Title: Glass Hearts: The Beginning of the End
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: All books.
Genre: General, Romance, Humor.
Era: 1970-1981.
Main Characters: MWPP, Lily.
Ships: James/Lily, Remus/Marlene McKinnon, Sirius/OC
Summary (for chapter): Officially out of Hogwarts, the Marauders start to fix up a shack for a place to live. They have their first meeting with the Order of the Phoenix and quickly become busy with the war.
A/N: This is a sequel to Glass Hearts: the Sixth and Seventh Year, but you don't have to have read those to follow along with this story. The war has gotten serious during sixth and seventh year. Lily and James got together in October of their seventh year. Remus and Marlene McKinnon went out for a short time, and Sirius was with Jewel Mufflet for the better part of two years, but they didn't end up working out. At the end of seventh year, James proposed, and McGonagall asked the gang to join the Order of the Phoenix.
Remus was usually fairly good at controlling his facial expressions, but he couldn't hide his disgust. The shack was worse than the Shrieking Shack. The overgrown plants hid the bottom half. There was no door; Remus could see part of the inside. The glass on the windows was either broken or completely gone. The neighborhood they stood in was rundown. Despite all of these things, the look of excitement on Sirius's face out-did the entire seventh year on the last day of school.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Sirius said breathlessly.
Remus looked at Peter and James, who seemed as baffled as he did. Sirius, oblivious to his friends' responses, walked up the cobblestone pathway. He overstepped weeds and overgrown vines. James shrugged as if to say, 'What the hell?' and went after him. Remus reluctantly followed.
Inside, the old termite-eaten wood was covered in dust. The only piece of furniture was a rickety rocking chair. "How long has it been since someone lived here?" Remus asked.
"Who knows," Peter said. A rat scuttled across the ground to a hole in the wall.
James scratched his head, looking around. "You bought this place already?" he asked Sirius.
"It's awesome, huh?" Sirius said.
Remus shook his head. Definitely not the best idea Sirius had had.
Over the next week, the four of them poured their energy into the shack. They started on the outside and slowly moved towards the inside. Being in a Muggle neighborhood forced them to use magic carefully. Sirius didn't really care, and Remus would smile and wave at Muggles awkwardly, then kick Sirius in the shin. James skipped out every now and then, hanging out with Lily.
"Oh, look who decided to join us," Sirius said when James returned after a few hours on the third day. Sirius's black hair was lighter with dirt, and his jeans had grass stains on them. The plants were almost gone, but the grass still needed work.
"Hey," James said.
"I think he should sleep on the couch," Sirius told Remus.
"Lily's mum invited me over for lunch," James said defensively.
"Why don't you bring Lily here to help us?" Sirius asked.
James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right," he said. "I'm not showing her this place."
"Why not?" Sirius said indignantly.
The small house slowly returned to normal. Mr. and Mrs. Potter gave them a few pieces of furniture. James fixed the toilet and shower on the fourth day. Remus replaced the windows while Sirius replanted the grass. Peter boarded up the holes in the walls and floors. Lily came sooner than James would have liked, but she liked it. She patted Sirius on the back, saying, "It's not too bad."
Remus's parents wanted to see where he went all the time. His mum brought them a set of towels, wishing them the best of luck.
Sirius began sleeping there as soon as he had a bed. After a long day of work, the four of them would sit in the living room, James hogging the old couch Mrs. Potter had given them. They drank firewhiskey and talk about the Prophet that day or when the Order would contact them or the Auror tests in July. James told them what he had heard from eavesdropping on his dad or who Lily saw at St. Mungo's. They would doze off, thoughts of war in their heads. Remus would wonder where they would be in one year, dead or half-dead, together or separated. Then he would fall into sleep, his dreams full of darkness.
Sirius threw his Daily Prophet up against the wall. "This is ridiculous," he said. He leaned back on the couch, digging his hands into his hair.
"They said they'd contact us when they needed us," Lily said calmly.
"It's been three weeks!" Sirius exclaimed. She didn't get it; Lily didn't get anything. Another death in the Daily Prophet, this time a Muggleborn who had been in the year above them. How long would it take for the Order to contact them? There hadn't been a word since they had joined on the last day of school. He no longer had the shack to distract him - it was clean, full of furniture and all of their things, it even had the approval of Mrs. Potter and Lily.
"Maybe they've got enough people," Remus said.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, people are still dying," he said.
"Maybe we should contact them," James suggested.
This had crossed Sirius's head many times. He had often started letters to Dumbledore, then ripped them up and threw them away. He wondered where he could find Frank Longbottom, but wasn't completely sure he was even a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He had to be, though.
"Don't worry," Lily said, looking up from her magazine. "When they need us, they'll find us."
"Do you even want to fight?" Sirius asked.
"Of course I do," Lily replied with a glare.
Sirius rolled his eyes again, looking away from her. Didn't she have work today? Who invited her over here, anyway? He looked at Peter, who was playing chess with Remus, but who was now biting his nails, probably thinking about all the horrible ways one could die at the hands of a Death Eater.
"James, you want to go practice defence spells?" Sirius asked.
"Sure," James said.
"Where are you going?" Lily asked, looking at James.
"This field by my house," James said. "We'll be back in a few hours."
"Do you still want to go to dinner?"
Sirius made a face, taking out his wand and twirling it around with his fingers. "Prongs, I'll just meet you there," he said.
Peter looked at Sirius with wide eyes. "What did you call him?" Lily asked.
"Prongs," Sirius said, "it's a nickname from his Patronus. We can call you Doey, do you like that?"
Lily crinkled up her nose. "No, thanks," she said.
The next morning, Sirius woke up to an owl. He sleepily took the letter from the owl, who hooted and then flew away.
Hey! It's Frank. You guys want to go to The Three Broomsticks tonight? I need a break from training, so let's hang out. Bring Lily, too, Alice is going to meet us. I'll be there around nine. See you there!
He dropped the letter on the ground and dozed off again.
That night, the seven of them sat around a table at The Three Broomsticks, firewhiskeys and butterbeers in front of all of them. Frank's hair had grown longer, his curls falling to his chin. "You ready for your tests next week?" he asked.
"I think so," Sirius said. He thought about the tips he had gotten from Marlene's brothers a few days ago - be relaxed, prepared for anything, confident.
"Have you seen Kingsley at all?" Alice asked.
Sirius shook his head, rolling his eyes a little bit. Last he heard, he and Jewel were going out. "You know who else is testing?" he asked Frank.
"A few people," Frank said. "I think there are twelve altogether."
"Not too many," James said.
Frank let out a small chuckle. "Well, it's not the most popular job these days," he said. He nodded to Lily. "How's St. Mungo's?"
"I like it," Lily said. "I'll go into Healer training in September."
"What are you doing now?" Alice asked.
"I'm an assistant," Lily said. "I basically do anything they need me to. I work best with the Charms, though."
"Have you met Dorcas Meadowes?" Frank asked the group of them.
The name wasn't familiar to Sirius. According to the looks on his friends' faces, they didn't know her, either. "I think she's going to drop by tonight," Frank said. He glanced around the pub casually. "She'll let you know how things work. You know, communication, meetings."
Sirius felt his heartbeat quicken. He picked up his firewhiskey to take a drink. A look of realization came onto Peter's face when he caught on to what Frank was talking about. Frank took his wand out and performed a few spells quietly. The air seemed to change as the conversation shifted.
"Everyone does different things," Frank said with a shrug. "Like Moody, he's in charge of the Aurors. No one really knows what everyone does, though, except for Dumbledore. It's just safer that way. We protect a lot of people – like the Minister and his family. We find Death Eaters to get information about You-Know-Who and what he's planning on doing next. Everything is to stop You-Know-Who's plans and to find a way to kill him."
"What are his plans?" Remus asked, leaning forward on his elbows.
"Well, he's got all the allies he needs," Frank said. "Giants, dementors, veelas, werewolves, banshees, most of the purebloods. He's got the fear, too, he knows that a lot of people aren't going to fight back. So he's taking out the ones who do. In the last week, we lost two Aurors."
"McCormick and Harrison," Sirius said. Lily glanced at him, a frown on her face.
Frank nodded.
"I can't believe Harrison's death," Alice said, shaking her head. The Prophet hadn't posted the pictures, but Lily said she'd seen them in her boss's office. She told the boys that the Death Eaters had left him naked in his study for his wife to find him.
Sirius raised his firewhiskey. The others followed suit, and they drank in silence.
"Peter, you're working at the Prophet this fall, aren't you?" Frank asked.
Peter nodded. "My mum's got me some desk job," he said with a shrug.
"Good," Frank said. "Sometimes the press doesn't let out stories that happen. We usually end up hearing about it, but you can tell us about stories that they don't publish. Or details they don't let out. And photographers are always taking pictures. Then there are stories that are better unpublished, you know? But Dorcas will tell you more about it tonight."
Peter cleared his throat, staring down at his butterbeer. "Oh, okay," he said.
"And having someone in at St. Mungo's will help, too," Frank said to Lily. "Some people don't report attacks because the Death Eaters threaten them or their family."
"What do you do?" Lily asked, putting her elbows on the table.
"A lot of things," Frank said. He looked around the pub again, Alice looking concerned. "Have you learned how to send your Patronus to another?"
"I've seen that spell," Lily said, "but I haven't tried it."
"It's a really easy way to communicate between members," Frank said. "You can send a Patronus with a message to someone else if you've seen their Patronus."
"That's cool," James said.
Alice looked over her shoulder towards the door of the pub, which had just opened. A few men had just walked in. Frank watched them casually, putting his wand on the table. "But anyways, maybe we should show each other Patroni," he said. "Where do you guys live?"
"The four of us have a shack down in Bristol," Sirius said. "Lily lives in Surrey."
The group of men walked over to the table behind them. Sirius recognized one of them. He leaned towards James and whispered in his ear, "It's Rosier."
James met his eyes, then looked over his shoulder discreetly. He scratched the back of his head, sitting up straight. Remus seemed to catch on to the negative feeling. "Maybe we should go to the shack now," he suggested.
Frank picked up his wand. "All right," he said.
"We're leaving?" Peter asked.
The group of them stood up, getting ready to leave. Sirius almost wanted the three Death Eaters to stop them. He met Rosier's eyes as he walked by, knocking the end of their table. He followed James to the door. Frank shook the curls out of his eyes. "That was weird," he said. "I wonder if they intercepted the owl."
"You think they know we're members?" James asked, nodding to the pub.
"Well, Rosier knows you wouldn't think twice," Frank said. "And other Death Eaters."
"Who else -" Sirius began.
"Maybe we should go to your house now," Lily said.
"Oh, right," Sirius said.
They Apparated to their shack. They sat around the living room and kitchen, drinking more, talking about the war, the Death Eaters, the Order. Frank taught them how to send their Patronus with a message. He looked tired by midnight. "How about we do something fun," he said. "I'm sick of talking about the war."
"Let's play drinking games," James said, a grin coming onto his face.
When Dorcas came by an hour later, Peter was asleep, and Sirius was showing Frank how to dance the macarena. Lily shook her head, introducing herself to Dorcas. She had thick black hair and olive skin. "They got bored of the war," Lily explained.
"I can't imagine what that's like, " Dorcas said with a smirk.
"So, Frank said you were going to tell us more stuff about the Order?" Lily asked.
Alice walked over to the two of them. "Dorcas?" she asked.
"You must be Alice," Dorcas said. "Frank talks about you so much."
Alice smiled, blushing a little bit. "Yeah, I'm Alice."
Dorcas looked over at the guys. Frank and Sirius were both doing the macarena together, too drunk to even acknowledge Dorcas. Remus and James sat on the couch, whispering to each other. They both burst out laughing at something James said. "So, how about the three of us talk for now?" Dorcas asked.
Lily sat at her desk, massaging her temples. She had had this headache all day long. The tedious paperwork at St. Mungo's hadn't helped. Her mum had been sick all week, and Lily hadn't realize how much her mum did around the house. And the wedding was only two months away. Her and James had agreed on something small and simple, but she still needed her dress, and she still wanted to send a few formal invitations out. She shook her head before her mind got ahead of herself.
She looked down at the letter she was sending to Dorcas. She had been assigned to tell Dorcas of all the Dark Magic injuries that came through St. Mungo's throughout her work day. She had a list of a few people, but she was worried there were people that she hadn't seen.
The last week and a half since they had met with Frank and Dorcas had been hectic. Lily was sending letters to Dorcas everyday. James, Sirius, and Alice had started their Auror testing two days ago. Lily had hardly seen James; he was either at the Ministry or sleeping. She wasn't sure where Remus and Peter were, but in the letter she had sent Lily, Dorcas said they were working hard at the Order headquarters.
Lily knew she just needed to get a good night's sleep, but she was meeting with the Order that night. Her stomach fluttered; their first real Order meeting. She finished the letter to Dorcas and sent it off with her owl.
July seemed to inch by. Lily was working at St. Mungo's while trying to plan for the wedding. Her mum seemed to get worse and worse. There were a few attacks, but Lily wasn't asked to help during any of them. James came by her house at one in the morning after he, Sirius, and Remus fought in Diagon Alley with a group of other Order members.
"You're all right?" Lily asked for what was probably the twentieth time.
"Yeah," James said. "Fabian's at St. Mungo's, but everyone else is fine, though."
"How many were there?" Lily asked.
"Six of us, seven of them," James said.
"I would have come if you would have sent a Patronus to me," Lily said.
James just nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "Don't worry about it, though. I just wanted to. . .I mean, there were so many times. . .I'm just really glad I'm marrying you in September."
Lily smiled. "Me, too," she said. She leaned forward, kissing him lightly on the lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too," James said. He looked down at Lily's twin-sized bed. "I can't wait until we can sleep together in a really nice bed."
"You don't like this bed?" Lily asked, smirking. The two of them were trying to pull furniture together for their new place, wherever that would be. James kept telling Lily he was looking for a flat somewhere, but Lily didn't know when he had time. She took James's hand. "I can't wait, either."
James kissed her on the lips. He set her forehead against hers, squeezing her hand. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," James said.
Sometimes Marlene wished she had born in a different year. She wasn't looking forward to her seventh year without Lily and Mary. She could tell that most of her friends were in on something, something that they weren't telling her. Marlene had dropped subtle hints about it to Lily, but she decided being blunt would be the best way.
They got a seat at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, carrying their sundaes. Lily had bags under her eyes. "You look tired," Marlene said.
"I think I'm working too much," Lily said, shaking her head.
"At St. Mungo's?" Marlene asked.
"Yeah," Lily said. She paused, looking up from the strawberry that sat in her spoon. "Where else?"
Marlene shrugged. "You tell me, miss mysterious."
Lily let out a laugh. "What?"
"Oh, come on," Marlene said. "You and James and all the rest of them. What's going on?"
"Nothing, it's just work and stuff," Lily said, her eyes on her ice cream.
Marlene rolled her eyes. Lily was a pretty good liar, and if Marlene had been asking about anything else, she probably would have believed her. "Whatever, you guys suck," Marlene said.
Lily was quiet in response. Marlene ate her ice cream silently. The sun was setting, and the evening breeze was beginning to blow lightly. "Don't worry about it," Lily said. "We'll let you in on it in a year."
"A year?" Marlene repeated. "Come on!"
"Come on nothing," Lily said in a serious tone. "Marlene, I don't want to talk about it."
Marlene made a face. "I disown you."
"It's no big deal, I just don't want to talk about it," Lily said. She looked out towards the rest of Diagon Alley. "Just enjoy your seventh year."
Marlene scoffed. Yes, enjoy your seventh year, Marlene. Your family and friends will all be in danger, fighting everyday, putting their necks on the line while you happily finish your NEWTs. "Disowned," she said shortly.
Lily shook her head, her mind somewhere else.
After a few moments of silence, Lily said, "This ice cream is so good. I want to get another one."
"Me, too," Marlene said with a laugh.
A/N: Kind of a depressing title, but it's true :( Please review if you enjoyed it!
Next chapter: a member of the Order needs Lily's help to save his life.
