What a whirlwind the next few months were after that exhilarating night at the Black family party. Natalie proved herself a vital part of the Order for her part in securing the knowledge that Bellatrix Black was indeed a Death Eater, though her part was admittedly less brave and impressive than Sirius'. Dumbledore insisted that a more rigorous training schedule for her be implemented at once, so her mornings and afternoons were spent learning an abundance of hexes, charms, jinxes and the like.
James and Remus were in charge of most of her training, since Sirius had started declining to have anything to do with it almost immediately after the party. To everyone else it may have seemed that he was still angry with Natalie but she knew better. They had been seeing each other behind closed doors and in the dead of night ever since their passions got the better of them that night. He didn't have the heart to train her, to put her into situations where he knew he would have to hurt her on purpose for the sake of her gaining knowledge and strength. She told him repeatedly that it wouldn't hurt her feelings, that she knew he didn't mean it, but he was insistent and refused to the point that the other two Marauders had to step in.
When she was still working at the humble flower shop, thinking she loved her fake muggle life, if anyone had told her that in less than a year she would be standing outside of a known Death Eater's house, wand at the ready beside a handful of Order of the Phoenix members, she would have laughed in their face and more than likely called them an undesirable name. However, that's exactly where she found herself all those months later.
She was on a mission to find a known Death Eater and bring him to the Ministry for questioning. James was with her, along with a few others from the Order. Dumbledore always sent out a fair amount of muscle in case something went wrong.
The group waited silently, wands clutched in their hands all the while, squatting behind bushes and leaning against trees until someone finally emerged from the street with a pop in the early hours of the morning. Warm colors could be seen peeking over the horizon, the sun threatening to push its rays through the skies and wake the world in just a short while. The hidden people started to move quietly after the man, who's silhouette they could just make out going up the path to the dark house ahead.
Dumbledore had pulled Natalie aside the night before and told her that he wanted her to take the lead on this particular mission, to see how she handled the added leadership in addition to the task at hand. He knew that she could defend herself properly and could even bring a person to justice, but wanted to know that she could keep her fellow Order members safe in the process. It was something that he wanted every member to be able to do. The more each person could do, and do well, the better off the entire Order would be.
Natalie was at the front of the pack as they all stalked up the path after the man. She motioned for them to move to the side, back into the shadows, once she realized the man had reached the front door. She saw him fiddle with his wand, heard a door unlock, and lights flooded the inside of the house. She had been right in moving them out of sight, as the man turned toward the street and raked his eyes across the front yard looking for anything out of place, just as she suspected he would.
When she was certain that he had closed the door and gone about his business indoors, she started moving again. This time, though, she whispered for two of the people to stay outside and keep watch in case other Death Eaters arrived without their knowing. Natalie and James continued toward the house, opened the door quietly with their wands, and slipped inside without a sound.
There was no need to stop and think of a plan. James and Natalie both knew what needed to be done. Natalie had gone on enough of these missions by now that it was second nature for her, and since James had been in the Order for a year longer than she had he could practically go through the steps in his sleep.
First, they would need to creep behind him until they were certain they had him cornered. Then, the confrontation. One person would wordlessly send a curse his way, rendering him momentarily useless, while the other quickly made their way to him, binding him with their wand so that he would be able to get away. There would be no questioning necessary on site; the team would simply quiet the man with a spell and apparate him to the Ministry immediately, where he would be taken and they would be thanked and sent on their way.
That is precisely what Natalie thought would happen on this night. Finding the man sitting at a small table in the small, sorry looking kitchen, James sent the curse through his wand and Natalie walked quickly to the man, expecting him to be stunned at the very least when she reached him. Everything happened so quickly, though, that Natalie realized only a second too late that the curse had just missed the man and hit the leg of the table instead.
She saw the table leg burst and buckle underneath the weight of the table top and the clutter resting on it. She tried to slow her steps but her momentum kept her moving until she was too close to the Death Eater, a man that was only a few years her senior but already had too many wrinkles and graying hair. He had seen what was happening and grasped his opportunity to grab Natalie by the hair and pull her against his chest, protecting him from any harm the other members of the Order might have thrown at him.
James had his wand pointed at the man, though his eyes looked weary. The front door opened with a bang and the two other people, a short man and a wide woman, rushed into the kitchen, wands drawn just as James' was.
"Surely you wouldn't hurt one of your own," the Death Eater said, one hand tangled tightly in Natalie's hair, the other pinned against her chest so that she couldn't move away from him.
"Let her go and we'll compromise," James said loudly, perhaps trying to scare the man.
The Death Eater simply laughed. "There will be no compromising, boy. You let me run out the front door with no harm and the pretty blonde may go with you."
"Let her go," James said, repeating himself.
Before anyone could say another word, Natalie quickly, and with as much force as she could muster in her position, thrust her head back and made contact with the man's nose. She heard a nasty crack and in that instant he let go of her hair, bringing both hands to his face, and she ran to the other end of the kitchen out of danger's way.
"You bitch!" the Death Eater screamed. "How dare you fight me like a muggle? You broke my nose!"
He staggered and braced himself against the wall, bringing down one hand and reaching for his wand at the same time. The man was quick and took out the other two members of the Order with two flicks of his wand, leaving James and Natalie. All three of them had their wands out and pointed at the enemy. James knew that the man was quicker than he and Natalie put together and hoped she would realize this as well.
"Let him go," he said quietly to Natalie, and he saw her lower her wand slightly in recognition.
The man heard this and started to move towards the entrance of the kitchen, intending to leave from the front of the house. Stepping over the two incapacitated people he moved slowly, not taking his eyes off of James or Natalie. Before he disappeared into the other room to safety, he look at Natalie, menace in his eyes.
"I will not forget your face," was all he said before he broke out into a run and they heard him bound outside and disapparate.
James and Natalie recapped the failed mission to Dumbledore and she was not afraid or embarrassed to express her concern about the man's comments. The old wizard assured her that she did not have to be a part of any missions until they caught the Death Eater, or until she felt confident enough to return to field work.
She appreciated the gesture and thought herself silly for the first few weeks, assuming she was just being scared for no reason and trying to convince herself to just get over it and get back to work. Sirius thought she was being unreasonable as well until one night, a few weeks after the failed mission.
He and Natalie were in his room late at night, the only time they felt it was safe enough to truly be together without anyone else knowing. She was laying in his bed in one of his shirts and her underwear, slowly flipping through the pages of an old book from his shelves. Sirius was sitting on the sill of the window, smoking a cigarette and watching the muggle cars pass on the street below them.
"Nat," he said, suddenly, pulling her out of the trance that a good book always put her in.
"What?" she asked, but knowing just by the tone of his voice that something was wrong.
She got up and walked next to him, her feet making soft padding noises against the cold floor.
"Someone's down there," he said, his voice low.
"We live in London, people are outside at all hours of the night," Natalie said reassuringly.
But when she got to the window and looked out onto the street below, the breath caught in her throat. This was no rebellious muggle teen looking for someone to harass under the cover of darkness. No, this was someone that knew where the Order headquarters was supposed to be, but since Dumbledore had protective charms set over the entire building, the person below was simply staring into what they saw as invisible space.
"They're looking right at us," Sirius stated.
"How could they know where we are?" she asked, not able to hide the fear from her voice.
"I don't know, but it's no coincidence that they have an idea of where our headquarters are so soon after that bastard threatens you."
"You think they're out there waiting for me?"
"Perhaps you were right to be a bit nervous," he said quietly, almost as if a thought had escaped that wasn't meant to be said aloud.
Reaching forward she yanked the curtains closed from either side of the window frame. Her heartbeat had quickened considerably, jaw clenched and stomach churning. Sirius noticed the sudden change in mannerisms and with a graceful flick put out his cigarette, shifting himself off the ledge.
"You're safe here," he placed his hands on either one of Natalie's shoulders. "They can look all they like but no one's getting in."
Hardly comforted, she kept her arms crossed tight in front of her. When Sirius pulled her towards his bed, though, she let him. He adjusted the blankets so they were both cuddled underneath and put the lights out with a wave of his wand, placing it down on the small table beside him.
"Don't worry, I've got you," he muttered, his voice low and lips just brushing her ear. He pulled Natalie close to his chest, hoping that wrapping her in his embrace would make her feel more at ease.
She relaxed into him, their bodies fitting together just right. As Sirius slowly drifted into his slumber, Natalie was wide awake, her mind reeling.
This was the precise reason she never wanted to be involved in the Order. The Death Eaters knew her now, really knew her. They had certainly singled her out before, with her mother and the flower shop, but this time was different. She had crossed paths with one of them, and surely that man went back to his people and did all they could to find out anything about her. Natalie was being followed, that was easy to see. The fear she felt deep in her chest was indescribable.