Gen and I were in Diagon Alley buying school supplies for our final year at Hogwarts when we heard commotion. Drawing my wand I ran down the street in the direction of the noise.
"Are you insane?" Gen yelled after me.
I didn't answer; it wasn't worth wasting breath over. Ever since I'd become of age I'd wanted to do something other then practise magic outside of school, and being able to apparate over to Gens house while time saving wasn't much fun after the first couple of times.
I rounded the corner only to see a pair of death eaters standing in the middle of the street. There were other people that I could see hiding out of the way. I couldn't tell who either of the death eaters were since they had masks on.
"You wont get it," said a shrill voice belonging to a short man standing in front of them. "I'll die first."
"There are ways we can get the information from you," said the taller death eater.
'I know that voice,' I thought racking my brain trying to remember where I'd heard it before.
"Crucio."
The man fell to the ground screaming in pain.
I didn't know what the curse was but I knew I had to put a stop to it, now. "Expelluramus," I bellowed pointing my wand at the death eater. His wand flew from his hand and he spun around to face me, as he did so I saw a strand of white-blond hair fall out from under his hood. Malfoy.
"They can't even send an Auror to save you," Malfoy said. "All you get is a kid."
"Impedimenta," I bellowed. If I wasn't mistaken the shorter death eater looked a little panicked as he waved his wand clumsily to remove the hex. Malfoy had his wand in hand immediately.
There was a loud crack letting me know that someone had apparated behind me. Malfoy had his wand pointed at me.
"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," a voice growled behind me.
"Well you wont get the information he has," Malfoy snarled then pointed his wand at the little man. "Avada Kedavra."
There was a flash of green light and the man lay sprawled out on the ground. Malfoy and the other death eater were gone.
I sprinted over to the man.
"Too late," the voice growled.
"What? Why?" I asked turning around. The man I was facing was missing a leg, an eye and there was a large chunk missing from his nose.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "That was the killing curse."
"I…I didn't know. We don't take them until seventh year."
"You're still in school?"
I nodded. "I'm going into my seventh year."
"And you took on two death eaters."
I shrugged, "yeah. Why?"
"There are very few adult wizards who will take on a death eater, let alone two," he said gesturing to all the wizards who were now coming out of hiding.
I felt angry, why hadn't anyone helped? If they had a mans life could have been saved, my stomach turned over, if I'd acted faster a mans life could have been saved.
"Come with me," the wizard said.
"Where are we going?"
He didn't answer, as it turned out we were going to get ice cream which struck me as kind of bazaar given that a man had just died.
"Eat up," he said. "It's good."
"I…I'm not hungy."
"Wasn't your fault. A miracle you're alive really."
"Who are you?"
"Name's Alaster Moody, most people call me Mad-Eye because of this," he growled pointing to his magical eye. "I'm an Auror, I was supposed to bring that man back to headquarters but the death eaters got hear to fast."
"Headquarters?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned with. Now who are you?"
"Ruth Dawson, I'm going into my seventh year at Hogwarts. I want to be an Auror."
"Dumbledores mentioned you."
"What's he said?"
"That you'd make a fine Auror. After that little display I'd have to agree. Now I must be going, eat your ice cream." And with a crack he was gone leaving me sitting there feeling numb.
Mad-Eye must have told Dumbledore what happened because once we were back at school he paid me a visit.
"Alaster told me you fought off a pair of death eaters."
"Not really." I couldn't meet Dumbledores eyes, for some reason I felt like I'd failed him not being able to stop the death eaters. "I couldn't save him."
"Neaither could Alaster and he's the best Auror we have."
I looked up at him.
"You put too much pressure on your self, you didn't know what they were capable of doing which only tells me that I've been right all along in trying to talk the ministry into teaching students about the unforgivable curses. Obviously you just need to be taught sooner, which is my failing, not yours."
I nodded feeling a bit better.
"Now don't despair, because the ministry is in need of more good Aurors at the moment."
"I don't know if I'd be that good."
"Balderdash. From what both Alaster and I have seen you'd do an excellent job. Now work hard this year because the world needs good Aurors quickly."
I took Dumbledores words to hart and worked like I never had before. The only time I took a break was when Gen and I were invited to spend Christmas at James and Lily's place. As it turned out they were engaged and to be married this summer. James was less interested in talking about that and more interested in my fight with the death eaters.
"It wasn't that big a deal," I protested.
"Maybe not to you. But Mad-Eye wouldn't shut up about it for weeks at Headquarters, the Order was franky sick of the story."
"Then why do you want to hear it from me?"
"'Cause Mad-Eye only arrived at the end, I want the rest of it."
"Fine, I'll tell you if you tell me what this 'order' is and what 'headquarters' is."
"Well done James, they aren't supposed to know about it," said Lilly.
"She'll be a part of it next year," James said.
"And Mad-Eye mentioned headquarters back in Diagon Alley," I added.
"It's the Order of the Phenoix," said Sirius who was sitting there with his arm around me. "A group of people who are fighting Voldemort, this way we can work around the Ministry's rules, sort of. Headquarters is simply our base of operations so to speak."
"It was created by Dumbledore since he's the only one Voldemorts afraid of," James added. "The ministry knows he's assigning Aurors to do stuff of course but they don't know what. They haven't interfered at all 'cause it works and they're at a complete loss for what to do."
"And you guys are a part of it?"
"Of course," said Sirius. "You don't have to be an Auror to be, there's all kinds of witches and wizards involved."
"Your turn," said James pleasantly.
I rolled my eyes before telling him what had happened.
"You're sure it was Malfoy." Sirius asked when I finished.
"Positive. Why?"
"My brothers been spending a lot of time with him recently. I thought it was just 'cause Malfoy's dating my cousin Narcissa."
"You recon he's a death eater then?" I asked.
"If he's not yet he will be soon, I'd bet my life on it."
I make a mental note to keep a close eye on Regulus for the rest of the year.
"So how's Quiditch going?" James asks.
"Pretty well. We beat Slytherin."
"You better win the Quiditch cup this year," said James. "Put those Slytherins in their place."
We did win the Quiditch cup, but something more important happened before the end of the year. Just after exams I saw Regulus down by the lake trying to drown some muggle-born wizards.
"Leave them alone or I'll drown you," I said drawing my wand.
"You'd be dead before then," Regulus replied.
"I wasn't aware you could perform a simple hex let alone a curse to kill someone," I replied though Sirius' suspicions about his brother being a death eater were hovering at the back of my mind.
Regulus grinned wickedly and pulled up his left sleeve to reveal the dark mark on his left forearm.
I felt like the wind had just been knocked out of me.
"No Auror here to rescue you now."
For a moment I was confused then I remembered Sirius mentioning that Regulus had been spending a lot of time with Malfoy. Regulus had been the other death eater last summer.
"I'm surprised you're so confident without Malfoy here to protect you," I replied.
Suddenly Regulus looked up the hill towards the castle and his expression changed to one of fear. He pointed his wand at a rock, muttered something then grabbed it and was gone before I could do anything.
'Not again!' I felt like screaming. However I quickly rescued the other students from the water and had just put the last one down on shore when Dumbledore arrived beside me.
"He's gone then," the headmaster said.
It wasn't a question but I nodded anyways.
Dumbledore sighed. "I should have done something about him long before now, but there was no way to prove it."
"I could have stopped him," I said.
Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't think so. And that's not because I doubt your abilities, but Voldemort teaches his death eaters that they must always have an escape route. Though I am shocked and disturbed that he was able to create a portkey inside Hogwarts grounds."
I had nothing to say, there was nothing I could say so I simply put my wand away and walked up to the castle.
I was accepted into Auror training before I had my NEWT results, which should have been impossible, except both Dumbledore and Mad-Eye had insisted they take me as an Auror. I started training the day after James and Lily's wedding but the training didn't give me any peace of mind.
I was still haunted by dreams of a man I had been unable to save and the escape of Regulus Black. After my first year of training – which was in class work much like it had been at Hogwarts – I was told I would be apprenticed to another Auror and I would work with him for a year before I became a full Auror. The Auror I would be working with was Mad-Eye Moody.
"I thought Auror training took three years," I said to him.
"It does. Normally there are two years of in-class work, they pushed you through faster because Dumbledore said you could do it."
"Where are we going?"
"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
I didn't bother asking why, it was exactly as James had said a year and a half ago, they wanted me in the Order. An Auror, especially one working for the Order of the Phoenix, hardly gets any rest, as a result I wasn't able to see James and Lilly's son Harry until he was four months old because by then I was a full Auror and was able to request a day off.
"This is my godson," Sirius said handing Harry to me.
I cradled the boy in my arms. "He looks like James," I commented. "But he's got Lily's eyes."
"He's great aint he," said James smiling proudly.
I smiled down at the little boy, "he sure is."
That was the last time I'd see the Potters alive but it wasn't the last time I'd see Sirius. I was one of the Aurors sent to capture him and bring him to Askaban. The image of that street is frozen into my memory, the destruction, the bodies and Sirius standing there laughing as the other Aurors took him away. I couldn't move, I couldn't even lift my wand.
Mad-Eye walked over to me. "You alright?"
I managed to shake me head.
He sighed. "You liked him, didn't you."
"We were practically engaged, Mad-Eye."
"And you never once got the feeling he was working for Voldemort?"
"He wasn't," I said.
Mad-Eye sighed. "You have to face the truth. He was just like that."
"No he wasn't." I snapped.
"Yes he was, he was a Black after all."
Mad-Eye might have had more to say but he never got a chance to say it, I apperated out of there and was gone for a week. Dumbledore was the first one I saw when I walked exhaustedly into Headquarters.
"We've been worried about you." He said looking me over his half-moon spectacles.
"He didn't do it."
"He was their secret keeper."
"He couldn't have been. They must have switched."
"To who?"
"Remus maybe."
"It wasn't me, I haven't talked to them or Sirius in over a month."
I looked at Remus who looked exhausted. "Peter then."
"Peter's dead," Dumbledore said gently. "Sirius killed him."
"He didn't."
"There were a street full of witnesses. All that was left of Peter was a finger…"
"I heard Dumbledore," I practically yelled. "I was there remember!"
"Yes," he said softly.
"It wasn't Sirius," I said softly, "it couldn't have been Sirius." Then I realised somewhat belatedly that I was crying.
Dumbledore simply walked over and enfolded me in a hug. "I understand where you're coming from, but all the evidence says otherwise." He paused then said softly, "if it makes you feel better I don't understand how it could have been Sirius either."
A/N: okay, that ends the flash back part, next couple chapters will pick up where the story started.