A/N: As ever all things Potter belong to Ms Rowling.

Chapter 2: Bravery

1976, 7th Year

"One more NEWT, Caradoc, just one more 'til freedom!" Marley squealed, lounging across a sofa in the Common Room with her legs across her boyfriend's lap. The aforementioned boyfriend hit her sock-clad leg lightly before bursting her bubble, in the gentlest way possible.

"Yeah, but Marls, after this we're both going into Ministry training. It's going to be tougher than NEWTs…" Caradoc Dearborn had been dating Marlene for two years now. He'd suddenly discovered his devotion for the girl after her one-off date with Sirius Black. She'd appeared to have a lot of fun with him (they still remained friendly) and it had made Caradoc unreasonably jealous. They still laughed about how long it took him to figure out the cause of these feelings.

Marlene sighed and shifted under Caradoc's light touch. She couldn't believe she'd found a guy who idolised her so much; she loved it when she glanced up from the Daily Prophet to catch him looking at her in that certain way.

Hestia, sitting across from her best friend in a similar pose with Benjy, grinned at Caradoc. "Hear, hear my friend! Glad to see I've made such an impact on you, Doc."

"Ah Hes, I've always loved studying, you know what I'm like. Didn't get sorted into Ravenclaw for nothing." He winked in return. Benjy flung one of the navy cushions on the floor at his mate's grinning face.

"What's all this winking at my gal?" He boomed laughingly; he and Caradoc had an increasingly ridiculous, on-going alpha-male bit.

"We should totally do a girlfriend swap for a day!"

Marley kicked Caradoc's leg, wrinkling up her nose "That's gross."

"Hey, I thought it was a great idea." He leered jokingly at his girlfriend making everyone laugh.

The four broke off their banter to continue devouring the Charms tomes in front of them, trying not to stress too much about the fact that the exam was only six days away. Marlene began tapping her notes, colour-coding different sections whilst Benjy tested Hestia on various incantations.

Their preparations, however, were shortly interrupted by a small Third Year boy.

"Hey Sam," Caradoc greeted the boy cheerfully. "Practice is on Thursday, okay? Make sure you're there buddy, we've got to beat Hufflepuff. There's no way we're not winning the Cup in my last year."

The Third Year smiled at the older boy "Yeah, Captain. I'll be there but actually, I have a note from Dumbledore." The boy handed Caradoc a thin scroll before heading to his dorm.

The other three Seventh Years sat up interestedly, pushing the textbooks aside for a moment. Caradoc unwound the parchment slowly, reading it quietly.

"It's for all of us. Dumbledore wants us in his office. Now."

As they made their way through the corridors they tried in vain to guess why the Head teacher would want to see them; they were O-grade students with (near) spotless records. Marlene was Head Girl and Hestia the Ravenclaw prefect of two years.

"Pepper Imps." Caradoc read the password aloud from the scroll. His usually confident voice was a lot quieter than normal, Marley noticed.

They were not in any way comforted to also find McGonagall in the circular room and an odd, slightly-threatening looking man too.

"Mad Eye Moody," Caradoc spoke up, gesturing to the haggard looking man. "You gave me that tour of the Auror Department a few months ago."

Mad-Eye looked the teen over once, his electric eye swivelling and sparking in its socket.

"Dearborn, aye? You were considering joining us, weren't you?" His voice was growl; it matched his grizzled face perfectly, Marlene thought.

"Yeah, decided on becoming a Hit Wizard. Ministry have accepted me on the training scheme."

Mad-Eye nodded approvingly. Hestia went to ask the professors the purpose of the summon but, pre-empting, her query Dumbledore just held up one finger indicating that she should wait.

As the four settled down into the straight-backed, wooden chairs conjured up by McGonagall, several other Seventh Year students began to troop into the office. Five Gryffindors and three Hufflepuffs; Marlene pulled a face at Dorcas as she arrived with her Hufflepuff mates and smiled at Daniel as he joined his Gryffindor friends. They had made up soon after Marley's infamous date with Sirius Black. She noted that no Slytherins were present.

"Students, you are probably wondering why you have been gathered here," Dumbledore began speaking in his usual calm, grave manner. "Obviously, you are not here to be punished. As you may have realised, you are the brightest and some of the most trusted pupils at Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall shifted from her place behind Dumbledore's desk to continue. "You will also know that soon your NEWTs will be over and you will have finished your time here at Hogwarts for good. Being the students you are, I believe you all have career training lined up."

At this point, the three adults exchanged a look; they seemed to be preparing themselves for something. Marley couldn't guess what though: too late for a NEWTs speech, it was not likely to be a careers advice talk…

"This is the first year we've done this." McGonagall muttered to Mad-Eye.

"First year you've needed to." His response was accompanied by a twist of his flickering eye as it continued to rove over the students, one by one.

Marlene McKinnon was a bright girl and she always read the Prophet. She knew things were happening, bad things: attacks on Muggles by pure-bloods who thought they knew better. A lot of the Slytherins in her year had been walking around with looks of smug superiority on their faces; when the Prophet reported another attack, they would discuss it as if they knew things that the others didn't. One Muggle-born Gryffindor boy had lost his parents in a 'tragic road accident' last month.

"We are part of a secret society," McGonagall finally said. Mad-Eye Moody shot her a look with his good eye at her use of the phrase. "That is to say, a group charged with the task of combatting the activities of certain Dark Wizards."

"Like… Him?" Caradoc spoke up once more; he kept himself more informed than Marley, after all he did want to be a Hit Wizard. "That 'Dark Lord'?"

"That's what his followers call him." Mad-Eye's gruff voice confirmed Caradoc's idea with slight approval.

"Death Eaters."

"Aye."

There was a silence in the room. The teens could guess what was coming next. Some began to steel their nerves, some began thinking up excuses, and others began the first of a lot of soul searching. It was time, they realised, to decide what sort of person they are – decision far harder than choosing a career or a school House. This time they had no Hat to help them.

"The Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore's sombre tone calmed his students somewhat. He stroked Fawkes with his index finger, slowly. "We are a small force now, a mixture of witches and wizards from all walks of life. We need more members."

"Dumbledore assures me that he has hand-picked here the best of the best," Moody growled at the cluster of teenagers. "I think he's made some good choices."

One Hufflepuff boy looked close to fainting as McGonagall hurried to fill the pupils in on reassuring detail. Being a member of the Order would not affect your day-to-day job; many Order members were Aurors etc. and so you would receive the best protection; you'd sign a scroll with all the other Order members to keep track and help ensure your safety; you could really make a difference.

"You have, naturally, until the end of the year to decide." The Headmaster concluded. The end of the year was six weeks away, Marlene thought. Not a very long time in which to be making such vital decisions, Hestia thought.

A silence fell once more on the motley group of magic folk, each one wrapped in their own thoughts.

Marlene couldn't get this one image out of her head. The boy had no family who could have written to him in Hogwarts. He had only found out when the Prophet landed on the table that morning at breakfast.

TEN MUGGLES KILLED IN 'CAR ACCIDENT'. MINISTRY SUSPECTS MAGICAL INVOLVEMENT.

Their picture was nestled amongst eight others. Marley just happened to be looking at him the moment his eyes settled on the picture. Later, she wouldn't be able to say why. She alone saw the horror and terror that flitted across his face in that split second. But everyone heard his howl of grief.

The hairs on her arms stood up just remembering it; it didn't sound human. There was too much pain in the noise.

"I'd like to sign up-" The statement burst forth without her realising she was going to say it. She knew the moment the words left her lips, however, that they were true.

"Marley, think about it a while longer at least!"

"You could be killed, Marls-"

"Oh, Marlene, this isn't something you can just jump into…"

She silenced them, waving her hands abruptly.

"I don't care. I can't not do this."

Marlene's eyes were locked with Moody's, both his eyes. His stare was even more invasive than Dumbledore's. She shivered.

"Very brave of you, McKinnon. Well done. If you'd care to sign here…"

A/N: As ever, reviews make me a supremely happy bunny. :)

Elle xo