Silver Blood
Five: Dilemma
Summary: Devoid of a memory on how she died, someone came back from the dead to find out – only to find that she didn't die at all. Now she discovers that the love of her life is dead, her friends' lives are in danger, and her worst fears came true.
In this chapter, Dorcas gets introduced to the Weasley family and a few members of the Order...
Disclaimer: Alas, the characters are not in my possession; they belong to J.K Rowling and an assortment of publishers.
Author's Notes: There's a lot of talk going on here... kinda like a dialogue...
____________________________________________
Dorcas was sitting in a table near the bar, wearing midnight blue robes she bought yesterday. Her eyes wandered from the witches in the corner to the other people in the Leaky Cauldron. Her mind was fixed on the thought that Dung was – er – trying to be a good friend. She liked Dung as a friend, of course, but she couldn't imagine how close he wanted her to be that. She hadn't forgotten about Sirius and there was no way she was going to try.
The door opened and a familiar face greeted her, still wearing what he wore a while ago – including the jovial smile.
"Ready, are ye?"
"Yeah, I think."
She followed him to the fireplace. Dung pulled out a pouch from his pocket.
"The Burrow," he said curtly. Dorcas took a pinch of Floo powder from the pouch and yelled, "THE BURROW!"
Next thing she knew she was in a tidy kitchen facing three redheaded boys. A twin, and someone as tall as them, but probably younger.
"Erm – wotcher," she said awkwardly, stepping out of the fireplace.
"Spanking good to see you, ma'am," said one of the twins. "I'm Fred, this is George, and this is our brother Ron."
"You look awfully young," Ron told her absently.
"Er – I'm thirty-something..."
"Don't mind him, Dorcas," said George. "Where's Dung?"
Right on the cue, green flames blazed all over the fireplace and from them came out Dung.
"'Ello," he said. "Met 'em have ye?"
"Yeah," said Dorcas, smiling as truthfully as she could.
"Well Mum put the tables outside," informed Fred. "Kingsley, Tonks, Bill, Charlie, and Hermione are already there."
"We think Harry's coming too," continued George, "but we're not entirely sure. Dumbledore said his Aunt Marge visited again."
"Well then," said Dung, clapping his hands together, "on to the feast."
Dorcas followed the four boys to a garden with a long table in the middle. Seven people were seated around, all gazing at her.
"Everyone," said Dung, "this 'ere's Dorcas."
Dorcas forced a smile. To her relief, the people around her smiled very genuinely.
"I'm Hermione," said a girl with bushy brown hair. "This is Ginny," she added, gesturing her seatmate who had flaming red hair.
"I'm Molly, dear," said a plump woman who had the same red hair, shaking Dorcas' hand. "These are my sons Bill and Charlie," she pointed two wizards beside her, who nodded.
"And I'm Tonks," said a purple-haired woman with a heart-shaped face. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt. We're Aurors."
Kingsley, a tall black wizard, shook her hand curtly. Dorcas took a seat beside him. Hestia Jones arrived, introduced herself, and sat beside her.
Several more people arrived-Arthur Weasley, the birthday celebrant, his friend Perkins, and Emmeline Vance, who Dorcas worked with in the Order didn't seem to know her when they shook hands and exchanged greetings. She was safe, though. Emmeline became a part of the Order after Dorcas and Sirius got married, so she knew Dorcas as a black-haired Black girl. Another thing was Emmeline never did have such a good memory – must be getting old.
After a "Happy Birthday" song to Mr. Weasley and a delightful five course meal, Mrs. Weasley sent the children inside the house again. Once she returned, all the people's heads turned to Dorcas. After Mrs. Weasley sat down, Kingsley cleared his throat and turned to Dorcas.
"Well, Dorcas," he said in a deep calming voice, "we have a few questions to ask." Dorcas nodded coolly.
"Are you in contact or even related to any Death Eater in Azkaban?"
Dorcas was surprised. The first question was quite alarming. "No," she replied.
"Dung says you've been to Hogwarts," he continued. "What did you do after then?"
"I worked in the Ministry," she stated clearly, "but –" How was she supposed to say she died? Dorcas racked her brain for any lie that would explain her disappearance.
"But?"
"But once I became separated with my husband, I went to live with the Muggles. I came back recently because I heard Voldemort's back."
A lot of gasps, winces, and flinches went around.
"Erm – you want to – fight him?" Mrs. Weasley said gawkily.
"If it helps even a bit, I'm ready to risk my life."
"Well," said Kingsley, "welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."
Dorcas pretended not to know about it. "The what?"
"The Order of the Phoenix is a group of overage wizards and witches led by Albus Dumbledore in a war against Voldemort and his followers," explained Emmeline. "Mind you, we did pretty dangerous work last year. We even lost a member," she added solemnly.
"I – see..."
"You and Perkins here are the only ones we recruited after the attack on the Ministry," said Hestia.
"Dumbledore told us to lay low for a while since he's trying to figure out what You-know-who's up to," said Bill.
"We were trying to recruit people from the Department of Mysteries to figure out the veil where Sirius fell into," stated Charlie, "but we've no luck so far."
"Sirius?" exclaimed Dorcas. "You don't mean Sirius Black, do you?"
"You don't believe that crap about him being a mass murderer, do you?" laughed Kingsley. "Truth is, I doubt Sirius would ever do such a thing."
"He – he's here – with us?"
The rest of the Order looked uncomfortable. "Yes, actually, Sirius WAS part of the Order," said Molly, "but he – died in battle."
Dorcas' mind became blank. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Whoa, look at the time," exclaimed Perkins, "I better go. Arthur, Molly, it was a lovely meal."
"Erm – yes, I better leave too," said Dorcas. "Thank you."
"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be located at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London," said Tonks. "Come over some time."
"Yeah – sure."
***
Dorcas lethargically went to bed. Flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, she thought of Sirius as her tears welled in her eyes.
"Yes, it hurts doesn't it?" said a cold female voice.
"Who are you?" she asked wearily, not bothering to take her eyes off the ceiling.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten me."
"Bella, I thought you were in Azkaban."
"That's what they think," said Bella, "but there are a lot of things they don't have a clue about."
"Why are you here?"
"The Dark Lord wants you to join us, Dorcas. Together, you and the Dark Lord can bring him back."
"He can't come back," she told Bella hopelessly. She didn't want to build up any false hope. "No one can bring him back."
"Do you really think that the Dark Lord is as weak as your Dumbledore?" Bella asked testily. "He's very powerful."
"Is he? Then why did his powers bounced off my godson?"
Silence.
"I'll give you time to think about it, then," said Bella. "But the Dark Lord always gets what he wants."
Summary: Devoid of a memory on how she died, someone came back from the dead to find out – only to find that she didn't die at all. Now she discovers that the love of her life is dead, her friends' lives are in danger, and her worst fears came true.
In this chapter, Dorcas gets introduced to the Weasley family and a few members of the Order...
Disclaimer: Alas, the characters are not in my possession; they belong to J.K Rowling and an assortment of publishers.
Author's Notes: There's a lot of talk going on here... kinda like a dialogue...
____________________________________________
Dorcas was sitting in a table near the bar, wearing midnight blue robes she bought yesterday. Her eyes wandered from the witches in the corner to the other people in the Leaky Cauldron. Her mind was fixed on the thought that Dung was – er – trying to be a good friend. She liked Dung as a friend, of course, but she couldn't imagine how close he wanted her to be that. She hadn't forgotten about Sirius and there was no way she was going to try.
The door opened and a familiar face greeted her, still wearing what he wore a while ago – including the jovial smile.
"Ready, are ye?"
"Yeah, I think."
She followed him to the fireplace. Dung pulled out a pouch from his pocket.
"The Burrow," he said curtly. Dorcas took a pinch of Floo powder from the pouch and yelled, "THE BURROW!"
Next thing she knew she was in a tidy kitchen facing three redheaded boys. A twin, and someone as tall as them, but probably younger.
"Erm – wotcher," she said awkwardly, stepping out of the fireplace.
"Spanking good to see you, ma'am," said one of the twins. "I'm Fred, this is George, and this is our brother Ron."
"You look awfully young," Ron told her absently.
"Er – I'm thirty-something..."
"Don't mind him, Dorcas," said George. "Where's Dung?"
Right on the cue, green flames blazed all over the fireplace and from them came out Dung.
"'Ello," he said. "Met 'em have ye?"
"Yeah," said Dorcas, smiling as truthfully as she could.
"Well Mum put the tables outside," informed Fred. "Kingsley, Tonks, Bill, Charlie, and Hermione are already there."
"We think Harry's coming too," continued George, "but we're not entirely sure. Dumbledore said his Aunt Marge visited again."
"Well then," said Dung, clapping his hands together, "on to the feast."
Dorcas followed the four boys to a garden with a long table in the middle. Seven people were seated around, all gazing at her.
"Everyone," said Dung, "this 'ere's Dorcas."
Dorcas forced a smile. To her relief, the people around her smiled very genuinely.
"I'm Hermione," said a girl with bushy brown hair. "This is Ginny," she added, gesturing her seatmate who had flaming red hair.
"I'm Molly, dear," said a plump woman who had the same red hair, shaking Dorcas' hand. "These are my sons Bill and Charlie," she pointed two wizards beside her, who nodded.
"And I'm Tonks," said a purple-haired woman with a heart-shaped face. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt. We're Aurors."
Kingsley, a tall black wizard, shook her hand curtly. Dorcas took a seat beside him. Hestia Jones arrived, introduced herself, and sat beside her.
Several more people arrived-Arthur Weasley, the birthday celebrant, his friend Perkins, and Emmeline Vance, who Dorcas worked with in the Order didn't seem to know her when they shook hands and exchanged greetings. She was safe, though. Emmeline became a part of the Order after Dorcas and Sirius got married, so she knew Dorcas as a black-haired Black girl. Another thing was Emmeline never did have such a good memory – must be getting old.
After a "Happy Birthday" song to Mr. Weasley and a delightful five course meal, Mrs. Weasley sent the children inside the house again. Once she returned, all the people's heads turned to Dorcas. After Mrs. Weasley sat down, Kingsley cleared his throat and turned to Dorcas.
"Well, Dorcas," he said in a deep calming voice, "we have a few questions to ask." Dorcas nodded coolly.
"Are you in contact or even related to any Death Eater in Azkaban?"
Dorcas was surprised. The first question was quite alarming. "No," she replied.
"Dung says you've been to Hogwarts," he continued. "What did you do after then?"
"I worked in the Ministry," she stated clearly, "but –" How was she supposed to say she died? Dorcas racked her brain for any lie that would explain her disappearance.
"But?"
"But once I became separated with my husband, I went to live with the Muggles. I came back recently because I heard Voldemort's back."
A lot of gasps, winces, and flinches went around.
"Erm – you want to – fight him?" Mrs. Weasley said gawkily.
"If it helps even a bit, I'm ready to risk my life."
"Well," said Kingsley, "welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."
Dorcas pretended not to know about it. "The what?"
"The Order of the Phoenix is a group of overage wizards and witches led by Albus Dumbledore in a war against Voldemort and his followers," explained Emmeline. "Mind you, we did pretty dangerous work last year. We even lost a member," she added solemnly.
"I – see..."
"You and Perkins here are the only ones we recruited after the attack on the Ministry," said Hestia.
"Dumbledore told us to lay low for a while since he's trying to figure out what You-know-who's up to," said Bill.
"We were trying to recruit people from the Department of Mysteries to figure out the veil where Sirius fell into," stated Charlie, "but we've no luck so far."
"Sirius?" exclaimed Dorcas. "You don't mean Sirius Black, do you?"
"You don't believe that crap about him being a mass murderer, do you?" laughed Kingsley. "Truth is, I doubt Sirius would ever do such a thing."
"He – he's here – with us?"
The rest of the Order looked uncomfortable. "Yes, actually, Sirius WAS part of the Order," said Molly, "but he – died in battle."
Dorcas' mind became blank. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Whoa, look at the time," exclaimed Perkins, "I better go. Arthur, Molly, it was a lovely meal."
"Erm – yes, I better leave too," said Dorcas. "Thank you."
"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be located at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London," said Tonks. "Come over some time."
"Yeah – sure."
***
Dorcas lethargically went to bed. Flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, she thought of Sirius as her tears welled in her eyes.
"Yes, it hurts doesn't it?" said a cold female voice.
"Who are you?" she asked wearily, not bothering to take her eyes off the ceiling.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten me."
"Bella, I thought you were in Azkaban."
"That's what they think," said Bella, "but there are a lot of things they don't have a clue about."
"Why are you here?"
"The Dark Lord wants you to join us, Dorcas. Together, you and the Dark Lord can bring him back."
"He can't come back," she told Bella hopelessly. She didn't want to build up any false hope. "No one can bring him back."
"Do you really think that the Dark Lord is as weak as your Dumbledore?" Bella asked testily. "He's very powerful."
"Is he? Then why did his powers bounced off my godson?"
Silence.
"I'll give you time to think about it, then," said Bella. "But the Dark Lord always gets what he wants."