Saturday 4th August 1979
Marlene and Tonks' Flat, 17:30
"Right," Marlene said, standing up straight and dusting off her hands with a satisfied look on her face. "That's us done, then."
Dora wiped the sweat off her brow and nodded, too out of breath to actually respond.
They had spent the entire morning and early afternoon setting out their belongings, moving the boxes of stuff that Marlene brought from her last apartment. Which was great because it included stuff like pots and pans. Tonks had just need to bring her own cutlery and plates in the way of kitchen stuff. But it was also a pain because they had way more to organise. But they got it done and now they had a liveable apartment. Somewhat. Eh, all they were doing here was sleeping and eating meals. Sometimes anyway. It didn't need to be perfect, just comfortable.
"I just want to sleep," she managed to say.
Her muscles ached, every body part hurt, she was dusty and sweaty and she just wanted to lie down and not get up for several days.
"We need to eat," Marlene said after her stomach grumbled loudly.
Tonks' decided to mimic it. When was the last time they had eaten? Had she even had breakfast? She couldn't remember. The morning had gone by in a sort of blur.
"Something quick?" Tonks suggested. Whatever it took to get food in her stomach.
"Yeah..."
They both turned to look at their very small but very neat and organised kitchen. Everything actually sparkled. Hey, Tonks at least brought her mother's cleaning spells with her. Ones that worked for her anyway. And they worked really well. Hence, the sparkling. It would be a real shame to mess all that up in mere seconds after finishing, wouldn't it?
"We're getting a takeaway." Marlene said decisively.
Tonks certainly wasn't going to argue with her. In fact, she scrambled to her feet.
"I'll buy," she said.
Her father had given her money for this exact situation. Said that he and her mother had had to get takeout their first night together, something about rushing to get to a safe place after marrying and neither of them having any clue on how to manage a home. Tonks hadn't understood why she would need such money when he had given her it but she did now.
Thankfully there were plenty of good takeaways just outside Diagon Alley when you left the Leaky Cauldron.
"It would be so useful if we could have a phone in here," Tonks said.
She knew they couldn't, too much magic in the area and all that but still. If they had a phone then she and Marlene could have just rung the place up and got it delivered. They wouldn't be putting their shoes on and trying to find where they had dumped their coats in the whole tidying and reorganising. No, they would be lazing about, waiting for their food to be delivered right to them. A concept that Marlene had trouble wrapping her head around but whatever, she enjoyed a good takeaway and that's all that mattered.
"You know what? We don't need our coats," Marlene said, huffing as she shoved a pile of things back into the boxes, she had pulled them out from - no coats to be found there. "It's still warm out. We can go without them."
"Sure," Tonks easily agreed, mainly because her stomach now felt like it was going to eat itself.
It didn't take long for them to find am Indian place nor did it take them long to be served. Tonks warned Marlene off from trying the vindaloo - there was no way they were christening their toilet that way so soon. Thankfully, she listened, probably because Tonks sounded extremely frantic when she said no but Tonks would take it.
She got a nice tikka masala instead and Tonks got herself a big standard curry. Yum.
Of course, between that and all the hauling things around, they need up basically passing out on their sofa groaning with the amount of food they consumed. Why did takeaways always give you so much rice?
"We should probably go to bed," Marlen said, making now effort to move.
Tonks grunted in reply, words beyond her at the minute. Bed did sound good. More so than leaning over the arm of this sofa like she had currently been doing.
Still, moving was so much effort. But her nice soft bed... But moving. Bed. Moving. Bed.
The comfort of her bed won out and Tonks scrambled to her feet and made a big stretch, which her stomach did not appreciate.
Tonks swore as she stumbled into her bedroom.
"We forgot about our duvets!"
Thursday 9th August 1979
Dark Lord's Throne Room, 21:00
This was it. This is what he had been waiting for ever since he had turned sixteen. And now it was nearly two years later and his wait was almost over. It was mere minutes away now. Minutes.
His arm eventually was rolled right up (nearly, of course) and he was kneeling in the middle of a big circle of people clad in the Death Eater robes and masks. Kt was a formal occasion after all and his most important one to date. A thrill ran down him at the thought.
Another person entered the circle and Regulus' breath quickened at his presence. He couldn't look up to see, her head was bowed as he raised his arm, just like he was supposed to.
"Are you ready to serve me?"
The man's eyes glinted dangerously but Regulus didn't even hesitate.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Do my bidding?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Complete fealty and obedience to my cause."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Look up, Regulus Black."
He obeyed and found himself looking straight into the eyes of his Master. They were cold and triumphant.
"Tonight, you will be welcomed into my ranks as a full member, where you belong."
Yes, yes, yes!"
"You will stand onside your fellow Death Eaters and revel in the fact that you are a part of something much greater than yourself!"
Yes, of course. Definitely.
"But first, your induction to the ranks," the Dark Lord said, spinning on his heel, making his cloak billow out behind him.
Regulus wasn't sure of he was meant to respond to that or not but he decided that that was the safest bet.
"Yes, my Lord."
Every syllable he said was reverent. As it should be.
Regulus was just glad that the actions he had led in Hogwarts counted as proving his loyalty and determination for the cause. Which is what you had to do in order to earn your Mark. Normally this meant a successful raid - which took time and planning, of course. But he didn't have to do that. Right now. He didn't have to do that right now. He would, eventually, obviously but not to get his Mark. Which meant he was getting his Mark today.
Nothing more was said by the Dark Lord. Instead, he pulled out his wand a pressed it against Regulus' arm. Exactly where he wanted it.
Then his skin seared with an intensity he hadn't thought possibly. It was like it was all being burnt away, right down to the bone. Except it wasn't. He knew that. It was just his mind playing tricks on him so he gritted his teeth in an effort not to show his pain. Regulus refused to be one of those that screamed out. He was not weak. He was strong. He was intelligent. He was not a baby.
And he almost succeeded. Almost. If it hadn't gone on for those last ten seconds Regulus was sure that he would have kept his dignity. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The process continued on for those ten seconds and Regulus could hold it in no longer. He screamed. Screamed so hard that his throat went raw very quickly.
It felt like his skin was being boiled and then being prised off him. It felt like every nerve ending on that at arm was being set on fire. It was horrible. It was horrendous. There was just no way that someone could go through such a process and not scream he 3as coming to find.
And then the burning sensation was gone but the pain was still there. Regulus opened his eyes (when he had closed them, he wasn't sure) and was pleased to find that he hadn't fallen to the ground like he had seen several people do. He also hadn't spiked himself. A big relief. No, just a brief scream was actually pretty good in the grand scheme of things.
The first thing he saw was the Dark Mark all black against his pale skin. He finally had one. It was like it was meant to be there.
The skin seemed to pulse with the throbbing but Regulus didn't care. He stumbled to his feet upon command, staggering slightly as the blood suddenly rushed out of his head.
The Dark Lord's lips curved into a smile.
"Welcome to the Death Eaters, Regulus Black."
Tuesday 14th August 1979
Marauder Flat, 19:00
Lily frowned at the parchment that was in front of her and rubbed at her forehead. She had a headache already and she had only just started. It was a list, you see, of things that had to be done. Or that was planned on being done. For their wedding. Yep. It was a wedding to do list. Basically.
James pushed the flask of headache reliever across the table and she took a grateful swig. Technically, you were supposed to take the pint of it all in one go but taking sips like this meant she could sit and focus on this for longer with just a slight throbbing at her temples. Yeah, definitely not great but it did the job.
"Why is there so much to do?" James voiced her very thoughts.
They had each asked their respective parents about weddings and, especially in James' case, wedding traditions. He was the heir to an important family that she was actually marrying into (it was extremely weirs to think about because James had always been, well, James to her). And it turned out there was an awful lot they had to do. Or at least consider. Because weddings, no matter if you were magical or not, were a big deal. Especially if you were both the first weddings in your respective families.
Actually, no, scratch that. James would be the first (and only) for his parents, wouldn't he? Petunia would, unless she and James suddenly roped tomorrow or something, which they would not be doing. Petunia was getting married right at the end of summer to Vernon. Lily still wasn't quite sure of the date because Petunia refused to tell her anything. She didn't even want Lily involved in any of it. Which hurt, Lily was going to pretend otherwise, but it wasn't a surprise. Not after all these years.
"How do you feel about fairy lights?" James asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Do you mean the strings of lights or the actual fairies?" Lily asked because yes, you had to be specific about such things.
James gave her an offended look. "Fairies, of course. Why would you have a string of candles?"
"I meant muggle lights."
"Oh. What do those look like?"
"Never mind."
She did not need James' attention drawn down a rabbit hole. Sure, she wouldn't mind explaining fairy lights to a normal person because that's where the conversation would end. But with James it would go from fairy lights, to other type of lights, to electricity to the television to the pantomime and Merlin knows what else. Because that's how his mind worked. No. They needed to focus on this wedding planning.
"We could use those too? Are they pretty?"
Lily sighed. It looked like they were going to talk about them after all.
"Yes, they are."
"Cool, can you twine them around stuff?"
"If we have a socket to plug them into..."
Which wasn't going to work if they chose a magical location. James frowned at the implication.
"Can they work off those battery things you and Severus were telling me about?"
"Maybe? I'm not sure."
We're fairy lights really that important? They really weren't.
"Hmm."
"If fairies are easier, we could just use fairies."
They were pretty, if a bit chattery, and would do the job. No need to sort out electricity and stuff.
"But it would be cool to have both, kind of like twining together both muggle and magical cultures. Like us!"
Monday 20th August 1979
Diggle's House, 20:00
"You should see Fred and George now," Gideon said eagerly. "They're like proper little people now. Walking around and talking."
"Waddling and babbling, more like," Fabian corrected but he had a fond grin on his face.
They always did when talking about any of their nephews, James found. They adored all of them - he thought that there were five Weasleys now? Of Arthur Weasley's lot anyway - there were a lot more Weasleys than that in total.
"I can't wait until my nice gets to that stage," James confided in them. "All she does is sleep now, apparently."
He never understood that about babies. There was this whole big world that they were suddenly in and all they wanted to do was sleep? Boring!
"Aoife's technically not even your nice," Marlene said with an eye roll.
"She's my cousin's daughter!" James said indignantly. "That makes her my niece!"
Family was family and that was that. Aoife was Jacqueline's daughter which made her his niece. It was easy enough to understand.
"You haven't even seen her yet."
"Because of work! Same reason you haven't!" James retorted.
Anyone would think that Marlene didn't care much about the family connection they now shared but James knew that wasn't true. She just thought that he was being dramatic and overexcited about little Aoife but she was the first baby in his family in a while. Everyone was doting over her and he wanted to do the same. And if he couldn't do it physically then he was going to talk about her. Marlene was nowhere near as excited about this baby.
"She's just a baby. You can't do anything with her yet. She cries. She sleeps. She poops. Boring."
"Toddlers are better," Fabian agreed.
"And when they're proper kids it's better again," Gideon added. "Percy and Charlie and Bill are so much fun. You can talk to them and play games with them.
"How old is Bill now? Six?"
"Nearly nine. He'll be starting Hogwarts soon," Fabian said proudly.
"That's crazy." James said, shaking his head.
"Make you want to have kids of your own?" Sirius asked as he had finished his conversation with Emmeline (which was less of a conversation and more flirting but whatever).
"No!" was both of their responses, perfectly in unison.
The two of them were the consummate bachelors, always having fun and a different girl every time James saw them.
"I now call this meeting to order," Dumbledore's voice cut through them.
Instantly, they all fell silent which got them a smile.
"Glad to see everyone present and well," he began, today was one of the few days that everyone was present. "I hope to get a picture of us all today."
That got him nods and murmurs of approval.
"Of course, there must be business before pleasure and there are a number of reports to be made. Kingsley?"
Kingsley stood up with a bit of parchment in hand and launched into a report he had made about Avery and where he had been hanging about recently. Apparently, this was in the depths of Diagon Alley.
Severus' head jerked up at the mention of Avery which made James frown. Avery had been in school with them and, if he remembered correctly, used to bother Severus. Was Severus just remembering something that he had done or was Avery bothering him again?
But Kingsley continued on and James soon forgot about Severus' reaction as he listened properly to his reports. Death Eaters were getting far too bold recently and there had to be some information they could use to stop it!
Sunday 28th August 1979
Marauder Flat, 17:30
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"You-Know-Who."
"The Dark Lord."
"Whathisname."
That's all Sirius heard as he patrolled the streets. No one actually used his name. Which he thought had been odd and more than a little stupid. What good did not saying his name do? Nothing. It did no good whatsoever.
And he was even finding that some Aurors were doing it! Aurors! The people who were meant to be the bravest of the brave!
"Voldemort is really freaking people out," Sirius said as he entered the flat and threw himself into the sofa.
Only Peter was there to hear him and he did not appreciate his comment.
"Don't say that, Sirius," Peter whimpered.
Sirius gave him an incredulous look.
"Not you too, Wormtail?"
"What?"
"You say You-Know-Who instead of Voldemort?"
"Yes."
He was completely unconcerned about this, despite the fact that he flinched at Voldemort's name. What the hell?
"But-?"
"I'm not going to say his name, Sirius!"
Wow, that was quite intense of him. Sirius raised an eyebrow. He had had no clue that Peter felt so strongly about this. Peter blushed when he realised that he had shouted at him.
"I mean," he said, now mumbling like he was all embarrassed. "It's what everyone in the office calls him."
"Doesn't mean that you have to!"
But it did kind of mean that he did. Sirius knew Peter, after all. Knew that he was a follower, not a leader. Which meant he didn't usually like standing out. Which was fine and l but it didn't make it any less annoying calling Voldemort by such a stupid name.
So, Sirius change tact. "What do you think saying his name will do? He won't just suddenly appear if you do and start firing off spells. He can't do that."
"You don't know that!"
Did he also mention that Peter was really susceptible to believing in rumours? Him and James, actually (of all people) but James just believed in stupid stuff like luck and the stupid onion thing that Sirius was pretty sure was still hanging around somewhere.
"Voldemort. Voldemort. Voldemort." Sirius outstretched his arms and looked around mockingly. "See? No Voldemort."
"Don't say his name," Peter said, looking around them frantically.
"Or what?" Sirius scoffed, "he's just going to pop out of one of the cupboards? Don't be stupid."
"It doesn't mean you should take risks!"
"There is no risk!"
"There might be!"
"It's a name. Not even a very good one. You can't be afraid of saying a name."
Like he said, it was stupid. And none of them were stupid. That's what Sirius had thought, anyway. Peter here was making him reconsider it.