A/N: Hello! Here's chapter 32. I'm trying my best with these chapters, but it's a bit tough right now with school and sports and being sick. Hope it's not too bad!
Rachel and Sirius were sitting at their small dinner table one late evening. Piles of papers and folders on Death Eaters and Order reports were messily spread out onto the wooden surface as the dishes were magically scrubbed clean by a charmed sponge. Somehow, Rachel managed to tune out the constant scrubbing noises coming from the sink and actually concentrate on her work.
That is, until she heard a loud bang.
Rachel's head shot up immediately and her grip on her wand tightened. Sirius followed suit, looking around cautiously, until his eyes landed on the windows in the living room.
There, plastered on the window, was a small barn owl with an envelope in its beak.
Rachel and Sirius both shot up and ran for the window. Sirius opened it quickly and allowed the owl to enter the apartment. He gave it a small owl treat in exchange for the letter in its beak.
"It's from Lily and James," Sirius announced.
Excitement ran through Rachel. They hadn't heard much from Lily and James nowadays and it worried her. Especially since she knew they now had a small baby crawling around.
Sirius quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment folded inside. He unfolded the letter and skimmed over it. With a smile, he passed a few photographs to Rachel.
The first photograph was of a baby who Rachel could only guess to be James and Lily's little Harry pouncing on an orange cat. The other photo was of James playing with Harry. The third photo was another one of Harry, except in this one he was zooming around on the toy broomstick Sirius and Rachel had gotten him for his first birthday. Rachel smiled, glad that her friends were okay. She moved to read the letter over Sirius's shoulder.
"Well, we know who he takes after," Rachel commented. "Already zooming around on a broomstick and wreaking havoc."
Sirius laughed. His smile suddenly disappeared as he read over another part. "Wait, what does she mean by 'the news about the McKinnons'?" Sirius asked.
Rachel gave him a confused look, which followed by a look of realization. "You… didn't hear," she said quietly. "Marlene and her family were murdered last week."
Sirius shook his head lightly. "And Fabian?"
Rachel sighed. "He was out at the time," she replied. "Haven't been able to get a squeak out of him. Gideon's the only one he'll talk to."
After a long pause, Sirius seemed to decide to turn away from the matter. "Could we visit?" he muttered.
Rachel shrugged. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "We can ask Dumbledore at the next Order meeting."
Sirius nodded. "Sounds good," he said. He turned his head and gave Rachel a small smile. "Can't wait to see the little bugger."
"I'll say!" Rachel agreed enthusiastically.
The Order meeting had adjourned and before Rachel could say anything, Sirius had run after Dumbledore to check if it would be all right to visit Lily and James. Rachel decided to scan the pin board in the meeting hall while she waited.
"Hello Rachel," she heard a voice say. Rachel turned to see Frank Longbottom behind her. She smiled.
"Hey Frank," she greeted. "Haven't talked to you in awhile."
"No, well, everyone's been terribly busy," he agreed. "I actually had a bit of news to share with you," he added more quietly.
Rachel frowned. "What would that be?"
Frank sighed. "We found out who murdered Dorcas," he said quietly. He looked around a bit aimlessly and Rachel noted the remorse on his face.
"Really? Did you arrest him?" Rachel immediately asked.
Regret passed over Frank's face. "Rachel… it was You-Know-Who," he replied.
Rachel frowned. "What do you mean?"
Frank sighed. "You-Know-Who personally murdered Dorcas."
"You have got to be kidding me," Rachel breathed out.
"I'm sorry, Rachel," Frank said.
Rachel shook her head slowly. "It's fine," she reassured. "Thanks for telling me."
Frank nodded and turned to walk away. He met up with Alice, who gave Rachel a reassuring smile. Rachel smiled back lightly, but the moment her friend's back was turned, the smile on her face dropped.
Rachel couldn't believe this. She couldn't even get proper justice for her best friend's killer.
"Hey!" she heard Sirius's voice say. Rachel turned towards him. "Dumbledore says we can even—hey, are you all right?"
After a short pause, Rachel nodded and let a small smile pass on her face. "Yeah, peachy," she replied. "So, what's the news?"
Sirius smiled back at her. "He says we can even go right now," he continued. Sirius grabbed Rachel's hand and gave her a smirk. "Come on. I think it's about time we test out my amazing motorcycle together."
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Rachel asked rhetorically.
Sirius leaned forward and gave her a short kiss on the lips. "Aw, don't be like that," he said. "It's going to be fun."
Rachel couldn't help but smile. She followed after Sirius, out of the meeting hall and into a damp alley a few blocks away. Sirius took out his wand and took off the Charms to reveal his magically modified motorbike. Sirius got on and, with a shake of her head, Rachel climbed on behind him.
"Hold on tight," Sirius said.
Rachel's arms wrapped tightly around Sirius's torso. "I'm going to kill you later," she muttered.
The motorbike landed in a secluded area of Godric's Hollow. The pair got off it and Sirius put the concealment Charms back on before taking Rachel's hand. The two walked briskly to the address of the safe house Lily and James were living in.
Once they had arrived, they quickly ran up to the door and knocked on it. Shortly after, it opened to reveal James aiming a wand at them.
"Aw, come on, Prongs, what way is that to greet your best friend?" Sirius said.
James frowned and lowered his wand. "Padfoot?"
"The one and only!" Sirius exclaimed.
James's face broke out into a large smile. "Padfoot! And Rachel! What the bloody hell are you two doing here?"
"Visiting you, of course!" Rachel answered.
"Am I hearing things or…"
Lily's voice was soon followed by the redhead herself walking up beside James. She broke out into a grin as well when she saw her two friends.
"Oh, come in for Merlin's sake!" she said happily. "I'm so happy you could come!"
Rachel and Sirius stepped inside and the door was shut behind them. Lily and James led them to the living room and the first thing Rachel saw was the familiar baby boy from the photos sitting on a blanket on the floor playing with toy blocks.
"Aw, he's even more adorable in person!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed.
Lily smiled. "Sit, I'll get you two some tea," she said. "I'm sure both Harry and James could use a change in company. Merlin knows they've been bored out of their minds."
Instead of sitting down on the couch, both Sirius and Rachel sat down on the floor next to Harry and immediately began gushing over the small baby. James couldn't help but start laughing.
Rachel looked up at him, confused. "What?" she asked.
James shook his head. "You two come all this way and the first thing you do is start gushing over a baby," he said. "I mean, gushing in general is very out of character for the both of you."
"I'm sorry James, but have you not seen that absolutely adorable face of your son?" Rachel questioned. "I honestly can't believe he's fifty percent you."
"Ha! Wait 'till you see him zooming on that broomstick," Lily commented as she strolled into the living room. "Then you'll see the resemblance. Flying around and leaving a mess behind. He could only take after one person."
Rachel and Sirius laughed as James gave Lily a fake pout. Lily shook her head in amusement and set the mugs of tea on the coffee table.
The four of them, five including the one year-old Harry, spent the remainder of the evening laughing and catching up. Rachel hadn't realized until then exactly how much she missed the two of them. For a small moment, she even seemed to forget the news Frank had brought her. That evening turned out to be a small light in a time of darkness.
And Rachel would never forget it for the rest of her life.
Heh, yeah, there it is :3
-Grammar/spelling?
-I'm really excited to write the last few chapters, but I just hope they please everyone. I'm just wondering at what people think of the story at this point.
-Forgive me for the crappy update?
Thanks for reading!
