May 20, 1978

Althea hummed quietly as she stepped into her modest apartment. It was strange to think that a week ago she had graduated, and she'd never be going back to Hogwarts. She was going to miss it, but she was pleased that the friendships she had made so far at least had remained intact. Kicking the door shut behind her, she slipped her shoes off and headed to the kitchen. Tonight, she was meeting up with Lily, James, Sirius and Remus – Peter had another engagement – to discuss Dumbledore's offer. Right after graduation he had approached them, with an offer to join the Order of the Phoenix. Of course, they had all heard of it before (you'd have to be living under a rock not to) and his offer had stumped them all.

James's first instinct had been to say yes, but Lily being as levelheaded as she was reminded both him and Sirius that they all should talk it over. Both boys had been grumpy but in the end, they had agreed, not wanting to risk being on the redhead's bad side. At the time Althea hadn't known what to think, and she still didn't know what to think. Joining the Order of the Phoenix? That screamed a lot of violence and danger, but in the end, it would help to bring down Voldemort. That was one of the things that she wanted most in the world. If He was gone, maybe she'd start to feel safe when she'd walk to work or when she went to Diagon Alley. So, they were meeting tonight, in Althea's meager apartment. Remus had been averse to the idea at first, because he feared that if Death Eaters were watching any of them it would lead straight to Althea and the last thing that he wanted was for her to get hurt.

Althea, in response had only rolled her eyes and insisted that her apartment was in the best place. Everywhere else was too public for a meeting of this importance, and it wasn't like they could go to Sirius's house – he didn't have one, and was crashing at Remus's – and Remus was living near his parents. The last thing she wanted to do was put his parents in danger. So, it was decided, tonight they would meet at Althea's apartment to discuss the Order of the Phoenix. Althea spent the better part of the day cleaning her apartment so it didn't look like a pigsty and then she curled up on her small tattered couch, a book in her hands and read waiting for the rest of her friends to arrive.

Lily and James were the first to arrive, hands intertwined. They had Apparated into the apartment, startling Althea and causing her to scream. Lily and James had burst out into laughter, but there was an understanding light in their eyes. They knew why she had been frightened and they couldn't fault her for it. After giving them a rough time for scaring her, she went into the kitchen to get them tea a small smile on her face. That was when Remus arrived, on time as usual. She walked out of the kitchen two mugs of tea in her hand and smiled at Remus quickly, before giving the tea to Lily and James who were sitting on the couch.

Althea felt a flush crawling up her cheeks as Remus approached her, his eyes languidly roving around her tiny apartment. He grabbed her hand, intertwining their figures. Then they were just waiting for Sirius to arrive. It was no surprise that he was late – it was Sirius after all – but that didn't keep the ire from appearing in James's eyes as he stared at his best friend. Althea cleared her throat nervously, hoping to stop a fight from breaking out.

"So, Order of the Phoenix," Althea murmured, squeezing Remus's hand. "What are all of us thinking about that?"

"I want to join," Lily said, looking up from her place beside James. "I hate living in fear all the time, and if there's something that I can do to stop that and to stop Him, I want to do it."

"I wanted to say yes as soon as he offered," James spoke up. "Lily insisted that we talk about this rationally, but for me nothing has changed. I still want to say yes."

"Obviously I'm going wherever you're going mate," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. "It's a bonus, that it'll piss of my family and I can get some sweet revenge."

The three then turned to Althea and Remus who for the most part had been silent. The two glanced at each other and then at their friends.

It was Remus who spoke first. "I want to join as well. I feel like I can be of some use to Dumbledore because of my condition," he spoke, voice slightly strangled. "I have no doubt that the other side will be trying to recruit others of my kind and it would be an aid if Dumbledore would have a werewolf on his side as well. A werewolf that could eventually try to gain other allies."

"What about you Thea?" Lily asked, and the smaller girl shifted her feet.

"I want to join too, but I'm afraid I won't be of much use. I'm not that great of a duelist, and my Potions work while adequate and maybe better than average is in no way outstanding." Althea shrugged her shoulders, "But I do want to join the Order of the Phoenix even if I'm not sure that I'll be of much use."

"Don't doubt yourself so much, Thea," Lily lightly scolded her, and the blush on her cheeks deepened. "You were the most capable witch in our year!"

"Thanks," Althea mumbled ducking her head bashfully.

"So, we're all in agreement then?" James asked, looking around at all of them. "Great. Then the five of us will join the Order."

"What about Peter?" Remus asked, thinking of their slightly pudgy friend.

"He didn't seem to express much of an interest in it," Althea spoke up. "I mean, Dumbledore mentioned it and he turned white as a sheet. Plus, when we mentioned talking about it tonight he suddenly had other plans. He might not want to."

"I agree with Thea," Lily said. "For now, we give Peter time and space so he can think about it. If he doesn't want to join the Order, there's nothing that we can do about it and it will do us no good to push it on him. Peter has to decide on his own that this is what he wants."

The other Marauders looked reluctant but agreed to it, because none of them wanted to push the girls on it. Lily would stubbornly stick to her point, and there was no doubt that Althea would back her up with incredibly valid arguments that they had no hope of refuting even with Remus on their side. They once again confirmed that they'd all like to join the Order, and then Sirius was gone. Lily and James stayed awhile to chat with Remus and Althea, before they too left. The two lovers curled up on the couch, both of them silent as they reflected on what had happened.

It was around nine o'clock when Remus tried to leave. As soon as he tried disentangling himself from Althea though he froze, as she looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes and a pout. She tugged at his hand, urging him to sit down once again and even though he knew that he should have left he sat back down staring at her softly.

"What's wrong Thea?" he asked, a touch of amusement in his voice as he gathered her into his lap.

She smiled against the skin of his neck, "Can't I want my boyfriend to stay over without there being anything wrong?"

He laughed. "Yes, but I think something is bothering you."

"How do you know?" she asked, leaning back to look at him curiously.

He tapped her nose, "I know you pretty well, Althea. You're easy to read."

"Well, I'm just worried." Althea mumbled. "We're all joining the Order and as wonderful as it is, I can't help but feel that something bad is going to happen. This makes it all too real now, and I worry about Lily and James, Sirius, and you. I just, don't like it."

"Nothing bad will happen to any of us, Althea you worry too much," Remus scolded her, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "Even if something were to happen to me, you'd have Lily, James and Sirius. Or if something would happen to one of them, you'd have the rest of us. You wouldn't be alone."

"I'm not afraid of being alone." Lie. "Not entirely. I just don't want anything to happen to any of you guys. I mean, when I get married I want Lily to be my maid-of-honor, and I want to be the godmother to her kids whenever she has any." Althea shrugged helplessly. "I don't want all of that to be ripped away."

"It won't be," Remus soothed her. "You're going to drive yourself crazy worrying about all the what ifs, Thea. You've got to stop it. Let whatever happens happen."

"Easier said than done," she said with a frown.

She wanted to believe that it was as easy as Remus was making it out to be but truthfully, she knew that it wasn't. Not for her. She snuggled closer to Remus, and closed her eyes. She wanted this moment of peacefulness to just last for one moment longer. Just one moment to relax in peace and enjoy the feel of Remus's arms around her.

"I love you," she whispered into his shoulder.

"I love you too."

"Forever?"

"Always."