(Note from the author: These are not my characters, my world, or my
situations. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, and are protected by
copyrights.)
(Warning for readers under 13: Again, it's rated PG-13. You know the drill.)
"THEY WENT DOWN THIS WAY!"
James jumped into the sewers, after Remus and Sirius, and felt his feet hit the watery ground as he ran, his heart beating in time with his step.
He could see the shadowy figure at the end of the tunnel. If only he could run a little faster! He flew past his two friends, splashing the sewage into their faces.
"Crucio!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the figure. The figure fell, with a scream, and started to convulse.
The three boys reached the suspect, and James waved his wand to stop the curse. The man was donned in only a white mask, but that was enough to hide his face. James grabbed his hands, and put them in a full bind. He struggled, showing no fear.
"Get off of me!" he snarled.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Walter Gringings," James said, sticking his wand dangerously close to his face, "And for being an accomplice to Voldemort."
"How dare you use the Dark Lord's name, you blood traitor!" the Death Eater shouted.
Sirius and Remus both grabbed an arm as James put the Death Eater in a full body bind.
"You talk, we kill you," James said, still pointing his wand at him, "That's all the rules we've got to play with. You want to test us?"
"So what are we going to do after we get out of here?" Sirius asked, "Other than taking a shower?"
"Oh, I don't know," Remus sighed, dragging the Death Eater to the manhole that he had escaped through, "I was thinking we could go get something to eat. What about you, James?"
"Well, Lily and I have plans," James said, as the Death Eater continued laughing, "We were going out to celebrate our two month anniversary."
"Didn't you just have an anniversary last week?" Sirius grumbled.
"Well, yes," James said, "But that was for something else."
"The Dark Lord will avenge me! The Dark Lord will come for me!"
"Oh, give it a rest," Sirius barked, "We know. We know."
They scaled the small ladder to the circular opening above them. Frank's face was leaning over them, looking in surprise.
"That was fast," he said, as he took the Death Eater off of their hands as they hoisted themselves out of the sewer, "Good job."
"You two need to learn how to run," James said, trying to dry off his pants, "God, it reaks, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," Remus said grimly, and then tried to air out his cloak, "Let's not drive them into a sewer again, all right?"
"Hey! Wormtail!" Sirius shouted, and Peter, who was staring at the Death Eater frightfully, jumped and looked to Sirius.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Why didn't you run after him?" he demanded, and Peter shrugged.
"I didn't see where you guys went," he said, "Need to get new glasses."
"What do you mean you didn't see where we went?" Sirius shouted, coming closer, "We were only screaming at the top of our lungs!"
"Well, I'm sorry," Peter said, starting to quiver, "I . . . I didn't see . . ."
"Lay off him, Padfoot," James said, still trying to dry the bottom of his pants, "He's not as quick as us. It's fine. He'll be there next time, right?"
Peter nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, next time. Really sorry, Sirius. But . . ."
Sirius turned away from him, and then back to James, "They could have gotten away. We're supposed to be a team."
"But he didn't get away, did he?" James said, sitting down on the curb, "Now just calm down."
Sirius sat down next to him, and Lupin stood in front of them, "Now what?" he said, "You think we can leave?"
"I doubt it," Sirius growled, "We never leave."
"Have you noticed something different about Wormtail?" Remus asked, as his eyes drifted over to their friend, now trying to explain to Moody why he wasn't there in the sewer along with the other three.
"No," Sirius said, "He's the same. Slow and stuttering."
James elbowed him, and Sirius rubbed his arm, "Why," he grumbled.
"Well, I don't know," Remus said, "He hasn't been talking very much to me lately. He's usually a chatterbox around me. I don't know what happened."
"You think he's all right?" James asked.
"He was telling me yesterday," Remus said, "When you and Sirius were having a talk with Frank? After we caught that Lolan man? Well, he turned to me, and he said, 'Are you ever scared of what may happen?'"
"What was he talking about?" James asked.
"No idea," Remus said, "So I asked him what, and he shrugged and went off to talk to you two and Frank."
"Just sounds like Peter being Peter," Sirius said, standing up, "He's always been a little off, if you know what I mean."
"Potter!" Moody's voice came from across the manhole, "Good job, Potter!"
"Thanks," James shouted back, and then stood up to look straight at Remus, "So, what are you two going to do?"
Remus shrugged, "No idea. Leaky Cauldron sound all right?"
"Not again," Sirius sighed, "I don't think I can stand that place again."
"Let's get out of here," James said, ushering the two boys away from the sight, "I'm exhausted."
"You know," Remus said, walking in step with Sirius and lowering his voice so only he could hear him, "It's odd. These people that we're fighting . . . we're using the same techniques that they use on us. The three Unforgivables, I mean."
"Yeah," Sirius said, "But we use them for a good cause. That's where it's different."
"I don't know," Remus said quietly, "Sometimes it seems like we're all just the same."
Sirius shot him a look, "What?"
Remus shrugged, "Nothing. Never mind."
"There's a large line that separates what we're doing, and what they're doing," Sirius said, "They're killing people for the hell of it, and we're trying to save those people's lives."
Remus didn't answer, but continued walking to their Portkey. Sirius stared after him, very confused.
A knock came on the door. Sirius rolled over in his bed, mumbling to himself. It was still dark outside, and very late. Who in God's name would be knocking on his door?
"Come in," he muttered, "It's unlocked."
The door opened, and shut. Footsteps through the kitchen.
"Sirius? You awake?" Remus's voice came.
"Either that or I'm talking in my sleep," Sirius yawned, and sat up with as much energy he could muster. The door opened, and Remus was standing there, smiling.
"I knew I could find you here," he said.
"At two o' clock in the morning? Where else would I be?" Sirius grumbled, sitting up, but Remus didn't move. He was just looking at him, with that sly smile on his face.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"We're all the same you know," he said, and then raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra," he said, and a green light shot through Sirius. He felt his head hit the pillow. He was dead. His eyes in a silent scream.
Screaming. He sat up with a jolt, and looked around. Beads of sweat fell from his head, and he felt sick. Remus had . . . Remus . . .
It had been a dream.
He took in a deep breath, and then surveyed the room. Nothing. It was dark, and all he could see was the slit of light escaping from underneath the doorframe.
"Oh, God," he gasped, and then fell back into his bed. He had never been so scared in his entire life.
It was just a dream.
He didn't die.
It was just a dream.
With a shaking hand, he reached for his glass of water on the bedstand, and took a large drink. God, it had been so real. Remus had been there, holding the wand right at him. Wanting to kill him . . .
Oh, God.
He couldn't go back to sleep. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something that had happened that night at the sewers had been wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something that he had heard or seen had been wrong.
"You're just getting yourself all worked up," he said to himself, "Remus just spooked you, that's all. He's not a Death Eater. He's not a killer. He's just Remus."
A knock at the door. Sirius jumped, but then got composure of himself. He was acting stupid. He was acting very stupid. It wasn't Remus.
"Sirius?"
It was Remus.
"What do you want?" he shouted from his room. The front door wasn't that far away. If Remus wanted to hear him, he would hear him.
"Dumbledore's called a meeting. He wanted me to round the five of us up," he said through the door, "Can you open this door?"
Sirius paused, and then grabbed his shirt from the back of his chair, "Yeah, sure," he said, "Just give me a minute."
Throwing on his shirt, he entered the kitchen, and walked silently to the door. This was the part where Moony would kill him. He knew that he was waiting outside, with his wand raised, just poised to attack . . .
"Sirius?"
"I'm coming," he said, and then opened the door. Remus didn't have his wand pulled out, and he looked just like he always did. No demented smile. No odd voice.
"What's wrong?" Remus asked.
"Nothing," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Just a bad dream. That's all. What does he want?"
Remus shrugged, "But we have to get going. It sounded urgent."
"Just wait a second," Sirius dodged back into his flat, grabbed his keys and his jacket, and then shut the door behind him.
It was dark that night that they entered Moody's house, covered in their Invisibility Cloaks that they all now had (due to the Order giving one to each member). They entered the door, and shut it behind them. Remus and Sirius shook the snow off of their boots as they made their way from the entrance hall and into the living room. They were expecting the entire Order to be there, but only Peter, Dumbledore, and Moody sat in the chairs. Peter was twiddling his thumbs, trying not to make eye contact with any one of them. Remus gave him an odd look, but then turned to Moody, and asked, "Where's James and Lily?"
"They're already there," Moody said, "They're waiting for you three."
"We entrust you and Frank and Alice to take care of our little problem," Dumbledore said, "We have received information from the young man you arrested earlier this evening. There is to be a rally of new recruits and younger members tonight."
"Where?" Sirius asked, "We've got to get going . . ."
"It's located somewhere out in the middle of a field, it seems," Moody said, "We've got our Portkey ready. Frank and Alice will explain to you what to do as soon as you get there. Now here . . . touch this."
Sirius, Peter, and Remus took a hold of an encyclopedia volume, and felt themselves falling forward, through blinding flashing lights. They had done it thousands of times before, and now it was as normal as walking to them.
Sirius rolled onto the grass. By Frank was his wife, Alice, and then James and Lily, all crouching on the ground, looking over the top of a ditch that they had found themselves in. The night sky was above them, and it was dead silent as the three men took their places next to Lily.
"Happy anniversary," Sirius grunted as he got onto his stomach.
"Thanks," Lily whispered back, and then Remus looked to Frank.
"What exactly are we supposed to be doing?" he asked.
"There's a rally of about ten of them tonight," Frank said, "Crouch says to kill them. Moody says to arrest them. Take your pick. First we need to hear all of their names, then we can act."
"We know that most of the members are under the age of twenty. There is one by the name of Sampson that is working as the monitor. He is aged at thirty four," Alice said, "The youngest ones are the most loyal ones. Not old enough to make up their minds about the world, so they let You-Know-Who think for them."
"Use his name, Alice," Frank hissed.
"Voldemort, right," Alice said, and then bit her lip.
"Are they here, yet?" Remus asked.
"No," James said, "We're still waiting for Voldemort to give them the sign to arrive."
"Is Voldemort going to be here tonight?"
"More than likely," Frank sighed, "But he's not our main focus tonight, no matter how much Moody just wants us to go after him and no one else. Crouch would cut all of our funds at the Ministry of we pulled such a thing."
Then they waited in silence, staring up at the flat landing right in front of them. They had a clear view, but no one could see them from where they lay. Brush and grass disguised them in the darkness as they sat silently, ready to attack.
And then, out of the darkness, like ghosts walking from the mists of hell, came ten cloaked figures. The tallest one was about the height of Sirius, and the others much shorter. One was even shorter than Peter. They were very young.
Jack Williams's face ran through James's head as he watched the ten of them circle together, and hold their wands to the center of their group.
"The Dark Lord will rise," they hissed together, "And cleanse this earth. The Dark Lord shall rise. And we will rise with him."
And then they lowered their wands, and came to attention. Voldemort was no where in sight. The tallest boy came to the middle, like the Dark Lord had done the night of Christmas a year ago.
"I am Lucius," the boy said, and the five froze from their place in the ditch. Lucius? He was here?
"Welcome to our regime," Lucius said from behind his mask, "On behalf of the Dark Lord, I will be here to initiate all of you and wed two of our members in marriage. In these dark times, we must initiate our own traditions. With the two of you, we begin a new chapter in the lives of the War. It is our war. It is our generation that will fight it."
Frank shifted. Just their luck.
"Remember," he whispered, "Wait until we have all of their names, and then we attack them."
They nodded, and then turned back to the group. Lucius was also accompanied by another taller boy. They couldn't tell who it was, because of the mask and the shadows. But James had a pretty good idea of who it was.
"This is my colleague, Severus," Lucius said, nodding to the boy, "He is also here as a liasion for the Dark Lord."
"Snape?" Sirius growled, "Snivellus?"
"He's a Death Eater," James explained.
"No really," Sirius snorted, "Couldn't tell from the mask and cloak."
"Rodolphus Lestrange," Lucius continued, "And Bellatrix Black, please come forward."
Bellatrix? Sirius tensed. It was his cousin! It was Bellatrix! That nasty daughter of Aunt Elladora and Uncle Alphard. She was a Death Eater? But she would only be thirteen!
But sure enough, it was Bellatrix's figure that stepped forward, and took the hands of a boy. They both removed their masks, and Sirius's eyes went wide.
It was his cousin.
"With the power that the Dark Lord gives all of us here in this circle tonight," Lucius said, raising his wand, "You are no longer a Black. You are a Lestrange. And you will be bonded to this boy until the day that you die."
"You will no longer be a Lestrange," Lucius said, turning to him, "You are a Black. And you will be bonded to this girl until the day that you die."
Rodolphus now took his turn to nod, and then the two of them held out their arms to Severus and Lucius. Each one grabbed one of the children's arms, and held their wands to the forearm. There was a tensing of muscles and a gritting of teeth as the two were struck by a spell, and then Lucius and Severus stepped back.
The Dark Mark was borne into both of the children's arms, smoldering black. Sirius glared. That witch . . . that . . .
She had become one of them! Didn't she know that they were evil?
But she was evil herself.
She was the epitomy of evil.
"Next, Rabastan Lestrange," Severus said, raising his wand, "You will be next."
Rabastan moved forward, and gave them his arm in the same manner. Lucius put his wand to the forearm, and Rabastan gave out a moan.
Soon, the Dark Mark resided on his skin as well.
"I swear to you," Bellatrix said as Rabastan joined his brother and his brother's new wife back in the circle, "I will kill them. All of them."
"Including your cousin," Severus asked.
"Sirius is mine," Bellatrix said, "I swear to you."
Sirius felt his hand grip into fists, and James and Remus looked over Lily to glance at him. Their friend's eyes were hollow again. His face had grown dark. He looked wild.
How could she have done such a thing? After all that he worked for, after all that he believed in . . . these little brats were recruiting themselves to kill them.
She was thirteen.
They were too young.
How dare she say that she was going to kill him! How dare she!
"Sirius!" James exclaimed as Sirius stood up, pulling out his wand.
"BELLATRIX!" he shouted, running out of the brush and right into their circle. Frank and Alice remained silent, staring at him in disbelief. But James and Remus were on their feet, running after him.
"SIRIUS . . ."
"HEY, COUSIN!" Sirius shouted, holding his arms out to make his chest vulnerable, "HERE I AM, BELLATRIX! YOU WANT ME? COME HERE AND KILL ME!"
"It's the Order," Severus hissed, and grabbed Lucius, "We must go."
"No," Lucius said, "He knew that they were coming. We have planned for this."
James stopped, and narrowed his eyes. They knew?
"Don't move another step!" a voice came from behind them. Remus and James turned around to face twenty more Death Eaters, two of them holding Lily, Frank, and Alice at wandpoint behind them. They had been hiding behind them, in another ditch. They had been trapped!
"COME ON, COUSIN!" Sirius shouted hysterically, still moving closer and closer to the group, "YOU TOO PUREBLOOD TO FIGHT? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST KILL US OFF? KILL MY FRIENDS?"
Bellatrix started to walk towards him, but Rodolphus grabbed her and thrusted her back, "Don't."
"You broke her heart," Bellatrix hissed in the same voice as his mother, "She's dying, because of you. You killed our family."
"They killed themselves!" Sirius barked, "SHE DIDN'T HAVE A HEART!"
"We're warning you, Black," Severus said, standing in front of the Lestranges, and raising his wand, "One more move, and we'll blast you away."
"I'd like to see you try, Snivellus!" Sirius said, throwing his wand down, and running faster through the field and closer and closer to them . . .
"CRUCIO!"
Sirius gave out a howl, and fell to the ground, convulsing. He had no control of his body anymore. He was in pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He couldn't think. He writhed on the ground, but he wouldn't scream. He didn't scream.
He would never scream for Severus.
He would never . . .
Another figure pointed their wand at him, and he felt his heart drop. He was going to die. It was over.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" another voice came.
A flash of green light flew over his head, and hit one of the young Death Eaters, square in the chest. They fell to the ground, cold and unmoving.
"IT WAS THE WEREWOLF!" Bellatrix's voice screeched, "HE KILLED SAMPSON!"
Sirius couldn't think. Everything was flying around him. He rolled in the dirt. Green flashes. Shouts. Curses . . .
"Sirius!" James slid onto the ground quickly to his side, and pointed wand to him. The pain stopped, and Sirius shakily looked into the face of his best friend, trying to get control once more.
"Come on, we have to go!" James shouted, hoisted him onto his feet and supporting him as they flew back through the field, trying to get to the Portkey in time. Frank and Alice were battling five Death Eaters each, and Remus was looking down to Sampson's body, haunted. Lily's ponytail had come undone, and her red hair was flying out in all directions, her emerald eyes glowing green in the darkness. She was now battling two of them, and winning.
Peter was running for the encyclopedia volume, hiding his face in his hands.
"J-James . . ." Sirius started.
"Shut up, Padfoot," James snapped, and shouted to the others, "Come on! Get out of here!"
Frank and Alice held them off as Lily ran towards James and Sirius, and threw Sirius's free arm over her shoulders. The two of them dragged their friend past the rest of the field, and slid into the ditch.
"REMUS!" James shouted, and Remus turned from the dead body, his face in shocked horror, and haunted, jumped into the ditch. Sirius could see that Remus was also shaking. But not for the same reasons as he himself was . . .
"GO ON!" Frank shouted, "WE'LL BE FINE! GET ALBUS! TELL HIM WHAT HAPPENED!"
"COME ON!" Lily shouted back, "WE'RE NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!"
"GET GOING!" Alice screamed.
And with that, the five members clutched the encyclopedia, and felt themselves flying through space and time, far away from the ambush.
(Warning for readers under 13: Again, it's rated PG-13. You know the drill.)
"THEY WENT DOWN THIS WAY!"
James jumped into the sewers, after Remus and Sirius, and felt his feet hit the watery ground as he ran, his heart beating in time with his step.
He could see the shadowy figure at the end of the tunnel. If only he could run a little faster! He flew past his two friends, splashing the sewage into their faces.
"Crucio!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the figure. The figure fell, with a scream, and started to convulse.
The three boys reached the suspect, and James waved his wand to stop the curse. The man was donned in only a white mask, but that was enough to hide his face. James grabbed his hands, and put them in a full bind. He struggled, showing no fear.
"Get off of me!" he snarled.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Walter Gringings," James said, sticking his wand dangerously close to his face, "And for being an accomplice to Voldemort."
"How dare you use the Dark Lord's name, you blood traitor!" the Death Eater shouted.
Sirius and Remus both grabbed an arm as James put the Death Eater in a full body bind.
"You talk, we kill you," James said, still pointing his wand at him, "That's all the rules we've got to play with. You want to test us?"
"So what are we going to do after we get out of here?" Sirius asked, "Other than taking a shower?"
"Oh, I don't know," Remus sighed, dragging the Death Eater to the manhole that he had escaped through, "I was thinking we could go get something to eat. What about you, James?"
"Well, Lily and I have plans," James said, as the Death Eater continued laughing, "We were going out to celebrate our two month anniversary."
"Didn't you just have an anniversary last week?" Sirius grumbled.
"Well, yes," James said, "But that was for something else."
"The Dark Lord will avenge me! The Dark Lord will come for me!"
"Oh, give it a rest," Sirius barked, "We know. We know."
They scaled the small ladder to the circular opening above them. Frank's face was leaning over them, looking in surprise.
"That was fast," he said, as he took the Death Eater off of their hands as they hoisted themselves out of the sewer, "Good job."
"You two need to learn how to run," James said, trying to dry off his pants, "God, it reaks, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," Remus said grimly, and then tried to air out his cloak, "Let's not drive them into a sewer again, all right?"
"Hey! Wormtail!" Sirius shouted, and Peter, who was staring at the Death Eater frightfully, jumped and looked to Sirius.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Why didn't you run after him?" he demanded, and Peter shrugged.
"I didn't see where you guys went," he said, "Need to get new glasses."
"What do you mean you didn't see where we went?" Sirius shouted, coming closer, "We were only screaming at the top of our lungs!"
"Well, I'm sorry," Peter said, starting to quiver, "I . . . I didn't see . . ."
"Lay off him, Padfoot," James said, still trying to dry the bottom of his pants, "He's not as quick as us. It's fine. He'll be there next time, right?"
Peter nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, next time. Really sorry, Sirius. But . . ."
Sirius turned away from him, and then back to James, "They could have gotten away. We're supposed to be a team."
"But he didn't get away, did he?" James said, sitting down on the curb, "Now just calm down."
Sirius sat down next to him, and Lupin stood in front of them, "Now what?" he said, "You think we can leave?"
"I doubt it," Sirius growled, "We never leave."
"Have you noticed something different about Wormtail?" Remus asked, as his eyes drifted over to their friend, now trying to explain to Moody why he wasn't there in the sewer along with the other three.
"No," Sirius said, "He's the same. Slow and stuttering."
James elbowed him, and Sirius rubbed his arm, "Why," he grumbled.
"Well, I don't know," Remus said, "He hasn't been talking very much to me lately. He's usually a chatterbox around me. I don't know what happened."
"You think he's all right?" James asked.
"He was telling me yesterday," Remus said, "When you and Sirius were having a talk with Frank? After we caught that Lolan man? Well, he turned to me, and he said, 'Are you ever scared of what may happen?'"
"What was he talking about?" James asked.
"No idea," Remus said, "So I asked him what, and he shrugged and went off to talk to you two and Frank."
"Just sounds like Peter being Peter," Sirius said, standing up, "He's always been a little off, if you know what I mean."
"Potter!" Moody's voice came from across the manhole, "Good job, Potter!"
"Thanks," James shouted back, and then stood up to look straight at Remus, "So, what are you two going to do?"
Remus shrugged, "No idea. Leaky Cauldron sound all right?"
"Not again," Sirius sighed, "I don't think I can stand that place again."
"Let's get out of here," James said, ushering the two boys away from the sight, "I'm exhausted."
"You know," Remus said, walking in step with Sirius and lowering his voice so only he could hear him, "It's odd. These people that we're fighting . . . we're using the same techniques that they use on us. The three Unforgivables, I mean."
"Yeah," Sirius said, "But we use them for a good cause. That's where it's different."
"I don't know," Remus said quietly, "Sometimes it seems like we're all just the same."
Sirius shot him a look, "What?"
Remus shrugged, "Nothing. Never mind."
"There's a large line that separates what we're doing, and what they're doing," Sirius said, "They're killing people for the hell of it, and we're trying to save those people's lives."
Remus didn't answer, but continued walking to their Portkey. Sirius stared after him, very confused.
A knock came on the door. Sirius rolled over in his bed, mumbling to himself. It was still dark outside, and very late. Who in God's name would be knocking on his door?
"Come in," he muttered, "It's unlocked."
The door opened, and shut. Footsteps through the kitchen.
"Sirius? You awake?" Remus's voice came.
"Either that or I'm talking in my sleep," Sirius yawned, and sat up with as much energy he could muster. The door opened, and Remus was standing there, smiling.
"I knew I could find you here," he said.
"At two o' clock in the morning? Where else would I be?" Sirius grumbled, sitting up, but Remus didn't move. He was just looking at him, with that sly smile on his face.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"We're all the same you know," he said, and then raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra," he said, and a green light shot through Sirius. He felt his head hit the pillow. He was dead. His eyes in a silent scream.
Screaming. He sat up with a jolt, and looked around. Beads of sweat fell from his head, and he felt sick. Remus had . . . Remus . . .
It had been a dream.
He took in a deep breath, and then surveyed the room. Nothing. It was dark, and all he could see was the slit of light escaping from underneath the doorframe.
"Oh, God," he gasped, and then fell back into his bed. He had never been so scared in his entire life.
It was just a dream.
He didn't die.
It was just a dream.
With a shaking hand, he reached for his glass of water on the bedstand, and took a large drink. God, it had been so real. Remus had been there, holding the wand right at him. Wanting to kill him . . .
Oh, God.
He couldn't go back to sleep. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something that had happened that night at the sewers had been wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something that he had heard or seen had been wrong.
"You're just getting yourself all worked up," he said to himself, "Remus just spooked you, that's all. He's not a Death Eater. He's not a killer. He's just Remus."
A knock at the door. Sirius jumped, but then got composure of himself. He was acting stupid. He was acting very stupid. It wasn't Remus.
"Sirius?"
It was Remus.
"What do you want?" he shouted from his room. The front door wasn't that far away. If Remus wanted to hear him, he would hear him.
"Dumbledore's called a meeting. He wanted me to round the five of us up," he said through the door, "Can you open this door?"
Sirius paused, and then grabbed his shirt from the back of his chair, "Yeah, sure," he said, "Just give me a minute."
Throwing on his shirt, he entered the kitchen, and walked silently to the door. This was the part where Moony would kill him. He knew that he was waiting outside, with his wand raised, just poised to attack . . .
"Sirius?"
"I'm coming," he said, and then opened the door. Remus didn't have his wand pulled out, and he looked just like he always did. No demented smile. No odd voice.
"What's wrong?" Remus asked.
"Nothing," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Just a bad dream. That's all. What does he want?"
Remus shrugged, "But we have to get going. It sounded urgent."
"Just wait a second," Sirius dodged back into his flat, grabbed his keys and his jacket, and then shut the door behind him.
It was dark that night that they entered Moody's house, covered in their Invisibility Cloaks that they all now had (due to the Order giving one to each member). They entered the door, and shut it behind them. Remus and Sirius shook the snow off of their boots as they made their way from the entrance hall and into the living room. They were expecting the entire Order to be there, but only Peter, Dumbledore, and Moody sat in the chairs. Peter was twiddling his thumbs, trying not to make eye contact with any one of them. Remus gave him an odd look, but then turned to Moody, and asked, "Where's James and Lily?"
"They're already there," Moody said, "They're waiting for you three."
"We entrust you and Frank and Alice to take care of our little problem," Dumbledore said, "We have received information from the young man you arrested earlier this evening. There is to be a rally of new recruits and younger members tonight."
"Where?" Sirius asked, "We've got to get going . . ."
"It's located somewhere out in the middle of a field, it seems," Moody said, "We've got our Portkey ready. Frank and Alice will explain to you what to do as soon as you get there. Now here . . . touch this."
Sirius, Peter, and Remus took a hold of an encyclopedia volume, and felt themselves falling forward, through blinding flashing lights. They had done it thousands of times before, and now it was as normal as walking to them.
Sirius rolled onto the grass. By Frank was his wife, Alice, and then James and Lily, all crouching on the ground, looking over the top of a ditch that they had found themselves in. The night sky was above them, and it was dead silent as the three men took their places next to Lily.
"Happy anniversary," Sirius grunted as he got onto his stomach.
"Thanks," Lily whispered back, and then Remus looked to Frank.
"What exactly are we supposed to be doing?" he asked.
"There's a rally of about ten of them tonight," Frank said, "Crouch says to kill them. Moody says to arrest them. Take your pick. First we need to hear all of their names, then we can act."
"We know that most of the members are under the age of twenty. There is one by the name of Sampson that is working as the monitor. He is aged at thirty four," Alice said, "The youngest ones are the most loyal ones. Not old enough to make up their minds about the world, so they let You-Know-Who think for them."
"Use his name, Alice," Frank hissed.
"Voldemort, right," Alice said, and then bit her lip.
"Are they here, yet?" Remus asked.
"No," James said, "We're still waiting for Voldemort to give them the sign to arrive."
"Is Voldemort going to be here tonight?"
"More than likely," Frank sighed, "But he's not our main focus tonight, no matter how much Moody just wants us to go after him and no one else. Crouch would cut all of our funds at the Ministry of we pulled such a thing."
Then they waited in silence, staring up at the flat landing right in front of them. They had a clear view, but no one could see them from where they lay. Brush and grass disguised them in the darkness as they sat silently, ready to attack.
And then, out of the darkness, like ghosts walking from the mists of hell, came ten cloaked figures. The tallest one was about the height of Sirius, and the others much shorter. One was even shorter than Peter. They were very young.
Jack Williams's face ran through James's head as he watched the ten of them circle together, and hold their wands to the center of their group.
"The Dark Lord will rise," they hissed together, "And cleanse this earth. The Dark Lord shall rise. And we will rise with him."
And then they lowered their wands, and came to attention. Voldemort was no where in sight. The tallest boy came to the middle, like the Dark Lord had done the night of Christmas a year ago.
"I am Lucius," the boy said, and the five froze from their place in the ditch. Lucius? He was here?
"Welcome to our regime," Lucius said from behind his mask, "On behalf of the Dark Lord, I will be here to initiate all of you and wed two of our members in marriage. In these dark times, we must initiate our own traditions. With the two of you, we begin a new chapter in the lives of the War. It is our war. It is our generation that will fight it."
Frank shifted. Just their luck.
"Remember," he whispered, "Wait until we have all of their names, and then we attack them."
They nodded, and then turned back to the group. Lucius was also accompanied by another taller boy. They couldn't tell who it was, because of the mask and the shadows. But James had a pretty good idea of who it was.
"This is my colleague, Severus," Lucius said, nodding to the boy, "He is also here as a liasion for the Dark Lord."
"Snape?" Sirius growled, "Snivellus?"
"He's a Death Eater," James explained.
"No really," Sirius snorted, "Couldn't tell from the mask and cloak."
"Rodolphus Lestrange," Lucius continued, "And Bellatrix Black, please come forward."
Bellatrix? Sirius tensed. It was his cousin! It was Bellatrix! That nasty daughter of Aunt Elladora and Uncle Alphard. She was a Death Eater? But she would only be thirteen!
But sure enough, it was Bellatrix's figure that stepped forward, and took the hands of a boy. They both removed their masks, and Sirius's eyes went wide.
It was his cousin.
"With the power that the Dark Lord gives all of us here in this circle tonight," Lucius said, raising his wand, "You are no longer a Black. You are a Lestrange. And you will be bonded to this boy until the day that you die."
"You will no longer be a Lestrange," Lucius said, turning to him, "You are a Black. And you will be bonded to this girl until the day that you die."
Rodolphus now took his turn to nod, and then the two of them held out their arms to Severus and Lucius. Each one grabbed one of the children's arms, and held their wands to the forearm. There was a tensing of muscles and a gritting of teeth as the two were struck by a spell, and then Lucius and Severus stepped back.
The Dark Mark was borne into both of the children's arms, smoldering black. Sirius glared. That witch . . . that . . .
She had become one of them! Didn't she know that they were evil?
But she was evil herself.
She was the epitomy of evil.
"Next, Rabastan Lestrange," Severus said, raising his wand, "You will be next."
Rabastan moved forward, and gave them his arm in the same manner. Lucius put his wand to the forearm, and Rabastan gave out a moan.
Soon, the Dark Mark resided on his skin as well.
"I swear to you," Bellatrix said as Rabastan joined his brother and his brother's new wife back in the circle, "I will kill them. All of them."
"Including your cousin," Severus asked.
"Sirius is mine," Bellatrix said, "I swear to you."
Sirius felt his hand grip into fists, and James and Remus looked over Lily to glance at him. Their friend's eyes were hollow again. His face had grown dark. He looked wild.
How could she have done such a thing? After all that he worked for, after all that he believed in . . . these little brats were recruiting themselves to kill them.
She was thirteen.
They were too young.
How dare she say that she was going to kill him! How dare she!
"Sirius!" James exclaimed as Sirius stood up, pulling out his wand.
"BELLATRIX!" he shouted, running out of the brush and right into their circle. Frank and Alice remained silent, staring at him in disbelief. But James and Remus were on their feet, running after him.
"SIRIUS . . ."
"HEY, COUSIN!" Sirius shouted, holding his arms out to make his chest vulnerable, "HERE I AM, BELLATRIX! YOU WANT ME? COME HERE AND KILL ME!"
"It's the Order," Severus hissed, and grabbed Lucius, "We must go."
"No," Lucius said, "He knew that they were coming. We have planned for this."
James stopped, and narrowed his eyes. They knew?
"Don't move another step!" a voice came from behind them. Remus and James turned around to face twenty more Death Eaters, two of them holding Lily, Frank, and Alice at wandpoint behind them. They had been hiding behind them, in another ditch. They had been trapped!
"COME ON, COUSIN!" Sirius shouted hysterically, still moving closer and closer to the group, "YOU TOO PUREBLOOD TO FIGHT? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST KILL US OFF? KILL MY FRIENDS?"
Bellatrix started to walk towards him, but Rodolphus grabbed her and thrusted her back, "Don't."
"You broke her heart," Bellatrix hissed in the same voice as his mother, "She's dying, because of you. You killed our family."
"They killed themselves!" Sirius barked, "SHE DIDN'T HAVE A HEART!"
"We're warning you, Black," Severus said, standing in front of the Lestranges, and raising his wand, "One more move, and we'll blast you away."
"I'd like to see you try, Snivellus!" Sirius said, throwing his wand down, and running faster through the field and closer and closer to them . . .
"CRUCIO!"
Sirius gave out a howl, and fell to the ground, convulsing. He had no control of his body anymore. He was in pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He couldn't think. He writhed on the ground, but he wouldn't scream. He didn't scream.
He would never scream for Severus.
He would never . . .
Another figure pointed their wand at him, and he felt his heart drop. He was going to die. It was over.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" another voice came.
A flash of green light flew over his head, and hit one of the young Death Eaters, square in the chest. They fell to the ground, cold and unmoving.
"IT WAS THE WEREWOLF!" Bellatrix's voice screeched, "HE KILLED SAMPSON!"
Sirius couldn't think. Everything was flying around him. He rolled in the dirt. Green flashes. Shouts. Curses . . .
"Sirius!" James slid onto the ground quickly to his side, and pointed wand to him. The pain stopped, and Sirius shakily looked into the face of his best friend, trying to get control once more.
"Come on, we have to go!" James shouted, hoisted him onto his feet and supporting him as they flew back through the field, trying to get to the Portkey in time. Frank and Alice were battling five Death Eaters each, and Remus was looking down to Sampson's body, haunted. Lily's ponytail had come undone, and her red hair was flying out in all directions, her emerald eyes glowing green in the darkness. She was now battling two of them, and winning.
Peter was running for the encyclopedia volume, hiding his face in his hands.
"J-James . . ." Sirius started.
"Shut up, Padfoot," James snapped, and shouted to the others, "Come on! Get out of here!"
Frank and Alice held them off as Lily ran towards James and Sirius, and threw Sirius's free arm over her shoulders. The two of them dragged their friend past the rest of the field, and slid into the ditch.
"REMUS!" James shouted, and Remus turned from the dead body, his face in shocked horror, and haunted, jumped into the ditch. Sirius could see that Remus was also shaking. But not for the same reasons as he himself was . . .
"GO ON!" Frank shouted, "WE'LL BE FINE! GET ALBUS! TELL HIM WHAT HAPPENED!"
"COME ON!" Lily shouted back, "WE'RE NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!"
"GET GOING!" Alice screamed.
And with that, the five members clutched the encyclopedia, and felt themselves flying through space and time, far away from the ambush.