Hey guys! This chapter is a heavy one. I want to leave some particular trigger warnings - if any of them bother you, you can skip at the line "Mason and Sirius both appeared inside Headquarters" right to the end and I'll leave a quick chapter summary there so you can keep up! Trigger warnings for: mentions of PTSD and the effects of it, general life and death situations, death of family/young children, referenced child abuse and general descriptions of gore. That makes it sound very dramatic but I just want to make sure! Take care of yourselves 3


18th November 1980

Lyra exited the rickety lift on the second floor of the Ministry the next morning feeling apprehensive. Without the adrenaline of the mission and after a night to sleep on it, she had no idea what had possessed her to kiss Mason last night, and she was dreading having to see him and explain herself. Dorcas had tried to push her to tell Mason how she felt, but considering everything, Lyra thought that was a recipe for disaster – she really didn't want to get kicked out the programme or even just moved to work with different Auror and have people find out why.

The office door was ajar, so she crept over and pushed the door open slightly, poking her head round it and bracing herself for embarrassment.

Mason wasn't looking at her, he was looking at an Auror she didn't recognise but who was clearly friendly with him as he was leaning right over the desk holding a packet of photos, a wide grin on his face.

"You know I'd prioritise anything you sent to me, McKinnon," the guy teased.

Mason seemed far more relaxed with the comment than Lyra would've thought and so she cleared her throat quickly, shutting the door behind her, feeling like she was interrupting something she shouldn't.

The photograph guy jumped back, his cheeks going as red as Lyra's were, and Mason sat more upright in his chair, glancing pointedly out of the window. "Oh, hi, you must be Lyra?"

She nodded and managed a smile even if she was horrifically confused. "Yeah, that's me. Sorry, I don't know you?"

"Oh, I'm Jonathan! Jon Abbott," he smiled, "I'm responsible for all the Muggle tech the office uses, came by to drop off the photographs you guys got last night!"

Lyra dropped her bag by her chair and extended her hand out for him to shake. "Nice to meet you," she said politely, "Thank you for the photos."

Jon glanced back at Mason and nodded quickly. "Right, yes, no problem! Any time! I should probably go. Good luck with catching them!"

Jon vanished immediately, shutting the door to the office loudly.

Lyra turned to Mason and slowly raised an eyebrow, her mind whirring. "Was he flirting with you?"

"No!" Mason muttered.

"Right, because it looked like he was to me," she shrugged, sitting down and fiddling with the wallet of photos. "Which, you know, is okay, just… confusing. Why would he flirt with you, I didn't think you were…"

"Merlin's balls this is a fun conversation," Mason said through his teeth, taking a gulp of water from his bottle and leaning back. "Really enjoying this at nine in the morning."

Lyra dropped her eyes to her lap. "Sorry, we'll just… leave it, it's okay."

"No, no, it's not a big deal, it's just – awkward. To explain to you, because I... Never mind. I'm into guys and girls, that's all."

She looked back up quickly. "You – you can do that? Like both of them?"

Mason laughed automatically, watching her too. "Yeah?"

"I didn't know that," she admitted, feeling foolish.

He shrugged casually. "I can't say I thought the Black family sex-ed would be particularly inclusive."

"I knew gay people existed," she protested weakly, although she had only known they existed in the context of 'don't be one of them, you must continue the family line'.

Mason laughed again. "Good, that's a strong start."

"Don't tease me!"

"It's so easy though," he grinned, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."

"Anyway," she said firmly, flicking through the photos for something to do with her hands. Her choice seemed easy now. "I think he was flirting with you and I think you should ask him out."

"Who – Jon?" Mason blinked, something settling uncomfortably in his stomach. The kiss mustn't have meant anything then.

"Yes, Jon," she shrugged, "He's cute, he's into you, Marlene tells me you don't get out enough, he'd understand the work commitments too, working in the department as well. Seems ideal."

Why was she doing this? Why was she suggesting this? Was that hurt in his eyes or was she just projecting her own feelings onto him?

"You think I should ask Jonathan out on a date?" Mason said slowly.

No. "Yes!"

Mason licked his lips and leaned back in his chair. "Sure. I'll go and find him later. But if it goes wrong, it's your fault," he teased weakly.

She managed a laugh and handed the photos over to him. "Deal. Should we take a look at these now?"

Mason's fingers brushed hers as he took the packet from her and the distance between them that last night hadn't existed now felt impossible to cross. "We should, yeah."

He took a deep breath and started to lay the photos out on their desk, burying his questions deep deep down.


When they took a break for lunch, they'd examined all the photos carefully and were setting about organising the arrest warrants to send to the team who would actually find the Death Eaters, as Moody had decided they'd done enough on this case. It was safer to split it up, to avoid making one single Auror the target of a revenge campaign.

Lyra went to find Dorcas who had settled into a cubicle next to Frank, and the two of them went to find somewhere quieter to eat.

"So, what did you say to him?" Dorcas grinned, her voice hushed.

Lyra shook her head. "It's not happening. Do you know Jon Abbott?"

"Uhhh, not really, why?"

"Well I arrived in Mason's office to him flirting hard with Mason under the pretence of 'just dropping off the photos', which I know isn't protocol, the Auror is supposed to pick them up from him," she started, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "So I suggested that maybe Mason should ask him out."

"What the FUCK," Dorcas hissed, "Why would you do that?"

"Mason is into guys and girls," Lyra said defensively, "I found that out! He can date Jon if he wants to."

"That's not what I meant! Why would you tell him to ASK SOMEONE ELSE OUT!" Dorcas screeched, dropping her sandwich to brandish her arms around.

Lyra looked sheepish. "I can't tell him how I feel, Doe!"

"Well now you can't," Dorcas sniffed, "You're going to be the death of me! He'll not say anything about you now because he'll think you're not into him!"

"I shouldn't be into him," Lyra countered.

"You're insane, Ly, why on earth would you ruin any chances you have at all?!"

Lyra sniffed in annoyance. "He was hardly about to propose to me, it's not a big deal!"

"You're insane," Dorcas repeated. "Actually insane."

"It's too late now," Lyra shrugged. "It's done."

"I'm going to murder you while you sleep," Dorcas muttered as she picked her sandwich back up.

Lyra rolled her eyes but she took a deep breath as she looked down at her own lunch. Maybe it was insane, maybe she had ruined her chances, but she was scared and she would rather push Mason towards someone else than ever admit to him how she felt.


21st November 1980

He shouldn't have done this – his mum would definitely have some words to say about it. It felt wrong, somehow, to lead Jon along when Mason knew that he wasn't interested in the guy. Okay, that wasn't quite true: they got along, he was attractive, funny, there was definitely something there but it was never going to happen with her in the picture.

Even thinking about her right now felt wrong, like he was deceiving Jonathan (which in some senses, he was – who went on a date with someone you knew you wouldn't want to see again?), but it would also feel wrong to deliberately not think about her either. Had she really felt nothing after their kiss? Did she really want him dating other people? Mason was hoping not.

They weren't doing anything particularly formal for the date, they were both far too busy for that, but they'd agreed to dinner at Mason's place and so he'd been cooking all evening and was grateful when the doorbell rang because it meant he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts.

"Security question coming up," he warned, peering through the peephole. Last year, the Ministry had encouraged everyone to start asking these sorts of questions to prevent any unwanted visitors disguised as someone you were expecting, but it always felt awkward. "What colour is my coffee mug?"

"Orange, and in dire need of a wash," Jon joked, "I come bearing cake!"

Mason laughed and opened the door. "Don't knock the mug, it just gets a lot of use, that's all!"

"I'm not knocking it, just saying you should bring it back and give it a wash once in a while," he grinned. "Hi, though," he added once he was inside.

"Hi," Mason smiled, a tad awkwardly. He'd have felt awkward even without the invisible third party involved, but that really wasn't helping and so he did his best to hide it. "Uh, do you want a drink? I can do alcoholic, soft, hot."

"This sounds super lame, but a cup of tea would be ace," Jon laughed. "I've not had mine yet today and I'm having withdrawal symptoms."

Mason snorted and went to put the kettle on. He couldn't yet tell whether the weirdness of the situation was just a first date issue – he'd not been on one for ages thanks to work and the Order – or just a sign that this wasn't going to work.

"So, I think we should absolutely ban all talk of work," Jon called from where he was carefully extracting the cake tin from his bag. "It's boring and, let's be real, we'll both already know any of the stuff we mention."

"You might be right," Mason laughed, shrugging as he stirred the tea. "And contrary to popular belief, I actually don't eat sleep breathe work."

Jonathan pretended to do a double take, throwing his hands up. "You, the one and only Mason McKinnon, do things other than work?"

"I know, I know," Mason sighed, "Moody tries his best to force me into a one-track mind but I've toiled for years and I finally did it, I have a hobby again."

"Please tell me your hobby is something ridiculously embarrassing," Jon breathed, clasping his hands together. "Let me guess?"

"It's not that embarrassing, but you can definitely guess," Mason grinned, handing over the cup of tea and then leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"Okay," Jon said thoughtfully, glancing around the room for inspiration or a clue. "Do you… knit?"

"No, but my mum is getting into it," Mason smirked. "She's awful."

"Cute, are you going to turn up in knitted jumpers?"

"Maybe, so I don't hurt her feelings."

"I'd pay good money to see you in a bad knitted jumper," Jon grinned, scratching the back of his neck, "Okay, do you… roller skate?"

"No but I kind of want to learn, that or ice skating," Mason sniggered.

"I'm pretty good, I could take you some time! What about… poetry?"

"Eh, getting warmer, but you're still not right, you're thinking far more embarrassing than what this actually is!"

"Useless – get a more embarrassing hobby then, McKinnon! What is it?" Jon huffed, sipping his tea and pouting slightly.

Mason opened his mouth to reply and was interrupted by a horrific screech and a dull thud. He whirled around and drew his wand only to see an owl hopping frantically on the windowsill. He recognised the bird as the one normally kept at Order headquarters and swore loudly. Lurching forwards, he opened the window and grabbed the hastily rolled letter from the bird's leg.

Mason,

Fastest way to get you all. Collect Sirius, get to HQ. Surprise attack on a wizard town, be ready to fight.

- James

"Shit. Shit shit shit shit SHIT!" Mason yelled burning the note immediately and sending the owl back out the window, slamming the pane shut behind him. "I need to go."

"What the fuck?" Jon snorted, confused but not yet aware anything was actually wrong.

"There's been an attack," he said sharply, grabbing his jacket. "I need to go. I'm really sorry, I'm needed right this second."

"That wasn't Moody's o-"

"Jon, I'm sorry, this is awful timing," Mason muttered, "Uh, don't rush yourself out, stay, whatever, the door locks automatically. I'll see you at work?"

"Uh, yeah, right, cool?"

Mason nodded sharply and then barrelled out of the flat, feeling guilty that he was grateful for the reprieve.


"SIRIUS!"

The pounding on the door and the yell startled her enough that the tea she'd just made slopped over the edges of the mug as she jumped, and Lyra yelped as the hot liquid scalded her hands, the book only just escaping damage too.

"SIRIUS? OPEN UP!"

Recognising Mason's voice but not the panicked edge to it, Lyra threw the hardback down on the cushions, dumped her mug on the coffee table and darted over to the door. Protocol said she should ask a security question but the worry in his voice overrode her cautiousness and she yanked the chain back, stepping back to let him into the flat, her dark eyes wide.

"Si-oh, it's you," he said, doing a double take. "Is – is Sirius in?"

"Y-yes, I'll get him now, what's wrong?" she frowned, turning and slipping through to find Sirius in his room.

Mason, thrown off kilter by her presence, paused to lick his lips, glancing around wildly. The dichotomy of seeing both Jon and Lyra within a minute of each other in entirely different scenarios was messing with him, and he shook his head firmly to rid himself of the odd feeling.

"There's been an attack, a wizarding village. We're needed right away."

Lyra's eyes widened again and she turned back to him. "An attack?"

They happened fairly frequently these days, and she'd not been involved in one yet with the Aurors but it was only a matter of time.

"Wait, why do you need Sirius then?" she frowned. "He's not an Auror."

Mason blinked, scrambling for something to say – of course she didn't know why he needed Sirius and not her.

"Are you not wearing trousers?" he croaked, his brain focussing in on the singularly least relevant thing about this situation.

Lyra glanced down sharply and then flushed a deep red, yanking the borrowed top down, the large neckline slipping down her shoulder which, Mason cursed vaguely, really did not help matters.

"Kind of not important, Mason?" she muttered, as Sirius appeared in the doorway.

"An attack?" her brother said sharply, snatching his wand up from the dresser.

Mason nodded. "We're needed, as soon as we can get there."

Sirius glanced at Lyra, who was now looking backwards and forwards between them, her brows furrowed slightly which Sirius knew full well meant something was being calculated and meticulously pieced together.

"We should go," he said hastily, heading past his little sister towards the door.

"I can help," she said, darting forwards, "I want to help!"

"You need to put trousers on," Mason said, voice tight as he glanced at the ceiling desperately. She was going to work out about the Order sooner rather than later but it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be by chance and putting together the clues, she should be told. Why on Earth was she even here?!

"Sirius, what's going on?" she asked, her tone sharper now.

"No time, Ly, just stay here, promise me you won't try to follow?"

She made no such promise, her mouth pressed together in a hard line, hurt.

"Sirius, we have to go now," Mason said urgently, pulling his eyes away from Lyra's. Her stormy expression was one that he would love to study, but not right now.

The elder Black nodded sharply and headed out the door, Mason quickly following, throwing an apologetic glance over his shoulder. The pair vanished down the staircase out of sight of the other front doors and the familiar crack echoed up the stairwell as Lyra knew they'd vanished to wherever it was they needed so badly to be. The front door was still open, her wand hanging limply in her hand.


Mason and Sirius both appeared inside Headquarters, finding Moody standing in front of them, clearly waiting for them.

"No time to explain, I'll apparate you both to the village," he said sharply, and doing just that.

The quick turn around on the magical transportation made Mason's stomach lurch but he swallowed hard and scanned their surroundings.

"Moody, you made it back," a familiar voice said, hurrying over. "Thank you so much, again, I know-"

"We're not finished yet, boy," Alastor cut him off and Mason did a double take upon seeing Edgar Bones standing in front of them, wand in hand, his blonde hair filled with dust and wildly messy.

"McKinnon?"

"Who did you think I was going to get?" Moody snorted, marching back out into the street, "Stop gawping, get a fucking move on."

Sirius ran after Moody immediately, but Mason and Edgar stayed still for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say.

"McKinnon, I know this is awk-"

"Don't," Mason said quickly, shaking his head. "We're here to help. Save this for afterwards."

Edgar hesitated and then nodded sharply, wheeling around to face the village, black billowing smoke drifting over the red rooftops. He apparated further down the road with a crack, Mason following behind. There was a time and a place for their confrontation and now wasn't it, they both knew that.

The small village was mostly inhabited by wizards with a handful of Muggle homes that the members of the Order seemed to be concentrating on, but Edgar continued through the streets, dodging spells that came his way with a single-minded determination and ignoring any and all organisation by the Order of the Phoenix.

"Bones, where are you going?!"

"Who do you think raised the alarm?" Edgar yelled, speeding up into a run as they spotted a dark figure sweeping down a path to the last house on the street. "This is my home!"

Mason's face paled and he forced himself into a sprint to keep up with the other man who let out a strangled cry as the door to the house was blasted off its hinges violently, the splinters of wood spraying into the hallway as the Death Eater continued inside.

"MUM!" Edgar screamed, the sound slivering down Mason's spine and making his blood run cold.

A sudden green glow lit up the front window as Edgar barrelled up the path, Mason on his heels.

"MUM, DAD!" Edgar screamed again, his voice cracking. The Death Eater rounded on them as they entered the small house, and Edgar lunged for the wand clutched in the gloved hand. Reacting faster than he had anticipated, the masked figure spun away from his reach, firing again towards them, the beam of deadly green light scraping past Edgar as Mason yanked him to the side instinctively. The Death Eater glanced behind at the crumpled body of a woman, her flowery dress torn at the seam where she'd fallen and they laughed, the sound echoing oddly from behind the metal mask; their wand raised, they yelled bombarda and threw their arm around in a wide circle, the ceiling splitting and cracking, the old beams holding the cottage together shattering loudly enough to mask the noise of the figure vanishing, twisting away into nothingness now the wards on the house had broken.

Edgar wrested himself free of Mason's grip and scrambled desperately towards the stairs even as the ceiling began to groan, dust raining down around them making the angry tear tracks down his cheeks even more noticeable.

"LUCY!" he croaked, feeling the house begin to shudder – the Death Eater had clearly continued the attack from outside.

"Edgar," Mason warned, dragging his eyes away from the body of Edgar's mother and following him up the stairs.

"ED?" a woman upstairs screamed, and the sound of children crying followed the scream, only forcing Edgar to climb the steep stairs faster, trying to outrun the cracking plaster.

"Ed this isn't safe," Mason coughed, covering his face with his hands although he continued to follow. "How many of them are up here?!"

"My sister, her two kids, I don't know where my dad is," Edgar sobbed, pausing to clear his throat, the debris falling freely now.

It was a good thing he paused – the wall of one of the bedrooms split with a juddering motion, the bricks spilling down onto the floor.

"EDDIE, PLEASE," Lucy sobbed, the wailing of the children louder now there was less between them. "My wand, my wand is broken, I can't move!"

Mason scrambled over the bricks as another explosion rocked the side of the cottage, light beginning to show through the cracks. One of the children suddenly stopped crying. Lucy screamed louder and louder, her voice breaking with the horror.

Edgar was doubled over at the top of the stairs, unable to breathe or move or do anything as the floor trembled beneath his feet. Desperate, Mason started trying to levitate the rubble away from where there were still noises, but more was falling faster than he could move it and Lucy's screams were weak and breathless, the remaining baby's crying muffled as she wrapped her arms around it tightly, trying to shield it.

Another explosion blasted the rest of the roof straight off the house and the blinding sunlight streamed in, the remaining wall of the upstairs teetering dangerously.

Mason looked up, eyes wide as he realised he was now directly in the path of it with no free path out.

"McKinnon," Edgar gasped, lunging forwards and grabbing a hold of his hand, pulling him backwards over the piles of bricks and beams and mortar. Squeezing his eyes shut, Edgar focussed on the green grass of the garden and apparated them away as the last of his energy crumbled to nothing.

Mason scrambled to his feet and tried to move towards what was left of the house but Edgar caught his arm, turned and threw up onto the grass, sob wracking his body as he fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whimpered, gripping Mason's arm to tightly that he had no choice but to prise Edgar's fingers off him for fear of being hurt. "I'm so so sorry, I left you, I couldn't move, I'm sorry, oh God, Luce, I'm sorry."

Crying himself, Mason dropped down next to him and wrapped his arms around the man, holding him tightly as he continued to scream, his grief carrying over the sounds of the house collapsing in on itself, the eerie green of the Dark Mark polluting the air above where the bricks now piled up.

Mason looked up and realised with another punch to the gut that he knew where Edgar's father was: he had tried to reach the house and had met the same fate as his wife before he could make it there, his arm stretched out in front of him on the path just metres away from the door. Not ready to look back at the house, knowing there were four more bodies inside, Mason continued to stare down the street where the rest of the fighting was nearly over.

He owed his life to Edgar; Edgar had chosen to reach him and apparate both of them out of the way rather than wait and let Mason reach his sister and Mason didn't know how he felt about that, he didn't know how he should feel about that, there was too much spinning around in his head and none of it was coherent.

Another crack of apparition startled them both, and Mason's wand was instantly levelled at the figure in front of them.

Lily held her hands up quickly, shaking her head. "Mase, it's me," she whispered. "It's just me. It's over, they're gone. The Aurors are arriving, late as always," she joked with a soft smile, "So the Order sort of have to vanish sharpish."

"Lily," Mason said hoarsely, glancing down at Edgar, who was still clinging to him, his shoulder shaking.

She looked down at Edgar, then back at the house, and finally to Mr Bones' body lying prone on the ground and her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped.

"How many?" she whispered, green eyes shining with tears.

Mason closed his eyes. "Five. Both parents, his sister and her kids."

"Oh God," she breathed, dropping down next to them and adding her arms to Mason's, circling them around Edgar, not knowing what else she could do. "I'm so sorry."

Lily pressed a kiss to Mason's forehead fiercely, wiping away her tears with her free hand. "But you two are okay. That's something."

Mason remembered the sound of the toddler's screams cutting off so suddenly. He didn't feel okay.

James appeared next to Lily, the lenses of his glasses shattered and a long thin cut running across his cheek. Lily turned and widened her eyes in concern, but he brushed her off lovingly but hastily.

"It's Sirius," he said, his face grim. "Marlene needs some help."

Lily, who had started healer training but had stopped once she became pregnant with Harry, stepped forwards immediately. "Where are they?"

"The main pub," James said briskly, trying not to let himself think too much about Sirius being hurt as he bent down to help Edgar stand. "Bones?"

Edgar lifted his head slowly, as though it weighed a thousand tonnes.

"Amelia Bones is your sister right? She works for the Ministry?" he checked.

Edgar's lips trembled but he managed a nod, face pale.

James smiled gently. "Then she's at the pub too, talking to Moody. I'll take you to her."

He nodded, his blonde hair flopping over his face as his chin dropped again with the effort of moving. James took the weight of him from Mason, knowing they'd have to walk because Edgar wasn't in a fit state to apparate and letting Mason move quickly to the pub they'd ran past earlier.

As Mason burst through the doors, the main structure of the building still intact, he immediately saw Sirius laid out on the floor, Marlene and Lily frantically working on cleaning a gash down his side. Turning away and gagging slightly at the sight of the exposed flesh, Mason steadied himself against the wall as his head span again: The Order had, for the most part, avoided this sort of damage. A few people had died, Caradoc was still missing and the violence had certainly increased over the summer and into winter, but this carnage, this new level of devastation, had been bad enough when it was strangers.

It was so much worse when it was his friends.

"Lily, we need to get him back to his flat, I know he keeps first aid stuff there and then we can get him straight into bed," Marlene said, voice higher than usual and Mason could detect the tremble in it. "I think he's going to be okay, we can handle it ourselves, we can keep him out of St Mungo's but I need a cleaner environment than this."

Mason squeezed his eyes shut but he felt like someone was still staring at him so he opened them again, the nagging feeling swirling around to the forefront of his mind until it clicked.

"Lyra," he breathed, turning to look at Marlene, her blonde hair in a hastily tied ponytail as she continued to try and stem the bleeding.

"No, she's not here," Lily said, trying to sound calm but frowning slightly at the look in Mason's eyes.

"No, no, I know," he stammered, "She doesn't know about the Order, she doesn't know where we went except that there was an attack, if you appear with Sirius…"

Marlene glanced up and bit her lip. "I really don't want to do that to her, Mason, but we need to get him somewhere better and fast, I don't have anything to stop this bleeding, I can't stitch it up, I need to be in the flat."

He nodded jerkily, glancing up at the ceiling as if to check for the cracks that had been so dangerous in the other building just minutes before; the adrenaline was still pumping around his body, completely at odds with the sickening cold he felt.

Lily and Marlene exchanged looks and then nodded, hooking their arms under Sirius' and praying nothing else went wrong as they apparated away from the ruined village.

There was a small streak of blood on the flagstones where Sirius had been and Mason stared at it for a long, silent moment before he turned and heaved, sinking onto the floor as his body gave up and emptied his stomach painfully onto the floor.


"Sirius, Mason, is that you back?" Lyra called at the commotion outside, peering through the peephole nervously, wand in her hand before screaming loudly as she saw Sirius' body on the doorstep, distorted in shape but clear enough to terrify her, Marlene and Lily now both knocking on the door desperately.

She didn't bother to ask anything, she just wrenched the door open and scrambled to help them carry him, her chest heaving in instant panic – she could see the red stain on his shirt and the slit in the material where they'd already tried to access the wound.

Lily cleared the kitchen table with a flick of her wand and Marlene and Lyra laid him on the wood carefully, Lyra feeling grateful she could now let go and step back because her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold her wand.

Sirius bleeding in front of her was hardly a new sight - their mother might've only been verbally abusive but Sirius had seen the end of their father's belt often enough for her to know what he looked like injured - but this was different. So so different.

"What happened?"

Lily was already tying her auburn hair back too, Marlene yanking the healing kit out of the cupboard and opening it on the table next to Sirius' head.

"Please, what happened?" Lyra whispered, bunching her hair up and letting it drop restlessly, wringing her hands, trying to find something to do. "Where's Mason?"

"He's safe, unhurt," Marlene promised, before she ripped Sirius' top further and moved it well away from the wound.

She cast a silent prayer upwards. "Please tell me what happened?" Lyra repeated, "Mason just appeared, and told Sirius about an attack, they told me to stay here and then they just vanished."

"Lyra, I understand you have questions," Lily said, pulling her in for a quick, tight hug. "We'll answer them, I promise. But I need to help Lene. Can you get some hot water boiling, just a kettle's worth, like last time I saw you, yeah?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level so Lyra wouldn't panic more.

Lyra nodded jerkily, backing into Sirius' kitchen to find his kettle. She doubted the water was necessary to what they were doing but doing something was better than doing nothing.

"Sirius, sweetheart, can you hear me?" Marlene croaked, continuing to search through the medical kit for what she needed as Lily tried to wipe the wound. "I don't like that he's not awake, Lily."

"You think I do?" Lily replied tightly, "I've stopped the bleeding for now, are you ready to try and check it for magical residue?"

Marlene glanced at Sirius' pale face and took a deep breath. Training was all well and good, Marlene was good at her job, but putting it into practise when it was your boyfriend lying unconscious in front of you was considerably more difficult. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" Lily checked gently. They'd not talked about where Marlene and Sirius were in their relationship recently and Lily was regretting it now as she saw the wild look in Marlene's eyes. She tried to imagine how she'd feel if it was James on the table unmoving and the panic she felt even at the thought swamped her entirely.

"I'm sure," Marlene said, tugging her ponytail tighter and grabbing her wand to start checking over the cut.

Lily stepped back to let Marlene work, brushing Sirius' hair back from his face gently and turning to Lyra who was still hovering in the doorway, the kettle hissing, forgotten, behind her.

"What are you all not telling me?" Lyra asked, her voice surprisingly calm. "Mason says there's an attack but that I, the Auror, am not needed but Sirius is. Mason and Dorcas knew each other before training started and never explained why. He'd regularly appear in the mornings with bruises and bags under his eyes and just said it was 'work'. Sirius told me he didn't work, he just did things to 'help with the war'. You all know each other far too well to just be friends from school, you were different years and Dorcas doesn't have nearly enough stories about you guys from school for me to believe it."

Lily licked her lips nervously – the game was up.

"Maybe you should speak to Mason about this?" she suggested gently.

"Maybe! Seeing as my brother, my best friend and my– Mason – have all been dragged into this and no one bothered to even tell me what they were doing!" Lyra snapped, refusing to be thrown off by her automatic inclusion of Mason into the people she cared about most.

She glanced behind Lily to Marlene who was now carefully stitching up the cut on Sirius' side, her lips pursed in concentration.

"I'm going to find Mason, maybe he'll actually give me some answers," she muttered, knowing she couldn't stay in this flat, not even to wait for Sirius to wake up.

"Lyra," Lily sighed, reaching out a hand but Lyra brushed past her quickly, hands still shaking as she stormed out of the room, the front door slamming shut behind her.


Lyra had gone back to her own flat to find Dorcas' address book and then to go to Mason's from there, but Dorcas had tried to stop her, having just arrived back from the village herself. Lyra was furious enough that she pushed roughly past Dorcas too, zipping up her jacket and yanking their front door open.

"I know about your secret club. I'm asking Mason first only because I've not seen him to make sure he's okay," Lyra snapped, turning back to face her as Dorcas started to protest, "I don't know if you were there today too, and I do hope you're not hurt, but when I get home, you've got some explaining to do, Dorcas."

Dorcas winced slightly but nodded and closed her mouth, letting her leave without a fight – she knew she'd react the same way if their situations were flipped and now wasn't the time for this.

Lyra slammed her second door of the evening and apparated to Mason's flat on the other side of London.

When she arrived, it was dark inside, but peering through the little window in the door meant she could just make out his wand on what she guessed was the kitchen table so she knew he was in.

"Mason?" she called, trying the door handle, determined to see him and ask him straight what mystery group they were in and why she had been deliberately kept out of the loop.

To her confusion – Mason was nothing if not thorough and this was wildly out of character – the door was unlocked.

"Mason, it's me, Lyra?" she said, her voice less steady now. "Are you in?"

There was a bang from the bathroom and she jumped, raising her wand quickly. There had been a few cases of wizards vanishing from their homes with no trace and an unlocked door was rarely a good sign. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, her mind cycling through a thousand horrific scenarios.

She didn't have to worry long: the bathroom door was yanked open the rest of the way and Mason appeared, wiping his eyes and then mouth with the back of his sleeve hastily.

"H-how did you get in?" he asked, and it didn't take a genius to notice he was breathing rather heavily.

"You left the door unlocked," she said uncertainly, "Is everything okay?"

He nodded jerkily and forced a smile.

"Forgive me if I'm not convinced," she muttered, going over to him slowly, as if he were a cornered animal. There was something in his eyes that unnerved her.

"Are you hurt?" Mason asked, catching her elbow quickly.

"No, no, because someone told me to stay in the house, if you remember?" she said, managing a tight smile. "While he ran off and got into a fight. Are you hurt?"

Mason debated this question for a minute. "Not physically."

"Fucking hell, what does that mean?" she muttered, deciding swearing was appropriate for this situation.

"Edgar was there, he raised the alarm, apparently," Mason said shakily, "His village was being attacked, so I went with him to his house to try and find his family."

She stilled, an awful dread blossoming in her chest.

"His mum was killed as we arrived, we tried to get upstairs, his sister was up there," he whispered, swaying slightly on the spot. "She had two – two little babies, and…"

"Mason," she mumbled, grabbing his arm and leading him to one of the sofas before he fell.

"We couldn't get to them, we just got stuck and their screams – they just – cut off, no warning, the babies just stopped crying," he continued, barely aware that she was there as she pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him, all her questions about his involvement in the group vanishing.

"Edgar managed to apparate us both out but he had to leave his sister to do it, he picked me over his sister and I don't know if I can forgive him for that. I wish he hadn't."

"Mason, don't ever say that," she said firmly, pulling back and looking him dead in the eye. "Don't."

"I don't know how much longer I can do this," he admitted, laughing nervously. It felt like something had broken today; he'd been juggling everything for so long and now, in slow motion, he'd missed one of the balls and they were all tumbling down around him. "I feel broken."

"No one should've asked you to do your Auror work and whatever else it is you're doing with everyone," she said firmly. "That's too much for any one person, Mason."

"You know about the Order?" he blinked.

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Now I do."

He gaped slightly. "I don't… I don't understand."

"Did no one think I'd work it out eventually?" she shrugged, "You're not that good of an actor, McKinnon. Dorcas is even worse at lying than you."

"I wanted you to join," Mason admitted, "As much as I want you safe too, I wanted to ask you. Professor Dumbledore was… sceptical, he still is, I think."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "I knew he didn't like me," she joked. "But… why didn't anyone tell me? Why couldn't I just know? Sirius is being stitched up as we speak and if he'd died I wouldn't even have known why until too late. Dorcas is in this 'Order' too, right? And you?" she whispered. "What if something had happened? That's not fair, Mason, I have a right to know."

Mason looked down at the floor, trying to focus. She'd care if something happened to him. She'd care if something happened to him. He needed to have this conversation now, the panic could wait – he would make it wait, for her he'd do this.

"What do you want to know?" he mumbled, watching her as she sat down next to him.

"Thank you," she replied softly, knowing it couldn't be easy. "What is the Order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix," he said, taking a deep breath. "We were set up by Dumbledore, but Moody's involved with a lot of it too. We were set up because the Auror department can't handle it all on their own, and there are legal hoops the Aurors have to jump through to get results and it doesn't work fast enough. It means we can find, hunt down and kill Death Eaters without having to wait for paperwork to be signed off. It's technically illegal, which is why we have to be careful at work – we're supposed to be arresting ourselves even if the Auror department is largely grateful for the help."

Lyra blinked. "I-I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"Understandable," he said with the ghost of his usual smile, "It's very morally grey in every sense, but we only ever attack confirmed Death Eaters or those who are actively hurting people at the time. It's not the same sort of thing we've been doing, investigating suspects. It's not just randomly guessing and hoping they were guilty, either, it's… more life and death. We kill in defence of ourselves and we kill to protect other people, that's it."

She nodded slowly, playing with her fingers. "And you're a member?"

"I am, so is Dorcas, Sirius, Marlene… we all are, really. Dumbledore recruited quite a few of us before we left Hogwarts, but there are plenty of people who are older who are also members. I won't say any more names or Dumbledore will kill me himself but you get the idea," he smiled, glancing across at her.

"And Dumbledore doesn't want me to join?"

"To be fair," Mason said awkwardly, "When you left Hogwarts you were due to be engaged to Avery. We knew you were skilled, he'd considered it, but circumstances were too dodgy to try."

She bit her lip. "Honestly? I don't know if I'd even want to join. I don't know if that's for me. I'm no hero, Mason."

"That's okay, no one would hold it against you."

She laughed. "You might not, but someone would. But thank you for telling me, no one else would say anything and I was going insane."

"You're welcome."

She paused, sighed and then looked back at him carefully, examining him from head to toe. "You look like shit, you know that?"

"Gee, thanks," he muttered.

Lyra huffed. "You said you weren't hurt physically, but you looked like you were having a breakdown. What's up?"

"I wouldn't know where to start, and I'm absolutely not going to dump it on you," he said firmly, straightening his back. He felt better now anyway – still upset, still shaky, but more in control. The tight pain across his chest had vanished and the fight or flight response that had swamped him since he'd left the village was slowly retreating thanks to the distraction of her arrival. He was dreading her leaving.

"You absolutely are, and if you don't tell me then I'll… I'll tell your mum," she smiled.

"You wouldn't dare," Mason protested.

"Well I don't know her, but I'd tell Marlene," Lyra corrected, "Just… it's not healthy keeping all of this in, Mason, surely you know that? You have to take care of yourself."

"I know," he admitted quietly. "But I can't just stop doing any of the things I'm doing. I've fought today, I have to go to work tomorrow and do everything again and-"

"Then I'll tell Moody," she said stubbornly, clenching her jaw, "You're going to burn out if you do this much more, don't deny it."

"You're going to tell Moody?" he snorted.

"Yeah, I fucking will. I'll make him give you less work unless he wants to deal with me," she said, having started off angry but realising how ridiculous she sounded – Moody was an insanely accomplished wizard, she didn't stand a chance.

"I'd pay to see that," Mason said, half grinning and her heart leapt slightly.

"I'll let you know when and where," she teased, nudging his side.

They fell silent for a minute and Mason glanced across at the kitchen table where just a few hours earlier, Jon had been. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, the pain in his chest returning with vigour.

"Mason?"

"Mmm?"

Lyra watched him for a moment. "Don't stay here alone tonight? Come back with me, stay on our sofa, or see if you can stay with Sirius, or something. Just… don't sit in the dark, alone, and work yourself up, please?" she said gently.

He opened his eyes again and met hers, hating that he immediately started to cry as he angrily swiped at the tears.

She shushed him softly and wrapped her arms around him again. "I know our sofa isn't the comfiest, but it's got to be better than this, surely."

He laughed wetly and hugged her back, pressing a kiss impulsively to the top of her head where she was tucked up against him. "Your sofa is fucking awful, Lyra. My legs will dangle off the end."

"Rude," she protested, "Only I can insult our furniture."

"I don't even fit on it!" he laughed, unable to stop now he'd started.

"Take my bed then! Whatever works," she promised, grinning as she pulled away but wishing she didn't have to – she felt like he could do with a proper hug but guessed that might be more Dorcas' forte.

He scoffed. "My mother raised a gentleman, I am not taking your bed." They were on dangerous ground here as it was without talk of her bed confusing him even more.

"Just go and get your stuff, McKinnon," she laughed, standing up and flicking his nose softly.

"You're so mean to me!" he huffed, flicking her back and retreating into his bedroom to grab some things, not wanting to have to come back to the flat before work.

"No, I'm mean to everyone but you and Dorcas, you know how this goes!" she called, smiling slightly as she waited by the table hovering.

"I feel so honoured!" he grinned, reappearing with a small rucksack, stuffing things into it distractedly.

She laughed and shrugged. "You should. Come on, Dorcas will be wondering what we're doing," she added, blushing slightly at the insinuation in her words but knowing the darkened room would hide it.

They apparated back to the girls' flat easily and Lyra sighed as she unlocked the door and slipped inside, bracing herself for the conversation with Dorcas. Despite the distraction of Mason and his situation, she was still angry at Dorcas – and her most of all – because best friends don't lie. Realistically, Mason had no obligation to include her in his secrets, they had a complicated relationship at best, but Dorcas? Dorcas did. And Dorcas had lied.

Was it wrong to be mad at her best friend for being part of a secret society trying to kill Death Eaters? Maybe, but she wasn't mad about what Dorcas was doing, she was mad about the deception.

"Lyra," Dorcas said hastily as her and Mason appeared in the living room. "Are you – are you both okay?"

"Mason's sleeping here tonight, even if he does think the sofa is shit," Lyra said with a glance behind her at Mason who held his hands up innocently and dumped his bag in the corner of the room. "And me and you are going to have a chat," she added, pointing to Dorcas and then pointing through to the kitchen.

Dorcas blinked and nodded, smoothing her hair back before she slipped over to the other room. There was something steely in Lyra's eyes that Dorcas hadn't seen before. It told you that she was Orion Black's daughter and that she wouldn't take your shit.

"Won't be long," Lyra muttered to Mason before she followed Dorcas in.

Dorcas had perched herself on the kitchen sideboard, her hands wrapped around a mostly cold cup of tea as she worried her bottom lip.

"When were you going to tell me?" Lyra snapped, dropping her wand on the kitchen table and folding her arms across her chest. "When exactly were you going to tell me about the Order of the Phoenix and stop lying to me?"

"Lyra –"

"NO, don't," she hissed, "Mason's explained it all to me, or enough to understand why you're part of it, and believe me I'm not angry about that. But we said no lies, Doe, we said we'd tell each other everything! And you've lied to me over and over again about where you were going, how you knew people, where the bruises and sleepless nights were coming from. Not only did you lie, but you were in danger and I didn't know! I could've been waiting up to make sure you were okay, or waiting with a first aid kit, or even just been there to talk to and make sure you weren't doing this alone, but instead you've just lied!" she said, her anger trailing off into tears as her voice shook and her throat tightened.

"I have to go back to Sirius' tonight to check if he's okay because I was told nothing until he appeared on the doorstep unconscious and bleeding, something I never thought I'd have to see again, I didn't know if you'd been involved, Mason was at home having witnessed awful, awful things, and I'd been sat in Sirius' living room going mad with worry, unable to help or do anything! That's BULLSHIT! That's bullshit and you know it! I deserve to know!"

"I know," Dorcas said quietly, her own brown eyes filling with tears, "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Lyra gasped, shaking her head. "Mason said Dumbledore hasn't tried to recruit me yet because I was engaged to Robert – fair enough, that's fucking suspicious – but for you to not even tell me what you were doing just makes me feel like you agree with him."

Dorcas looked horrified. "No, never! Never, Lyra, I know you're not with them!"

"Then why didn't you say?! Why was I left out like a stupid little child who might be on the wrong side?" Lyra whispered.

"I didn't want you hurt, you were dealing with enough – and I know this is shit, Ly, please don't tell me what I already know – you were dealing with enough and I didn't want to add any more to that," Dorcas replied, her voice hoarse. She dumped the tea down the sink and abandoned the mug, moving over to Lyra nervously.

"I – we – just wanted one of us to be separate from it. For one of us to not have to do what we're doing. We could guarantee we'd never see you hurt or dead if we kept you out of this."

"We're in the middle of a war, Dorcas, no one can guarantee anything," Lyra replied shakily. "Me not knowing about the Order wouldn't protect me if this place got attacked. It wouldn't protect me if I was caught up in something in Diagon Alley. I'm close enough to all of you that I'm surely a target anyway. Being a Blood Traitor puts a target on my back too. Lying to me wouldn't protect me but being honest about what you were doing and why I might need to be more careful could."

"I'm sorry," Dorcas said, her voice raw, "I know it was wrong. I don't think you're working against us, I haven't thought it for a single second since meeting you, I promise. No more lies."

Lyra nodded slowly. "No more lies."

"Can I hug you now?" Dorcas said with a weak smile, "I figured I'd be punched if I tried it before but…"

Lyra threw her arms around Dorcas tightly, burying her face in her friend's neck. "I love you, you stupid idiot."

"I love you more," Dorcas promised, gripping her even tighter and rocking them gently. "No more lies," she echoed, meaning it this time.


Chapter summary if you skipped:

Mason collects Sirius and they meet up with the Order of the Phoenix.

Edgar Bones is there, and him and Mason head to his family home to try and save them. They make an attempt, but the house is falling apart, and Edgar chooses to apparate himself and Mason to safety rather than let Mason try to reach his sister and her children trapped upstairs.

Sirius is injured and Lily and Marlene take him back to his flat. Mason is struggling with the aftermath of the attack and what he's witnessed.

Lyra works out about the Order and gets angry that she was never told - Sirius being hurt has brought up unpleasant memories. She worries that they don't believe that she's on their side.

She leaves to check on Mason, gets into a fight with Dorcas about the lies.

She finds Mason in his flat. He's very distressed. They talk and she convinces him to stay on her sofa so he's not alone.

They go back to her and Dorcas' flat, where her and Dorcas have the long overdue conversation. They make up, and Mason is much calmer even though Lyra is still worried about him.