Chapter Four: Meetings Aren't All From Hell (Just Most of the Time)

Author's Note: Yes, I know that I haven't updated in forever. I realize that. I would try to make excuses (like how busy I've been), but that's not really good enough. I honestly will try to be better, but I can't really promise anything. Just know that I'm still working on the story, and I will continue to update it (however slowly that happens).

On another note, I've switched to using first person for the entirely of the story (I feel like it just works better), so sorry about that switch. Also, this chapter is much shorter than the others. I was going to put a flashback in at the end, but it was all fluff that didn't really need to be there, so I just cut it. Honestly, you're not missing anything with that.

Lastly, no copyright infringement is intended with this story.

Playlist: Happy The Hard Way by Every Avenue

*Link on my profile

"Rathien Westwood." A slick voice said to my right. I turned, having just come in the kitchen doors, to see Severus Snape standing by himself.

"Sev!" I cried, launching myself at him to give him a massive hug. "It's been way too long!"

He seemed surprised at my enthusiasm, but returned the hug nonetheless. In truth, I was surprised by myself. Severus had been my friend, even though we'd gone our separate ways many years ago. In fact, I hadn't seen him since we'd just gotten out of Hogwarts.

"I'm so glad you're with the Order." I whispered to him, pulling away. I always knew that he had something good in him, he was never destined to stay with the Death Eaters.

He didn't say anything, just gave me a look, clearly dismissing that entire vane of conversation.

"I see you've finally come back." He commented, an amused expression on his face. "Vampires finally let you go?"

"No, actually. I left on my own." I said loftily. "Dumbledore contacted me."

"I'm surprised." He said, almost mocking me. "I didn't think you really had what it takes to make a break from a vampire coven. Most of the whores don't seem up to it."

I didn't say anything for a moment. Truthfully, I had no idea how to react. In the past, I would just slap him and be done with it. But now that just didn't seem right.

"I'm so sorry that you can't seem to grow up and be a man, Severus." I said in a quiet, deadly voice. "I really had hopes for you."

With that I turned on my heel and strode to the table, where a few members of the Order were already seated. I noticed Sirius watching me, a strange expression on his face, and I paused for only a moment before going to sit next to him. I wasn't sure why I chose to sit here, the way I had when we had Order meetings so many years ago. I wasn't with him anymore, but I still felt the need to unite with him. Like we were still in harmony with each other, agreeing on the best course of action, able to stand together against the world.

"It's good to have you here." Sirius said, still staring straight ahead, not looking at me as I stared at him.

"I know." I responded quietly. Above all else, above my confusion and my mistakes, I knew that it was good to be here, next to Sirius. It was like this was where I've always belonged. "So what's on the agenda tonight?" I asked him, curious. "I feel so out of the loop."

"Well, you would feel left out, considering." He stated, finally turning to look at me. After a moment that confused me further, he relented. "Snape's obviously going to be giving his report first, and I'm sure we'll continue to discuss guard duties and recruitment. You're here also, so you'll probably be asked to report on the vampires. I'm sure that Dumbledore wants to get them on our side."

I frowned, knowing that it had to be something like that. "Figures." I muttered.

"Chances of that not looking good?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I'm not sure that I would say that so much. It's just much more complicated than that." I paused, furrowing my brows. "Even after all the time I've been with them, I'm not sure I really understand the dynamics of the vampires."

"You should have stayed here then." He said simply, looking away from me again.

Thankfully, the meeting was called to order then, and I didn't have to figure out a way to salvage that awkward conversation. Part of me felt like Sirius and I should just talk about what happened. After all, that would probably be the easiest solution. Instead, we were just going to sit here and work around it, pretend like everything is fine, like we never actually were…well, what we were. How long could we just sit and pretend like we're just old friends?

I shook my head to dispel my musings, instead focusing on the matters at hand. With Voldemort returning to power I certainly had enough to think about. Looking around the table at the rest of the Order members, I couldn't help but wonder what the war was going to be like this time around. How many more people would have to die?

The meeting went just as Sirius had predicted, and I found it startlingly easy to shift back into the old roles that I had played for the Order. Sirius and I still seemed to see eye to eye on most matters, and it was hard to remember why we hadn't actually made it together after all.

"As you all know by now, we have one of our own back with us it England after a rather long stint in Romania." Dumbledore began finally. "Rathien, it's good to have you back."

This was followed by a brief round of applause, which Dumbledore quickly ended. "So Rathien, what we'd really like to know is how the Romanian vampire coven feels about our current situation."

"Well, I'm not so sure about that." I began, pulling myself to my full height. "The good news is that they're taking this very seriously, and are currently in the process of deciding what they want to do about it." I paused for a breath before continuing. "I've never been officially allowed to sit in on any of their council meetings, and I'm not privy to any of their actual discussions, but I have learned a good deal. The way it stands, they're very divided, but it seems to me like they're on the cusp of the final decision. Most of them seem to be siding with us, which is huge. If we can get the Romanians on our side, most other vampire coven in Europe will likely follow their lead. On the flip, there is a strong group of Voldemort supporters in the coven. So I guess that we're really just waiting to find out what happens. I've been pushing for the Order, but I can't really guarantee anything."

Their was a brief silence as everyone processed the information that I presented so suddenly. Finally, Dumbledore asked, "When will we hear from them?"

"The week after next." I responded. "Henry LASTNAME's going to let me know as soon as they figure it out."

"Good." He said, continuing the meeting on similar veins. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that we were done talking about the vampires. I had no intention on discussing the matter at length, mostly because I wasn't sure what was between myself and Henry. I left without really saying anything to him, and now that I've been here, I'm not sure how I feel about the whole situation. Part of me felt like I'd just used him to run away from everything. Maybe I needed to go back to my life and finally face what's going on.

It didn't take all that long for the meeting to be officially over. In reality, there wasn't much to talk about. We didn't really have very much we could do, seeing as Voldemort was flying under the radar at the moment.

"So what do you think?" Sirius asked me, turning to face me at the table.

"About?" I prompted.

"Harry." He said, surprising me. "How much do you think he should be told?"

I paused, considering. "Everything, I guess." I sighed. "He needs to know about the prophecy especially. After all, every one of us has heard about it know, except him. And he's the one that it's actually about! We know that Voldemort wants it, and he's going to try to manipulate Harry some way, we know it. He needs to be prepared."

Sirius rubbed his hand across his face, looking tired. "He's so young. It's not right."

Softly I said, "Nothing about Harry's life has been fair. Not ever. He's had to deal with so much so young. I know it's not right."

Sirius finished my thought, "But it's the way it is. And he has to know this too." Sighing he dropped his hands to the table. "We'll have to tell him tonight."

"At dinner." I said, agreeing.

We were both silent for a moment, letting the awkwardness of our situation seep in. Thankfully, Remus chose that moment to come over and sit across from us.

"Hello, Remus." I said quietly. "Long time no see."

He smiled sadly, emphasizing the deep lines in his face. Lines that I hadn't seen before.

"You look so old." I murmured, unintentionally. Sometimes things just slip out.

He laughed out loud, his smile broadening. "I would say the same about you…" He trailed off. Sirius tensed in his seat as Remus spoke. How did everything end up going back to the whole vampire thing? Why couldn't we get away from it? Were we really all going to have to talk about this?

"Well, I guess that what you get." I said wryly. "How have you been?"

"Up and down." He answered. I was tempted to laugh; that was such a typical Remus answer. "I suppose everything could always be worse."

I smiled at him, commenting, "I heard that you were at Hogwarts for a year."

"Always knew he'd end up a teacher." Sirius noted dryly, making us all laugh.

For just a moment, it was almost as if nothing had really changed between any of us. After all, here we all were, just sitting together laughing, like old friends. The way it used to be.