Dumbledore called all of the professors together late that night to fill them in on everything. There were two notable absences: Moody - the real Moody, who was resting in the Hospital Wing - and Sev, who Dumbledore said had been sent out on a critical errand. He met with McGonagall and Hazel afterwards, telling them that they would be re-forming the Order of the Phoenix in the coming days. They were to write to all of the surviving members, telling them to meet "at the old place" as soon as they could. He would be writing to Sirius himself.
Back in the dungeons, Hazel dashed off a couple of letters, making sure she wrote to Remus first and explained everything thoroughly. She took them to the Owlery, thankful she had something to do to keep her from worrying too much. But when she was done, all she could do was pace. There was no point in trying to grade exams. She couldn't settle down to read either. So she paced in circles around Sev's rooms, noticing the couple of photos of them he'd put up on his desk. He would never have them in his office where the students might spot them, but here…
One was the treasured photo of the two of them in Hogsmeade. One was from a trip they'd taken to visit her aunt and uncle in Sussex one summer. And a third, a new one, was a photo she hadn't noticed someone (probably Dumbledore) snap at the Yule Ball. They were dancing, just barely. It was one of the slowest songs of the night, and the mystery photographer had captured them talking, their noses nearly touching. There was a note taped to the back, scrawled in Dumbledore's handwriting. You two look utterly in love in this. I took a lot of photos last night, but this is one of my favorites. She smiled to herself, knowing that Dumbledore knew Sev needed it more than she did.
Two in the morning rolled around and still she'd heard nothing. Much of the commotion in the common room was dying down, though, so she changed into pajamas and stopped checking in on them. The Prefects could handle it. At a quarter of three, the door finally burst open, Sev sweeping into the room. Without bothering to hang up his cloak, he crossed the room and embraced her. "Oh Merlin, Sev, I've been so worried."
He didn't say anything for a bit, holding onto her and trying to dispel some of the residual fear that still shook him. "He's back," he finally said. "The Dark Lord is back. He isn't quite human, but he's just as powerful as he was years ago."
"You made it back here, so he couldn't have been too angry," Hazel reasoned, letting go of him so she could look him over. She unbuttoned his cloak as she talked, going to hang it by the door. "What does he think of your spying on Dumbledore, then?"
"The Dark Lord thinks it's one of the best ideas I've had. I've gained Dumbledore's trust. I'm the perfect person for it," he said, starting to unbutton his shirt and get ready for bed. "I've just come from seeing Dumbledore. He told me to fill him in on the details in the morning and to find you instead," he smiled, stopping in his tracks to give her a kiss before going off to change and brush his teeth.
Neither of them would get much sleep that night. Once the relief that Sev was back had faded, Hazel couldn't get her mind off of Voldemort's return. She was planning on staying at the school. It was safest here, and they needed all the help they could get. An ex-Auror was a fairly good thing to have in a wizarding war. Over the summer, though, she would have to help bring the Order back together, assembling as many people as she could and recruiting new members. Her mind was churning with all of these things, with new worries about what the Death Eaters were planning in the wake of Voldemort's return, and, of course, what this meant for Sev.
He sat up thinking about what being a double agent - triple agent? Quadruple agent? He couldn't quite figure it out - was going to mean. He hadn't been on the side of good for very long before Voldemort's fall. Now he was going to have to learn to balance everything even more. He would have to practice Occlumency every chance he got. Hazel would surely help. Hazel. This time he wasn't alone. It wasn't just his own life he had to fear for. Even if Voldemort didn't know about her, the Death Eaters would. Draco Malfoy surely would have told his family about her by now. Lucius had met her a couple of times when they were in school. If he'd said anything to the Dark Lord, Hazel would be in danger. She would be protected as long as the Dark Lord thought he was loyal, but if he ever found out the truth, Hazel would be in danger too. Even if that never happened, her being an Auror would be a liability. She would have to restrain herself, working in the shadows instead of out in the open with the Auror Office.
They lay in bed together, holding onto each other and staring at the ceiling. They would talk for a bit and then lapse into silence, a lot weighing on their minds. But there was some comfort in not being alone. Throughout the First Wizarding War, as it would soon come to be called, Sev had laid awake a lot, wishing he had someone, anyone, to confide in. Instead he would spend his time in Death Eater hideouts or rented rooms staring at the leaking ceilings, wishing he'd made different choices and starting to wonder if Voldemort's side had anything at all to offer. Even the promises of power and glory were fading as he saw more and more of what Voldemort really aimed for. Now, even with the added danger, it was nice to have Hazel there.
Hazel rolled over so she could get a better look at him. They'd both lost track of what time it was. Not that they were going to sleep much anyway. The glittering black eyes that looked back at her gave her a bit of comfort, even now. "Last time… when Remus went on an undercover mission to spy on the werewolves, I was scared then. It was always a relief when he came home." A muscle in his cheek twitched, Hazel knowing that he still detested Remus. Hearing about him like this was even worse. He hated to think that he'd ever been part of her life like this, that he'd lay in bed beside her and talked about the war, any of it. "But now that you're - it's good that Voldemort trusts you, that you're… you're probably his right-hand-man at this point, but it got so late and I thought… Whenever you have to see him, I know you won't always have time to send me an owl before you go, but let me know when you get back, okay? And if I'm with you when you have to go, come and find me when you get back. Talk to Dumbledore first if you have to, but please let me know you made it back."
"Of course." He gave her a tender kiss, telling her that she should do the same. "I know you want to fight, but they mustn't find out about you. If the Dark Lord knows you're working against us, he'll kill us both, and it won't be an easy death."
"I know. I'll work in the shadows. I'll do what I can to train the others, I'll… I'll find ways to help that no one will know about," she promised. "Merlin, Sev, I… it's all going to happen again, isn't it? The disappearances and the killings and not knowing who we can trust…"
He was quiet for a moment before confessing, "I'm glad you're here this time. Last time… Well, I'm still trapped in this, but it's a lot better knowing I'm not completely alone."
"And you never will be. We'll figure this out somehow. First we figure out summer, and then we go from there."
No one knew how the bannister supported all of their weight. Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all crowded around the pair of Extendable Ears, straining to hear the conversations going on in the entryway of Grimmauld Place. Mrs. Weasley had soundproofed the door to the kitchen, so listening in on Order meetings was out of the question, but for now, they had yet to be discovered. As they leaned in further to get a better view of everyone leaving the latest meeting, they caught snippets of different conversations, grateful to hear anything at all. "A convicted felon -"
"Shut it, Snivellus." That was Sirius, who sparked a few smiles and approving nods from the Extendable Ears gallery.
"Stop it, both of you," Hazel warned, walking between the two. She'd been staying at headquarters, since it was harder to track her there. From what they could tell, she was working in the background, trying to recruit her old colleagues and train new members of the Order while not making too much of a name for herself on the outside, since it would've implicated Snape, who was supposedly spying on the Death Eaters. "You're adults. You don't have to like each other, but really…"
Mad-Eye Moody limped through the door, the familiar clunk of his leg suddenly gone as he disapparated on the street outside. Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Mundungus Fletcher followed him out. Arthur Weasley trailed in their wake, promising his wife that he would only be gone for a little while and that the office had said what he'd been called in for wasn't going to be much work. Sirius seemed to vanish when Molly went back to the kitchen, leaving Snape and Hazel alone in the front hall.
Her voice didn't carry far, even with the Extendable Ears. She knew better than to talk loudly with the portrait of Mrs. Black nearby. The first time she'd heard the two of them, she'd commented on how she wished her son had found a "proper Pureblood girl like that, and from the Ravenclaw family to boot!", resulting in a string of curses from everyone who strained to close the curtains around her.
"It's good to see you again, Sev. Be careful. And don't let him bother you."
"He doesn't bother me," Snape answered curtly. Ron jostled for a better view, but Hermione held him still, telling him with a look that Snape would surely spot them if he caused too much commotion.
Clearly she was skeptical. "Hmm. Well then, don't antagonize him. You know how he is. Where are you off to?"
"I'm going to be in Cokeworth for a bit. When I'm not with the Death Eaters," he said, everyone watching as he wrapped his arms around her. "You're welcome to visit, if you like."
"I'm going to be here most of the summer, working with the Order and trying to see where the Aurors stand, but I'll come up for a few days," she promised. "I've missed you."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "On second thought, perhaps it's better if I just come back here. I don't know when any of my old acquaintances might drop in, and I'd much rather they not run into an ex-Auror… For your sake, of course."
"Okay, well, you come back here often, then. And you write. Owls can still find this place even if people can't. And Sev, please… be careful." She looked up and kissed him, Fred and George pretending to gag.
"I will. I'll see you soon." He gave her one last kiss (resulting in more gagging from the gallery) and left, Hazel heading back towards the kitchen.
As George reeled the Extendable Ears back in, Fred summed up what all of them were thinking. "Number one, revolting. Number two, why the hell is she with him?"
"I'd rather go on a date with Professor Binns," Ginny agreed. "She could do so much better. She's absolutely brilliant - Did you see her telling off Malfoy after he tripped Hannah Abbott? I wanted to be Professor Ashmore right then, but that… ugh."
Sirius chuckled behind them, everyone whirling around and wondering how long he had been there. "They've been like that since we were in school. Since seventh year, anyway, but they'd been friends for longer. Everyone said it was only a matter of time, but he went one way and she went another. Remus tells me I missed a lot when she first got back to Hogwarts. But I agree, George, I don't know what she sees in that slimy git."
"That slimy git has saved a lot of lives," Hazel's voice carried up the stairs. She appeared in front of them seconds later, looking cross but used to this argument by now. After all, she'd been defending him for years. "Besides, he may not be the most pleasant person in the world, but neither are you. I don't need to remind you about school."
"We were kids. I seem to remember you threatening to hex my nose off -"
"Yeah, after you'd flipped him upside down and thrown him into the lake. Some of the stuff you guys did… 'boys will be boys' doesn't cover attempted murder."
Intensely curious now, everyone stayed silent, praying they wouldn't remember all of the kids were there. "He nearly killed you once."
"That was an accident." And that was final. "I don't blame him. I never did. I can't say as much about what you did to him, though. Sev's on our side, and I expect you - both of you - to act like adults. As for all of you," she turned to the group of kids, who all braced themselves. At least she couldn't take points from them before school started. Could she? "There are plenty of things about life that you all have yet to understand. Sirius, as for you… I need not remind you and Remus about them. I'd suggest all of you clean up for dinner." She swept past all of them and up to her room, giving them no option but to turn to Sirius and batter him with questions.