37. The Next Generation
"Do they still hang kids from the toes in the dungeons here?" Lily asked nervously as the group drew closer and closer upon Dumbledore's office that Tuesday evening. "Because I think we ought to volunteer to do that before we accept expulsion..."
"No one's getting kicked out, Lil," James reassured, squeezing Lily's hand.
"Besides," Sirius said, "That sounds like a lenient punishment for the stuff we've pulled in these halls."
Peter whimpered. "My mum's gonna kill me when she hears..."
"No one's getting kiced out!" Mora insisted.
"Let's find out then," Sirius said as the seven stopped before the entrance. "Shall we?"
"Here goes nothing," James said, now facing the statue guarding the office's door. "Toffee éclairs."
The entrance revealed itself, and James lead the way up the staircase and into the office. "Dum, dum, dum..." Sirius sang softly, causing Emmeline to burst out in nervous giggles.
The group descended into the overcrowded office. Dumbledore stood in the center, along with McGonagall, and three other wizards Mora had never seen before. Beside them stood Hagrid, his grin widening even further once he spotted Mora. Four more students waited in the office, two Ravenclaws, one Hufflepuff, and even one Slytherin.
"Welcome," Dumbledore greeted.
"Well, if they're kicking us out," Sirius whispered, rather loudly, into Mora's ear, "They're sure making a show of it."
"No, Mister Black," Dumbledore smiled, "No one is getting kicked out, or anything of the sort."
Mora heard Lily sigh deeply. "No, we are here to celebrate your graduation. Every student here tonight has been hand-picked by myself, and the witches and wizards you see here tonight. Here we have Professor McGonagall of transfiguration, and our gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid."
Hagrid raised his enormous hand and waved enthusiastically to the group, causing Mora to smile. "And some new faces as well. This is Mister Alaster Moody, star auror for the ministry."
Moody tilted his head slightly in his own gruff sort of hello. The man certainly had a intimidating air about him, his fake eye piercing through each student. His grizzly appearance separated Alaster Moody from the other wizards he stood with.
"This," Dumbledore continued, gesturing to the next wizard, "Is Frank Longbottom, also and auror for the ministry, he graduated from Gryffindor only two years ago."
"Hello all," Frank said. The man was very tall, towering above Moody significantly. His brown hair was cut extremely short and his robes hardly hit his knees.
"Lastly," Dumbledore said, "We have Dorcas Meadows. Miss Meadows is a professional dueler, the European Champion two years in a row."
Dorcas smiled at the students, holding her arms behind her back professionally. Her raven hair was pulled tightly into a bun behind her head, making Dorcas look more mature. Mora could tell this woman looked tough, the kind of tough that could make grown men cry and beg for mercy if they got on her bad side.
"You all have something in common with these men and women," the headmaster said, "You are all extraordinary."
Well, that was straight forward, Mora thought. That's it? He rounded us up to tell us "Good job, now scram" and such?
"The six of us are all members of a organization," Dumbledore explained, pacing back and forth as he spoke, "Along with many other talented people, wizards, witches, and squibs alike. We devout our talents, our passions, and our lives to doing what is right. The world we live in today is plagued with violence and oppression, caused by Lord Voldemort and the terror insighted by his followers."
Mora felt her heart skip several beats. This was the usual reaction whenever she heard mention of his name. Mora hated who she froze up at the thought of Tom Riddle, past or present. Memories from so many years ago and nightmares of what the future held occupied her thoughts. The fear had such a strong hold on Mora. It forced her to live in this lie, to hide her true identity just to survive until the next day. But the one thing that was even strong than the fear, was Mora's anger.
"We are called the Order of the Phoenix. Together we fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters, risking our lives everyday to save the lives of others. Our lives will always be filled with danger, however when we are gone, some one must take our places in the battle. That is why you are here tonight."
Dumbledore stopped pacing, standing now in the center of the room. No one dared to utter a word, knowing Dumbledore would continue to speak. "You are all the brightest and bravest of this graduating class. Your skills are exceptional, you have proved yourselves countless times throughout your years here at Hogwarts through your accomplishments, academically and especially outside the classroom."
Right, all those extra circular pranks are really Order material, Mora snickered to herself.
"We wish for you, all of you, to join the Order, and fight alongside us."
The room remained silent, each student completely transfixed upon Dumbledore. Mora didn't know how to react. In her eyes, none of the students were ready to jump head first into a war. They were hardly adults, how could they help defeat Voldemort? The Gryffindors in the room were the most immature group of people Mora had ever known, and all of a sudden they were supposed to join this secret army type organization?
"If you choose to join the Order, your will be faced with violence frequently. This involves a considerable amount of dueling, the capture and interrogation of dark wizards, a constant unpredictability," Dumbledore said gravely. "Life will not be easy. There is a great possibility you will be targeted for efforts with the Order. If you are not willing to lead this sort of life, you must decline to join the Order. No one will think any less of you, this is a very personal decision that you must make for yourself and yourself alone.
"Here on my desk is a sheet of paper. If you decide tonight that you do not wish to join the order, write your name under the column labeled one. But if you decide you are interested in the Order of the Phoenix, and you may want to become a member after graduation, write you name under the column labeled two. If you choose column two, you are in no way bound to join the Order, you can withdraw it at any time. But you must write your name in either column before leaving here tonight. We will now give you some time to decide amongst yourselves."
With this, Dumbledore lead the adults to the opposite end of the office and out the door. The door closed harshly, the sound of the collision ringing loudly threw the eerily silent office. All that remained were the eleven students, each staring at one another in a mix of awe, confusion, a mild horror.
"Well, look on the bright side," Sirius said, trying to break through the awful hush that encompassed the office. "We're not getting expelled."
"Might as well introduce ourselves," the Ravenclaw girl said, pushing her dark, bushy hair behind her ear. "Considering we may be fighting together. I'm Loretta Bones," she greeted.
"Figure I'm next," muttered the second Ravenclaw, a short boy with unruly ginger hair and gauntly pale skin. "Dearborn. Doc Dearborn, short for Caradoc, but my parents are deranged and needed to give me a grotesquely horrendous name."
"Rebecca Fenwick," the lone Hufflepuff greeted, a spitting image of Benjy, her younger brother in Gryffindor. Same peppy attitude, same dirty blonde hair, but apparently different enough to be in a different house.
"Catrina Meadows," the Slytherin said as she leaned up against the wall of the office, her arms crossed and her green eyes popping in the dim light. "The oh-so-amazing dueler with a stick permanently shoved up her arse would be my big sis."
"Well you're a breath of fresh air," Sirius commented.
"Watch it, kid," Catrina warned Sirius, "Or you'll regret it."
"We're all on the same side here, remember?" Emmeline interjected. "Anyways, I'm Emmy Taylor, this..." she gestured to Sirius, "is the obnoxious Sirius Black."
"And lovely, don't forget lovely!" Sirius added.
"Reamus Lupin," Reamus said.
"I'm Lily Evans," Lily smiled, "This is James Potter."
"Thanks luv," James said softly, rolling his eyes at Lily's eagerness.
"Pettigrew-Peter Pettigrew," Peter muttered. He always hated meeting new people and preferred to stay silent, Mora could tell by the rising pinkish color of his cheeks Peter fetl increasingly uncomfortable.
"Guess I'm last," Mora said. "Mora Ashford."
"So...Order of the Phoenix," Catrina mused. "That'll be fun."
"Fun?" Caradoc said. "You think risking your neck is just some good ol' time?"
"If you're such a coward then get out, Dearborn, and stop wasting our time," Catrina snapped back.
"This has nothing to do with being a coward," Loretta defended. "You heard Dumbledore, it's a personal decision."
"Yeah, decision to fight or run away with your tail between your legs," Catrina mumbled.
"Why do you have to be such a bi-"
"I'm warning you Black!"
"Can't you guys just give it a rest?" Reamus said.
"Keep out of it!"
"This is ridiculous..." Lily said, rolling her eyes.
"You want to say something, red?" Catrina spat out.
"Did you just call me red?"
"This is the dumbest argument I've ever heard -"
"Was someone talking to you, Fenwick?" Sirius said in annoyance.
As the bickering continued, Mora silently walked over to Dumbledore's desk. Snatching up the quill, she fireclay wrote her name under column two, slamming the quill back upon the desk along with her fist, causing a loud crashing sound. The noise instantly silenced the idiotic comments, and all eyes fell upon Mora.
"I suggest you all file the bloody hell out of here now," Mora spat out. "Look at you. A scared little bunch of kids. Rather fight like a bunch of brats rather than step up and do what is needed of you."
Catrina strode over to Mora, standing before her with her signature, burning intensity. "And what makes you think you're fit to fight?"
Mora stroke back at Catrina, her attempt at intimidation comical to Mora. "Because I'm not afraid to die."
"Somehow I doubt that," Catrina snickered.
"Really?" Mora mocked, pushing past Catrina. "Did you know I had a big family? Probably not. But yeah, a great, big family. Two older brothers, Joshua and Ardien, and a big sister, Clara. And my dad had to take care of us all, my mom, died while I was really young. But we were happy." Mora smiled slightly, remembering the faces of her fallen family. "Are lives were crazy as hell, moving all over the place all the bloody time. But no matter where we were, we always had each other."
"Touching," Catrina said under her breath.
Mora did not even bother to look in Catrina's direction. "Yeah, I guess it was, Meadows. That is, before Death Eaters slaughtered Josh, Clara, and Ardien. Then Voldemort murdered my father, and apparently since he has something against my family line, I'm the next on his hit list. Not a priority or anything, but if he sees me strolling down a street somewhere, he'll be sure to throw an Avada Kedavara my way. Is that warm and fuzzy enough for you, Meadows?"
Catrina said nothing. She store back at Mora, her eyes emotionless.
"Thought so," Mora said before turning to the rest of the students. "I watched each one of them die, I've been attacked, I've been tortured, I have seen what this war does to people. I am what this war creates. If I die, I die. If I live, then I'll probably die the next day. And the truth is, that's the way it is for everyone standing in this room. I wouldn't be surprised if half of us don't live to see our thirties."
"How do you figure?" Doc said softly, his tone flat and his question simple.
"You honestly think any of us can get on Voldemort's good side?" Mora answered. "Muggle borns, half bloods, the people Voldemort vows to exterminate. Or you could be like me, a blood traitor. Does anyone in this room seriously believe in pureblood domination?" Mora pasued, waiting for some sort of reaction from the others. It never came, as she had expected.
"I didn't think so," she continued. "No one in this room wants to see the Death Eaters get what they want, that makes us their enemies, which puts every one of us on the chopping block, whether you stuck yourself there or not."
Mora reached over to Dumbledore's desk and grabbed their sheet of paper. She held it in the air for all to see. "You're on the hit list, just like me, whether you like it or not. So, are you going to hide and watch others die to save your skin, or will you stand up to them?"
"Standing up doesn't necessarily mean joining this, this Order," Rebecca said.
"True," Reamus somewhat agreed. "But standing together, we have a shot. Fighting alone, they'll pick us apart one by one until there's nothing left."
"That's uplifting," Sirius commented.
"It's true," Loretta said. "We obviously don't all get along, but we don't need to be all lets-hold-hands-and-skip-through-the-meadow to do this."
"It would certainly help though," Doc mumbled.
"Fight or run, it's that simple," Mora said. "Do it for all of us, I don't mean everyone in this office, I mean all of us. Every last misfit who has what it takes to fight together."
There were several moments of silence, moments where no one dared to move a muscle, where each student simply store at the parchment, making unbeatably the biggest decision of their lives. Breaking the stillness, Sirius lightly took hold of the parchment, slipping it out of Mora's fingers. He scooped up a quill from the headmaster's desk, and quickly scribbled his name in grand, script letters. Silently, he walked across the office and stood before Catrina. He handed her the parchment with a quill and then backed away to stand beside Mora. Catrina nodded to Mora slowly before she two signed her name underneath column two.
The list was passed around in complete silence, until all eleven students autographed under column two. Not a word was uttered between the students as they left the office, leaving the parchment upon Dumbledore's desk. The next generation of soldiers had risen.