A/N: This might be my favorite chapter so far in Regimentum… until of course I get to ruin Vivian's life and drag her through hell. I'm naturally looking forward to that bit. Anyway that won't be for a while, unfortunately, so enjoy a more lighthearted chapter cheers
Review responses:
Chrysanthemum: Firstly, drunk Vivian will happen, I actually already have it planned out so it's funny you should bring it up…It might tie in with that muggle rock concert scene that may or may not be in the story at some point in the near future as well…;) Secondly Vivian in a leather jacket? Can you imagine Sirius's reaction to such a sight? I think I may need to hold off on that until after the initial intimate scene that I will be writing btw, I'm just focusing on setting up the main plot right now but once that's done, it will happen. Thirdly, Mulciber's redemption arc…I'm really excited about that actually. There is a little sliver of goodness in him that I'm looking forward to exploring. But yeah the mental image of Mulciber defending old cat ladies and the like while Vivian smirks from the sidelines is too good not to write into the story at some point, so you'll probably get a scene like that at some point too
Toffeeloveryes: Lol it will happen soon. I've been focusing on laying down the foundations of the new plot and getting back into the feel of the character dynamics and all that first. I do have a plan for that though! It isn't too far off at this point
Iyssabun: Same! Gavin won't have a large role in Regimentum but he will make an appearance in the flesh at some point (I think anyway, unless I change my mind). I'm also wondering if I should set him up with a drop dead gorgeous Norwegian woman…maybe I'll give Ricardo a run for his money
gwenwesley: There's going to be a lot more Mulciber/petty criminal interactions so prepare yourself. I'm really excited about messing with him! Sexy scenes will happen, I have it all planned out. You can expect that soonish, I'll need a few more chapters to finish laying down the new plot points and making sure I didn't forget about any loose threads. As for Lily and her potential nickname, I hadn't really thought about it tbh. I think she'll probably stick to being called Lilyflower at this point. I can't imagine James calling her anything else. Also drunk Vivian and rock concert scenes will happen and hmm, book store scene is a good idea, I'm pretty sure this was brought up in the past but I totally forgot about it so thanks for the reminder!
Marnie Quiera: Hi! Hope you did well on your exams! And true, Vivian admitting that Gavin is her friend is actually a big step for her lol. I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it. Also writing the dynamic between Sirius and Gavin is extremely fun…I haven't yet decided when to bring Gavin into the story (he will make an appearance at some point), but I'm looking forward to writing their passive aggressive reunion.
yadiburia0112: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it was so much fun to write. Not exactly an Order meeting, but I figured this upcoming scene was needed at this point of the story. Action isn't something I enjoy writing or consider my strong point, so hopefully it reads okay
CrackHeadBlonde: Thanks! Fluff coming up in the next chapter. I have a lot of fun scenes planned for the near future
Chapter Seventeen | De fumo in flammam
[Out of the smoke and into the fire]
The very moment Vivian arrives at Lawrence Court Theatre, she understands why Dumbledore had chosen it as the location to enact their plan. It is a run-down building that seems to be undergoing repairs. Scaffolding runs up one of the outer walls, and within the foyer, the floorboards are in the process of being replaced, for half the room is all but ripped up. A pile of splintered wood has been left in one corner. The rest of the floor, though intact, is a bit dangerous to walk upon. It's clear that someone had recently taken a hammer to it in their effort to rip the planks out, for there are several deep gashes in the wood and quite a few loose boards that creak ominously when weight is applied to them.
This general state of collapse makes the place as ideal a spot as any in the heart of muggle London. Should any spells go awry, which they most certainly will, no one will think twice about whatever remnants might be left in their wake. These physical signs will surely be put down as simply a part of the reconstruction, which extends not only to the foyer but to the rest of the theatre as well. The place is absolutely abandoned at this hour, with no late-night shows or frenzied actors staying late, no idle custodians tidying up or after-parties being had by cast and crew beyond the stage. In summary, the theatre is as silent as a grave.
"Well…this is a bit unnerving," Sirius mutters to her as they head into the main room. They have to step over several of those gashes in the floor to do so. The sight of the foyer is like something out of a nightmare, and he half expects a cloaked figure to jump out at them from behind that pile of wooden splinters any moment now.
Vivian makes a sound of agreement but doesn't verbally respond. Unnerving is a good word for it. Her heart is beating a little faster than normal as she walks towards the main doors that will lead into the theatre, her nerves buzzes along her veins like a constant drizzle of rain. She's trying her best not to make her wariness apparent, though. She's got to keep all her wits about her tonight, but she doubts it will be easy. The thought that they are about to be trapped in this theatre by Voldemort's followers – many of whom she happens to know quite well – is enough to put her very much on edge despite the whole thing being of their own volition.
As like any other Order meeting, people are already gathered within the main room of the theatre when Vivian and Sirius push open the doors and head inside. The rest of the place is just as dilapidated as the foyer. Vivian raises an eyebrow as she scans the holes in the ground where the seats were once attached. Another unnerving shiver traces up her spine at the chasm before her. The only thing left intact is the stage itself, which rises up on the other side of the room and demands the attention of everyone present. Of course, this might be due to the fact that Dumbledore is currently standing on it, but she digresses.
Besides Dumbledore, the only others who have arrived are Sturgis Podmore, the Prewett twins, Remus, and Peter. Sirius and Vivian stand in the shadows of the door, apprehensively peering at the strange sight before them. He glances at her quickly before tilting his head in a silent gesture that they should join the others. After a moment, Vivian agrees, and they carefully make their way down the center aisle to where the Prewett twins are standing just off to the side.
"Evening, Sirius. Vivian," Fabian greets, nodding at them both as he crosses his arms over his chest. Gideon, who is standing slightly behind his twin, peers around his shoulder to add, "Looks like we've got a few no-shows."
Moody, who is standing closer to Dumbledore with his wand drawn, looking quite tense and fidgety, grumbles, "There's still time."
He's right. It's a quarter to one, which means that there could be several other members joining them before their allotted meeting time. Vivian glances at the faces around her and mutters, "Potter's late."
At her side, Sirius murmurs back, "He'll be here. I'll bet he's forgotten where the theatre is."
She snorts a bit in the back of her throat. Whatever response she might have attempted to say gets drowned out when two sets of footsteps sound behind them, and James declares, "I resent your inference that I don't have an impeccable sense of direction, Padfoot."
Vivian and Sirius turn to look at James, who seems a bit out of breath as he falls into the space beside them with Lily on his heels. Remus and Peter gravitate towards them to join the group.
"He got us lost twice," Lily unapologetically explains, much to James's chagrin.
With a sniff, he mutters, "Lost, she says. I knew exactly where we were, I'll have you know. I was only making sure we weren't being followed and all." Then, ignoring the incredulous and very doubtful look Lily sends him, he turns to throw Vivian a wink, he asks, "Ready to lead your old pals on a wild goose chase, Pride?"
Her lip curls a bit in distaste. "I would hardly call them my old pals, Prongs," she replies, dragging his nickname through a generous dosage of sarcasm.
James doesn't seem to notice the sarcasm. He likely does, of course, seeing as Vivian makes it difficult to ignore, but he appears to be focusing more on the fact that she'd used his nickname – a truly rare thing that, come to think of it, he doesn't think she's ever done before.
"You just called me Prongs," he says, blinking at her. He doesn't seem to know what to make of it, for his expression is a bit miffed.
Vivian merely crosses her arms. "Oh, I'm sorry, is it still sacrilegious to use your Marauder codename?" That last bit is generously loaded with sarcasm, too, by the by.
James pauses, puts a hand on his chin, and in a more serious manner than she expects, muses, "I'm not sure. Seeing as you're an Honorary Marauder now, I suppose not…but then again, seeing as you're also a reformed Slytherin, it makes me feel a bit threatened, as if you're about to hex me. D'you know what I mean?"
Vivian lifts an eyebrow and nods. "I know exactly what you mean."
She reaches for her wand and smirks widely when James immediately flinches back a bit, lifting a hand as if to stop her from throwing that hex at him. When she doesn't do anything of the sort, he opens his eyes, sees the mock-innocent way she's looking at him, and clears his throat.
"Er…right. Reflexes and all," he tells her awkwardly.
Vivian rolls her eyes and snorts, "I was going to offer to place that glamor spell on you, Potter. Unless you'd rather have the Dark Lord's followers hunt you down?"
He shoots her a smile and nods, "Wonderful idea, Pride. Have at it."
Then he sees the way her eyes are gleaming, and backtracks.
"Actually, Lily, maybe you should – "
He's interrupted by Moody, who hears Vivian's offer and steps forward to order, "Good call, Blair. Let's get those glamors up before we have company."
The next few minutes are spent going around and ensuring that the glamor spells are placed on everyone. Moody puts one on Vivian too. When she asks why he needs to bother with her, he grumbles something about 'continuance' before moving on, not bothering to explain himself any further than that. The only one who declines the glamor spell is Dumbledore himself. No amount of glamors could possibly hide him from the Death Eaters. It's obvious that he's the leader of their ragtag band, which therefore makes it rather unnecessary. In any case, as the most powerful wizard among them, Moody seems to think that he has no need of one anyhow.
The plans for the evening have already been explained at the last Order meeting. Everyone knows what they're doing and how to conduct themselves. Moody doesn't attempt to rehash anything (though he looks as if he'd like to) and merely takes a stand in front of everyone, his stance tense and imposing as though he's ready to strike at a moment's notice. He peers at them all for a moment before barking out a few orders – "Don't group yourselves together like that unless you want to be cursed all at once" and "Spread out and get ready to run" – before Dumbledore clears his throat and steps into the figurative spotlight.
"I'm glad you could all make it tonight," he tells them, peering at them from where he's standing atop the stage. "Let us get down to business, shall we?"
Vivian sends Sirius a raised brow. As Dumbledore begins spewing something about plans that they haven't actually made, it becomes ever clearer why he chose Lawrence Court Theatre as the location for this particular trap. After all, the whole thing is one big show, and it only makes sense to conduct it on the stage.
It must be one o'clock by now. Dumbledore's voice fills the theatre, and though everyone is making a stellar effort at appearing to listen to what he's saying, it's clear to those present that no one actually is. Instead, people keep shooting glances at the darkened room around them and the doors at the top of the theatre, as if they're expecting Death Eaters to come blazing through them at any second. Vivian feels much the same.
"You'll be careful, won't you?" she whispers to Sirius as she edges slightly closer to where he's standing beside her. Her fingers brush against his hand just so.
He looks down at her and shrugs, "I'm not known for being careful."
There's a sliver of mischief in his voice that Vivian does not at this moment appreciate. After all, so many things could go wrong. Now isn't the time for jokes. He seems to notice the serious glint in her eyes because his fingers lock with hers, and a moment later he's murmuring in a more solemn tone, "Yeah, I'll be careful. Stop worrying."
She breathes out and squeezes his hand. She wants to say more, to warn him against engaging in a duel recklessly, but she doesn't have time, for at that moment, the first of their guests arrive. It seems that Dumbledore isn't the only one in the mood for putting on a show tonight, for the entrance that the Death Eaters make is downright dramatic. Vivian only manages to get a short, "Sirius, please don't – ", before the rest of her words get lost in the chaos that quickly unfolds around them.
Suddenly, a blast shakes the theatre, and the foyer beyond the doors fills with bright light, which pools beneath the cracks for all of two seconds before the doors themselves are blown from their frames. They come crashing into the theatre and hit the floor with a resounding clatter, followed swiftly by the forms of several darkly cloaked figures who waste no time in sending a volley of equally dark spells towards the group gathered by the stage. Conversely, the Order wastes no time in acting out their part of the plan, and so the apprehensive peace that had thinly layered itself over them in minutes past has now well and truly erupted as everyone begins to scatter.
Before deciding upon this theatre as the location of their wild goose chase, Moody had naturally conducted a very thorough investigation into it. He'd gotten his hands on the blueprints of the building as well, and had made duplicate copies for everyone involved in the mission. As such, they know precisely where every exit is, where the back doors are located, and the general layout of the area backstage. Disapparating is out of the question within the building itself. Moody had warned them that the Death Eaters would likely cast a few anti-apparation spells before they make their appearance, so each of them are essentially on their own. They've stashed broomsticks outside the building in various places to make their respective get-aways, and Sirius's motorcycle is parked on the street some ways away. All they have to do is get to it.
Moody takes a stand with Dumbledore while the others flee, giving them time to get the hell out of there without worrying too much about the brunt of the Death Eaters bearing down on them. While the tactic does buy them some time, it doesn't work as well as they'd have hoped. Voldemort seems to have sent a greater number of his followers than they expected. Dark cloaks pour into the theatre one after the other, wands drawn and spells ready to be unleashed. While a large amount of them do fall for the bait of taking down Dumbledore himself, most don't pause to assist and merely follow the fleeing Order members into the darkened corridors beyond the stage.
Vivian doesn't think her heart has ever beat this loudly in all her life. She'd come along for the sole purpose of ensuring Sirius's own safety – she won't have him dying tonight – but she certainly finds herself regretting ever having concocted her plan as she throws herself down the hall and barrels towards the dressing rooms, shoving racks of old costumes out of her way as she goes. She grips Sirius's hand tightly as they dodge errant spells from those following them, and with each blare of light that hits the walls and floor around them, she finds herself yearning for the peace of their quaint little cottage more and more.
Merlin. She doesn't think she's cut out for this. Sirius drags her roughly down a narrow corridor that runs right behind the stage, skidding into the wall as he drags her with him. Her shoulder bangs into the corner of it as they tear out the other side and she nearly trips over another costume rack, this time barren of clothes, which had apparently been left here and forgotten. Sirius waves his wand at the rack once they're in the clear and it wheels into the opening of the narrow corridor. His hopes that it might make the Death Eaters also trip doesn't come to fruition, though, because a moment later, a loud blast sound behind them and they barely have time to duck before the metal rack flies over their heads and crashes into the wall.
"We've got the get the hell out of here," Sirius says, his voice breathless. Adrenaline pumps through their veins. Their heartbeats are loud in their ears, but the footsteps of those on their tail are louder still.
"There's an exit up ahead," Vivian responds just as breathlessly. She's quite ready to be done with this mission. The whole thing about not engaging unless necessary is a bit more challenging than she'd thought, though she supposes it's probably smart. If they stop running and make a stand, they'd be pathetically outnumbered. The only option is to throw as many haphazard spells over their shoulders as they can as they attempt to escape.
In the thick of things, it's difficult to recall the precise layout of the theatre despite spending the last week pouring over the blueprints Moody had provided. Whatever confidence either of them had felt going into this now dissipates somewhat. Now that they are here, in the darkness of the theatre, in the middle of its many corridors, the way to safety is forgotten. It's quite a bit different, after all, looking at the lines and structure of a building upon a page versus being inside of the real thing, especially when the majority of their focus is on dodging curses. They end up running towards where they think the back door of the theatre is, but in truth, neither of them is completely certain that they're going in the right direction.
A blast of green light hits the wall to Vivian's immediate right, tearing through the outer layer of her cloak and singing the fabric. It doesn't reach her skin, but it does remind Vivian yet again that, the sooner they can get out of this place, the better.
Sirius doesn't ask if she's alright. The situation is too caustic for such enquiries. There will be time for such things later, when they aren't running for their lives. He does, however, throw a stunner over his shoulder as they barrel towards what looks like a long corridor lined with doors. In the back of her mind, Vivian supposes they've reached the dressing rooms, which means they're on the right track after all. The exit is just beyond. All they need to do is –
"Vivian!" Sirius exclaims, and before she's quite prepared, he's yanking her backwards so hard that she trips back and hits the doorknob of one of the dressing rooms with a vengeance. She's got no time to ask why he's halting their progress, and besides, there's little point voicing the question anyway when the answer is right before her in the form of several cloaked figures sweeping around the corner in front of them.
For a split second, they both just stand there, not knowing what to do. The footsteps behind them are swiftly closing in, and their escape is now well and truly blocked with the arrival of more Death Eaters…who, by the by, are lifting their wands to them, ready to fire off what will likely be some nasty curses.
Now, it would be wrong not to give Sirius Black the credit he deserves in a moment such as this. After all, as a member of the Dishonorable Maraudership, he's had plenty of experience honing a rather important aspect of any prank, which is of course the part where one disappears without a trace. This said, it would also be wrong not to claim that Vivian Blair doesn't entirely appreciate the manner in which said disappearing act is conducted, but we shall get to that in a moment.
Vivian, as talented a witch as she may be, finds herself all but freezing as she stares ahead at the sea of dark cloaks that are even now tearing down the hall to where they stand. All thoughts of turning around and retracing their steps are impossible. Yet another sea of cloaks is closing in on their other side, leaving them in a very precarious position that Vivian has no idea how to get out of. See, she might be talented in her own ways, but when it comes to thinking on her feet, Sirius happens to be a tad bit more adept.
What happens next will be remembered with an amused fondness in later times, the fear being had in the moment thoroughly replaced with a sort of bravado that only Sirius Black could muster. Vivian herself won't much care for the way he will laugh at the memory of her shocked face when he throws open the dressing room door and drags her forcibly inside, but he'll later remind her (quite cheerfully) that, if he hadn't taken the actions he does now, they'd likely be sprawled out on the floor, dead as doornails.
Vivian releases a surprised sound when he drags her inside and slams the door behind them. Half a second later, he's turning to the closed door and casting several strong charms upon it that will hopefully buy them a bit of time. Then, a plan firmly in place within Sirius's mind, he turns to conduct the rest of their disappearing act by striding to the other end of the room and hoisting the window open.
Vivian opens her mouth to issue a complaint, until a spell cracks against the closed door, strong enough to rattle the whole of it against its hinges. She doesn't attempt to complain after that.
"Come on," Sirius tells her, his voice a bit impatient as he grabs her arm and pulls her to the window. "It won't take them long to blast through those wards."
Vivian scrambles onto the window ledge, hiking one leg over it. Having never attempted to climb through a window before, her movements are graceless at best, and a few precious seconds are wasted trying to pull the hem of her robe from where it gets caught on a splinter. Sirius's impatience only grows from there, especially when another spell causes one of the door hinges to bend out of shape and very nearly shatter.
"Vivian, would you please hurry up?" he says, his voice urging and anxious. When she struggles to hike her other leg through the window frame, he does the very thing that she will later look back upon with a generous helping of indignance.
"Hey – Sirius, what are – bloody he - !" the rest of said indignance is cut short when Sirius lays both hands onto her arse and pushes her forcefully out of the window.
Yes, she will certainly complain about his brutish maneuvering later on. For now, though, she's a bit too busy spitting dirt out of her mouth as she clumsily pushes herself up several feet below the open window. Thankfully it's on the ground floor, otherwise she'd be turning around to hex him – Death Eaters on their tail or no.
Sirius himself makes quick work of his own escape, all but throwing himself out the window after her just as the dressing room door is blown to pieces. He stumbles to his feet, grabs her arm, and once again yanks her forward. The rest of their disappearing act is spent running wildly away from the theatre and onto the streets of London, where Sirius's motorbike happens to be waiting.
The Death Eaters, having quickly realized where they've gone, are even now blasting through the entirety of the window through which they'd just escaped. A couple of bombardo spells make quick work of a large section of the wall, and then they're running after them with more curses at the ready. There's really no time to issue any of those indignant complaints that are on the tip of Vivian's tongue, but that would naturally never stop any proper Slytherin.
"You could have just blown up the wall yourself instead of shoving me out the window," Vivian snaps at Sirius as they clamor onto his motorbike. He starts the engine with a flourish, and doesn't wait for her to get comfortable before he's tearing down the street at full throttle. Vivian grabs him by his leather jacket with a yelp, encircling her arms around his waist as he leans forward and flips a few switches. A moment later, the wheels are lifting off the ground and they narrowly miss colliding with the hood of a parked car.
The Death Eaters behind them aren't about to let them escape without a fight, of course, but now that the immediate threat of being trapped in that theatre is over, Sirius is in a much better mood and doesn't seem all that fazed about it. He just releases a loud laugh and, over the wind, shouts back at her, "And miss the opportunity for copping a feel? You've got a great arse, Godric!"
Vivian rolls her eyes at that. She briefly contemplates giving him a wallop over the head, but to be honest, she's a bit more preoccupied with ensuring that he's able to drive the damned motorcycle and get the hell out of here, so she spares him for the time being. Instead, she pulls out her wand, clenches one arm tightly about his waist, and turns a bit to start shooting a few curses of her own at the Death Eaters that are still tailing them.
"If you think I'm going to let you get away with pushing me out of a fucking window, you're dead wrong," she shouts back at him as she throws a stunner into the darkness.
Sirius, who is now flying them over the tops of several buildings, just yells, "Hey, we're alive, aren't we? It's not my fault you got stuck."
His voice is still a smidgen too amused for her liking, but again, she's not about to do anything that might hinder their escape, so Vivian just grumbles to herself as she throws several more curses over her shoulder. Sirius turns off the headlight to better immerse themselves in the darkness and flies ever higher, kicking the motorcycle into the next gear as they throttle forward. She'll get back at him at a later time. For now, they need to meet up with the others and take stock of how the mission had gone.
A bit more maneuvering is done in the interim to shake off the Death Eaters. After flying around a bit to ensure that they aren't being followed, Sirius turns the motorcycle towards the Thames. They're still at break-neck speed, but he leans back a bit, feeling somewhat more relaxed given the fact that the Death Eaters seem to have disappeared on them. His hand covers hers a moment later, fingers threading together as he directs them over London. Despite her indignance, Vivian tightens her fingers around his, too, and pulls her other arm back around his waist, still gripping her wand just in case. It seems as though they've truly lost the Death Eaters though, so she relaxes a bit as she leans against him, pressing the side of her face against his shoulder and breathing in the familiar scent of him. No more words are exchanged. The thrill of their escape is now fading somewhat, and they both seem to prefer taking a moment of silence to bask in the fact that they're still alive and in once piece.
Their meeting place is just outside the city on the banks of the river. After flying around a bit longer just to make sure they're not being followed after all, Sirius guides the bike towards it, passing over the city's limits. He slows down a bit as he maneuvers the bike lower, so that its wheels are only a few meters above the water of the Thames. Then, sighing out happily, he muses, "That was loads of fun. I don't know why you were so worried, before."
Now that they're not hurtling through the air, the wind has died down enough so that he doesn't have to yell at her so as to be heard. Of course, Vivian still has half a mind to yell at him anyhow, but with the potential of danger still within reach, she instead settles for a dry, "We barely made it out of there alive, Sirius."
He just shrugs, the movement shuffling her form a bit, and cheerfully replies, "Nah, I had it all under control."
It's probably just as well that he doesn't see the equally dry expression she sends his way, though he knows her well enough that he likely feels it being directed at him. Still, Sirius doesn't seem to care and just chuckles to himself as he shifts gears and slows the motorbike to a gentler pace. As they glide over the river, he wonders, "Fancy getting some take out on the way home? I'm starving."
How Sirius Black can think about food at a time like this is a question that should probably surprise her. It doesn't. After a moment battling between two opposing desires (that is, to actually wallop him over the head this time or not), Vivian sighs and gives in, "…How about some of that muggle food with the bread and sauce?"
What? She's a bit hungry too. Running away from Death Eaters whilst dodging life-threatening spells happens to do that to a person.
Sirius pauses at her description for half a beat, then, as he's guiding the bike towards the shore where their supposed to meet everyone, he questions, "You mean pizza? I thought you said it was disgusting."
Vivian just shrugs, "I didn't say it was disgusting. I only said it was so greasy that it's no wonder so many muggles are fat arses."
Sirius shoots her a look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, and replies, "Ah, right. So if I translate that from Slytherin Sarcasm, you're actually saying that you love it."
She finally gives in and wallops him over the head for that. Well actually, it's for the window incident, but she supposes it could technically count for any moment within the last hour, so she digresses. Justice is justice, after all.
"Oi!" Sirius exclaims as they reach the shore. "No need to attack me! It's only pizza!"
She rolls her eyes at him and snarks, "That was for pushing me out of the window, you idiot."
Sirius lowers the bike onto the ground and mutters, "Are you gonna hold a grudge about that? Merlin, woman. I only saved your life."
With a sniff, Vivian pushes off the motorbike and airily responds, "You didn't have to do it by shoving me like that."
The motorbike splutters at bit as Sirius turns the key in the ignition and powers it down. Then, his mouth curving up into a Marauding smirk, he shoots a look her way and smugly drawls, "Yeah, I s'pose. In hindsight, I could've handled the situation better."
She narrows her eyes at him.
"Though really, Viv, I think that might've been the best part of the whole night," he smirks wider, and glances down at her arse with a loaded snicker.
"I might actually hex you," she warns.
He snorts, opens his mouth to say some other snarky thing, then sees the look in her eye and crosses his arms to laughingly challenge, "Would you rather I'd have let you stumble your way out all by yourself?"
Her eyes narrow a smidgen more. Before she can say anything else, though, a new voice calls, "There you two are! Merlin, what took you so long?"
Vivian and Sirius pause their bickering to glance over at the approaching forms of James, Lily, and Remus, who are currently stepping over to where they're standing. Behind them, they can vaguely see the other Order members gathered together. Dumbledore's distinctive form looms over the others, with Moody close by his side and the Prewett twins nearby. They can't tell who else is there in the shadows, but there're a few other members lingering around as well.
"We had, er, an incident with a window," Sirius explains, his mouth swinging back up into that smirk.
Remus raises an eyebrow in confusion. Lily glances over at Vivian with a question blazing through her eyes. James just turns to Sirius and asks, "What the bloody hell are you on about?"
Vivian prods Sirius in the side when he goes to respond and loudly says, "What Sirius means is that we had to make a quick escape." Then, shooting him a look, she hisses, "Don't you dare, Sirius."
He looks a bit forlorn at the thought of not sharing what he is now considering a very amusing moment to his best mate. For a moment, he looks as though he's inclined to do so anyway, but instead he merely snickers and nods, "Yeah, well, I suppose it'll be an inside joke since Vivian's embarrassed about it."
"If you bring it up again I will hex you," she mutters at him, not looking overly pleased at the thought of that very indignant moment becoming anything that resembles a joke, private or no. Then, just for the hell of it, she haughtily adds, "And I'm not embarrassed."
Sirius snorts, clearly not believing her, but lets the matter settle and instead turns to James to ask, "Is everyone accounted for?"
James glances over his shoulder at the group behind them and responds, "Not yet. Podmore's not back and neither is Peter. I'm getting a bit worried."
Still high on their close escape, Sirius shrugs, "They're probably fine. Give them a bit more time."
Seeing as there isn't much else to do but that, James just nods and turns back to the group. As they make to join the others, Moody lifts his head to nod at Sirius and Vivian.
"Any injuries?" he demands, looking them over with a discerning eye.
Sirius shakes his head. "Nope." Then, suddenly recalling the close call Vivian had, he glances over at her and peers down to inspect her arm where the spell had singed the fabric of her sleeve.
Vivian just murmurs, "It's fine. It didn't actually nick me or anything, just ruined my robes."
He leans back with a nod and says to Moody, "We're fine."
Dumbledore puts a hand on Moody's shoulder and directs him away from the group to discuss something in low undertones. As he does, Remus shoves his hands into his pockets and looks over at the skyline of London, which rises up in the not so far distance. A silence falls upon them, unbroken until Remus mutters, "I should've stayed with Pete. We got separated…I hope he's alright."
The worry in his tone is justified. Peter hadn't been looking forward to joining them on this particular mission, after all. He's talented enough concerning dueling and the like, but facing down a whole theatre of Death Eaters is quite an unsettling thought, and out of all of them, Peter's always been a bit jumpy and underconfident. Still, there's not much to do but wait and hope that he'll turn up. He knows the meeting place same as the rest, so the group just settles in and hopes for the best.
It takes a while before anything of interest happens. Remus and James begin a game of skipping stones by the river's shore while the rest loiter around nearby. After what feels like ages, Moody suddenly bustles forward with his wand at the ready, and they all turn to see the figure of a man on a broomstick flying in their direction. The sky is just barely lightening now with the hint of dawn, and the figure is a smudge in the shadows of the sky. Moody, trained Auror as he is, is naturally the first to take notice of him.
But it's only Sturgis Podmore, they come to find out after a few minutes. His stocky form gives him away before he lands. He seems to be a bit injured and is grasping his arm to staunch the flow of blood. Moody drags him off to Dumbledore, who peels away the fabric around his wound to get a better look at it. As for the others, who had been hoping it was Peter, they settle back down into an even more apprehensive silence.
The game of skipping stones ends after a while. Dawn is well and truly upon the horizon now, the sky getting lighter by the minute as pale grey begins to unfold across it. The more time passes, the more uneasy they become, until at last James breaks the silence with a distracted, "Oh, by the way, Lily and I have something to tell you lot…now's as good a time as any, right?"
He hazards a glance at Lily, who shrugs with a short nod. James grins at her and says, "My dream is going to come true after all, gentlemen – after many years of trying to convince my Lilyflower here that I'm her best option, she's finally seen the error of her ways and – "
"We're engaged," Lily announces over James's lengthy monologue.
James grins widely and nods, "I asked her just last night."
Sirius's eyebrows lift up. A grin begins to pluck at his mouth, and after a moment, he laughs, "Wow. That's great."
Lily grins and casts a fond look at James, who beams at her as if he can't keep his excitement at bay.
"Yeah, well, you know," James kicks at the ground a bit, looking bashful, "we won't tie the knot for a while still. We're thinking of waiting a year or so before we make anything official."
Lily nods and adds, "There's a lot to plan, after all, and we haven't even been dating a full year yet anyhow." Then, glancing over at James, she says, "Plus I just got into the training program at St. Mungo's, so I'll be busy with that."
James nods too and, smiling boyishly at Lily, also adds, "Yeah, and we still need to find a place to live. That flat I was looking into ended up falling through."
Lily's swift response to this is sheepishly say, "I'm sure everything will work out."
James's equally swift response is, "'Course it will, but it also have to get you a ring still, so hopefully I'll get into the Auror program and have a proper paycheck soon."
Vivian raises an eyebrow at their back-and-forth. It's almost as if they're dancing around each other. The bashful look on James's face is perfectly reflected in Lily's eyes. If she wasn't so accustomed to finding amusement in James's love life (honed from years of laughing at his many rejections for the sake of their house rivalries), she'd think the interaction is somewhat endearing.
Remus smiles at them and shrugs, "We've been expecting this at some point."
As for Vivian…
"…Congratulations, I guess," she shrugs, deciding not to say anything sarcastic this time around. There is a time and a place for such things, after all, and one look at the beaming way James is smiling tells her that this is not one of those moments. That said, she is itching to say something, which is probably why she adds, "'Course, he'll probably make you go crazy a year in, so you'd better prepare yourself."
Lily laughs a bit and James shoots Vivian a sidelong smile, as if he's decided to take that as a compliment instead of the mild insult it actually is.
Ducking his head a bit, James admits, "I wasn't sure if I was going a bit fast, asking her already…we haven't been together that long, you know?"
Sirius just shrugs and swings an arm around Vivian's shoulders with an amused, "Compared to Vivian and I, you've been moving at a snail's pace."
Remus shrugs too and says, "Considering the times we're living in, a lot of people are getting married pretty quickly anyhow. Just look at Frank and Alice."
The Longbottoms are newly married. They've only just tied the knot about a month ago in a private and very quiet ceremony. They were likely of the same mind regarding the uncertainty of the times. If there wasn't a dark wizard on the loose, things might've been different, but as it is, no one really finds it all that strange that James and Lily have gotten engaged so quickly. It's just one of those things, after all – that undeniable result that they'd all expected to happen at some point.
"So you're gonna wait a year or so?" Remus asks as they all sit back on the grass and watch the coming sunrise.
"That's what we discussed. It'll give us some time to figure everything out," Lily responds.
A few minutes are spent exchanging ideas for the wedding. Sirius happens to have endless suggestions for potential musicians, which he is all too happy to give, before Remus suddenly jerks up and scrambles to his feet. They all turn to look at him, wondering what's caught his attention so abruptly. When he gestures towards the sky, though, they all realize what's going on.
"Peter!" James exclaims, scrambling up too. "Thank Merlin."
Peter is flying towards them on his broomstick, clenching the handle so hard that his knuckles are blanched white from the effort. It takes a few minutes for him to reach the shore, but when he does, his movements are ungainly and jarring. He nearly falls the moment his feet touch ground. His face is pale and exhausted, his fingers trembling.
"We were worried sick, mate," Sirius says, stepping forward to take his broom from his shaking hands and throw an arm around his shoulders.
"Yeah, what on earth happened? We've been waiting for ages," James says, moving to Peter's other side.
"You look awful," Remus remarks. "Are you hurt at all?"
The slew of questions seems to go right over Peter's head. In fact, he doesn't appear to hear them at all. His eyes are unfocused and watery. He looks as though he's seconds from collapsing, which only worries his friends all the more.
"Merlin," James mutters, grappling with Peter's arm as him and Sirius drag him onto the grass beyond the shore. "You really do look awful, Pete."
A short laugh escapes Peter then. He swallows thickly and responds, "I'm fine. Fine."
Sirius studies his pale face closely and says, "You don't look fine. You're sure you're not hurt?"
But Peter only shakes his head and shakily says, "No…I just need to sit down…I feel like I might throw up."
It is in that moment that Moody joins the fray, shouldering his way through the group to reach Peter, who is now sitting down in the grass. He does indeed look queasy, but that doesn't stop Moody from getting closer so as to cast a few charms on him, checking his vitals and ensuring that he isn't injured.
"Had a few Death Eaters on your tail, did you?" Moody asks him, his gravelly voice sketched with its customary sharpness.
Peter nods and, swallowing again, mutters, "Yeah. They cornered me. I had to hide for a while. That's why I'm so late."
Moody grunts, studies his pale face for a moment longer, then nods and slaps him firmly on the shoulder. "Good man," he grumbles to him before standing up and stepping back a bit. He glances at the others and says, "Looks like we're all accounted for. We didn't get very far with apprehending anyone, but I suppose I can't complain about it. We're alive and we succeeded in laying down your plan, Blair."
Vivian turns to glance at Moody, dragging her eyes away from Peter's pale face. She offers up a brief nod before glancing back at Peter and watching as he curls his nails into the ground. She doesn't think she's ever seen him so disheveled before.
"Let's head out, then. No sense waiting here anymore, now that everyone's returned in one piece," Moody says, then turns to gruffly make his way back to Dumbledore, who is standing several paces away, watching the proceedings.
There are a few loud cracks as people begin disapparating, but the Marauders don't make to leave quite yet. Instead, James just crouches down next to Peter and asks, "You sure you're okay, Pete?"
Vivian crosses her arms and watches as Peter nods faintly and murmurs, "Yeah…fine. Though I don't think I can disapparate right now, to be honest."
Off to the side, Remus says, "I can apparate you home, Wormtail. I don't mind."
Peter shoots him a thankful glance and nods.
"Well then," James says, standing up and reaching down to pull Peter to his feet. "I'd say we've had a successful evening. I'm dead tired, though. I think I could sleep the whole day through."
There are a few mumbled agreements from the others. Behind them, dawn creases the skyline. They've been up all night.
"Vivian and I are gonna go get some pizza," Sirius says. He's the only one who looks bright-eyed and not at all tired. "You sure you lot don't want to join?"
The others shake their heads, far too tired to even think about eating right now. Vivian has half a mind to agree, but after the night they've had, she is feeling a bit hungry. So, once goodbyes are said, she shuffles over to where Sirius is standing and slips an arm around his waist, waiting for him to apparate them to whichever pizza place he decides to go to.
He slips an arm around her waist, too. Then pauses. The next moment, before Vivian is quite prepared for it (not that she'd ever be), he's lowering his hand with a wide smirk and giving her arse a good and proper squeeze.
What happens next is…well, a bit difficult to illustrate.
"Oh come on – no need to draw your wand, I was only jok – ow, Vivian – you're overreacting – "
"…What on earth are those two doing?"
"Lilyflower, I sometimes think it's best not to ask."
"…Yeah. You may have a point. Also don't call me Lilyflower."
James, naturally, pretends not to hear that last bit.