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Chapter 9: Constant Vigilance
"Excuse me, do you know Brenna Templar?" A quiet first year asked Remus nervously. He sat in an arm chair reading, or rather attempting to read, as his friends played a rather noisy game of exploding snap, Peter was losing as was normal.
"Yeah, did you need her for something?"
"Professor McGonagall asked me to tell her that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see her in his office, but I don't know who or where she is and I have to go to the library for tutoring."
"I can tell her if you'd like, that way you can go to tutoring."
"Thanks so much, that'd really help." The young girl hurried out the portrait hole books in hand and Remus turned back to his friends who had once again beaten Peter at Exploding Snap.
"Have you guys seen Brenna?" Sirius and James turned towards Remus with quizzical looks; Peter either didn't hear or didn't care enough to look up from his singed fingers.
"Brenna? Why?"
"Dumbledore wants to see her in his office; a first year just told me that McGonagall told her to find Brenna."
"Skipping McGonagall and straight to the Headmaster, what d' you think she did?"
"I reckon she actually hung someone from the ceiling in the Great Hall, hopefully Malfoy."
"You guys do realise there are other reasons to be called to Dumbledore's office right?" Remus asked thinking of his own reason that he would be called down, a reason that the other Marauders knew.
"Moony, I highly doubt she has a furry little problem too, Dumbledore would've told you at least." James pointed out.
"I know, but I'm just saying there could be another reason that Dumbledore wants to see her."
"Yeah alright, we should probably find her anyway." Sirius and James stood up from the carpet they had been sitting on and looked around the Common Room.
"It doesn't take three of us to tell her Dumbledore wants to talk to her, you know, I'm perfectly capable." The two boys watched as Remus walked to a window seat where Brenna was sitting with an old leather bound book. She looked up as he approached her, a mildly curious expression on her face.
"Hey Brenna, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office." A grin spread over her face. If someone had died or was injured, McGonagall or Dumbledore would've come to get her, but since it was a student this could only mean that Dumbledore had finished the preparations.
"Thanks Lupin" She moved a deep scarlet ribbon with a silver medallion hanging on the end and closed her book.
"Um, Brenna, di-did you get in any trouble?" Remus asked concern evident on her face.
"No, I don't think so…" Brenna answered slowly.
"Oh, okay, I was just wondering…"
"You mean Black wanted to know if I actually stuck someone to the ceiling." Brenna stood up holding her book and wand, though Remus didn't notice the latter.
"Yeah actually…" Remus trailed off as Brenna pointed and flicked her wand at Sirius who was talking to James. He rose into the air letting out a shriek of surprise.
"Well, I suppose I did." With another complicated twist Sirius appeared to be stuck in the air as Brenna lowered her wand. "See you later, Lupin."
"What the hell?" Sirius practically screamed to the gawking girls and chuckling boys, no one had ever seen Sirius Black pinned up to a ceiling or even slightly humiliated.
"Told you I'd hang you from the ceiling didn't I?" Brenna said smirking as she left a shocked Remus and walked toward the Portrait hole.
"Alright, ha ha, point made." Sirius said glaring down from where he was floating. "You can let me down now."
"Sorry, I can't, Professor Dumbledore needs to see me. But don't worry, you're a Marauder, I'm sure you'll figure it out, and if not, the charm will wear off in a few hours and it's not that high of a ceiling, you'll be fine. Anyway I've got to get going." Brenna ducked out of the Portrait hole still smiling at the looks on the Gryffindors and the Marauders faces.
She walked to the statue of the stone gargoyle and gave it the password, Lemon Drops. The statue sprung to life and a spiralling staircase appeared behind a wall. Brenna stepped onto the staircase and knocked lightly on the door when she reached the top.
"Come in, ah hello Brenna thank you for joining us." Dumbledore said standing behind his desk to greet her.
"Sorry I'm late Professor, I got a little…sidetracked." Brenna took the seat next to her brother across from Dumbledore who had also sat down.
"No matter, you are here now, though I hope Mr Black finds his way back to the ground softly." Dumbledore eyes twinkled with humour and Brenna gave a small smile slightly embarrassed that he knew, but then again, the incident wasn't exactly private or hidden.
"As for the matter at hand, I have asked you here this evening because your training room is ready and I wished to show you both as soon as possible. It is important that you both continue to train and practice regularly, as Alastor would say, Constant Vigilance is of the utmost importance, especially with this war." Dumbledore paused looking at them both with piercing blue eyes that clearly conveyed the intensity and seriousness of the world they lived in.
"Now if you both would follow me, we shall proceed to the training room." Dumbledore rose from behind his desk and the twins did the same, following him to a portrait that swung open revealing a stone passage.
The passage way ended in a deserted staircase in one of the less common towers. They continued along the steps until they reached a large landing with two windows overlooking the grounds and gates to the castle. Dumbledore walked to the wall across from the windows stopping a few feet away and turning back to the twins.
"This is the entrance to your training room. It will be protected by the Fidelius Charm since it will serve as a headquarters for you both and any meetings between yourself and members of the order. You both will need to decide which of you to be Secret-Keeper and together you will need to decide who you will reveal this location to. You will also need to decide on a pass code to enter the room." Dumbledore paused allowing the twins some time to decide on which of them would be Secret-Keeper.
"It should be you" Cyrus told his sister looking into at her confident of her abilities and judgement to be Secret-Keeper. Brenna nodded in understanding, offering a small smile, happy that her brother trusted her.
"I'll be Secret-Keeper, Professor."
"Very well, step over here then and I will perform the first part of the charm, I understand that you know this charm." Brenna nodded walking closer and Dumbledore began the incantation and spell work. A trail of gold thread wound its way around Brenna and covered the wall and surrounding floor following the path Dumbledore traced with his wand.
"Now take out your wand and mimic my movements." Brenna obliged and copied Dumbledore's movements around herself. "Very good you can stop now." Brenna lowered her wand and Dumbledore finished the final stages of the charm by wrapping the golden thread around her head, heart (well her chest which is where her heart is) and wand.
The thread broke off as the spell was finished and the opening disappeared from everyone's view except Brenna's, who observed the door quickly closing, returning to the normal wall it appeared to be.
"Okay as Secret-Keeper of Templar Headquarters-I know its lame but whatever-I would like to entrust you both with its location. Was that formal enough?" Dumbledore chuckled at Brenna's introduction and Cyrus smiled at her shaking his head.
"Yes Brenna, I do believe that was formal enough. However, I think it best that, for now at least; you do not inform me of the location of the room, since I no longer know where it is. This headquarters is for you two to meet and talk, it is your sanctuary. I hope you will find everything to your liking and if not, please let either myself or Professor McGonagall know. Good evening, Brenna, Cyrus." With that Dumbledore returned down the steps of the tower leaving the two Templar's to decide what to do next.
"I'm going to set the code, okay?" Cyrus nodded and Brenna stepped forward into the protected area instantly disappearing from Cyrus' view.
She took her wand and while muttering the incantation that would set the pass code she drew a horizontal line that was three bricks long and glowed a brilliant silvery white. She connected that line with two others that ran from either end on a 45 degree angle and met 3 bricks below the first. Then Brenna drew three more lines that began at each of the points where the original lines met and proceeded towards the center where they met at a single point.
The result was a glowing, downward facing triangle with a "Y" in the center connecting the points. It was the Dragon's Eye symbol, a combination of the triangle meaning of a threat with the "Y" meaning of a choice between good and evil. It was a symbol that both Cyrus and Brenna knew well, a symbol they grew up with, one that identified them.
As Brenna finished the incantation, the glowing lines darkened into black engravings in the stone, a marker of their safe place. Then she quickly marked the boundaries of the Fidelius charm on the ground before stepping out of the protection and smiling at Cyrus.
"Welcome to Headquarters, Cyrus." Brenna gestured to the wall beside her, revealing the secret and allowing Cyrus to see and gain access.
"The dragon's eye…nice touch." He commented and the two re-entered the protected area, ready to finally go in.
Brenna raised her wand and traced the symbol on the wall. It glowed an intense bright white before the wall seemed to dissolve into an archway leading into another room. Stepping through, they saw that everything they normally used to train was there, mats and weapons and practice dummy opponents, everything. They split up to better explore their new training facilities as the wall behind them re-materialised closing the entrance.
In a small corner of the room were coffee table a couch and two arm chairs; next to it was wooden kitchen-like table with eight chairs positioned around it. There was a small fireplace and bookshelf stocked with only the most important of books. Both places seemed like they would only be used for meetings, discussions and plans.
From there the room took on a more intense aura. It was almost like a Muggle gym, where people went to work out. In various places was different equipment that would help them train for every possible circumstance they could find themselves in. The dummy opponents, however, were the best way to train. Once bewitched, they would serve as Death Eaters complete with the ability to shoot hexes, throw daggers and Muggle fight (basically punching and kicking). All the dummies would converge and work together to eliminate the person training and it was up to said person to neutralize them, either by 'killing' or hexing.
The room was perfect to keep Brenna and Cyrus prepared, after all, there was a war going on, and they were pretty much in the center.
"It's perfect for training, Bren." Cyrus said walking over to his sister who stood in the middle of the room taking everything in.
"It's missing a little decorative touch, don't you think? This is Headquarters after all. "
"What do you have in mind for our Headquarters?" A sly grin appeared on Brenna's face as she raised her wand pointing it to the center of the wall near the sitting area.
Instantly the words "Constant Vigilance" appeared in bold, black writing. Turning, Brenna raised her wand to the center of the opposite wall and a huge Dragon's Eye symbol appeared in the same silvery white as the entrance. Beneath the Dragon's eye the French words: A cœur vaillant, rien impossible appeared, coloured the same way as the symbol above it.
"Do you mind if I add something?" Cyrus asked reading everything his sister wrote.
"Not at all"
Cyrus turned to one of the last empty walls and wrote, "Life is worth more than gold, but honor more than life" in italic gold writing.
"I think its perfect don't you, it's got pretty much all our words to live by, and I've got to get back to the Common Room, make sure Black didn't end up dead or something."
"That you do Brenna; we couldn't have you doing something as dishonourable as killing a man."
"Its not dishonourable if you ask the right people." Brenna replied to her brother's patronizing comment.
"True enough, but could you really kill someone?"
"A Cœur vaillant, rien impossible, Cyrus."
"I know Brenna, to a valiant heart nothing is impossible, but don't kill anyone." Brenna made a show of sighing exasperatedly.
"Fine, I'll go make sure he's alive, he's probably at dinner." Brenna and Cyrus left the newly opened Headquarters and headed down to the Great Hall, dinner had already started and they were both hungry. "Alright well, see you later, Cy." The twins separated, each joining their own house at the opposing tables.
A/N: REVIEWS make Sirius and James find out more about the twins. Thanks for reading.