Geoffrey awoke the next morning to find Emilie curled up beside him, her breathing still slow and regular, her legs tangled with his. The bruise on her cheek, partially concealed by her dark hair, was still a deep purple, though around the edges it had already begun to fade to a greenish yellow. Blood from the cut on her arm had begun to soak through the bandages. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her lightly. She stirred and a faint smile crept onto her face, but she did not wake.

Disentangling himself from her, Geoff got out of bed and quickly pulled on a fresh set of robes before heading down to the common room. He dropped himself down on the end of Sirius's sofa. The movement of the couch under his weight was enough to make the darker haired boy crack open one eye and give him a baleful look.

"How's the couch?" Geoff asked, patting the armrest of the sofa. "Comfortable?"

"Not hardly." Sirius sat up, rubbing at his face in an effort to wake himself up. "No need to ask how yours was. It must have been awful with that snake in your bed."

"Oh, yeah, it was absolutely dreadful," Geoff said, rolling his eyes.

"What was absolutely dreadful?" James asked, descending the stairs into the common room, yawning.

"Your mum," Sirius said. He paused for a moment to yawn, and then went on, "Actually, Geoff here was just telling me about how poorly he slept last night with that snake between his sheets."

"Padfoot, lay off a bit," James said, pushing Sirius's legs off the couch to make room for himself. "I don't like her being here, either, but if Geoff's going to vouch for her, then that's fine with me. If she does turn out to be a Death Eater that's been spying on us, then Geoff gets full weight of the blame and will bear the consequences of her actions."

Sirius considered this for a moment. "And what would those consequences be, exactly?"

"Use your imagination," James said. He waited until a malicious grin had spread across his friend's face before turning back to Geoff. "However, if you decide to dump her now, we won't hold you responsible for her. But that only works if you do it now."

"No," Geoff said. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to dump Emilie just because you two don't trust her. I can't believe you'd even suggest that."

"Hey, mate, just trying to look out for you," James said, shrugging. "Just don't want you to get in over your head, that's all."

"I'm fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "She's fine. We're all fine. She's not a Death Eater. Even if she were, what has she done specifically that gives you any reason not to trust her?"

Sirius and James looked at each other for a moment in silence. As Geoff leaned back against the couch with a smug look on his face, Sirius burst out, "That doesn't change the fact that she's a Death Eater!"

"You're not talking about me, are you?" Emilie asked, appearing at the foot of the staircase. She crossed the room and settled herself on the armrest of the couch. She looked down at her arm. "I think I may need to go to the hospital wing..."

"Good, it'll get you out of our tower," Sirius said.

Geoff opened his mouth to say something, but Lily had appeared in the common room with Mariah right beside her, a bag full of books over one shoulder.

"Don't you guys ever go to class?" Lily asked. "We're going to be late for Transfiguration if you lot don't hurry up."

Geoff and Emilie stood, and they followed Lily and Mariah out of the portrait hole. They parted ways, Emilie heading toward the hospital wing, but the rest of the group trooped down to the third floor. By the time they reached the transfiguration classroom, class had already begun. McGonagall was standing at the front of the room with an iguana in her hands.

"Mansfield," she barked, "what are you doing here?"

"Err - I'm here for class, professor."

"The Headmaster asked to see you in his office. You, too, Miss Jaeger," she added as the others began to slink off to their seats. "Go on, don't keep him waiting all day."

Geoff and Mariah hurried out of the classroom and up to the seventh floor, stopping in front of the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office.

"Geoff, listen, I'm really sorry about the potions," Mariah said. "I wasn't with Remus last night when he went to take his, and he must have just taken the wrong one... If I had known that would have happened I wouldn't have had him go on his own."

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly. "I mean, it wasn't really all that important."

"Seemed pretty important last night. What were you going to use it for, anyway?"

"I was going to find out who in Slytherin was really a Death Eater," he said. "I thought it might have gotten Sirius to lay off some."

"You wanted to know who you could blame for killing your parents."

He shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I know none of them killed them. But I guess... yeah, I guess I wanted someone I could blame."

"Are the two of you going to stand there all day or do you need something?"

They both jumped at the gargoyle's question. It was glowering at them darkly, looking irritated.

"Dumbledore sent for us," Geoff said. "But we don't know the password."

"Oh, if that's all. What are your names?"

"Geoffrey Mansfield and Mariah Jaeger."

There was a lengthy pause as the gargoyle seemed to consider this. After several minutes had passed, it stepped aside, allowing them access to the spiral staircase behind it. They climbed the stairs and entered Dumbledore's office to see him sitting behind his desk, a handful of other students seated in chairs of varying sizes seated in front of him. He smiled warmly at them and conjured two more chairs with a wave of his wand. Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewitt were there, along with Edgar Bones and his sister Amelia. Benjamin Fenwick was seated near the back with Marlene McKinnon.

"Now that we're all here," Dumbledore said, setting his wand back down on the desk, "I think it important that you all know why we are here. As I'm sure you're aware, we are living in dark and dangerous times. Several of you have already felt the effects of this war we find ourselves in." He looked pointedly at Geoff and Marlene. "I know it has taken great restraint for some of you not to lash out at those you feel are responsible, and I commend you for having the self-control to keep yourselves from doing anything rash."

Geoff shifted uncomfortably. He wondered if Dumbledore would have called him to this meeting, or whatever it was, if he had been aware of the Polyjuice Potion.

"Now, as Mister Potter seems to be quite jaded in his views, he has failed in the task I gave him. And that is why all of you are here today - because I saw a potential in all of you that Mister Potter did not. I have little doubt that he consulted quite extensively with his friend Mister Black, and I'm sure that had much to do with his choices in candidates."

"Sir, candidates for what, exactly?"

Dumbledore smiled at Edgar, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "An organization, Mister Bones, dedicated to combatting Lord Voldemort."

The students all suddenly became more attentive. Marlene McKinnon began whispering feverishly to Benjamin Fenwick.

"Understand this is not something to be taken lightly," Dumbledore continued. "I am not insisting any of you join the Order of the Phoenix if you feel it is not something you wish to take part in. I simply understand the hurt that a great loss can bring, and if you would like to channel that pain into a more... productive outlet, the Order is open to you. But know that if you do choose to join, it is a serious commitment. I have chosen to offer you this opportunity because I feel any one of you would be a valuable addition to the Order."

"What does the Order do?" Amelia asked. "Is it associated with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, or-"

"No. The Order of the Phoenix is not affiliated with any department of the Ministry of Magic. While the Ministry does support our position and is doing what it can to suppress the threat of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, we feel that the Ministry is too obvious of a target for them. We feel that a smaller, more concentrated organization would be able to utilize more concentrated attacks and be more effective overall."

"But what does the Order actually do?" Amelia pressed. "I mean, the Ministry is fighting Voldemort, too. What makes this different?"

"Reconnaissance work, mainly," Dumbledore said. "Our members trail suspected Death Eaters and monitor their activities. We keep defensive perimeters around points of interest, we have spies that infiltrate Death Eater circles and report back. Our spies know they are putting their lives on the line, but they believe our cause to be a worthy one, as I am sure most of you will, too." He fiddled with one of the delicate silver instruments on his desk for a moment. "The decision to join the Order should not be taken lightly," he said. "When you have made your decision, send your response by owl, but do not include any specifics; a simple 'yes' or 'no' will suffice."

"You don't need to wait on my owl," Geoff said, standing. "I'll join right now."

Dumbledore regarded him for a moment, and then gave him a knowing smile. "Thank you for your enthusiasm, Mister Mansfield. As for the rest of you," he went on as Geoff reseated himself, his smile dropping from his face, "I reemphasize that this decision is not something to be taken lightly. It is a cause to be passionate about, yes, but it is a commitment that could very well cost you your lives if the utmost caution is not taken. This meeting is not to be discussed with anyone; your decision is yours alone to make. The Order of the Phoenix is a very serious, very secret organization. Have I made myself clear to all of you?" He waited until all of them nodded, and then smiled warmly. "Now, then, you are all dismissed back to your classes."

The students stood and filed out of the office, Geoff heading back downstairs to Transfiguration, beginning to wonder what, exactly, he had so eagerly volunteered for.