a/n: so if you're reading on hpff, as you can see, I've stuck up two chapters at once...it just got too long, and I felt bad for the people who have lives and just don't have time to sit back and read 17 pages in one sitting...if your on ff, then sorry, it's one big fat chappie...well hope u like neway, and im sorry I took forever to update, ive got school u know! :P ch 30...or 31, depending on which site you're on, might not be up for a bit...but I'll try...
Chapter 29: The Order of the Phoenix
"Ah, there you guys are!" Peter exclaimed as Remus and Kierra entered the train compartment.
"We were afraid you'd get left behind at the school...saw you two disappear up astronomy tower, after all..." James said with a laugh.
At this, Remus and Kierra blushed.
"Anyway," James continued, "I thought you two had issues with getting...too...close...Whatever happened to that thing about taking precautions...so you don't have kids? I thought that involved something with abstinence?" he asked, smiling wryly.
Remus shrugged as he sat down next to James. "Kinda went out the window...Hey guys!" he said as Lily and Dominique came in, followed by Sirius, who looked quite bored as the girls chatted excitedly.
"I'm so excited!" Lily exclaimed, "two weddings in one summer"—
"So you guys are really gonna get married this summer, huh?" Peter asked, looking at Dominique and Sirius.
"Yea," Sirius replied as he sat down, "in August."
"Hey!" James exclaimed suddenly, "Remember on the first day of school when you guys met? Didn't I predict that you two would get married? Man...Professor Liszt would be so proud of me!"
Sirius chuckled. "Yea, way to go Prongs...you should just become a seer..."
"I know—hey—I also remember asking you if I could be best man"—
"Yea, you'll be best man, don't worry..." Sirius cut him short. "As long as you promise me that I'm best man at your wedding"—
"Hey so what are Peter and I? Chopped liver?" Remus asked sarcastically.
"Aw, don't worry Moony!" Sirius replied, "You can be the flower girl...and Wormtail...you can be...the bridesmaid!"
At this, James and Sirius burst into laughter, while Remus and Peter glared at them.
"Fine...we'll just be each other's best man at our own weddings..." Remus said to Peter.
"Sounds good to me." Peter replied.
When the laughter finally died down, Kierra slowly turned to Dominique. "Er...D...who's going to be your bridesmaid anyway?"
"Oh...I...I dunno...I haven't thought about that..." she said, looking from Kierra to Lily, who were both eyeing her.
"Well...think about it now!" Lily replied. "By the way, you look absolutely stunning today..."
"What are you talking about?" Kierra asked, putting an arm around Dominique, "She looks stunning every day!"
Dominique groaned. "Oh God guys...I don't want to choose..."
"Well, you have to!" Kierra said.
Dominique against glanced from Kierra to Lily, looking at them uncertainly. "I dunno....if you guys are gonna get all competitive...maybe I'll ask Alice"—
"No!" Lily and Kierra exclaimed at once.
"She's not here...clearly she thinks that snogging Frank is more important than sitting here with you...so there's no point in asking her..." Kierra said quickly.
'It sounds like you two are trying to cut down the competition..." Sirius said with a laugh.
"So?" Lily retorted.
"Hey Sirius, why don't you choose? It's your wedding too!" Dominique suggested.
"Er"—
"Sirius, is that a new shirt?" Kierra asked. "It looks fantastic on you!" she said with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, tugging at his t-shirt. "This old thing? Dominique said I look horrible in t-shirts"—
"Oh, what does she know?"
"Hmm...insulting my fiancée...minus ten points for Kierra"—
"No, no!! I was just kidding!!" Kierra said quickly.
"Sure you were..." Lily muttered. "Sirius, I'm thinking of getting some snacks off the trolley...do you want anything?"
"Er"—
"Ohh, I'll have some chocolate frogs"—
"Not now, James..." Lily cut him off.
"Mmm...snubbing my best man...you're losing points for that one Evans..." Sirius said with a grin. "Hey, this is fun!"
"Ok, maybe someone who doesn't take advantage of having authority..." Dominique muttered. "Peter! Hey...why don't you choose"—
"Oh no, I'm not picking..." he said quickly.
"Oh come on, D! Just pick someone!!" Kierra exclaimed impatiently.
"Fine! I'm choosing...no one..."
"Who's Na'Juan?" James asked.
"No one!! As in nobody!! I don't care to have a bridesmaid"—
"Wait, then who am I gonna walk down the aisle?" James asked. "I'm not walking by myself"—
"Ok!" Dominique interrupted, "tell you what, we're just gonna flip a coin, alright?" she said as she pulled a sickle out of her pocket. "Ok, one of you call..."
Dominique tossed the coin in the air, just as Lily and Kierra shouted together, "heads!!"
Dominique frowned as she looked at the coin. "it's heads...I said one of you call..."
"Alright, I will..." Lily said, "heads"—
"What? Who said you could call?" Kierra whined as she hit Lily on the arm.
"Ow! Well it's not my fault you're not quick enough to"—
"I'm not slow!!"
"Yea you are! Ouch!!"
Lily and Kierra were soon engaged in what seemed like a fight; they were waving their arms wildly at each other, while Dominique sat between them, covering her face.
"AAAH help me!" she cried as she sank down in her seat to avoid the girls' hits. Sirius grinned as he pulled Dominique over to sit with him.
"Aaah...I love a good cat fight..." he said as he watched Lily and Kierra.
"Ok...girls...that's enough now..." Remus said, as he realized Kierra and Lily would not be stopping any time soon. "Really now!"
Remus rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Kierra's waist; and with great effort he managed to pull his girlfriend away from Lily, who was being held back by James, who in turn was laughing at the girls.
"Oh, come on Lily, I'm better friends with her!" Kierra said, as she struggled to writhe free from Remus.
Lily snorted. "Oh please..."
"I am!!"
Lily suddenly gasped as she clapped her hands together and grinned. "A bridesmaid, by definition, is a"—
"an unmarried young woman, I know that! And I'm not married, if you haven't realized"—
"yea, that too..." Lily interjected, "....but she's also supposed to be a virgin...so HA!!"
Kierra's jaw dropped. She slowly closed her mouth and turned to Remus and glared at him. "Thanks a lot Remus!"
"Why are you blaming him? It's not like he was you first"—
Kierra gasped, while James, Sirius and Peter laughed.
"This is getting kinda vicious..." Dominique said, though no one took heed to her.
"Well, I guess by default, I get to be the bridesmaid!" Lily said cheerfully.
"What?? No, that's not fair!!" Kierra whined.
"Yes it is!"
"No, not really..." Remus said. Everyone turned and looked at him warily. "I mean...that's a really old meaning you're going by, Lily"—
"It's not THAT old"—
"The middle ages aren't old?"
Lily grumbled.
Remus smiled wryly. "Not many people go by the rule anymore. Well, only the part that they're unmarried...but the whole virgin thing...that's hardly considered anymore...since being unmarried doesn't really signify virginity anymore..."
Kierra smiled as she hugged Remus. "Thank you!!"
Remus smiled back at her as she pulled away. "You're welcome...so um...exactly how many people have you been with before me"—
"SO Dominique," Kierra said quickly, turning to her friend, "who's it going to be?"
Dominique sighed. "You know what? Why don't both of you be my bridesmaids?"
"Both of us?" Lily and Kierra asked together.
"Yea...I mean...having one is just a tradition...and I don't care much for tradition...so...yea, you two, and Alice...you all can be my bridesmaids...sound good?"
Kierra and Lily looked at each other guiltily.
"I'm sorry I started hitting you..." Kierra said, smiling sheepishly.
"It's ok ...and I'm sorry Remus is going to be getting on your case now..." Lily replied, as she saw Remus frowning at Kierra.
"It's ok, I'm just gonna ignore him when he asks..." Kierra said as she hugged Lily.
"Geez, I feel the love..." Remus said sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, now that we've got that settled," Sirius said, "we've got another thing to take care of."
"What's that?" Dominique asked.
"You've got to tell Dumbledore we're engaged..."
Dominique's face fell immediately and a look of worry suddenly overtook her. "Oh yea..."
"You haven't told him yet??" Remus exclaimed. "You've been engaged for like...three months now...how could you not have told him??"
"Well..." Dominique began unsurely, "he's a busy guy..."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking a few minutes out of his busy day to listen to you! You know that!" Remus replied.
"I know! I know!" Dominique exclaimed as she frowned. "I'm just afraid of how he's going to react...he probably won't think it's a good idea..."
"Be that as it may, he should still know. I mean, he'd find out sooner or later, might as well be sooner." Sirius said. "When we get to Lily's house, you're going to send him an owl to tell him you have to see him."
Dominique sighed. "Fine..."
A week later, Lily found herself facing off five little boys in her house, though most of them were twice her size.
"Really, you boys don't have to go..." Lily pleaded, "I mean, we're going to be shopping...extremely boring stuff..."
"I know, but none of us have ever been to a muggle mall before!" James exclaimed excitedly.
"My point exactly..." Lily replied.
"Oh come on, we'll be good!" Sirius said as he pouted.
Lily groaned. "Fine...though I doubt you'll even try..."
"Yes...." The boys said together as they grinned at each other.
"Just...please...don't ogle at everything...and please don't act like you've never been to a mall before..."
"You got it!!" James said as he hugged Lily. "We'll be absolute angels!"
"Oh God no, they're not coming, are they?"
Lily and the boys turned around to see Dominique walk into the living room, followed by Alice and Kierra.
"Dominique, love! You wound me..." Sirius said as he walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. "By the way, you haven't heard from Dumbledore yet, have you?"
"Er..."
"Dominique!! Don't tell me you haven't written him yet!!" Sirius exclaimed.
"O.k...I haven't...informed him...per say..." Dominique said, looking at Sirius apologetically.
"D, you have to!!
"Alright, I will!! First thing when we get back from the mall...I promise!"
Sirius sighed. "Fine...I'll just make sure I remind you..."
"Mmm...nice to be alone again..." Kierra said as she walked through the food court, hand in hand with Remus.
"Yes, it is...specially after getting all those weird looks from people when we were with the gang..." Remus said with a laugh. The group had decided to split up into smaller groups since Sirius, James and Peter just couldn't contain themselves when they saw some muggle thing interesting...thus resulting in many strange looks from passerby.
"Hey, listen, Kierra...I've got to ask you something..." Remus said as they bought a pack of fish and chips from a vendor and went to sit on a bench. "Don't get mad at me for asking you this...but it's been driving me crazy..."
Kierra groaned as she took a seat next to Remus. "Oh God..."
"Who've you been with??" Remus asked.
"Remus, does it matter? I'm not comparing you to them..." Kierra said.
"Then why should you mind telling me? Come on...I have to know..."
"Why?"
"Because...I'm just curious..."
Kierra sighed. "Fine..."
"Great...so...who have you"—
"yea, I remember the question!" Kierra interjected. "Alright...before you...there was Kyle"—
"What?! You did it with him?!"
"Remus!" Kierra hissed "Shut up! People are looking!!"
"But you hardly went out with him...for like...a few months..." Remus said in a lower voice.
"So? You did it with Elaine on your first date!"
"That was different!"
"How?"
"We were...a little...drunk..."
"Ah, I see..."
"Urgh...I can't believe you did it with Kyle...I thought you liked me though when you were going out with him!"
"I did! But I liked him too...I mean, not the same way...I never had a crush on him...but he asked me out and I liked him as a person..."
"So you just do it with whoever you like as a person??" Remus asked at once. "You've always liked James, so are you gonna go and"—
"Oh my God!" Kierra snapped. "I can't believe you're talking like this!! I mean, I thought you all of all people would be a little more mature!"
Remus stopped and looked at Kierra guiltily. "You're right...I'm sorry...really...I didn't mean that..."
Kierra sighed. "It's ok..."
"So who else have you been with?"
"Remus!!"'
"Oh come on, tell me!"
"Forget it, Remus. I'm not telling you! It doesn't matter!" Kierra exclaimed as she got up and walked away.
"No wait, Kierra, come on! I know it doesn't matter! But I just wanna know..." Remus said as he followed after her.
Kierra stopped walking and turned to face Remus. "Ok, why do you want to know?"
"I just want to know...who I'm being compared to..."
At this, an idea seemed to come to her head, and Kierra smiled slightly. "Well, I could just tell you where you stand..."
Remus looked questioningly at Kierra, who put her arms around him as she put her mouth to his ear.
"But...I'm not too sure...why don't we apparate back to Lily's house...and I could just...evaluate you?" Kierra whispered as she moved her lips to his mouth. She kissed him teasingly, slipping her tongue into his mouth in the process. After a while, when she was almost certain she was out of oxygen, Kierra pulled away from Remus. As she studied his face, Kierra couldn't help but smile; He reacted just as she had hoped. Remus looked at her with half open eyes...he looked incredibly dazed. 'At least I know how to distract him when I want...' she thought.
"Ok" he said stupidly. "Where are we going again?"
"Apparating to Lily's house..." Kierra said as pulled Remus along. "Let's go to the parking lot where it's more empty. We'll disapparate from there..."
"Sure..." he said, as he followed her dizzily to the parking lot.
"Sirius, look at these boots!! And they're on sale!!" Dominique exclaimed as she picked up a pair of thigh-high boots from the display window. "What do you think?"
"Huh, oh they're great..." Sirius muttered, glancing briefly at the boots. He immediately did a double take when he saw Dominique pulling them on. "Wow...." He murmured.
Dominique grinned. "You like?" she asked as she modeled the boots for Sirius.
"Yea...looks good with that skirt...but you know what? It'd look even better with?"
"What?"
"That one little black thing you have..."
Dominque giggled. "Sirius!"
"Oh wait..." Sirius said quietly, looking around to make sure no one could hear them, "they'd look even better in my bed...wrapped around my hips"—Sirius stopped immediately as he heard footsteps behind him. "Oy...hello!" he said cheerily to the salesman who stood behind them.
"Oh! I think I want to buy these!" Dominique said quickly as she sat down and pulled the boots off.
"Very well." The salesman replied curtly, watching with slight revulsion at the giddy couple. As Dominique handed the man the boots he smiled as though it pained him to do so.
Dominique quickly paid for the boots and together she and Sirius left the shoe shop, talking excitedly about their honeymoon.
"I know Paris is romantic and all, but I used to live there! I mean, who wants to go to their hometown for their honeymoon?" Dominique said as they walked through the crowds.
"Hmm, fair point...alright...how about...."
"Egypt!!" Dominique exclaimed excitedly.
"Egypt?" Sirius asked. "Er...I was looking more at somewhere in Europe...but...ok, if you wanna go to Egypt...then Egypt it is!"
"Aw...really?? You don't mind??" Dominique asked. "It's just that I've seen most of Europe already..."
"Totally alright...actually Egypt sounds like fun...I've always wanted to ride a carpet..."
"Oooh, the bookstore! Come on Sirius, I want to get a present for Kierra...her birthday's coming up..." Dominique said as she dragged Sirius into the book shop and headed straight for the romance section.
"She reads this kind of rubbish?" Sirius asked as he picked up the latest bestselling romance novel and read the cover. "The Chamber of Secrets...by F.D. Knowling..."
(a/n: lol I'm sorry...I'm cheesy and I love parodies...)
Sirius flipped the book open to a random page and began to read aloud:
"...She slid her hand down the hard, silken length of him, and he let out a deep, guttural cry"—
"Length of him??" Sirius asked incredulously as he stuffed the book back into its proper place on the shelf. "Is that what you girls call it??" he asked with a grin.
Dominique rolled her eyes.
"We call it the same thing you call it...but these romance authors always feel like they've got to get creative when they talk about it...anyway...Kierra has a secret addiction to these novels, so I thought I'd let her know that I know about it by getting her a few books as a joke..."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow at her. "Does Remus know she reads this...pornography?"
Dominique laughed. "It is not porn...and no, Remus doesn't know...it's not his business anyway...so don't tell him, unless you want them to get into a fight and break up again!"
"Heaven forbid...alright, I'm going to browse around in another section, this is too embarrassing, standing in a romance section..." Sirius said with a shutter as he walked away.
In no time, Sirius found himself in the automotive section, looking at motorcycle guides.
'I could definitely go for one of these...' he thought excitedly. 'With a bit of magical adjustments...'
Just then, Sirius's thoughts were interrupted by a small gasp. Sirius looked up to see an attractive blonde girl, who looked about 16 or 17, staring at him excitedly...or rather, his book.
"Oh! Sorry! I just...I was actually looking for that book!" the girl said, pointing to the motorcycle book that Sirius held.
"Oh...er...here, all yours!" he said, handing her the book.
The girl looked at him guiltily. "Oh, no, I couldn't...you got it first..."
"No, don't worry about it, I was just looking, I'm not buying..."
"Oh, ok...thanks..." she said, as she took the book from Sirius.
"Thinking of getting a bike?" he asked.
"Oh..no...my brother's birthday is coming up and he's absolutely obsessed, so I thought he'd like this book..." the girl replied, brushing a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulders as she smiled at Sirius.
"Oh, cool..."
"What about you? Do you have one?"
"Oh...no...no, I wish though...they look pretty cool..." Sirius replied.
"Yea, they are....oh, I'm Claire, by the way."
"I'm Sirius."
"Sirius...that's an interesting name...never heard it before."
"Yea, I know...it's my mum's fault...she named me..."
Claire laughed. "No, I mean I like it! It's rare..."
"Oh yea, it is, isn't it?—oh—hey D!" Sirius said as Dominique joined him and Claire.
Dominique forced a smile at the blonde girl that stood by Sirius.
"Did you find your books?" Sirius asked as Dominique joined them. Claire glanced at the books in Dominique's arms. The top one's cover read 'Lust at First Sight' and featured a tall, shirtless man with blonde hair, holding a brown haired woman, who wore a flowing, lavender dress. Dominique noticed Claire's amused look and immediately held the books to her chest, covering the title.
"I told you they're not mine! They're for Kierra"—
"Yea, yea...I know!" Sirius said exasperatedly. "Oh, by the way, this is Claire. Claire, this is Dominique."
"Hi" the girls said to each other in unison.
"I'm assuming you two are friends then?" Claire asked. Before Sirius could so much as open his mouth to respond, he felt Dominique's arm wrap around his.
"Actually, he's my fiancé." Dominique answered with a false sweetness, as she rubbed her hand along Sirius's arm, stretching her fingers along his bicep so Claire couldn't miss the glittering rock on her finger.
"Oh, ok then..." Claire replied as she pulled her gaze away from Dominique's hand.
"Well, we should get going now, Sirius." Dominique said.
"Oh, right...well, nice meeting you Claire. Bye!" Sirius said as Dominique pulled him towards the checkout. "Wow D," he said sarcastically as he felt Dominique pinching his butt, "you just can't keep your hands off of me, can you?"
Dominique glanced over her shoulder to make sure Claire had seen. She smiled inwardly as she saw Claire watching her and Sirius, jaw dropping slightly as Dominique had pinched Sirius.
"Oh well, it's not my fault you're so incredibly sexy..." Dominique replied with a smile to Sirius.
Sirius in turn, only chuckled. "Really? I could've sworn you were feeling me up to claim your territory!"
Dominique smiled. "Well, that too..."
"Aren't you cute..." Sirius replied, putting an arm around Dominique's waist. "Getting all jealous like that..."
"I'm not jealous!"
"Of who?"
"Claire!"
"Ha!"
"Hey! No fair, you tricked me!"
"And so I did...it's no big deal...I kind of like that you're all possessive...shows me that you care..."
"And because it makes you feel wanted and it gives you an ego boost?"
Sirius smiled sheepishly. "yea, that too..."
"What the hell?!" Lily exclaimed as she and her friends apparated into her house. Lily glowered at Remus and Kierra, who were both scrambling to pull themselves off the kitchen table.
"Oh God...Remus!! You've got a Kierra on you!!" James exclaimed dramatically, causing everyone but Lily to laugh.
"We've been looking all over for you, and all this time you two have been snogging each other in my house!! On the table too!! WE EAT HERE YOU KNOW!!!"
"Lily calm down, it's no big deal!!" Kierra exclaimed as she hastily buttoned her shirt.
"It is too!! We were worried sick about you lot!! I was afraid something happened to you! We're living in a dangerous time! Wizards and witches disappear all the time and turn up dead months later, Kierra!! I was afraid that it happened to you!!"
"Lily, calm yourself, we're fine!" Kierra exclaimed.
"You could've at least told us that you were leaving!"
Kierra sighed. "Ok, I'm sorry! Really!"
"You should be..."
Kierra rolled her eyes. "You're really starting to sound like my mum..."
"Good. At least one of us is..."
"What??"
"Ok both of you shut up!" Sirius said irritably. "You're giving me a headache...Kierra, you should've been more responsible and told someone that you were going...and Lily, don't be so hard on her...it really wasn't that big of a deal...no reason to go ballistic..."
Kierra and Lily nodded. But as Kierra glanced at Remus, she frowned.
"Hey, how come Remus doesn't get yelled at for anything??"
Remus looked at her innocently. "I did no wrong...except that I let you lure me over here..."
Kierra rolled her eyes as Remus sighed deeply.
"Yea, I'm just big, bad Kierra...evil me, luring innocent babes like you..." she said sarcastically.
Remus nodded in agreement. "Exactly...I never should have let you kiss me...knowing that you've got the most intoxicating lips..."
A smile spread over Kierra's face as she felt herself blush. However, she suddenly frowned and turned around.
"Do you guys mind??" She asked impatiently.
"Oh, not at all!" James said happily as he seated himself on the couch in front of them. "I love it when they get all cheesy and romantic...Lily dear, could you bring some popcorn??" he called after Lily. James turned back to Remus and Kierra, both whom were scowling at him.
"Hey look!" Peter exclaimed, pointing at the window. A bright red bird soared through the open window, dropping a thin envelope onto the coffee table before it perched itself on Dominique's lap.
"Fawkes!" Dominique exclaimed.
"Erm...you him?" Sirius asked.
"Of course! He belongs to Dumbledore!" Dominique replied. "Who's the letter for?" Dominique asked Lily, who had picked up the letter and was reading the front of the envelope.
"For you of course!" Sirius said. "Wait, you didn't write him already, did you??"
"No"—
"It's to all of us!" Lily said as she stared at the letter curiously.
"Well, open it!" Frank said. "Read it aloud."
Lily carefully broke the red seal on the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment and unfolded it. She frowned as she glanced over the brief letter.
"I don't get it..." she said.
"What does it say?" Remus asked.
Lily sighed and read the note aloud:
'As the sun dies, be ready for an excursion. But in order to partake, you must get passed Oiseau...The Dominican flower will know how to. Once you do, you'll be rewarded with a gift. Look closely at it. It is an important key. You'll find it in the mouth of familiar, awkward, weird, kind, eccentric strangers.'
"What??" Peter asked.
"It's a code!" Dominique said at once, taking the letter from Lily.
"Ok...the only part I get is 'as the sun dies be ready for an excursion'...at sunset we're going somewhere..." Sirius said.
"Who's Oiseau?" Frank asked.
"Oiseau..." Remus muttered... "Doesn't that mean..."
"bird..." Dominique finished. "In French...so he must mean Fawkes...we have to get passed Fawkes...Hmmm..."
Dominique frowned as she slowly paced around the room with the note in her hand. "The Dominican flower will know how to..."
"Where do get a Dominican flower from??" Peter asked.
"Dominican Republic?" Lily offered.
"It has to stand for something else..." Dominique muttered. "It can't really be anything Dominican...that's nowhere near here!"
"Wait, maybe it means you!" Peter said, looking at Dominique...Dominican flower...DF...those are your initials..."
"So? That might have just been a coincidence..." Dominique replied.
"Wait hold on...that gives me an idea..." James said. "I'm no language expert, but I'm pretty sure Dominique comes from Dominica...wait! Fiore!"
"What?" Dominique asked, turning to James.
"Fiore! What's a fiore?? Does that mean anything??"
"Flower, in Italian"—Dominique gaped at James for a moment, but then was overtaken by excitement. "Fiore's a flower! Dominican flower, Dominique Fiore!! That's me!!"
"Brilliant!" Sirius said excitedly as he pat James and Peter on the back.
"So you know how to...you know how to go through Fawkes?" Peter asked, glancing at the letter.
"Er...I do?" Dominique asked.
"According to Dumbledore, you do..." Kierra said.
"But I don't!" Dominique protested.
James sighed. "Dumbledore's a great wizard and all, but I swear he can be so weird sometimes..."
"Ok, we'll get back to that one later...what's the rest mean?" Alice asked.
"...Look closely at your gift. It is an important key. You'll find it in the mouth of familiar, awkward, weird, kind, eccentric strangers..." Lily read. "What gift?"
"We don't know yet...all w know that it's an important key...to something...and we'll find it in the mouth of a familiar, awkward, weird, kind stranger..." Kierra said.
"How can we know a familiar stranger?" Remus asked. "If he's a stranger, he can't be familiar..."
"Urgh...I hate riddles..." Kierra muttered. "We need to figure this out...it's already sunset!"
Lily looked closely at the last line and grinned. "Look at what each word starts with...f...a...w...k...e...s...Fawkes!"
"So we'll find this gift, which is a key...in the mouth of Fawkes?" Kierra asked.
"Yes..." Sirius said as he took a seat next to Dominique, where Fawkes sat. "Ok Fawkes, open up!" Sirius said as he reached over to pat Fawkes, only to result in Fawkes taking off and flying upstairs.
"Follow that bird!" Frank shouted as he and the gang chased Fawkes up the stairs.
They finally cornered Fawkes, who now perched on the corner poster of Lily's bed.
"Ok, there has to be a certain way of getting him to open his mouth..." Alice said.
Kierra took the letter from Lily's hand and studied it.
"Dominique, you're supposed to know how to..." Kierra said.
"But I don't!"
"Just try!" Remus said. "You're the only one who's actually...acquainted with Fawkes...he knows you..."
"Alright..." Dominique muttered as she sat down on Lily's bed. "Here here!" she said to the phoenix, extending her hand out to him.
Fawkes stared at Dominique for a few seconds, but then flew over to her and landed in her lap.
"Good boy...now, can you open your mouth?" She asked, holding her hand under his beak. Fawkes stared at Dominique again, but did not open his mouth.
"Please?" she asked.
Nothing.
"Do you always see Fawkes when you see Dumbledore?" Frank asked suddenly.
"Er, not all the time, but yes, quite often..." Dominique replied.
"And what happens when you're around Fawkes?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at..." Dominique said uncertainly.
"I mean...how do you two interact? Do you do anything to him? Stroke him...pet him...feed him?"
"Oh!" Dominique exclaimed. "Of course!"
She immediately put her finger on the phoenix's head and stroked him gently. "I discovered once...that if you put a light amount of pressure here"—she pressed ever so slightly on the back of his head—"he's ticklish there, and"—Fawkes chirped happily; as he did so, a tiny, silvery object fell out of his mouth and onto Lily's bed.
"Look, there it is!" James exclaimed. He leaned in closer to get a better look. "That's not a key...it looks like...a tiny goblet!"
"Of course!" Remus exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at him.
"It's a port key!"
"What? How do you know?" Kierra asked.
"Well...it certainly isn't a key...but the letter says...important key...a port key! And it makes sense...In order to take part in this trip, we have to get passed Fawkes, with Dominique's help...we'll find a gift in Fawkes's mouth which is an important key...which is supposed to get us on our journey...what else could it be but a port key? "
"Hmm...you may be on to something..." Dominique said, "but...isn't it kind of small? I mean, for nine of us? We can't all hold onto it if it were a port key..."
"You could put an enlargement charm on it." Kierra suggested.
"Yea! Wait...does an enlargement charm affect the workability of a port key?" Sirius asked. Everyone turned to Lily, who was frowning, as she always did when she was in deep thought.
"I...I don't think so..." Lily said slowly. "It shouldn't affect the port key, if in fact it is one..."
"It has to work!" Kierra said, "Dumbledore probably had to shrink the goblet anyway for it to fit into Fawkes's mouth! So if we're just returning it to its normal size..."
"Good point." Lily said as she pulled out her wand. "Alright...here goes nothing. Engorgio!"
Slowly, the small silver goblet began to enlarge itself, until it was nearly the size of a two liter jug.
"Ok...let's all put a hand on it on the count of three." Alice said as she climbed onto Lily's bed. The others followed Alice and climbed onto bed as well, until they all encircled the goblet with their hands extended to it.
"Ok," Sirius said, "One, two, three"—
Suddenly Lily's bedroom dissolved as everyone was lifted off of the bed. Moments later, the group of nine landed hard on the floor.
"I guess it was a portkey after all..." Kierra said as she sat up on the floor.
"Ah...I see you all understood my letter."
The group of seventeen and eighteen year olds all looked up to see Dumbledore standing over them, looking at them intently through his half moon shaped spectacles.
"Professor!" James exclaimed as he stood up quickly. "Yes, we figured it out..." he said as he glanced around the room and took in their surroundings.
They were in Dumbledore's office...except now all furniture was gone and there were only chairs around the whole room, most of which were already occupied. James, for the life of him couldn't recognize anyone, except Professor McGonagall, and Hagrid, who waved happily at the newcomers.
"Oh my..." Dominique murmured, as she stared at a grumpy looking old man with long gray hair and beard.
The man stared back at her, with an expressionless face.
"Nonno..." "grandfather..."
The old man blinked at Dominique.
"Dominique?"
"Ok now that everyone is here, why don't we start now, eh Dumbledore?" a man with a magical eye asked impatiently.
"Yes, yes...perhaps we should. If you all could find some seats...we can start right away." Dumbledore said.
"Now, I want to thank you all for coming on such a short notice. First, let me explain why I asked you all in particular to come to this meeting. As you all know, over these past few months, Lord Voldemort is reaching the height of his power, and is gaining more and more followers. I thought it was time that we mobilized ourselves to fight the injustice that he is polluting around the wizarding world. Now, there are about twenty five of us right now...I certainly hope the numbers increase as we progress. Now before I go further, let me explain why I've asked you all to join forces with me. First, I know most of you very well, enough that I know we have mutual trust and belief in each other, which will prove to be extremely crucial later on in this war...
"Secondly, I know you all to be highly talented and skilled witches and wizards, and firmly believe that each and everyone one of you will be an asset...any questions so far?"
"Er, yea..." The man with the magical eye growled, "what's with the kids?" he asked, nodding at the marauders and the girls.
"Moody," Dumbledore started, "These recent graduates are adults...and I'm pleased to tell you that...most of them will be training as aurors, under your supervision, within the next month...I saw it only fit that they be invited to join the order."
The man named Moody only grunted in reply as he looked over each of them, sizing them all up.
"You, boy...what's your name?" he asked, staring at Remus.
"Er...Remus Lupin, sir..."
"You look like one good hex could finish you off. We need to toughen you up before you start training..."
"Oh..." Remus could feel himself color. In front of all his friends...how humiliating...in front of his girlfriend...in front of Dumbledore... "I'm not going to be an auror..." he said quietly.
"Moody, Remus is an exceptionally talented wizard. I hardly need add that he was a prefect while going here." Dumbledore said sharply, giving Moody a warning look.
"Now," Dumbledore continued, "who among you would like to join me in this battle for justice?"
Hagrid stood up immediately. "I'll fight with ya, professor!" he roared. "I'll be on your side til the end!"
Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, Hagrid..."
"And I, of course." Professor McGonagall added.
Everyone else in the room nodded eagerly in their agreement.
"Well then, why don't you all introduce yourselves now? It would probably be most prudent for you all to know each other's names." Dumbledore said, nodding at Moody to start the 'icebreaker'.
"Alastor Moody." He said, his magical eye swiveling in his socket, as he glanced around the room.
"Dedalus Diggle!" said a small, enthusiastic looking wizard next to him.
"Aberforth Dumbledore" said the grumpy old man who blinked at Dominique earlier.
"Dumbledore??" James asked incredulously.
"Yes, we're brothers"—Dumbledore said cheerily—"moving on"—he said, indicating at the red haired man next to him.
"Gideon Prewett..."
"Fabian Prewett...and we're brothers too!" the shorter red haired man said.
Within a few minutes, everyone had introduced themselves, and the meeting was over.
"I will be contacting you all shortly as to when and where our next meeting will be. I soon hope to have a permanent headquarters set up soon." Dumbledore said at the conclusion of the meeting.
Several of the order members lingered in Dumbledore's office, all talking excitedly of how they wanted to fight, while many others quickly said their goodbyes and left.
"I can't believe that weird bloke is Dumbledore's brother!" James said as the gang sat in a corner of the spacious office and chatted.
"I know! They seem really...different..." Kierra remarked.
"Dominique, you seemed to have known him...what was that about?" Lily asked.
"Oh...he's my grandfather..." Dominique replied.
"What?" Sirius asked. "Seriously??"
Dominique nodded. "He was my mother's father...I haven't seen him in like...five years..."
"I take it you aren't very close then?" Lily asked.
Dominique shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as Moody approached the group.
"So...future aurors..." he said as he sat down with them. "Well, most of you...which one of you want to be aurors?"
All of them but Remus and Peter raised their hands.
Moody raised an eyebrow at them.
"Dumbledore told me why Lupin here isn't training. What do you want to be?" he asked, looking at Peter.
"Er...I've got a job at Gringotts...I start next week..." Peter replied a bit timidly.
"Really? Well, that's good...We definitely need some good wizards working with those goblins..."
"Oh..." Peter said, not knowing what else to say.
"And you'll be Aberforth's granddaughter, am I right?" he asked, looking at Dominique.
"Yes..." she replied, trying very hard to look anywhere but Moody's magical eye. It was giving her the creeps.
"Well, we'll be expecting a lot from you then, if you're having Dumbledore blood in you." He growled. He then turned his attention to Frank and nodded at him.
"Alright there, Longbottom?"
"Er, yea." Frank replied.
"You guys know each other then?" Sirius asked.
"I know his family," Moody replied. "great line of wizards. Your mum speaks highly of you, you know." He said as he glanced back at Frank.
"So...erm...Mr. Moody...you're going to be our trainer?" Lily asked.
Moody turned to Lily. "First, just call me Moody...and no, not exactly your trainer, I'm already a full-time auror and don't have much time for training, but I'm going to be mentoring you lot. Your main trainer will be Crouch...you've all heard of him I'm sure. Works for the ministry?"
The group nodded in acknowledgment.
"Strict bloke..." Moody said, staring out the window as he reached for his hip flask and unscrewed the cap. "and people call ME mad...you lot just watch out with him...he's tough, and can be a right pain in the"—
"Ah, Moody, I need to have a word with you!" Gideon Prewitt said as he joined the group.
"Right then." Moody said as he followed Gideon out of Dumbledore's office. "Well, I'll be seeing you all then." He said to the group as he shut the door behind him.
"Er...interesting fellow..." Kierra said at last.
"Yea..." Remus said, as he stared after Professor Dumbledore, who was seeing Hagrid to the door. "Why'd he have to tell Moody about me??" he found himself asking out loud.
"Oh, Remus, it's no big deal!" Kierra said.
"Yea it is"—
"But some people would have to know! I mean, especially in the order...they might get all suspicious of you if you were to just disappear once a month...that could cause problems if they were ignorant!" Kierra said.
"Exactly," Sirius agreed. "He has to give special disclosures sometimes...I mean, I bet he's told everyone not to be alarmed that I'm a Black, and that I don't even consider myself one..." Sirius said jokingly, trying to cheer his friend up, which it seemingly did; Remus smiled slightly. When he saw his friend's expression lighten, Sirius turned to Dominique.
"Hey...now might be a good time to talk to Dumbledore..." he said, "everyone's leaving..."
Dominique looked at Sirius timidly. "Do I have to??"
"Yes!"
"Stay with me!"
"What??"
"Please??"
"Dominique, why are you scared?? He's your great-uncle! He's your family!!"
"Ok, have you seen how my family interacts with each other??" Dominique retorted, "My grandfather scarcely spoke two words to me tonight, and he's already left!"
"yea ok...that's him...we're talking about Albus Dumbledore...our Dumbledore...there's no need to worry..." Sirius said soothingly. "I'll stay if you really want me to, but I think it'd be better if you told him yourself..."
Dominique sighed. "I know...but I don't want to!"
"Well, you have to! Oh, hello sir!" Sirius said at once, straightening up in his seat, seeing that Dumbledore had joined them.
"Hello Mr. Black, and all of you..." Dumbledore replied, nodding at the group. "Well, I'm glad you all are joining the order. I was very keen on making sure we had at least a few good, young minds in our order." He said as he smiled and nodded at Professor McGonagall, who was the only other occupant of the office, as she left.
"Well, glad we can be of service." Dominique said with a smile. "Anywhos, it's getting late...we should probably head back now..." she said quickly as she got up, but Lily pulled her back down in her seat.
"Yes, we should get going, we'll see you in a bit, Dominique...just don't floo over to my house, our fireplace isn't hooked up to the floo network." Lily said.
"Is there something you wish to speak to me about, Dominique?" Dumbledore asked, as he looked at his niece.
"Er...yea...there is..." she replied quietly.
"Very well." Dumbledore said as he reached for the goblet they had used earlier for a portkey. "This will take you back to your house, Miss Evans. I'll give Dominique another portkey when she's ready to return to you all."
And without further adieu, Dominique's friends disappeared out of Dumbledore's office.
"What is it that you wish to tell me?" Dumbledore asked as he took a seat across from Dominique.
"Oh...well...I um...wanted to tell you that um..." Dominique looked into Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes. They were very penetrating. Dominique sighed. If she didn't tell him, he'd probably read her mind anyway...
"I wanted to tell you...that..." She couldn't do it...
"Your engaged?" Dumbledore asked.
Dominique gaped at him. "Wow.." she murmured, "You're good!"
Dumbledore smiled slightly as he pointed at Dominique's hand. Her ring.
"Oh..." she said dumbly. "You're observant..."
"Thank you, dear." Dumbledore said quietly. "You are engaged to Mr. Black?"
"Yes sir."
"How long has this been kept?"
"About four months..."
"And when do you plan to wed?"
"In August..."
Dumbledore sighed as he looked at Dominique intently. "Dominique, do you know how old you are?"
"Seventeen...but I'll be eighteen in a couple of months!" she added quickly. Dumbledore didn't answer.
"You don't seem very surprised that I'm getting married..." Dominique said after some moments' silence.
"I must confess, I'm not entirely surprised...you two seem very happy together, and I admit, I was under the impression that it would happen sooner or later...I was thinking though, that neither of you would've considered the matter until after you left Hogwarts...well...no matter. Congratulations Dominique. I sincerely wish you and Sirius every happiness."
Dominique stared at Dumbledore. "You mean that??" she asked.
"Of course."
"You mean, you're not mad? You're...you're ok with it?"
"Yes, I completely approve. What were you expecting? A live howler?"
Dominique smiled. "Something of the sort..." and without further ceremony Dominique threw her arms around Dumbledore and hugged him, causing his violet cap to fall off his head.