All characters and events that you recognise from the Harry Potter books belong to jk Rowling. Any others belong to me.
For those who have asked, I have been releasing at least one chapter every day since I started it. I'm not sure why some of you haven't been getting the emails but I have been updating regularly!
Enjoy :)
The four friends apparated on the edge of a forest near Godric's Hollow. They had altered their appearances but had decided to disillusion themselves anyway, and Lily had cast a step-softening charm on their feet, so they could move unheard and undetected by potential threats. The Autumn sun warmed their faces as they walked through the hamlet in their muggle clothing. Remus and Sirius inwardly gulped as they neared the wreckage of the Potters old residence.
Lily and James shivered slightly as they caught sight of it, and gasped at the statue.
From a distance it had been a war memorial, yet as the magical folk neared, it changed into a memorial of the Potters.
"Has that always been there?" Lily whispered.
"Yeah." Remus breathed
"That would've saved us a lot of suffering in June." James muttered as they passed the memorial and the graveyard.
They quickly regained their focus as they neared the residence of Amanda near the edge of the community.
It was a beautiful old-fashioned cottage with beamed walls and small paned windows. The door was painted a deep red and blooming flowers were in pots under the windows.
There were no visible signs of a struggle. Checking for anyone in the vicinity (the street was empty), Lily cast an illusion charm on the door, which would appear to remain closed, and they all entered.
They stepped into a dark entrance hall, the floors were lightly coated with dust, so they all cast charms on their feet so that they wouldn't leave an impression on it.
Before continuing, James cast 'homonus revelio' which revealed that they were alone in the building. They each split up to cover different rooms, each of which was dusty.
The kitchen clearly hadn't been used in a while. The small dining table pushed against the wall was neatly laid out with two placement mats, and there were two dirty plates and sets of cutlery in the sink. The Order Members assumed that Amanda was Muggle-Born due to the television in the sitting room and the various muggle appliances such as a kettle in the kitchen.
Apart from the dust and lack of Amanda, it seemed to all be in order. Lily had finished checking in the cupboard under the stairs (which was a painful reminder of Harry's suffering, and more of an incentive to speak to him that evening) when the signal was set off.
She edged upstairs into the bedroom where the signal had originated, and very quickly cast concealment charms around the room and on the windows, before removing the disillusionment charm, shortly followed by the other three.
James was stood on the left side of the bed, wand pointed towards a spot on the floor, biting his lip in thought.
"Prongs?"
He shifted out of the way so they could take a look. He had blown a bit of the dust away, to reveal a few spots of dried blood on the floor.
Remus knelt down on the floor beside it, and performed a DNA spell while the others began looking around the room for more blood.
After a few minutes, he stood up again. "Well, it's Amanda's. Has anyone seen any more anywhere?"
The others shook their heads. "It's probably best for us to do another double check" Lily said quietly.
They all nodded and recast the disillusionment charms while Lily took the concealment charms off of the room.
After another hour of searching the house, there was no more discoveries, and they all reconvened in the hallway. The prolonged exposure to the dust began to irritate their eyes and noses, so they left quickly.
They stepped out into the street, and Lily cast a charm meaning that they'd know if anyone entered the house.
They apparated back to Potter Manor, and sat back around the table, promptly changing their appearances back to normal and taking off the disillusionment charms.
Eleahia brought them all some tea while they sat in silence, thinking everything over.
Eventually, Sirius spoke.
"Okay, lets go over what we've found out."
"It is unlikely that anyone has been there for a while, and I think we can assume that Amanda definitely hasn't."
"They could have used the same charm we did, though." Remus pointed out.
"Even Amanda? Why?"
"Well, she could not want to be seen there. Maybe she has been living there but needs to make it seem like she hasn't."
They nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so right now we have a lot of theories, what are we certain about?"
"Well Amanda definitely blead on the floor."
"It's probably not something to be concerned about but why wouldn't she just wipe it up?"
"Do you think it's some sort of a clue or hint left by her then?"
Lily sighed wearily. "I think it's a possibility. I do think that we should go and speak to her parents and Jemma Handy. In the kitchen there was dirty plates and cups, and the table was set for two. From what Tonks said I think it's a good guess that Jemma was over or had been over before Amanda disappeared."
"Okay. Let's do that then. How will we persuade the parents and Jemma to speak to us?"
They sat in thought for a second.
"Tonks?" Remus suggested.
"That's a good idea.. they've known each other since they were 11 so I can imagine that Tonks has met her parents."
"And let's face it, Tonks is very memorable."
Once again, Remus sent a patronus to Tonks. She responded a few minutes later, and they agreed to meet later that evening.
Hogwarts, 16:57
Harry begrudgingly stepped through into Umbridge's classroom, ready for his detention. He crossed it and trudged up the stairs, McGonagall's warning ringing in his ears.
"Do not mess with Dolores Umbridge. You will be messing with the ministry by doing so."
Another step closer to the door.
"Keep your temper in check."
Almost there.
"Keep your head down."
He took a deep breath and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
"Come in." The girlish voice responded.
He stepped into the office, but it took him a second to figure out what had happened to it
The walls were a light pink, and covered with pictures of kittens. Her desk facing the door was a dark wood with a flowery-lacy mat on the top of it.
Whatever he was expecting to see as he stepped through, it was not this.
He was brought back to reality by the ridiculous, "hem hem." And she indicated for him to sit by the small desk facing the wall. He placed his book bag over the back of the chair, and waited for her to begin.
"Good evening, Mr Potter."
"Good evening, Professor." It took all of his restraint to keep the mocking tone at bay.
"You will be doing some lines for me today, Mr Potter. I have my own quill for you to use."
She placed a red quill and some parchment in front of him, smiling sickeningly.
"I want you to write: 'I must not tell lies.'"
He bit his tongue.
"How many times?" He finally asked.
"As long as it takes to sink in."
"Er- Professor? You haven't given me any ink."
"You won't be needing ink."
She sat down behind her desk again, and sighing internally, Harry began.
I must not tell lies.
I must not tell lies.
I must not tell lies.
He ignored the irritation on the back of his writing hand.
I must not tell lies.
I must not tell lies.
Why is the ink red? He asked himself.
I must not tell lies.
I must not tell lies.
The irritation manifested into pain.
I must not tell lies.
I must not tell-
The back of his hand opened up and soon blood was staining the desk and his clothes.
"What the?" He muttered, using his robes as a bandage.
His black robes wettened. Curiosity taking hold, he pulled his hand out.
There, on the back of his hand, were the words:
'I must not tell lies'
He looked back over to the parchment. And then it hit him.
He was writing in with his own blood.
Harry looked over to where his Professor was sat behind her desk, looking up at him innocently.
"Something the matter, Mr Potter?"
He was dumbfounded.
"Actually, yeah. Something is the matter. What kind of sadistic freak are you?"
But of course, he didn't say that.
"No, Professor. Nothing at all."
And he continued for two hours.
By the time Harry had left, dinner had only started an hour before, but he wasn't hungry.
Instead, he walked straight past the Great Hall, with his right hand shoved deep in his pocket.
The scar had already begun to heal, but it was still raw and blood-stained. As were his robes.
Hermione looked up precisely as Harry walked past. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she made a mental note to talk to him later.
He walked through the deserted hallways in a sort of trance.
McGonagall was right. He thought. She really isn't someone to mess with.
By the time he had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he had decided not to tell anyone.
This was between the two of them.
His scar was prickling as he stepped into his dormitory and went to have a shower. The blood had soaked through his robes and stained his jumper and shirt too.
"What a great first day."He muttered to himself.
Tonks, Remus, Lily, James and Sirius all stood outside a quaint cottage in Wales. The latter three all (obviously) had modified appearances, but were also disillusioned, so that Tonks and Remus could talk to Jake and Jo Humphrey, while they looked around for any traces of Amanda.
They had told Tonks all about the case, and she had confirmed that it was not her who had eaten with Amanda. She had spoken to her over a cup of tea in the living room about joining the order, and then left.
Tonks lead the way up the cobbled path and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a middle aged woman with her hair pulled up in a tight bun.
"Can I he- Oh! Tonks dear! Come on in!"
"Thanks Mrs Humphrey."
"How many times have I told you to call me Jo?" She teased as they entered.
Remus hung back to allow Lily, James and Sirius to enter, and then closed the door behind him and followed Jo into the living room.
"Jo, this is Remus Lupin, Remus this is Jo Humphrey."
"Is this your boyfriend dear?" She asked excitedly.
"Oh! No nothing of the sort. A good friend."
Tonks and Remus both blushed horribly. Lily, who was still in the room, made a mental note to mention it later.
"What can I do for you both then?"
"We're looking for Amanda. She hasn't been at home recently and we were wondering if you'd seen her?"
Jo looked uncomfortable. "Is she okay?"
"We think so, but we need to make sure."
Jo took a deep breath. "I think the last time I saw her was near the end of July. She said she'd be very busy soon so she wouldn't be able to see us as often for a while. Have you not seen her either?"
Tonks looked uneasily at Remus who nodded and answered.
"She is very busy, you're right, but we need to make sure she's okay. She's been on a mission, of sorts. One that could be dangerous which is why we really need to talk to her."
Jo's lip trembled. "Is she okay?"
"We'll find her Mrs Humphrey. Don't worry."
The older woman noticed Tonks' refusal to answer the question, and took that as an answer.
Meanwhile, Lily, James and Sirius were surreptitiously searching through the house. There was nothing to suggest that Amanda was there. When Tonks' and Remus' goodbyes floated through the house, they quickly and quietly made it to the front door, squeezing out alongside the two.
Darkness was falling rapidly, and they needed to get back.
They bid Tonks goodnight and good luck (she was on guard duty that night) and apparated back to Potter Manor.
It was empty with the lack of Weasleys. Molly and Arthur had moved back to the Burrow that morning, and it felt even emptier without Harry.
Nortin ran up to take their cloaks as they stepped through the door, and lead the way to the smaller dining room where the elves had prepared dinner.
"Did you guys find anything?" Remus asked between mouthfuls of pasta.
Lily, James and Sirius all shook their heads.
"Nothing worth noting. What about you?"
"Jo hasn't seen her since July. Neither has her husband."
"I think we should speak to Jemma Handy when Tonks is next free." Sirius announced.
They all agreed and helped the elves clear away.
James was washing the dishes when Lily bounded into the room.
"James! Time to talk to Harry!"
Life was confusing and scary. They had to hide away and couldn't reveal that they were alive. Their son either had murder or death in his future, and a lot of suffering was on the horizon.
Lily and James has spent a very confusing day trying to track a woman down. Harry had not long ago been subject to a form of torture.
But, they could look past that, because they still had each other.
They could get through that, because they still had each other.
They didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but it would be okay, as long as they still had each other.
Thank you for reading. As always, leave any thoughts or comments in the review section :)