A/N: Second up! I've had some time on my hands, so i was able to work on it. I probably won't be as fast for the rest but I'll do my best. Thanks to all that reviewed or followed the story, you put a huge smile on my face. If I could hug you, I would! Just to reply to your reviews:
torik: thanks! i hope i keep the 'interesting-ness' alive. (:
MSupernatural: thanks! 3 yes, it is a muggle AU.
DreamHawthorn: also thanks. (: haha. not so much laughter in this chapter but for the next chapter, i'm going for a kind of light-heartedness. and jily trouble? *shrugs and avoids eye contact*
marylin06: thank you! this chapter IS longer than the last - almost double!
Thanks to BlondeLunaa, cubsgirl101, torik, MSupernatural, and marylin06 for following.
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! You can follow me on tumblr (cinnamoncoffeecharms) if you want updates on my fanfiction, or if you wanna pop by and ask a question.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling's characters, not mine. ):
It was a little after 11 by the time the other Order members had left. Lily was sitting in the little kitchen with the other selected team members. They had been asked to stay a little longer so that Dumbledore could brief them in detail about their mission. Lily resolutely ignored the others chatter and stared at her steaming cup of coffee. She was still wrapping her head around the whole affair.
It was a huge compliment that the senior committee had deemed her capable of such an important mission and Lily knew that she jolly well deserved it. She had put in great efforts to be a stellar agent, and to get selected for this mission felt like a victory of some sort for her. But why? Why, in heavens name, did she have to be partnered with James Potter? James Potter! For goodness sakes. Everything about him infuriated her, from his pretentious stance right down to the last black hair on his head. Hell! Bloody hell! Now she had to pretend to be in love with him let alone live with him! Lily expelled a long, huffy breath and collected herself. She glanced up from her coffee and saw Dumbledore finish his hushed conversation with McGonagall by the door and approach the kitchen table where the team was seated. Well, except for James. He was slouched on the kitchen counter, his head resting on the above cabinets, a bored, measured expression on his features. Git.
"Very well," Dumbledore began. "Let me go into detail about your 'job description' in this mission."
"Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Lupin, we shall begin with the both of you. You will be staying together, in a small house just outside of Islington. It is no more than ten minutes away from where Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans will be staying. It would be very much preferred that you begin setting up in your new residences as early as tomorrow. Alright?" Upon receiving confirmation from both of them, he addressed Remus.
"As the technology correspondent, shall we call you the 'techie'? It is much less of a mouthful after all." Dumbledore smiled a half smile, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.
"As the techie, you will be expected to do the following; set up means of communication with James and Lily, both within the house premises and externally as well; set up communication with Ms. Marlene and Mr. Black; gain complete access to surveillance footage of Voldemort Inc. - I want us to always have eyes on everything; also, gain access to all electronic devices within the headquarters; lastly, keep in touch with other agents at all times, I need you to be prepared to send in a back up team at any possible moment."
"I realize I am asking a lot of you, and you will be given sufficient time to accomplish these things. I am utterly confident that you will be able to handle the stated tasks. I need you, all of you, to realize the magnitude of the situation before you. Riddle is a ruthless man. If he finds out that you are undercover agents, even if he merely suspects that you have an ulterior motive, he will seek to have you eliminated."
Lily took a moment to let his words sink in, swallowed hard and shook of her nerves. Nerves were not acceptable in her line of work and she was sure as hell not going to let them affect her in any way possible. If Lily Evans was anything, she was determined.
"Mr. Pettigrew, as I have already mentioned, you will keep in contact with me. Every development must be immediately reported directly to me or to Minerva. "You will also be expected to assist with the planning of any infiltrations of Voldemort Inc. Safest way to enter, safest way to exit. Agents safety is the top most priority."
"Mr. Black and Ms. McKinnon," Dumbledore turned to face Sirius and Marlene, "Both of you have very similar job descriptions. You are expected to case the building. Find out where each room is and what is located in each of those rooms. Also, get to know the people, find out who is working for Riddle. Identify the friends and foes. Keep in mind that first appearances can be deceiving. "
"Mr. Black, you will be working with the delivery company, Hufflepuff. The company occupies the bottom two floors of Voldemort Inc. Pomona Sprout, another friend of mine, is well aware of Riddle's methods of handling his business and has kindly offered you a spot in her company that will assist us greatly in keeping an eye on Riddle. Ms. McKinnon, you, however, have a slightly more dangerous post. You will be Tom Riddle's personal secretary."
Lily raised her eyebrows, showing no other sign of shock as she glanced at Marlene. Marlene smiled slightly and nodded, the initial shock having passed.
"Ms. Marlene, you will be expected to keep track of all the people entering and exiting Riddle's office, his associates, his workers. Also, you are expected to manage his timetable. Be aware of all events and meetings he has scheduled and relay information to Mr. Lupin. Do not worry about your safety, as I have said before, safety of agents is the highest if my priorities and I would sooner jump into a lion enclosure than let you come in the way of harm." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at Marlene, putting any doubts that she may have had to rest.
"Alright then, the last two, James and Lily. Both of you are integral to this mission. You are at the highest risk. You will need to integrate yourself as a community member. We need you to be invited to the all the parties and all the lunches. You will be our main eyes and ears of this mission. When a task that is too risky to be done by Ms. McKinnon or Mr. Black, the two of you will substitute them. Is that clear? The whole community will have their eyes on you. Make sure that your cover is solid. I have no doubts that both of you are very well suited for the mission ahead. You also are expected to move into your new house as soon as tomorrow. Mr. Lupin will be awaiting you at his new residences and he will take you to your house. It is a fully furnished house, so all you will need, are your personal belongings."
"Good luck with your mission. Mr. Lupin, after giving all of them the address of where they might meet you tomorrow, please step into my study, so I may discuss some finer details of your job description with you. Goodnight to the rest of you. " Without waiting for a response, Dumbledore swept from the room.
"Wow." Sirius' voice cut through the silence that had ensued following Dumbledore's speech.
"It is a lot to digest. Now come look here." Remus had produced his tablet and was pulling up a picture of a map. "James, you too."
James came and crowded around the small table with the rest of them, accidentally knocking Lily's cup of coffee, which fell on her, staining her jeans. "Oooh. That's going to leave a stain. Sorry Lil. It was an accident."
Lily's head snapped up. "It's Evans to you Potter!" she said sharply, her tone threatening.
James' eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to retort, but Remus cut in,
"This is the address of where Peter and I will be staying. You can a take a train straight to Islington station and then a cab to our place. I'll see you all there tomorrow okay?"
"Yes Remus, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow." With a quick squeeze of Marlene's hand, Lily left the building, finding it unbearable to stay a moment longer.
James watched the scenery zoom past as he made his way by train to Islington. He had a large suitcase and a duffel bag at his feet. No matter how hard he tried. His mind kept on wandering to Lily. Of all the god damned people he had to love – pretend to love – it had to be her. She really irked him. She and her air of assumed importance. She needed to get off her fucking high horse and … "Can I sit here?"
James looked up to see a tall blonde standing next to him. She was sipping at a water bottle, her blue eyes looking enquiringly at him. "Sure."
She slipped into the seat beside him, "Hi, I'm Joanna." She said offering him her hand.
"James."
"James," Joanna practically purred his name, "You going somewhere, James?" she said, indicating his bags with a hand.
Before James could answer, the train lurched, ever so slightly, causing Joanna to 'accidentally' spill the contents of her water bottle onto James' pants.
She let out a tinkling laugh, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry James! Don't worry, it won't leave a stain." She began to rub her hand on James' leg, a pretense of removing the liquid.
James removed her hand. "Its fine, and you're right, it won't stain."
The train began pulling into Islington station, "This is my stop. Nice meeting you Jo." James stood up, and grabbed his bags.
"Oh, but James, leave me your number, we should have coffee sometime."
James looked down at the flirtatious woman and seeing no harm, reached into his pocket. Finding the paper where Remus had hastily scribbled James' new house number, he handed it to Joanna. "Bye." He said stepping into the aisle.
"For heaven's sake Peter! Don't you have something a little stronger than tea?" Sirius strode around the kitchen opening all the empty cabinets before shutting them with a huff.
Marlene giggled. "Stop Sirius! They've only been here for a couple of hours. You mad bugger, what do you need alcohol for? Its barely lunchtime! Go find something to occupy yourself!"
"Like what dear? What could I possibly do in this house? There's practically nothing interesting."
"Well… you could…answer the door! Yes! Go! Don't keep her waiting!" Marlene was thankfully, saved by the ringing of the bell and Sirius was sent stomping out of the kitchen.
"Her?" James inquired of Marlene.
"Yeah, it's probably Lily."
Marlene's guess was confirmed by the laughing redhead that fell through the door, Sirius obviously having dragged her into the kitchen. She looked quite pretty, in her light purple sundress, her red tresses pulled into a ponytail.
"Thank God you're finally here Lily!" Sirius exclaimed, I was being driven to madness by these other fools.
Lily straightened up, taking in the room, her green eyes still sparkling from Sirius' boisterousness. Her eyes swept the room, taking in Peter, standing by the counter, pouring himself another cup of tea, Remus sitting at the tall dining table, multiple laptops open in front of him, Marlene, sitting on the opposite counter, swinging her legs lightly in front of her, and James, sitting on the floor, back against the wall, his arm resting on Marlene's feet. Her smile faltered ever so slightly and she did a surprising thing then, she moved across the room and plonked down next to him.
"Hello James. I… I'm… sorry. About snapping at you last night. We are going to be playing a couple after all, and well, I guess, it's not a problem if you call me Lily."
James smiled at her. "Alright, you're forgiven Lil."
"I wasn't asking for your 'forgiveness' and not Lil. Lily."
"Whatever you say Lil." James retorted, placing a hand on her thigh.
"LilY, and touch me like that again, and I'll beat your ass into pulp." Lily smiled back. Her voice was conversational and lilting, but James could hear the coolness behind it.
He casually removed his hand, his smile, all but vanished from his face, "I don't doubt that for a second."
There was a moment of silence, in which James and Lily stared at each other, his hazel eyes boring into her emerald ones.
Remus snapped a laptop shut. "Okay. Lets go. Sorry about the wait, I just needed to activate a few things so that I can show you how they work."
James stood up, reaching out and helping Lily to her feet as well. "Keys, Remus! I'll drive."
Remus flung the car keys to him but before he could catch them, Lily grabbed them mid air and began walking to the door. "Fat chance! I'm driving."
Lily gasped slightly as she stepped over the threshold into her new house. It was certainly beautiful. The floors were paneled with wood, the walls a soft creamy white. Dark wooden beams lined the ceiling, adding to the overall effect. To her left was the study and to her right was the staircase and the living room which was connected to the dining room and kitchen. If she walked straight, she would exit into the wide backyard. It was all very gorgeous.
"Lily? Lily? Come on." Remus and James were both standing at the study door, James smirking at Lily's awe.
Lily hurried to join them. "Sorry Remus, what were you saying?"
"This is your ear bug;" he said, handing Lily the small device. "Using it will keep you in communication with all 5 of us. You can remove it when necessary. Showers, Bedtime. I will have other mean of communicating with you in an emergency. There's an automated alarm system, I'll set it off when I believe you are at risk. The bottom drawer of the desk there has a whole bunch of disguises for you to use." Remus said, pointing to the desk in the study.
"Also, there's a camera on the mantelpiece in the living room, there's a silver apple there, turn in over, press the bottom in, and we'll be able to see each other. Lily, here, wear this at all times, it has a mini camera, as well as a tracking device attached to it."
He handed her a long box, and when she lifted the lid, her breath caught for the second time. Inside was a silver necklace with a single pendant – a lily petal. "Gorgeous. Great choice Remus."
"Oh. I didn't…" Remus began to speak, but James cut him off with a pointed look.
"What about me Remus? Where's my necklace?"
Remus wiped the amused expression from his face, "Your watch. The one I gave you this morning. That's the equivalent of Lily's necklace. Okay. Last few details. We need a safe word. When you believe that you are at risk, say this word, and I'll send in a back up team."
"Fruit? Banana? Green Bag? Pillow?" James began spewing random nonsense.
"Gryffindor." Lily's tone was firm and decisive. "That'll be our safe word."
"How'd you think of that?" Remus asked.
Lily held up a red and gold book that she found while perusing the books in the study. "Gryffindor." She repeated.
"That's settled then. I've got to go now. One last thing – Dumbledore suggested that the two of you throw a party. Something like a house warming thing, get to know your neighbours and all yeah?" Remus slipped his ear bug in his ear, "Keep in touch," with a final wink, he swept from the study and out of the house.
Lily swiveled around to face James. "A party? We can manage that right?"
"Of course. Shall we go check out the second floor?" James began making his way out of the room, obviously aware of the awkwardness that had settled between the both of them.
"James!" Lily's voice called him back in, "Help me fasten the necklace? I can't do it myself."
She passed the necklace to James and turned around, so that he could fasten it. She pulled her hair to the side just as James slipped the necklace around her neck. The fine hairs on Lily's neck stood as James' knuckles grazed her skin. " Thanks."
James nodded, his expression carefully neutral, and left the room.
A/N: So? What'd you think? Let me know! Thanks for reading. Review and make my day! 3