Hello to all my readers! Thanks for your patience and, well, the fact that you read my work! I'm starting a big "spring cleaning" in my story, and soon all my chapters will be punctuated "English style". I'll also try correcting the most pathetic of my mistakes. To those of you who have just discovered this story, please read the most you can, and take the time to review! Small messages are welcome, harsh ones too (as long as they're constructive) and would be very appreciated! So, enjoy :)

Oh yeah, chapter 1 has been slightly modified. Just a few details that didn't fit with the rest of my story, seeing that I wrote down a plan only after I had finished my 15th chapter...

Silence fell upon the crowded room as Dumbledore entered it. The Weasley's stopped their arguing about who would have Bill's room now he had left the house, Lupin and Tonks silenced the whispers that had been following them for over a month, and Sirius stopped short in the middle of the story relating his miraculous escape from Azkaban. Everyone in the room turned around, staring at the old man, who's eyebrows were more frowned than ever. As if not noticing the dozens of stares, he calmly walked down to the table and sat down in the Master chair that stood at it's end. Answering a silent command, everybody sat down into their respective places. Finally escaping his thoughts, he came back to reality, and a little smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "My dear friends," he said, "I am glad to see that you have managed to join me here tonight. Thought the times may seem as dark as ever, it would be false to claim that we are not progressing." Everyone around Dumbledore felt a wave of remorse submerging them. During the last weeks, doubt had fallen upon the Order, as it seemed that no matter how much efforts they put into their work, it had no repercussions on the exterior world. Each and every member of the noble club had narrowly escaped from Death about ten times in the last days, but still, their efforts seemed vain. The wizards of the world were as divided as ever, and the number of Voldemort's victims kept increasing. And even though this good news was more than welcome, it seamed to all that they ought to be ashamed of abandoning so quickly. After all, it had taken to the last Order of the Phoenix years to vanquish the Dark Lord, and the task that laid ahead of them seemed as harsh, if not harsher, than the one they faced 14 years ago.

"A new member has recently joined the Order," he continued, "and she has realized something amazing during the few days she has been a with us. I… well actually, I think I shall let her announce it herself." He turned around presenting a silhouette lost in the shadows, standing next to Snape, who had silently entered the room shortly after Hogwart's headmaster. The silhouette didn't want to leave the cover of darkness, and it is only when Severus took it's hand that it accepted to move forward. She stepped under the old dusty candelabra and the whole room saw her shy expression, her long hair and her stunning robes, that looked more like a dress than the usual wizard clothing. The silence was finally broken by none other than Sirius, who sneered. "You're ex-girlfriend! You are going to help join next, you're mother?"

"No," replied Snape, "if I remember correctly, she passed out a few hours after bringing your own mother to the grave. And you can take the "ex" off…"

"You mean," said Sirius, "roaring with laughter, that she forgot that you ditched her for Voldemort?"

The newly arrived woman had passed from simple timidity to what seemed to be a nervous breakdown. She was hardly keeping back her tears as she spoke. "I haven't forgotten, I've forgiven. We've all done errors in our past… That's why I came back… I was even ready to give you another chance, but it seemed that you just missed it. It's a shame, after all, Remus turned out just fine…"

"Giving me a second chance? Why would I need that," answered Sirius, apparently furious at her.

"Ha!" laughed his newly-arrived opponent, gaining confidence by the second, "you seem to have a very short memory! You remember were I was at prom night, so I assumed you would've known were I was a few months before, but I seemed to have over-estimated your capacity of accepting things you've always denied!"

She was now screaming at Sirius, her two fists on the table, her face inches away from his. The tension was filling the room, and as Snape pulled her back to him, Dumbledore spoke again. "Well, after this quite lovely reunion, it is my pleasure to announce to you that thanks to these two, we know have none less than eight enemies out of our way." Everyone gasped. Compared to the recent inaction that had invaded their ranks, this seemed absolutely incredible. Tonks, trying to reach for something on the table near the fireplace, knocked down a lamp and as vase, causing the general silence that had fallen upon the room since Dumbledore's appearance to vanish. Everyone got up, reaching for the couple, giving them their thanks and asking for details. Snape, who had always been left out of the fun, and his new associate, who had never even entered that room before, we're feeling quite awkward at first, but soon, they were perfectly at ease with the situation. The multiple cheers of Fire Whiskey had relaxed the ambiance, and everyone was talking joyfully until someone screamed from the back of the room. "ANOTHER DEATH EATER!" Sirius had risen from his chair, and was pointing at the girl's arm. Her sleeve has fallen in the mess, and now everyone could see the Dark Mark burnt into her flesh. "Blimey Dumbledore, you have to stop letting them in, or else they won't be a single good person left in this Order."

"With all due respect Sirius," replied Dumbledore, turning away from Harry and Hermione to face the Animagi, "I would ask you to stop searching for trouble! So as Severus, she has quited the ranks of Voldemort to join us. And," he continued, as Sirius tried to add something, "if you need proof of her loyalty, I can show you my memories of what was left of those Death Eaters. You'll see, even a man as cruel Voldemort wouldn't have ordered that against his own troupes."

"Well, I still think you should try hiring people we know have NEVER been in contact with the Dark Arts."

"Are you trying to tell me you want to quit? Sirius, the Black blood runs into your veins, you are the descendant of the vilest family of wizards of all times. Now I know you've turned your back to your family ages ago, but so did they."

"Snape may have, but I don't reckon seeing her last time."

"Thalia worked undercover for the Order ever since it was created, ever before Snape did, only for personal reasons she has not showed it to anyone, not even the member's of the Order. When she finally accepted to present herself and forget the past, it was too late… The war was over…"

Sirius, unable to say anything else, sat back down, and the conversations continued, but the room was ice cold. Suddenly, Harry grasped Hermione's arm. She turned to face him, and saw his eyes widened with shock. "Hermione," he whispered, "my parents! She wouldn't show herself until my parents died …"

"That's probably not it Harry, maybe she just…" started Hermione.

"No! She decided that she forgave them something, but then they died!" Harry interrupted.

"HARRY! Stop blaming your father for any little not-so-great thing that happened in England! I know it's been a shock to realize we wasn't as nice as everyone told you, but he's not responsible for every sad event in this world!"

"Well for once, it seems that Mr. Potter would have guessed correctly."

Harry and Hermione jumped. They hadn't realized Snape had been a few feet away from them all the time, and now Hermione was turning red. "What do you mean?" asked Harry. "It's … she didn't want to see my father?" Snape nodded, and was about to turn away, when the young boy grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around. "No, don't leave… Why? What did he do to her? I mean …"

"Harry, it's a quite long story," replied the teacher, "and luckily for you she decided to forget it and to give you the benefit of doubt. Now if you could please let go of my arm…"

"NO! I WANT TO KNOW! Sirius, you tell me, what did my father do to her?"

Once again, the room fell silent. The adults were staring at each other, their eyes widened with fear. It appeared clearly that everyone, especially Thalia, wanted to avoid the subject, but Harry kept asking: "What happened Sirius?"

"Oh nothing," answered Sirius, "it's just that your father played a little joke on her and that it turned out a little wrong…"

"A JOKE!!! Sirius, James nearly raped me!"

"Nearly raped you… Just a few kisses and…"

"A FEW KISSES? Well it seems that James has proven once more that he was a bloody liar! You perfectly know what happened that night!" Thalia raged against the man.

" Listen, it may have seemed terrible at first but..."

"But what?" Thalia burst. "How can you possibly diminish such a horrid act!?"

"Remus, please help me, James was as much your friend as mine."

"I'm sorry Sirius," said the werewolf, "but you know how mad I was at James after that. If only I had knew what I had done... He wasn't so proud of it either…"

Harry felt his heart sink. His father, a rapist? He knew he had never been an angel, and that he could sometimes even be a bit cruel, but he never could of imagine his father doing something as terrible. His friends saw that he wanted to be comforted, but none of them could. They had all talked to that girl, who was as sweet as heavens, and none of them could dare to approach the son of the man who had destroyed her life. But Sirius just kept going on. "If it was so terrible then, what did you come back?"

"Well that's a great question Sirius," joked Thalia, "5 points to Gryffondor! Actually, it's what I've been asking myself since I arrived! What do you think it is?"

"Because," answered calmly Sirius, "you know deep down inside that it's the right thing."

"Exactly. But that reason seems very well hidden right now, because no matter how hard I try, I can't find it. You've got to understand me Sirius, it's killing me to be in here, because the only persons that ever harmed me are standing this room. And what am I doing? I'm helping these persons to stop the only ones who ever understood and comforted me! You think it was easy for me to kill Averey? He passed entire nights by my bed, trying to stop me from crying. Now I know," she added as Sirius tried to stop her, "deep down inside, that James Potter was a brave man who fought for the ones he loved and that Voldemort is evil and heartless, but James is the one who told me I was filthy and Voldemort is the one who convinced me I was still worth something. So try explaining to me why I'm trying to eliminate the second one."

There was a short silence, while everyone in the room tried to mend with the walls. Then Sirius, who was now pale and silent said: "Because you know," he added in a whisper, staring at his feet, "that it's the right thing."

"Yes. So don't make me forget it."

***

Lying on his bed, Harry was staring at the ceiling. Beside him, Ron was playing chess with Fred, while Ginny and Hermione were talking about a new shop that had oppened on Diagon Alley, but he could see they were as interested in this shop as he was. Everyone was throwing shy looks at him, until he finally expressed himself. "I can't believe it." It was of no help. No one answered, and the room fell silent, the girls realizing there was no way of lightening the atmosphere. Finally, Ginny risked herself . "I know it must be hard to accept," she said, "but remember, you're not responsible for it. Whatever Sirius and Snape may think, you're not like him at all. And you heard her, she forgave him." For Harry, it was too much. Tears started running down his cheeks, and as he silently sobbed he said : "I know… I know. But still, it's not only him. Sirius, and Remus, they were both there, they were both his friend. And they accepted it. And it's not like if it was Snape or another idiot, she's …"

"Harry," said Ron, "calm down, it's the past, everyone forgot it and it's best if you leave it behind."

"Blimey Ron, think, I can't leave it behind !!! What would you think if your father was a rapist? Could you just leave it behind?"

He said these words with such hater that Ron seemed to shrink back to his place. Suddenly, a shy voice came from the door. "Harry , can I see you for a second?"

Everyone in the room turned around, and they saw Thalia in the doorway. The reunion was over, or so it seemed, and they started hearing voices downstairs. Actually, it seemed like a miracle that they had managed to hear her voice over the scrapping of the chairs and the sounds of Mrs. Weasley cooking. Harry quickly answered, and he left the room, four pair of eyes staring at him. The second he closed the door, the conversations started. "Great! " the boy thought. "Now even my friends hate me!" But he understood them. Even he wanted Harry to leave the room. It had finally happened, but as he stared into Thalia's brown eyes, he felt like he wanted to die. "It won't be long, just… do you mind if we go somewhere a little more… private?" His heart started to beat faster. She wanted to take revenge and kill him, that's why she had came here today. His mouth was dry, and he didn't answer, but she started climbing up the stairs anyways, assuming he would follow her. He did.

They stopped at the last floor, where there were only two doors. She entered the right one, and he followed. It seemed like every inch of the room was covered with green. The green walls were covered with green Slytherin posters, and the green bed had pale green snakes drawn all over it. It seemed strange that such a room was in the Headquarters of the Order, but then again, the Black house didn't seem like the most appropriate place to fight the Dark Lord. Thalia sat on the bed, like she was used to it, and invited Harry to sit beside her. "I'm sorry, were going to have to use Regulus' room. I don't think Sirius would like me too spread my Death Eater air all over the place." Harry smiled, but she didn't. She had pronounced these words very coldly, with all the loathing in the world. Harry, still uncomfortable with all the dark objects spread a little everywhere around the room, answered. "Well he already let you into his house, I guess he wouldn't mind if you entered his room for a few minutes…" She laughed. "Alright then," she admitted, "I'll put it this way: I don't think I want to see Sirius' stupid Gryffondor banners spread out all over the place, showing how truly courageous he was, not more than I want to see pictures of him with his Gryffondor friends, doing little Gryffondor stuff all over the place." It seemed to Harry that Snape had a little bit of competition: as mean as he was, he had never heard so much disgust in his voice at the use of the word Gryffondor.

She breathed deeply and said : "Look Harry, I'm just here to say this: don't feel guilty for you father's acts. He was the world's biggest… He wasn't very nice, but everyone told me you were as sweet as your mother, so I'm sure we could go along. But still… please understand every time I see you, I see him, so it'll be quite hard to forget. Don't make on purpose to get in trouble or to be in my face all the time."

"Wait, you knew my mother?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Then why did you stop yourself from coming back to the Order if she was there?"

"Harry," she said bitterly, "your mother was nice to me, but I hated her. Less than your father, it is true, but I still couldn't stand being in the same room as her."

Silence fell in the small bedroom, and Harry, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute, tried leaving. It seemed now that facing his friends strange looks would be easier than standing Thalia's silence. "Okay well, thanks, and I'm really sorry we had to meat that way… I was an idiot asking… And don't be scared, I won't see you much, I'll be in Hogwarts anyways, so…"

"You mean no one told you?"

"Told me what?"

"I'm going to be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

When he came back to his room, Fred and Ginny were gone, but Hermione and Ron were waiting there, anxious looks on their faces. "So? Hermione asked, what'd she say?"

"Nothing really."

He pulled a chair beside the bed and sat on it, facing his two friends. "She just told me that I shouldn't take blame for what my father did, but still not do on purpose to follow her all the time." Ron and Hermione's face suddenly looked a bit disappointed. Harry quickly understood why. "Look," he said, a bit exasperated, "what were you expecting? That she would explain to me in detail every bit of her story?"

"Well not really, but… I don't know, you've been up there an awfully long time…"

"We wasted most of the time going up the stairs," Harry answered, laughing.

"KIDS, DINNER'S READY!!!" Mrs. Weasly called from a few stories below. They quickly got up and rushed downstairs, mostly because they were starving, but also because they had enough of the awkward silences. When they entered the kitchen, they found Tonks and Mrs. Weasly preparing the plates, and they offered to help. A few minutes later, they were standing outside, in the cool summer breaze, giving out the meals to the members of the order who had accepted to stay for the night. This time they were very few, and the usual gests weren't there. Remus had this time declined Mrs. Weasley's offer, claiming he had some mysterious job to do. Sirius, grumpier than ever, had locked himself in his room, and Dumbledore had left half way through the reunion. And, no surprise, Snape, Mundugus and the usual loners were absent.

PS: Everything is corrected now. I just hate erasing messages...