15

Moody's Mood:

The incident at the Quidditch World Cup only served to put Moody in a foul mood. Like most of the other Aurors and ministry officials, the incident had worried him, but his method of coping seemed to be overworking them.

He did seem slightly more cordial to Doe, and even Sirius. She figured it probably had something to with the fact that she had fought with him. As scary as it had been, it was fascinating to see Moody in action.

His dueling skills were superb and it wasn't hard to see how he had become such a successful auror.

He had a retainment rate of capturing dark wizards that doubled any other successful auror's.

They spent their entire next few Dueling class periods practicing defensive dueling tactics.

It meant long hours of grueling practice and having to endure several gulps of foul-tasting potions when you had been stunned.

Dueling was easiest to see who was proficient and who had more to learn. Sirius happened to be exceptionally good at it. He had very good aim, and an uncanny ability to sense when his opponent would strike.

Doe was much more careful, trying to make sure that every spell she shot had as much force behind it as possible.

Doe had been shooting a spell at Igor, the large auror Durmstrang auror in front of her when she didn't notice Piers shoot a spell at her until she was hit with the violet beam of light.

She had expected to be stunned but instead she felt a large gash open on the side of her face across her cheekbone.

Her hand flew to it and she noticed her fingers covered in blood. She stopped dueling instantly trying to remember one of the healing spells that Madam Pompfrey had told her about in her second year, but failing.

" Hold on, Meadowes. I'll get it" Moody said walking over with his wand drawn. He pointed his wand to the spot on her face and said " Vulnera!".

The wound closed itself but then reopened. Moody furrowed his brow looking at her face in shock.

" Anapora!" he tried. The wound sealed and reopened again.

" What spell did you use?" Moody asked Piers angrily grabbing him by the color of his auror robes, " or were you not aware you were supposed to be stunning and disarming only?"

" It was something I made up Sir, I just wanted to try it. I didn't know it would do that" Piers said apologetically but he added a smile when Moody turned his back to him.

" Black, go with her to St. Mungos, see if they can stitch it up quickly. I don't want blood all over the training floor" Moody said tactlessly.

Sirius walked over to her and they left the room, hearing the dueling resume as we left.

" That doesn't look very pleasant" Sirius said eyeing it as they walked out.

" It doesn't feel so great either" she said letting the tips of her fingers run over the wound. It was still bleeding.

They apparated out of the Ministry and next to the storefront of .

" You know I could have handled this myself" she said as they walked through the front door, " Moody didn't have to send you"

Sirius pressed the button for the elevator and they got in as it brought them down to the ground floor.

" I'm not complaining, it got me out of dueling that Durmstrang moron" Sirius said when the doors opened.

" You mean Karkaroff?" Doe asked.

Sirius nodded, " He's a bloody idiot, that one"

" How may I help you?" The cheery witch at the front desk asked.

She was very happy looking and sat next to a large sign detailing the different floors.

She looked at the wound on the side of her face.

" Floor Four, spell damage, Ask for Healer Bones" she said pointing to the elevator bank to their right.

They went inside it and they clicked the button for the fourth floor.

The elevator yanked to the side and then upward. An unusually happy song played until the doors opened on the fourth floor.

There was again another desk and a witch sat there scribbling away with a quill.

" I was sent here to ask for Healer Bones" Doe told her.

" Ew, it's still bleeding" Sirius said from beside her, his hand reaching out to touch her cheek.

" Please don't touch it" Doe said to him, moving his hand away from her face.

" He'll be right in, please wait in room 4" the witch said pointing to a little room off to the side.

Sirius and Doe walked towards it. It was a small room with two chairs. Sirius and Doe both took a seat and waited for Healer Bones.

" You know, I reckon Piers will get a very long lecture from Moody about this" Sirius said propping his legs up on this side of her chair.

" Well he wasn't supposed to use anything besides the stunning spell" Doe said, " he broke one of Moody's rules"

Sirius nodded, " It's a bit creepy don't you think? That he 'made up' some scary spell and thought to try it on a fellow auror, and it can't be easily cured?" he asked.

She stopped for a second thinking about what he was saying.

" You don't think he's a…" Doe started.

Sirius nodded, " I mean he could be. You never know"

Doe bit her lip, " I don't know. We already can't trust so many people. I wouldn't want to start accusing just anyone"

Sirius shrugged, " I would just tread lightly around him"

The door opened and Healer Bones strode in. If she hadn't already heard the last name Bones, she still would have know he and Amelia were siblings. They had the exact same widespread smile.

" Hi, I'm Healer Bones, and you are?" he asked.

" Im Doe Meadowes" she said extending out her hand.

He shook it and looked closely at her injury, " and how did you get this?" he asked.

" Someone shot a spell at me in auror training" Doe told him.

" Auror training?" Healer Bones asked, " and Mad-eye couldn't heal it himself?"

" It resists healing spells" Sirius added, " Moody tried the regular ones and couldn't get it to stay"

Healer Bones took his wand out and tried a few simple healing spells on her injury, and just like Moody before none of them seemed to hold.

" Well I know this will work but it's going to be slightly painful" Healer Bones said with a small frown.

" Just go ahead, I don't mind a little pain" Doe told him earnestly.

Healer Bones pointed his wand at the injury. " Rapido Senarse!"

She felt the wound heal instantly, but it did tug rather uncomfortably at her skin. Healer Bones handed her a wet towel so she could wipe the blood off her face, and then handed her a bandage to put over the injury.

" Now as long as you don't touch it for awhile, it should be fine" Healer Bones told her confidently.

" Thank you, Healer Bones, I appreciate your help" Doe told him.

He shook his head, " That's what I'm here for, give Moody my best"

They left the hospital room and headed back towards the elevator.

" Healers have such a strange job" Sirius commented, " I can't imagine being one"

" It's important work, though. We wouldn't be able to go on without them" Doe said.

Sirius shrugged, and fixed the edge of her bandage that was coming up slightly.

" Sirius? Doe?" a blonde walking down the hallway stopped. It took her a second to realize it was Marlene. Her characteristic long blonde hair had been chopped off and now it hung loosely on her shoulders.

Doe had forgotten she would be here. She was studying to be a healer, of course she would.

" Hi Marlene" she said hugging her.

" Mckinnon, your hair" Sirius said in disbelief, voicing what she had been thinking.

Marlene ran her hands through it, " I figured it was time for a change"

" I like it" Doe told her.

She smiled, " Aw thanks, Doe. What are you guys doing here anyway?" she asked.

Doe pointed to the bandage on her cheek, "Casualties of auror training"

She laughed, " Well at least you are doing what you've always wanted."

She stopped checking the watch on her wrist, " Listen I'd love to stay and chat but my Magical Maladies course starts in five minutes and I can't be late. It was good seeing you though"

She waved goodbye quickly and then trotted off down one of the long white hallways.

" Well she's changed" Sirius said blinking quickly.

" Yeah," Doe agreed, " she seems more together now".

" And less fun" Sirius said with a slight pout, " Kill me if that ever happens to me"

" The infamous Sirius Black no longer fun?" I asked in faux horror, " not possible"

Sirius rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around my shoulder, " Be quiet, Meadowes or I'll tell Piers to reopen your wound"

I shoved him in the side and followed him into the elevator.

" I want to see!" Lily said loudly in James living room.

" Why?" James asked curiously.

Lily crossed her arms, " If I could turn into an animal, you wouldn't be curious?"

James grinned, " You could turn into a cabbage and I would be interested"

" I am going to vomit" Sirius said from the large armchair, rolling his eyes dramatically.

They were sitting in the Marauder's living room and somehow the conversation had turned to the unregistered anamagi in the room, and Lily was desperately trying to get James to transform into his stag phase.

" It's not really fun when there's no reason to do it" James said with a shrug.

" It's not fun when there is a reason" Remus pointed out.

" Well not fun for you, Moony." Sirius corrected.

" You know, your nicknames really are obvious you know," Doe told them, " I mean you call Remus Moony,"

" You were the only one to figure it out, and it took you three years" Sirius said.

" But if I figured it out, Other people might have too" Doe said.

Sirius shrugged, " Well know one ever said anything"

" If anyone figured it out, it was probably a Ravenclaw" Lily said, " besides that no one would invest the thought into it"

" Xenophilius might have" James said, " but he's such a loon, no one would believe him"

Sirius snickered.

" You know what would have sucked about being a Ravenclaw?" Peter asked.

" What?" Sirius asked him, obviously placating him.

" Imagine coming back to your common room after getting tossed and having to answer a riddle to get into your common room" Peter said.

Sirius made a face, " Think about all the poor Ravenclaws we locked out of their rooms with our Marauder parties" he said with a laugh.

James burst into loud laughter, " dumbing down the Ravenclaws one drink at a time"

Peter laughed loudly at James joke, and Lily just shook her head.

" The Ravenclaws were probably too smart to get tossed though" Remus pointed out, " they wouldn't want to get locked out"

" Always the rational one, Moony" James said with a slight headshake.

There was a knock at their door.

" Five Galleons says it's the landlord complaining about the noise again" Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.

Peter was closest to the door so he got up to answer it.

At the door was a ministry official. Doe recognized him as one of the Hit Wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

He had used to attend the Department parties with her dad.

" Good Evening," he said to Peter, " I am looking for James Potter"

" I'm James" James said getting up to his feet.

" I'm Bob Ogden, I work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Can I come in?" Bob asked.

James opened the door further, allowing him to walk in. James lifted his wand and the empty butterbeer bottles on the coffee table vanished.

" What is this regarding?" James asked when he and the wizard sat down on the couch.

The wizard sighed, " I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but your parents were found murdered this evening"

It got very silent very fast.

Doe watched the color drain from both Sirius and James faces. Neither one of them spoke.

James took a deep breath and a tear ran down his cheek.

" How?" he asked quietly, another tear running down his face. Lily ran to him, hugging him tightly.

" We suspect it was the work of You-Know-Who's supporters, there was a Dark Mark found above the home"

James tried to stop the tears that were flowing from his face, but he couldn't do it fast enough and eventually gave up letting himself cry.

Bob Ogden got to his feet, " I'm very sorry for your loss, I'll leave and give you some privacy"

He disapparated quickly, leaving quite the emotional scene behind him.

Mr. & Mrs. Potter's funeral was several days later in the wizarding cemetery near their home. They had all attended and sat stoically beside James and Sirius, both of whom were racked with sadness.

It was awful. Mr & Mrs. Potter had been such kindhearted people, and they had loved James so wholly.

Doe thought back to the last time she had seen them. It had been graduation. It was horrible to think that she would never see them again. It had been a hard funeral to get through. Mainly because of James.

Apart from the one time he had been mad at Sirius in seventh year, Doe had never seen him so upset. He was usually the fun optimistic one. Seeing him so sad killed her.

Lily didn't know how to deal with it either. She clung to him the whole time, letting him cry against her and stroking him comfortingly.

Remus and Doe sat off to the side, but Sirius was on the other side of her. She knew he was more upset than people would think. Mr. & Mrs. Potter had taken him in and had become something of surrogate parents for him. She knew they were the closest thing to parents he had ever had.

During the service, Doe saw Sirius mouth tremble slightly like he was about to cry but he fought it.

Doe grabbed his hand to comfort him. A small smile flashed across his mouth for a second before it fell again, but he squeezed her hand to let me know he was okay. He held it for the rest of the funeral, squeezing it when he looked like he might cry. He was far too tough for that.

After it was over, James and Lily decided to stay to talk to some of the ministry officials and sort out some of the legal business. Peter was going to help them.

Remus and Doe were going to go back to her apartment. They tried to get Sirius to come with them, or to go with him, but he insisted he would 'rather be alone'.

" I'm worried about him, Rem" Doe told Remus as they walked away from the crowd leaving the cemetery.

" Don't" Remus told her, " It's Sirius, he just doesn't like for anyone to see him in pain"

She sighed, " That's so stupid, I wish he would just let us be there for him"

" That's Sirius, though" Remus pointed out, " he's complicated".

Remus took her hand and apparated to her apartment. It was quiet, seeing as Lily was gone and they were all alone.

" I'm going to go put on some tea" Remus said, " Do you want some?"

She nodded eagerly, "Strong please"

" Your wish is my command" Remus said kissing her cheek and disappearing into the kitchen.

Doe walked over to the couch and sat down, looking out their window at the large gray expanse of London.

Remus came out of the kitchen a moment later and sat down beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, " What's wrong?"

She leaned back against him, " It's just all this death" she said shaking her head, " it's going to get worse before it gets better".

" Well, that is true of most wars, but we will be okay" Remus said, " nothing is going to happen to any of us" he said squeezing her shoulders.

She pulled myself closer to him, burying herself in his chest, " I just don't want anything to happen to anyone I care about".

Remus ran his hands over her head, stroking her hair, " Nothing will, Doe. We are all going to be fine"

" How do you know?" she asked.

He squeezed me tighter, " I just do, okay? Don't worry so much. You're going to stress yourself out about things you can't control."

" You're right" she told him with a sigh.

" I don't know if you're interested, but seeing as it's coming up quickly, I was going to go to my parent's for Christmas and they told me to invite you" Remus said.

" You're parents invited me?" she asked curiously.

Remus nodded, " They adore you, and they figured we would want to spend Christmas together, but if you don't want to you don't have too"

" I want too" she told him earnestly.

Before today, she hadn't even thought of what she was going to do about Christmas. She couldn't go home anymore, and she had always spent Christmas' at Hogwarts.

Remus smiled, " They'll be thrilled".

" I'm just glad I get to spend it with you" she told him.

He smiled slightly, and pulled her closer to him.

It was a strange parallel. She felt momentarily upset for allowing herself to be happy when both James and Sirius were so upset, but had to remind herself that happiness needed to be found in dark times, to avoid being consumed by darkness.