Dreaded, Demented and Dead

Hot water gushed out of Peter's wand into a teacup with coffee powder in it, bubbles still bursting at its surface, reminding Peter of how he had seen Bellatrix Lestrange brutally killed young Rick Rodriguez, the look of fear on his face before the fatal bubbles under his skin exploded in his brain, the fire of life gone in his eyes, replaced by a resignation to the jaws of death…Argh! I will NOT think about it, its over Pettigrew get a grip on yourself…His previously tightly shut eyes were forcibly pried open by his determined mind, and noticed his coffee had stopped steaming. Adding sugar, he remembered his meeting with the Order of the Phoenix this afternoon. Why he hadn't quit he would never understand, but perhaps his recurrent fits reminded him of the horrors others might face if he doesn't do a part to stop these deatheaters, and his Maurauder's code of honor wasn't about to let him be a coward.

The natter and chatter in the red barn house in the country, the newly found headquarters for the Order, immediately quietened down when Dumbledore's magically magnified voice reverberated around the large and dimly lit barn house.

"I thank you all for your presence in this new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Now, as many of you present may know, our successful attack on Azkaban has triggered a wave of revenge killings by the Dark Lord who terms himself Voldemort." At this, an involuntary shudder passed through the crowd, visibly unnerved by the free use of the most feared name in the history if wizardkind. "I fear that such a revenge killing might be directed to the funeral of the late Armando Dippet, my predecessor at Hogwarts, who passed away last Tuesday, in an well-orchestrated attack by the Deatheaters on the French Ministry's Department of Law-Enforcement. The same offensive also brought down the whole system of Aurors in France, and effectively brings France into the war as our allies, though it might be some time before they are able to aid us in our exploits against Voldemort." This time, a murmur of disbelief accompanied the shudder, as they could not believe that the French Aurors were all put out of commission by a single attack. " This attack, however, has also wakened several other countries to the real danger posed to them by Voldemort, and many of these countries has been convinced by our agents to join the fight against Voldemort, while others are on the verge of doing so." A round of applause and a few catcalls followed this announcement. A benign smile graced the features of the old man's face before he continued. "I shall now announce the countries that have join us in the fight against the darkness." A few more catcalls were heard over Dumbledore's voice. "France has of course joined us, Germany and Italy has pledged full-fledged support in all matters of the war, Spain, Portugal and the Czechs have offered humanitarian support, while Russia has offered us the full use of their Aurors and covert agents. America should now be signing the declaration of coalition, which allows us use of their Aurors too." The noise produced by the crowd was deafening, so loud that Dumbledore's thank yous could not be heard.

Sirius mentioned that if this goes on, the barn's wards and anti-tracking spells would not hold for long. James gave his first real smile since the attack on Azkaban, and Remus and Peter was laughing openly.

James walked down the deserted London street, his hawk eyes trained from years of Quidditch taking in every detail of his surroundings. Remus, at his side, was using his were-wolf enhanced hearing to look out for the first signs of trouble.

CRACK! James and Remus instinctively raised their wands in combat positions, and found themselves facing another battle with 6 deatheaters. Who gave us away? James thought, who in the Order betrayed us? Who?

Remus drew first blood as his Stunning Spell crumpled a big deatheater. James dodged a Bone-Breaker Curse from Bellatrix Lestrange, recognizing her by her voice as all 6 death eaters were masked, and hit another deatheater with the Reductor Curse, blasting the poor man off his feet and into a brick wall. Seeing another spell heading for James' back, Remus called out, only for a Severing Spell graze his neck, giving him a deep cut, blood spewing. They both knew that Anti-Apparition spells would have been cast on the place, so there was no point trying to escape…

Until James spotted a burning fireplace in one of the deserted Muggle shops. And then remembered that he still had some Floo Powder in his pocket.

Throwing themselves into the flame turned green by the Floo Powder, they shouted "Hogsmeade" and the last thing they saw of that place was a Killing Curse, headed straight for them.

Dumbledore sent the Head Prefects off to their dormitories after briefing them on their duties for the year and telling them about the responsibilities involved. Turning around, he gazed into the night, his eyes suddenly made out two figures making their way to the school's gates.
Author's Note: Thanks to Taeniaea & gothic kisses for reviewing!

Also I think I wont be able to update until the next weekend coz' of skool…R&R!

P.S i noe the title makes no sense but i couldnt think of better ideas so that was the title...