June 1996

"It's going to be weird not waking up and coming down to the Great Hall for breakfast everyday," Lily Evans said with a sigh, falling down next to Marlene at the Gryffindor table for breakfast that morning.

Mary MacDonald smiled. "I'm going to miss you guys," she said. "It's going to suck not seeing you all everyday."

"We'll still see each other all the time," Marlene said with a smile. "And if we can't see each other I will write you all, like, all the time."

"Me too," Lily said. "So what are your guys' plans now?"

"I'm going to go home for a little while," Marlene said. "Then I'll probably move to London. I've decided to accept the Auror offer."

"I still haven't decided if I am," Mary said with a sigh. "I want to help out in every way I can but I don't know if joining the Aurors is... for me, you know."

The Ministry of Magic's Auror Office had in recent years begun to send Auror job offers to all the top graduating Hogwarts students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Aurors needed people. They needed more support so all the exams and the three year training process had been removed in order to allow more people to join and help fight this war. This had only served to amplify the divide between Slytherin and the other three Houses but Barty Crouch, despite the being a Slytherin himself, didn't want to take any chances. The Ministry already had a big leak problem.

"I get it," Lily replied with a nod. "I wanted to be a teacher but I don't know. Maybe we have to do this first and then when the war we can do what we all really want to do."

"Maybe..." Mary said, looking away.

Just then Dorcas Meadowes walked quickly over to her friends. She sat down next to Mary and quickly stuffed a piece of bacon in her mouth. Mary laughed.

"Good morning, Dorcas," she said. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."

"I don't think she has," Marlene said with a smile. "During exams she completely forgets what normal humans need to survive."

"Shut up," Dorcas said with a mouthful of food.

Lily laughed. "So, have you decided if you're going to join the Aurors?"

"Yep," she said. "I'm not joining."

"What?" Mary says, a shocked expression on her face. Dorcas was voicing what Mary wish she could. She was scared and she didn't want to become an Auror. That was never one of her career options but at the same time she felt like it was her duty. Like she would be letting her friends and family down if she didn't.

"I'm not joining," Dorcas said again.

"But I thought you wanted to be an Auror," Marlene said with a frown. "Don't you want to help in this stupid war?"

"Of course I do," Dorcas said with a frown. "But I think I could do so better outside of the Auror Office. I talked to Amelia Bones, she works very closely with Alastor Moody, the Head of the Auror Office. I would have talked to him directly but he's so paranoid that he doesn't look at any letters addressed to him anymore. I wanted to ask about the bureaucracy that gets in the way of Aurors doing their job and I think that I would much rather avoid it. I'm going to join the Order of the Phoenix directly."

"But Dumbledore said that he didn't want us to join the Order yet," Lily said. "He wants us to be a little older and have more experience."

"I am going to go talk to him after breakfast," she replied, looking up at the teacher's table at Dumbledore. "I'm going to demand that he let me in."

"Good luck," Mary said with a laugh.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do if he still says no?" Lily asked.

"Then I'll join, of course," Dorcas said with a smile. "I still want to be an Auror but I want to fight this war the best way I can first. I can become an Auror whenever I want but I want do the best thing for the time I'm living in right now."

"If you do get on will you help me get on too?" Marlene asked. "I'd rather be on the Order than an Auror as well."

"Of course," Dorcas said giving her a small salute. Marlene smiled.

"Well, I still haven't decided what I'm going to do," Lily said with a sigh.

"Well, didn't you want to be a professor?" Dorcas said. "We don't all have to throw spells to win the war. We still need people to teach the next generations and make sure that they understand which is the right side. We might win the fight but we won't win the war if there are still people out there who think that Muggleborns are less than Purebloods."

Lily smiled. "I do want to be a teacher," she said. "I don't know. Right now Hogwarts, unless I can convince Slughorn to take me on as a teaching assistant, there isn't really a position for me."

"I think he totally would," Marlene said. "You're his absolute favourite. He would love to have you working with him."

"Definitely," Mary said. "He might be in love with you Lil."

Lily laughed. "I don't know about that but I'm sure I could convince him to," she said. "I don't know. I think maybe I should just become an Auror until after the war. I want to do my part, you know."

"That's always an option too," Dorcas said.

"Oh, there are the boys. Finally," Mary muttered. "They're so late."

"Probably planning one last prank before the train gets here or something," said Marlene with a smile.

"Oh, guys, don't talk about the Auror letters anymore," Lily said with a frown. "Peter never got one and he's been really down about it."

"Poor Peter," Mary said with a sigh.

...

"Another year gone," Dumbledore said, sitting down at his desk with a sigh. He reached down into his desk drawer and pulled out a chessboard.

"You can't say that yet," Minerva replied, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk and watching the pieces assemble themselves on the board. "The Hogwarts Express has yet to leave."

"I suppose that is a bit premature," he said with a smile, taking the first move.

"So, the Express leaves in about two hours," Minerva said moving a pawn, "and I will leave for the Ministry immediately after to meet with Crouch. The meeting is scheduled to only be an hour but knowing Crouch we should be done in forty five minutes tops. I'll report back as soon as I can."

Dumbledore nodded, looking at the board and thinking. He moved another one of his pieces. "Also, you will be pleased to know that I've already found a Defense teacher for next year."

"Excellent," she replied. "Who?"

"Sarah Levy," he said. "She is an American witch who taught at Ilvermorny for twelve years before getting an opportunity to do research in South America. She wanted to get back into teaching so applied here."

Minerva nodded. "Alright," she said. "It's nice not to have to run around trying to find someone to fill the position."

"Yes, I -"

There was a loud knock on the door. Minerva turned to look at it. "Have you scheduled a meeting over our chess game, Albus?"

"I would never, Minerva," he said with a smile. He looked up at the door and called. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked Dorcas Meadowes. Dumbledore gave her a smile. "Ah, Miss Meadowes. How can I help you today?"

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Dorcas said diplomatically. She walked towards the desk. "I'm sorry to interrupt your game."

"Miss Meadowes, shouldn't you be finishing up your packing?" Minerva said.

"Already done, Professor," she said. She looked over at Dumbledore. "I was hoping I could talk to you about the Order of the Phoenix, sir. And before you say anything, I know what you said and I understand why you would rather we get some experience before joining but I ask that you please listen to what I have to say."

Minerva turned to look at Dumbledore. He had his elbows on the desk and his fingertips together. He looked deep in thought, not looking away from Dorcas. After a long pause, he nodded. "Go ahead, Miss Meadowes."

Dorcas took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way over to the desk. She said, "Professor Dumbledore, I completely understand why you would want us to wait a while before we join the Order of the Phoenix. I do. I understand that you would want us to be older and more experienced before you send us into battle but I think that throughout my school years I have proven that I am not like most witches and wizards my age. I have never backed down from a fight in my life. I work hard to be the best in all my classes no matter how much time that takes reading textbooks and practicing wand movements. The only person to have ever beat me in a duel was James Potter and since then I've trained harder and I wish him luck doing so again. I have been offered a position at the Auror Office but I want to do more. I want to fight this war to the best of my abilities and I think I could do so better if I was part of an organisation that did not have any political ties one way or another. When I'm fighting this war, I don't want to have to worry about politics and bureaucracy.

"This war has never been what I wanted. It started faster than I could keep up with and I do not claim to know everything about it. I will be the first to admit that I do not completely understand it but I do understand one thing. That is that I know how it feels to be marginalized, to be discriminated against, to be treated as lesser because of who you are and I would never wish that on anyone else. I do not want to live in a world where people are not treated with respect no matter who they are. I want to fight so that we can live in a world where my friends, Lily Evans and Mary MacDonald, can be proud of their Muggleborn heritage. Where they will never have to worry about being murdered over their blood status. Where they will never have to worry that someone will treat them differently just because their parents can't do magic so please let me fight. Let me do everything I can to create this world."

There was silence for a long time after Dorcas had stopped speaking. Minerva raised her eyebrows and looked over at Dumbledore. He was still looking very deep in thought. Minerva was really hoping that he was not actually considering this.

"Albus," Minerva said quietly.

Dumbledore put a hand up to stop her. He looked at her and they had a silent conversation where she begged him not to let her join. She's only eighteen! The look he gave her let her know that he was definitely going to let her join. She sighed and gave him a look that said fine.

He smiled and looked over at Dorcas. "Miss Meadowes, you have conveyed your point quite eloquently and I must admit that you have proved yourself quite capable. I would like to formally invite you to join the Order of the Phoenix."

A smile spread across Dorcas's face. She quickly stuck out her hand and shook Dumbledore's. "Thank you, sir!" she said happily. "Thank you so much. You will not regret this, I promise you."

Minerva rolled her eyes but Dumbledore smiled. "No, I doubt I will."

"If I may, sir," Dorcas continued. "I think you'll find that I am not the only one who feels this way. I hope I'm not pushing my luck but Marlene McKinnon also feels that she would be a lot more help as a member of the Order than as an Auror."

Minerva gave her a look. "Now, Miss Meadowes -"

"Miss McKinnon has proven herself quite the skilled marksmen," Dumbledore said, looking over at Minerva. "Did she not hit a moving target with a stunner from almost fifty feet away."

"Yes, but she's -"

"Only eighteen, yes, but she's also very skilled and talented," Dorcas insisted. "She would be a great asset to the Order. If you have a marksmen you may be able to take out Death Eaters from a safer distance without risking the lives of other Order members."

"She makes good points," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Minerva rubbed the side of her head with two fingers and sighed. "Fine, let her in," she said angrily. "Let them all in and then let in the sixth year and fifth years too. Let children fight this war, Albus."

"Minerva -"

"Professor McGonagall, we are no longer children," Dorcas said softly, turning so she was giving her professor her full attention. "We are adults that want to do our part to build a world we can all be proud of."

Minerva didn't respond. She just crossed her arms and looked away. Dorcas turned back to Dumbledore. He nodded. "You are right, again. I will also extend the invitation to Miss McKinnon," he said. "I would prefer that you both take a few days though to be with your families and talk to them about this. I will send word to you both when we will have our next Order meeting. Please let Miss McKinnon know."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," she said with a smile. "I will let her know. I will see you both soon. Goodbye, Professor McGonagall."

Minerva gave a small nod in reply and Dorcas scurried from the room to go find Marlene. When she heard the door close behind her, Minerva picked up a pawn from the chessboard and chucked it at Dumbledore. It hit him in the chest and fell to the desk. He gave her a surprised look.

"She made good points."

"She could have came in here and said 'I need a job, give it to me' and you would have invited her into the Order," Minerva muttered. "You want them, you just want them to ask first so you won't be responsible if something happens to them."

"That is what you believe," he replied, putting a pawn back on the chessboard.

"It is what is true," she replied, picking up another pawn and slamming back down on the chessboard. "Make your damn move."

Friday, April 16th 1999

"Okay, have a nice day at school, love," Dorcas said, kneeling down in front of Lucy. "I probably won't be here to pick you up with Remus but I'll see you at Hogwarts tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said. She gave Dorcas a hug. "Good luck on your mission, Dorcas. Stay safe."

"Always," Dorcas said with a smile, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you soon."

Lucy said goodbye to both Dorcas and Remus before running towards the school. Dorcas straightened up and looked over at Remus. "Are you sure you'll be okay without me?"

"Well, I'll probably be bored out of my mind but I'll be okay," Remus replied with a smile. "Be careful, Dorcas. Stay safe. I'll see you back at Hogwarts as well."

Dorcas smiled and gave Remus a hug. "See you soon, Remus."

With that she walked away to find somewhere to Apparate. Remus sighed and pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself. It was going to be a long day all alone while Dorcas was gone on her mission for Dumbledore. He probably should have brought a book or something. Remus walked over to a bench and sat down with his legs up. Resigned to his next few hours of boredom.

Dorcas walked back to their alleyway, glanced back and forth to make sure no one was watching, and Apparated to a Safe Apparition Zone near the Ministry of Magic building in London. She walked down the streets into a telephone booth and punched in the code. Six, two, four, four, two.

Slowly the telephone booth began to lower into the street below like an elevator. Dorcas watched the London street disappear above her. Finally the elevator stopped moving and she stepped out into a large atrium, the main lobby of the Ministry building. She walked past a large fountain in the middle of the atrium. A banner with a woman on it that read Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold hung from the ceiling. Thousands of paper airplanes flew over their heads. She made it to the elevators and took it up to level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. This elevator went very fast and didn't just go up and down. It took turns and went horizontally too. Dorcas watched a little girl cling to her father's leg and giggle, enjoying the ride. She gave the little girl a smile.

When the elevator made it to her floor, Dorcas got out along with a few other witches and wizards and a lot of flying paper airplanes. She walked through a large set of oak doors into the Auror Office. Wooden desks lined the large hall. Every Auror got their own. Offices of the Head and Deputy Head of the Office lined the side of the hall.

"Meadowes, yer late," Moody grumbled as he threw a stack of files on a desk. "MacEwan, these are the latest Dark Mark sighting reports. Look fer any connections between these attacks. I want to be able to predict where these motherfuckers are going next."

MacEwan, a nervous, skinny wizard, nodded meekly and quickly collected the files as Moody wobbled back towards his office, motioning for Dorcas to follow. Dorcas did, sending smiles and waving at Aurors she knew as they passed.

"Bones, Diggle, and Pettigrew are already here," he said.

"I'm sorry," Dorcas said. "I hope you all haven't been waiting too long."

"Nah," Moody mumbled. He stopped at his office door and looked at her for a moment. "I know yeh've been adamant that Pettigrew would be up to a task like this bu-"

"Peter is ready," Dorcas said, cutting him off. "We can't keep him on guard duty forever. He wants to be more involved. He's ready."

"Alrigh'," he said with a little shrug. "Yeh'll be responsible for him."

"I'm confident in Peter's abilities," Dorcas said with a small smile. "It'll be okay."

Moody nodded and opened the office door. He walked inside and Dorcas walked in after him. Amelia, Diggle, and Peter were already sitting around the desk waiting for them. Dorcas walked over and took her seat quickly. Amelia stood up and handed a folder to the each of them.

"We've gotten a lot of reports of Death Eaters in the Nottingham area," she said, walking around the desk as Moody sat down. She stood behind him and opened her own folder. "There are three buildings around the outskirts of the city that we think they could be using as a hub."

"Yer mission is to check each building for Death Eaters and report back," Moody said. "As soon as yeh send the word, we'll bombard the building with Aurors."

"Do not engage before back up arrives," Amelia said sternly.

They talked about each building for a while. Dorcas would be going to the one North of Nottingham, Peter to the South, and Diggle to the West. Each were to check out their building and send a patronus back to Amelia. Amelia would send Moody and the rest of the Aurors to the building that the Death Eaters were in.

After their meeting, Dorcas, Diggle, and Peter got ready to leave. Peter quickly excused himself to go to the washroom before they left. Dorcas watched him shuffle nervously off to the bathroom and smiled a little.

"He gonna be okay?" Diggle asked with a frown. "I know he's been a bit off since Darren passed."

Dorcas sighed. "I think his confidence really took a hit after his father died."

"Not that he had very much to begin with," Diggle said.

"He'll be okay," Dorcas said. "Just give him a chance. A reconnaissance mission is a good place to start, don't you think?"

"I suppose," Diggle said.

"I'll go make sure he's okay," she said.

In the washroom Peter took a deep breath and looked at his reflection in the mirror for a second. His hands were shaking. He gripped the edge of the sink quickly, knuckles turning white. Eyes closed, he stood there for a couple minutes before finally pushing himself off the counter. He looked back at the stalls and quickly checked for any hiding wizards. There were none there.

He pulled out his wand and held it up in his shaky hands. Peter whispered, "Expecto -"

Suddenly there was a knock on the bathroom door, making him drop his wand. "Peter," Dorcas's voice came through from the other side. "We're about to head out. Are you ready to to go?"

"Ah, yeah, yeah," Peter called, scrambling to grab his wand. "Just - just give me a second."

"Alright."

Peter took another deep breath, clutched his wand and closed his eyes tightly. When he had finally calmed himself down a bit, he sent off his patronus and walked out of the bathroom.

Dorcas was waiting on the other side of the door, leaning against the wall. She gave him a warm smile and pushed herself off the wall. "Ready?"

He nodded, still a little shakily.

Dorcas smiled. "I know you're a little nervous," she said, putting a hand on his arm, "but I believe in you, Peter. You've trained really hard and you're ready. Don't listen to James or Sirius. They like to joke but you're a great wizard and I know you'll be an excellent partner."

Peter gave her a small smile. "Ah, thanks, Dorcas," he said. "We - we should probably head out.'

Dorcas nodded and walked back towards the office. Peter followed quickly behind.

Amelia was waiting for them at the door. She gave them a small smile. "Remember," she said, "just reconnaissance. If you think your building is the Death Eaters hideout, send a message and wait for back up. Do not go in alone. That means you, Dorcas."

"I can be a team player, don't worry," Dorcas said, giving her a smile.

Amelia smiled. "Be safe," she said. She looked over at Peter and Diggle too. "All of you."

"We'll be fine, Amelia," Diggle said with a laugh. "You worry too much."

Amelia gave him a look and shook her head. She said goodbye and the group headed out.

Dorcas gave Peter one last reassuring look before they all Apparated to Nottingham. When Dorcas reappeared, she found herself in the middle of a deserted street outside the city. She looked around and noticed a plump boy standing beside her. She frowned.

"Peter?" she asked, walking towards him. "You're supposed to be on the other side of the -"

Suddenly Peter pointed his wand up to the sky and a blue light shot out of it. A dome appeared above them and slowly moved until it covered them in about a thirty foot radius. The light disappeared.

"Was that an Anti-Apparition charm?" Dorcas asked, a weight dropping in her stomach. No, that can't be right. "What are you -"

"Hello, Miss Meadowes."

Dorcas turned around quickly, wand up. There standing a few feet away from her was a tall figure in long black robes. The figure had a black hood over his head. Dorcas took a deep breath and held her wand to the ready. She looked around and her eyes widened. More dark figures wearing white skull masks surrounded them, all with a wand raised towards her and Peter.

"Peter," she whispered. "It's going to be okay but I need your help."

The hooded figure laughed. "I thought the Dorcas Meadowes was supposed to be the brightest witch of her age," he said. "Have you really not figured it out by now?"

Dorcas glared at him. She saw movement from the corner of her eye and turned to look at Peter. He scurried away from her, moving towards the hooded figure. Dorcas's eyes widened. "Peter," she said quietly. It was true. "You're - you're the spy..."

Peter didn't look at her. He moved to stand behind the hooded figure.

"You did well, Peter," he said. "Go back to your post as to not arouse suspicion."

Peter jumped a little and nodded, happy to leave. He started walking away quickly so he could Apparate. Dorcas glared at his back with a look of pure hatred. "I trusted you, Peter," she said. "I vouched for you. I can't believe that you're working for him."

He didn't look back at her. He couldn't. He just kept walking until he was far enough away, raised his wand and Apparated out of sight.

"Now, the great and powerful Dorcas Meadowes..." the hooded man said menacingly. She could hear the malice in his voice and it made her stomach turn. "A shame that such great magic will go to waste."

"Nothing you say will make me join you, Voldemort, so I wouldn't waste my breath," Dorcas said, wand pointed in his direction. No point in not using his name now. He's already here and he's already prepared to try to kill her.

Voldemort chuckled. "A shame," he said, wand out now. "Well, shall we?"

The Death Eaters surrounding her all took a step forward. Dorcas looked around at them before smirking at Voldemort. "So," she said, "you're too much of a coward to fight me on your own, then?"

Voldemort laughed again. He flicked his wand and a green light flashed towards her. She blocked it and sent a flash of silver to her right. Several Death Eaters fell unconscious to the ground. This was going to be a long fight that would only get longer with more Death Eaters. Even though she had faith in her abilities, she knew Voldemort was a powerful wizard and she would be foolish to think she could take him and thirty Death Eaters on at once.

The remaining Death Eaters stepped forward again but Voldemort yelled at them to stay back. This was his fight.

Dorcas pushed some hair out of her face and gave him a little smile, clutching her wand tight. "I'm not going to make it easy for you."

"I would never ask you to, Miss Meadowes," Voldemort said with another dark chuckle. "Make your move."

...

"Hey, Remus!"

"Hey, Lucy. Have a good day?" Remus asked as Lucy ran up to him with a smile on her face. She nodded and took his hand. They started walking towards their alleyway.

"Dorcas is still not back."

"No, not yet," he said with a small smile. "She'll probably be back in time for dinner."

"What do you usually do on these kinds of missions? Beat up bad guys like the superheros?" Lucy asked.

"Oh yeah," Remus said. "We take out all the bad guys and arrest them so that they won't be able to do anything bad to anyone again."

"And then Aunty Amelia makes sure they go to jail!" Lucy said.

"Yes, she does," Remus said with a laugh.

"What's jail like?"

"Pretty bad, I would think," Remus said with a sigh. "Judges like your Aunt Amelia will look at what the person did and then give them the punishment that fits that crime. It's important that the punishment fits the crime. We don't want to do something really extreme just because someone stole a piece of bread or something."

Lucy nodded. "That makes sense."

Remus smiled. They got to the alleyway and Apparated back to Hogwarts. Remus walked with her back to Minerva's office where they found Minerva sitting at her desk looking quite frazzled. Her hair was sticking out of her bun and her eyes looked really tired and red. She gave them a small smile when they entered, asked Remus to sit and sent Lucy off to get changed. When Lucy returned, changed out of her uniform, Minerva let her go down to meet up with Tonks, Bill and Charlie.

There was silence for awhile in which Remus started to get uneasy. He felt like something was really wrong. Like bad news was on the way. He didn't speak first though. He waited for Minerva to start.

Minerva waited to make sure Lucy wasn't coming back before she finally spoke. "Remus..." she began and Remus's fears were confirmed. This was definitely not going to be good. "This is... this is going to be hard to hear," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes and starting to roll down her cheek. "Earlier today... Dorcas... she Apparated to the outskirts of Nottingham but... but they - they knew. I don't know how they knew but they knew and they were waiting for her. He was waiting for her."

Remus heard everything that Minerva was saying but for some reason he could not understand. Suddenly he could not put the words together in his mind. He had completely forgotten what words mean.

"I - I don't understand," he said stupidly. He knew he was being stupid but for the life of him he just could not understand.

"She's gone Remus," Minerva replied, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes for a second. "You-Know-Who killed her personally. She - she fought hard. Alastor was the first on the scene... he said she fought so hard, took out a lot of his followers but in the end... he was just... just too powerful."

"No."

"What?" Minerva opened her eyes and looked at Remus. He was glaring at her.

"No. No. She's not gone. No."

"Remus -"

"No!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "No! She's not gone! She's not dead! She can't be dead! She's Dorcas! The only person who's ever beat her in a duel was James and that was years ago! Even he hasn't beaten her since then! She is the smartest, most powerful witch this world has ever seen! There is no way that he could beat her! There is no way anyone could beat her!"

"Remus," Minerva said softly.

"THERE'S NO WAY!" Remus screamed. "DORCAS IS NOT DEAD! SHE SAID SHE'D BE BACK BY DINNER! SHE'LL BE HERE!"

With that he turned on his foot and stormed out of her office. Minerva sighed and wiped her face. She looked down at the article in the Evening Prophet and more tears flooded down her face. She looked at the smiling face of Dorcas Meadowes staring back at her and shook her head. She threw open her drawer and shoved the paper inside. She just couldn't think about her right now. She needed not to think about anything right now.

...

Minerva walked out of the Great Hall after dinner with Lucy walking beside her. She saw Remus standing in the Entrance Hall, leaning on the wall and staring out a window all alone. Minerva sighed and told Lucy to head up to her office while she went to talk to Remus. Lucy frowned and asked why she couldn't come but Minerva just told her to go. Lucy sighed and ran up the steps towards Gryffindor Tower.

Minerva watched her go for a minute before walking over to Remus. He saw her walking towards her and avoided her gaze, staring off outside. "She's gone," he whispered. "She's not coming home."

"I'm so sorry, Remus," Minerva whispered, setting a hand on his arm.

"I'm never going to hold her and hug her and kiss her. I'm never going to live with her or have a family with her," he whispered. "She wanted to have children. A little girl she could teach everything she knew and she's never going to get to do that. And I'm never going to see it happen."

Minerva felt the tears fall down her cheeks. "Remus..."

"We were supposed to survive. Both of us. And then... and then we would get together. We thought... oh we were so stupid," he muttered with a shake of his head. "We thought... we thought that we needed to wait. Wait for the war to end before we could get together because if something like... something like this happened it wouldn't hurt as much but..." He looked at Minerva. "It hurts so much more."

She pulled him into a hug. "I know, Remus," she whispered. "I know it hurts."

"I should have... I should have... I should have done something!" he sobbed into her shoulder. "I should have told her how much I loved her and how I didn't want to wait anymore! I should have made the most of the time we had when I had it!"

"It's okay, Remus," Minerva said, rubbing circles on his back. She saw people look at them as they left the Great Hall, averting their gaze, scurrying past, shaking their heads. This scene all too familiar to them all. This scene all too common in times like these. Minerva sighed. "She knew how much you loved her and she loved you so much too."

"I - I... I'm starting to lose hope, Minerva," Remus whispered, pulling away and wiping his face. "What if the war never ends? If not even Dorcas can beat him... who can?"

"We can't lose hope, Remus," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. "She believed that this war would end and she would not want us to lose hope now either."

He nodded. "I think I'm going to go see Lily and James," he whispered, "Peter will be there and so will Sirius. I know he doesn't want to talk to me right now but... but I just... I need him to talk to me."

"Go," Minerva said. "He'll come around. He will."

He nodded a little and then sighed. "Oh... what about Lucy?"

Minerva sighed. "I - I don't know," she said honestly. She had no idea how she was going to have this conversation with her daughter. Lucy absolutely loved Dorcas. She admired her so much. Dorcas was her hero. This was going to completely crush her. "I don't think this is something that I can easily hide."

"No," Remus mumbled. He shook his head and smiled a little. "She probably loved her more than I did, to be completely honest."

"She loved her so much and I'm very worried that this might... that it might break her."

"She's strong. She'll get through it."

"And so will you."

Remus sighed. "I would stay and talk to her but I don't think I can right now."

"Don't worry. Go be with your friends," she said.

He nodded, said his goodbyes and walked out of the front door. Minerva sighed and watched him go for a little while before turning on her heel and walking towards her office. She quickly wiped her face and did her best to not look like she was crying before opening her door. She saw Lucy laying on the floor by the fireplace reading a book. She looked up and smiled at Minerva as she entered.

"I got a new book from the library today," she said.

Minerva smiled as she walked towards her desk and sat down. "That's nice, sweetheart. What's it about?"

"A girl who was cursed to always do as she's told," Lucy said, sitting up and turning to look at her mother.

"Wow, that's a pretty bad curse."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "It's called Ella Enchanted. It's pretty good. I like it."

"That's good," Minerva said with a small smile. She looked down at the papers on her desk and sighed. She was really not feeling up to work right now. She really just wanted to curl up in bed and cry herself out.

"Dorcas didn't pick me up from school today," Lucy said, still oblivious to what happened.

Minerva took a deep breath and tried her best to sound normal. "Yes... she had a - a mission for your Uncle Albus."

"Yeah," Lucy said, closing her book and sighing. She stood up and walked over to her mother's desk. She put her book down and rested her elbows up on the desk. "Where is she? She said that she'd be back for dinner but dinner's over and she's still not back."

Minerva looked up from her papers at her and Lucy saw the tears in her mother's eyes. Lucy frowned and furrowed her brow.

"I - I don't know, darling," Minerva said quietly. She stood up quickly, turning away so Lucy couldn't see the tears fall down her face, and walked towards the secret door. "I'm very tired, love. I'm sorry. I'm just going to head to bed."

Lucy watched her disappear into the private quarters with a frown. The door closed behind her and Lucy walked around the desk to her mother's chair. She climbed up onto the chair and looked at the papers on the desk. They were mostly just Hogwarts papers. Lucy sighed and opened a drawer instead. She dug around the drawer and found a copy of today's Evening Prophet. Lucy pulled it out and unfolded it.

DORCAS MEADOWES MURDERED BY HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED HIMSELF

Lucy's eyes widened. "No..." she whispered, feeling very heavy all of a sudden. The room felt like it was getting hotter and her heart was pounding loudly in her ears. She read the article quickly. It said that Dorcas was killed while on a mission for the Order by Voldemort himself. It talked about how great a witch Dorcas was and how much she would be missed. It had a quote from Alastor Moody who told the Prophet about how hard she worked and how it would have had to be Voldemort himself to take that girl down.

Dorcas Meadowes was a brave, strong, intelligent witch who will be sorely missed. She fought wholeheartedly everyday for what she believed in. She never ran away, she never gave up and she never surrendered. She stood up, she faced her fears, and she fought with everything she had in her for people she did not know and for an idea that she believed in. The idea that one day we will live in a world where every human being is given the same rights and offered the same respect no matter who they are or who their parents are. Dorcas Meadowes will be remembered as the witch who taught us that we must keep fighting for what is right no matter who we are up against.

"No, no, no, no," Lucy whispered, throwing the newspaper back down in the drawer and slamming it closed. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision, as she rushed towards the secret door. She used magic to pull down the torch she could not reach to open the door and ran towards her bedroom.

Lucy ran to her bedside table and threw open her drawer. She dug through it and pulled out her photo album. She put it on the bed and opened it up. She flipped through the pages until she came across the photo she was looking for. A photo of her, Dorcas, and Remus. They were smiling and laughing. Dorcas was on her knees beside Lucy and Remus was standing behind them. They were standing in front of Lucy's school. Lucy felt more tears fill her eyes. She was gone. Dorcas was gone. She wiped the tears off of her cheeks quickly with her sleeves and took the photo with her to Minerva's bedroom.

Minerva was lying on her side on the bed, tears falling down her cheeks, when the door opened. She knew that it was Lucy but she didn't trust herself to speak. Lucy walked around the bed on the side her mother was facing. She stopped in front of Minerva's face and held out the photo towards her. Minerva sighed and took it. She looked at it and saw the happy face of Dorcas Meadowes looking back at her.

"Dorcas is - is gone, isn't she?" Lucy whispered.

Minerva sighed again. She nodded a little bit. More tears falling down her cheeks. She reached over and set the photo Lucy had given her on the bedside table. She pulled the blankets up and patted the bed beside her. Lucy climbed up and laid down beside her, looking away from her. Minerva pulled the blankets back around them, wrapped her arms around Lucy and rested her head on Lucy's shoulder. They laid there like that for a long time before either one of them spoke. The silence was never ending. It was cold. It was dark. The blankets did nothing to warm them up. Lucy felt her mother's hands but they were cold. Everything felt off. Everything felt wrong.

Finally Lucy whispered, "Why is everyone dying?"

"I don't know, my darling."

"I only have one picture..."

Minerva sighed. "You don't need pictures to remember her, darling," she whispered. "You have the memories that you two created together. As long as we remember her, she will never truly be gone. She, along with everyone else who's gone, will live on in our hearts."

"I - I don't w-want them to l-live on in my heart," Lucy whispered, tears streaming down her face. "I want th-them to b-be here with me."

"I know, darling. Me too."

Lucy turned around and buried her face in Minerva's chest. Minerva ran her fingers through Lucy's hair and kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay, my love. It'll be okay."

"I want to go home. When can we go home? I want to see Daniel and Nina," she whispered, into Minerva's chest. "When can we go home?"

"I don't know, Lucy."

Author's Note:

This chapter kills me and I hate it. Please forgive me. Dorcas is one of my all time favourite characters and if it weren't for the fact that the only canon thing we know about her is "That's Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally..." (Alastor Moody, OOTP) maybe I could have kept her alive!

Even with her gone, Dorcas's memory lives on! Her loss is felt by many but I'm sure eventually we'll all be okay. Please leave a review in the great and powerful Dorcas Meadowes' honor, thank you!