A/N: I actually really liked this chapter, so I didn't change it, beyond again checking over mistakes and grammar. New readers will appreciate it, I'm sure.

Chapter 4

The Wrath of the Phoenix

Sirius and Lily whipped out their wands and sprinted the rest of the way to the house. They could hear shouts from inside.

"JAMES?" Lily yelled out, praying for an answer.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!" Lily cried out, tripping over the front doorstep in her attempt to get out of the way of the spell. "What the bloody hell is going on here?"

She got slowly to her feet, pinned to the inner wall of the parlor. James, Sirius and Lupin were all busy dodging hexes thrown at them by what Lily guessed were several very violent ghosts, as she could see no one else in the room.

"Wait a second . . . "

Then she heard it. "Cruci–"

"DUCK!" she screamed, blocking the curse. The three boys dropped to the floor as, with a second forceful wave of her wand, Lily released a blinding flash on red light.

"Boy . . . that was a spell if I ever saw . . . bloody hell!" Sirius gaped at the scene now facing them. Strewn around the living room were the stupefied bodies of several hooded people. James strode forward and removed the nearest black mask, revealing the face of none other than Lucius Malfoy. James leapt back and pointed his wand at him cautiously.

"What's going on?" questioned Remus as he walked through and removed mask after mask, and bound each person with his wand. "We walked in and they were all huddled here yelling back and forth at each other. Next second they all disappear." Lily recognized Bellatrix, the Lestranges, Crabbe, Goyle and several other Slytherins. She scanned the room quickly, however. She did not see one person there, someone who was bound to be there–

"Looking for me, Evans?"

All four whipped around to face the doorway leading into the kitchen. There, leaning lazily against the doorway his wand pointed at them, was Regulus Black. Sirius swore loudly.

"You do seem to be everywhere, don't you, Lily?" muttered Regulus, his eyes flashing in the dim light of the fireplace. "What are you doing here?"

"Why should we explain ourselves? You're the one breaking and entering," James pointed out coolly. "My father owns this property. I suggest you explain yourself before I make you." He moved in on Regulus. "Out with your little Death Eater friends, Black?"

Regulus instantly turned to his brother, glaring. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut from now on."

"What Regulus? Am I not supposed to know what you're up to these days? Sirius didn't need to tell me though. Everyone knows what you lot have been up to."

"And just what is that, Potter?"

"Following around that bloke like some sort of pathetic house-elf. Idolizing him while he struts around asking everyone to call him 'Lord Voldemort,' recruiting people to his inner circle like he's some sort of god. What the hell are you doing Regulus? Our whole lives we've been hearing of all the terrible things they've been doing undercover, watched as the Ministry refuses to believe what's happening right under their bloody noses. What the hell are you doing?"

There was a loud silence.

Lily, like James, had noticed the sudden interest in the Dark Arts over her stay at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore kept them informed on the on-goings of one Tom Riddle, a graduate of Slytherin house himself who had delved too deeply into the Dark Arts. Over the years, Voldemort gained more and more power, making alliances with magical creatures and blackmailing prominent wizards into subversion. Terror was quickly spreading throughout the wizarding community, and the Ministry seemed to have lost control.

Dumbledore told the Marauders and Lily about the Order of the Phoenix during their 6th year, a secret association instituted for the sole purpose of intercepting Voldemort's rise to power. Currently, they were too young to join the Order, but their graduation from Hogwarts would also be their induction.

Regulus had exceeded his parents' expectations and risen high within the Death Eater circle, also heading what seemed like the next generation of Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Their hatred for Muggleborns seemed to elevate with every passing year. Soon, Lily realized, there would be no limitations as to what they were capable of doing, and who they were capable of hurting. Regulus, however, always seemed to hold back. She had never seen him actually attack someone. And here he was even, perfectly capable of jinxing them all, but choosing not to.

She heard rustling behind them. Lily whipped around, her wand out, as Malfoy and Bellatrix rose slowly to their feet. They had managed to release themselves somehow.

"James," she whispered. He too turned, his face suddenly darkened by worry, which quickly switched to confident arrogance.

"Lucius!" Regulus barked. Just as suddenly, Lily felt the tip of a wand at her back, and Lucius' arm encircled her neck roughly.

"That's it then," Malfoy muttered slowly. "Release them, if you will."

Remus waved his wand and the ropes binding the rest of the Death Eaters fell loose onto the floorboards. Sirius, who had been quietly glaring at his brother, marched right up to him and grabbed a fistful of his robes.

"Let. Her. Go." He hissed menacingly. Regulus remained silent, studying his brother. Then just as unexpectedly, he smiled.

"I didn't know you could love, Sirius."

Bellatrix screeched happily. "Oh that's just too rich! Sirius Black loves the Mudblood!"

Sirius kept looking at his brother. "Love is something you'll never understand, brother," he muttered quietly.

James looked over at Sirius, dropping his wand arm. The arrogance in his eyes was replaced by a look of betrayal for the split second before he looked away.

Lily took this as her chance. There was a flurry of dust that enveloped both her and Lucius.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The dust cleared away as the phoenix beat her wings furiously, trying to shake off the blond young man hanging on to her tail. She rose higher and higher, thankful for the tall cathedral ceilings of the old house. Twenty feet in the air, she scratched Malfoy with her sharp talons, causing him, in a moment of surprise, to loosen his hold on her feathers.

"BLOODY BIRD!"

The next moment, Malfoy was falling through the air, flapping his arms wildly, and yelling at the top of his lungs. She swooped down and caught him by the robes and hung him, still shrieking, from the chandelier. Landing softly next to a flabbergasted Bellatrix, Lily changed back to her human form, quickly pointing her wand at the young woman. Remus had managed to bind all the Slytherins with ropes from his wand once again, even though they were all still out cold.

"Anything else, Regulus?" She asked quietly, glancing into his cold eyes.

That night, Sirius and James were not talking to anyone. Each had wandered off into his own haven inside one of the many rooms the Shrieking Shack provided. Lily and Remus were left to themselves in the living to relive the events of that afternoon in front of the hearty fire.

After he had revived the rest of the Death Eaters and levitated Malfoy off the chandelier, Regulus had forced everyone to Disapperate at once. James wrote to his father immediately after, asking him to place an Apparating Block on the property. Only one of the Marauders (including Lily) would be able to Apparate within the house. After the letter was sent, James had stalked out of the room, refusing to look anyone in the eye, especially Sirius.

"What was that all about?" She asked Remus quietly.

Lupin looked at her with sad eyes, and smiled at her softly. "The whole Death Eater part? Or..."

"Both I suppose," Lily sighed.

"They were yelling about plans not going well. The Death Eaters I mean. The Order was mentioned; something about Regulus not doing what he was supposed to be doing..." He paused. "As for those two? Well..."

"Remus?"

"Well...seems like they haven't been telling each other everything, doesn't it? I mean we're all friends here, Lily, but James and Sirius...they're like brothers. And the thing is, they could have very easily been enemies. There's an inexplicable bond there, one even I can't understand..."

"So what Regulus said— about Sirius not being able to—about him finally loving some—I mean...is that why James is acting this way? "

"I don't know. But they're being really stupid right now. I should go see if I can talk to one of them..." He got up slowly from the sofa. "Don't worry, Lily." He walked out of the room.

Lily listened as he made his way up the creaking steps. Suddenly, the house felt very empty. She tried to make sense of it all as she stared into the fire, searching in the embers for a straight answer for once. She heard a floorboard creak behind her and out of reflex leapt off the chair, facing the doorway, her wand ready.

Sirius stood there, three feet away from her. If he felt threatened by her wand he gave no hint of surprise. She slowly lowered her wand. He stepped forward, and suddenly the three feet between them were gone.