Slug Club, and he at least had two brain cells to rub together. Talking to him shouldn't be too painful.

She couldn't help herself taking a quick glance at Theodore over his shoulder, and immediately regretted it. He was some ways away, having broken from their group, and talking to Lydia Rowle again, a smile on both their faces. Her stomach swooped; that smile should have been for her, that laugh, that hand that reached out dangerously close to Rowle's shoulder. That hand that she could have held earlier but wasn't allowed to. The sight of it made her want to throw up. She shouldn't still be having these feelings, she knew, especially as she had been the one to break things off. She certainly shouldn't be jealous.

As if feeling the weight of her gaze, Theo turned, and Aurora felt her cheeks heat immediately. She glanced away, heart pounding.

"I'd love to," she told Cartwell, as brightly as she could manage.

Surprised, he broke into a smile. "Really?" She nodded.

"I can be ready for ten. I hope you're punctual."

"I am. Ask Flitwick for a recommendation if you like."

That was supposed to be funny. Part of her registered it as such, and made her force a smile, but mostly she was still watching Theo in the back of her mind.

"I'll see you then. And please, don't plan to take me to that fussy pink tea shop. The sight of it makes me ill."

"Duly noted, Aurora."

Aurora. He hadn't yet earned the right to call her that, but somehow she liked that he did. He probably didn't even realise he was supposed to call her Lady Black. Maybe that was a good thing.

-*

The week went on and Aurora lost herself in a search for answers that never came. Every morning she woke with cold dread lodged in her throat and thundering against her ribs, her dreams haunted by Draco and Regulus and Narcissa and Bellatrix.

She tried every night to call Death to her, but he stayed away; all she had of him was a cold breath at the back of her neck, a dark shape floating through the water outside her dorm window. It wouldn't have done her much good even if she could speak with him, she thought. She just wanted to feel like she could do something. Every day, she held Quidditch practice, pushing the team harder and harder until they were as close to perfect as possible. Even Harper was improving somewhat.

Over the next week, Tobias Cartwell seemed to take every opportunity he could to say hi to Aurora when they ran into one another in the halls, make a little bit of idle small talk when he could. It was sweet, and odd as it was, Aurora couldn't help but smile at the feeling that he, a perfectly normal, perfectly uncomplicated boy, just wanted to get to know her. Not once did he call her Lady Black or dress up conversation with niceties and formalities, not once did he use the language of courtship or mention his family ties in anything other than an anecdote about his sister's hamster trying to escape its cage.

As such, when Saturday morning arrived, she was almost nervous. There was something resembling butterflies in her stomach, and she did take extra time to apply her makeup and choose her outfit — all because Hogsmeade was an occasion in itself, she told Gwen, not because of any boy.

"Boys are a waste of time," Leah told her, while watching bored as she and Sally-Anne fussed over one another's outfits. Sally-Anne had a date with Michael Corner, and kept changing her mind as to what was an appropriate outfit. "Neither of them will appreciate any sense of fashion like a girl would."

"I'm appreciating Aurora's fashion," Sally-Anne said, "and she's appreciating mine, and because of that, we're both going to have lots more fun on our respective dates."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "It'll only end in disaster," she said. "You should go my route. I'm swearing off them all for the rest of my life."

"You're being dramatic."

"Am not! You've just never been in a long-term relationship. Trust me — it's not worth it."

Sally-Anne sighed, holding up a silky pink blouse to her chest. "Ignore the negative Nellies over there," she muttered, "do you think this colour washes me out?"

"No," Aurora said, "but I think you need to balance it better — here, I've this black skirt you can wear. It's really Dora's, but, if she's noticed I stole it, she hasn't said anything."

They ate a quick breakfast, went back to freshen up and reapply lipstick, and then at ten o'clock precisely, Aurora found Cartwell waiting for her at the bottom of the Entrance Hall staircase.

"You really are punctual," she drawled, walking over to him with a smirk. A smile broke out on his face when he saw her. "I'm glad — Flitwick never got back to me about that recommendation."

"I'm more punctual than he is," Cartwell — Tobias, she ought to call him — said drily, coming to her side. "He takes ages to get anything done, that man — I had to remind him three times before he would fix the door knocker on the common room door." When she tilted her head in question, he elaborated, "It makes you answer a riddle to enter, you know? But it was stuck on the same one, only it wasn't even a riddle — it just kept asking over and over, what's the name of the Minister for Magic?"

"And?" Aurora questioned as they headed out the doors, pausing for Filch to inspect their bags. "How many people got it wrong?"

With a rueful smile, he said, "About a dozen, actually." Aurora laughed. "Listen, we're all fairly intelligent, but that doesn't mean we all keep up with current affairs!"

"The name of the Minister for Magic really is something most people should know, though," she teased.

"Try telling that to a bunch of first year Muggleborns who don't even know it's a real office," he teased back, and Aurora conceded.

"Alright, fine — fair enough. Can we go now?" she asked to Filch, who was still waving some sort of probe in front of them. He scowled and waved them on.

Tobias chuckled. "I think this is all a bit overkill, don't you?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "it's nice to feel protected, but I don't really know if Filch knows what he's doing. I think he just likes the power to inconvenience people."

"Oh, definitely," Tobias said, looking back over his shoulder. "Always has — power mad, I reckon."

Aurora laughed and it was easy, then, to make fun of Filch and his cat, and then Professor Snape with his ever-present scowl, and Slughorn, who Cartwell thought was surprisingly positive about, waxing on about how useful his connections had proven already in helping him to find a Ministry job after school. Something about it made Aurora uncomfortable, made her feel that he was looking at her as something other than a girl.

"I do think he can be pretentious," Tobias agreed with her, "but it's useful, being on his good side, even if he's horribly fake."

"I think he's nice," Aurora told him, "but yes, a bit fake."

"And as flattered as I was by the initial invitation," Cartwell went on, "I was a bit disheartened to find Cormac MacLaggen was in the club."

"Oh, that's nothing to do with him," Aurora told him with a dismissive wave, "his uncle's in the Ministry or something, that's all. Everybody else knows he's a prat. I believe Ginny Weasley told me he dove towards the goal in Quidditch tryouts instead of towards the ball — as a prospective Keeper."

Cartwell laughed. "Merlin, I worry about the lack of intellect in that group. Considering Slughorn seems to have had a knack for priming people to lead society, I think it's no surprise we're so fucked as we are. And your classmates — Zabini — I hope you don't mind me saying, but he seems awfully full of himself."

"He is," Aurora assured him with a laugh, "and I don't mind you saying that at all. He's no friend of mine. He is brighter than his vanity would suggest, though. He can be quite funny."

"But you're not friends?" Cartwell gave her a sharp, almost scrutinising look.

"No," she said plainly, striding onwards, "not anymore, and I'm glad of it, too. Come on, you said you'd booked a booth at the Three Broomsticks, I don't want to be late."

She had surprised herself so far, with just how easy it was to speak to Tobias. To just have a normal conversation without threat of being overheard, or attacked, without the looming fear that someone would hate them and hurt them for it, without bringing up war or death or anything else. It felt like she was just a teenager, after all; it felt like the Yule Ball, when all the madness was just starting to take form, and she didn't know yet what was ahead of her. She didn't want to mess that up by thinking about the past, or the state of society. She just wanted to be normal, and to forget.

So they switched the subject to Cartwell's extra-curricular work with Professor Babbling, something he was quite happy to go on about at length, and by the time they got to the Three Broomsticks Aurora was feeling quite comfortable. Tobias ordered them lunch, insisting on paying even though Aurora could more than afford it, and returned with two Butterbeers. "I'm getting the next round," Aurora grumbled, though accepted the drink with a smile. "Thank you."

They made idle chatter — she learned he had one younger brother and an older sister, and a very energetic labrador, he wanted to work in the Department of Mysteries' Spell Development Branch and work his way up into policy, and that Slughorn had apparently already put him in contact with three top Ministry officials.

"So," Tobias said when conversation faded, "what does your dad do?"

It took her off guard. She had forgotten that was the sort of question one might ask when getting to know someone. Aurora thought for a minute, before answering. "Nothing, really. I mean, he has a few little… freelance jobs. He fixes motorcycles."

"Really?" Tobias' eyes lit up. "That's so cool! Muggle ones, or magic?"

"Magical. Or enchanted Muggle models — he really likes them. But other than that, he mostly just… Tries to enjoy being alive, I suppose." When he wasn't busy almost getting himself killed.

He took this all in with a serious, understanding look in his eyes. "Yeah. I suppose, after all that time spent in Azkaban…"

"He got a generous compensation from the Ministry," Aurora said, rolling her eyes, "because we know a few thousand galleons more than makes up for twelve years of incarceration in a living hell." She stabbed a chip with her fork, trying to stop herself rambling. "He's just figuring it out — says he still feels about twenty-four."

"I'm sorry," Tobias said, and the sincerity of his soft voice made her nervous. "That must be a lot for you to deal with."

She looked up, frowning at him. "I'm not the one that was in prison." There was pity in his eyes, so she changed the subject, looking away. "What about you? You said your older sister's going into curse-breaking — what about the rest of your family?"

"Well," Tobias said, voice easier now, "obviously you know of Thomas." Thomas, Tobias' younger brother, was a second year Hufflepuff, who, from Aurora's observations over the past few days, was quite quiet and demure, and from Elise's report, nice, but a bit of a nuisance to work with in class. "He's no idea what he wants to do when he's older, obviously. My mum works as a Healer at St. Mungo's, in the children's ward, she's always done that, and my dad's in the Ministry of Defence." She blinked, confused, and he elaborated, "The Muggle Ministry."

"Oh. Is he a Muggle?"

"No." He shook his head. "He's a wizard, but he's muggleborn. That's… alright, isn't it?"

"Of course," she said quickly, though still somewhat taken aback by the idea of a wizard working in the Muggle world, "I just didn't realise. So why's he in the Muggle government?"

"He thought he'd have better opportunities there. He's right brainy, my dad, and my grandfather insisted he take the Muggle certificates, just in case. It meant he could keep his head down during the last war, and got himself a safe job to run off to. He wants me to go the same way, but Mum says my duty's to the Wizarding world, so." He frowned, and Aurora could tell it was something of a sore subject. She was curious, but the thought of opening the door of something vulnerable so early, as well as trying to discuss anything around the war, made her feel somewhat ill.

"My cousin Elise was telling me about your brother, you know."

"Oh, yeah? She's that little second year — Morvin Howell says she's really bright, she's in his study group."

"She is," Aurora said, pride warming her cheeks. "It's really annoying, actually, she's impossible to lie to — which was very difficult when we were trying to figure out if she was a witch or not."

Tobias laughed. "I can imagine that. What was she saying about Thomas?"

"That's he's quiet, mainly."

A small smile overcame his features. "Were you checking up on me?"

"No," she said, too fast, "Elise is just a terrible gossip."

Laughing, he shook his head and then held her gaze, eyes glimmering. Aurora waited for that moment to come over her that always had when she was with Theo — that moment of knowing, of the rush of feeling and the stick-in-the-throat of sudden clarity, tethering her to him. It didn't come. She just smiled, and so did he, and he said, "Well, then I'd feel embarrassed telling you I've been thinking about asking you out since the start of term."

"Oh." She forced a smile, but didn't have to fake the blush on her cheeks. "Really?"

"Well, yeah." Tobias chuckled. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts." Her cheeks grew so hot she thought she might burst into flame. This boy did not know her nearly well enough to think such nice things about her; it set her heart to a whole new, erratic beat. "And a pretty impressive duellist, too."

That was better. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment to me or to yourself, considering our record against one another."

Tobias grinned, leaning back. He said all of this so easily, like it was second nature, like it was obvious, and Aurora didn't know how to accept that with sincerity.

He walked her back up to school after lunch, arm in arm. She liked the feeling of him against her, the slight nervous flutter when their hands brushed one another. The sun came out when they were halfway up the hill, bathing them in an unexpected warm light, and when they crossed the threshold of the grounds, Tobias took the opportunity of sudden optimism and turned her towards him and said, "Can I kiss you?"

Aurora's mind stopped working. She wanted to say yes and yet she was scared to, because what if it didn't feel right? What if it was wrong to say yes, what if she didn't have enough feeling to say yes — what if she said yes and that felt like a commitment, what if it was a promise, what if she said yes and they did kiss and it was awful and embarrassing and she would have to bear that for weeks.

But she said, "Yes." He smiled and leaned in and she leaned up, on her tiptoes, and his hand slid to her waist as their lips met.

The kiss was fine. It stirred those butterflies inside of her again, made her feel wanted and admired and worthy of affection; it was soft, and gentle, and he pulled away quickly, a slight nervous laugh on his lips and a blush on his cheeks.

The sunlight's warmth ended as soon as Aurora entered the castle and parted ways with Tobias, and Harry appeared from out of nowhere under the cloak, like he had been waiting for her all this time. "Did I just see you snogging Tobias Cartwell?" he asked, pulling a face as he dragged her away.

"Yes, and let go of me, you weirdo." She snapped her hand out of his grasp, but followed at his side. "What do you want?"

"Katie Bell was cursed by a necklace on the way back from Hogsmeade." In her surprise, Aurora almost tripped over the uneven corridor stones.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah — someone gave it to her in the toilets at the Three Broomsticks, apparently, but her friend Leanne didn't know who. Soon as she touched it, it was like she was possessed. It attacked her. And she was meant to take it to someone in the castle."

Aurora felt sick. All the warmth and sunshine of the day disappeared, sucked out by bitter, cold reality. "What are you trying to say?"

He gave her a flat look. "You and I both know Katie Bell isn't going to curse someone herself."

Aurora thought of the venomous looks Bell had directed at her before Quidditch matches over the years, but stopped herself. She wasn't the type to do anyone real harm, she knew that. "Is she okay?"

"They're taking her to St. Mungo's," Harry snapped. "She could have died."

"I'm sorry," she said, blinking, taken aback by the annoyance in his voice.

"That's not the point," he said, brushing past it, "I think someone gave her that necklace. And I think it's obvious who."

"You can't just accuse Draco."

"But your mind went to Draco too!"

"Yes, but…" Would Draco really risk cursing an innocent person? He had never had anything so bad to say about Bell, other than the usual Quidditch comments. Was this part of his plan, whatever it was he was meant to do. She doubted it. Unless Katie was meant to curse someone in the castle, and he was using her as cover — poorly, though. Like Harry said, it wasn't in Katie's nature. It would be an obvious framing. Draco wasn't that stupid. But maybe he was that stressed.

"He was in detention all day today," was all she could come up with.

Harry scoffed. "You think Malfoy's bothered by detention?"

"I think he couldn't have been in Hogsmeade. So long as he did attend the detention…" Aurora sighed, folding her arms. "I don't know, Harry."

"It's the same necklace as was in Borgin and Burke's, too," he added. "He was looking at it. Opal."

Opal was the perfect material to carry a dark curse, Aurora knew. "Have you told anyone this?"

"McGonagall and Snape. They don't believe me."

"Of course they don't," she retorted. "You've no evidence."

"I'll get some," he bit back, fierce determination in his eyes. "I will. He's behind this, I know it—"

"Harry—"

"I know it," he said firmly, holding her gaze, and her stomach flipped when she saw the anger and defiance crackling in his eyes. "I think you do, too."