Kit woke up the next morning alone and was all kinds of sore. She grabbed a robe and stumbled down to the kitchen, wincing every step of the way. Her arms were bracleted with bruises and that was to say nothing of the inside of her thighs. James was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in one hand, the Daily Prophet in the other. He stood when she entered and kissed her gently when she stood beside him.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"I suppose. It was just..." Kit searched for the right word as she grabbed a mug from the cupboard. "Everything. We're all so young and Rose is having a kid and apparently I'm horrible to be around and none of you are-"

"Stop," James took the mug from her hand and kissed her palm. "Let's not fight again."

"I dunno," Kit jumped up onto the counter and hooked her legs around James. She pulled him so he stood snugly between her legs and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Last night was certainly enjoyable."

James raised her brows at her and ran a hand along her arm. "Really? You're black and blue," he frowned and brushed aside the edge of her robe. "Merlin," he breathed.

"Like I'm the only one with bruises," Kit stroked his shoulder where she'd held on too tightly and found an indent where she'd bitten him. With a quirk of her brows, Kit moved with cat-like agility and kissed the spot. James chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head, twirling a long stand of hair around his finger. Beneath him, Kit settled against him and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

"You're warm," she muttered, her eyes sliding shut. James smiled into her hair and ran his hands along her spine. She shivered against him, making him grin. There was a whoosh of wind then someone cleared their throat.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting."

Kit and James jumped back, Kit knocking her head against the cupboard as they stared at their headmaster. James coughed and flash Kit a quick grin, cheeky almost.

"What can we do for you, sir?" Kit asked, tugging her robe into place and hopping down. "Tea?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a social visit. I must speak with your, ah, fiance. My congratulations." He bowed his head to Kit before taking James aside. Kit sat and waited for them to leave the room. It was hardly fair that she shouldn't be included. James' wand was on the table, calling to her. Her hand whipped out to grab it and she leaned back to a dangerous angle in her chair. Improvising, she drew a line between her ear and the door with the wand, muttering under her breath until she could hear their conversation. It was like listening to a badly tuned radio, a sure sign that she needed more Charms practice.

"I've already spoke to Mister Black. I cannot stress how much we need you."

"What about Rose and Kit?"

"Mister Black made it quite obvious that he did not want Miss Morozov in harm's way. As for Miss Ruskova, I would advise against her attendance, if only to protect herself. We would not want a relapse of last Christmas."

"Of course."

"Will you be there with Mister Black tomorrow?"

"Of course, with Remus and Peter as well."

"Good, until tomorrow then." Kit hastened to act normal as the door opened. Her chair banged against the floor and she jumped up to the kettle.

"Are you sure I can't interest you in a cup of tea, sir?" Kit asked, the perfect picture of composure. Well, she would have been if not for James' curious look. It wasn't until she looked down and saw that she was about to pour water over her toast that she understood his look.

"I'm afraid I must be off. Good day," Dumbledore bowed his head and vanished. The kettle clattered down to the counter.

"So, where are you going tomorrow?"

"Eavesdropping?"

"You bet," Kit took a bite out of her toast and fixed him with a hard look. She could go at this all day.

"Kit, please, you have to understand-"

"Prongs!" Sirius called from the fireplace. James told Kit to stay there and ran to his best friend.

"Hey, Pads!" Kit said. James spun.

"Merlin, woman! Can't you do one thing I say?" James asked desperately. Kit smiled.

"Not really." She shrugged. "So, you going with James to this thing?"

"The Order meeting?" Sirius asked. James socked him in the shoulder.

"She's not supposed to know, you dolt!"

"How was I supposed to know that?" Sirius said as he rubbed his arm. Kit settled against the wall and pursed her lips at James.

"Order?"

"Kit, I'm serious..."

"So am I."

James sighed and pushed Sirius to his fiancée. "You deal with her."

"The Order is a group of people banning together to fight against The Dark Lord. Dumbledore is the head of it. He wants us to be a part of it."

"I see. And I'm not allowed because..." of course, she'd heard them talking about why they didn't want her to go.

"Well..." Sirius said, searching the room for something to distract her. Kit put her hands on her hips.

"Remember that dismemberment Charms I've been threatening you with?" He nodded and Kit tapped her temple. "Still got it up here,"

"Alright! Will you just spend the day with Rose? Please, I'm begging you, I don't want her to go."

"Why?"

"Why, blimey! She pregnant, isn't that enough?"

"I'm not."

"I know you aren't, but she needs someone there. What if something happens while we're gone?"

"Sirius, she's maybe two months pregnant. Even I know nothing will happen."

"Just do it, please!"

"If I do," she saw his look of hope, "big if, what do I get in return?"

"I'll get you all the chocolate from Zonko's you want."

"Deal," Kit shook his head and laughed when a very confused James walked in.

"She agreed?"

"I know! Who knew!" Sirius laughed and pulled James away.

"Hey! The meeting isn't until tomorrow."

"Boy time," Sirius said, nearing the fireplace.

"No, he needs to help me get all this stuff over to his place before I sell this house."

"If you let me take him now and spend tomorrow with Rosie, I will do all the moving for you." Sirius pleaded.

"Works for me!" Kit gave a dazzling smile before kissing James goodbye and pushing him into the fireplace.

"If you're so eager to get rid of me..."

"It's not that, hon. I just hate packing."


Kit stared at the coffee swirling around in her mug and tried to pull some inspiration from the milky drink. She was sitting beside Rose and desperately trying to distract her cousin from the fact that Sirius and James were leaving in – Kit checked her watch – four minutes. Kit was easily as antsy as the boys, just eager to go with them. Of course, she had to stay behind and watch the pregnant one while the boys had all the fun. How in the hell was she supposed to keep Rose busy when she wanted to drop everything and go with James? She looked up at James pleadingly and was met with a shrug.

"Gee, thanks," she muttered and stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at her, but gathered her up into his arms.

"We're heading out now. Behave." He gave her a stern look.

"What if I don't want to?" Kit smiled coyly.

"Then, we'll have to have a talk when I get back."

"Looking forward to it, love," Kit kissed him goodbye and gave his rear end a pat as he passed. Suddenly alone with Rose, Kit floundered for something to talk about. "So, Rosie. How's the house? Got everything in place?"

"Do not play dumb with me Katherine. I know you know."

Kit gave a nervous giggle and panicked. "Would you look at that, my cup's empty. How about yours? Need a refill?" She rushed to get Rose's cup and nearly tossed it into the sink.

"Katherine...what is going on?" Rose asked from the counter.

"Nothing. Nothing's going on."

"You never were a very good liar, you know."

Kit scoffed. "I'm a better liar than you are. I'm a terrific liar, in fact. I just...you know..." If she told Rose the truth without hesitating, Sirius would flay her since she didn't make an effort.

"Tell me,"

"No," Kit ran to the other side of the kitchen.

"Tell me,"

"Nothing to tell." Kit checked her watch and shrugged.

"Kit!"

"Have I stalled long enough to be convincing?" Kit asked, already taking Rose's hand.

"What?"

"Good enough," she pulled Rose outside and checked around before walking down the street.

"The Order of the Phoenix. It's a group of people Dumbledore is gathering to ban against the Dark Lord. He wants Remus and Peter and James and Sirius to be a part of it."

"Why not us?" Rose asked.

"The hell if I know why James wants to keep me away. Sirius doesn't want you there." Kit saw the spark in her cousin's eye. "Be reasonable, he's just worried about your...eh...condition."

"My condition? I am barely three months pregnant, nothing will happen! That intolerable man! I swear when he is getting back, there will be hell to pay! Merlin, I swear I will- I'll- oh!" Rose couldn't come up with a threat and instead huffed as Kit dragged her down the street. "Where on earth are we going?"

"Peter's late for everything." Kit checked her watch again. They had two minutes before the meeting started, which meant they had eighteen before Peter showed up. Through no fault of his own, Peter was always late. He had probably misplaced one of his shoes this time. Kit stopped in front of a small house, shabby-looking and worn out. She unlocked the door with the key Peter had given her years ago. With a grin, the lock clicked back and the door swung open. She saw light pool from a room on the right and pulled Rose in as quietly as possible. Telling her cousin to stand completely still, Kit crouched down and peeked into the room. Peter was pulling on his shoes, just as she had thought. She stood, grabbed Rosie's hand and counted to three.

The last thing Peter saw before Disaparating was Kit and Rose charging at him. Kit landed painfully on her knees, effectively dragging Rose down with her.

"What the—?" Peter rubbed his head before his watery blue eyes nearly popped out of his head. "They'll kill me! You can't be here!" But his protests fell on deaf ears. Kit was already past him and looking up at the building before her. In the middle of nowhere, it seemed. High grey walls covered in ivy, wrought-iron gates, and bright red roses blooming among the vines. Kit went to the gate and pushed it open.

"Who's house is this?"

"It's Dumbledore's."

"I thought he just lived at the school," Kit said, still in awe of the place.

"Of course he does not," Rose rolled her eyes at her cousin.

"The things I'd get up to if I had Hogwarts to myself..."

"Exactly why you never will," Rose pushed the gate open and walked through to the gravel path. The shrubbery had been carved into unicorns and centaurs that moved, whinnied and bowed as she passed. Kit ran past, heading for the door, but stopped four feet short.

"What are you waiting for?" Rose asked.

"I'm not," Kit frowned and put her hand up only to have it stop in mid-air. "Clever bugger," she muttered as Peter walked right past her.

"Is good magic."

"It's amazing magic. But the question is, how to we get past it?"

"Kit," Rose turned to her cousin and Kit knew the look in her eye.

"No, Rose we've come this far! You can't tell me you don't want to know what's going on in there."

"But we would be going against our Headmaster."

"Old Headmaster. C'mon, Rose. Don't you want to get at Sirius?" Kit watched as Rose chewed on her lip and considered. She heard her cousin breathe in and smiled.

"Oh, alright," Rose drew her wand and pressed the tip against the barrier. "If Dumbledore did this, how are we supposed to get past it?"

"There's got to be a way. I'm sure of it... Finite Incantatum."

"You did not really expect that to work, did you?" Rose scoffed. Kit stuck her tongue out.

"At least I'm trying."

Twenty minutes later and they were no closer to finding out what was going on inside than before. Kit was leaning against the barrier, appearing to be leaning on thin air, when the front door opened. Kit, too tired to noticed, didn't open her eyes until they spoke.

"He figured you'd be here. Come on," Snape spun and walked away, not even turning when Kit fell backwards as the wall dissolved. Gravel few up and scraped along her hands as she caught herself.

"Tosser," she muttered and stood. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you been getting initiated as a Death Eater, or whatever it is you freaks do?"

"Katherine!" Rose hissed.

"Tell me, did you know about the attacks? That we were being targeted?"

"Of course I knew, we all knew." Snape said as he led them through a cavernous foyer.

"You were there when he kidnapped us."

"I'd never heard you cry before, Katherine. Or scream nearly as much as you did." He said coolly. Kit grabbed his shoulder and pushed him against the wall.

"I don't who the hell you think you are but whatever game you're playing, it ends now."

"Game?"

"Don't pretend to be a friend, an ally then run off to your Master. What lie did you have to spin to get Dumbledore to believe you?"

"I didn't lie to him." Snape grabbed Kit's forearm and pushed her away with more force than she'd expected from the pale, skinny boy. "Here," He opened a door than led to a basement and walked down first. Kit had never been so tempted to push him down the steep, stone stairs. Once she even reached out to do it, but Rose caught her hand.

"Kit," Rose shook her head at her cousin.

"He's such a prat," Kit said, not bothering to keep her voice down. When the stairs finally came to an end, they turned into a large room, easily thirty people sat around it, Dumbledore at one end, a man who looked much like him sat to his right. Kit recognized some of them as past students. There was no mistaking the flaming hair of the Weasleys. There was Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Sturgis Podmore, a previous Hogwarts student who graduated two years before herself. She saw the Longbottoms, the Prewetts and Marlene McKinnon. Dumbledore had certainly recruited the right people; these were some of the brightest and talented witches and wizards of her time. They were all laughing and smiling, apparently not yet into the serious stuff. There were exactly three people not laughing. Four, if Kit counted Snape, which she didn't because he never laughed. One was James, who was caught somewhere between outrage and amusement; one was Sirius, who looked like he was about to have a litter of kittens. The last was Dumbledore, who just sat smiling at the cousins. Kit smiled back when he winked at her. She looked at Sirius and gave him a little shrug.

"I tried." Sirius looked apoplectic as she sat on James' lap. James wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that right?" he muttered into her skin.

"Uh-huh," Kit kissed him on the cheek. Sirius face caught her eye, turning an alarming shade of red. She stood and conjured two chairs beside her.

"Rosie, sit with me," Kit patted the chair and made a note to avoid Sirius at all costs. Rose slid over, her face white. Kit glared back at Sirius for a moment before putting an arm around Rose.

"No worries, love. He'll get that rod out of his backside soon enough. Just give it time." Rose gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"You're in a good mood," James noted quietly.

"Things are good,"

"Hello, Miss Ruskova and Miss Morozov. While I won't say I didn't expect you to come here, I'm glad you are so we can get started."

"You knew they were going to come?" Sirius asked, his face going from red to white with anger.

"You don't really think any measure could have kept these two away, did you?" He asked, looking at his old student from the tops of his glasses.

"I can think of one," he grunted with a pout.

Dumbledore chose to ignore him, eliciting a laugh from Kit. "You know why I've gathered you here. The Dark Lord, that is Lord Voldemort, is rising. He is preying on muggles and muggleborns. He believes in blood purity and wants to wipe out anyone who is not pureblood or doesn't not conform to his ideals. This means we are all at risk. Everyone at this table wants to stop this, wants to stand up and fight this blood cleansing. This is a dangerous job, it requires skill and weeks of work. It will require you to put your life on the line every day. If you have any doubt of your allegiance or you do not think you can risk your life, I ask you to leave now." Dumbledore waited patiently. Sirius gave Rose a meaningful look but Kit took her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. They were all in this, no matter what.

"There is no turning back from this point. This is your choice, one you must keep. You will do everything in your power to protect those around you and fight the darkness that threatens our world." Everyone around the table nodded solemnly. Kit would risk her life if it meant destroying that man, that monster, who ruined her life.

"I need your promise, all of you, that you will never stop this fight against the darkness, that you will stand alongside the members of this Order of the Phoenix and protect each one like they were family." Again, he was met with nods, stone-faced and serious nods. Even James and Sirius had sobered. Dumbledore asked them to place one hand on the table. Kit placed her right and James placed his left on the table while holding her hand in his lap. Dumbledore pressed the tip of his wand to the table and each grain of wood lit up and glowed a brilliant gold. The colour seeped through the wood until every curving grain was lit. Beneath their hands, the table grew hot, scalding as the colour intensified. Dumbledore asked them to keep their hands were they were until the table had completely cooled. Kit squeezed James' hand as the pain grew close to unbearable. Without moving his hand, he leant over and kissed her temple. The glowing died down and finally the table went cold. Slowly, in awe, Kit raised her hand to her eye and saw on the fourth finger of her right hand her fingerprint had changed. What had once been a swirl of ridges and loops was now in the shape of a feather. Curious, she pulled out a scrap of parchment and summoned an ink well. Sure enough, after covering her finger in ink and pressing it into the paper, a feather looked up at her. James pressed his ink-stained finger onto the page and another feather floated beside hers. His was different, larger, made of different swirls. They still were unique to the individual, like fingerprints, but now they were all connected. James smiled at her warmly and held her cheek, effectively smudging ink on the side of her nose. Kit's mouth dropped open and she dipped a finger in the ink well and drew a line along his cheekbone.

"Katherine, James, while I appreciate the need for comic relief, we must begin." Dumbledore said and with that, the real meeting began. Kit had never known there was so much going on. Albus must have been planning for ages. There was a strange energy to the meeting, one that Kit found distracting. Like a constant itch, she could tell something was off. She looked across the table to Snape and knew it was coming from him. He shouldn't be there, he wasn't on their side. They spoke of plans, of the Ministry, all things that Severus would no doubt tall the Dark Lord. Did Dumbledore not see it?

"Miss Ruskova, what do you think?" Kit looked up to see McGonagall looking intently at her.

"Pardon?"

"Do you ever pay attention?"

Before Kit could answer, Rose was already speaking, putting a hand on her back. "When have you ever known her to pay attention Professor?" It was met with laughter, and Kit saw Snape smirk at her, like he knew she was onto him and no one would believe her. Merlin, he drove her up the wall! When Dumbledore finally called the meeting to an end, Kit tried to talk to him, but she was swarmed by people.

"You and James got engaged! I always knew you two would get together." Molly Weasley gave her a hug.

"Come here, yeh two!" Hagrid clapped James on the back, nearly sending him flying and gave Kit a hug so tight she thought one of her ribs cracked.

"Thanks, thanks," Kit said distractedly, looking around for the familiar slimy mop of hair.

"Hon, what's wrong?" James whispered to her.

"I'll see you at home," Kit gave him a quick peck goodbye before following Snape out of the room.

"What do you expect me to do, Katherine? Admit to you that I'm working for the Dark Lord?"

"It would be a start," Kit said, rounding on him in one of the many hallways. She had no idea where in Albus' house she was, but she needed to talk to him.

"Why don't you trust me?"

"Why should I trust you? One minute to say that you'll always be there for me and the next you tell me that you were there when I was kidnapped and did nothing. I thought we hated each other."

"We do,"

"Then why are you helping us?"

"Katherine, just because I don't like you doesn't mean I'm not going to help. I'm not that petty." His tone was cool but the implication was clear.

"I'm not being petty, I'm trying to protect the people you say you care about. I don't know why Dumbledore even wastes time on you. It's so obvious you're on His side."

"Dumbledore trusts me. More than he trusts you."

"That's ridiculous! You don't care about a single person in that room."

"Not true." Snape stepped around her with a sneer.

"Unrequited love for James, is it?"

He stopped dead not two steps from her. "No."

"Sirius?"

His cold stare was answer enough.

Kit stopped to consider and looked back at the room. "It's Evans, isn't it?"

"Lily is a perfectly nice girl."

"So it is Evans! Just get married. She'll settle for you and you won't get anyone else."

"Sometimes I wonder why anyone puts up with you." He watched her hands clench. His lips twitched. "Hit a nerve, did I?"

Kit pulled back, ready to strike, but Snape drew his wand and kept her body still. "If I find out you've betrayed a single person in that room, I will murder you personally."

"Why do you think I would betray anyone here?"

"Because you're a Slytherin, you are a slime ball and you admitted you knew about us being kidnapped. Why should I even consider the fact that you might want to help Albus?"

"Your ignorance astounds me,"

"Ignorance! You are kidding, right? I have every reason to doubt your loyalty but you haven't given me a single reason to trust you."

"You asked if I cared about a single person in there. I respect the teachers and my old Headmaster, but there is one person in that room that I would give my life for. One person I would do anything to save. And that one person is the only reason I'm here, protecting a mess of people who did nothing short of torturing me in my childhood. If you want to doubt my loyalty to the group, fine. But I am devoted to that person." Kit had never heard Snape say so much outside of class, let alone show any kind of feeling. That alone made her consider, for half a second, that he might be telling the truth. It made her hesitate. But just as she went to ask who that one person was, Snape had lifted the charm and James was calling her name. Kit watched Snape go, his black robes swinging around a corner and out of site as James found her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders. Kit shook her head and waved his question off.

"I think the better question is what are you doing? Don't you have an ambush to plan or something?"

"Kit, you really are daft sometimes, you know that?"

"Of course I know that. You would have never chosen me if I wasn't."

"Quite true," Kissing her cheek, he led her out of the house. "That reminds me. We're just a few weeks away from graduating." They had all fallen behind and had to graduate in August instead of June with the rest of the school.

"Finally," Kit muttered, thinking of the Potions assignments she'd being putting off for months.

"I thought that was when we were going to get married."

Kit tripped on the gravel, surprised at James. "Uh, yeah. I know."

"You aren't happy?" He asked, brows furrowing over his bright hazel eyes.

"No, I'm ecstatic. I just thought you'd want to keep it off for a bit longer."

"Kit, we're at the beginning of a war. There's a chance that in a few months, I might never see you again."

Kit felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Dumbledore talking about it was fine, but when James Harold Potter started talking about it, about the possibility of any of them dying, it felt too real. She took a tighter hold on James and shook her head.

"Right. Let's not talk about that, hon."

"Hey, hey," James pulled her to a stop and held her face. "It's scary, I know. I don't...I can't even think about this war. It's too dangerous for any of us, too ambitious. I don't know how we're going to win, how we're going to fight and protect everyone. But do you know what I do know? That you never back down, you never give up. You meet every challenge head on and you know what? That makes me think we have a fighting chance." He rubbed his thumb along her cheek, watching the way her eyes flickered between each of his.

"You think so?" she asked, a true worry shining through.

"I do." James kissed her softly, chasing any worries from her mind for the moment. "Do you want to go home?"

"If you're so keen on having this wedding so soon, I think I need to get shopping." Kit smiled at him and popped out of sight a moment later. Laughing, James Apparated after her.

Kit landed in front of Sirius's new flat and pushed open the door. She really needed to get a proper key, using a charm made her feel a bit guilty.

"I know you're in here, Black!" Kit yelled from the hall. She crept through the house, sneaking around corners like a fool.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked. Kit straightened herself, noting the way his hair was standing on end and the furious look in his eye.

"Did you guys fight?" Kit asked, taking a cautious step into his room.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'll take that as a yes," she tiptoed over and sat down beside him on the bed. "Did you leave your socks out again? Dirty underwear? Oh, no, don't tell me you left the lid up." While he didn't exactly smile, Sirius shook his head and the corner of his lip twitched. Kit gave him a small smile and put an arm around him.

"I don't want her risking her life. Especially with a kid on the way."

"Now you see, there are two problems with trying to keep Rose from the Order. One: she's part Ruskova, there's no turning us away once we have our sights on something. Two: she's pregnant. Doesn't that mean that her hormones change or something? So, a little fight turns into a whole ordeal now." Again, his lips twitched.

"Okay, maybe you and James need to talk about your disobedient partners later, but Rosie'll calm down. She just doesn't want people to get hurt if she can stop it."

"But what if she gets hurt?"

"Then we call my dad in and he fixes her up."

"What if it's more than that? What if she dies?" Kit felt that same breathless feeling swoop through her.

"We'll never let that happen. Ever." She stood and brushed her hands off on her legs. "Pads, remember to put the lid down next time." She bent over and kissed his cheek. She popped away and opened her eyes to face James and Rose.

"There you are." Kit took Rose, noting that she'd already put her things in the spare room and brewed a big pot of tea.

"I don't feel like talking about fighting or the Order or anything like that, so," Kit sat Rose down and put her hands on the table. "We have planning to do."

"Planning for what?"

"Well, first I have a bunch of Potions assignments to get done, then, if there's time, we can start planning something else."

"What?" Rose asked, taking a cup and blowing across the top.

"It's a surprise."

"Katherine," Rose sighed, a perfect imitation of her mother. Kit just beamed at her cousin and pushed a stack of papers at her.

"Help, please."


I'm trying to get all my chapters up to date, so a few might be uploaded tonight. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for reading,

Dahlia