Hi, sorry for the wait! I honestly hadn't realised that it had been so long. This chapter has been sent to my beta but I decided that I would post it now and then replace it with the beta'd version later. Also the next chapter is half written, so it shouldn't take as long to post. I've just got a new laptop and it seems to have inspired me to write.
Again, sorry it took so long.
Chapter 4
MUGGLE WORLD
As the hardship caused by war magnified so did the lives of those living it. The British magical community had been plunged into the depths of despair, death floated in the air and a new story swamped the front page of the Daily Prophet every morning with out fail. Nothing else appeared to be news worthy except the death and destruction that followed the sighting of the dark mark that floated in the night sky above the devastated earth bellow. With war raging all around life was being lived to the full, every opportunity snatched with both hands with a ferocity that is rarely seen outside times of immense stress and deprivation. This was as true for the dark as it was for the light.
Life flew by at an alarming rate; it was being attacked head on with courage in abundance and pulsing with an intensity that would consume the human psyche at any other time. Yet, for the small band of Hogwarts graduates friendships that had been forged as children were solidifying as adulthood blossomed around them eternally entwining their lives in a bond that would join their souls for generations to come.
Winter was racing to meet the wizarding world, Christmas just around the corner and with it the second wedding. Four young women returned to their duties as organisers supreme with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm. Their male counterparts accepting defeat with grace and lots of head nodding as the each part of the plan was presented before them.
Lily Evans smiled as she read the letter in her hands once more, the feelings of relief at the undying love and support she had gotten from her brother was more than she had dared to hope for. After having witnessed Annie's trauma after she had presented her family with the fate accompli of the secret wedding, Lily was grateful that her pending nuptials to James had been so readily accepted by Rowan and the boys. Letter still in hand Lily shook her head at the memory of what had been a serious lapse in common sense. Her underlying belief in family values had compelled her to make a stupid error in judgement and go and visit her sister. Eyes closed Lily replayed the memory.
Only a small pop of apparition announced the arrival of James and Lily in the small alley way off Magnolia Crescent. Casting a quick glance at James, Lily couldn't help but smile to her self at the sight of him once again in muggle clothing. Taking his hand she was grateful for the reassuring smile be gave her as they started the slow walk through the rabbit warren of roads that made up the housing estate on which her sister Petunia Dursley lives. It had taken a quick trip to a phone box to locate her sister in the battered old phone book that hung from the small black shelf. James' face had been a picture as they approached the tall red box which she had insisted that they enter. Gryffindor curiosity had over whelmed James at the sight of the metal and glass structure that Lily had pushed him into. It wasn't unit Lily had noticed the queue forming that she cut the muggle studies lesson concerning the use of a public pay phone short.
With every venture in the muggle world Lily became more concerned about the wizarding worlds lack of knowledge. Yes, it was possible to avoid muggles but not totally impossible. A shiver ran through her at the thought of James and Sirius alone and lost in muggle London. It was almost beyond comprehension the amount of damage they would cause to the unsuspecting city.
The sharp tug on her sleeve brought Lily back to the real world and a moments confusion at her surroundings showed on her beautiful face causing her to glance at her companion with a questioning look.
"Isn't this the road we are looking for?" James asked.
Looking down at the black and white sign he was pointing at Lily nodded her head and felt her stomach tighten at the solid letters spelling out Privet Road. A slow spread of cold reality of the fact that this was probably a mistake filled her with dread at the reception she was most likely going to get. Unfortunately it took no time at all to locate number four, looking up at the house her sister lived in Lily couldn't help but smirk at the house that screamed ordinary, nothing special, which as far as Lily was concerned summed up her sister perfectly.
Holding onto James' hand Lily took a deep breath there was no point putting it off any longer and started the short walk down the paved driveway that led to the solid brown wooden front door. It was with a slight hesitation that the raised hand hovered over the small white door bell. The tight feeling in her stomach from earlier now felt more like somersaults. The shrill whisper of her sister's voice floated down the hallway announcing her approach to the boringly ordinary front door that hid the extra ordinary surprise that awaited her arrival.
The look of horror was instantaneous on Petunia's horse featured face at the sight of her freakish younger sister. Before James and Lily had time to even say hello a hand had reached out to grab Lily and haul her into the house leaving James no option but to follow. With her guests safely ensconced in the hallway Petunia darted her head out of the doorway to check the neighbours weren't looking and then door was shut with a resounding click. Eyes narrowed even further the elder of the two Evens girls rounded on her sister.
"What the bloody hell are you freaks ding coming here and contaminating us decent people?"
The feeling that this was a mistake returned to Lily ten fold.
"Petunia, this is James. I just wanted to let you know that we are getting married at Christmas." Lily paused to try and gauge her sisters reaction, ignoring the so what expression on she had received in answer, Lily continued, "There have been a lot of problems in the magical world. The people who killed Mum and Dad are getting worse. I just wanted to let you know what was happening with me and that I was ok."
Still getting no answer, Lily looked at James and then back to her sister.
"Listen Petunia, no matter what has happened in the past you are still my sister. You may not like it but we are family, this could be the last time I ever see you. Doesn't that bother you in the slightest?"
After what has seemed an age Petunia said, "Just leave before Vernon comes home."
Observing the interaction between the two sisters he was amazed that Petunia Dursley had spent the whole conversation with a look that something rather smelly was in her presence. Sensing the danger signals coming from Lily James decided that it was time to intervene.
"Come on Lily, let's just go."
"No. Petunia please!"
The only response the plea gained was for Petunia Dursley to fold her arms in front of her primly covered chest and glare icily at the young witch.
Slowly loosing his cool James sneered nastily at the muggle, "I think the dementers have already sucked the soul out of her. Come on Lily leave it, she is not worth the trouble."
What he didn't see as he guided her back towards the door was the tear that rolled down Lily's face. As they dissolved from view the sight was not missed by Petunia.
As November ebbed away, the preparations for Lily and James' wedding went into overdrive. Ronan was unable to make it to England until three days before the wedding and so his measurements for wedding robes were sent by owl post. To the horror of both Philip Tring and Robert Malkin they had to get in line with the rest of the grooms party and be subjected to the organisational skills of Aggy Court. On a cold winters morning the small collection of ex-Hogwarts students presented themselves for inspection at the home of Sirius Black. Diligently they stood in place while two strictly business minded witches pulled, pushed and stuck pins into half finished robes as they were moulded into the shape of would be perfect gentlemen. While Aggy and Annie disappeared back to the flat in DIagon Alley the males heaved a sigh of relief and squirreled away to the Leaky Cauldron to enjoy the first free day they had had together in ages. By mid afternoon Tom the bar Keep had corralled the boys into one of the back rooms and they were collected at closing time by seven rather disgusted witches.
For Ministry Aurors time off was a rare luxury that was to be cherished. Unbeknown to the merry little band of friends their notions of invincibility and morality would be questioned in a way that each would be affected for the rest of their lives. Soon drunken and disorderly behaviour would be the least of their worries.
Sat in the Ministry of Magic's Magical law enforcement squad room Aggy Court cast her mind back to the summer she and Lily had spent living in the guest quarters, it seemed like a life time ago rather than the mere eighteen months it had been. This was the worst part of the job, being assigned emergency standby duty, which meant a lot of waiting around. Casting her eye around the room it fell onto the rest of her team. She couldn't help but smile at the boys, even now as fully qualified Ministry Aurors they sat playing exploding snap seeming to have not cared in the world. As the night wore on it did nothing for Aggy's nerves except make her more edgy, the waiting was always the worst, never knowing if an assignment would come in or not.
Heading into the squad room the Duty Commander winced at the sight of tonight's team. A groups of rookies, a good team with an outstanding track record but green sticks none the less. Weaving his way through the maze of higgledy piggledy desks he made his way towards what was undoubtedly the brain of the operation. For a brief moment he simply stood and eyed the female Auror before him before motioning for the others to gather round.
"An emergency call has just come through. Court, I need your team to check it out. It may be nothing but you never know."
Suddenly all thoughts of playing cards was forgotten and each member of the team listened intently to the instructions being relayed to them by the aged Commanding officer. An anonymous tip off about Death Eater Activity had been called in and needed checking out. Within twenty minutes the four man team found them tucked away behind foliage and partial disillusionment charms. If waiting in the squad room was hard then out in the field intensified the anxiety ten fold.
Aggy held onto her wand as usual in this type of situation she drew comfort from the smooth warm feel of the worn wand she had been bought by her parents before entering Hogwarts as a small first year. Just as she was about to raise her wand to signal to the others that this stake out was a dead duck when the sound of apparition told her she had been a little hasty and the tip had been right on the money. Aggy caught sight of the black robed figures as they edged into the clearing that the party of four had well covered. Less than four hundred yards away lay the homes of two prominent muggle born families. Watching the progress of the enemy Aggy's breath caught frozen in her chest as she realised they were not taking a direct path but where heading straight for her current position. Even without being able to see him, Aggy knew that Sirius would be twitching by know and she prayed to every deity going that he held fast.
As with most things in life it is the smallest event that triggers the explosion. All hell broke loose as a rat scurried right into Aggy's left knee that was touching the ground. With a squeal that would wake the dead she just caught sight of it disappearing through the fast advancing black clad legs. The mutter of the lumos spell and the dull glow of wand light was all that was need to light Aggy up like a beacon. Her cover was well and truly broken but still she hoped that the boys would hold strong and not give them selves away.
Maintaining her position Aggy slowly raised her eyes to take in the tall figure before her; it wasn't until she reached the hood and noted the glacial eyes sparkling with malevolence that all hope of escape seemed to float away with the fading light of the extinguished lumos spell. In that one moment she knew it was very unlikely she would come out of this situation unscathed, Luscious Malfoy had never been known for his compassion and there was no doubt that the Death Eater before her was her old Hogwarts rival. At the feel of the wand tip under her chin Aggy let her eyes slide shut for a second to help reign in her agitation at having been caught. A slight upward movement was all the encouragement she needed to gracefully move into a standing position. Reaching her full height the wand now at her throat, Aggy locked eyes with her captor.
"Well it does seem that Christmas has come early. I do so love to get presents handed to me on a plate!"
A small tremor ran through Aggy at the feel of the finger tip that was running down her cheek. This move drew Aggy's full attention to the possible outcome of this evening and a sickening feeling began to tumble around her insides but it was also the move that shredded Sirius Black's nerve. Within seconds the quiet clearing on the edge of the small rural village was shattered with the piercing war cry of a true Gryffindor looking before they leap and going for broke no matter the overall cost. Predictable as ever Sirius flung out the first hex and the battle commenced but unknown to him this was just the opportunity the silver eyed Death Eater was looking for. In the heat of the battle that was being duelled all around them Aggy felt a chill run through her that would have frozen hell, while her would be saviours were other wise engaged her captor took the chance presented to him to take flight with his bounty. In the blink of an eye Aggy found her self being hauled against the chest of Malfoy and experiencing the disorientating feeling of tandem apparition.
As quickly as it had begun it was over, the departure of Malfoy had signalled for the remaining Death Eaters to retreat leaving behind three Aurors drunk on adrenaline in their wake. As the rush of the skirmish subsided Patrick Boot finally took note of his surroundings and the fact that his partner was missing. Whirling around to face the others is was now blatantly obvious that there were only three where four should have stood. Each unbeknown to the other silently prayed that their missing leader had been hit by a stray curse and was lay immobilised in the shrubbery waiting for them to find her. Following the text book requirements, they fanned out and searched the area but to no avail. With heavy hearts the three young rookie's disapparated and soon found them in the commander's office. Standing in front of the large oak desk facing the auspicious old Auror caused shivers to run through the two ex Ravenclaws but for Sirius Black this was nothing compared to the thought that had been crashing through his mind since they had realised that Aggy was missing. How was he going to tell Remus Lupin that his girlfriend was missing and it was his entire fault?
Over the next few hours actions would be put into place that would be crucial in the flow of this war of dark verses light. The ball started to roll with the disappearance of Aggy Court but was given a very swift kick by Alastor Moody to get it moving faster. As the door to his office swung shut behind the leaderless team of green sticks, Moody reached for parchment and quill. A flicker of fury at the reckless stupidity that had cost the Ministry an outstanding young Auror caused his magical eye to revolve in a sinister manner. Taking a calming breath to get his temper under control, Moody penned a note to Dumbledore. It was time to reel in the young ones especially Sirius Black in Moody's opinion the boy was a loose cannon and need watching before he did something totally irredeemable.
Stepping out of the floo network into the small flat in Diagon Alley, Sirius was surprised to be faced with Lily so quickly. It was as if she knew he was coming and this only seemd, to add to the weight of the news he was carrying but if Sirius had looked carefully he would have noted the same look of surprise reflected back in the red heads face. Deciding now was not the time to ask what he was doing at the flat, Lily about turned him back into the fire place.
"I've been summoned up to Hogwarts, I'd assume you have as well. Just head up to The Three Broomsticks. Don't ask because I don't now why"
It wasn't long before they both came whirling out of the fireplace in the pub they had spent many Saturday afternoons. Lily knew that something was wrong with her long time friend as the sight of her sprawled over the floor of the pub did nothing but raise a mechanical action of helping her up off the floor. Events of the evening played heavily on his mind and the spectacle of the normally graceful chaser did not even register, except that the girl needed a helping hand. A shiver of worry tingled along Lily's spine at the gentlemanly behaviour being exhibited by the normally mischievous male who would have relished the opportunity to make fun of her lest than artistic entrance.
Lily let the feeling fester until they were half way to the castle when normally analytical brain had put two and two together and come up with ten that it suddenly dawned on her that Aggy had been working today.
"Where is Aggy?"
Sirius turned over in his mind a whole range of possible answers to the simple question but found he was unable to voice any of them. At best he managed to give her a sad puppy dog smile that he hope said don't ask. But this did nothing to alleviate Lily's worry.
"Sirius, where is Aggy?"
As far as Lily was concerned Sirius's behaviour only seemed to be getting worse, the only time he ever bit his bottom lip was when he was under pressure to own up to a prank he had pulled.
Finally he said, "I don't know, it's the truth. I really don't know." Not letting her say anything else, Sirius grabbed Lily's hand and said, "Lets just get up to the castle. Please Lily?"
A deep sense of foreboding filled Lily with the delivery of each stilled answer. A stream of possible scenarios playing over and over in her mind as the pair of old friends made the trek up to Hogwarts. Lily steeled another look at Sirius as they waited for the gargoyle to move and grant them access to the moving staircase that would carry them to the headmaster's office. The look of desolation on his normally jovially handsome face did nothing but to plunge her anxiety even further. Reaching the top of the stair case, Lily's senses overloaded, as the door swung open and revealed a room full of people but no Aggy Court. The audible click of the door shutting behind her brought Lily back to the present but before she could ask any questions the Headmaster has rose from his seat and was motioning for the assembled group to follow him. The short journey down the dimly lit passage way did not take long, for James and Remus this was a well travelled route and it wasn't long before they were all seated around a long table in the oval room; the only person still on their feet was the old Headmaster who silently surveyed the occupants of the room. It was a small group of some of the finest witched and wizards Hogwarts had ever produced, yet his infamous intuition told him that some of the major players in this war had yet to make an appearance.
"Welcome, in times of great stress and adversity the only way to survive is to bind together. Unity between the old and the new is the only way forward against an enemy that seeks to destroy all that we hold dear."
The seating arrangement was clear as to who fit which description. The young Gryffindor's sat immobilised as they waited to see what fate Albus Dumbledore had in store for them. Scanning the faces of the young lions Albus knew that they would pose many questions, especially about the missing members of the tight knit group. Three would be easy to explain but the fourth was a cause of great concern.
"We would like to offer you a place in a select group that has dedicated itself to the control and eradication of the practice of the dark arts. If you choose not to join then you will be free to leave but the events of this evening will be obliverated. The activities you will undertake as part of The Order of the Phoenix will be perilous and the level of magical ability required to survive is beyond most individuals. If you agree to swear an oath to this group then I can promise you no guarantees except that the fight of the light must prevail over all others."
Again Albus paused and looked in turn at the newly graduated Gryffindor's. It pleased him no end that each looked him directly in the eye, conviction written all over their faces. This needed to be played carefully, he assumed that Miss Evens would have some idea about the activities of her soon to be husband but he trusted the two young men to have not informed Mr Black of the earlier initiation into this illustrious old order.
"Now is the time to make your decisions to stay and face many arduous challenges or to leave and to carry on with the path you have already chosen."
Two heads bowed to the figure before them that they recognised, as the person who stood for all that is good in this world. Acknowledging their acceptance it didn't take long for the meeting to get under way. Reports were filed by the already active members in a flurry of anxious voices as the number of the losses was tallied. Dumbledore purposely left Alastor Moody until last, knowing his report would be the hardest to listen to for some of the newer members of the group. Sirius Black's nervousness did also not go a miss by the aging wizard. The only reactions were sharp intakes of breath from the three youngsters as they learned the fate of their friend that evening during a botch Auror mission. All through the retelling of the information he had reported to his squad commander early that evening found Sirius studying the intricate wood grain of the ancient table.
Taking in the reaction of those around the table Albus cleared his throat before saying, "I know this affects some of us more personally that others but let me assure you that the safe return of Miss Court is one of our prime concerns."
AN: Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism and suggestions always welcome but flames will simply be extinguished.
TBC – Madame Padfoot