A/N: For those of you who read the original version of the Fairytales of Yesterday (an edited version is on AO3 but there aren't any major differences), the main change we made was to edit Dorcas out of that fic. She was only a background character for a couple of scenes at Hogwarts anyway and keeping her there wouldn't have fit with what we want to do with her in this story!

Chapter Four – The Order of the Phoenix

11th December 1978

James had been training to be an Auror for almost a month, and he had fallen into the rhythm of it. He still hadn't been allowed to join Moody, Kingsley and the others on a real mission, but his disappointment about the lack of action was dulled by the nearness of his wedding.

"I can't believe it's only two weeks away," he said to Frank. They were on their lunch break, scarfing down sandwiches so that they could hurry back to be taught some more of the advanced defensive magic Aurors were required to learn.

"Are you nervous?" Frank asked.

"Are you kidding?" James said around a mouthful of sandwich. "I'm just excited!" He paused to chew and then added, "Okay, maybe I'm a little nervous. Lily's family will be there and… she doesn't really get on with her sister."

"It'll be fine," Frank reassured him. "No one likes their in-laws, but they're obligated to be nice at the wedding."

"I guess. Hey, what about you? Have you and Alice set a date yet?"

Frank's cheeks went slightly pink. "Actually, yeah. I mean, we're thinking around March."

"Sorry for stealing your thunder when you proposed first," James joked.

"Never mind," Frank smiled. "I don't really mind when it happens, as long as it does."

The hussle and bussle of other witches and wizards around them was loud enough that the two of them had to lean forward over the table to hear each other properly, so when a young man in expensive robes took the seat beside him, James initially didn't think anything of it.

Instead of getting out his lunch though, the man - clearly a ministry employee, though not one that James recognised - put a hand purposefully on the table between them.

"Gentlemen," he said, assessing the two of them - James wiping crumbs from his robes and Frank glancing at him curiously.

"Can we help you?" Frank asked.

"I think it's more a question of whether I can help you," the man said. "I'm Corban Yaxley - I work in the department of Magical Law Enforcement and I couldn't help but overhear the talk around the office about some of our promising new Aurors. Potter and Longbottom I believe? I'm sure our parents must have crossed paths at some point, the old wizarding families all have ties somewhere down the line."

Frank glanced at James, and was unsurprised to see that his eyes had narrowed at the older man.

"What is it that you think you can do for us?" James asked coldly. "I don't know about you, but Frank and I don't need to rely on our family name for much."

"Of course, of course," Yaxley said, holding up a hand to James in apology. "I didn't mean to suggest that you can't forge your own paths. In fact, I came to talk to you about whether you've ever considered opportunities outside the ministry."

"James considered quidditch," Frank told him, while James crossed his arms and nodded stiffly. "He was our captain at school."

"Impressive," Yaxley smiled, though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he said it. "Though not quite what I meant. I don't know whether you boys are interested in politics, but you must have noticed that things aren't leaning in favour of the Minister these days. There are – other – forces," he said, gesturing vaguely, "that always have room for talented wizards who come from a good background, if you understand me."

"Purebloods, you mean?" James snapped. Yaxley started to smile, putting a hand on the wrist of his robes and rubbing the spot almost subconsciously. Feeling anger bubbling up inside him, James said, "I don't know what you've heard about us, but you can tell whoever it is giving you orders that we're going to be the ones to stop you, not join you."

"I'd have hoped the Ministry would have got rid of people like you by now," Frank added, looking at Yaxley with growing disdain. "I think you should go."

"Times are changing," Yaxley said, as he stood up rigidly. "Purebloods need to stand together in this, to protect ourselves and our families. If you know what's good for you, you'll go where the power is."

He strode away, leaving the two of them in silent shock.

James and Frank didn't even bother to finish their lunch. They went straight to Alastor Moody's office and told him what Yaxley had said, talking over each other in their haste.

"He was going on about stupid pureblood bullshit-"

"-said we need to go where the power is-"

"-as though there was even a chance we'd agree-"

"-should've told him to go f-"

"Enough!" Moody growled. He eyed them with his most chilling stare. "Neither of you should be surprised to find supporters of Voldemort here. The Ministry has always been rife with purebloods – money and family connections are all that matter to a lot of people."

"But can't we do something?" James asked. "Get him fired?"

"Trust me, Potter, I've tried plenty of times to get people like that out of the Ministry. You won't get any further than I have."

"But he's working for Voldemort!" Frank said.

"Did he tell you that?" Moody asked. "Did he say that name to you?"

James opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.

"No," Frank admitted.

"That's what I thought," Moody said gruffly. "He'd say nothing that could incriminate him. No – he can deny having said anything to do with Voldemort."

"We have to do something," James said desperately.

"Well perhaps if the two of you were a little better at thinking on your feet, we could have ourselves a pair of spies – but you didn't think of that, did you?"

They shook their heads. Moody sighed, rubbing his knee where the prosthetic was attached.

"But even if we can't do anything here," Frank said, giving Moody a meaningful look. "There's always..."

Moody frowned, regarding Frank contemplatively. Then he gave an exaggerated shrug – an action that looked quite comical on a man who James assumed only ever moved with the purpose of a warrior. "I suppose now is as good a time as any," he said after a long moment of silence.

"What?" James asked, glancing between them. "What's going on?"

"Potter," Moody said, placing a heavy hand on James' shoulder. "Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Since part of her healer training involved working on Saturdays, Lily was glad that she had Monday afternoons to herself, which she could spend catching up with Mary or, like today, simply trying to relax – although the mountain of silver paper and ribbons spread across the kitchen table hadn't led to a particularly stress-free afternoon. Lily hadn't thought writing wedding invitations would take very long, but she hadn't accounted for the fact that she had to remember who was dating whom, who might want to bring plus-ones, and whether or not her sister would even accept the invitation at all. Not to mention the seating plans that still needed writing up and Mary's maid of honour dress that had been delivered to her in the wrong size.

When she heard the front door click open and James' voice call out to her, Lily glanced up at the clock and was surprised to see that that five hours had passed by since she'd sat down just after lunch.

"I brought takeaway," James said, holding up a plastic bag. He started to put it down on the table, but saw the panicked look in Lily's eye and thought better of it.

"Thanks," Lily said, releasing a breath. "I've been working on these all afternoon and the cat has been doing enough damage."

"They look great!" James leant down to kiss her on the cheek. The invitations were handmade, and Lily had decorated them with glitter and intricate designs of doves swooping across the parchment. The sight of them made James' heart flutter, but he pushed the feeling down, knowing the matters they needed to discuss that evening were much more urgent.

James took two plates out of the cupboard and scooped out the portions of rice and noodles, while Lily cleared the table of invitations.

"Lils, I need to talk to you about something," he said when they were finally both sitting down.

"Okay," Lily said. Once a declaration such as this would have filled her with dread, but since dating and living with James she'd discovered that he was just as likely to be this dramatic about his opinion on the weather as he was about anything serious.

"Voldemort tried to recruit me today."

Lily dropped her fork, which clattered to the floor, leaving a blob of sauce on the linoleum.

"What?" was all she managed to say.

"Well, it wasn't actually Voldemort himself, and the whole thing was a bit vague, but some guy named Yaxley tried to convince me and Frank to join them – to 'go where the power is.'" There was a look of disgust on his face.

"Oh my God," Lily breathed.

"I know." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"I can't believe people like that are allowed to work at the Ministry," she said.

"Me neither - but that's not all that happened today." His expression was tense, but his eyes had brightened. "You know how people have been dropping hints about a group to fight Voldemort? Dumbledore, Marlene, Frank..."

"Yeah?"

"Moody finally told me about it; it's called the Order of the Phoenix. There's a meeting tonight - and we're invited."

The meeting was at Emmeline Vance's house. She was a talented witch who James had seen in portraits of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. She'd left Hogwarts the year before James and Lily started, so neither of them had ever met her in person.

After apparating there, they knocked on the front door of a large estate house that was answered by a small house elf with droopy ears and wide eyes.

"Mistress says that guests need a password to enter," the house elf told them, keeping the door closed other than the small gap she needed to peer out at them.

"A password?" Lily asked, perplexed, but James said "Kenmare Kestrels" with an air of importance.

The house elf moved to one side and James gave Lily a self-important wink before slipping through the door ahead of her.

They were led into a high ceilinged dinning room with a deep red carpet and long table around which other members of the Order were seated. James spotted Frank and Alice, followed by Professor McGonagall, before his vision of the table was obscured by a tall, slim witch stepping into his field of vision.

"I see you found our final guests, Pokey," Emmeline addressed the house elf warmly. "Mr Potter, Miss Evans, welcome."

"You have a lovely house," Lily said politely.

"It belonged to my parents," Emmeline replied. "Most of the time I find it too large to rattle around in, but it's certainly proved useful these last few months."

She gestured to the guests behind her, and James saw that Dumbledore and Moody had just entered through a doorway leading off to another room.

When their eyes met, Dumbledore gave them a small smile and nodded his head in greeting. He'd been the one to set up the Order, James knew, and he felt himself struck with awe. Though Dumbledore was a kind and understanding headmaster, there had always been a sense of greatness about him - something you couldn't quite explain given his quiet demeanour. But he had been a Gryffindor too, had defeated Grindlewald back in the 40s, and James was sure that if anyone had the power to stop what was happening with Voldemort, Dumbledore would be able to manage it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Moody clearing his throat. "Not to interrupt your discussion Emmeline, but are we ready to get down to business?"

"Isn't Dorcas coming?" Frank asked. "I thought she had a report."

"She's still undercover," Moody told the room at large. "She thought it would be too dangerous to apparate away now."

James and Lily knew Dorcas by name, if not personally - a former Hufflepuff prefect who had left school a few years ahead of them. The idea of her being on a dangerous mission sent a jolt of excitement through James, coupled with a distant feeling of fear.

"Let's start then," Emmeline agreed, gesturing to James and Lily to take a seat.

They sat in tall chairs across from two brothers with striking ginger hair – the Prewetts. Lily belated realised that Marlene was sitting next to one of them, Gideon, apparently laughing at a shared joke. She looked up as Lily and James sat down and smiled warmly at them.

"Didn't think it'd be long until you turned up, Potter."

"You know me Marls," James said, sounding confident, though Lily could feel the nervous tapping of his leg against hers.

"Looks like you have quite the operation here," Lily put in, placing a reassuring hand on James' knee.

"We try," Fabian Prewett answered. Lily had never spoken to either of the brothers before, but they shared warm, honey coloured eyes that shone with a hint of mischief. "We suggested making a secret headquarters in the Ministry though, right Gid?"

"Right," his brother said, laughing at the memory, "no one suspects a spy on the inside. We could set up in the Department of Mysteries, people would probably just assume we were supposed to be there."

"Moody didn't much like that idea though."

"Idiotic, I think he called it," Gideon clarified, grinning at Lily. "So Emmeline's house works just fine."

"Just not as cool," Fabian smirked.

The way they talked together reminded Lily of how James and Sirius were when they were planning on pulling a prank – always eager to finish the other's thoughts and excited to tell everyone about it, even though most other people couldn't quite follow what they were talking about at all.

"Here is a little cosier, at least." Lily smiled.

Fabian shrugged to indicate that it would have to do, and Gideon turned his attention away from them, putting an arm around the back of Marlene's chair, and shrugging innocently when she glanced up at him.

"If I could have your attention."

They were interrupted by Dumbledore, who stood up at the head of the table and started to address the room. The sight was at once so much like the start of year addresses he had made at Hogwarts, and yet so different, when he was talking about death eaters and murders and the possibility of needing to talk to more people about fighting back.

It was frightening to hear, but it gave Lily a sense of control that she hadn't felt since leaving Hogwarts – as though she could actually do something to stop the people who were hurting people like her. James, she knew, had felt helpless as they were forced to deal with the reality of a war that was apparently closer than they'd thought. But with the Order, they wouldn't be stuck waiting around for the worst to happen anymore. They could finally make a difference.

The meeting wasn't exactly short, what with several people delivering reports on intel they'd gathered and a long discussion about their plans. By the time they left, it was past eight o'clock, and they were late - they'd promised to go to Sirius and Remus' house that night, since they'd had barely any chance for the five of them to meet up lately.

But when they arrived, James was momentarily distracted from telling them all about the Order by the fact that Sirius was in the middle of the living room floor, wearing shorts that barely reached his thighs and a thin, black vest top. He was doing some sort of pose, with his hands and feet on the floor and his butt sticking in the air.

"Um," James said, the two of them halting in the doorway. "That is more of your arse than I ever wanted to see, Padfoot."

"He's been doing this for a while now," Peter said. He was sitting on the sofa was a bemused expression on his face. "Apparently it's called yoga."

"It's a sacred and ancient art, Wormtail." Sirius tried to get up gracefully but only succeeded in falling back onto the carpet. "And I'll have you know that position is called the down dog."

There was a grin on his face, as though he'd just told the world's funniest joke, and James couldn't hide a smile.

Remus came out of the kitchen holding two bowls of snacks and sighed long-sufferingly.

"Aren't you done yet?" he asked. To James and Lily, he said, "He's been at it all week. He cannot be stopped. I have had to endure this for hours and hours."

"I wouldn't mind a pair of those shorts." Lily told Sirius, "Where did you get them?"

"A fashion guru never reveals his secrets," he replied solemnly.

"He decided to befriend the neighbours as Padfoot, and while he was there he stole the washing off their line," Remus said wryly.

"Of course he did," James said rolling his eyes. He approached Sirius and offered him a hand, pulling him up off the floor.

"We have something to tell you all before we play - er, what was it again Lils?"

"Monopoly," Lily reminded him.

"Right - before we play monopoly. Buy maybe you should get dressed first Pads?"

Sirius looked down at himself and shrugged. "Aren't you enjoying the view? I think Wormy and Lily are."

"I'm mostly enjoying the wine," Peter argued, holding up his glass.

"Here," Remus said, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the radiator and throwing them at him, "you're distracting like that anyway."

"Oh really?" Sirius asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Remus. "Maybe the two of us should get out of here then."

"This is our flat, Sirius," Remus reminded him. "Put the bloody pants on and have a beer."

"If you insist," Sirius sighed. He pulled the pants up over the shorts he was already wearing and took the offered bottle of butterbeer.

"Right then, what's up?"

There wasn't enough room for all five of them to fit comfortably on the sofa, so while Remus took up the space beside Peter, Sirius dropped onto the floor across from them, Lily sank down into an overstuffed chair and James perched on the arm of it beside her.

Once they were all settled and had gotten themselves drinks, James began to tell them about the meeting.

They'd all heard from Frank at the end of the school year that Dumbledore had started some sort of group to combat Voldemort, but the fact that they were already so active surprised them.

"How many people are in this – what is it – Order?" Remus asked.

"I don't know exactly, there were about ten people at the meeting but I think there are more of us."

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "Other people are out on missions and stuff, like Dorcas Meadowes."

"Meadowss?" Peter interrupted. "That Hufflepuff? She always seemed kind of scary. I'm not surprised she'd want to be in on this."

James nodded. "Frank, Alice, Kingsley and Marlene were there too."

The room was quiet for a moment, other than the sound of Peter tapping his fingers nervously against the side of his glass, and the soft patter of rain against the windows.

Then Sirius spoke.

"Well we're joining, right?" He looked around at all of them, his gaze lingering briefly on Remus, but he met James' eye with a look of steely determination. "Dumbledore and the Order want to stop everything that's been going on. I bet we don't even know the half of it - this is exactly what we've been waiting for. Who needs a job when we can do something this important."

"You should still get a job," Remus said, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "I can't be doing with all the yoga." More solemnly, Remus asked James, "what would we have to do?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I think Moody knows a lot about the sort of people who are working for Voldemort. He seems to send people on missions to get information and stuff."

"That sounds doable," Remus agreed.

"It sounds dangerous," Peter put in. His glass was now empty, but he was still holding it tightly in one hand. "I don't like Voldemort just as much as the rest of you but - we're only eighteen. Are we really qualified for any of this?"

"You heard what James said, loads of people from school do it," Sirius told him with a shrug that did nothing to alleviate his uncertainty.

"You're right, Peter."

Peter didn't expect the words to come from Lily, but he turned to see that she was watching him was a sad smile.

"It might be dangerous. And no one's going to force you to join if you don't want to, but I for one think it's worth it. I can't just sit by and watch people get hurt anymore."

"Here here," Sirius agreed, raising his beer in Lily's direction.

Silence stretched, each of them lost in their own thoughts, until Lily cleared her throat loudly, and said, in at attempt at normality, "Okay then, monopoly?"

She stood up to grab the board and they all filtered into the kitchen to sit around the table, most of the tension between them vanishing easily.

"I want to be the dog," Sirius said, grabbing the piece the moment Lily opened the box.

"Of course you do," Peter said, rolling his eyes. "As long as I'm not stuck being an iron again."

They settled down to play, the five of them laughing and joking together as the fake money was pushed from player to player. They had less opportunity, now they had finished school, to take the time to do something as simple and childish as just play a game.

Lily had sat at two tables that night. One where they were told in no uncertain terms that they were at war, and another with her friends, where they appeared to have no worries in the world other than whether they would pass go and collect £200. The juxtaposition was jarring, and Lily was unsure how to integrate the laughing young men sitting around Remus and Sirius' kitchen table with the soldiers she knew they would have to be if they were to continue down this road. She didn't blame Peter for being uncertain, or Sirius for being angry.

There was only one person to blame.

And she would be a soldier if it meant not letting him win.