9 July 1978
"So, this is it," Sirius said. He paused for a moment, surveying the dark, dilapidated-looking building with slightly raised eyebrows. "Not exactly what you'd expect for a meeting place of the resistance against Lord Voldemort, is it?" he asked under his breath.
"What were you expecting to find, Sirius?" Lily asked in an amused voice, from where she and James stood on Sirius's right, holding hands. "A castle? A bunch of knights feasting at a round table?"
Remus snorted, and James and Peter both smirked at Sirius.
"No," Sirius told Lily, rolling his eyes. "Just someplace that doesn't look like a breeding ground for disease."
"Yes, well, I think we can all agree that Dumbledore didn't pick this place for its aesthetic appeal," Remus said, eyeing the sign above the door of the gloomy-looking pub. A bloodied pig's head was carved onto the lintel; weathered and worn, it rattled slightly in the gentle summer night's breeze. ('The Hog's Head Inn,' the sign read. 'Est. 1605.') "But I'm sure he has his reasons."
"I'm surprised the four of you have never been here before," Lily said, resting her head against James's shoulder.
"Have you?" Sirius asked her skeptically.
"No, but my friends and I didn't spend two years wandering the village as animals by night, did we?" Lily retorted, arching her eyebrows.
It took several moments for Lily's words to register—but when they did, Remus's heart skittered. Simultaneously, he, Sirius, and Peter all swiveled around to gape at James.
"You told her?" Sirius demanded in a fierce whisper.
"I'm marrying her," James said defensively, as if that were explanation enough.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Relax, Padfoot," she said bracingly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think it's incredible, what you've all done for Remus—extremely dangerous, of course, but still, incredible. What d'you think I'm going to do? Report you and put you in Azkaban for life? Merlin knows you couldn't last a minute in there."
James and Peter snickered, and even Sirius looked torn between gratification and indignation.
"If the five of you stay out here gossiping much longer, Azkaban will be the least of your problems."
Remus's heart leaped into his throat. Whipping out his wand, he whirled around. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter had done the same thing. Peter's arm was trembling slightly.
A tall, sharp-featured woman, whose dark blond hair was pulled into a taut ponytail at the top of her head, was leaning against the now-open doorway to the Hog's Head, arms crossed. She looked momentarily stunned to find herself at the receiving end of so many wands—but then, her face melted into a thin-lipped smile that suddenly became very familiar to Remus. "Impressive reflexes," she observed. "I see why Dumbledore was so intent on the five of you."
"Marlene Cresswell?" Remus asked disbelievingly, lowering his wand a fraction. "Is that you?"
"McKinnon, actually, for the last two years or so," Marlene said, raising her left hand briefly—and Remus saw a simple wedding band on her fourth finger. She faced Remus, her smile widening slightly as she reached out and gripped his right hand tightly with her own. "Little Remus Lupin. It's nice to see you again—though it's a pity it couldn't be under more cheerful circumstances."
"Yeah—blimey…I—I wasn't expecting you," Remus said in astonishment. Giving his head a shake, he turned back to his friends. "Everyone, this is Marlene. She was Head Girl in our first year—and the best Gobstones captain I ever had."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Marlene told Remus lightly, as she took turns shaking James's and Sirius's hands. "Dirk says you gave me quite the run for my money."
"Dirk?" Lily asked, sounding surprised. "D'you mean—Dirk Cresswell?"
"My kid brother," Marlene explained, holding open the door to the Hog's Head and ushering Remus and his friends through. "We haven't spoken in a few months though—ever since I told him about the Order, actually. I thought he'd be interested in joining after he graduates next year, but he was dead set against it—called the whole thing a wild goose chase." Marlene shook her head, leading the Marauders and Lily down a narrow, dark corridor. "I reckon his idea of fighting would be if we changed our identities and avoided persecution by pretending to be pure-bloods."
There was a brief silence, as Remus and his friends absorbed this.
Then— "He's wrong," Sirius said resolutely, his bright gray eyes glinting in the dimly-lit hallway.
Marlene turned and shot Sirius a wry smile over her shoulder. "I couldn't agree more."
They had reached the pub's main room. It was small and shabby, and, oddly enough, seemed to smell strongly of something akin to goats. The large bay windows were begrimed with filth, and the stone floor was so dirty that it appeared as though there were not a floor at all, but rather that the building was built on open ground. The six or seven customers scattered about the premises, however, didn't seem to mind this in the slightest, as they hunched over the rough wooden tables, nursing dusty glasses of drinks.
Remus blinked, looking sideways at his friends, who looked similarly nonplussed. But Marlene was unfazed.
"Evening, Ab," she greeted the barman briskly, as she strode behind the bar counter. "We're heading up."
The barman—a tall, thin, grumpy-looking man with a large grizzly beard—merely grunted in response, but eyed the group of six warily as they passed.
Marlene led the way through a second doorway, which revealed a rickety wooden staircase. And now, Remus could hear voices, hushed and muffled, on the landing. Heart racing, he stumbled up the stairs after Marlene—and a moment later, he found himself in a cramped sitting room with a threadbare rug and a small fireplace. The walls were completely bare, with the exception of a single oil painting of a young blonde girl that hung above the mantel, and the only piece of furniture in the room was an ovular table, around which sat approximately a dozen witches and wizards, all talking and laughing amongst themselves. It was clear that an Undetectable Extension Charm had been used on the tiny room to accommodate all of these people, and yet, the table seemed to be bursting at the seams. Remus spotted Professor Dumbledore immediately, his unmistakable silvery beard appearing even brighter than usual in the poorly lit expanse. He was deep in conversation with Professor McGonagall, as well as James's uncle Caradoc and another tall wizard with short peppery-gray hair, who had a hand on Professor McGonagall's shoulder.
"Oi, McKinnon! Decided to grace us with your presence at last, have you?"
Remus blinked, looking around. Two broad-shouldered men, both of whom looked to be in their thirties, were grinning at Marlene from the far end of the table. Marlene rolled her eyes at them before she walked over, gesturing for Remus and the rest to follow.
"I was collecting the newbies, Bones," Marlene informed the taller of the men, who had dark hair and a scruffy mustache. "What's your excuse for being late to every meeting?"
"One word. Children," Bones retorted, shaking his head. "Merlin, I don't know how Elinor spends so many nights getting them to bed by herself. She's a force of nature, my wife is."
"I reckon she had loads of practice dealing with you," Marlene said airily, and Bones rolled his eyes while the other man guffawed, thumping his back.
Then, Bones looked past Marlene's shoulder at Remus and his friends—and he grinned. "So, you lot must be the new recruits," he observed. "Edgar Bones," he introduced himself. "And this is Benjy Fenwick," he added, gesturing to the man on his left, who smiled and saluted the group in greeting.
"They're Aurors," Marlene explained to the Marauders and Lily. "They were recruited by Alastor Moody."
"Alastor Moody?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening. "The Alastor Moody? The head of the Aurors?"
"The very same," Edgar Bones nodded, glancing at his watch. "We're actually waiting on him to start the meeting. He and the Longbottoms were following a tip in Avebury, but they should've been back by now." He frowned down at his watch for a moment, then shook his head, looking up at Marlene. "Why don't you introduce these kids to everyone else in the meantime?"
"Good idea," Marlene nodded, straightening up and glancing around the room. "Is everyone here?"
"Reckon so," Benjy Fenwick said, looking around as well. "Well, except for Mundungus—but it looks like Aberforth's banned him from the pub for good this time, so we're not likely to see him tonight."
"Banned him from the pub?" Peter asked confusedly. "What for?"
"Beats us," said a new voice, and Remus turned to see a pair of freckled, red-haired twins approaching the group, grinning identically. "Dung's the life and soul of this organization."
"I don't know about life and soul," Edgar snorted, shaking his head. "The only known criminal in the group, maybe."
"The operative word there is known," one of the twins told the Marauders, smirking. "Merlin knows Fabian and I would've been chucked into Azkaban years ago if we weren't so valuable to the Order."
James and Sirius laughed, and the twin named Fabian winked at them. Lily shook her head, an exasperated smile on her face.
"Gits," Marlene said idly, rolling her eyes at the twins. "Your egos need a good dose of Shrinking Solution."
The twins just grinned at her, before turning back to Remus and his friends.
"Fabian Prewett," Fabian introduced himself, reaching out and shaking James's hand. "And this is my slightly older brother, Gideon."
"We were lying before, when we said Dung was the life and soul of the Order," Gideon said in a conspiratorial whisper, as he shook Sirius's hand, his eyes gleaming. "That's actually us."
Sirius grinned broadly, looking at James. "Looks like we've got competition, mate."
James snorted. "What, these two? Padfoot, it's only a competition if there's a chance we won't win."
"Cute, aren't they, Gid?" Fabian asked his twin, smirking at James and Sirius.
"The cutest," Gideon responded with an evil grin. "Adorable, little Puffskeins, they are."
"Best leave them to it," Marlene said in a low voice to Remus, Lily, and Peter. "The Prewett twins love a good ragging."
Remus shook his head slowly. "With these four, I'm not sure who's going to end up doing the ragging."
Marlene laughed. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone else. Moody will be here any second."
Over the next several minutes, Remus found himself meeting and greeting witches and wizards from what seemed like every pocket of Britain. There was Dedalus Diggle, a tiny, excitable man from Kent who kept dropping his hat as he talked. He and his friend, Sturgis Podmore, were both employees of the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry, and were apparently singlehandedly responsible for developing the Order's foreign contacts. Next, there was Elphias Doge, a wheezy, old wizard who had known Professor Dumbledore since their Hogwarts years. According to Marlene, Doge worked in Wizengamot Administration Services, and was thus able to provide the Order with access to otherwise restricted court documents, hearing dates, and judges' schedules.
Then, Remus was introduced to Emmeline Vance and Dorcas Meadowes, two dark-haired, impeccably-dressed, formidable-looking sisters who were members of a special Ministry force called the Witch Watch, responsible for locating and capturing dangerous fugitives. ("Scary girls, the pair of them. I wouldn't cross them unless you've got a death wish," Fabian Prewett whispered audibly to Remus, earning himself a reproving glare from Dorcas.)
By the time Remus finally found himself being corralled into a seat at the meeting table between James and Fabian, having just been introduced to the deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Elphinstone Urquart—the peppery-haired wizard whom Remus had seen standing with Professor McGonagall earlier—he was feeling quiet overwhelmed, indeed. It wasn't that Remus hadn't anticipated being one of the youngest in the Order—of course he had. After all, it had been only two weeks since he and his friends had graduated from Hogwarts. But it was only now, surrounded by all of these Aurors, and Hit Witches, and esteemed Ministry officials, that Remus fully realized just how young he was. Even the Prewett twins, for all of their good humor and sparkling wit, seemed to command a great deal of respect at the table. Gringotts curse-breakers with an intuitive knack for problem-solving, the Prewetts had repeatedly proven their worth by extricating their fellow Order members from a number of sticky situations, Remus had learned.
Suddenly, there was a loud clatter of footsteps near the stairs, and Remus jumped, turning to see a very windswept Frank Longbottom enter the room, followed by Alice Fawley—Longbottom, Remus corrected himself, quickly spotting the rings on Alice's left hand. Remus watched as the pair took seats at the far end of the table next to Edgar Bones and Benjy Fenwick.
"Moody's on his way up," Frank addressed Professor Dumbledore, who was seated at the head of the table, just a few feet away from Remus. Professor Dumbledore smiled at Frank, nodding.
A few moments later, a shadow was cast over the top of the staircase again, as, at long last, Alastor Moody trudged into the cramped sitting room, his piercing gaze sweeping over the table. Grizzled and graying, Moody looked even more menacing in person than he did in the Daily Prophet, with features so sharp that they looked as though they had been carved into his face. Remus held his breath as the Auror crossed the room. He glanced to his right; James and Sirius looked positively star struck.
"Sorry I'm late," Moody muttered gruffly to Dumbledore, as he reached the head of the table. "There was a hold-up in Avebury. I'll explain later."
Professor Dumbledore nodded at him, glancing in the direction of the stairs. "Did Aberforth say if he would be joining us today?"
"He was going to, but I told him to stay downstairs and keep a watch instead. Saw a couple of blokes at the bar I didn't like the look of," Moody grunted. He looked up and glanced around at the room. "Where's Hagrid?"
"At the castle, tending to several ailing thestrals," Dumbledore told him. "I assured him I would get him up to speed tomorrow."
Moody nodded. "Remind me to give you message for him. I've got a new assignment I think he'd be a good fit for." Then, with another grunt and a sweeping look at the occupants of the table, Moody finally took his seat on Dumbledore's left, next to Professor McGonagall. As Dumbledore got to his feet, shuffling through the scrolls of parchment on the table before him, Moody's dark, piercing eyes came to rest on where Remus, James, and Sirius were sitting, sandwiched between the Prewett twins.
"They get younger every week," Moody growled under his breath, to no one in particular, as he considered the three boys through narrowed eyes. "You'd better listen closely tonight, lads," he barked. "This is your chance to show that you're more than just a bunch of pretty faces."
There was a soft rumble of laughter from around the table, and Remus felt his face flush. He glanced sideways at James and Sirius—they had tensed like dogs on a scent, plainly keen to begin proving themselves as soon as possible.
Professor Dumbledore looked at James and Sirius, and he smiled. Then, clearing his throat, he straightened his shoulders and began, "Calling to order this meeting on the ninth of July, the one hundred and eighty-fifth meeting of the Order of the Phoenix…"
"Don't take it the wrong way," said a low voice suddenly in Remus's ear, and Remus turned to his left to find Fabian Prewett grinning at him. "There was a time when old Moody called Gid and me pretty faces, too," Fabian muttered, eyes twinkling. "He doesn't say it to just anyone."
Remus blinked, several times. Then, smiling slightly in spite of himself, he turned to face the front of the room again.
For the first time that evening, Remus felt at home in the grubby, little upper room of the Hog's Head Inn, surrounded by witches and wizards who knew exactly what they were fighting for, and why.
Author's Note:
I've been SO excited for this chapter, you have no idea! With this chapter, we officially kick off the nine-chapter arc that revolves around the Marauders and Lily navigating adult life/the Order. Until...stuff happens. *sobs*
But let's not think about that yet! This was a fun chapter to write. As you could probably tell from reading it, I've always pictured the Marauders and Lily as the youngest members of the first Order, by quite a few years. (The next youngest are Frank and Alice, who are still four years older than Remus and co. in my head canon.) I like to think Remus and his friends earned the respect of veterans like Alastor Moody and Elphinstone Urquart in spite of their youth.
Tiny disclaimer: Moody's "pretty faces" line is adapted from a story by the lovely MandyinKC called 'Outtakes.' You should be able to find it in Chapter 3.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Ari
