Shanghaied: to enroll or obtain (a sailor) for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means, as by force or the use of liquor or drugs.
The chair was cushy, and a cocoon of warmth encircled her by means of a very soft blanket. She breathed deeply, not quite fully conscious but in a half hazy state listening with sensitive ears to her surroundings. There were other mouth breathers in the room, and they were whispering, but whispering what she couldn't make out. The smells she breathed in weren't familiar as a place she would normally sleep, the distinct tickle of dust and mildew reached her allergy-prone sinuses and she longed to sneeze but the feeling wouldn't build properly.
Opening her eyes carefully, she tried to blink away the bleariness making it hard to see, only to realize she wasn't wearing her glasses. There were slightly visible blobs to her left, like pillars with stacked portions; brown, black, and matching orange tops, greens and blues and pinks in the middle, and blues and browns on the bottom. She decided they might be people, what with the way they swayed and moved so oddly, and she squinted trying to will her eyes into focusing. Deciding in the presence of others it would be impolite to open her mouth in a huge yawn like she wanted to, so she settled for a smaller close-mouthed one.
"Hello?" she called out in a sleep stained groggy voice to the moving pillars. "Any one of you whispering blobs know where my glasses are at?"
"No, ma'am, you didn't come with any already on your face. Are they in your pocket?" asked a juvenile feminine voice in a hopeful tone.
She felt around in the pockets of her robe beneath the blanket, searching vainly for the much needed pair of lenses. Huffing in annoyance, she closed her eyes in hopes of abating the coming headache.
"Can you tell me where I am?" she asked the unknown people.
"Er… I'm not exactly sure we're allowed to tell - but you are safe," the same voice replied.
The sound of a door opening drew her listening attention, and a set of footsteps followed by the swishing of robes. There was tangible tension in the room, most likely due to its new occupant, who finally after a moment of silence decided to speak.
"Fawley wake up," the familiar male voice demanded.
"Shit, Severus, where am I?" Fawley demanded of one Severus Snape, who was coincidentally the last person she remembered seeing.
"The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix; due to your future . . . position," he sneered unpleasantly, "you will be subject to questioning and eventual admission into the Order. If you'll behave, I will return your glasses, however until your admission your wand will be kept."
Sighing and rubbing her face, she nodded and untangled a hand to finally receive her glasses. Taking a portion of the blanket she methodically rubbed the lenses to rid them of particles, checking every so often to mark progress. After a moment, in which Severus or the unknown people didn't move an inch, apparently entertained by her actions, she finally put the black frames on her face, blinking around at the room she was in. It was as dingy looking as it smelled, as if it had been around untouched for some time. On a wall was a large tapestry with names and faces all over it, and she realized where she was.
"How were you so sure I wouldn't have come on my own? Emmeline is a good friend of mine and I know she's in it so it can't be so terrible."
"Call it a hunch," he replied stoically.
She finally looked over at the four teenagers sitting in a row on the large sofa. Two of them had orange hair and a multitude of freckles, a boy and a younger girl most likely related, and even more likely Weasleys, a bookish looking girl with big brown eyes and even bigger brown bushy hair. Between her and the ginger boy was a familiar face from the papers over the past couple of years. Harry Potter with messy black hair, dark skin and bright green eyes stared apprehensively at the two adults through round boyish spectacles.
Standing and catching the blanket Fawley folded it and put it back in the chair, righted her forest green robes and smoothed down her hair to look presentable.
"Shall we then?" she asked Severus simply, motioning for the door.
He gave a curt nod and went out the door ahead of her. Fawley gave the foursome on the couch an almost comical look with a waggle of fingers that parodied a wave as she followed the dour man clad in black.
The house was in general dilapidated. It seemed like something one would find abandoned in the middle of nowhere, but Fawley knew very well that the Black House was surrounded by muggle development. There were people slowly appearing through various means. A portion of the room was set for apparition, the front door had several admissions, and the floo was streaming out people. Most of them she knew, some of them she recognized, and a few of them were new. Being the pure-blood daughter of an outstanding family in the Wizarding World meant she had been introduced to many different people in the Ministry, in the businesses her father invested in, her mother's friends, and their children. As close knit and as interwoven as the higher class social structure of the Wizarding World was, it was a simple feat to know the lineages and affiliations of almost every person in the room, hardly mentioning their blood status, last name, and occupation of nearly everyone in the room.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was the first in the room to recognize her as a familiar face and approached her to shake her hand. She took not of the eye contact approval he got from Severus to do so before actually making contact.
"Miss Fawley, how good to see you again!" he greeted her in his deep voice. She smiled genuinely at him, taking his hand in a firm shake. She'd been told her handshakes were like that of a man with twice the bearing.
"It's good to see you too Auror Shacklebolt, how have you been?" she asked, releasing his hand.
"I've been well enough in spite of this Voldemort ruckus. How have you been since - goodness it's been almost a year since we last spoke!"
"I've done well enough all things considered. The Blackwater negotiation is going smoothly enough; I have it on good word that we should reach a compromise suitable for everyone involved within the month. How has your mother been as of late, I'd heard about her heart scare recently?"
"Mother is doing much better now that she's doing as the Healers tell her to instead of smoking like a thousand dragon and eating her way through two cakes a day," he told her laughingly. They both grinned, with inside knowledge into the geriatric antics his mother got up to in her spare time when she wasn't terrorizing the Newspaper with Howlers about spelling and grammar mistakes. Out of the corner of her eye, Fawley could see Severus getting agitated and immediately sought to keep any outbursts from affecting her ability to communicate freely with her old acquaintance.
"It's wonderful to see you again, I'm sure we'll have another chance to catch up in the future," she told him diplomatically, waiting for him to begin his bow out before bowing out as well.
Aiming a side glance at Severus she raised her eyebrow in question.
"Our first time out in public and you immediately speak to another man, what will you do when this arrangement goes public and it's made known you are friendly with so many men?" he hissed, stepping closer so that no one would be privy to their words.
Keeping her face controlled and passive so as to not provoke him, Fawley replied in a hushed tone "I spoke to a well to do Head Auror and old friend who has no more interest in taking me off your hands than in the price of tea imports from Ecuador. Do allow me more credit in the future, I don't discriminate against gender while making and speaking with friends." He turned his nose up at her, reminding her of a child almost at once. "I don't pretend to be happy with my – our current situation however I will not have my carefully constructed social life turned to ruin because you can't get over yourself. My connections are all I have. Professional and perfectly reasonable in a platonic fashion, and you will hold your peace while I tend to them. They may prove us some good in the future."
Fawley turned away with an expression of subtle defiance and cold dismissal. She knew the man to be callous but jealousy would simply not do. Across the large foyer they occupied, her very good friend Emmeline Vance stood next to her husband and fellow Auror Markus. Walking through the crowd of people with a wide smile, Fawley swiftly stepped in beside her good friend, linking their arms while she was in mid conversation with another Order member. Emmeline looked surprised at seeing her friend here, looking up at her in slight confusion but happiness nevertheless and never faltered in her banter with the other woman. As soon as their conversation was over, Emmeline embraced Fawley warmly, grinning from ear to ear as she squeezed the taller woman with all her might.
"Echo I wasn't expecting you here! How are you? You look well enough to eat," Emmeline told her before putting her hands on her upper arms and squeezing lightly in a comforting gesture.
Echo Fawley smiled at her with a sparkle in her eye. "I'm alright; this Order business was unexpected but it shall have to do I suppose in light of the Blackwater arrangement."
"The Blackwater . . . ? Echo is everything a business arrangement to you?" Emmeline asked laughingly, knowing better.
"It's what it's been called since the contract began to take form; and it's the Manor in which we'll be staying after we sign," Echo let her eyes roam the other people in the room, making a split second of eye contact with Severus before returning to Emmeline's smiling face.
"How was the portion of the contract that concerned titles worked out by the way, you said there was a bump in the road?"
"Yes, it was quite funny to see his reaction; he thinks I'm trying to emasculate him of all things. As far as head of the household, distributer of funds, and breadwinner, I will be the 'husband'. He, as the overseer of the home, my second in command in terms of the funds and Head of House duties, will be the 'wife'. Really I could care less about it all but apparently it has a lot of legal bearing," Echo replied smoothly.
"Are you sure you're alright with this Echo? If you don't want to go through with this you haven't got to I'm sure you of all people can find a way to get out of any obligations you have as a Head of House," Emmeline pleaded with the older woman. She always had an air that signing this particular contract was a very bad idea, that surely there was another way.
"Emmeline, this is necessary. You'll see the reasoning behind my plan soon enough, but for now just trust me, alright?" After a moments silence in which Emmeline searched Echo's face for any sign of backing out, she conceded with a sigh and nodded. Echo smiled kindly. "Now tell me about this news I've heard about you having a little niece soon?"
The two women chatted amiably until Dumbledore called Echo away to a drawing room on the second floor.
"Miss Fawley, I hope you aren't too displeased with having been shanghaied so abruptly," Dumbledore asked, dipping in to what she knew to be his more grandfatherly persona.
"No, Headmaster, I knew it was to come eventually, however I am thankful I was whisked away at a time suitable to my busy schedule. Any other time and I may have had to resort to drastic measures to leave. I do control a lucrative business."
His eyes grew slightly stern, switching into a more commanding version of himself. "Do you accept what has to be done?"
She eyed him for a moment, considering. "If you mean going through with the contract and joining your little organization, then yes. Everything else, of course, is up in the air until I agree to it. I do have one final stipulation to our bargain."
"Go on," Dumbledore allowed, raising a busy eyebrow.
"I will teach Defense this year at Hogwarts."
They began a stare down. Echo challengingly looked him dead in the eye, keeping her Occlumency shields up, acknowledging the threat he was posing, feeling the brush of his magic on her minds wall. After what seemed like a decent amount of time, he nodded. They drew wands and made a low-key oath that it would be carried through, and with wands still raised in salute, came down to the main course of business.
"Echo Fawley do you swear to abide by the duties as a wife of an Order Member, following rules and upholding utmost secrecy of the members, plans, and interworking parts of the Order of the Phoenix?"
"I swear," she replied, feeling the rush of magic around her.
"Do you, Echo Fawley, swear to attend all possible Order Meetings regardless of subject or importance?"
"I swear." The second rush of magic that followed was stronger.
"And do you, Echo Fawley swear to carry out any and all Order missions given to you to the best of your ability, ensuring the safety and care of Muggles and Muggleborns involved in these missions?"
"I swear." The third rush of magic was supposed to seal the deal, but there was a lingering portion. She reviewed the vows in her head.
"Your full admittance will come with the signing of your contract," Dumbledore clarified.
She nodded, putting her wand away.
"You'll be sitting in on today's meeting to get the gist of how they go and to understand the hierarchy of how discussion is carried out. I would suggest that you didn't inject your own opinions on your first meeting, however I'm sure that advice would do unheeded."
Smirking lightly, Echo replied "Now now, Headmaster, where would you get that idea from?" She left the room at a leisurely pace, examining the house as she progressed and greeted everyone by name as she walked out of earshot.
Dumbledore was left standing alone in the room, his wand laden arm lax at his side, looking for all the world like he had just realized a great fault in what he'd done.