Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize as someone else's. Obviously J.K. Rowling own Harry Potter et al.

A/N: Big, extra-special pizzas go out to dave, Whitelighter Enchantress, and lionsmane for their reviews!!!!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!

"Hey, Cati," said Cadance, glancing over at her friend as the two lay on towels by the lake, basking in the sun.

"Yeah, Cadance?" answered Cati as she lifted up her head to see Cadance better.

"Do you have a feeling we're forgetting something?" asked Cadance.

"Hmmmm," said Cati, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. She began to tick off things on her fingers as she spoke. "The students are gone. Their finals are graded. The Order Meeting isn't until after dinner. Those reports for Harry are all done…"

"… And sitting on your desk," said Cadance with a sigh.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" asked Cati, rolling onto her side, propping herself up with her elbow, and holding out a fist.

"Right," said Cadance, matching her.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"Paper covers rock," said Cati, sliding her sunglasses back over her eyes, and rolling back over onto her back. "And get me a margarita on your way back."

"Yes, princess," said Cadance, as she got to her feet. "I'll be back."

"I'll miss you," said Cati

Cadance hurried back up to the castle and into Cati's office. After grabbing the reports from Cati's desk, she used Floo Powder to go to the Ministry. She went directly to Harry's office. He appeared busy, and didn't even notice when she walked in.

"Major Cadance Weasley reporting for duty, sir, General Potter, sir!" exclaimed Cadance, snapping to attention.

"Do you have my reports?" asked Harry without looking up.

"Yes, two reports from Aurors CRDD2301 and CMN2303, ready to be filed," said Cadance.

"Add them to the pile," said Harry, still not looking up.

"What have you got here?" asked Cadance, looking at what he was reading.

"I'm buried in paperwork, understaffed, and will probably be late for the meeting tonight," said Harry.

"Oh," said Cadance. "Well, I'm going to go back to sunbathing."

Harry looked up and glared daggers at her. Cadance sighed. "What can I do to help?"

"Read the incident reports and let me know if anything needs my attention," said Harry. "I'm working on reading papers from people who filed for promotions."

"Alright," said Cadance. "But I hope you know this means that Cati is laying by the lake by herself and will therefore be very angry with me later."

"I'm sure she'll get over it," said Harry.

Meanwhile, back at the lake…

"Where'd Cadance go?" asked Bill, as he came and sat down on the towel that Cadance had vacated.

"Uhhhh... I don't remember," said Cati, without opening her eyes.

Bill looked left, then right and then back down at Cati. "Did the Giant Squid get her again?"

"It's hard to care when you're this relaxed," said Cati.

"Harry, I'm starving," said Cadance. "We've been at this for 2 hours. The Order is meeting in an hour. Let's go eat something at Hogwarts before the meeting."

"Just 10 more minutes," said Harry.

"Harry, if we don't break now, I'm going to eat you," said Cadance pointedly.

Harry looked up. "I'll go files these, then I'll meet you at Hogwarts," he said, standing up and gathering his papers.

"Good deal," she said, gathering the unfinished paperwork as Harry left his office.

She was just stacking them neatly in a corner when a tall man entered Harry's office. "Ah, Major Weasley," he said.

Cadance turned at the sound of his voice. She gave him a small smile. "Yes?" she asked. "I'm sorry, do I know…"

"Your reputation precedes you. I'm Major Frank Brown," he said, extending his hand. Cadance shook it. "I was just looking for General Potter."

"He went to file some papers before leaving for the day," answered Cadance. "I'm sorry, I thought I knew all the other Majors…"

"I'm not in the Auror Department," said Brown. "You don't know?"

"I don't," responded Cadance, eyeing him curiously.

"I was the one who requested you and Catalin Weasley for promotion into our department, but General Potter said you couldn't be spared," he said. Cadance still looked blank. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Let's have a little chat elsewhere, Major Brown," said Cadance gesturing him out the door.

"So Cadance never came back from the Ministry?" asked Charlie, as Harry wolfed down dinner in the Order of the Phoenix meeting room. The meeting was supposed to start any minute and everyone was already there except Cadance.

"She said she'd meet me here," said Harry, barely understandable because his mouth was full of food. "She said she was starving. Maybe she's in the kitchens."

"Did you see here when you were down there?" asked Sirius.

"No," said Harry. He took a large bite of his roll.

"She could have been hiding," suggested Ron.

"Ron," said Charlie, rolling his eyes.

"No, no," said Cati, deep in thought. "He's got a point."

"Maybe she's eating in her room," suggested Jen.

"Maybe…" began George before he was cut off as the door opened rather violently. Cadance walked in.

"Harry," she said, sounding way calmer than she looked, which was never a good thing. "Is there something you'd like to tell me and Cati?"

Harry paused with the roll half-way to his mouth. "You're both radiant?" he suggested.

Cadance swiped the roll from his hand, causing him to jump, and pegged it at his head. "I ran into Major Brown today on my way out of the Ministry."

Harry seemed to shrink a little. "Look, I can explain…"

"Explain what?" piped in Cati. She looked from Cadance, who was glaring, to Harry. "What's going on?"

"Cadance, you don't…." started Harry.

"Harry," spat Cadance, "has forgotten to inform Cati and I that we were asked to join the Department of Mysteries."

There was a stunned silence that followed. Bill and Charlie exchanged a troubled glance. Harry ran his hand through his hair nervously and looked at the floor. "I told them that I couldn't spare any of my best Aurors at the moment," he explained.

"But you didn't tell us," said Cadance. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking about the lower survival rate in the Department of Mysteries," said Harry.

"It's not your job to protect us," argued Cadance.

"Yes, it is!"

"I told Major Brown that I would tell Cati about the offer and that we would think about it," said Cadance. Harry stared blankly at her, unsure of how to react.

"You're not going to take it, are you?!" exploded Charlie.

"Charlie, we'll talk about this later," said Cadance.

"Actually, I was told that anything mentioned in this meeting room is automatically open to interpretation, critique, and ridicule by the rest of the group," said Chris. "I think that applies here."

"Hey, Chris, if you want to stay on the good side of your girlfriend's parents, you'd better shut your yapper," said Cadance, pointing a finger at him.

"Noted," said Chris.

Everyone stared at her, as if wanting her to explain more. "If it makes anyone in this room feel better, it would only be a temporary appointment to the Department of Mysteries," said Cadance, rolling her eyes.

"Why's that? Because you won't be alive long enough for anything besides a temporary appointment?" asked Remus.

"Don't you start, Remus. I was banking on you being on my side with this," said Cadance.

"So you are taking it then?" said Charlie, in an accusing tone.

"I didn't say that, "said Cadance.

"Why only temporary?" asked Bill.

"They have a… what did he call it?... an operation," explained Cadance. "He said we'd be perfect for it."

"What kind of an operation?" asked Cati.

"He wouldn't release most details without our commitment to the project," said Cadance. "He told me no more than was necessary."

"Including level of risk?" asked Bill.

Cadance paused. "High," she answered.

"Perfect," said Charlie, running one hand over his face.

"How long?" asked Jen.

"We start as soon as possible," said Cadance. "Could last a couple of months. Maybe more. Maybe less."

"Albus, Minerva, Arabella, surely one of you have something to say to talk them out of this," said Remus. "Arthur. Molly. Someone."

"I'm just here to guide," said Dumbledore. "I'm technically dead."

"Oh good," said Charlie. "Then you and Cadance and Cati can hang out when they're dead, too."

"Charlie!" exclaimed Cadance angrily.

"Cadance," said Arthur quietly, speaking up for the first time. "Consider one thing before you make a decision. If someone came to Melinda with this offer, what would you do?"

Cadance and Melinda locked eyes for a second. Then Cadance said, "I would tie her up, lock her in a closet, and stop her from going." She pulled out her wand and twirled it through her fingers. "And if anyone here can tie me up, I'll willingly stay behind."

"Sounds like you already made up your mind," said Charlie, quietly.

"I think we should probably end this meeting now," said Cadance, unable to look at him. "Cati, let's go have a chat." Cati nodded and followed her out the door.

There was a few seconds where nobody said anything, and then Sirius said, "So how should we go about tying them up? We've got to have a plan, or else there may be some casualties."

"I'm sorry," said Harry, shaking his head. "I tried to hide it from them."

"Can't you tell them that they can't go?" asked Jen, turning to McGonagall.

"Yes, because they always do what I say," said McGonagall sarcastically.

"I think you should let them go," said Wendy.

"Hey, whose side are you on?!" exclaimed Sirius.

"For crying out loud, there's a Dark Lord running around. He's been around for a long time. Don't you think you're being a little bit selfish by wanting them to stay?" asked Wendy.

"No," said Sirius, shaking his head. "And you just lost speaking privileges." Wendy cocked her head and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

Sirius turned to Harry. "Can I sleep in your spare room? The couch hurts my back."

"Cadance was asked to join the Department of Mysteries once before. How did you get her to say no then?" asked Jen.

"I asked her to marry me," said Charlie.

"Oh," said Jen. "So that probably only works the one time then."

Cadance and Cati went into Cadance room, locked the door, and then sat on the bed. "What do you think, Cati?" asked Cadance.

"I'm kind of wishing we had a few more details," said Cati. "For example, why us? Why now?"

"I know, I was thinking that, too," said Cadance. "Major Brown said he went to Harry two days ago. Last time, Minerva and I were asked was because we escaped from Voldemort's lair. We were asked just a day later. We broke you guys out of Slytherin's lair a few weeks ago. What's happened recently to make them ask us?"

"There was that Death Eater battle last week," suggested Cati.

"No, that was brilliance on Harry's part, not ours," said Cadance. "Nothing's happened in the last few days on our end. It must be something on their end."

"Whose end? The Department of Mysteries' or Voldemort's?" asked Cati.

"I don't know. Could be either," said Cadance. "It could be both."

"But it's something," said Cati. It was a cross between a statement and a question.

"It's an anomaly," said Cadance.

"Enigma," corrected Cati.

"I hate enigmas."

"I can live with them." Cadance and Cati locked eyes for a few seconds. "Cadance…"

"They don't necessarily need both of us, Cate," said Cadance, seeing where she was going.

"Melinda is mostly grown," said Cati. "Vivien's hardly 12. I'm not saying that the fact that Melinda is grown up makes it easier for you to go. It's not. But the fact that Vivien's so young does make it easier for me to stay."

"I know," said Cadance. "Vivien's already lost her mom once. She just got her back. It would be unfair for her to lose her again so soon."

"But you're going," said Cati, again half-statement, half-question.

"There was a reason they asked us," said Cadance. "I have to help. I've got to."

Cati paused. "We're really not doing this together?"

"I know. This is huge," said Cadance.

"We've only voluntarily parted ways once before and that was when you came to teach at Hogwarts," pointed out Cati.

"I know," said Cadance.

"You'd better go tell Charlie," said Cati. "He's going to be devastated."

Cadance heaved a sigh. "I know," she said. Cati pulled her into a hug. They held onto each other for a few seconds.

"Come on," said Cati, tilting her head towards the door. They stepped out into the common room, where Charlie and Bill were sitting silently in arm chairs. They both hopped up when Cadance and Cati came entered and looked at them expectantly. Cadance and Cati exchanged a look. Cati squeezed Cadance's hand then went to go stand next to Bill, who wrapped his arms around her.

"Charlie," said Cadance. "I need to talk to you." She turned around and headed back into her room. Charlie followed, and closed the door behind him. Cadance was sitting on the bed.

"Hey, kid," said Charlie, casually. "Long day?" Cadance gave him a week smile and he sat next to her on the bed and took her hand.

"Cati doesn't want to go on the mission," said Cadance, squeezing his hand. "She can't bring herself to leave Vivien like that again."

"Thank God," said Charlie, breathing a sigh of relief and pulling her close to kiss her temple.

"No, Charlie, you don't understand," said Cadance, locking eyes with him. "Cati is not going."

It took Charlie a second to realize what she meant. "You're still going?" he asked.

"It's something I have to do," said Cadance. "They picked us for a reason."

Charlie wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his chest. "When will I get to see you?" he asked.

"I don't know. Every few weeks, maybe," she answered into his chest.

"I'm afraid of losing you," said Charlie.

"Hey," said Cadance, looking up at him. "Not going to happen." Charlie put one finger under her chin and kissed her.

"When do you have to tell the Department of Mysteries that you'll do it?" he asked.

"Before Major Brown leaves the department tonight," said Cadance. Charlie's lips moved down to Cadance's neck. "I suppose I have some time…"

McGonagall was sitting at her desk, absentmindedly stirring her tea while staring blankly at some letters she should have been responding to when there came a soft knock on her door. "Come in," she called. Charlie entered. "Well?" McGonagall was skipping the formalities.

Charlie sat down in front of her desk. "Cadance is going. Cati is not."

"What?" asked McGonagall, cocking an eyebrow. "They're splitting up?"

"Yeah," answered Charlie.

"Surely this is a sign of the apocalypse," said McGonagall.

"Cadance went to the Department of Mysteries to tell them she's going," continued Charlie. "She just got back. She's packing now."

"Packing?" asked McGonagall.

"She leaves in the morning, and she has no idea how long before she can come back," said Charlie.

McGonagall sighed. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"No, I'm not," said Charlie, shaking his head. He paused before changing the subject. "Cadance has worked it out with the Department of Mysteries. She's going to be able to send messages back to the Order of the Phoenix through them. She sent me here to ask you if she can take Fawkes with her though."

McGonagall glanced over at the bird, which was sitting peacefully on its perch. "Of course," she said. "Why don't you go back to her now? I'll contact the rest of the Order and tell them to be here in the morning to say goodbye."

"Well, folks, I'm off to fight the forces of evil," said Cadance the next morning as everyone congregated in the Great Hall to say goodbye. "Don't wait up."

"Jokes? Really?" asked Sirius, cocking an eyebrow disdainfully.

"Lighten up," said Cadance, giving him a hug, then continuing on down the line. "I'll be back before you guys know it." She reached Harry. "Well, it looks like I finally got out of your training sessions from hell, Harry."

"Yeah, you really pulled one over on me," deadpanned Harry, giving her a hug.

Cadance hugged almost everyone in turn, and then turned to her nieces and nephews. "Molly. James. Make sure you read your Defense Against the Dark Arts books over the summer. My N.E.W.T. class is a real bitch," she said.

"We will, Aunt Cadance," said James as they both hugged her.

"Vivien. Abby. Keep an eye on Cati. I'm the voice of reason in our relationship and without me, she might do something crazy," said Cadance.

"Hey!" exclaimed Cati as Cadance hugged Abby and Vivien.

Cadance reached Fred and Joseph. She got down on one knee so that she was at their level. "Boys," she said very seriously. "You're in charge. Keep everyone in line."

Fred and Joseph both saluted her. She pulled them into a hug.

"Sev," said Cadance turning to Snape. "I know you're not very touchy. So high-five." She held her hand out. Snape sneered and then slapped it.

"Try not to get yourself killed," he said icily. Cadance winked at him.

Cadance now turned to Dumbledore, Merlin, and the three Founders. "Hey, don't go poofing back to wherever it is that you came from while I'm gone," she said.

"We'll try not to go anywhere," said Godric, as she hugged each of them.

"And Uncle Albus, make sure Minerva doesn't clean up my office while I'm gone," she said.

"I can't promise anything," he responded.

Cadance turned to Charlie, Melinda, Bill, and Cati last. "Keep an eye on Charlie for me," she said, hugging Bill.

"I will," he answered.

She turned to Cati next. "Hey…" she began.

"I know," said Cati hugging her. "We'll play Twister when you get back."

"You're going down," said Cadance, winking, and then turning to Melinda.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," said Cadance, putting two hands on her shoulders.

"Well, I was planning on blowing my life savings in Vegas, but I guess I can put that off until you get back," said Melinda.

Cadance pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I love you," she said. "And if you decide the Vegas trip can't wait, take your Aunt Cati. She knows how to count cards."

"I love you, too, Mom," said Melinda.

At last, Cadance turned to Charlie. He grabbed both of her hands. "This isn't goodbye," she said. "It's I'll-see-you-soon."

"I know," he said, brushing a tear from her cheek. He kissed her, then pulled her into a hug and didn't let go for a few seconds. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Cadance.

"Come back to me."

"I promise," she said, locking pinkies with him. He kissed her forehead. Suddenly Fawkes settled on Cadance's shoulder. She took a step backwards. "See you guys soon," she said. Suddenly there was a burst of flames, and when it cleared, Fawkes and Cadance were gone.

"So," said Wyatt, during the tense silence. "Cati can count cards, huh?" Melinda smacked him in the back of his head.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!! 100+ hits to the last chapter, and 3 reviews. We're getting better!