Chapter One

'A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he knows you are slightly cracked'- Bernard Meltzer

"These forms need to be filled out neatly McKinnon. You're not a schoolgirl scribbling a love letter anymore"

A dog-eared file was smacked down onto my desk. I looked up to meet the hard stare of my supervisor. William Urquhart was in his mid-thirties and good-looking in a vampish sort of way. In an alternate universe I probably would have found him attractive. Too bad he was an intolerable hard-ass who thought women couldn't cut it in his line of work.

"Sorry sir", I replied, trying my best to contain any trace of distaste out of my voice. I didn't like him but we both knew that I needed a decent evaluation from him if I ever wanted to drop the 'trainee' stamp in front of my name. "I'll re-do them immediately"

"Good. I expect it to be done before you leave", said Urquhart with a curt nod before walking back towards his office, robes fluttering behind him like he was some kind of overgrown moth.

I flipped open the file he had returned to me and begun re-reading it. It was my application form for a muggle identity. To avoid arousing suspicion, all curse-breakers needed one if they wanted to access any locations that were also being investigated by 'archaeologists'. Benjy had told me that they were muggles who liked to dig around ancient sites. Apparently they could be quite touchy about what they found.

I skimmed over my application, okay my handwriting wasn't that bad. If you squinted a little it would probably help. Alright, so maybe Urquhart had a point. Sighing, I began to fill out the new form that he'd so kindly attached for me.

I'd never been someone to have high expectations. I always found that it was better to expect the worst and hope for the best. But like everyone else, sure I'll admit that I'd been a little attracted to the 'glamour' of being curse-breaker. Mysterious tombs and exotic destinations? Men with delicious foreign accents? What more could a girl ask for right?

They missed out the part about the three-years of rigorous training and the hours spent buried beneath paperwork. Oh and not to mention having the strictest 'mentor' in a field that was renowned for its casualness.

'As long as the gold is coming in, the goblins don't care what you did to find it'

That's what the charming Gringotts recruitment man had told my seventh year Ancient Runes class anyway. He clearly hadn't met Urquhart, who had an unhealthy obsession with protocol. He was all about the integrity of the job, with safety and professionalism above all else. I probably would respect his views more if he wasn't such a bloody zealot about them.

A small sub-section of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Security were responsible for the training and certification of British curse-breakers. After that we were free to do what we liked, although most would immediately jump at the opportunity to be hired by Gringotts. They were the most lenient when it came to rules (unless you wanted to actually work inside the bank, then it would be a different story entirely) and had by far the best pay.

I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to do yet when I finally got my certification. I was more focused on making it through the day without giving into the urge to bang my head against a wall.

"Hey Marlene", called a voice to my left. I turned to see that Jake Chang, my neighbouring trainee, had returned to our cubicle. The department could only really afford to attach one of us to a curse-breaker at a time. This week it was Jake's turn, hence why I'd been having so much fun with all the reports.

"Hey, how was the day trip with Robins?"

"Alright, it was some ruins on the Isle of Skye. Someone had fun enchanting them so muggles would a hear something growling every time they touched a rock", he replied. I couldn't believe I was jealous but I'd take a growling rock over paperwork any day. "Oh and Dearborn told me he wanted to see you in his office when you have a minute"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Do you know what he wants?"

"No idea. Just bumped into him on the way up and he told me to tell you as soon as I could"

Caradoc Dearborn was a senior curse-breaker and quite the legend in his youth. He could have been paid five times more anywhere else but had decided to spent the last ten years training new recruits instead.

He was also technically my boss's boss. I had no idea what he wanted to see me for. It was common knowledge that a sole meeting with Caradoc Dearborn didn't bode well. The only time a trainee went into his office was when they'd royally screwed up something.

No doubt taking note of my grim expression, Jake gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it. I heard he's trying to get to know all the trainees- you know, make them feel welcome and all"

Jake was being sweet and he meant well. So I decided not to point out to him that as far as feeling 'welcome' went, well we'd already been here for almost two years.

"You're probably right", I replied, glancing back at my application form. It was four pages long. I decided I'd go see Dearborn first.

His office wasn't hard to find, it was by far one of the largest on the floor. The door was jarred open slightly. I knocked tentatively before he looked up and ushered me in.

"Ah, Marlene right? Please, take a seat"

Caradoc Dearborn had a slight Welsh accent and sandy hair that was flecked grey. He didn't have a friendly face but when he smiled at me I noticed that he had kind eyes. They crinkled cheerfully around the edges.

I sat on the seat opposite him. I wasn't the only one who had paperwork, apparently the senior hotshots had to piles of it too if his desk was any indication.

"So ahem…Urquhart tells me you've been making some good progress recently"

Oh-kay, Urquhart clearly had either been under Imperius or Dearborn was going out of his way to be extra nice to me. The only compliment my supervisor had ever given me was that he was glad I didn't turn up looking like 'a homeless fourteen-year old for once'. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with wearing hoodie to work. We're in England for Merlin's sake, it rains.

"Um, thank you sir but I think he was being a bit generous", I replied cautiously.

There was a silence. Dearborn seemed to be deliberating something; the conflict was etched across his features. He leant forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

"Look McKinnon, you're a good kid right? Nice grades, nice family- I went to school with your dad- great keeper…Anyway, the truth is I've been keeping an eye on you over the last six months. You're quick and you think outside the box. A little too independent maybe but you aren't afraid to do the grunt work. I like that."

I was speechless. Did Caradoc Dearborn just give me a compliment? Wait…was Caradoc Dearborn stalking me?

"Alright then", he continued, blue eyes boring into my own, "So now that I know you're a talented witch, the question that remains is what you plan to do with these talents of yours?"

Okay, now I was even more confused. Still, I could tell that it wasn't a rhetorical question- not that I had a clue what it was that he wanted to hear.

"I'm not quite sure yet sir", I began slowly, "I know the most popular route for newly certified breakers is Gringotts…but I…I'm more interested in research and…decommissioning"

It sounded like the driest thing on the planet, and for some people it probably is because there aren't all those galleons involved. But decommissioning or 'de-cursing' antiquities was where I got my kicks. Call me crazy, I'm no Gryffindor- but I've always liked to play with fire. I'd be bored out of mind if there was no challenge involved. I don't see much satisfaction in getting gold for goblins- for me, well it feels nicer to help an old lady be able to open her curtains without them trying to swallow her.

Dearborn leaned back into his chair and gave me an appraising look. Then, presumably with wandless magic, his office door shut itself.

There was an awkward silence once more. Well, at least it was awkward for me anyway, but then again I find most things awkward.

"Fenwick assured me, very vehemently may I add, that you could be trusted McKinnon. So what I'm about to say to you, I trust that you'll guard this information with the utmost secrecy"

Completely baffled at what Benjy had to do with all of this, I nodded anyway. I'd interrogate him later. Plus, I didn't really have a choice- if Dearborn decided I wasn't 'worthy' or whatever of what he was going to say, he'd probably be able to murmur Obliviate faster than I could blink.

"Yes sir"

"I'm guessing that the Order of the Phoenix doesn't mean anything to you?" Dearborn asked and smiled wryly as I shook my head, "Well Miss McKinnon- it's about to"

It was a finally Friday after a long week of sitting at a desk with a numb bum and a lot of cold coffee. If you ask anyone whose ever lived with me- my family or the girls who shared a dorm with me, they'll tell you that I can't function without coffee. They'll also tell you that I'm a snob when it comes to the brand, bean and temperature. They're right. Ministry-issued coffee doesn't quite cut it when it comes to Marlene McKinnon Standard.

So you can imagine that when my best friend asked to meet me at a muggle coffee shop, it pretty much made my day. Coffee is a muggle invention after all and although for most wizarding folk their method of making it seems painfully slow, I found it kind of cute.

Speaking of cute, my muggle waiter wasn't half bad to look at. Not at all. Maybe in an alternate universe…there seemed to be an awful lot of those running around for me.

My expertly subtle checking-out of the waiter was interrupted however when an unmistakeably loud voice filled the entire café.

"Marls!"

I turned around and was soon engulfed by the sweater-clad arms of Benjy Fenwick.

"Benjy geroff me", I mumbled into his shoulder. He let go, but only after giving me an extra hard squeeze. It was obvious when he'd been hanging with my brothers Blaine and Grant– he'd caught on to their favourite pastime of embarrassing me with public displays of affection.

I should probably mention that Benjy is still as super energetic as he was in school. That, coupled with his boyish features and well, the name Benjy always make people think he's still seventeen.

Believe it or not this boy was also a Ravenclaw and apparently one of the best Arithmancy students Vector had ever had.

"How are you? How have you been? Gah, it's been so long. What's been going on with you?" Benjy is also the only male I know who can multitask; he managed to talk at the speed of light and order orange juice for himself and a mocha for me at the same time.

"Benjy…you just asked me the same question in three different ways"

He gave me the look. "Oh don't be such a smartarse Mack"

"I'm okay", I replied shrugging my shoulders, "I've been on desk duty this week so nothing exciting at work...and oh, I finally got a proper bed so I don't have to use the sofa one anymore"

"Wow really living it up now aren't you?" commented Benjy dryly.

"Shut up okay?" I puffed mildly offended. "I'm busy…you know…work."

"Work, work, work. Yes we all know you're going to be a big bad curse-breaker soon…well maybe not a big one", he said pointedly. I kicked him lightly under the table, although to be fair the reason Urquhart thought I dressed like a teenager was probably because half my clothes were from when I was fourteen. "But, seriously Marls", continued Benjy, "I'm telling you this as your favourite person in the whole wide world- you need to get a life"

"Hey! I have a life", I protested weakly. Sure, so what if I spent most of my weekends sleeping and I lived off stir-fry? I had friends- Benjy, Jake, my neighbour's cat…and I went out…sometimes….

"Look sweet thing, you have a great career ahead of you but you do not have a life. You need to take a break once in a while y'know? Let off some steam…what happened to the Hogwarts Marlene? The one who could have fun at a party and down firewhiskey like a pint-sized beast?"

I was about to correct him that those parties had been ones he'd dragged me to but the cute waiter bringing our drinks over caught my attention instead. I smiled at him broadly and I didn't even have to look at Benjy to know that he'd raised his eyebrows.

He had the decency to wait until the waiter left (believe me, he isn't always so nice to me) before clearing his throat. "Well, well what do we have here McKinnon- maybe I was mistaken- finally deciding to play the field are we now?"

I rolled my eyes. "I looked at a guy, Benj, I didn't ask him to marry me"

"I'm not asking you to get married! I'm just asking that you be a bit more open". He paused, taking in my expression. "Okay, maybe open's the wrong word. You know what you mean. Just-"

"I know what you mean and I'm just not interested"

"In men in general or-"

"Yeah sorry I forgot to mention- you know Salomé Zabini right? Me and her, well, let's just call it friends with benefits. I don't want it to get too serious you know? In case she decides to poison me for my fortune and all"

"Well", he drawled, unfazed by my sarcasm. "You've always been fairly secretive…even with me"

That was just the cue I'd been waiting for.

"Oh yeah…speaking of secrets and such…so when were you going to tell me about the Order of the Phoenix?"

I probably should have waited until Benjy finished his juice. He proceeded to spew it out all over himself. I was about to cast a cleaning spell when I remembered where we were. I tossed him a couple of napkins, trying my best to contain myself.

"Jeez…I just bought this as well", he muttered wiping his sleeves down.

I felt absolutely zero sympathy for him.

"Marls…we shouldn't talk about this here", began Benjy, glancing nervously around the café.

"I'm ninety-nine percent certain no one followed me Benj and the only reason anyone is looking at us at the moment is because you just exploded orange juice everywhere. Plus we're in a muggle café in a place called Farnham for Merlin's sake. Forgive me if I'm mistaken but I don't think it's exactly dark wizard hotspot"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look I was going to tell you at some point alright? It's just the whole thing is all very secretive and it's really for your own protection…"

Oh, he was not going down that road. Thankfully for him, Benjy caught on pretty quick- probably from the look on my face and stopped talking.

"Ah forget it, I know now anyway", I conceded with a sigh. He beamed at me. That was the problem with Benjy Fenwick- you could never stay mad at him long. Something to do with the stupid hair and puppy dog eyes. "Thanks for the recommendation by the way, for a moment there I thought I thought Dearborn was preparing himself to share the secrets of the universe with me…turns out I wasn't that far off"

"No problem", he said grinning, "Oh I was supposed to tell you earlier…there's a meeting tonight…you're free right? Oh wait why do I even have to ask eh?"

I gave him the best glare I could muster.

"There's a good number of people from our year there you know…mainly Gryffindors, Potter and his lot. There's also the Prewetts…"

"Fantastic Benj", I replied dryly, "Looks like I'm going to have a life after all then"

Little did I know how right I would be.

The Order of the Phoenix Headquarters was a derelict warehouse in Brixton. Or at least that's how it appeared anyway. Inside it couldn't be any more different. Once we'd passed the security checks of an Auror who was just slightly paranoid, we discovered that the building's true identity was that of a four-floored mansion. It was beautifully decorated but clearly hadn't been lived in for a while. Benjy told me that it had belonged to Caradoc Dearborn's grandparents who'd bequeathed it to their grandson when they'd died. He'd chosen to live elsewhere, and I didn't blame him. Nice as it was having your own mansion and all, I can imagine that it would get a tad lonely and not to mention spooky at times living in a ten bedroom house by yourself.

There were already several people gathered in the living room that was dimly lit by an old, unreliable looking chandelier. I wouldn't be surprised if we were part of the stragglers who were arriving at the last minute. Benjy was never on time although from his casual stride you'd never guess that he was ever running late. Me, on the other hand, well I always at least tried to be punctual and I certainly never looked as cool when I wasn't.

I was surprised to see quite a few familiar faces. Lily Evans greeted me when I walked in, as did Alice Fortescue. Sitting on the sofa beside them were the infamous Marauders. Or at least three of them anyway. I wasn't really surprised to see that they'd all joined together- whatever you thought of them you couldn't deny that they were practically married to one another. Remus Lupin smiled at me and I gave a small wave in return. I saw Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew both look at him a little incredulously, probably wondering how we knew each other. I noticed that James Potter and Frank Longbottom were both absent, likely due to the fact they were trainee Aurors. I was thankful that as tiring as my job could be- I didn't have unpredictable hours like those who were at the heart of law enforcement.

To the left of them were a few more alumni that I recognised. Dorcas Meadowes who was holding a small box, was a Hufflepuff Chaser who'd been a few years above me and standing next to her was Edgar Bones, who'd been Head Boy when I was in fifth year.

At the far corner of the room, the handsome ginger-haired twins Gideon and Fabian Prewett couldn't really be missed; the former giving me a friendly wink as I looked over to them. Gideon was good friends with Blaine; both being hit-wizards who loved anything that involved maximum risk.

The whole atmosphere seemed fairly relaxed, as if it was a gathering of old school friends (which, given the company was plausible). The lightness of the conversation around the room dwindled however when an witch flanked by the Auror who'd interrogated me earlier and another wizard I didn't recognise entered the room barely a minute after we'd arrived. Good timing.

"Good evening everyone", said the witch calmly. She looked to be in her late thirties but she was still stunning and carried herself elegantly. Her voice wasn't loud at all but it projected authority nonetheless- the room suddenly became silent.

"For those of you who don't know me, my name is Emmeline Vance. Unfortunately Professor Dumbledore couldn't be with us today so I'll be heading the discussion tonight. We've got some new locations that need to be monitored so Alastor will be sorting out the schedule tonight. Also Sturgis has some news…but first Dorcas insists that I make you all try her new Pumpkin pie recipe"

"I promise you guys, it's good stuff this time!", chirped the former Hufflepuff who was now busying herself summoning plates and spoons. So that was what that box was for.

The Auror beside Emmeline gave a disgruntled snort.

"Don't give me that look Moody- I'm not going to poison you I swear" teased Dorcas.

"That's what you said last time Meadowes", he replied gruffly.

I was about to offer her assistance dividing the pieces (I'll admit my reasons were more about the pie and less about helpfulness), when we were joined by Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. Benjy, whose sister Ellie was dating Pettigrew, asked him how he was doing. Soon the conversation had begun inquiring about Benjy's work and he was soon giving poor Pettigrew an animated description of the latest project he was working on.

This left Black and me rather awkwardly standing at the sidelines. I was about to excuse myself to say hi to Lily and Alice when Black suddenly spoke up.

"So McKinnon, I never knew you and Fenwick were an item", he asked casually. He crossed his arms and I noticed he was wearing a leather biker jacket. I probably would have thought it was a cool if he hadn't been the one wearing it.

"We're not", I replied coolly. Why hello to you too.

He looked at me pointedly. I resisted the urge to scoff. I mean sure I loved Benjy to bits but anyone with eyes could see that for me dating him would be like dating a cross between my brother and a hyperactive ten-year old.

"Just because you don't understand the concept of a platonic friendship, Black, doesn't mean the rest of can't"

He looked a little taken aback. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the teeniest bit pleased. "What makes you think-"

"Sirius leave her be", interrupted Remus smiling at me warmly. I smiled back at him gratefully. "Marlene how are you? It's great to see you here"

Black opened his mouth to protest, but wisely kept it shut for once.

"I'm alright Lupin", I replied giving him a quick hug. "You're looking good? Lily's been force-feeding you I hear". The truth was he wasn't looking quite as peaky as usual, but hey, that was a start.

I'd kept in touch with Lily Evans since graduation. We hadn't been very close in Hogwarts but we'd often patrolled together as prefects and her and Alice had always made an effort to talk to me in class. They were the kind of girls you'd hate for being practically perfect if it weren't for the fact that they were also incredibly nice. Having grown up with two brothers and mostly boys as my friends, I always found it a little uncomfortable talking to other girls. They, in turn, often didn't really appreciate my honesty (okay fine, bluntness) and I was pretty much useless on topics that most teenage girls had liked to talk about- clothes, boys, gossip, more boys etc.

Lily and Alice however were the rare find in that they were truly genuine people who seemed to put up with my weirdness pretty well. They also made me feel a little more relaxed about the whole Order thing. I knew Lily, Alice and Remus all to be smart people so I trusted their judgement to be solid.

"Lily does seem to be on a bit of a mission", Remus replied thoughtfully

"Sort of like a second mum except ten times more determined", added Peter with a sheepish smile. I chuckled, that seemed just like her.

"Sorry to intrude", interrupted Emmeline Vance as she somehow appeared out of nowhere at Remus's side. I had a sneaky feeling she was one of those people who could walk incredibly fast and incredibly silently at the same time. "But I need to speak to Sirius and…ah Marlene McKinnon?"

"Um yeah that's me…Marlene I mean", I said raising my hand tentatively and immediately feeling stupid about it afterwards. I wasn't a ruddy first year anymore in her first ever class. From the corner of my eye I could see Black struggling not to laugh.

"Sirius Black at your service ma'am", he said with a sweeping bow. Emmeline thankfully seemed to be completely immune to the attempt at charm. She merely raised a delicate brow and gestured for us to follow her.

We were led into the neighbouring room, which (and I'm no expert on mansions) by the looks of it was the drawing room?

"I wasn't exactly being accurate earlier", began Emmeline as we both entered, "It's actually Professor Dumbledore who want to see you. As soon as possible- there's a floo in the study you both can use"

Black and I exchanged looks of surprise. This whole Order business was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. It was odd enough that Dumbledore wanted to see me (and secretly too apparently), let alone Black and me. We had never had anything common, even when I'd been a prefect I'd been lucky enough not to come across the Marauders much. Oh, except one time in fourth year Potions when I distinctly remember a Herbicide potion exploding in my face due to him and Potter putting a firework underneath the cauldron. The prank had been intended for Severus Snape and I'd been unfortunate enough to be his partner that week.

I was frankly surprised that Black even knew my name. Of course you couldn't really go through Hogwarts without knowing his- whether it was from the yelling teachers or the fawning girls.

I felt a tingle of apprehension in my stomach. Whatever Dumbledore wanted with both of us, something was telling me that I really wasn't going to like it.

A/N:

Hi all! Firstly I'd like to thank ladyzydrate for her review! So good to have someone interested in the era and of course, Sirius/Marlene that I promise will gradually unfold as the plot thickens. I've tried to not make Marlene a total !SiriusOC cliché and likeable at the same time so I hope that comes across. Forgive any typos/grammatical errors purlease? I'd love a beta! Just sayin' ;}

The tone of this chapter will probably come across as dramatically different from the prologue- mainly because well, the shit hasn't really hit the fan yet. Also because I think it's sometimes easy to forget that The Marauders & co. (including Benjy & Marlene in this case) were only 19/20ish during the first war- so for me anyway, I don't see them being completely jaded straight away. There's plenty of that for later.

Next chapter will be up in about two-three weeks time and will be from Sirius's POV. Anyhoot, thanks for reading and once again, I'm super grateful for any feedback from you guys! =]