A/n: Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for reading. I've done pretty good
with the updating, eh? At least once a week *smiles proudly* This is a
record for me ^_^ Well, I hope you are all enjoying this story. Here is
another chapter! Please read and review!!
R/n:
Nkittyhawk: *giggles* I didn't know what floor a pregnancy would be! So I just put it on 'creature induced injuries' ^_^ *hugz* thanks for reviewing hunni. I love hearing from you!
Mojo: Hehe! I'm glad you liked the chapter *does happy dance* Thanks for always reading. *hugz* luv ya hunni!
Noa9: Lol! I'm glad I got you addicted to my stories because I'm addicted to your reviews. They're always so insightful and wonderful! Thanks!
HiddenFlame: Lol..who knows? These guys went happy! I'm glad you liked! *hugz*
MuffinLover: There is NO way that I can tell you how much I absolutely love your reviews! I'm so glad you like this story and like reviewing for it! I love hearing from ya. I'm also glad that you liked how St. Mungo's was ^_^, I tried. Hehe!
Silvawen: Heya hunni. I dunno when you'll read this review but thanks for reading my story. You know I love ya hun!
--
The Healer performed several more tests to ensure the new baby's health and then released them, telling Lily that she needed to return every few weeks for check-ups.
"This calls for a party," Sirius said joyfully as they made their way back down to ground level. Signs posted all around the hospital warned visitors not to Apparate or Disapparate on any of the hospital floors as it may send patients into shock, especially those with memory loss.
"I'll second that," Dorcas agreed thoughtfully.
They were silent as they took the elevator down, reached ground level, and Disapparated (after Sirius had had a good laugh at a woman with a broomstick dangling from her nose).
The entire group reemerged in Godric's Hollow, got the parchment from Marlene McKinnon, and entered the house in joyful spirits.
"We're in luck," Sirius said whistling as the group made their way to the meeting room. "We're having our weekly Order meeting. Everyone's here!"
"And tomorrow's Sunday," Remus reminded them. "No work."
Peter disappeared to the kitchens to have the House Elves brew up some drinks and cook some food. He whistled happily to himself as he made his way down the corridor, adding a small skip to his step.
"Such a friendly little guy, isn't he?" Dorcas said, smiling.
"Well of course. He wouldn't be hanging around us if he wasn't. Bit of a bloke Peter is," Sirius replied good-naturedly. Peter returned a few minutes later and the group entered the full meeting room.
"We were just beginning to wonder where you were," Alice whispered as the group took their seats. Dumbledore and the member's of the Order were here, talking to one another excitedly. Once the group had entered, everyone had silenced, turning their entire focus on Dumbledore.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and began the meeting. They discussed the happenings of Voldemort, gave one another new information and news, and discussed possible next steps. "I think," Dumbledore said clearly, "it is time that we stop running."
"And do what?" a man called from the back. He had his arms folded and Dorcas looked at him, stunned. She had never seen him before but there was something oddly familiar with his features.
Dumbledore smiled politely and stood up. "Ah. Our newest member of the Order."
Everyone turned to the newcomer and looked at him appraisingly. He was a tall man with a long gray beard. He had a slightly confused look about him, almost as if he were lost, but he was smiling benignly. Dorcas suddenly realized who he reminded her of and she turned back to Dumbledore with her mouth slightly agape.
"This is my dear brother, Aberforth."
"Brother?" Benjy Fenwick muttered, his eyebrows raised.
"So we stop running," Aberforth began again, taking a seat. "And do what?"
"We fight," Dumbledore said calmly, turning his focus back onto the rest of the group. Several people voiced cries of amazement, looking at one another in fearful astonishment.
Caradoc Dearborn, on the other hand, said, "Well why not? That's what this Order is supposed to do, isn't it?"
Sirius nodded and stood from his seat. "He's right! All we've done is sat here and done nothing."
"It's time we defend our world," Remus agreed, joining his friend.
"If we don't do it, who will?" Edgar Bones called defiantly.
Soon enthusiastic agreement broke out from all corners of the room. Dumbledore was smiling calmly from his chair, his sparkling eyes glittering from beneath his half moon spectacles. "Friends!" he called loudly.
Soon everyone became quiet and took their seats, watching Dumbledore avidly. "Time for discussions and ideas will be held at our next meeting, next Saturday. Today we are weary and must clear our minds for what is to come."
Sirius leaped from his chair again. "We would, however, like to invite everyone present for a party in celebration of two pregnancies." He paused, smiling, "One, Frank and Alice Longbottom," this was greeted by polite applause, for everyone already knew about their baby. "And," he began again, grinning proudly, "for James and Lily Potter."
Bewildered cries came at this unexpected news and James and Lily were soon swarmed with well-wishers. The member's of the Order made their way to the kitchen, everyone was smiling and laughing and happiness was everywhere. Drinks were passed around and nearly everyone was drinking them, except for Lily and Alice who weren't allowed to.
Sirius was drinking the most and became increasingly loud throughout the night. He passed from one person to another, talking excitedly.
Dorcas was off into her own private corner, smiling idly as she watched Sirius. She didn't belong with these people, mainly because the majority of them did not accept her. But she understood this and didn't feel resentful. On the contrary, she quite enjoyed watching them. Realizing that her bottle was empty, she stood up and began edging her way to a table laden with drinks, but Sirius caught her by the waist and pulled her close. "This here is Dorcas Meadows, a good friend of mine," he said drunkenly.
Dorcas laughed and eyed Sirius with a mixture of humor and weariness. "I think they all know who I am, Sirius."
"Yes, we certainly do," Gideon Prewett said smiling.
Dorcas' felt her heart plummet to the ground and then soar into the air. "Hi Gideon," she said breathlessly.
"How you doing, Gideon old mate?" Sirius asked, clapping him a little hard on the shoulder. Gideon flew forward a bit but managed to stop himself from crashing into the table of drinks.
"Not bad," he laughed, rubbing his shoulder.
"What do you make of all these pregnancies?" Sirius asked, wrapping his arm around Dorcas' shoulders. She nearly sagged under his weight but managed to smile feebly.
"It's great," Gideon replied, watching Dorcas intently.
"Well, I feel a bit left out." Sirius turned to Dorcas and gave her a very wet kiss. "How about we go upstairs and fix that?"
Dorcas rolled her eyes and pulled herself away from Sirius, nearly causing him to fall over. "Not tonight."
She and Gideon made their way out of the room and onto the porch, outside of the house. "You guys are pretty close then?" Gideon asked uncertainly.
Dorcas laughed and sat down on the front steps, clasping her arms around her legs. "He's one of my best friends, nothing more."
"So your not. . .?" Gideon asked her, taking a seat by her side.
Dorcas leaned back and looked at the stars. Her heart was racing inside of her but she managed to keep herself calm. "No. I mean, we tried it, but it didn't work. We're too much alike for a relationship."
"Good," Gideon whispered. The next thing Dorcas felt was his lips on hers. His arms came around behind her and pressed her closer. Dorcas felt her hand moving to the back of his head as she kissed him back. It was the most unreal thing she had ever felt. It felt so right and so natural. She didn't want it to stop. But all good things must come to an end.
"Whoa," a voice said from above them. The two pulled apart quickly and looked up to see Peter Pettigrew. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
Gideon shifted uncomfortably, "Not at all."
"I just wanted to let Dorcas know that Lily was worried about you. She wanted to know where you had gone off to."
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Come on Peter."
Peter sighed and his shoulders sagged. "All right, it was Sirius."
Dorcas stood up and said, "What does he want now?"
"He's really drunk. He just told me to go find you."
Gideon stood up. "We were just about to go inside anyway." He reached down and grabbed her hand. "Right?"
Dorcas smiled as she looked upon their entwined fingers. For the first time in her life, she felt like she wasn't an outcast. She felt like she belonged somewhere, right next to this man. "Right."
The two followed Peter into the room, dodging around laughing people. Sirius saw them enter, "There you are! I've just had a brilliant idea! We're going to take a picture of everyone!"
People laughed excitedly and Dumbledore, who was chatting with a balding man, called out, "That's a brilliant idea!"
And so Dorcas found herself being pushed and prodded into a horizontal line where people were lining up for a photograph of the members of the Order of Phoenix. Everyone was straightening their hair and hiding their drinks from view and a few women were doing a quick make-up job with their wands.
Gideon went to the right of her and Sirius to the left, but Aberforth, Dumbledore's odd brother, squeezed himself between Dorcas and Gideon. Dorcas grinned behind Aberforth's back and it was met with one from Gideon. Sirius wrapped his arm around Dorcas and James, who was on his other side. James stood next to Peter, with Lily on the other side, and everyone squeezed themselves together. There were two very unorganized lines but they all managed to scrunch up into one big group of happy looking people. Someone, likely Dumbledore (who was clear at the other end of the people) raised a wand to a camera and, on the count of three, everyone smiled for their picture.
--
Little did any of them know that nearly sixteen years later, James and Lily's unborn son would see this picture filled with laughing and smiling people. They didn't know that this boy would know every one of the dark fates that befell many of the unsuspecting members.
R/n:
Nkittyhawk: *giggles* I didn't know what floor a pregnancy would be! So I just put it on 'creature induced injuries' ^_^ *hugz* thanks for reviewing hunni. I love hearing from you!
Mojo: Hehe! I'm glad you liked the chapter *does happy dance* Thanks for always reading. *hugz* luv ya hunni!
Noa9: Lol! I'm glad I got you addicted to my stories because I'm addicted to your reviews. They're always so insightful and wonderful! Thanks!
HiddenFlame: Lol..who knows? These guys went happy! I'm glad you liked! *hugz*
MuffinLover: There is NO way that I can tell you how much I absolutely love your reviews! I'm so glad you like this story and like reviewing for it! I love hearing from ya. I'm also glad that you liked how St. Mungo's was ^_^, I tried. Hehe!
Silvawen: Heya hunni. I dunno when you'll read this review but thanks for reading my story. You know I love ya hun!
--
The Healer performed several more tests to ensure the new baby's health and then released them, telling Lily that she needed to return every few weeks for check-ups.
"This calls for a party," Sirius said joyfully as they made their way back down to ground level. Signs posted all around the hospital warned visitors not to Apparate or Disapparate on any of the hospital floors as it may send patients into shock, especially those with memory loss.
"I'll second that," Dorcas agreed thoughtfully.
They were silent as they took the elevator down, reached ground level, and Disapparated (after Sirius had had a good laugh at a woman with a broomstick dangling from her nose).
The entire group reemerged in Godric's Hollow, got the parchment from Marlene McKinnon, and entered the house in joyful spirits.
"We're in luck," Sirius said whistling as the group made their way to the meeting room. "We're having our weekly Order meeting. Everyone's here!"
"And tomorrow's Sunday," Remus reminded them. "No work."
Peter disappeared to the kitchens to have the House Elves brew up some drinks and cook some food. He whistled happily to himself as he made his way down the corridor, adding a small skip to his step.
"Such a friendly little guy, isn't he?" Dorcas said, smiling.
"Well of course. He wouldn't be hanging around us if he wasn't. Bit of a bloke Peter is," Sirius replied good-naturedly. Peter returned a few minutes later and the group entered the full meeting room.
"We were just beginning to wonder where you were," Alice whispered as the group took their seats. Dumbledore and the member's of the Order were here, talking to one another excitedly. Once the group had entered, everyone had silenced, turning their entire focus on Dumbledore.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and began the meeting. They discussed the happenings of Voldemort, gave one another new information and news, and discussed possible next steps. "I think," Dumbledore said clearly, "it is time that we stop running."
"And do what?" a man called from the back. He had his arms folded and Dorcas looked at him, stunned. She had never seen him before but there was something oddly familiar with his features.
Dumbledore smiled politely and stood up. "Ah. Our newest member of the Order."
Everyone turned to the newcomer and looked at him appraisingly. He was a tall man with a long gray beard. He had a slightly confused look about him, almost as if he were lost, but he was smiling benignly. Dorcas suddenly realized who he reminded her of and she turned back to Dumbledore with her mouth slightly agape.
"This is my dear brother, Aberforth."
"Brother?" Benjy Fenwick muttered, his eyebrows raised.
"So we stop running," Aberforth began again, taking a seat. "And do what?"
"We fight," Dumbledore said calmly, turning his focus back onto the rest of the group. Several people voiced cries of amazement, looking at one another in fearful astonishment.
Caradoc Dearborn, on the other hand, said, "Well why not? That's what this Order is supposed to do, isn't it?"
Sirius nodded and stood from his seat. "He's right! All we've done is sat here and done nothing."
"It's time we defend our world," Remus agreed, joining his friend.
"If we don't do it, who will?" Edgar Bones called defiantly.
Soon enthusiastic agreement broke out from all corners of the room. Dumbledore was smiling calmly from his chair, his sparkling eyes glittering from beneath his half moon spectacles. "Friends!" he called loudly.
Soon everyone became quiet and took their seats, watching Dumbledore avidly. "Time for discussions and ideas will be held at our next meeting, next Saturday. Today we are weary and must clear our minds for what is to come."
Sirius leaped from his chair again. "We would, however, like to invite everyone present for a party in celebration of two pregnancies." He paused, smiling, "One, Frank and Alice Longbottom," this was greeted by polite applause, for everyone already knew about their baby. "And," he began again, grinning proudly, "for James and Lily Potter."
Bewildered cries came at this unexpected news and James and Lily were soon swarmed with well-wishers. The member's of the Order made their way to the kitchen, everyone was smiling and laughing and happiness was everywhere. Drinks were passed around and nearly everyone was drinking them, except for Lily and Alice who weren't allowed to.
Sirius was drinking the most and became increasingly loud throughout the night. He passed from one person to another, talking excitedly.
Dorcas was off into her own private corner, smiling idly as she watched Sirius. She didn't belong with these people, mainly because the majority of them did not accept her. But she understood this and didn't feel resentful. On the contrary, she quite enjoyed watching them. Realizing that her bottle was empty, she stood up and began edging her way to a table laden with drinks, but Sirius caught her by the waist and pulled her close. "This here is Dorcas Meadows, a good friend of mine," he said drunkenly.
Dorcas laughed and eyed Sirius with a mixture of humor and weariness. "I think they all know who I am, Sirius."
"Yes, we certainly do," Gideon Prewett said smiling.
Dorcas' felt her heart plummet to the ground and then soar into the air. "Hi Gideon," she said breathlessly.
"How you doing, Gideon old mate?" Sirius asked, clapping him a little hard on the shoulder. Gideon flew forward a bit but managed to stop himself from crashing into the table of drinks.
"Not bad," he laughed, rubbing his shoulder.
"What do you make of all these pregnancies?" Sirius asked, wrapping his arm around Dorcas' shoulders. She nearly sagged under his weight but managed to smile feebly.
"It's great," Gideon replied, watching Dorcas intently.
"Well, I feel a bit left out." Sirius turned to Dorcas and gave her a very wet kiss. "How about we go upstairs and fix that?"
Dorcas rolled her eyes and pulled herself away from Sirius, nearly causing him to fall over. "Not tonight."
She and Gideon made their way out of the room and onto the porch, outside of the house. "You guys are pretty close then?" Gideon asked uncertainly.
Dorcas laughed and sat down on the front steps, clasping her arms around her legs. "He's one of my best friends, nothing more."
"So your not. . .?" Gideon asked her, taking a seat by her side.
Dorcas leaned back and looked at the stars. Her heart was racing inside of her but she managed to keep herself calm. "No. I mean, we tried it, but it didn't work. We're too much alike for a relationship."
"Good," Gideon whispered. The next thing Dorcas felt was his lips on hers. His arms came around behind her and pressed her closer. Dorcas felt her hand moving to the back of his head as she kissed him back. It was the most unreal thing she had ever felt. It felt so right and so natural. She didn't want it to stop. But all good things must come to an end.
"Whoa," a voice said from above them. The two pulled apart quickly and looked up to see Peter Pettigrew. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
Gideon shifted uncomfortably, "Not at all."
"I just wanted to let Dorcas know that Lily was worried about you. She wanted to know where you had gone off to."
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Come on Peter."
Peter sighed and his shoulders sagged. "All right, it was Sirius."
Dorcas stood up and said, "What does he want now?"
"He's really drunk. He just told me to go find you."
Gideon stood up. "We were just about to go inside anyway." He reached down and grabbed her hand. "Right?"
Dorcas smiled as she looked upon their entwined fingers. For the first time in her life, she felt like she wasn't an outcast. She felt like she belonged somewhere, right next to this man. "Right."
The two followed Peter into the room, dodging around laughing people. Sirius saw them enter, "There you are! I've just had a brilliant idea! We're going to take a picture of everyone!"
People laughed excitedly and Dumbledore, who was chatting with a balding man, called out, "That's a brilliant idea!"
And so Dorcas found herself being pushed and prodded into a horizontal line where people were lining up for a photograph of the members of the Order of Phoenix. Everyone was straightening their hair and hiding their drinks from view and a few women were doing a quick make-up job with their wands.
Gideon went to the right of her and Sirius to the left, but Aberforth, Dumbledore's odd brother, squeezed himself between Dorcas and Gideon. Dorcas grinned behind Aberforth's back and it was met with one from Gideon. Sirius wrapped his arm around Dorcas and James, who was on his other side. James stood next to Peter, with Lily on the other side, and everyone squeezed themselves together. There were two very unorganized lines but they all managed to scrunch up into one big group of happy looking people. Someone, likely Dumbledore (who was clear at the other end of the people) raised a wand to a camera and, on the count of three, everyone smiled for their picture.
--
Little did any of them know that nearly sixteen years later, James and Lily's unborn son would see this picture filled with laughing and smiling people. They didn't know that this boy would know every one of the dark fates that befell many of the unsuspecting members.