There was a brief silence in Grimmauld place when Sadie left. It was swiftly broken by the suggestive cackling of the Weasley twins, Fred and George.
"Who is this Miss Delacour, Beeeeeeeeell?" Fred asked, struggling to contain his chuckles.
"Surely not the attractive veela from the Triwizard Tournament?" George added, eyes sparkling with mirth.
Bill blushed, and Tonks squealed. "Oh my god! It is!" his head snapped up, blush draining from his cheeks as he realised what they meant.
"No! No! She's being really odd, keeps following me around! I hate it!" he growled, head making contact with the palms of his hands. Remus patted his back reassuringly, attempting to stifle his laughter. Lenora frowned slightly, dredging up a face to the name and twisting her face in disgust and realisation.
"Is that the French trollop?" at everyone's incredulous stares, she shrugged. "Sadie's words, though I wish they were mine. It's true!" nobody averted their gaze. "Oh, for heaven's sake! She's a veela! If that doesn't scream 'trollop' I don't know what does!" she huffed, much to the amusement of the remaining marauders.
"I agree!" Sirius added. "Come on Arthur, you were at the World Cup. The Bulgarians had veela cheerleaders! Were they or were they not practically serving themselves on a platter to the fans?" the entire room leant forward, anticipating Arthur's answer.
Mr Weasley chuckled, wiping his glasses. "Yes, they were. If I recall, Harry tried to jump off the railing of the Top Box!"
Tonks whistled, impressed. "Wow, Arthur, you made the Top Box? Way to go!"
Fred and George snorted. "Yeah, I remember that," Fred said. "Harry looked good and ready to ravish those veela!" Harry blushed hotly.
"It was my first time seeing them!" he yelled in defence.
Hermione turned her nose up slightly in disgust. "It was all very animalistic. Almost… cave man like."
"All men are cave men, Hermione," laughed Lenora loudly, patting the teen on the back. "It's just that some are so hot that we forgive them!" Tonks giggled, not so inconspicuously eyeing up Lupin.
Sirius looked over to Lenora. She winked at him, and he had to fight a blush. Suddenly, there was a crash in the hallway, and Lenora sprang up eagerly and rushed to the door. Glancing warily at each other, the rest of the order followed.
"Stay there," Remus told the teenagers. They groaned and slumped in their seats dramatically.
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"Well, I had best be off," Neville yawned, stretching languorously and rising from his seat.
"Of course. Lovely to meet you, Neville. Come again any time!" Lily told him warmly.
"Thanks, Auntie Lil. See you, Uncle James. Nice meeting you, Junie and AJ!" Junie blushed at the use of her nickname. "See you in school, Loony. Bye, Sadie." Luna smiled and Sadie waved distractedly, eyes still fixed to her notes. Luna stood up.
"I'd better go too. Bye, James, Lily, Junie and AJ! Bye Sadie! Don't let the Wrackspurts get you down!" Sadie finally put down the sheaf of notes and smiled at Luna's retreating form.
"I won't, Loony. Don't worry. In fact, I had better go deal with the Order of Chickens. Come on AJ, we're going to go meet your Auntie Lenny!" she clapped her hands, but Lily stopped her with her vicious redhead glare (trade mark, patent pending).
"No you are not! I am not letting my baby anywhere near those snakes! Especially Severus – no, Snivellus – Snape. Are you trying to draw attention to yourself?" Lily demanded, ignoring the huge smirk on James' face when she used the nickname the Marauders had used for Snape.
"Yes, I am in fact trying to draw attention to myself, thank you, Lily pie. Because if I do, it is only a matter of time before someone figures out who I am! And then they will turn against Dumbledore and fight Voldemort as they should! It's fool proof!" Sadie declared.
"Hmm, yes, totally fool proof, except for the fact that it is not!" Lily sniped.
"Let me try, Lily, at least. I don't want to live my life in the shadows. I don't want to live my life as the lie it is! And I know you don't want your son to die. There are much more efficient ways of destroying Horcruxes than death! I myself could do it, given half the chance with your son! But I won't get that chance unless we expose Dumbledore, Molly and her two youngest for the gold diggers they are. And think of the look on Snivellus' face when I appear with the exact replica of his best friend! I'll even get it on tape for you!" Lily looked tempted, but attempted to appear stern.
"I don't know, Sadie, there is still so much to consider…"
"I think it is a wonderful idea, Lils. We have to let the kids have fun sometime, honey. And Sadie, won't you take Juniper too? It will shock Moony and Pads speechless. In fact, take a picture of all their faces, frame it, and give it to me as a Christmas present! We can hang it up on our wall." Junie giggled, and Lily let out a reluctant smile.
"Please, Mum? I really want to go!" Junie begged.
"Yes, please, Mummy! I want to meet Aunty Marlene!" AJ whined.
"Come on, Lily pie, let them come!" Sadie cajoled, giving Lily puppy dog eyes and pouting exaggeratedly.
"Go on, Lily flower, let them go, love." All four wheedled.
"Well… fine. But only for a little while!" Lily conceded grudgingly. They cheered, and three rushed out of the door. James hugged Lily close to him, laughing slightly as the girls rushed out of the door to Sadie's cry of "Run before she changes her mind!"
"I miss them, James." She murmured against his chest.
"I do too, Lily Flower. So much. But Isadora is fixing it for us. We'll be back with them before you know it." James soothed, pressing his lips to her fiery hair.
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Sadie, Junie and AJ apparated right into the troll leg umbrella stand. There was a loud thump as Sadie shrieked and toppled over, Junie stumbling but catching herself, wrapping a protective arm around AJ to prevent her getting hurt.
"Well thanks," Sadie bit out playfully. "I knew I could count on you to stop me falling. Now quick, help me up!"
Despite her plea, she clambered to her feet without any help and turned to the portrait of Walburga Black which was shrilly screeching nonsense.
"Urgh. Have you ever seen anyone so embittered and ugly, girls? Shut up, hag!" Sadie told it, flicking her wand lazily. The curtains closed on a yelp of pain, and AJ giggled. Junie smiled half-heartedly, eyeing the door warily.
The door to the parlour sprang open, and Lenora stood with the rest of the order behind her. Sadie rummaged through her bag as Bill made his way towards her cautiously. She scrunched up her nose, digging deeper into the handbag as Bill spoke.
"Sadie what did you do?" he asked nervously. Sadie finally pulled out a disposable camera, holding it in the air like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Aha! Okay, I brought you my sisters. Juniper Jennifer Penny and Alice Jane Penny." She stepped back and brought the camera to her eye, snapping photos of the Order's shocked expressions and laughing quietly behind her hand.
All was silent as the adults and teens stared at the two girls, who were blushing profusely at the attention. Snape's eyes were fixed on AJ, whose fiery red locks and vibrant emerald green eyes were so familiar, it physically hurt.
Remus and Sirius had their eyes glued to Junie. Her hazel eyes reminded them with a heart wrenching tug of James, their fallen brother. In fact, her stature and red hair reminded them of Lily! And, Remus thought, Alice Jane's features are just like James'! I feel like I'm so close to an answer!
Sadie snapped a shot of Remus' semi-frustrated expression gleefully, knowing that he would soon figure it out.
"Is this them?" Lenora asked, voice trembling with emotion. "Is it really them?"
"Yep, it is! You are welcome. It was a right royal pain in the arse to get Lola to let them come, I'll tell you that!" Sadie said gleefully.
Lenora squealed, wrapping the two children into a huge hug. "Oh my god, it's you! Oh, I've been waiting years for this moment!" behind her, Tonks was tearing up.
"You women and your sentimentality," Sirius shook his head, bemused.
"Excuse me?" Sadie's head snapped up. "Were you implying something about females?"
"NO! I mean, no, of course not!" Sirius squeaked, looking terrified.
"That's what I thought," Sadie scowled. Suddenly, her phone rang, with a different tune this time.
*Here's a Llama, there's a Llama, and another little Llama, fuzzy Llama, funny Llama, Llama, Llama, Duck* the phone warbled. Lenora shot Sadie a look over Junie's shoulder. Sadie, still scowling in Sirius' general direction and muttering several threats all aimed towards his – ahem – manhood, flipped open the phone. * – Cheesecake Llama, tablet, brick, potato, Llama – *
"Sadie here," she said crisply. With his werewolf hearing, Remus was able to hear the other end of the conversation.
"SADIE, get your stupid friend to give me the remote control!" shrieked a female voice.
"So when he does something you don't like he's my friend, but when you like him he's your husband? That makes sense!" Sadie said sarcastically.
"Shut your gob. Oh, I have it! Now, on to soaps – wait, someone at the door. James darling would you go get it? – sorry, Sades, you know how it is in the suburbs."
"Actually, I don't. Spent the last year in Egypt, remember?"
"Oh yes, of course, how could I forget a year's worth of silence from my best friend? Who was it, James?" there was a short silence, then a male voice yelled out;
"It's Him, Lily!"
"Who? Who is it? Guys, what's going on?" Sadie was frantic, gripping the phone tightly. Most eyes were now upon her, including Junie's worried gaze.
"Sadie, it's Him. He's here for your research." Sadie's eyes widened in horror.
"Well get rid of it then! Vanish it! I've got a spare copy in my bag, just – burn the bloody stuff for all I care, just destroy it. It cannot fall into his hands, do you understand me?"
"Will do. See you, Sadie." The phone went dead. Remus stood rigid by the door, unmoving.
"Well this is awkward…" Lenora sang. "Come on, kiddies, you can meet Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys!"
"Harry? Like… Potter, Harry?" Sadie shot Junie a glare. "Oh, um, that's, um, cool."
"Well come on then, and we can see them!" Lenora herded the two through the door.
The Order followed, Bill lingering a second longer in the hallway, where Sadie was slumped against the wall, looking tired.
Remus was still stood by the door, motionless. He started at Sadie's quiet voice. "You figured it out yet?"
"No," he said glumly, mirroring her tone. "What's got you so upset all of a sudden?"
"Upset?" Sadie laughed, bouncing back to her loud bubbly self. "Not a chance. Irritated? Very. Tired? Extremely. Ecstatic? One hundred freaking per cent!"
"Why?" Remus asked.
"Because everything is finally falling into place!" Sadie said happily.
The same tune as before burst out of Sadie's phone. *Here's a Llama, there's a Llama, and another little Llama – *
"Sadie here," Sadie declared into the phone. "What's the situation?"
"Burnt the notes. You sure you had a copy?" a male voice this time, same as the one that had called Sadie out earlier.
"Yeah, dead sure. Also, AJ and Junie are meeting their brother as we speak." Sadie grinned.
"Harry's there? Really? Is it Grimmauld Place? I want to come!"
"Whoa there, calm down. I'll bring AJ and Junie back in an hour, okay?"
"Calm down, you want me to calm down? That's my son there, and my daughters are meeting him! You can't expect me to calm down after – oh hello Lily dear!" Sadie laughed evilly as the man forced happiness into his tone.
"James Potter, you had better not have my phone in your hand! What happened to yours?"
"Yeah, Ja-J-Jimmy. What happened to your phone?" Sadie teased.
"Isadora McKinnon, you stay out of this! James, where did you put your phone?"
"I left it near the bath, and AJ pulled it in!"
"Lily, don't call me that name! Sadie! Say – dee. Not Izzy, not Isadora, not even Dora – just Sadie."
There was a moment's silence. Sadie turned to Remus.
"What name did I just say?" she asked him abruptly.
"Sadie?"
"No, the one before that." Sadie crossed her fingers.
"Lily, wasn't it?" Remus queried. Sadie jumped into the air with glee.
"YES! Yes! It worked!" she pressed the phone to her ear. "The moon has howled, love birds. The moon has howled." There were noises of celebration on the line, then some quiet grunting and moaning. Sadie looked over at Remus and gagged at him. "They do this a lot. Watch." She cleared her throat. "STOP SNOGGING!" she yelled down the phone. There was silence, then Lily's embarrassed voice came onto the phone.
"Sorry, Sadie. Prongs distracted me," Lily giggled, and Remus heard her whisper something to James. Then James was on the line.
"Sorry, Sadie. Anyway, staging a code 3. As soon as possible." The line went dead, and Sadie looked irritated.
"I can't believe this! forcing a code three so he can play tonsil hockey with his wife! Be better to have Neville as base than that horny bugger!"
"Neville?" Remus asked, with a dazed look on his face. "Neville Longbottom? You know him?"
"Of course I do! But listen, I'm afraid if you want to learn anymore about what the situation is, you need to take an oath. It's a serious oath that will hold beyond death. Do you understand what I mean?" Sadie asked, for once serious.
"I think so. If I take this oath, will I get to see two of my best friends again?"
"Yes. You will also be inducted to the exclusive group known by the Goblin nation as 'Friends of Magic'. This means that you are not in any way prejudiced against magical creatures and will keep an open mind at all times when addressing said magical creatures. You will learn an entirely new language. But you will have a lot of responsibility. Are you willing to take on this challenge?"
Remus didn't have to think twice. "I will."
"I was hoping you would say that," Sadie winked at him. "Hold out your wand and repeat after me; I, Remus Lupin."
"I, Remus Lupin,"
"Wizard, werewolf and protector of innocents,"
"Wizard, werewolf and protector of innocents," Remus echoed determinedly.
"Do solemnly swear on my life, honour and magic,"
"Do solemnly swear on my life, honour and magic,"
"To keep the secrets entrusted to me by my fellow oath takers,"
"To keep the secrets entrusted to me by my fellow oath takers,"
"And trust that they in turn shall respect and keep my own secrets,"
"And trust that they in turn shall respect and keep my own secrets,"
"I swear that I will do my utmost to protect those in need and untangle the web of lies that the schemer Albus Dumbledore has created," There was no humour in Sadie's face, only fury and righteous indignation.
"I swear that I will do my utmost to protect those in need and untangle the web of lies that the schemer Albus Dumbledore has created,"
"And do my part to destroy the Dark Lord."
"And do my part to destroy the Dark Lord." Remus set his jaw. He would do this, even if it killed him.
"So it is said, so mote it be."
"So it is said, so mote it be." There was a flash of bright fluorescent orange light.
"What is it with you and fluorescent orange?"
Sadie tucked her wand back into an inside pocket of her jacket.
"It's my trademark," she said, her tone back to its former jolly self. "Now let's go rescue Harry. And after that, you can meet my 'parents'."