The meeting tonight is at Alastor Moody's home, much to Guinevere's dismay. Of course, his house is apparition proof, disconnected from the Floo Network, and out in the middle of nowhere; the war has only heightened the Auror's already extreme paranoia.
If Dumbledore would let her, Guinevere would offer up her own flat as a meeting place; just so she wouldn't have to get up off her couch.
Sirius and Guinevere apparate as far as they possibly can before walking the rest of the way. It's a good few blocks and both are dead on their feet by the time they arrive. Guinevere can feel the sores forming on her heels, not only from the walk, but also from spending most of the day in those ill-fitting flats.
Before they can even walk through the door, they're accosted by Moody holding his wand up to their throats and asking them their failsafe questions— the deeply personal information they willingly handed over to the Order so they would be able to make sure it was indeed them and not a Death Eater using a Polyjuice Potion.
"What is the last thing your brother ever said to you?" Moody asks Sirius gruffly.
Every time the question is asked, Guinevere grimaces. Nearly a year later and Regulus still hasn't had any contact with Sirius. She just hopes that Sirius will never have to encounter his brother on a mission, fighting on the opposing side.
"To take care of myself," Sirius replies without difficulty. He's no doubt used to saying the words by now.
Satisfied with Sirius's answer, Moody turns his wand from Sirius and points it at Guinevere.
They've done this dozens of times, but every single time Guinevere gets a wand shoved in her face, Sirius scoots just a little closer to her.
"What is the only thing your biological father left you?"
"My name."
Moody lowers his wand away from her neck, but doesn't lower it completely. It's a habit of his that unnerves her. She knows that he's a highly skilled Auror, but he's so paranoid that she fears he'll blast a hole in her stomach if she so much as breathes without his say so.
"Get inside," he mutters to them. "You've already been standing out here for too long."
He turns around and marches back inside without another word to them. Sirius tilts his head in Guinevere's direction to whisper to her as they follow behind.
"Constant vigilance!"
Guinevere covers her mouth to stifle her giggles. His impression is pretty spot on.
They walk through the sitting room, which Guinevere finds astoundingly normal for a man like Alastor Moody. There's no heads hung on the wall or eyeballs in a glass case or fishing wire lining the floor. The first time she entered the house a few weeks prior, she tip-toed down the entire length of the hallway out of fear of setting off some kind of hidden trap.
Moody's house just looks like the place where an average grandfather of three would reside.
He leads them into the kitchen, where a small round table sits.
Guinevere can still hear James, Remus, and Peter teasing her about how Sirius is her Sir Lancelot and the rest of them are Knights of The Round Table In Moody's Kitchen.
She pulls up a seat next to Remus, who's nursing a mug of coffee. Knowing him, she doubts it's his first of the night.
In the general excitement of the wedding, Guinevere didn't pay close enough attention to Remus's appearance. Now that she's right beside him, she can see clearly how haggard he is. He's paler than usual, which only highlights the bags under his eyes. A sheen of sweat covers his forehead.
No wonder he's drinking coffee at this hour.
She bumps his shoulder lightly.
"That time of the month, eh?" she jokes.
Despite his grim appearance, Remus manages to give her an amused smile.
"Tomorrow night."
Guinevere gives him a look of sympathy. The day before and the day after are always the worst for him.
Even with how well the Marauders hid the secret of Remus's lycanthropy, Guinevere found out towards the end of their 7th year due to a little slip up of James and Sirius's.
Guinevere was practically vibrating with excitement. She had just finished her N.E.W.T. in Potions, which was even more difficult than she had originally anticipated. They had to complete three very advanced potions individually. Being ripped away from her potions partner - and boyfriend - for the exam felt like losing a limb, but she still somehow managed.
Later that day, as she was walking back from the girl's lavatory, Professor Slughorn intercepted her and pulled her aside, confessing that he began grading her work first because he knew he would be impressed - and he wasn't disappointed. He hinted at her seeing an "O" in her future.
Just what she would need to become a healer.
She didn't think twice before running off to tell Sirius. Not because he was her boyfriend; because he was her potions partner. Even with her knack for the subject, he helped her with his own brand of cleverness that she carried with her into the exam.
Guinevere knew he would be so proud.
She dashed up to Gryffindor Tower, carried by sheer enthusiasm. Even though she and Sirius had only been dating for six months, she was no stranger to his dormitory by now. Often times, she just walked in without warning. It was a bad habit, but one she had trouble shedding.
James still refused to mention the time she walked in while he was changing.
This time was no different. She trudged up the stairs towards Sirius's dormitory, grinning from ear to ear. The closer she got, the clearer the voices inside became.
"I'm telling you, Prongs is bigger than Padfoot."
"It depends on your definition of big, Wormy. Prongs is taller, but Padfoot has the weight advantage."
"Okay, you've got a point there, Moony. But Prongs could do some serious damage with those antlers."
Guinevere didn't pay much attention to their words. She rarely did when the Marauders were speaking amongst themselves. For all she or anyone else knew, they could have been speaking a different language, always absorbed in their own little world in which they were the only four occupants.
She rushed into the room with no warning, out of breath from her trek up the stairs.
"Sirius! Sirius I have something to tell—…"
Sirius was nowhere in sight.
Inside the room was a large red stag, a shaggy black dog, and a very guilty looking Remus and Peter.
Forgetting all about her quest to find Sirius, Guinevere glared at Remus and Peter. This was some idiotic end of the year prank they were planning, she knew it. They somehow found these two animals and were going to set them free into the Great Hall. It sounded like something they would do.
Just as she opened her mouth to tell them off, the black dog shifted upright. Guinevere watched in a kind of morbid fascination as the black fur slowly changed into human skin, which was then draped in black robes. The floppy ears shrunk back into human form, covered by black hair.
"Guin, I can explain."
The black dog was gone in the blink of an eye. Standing in its place was a very nervous looking Sirius.
"Dammit, Padfoot, you should have just stayed a dog and let her think Moony and Wormtail found us in the Forbidden Forrest!"
Her eyes darted over to the source of the yelling. James stood in the place of the great stag.
She grabbed onto the doorframe, afraid that she would pass out from pure shock.
Sirius had a lot of explaining to do.
"Good evening, everyone," Dumbledore greets them. "And what a wonderful evening it is. Dare I say, the Potters' wedding brought tears to my eyes. I hope they don't mind me leaving them out of the meeting. I thought they would both be… far too tired."
Sirius and Guinevere exchange a look across the table, both wide eyed and silently praying that Dumbledore didn't mean to imply what they think he was implying. That's not something that either of them want to hear from the elderly professor.
"Why are we missing so many people besides those two?" Marlene asks.
It's only now when Guinevere really looks around the table, taking a head count.
There's Dorcas, Marlene, Remus, Moody, Dumbledore, Sirius, herself…
No one else.
She sits up taller in her seat to peak over Sirius's head and down the long hallway, leading towards the sitting room. Is anybody late? She definitely wouldn't put it past Gideon or Fabian Prewett to show up long after the meeting has already started and claim they "got lost".
"Because we only need you five," Moody replies.
The five people in question all exchange glances with each other.
Guinevere hasn't been given the opportunity to do much for the Order yet besides a few stakeouts that have only proven to be a huge waste of time. And she sure as hell has never been asked to an exclusive meeting.
Part of her revels in it.
The other part of her wishes she and Sirius were safely cuddled up together in bed, away from all the potential danger this meeting may bring.
"There have been rumors abound," Dumbledore continues. "In a week's time, there is supposedly going to be an attack on Hogsmeade by a small group of Voldemort's supporters."
'Supposedly'.
One thing that Guinevere has quickly learned about war is that the enemy doesn't give a polite heads-up about their plans. Any rumors that the Order hears of their activities are just that; rumors. Everything is a "maybe" or a "probably" or a "supposedly".
Meaning that they never really know what they're jumping into.
"But why Hogsmeade?" Dorcas asks. "It's an entirely magical community. I mean, it's not like they ban muggleborns or anything, but school's out and almost everybody who lives there full time is a pureblood. I thought they wanted to keep the purebloods alive."
Moody grunts with effort as he limps to his fridge, drawing all eyes in the room over to him. Up until that point, he had kept firmly in the corner of the kitchen. That way, he could keep his enchanted eye on everyone there.
His wooden leg clacks against the tile floor in a way that grates on Guinevere's already frayed nerves. He opens the fridge and grabs a large jar of pumpkin juice, pouring it into his flask.
"It's not about blood status to them," he says. "This is a war. Anyone not on their side is the enemy. They don't care about the casualties because they're doing this to make a statement."
"They want us to know that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want," Marlene interrupts, her voice barely above a whisper.
Guinevere looks across the table and catches Sirius's gaze. Any trace of levity that was in his eyes when they first walked in is gone. All she sees now is disgust and a deep, deep anger.
She wants to scream out the pointlessness, the absolute depravity of it all. The Death Eaters all have mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and kids of their own. How could they take away someone else's family so easily? Flagrantly risking the lives of innocent witches and wizards just to make a point?
It's senseless, just like this entire war. That's another thing that Guinevere had to learn quickly; war is senseless.
"Meadowes, McKinnon, Driscoll," Moody barks. "You'll be stationed at The Three Broomsticks at approximately 7am to noon every day next week to look out for any suspicious activity. Lupin, you'll take Zonko's. And Black, you'll take Honeyduke's. They're the three most populated places in the entire village. It would only make sense for them to strike in one of those places first."
"But why are you assigning three of us to The Three Broomsticks and only one person to each other the other locations?" Guinevere asks.
When Moody turns his disfigured head to look at her, she immediately regrets speaking up. His gaze always makes her feel as though she's a student about to be reprimanded by a professor. It's always so harsh.
"Because The Three Broomsticks is by far the largest. We need eyes on every spot of that place. Would you rather I assign you there by yourself so you have no one to watch your back? Constant vigilance, Driscoll!"
This time, when Sirius catches her eye, he gives her a grin. It's smaller and looks more forced than usual, but she appreciates the effort.
"But won't it be suspicious to just hang out in a shop all day?" Sirius asks, tearing his gaze away from Guinevere. "I mean, I have spent an obscene amount of time in Honeyduke's before, don't get me wrong, but every day of the week…?"
"You and Lupin will be switching out with one of the girls every five hours beginning at noon," Moody says. "But three people must be at The Three Broomsticks at all times. If one of you decides you want to muck around at another shop, I'll know."
"And where will you be?" Remus asks.
"I'll have Aurors stationed at every conceivable entrance to Hogsmeade, but I won't be there myself. Scrimgeour has me chasing down a lead about some old bitty practicing the Unforgivables on the family pets. Waste of my bloody time, I told 'em. Not my bloody department's job…"
His words begin slowly disintegrating into unintelligible grumbling as he goes on, limping down the hallway and into the sitting room.
That's usually a sign that he's unofficially kicking them all out.
"If at all possible, apprehend them quickly and quietly," Dumbledore continues, ignoring Moody's departure. "Making a scene could risk our exposure. Leave that to the Auror's. I trust you all know who to look out for?"
Names pop into Guinevere's head like a piece of text she's been forced to memorize for a class.
Avery. Rosier. Malfoy. Crabbe. Goyle. Mulciber. Yaxley. Macnair. Snape. Lestrange. Carrow.
It's hard to forget the faces that she saw almost every single waking moment for seven years.
"Oh yeah, I know," Dorcas growls. "If Snape is there, I'll kill 'im."
Sirius laughs, Remus sighs, and Guinevere just rubs her temples.
How is she going to hold her friend back when she secretly agrees with her?
"I'm afraid, Miss Meadowes, that won't be possible," Dumbledore says. "It is imperative that no lethal force should be used unless in the case of an emergency. The Auror office would like living subjects to question afterwards."
He leans forward slightly, as if he's going to tell her a secret.
"Though it wouldn't hurt to ask Alastor if you can practice a few hexes on him afterwards. Nothing fatal, of course."
Dorcas smirks in response. Even Guinevere can't hold back a small smile when Remus chokes on his coffee.
After what Snape did to Lily, they would all kill for an opportunity to get their hands on him.
"I won't keep you any longer," Dumbledore announces. "Go, all of you, get some sleep. Come next week, you won't be getting much."
Guinevere winces quietly.
Once again, the sleep she values so much is far out of her grasp.
The friends all say their goodbyes and part ways to begin their journeys home. Sirius leaves Remus with the promise to see him soon.
Since they've left Hogwarts, the rest of the Marauders have yet to miss a single full moon with Remus. Every time Sirius leaves to keep his friend company, Guinevere is wracked with nerves. Even while knowing that werewolves rarely harm animals, she always fears that this is the time it happens. This is the time where Sirius gets injured or even killed at the hands of dear, sweet Remus.
But she can't ask him to stop. Not now that she knows how painful the transformations are for Remus.
So she goes with Lily to find them at sunrise every time, breathing a sigh of relief every time she sees Sirius in once piece, and helps nurse Remus back to health. It's the only thing she can do.
As soon as Guinevere and Sirius cross the threshold into their flat, Guinevere tosses her shoes off.
If they get another summons tonight, so help her, she's telling them to bugger off.
Sirius kicks off his own shoes and takes off that muggle leather jacket he's so fond of, tossing it onto the couch. Guinevere bites back the urge to scold him until he puts it in the closet because dammit Sirius, this is the hundredth time—
"You know how long it's been since we've been alone together for more than a few minutes?" Sirius asks, a playful glint in his eyes.
Guinevere smirks, snaking an arm up Sirius's chest. Her gripes about the jacket are immediately forgotten.
"Too long. I've missed you."
He lets out his bark-like laugh, grabbing her by the waist to pull her closer and leaning down. His lips just barely brush over the shell of her ear.
"Should we take this to the bedroom, Driscoll?" he whispers.
A shiver runs up her spine.
"After you, Black."
A little more than two minutes later, they're both bundled up under the covers, fully clothed and dead asleep.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! I'm back at school now, but I'm still going to try to update whenever I get the chance! As always, please feel free to leave a review. They keep me going. :)