Confusion's a Funny Thing

[beki14]

*coughs* Howdy. I feel bad. I left you on a cliffie for a while. But that’s okay, because the next post is up!


“Well, Sirius?” Bellatrix asked in a false sweet voice. Sirius was fuming. After being kidnaped by Death Eaters and portkeyed to an unknown destination, he and Adi had been tied up, only to be harassed repeatedly. “Are you going to answer my question? Was leaving your family worth dying for?” she laughed.

He spat in her face. “That’s what I think of your so called family. And your manic laughter needs work.”

“Sirius!” Adi hissed, trying to get him to calm down. He gave her a hopeless look.

“Oh look ickle one, your little girlfriend’s trying to say something,” the Death Eater responded, sneering.

“Alright Bella, you win. I’ll do what you want, just let Adi go,” he tried to bargain.

“No, I don’t think so,” she said serenely.

“Why the bloody hell not? Merlin, you’re sick! Just let her go! If you don’t you’ll have to kill me, because,” she interrupted him.

“You see Sirius, this was always your weakness. You’re arrogant. Why would the Dark Lord have any specific interest in a filthy little blood traitor like you? If I wanted to kill you, I’d do it unofficially, and I wouldn’t bring two other Death Eaters along for the show. We don’t want you, you’re just the tag along. We’re here for Miss High-and-Mighty over there,” she finished, gesturing to Adi.

Sirius’s blood seemed to run cold. They were here to kill Adi, and there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe if he just kept them talking for long enough...

“Should I kill her, Bella?” a greasy voice asked. Sirius recognized the masked figure closest to Adi as Lucius Malfoy. Adi had a resigned look on her face, but Sirius could see through it to the fear in her eyes. She caught Sirius’s eye, and mouthed, ‘I love you’. He shook his head furiously. No, no, no...

“No,” Bellatrix said. “We have to wait for the Dark Lord. He wants to kill her himself.”

“Why?” Malfoy asked, shocked. He wasn’t the only one. Adi looked surprised as well.

“Does it look like I know?” she snapped. “I wouldn’t waste my time on something as pathetic as that,” she added, gesturing to Adi as if she was a slug, “but he must have a good reason.”

“When is he due to arrive?” Malfoy asked.

“When he does,” Bella answered.

“And remind me why we have your cousin as well?”

“Because we’re supposed to be discreet. No witnesses. That, and I want to kill the traitor myself,” she added, grinning manically. Sirius had the urge to roll his eyes. “Now where is it?” she asked Adi brusquely.

“Where is what?” Adi asked.

“Oh, you know very well what.”

“No, I really don’t think I do,” she said, eying Bella strangely. “You’re not drunk, are you?”

“No, of course not. Don’t be silly, girl. Now I’ll ask you once more, do you know where it is?”

“I don’t know what ‘it’ is!” Adi cried, exasperated. Bellatrix looked at her for a moment, then shook her head.

“She’s telling the truth. We’ll have to wait for the Dark Lord for directions.”

Malfoy was now looking at Adi again. “Pretty little thing, aren’t you?” She looked like she was about to throw up. Despite the fact that he could be killed at any moment, Sirius felt his blood boil. No one was going to talk about his girl like that.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for this, Lucius.”

“What?” he asked. “You said yourself we were waiting for the Dark Lord. And the diversion in Diagon Alley will tie up the Aurors for a while.” He turned back to Adi, running his index finger down her cheek. “Very pretty.” Although she held up her brave exterior, Sirius saw something like fear flicker in her eyes.

He snapped. “DON’T YOU ******* TOUCH HER YOU *******! I’LL KILL YOU IF YOU COME ANYWHERE NEAR HER, I SWEAR I’LL KILL YOU!”

Before he knew what was happening, he’d broken free of the ropes holding him in place, and had slammed Malfoy against the wall. He was about to pound him into a fine powder when he came to his senses. This was the only chance they had to get out of there alive.

Pulling his wand out of his pocket, quite shocked that it was still there, he stunned Bella first. He may have hated his cousin, but he was honest enough to admit that she was the biggest threat they had. Luckily, she was too shocked by his outburst to fight back.

He waved his wand at the ropes binding Adi, and she quickly petrified the other Death Eater. They then both turned their wands on Malfoy, who was looking a lot less brave. He looked around wildly, before spotting something over Sirius’s shoulder and bolting for it. They tried to stun him as he ran, but he successfully reached the portkey and disappeared into a whirl of color.

“He’s going to pay for that one when Voldemort finds out,” Adi said calmly, sticking her wand in her back pocket, and kicking Bella in the side for safe measures. Her hands were clenched in fists, and she was shaking visibly. “Let’s get these tied up.”

“Adi,” Sirius said softly, grabbing her wrists to stop her from avoiding him. “Look at me.” She looked up, her eyes shining with tears, then buried her face in his chest.

“I was so afraid I was never going to see you again,” she moaned into his robes. “Why does Voldemort want me of all people?”

“I don’t know. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Thanks to you,” she smiled.

“I promised to protect you, and I wasn’t about to go back on my word. Besides, when that greasy ******* was touching you, I just snapped.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe now,” she said soothingly.

“We’d better get these two tied up,” he said, ripping Bella’s mask off. “Let’s see who we have here. Ah, Ulysses Travers, charming,” he said, looking down at the man only three years older than himself. “I wonder how were going to get the aurors here. Didn’t Slime-bucket say something about an attack on Diagon Alley?”

“Yeah, I guess we’ll just have to...” she was interrupted by the door opening with a loud bang. They both pulled out their wands to find five aurors staring at them in shock.

“Sirius? Adi?” a voice from the back said. “Are you two alright?”

“Frank?” they both asked at the same time.

“One and the same. How’d you manage this?” he asked, stepping forward and gesturing to the Death Eaters on the ground.

“Sheer dumb luck,” Adi answered. They recognized two of the other aurors as Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Elaine’s older brothers. The other two were older and unfamiliar. “Sirius has a jealous streak, and our dear friend Bella over there forgot to take our wands.”

“How’d you find us?” Sirius asked.

“Interesting story, that,” he said, whispering so no one else could hear him. “Well, you see, your friends noticed you were missing a while ago, but it’s Valentine’s day, so they figured you were just having some, you know, alone time. Then there was this massive attack on Diagon Alley. It was tying up all of our resources. There was even a rumor that You-Know-Who himself was there,” he said lowly. “Wasn’t true, but that’s how chaotic it was. Then, you’ll never believe this, a Death Eater, comes right up to me and tells me that there are more of them in Hogsmeade and that they might be taking students captive. So of course I thought they were just trying to get rid of some of us, but I had to report it to my superior anyway.”

He grinned. “Well, you know how Mad-eye is. He told me to go check it out. I thought he was just being paranoid until I saw some joker in a mask running like hell up to the mountains. He disapparated before I could get a good look at him, but I called for reinforcements anyway. We found a portkey over by the Shrieking Shack and traced it back to here. You seemed to be doing pretty well without us, though.”

“Reg?” Adi mouthed. Sirius grinned, shrugging.

“Where is here, exactly?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, you’re still in Hogsmeade actually. A little cottage on the outskirts of the village. Come on, I’ll escort you back to Hogwarts. You’ll need to talk to Dumbledore.”

Once outside, Adi slipped her hand in Sirius’s. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Why were they after you two anyway?” Frank asked. Sirius started to answer, but Adi interrupted him.

“Because of Sirius being a blood traitor,” she fibbed. That was why he was there, after all. “His cousin holds a bit of a grudge.” Frank nodded in understanding.

“Why’d you lie?” Sirius asked in a whisper.

“The more he knows, the more danger he’s in,” she whispered back.

“He might of been able to help us,” he argued.

“Yeah,” she returned sadly. “And get himself killed while doing it.”

“You two coming?” he called from ahead.

“Yeah,” they answered in unison.

Soon enough, they were knocking on the door to Dumbledore’s office. Upon entering, they’d barely glimpsed the room before both of their visions were obscured by a mass of red hair. Lily had pulled them both into a bone-crushing hug.

“Oh, I thought I’d never see either of you again,” she cried. They saw the rest of their friends behind her, seeming to be fighting the urge to do the exact same thing. Dumbledore was chuckling.

After Lily had calmed down a bit, and they had all been seated around his desk. “I’m fairly sure I have an idea of what happened today, so I will not make you relive it right now. I would like to speak to you both again soon, however.”

“Sir?” Sirius asked. Dumbledore nodded for him to continue. “They were talking about an attack on Diagon Alley...”

The twinkle momentarily left the headmaster’s eyes. “Dozens of Death Eaters marched through the streets at three o’clock today. Fifty-two people were killed, countless more injured. I must ask you not to mention this to anyone until tomorrow when it hits the Prophet. Some of the student’s families were killed, and...” He was interrupted by the fireplace erupting in flames. Fabian Prewett stepped out.

“Sir, they...Laney?”

“Fabe?” The red-headed auror was now glaring at Remus, who quickly dropped Elaine’s hand. Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“They got away,” Fabian said bluntly, turning back to the headmaster.

“WHAT!?” Sirius exclaimed. “How?”

“We found our leak at Auror headquarters,” he answered, smiling ironically.

“Who was it?” Dumbledore asked calmly.

“Antonin Dolohov,” he answered. “Always thought he was a bad egg.”

“Very well. Thank you Fabian.” Dumbledore turned to them after the auror had disappeared. “Please don’t be too upset by this news. You two still did a wonderful job today. I’m very proud of both of you. I think you should all go and get some rest now. I’ll send word for the two of you in the morning.”

They filed out one at a time, Sirius hanging back on purpose. “Oh, and Sirius?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yeah?” he said, half hopeful, half apprehensive.

“Your brother’s fine.” Sirius breathed a sigh.

“Thank you very much, Sir,” he said, grinning widely. The headmaster waved him off, blue eyes twinkling. He shut the office door to come face to face with Adi.

“Is he okay?” she asked. He didn’t bother asking how she knew.

“Yeah, he’s fine.”

“Oh thank Merlin,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Sirius?”

“Hmmm?” he murmured into her hair.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Good,” he said, looking down at her. “Because I don’t either.”

***********

September was sitting on the astronomy tower much later than she should have been. She was cold, but she didn’t care. He was coming. He had to come.

He was her first friend. It had been a shock to her as much as anyone else when she was sorted into Slytherin. Her mother was a witch from a long line of Hufflepuffs who died shortly after her birth. Her father was a muggle, and a very kind man, although very weak. She thought her mother’s death had taken an awful toll on him.

Being a half-blood raised by a muggle in Slytherin during a war was not easy. Surrounded by students who thought blood was everything, it was natural for her to be an outcast. She didn’t have friends from any of the other houses either. Although she didn’t rank everyone on the purity of their blood, she knew she wasn’t the most pleasant person on Earth. But five years of being alone would do that to just about anybody.

Up until this year, Regulus was just like the rest of them.

He changed this year. Something had changed him. That night when she’d found him on the same tower where she sat right now, she had just came up there to stargaze, like she did all the time. When she’d found him sobbing, a part of her heart had felt a vicious pleasure that one of these so called ‘purebloods’ was feeling a little of her pain. Another part of her heart broke for him.

When he’d looked up at her with a look of pure innocence and longing in his sad grey eyes, she knew which part of her heart would win out. He needed the same thing that she had been looking for all along. A friend.

Her father always said that she was just perceptive, but September knew she had a twisted sense of logic that not many people could understand. Trying to think of what she could do to comfort a crying boy she was hardly acquainted with, she had decided on his name. Regulus. Looking up into the sky, she’d found the star of the same name. The odd thing was, he seemed to find comfort in her words, even though most would find them absolute rubbish.

The last few months had been a whirlwind of happiness she had never imagined. Never having a friend before, it amazed her what kind of color one could bring into a otherwise dull life. From him helping her with her potions homework, to him defending her to the other fifth years, to the first time he called her Temmy, she remembered every detail. She’d slowly came to the realization that she didn’t only like having him in her life. She needed him.

Even after finding out the truth, she still needed him as much as ever, if not more.

It was unexplainable how something as little as clutching his left arm for a second had explained everything, but it had. She didn’t know how, but she just knew. He was a Death Eater. He had been this whole time. That was what changed him.

How could he be a Death Eater when he was so...perfect?

That was just it though. The flaw. There was always a flaw when something seemed perfect. And she’d definitely found it this time. But he couldn’t just take his flaw and leave her alone now could he?

No.

Why couldn’t he have just run off without a word? Why couldn’t he have just told her to mind her own business? Why did he have to worry her with the realization that his life was in danger? Why did he have to tell her that he could explain, in such a remorseful, almost begging way that she just had to believe him, despite everything sense was telling her?

Why did he have to go and kiss her like that?

She’d never been one for relationships. She never got close enough to anyone to even think about it. When she’d met Reg, she was so glad to have him, and so afraid of losing him, that she had never let her mind wander to what could be. But wander now it did. It wandered to the way his lips felt against hers. Gentle, but firm just the same. To the way his rough hands, so much larger than hers, fit oddly perfect into her own. It amazed her what one kiss could do.

Her first kiss.

And as though on cue, the object of her thoughts appeared in the doorway. She’d known he’d come, even though there was no verbal agreement as to such. She’d known, because he knew she’d be here, waiting for him. Because as much as she needed him, she knew that he needed her too.

He was as pale as a ghost, and shaking like a leaf. She slowly approached him, and he didn’t see her. He saw through her.

“Temmy?” She could feel the tears starting in her own eyes. He reached out to her, seeming to need some type of reassurance that she was real. She grabbed his hand, leading him over to the wall and making him sit down. She slid down on her knees beside him, her hand caressing his cheek.

“Reg, what happened?”

“Tem, you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t want to j-join,” he was crying freely by now. “I never would have if I thought it would do anyone any good. I...I had to.”

“Shhh,” she said softly, finding she didn’t truly need his explanation. “It’s okay. I’m here now. You’re safe.” He buried his face in her neck and sobbed harder than ever. “Just cry, get it out. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Killing...there was so much killing. B-bodies everywhere...” She ran a hand through his hair, pulling him even closer. “I watched them die...I KILLED THEM!”

“It’s alright. It’s over now,” she croaked, her voice braking with her own emotion. He sat up slowly, looking at her with clouded eyes. He reached out to tangle one of his hands in her long auburn hair, using his other to wipe away a few of her stray tears.

“I need you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I need you too.”

He fell asleep with his head in her lap almost immediately, muttering darkly in his dreams from time to time. September stayed up until dawn, just stroking his hair and watching him sleep. His pain, even then, seemed to tear her apart one little bit at a time.

“Oh Reg, what have they done to you?”

Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the stars.
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are.

The place where everyone's happy all the time...


*** Lyrics are Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Ends Rather appropriate, and not just because of the name pun.

[beki14]

I’m so sorry guys, I really am. *insert rest of apology here so you can get on with the post faster* Massive HBP spoilers, but if you haven’t read it yet...no comment...


Lord Voldemort was raging. Once was unacceptable, but still understandable. But twice? Twice now, someone he considered one of his most loyal followers had let him down.

“I’m not pleased,” he said, his voice deadly calm. The woman kneeling before him quivered. “You almost got yourself caught, and you still didn’t manage to complete your task. How did they get away, Bella?”

“I...I don’t know...” she quavered.

“IN THE NAME OF SALAZAR, THEY’RE STILL IN SCHOOL!” he shouted.

“I’m...”

“Don’t apologize. I don’t want to hear it. You failed me, and now you will pay,” he said, pulling out his wand. “Crucio!” Bellatrix screamed in anguish until he lifted the curse. He let his anger take over again, bringing the pain upon his Death Eater once more.

“Get up,” he snapped when he had finally lifted his wand. She did so as fast as she could. “I thought you could move past your cousin’s betrayal of your family, and do what needed to be done. I guess I was wrong. I will be handling this personally. Now please send in Lucius, I’d like a word with him as well.

“Yes, my Lord,” Bellatrix replied, bowing on her way out, trying not to wince in pain.

**********

Adi gave the headmaster a bright smile as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, feeling very happy for a person who had just been abducted by some of her least favorite people the day before. Dumbledore smiled back cheerfully, the twinkle back in his keen blue eyes.

“Good morning, dear. Glad to see there has been no lasting damage done,” he said.

“Gladly, no. We got lucky.”

“Ah, how I wish more of us could have such luck more often. Now you’re probably wondering why I’ve called you here this early in the morning, aren’t you?”

“Well, I assumed you want us to tell you what happened....” she started.

“Actually, I’m well informed of what happened,” he said. Adi had a sneaking suspicion a bit of legilimency may have been involved. “I would like to discuss with you what it all means. I think we’ll just wait for Sirius, and then we can begin.”

“Oh, he’ll be here as soon as Remus forcibly drags him out of bed,” Adi quipped, smiling fondly. Dumbledore chuckled.

“I was actually hoping to ask you something before he got here,” he said in reply.

“Shoot.” She cringed. “I mean, please do.” He chuckled again before answering.

“I just have to make sure there is absolutely nothing you don’t mind Sirius knowing about you,” the wizened headmaster said, his face suddenly serious.

“You’re starting to worry me,” Adi responded.

“No reason to fret, dear, I just need to be sure.”

“No. There’s nothing I keep from him, I mean.”

“Good,” he answered, trying to appear reassuring. “That will make this process much easier.”

“Sir, what exactly...” she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Come in, Sirius,” Dumbledore called. Adi noticed that the professor had not called her by her surname once during the meeting.

Sirius stepped into the room, looking tired and very confused as he slipped into the seat next to her. She shot him a reassuring smile, but he could sense it was forced. His eyebrows contracted quickly.

“What’s going on?” he asked her, then Dumbledore.

The wizard in front of them sighed. “I will be blunt, because I do not think either of you would appreciate my making illusions to unpleasant facts. Your life is in grave danger, Adi.”

She’d expected as much, but hearing the words come out of this man’s mouth made it so final. There was no way to escape the reality of the situation now. Sirius had gone very pale, and she guessed his thoughts were going along the same lines as hers.

“Why?” she asked in disbelief. What could the second most powerful wizard in the world want with her?

The headmaster sighed once again. His eyes had lost their twinkle again, and had taken on a soft quality instead. “Has anyone ever told you the story of how Lord Voldemort came to be?” Both students shook their heads.

“Your father never told you anything about him at school, Adi?” he asked. She had trouble controlling a snort as she shook her head no. “Very well. His real name is not Voldemort, but Tom Riddle. He was born to a witch and a muggle, then abandoned in a orphanage when his mother died during childbirth.”

“Voldemort’s a half-blood?” Adi couldn’t help but ask.

Dumbledore smiled slightly. “Yes, he is. But that’s not the part of the story that applies to you. Tom’s mother’s name was Merope Gaunt...”

“Gaunt?” Sirius asked. Both of the others turned to look at him. “That sounds familiar.”

“It would. Marvolo Gaunt was one of the only members of his family to attend Hogwarts, and he was only here for two years. He was in your grandfather’s year, so I’m assuming he was spoken about when you were still living at home?”

“Only once. I was about ten, I think, and it was the only time I’d ever heard my grandparents argue. My grandmother was saying that he was unbalanced, and my grandfather told her that he was to be respected.”

“Ah, yes, he was extremely unbalanced from what I’ve gathered, but still respected amongst pureblooded society for his bloodline, although he was rarely seen in public. Most were unaware that he had two children. His son, Morfin, was even more troubled than his father. He had also seemed to use his daughter as his own personal servant,” he paused to look at them. Both students were sitting on the edges of their chairs, paying close attention. He smiled ironically at an attentive Sirius Black.

“In the town where the Gaunts lived, Little Hangleton, there was a prominent family of muggles who owned quite a bit of the land in the surrounding area. They had a young and handsome son named Tom Riddle.”

“What?” Sirius asked. “That doesn’t make sense. I thought you said Merope was...”

Dumbledore interrupted him. “Tom Riddle Sr.” Sirius fell silent. “Merope fell hopelessly in love with the dashing young man, something her father and brother were not happy about. They were both sentenced to terms in Azkaban, and when Marvolo returned home, he found Merope gone. She had ran off and married Mr. Riddle.”

“Imperious curse?” Sirius asked immediately. Dumbledore smiled.

“You’ll make a good auror. My personal theory is a love potion. But either way, Tom Riddle eventually came out from under her control, and returned to Little Hangleton without her. He had left her pregnant with his child. Months later, a baby boy was born in an orphanage in London. An hour later, Merope Gaunt Riddle died.”

He sighed before continuing, taking his glassed off and rubbing the bridge of his crooked nose. “Tom Marvolo Riddle was very popular as a student. Top of his class, Head Boy, respectful, and charming, the teachers were fond of him, and the students looked to him for guidance. I always felt that there was something amiss. I was transfiguration professor at the time, and I was the one who paid a visit to the orphanage to inform Tom of his special abilities. He seemed to take pleasure in causing other’s pain. That’s not a quality one usually finds in eleven year olds, and I never quite let myself forget about it.”

“You’re probably really starting to wonder what this all has to do with you, aren’t you?” he asked Adi. She nodded. “This is something I’ve just recently learned myself. The Gaunt family were direct decedents of Salazar Slytherin. Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort as he now wishes to be called, is the last member of this family remaining.”

Adi’s eyes were closed, a humorless smile gracing her lips. “It all comes down to blood, doesn’t it?”

“I’m afraid with Tom, it does,” Dumbledore agreed sadly. “He is very interested in the descendants of the four founder, you see. I think he contributes quite a bit of power to his connection with Slytherin, and therefore considers them a threat. The descendants of Helga Hufflepuff are widely spread amongst many pureblooded families. Godric Gryffindor’s bloodline has been lost to time, although I think Tom may be close to finding the link. You and your Aunt Edith are the last living members of the Ravenclaw family. Since dear Edith is elderly, you are seen as more of a threat. It has also come to my attention that he seems to have a strange desire to kill you personally. I’m not sure why this is yet, but it is actually somewhat fortunate. It makes it easier to protect you.

“You’ll unfortunately have to stay at Hogwarts for the Easter holidays. I’m afraid the Potter’s isn’t safe any longer, since I suspect Voldemort discovered where you had gone after you fled your aunt’s house on Christmas Eve.”

“Sir?” Sirius asked, taking Adi’s hand in his own. “What about when we graduate.”

Dumbledore smiled softly at them before replying. “That is actually what I wanted to speak with you about next.

“I’ve become increasingly concerned with the Ministry’s approach with dealing with Voldemort and his death eaters. I feel as though they are more concerned with calming people’s completely justified fears than with eliminating what is causing this fear in the first place. Their resources are not being properly used at all. I now have plans to set up a small committee who will help plan what will eventually be a group of people who’s sole purpose will be to stop Lord Voldemort’s reign. I would like to ask you two to be part of this committee.”

The silence in the office was so thick you could cut it with a knife. That was until Dumbledore eased the tension in much the same way as he usually did. “Lemon drop?”

Sirius burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. Adi cracked a smile, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. After they’d all calmed down and helped themselves to one of the muggle candies, Adi spoke up.

“Why us, Professor? We’re still in school, after all.”

“Ah, but that is precisely why it is so important for me to have your assistance. I’d like you to keep your ears open among your fellow classmates. Listen to things like their opinion of the Ministry of Magic, if they are planning to fight Voldemort, and any other information involving the war. I’d like to eventually consult with you over a list of students I think would be trustworthy enough to join this organization.”

“Who would be on this committee?” Sirius asked.

“Aside from you two and myself, it would include Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Edgar Bones, and Marlene McKinnon,” he answered. They had both heard of all these people, if not met them. “I really hope you two will choose to accept.”

“Of course,” Sirius answered immediately.

“How could we refuse?” Adi agreed.

“Anything to help keep Adi safe,” Sirius added. She shot him an exasperated look before responding.

“Anything to help at all, sir.”

Dumbledore chuckled again, “You must both do me one last favor though.”

“Yes, sir?” the couple asked in unison.

“Please, call me Albus.” They both grinned from ear to ear.

************

Regulus and September were walking down the dungeon corridor on their way back to the common room early Sunday morning, not speaking much. They were both lost in their own thoughts of the events of the day before

Regulus stopped suddenly, grabbing her arm. He said nothing, just pulled her into a tight hug. She eventually pulled back to look up at him, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I just...thank you for not running away when you found out that...found out what I was,” he stuttered, not meeting her gaze. “I didn’t expect you to, but I’m glad you did.”

“Reg,” she turned his face until he looked into her eyes, letting her hand cup his cheek. “You told me that you didn’t have a choice, that it was for the best. I trust you. Merlin knows why, but I can’t help but trust you.”

“Someday, I’ll tell you everything, I swear,” he said earnestly.

“I know. When you’re ready, I’m here. Until then, I’m still here.” He looked at her so intently with those sad eyes that she felt herself blush. She dropped her hand, wishing she could make him smile. He seemed about ready to say something when a shrill voice interrupted them.

“Reggie!” Regulus groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Reggie?” September asked quietly, raising her eyebrows.

“Ravenclaw, our year,” he whispered back. “I think she’s stalking me.” She cracked an amused smile as the blonde girl waltzed up to them, ignoring her completely.

“Oh Reggie, I haven’t seen you in three days,” she said in a breathy tone, flipping her hair. “Oh, you look tired. Are you feeling alright?”

“Oh, hi Missy. Yeah, I’m feeling fine,” he answered, obviously looking for an escape route.

“Are you sure?” she asked, stepping towards him and fiddling with his tie. “I could make you feel better...”

Regulus coughed. “Well...erm, that’s nice of you, but...” he sputtered, glancing around desperately.

“Actually, he’s busy,” September said, stepping up beside him. The girl turned to her instead.

“Well, I’m sure he can make time for me, er... I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” she sneered. September rolled her eyes.

“Allow me to rephrase. He’s taken,” she responded, wrapping her arm around Reg’s waist. His eyes went wide, and she could have sworn he blushed slightly. ‘Missy’ looked stricken, her eyes filling pathetically with tears.

“Reggie, why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend?” she cried hysterically.

“Yes, Reggie, why didn’t you?” September asked, fighting laughter.

“I....”

“You know what?” she said to the Ravenclaw in a stage whisper. “I heard his brother’s single again, and looking for someone to make him ‘feel better’.” She nodded, eyes widening again, and walked down an adjoining hall without a second thought. September leaned against the wall with a satisfied smirk.

“Er...” Reg began. “You do know my brother’s not single, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’m hoping the Mulciber girl will kill the bimbo,” she answered. Reg smiled. There it was...

It seemed he had an irrepressible arrogant streak. “So, jealous?” he joked, but she couldn’t stop the jolt of sadness his words caused. In truth, she had been jealous. Very jealous.

“Maybe,” she blurted, staring at a spot on the floor beside his shoe. She felt, rather than saw him draw closer.

“Tem? When I kissed you yesterday...was that your first kiss?” he asked uncertainly.

She nodded to the floor. “Y-yes.”

“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly.

“Don’t be,” she answered, hesitantly meeting his eyes. “I’m not.”

He moved closer still, never averting his gaze. His hand moving to the nape of her neck, he asked in a low voice, “What if I were to do it again?”

Before either of them had much of a chance to think, his lips were on hers once again. The second kiss was deeper than the first, but just as sweet. She didn’t know how long it was before he pulled away, but neither of them made any effort to put distance in between them.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Reg said, his lips brushing hers as he talked.

“I obviously didn’t mind, Reg,” she rolled her eyes, almost laughing out loud.

“I’m a death eater.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t know everything.”

“And I don’t care.”

“I could put you in danger, Temmy,” he said, bringing his face back a few inches to look down into her eyes.

“And I still don’t care,” she assured him before pulling him back to her.

[beki14]

Hehe, next post! I had fun with the pre-Order meeting now that I finally worked up enough inspiration to finish it. I’m rather fond of Edgar Bones now, too bad he dies...


A week later found Sirius and Adi in Dumbledore’s office once again, this time with four other people. Their anti-dark arts organization had jumped right into the most important matters. Such as picking a name...

When the couple had talked about what they expected from the rest of the group, they’d agreed that they would probably be serious and to the point, maybe even wondering why Dumbledore picked two people so young to join them. They’d never expected them to be so fun loving.

Of course Alastor Moody spent ten minutes at the beginning of the meeting checking every inch of Dumbledore’s office for a magical earpiece, and mostly sat quietly except for when he’d bark out advice for safety measures every few minutes. This all seemed to amuse Dumbledore greatly.

Edgar Bones was a stately looking man in his late forties, with dark brown hair streaked with gray, a handlebar moustache, and a monocle. You could sense how intelligent the acclaimed Hit Wizard was, but he was also extremely witty, with a generally jolly disposition. Marlene McKinnon was a spunky thirty year old healer, with raven colored hair and a sassy personality. These two spent much of the time bickering.

Even Professor McGonagall, or Minnie as Sirius had decided he would begin to call her, wasn’t as prim and uptight as usual. It could have been expected, seeing as she wasn’t teaching or handing out detentions by the bucket-load, but it was still strange.

Their ‘naming ceremony’ wasn’t going nearly as well as planned.

“What about the Anti-Dark Arts Organization?” Edgar Bones suggested. Marlene snorted. “What?”

“Well, Edgar, don’t you think it lacks creativity?”

“I don’t see you coming up with anything better, Marlene,” he retorted.

“We wouldn’t be able to talk about it amongst ourselves in public without everyone knowing what we were doing, Officer Bones.”

“Why would we be talking about it in front of other people in the first place, Healer McKinnon?” She opened her mouth to respond when Dumbledore started chuckling.

“Now children, play nicely...” They fell silent and jokingly glared in opposite directions.

“All in favor of the Anti-Dark Arts Organization?” Professor McGonagall asked. Edgar raised his hand.

The rest of them didn’t.

“Or not...” he said, disheartened.

“Ah, cheer up their old chap. It was better than the A.N.W.M,” Marlene said comfortingly, glancing at Sirius. He’d thought that Against Nutters Wearing Masks had been a very creative name.

“You wound me, darling,” he said, as Fawkes landed on his knee and demanded that he stroke his feathers.

“That bird sure has taken a liking to you,” Professor McGonagall mentioned.

“Everyone takes a liking to me, Minnie.”

“Mr. Black...”

“Oh, back to this silly last name business again?” he asked sadly, “And we were doing so well.”

“Names,” Adi interrupted, nudging Sirius in the ribs. He coughed.

“Yes, of course. How about the Gobstones Club?” Sirius asked immediately. They all fell silent. A cricket chirped outside.

“What?” Adi finally asked.

“Well darling, no one would ever expect us...” he muttered defensively.

“Okay, new rule,” Marlene said. “Sirius isn’t allowed to talk.”

“Hey, that’s no...” Adi clapped a hand over his mouth.

“I like that rule.” Sirius’s lower lip quivered, and all three women rolled their eyes.

“Albus, remind me again why you chose him?” McGonagall asked the headmaster. He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“You know, I think I may have to reexamine my thought process later, Minnie,” he answered.

“Exactly- wait, did you just call me Minnie?”

“What if that was a Death Eater calling you Minnie? Would you get distracted by that?” Moody put in unexpectedly.

“No, Alastor, of course not,” she said in a pacifying voice. “But we know Albus isn’t a Death Eater. You checked, remember?” He grumbled something about constant vigilance and took a drink from his hip flask.

“And this is my youngest, isn’t she adorable?” Edgar asked Adi after showing her a long line of pictures of his three children he had in his wallet.

“They’ve grown quite a bit since I last saw them,” Marlene commented, looking at the pictures over his shoulder.

“You should come around for dinner sometime, Annalise is always saying we should have you and Dan over more.”

Fawkes squawked loudly, beating Sirius over the head with his feathers. “Woops, sorry there mate, forgot about you.” He let out a low, musical note, and Sirius chuckled. “That sounds like an order,” he said, continuing to pet the bird. Everyone lapsed into silence for a moment, before Professor McGonagall spoke.

“That gives me an idea, actually. You patronus is a phoenix, isn’t it Albus?” she asked unexpectedly.

“Yes,” Dumbledore replied, obviously confused.

“Well, I was just thinking. A phoenix is a symbol of everlasting life, it can carry immensely heavy loads, it’s tears have healing powers, and they are extremely loyal. Well, that sounds like what we’re trying to accomplish here, doesn’t it? We want the wizarding world to be reborn from the ashes of the war, we will be carrying the weight of the fighting on our shoulders, were are trying to purge the community of evil through our pain and tears, and we are loyal to the cause.”

Dumbledore nodded after a moment. “I see your point...we could be the Order of the Phoenix. That sounds official enough that we would be taken seriously, but still wouldn’t immediately give away what we are doing. All in favor?”

They all raised their hands. “I think there may be a way to modify the patronus charm to be a message carrier as well,” he added as an afterthought. “It would be much safer than owls or any other form of communication. Now, I’d like you all to get an idea of the public opinion, who can be trusted and what not, but don’t...advertise what we’re doing. Especially you two,” he said while looking at Adi and Sirius. “Now, I’m proud to say that the first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix is adjourned. Please floo safely. Adi and Sirius, if you would be so kind to stay for a moment, I believe we have something to discuss...”

***********

“Moody kept looking at me strangely,” Adi commented some time later. She and Sirius were laying on the floor in front of a crackling fire in the Room of Requirement, flipping through one of the many defense books Dumbledore had leant them.

“I noticed that too,” Sirius admitted.

She sighed. “I guess I should have expected it. He did just kill my brother and send my father to Azkaban a few months ago. Anyone would be suspicions, and with him being like he is...”

“He’ll come around, darling,” Sirius said comfortingly. She nodded. “I’m actually surprised he wasn’t doing the same thing with me.”

“You’re a blood traitor, Sirius, and everyone knows it.”

“You practically are,” he said, turning his gaze to look at her. “You just don’t have family members reminding you of it every time you turn around.” She reached out a hand to give his shoulder a squeeze.

“Sirius, you’re so tense,” she said, poking his shoulder blade.

He groaned. “Quidditch,” he explained. “James tried to kill us.”

“Here, I can help,” she said brightly, sitting down on her knees beside him and rubbing his shoulders.

“Urgh, don’t stop that ever,” he said, reaching into his bag for a small mirror. “Speaking of James.... Prongs!” There was a moment of silence. “Prongsie... James?” More silence. “That’s odd. James Frederick Potter!”

James’s face finally appeared, his glasses askew and his hair messier than usual. “What?” he hissed.

“Where are you?” Sirius asked.

“Dormitory. Why?”

“Get your fat bum down to the Room of Requirement right now,” he demanded. “Oh, right there,” he said to Adi.

“Is Adi with you?” James asked.

“Yeah,” Sirius answered.

“Hi, James,” Adi said happily.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked suspiciously.

“Nothing that involves you,” Sirius assured him. He heard a giggle in the background. “Lily?”

“Hey Sirius,” the aforementioned girl responded.

“Room of Requirement now, both of you,” he paused for a moment, “Wait a minute...what are you guys doing?”

“See you in five minutes,” James said quickly.

Five minutes and fourteen seconds later, James and Lily were being pulled quickly into the room by Sirius while Adi shut the door. After being forced into cushy armchairs, they shared bemused looks. “What’s going on?” Lily finally asked.

“We need to talk to you two about something very important,” Adi started.

“Something that will change your lives forever, no matter what your decision may be,” Sirius continued.

“Just knowing may put your lives in danger...”

“...but I think you’ll agree with us when we say that the risk is well worth it.”

“You two are scaring me,” James interrupted. “And not just because you’re finishing each other’s sentences again.”

Sirius took a deep breath. “How do you two feel about fighting Voldemort?” They shared confused glances.

“Sirius, what are you talking about?” Lily asked finally.

“There’s an organization that Dumbledore has recently founded, an organization for people who want to fight Voldemort. He wants to know if you’re interested in joining. Are you?”

“When did this all start?” James asked.

“The first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was tonight. Dumbledore asked me and Adi to help after the Valentines Day fiasco. He held us back after everyone had left and told us we could invite you two to the next one,” he concluded.

“But why?” Lily began, “Why would Dumbledore want people still in school to fight You-Know-Who...” Sirius and Adi both glared at her, “Oh, alright, V-Voldemort?”

“Because we’re young and powerful,” Adi answered. “We’ll be underestimated and unnoticed wherever we go. And we can fight.”

“Are you two sure about this? I mean, we could die,” James interrupted. “It’s like putting huge targets on our backs.”

“We could die no matter what, James.”

“I’ll do it,” Lily said suddenly.

“So will I,” James agreed. “Lily, maybe you shouldn’t. You’re muggleborn, you’re already in enough danger...” He trailed off when he saw her eyes flash.

“James Potter, if you think I’m going to let you go through this alone, then you’ve got a few very painful hexes in your future. I’ve got just as much a right to fight as you do, and you know for a fact that you’re in just as much danger as me. Everyone’s in danger right now. I’m fighting, and you can’t say anything to stop me. We’re in this together,” she snapped. “Besides, you don’t see Sirius telling Adi she can’t fight, do you?”

“Lily’s right, mate, I’m not that stupid,” he agreed. “So that’s a yes for both of you?”

“Yes,” Lily said firmly.

“I suppose,” James said grudgingly, clearly not liking the idea of Lily fighting at all.

“That’s settled then. Dumbledore will probably be contacting you soon enough. You’re both going to visit Mr. and Mrs. Evans over spring break, right?” Adi asked.

“Yes,” they said in unison, smiling at each other once again.

“I wouldn’t suggest telling them anything. They’d be worried about you for no real reason.”

“Don’t tell your parents either, James,” Sirius added. “You know how Mum would fuss. I definitely won’t be telling my parents...” They all laughed slightly.

“Well, I guess this is it guys,” Adi said, “we’ll be going straight from Hogwarts head first into war.”

Her words hung eerily in the silent room.

**********

“I don’t care what he is, I still don’t want to marry him!” Adi heard someone shout as she approached her dormitory. She shrugged and pushed the door open to find a very strange sight. Narcissa was sitting on her bed, sobbing, with a large box of tissues. Larissa Malfoy was pacing the floor with her arms crossed across her chest.

“You’re being ridiculous Cissy,” Malfoy sneered.

“I don’t care!” the other girl choked.

“Narcissa Black, I don’t want to hear any more of your blubbering. You should be proud! You have not only been chosen to continue a line of one of the most influential families in the wizarding world, but also carry on the superiority of blood that has forever defined our noble...” Narcissa interrupted her.

“You can take your ‘superiority of blood’, and shove it up your superior...”

“What’s going on here?” Adi asked, figuring she should make her presence known before Narcissa said something potentially life threatening.

“You!” Malfoy spat wildly, pointing a shaking finger at her. “Get out! This is all your fault! You, with your blood traitor boyfriend and your ludicrous ideas...”

“Excuse me?”

“You....poisoned her! All because you couldn’t do what it takes to be a respectable member of society! This is all your fault! Get out of my sight, reject!” Adi snorted. “What are you bloody laughing at?!”

“You’re just bitter because the only reason Evan Rosier’s father is asking your father for your hand in marriage is because mine isn’t around to sell me off anymore,” she laughed. Larissa had the ugliest look gracing her features as she slapped Adi across the face. Hard.

“No one’s here to protect you anymore, Mulciber,” she said in a deadly low growl. “You’ll get yours.”

“You first,” Adi muttered, clutching her stinging cheek as the other girl stalked across the room, slamming the door in her wake. “Cissy? What happened?”

“It’s official,” she said quietly. “I’m to marry Lucius Malfoy on October 25th.” She was quiet for a moment before breaking down into a fresh wave of tears. Adi sat down on the bed beside her, handing her a tissue.

“Why don’t you just leave?” she asked quietly.

“I can’t, Adi! My family is all I have, I can’t let them down. Meda’s already left, Sirius left too. I can’t leave, it would tear them apart.”

“Cissy, they don’t care! You’re real estate to them! They didn’t give a **** when Meda left, and you know it. They just didn’t want their image ruined. They were relieved when Sirius left, glad to have finally gotten rid of the Gryffindor. Is that family really worth marrying a man you despise?” She didn’t answer. “You’re a coward.”

“You can’t understand,” she said stubbornly.

“Maybe not,” Adi admitted. “But I just hope you come to your senses before October.” She crossed the room to look in the mirror appraisingly, fingering her bloodshot cheek. “Urgh, this is going to leave a mark.”

[beki14]

Hello wonderful folks! I'm very sorry this isn't a post, but I need to explain why I'm not posting when I am very obviously writing. You see, I am currently in the middle of a mad posting streak on my other fic, Always Remember What You Can't Forget (link's in my sig, wink wink), because I only have six more posts until it's finished and I want to get started on the sequel. After I finish (should be next week sometime), it will be this fic's turn for mad posting, since it's nearing completion as well. I may post this weekend or next week sometime if I get completely sick of Always, but since the next post is a cliffie, I think you may be glad I'm holding off.

Progress on this fic's sequel is going very well. I think you guys are really going to like it, I know I do. Especially if you're a Sirius lover. Well, I think that's all the rambling for today.

Lots of love,
Becky

[beki14]

Well, I was going to wait until I had a long update (or at least a complete one) before I updated, but I figured I might as well just post what I had. So, here's the shortest and most depressing update ever...


“Padfoot, hurry up,” James shouted from the window of a train compartment. Sirius, who was still out on the platform saying goodbye to Adi, waved a hand in his general direction.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he said carelessly. They were both going with Lily to meet the Evans’s, although Sirius was planning on looking around for flats. At least he told everyone he was looking for a flat, when he was actually looking for a small cottage in the country.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?” he asked, turning back to Adi.

“Don’t be silly, Sirius, I’ll be fine,” she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

“Then why are you crying?” he asked gently, tilting her chin up so that she looked directly into his eyes.

“I’m just being stupid, it’s nothing,” she answered, smiling unconvincingly.

“Adi,” he warned.

“Oh alright! I’m worried you’re going to get yourself hurt and that I’ll never see you again!” she admitted.

Sirius softened, pulling her into a comforting hug. She clung to him as though she was hoping never to let go. “Hey,” he whispered. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be with Prongs and Lily the whole time, and no one’s going to bother me.”

“I know,” she said. “I just don’t like being away from you, that’s all.”

“I wish you could come.”

“Me too,” she forced a smile. “Okay, you’d better get going. Have a good time.”

He ran his thumb along her cheek lightly. “I love you. Come here.” He kissed her gently until they heard the warning whistle blow.

“I love you,” Adi said quickly. “Be careful.”

“Always,” he said, kissing her quickly again. “Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

“PADFOOT!”

“I’m coming, James!” He turned towards the train, only to turn back around to kiss Adi one last time. “I’ll see you in two weeks. Oh d***, it’s moving!” James and Lily pulled him into their compartment just before the train really started to pick up steam. He immediately poked his head out the window to wave. Adi giggled slightly and waved back. When she was out of sight, Sirius slumped back in his seat, sighing loudly. “I feel really guilty about leaving her there.”

Lily laid a hand on his shoulder. “Sirius, you know she can’t leave the school. She’s in too much danger.”

“I know,” he said. “But I could have stayed there. I would have, but I really need to...er...get something.”

They both looked confused. “Get something?”

“Yeah,” he answered illusively. “Never mind that now. You think she’ll be okay, don’t you?”

“Of course,” James replied confidently. “Dumbledore wouldn’t let anything happen to Hogwarts.”

“Yeah, Dumbledore...”

“How about a game of....” James trailed off at the sound of raised voices in the hallway. Sirius instinctively pulled out his wand, but James stopped him. “That sounds like Moony.”

Poking their heads out of their compartment door, the three saw the person yelling was indeed Remus. He and Elaine were standing about five feet away from each other, both bellowing. James, Lily, and Sirius shared startled glances. Elaine’s face was bright red, and Remus’s hair was messed up, as though he’d been gripping it in frustration.

“Looks like Lily’s not the only one with the red-head temper,” Sirius muttered.

“See, look at that!” Elaine cried wildly, pointing in the direction of James and Lily, who were holding hands. “Why can’t we be like those two?!”

“Oh gee, I don’t know, maybe it’s because their families know about their relationship!” Remus snapped back.

“Is THAT what this is about? BLOODY HELL REMUS, MY BROTHERS WOULD KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!”

“WELL, YOU’VE GOT TO TELL THEM SOMETIME ELAINE!” Remus screamed back.

“WHY?”

“Why? WHY? WHY DO YOU THINK!? WHAT WERE YOU PLANNING?”

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! I can’t tell them until I have a good reason to!”

“A good reason? A GOOD REASON? Isn’t the fact that we’ve been together since the beginning of the year a good enough reason?!” he spat angrily.

“YEAH, AND IN THAT TIME, WHERE HAS THIS RELATIONSHIP GONE? I’ll tell you where. NOWHERE! We’ve been at this standstill for ages now, and you’re not doing anything to fix it!”

“Well, if you’d just tell me what you want, maybe it would help!” he said in aggravation. “Do you want me to say that I’ll marry you? Is that what you bloody want?”

“NO!” she screamed, quite beside herself. “I don’t want to marry you!”

“You don’t?” he asked, his expression a strange combination of both extreme relief and deep hurt. She shook her head nervously. “Is it because of what I am?” he asked, resigned. Her temper flared again.

“Of course it’s not because of what you bloody are! When are you going to get it through your thick skull that NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOUR BLOODY FURRY LITTLE PROBLEM! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO REALIZE THAT NONE OF US CARE! YOU’RE REMUS, EVEN WHEN YOU’RE FURRY. I DON’T WANT TO MARRY YOU BECAUSE I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!” The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she regretted them immediately after seeing Remus’s stricken face. He opened his mouth, made an odd choking noise, then turned sharply and ran off. Elaine bolted in the other direction, pushing through the crowd that had gathered with tears in her eyes.

Lily, James, and Sirius were all staring at the spot they were standing before they finally came to their senses. “Wow,” Lily murmured weakly. “Have you ever seen Remus in such a temper before?”

“Once,” Sirius said darkly. “I’m just glad I’m not on the receiving end this time.” They all lapsed into thoughtful silence.

“We’d better go after them!” James exclaimed suddenly.

“I’ll take Elaine,” Lily muttered half-heartedly.

“We’ll take Moony,” Sirius muttered with equal trepidation.

When Sirius and James found Remus in a compartment about halfway down the train, Peter was already there, transfiguring a steady stream of glass trinkets for him to hurl against the wall. The other two boys took a deep breath before opening the door and dodging a crystal canary sent flying at their heads.

“I just,” smash, “don’t get,” smash, “why she,” smash, “is only telling me this now.” Crash!

“Alright Moony, enough of the breakable objects,” Sirius interrupted, snatching away the flower vase Peter was offering him and transfiguring it back into a cat. “Why don’t you sit down and take a deep breath, alright?”

“Yes, right, deep breath,” Remus muttered distractedly, flopping unceremoniously into a seat and running a hand through his disheveled hair. “Well, that was fun,” he snorted humorlessly.

“What happened?” Peter whispered to James.

“Elaine and him just had a huge public fight,” he whispered back. He turned to Remus. “Mate, what was that all about?”

“She’s right,” he murmured, not paying attention to James’s question. “We haven’t been going anywhere.” He looked up at his friends, as though just noticing that they were there. “You remember that day in Dumbledore’s office, when you and Adi had just got back? When her brother came through the fire, and he looked surprised to see me holding her hand?” They nodded, clearly wondering where this was going. “I started thinking about it then, because I realized she hadn’t told her family about us, and I wondered why. I never said anything, but it was always in the back of my mind.”

“Moony, why don’t you just go try and talk it out...” Sirius started.

“What good will it do? You heard her, she doesn’t love me anymore.”

“She could have been just saying that though.”

“No, she wasn’t. Elaine doesn’t just say things like that,” he said sadly. “The thing is, I don’t think I love her anymore either. I just stayed with her because she was so great about the whole,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “werewolf thing.” He snorted. “I thought maybe I’d have a chance for a normal life, you know? A wife, a family...”

“Remus,” James interrupted.

“Don’t, James,” Remus said before he could comfort him. “I know. Maybe someday, right?” He turned his gaze to the window. “Maybe someday...”

[beki14]

Well, you guys said you wanted short and pathetic over nothing, so here you go. Short and pathetic:


A few hours later, Lily, James, and Sirius had both just apparated with three loud pops into the Evans’s garage. Sirius was already inspecting her father’s car, and James had taken a broom off the wall and was trying to hover on it. Lily just sat down on the steps and put her head in her hands.

“James, muggle brooms don’t fly. Sirius, you’ve seen a car plenty of times before.”

“What’s the point of a broom that doesn’t fly?” James asked. He looked as though it was beyond his understanding.

“You clean with it. Here,” she got up and motioned for the broom, sweeping up some dirt on the floor into a little pile.

“Wow...” James and Sirius said in unison, looking like she’d just showed them the cure for cancer. She rolled her eyes.

“LILY!” A pretty blond woman with emerald green eyes rushed into the garage, scooping her youngest daughter into a hug.

“Hi Mum!” she squealed back. A man who must have been her father came out of the doorway next, standing next to his wife and waiting his turn to hug his daughter. He was taller, with thinning, dark red hair, a horse-like face, and kind blue eyes. “Daddy!” Lily exclaimed, untangling herself from her mother and jumping into her father’s arms.

“Lily flower, it’s so good to see you again!” he said, swinging her around like a rag doll. “We missed you at Christmas, you know.”

“I missed you too,” she said once her feet were back on the ground. “I want you to meet my boyfriend, James, and...” she stopped short, turning around to see Sirius standing alone where both he and James had been just a second ago.

Mr. Evans was eying Sirius’s leather jacket suspiciously, and his frown deepened when his wife giggled and blushed while saying, “It’s nice to meet you, James.” Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but she just plowed on. “Lily has told us so much about you!”

“Mum...” Lily began. Sirius was looking at her father wearily.

“Now, boy, exactly what are your intentions with my daughter?” Mr. Evans asked suddenly. “Because I will not have her riding around on the back of some grease monkey’s motorbike. Lily’s a good girl, and you and your leather jacket have no place in her life if you’re just going to break my baby’s heart.”

“Dad!”

“Now, now, Lily, I’m just trying to do what’s best for you. I’ve seen his type, and I know all about them. Now I’m sure he’s as charming as they come, but when it gets down to commitment, he’ll just run in the other direction faster than you can say...”

“THAT’S NOT JAMES!”

There was a moment of tense silence before both elder Evans’s whispered, “Oh...”

Lily rolled her eyes, turning to Sirius and asking, “Where is James, anyway?”

Sirius gave her a look that clearly communicated ‘cold feet’ before saying, “He said something about making sure the area was secure. I’ll go find him.” He winked before heading towards the back door, yelling, “Prongs, get your tush in here!”

“So, who was that?” Mr. Evans asked immediately.

“Sirius Black, a dear friend of mine,” Lily answered. “He lives with James, so he had to come along too. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is,” her mother answered. “Tell me, is James as handsome as him?”

Snorting at the vein twitching in her father’s neck, she answered, “I happen to think James is very handsome. And Daddy, you got Sirius all wrong. He’s not a grease monkey, and he’s definitely not a commitment phobic.”

He scoffed. “Serious, what kind of names is that. Does he have a brother named Joking?”

“S-I-R-I-U-S, like the star. And he does have a brother named Regulus. And a cousin named Andromeda. And another cousin named Bellatrix, but you wouldn’t want to meet her, believe me. And...”

“Don’t try to understand their kind, Father, it’ll just make your head hurt,” a cold voice interrupted. Lily sighed, looking up to see her older sister standing in the doorway. “Hello Lily,” she continued, saying her name like it was the dirtiest word ever invented. “I see you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence.”

“Hello Petunia,” Lily replied tiredly. There was a lot she wanted to say, but she held her tongue for the sake of her parents. Unfortunately, Petunia wasn’t as thoughtful.

Petunia opened her mouth, most likely to reply with some scathing remark, but was interrupted by Sirius returning with James in tow. “Oh good. Mum, Dad, this is the actual James Potter.”

While James shook her mother’s hand, explaining that he had been making sure there were sufficient wards on the house, Lily swore she heard her father mutter, “At least there’s no leather jacket...”

“Lils, who’s the horse?” Sirius asked her quietly while Mr. Evans interrogated James.

Lily smirked, “That is Petunia.”

He raised an eyebrow. “She’s your sister?”

“Unfortunate, isn’t it?” She was struck by sudden inspiration. “I bet she’d like you...”

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, you see, despite the fact that my sister is engaged to an oversized pig with no neck, I suspect she’s always had a certain thing for boys is leather...” she said innocently.

He looked down at her with pride, the patented Marauder smirk making an appearance. “Lily Evans, you’re cruel. Cruel, and brilliant...”

Petunia had no idea what she was in for.

[beki14]

Alright guys, this is the last post. I know it’s horribly rushed and I could have done much better, but I really don’t care. I really want to write the sequel, and to do that, I need to finish this first. And the only way I think I can is to just get it over with. Another thing: This chapter will leave you with a lot of unanswered questions, but it will all be explained in the sequel, I promise. I actually really like this post. So just bear with my wafflings, and if you feel like it, review one last time. And hopefully you’ll all stick around to read the sequel. You never know, it could be fun. *hugs and kisses* I love you guys all so much, so this post goes out to you. And hopefully you don’t mind the rambling about love at the end. After all, I think we could all learn a thing or two from love.

WARNING!: Extreme cliff hanger at the end! Be aware of falling plots! Don’t hurt yourself! Yes, I’m ending with a cliffhanger, I know, I’m mean. I always wanted to do this...




Petunia Evans was not happy.

Her freak of a sister had reached a new low, bringing her freak of a boyfriend and his freak of a friend to the house when she knew Vernon would be there. If he knew about this... abnormality... well, Petunia didn’t know what she would do. She knew she’d have to tell him someday, but she would prefer it to be when they were good and married, and he had no chance of running off. But if these ‘run-ins’ kept happening, she would have no choice. Vernon would surely notice something.

One of these days, Lily would get what she deserved.

Petunia only hoped it was soon.

*************

September knelt down beside the couch Regulus had fallen asleep on in the Common Room, covering him gently with a blanket. He’d been summoned for the third time this week, and had returned white and shaking, collapsed on the couch, and promptly drifted off. She was just glad his usual nightmares had seemed to disappear, even if only for tonight.

She took his left hand in her own, gently tracing the grotesque skull that was still an angry shade of black. This small tattoo was the source of all his problems. If only she could find a way to help him...

With a sigh filled with anguish and frustration, she smoothed some of the hair off his forehead, kissing him gently on the cheek.

“I’ll find a way, Regulus,” she whispered to herself as much as him. “I’ll find a way for us to be together.”

*************

Adi walked down a darkened corridor on her way to the dungeons the day before Sirius and the others were due back at Hogwarts, feeling slightly less miserable than she had for the past two weeks. Only a few more hours, and she’d be able to see him again. She knew it was silly to be so upset over a couple of weeks apart, but when people disappeared every day, those couple of weeks began to feel like an eternity. But she was safe, and she knew that was better for both of them in the long run.

As though just to prove her wrong, a hand snaked out of the shadows and clasped itself around her mouth. The owner of the hand whispered in a silky voice very close to her ear, “Don’t struggle, or I’ll have to kill you, and I’d really rather not.”

So much for being safe...

*************

Sirius was laying on the bed set up for him at the Evans’ house, staring at a small box with a slight smile on his face. Inside the box was a simple silver band with a single diamond on it. He was contemplating exactly what words to use when giving this ring to it’s rightful owner when an ashen faced Lily threw the door open, clutching a piece of parchment in her hand.

“Where?” Sirius asked automatically, wondering what damage the newest attack had caused.

“Hogwarts,” she replied, her voice breaking. “Sirius... Adi’s missing.”

*************

Albus Dumbledore sighed, a single tear slipping down his cheek. A student had been taken from right under his nose. A student he’d promised to protect no less. And the only explanation he could think of was that she had been taken by another student.

There was not much that the headmaster had not seen in his life, but explaining to a group of friends that they may never see one of their loved ones alive again was something he’d never get used to.

One thing was for certain though, he thought to himself as he watched four young men and a young woman leave his office, looking torn between anger, fear, and terrible, terrible sadness. As long as there was an ounce of hope left, he’d do everything he could to find Adrianna Mulciber and bring her back to the people who loved her. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

It wasn’t often that Albus Dumbledore wished for something, but right now, all he wanted was a miracle.

*************

Lily burst into the Marauder’s dormitory with James right on her heels, Remus and Peter a half a pace behind them. Sirius, who had been staring blankly out the window, didn’t even look up. Instead, he spoke in a voice void of any emotion, an exact opposite of what he was feeling. “I know she’s not dead. She can’t be dead. I’d feel it if she was.”

“Well, get up then,” James replied.

Sirius finally turned his head to look at them inquiringly. “What?”

“We’re going to look for Adi,” James responded. “And we figured you might like to help.”

“James, we have no idea where she is,” he replied, allowing for the first time a bit of the desperation he felt to escape. “She could be anywhere.”

“True.” It was Lily who spoke this time. “But only one place would really make sense.”

His head snapped up quickly, and he had to resist the urge to smack himself in the forehead. Of course... “Ravenclaw Manor.”

They all nodded, and then Lily added, “We already told Dumbledore, and he agrees. He’s sent his people over there as well, but he wants us to go in first. I think he knows we need to, for ourselves as much as anyone else.”

Sirius nodded wordlessly, stuffed his wand in his back pocket, and was halfway to the door when he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Wait just a second,” he said. “Before we leave, there’s something we need to do.”

“What?” Lily asked impatiently.

“We’re about to face the most feared wizard of our time, and most of you can’t even say his name.”

“Sirius, we don’t have time...” James started, but stopped at the look on his best friend’s face.

“We need to do this,” he continued quietly. “I don’t know what we’re about to face, and neither do any of you, but we need to at least show this ******* that we’re not afraid. A name, is just that; a name. It’s a word, nothing more. Now I know that no one standing in this room is a coward, so why should we be afraid of a name?” His resolve seemed to harden even more as he met every one of their eyes and said in a clear, strong voice, “Voldemort.”

After a moment of silence so thick you could’ve heard a pin drop, James whispered in a quavering voice, “Voldemort.” He then cleared his throat, repeating the name loudly.

Remus came next, saying, “Voldemort,” with just the slightest crack in his voice.

Peter, nodding slightly, looked up at his friends with a resigned look, watery eyes lacking their usual timidness. “Voldemort.”

All four Marauders then turned to Lily, looking at her expectantly. Smiling only slightly, she echoed the name of the man who could spell the end of the wizarding world with no hesitation whatsoever. “Voldemort.”

“Alright then,” Sirius said, “let’s go.”

And as Lily followed the Marauders down the stairs leading to the Common Room, she realized she had just seen four boys turn into men before her very eyes. She realized that the four of them shared something that she would never fully understand, something that no one could ever compete with, and that for right now, nothing in this world could break the bond between them. She realized a lot of things on that long walk towards the statue of the one-eyed witch that would lead them to a place where they could apparate, but mostly, she realized that she was walking into all of her worst nightmares come true, and that she didn’t really care.

She knew now that nothing really mattered except the people she loved, and what held them together. She finally understood, after seeing the spark that ignited in Sirius’s eyes at the thought that the one person he loved more than any other may be alive, that love was more precious than any other gift life could give. She finally understood, after feeling the way James kept a death grip on her hand as they walked on, that when you find love, you have to hold on with every ounce of strength you have. And she knew with every fiber of her being that Voldemort was no match for that kind of love. Nothing could ever triumph over something so pure, so all-encompassing, so true.

It was an odd sort of comfort to know that no matter what happened, no matter what she lost, there was one thing that would always be with her. Nothing could ever take love out of her life if she didn’t allow it to be taken. Perhaps, she thought, that love is the guiding force in the souls of everyone and everything, and that once in a while, love just needs to be put to a test. Perhaps Voldemort is just a way of determining who has the strength to follow the paths their hearts determine.

Perhaps Lily was just trying to find some speck of comfort in what seemed to be a hopeless time, but if that was the case, was that really so bad? Of the many things that love is, isn’t it most of all the comfort of knowing that someone out there cares? And looking at James, Lily knew that he loved her just as much as she loved him. And that was enough for her, because that was the only thing that truly mattered.

Love was the only thing that truly mattered. And maybe, just maybe, love would be enough.

[beki14]

The sequel is finally up! You may find it here: The Silence Is Laughing

Enjoy?