Authors note: CHECK ME OUT! New chapter update, as well as 6 REWORKED CHAPTERS! yes, there are seven chapters for you read! i've put up the reworked versions of chapters 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 as well as the new chapter 38, so hope you like!
There are lots of brief mentions of canon characters in this chapter so keep an eye out for them! Andremember to review! Oh, one more thing – to the reviewer who wanted me to check out their work, you weren't logged in so I couldn't follow a link to your profile, was the name you reviewed with you FF name? Just send me a message and I'll check out your fic. Anyways – on with chapter 38!
Recap: Sirius and Hestia have been bickering since Christmas and this accumulated in a huge argument over Sirius flirting with other girls, Hestia – in an attempt to make Sirius jealous – flirted with Bailey Cooper but took it a bit far. Sirius and Hestia admit their differences, kiss and make up. The other Marauders end up spending the night in the girl's dormitory, much to the distain of Alice who regrets asking them to stay. The next morning Bailey collars Hestia in the hallway and tries to get her to go back to his dormitory with him, she refuses and they end up having an argument which ends with her slapping him (yay!). Hestia and Sirius are all happy again :D
"So you actually slapped him? Right across the face?" Jessica questioned, her blue eyes glittering. Hestia nodded rather glumly. "I can't believe I missed it!" Jessica concluded, leaning back against the headboard of her bed, legs stretched so far they nearly hung off the end of her bed.
"Well that's what you get for going out for a solo fly when you're sulking." Alice teased, popping a Bertie Bott's every flavour bean into her mouth and recoiling at the taste of dirt that now filled her mouth, she offered one to Jessica who smiled appreciatively at the taste of banana.
"I wasn't sulking!" Jessica defended her bean only half chewed in her mouth. Sure, Hestia and Sirius had been insufferable at breakfast, completely soppy and cute but she wasn't sulking! Lily rolled her eyes, Jessica was the worst liar, Jessica had been sulking and everyone knew it.
"Oh I think you were." Remus countered, the boys had somehow ended up in the girl's room again, the common room was incredibly full and noisy so the seventh year girls had retreated to their dormitory, the boys had tried to stick it out but had eventually grown tired of the nonsense chatter that filled the air and had levitated it each other up to the girls dormitory a few minutes later. The group were spread out around the room, Jessica was laid out on her bed with Alice sat on the end of it, Lily was sat on hers with James sat on the floor beside it, her fingers idly playing with his hair – James doubted Lily was even aware she was doing it - Hestia had her bed to herself, Sirius was laid flat out on the carpet in the middle of the room, Remus was on the spare bed, and Peter sat on Alice's, Frank had appeared for a small while but had withdrawn to tutor a third year in Arithmancy, and promised he'd be back soon.
Remus grinned cheekily across the room; Jessica scoffed but didn't argue back, mainly because she had been lying, she had been sulking – not that she was about to admit that Remus was right. Jessica has gotten over her crush on Remus, or so she thought, whenever he was around, she still felt very conscious of what she was doing, what she was saying, how she looked… she had a soft spot for him she admitted, that was it – she was over her crush but a soft spot for the sandy haired Marauder still remained. She wasn't quite sure why she'd been sulking, she didn't think it was for Remus, or any other boy… maybe she just wished she could have someone like Hestia had Sirius, Alice had Frank and Lily had James, just someone to talk to when her friends were all off with their boyfriends, maybe it was just because she was jealous.
"Shame we had to dock points though…" James trailed off; Lily's arm was still leant over the side of her bed, her fingers still trailing through his hair, nails scratching his scalp lightly.
"It was only five points each!" Hestia defended. "And he shouldn't have started it, should he?! Git." she added, crossly folding her arms across her chest. Sirius smirked from his position stretched out on the floor; Hestia withheld a laugh that threatened to escape when she saw her boyfriend's face.
"I did want to give you fifty points for slapping him but Remus said that wouldn't go down too well when I would have to fill out a form to say why I'd awarded points." James replied with a shrug.
"That reminds me," Lily cut in "I have to fill out some point deduction slips, we can do that after rounds tonight James." James nodded, but was secretly hoping Lily would forget, the forms were so tedious and boring; he'd rather not fill them out and go back to bed, Lily was about to reply when the clock above the fire chimed 6 o'clock and Peter sat bolt upright.
"Time for dinner!" he exclaimed enthusiastically "I'm starving!" the rest of the group burst out in peals of laughter, Remus stood and pulled Sirius to his feet, James linked arms with Lily and Hestia and the other two girls followed as the group crossed the dormitory and trooped outside. At the top of the stairs, Peter placed his foot on the top step which at the touch of a male reverted into its slide form, allowing them to slide form the top to bottom, Lily wondered why the founders had put in the trick staircase when it was so easy to overcome, maybe they didn't think anyone would try, she concluded, clearly they'd never met anyone like Sirius Black she giggled to herself as she slid down the polished wood and landed with a thump on the soft carpet of the common room.
The group crossed the common room followed the rest of Gryffindor house, led by the excited Marauder down towards the Great Hall, the smell of cooking filling their noses and setting their stomach's grumbling in anticipation.
"Hello, I'm glad you could all make it." Professor Dumbledore spoke into the relative silence of the Hogs Head Inn, his brother Aberforth stood behind the bar, a closed sign on the door. The small Inn was grimy and dark, but it was away from the main road where they would not be interrupted. "Now would you all follow me?" Dumbledore added, he nodded to Aberforth who pulled a small lever on the wall behind a pyramid of empty bottles of butterbeer and a door opened behind the bar. The small group of people followed the Professor round the bar and through the door, heels clicking against the eerie silence of the deserted pub. The doorway was so small everyone had to lean over to fit successfully through and led down a narrow corridor and after a sharp fork to the left ended in a fairly large room, empty apart from a long table and chairs. The room was dimly light, candles flickering from alcoves in the walls and a bare muggle light bulb hung from the ceiling. Unlike the rest of the pub, the room seemed fairy clean although, the carpet crunched slightly underfoot, but everyone was just happy that there were no obvious cobwebs or dust coating the room. "Please take a seat." The Headmaster requested and everyone filed around the table, filling only half of the seats.
"You might know why I have called you here today, you may not, but what I say is of the utmost importance and you must listen carefully so, should you agree, you know exactly what you are getting into. Aberforth, please close the door." The barman, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Dumbledore himself, closed the door and sealed it shut using the tip of his wand, in addition to muttering a silencio charm to keep what was said inside the dimly lit room.
"Now," the Professor started, visibly more relaxed. "The situation is dire; the need for someone ready to fight back is great. The ministry are not doing at all enough and for all we know Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry and is pulling the strings behind the scenes. That is why a group like us is needed." He added, gesturing to the group of people sat around the table.
"So you want to form a group to fight against you-know-who?" Emmeline Vance asked, her voice quiet, but strong.
"Yes, and use his name Emmeline. Someone once told me, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Dumbledore smiled, the former Head Girl nodded back. Silence ensued as the members of the group took in all the Headmaster was saying. "What I am asking you to do is dangerous, about that I will not lie. I can't assure your safety, although I try my utmost to protect every single person, but promises I cannot give. It is true; some may lose their lives… But there must be someone willing to stand up and face him, or we will inevitably all lose our lives if Voldemort comes to power." Then someone broke the silence, they stood and turned to face professor Dumbledore head on.
"Well I'm in. I'm a successful Auror, but I'm getting towards the age when I must retire, but I've still got plenty of fight left in me. Albus, count me in." a man with messy black hair and sparkling blue eyes said.
"Edward are you sure?" his wife asked from his side, her tone shaky.
"Of course I'm sure Sarah. I want to do this, the wizarding world needs someone to fight back, I'm not going to sit around and watch the world I love be destroyed. And what about James? Do you want him to grow up in a world where he will be judged because of his blood status? And what about Lily, if we don't do anything, she'll probably be killed, and you know what that would do to James." Edward Potter argued, hoping he would get through to his wife who was looking pensive. At the mention of her son and future daughter-in-law, Sarah Potter felt her resolve crumble.
"Me too." She added after a few seconds silence. Professor Dumbledore smiled, the Potter's were both distinguished aurors and to have their skills on side would be incredibly beneficial.
"Count me in too." A large man gruffed from a standing position behind the Potter's. "If my team are in, then I best be too." Dumbledore exhaled deeply, everything was coming together, Alastor Moody was the best auror the department had ever known, despite all his quirks his experience would be invaluable. Edward Potter turned and shook hands with Moody, they both nodded and Edward returned to his chair, squeezing his wife's hand. A few minutes later, Caradoc Dearborn, Daedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge had too joined the new alliance. Emmeline Vance was not far behind, Fabian and Gideon Prewett followed suit, Mundungus Fletcher reluctantly followed as well as Sturgis Podmore.
The only member of the group around the table who had not said a word was a blonde witch who sat quietly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
"Marlene?" Emmeline asked, squeezing the witch's arm lightly, bringing her back to the world, she looked up and realised everyone was looking expectantly at her. She turned to face her old Headmaster who was watching her intently.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I cant." She said, and hung her head into her chest. She took a deep breath and then turned to face Dumbledore again. "I know what Voldemort can do, how he ruins lives. If we fight him, we could lose our lives too. That's something I know a lot about." She added bitterly as she grimaced. Scraping her chair backwards, she made to leave, but was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Marlene Scarlet McKinnon, you stop right there." Marlene turned to see Sarah Potter stood in front of her chair, her eyes flaring behind her glasses, the silver streaks in her hair giving her an air of authority. "Your parents died doing what was right, they were standing up for something that they believed in, and yes, you are bitter. You're broken inside, but if Voldemort takes over, then everything they died for was in vain." Sarah had everyone hanging on her every word, Marlene just stared back at her, not quite knowing what to say, Sarah took this as a cue to carry on. "Scarlet McKinnon was my best friend, and Elijah was the man who would sort everything out when everything went wrong," she smiled slightly at their memory "but they knew what they were doing, they knew the risks. We all knew the risks," she said gesturing to members around the table, the Prewett brothers both nodded, having just graduated from the Auror Academy, they were just taking on their first assignments. "We knew the job was dangerous when we took it; we don't become aurors because it's a safe job. We become aurors to stand up for what is right, to take a stand against people like Voldemort. If you sit at home and sulk, become bitter and twisted, what would your parents think, they raised a better child than that Marlene." Sarah finally thought she was getting through to Marlene, but the young witch's face hardened, her pretty features contorted into something that looked like rage.
"You can lecture me all you like Mrs Potter, but you don't know what this feels like, you don't know what it feels like to lose something you love like that! I saw them die in front my own eyes; I saw them torture my dad until he begged for mercy. I saw my mother killed as she tried to save me. They were just lying there on the floor, dead and I had to fight on to save myself, so don't you dare tell me about what fighting for what is right." Marlene spat. "You don't have a clue what this feels like."
"Marlene…" Emmeline, tried to soothe from her position across the table.
"Shut up Vance." Marlene snapped, Emmeline looked like she'd been slapped. "None of you know what this feels like!" the blonde witch snapped, now addressing the whole room as opposed to just Sarah. "And I'm sorry if I want to protect myself, I don't want to end up like my parents, dead, all that's left of them is a name on a stupid memorial!" tears were spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks, her hands were curled into fists, her body visibly shaking.
"Marlene Scarlet McKinnon, your parents died doing what was right and they'd be incredibly disappointed with you if they knew you were running away like this. No, you don't have to fight, but running away is not an option for you. There's a price on your head already, the death eaters want you dead, and they'll stop at nothing until you are." Edward tried to reason, standing up from his chair; he stepped closer towards the shaking Marlene, who let him approach. "You evaded them once, and that was sheer luck. Next time you might not be so lucky… if you stay on your own they'll kill you for sure, but, with us," he gestured to the other around the table "you stand a chance, please Marlene let us help you." Edward was almost begging now, Marlene might want to run away from everything that was happening, but she had no choice, she was already involved in the war whether she liked it or not.
"What you don't understand Miss McKinnon," Professor Dumbledore interrupted "your parents knew what they were getting themselves in to, they knew the risks. But they knew what they were doing was for the greater good." The old Professor attempted a small smile, which Marlene didn't reciprocate. Locking eyes with Sarah Potter, Marlene McKinnon knew what she had to do, but she needed time to let reality sink in.
"I'll think about it." Marlene said quietly a moment later. Edward Potter exhaled with relief.
"Thank you." Professor Dumbledore spoke, she nodded, no emotion behind her eyes, and with that, she left.
The Potter's returned to their home weary and tired. The owl from Dumbledore which requested their presence at the Hogs Head Inn had arrived no more than five minutes after they had returned home from the Ministry, their work day had barley finished when they had to leave at short notice.
The night had now descended onto their home and their tiredness began to take full effect. Sarah yawned as she crossed the threshold, Max the house elf stood on the inside, arms outstretched ready to take their coats, normally Sarah would have resisted and done it herself, careful not to tire their beloved house elf, but right now she was far too tired to argue. Max took their coats and hung them in the cloak room and ushered them through to the sitting room and gestured to the settee before scurrying off to the kitchen to prepare supper for the couple. Sarah sat in silence for a moment or two, Edward seemed to be in deep thought and she was reluctant to disturb him but after a minute she felt the curiosity rise and she felt the need to know.
"What's wrong Edward?" she asked, breaking her husband from his thought bubble.
"Probably nothing," he replied "Just a feeling." He tried to shake off the conversation but Sarah was not giving up.
"Explain." Sarah added, a demand, not a request.
"It's just Marlene; I can't stop thinking about her. Did you know she's moved back into the old house? She's living in the annex, I don't like it, I don't like it all. And I've just got this feeling like something is wrong." Edward not noticed the uncomfortable feeling that had settled over him as they left the Hogs Head, he wasn't sure what it was at first, but he recognised it as worry a while later. He was worried about Marlene, if the death eaters had been able to break through the McKinnon defences once, they could get through again. Scarlett and Elijah would have put intricate defences on the house, he doubted Marlene would be able to duplicate these – her parents were trained aurors, Marlene had barely left school. He tried to shake the feeling off but he couldn't.
"I'm worried about her too, she's devastated about her parents – rightly so – but she's taking her grief out on herself. I think she feels she shouldn't be happy and she won't allow herself to be kept safe, looked after." Sarah agreed, thankfully taking the cup of tea from the house elf that held it out for her. Edward nodded, not quite sure what to add, the night had gone on much longer than he had anticipated, after Marlene had left the meeting had taken a more serious tone, what should be done and how they go about it. The adrenaline rush that spread through his veins as Dumbledore had explained his plans, was exhilarating. Edward felt alive – the same feeling he'd got the first time he'd been in the Auror Academy, a feeling he didn't get very often nowadays. Sarah and he were often called out on raids or to arrest, but less and less were they actually required to do any actual work, their job seemed to be increasingly just paperwork or supervision – the exciting parts of the job doled out to the new young recruits, fresh faced and bright eyed. That was the problem with age, it had a habit of hindering you, inside Edward still felt like the 18 year old boy who had joined the academy, he could still keep up with James as he flew around the Quidditch field and ran laps around their estate every morning, but because of a number on a file, he couldn't do most of the job he loved so much, it was enough to make a man bitter.
Edward and Sarah were prematurely pulled from their thoughts by hammering on the front door – not a common occurrence. Not many people knew the passcode to their defences, and with the war that number had diminished significantly. Edward stood abruptly and hurried to the door, his red headed wife not far behind. The door swung open, stood in the doorway was a young woman, her blonde hair soaked with rain and what looked like blood, running from cuts along her hairline. Her green eyes were bruised and swollen, a gash ran from the bottom of her left eye and across her cheek, weeping and bleeding. Clad in only a pair of leggings, a vest top and a thin cardigan, the rain stung her skin as it fell thick and heavy. Her trembling palms were held out towards them, glazed in blood, far too much to be her own; her clothes were ripped, showing bruises and wounds along her legs and torso that would have otherwise been covered. She stood there in front of them hopeless, trembling and cold.
"Marlene?" Edward questioned, although he already knew the young woman in front of him was Marlene McKinnon.
"Th-ey-ey they came for me…the death eaters…" she choked, her voice breaking. "And I think I killed someone…"
Authors note: DUN DUN DUN! Oooh, I bet you weren't expecting that! Muhahahaa :D I'm so evil to leave it there, I'm sorry but I had to and if you live in the UK and have ever watched Eastenders you know that would have totally be a duff duff duff moment! Well, I hope you like it – lots of mentions of canon characters, and possibly some more to come soon remember to review!