disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. I am so sorry for being this late. School just gets in the way. I will try my best, going forward, to update more regularly. I will not be abandoning this story, I can promise you that. Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter!

The Resistance

They had worked long and hard the next couple days on Sirius's potion. He insisted on calling it their potion, but Arabella just shook her head and smiled. It was all his idea and she was merely helping him with it. For years she had created various potions and tricks with Remus, but this was different. There was a certain light in Sirius's eyes when he explained the potion and when he smiled, she swore the stars shined brighter at the sight. In between that and Remus making sure they didn't blow up the house with their antics, she had completed the Animagus potion, for the most part, and was waiting to test it out.

There was going to be an Order of the Phoenix meeting that night and from the looks of it, it was going to be a packed house. Arabella wanted to test the Animagus potion and their potion out as soon as possible, but she agreed with Sirius. She should wait until it was over. The house was going to be packed with some of the most talented and skilled wizards in the world. If they found out that she had become an illegal Animagus, she would be thrown into Azkaban in seconds. Not to mention, Professor McGonagall was going to be there and that was enough to let Arabella know she should try the potion at a different time.

The whole day, she had been ecstatic to hear that the first Order of the Phoenix meeting was occurring. Some of the best wizards in the world was going to be in her kitchen, talking and discussion the impending war and resistance. They were going to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They were ten times braver than she could ever hope to be and the thought of even meeting one of them sent shivers down her spine.

The moment the doorbell rang, she groaned and left her room at one. Her grandmother's portrait started screeching immediately and it rang through the whole house.

"Filth! Scum! Half-breeds, mutts, freaks, be gone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers –"

Sirius had dashed out from the kitchen stairs, his face red with fury. He and Arabella began tugged on the curtains to shut over the portrait. But Walburga screeched louder with each tug. The other portraits woke up and began yelling as well. Remus emerged from his room and began Stunning all the other portraits with his wand, but that did not help in the case of her grandmother.

"Shut up, you miserable old bat!" Arabella yelled, tugging harder on the curtains. "Shut up!"

Walburga's face twisted into a nasty scowl as she turned towards Arabella. "You!" she sneered loudly. "Filthy half-blood! Scum of the earth! Spawn of my abomination! How dare you enter my house! How dare you show –!"

"You gave me this house, you idiot!" screeched Arabella, matching Walburga's tone. "And I said shut up!"

With great effort, Arabella and Sirius managed to get the curtains closed. Walburga's screams died instantly and Arabella let out a huff. Echoing silence filled the house as she looked towards the door. A group of witches and wizards stood by the door, watching them quietly.

"Please don't ever ring the bell again," said Arabella, panting slightly.

"My deepest apologies," said a very deep voice.

Arabella recognized that person at once. In fact, she recognized most of them. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a tall black wizard with broad shoulders, stood in front and moved forward.

"All right there, Sirius, Remus?" he asked, his voice deep and rich.

"What was that?" someone piped up in the crowd.

"My lovely mother," said Sirius, sounding a little embarrassed. "Here, um, let me show you to the kitchen."

Sirius began to lead the group downstairs for their meeting. Kingsley smiled at Arabella before disappearing. As each member began making their way through, Remus pointed them out and put names to face.

"Arabella Black!" squeaked an excited voice. A small man in a cobalt hat reached forward and shook her hand. "An honour to meet you, young lady!"

Arabella gave him a small smile and returned the handshake. His grip was very strong.

"Dedalus Diggle," Remus told her as the man left. "Nice bloke and a great duelist. Here comes Hestia Jones –"

"Nice to meet ya," said the witch with black hair and a thick Scottish accent. She had vibrant pink cheeks and a pointy chin. She then turned to Remus and said, "Minerva and Severus said they were comin' with Dumbledore. Somethin' came up at Hogwarts."

Arabella's face turned to disgust immediately. Severus? Severus Snape? There was no way in hell she was going to allow him into the house. He was rude and despicable. He was not allowed.

Remus, however, nodded and sighed. Hestia Jones moved forward as more witches and wizards did so as well. Sturgis Podmore had a square jaw and a tight grip. He winked at Arabella before she was introduced to old Elphias Doge with a wheezy voice and creaky bones. Emmeline Vance inclined her head at Arabella while Mundungus Fletcher made Arabella want to snatch her hands away when he shook them.

"Sturgis was older than us when he was at Hogwarts," said Remus as they all passed through. "I know he doesn't seem like it, but he was top of his class. Elphias Doge is a close friend of Albus. They knew each other since they were at Hogwarts. Emmeline has been with us since the beginning. Yes, she fought in the First War with us. Once she heard Voldemort was back, she rejoined immediately. It wasn't a question for her. Mundungus, well… he's loyal to Dumbledore and knows all the criminals –"

"Cause he is a criminal," growled Mad-Eye Moody, coming forward.

"Well… fair point," said Remus. "But he hears things we don't."

"Doesn't take a bloody genius to listen to the insane ramblings of petty criminals."

Arabella smiled as Remus began struggling to find reasons to justify Mundungus Fletcher's presence. To a point, Arabella did agree with him. A criminal like Fletcher will become useful. But his yellow stained teeth and greasy hands did make her skin crawl. As long as she didn't have to talk to him, she will be fine.

"Doing all right there, Mad-Eye?" asked Arabella. "Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," said Mad-Eye, impatiently. "Been waiting to get out of St. Mungo's and get my hands on one of those baster –"

Remus cleared his throat loudly as Arabella muffled a laugh. He never did like Mad-Eye using profane language in front of her. Even now, after all these years.

Mad-Eye rolled his eyes and then said, "Oh, she's probably heard worse, Lupin," before leaving.

Nymph followed after him, blowing Arabella a kiss, and the last two that were left were some of her favourite people. Mr. Weasley gave her a tight hug while Bill shook her hand. The Weasleys were some of the best people she had ever met. After all these years, she considered all of them family.

"How you doing, Arabella?" asked Bill.

"Fine, what are you doing here?" Arabella asked quickly. "I thought you were still in Egypt."

"I got a desk job here," said Bill. "Finally decided to come home and work here and for The Order. I miss the tombs, but there are some compensations…"

Arabella assumed he meant being back home with his family, but the small blush on his cheeks made her think otherwise.

"Well, where are the others? Mrs. Weasley and Ron and Fred and George and –"

"Molly's back at the Borrow," Mr. Weasley said kindly. He then looked at Remus and said, "Can't stand leaving the kids alone with all that's happened. You-Know-Who's not out and we don't know who to trust anymore."

Remus inhaled sharply and said, "Just like the old days, then."

"At least in the old days we knew what was going on," Mr. Weasley pointed out. "Now, I'm not saying that this is better, but all this uncertainty is making me and Molly nervous. We had half a mind to bring Charlie back here, kicking and screaming if we had to, but…"

"Dumbledore wanted Charlie out there, Dad," said Bill. He then looked towards Arabella and answered her silent question. "He wants as many foreign wizards as possible to keep an ear out. It makes sense," he added to his father.

"Well, when this whole thing blows over, I'll be able to finally sleep at night knowing he's safe," said Mr. Weasley, sighing. "At least with you kids here, I can keep an eye out for you. With Charlie…"

"He takes care of dragons, Dad," insisted Bill. "I'm sure he can take care of himself at the very least."

A small smile appeared on Mr. Weasley's face. "Yes, well, I suppose you do make a good point."

Remus then clapped Mr. Weasley on the back and said, "Don't worry, Arthur. I'm sure this will all blow over soon."

When Mr. Weasley and Bill made their way towards the kitchen, Arabella turned towards Remus and said, "You don't believe that, do you, Remus?"

He shook his head solemnly. "I want to believe it. But if it gives Arthur some comfort, I will continue to say it. Now, you should head upstairs before Albus gets here. The meeting will start once he does."

Very slowly, Arabella began to make her way towards her room. When she reached the top of the stairs, the doors to Grimmauld Place opened once more. She peered over the banisters, hoping to hear something from them. Albus Dumbledore entered first, shaking Remus's hand and looking very grave. He whispered something to Remus before moving forward. Behind him were Professor McGonagall and Snape. Arabella leaned further, hoping to hear what exactly Snape was doing for The Order of the Phoenix. But they all followed Dumbledore immediately towards the kitchen. Remus was the last to enter and she could hear the lock click into place after him.

It never occurred to Arabella the severity of all of them being here. The Order of the Phoenix fought against Voldemort. Dumbledore fought against Voldemort. This isn't just some cute get together to catch up on old times. This was… this was real. As real as it gets. They were going to plan and fight and defend the wizarding world.

The thought lit a fire inside her. She wanted that. She wanted to fight and defend and protect. She wanted to be a part of it. At the train station at the end of the term, she decided that she was going to fight because there were things worth fighting for. She remembered that day. Children were laughing with her families and she spotted Remus outside the barrier. She had just kissed Harry and could still feel the warmth of his lips on her. It was not enough to say that she wanted to fight. She had to do it. She wanted to be a member of The Order and she wanted to fight like Remus, like Sirius, and like Kassandra.

After all, she was never meant to sit idly by while others do the fight for her.

For hours, Arabella waited patiently for the meeting to end. She sat at the top of the stairs, reading a Me, Myself and My Animagus and practicing the incantation. She had just finished reading the transformation stage when the lock to the kitchen finally clicked open. She snapped her book shut and leaned over the rails. The witches and wizards attending the meeting began filling the hallway below. They were all whispering together and Arabella quietly began sneaking down the stairs.

When she reached the bottom of the landing, she was sitting on the stairs behind Remus as he spoke to Mr. Weasley.

"– of course, I'll have to clear it up with Molly, but I'm sure she'll be more than happy to be here with the children –"

" – me and Sirius can make up some more beds. The rooms are not – well – they're not the best looking, but they should do –"

"We'll make due with everything. I agree with you, we should keep the children close to one another. They need each other in times like this, and I'm sure Ron will be more than happy to see Harry, Arabella and Hermione once more –"

"That's the same with Arabella. I think she needs to see more people around here than just me and Sirius –"

"Don't you know listening on other people's conversations is an invasion of privacy, Black?"

Everyone turned towards her at Snape's words. Her face turned bright red under everyone's gaze. Even outside of Hogwarts, Snape was making her life miserable.

"Well, the meeting's over anyways," Arabella said defiantly as she stood up. "And don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Arabella," warned Remus. "Be nice. Severus is part of The Order. We're all on the same side now."

Arabella scowled at Snape, her hooked nose, greasy haired Potions professor.

"And he's your professor, Miss Black," snapped McGonagall from the doorway of the kitchen. "You will do well to remember that."

Arabella's scowl deepened as Snape smirked. She shouldn't have come downstairs for this.

"Not now, he isn't," she mumbled under her breath.

The only person that heard her was Mad-Eye. He glanced at her and gave a lopsided smile. A moment later, the group began moving towards the front door. Nymph gave her a kiss on the cheek while Mad-Eye stayed behind.

"Waiting for something?" Arabella asked him.

"Waiting for Albus, he's talking to Black," said Mad-Eye, "and wanted to see how you were. Lupin and Black filled me in, told me that you found out what happened to your mother and everything else."

Arabella scrunched her eyebrows. "Yeah… what?"

"They told me you found out about Isaak and Hekabe," he said simply. "And about Torell dying. Can't say I ever liked the bastard."

"Wait… what?" Arabella repeated, taking a step back and holding up her hands. "You – you knew? You knew them?"

Arabella stared at him, dumbfounded as he let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I knew them," said Mad-Eye.

She had a million and one questions for him. He knew them and he probably knew a lot more than he was letting on. But before she could ask him another question, Dumbledore left the kitchen with Sirius right behind him, the latter looking sourly.

"Everything okay?" asked Mad-Eye, his artificial eye swirling between the two men.

"Everything is quite alright, Alastor," said Dumbledore. He then turned towards Arabella and said, "It's good to see you again, Arabella. I trust you are having an interesting summer."

"Er… you could say that," said Arabella, shrugging.

As Mad-Eye and Dumbledore left the Grimmauld Place, she clenched her jaws and cursed herself. Another time then, thought Arabella. She'll have to catch Mad-Eye at another time. He can't outrun her. She sighed and turned towards Sirius.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Sirius said shortly. Arabella raised her eyebrows as he rubbed his face and sighed. "Just a long and frustrating meeting, that's all."

"It was only the first one," Arabella pointed out. "I'm sure it'll work out in the end."

The look on Sirius's face told her all she needed to her. He didn't believe her.

She didn't push the subject of the meeting anymore. Remus didn't tell her much and Sirius seemed very upset whenever she brought it up. Something happened during the meeting, but nobody wanted to tell her. Until the Tonks finally came over to visit.

Andromeda was less than pleased to be at Grimmauld Place, but she was overjoyed to spend time with Sirius and Arabella. She had brought over some lamb and beans, while Ted carried some Nettle wine and butterbeer right behind her. Within minutes, Andromeda laughing and chatting away with Sirius, a look of pure joy on both their faces. Ted was pouring Andromeda some more wine while loading up more food on Remus's plate. Arabella sat back, watching all of them, while Nymph kept glancing at Remus.

"You're being too obvious," Arabella whispered while the adults burst out laughing at Ted's joke.

Nymph rolled her eyes and smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, Nymph, whatever you say," said Arabella, laughing.

Arabella and Nymph ended up clearing the plates as Remus brought out the ice cream he was hiding from them in the fridge. She finally had a moment alone with Nymph as she scraped away at the plates.

"Can I ask you something?" Arabella said quietly as she handed Nymph a plate. "It's about The Order."

Nymph sighed as she took the plate. "Yes, I suppose I should have seen this coming. Moody thought so as well. You should have seen Remus's face when he suggested it. I've never seen him more scared or angry –"

"What are you talking about?" asked Arabella. "I wanted to ask what happened in the meeting with Sirius and Dumbledore. Sirius wasn't happy when he and Dumbledore left the kitchen."

Nymph looked uncomfortable as she said, "Ah… yes, well, it was a little uncomfortable to watch, honestly. Dumbledore gave us missions and orders during the meeting, but none for Sirius. He wanted to do more for The Order, but Dumbledore was against it."

"What, why?" said Arabella, taken back. "He's more than capable –"

"No one's questioning his capability," Nymph said quickly. "It's not that. He's still a wanted wizard. The Ministry is out there looking for him. You know Kingsley Shacklebolt? He's been telling the Ministry that Sirius is in Tibet, but it's still not safe for him to leave the house. No one wants him to go back to Azkaban. I know that, Remus knows this and so does Dumbledore. Sirius… he just needed to be reminded of it."

Arabella begrudgingly admitted that they were right. If he left the house, then he'll be back in Azkaban within seconds. It's better this way. Imprisonment in this terrible house than faraway in Azkaban. Glancing back at Sirius, she hoped he understood this as well.

"Wait, what were you and Mad-Eye talking about?" Arabella asked suddenly. "What made Remus angry?"

"And scared," added Nymph. She glanced at Remus quickly before leaning in and saying, "Listen, don't tell anyone, all right? Don't want this to go to your head, but… Mad-Eye said something about making you and Harry members of The Order of the Phoenix when everyone was getting settled in. I think only me and Remus heard him. I didn't see a problem, but Remus was not happy about it. He made Mad-Eye promise not to say anything to you."

"But he didn't make you, did he?" Arabella said slyly with a smile.

"No, he didn't. But you can't say anything. Promise me, Arabella. Just let it go. Forget I said anything."

"How can I? I want to join, Nymph!"

"When you're older," Nymph stressed out. She put away the plates and washed her rag. "Remus won't let you and I doubt Sirius will either."

"This is my life and this is my choice," hissed Arabella, anger in her flaring up. "They can't tell me what to do –"

"I know that," Nymph said quickly, turning towards Arabella. "And I think they know that as well. But I doubt you would ever go against Remus or Sirius, Remus especially. You would want them to be okay with it, I know you do."

"So what do you think I should do then? Forget about it?"

Nymph glanced back at the kitchen table and then said, "You can always convince them. It's worth a shot."

The next night was perfect for Arabella. It was a full moon with thunderstorms and lightning. She locked herself in her room while Remus left to go back to their house just outside of Dufftown. She had planned this moment for a while and made sure everything was perfect. Tonight, she was going to become an Animagus, one way or another. She had sent Shay to another room and moved her furniture closer towards the walls.

When the sky finally darkened and she could see the moon in the distance, she spit the Mandrake's leaf in a phial and added a strand of hair as well. She then added a teaspoon of dew and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. She would have to thank Ted later for giving her all of this. At least he didn't question her motives. They didn't talk about the Daily Prophet article and it was best left alone at this point.

She placed the phial in her chest drawer and stared out the window. There was a storm coming, she knew it. She could see the bolts at a distance, but waited until they got closer. Just outside her room, she could hear Shay squeaking in fright. He didn't like the sound of thunder. But she did. It was soothing and calming. She loved being inside a house when it rained and raged outside. Closer and closer, the lightning bolt moved. She held her wand tightly in her hand, waiting for the right moment. Her chest was moving rapidly and she wiped the sweat off her face. When it was just close enough for the light to illuminate her room, she pointed the tip of her wand to her chest and chanted, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

The tip of her wand flickered with light for a moment and disappeared quickly. She took out the phial, took off the top and drowned the contents instantly. The potion was disgusting and made Arabella gag, but she made herself swallow the whole thing. She was soon brought to her knees, feeling her throat burn up as the liquid went through her body.

After a few moments, nothing happened. She looked at her arms, her skin and bones, and then stared outside the window. Maybe she waited too long. She failed. She took a big risk. Arabella sighed and made her way towards the door. She might as well let Shay back into the room. Just as she touched the doorknob, her hand burned. Arabella hissed and withdrew her hand, but it wasn't the doorknob. Her hand was aching and burning. She flexed her hand, but the sensation was soon spreading throughout her whole body. She scratched and clawed at her body, wanting to the burning to leave her, but it wasn't working. She closed her eyes and tangled her fingers into her hair. This was a mistake and she wished she didn't try and attempt it. She concentrated as hard as she could to stop herself from screaming. Her body twitched and turned until it was all gone.

Arabella opened her eyes and was panting heavily. She rolled onto her back and tried to stand up. But… she wasn't getting any taller. In fact, she was barely tall enough to sit on the bed, much less tower over it. She then looked down and nearly cried in excitement. She was on all fours. She did it! She became an Animagus! She could hardly believe it!

Instantly, she leapt onto her chest drawer and pressed her face against the mirror. Her eyes were a yellow-grey colour. It was almost unrecognizable, but the longer she stared at them, they more they became familiar. Her body was covered in dark brown furs with some light and white near her belly. Her long beak was covered with white furs around her mouth and her ears shot out of her head. She stuck out her tongue and managed to get it passed her nose. She then opened her mouth and stared at her sharp teeth. They were surely sharp enough to pierce skin. Her nails were long and her tail wiggled in excitement.

Arabella moved her body around the chest drawer and slipped over the edge. She let out a loud, high-pitched scream before she landed on the floor with a thud. She quickly changed back into her human form before anyone came inspecting.

Staring at the ceiling, she let out a small laugh before picking herself up and dusting off her jeans. Within seconds, there was a knock on the door and Sirius let himself in, looking frazzled and worried.

"What's wrong? I heard you scream. Did something happen to you? Did someone break in?"

Arabella laughed and said, "No, no, no one broke in. It's just… remember what I said a while ago, before we decided to make the potion?"

"What are you talking about? The Animagus thing?"

"Yeah, the Animagus thing," said Arabella, smiling. "Want to see it?"

Sirius jumped back in fright for a second before recovering. He let a bark of a laugh and said, "A coyote! Fantastic, Arabella!"

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you all think of this chapter.

As for Arabella kind of using magic in this chapter. I know that underage wizards are not allowed to use magic, but when reading the rules and my understanding, the Ministry can detect the use of magic near underage wizards, but they can't determine who performs it. And since she's living with another wizard, Remus, it's harder to detect who is using magic, but safely assumed that Remus is the only one who performs magic. Not a great system, but it works well for me.