~Sky's POV~
I woke up with someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and it was bright again. Cloud was standing over me.
"The doctors need to change the bandages." He said softly.
I tried to sit up, but I felt a weight on the top of my head and around my waist. I looked behind me and Sirius was sleeping peacefully. I slipped carefully out from under his arms and moved forward on the bed.
"Can we keep this quiet please? I don't want to wake him." I whispered to the doctor.
He nodded and smiled at me. Cloud carefully undid the back of my hospital gown and I held it on in the front. The doctor peeled back the bandages slowly.
"Thank God they stopped bleeding." He whispered.
I smiled to myself. I was glad that they were almost healed. I wanted to go back home. The doctor muttered a couple of spells under his breath and I felt warmth spreading across my back.
"They're healed enough for you to leave, Miss. Strife." The doctor said.
Then he turned to Cloud and started talking about legal things like release papers. I did up the knot in the back of my gown and turned back to Sirius. I smiled at his peaceful and angelic face. I loved him so much. Then I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. I turned sharply and saw Dumbledore standing there with a small drawstring pouch in his hands. He winked at me and nodded to Cloud and the healer. They both nodded back and left the room quickly.
"I'm glad to see that you are awake, Sky. It was quite frightening, those injuries of yours." Dumbledore said, sitting on the bed next to mine.
I nodded.
"Now, I have something I want to ask of you. I want you to think before you answer, not just give an answer. This is something I would only ask the best and the brightest to do. And barely legal adults would be my last choice in normal circumstances, but I have seen you do wonders." Dumbledore said slowly and softly, almost choosing his words carefully.
I nodded but looked at him with mild curiosity.
"I have already gotten permission from your brother, though he himself does not want to." Dumbledore went on.
"What is that you want from me?" I asked, half laughing.
"I have an offer for you. But to understand the seriousness of the situation, I must explain some things. You see, there was a student at this school, maybe 20 years ago. His name was Tom Riddle. Does this name strike you in any way?" Dumbledore asked.
I thought about it and the name did stir something. I tried to think back very hard and then it struck me. My last detention of last year was spent polishing trophies. Tom Riddle had gotten an award for special services to the school.
"Yes it does. I recognize the name from my last detention. I polished his award for special services to the school. But why is that a serious matter?" I said, still half laughing.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle was one of the brightest students to ever pass through Hogwarts. But his brilliance has turned to evil and malice. He is planning an uprising. He wants to have a pureblood society with only people of the purest decent like Sirius's family." Dumbledore said.
"But why is that bad? I am a pureblood, James is a pureblood. What should we have to worry about?" I asked, now confused.
"But this is where the evil comes in, Sky. He wants to eliminate all of those who are undesirable. These would include all of the Muggleborns, half bloods, muggles themselves, and those purebloods who are not with him." Dumbledore said, still choosing his words cautiously.
"You mean blood traitors." I muttered, recalling the incident on the train here.
"Yes, blood traitors. He wants a wizard world and only a wizard world. And he will stop at nothing to get it." Dumbledore said.
"But how can he? He is but one person." I whispered, starting to realize the terror that would ensue if he was able to.
"Of course he cannot. Any sane person would realize that he cannot on his own. But he has followers. They call themselves the Death Eaters. The all bare the Dark Mark, a skull with a snake for a tongue." Dumbledore said.
"How appropriate." I muttered sarcastically.
"You know some of them already. Lucius Malfoy, Ruphodolus Lestrange, and Belatrix Black are just a few that have proudly displayed their allegiance. I suspect that Regulus Black, Severus Snape, and Narcissa Black are also involved. Maybe even Mr. Knott." Dumbledore said.
I looked at him with shocked eyes but a smooth face. "And what do Death Eaters do exactly?" I asked in a hoarse whisper.
"They do the bidding of Tom or more commonly Lord Voldemort. This can range from inflicting panic upon innocent muggles, to recruiting other followers, to torturing and killing those who are undesirable." Dumbledore said.
My horror showed on my face and it brought tears to my eyes. "Do you think that this attack on me was more than just because my friends and I pull pranks on them?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"I'm afraid so. I have heard from different teachers that have overheard them planning. You are one of the first of those whom they attacked. It was practice for them. James would have been next and then Sirius and then Remus and then finally Lily, if they had succeeded in torturing you and leaving you to die slowly. This was their first assignment and Voldemort is not happy." Dumbledore said.
I realized then how serious this was. Once we graduated, there was not going to be a Marauder's Map to help find missing people. There wasn't going to be a Dumbledore to punish them. Once those monsters got out into the real world, chaos would begin. This had to be stopped and fast.
"What is being done about this? Surely something is being done to stop those who aren't inside the castle walls?" I asked, almost about to cry.
"Yes there is. There is a society called the Order of the Phoenix I created to match the Death Eaters. We are going to try and stop them from taking control of life as we know it. Which brings me to my purpose. I only told you these things, not to scare you, but to ask you to join the resistance." Dumbledore said.
I was about to answer right away but I stopped. This would be a dangerous job, even more dangerous than being an Auror. I would be facing death practically every time I encountered Death Eaters because I knew that I wouldn't be in it for a draw. I knew that they had to be stopped one way or another. And their minds were probably the same way. It was either kill or be killed. But I couldn't imagine the amount of pain that families would have to go through if they lost family members just for what their blood was. I sighed and looked at my lap. I closed my eyes. I had my choice.
"I will join the Order of the Phoenix, Professor. I want to fight against Voldemort and his band of monsters." I said firmly.
"I knew you would." Dumbledore said, patting my leg.
I looked back at Sirius. I would hate to see him hurt if I died, but I knew it was the right choice.
"Oh, don't worry about Sirius, Sky. He already joined last night while you slept. Your other friends have also agreed to join." Dumbledore laughed.
I smiled and nodded.
"Lily left some clothes for you to change into as well. You can go back to school if you wish." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
I nodded eagerly.
"I'll let you change then." Dumbledore said and then he swept from the room.
I sighed and then carefully slid from the bed, trying not wake Sirius. My feet touched the floor and I stood up. I felt decent, just a bit sore from sitting for too long. I tip toed over to the pile of clothes that was sitting next to the tray of still warm food. I slipped into the little WC attached to the room and closed the door. I carefully undid the hospital gown and looked in the mirror over a sink. I could see the scars that were left from that day in the ROR. They were just raised lines that criss-crossed across my back, making it look like a window screen. There were ten total. About five still had bandages on them, but I could tell that they were almost healed. I sighed and slipped on my undergarments and then looked at the scar on my stomach. It looked just like the ones on my back. I then looked at the tiny one across my left cheek. It wasn't as prominent as I thought it would be. I could live with that. I slipped on the black pair of jeans and the plain white long sleeve shirt and then my robe over it. I put on the plain black pair of flats and sighed. I hoped that the rumors weren't too bad. I was still alive which would put a lot of them to rest, hopefully. I opened the door and found Sirius awake, clothes changed, and smiling at me. I smiled back and walked over to him. He stood up and took my hand smoothly. I just noticed how perfectly our hands fit together. We walked down to the waiting room and found Cloud waiting for us there. We all used floo powder to get back to the castle. It was almost lunch time.
"Let's go get some food." Sirius said, squeezing my hand.
We both walked into the Great Hall and the entire school seemed to turn at once and gasp. I was hoping for a less dramatic entrance. But then suddenly, the entire Gryffindor table stands up on the benches and gives a loud cheer that nearly shatters the windows. Lily, James, and Remus all came running at me and tackled me in a hug. Peter, once again, was nowhere to be seen. After the riot had settled down, I sat down and ate a huge meal, everyone giving me pats on the shoulders; Sirius had warned them not to give me pats on the back because of the incident.
Eventually, I was able to peel myself away from the crowd of well-wishers and reluctantly let go of Sirius and drag myself up to my dorm room for bed. I had been sleeping for a ridiculous amount of time, but I just felt so exhausted. After I changed into my sleep clothes and crawled into bed, the gravity of the decisions that had been made today fell on me. I was now involved in a war that I didn't even know the scope of. I knew the basic details and not much else. Despite the doubts I had, I still felt like my decision was the right one. I had my friends to back me up and everything was going to work out fine. I fell asleep thinking about how everything was going to be much MUCH different from now on.