The large building was standing over the cloudy sky. The sea battered one side. The fire escapes decorated the opposite one. The building was made up of old, greying bricks and it had been a decade since the last time they had been cleaned. Mary stared up at it. The mountains were long behind them. That was Mary's first thought as Kingsley held open the door for her. She was right in more ways than one. She was over 200 miles from the grey peaks and the school hidden within them. But she was far away in another way. This was her first time truly stepping out of the safety of the mountains and into the danger of the world that they were currently living in. It was her first Order meeting. They walked through the abandoned lobby. Kingsley pulled out the map. He pointed down one of the hallways. They saw a light up ahead. They stepped into the room. About 30 people were already there. Some familiar faces, and others were considerably less so.
"Kingsley, Mary, welcome, take a seat" Dumbledore said. Mary smiled at her old professor and took the open seat next to Alice. She gave Mary a weak grin. Kingsley sat down next to her. "As many of you may be aware, we have a collection of new faces today. I'd say introductions are in order. I shall begin. You all know me, but my name is Albus Dumbledore."
"Alastor Moody" the man next to him said. He was covered from head to toe in scars. He was missing a foot and one eye had been replaced with a vivid electric blue one.
"Benji Fenwick" he was a few years older than she was
"Edgar Bones and my wife Maud Bones" he gestured to the woman beside him. She was silently sizing up the new recruiters.
"Amelia Bones"
"Fabian Prewett"
"Gideon Prewett" Mary recognized both of them. They were ginger identical twin who had wreaked havoc when they had been younger
"Mundungus Fletcher"
"Rubeus Hagrid"
"Dedalus Diggle" a small man in a large purple hat said
"Hestia Jones"
"Sturgis Podmore" with that it had turned to the Order's newest members. James was the first to go
"Hi, I'm James Potter, pleasure to meet you all" the other silently glared at him. Lily squeezed his hand
"Lily Evans" she said
"Sirius Black" he glared right back at them
"Remus Lupin"
"Peter Pettegrew"
"Dorcas Meadowes"
"Marlene McKinnon"
"Pandora Lovegood"
"Emilene Vane"
"Frank Longbottom"
"Alice Falway"
"Mary Macdonald"
"Kingsley Shacklebolt"
"And that brings it back to me. Now before we formally begin, I just would like to make something clear again. I have spoken to each of you about the danger that this will entail. As of now, I am giving you one last chance to back out. If you have any reservations," Alice's hand shot up "yes Ms. Fawley?"
"Well it's not a reservation per se,-"
"Get on with it will you?" Mundungus Fletcher barked. Alastor Moody's electric blue eye wizzed and landed firmly in Mundugus's direction.
"Knock it off Fetcher" Moody Growled
"Continue, Alice" Dumbledore said
"It's more of a confession. I was visiting my aunt and uncle's house and well, Voldemort- he asked me to ah, join the order as a spy" everyone looked up at her. Edgar Bones and Hestia Jones began to rise from their chairs "I mean, I said no, obviously. I just thought it would be best to be honest"
"Ah, thank you for your honesty Ms. Fawley"
"Wait, you are just going to let her stay?" Hestia Jones said. Frank positioned himself in front of Alice
"Of course he will. Alice wants to join" he said. Alice gave him a grateful smile
"I'm sorry, did you just miss the part where she admitted to being approached by Voldemort to be a spy on the order?" Edgar Bones said
"Why would she flat out tell you about it if she was planning to be a spy?" Frank asked
"Enough, Mr. Longbottom, I trust Ms. Fawley's honesty. Now, back to business, Amelia, Benji, what is your report on the ministry?"
"It's what we feared. We spotted dark marks on several high level ministry officials" Benji said
"You were right about Pius Thicknesse. I followed him like you suggest. He met with Voldemort himself in Knockturn Alley." Dumbledore rubbed his forehead.
"I see, that is very disheartening news."
"Thicknesse is the one getting in my way at the ministry currently" Moody said
"Has he been the one getting in the way of the Evans investigation?"
"Aye" at that Lily stiffened. James squeezed her hand.
"Isn't Pius Thicknesse the head of magical law enforcement?" Peter squeaked. Several people, including James and Sirius, nodded. The meeting continued like that. Most of the order members gave detailed accounts of their assignments. The longer it went on, the more the Marauders' faces fell. It seemed like no one had remotely positive news, only more reports on areas of wizarding society that Voldemort seemed to be reaching. By the time Dumbledore called an end to it, Dorcas had sunk to the floor. Her mind was racing. She could not help it. Given what secret she was already holding, the idea that every aspect of society had a branch that will kill her for the information she currently held was weighing her down. She had to tell someone what was going on. She had already told herself she would tell Marlene. After all, she had made a promise to share every part of herself with Marlene. She was going to wait until after the meeting, but she could not wait any longer. Marlene currently had a water cup in one hand and was talking animatedly to Sturgus Podmore and Benji Fenwick.
"Sorry," she said to both of the, "Hey Marls, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked
"Sure," Marlene said. She did not move.
"In private," Dorcas said
"One sec guys. My girlfriend needs me" Marlene said. Dorcas gave her a weak smile. She took Marlene's hand and led her out of the room. She could feel Dumbledore trying to catch her eye, but she refused to look back. She led Marlene back to one of the spare rooms. She closed the door behind them.
"What's up Dorcas?" Marlene asked
"I need to be honest with you"
"Why? I thought you tell me everything"
"There was one thing I didn't mention. You might want to take a seat" Doras told Marlene everything. Marlene's face darkened with each new fact. She seemed to be absorbing little bits of Dorcas's anxiety. Dorcas felt somewhat lighter as she finished her tale.
"So you're telling me that Dumbledore tasked you with figuring out how to destroy the, wait, I know what you called them, give me a minute-"
"Horcrux?"
"That" she pointed
"Yeah. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to. I really wanted to. I was just so worried. I was going to tell you tonight, but I just couldn't wait any longer." Marlene pulled her in for a kiss. When they broke apart, she was the one to break the silence.
"I'm glad you trusted me, Dorcas. Good news through all of this, you got yourself a lab partner"
Peter Pettigew stood off to the side. He was never good at just going up to people and talking to them. That was James and Sirius's jobs. Currently, they were both engaged in conversation with their partners and various order members. He had lost track of James and Lily. Dumbledore spotted him from across the room. Dumbledore walked up to him
"Peter, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course sir"
"I had Amelia and Benji leave several documents throughout the last month for me in the back room. Can you go collect them for me?" Peter nodded and rushed out of the room. His mind drifted back to what they had only just been discussing. If the other order members were right, Voldemort was everywhere. He gulped at the thought. Not only that, but he would have to fight him. Either that or spy on Voldemort's followers. What if they caught him? What would they do to him then? He saw a light on in one of the rooms. That must be where the files were. He reached for the door knob. He heard Dorcas's voice on the other side.
"Dumbledore thinks Voldemort made multiple Horcruxes. He wants me to find out how to destroy them"
"Did he give you any suggestions?" Marlene said.
"He has no idea" Doras said "he thinks I can figure it out"
"So you're telling me that Dumbledore tasked you with figuring out how to destroy the, wait, I know what you called them, give me a minute-"
"Horcrux?"
"That" she pointed
"Yeah. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to. I really wanted to. I was just so worried. I was going to tell you tonight, but I just couldn't wait any longer." He saw Marlene pull Dorcas in for a kiss, he raced past the door, considering what Doras had told Marlene"
Meanwhile, a small box weighed heavily in James's pocket. He had been thinking about this since Easter. His original plan had been to ask at the end of Lily's family dinner. Of course nothing about that day had made the timing appropriate. After that, Lily needed time and space to grieve, but something about what he had learned about his world that night made him wonder how much time did he really have to wait? He was joining the Order of the Phoenix, a group meant to take down the darkest wizard of his lifetime. He would have to be an idiot not to realize that some of them would not see the end of this.
"Lily, can I talk to you for a second?" he whispered between conversations with various order members. She nodded. He led her out of the room. He led her back to the old lobby. It was not the most romantic setting, but it would do.
"What's up?" Lily asked.
"I know, this isn't the most romantic or anything, but I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time. I know this isn't that romantic or creative, but I don't know, right now it just felt right. Sorry I'm rambling. I'll just-" he took the box out of his pocket. It was a small blue velvet box. James took a deep breath and got down on one knee.
"James?" He opened the small box
"Lily Evans, will you marry me?" Lily was dumbstruck. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Jame's face fell. After several agonizing minutes she finally spoke
"I- Yes" she finally said
"Yes?" James asked
"Yes!" She said. She practically jumped into his arms. His usual lopsided grin was now extended far farther than usual. When they finally broke apart, James took out the ring. He placed it on Lily's 4th finger. It was a gorgeous ring. His mother had helped him pick it. It was a gold band with a diamond ringed by emeralds. 'For her eyes' had been his mother's explanation when she showed it to him. He took her hand once more and led her back to the meeting room. When they arrived everyone looked up.
"We're getting married!"
