A/N: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update this story but I was unsure where I wanted it to go. Now finally, here is the newest chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Dumbledore was already waiting for them and called them in before they were able to knock on his office door. They stepped in together, greeted him politely and sat down on the chairs in front of his desk.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Black may I give you my congratulations on your engagement?" he beamed at them with twinkling eyes.
"Thank you, Professor," they answered politely.
"Why are we here, Professor?" Sirius asked impatiently.
"I assume you told Mr. Black about your past, Miss Granger?" he asked Dora.
"Yes, I told him about my accident," Dora replied.
"Good, good, a marriage shouldn't be built on lies," he nodded wisely. "Now, I wondered if you could possibly tell us a little more about your past," he said expectantly.
"What would you like to know, Professor?" Dora asked hesitantly.
"Am I right when I assume Voldemort will eventually be defeated?" he asked the question that was most important to him.
"Yes, he will be defeated eventually but not for many years to come. He will be forced to go into hiding in a few years but he will find a way to come back. The wizarding world will be able to recover for a few peaceful years before the war breaks out again. But Voldemort will be defeated eventually," Dora told him.
Sirius had flinched at Voldmort's name but stayed quiet. This was the opportunity to find out more about the future, he didn't want to be send away now. The Dark Lord's eventual defeat was really good news.
"Forced into hiding? What could possibly force Voldemort into hiding?" Dumbledore asked puzzled.
"I can't tell you that, but he will be very week for a few years until he manages recover. You will have thirteen years of peace before that happens though. Most of his followers will abandon him in that time because they think him dead."
"Why can't you tell us? Maybe he could be defeated earlier if you just told us how!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Because for Voldemort to be defeated two certain people need to willingly sacrifice their lives and you would never let that happen if you knew everything! I don't want to let it happen but I don't want Voldemort to win the war either. I feel like I'm condemning them to death and I don't want you to feel the guilt I feel," she ranted. By the time she had finished she was breathing heavily and holding back tears.
"You are right, Miss Granger. We would probably try to change things and in the process possibly make it worse. I will allow you to keep your secrets, for the Greater Good. Although I hate being in the dark I must admit," the headmaster said.
"So we will just allow those people to sacrifice themselves? We will just stand by and watch what happens?" Sirius asked incredulously. He couldn't understand how Dora and Dumbledore could sit there and just accept the death of two people.
"Mr. Black, everyone who decides to fight in this war is prepared to die for the cause. Their deaths may seem meaningless or pointless to you, but they are not. We fight and die to protect the people we love and to create a future worth living for our children. We do not force people to sacrifice themselves but we gladly accept everyone who is willing to fight. We are at war and loss of lives and innocence are sadly unavoidable," Dumbledore explained gently with a heavy sigh, his eyes losing some of their usual twinkle.
"Who is this 'we' you are talking about, Professor?" Sirius inquired.
"The Order of the Phoenix," answered Dora to Sirius' astonishment.
"Quite right, Miss Granger," he said and nodded at Dora. "The Order of the Phoenix is a group I founded to fight against Voldemort. Many of its members are Aurors but not all. As I said, everyone who is willing to fight can join The Order as long as he or she is of age and out of school," he explained to Sirius.
"How did you know about The Order?" Sirius asked Dora.
"I'm from the future, remember? Besides, nearly my whole family was in The Order, they told me a thing or two – the true story, not the crap Skeeter wrote in her book," Dora replied and sneered at the thought of Rita Skeeter.
"Ah yes, Miss Skeeter certainly likes to twist the truth to her liking," commented Dumbledore.
"Now I'm sure you two have better things to do than keeping an old man company. Off you go, we will continue this conversation another time," Dumbledore dismissed them and they made their way out of the office.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Sirius when they were standing in the corridor again.
"I'm going to the library and do my homework for the holidays. Not much else to do around here anyway," Dora answered and started to walk towards the library.
Sirius wanted to spend time with Dora but he didn't want to go to the library, so he went back to Gryffindor Tower and hoped he would be able to spend some time with her later.
When Dora arrived at the library she saw she wasn't the only one there. Severus Snape was sitting at one of the tables working on his own homework assignments. She went over to his table and sat down next to him like she had the day before.
"Hello Severus, what are you working on?" Dora asked him while she took out her own books, parchment and quill.
"History of Magic," he replied curtly and continued to scribble away, a scowl edged on his face.
"You don't seem to like History too much," she remarked and decided to start with her own Transfiguration assignment.
"I don't. It's boring me to tears," he answered, still not looking up from his parchment.
"I actually find History of Magic quite interesting. It's just Binns who makes you want to fall asleep, no wonder no one ever likes the subject," Dora said and started scribbling as well. She hardly needed to look at her book to write the essay.
They both fell silent, too engrossed in their homework to keep up the conversation. They worked in companionable silence until it was time for lunch. To avoid another fight with Sirius they went to the Great Hall separately.
When Dora arrived at the Great Hall, Sirius was already there and she sat down beside him. He gave her a happy grin.
"Hey Dora, want to hang out together this afternoon?" he asked while he proceeded to eat his pie.
"Sure, why not," Dora agreed. She had nothing better to do anyway and she figured it would be good to get to know her future husband better.
They talked about Quidditch – one of the few things they had in common – while eating their lunch. When they were finished they went to the Room of Requirement where they could talk freely without being overheard.
The room turned into a small cosy common room for them, complete with a sofa, two armchairs, a fireplace with a fire crackling inside, a bookcase and a small table with a chessboard on it. Despite Dora being a Ravenclaw, the room was kept in Gryffindor red.
"So, what did you have in mind?" Dora asked the Gryffindor.
"Well, honestly I'm not much for reading or chess, so how about we just talk some more, get to know each other better," he suggested.
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Dora agreed and sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace.
Sirius sat down next to her and asked, "Tell me about your family?"
"Will you tell me about yours, too?"
"There's not much to tell, but okay," Sirius agreed.
"Alright, well, my parents' names are Ronald and Hermione and I have a little brother named Hugo, he's fourteen. I have a lot of cousins and most of them are redheads, like me. I won't bore you with all their names, don't worry."
"My mother's parents are muggles and live in Australia, so I don't see them often, unlike my other grandparents. My mother is an only child but my father has a lot of siblings, so my family is actually quite large. Nearly all of them are Gryffindors," Dora told him.
"So you are the odd one out, too?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, although I'm not the only one. One of my cousins was a Ravenclaw, too, one is a Hufflepuff and my favourite cousin ended up in Slytherin. His father is cool about it though. I think my father would have blown up if I had gotten into Slytherin."
"Yes, I know what you mean. It's the same with me, just the other way around. You should have heard my mother rant and rave when I was sorted into Gryffindor. According to her I shamed the Ancient and Noble House of Black when I wasn't sorted into Slytherin like all my ancestors. She was very happy when Regulus, my younger brother, did what was expected of him and went to Slytherin like the good son he is. James always says I'm the white sheep of the Black family," Sirius said with a bitter laugh.
"Isn't there anyone you like from your family?"
"Not really, as soon as there is someone likable in my family, they get disowned. It happened to my favourite cousin Andromeda because she had the audacity to marry a muggle and it will probably happen to me, too, sooner or later, although I'd bet on sooner. Uncle Alphard is okay though and he somehow managed not to get disowned, yet."
"So you won't miss anyone from your family, when they disown you?"
"No, not really. Although I sometimes wish my brother wouldn't believe everything my parents - especially my mother - tell him. She's so obsessed with keeping our blood pure that she even went so far as to marry her own cousin. Did you know my mother's maiden name was Black, too? And now that crazy woman wants me to do the same. Bellatrix is just as insane as her, just as obsessed with blood purity. I can't wait to get away from them all. I wish my brother would realise that and do the same, but he won't listen to me. Every time I try to make him see, he accuses me of being jealous because our parents favour him."
"Do they? Favour him I mean," Dora asked.
"Oh yes, they do, he's their perfect little angel. He's everything I'm not and they like to rub it in. Even our damn house elf prefers him over me. They don't seem to realise that I don't want to be like them."
"I'm glad you aren't anything like them and that you try to look out for your brother even though he doesn't appreciate it," Dora told him and gave him a smile.
"I'm thinking about joining the Order," Sirius suddenly changed the topic. "I know it's dangerous, but would you be okay with it?"
"I know you will. I also know that nearly all of my family will join the Order. I'm from the future, remember?"
"Please don't tell me what I will do or what will happen to me in the future, it's creepy and it makes me feel like I have no choice," Sirius said.
"Alright, I won't," Dora promised.
The rest of the afternoon they spent playing Exploding Snap. At the end of the day they agreed to meet in the Room of Requirement every day of the remaining holidays for a few hours to get to know each other better.
Sirius was happy Dora actually gave him the time of day and they slowly managed to become friends. Dora was also still friends with Snape, something Sirius didn't like at all. But he held his tongue because he didn't want to get into another fight with his fiancée.