A/n: And I'm updating again. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed! Your
comments are appreciated very much. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please
read and review!
ATTENTION: As many of you may have noticed, there has been a rating change. I upped this to 'R' to be on the safe side, you'll see why at the end of this chapter. I don't know if an 'R' rating is required for this story or not so let me know what you think.
R/n:
NkittyHawk: Heya hun! Thanks so much for sticking with this story. I'm glad you liked that last chapter. Heh. I feel kind of bad for Snape I guess, though he is a creep. But he deserves a little hug now and then. ^_^ Thanks so much for your review and compliments. *hugz*
Noa9: Thanks so much! Hehe. Yup, poor old Snape. Though he deserves some of the cruelty he got from James and co. Maybe. *frowns* I really don't know to be honest. Lol! But Dorcas felt bad for him. Thanks so much for reading! *hugz*
HiddenFlame42: Thanks hun! You know I love you and love hearing from ya!
Muffinlover: I can't thank you enough for sticking with this story from the beginning and reading it! I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much.
--
"I don't care what you say Fabian, I like her," Gideon protested angrily.
Fabian was glaring at his brother in anger. "Do you know what she is?"
"A person!" Gideon hissed.
"A Death Eater!"
"You think that matters? She works for the Order of Phoenix. What more could you want? She puts her life on the line even more so than we do!"
"How is that possible?" raged Fabian. The two brothers were having a heated conversation behind headquarters which were invisible to them. Dark trees stretched to the equally dark sky. No moon shown upon the grounds and no stars dotted the heavens. Black clouds rumbled and threatened to spill rain on the brothers who stood a foot apart from one another, yelling angrily.
"Do you have any idea what the Dark Lord will do to her if she is caught?" Gideon roared, not believing how his little brother could be so naïve.
"Do you have any idea how much she would deserve it?"
Gideon took an involuntary step forward. "Don't you dare scar her soul worse than it already is."
"Ha!" Fabian shouted, pointing a finger him. "Even you admit the bitch is condemned."
It was all Gideon could do to stop himself from hitting his brother across the face. His fists clenched in his rage as he struggled to gain control of his emotions that threatened to burst from him like a tidal wave. "You can hate her. Go ahead. But you will stop insulting her in front of me."
"Dorcas is a DEATH EATER!" Fabian bellowed clearly. "What part of that don't you understand? Her friends murdered our family and yet you seek to win her heart!"
Gideon shook his head, the memory of his family washing away his rage into a pit of sorrow. "She wasn't part of that group. She tried to warn us, remember? It's our own fault for not listening."
"How can you say that?" Fabian cried, his chest heaving. "How can you say that it's our fault when her friends initiated it!"
"They are not her friends anymore than they are ours."
"How long has it been Gideon?" Fabian asked, his voice trembling. "Twelve years? Twelve years since the Dark Lord started all this? Dorcas Meadowes has been a member of that group for twelve years. Why?"
"Because," Gideon said through clenched teeth, "you cannot tell the Dark Lord that you will leave. He would kill her without a second thought if she voiced any consternation."
"Death would be better."
Gideon stepped forward and grabbed the neck of his brothers shirt. "She stays because she helps the Order. Without her we would have failed long ago. She stays because she still has hope. Hope that this darkness will pass. She stays because she has the courage to stop this madness."
Fabian could only stare into his brothers eyes. Eyes that held fury and burning anger, like flames ready to spark from wood that has long been heated. Gideon let go of his brother roughly before backing away.
"I will not have you defile her name in front of me again. Think what you will of her but don't speak of it to me." Gideon said, turning around to leave the darkness of the forest.
"What will you do, brother?" Fabian called mockingly. "What is it that you want from her?"
"I want her and that's all," Gideon called back. He knew he shouldn't give him the satisfaction of an answer but he did anyway.
"Stay away from her, your heart will only get broken."
Gideon nearly laughed. "How can you possibly know? I sense something in her. She cares for me as much as I do for her. She has taken my heart and will never give it up no matter what you say to change it."
Fabian said something in protest but Gideon ignored it. He huffed away from his brother and all his pointless doubts, heading for Order headquarters where he could at least see Dorcas to ease his troubled mind.
--
"Oooh," Lily groaned, clutching her head.
"Dizzy?" Dorcas asked sympathetically, grabbing onto her elbow to give her a sense of support.
"I'm going to kill James for doing this to me," she moaned.
Dorcas laughed nervously, unsure of whether Lily was being serious or not. The way her eyes flashed dangerously at the moment put doubt in Dorcas' mind. "I've never been around someone who's pregnant so I can't tell you what to do."
Lily took a deep, steadying breath. "I feel horrible."
"Maybe you need to throw up. No offense but you were literally stuffing food down your mouth at dinner-"
Lily paled and dashed from the room, covering her mouth. A few seconds later sounds of retching could be heard.
"Oops," Dorcas muttered.
James clutched his head. "She's driving me mad! This morning sickness thing is horrible. I can barely sleep she's throwing up so much these days!"
"Uh, James?"
"What?"
"How can it be morning sickness when it's ten o'clock at night?"
James ran a shaking hand through his hair before he whispered, "It's not just morning. It's afternoon, and night, and morning, and afternoon, and night, and-"
"Alright, I've got the point," Dorcas interrupted, grinning. "At least you're not like Frank. He had to stay home from the meeting today because Alice was too weak to come."
James was about to reply but didn't have the chance to as Alistor Moody walked into the meeting room. People immediately stopped talking as Moody took a seat.
Lily edged her way into the room and took her seat, clutching her stomach painfully. Dorcas cast a sympathetic eye her way before it was caught by something else. Gideon entered the room and was soon followed by Fabian. The two looked mad at one another and sat on opposite ends of the table. Dorcas wished that Gideon could have sat by her but Sirius sat on one side and Lily on the other. She flashed him a small smile which he returned before taking a seat.
"Many of you already know about the attack on our fellow member's," Moody began in his gruff voice.
Nods of agreement flickered about the room and people cast commiserating gazes to Lily and James, and Frank and Alice.
"What some of you may not have heard I will reveal now," Moody said, clearing his throat. "It is clear we have a spy in our very own Order."
Shocked murmurs filled the room and people looked at one another uncomfortably. Sirius frowned and looked about the table, as if thinking he could discern who the spy was. Remus leaned back in his chair and watched Alistor with unblinking attention and Peter slid down in his seat, looking worried and fearful.
"We don't know who it is or what this person is telling our enemies," Moody said loudly over the crescendo of whispering voices, "but we can't just stop our Order now. We will have to play our traitors game and let him or her be warned that their punishment will be severe when they are caught."
"It's Snape!" someone shouted pointing at Severus.
Severus narrowed his eyes and glared at the man. "How many times can one man doublecross?" he hissed.
Dorcas stood in his defense. "It is not Severus! He wouldn't betray Dumbledore!"
"Then it's you!" a woman yelped. "I never trusted you from day one!"
This time Sirius came to her defense. "What is she trying to do then?" he roared. "Turn this into a stalemate?"
"Lupin!" a voice roared.
"He's never found after dark on the full moon! And look at him! He always looks sick, probably due to the punishments inflicted by his true Master!" someone said in agreement.
All chaos soon broke loose, members of the Order bellowing accusations at one another, roaring across the tables and pointing fingers. Soon, Dorcas had had enough. She had tried to get it under control but had reluctantly given up. She stormed away from the house and was surprised to see Gideon following her.
"Crazy," he said shaking his head as he ran to catch up to her.
"Can you believe this?" Dorcas asked, watching him carefully.
Gideon shook his head then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Dorcas grinned and took hold of his hand. "What was that for?" she asked.
"Just because."
Dorcas grinned but then frowned. "It looked like you and Fabian were angry with one another."
Gideon nodded. "We had an. . .argument."
"Over what?"
Gideon smiled and put his hand on her chin. "Don't worry about it."
"Well, hopefully you can make up tonight when you go home." Dorcas said softly. His hand on her chin was making her heart pound and she half hoped he would let go so she could regain some of her senses.
Gideon shook his head and then let go. "I'm not going home tonight. I'll just stay over a friends house."
Dorcas felt her heart beat faster in her chest. Should she ask him? Would he laugh and say no? There was only one thing for it. "You can stay with me," she whispered.
Gideon snapped his head in her direction. Dorcas could see the desire in his eyes so she took his hand and led her up the steps to her house. Her heart pounded in her chest
The second the door closed behind them, his lips were on hers, pushing her against the wall. Dorcas returned the kiss with the same intimacy and passion. They made their way to the bedroom, slowly slipping their clothes off as they went, never taking their lips away from one another. Gideon pushed her onto her bed and shut the door behind him.
Dorcas pulled him on top of her, running her hands across his bare chest, kissing him fiercely.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gideon whispered, separating himself from her for a moment. He prayed she would say yes because he wasn't sure if he could stop himself at this point.
"Without a doubt," Dorcas replied.
Gideon didn't hesitate to lower himself onto her again, running his hands up the length of her body. Dorcas moaned beneath him pulling him closer to her.
The wind howled around the house, blowing through the trees and the first raindrops fell from the sky, muffling any sounds that issued from Dorcas' home.
--
A/n: O_o. . .that went pretty detailed, didn't it? *grins sheepishly* sorry, got carried away there. I now leave a decision for you readers. In future chapters (don't worry, there won't be A LOT of this) I can go even more detailed, less detailed, or just the same. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable so this decision is for my reviewers! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter and everything else!!
ATTENTION: As many of you may have noticed, there has been a rating change. I upped this to 'R' to be on the safe side, you'll see why at the end of this chapter. I don't know if an 'R' rating is required for this story or not so let me know what you think.
R/n:
NkittyHawk: Heya hun! Thanks so much for sticking with this story. I'm glad you liked that last chapter. Heh. I feel kind of bad for Snape I guess, though he is a creep. But he deserves a little hug now and then. ^_^ Thanks so much for your review and compliments. *hugz*
Noa9: Thanks so much! Hehe. Yup, poor old Snape. Though he deserves some of the cruelty he got from James and co. Maybe. *frowns* I really don't know to be honest. Lol! But Dorcas felt bad for him. Thanks so much for reading! *hugz*
HiddenFlame42: Thanks hun! You know I love you and love hearing from ya!
Muffinlover: I can't thank you enough for sticking with this story from the beginning and reading it! I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much.
--
"I don't care what you say Fabian, I like her," Gideon protested angrily.
Fabian was glaring at his brother in anger. "Do you know what she is?"
"A person!" Gideon hissed.
"A Death Eater!"
"You think that matters? She works for the Order of Phoenix. What more could you want? She puts her life on the line even more so than we do!"
"How is that possible?" raged Fabian. The two brothers were having a heated conversation behind headquarters which were invisible to them. Dark trees stretched to the equally dark sky. No moon shown upon the grounds and no stars dotted the heavens. Black clouds rumbled and threatened to spill rain on the brothers who stood a foot apart from one another, yelling angrily.
"Do you have any idea what the Dark Lord will do to her if she is caught?" Gideon roared, not believing how his little brother could be so naïve.
"Do you have any idea how much she would deserve it?"
Gideon took an involuntary step forward. "Don't you dare scar her soul worse than it already is."
"Ha!" Fabian shouted, pointing a finger him. "Even you admit the bitch is condemned."
It was all Gideon could do to stop himself from hitting his brother across the face. His fists clenched in his rage as he struggled to gain control of his emotions that threatened to burst from him like a tidal wave. "You can hate her. Go ahead. But you will stop insulting her in front of me."
"Dorcas is a DEATH EATER!" Fabian bellowed clearly. "What part of that don't you understand? Her friends murdered our family and yet you seek to win her heart!"
Gideon shook his head, the memory of his family washing away his rage into a pit of sorrow. "She wasn't part of that group. She tried to warn us, remember? It's our own fault for not listening."
"How can you say that?" Fabian cried, his chest heaving. "How can you say that it's our fault when her friends initiated it!"
"They are not her friends anymore than they are ours."
"How long has it been Gideon?" Fabian asked, his voice trembling. "Twelve years? Twelve years since the Dark Lord started all this? Dorcas Meadowes has been a member of that group for twelve years. Why?"
"Because," Gideon said through clenched teeth, "you cannot tell the Dark Lord that you will leave. He would kill her without a second thought if she voiced any consternation."
"Death would be better."
Gideon stepped forward and grabbed the neck of his brothers shirt. "She stays because she helps the Order. Without her we would have failed long ago. She stays because she still has hope. Hope that this darkness will pass. She stays because she has the courage to stop this madness."
Fabian could only stare into his brothers eyes. Eyes that held fury and burning anger, like flames ready to spark from wood that has long been heated. Gideon let go of his brother roughly before backing away.
"I will not have you defile her name in front of me again. Think what you will of her but don't speak of it to me." Gideon said, turning around to leave the darkness of the forest.
"What will you do, brother?" Fabian called mockingly. "What is it that you want from her?"
"I want her and that's all," Gideon called back. He knew he shouldn't give him the satisfaction of an answer but he did anyway.
"Stay away from her, your heart will only get broken."
Gideon nearly laughed. "How can you possibly know? I sense something in her. She cares for me as much as I do for her. She has taken my heart and will never give it up no matter what you say to change it."
Fabian said something in protest but Gideon ignored it. He huffed away from his brother and all his pointless doubts, heading for Order headquarters where he could at least see Dorcas to ease his troubled mind.
--
"Oooh," Lily groaned, clutching her head.
"Dizzy?" Dorcas asked sympathetically, grabbing onto her elbow to give her a sense of support.
"I'm going to kill James for doing this to me," she moaned.
Dorcas laughed nervously, unsure of whether Lily was being serious or not. The way her eyes flashed dangerously at the moment put doubt in Dorcas' mind. "I've never been around someone who's pregnant so I can't tell you what to do."
Lily took a deep, steadying breath. "I feel horrible."
"Maybe you need to throw up. No offense but you were literally stuffing food down your mouth at dinner-"
Lily paled and dashed from the room, covering her mouth. A few seconds later sounds of retching could be heard.
"Oops," Dorcas muttered.
James clutched his head. "She's driving me mad! This morning sickness thing is horrible. I can barely sleep she's throwing up so much these days!"
"Uh, James?"
"What?"
"How can it be morning sickness when it's ten o'clock at night?"
James ran a shaking hand through his hair before he whispered, "It's not just morning. It's afternoon, and night, and morning, and afternoon, and night, and-"
"Alright, I've got the point," Dorcas interrupted, grinning. "At least you're not like Frank. He had to stay home from the meeting today because Alice was too weak to come."
James was about to reply but didn't have the chance to as Alistor Moody walked into the meeting room. People immediately stopped talking as Moody took a seat.
Lily edged her way into the room and took her seat, clutching her stomach painfully. Dorcas cast a sympathetic eye her way before it was caught by something else. Gideon entered the room and was soon followed by Fabian. The two looked mad at one another and sat on opposite ends of the table. Dorcas wished that Gideon could have sat by her but Sirius sat on one side and Lily on the other. She flashed him a small smile which he returned before taking a seat.
"Many of you already know about the attack on our fellow member's," Moody began in his gruff voice.
Nods of agreement flickered about the room and people cast commiserating gazes to Lily and James, and Frank and Alice.
"What some of you may not have heard I will reveal now," Moody said, clearing his throat. "It is clear we have a spy in our very own Order."
Shocked murmurs filled the room and people looked at one another uncomfortably. Sirius frowned and looked about the table, as if thinking he could discern who the spy was. Remus leaned back in his chair and watched Alistor with unblinking attention and Peter slid down in his seat, looking worried and fearful.
"We don't know who it is or what this person is telling our enemies," Moody said loudly over the crescendo of whispering voices, "but we can't just stop our Order now. We will have to play our traitors game and let him or her be warned that their punishment will be severe when they are caught."
"It's Snape!" someone shouted pointing at Severus.
Severus narrowed his eyes and glared at the man. "How many times can one man doublecross?" he hissed.
Dorcas stood in his defense. "It is not Severus! He wouldn't betray Dumbledore!"
"Then it's you!" a woman yelped. "I never trusted you from day one!"
This time Sirius came to her defense. "What is she trying to do then?" he roared. "Turn this into a stalemate?"
"Lupin!" a voice roared.
"He's never found after dark on the full moon! And look at him! He always looks sick, probably due to the punishments inflicted by his true Master!" someone said in agreement.
All chaos soon broke loose, members of the Order bellowing accusations at one another, roaring across the tables and pointing fingers. Soon, Dorcas had had enough. She had tried to get it under control but had reluctantly given up. She stormed away from the house and was surprised to see Gideon following her.
"Crazy," he said shaking his head as he ran to catch up to her.
"Can you believe this?" Dorcas asked, watching him carefully.
Gideon shook his head then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Dorcas grinned and took hold of his hand. "What was that for?" she asked.
"Just because."
Dorcas grinned but then frowned. "It looked like you and Fabian were angry with one another."
Gideon nodded. "We had an. . .argument."
"Over what?"
Gideon smiled and put his hand on her chin. "Don't worry about it."
"Well, hopefully you can make up tonight when you go home." Dorcas said softly. His hand on her chin was making her heart pound and she half hoped he would let go so she could regain some of her senses.
Gideon shook his head and then let go. "I'm not going home tonight. I'll just stay over a friends house."
Dorcas felt her heart beat faster in her chest. Should she ask him? Would he laugh and say no? There was only one thing for it. "You can stay with me," she whispered.
Gideon snapped his head in her direction. Dorcas could see the desire in his eyes so she took his hand and led her up the steps to her house. Her heart pounded in her chest
The second the door closed behind them, his lips were on hers, pushing her against the wall. Dorcas returned the kiss with the same intimacy and passion. They made their way to the bedroom, slowly slipping their clothes off as they went, never taking their lips away from one another. Gideon pushed her onto her bed and shut the door behind him.
Dorcas pulled him on top of her, running her hands across his bare chest, kissing him fiercely.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gideon whispered, separating himself from her for a moment. He prayed she would say yes because he wasn't sure if he could stop himself at this point.
"Without a doubt," Dorcas replied.
Gideon didn't hesitate to lower himself onto her again, running his hands up the length of her body. Dorcas moaned beneath him pulling him closer to her.
The wind howled around the house, blowing through the trees and the first raindrops fell from the sky, muffling any sounds that issued from Dorcas' home.
--
A/n: O_o. . .that went pretty detailed, didn't it? *grins sheepishly* sorry, got carried away there. I now leave a decision for you readers. In future chapters (don't worry, there won't be A LOT of this) I can go even more detailed, less detailed, or just the same. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable so this decision is for my reviewers! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter and everything else!!