[A/N: Happy Birthday, Neville! Here's a bonus chapter!]

Tonks knocked on the door to Sirius' house. He answered a moment later.

"Wasn't expecting you tonight," he said.

"I needed to complain about my evening before I went to bed," she said. "Can I come in?"

"Complain? Weren't you just at Hogsmeade for the evening?" he asked, ushering her inside.

"Harry Potter," was all she said.

"How?" Sirius asked. "How did he make trouble before he even got to school?"

"He wouldn't tell me exactly how he ended up frozen under his invisibility cloak with a broken nose but I can only imagine he made someone angry," Tonks said. She sat down at his dining table.

"Well seeing as the only person on the train he's got any reason to spy on is Draco Malfoy, I strongly suspect that's our answer," Sirius said.

"I suspect that as well. Anyway, I got him off the train and delivered him to Snape of all people. Delightful encounter for both of us," Tonks said.

"What's he giving you trouble for?" Sirius asked.

"My Patronus," she groaned.

"He have something against rabbits now?" Sirius joked.

Tonks took a deep breath. "It's not a rabbit now though is it?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Your patronus changed?"

Tonks nodded.

"That never happens," Sirius said.

"I'm well aware," she said. "I think we're all mini-experts on them after hanging out with Remus."

"What's it now?" Sirius asked. "Not like a cat or something, is it? I think McGonagall is the only one who can pull that off and still be threatening if I'm being honest. Not that a jackrabbit inspires much fear either."

"I know you're trying to make light of this, but it's a wolf," Tonks said.

Sirius dropped down into the seat across from her.

"Oh," Sirius said. "That's... Sorry."

"Yeah," Tonks said. She laid her head down on the table. "How did this happen?"

"I'll be perfectly honest, when I introduced the two of you last summer this is not at all how I expected things to turn out," Sirius said.

"Me either," Tonks said. She sat up. "But here we are."

"If it makes you feel better—."

"He's just as miserable as I am? That does not make me feel better, actually," Tonks said. "Just reminds me that no one has to be miserable at all."

There was a knock on the door. Tonks looked at Sirius and he frowned.

"Sorry," he said.

She shook her head. "Don't tell me—."

"Sorry," he repeated as he got to his feet. "I did say I wasn't expecting you." He walked over to the front door and pulled it open.

"Sorry I'm late," Remus said, stepping inside. "I had to—." He spotted Tonks. "Oh."

"Hi," Tonks said. She had to be casual. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to ask him what he was thinking. She wasn't going to say that he was a fool for doing this assignment and leaving his daughter. For leaving her.

She cleared her throat. "There was an incident with Harry on the train and I had to update Sirius."

"Trouble before he's even gotten to school?" Remus asked.

"He is James' son," Sirius said.

"True," Remus agreed.

"I thought you'd gone already," Tonks said.

"In the morning," Remus said. "Sirius is going with me so he knows where to find me after the full moon."

"After?" Tonks asked.

"The day after my cycle I'll come back and rest for a day. Let Aurora know I'm okay," Remus said.

Tonks didn't even care that she was openly relieved.

"Good," she said. "It'll be good to know you're okay. Maybe I'll worry over you a little less while you're gone. I mean, we all probably will."

Remus nodded. She could tell he wanted to reassure her, comfort her. Tell her that she'd be alright, but he didn't.

"I'll be in touch," was all he said.

Tonks slowly rose from the table. She walked over to him. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what.

"Goodnight, Remus. Take care of yourself," she said. She looked to Sirius. "Thanks, Sirius. I'll see you later."

Tonks looked to Remus and he placed a hand on her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked into his eyes and he looked at her the same way he had before he kissed her the night, before he'd taken her hand and led her back to his bedroom and told her that he loved her and made love to her. Before she'd woken up in his bed and kissed him and laughed with him that morning.

She stepped out of his touch.

"Be safe," she said to Remus. "I love you." she wanted to say. Instead, she turned away, and walked out the door, slamming it behind her. And then she started to cry.

Rory's first order of business when she got up that morning was to get to the Great Hall and find Atlas. She dressed, grabbed her school bag, and hustled downstairs to the Great Hall.

Atlas was already sitting at the Slytherin table, looking as cool and confident as ever. It was still a little bit of a shock to see him wearing the green and silver robes of her rival house.

"Atlas," Rory said.

He turned his head and smiled at her. "Hey, I figured you'd be freaking out."

"I am not freaking out," she said. "Just checking in."

"Sure sure," he said dismissively. "I was listening to that hat sing its song—super weird by the way—but I was like, 'I think Gryffindor is wishful thinking.'"

Rory shrugged. "I'm inclined to agree, actually."

"And don't feel bad about talking shit about them. A lot of these kids do suck and they hate Gryffindor as much as you hate them," Atlas said. "I am kind of surprised at how much they don't like Harry though. I think it's mostly that he gets too much attention."

"That's probably a valid complaint, to be fair," she said.

Atlas chuckled. "I promise if anyone is mean to me, I'll tell you immediately, but I think I'm good for real."

Rory was getting some side-eye from the boys he'd been sitting with and the students both at Slytherin and Gryffindor were already starting to whisper. Atlas either didn't notice or didn't care.

"You do seem to have this well in hand," Rory said. "I won't hover."

"Wanna meet up after class; you can show me around. Give me a heads up about any shortcuts in this fucking place. It's huge," Atlas said.

Rory nodded. "Definitely. Piece of advice though, don't be late for Snape's class. He plays favorites with the Slytherins but I don't think any amount of favoritism is enough to override how much he hates Sirius."

"You gotta tell me more about why they hate each other too," he said.

"Long story," Rory said.

Atlas returned to his seat and Rory walked over to the Gryffindor table.

"Everything good over there?" Harry asked as she sat down.

"He's fine," Rory said. "I'm meeting up with him after class, but I think he's just doing that to make me feel better. I think he'll be okay in Slytherin though. You would've been too."

"I think being in Slytherin means I'd have missed my chance with you," Harry said. "Think I'm perfectly happy in Gryffindor."

Rory smiled and kissed him. "Not to mention their Quidditch team is garbage. You'd be wasted there."

"Always comes back to Quidditch with you, doesn't it?" Harry teased.

"Have we missed class assignments?" Hermione asked, running up to the table, out of breath.

"Relax and eat something," Rory said.

"You're even crazier about class assignments this year than you usually are," Ron said. "It's supposed to be easier this year, Hermione. We'll have free periods."

"I don't think the free periods are meant to be for relaxing," Hermione said. "We're sure to have tons more assignments and studying to do. There are NEWT level classes after all."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Never takes a break this one."

"She's right," Rory agreed. "Won't be much time for goofing off this year."

"Do the two of you do anything other than study anyway?" Ron asked. "Your idea of fun last year was making lesson plans for the DA."

"I spent plenty of time keeping up with Quidditch thank you very much," Rory said. She looked over to Harry. "Which reminds me—"

"No," Harry said shaking his head. "You're not helping me. I love you, but no. Aren't you taking over for Lee this year? Focus all of your Quidditch-loving energy that way and away from me. I know for a fact that if you help me, you are going to make everyone else on the team insane."

Rory sulked. "This doesn't feel like love."

"I'm sorry you think so," Harry said.

Soon McGonagall was coming around with class assignments. Rory was trying to be relaxed, but she was also very excited to see what her courses would be like this year. She knew she'd need the extra time to study in her free periods, so she was hopeful that her course load would balance out well.

But before McGonagall even got to Rory, she had to stop with Harry and Ron.

"I thought the two of you were planning to pursue careers as Aurors. Neither of you signed up for potions," McGonagall said.

"Needed an O for NEWT-level potions," Harry said.

"Professor Snape required an O for when he was teaching. Professor Slughorn will happily take students with Exceeds Expectations," McGonagall said.

Harry's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. I took the liberty of adding it to your schedule. You can put in an order for books and supplies after classes. Professor Slughorn will have what you need in the meantime," McGonagall said.

"Who knew there'd be a silver lining to Snape not teaching potions," Ron said taking his schedule from McGonagall.

"And Miss Lupin," McGonagall said, "before you ask to add potions back onto your schedule, I have to encourage you to drop something."

Rory frowned. "But why?"

"You'll need the free period, especially with taking on Ancient Runes and Alchemy. If it were anyone else, except for maybe Miss Granger, I wouldn't approve this schedule at all," McGonagall said. "I'm going to insist on dropping Astronomy or Care of Magical Creatures. I encourage you to consider dropping them both."

Rory pouted as McGonagall handed her the schedule.

"You have a free period after lunch, come and see me. We can chat about it," she said.

"Alright," Rory said.

McGonagall went about passing out the rest of the schedules and Rory stared down at hers. She could hear Ron chattering excitedly about how many free periods they had. It was hard for Rory to find the same excitement. She knew that McGonagall was just doing her job and probably knew best about Rory's courses, but truthfully, Rory was hoping to be as distracted by school as possible this year.

The more time she spent distracted by school, the less time she had to think about things like Voldemort and the Ministry and the dozens of ways she could make a fool of herself by having her mind go back there unexpectedly like it had so many times this summer.

"Guess I'll have to give Hagrid the bad news," Rory said with a sigh. "I was looking forward to his class this year."

"Seriously?" Ron asked.

"I know that class was a bit off the rails sometimes, but it was always interesting at least," Rory said. "Plus, Hagrid knows all sorts of atypical uses for magical creatures."

"I think the word you're looking for is 'illegal'," Hermione said.

Rory waved a dismissive hand at her, turned to Harry, and laid her schedule down. "What's your schedule like?"

"Looks like ours is the same for today," Hermione said comparing.

"If you hadn't decided to take Ancient Runes we'd have a free period now," Harry said tapping her schedule.

Dropping Care of Magical Creatures would give her the free period after lunch and give her a break before potions. It was probably a good idea for her to drop Hagrid's class. Tuesdays would be easier, only four classes, if she dropped astronomy in the evenings. But her schedule aligned with Harry's on alternating days, which was nice.

"Why's Hermione get muggle studies but you have to drop two classes?" Ron asked.

"If I was taking Divination instead of Astronomy she wouldn't ask me to drop it," Rory said. "If you're going into class and know everything already it's basically a break."

Harry chuckled. "You know more about Divination than Trelawney or Firenze does, or are you just more accurate?"

"I think my track record being perfectly accurate says something important," Rory said. "Are you excited for Alchemy?"

"I'm excited that you're excited," he said. He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm not looking forward to all the extra studying you're forcing me into."

"You can sleep through the class for all I care. I just needed someone else to take up space in the classroom so I could take it," Rory said.

"Appreciate your honesty," he replied.

Before long, Rory's day began. She started in Ancient Runes with Hermione. Rory was aware of how difficult this year was going to be. Her hand never stopped taking notes the entire time and she knew she'd have to compare with Hermione afterward to make sure neither of them had missed anything.

And then it was onto Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Rory had been excited about Umbridge being gone and looked forward to having a semi-normal teacher. Until that teacher turned out to be Snape. And if she hadn't needed the class she'd drop it just to be away from Snape.

Alas, that was not the case.

Snape came out, fully prepared to make life a living hell for all the students he was teaching this year who'd planned on never having class with him again: Neville and Rory.

Today they were started with wordless magic. Rory was fully prepared to partner up with Neville, forever taking his side to defend him from Snape, but he had other ideas.

"Lupin," Snape chimed, "I think Longbottom will survive without you being a crutch for him this year. Work with Malfoy."

Rory didn't bother to suppress her irritation as she dragged herself across the room to Draco. He looked as smug as ever when she stood across from him.

"Something the matter, cousin?" he asked. "I thought you'd be in a better mood seeing as your boyfriend managed to make it off the train."

"No thanks to you," Rory replied, pulling out her wand. "This is supposed to be an exercise in wordless magic. Think you can shut up long enough to actually accomplish something?"

He glared at her. Rory considered that she was supposed to be befriending Draco, but she didn't like him, and she didn't like Dumbledore very much either, so following through on this was already proving to be difficult and it was only day one.

"Lupin, why don't you demonstrate using the shield first, while Mister Malfoy disarms you?" Snape said.

Rory rolled her eyes, but then she smirked at Draco.

"Suppose that's only fair. You haven't had much luck in defending yourself against me in the past," she said.

He sucked his teeth at her. "Someone's going to teach you a lesson one day."

"Won't be you, will it?" she replied. "You can't even shut up long enough to—"

The spell seemed to come out of nowhere. Rory's wand flew from her hand and smacked down against the floor.

And she was back at the ministry again. She was staring down Levi and Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy had disarmed her. Had Imperiused her. Had walked her down the corridor to Voldemort. To her death.

A hand on her shoulder pulled her back.

"Lupin," Snape said sharply.

Rory felt sweat on her forehead. She felt off balance. She wanted to cry, to throw up. She searched frantically for her wand and grabbed it from the ground.

"Sorry," she said clearing her throat. She fought back the tears, the shaking. She tried to regain her composure. "Just a little shocked that Draco Malfoy managed to do something impressive."

There was a wave of giggles.

Rory managed to wordlessly defend herself against Draco and return the favor of trying to disarm him, though he was able to create a shield easily.

Harry had been watching her from across the classroom, and she'd been watching him too. He and Ron hadn't managed to make a shield or a single disarming spell at all. Snape pounced.

He turned his wand on Harry and all Harry could do was defend himself, verbally, knocking Snape to the ground in the process. The class was shocked and chuckling again.

Snape was on his feet, clearly furious.

"Do you remember me saying that we were practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?" Snape asked.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"Yes, sir," Snape corrected him.

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor," Harry said.

Rory tried to restrain a laugh, but couldn't help herself. That was her Harry, the one she knew and loved, who also took no shit from Snape.

"You've just earned yourself detention this Friday," Snape said. He looked at Rory. "And your cosigner can join you."

Rory's jaw dropped in surprise, but she was kind of amused.

When class was over, Rory left quickly and sat in the hallway outside the classroom. Harry came and sat beside her. She remembered back to fourth year when Harry sat beside her after realizing that Moody might not be who he said he was. She remembered detentions with Umbridge in that office. But she also remembered learning the Patronus charm with him in that classroom with her dad.

Harry had always been with her, for everything, especially sitting on this stone bench outside this office. She rested her head on his shoulder. She had to get to Artihmancy soon, but she had a realization in class and she had to tell someone. Tell Harry.

"I have to drop defense against the dark arts," she said.

"You can't," Harry said. "It's a requirement for you if you want—."

"I don't know what I want," Rory said. "But I know Magical Law Enforcement isn't for me. If I never have to go to that department again it'll be too soon. I can't… This isn't for me. Not anymore. I don't think it ever was."

Harry placed a hand on her back.

"I get it," Harry said. "Whatever you need to do to take care of yourself."

She nodded. Harry always understood.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Actually… I'm pretty angry."

"With Snape?" Harry asked.

"No. I mean, yes, always, but… I'm kind of angry with my dad," she said. "He's been there for me every time I checked out this summer. And all I want to do now is write to him and tell him about this, but… I don't know where he is right now. And I can't believe he'd leave me when I'm feeling like this."

She wrapped her arms around and sighed.

"You should write to him still," Harry said. "Give him a stack of letters when he gets back so he knows how you feel. So he knows not to leave again."

She raised her head a bit to look at him. His green eyes, his dark hair, that scar on his forehead.

"You might not be perfect, Harry, but you are perfect for me. Every single time," she said.

He kissed her quickly as people passed them in the corridor. "I try. And I mean that. I really try hard to be what you need and I always wish I could do more."

"You're always enough," she said.

"Can I walk you to class?" he asked. He wasn't giving her a choice as she sat up. He was taking her bag already, prepared to carry it for her to her next destination. She nodded.