Phew, this was a long chapter! (For me, anyway, but not for the really good writers. I do my best.) I hope it'll make up for the last one being so short.

Aurelia said "Fuck!" very loudly, startling a handful of witches and wizards, and causing Remus to glare at her ferociously.

"Was it a mistake to bring you here?" he demanded. "Are you going to spout profanity and-"

"I'm sorry, Moony, honest!" breathed Aurelia, who had turned the color of the sort of parchment she wrote stories on. "You've got to understand, though, it's rather a shock for me! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wanted to protect you," replied Remus ever so softly, taking Aurelia's shaking hand in his own. "I wanted you to stay a child, I wanted you not to know that there are turncoats and traitors out there, and I wanted to save you from the grief you'd feel over someone who I thought did not deserve it. I love you, doe, and I don't want to see you hurt."

Aurelia started to cry. Not soft and graceful sobs, sobs that shook her whole body and made her cheeks flush and her nose run and her eyes blotchy. Remus sank down to his knees and pulled her with him, burying her face in his shoulder. They stayed like that for awhile until Aurelia's sobs subsided to sniffles, and Remus gently pulled her up and said, "Right. Let's go find the Minister."

Cornelius Fudge was sitting in his office with a cup of tea balanced precariously on a stack of pamphlets and a sheaf of papers in front of him that he was scrutinizing carefully. A knock on his door brought him out of the Department Of Magical Games and Sports' formal request for the coming World Cup to be moved from Transylvania to Ireland.

"Come in," he called, pushing the paper away and taking a sip from his cup of tea.

Two people hurried in, one of them clutching a Petrified rat. The Minister's eyes fell first on Remus, then on a hysterical-looking Aurelia, and finally the rat, before demanding, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Not a joke at all, Minister, you see, we've found some evidence concerning Sirius Black."

"And what of him?" asked Fudge.

"Sir-Minister Fudge-why exactly was Pad-I mean Black-put into Azkaban in the first place?" asked Aurelia tentatively.

Fudge looked both surprised and slightly annoyed. "You mean you don't know? Black was a madman who killed the wizard Peter Pettigrew as well as twelve Muggles with one curse. Blew Pettigrew up. All they found of him was his finger."

Aurelia sucked in her breath. This she had not expected.

"That," replied Remus, "is exactly why we're here. You see, Peter Pettigrew is this rat, right here."

He jabbed Peter with his wand.

"This is absurd!" burst out Fudge. "This is Quibbler-worthy material! I demand you explain at once!"

Remus swallowed, then began to explain as best he could. He explained about unregistered Animagi (although leaving out the part about why they had chosen to stay unregistered) and about Peter's and Sirius' forms. He showed the missing toe, and explained that the reason the rat hadn't shown himself to be human might have been because Peter had been the Secret-Keeper. (At this point Aurelia brought the discussion to a temporary halt by asking about Secret-Keepers, which took a good five minutes for Remus to explain to her.) He also added that it would be best if they let Sirius go, as he'd already served more than his time for being an unregistered Animagus.

Thank Merlin he figured it out so quick, thought Aurelia.

Fudge remained silent for the entire explanation. As soon as it ended, he snapped impatiently, "I have no proof!"

Remus jabbed Scabbers with his wand.

Aurelia recoiled. It was sort of like watching some sort of plant sprout from the ground, some sort of bizarre tree with a human face staring up at her. Peter Pettigrew, still frozen, lay on the Ministry floor, nine fingers curled nearly into fists and terrified eyes darting around the room.

It felt like someone had punched Aurelia hard in the stomach. A whirlwind of memories attacked her as she looked at the man she'd known so long ago, and she uttered a strangled sob that sort of choked her.

"Well," said Fudge, sounding shaken. "Well. In light of this evidence, I believe a formal trial is in order. Pettigrew will be taken into custody. And you are saying that Black is an Animagus as well?"

"Yes," replied Remus, taking Aurelia's hand in his.

"Then why wouldn't he have tried to escape?"

"Perhaps," said Aurelia in a horribly miserable voice, "he felt so guilty for what he believed to be his fault, he felt he deserved it in that horrible place."

"I see," said Fudge. "And I don't believe that you have told me your names."

"Remus Lupin," Remus stated. "And Aurelia McGonagall, my tenant's adopted daughter. I'm watching her for the day."

Fudge nodded, his face suddenly becoming slightly less open. "Then you are a-"

"Yes," said Remus coldly. "But that is neither here nor there, Minister. I have presented the evidence, and I would appreciate if one of your departments could owl us with the trial information."

Fudge nodded. "You may go."

As soon as they were out of the office, Aurelia saw two Aurors rush by, and realized that they were going to go get Pettigrew. She didn't want to see him again, and broke into a run for the lift. Remus followed her at a walk, and let her stand facing the golden grilles for about a minute before taking her hand again and saying, "I know what'll cheer you up. Come on, let's head home."

They got into the lift. It seemed to Aurelia like all the noise was dulled. She'd expected to cry like she did when Remus had told her that he loved her, but instead she just felt sort of numb.

My daddy's dead.

My mummy's dead.

My godfather's in prison.

My Wormy's a traitor.

She gripped Remus' hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white, clinging to the last remnant of a childhood stolen from her.

Minerva and Harry weren't home yet when Remus and Aurelia Flooed in. They were probably at the Weasleys', and this gave Remus ample opportunity to make Aurelia chocolate chip cookies while she sat morosely on the couch with Hester Prime and the Doomed Glade.

When the cookies were done, Remus told Aurelia that he was going over to the Weasleys' to explain things to Ron and Harry and Minerva, and that she could have all five of the rather large cookies, seeing as she deserved a bit of a treat for going to the Ministry with him. Aurelia decided against pointing out that she hadn't actually chosen to go with him, and pretended to eat a bite of the cookie before putting it down as soon as Remus had Flooed away.

She tried to cry. She felt a horrible agony in her heart, for Padfoot and Wormtail both, and she really wanted to have a good cry. But she just couldn't. And that made her feel all the worse. Wasn't she supposed to cry when things like this happened to her? Was she heartless?

Aurelia buried her face in the couch armrest and screamed. It helped a little, but not much.

There was a loud thump from the fireplace. Aurelia didn't move. She still didn't move when she heard footsteps, or when she felt someone sit down next to her on the couch, but she pulled her face up to stare at that someone when he said very softly, "I didn't know, Aury-pie, and I'm really sorry."

Aurelia blinked at Fred, and then she buried her face in his shoulder with a small sigh. She felt his arms wrap around her, but it was when he tentatively pressed his lips to her hair that she jerked up to look at him again.

"Don't," she said softly. "Don't-I can't-I'm not ready yet, Fred."

Fred swallowed. "Pushed my luck, I guess."

Aurelia nodded. "I was sort of effed up when I was doing all that kissing in the tree with you. I do like you-in that way-but I don't really feel quite like kissing you. Not yet."
"I don't mind. I-I'm just glad that you fancy me back, to be honest." Fred pulled her a bit closer. "Lupin told my family, and I had a feeling that you'd need a bit of moral support. Was I right?"

"Yeah." Aurelia smiled tiredly at him. "You're a marvel, Freddie."

"Don't you dare call me that. I have a reputation to uphold."

"You seemed fine with it last year."

"We were twelve for Merlin's sake!"

The playful banter brought Aurelia out of her misery, and soon she was smiling reluctantly at Fred with a bit more enthusiasm than before.

When Remus came back from the Weasleys' with Harry and Minerva close behind, they heard from behind the living room door the voice of Fred, who happened to be gently stroking the hair of a half-asleep Aurelia, talking nonstop in a lowered voice.

"Now, I'm not saying that Bill's a prat. Quite the opposite, in fact. But he gives the girl a piece of peanut brittle-"

"You're joking," murmured Aurelia sleepily from Fred's shoulder. "You said he knew she was allergic."

"Nope. He says he forgot. Funny thing to forget. If you really fancy a girl, you know everything there is to know about her. A bit creepy, but true."

"Do you know everything about me, then?"

"I really do fancy you, but I don't study Aurelias for a living."

"That'd be a good-aaah-living," yawned Aurelia. "You could be an Aurelialilypotterologist."

"I like Auryologist better. Sounds more official. But I do know that you like hydrangeas and hate it when people give you roses, because you find them unimaginative. I know that you like purple because that's what you get when you mix the House colors of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. And I know that you think your hair gets too frizzy in the wind."

"Does it?"

"Nah. Well, a little, but it's endearing. Like your nose. You have a very endearing nose."

"I really like you right now, Fred."

Remus, who had been listening at the door for a proper opening, decided to diminish the possibility of a kiss on the lips by hesitantly opening the door. Luckily, Aurelia's head was still buried in Fred's shoulder, and he motioned silently for Minerva and Harry to go upstairs. Both politely obliged, Harry seeming to want to avoid seeing normally sunny Aurelia so distraught.

"I really like you too. Oh, look, there's Lupin. You feel like you want to go to bed now?"

"I don't know," whispered Aurelia almost tearfully.

"C'mon, Aury, up you get."

"Okay," Aurelia replied reluctantly, looking up at Fred, and then pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

Remus decided that he would leave the room before he murdered Fred, mostly because he was certain that Fred was a trustworthy person but still didn't want to see his doe growing up.

Fred stared at her for a moment, and then he stated, "You said you weren't ready."

"Cheek kisses are fine right now," Aurelia said. "And I really like you, so we're probably going to have more kissing time anyway. Fred, I'm all screwed up. I can't even cry. Why can't I cry?"

Fred looked at her for a moment, and then he said very softly, "I don't think you're a crier when it comes to the serious things, Aurelia."

"Bad pun."

"What?"

"The sirius things. As in Sirius-oh. You didn't mean it like that. Oh. Sorry."

Fred uttered half a laugh and then said simply, "See you at Hogwarts, okay, Aury?"

"So the Aury-pie thing is gone now?"

"Yes. I don't like pie anymore. Percy made this disgusting apple pie, and now whenever I say pie I think of that. You're just Aury now."

"All right. I'll just call you Freddie then, because when I say cake I think of the cake we made for Harry's birthday last year."

Fred smiled at Aurelia and pulled himself up off the couch. "Okay, I have to go now, because I really love talking to you and if I keep on sitting on this couch I'll end up kissing you and then you'll hate me and we'll break up and I'll miss dinner and Mum'll kill me."

Aurelia laughed quietly, then added, "Horrifying run-on sentence, Fred. So that means we're together then?"

"To be truthful, I have no idea, but I think so."

"That's good. Okay. That's really good." Aurelia grinned at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm glad I cheered you up."

"I'm glad you came."

"I really need to go now."

Aurelia nodded, and then got off the couch to give Fred a hug.

So there you have it! I don't feel like Aurelia would be very romantic with Fred yet, seeing as he's fancied her for nearly three years and she's only just beginning to feel something for him. But I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it-

-The Eclectic Bookworm (who REALLY REALLY wasn't meaning to put an Aurelia/Fred scene in here, but is starting to wonder how much control she has over this story. She knows the ending, but not the middle.)