There they were.
It had been some time since Aurora last visited the manor - but it all looked the same. Still the same old house that she grew up in.
She held on tight to Theo's arm, like he might fly away if she let go. Aurora could feel Theo's tense muscles, and she could see his jaw clenching. He was nervous, she knew that - but at the same time he was also excited. He meant every word he said the other night, that he wanted to be a part of the Potters.
They decided to bring some fruits from the cottage's garden, so Theo was holding the basket in one hand. Aurora saw him practicing smiles and heard him practicing speeches as they approach the grand doors of the Potter Manor.
He then stopped when they nearly reached the door. Theo turned to Aurora and asked, "How do I look?" He wore a white button up shirt with black trousers, his fancy belt that he loved so much, and the right shoes to match them. He wore his shirt the way he always did, not buttoned up all the way, but his collar was neater than it usual.
Aurora looked at him and flashed a quick, innocent smile. "You're fine," she said.
Not satisfied with her answer, Theo raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine?"
She always found it adorable that Theo was like a big baby sometimes.
Aurora sighed as her smile grew wider. She placed her hands on his shoulders, and they slid down to his chest as she looked into his eyes, telling him, "You look wonderfully handsome, Theodore Nott."
Theo smirked. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Aurora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Now they were continuing their walk, getting closer and closer to the door. She kept thinking of the worst things that could happen - strategizing how she could protect Theo if something went bad.
"If my crazy uncles and dad do as much as touch you, I'll turn them into frogs," she said, eyes still looking forward. The old Rory never spoke about her family like this - but they brought it on themselves. Pointing their wand at a teenager on his graduation day was a pretty shitty move.
"Oh my God, Rory," Theo shook his head - but he almost laughed. "They're not going to kill me."
She shrugged. "They won't get the chance to."
He chuckled. "Why don't you listen to what they have to first?" he crooned, "How does that sound, baby?"
God, she hated whenever he spoke with that voice. The tone that could shut her down completely, make her feel weak in the knees.
She called it the Theodore Nott effect.
When they finally reached the door, Theo gave Aurora one more comforting glance before he knocked. Theo was about to deliver a second knock when the door suddenly swung open, revealing Lily on the other side.
"Theodore, Rory, welcome!"
"Hello, good evening!" he said cheerfully. "Theo is fine, Mrs. Potter."
"Well Theo, you best call me Lily."
Even Aurora was even a bit surprised hearing that.
"Really?"
"Really."
Aurora was glad that at least her mother seemed genuine, the affection she had for Theo was real, she could tell. It was her dad's intentions that she was still questioning.
"Thank you, Lily, and thank you for the invitation. We brought fruits." Theo lifted the fruit baskets, and Lily nodded gratefully.
"How very thoughtful!" she exclaimed. "Come inside, please."
Remus was the first one to greet Theo out of all her uncles, and Sirius was the last.
As the others said their hellos to Theo, she could feel Sirius' judgemental eyes on him, and she hated it.
Sirius was different than her other uncles. He was rather pretentious. Growing up, she'd always thought it was confidence and she used to adore it. The same went for her dad.
He placed the fruit basket on a table.
Sirius crossed his arms as he looked at those fruits, and at Theo. "Thanks, kid," he said. "They look fresh." But Aurora still wasn't sure if he was being genuine. His tone didn't sound friendly, and his eyes were still fixated on Theo when he gave his comment, not the fruits.
But Theo was too excited to realize Sirius' questionable demeanor. He grinned broadly. "Aren't they just? And they taste good too," he announced happily. "I picked them from my garden."
Peter smiled as he examined the fruits. "You garden?" he asked. Theo was giddy again, because he sensed that maybe, just maybe, Peter was a little impressed. Aurora finally smiled for the first time since she walked into that house again. Even if Sirius didn't, at least her other uncles appreciated her boyfriend's efforts.
He nodded at Peter. "A little," he answered. Remus placed an arm around Theo's shoulder as he took one of the apples. and he said, "You know, man, you have to show us how to — especially Sirius, I can't get him to tend to our plants for the death of me."
Theo agreed, of course.
Then there he was. Aurora's brother, walking into the foyer to greet her.
"Rory," he called. His eyes looked like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. With a big smile on his face, he hugged her.
"Hi, Haz," she greeted back, holding him in her arms. They did not hug often, they were the kind of siblings that would hide their affection for one another, so this was a big step for both of them.
"God, I missed you," he muffled into her shoulder. And to be honest, she did too. Not spending her birthday with her brother was very off-putting. And she was grateful now, she got to be with him again.
When Harry let go of her, he took Theo's hand to shake it. It was nice to see he was friendly. "Welcome, Nott." Theo was very happy about this, his eyes sparkled.
"Thank you."
They sat at the dinner table but Aurora did not let her guard down. She looked around her — there was her dad, her brother, her uncles, and her mom. She thanked God that Ron and Hermione weren't there.
She loved her friends, but on an occasion like this, especially involving Theo, Ron's presence wasn't quite what she needed.
Theo didn't let that grin off his face. He warmly smiled to everyone, and she knew that her family could tell he'd prepared for this. How could he not? He was happy to finally be accepted. Aurora just hoped that her family appreciated his efforts. He picked fruits, he flossed he wrote down a speech about how grateful he was to be there, he ironed his best shirt, and he spent all night asking her about her family's likes and dislikes so he could figure out topics for them to discuss.
If that wasn't enough for them, she didn't know what was.
"Thank you, everyone, for having me here," Theo said. "The food looks incredible." He was being the politest he had ever been in his life.
James nodded. "We're all very glad to have both of you here."
"Yeah, after you ran away?" Sirius scoffed. He rolled his eyes and said, "We're delighted, Aurora, really."
Aurora raised her eyebrows. "Charming." She smirked, but her eyes were sharp on him, and then shook her head when she looked away from him.
Sensing the tension, Remus gave a nervous laugh.
"So," he started, now looking at Theo. "You have a house, Theo, I heard. That's where you're staying?"
Theo flinched at the mention of his name — he was very very very nervous. He was still adjusting to his seat when Remus called. Hesitantly, he answered. "Uh — House... Yes — Just a little cottage, but it's comfortable."
"Aurora's always talked about wanting to live in a cottage," Peter pointed out.
"Yeah, I remember that!" Remus exclaimed, then teased, "Some would say you're meant to be."
Theo laughed. "Well, I do hope so."
Harry also tried to make small talk with him. "Hey, are you still friends with Draco Malfoy?" he asked.
Theo's eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't seen him since graduation, why?"
"Get over it, lad." Sirius berated.
"We heard that Astoria Greengrass left his ass!" Harry proclaimed. "I just wanted to know if that's true."
"Good for her," James chimed in, still chewing his food. Lily scolded him by giving a hard tap on his shoulder.
"You're disgusting," she whispered, but Aurora heard it. "Do you not know how to eat properly?"
She could almost laugh. She always thought her parents had a very fun dynamic in their relationship, like they completed each other. She looked at Theo, and imagined them being married, him stepping out of line and her scolding him. It'd be amazing, growing old with him, being married and argue over silly things — they'd be grumpy old people, but they'd be grumpy old people together.
Aurora paid attention to the main conversation once again when Remus rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I can't with your pettiness, Harry."
"What?" Harry shrugged. "Seeing him suffer brings pleasure to me."
"And to me," Peter added. "That kid is a nightmare."
"Sorry, Theo," Remus apologized, awkwardly smiling. "I know you're his friend."
"Oh, I don't mind," Theo chuckled. "Really, he is a nightmare."
"Oh my God, thank you!" Harry exclaimed happily. "Even his friend agrees."
"But you still associated yourself with him," Sirius pointed out. He squinted his eyes as he asked, "Why is that?"
"Draco has his moments, sometimes he could be a very good friend," Theo told him, "Whenever he's an ass, I give him... Constructive criticism."
"You like the food?" Peter asked. "I helped cook, but the masterchef was Moony." He then cleared his throat and corrected himself, "Remus, I mean."
Remus only muttered, "He knows."
The werewolf incident was pretty big at Hogwarts — Rumors spread like a wildfire. A student found his potion and snitched. When parents found out a werewolf was teaching at their children's school, they didn't stay silent.
They fired him, and everybody knew why.
"It was very unfortunate, Professor Lupin, what happened in third year. I really liked you as our teacher — you were my favorite, actually," Theo comforted. And it wasn't a lie, it was the complete truth. Theo did love having Remus at school. He then turned to Peter and said, "But to answer your question, Mr. Pettigrew, yes the food is amazing, you did a very good job."
"Thanks, but you've went to a lot of dinners that are better than this, for sure, you're a pureblood," Peter teased, chewing a mouthful of pasta. "Are you close with your family?"
"Just my mum," he answered, his fork dropping from between his fingers as he did. Theo looked around apologetically before continuing. "Dad's not really around."
"Sorry to hear that," James chimed in. "Must be hard. I can't imagine never being there for my kids."
He forced a smile. "I managed, Mr. Potter, it's fine." But Aurora knew it wasn't. She remembered the nights where Theo would randomly call her, she'd sneak out to see him, and he would just cry in her arms. Just a little boy missing his dad.
She took his hand under the table and squeezed it. To comfort him, to tell him it was okay, to apologize.
"That's really unfortunate, back in the day, your father was very kind to me." Aurora thought maybe her mother meant those words to be comforting, to show that Theo's dad wasn't always a complete douchebag. But she still wish Lily hadn't said it.
"Because he fancied you, Lily," Sirius retorted.
"Can we not?" Aurora interrupted. This was the one thing she did not want to discuss during the dinner.
Theo turned to Aurora, and softly said, "It's okay."
Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "He says it's okay."
Before they knew it, dinner was over, and they had finished their meal. Aurora intended on going home right away, but James and Lily pulled Theo aside to have a serious conversation with him, they said, and Harry insisted on listening in.
Aurora looked around and approached her uncles. She used to be so close with them, used to tell them absolutely everything. And now she felt like a stranger in her own house.
She took a deep breath and gathered the courage to talk to them again.
"Thanks for making an effort, guys," said Aurora, a small smile on her face. She looked over her shoulder and saw Theo being hugged by her dad. And she thought to herself, maybe this was real. She then turned to her uncles again. "To get to know Theo, to give him a chance and accept him."
Remus nodded. "We're all very sorry that we hadn't done this sooner." He gave his friends a scolding look, elbowing their arms. "Aren't we?"
"Very," Peter agreed.
Then Sirius chimed in, "Super." but his tone was still off putting. He did not smile, he did not blink, he did not look her in the eye. He looked dead as he said it.
"I get the feeling you don't mean that," she accused.
"Look, I'm really sorry if I've been pissing you off the whole evening. It's just—"
So he was aware that he was being an absolute asshole. He was a jerk on purpose. And it completely sparked anger in her.
"Theo tried so hard to impress all of you, you know. He handpicked fruits, he rummaged through his closet trying to find the perfect outfit so you'd be impressed—"
But her uncle interrupted. He finally looked at her in her eyes, and shook his head. "No, it's not about Theo anymore," Sirius mewled.
Sirius was a grown man, not to mention a grown man with much pride. To see him mewling in front of an 18 year old girl was certainly a moment.
"You reminded me of myself when you ran away," he said. "You know I did that too. I guess part of me is worried you're going to go down the wrong road. But if you feel like what you have with Theo is the real deal—"
He loved her. Aurora was his niece, and he was just scared. Scared for her, scared she'd get hurt, scared she'd do something she'd regret in the future.
But this was what she wanted.
"I do."
"Then good for you, kid."
He opened his arms as he stepped closer towards her. Aurora gave in, letting her uncle hug her.
She closed her eyes and melted in his arms, and she's suddenly ten again, hugging uncle Sirius after a game of hide and seek.