Chapter Seventeen
December the Twenty-Fifth, Nineteen-Seventy-Seven
"Davie," Lily whispered, moving over and shaking her friend awake. Davie rubbed her eyes groggily and patted lazily at her hair, which was curling up a bit on one side from having slept on it. It was dark out, Davie judged that it could only be around four or five in the morning. "Come on, Davie, someone's here to see you."
"Here to -- see me?" Davie asked, her question punctuated by a yawn. She received her answer, however, when she looked up at the window to the dormitory, which was closest to Lily's bed, and spotted a small circle of light coming from a wand. Then, she noticed the wand was held by none other than Sirius Black, seated on a broomstick.
"Hurry up now, before Mary wakes up," Lily laughed, tugging her friend out of bed and nudging her towards the open window. "You know how she does fancy Sirius, she just might wet herself if she sees him outside our window. She'll think he's peeping at her."
Just then, their other roommate gave a loud snore, and Davie got up quickly - even still in her nightclothes - and scurried towards the window, stepping out with one foot and peering at her boyfriend.
"You're completely mad, you know that?" she laughed quietly, swinging herself over the back of Sirius' broomstick and wrapping her arms around his waist. "What is this?
"This is a broomstick. It's for flying around and --"
"That's not what I meant."
"This is Christmas. It's this sort of holiday where you --"
"Sirius!"
"Would you hush up and stop trying to ruin my surprise?" he said with a chuckle, kicking off of the roof shingles and jetting away from the castle. At this moment, Davie remember exactly why she hated flying -- it was windy and uncomfortable, and she was reasonably sure that her long hair was quite close to poking her eyes out. She had tried out for the Quidditch team in their second year, the year James had first made the team - on Davie's part, it had been just another failed attempt at self-assertion and self-discovery. Her parents, of course, had encouraged her desire to try new things as they always did. Needless to say, she wasn't even good enough to be accepted as equipment manager and never again went anywhere near a broomstick until this morning.
Davie had clenched her eyes tightly shut for the entire brief flight with Sirius - partially because she was unsure about heights, and partially because she frankly did not want any more hair or bits of grass flying into her face. She let out a sigh of relief when her feet touched solid ground. She immediately looked down to see herself standing on flat wood; glancing upward, the colored fabric panels lining the area made it evident even in the dark that they had landed in the stands of the Quidditch pitch.
"Had to get you all to myself," Sirius chuckled, sitting down and lounging backwards on one of the solid benches, slightly damp with the dewy covering of early-morning. He gestured with a sideways tilt of his head for Davie to sit down, and she obliged, eyeing him curiously. He simply grinned. "Happy Christmas."
Davie had to squint a bit to see what Sirius had pulled out of the pocket of his robes - she flushed slightly at the fact that he'd at least had a chance to get dressed properly before coming out so early in the morning. All thoughts of her attire, however, were quickly forgotten when a small glint of light caught a small chain that Sirius was dangling from his finger, swinging it coyly in front of Davie.
"S'your Christmas present -- but if you want it, you're going to have to come and get it."
Davie laughed, leaning over and eyeing Sirius coyly, brushing her lips across his jawbone; he gave a slight gulp at the action, a move that required gall that Davie Maddux frankly was not known for exhibiting, and Davie took advantage of him being so riled up to snatch the piece of jewelry from his hand, retreating back to where she had previously been sitting.
"Well, that wasn't hard," she laughed, holding it up and glancing at it - a delicate gold bracelet with a monogram engraved onto a black onyx plate, an interlocking 'S' and 'D'. Davie looked up at Sirius questioningly.
"You're not going to ask me what it stands for, are you?" he chuckled, "Because if you need to, I'd have to wonder how your marks placed so high --"
"Typical. Just typical," Davie laughed with a wrinkle of her nose -- she was referring not to the present, of course, since it was anything but typical coming from Sirius Black, but to the fact that he was so nonchalant about giving such a sentimental gift. From another boy, from a sentimental sort of boy, it would be cliché and warrant a roll of the eyes, but from Sirius Black, it was the equivalent of receiving a shrunken head as a gift.
"You should, ah--" Sirius began, reaching out and taking it from her hand. "Here, you ought to let me put it on you. Merlin knows you're not coordinated enough to do it one hand, you'd drop it --"
"Real charmer, you are," Davie laughed sarcastically, extending her hand for Sirius to place it around her wrist. She had by now grown accustomed to the sort of teasing dynamic they could never seem to shake, even as a couple. "Now I see why all the girls are so madly smitten with you, you're so polite and --"
"Bloody handsome --"
"Language," Davie chided with a lopsided smirk as Sirius finished with the clasp. Momentarily, she was unsure of how to react to such a sentimental moment, with such an unsentimental Sirius Black. She raised her wrist a bit to look at the bracelet, tracing it musingly with her finger before looking up at her boyfriend, who looked quite pleased with himself indeed.
"So you agree."
"Agree?" Davie asked, pushing a bit of hair from in front of her eyes. "With the fact that you're handsome?"
"You're a smart witch, I'll give you a moment. I don't think the implications of a gift like that ought to escape you," Sirius said, stretching and cracking his neck a bit haughtily; Davie rolled her eyes a bit, but leaned closer and gestured for him to elaborate. "Considering, you know, I'd like for us to be together for -- quite a while," he began with a lopsided grin. "And you'd like to go on to that ruddy Auror training bit in Bulgaria --"
"Ruddy Auror training bit," Davie repeated, a slight scoff present in her voice. "Is that what you're always going to call it? It's only four months --"
"Four months in Bulgaria," Sirius pointed out, hushing the girl by placing a finger over her lips. "And you know what's in Bulgaria?"
"Bul--Bulgarians?" Davie provided hesitantly, earning a pointed stare from Sirius.
"Durmstrang." He said simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Durmstrang! And those bleeding hormonal Bulgarian gits --"
"As opposed to the bleeding hormonal gits we have right here," Davie asked, swatting Sirius' hand away from her face. "Sirius, would you just come out with it already? You're jealous --"
"Jealous," Sirius scoffed. "I'm never jealous. Green isn't my color at all - s'why I'd never be able to step foot into Slytherin. I'm merely suggesting," he began, gesturing a bit with his hand before looking back at Davie, "that we mutually agree not to see other people while you're away. I'm only doing this for your sake," he added, looking away from Davie a bit. "You know. So you don't worry --"
"That's very kind of you, I accept." Davie laughed, gently reaching out and turning his face back to her. She hadn't honestly expected him to come out with the fact that he was worried about Davie meeting other boys, it simply was not in his nature. It would be better to simply humor him and put him out of his misery. Davie leaned over, kissing his lips. This certainly was shaping up to be a very nice Christmas.
Later on, Sirius and Davie opted to go in through the Entrance Hall rather than leaving Davie at Gryffindor Tower and risking being seen and questioned by Mary Macdonald; the girl was apt to be so jealous that she'd tell Mr. Pringle that they'd been out. Sirius put the broom back in the Quidditch supply shed, and he and Davie scurried into the school through the large wooden doors. They were met, however, not by the empty entryway, but by Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, with Lily and James standing behind them.
"We, ah--" Sirius stammered in surprise. "We were -- there was a --"
"You may keep your excuses to yourself, Mr. Black" McGonagall said, not sounding angry at the pair at all, even if they had been caught sneaking around. "The headmaster and I would, however, like you to come with us."
Davie and Sirius glanced worriedly at one another before the professors swept forward down the hallway; the four teenagers continued on behind them. None of them seemed to have any clue what was happening. Davie began wringing at the hems of her sleeves as they passed by the various tapestries leading to Professor Dumbledore's office.
"Treacle fudge," McGonagall said, obviously stating the password to Dumbledore's office -- immediately, the statue of the oversized hippogriff moved to reveal the staircase, where they all filed quietly in.
"Remus!" Davie said aloud, stepping into the room first and seeing that Remus, Peter, and many others were standing in the room as well. "Remus, what are you --"
"You have all been called here," Dumbledore said, shutting the door behind him - at the same time, Fawkes swooped in through the window, settling down on his perch to the group's amazement; phoenixes were a rare sight, especially one as fine as Fawkes. "To receive an invitation."
A glance around the room would show a fair few people. Some were schoolmates, including Edgar Bones, Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend, Alice Dorsey, with whom Davie was familiar because they were both planning on becoming Aurors. There were others, older than the Marauders, Lily, and Davie -- among them were Molly and Arthur Weasley, a married couple that had graduated from the school, and Benjy Fenwick, a good-looking boy that had graduated the same year that the Marauders had entered school (Lily remembered him well, considering she had fancied him terribly).
"Many of you have seen firsthand, the uprising of Dark Magic that has been plaguing us in recent years," Dumbledore said gravely; Fawkes gave a loud coo, as if in agreement. "It has been kept quiet, but we have known for a long time that our enemies grow closer and closer every day. Some are already in our midst."
Dumbledore spared a glance toward James and Sirius, and to the other boys -- it was evident he knew very well the trouble they had all gotten into. Davie looked particularly pale at the mention of Dark Magic. Lily looked outraged and anxious all at once.
"Because their numbers are growing," Dumbledore continued, looking everyone in the room in the eye by turn as they all stared in rapt attention, "then so must ours. Some of you are only just coming of age," he said, sparing a glance towards those among them that were still students, "but I feel that you, even more than others, are prepared to make a decision if you should so desire. I extend you all my encouragement to join --"
Dumbledore extended his arm, and Fawkes kicked off from his perch, crowing and doing a short lap around the room in a blaze of gold and ochre and crimson before landing on his master's sleeve.
"-- the Order of the Phoenix."
"I accept."
"Me."
"I'm in."
Professor McGonagall looked both impressed and fearful when three of her students were the very first to volunteer, immediately, without hesitation: James Potter, Lily Evans, and Davina Maddux. James Potter, brave and honorable beyond his years despite his liking for mischief. Lily Evans, a gifted young woman of Muggle heritage who was among those most threatened by the rise of Dark wizards. Davina Maddux, a girl with a family to avenge and many of her own gifts to discover apart from her friends. McGonagall, who had always been fond of Davie's strong work ethic, worried for the dark-haired girl the most out of the three -- because while she was dedicated and gifted, McGonagall had always seen her fear of failure, of standing on her own.
"The Death Eaters," Dumbledore continued, not responding to the youths for the time being, "are led by a powerful wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort, a man whose mastery of his craft, while gruesome, may have yet to be matched by any witch or wizard. Their aim is eradication. Destruction --"
"Purification," Sirius added, his face looking unusually solemn as though these were words with which he was unbearably familiar. His family would, he expected, be in lieu with this sort. Dumbledore gave him a respectful nod.
"I will give any of you the option of leaving, with my trust that even if you refuse my offer, our secret is safe," Dumbledore continued. "But I will ask that if you would like to leave, you do so now."
Everyone in the room glanced around at one another, silently asking one another if they planned to stay -- Peter Pettigrew, in particular, pointedly glanced at the door once or twice, almost pleading for one of his friends to exit so that perhaps he might dare. None of them did.
Frank locked eyes with Alice. Arthur locked eyes with Molly. James locked eyes with Lily. Sirius locked eyes with Davie. There was a momentary, silent plea present in these stares, as though they were begging one another to make the safe choice and leave. None of them did.
"I can't leave," Molly Weasley said, the first of the group to speak up after Dumbledore's statement of the conditions of his offer. "We can't. Think of our children, Arthur."
"I know," Arthur Weasley agreed. "For Bill and Charlie. We'll fight for our boys."
"My mum would just die," Sirius added with a tame chuckle. "There's no way I'd let this opportunity pass." He slapped palms with James and Remus, who both nodded in agreement.
"Mister Potter, Mister Lupin, Miss Maddux," Professor Dumbledore said, gesturing for the three to approach him to speak. Davie glanced over her shoulder towards Sirius before following the others across the room to Dumbledore, who addressed them in a quiet, private voice. "Your families have long been involved with the Ministry of Magic, and work -- I'm sure you know -- rarely remains at work. You three, I am sure, are more aware than the others of the implications of this decision," Dumbledore stated. Davie could not help but gulp audibly, and Dumbledore turned a warm eye towards her. "Especially you, Miss Maddux. This war, I'm afraid, has affected you deeply before many have even learned that it has started. You three are especially responsible, however, for making sure your friends are aware of what joining us may cost you all."
"That we might die, you mean," Davie said bluntly, her expression unwavering though it caused a flinch even from Professor McGonagall; this certainly was not the same lisping, cowering girl that had first been sorted into Gryffindor when she was eleven years old, and wanted to be a teacher. This was certainly not the same girl who would agree to nothing without seeing that her best friend, Lily, had agreed to it first. She had been changed by the war already, and she didn't even realize it.
"Why did you ask Lily to join?" James asked suddenly. "I don't want her involved in this, she'll be in danger and --"
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore interrupted, holding up his hand to silence the boy. "I understand your concern - but also understand that the greatest power we possess lies in our ability to stand together -- together with the people we love. That is where our strength will lie."
James nodded silently, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing over his shoulder at Lily, who was a bit further back, speaking with Remus. The misgivings he possessed about the girl he loved being thrust into the middle of a war were something he could not hide, but he could not find it in himself to distrust Dumbledore. It could not be done.
Davie looked back over her shoulder at Sirius, and it seemed that he was waiting for her attention. She excused herself and walked back over to him, staring attentively.
"You realize this is a bit more important now?" he said, his nonchalance seeming far less natural than usual at this moment as he gently tapped the bracelet he had only hours ago placed on Davie's wrist. "It means you can't just go tripping and falling and getting yourself blown up - even in Bulgaria, without me there to watch out for you."
"Tactful, Sirius," Davie replied with a sarcastic laugh. "That's what you are. So very tactful."
"It appears we are settled for the moment," Professor Dumbledore said, gaining everyone's attention yet again. "But do not be mistaken -- we will all be convening again. When, I'm afraid, I cannot yet say. I can only request that you all be prepared. Until then, I leave you to enjoy your Christmas."
Davie let out a breath and made her way towards the door, but Sirius immediately grabbed her by the forearm, stopping her and allowing everyone to pass by her. "I have something important to, ah -- something important to ask you."
Davie blinked unsurely -- what was he going to ask right after something like this? Would it be something brash or impulsive? Knowing Sirius, the idea was not so farfetched. It was almost guaranteed, actually - but along with the territory came the fact that it would no doubt be something unexpected.
"Y-yes?" Davie stammered, her mind reeling with the possibilities of what he might say.
"Davie…" he said, his face going terribly solemn so that it made Davie's stomach jump up into her throat. "This has all made me think. About -- about us. When are you --"
"When am I…?"
"-- going to give me my Christmas present?"
Davie blinked in disbelief as a wicked grin burst onto Sirius Black's face - she reached out and swatted him hard across the arm, squealing in frustration.
"Never!" Davie yelped jokingly as they descended the staircase behind the hippogriff statue. "After that trick, never --"
As the young ones left, Dumbledore glanced at Professor McGonagall with a smile that the woman could not quite grasp -- how could he be happy, she wondered, at the thought of these children, who were still clearly not even grown yet, being subjected to the war that they had not even asked for? What could possibly please him about making these wonderful boys and girls that they had cared for since they were tiny grow up so fast?
"Those children," Dumbledore stated knowingly, without Minerva McGonagall even having to ask. The twinkle in his kind eyes only slightly obstructed by his spectacles was clear as day. "May be the greatest hope we have of defeating this evil. Mark my words, Minerva. It will be the young ones. Because of them…"
Dumbledore sighed distantly for a reason that McGonagall could not decipher, and gave Fawkes a gentle stroke.
"…everything will change."
***
A/N's
Hee! Had to throw fluff into the chapter - hopefully I didn't make anyone puke with it. I personally actually really love writing these brief Dumbledore bits, though I'm sure I don't write the best fanfic interpretation of Dumbledore. Anyway, the Order of the Phoenix has officially come into being!
To xxCrazyxChickxx, it's refreshing to know that people like the way that Davie is with Sirius - I've actually gotten a few private messages (not reviews) about people saying that I'm too mean to him. I also agree that "I love you" scenes are often corny. As far as Snape goes, he comes up even more later on; I actually had a James/Severus confrontation scene that I wrote for later chapters, though I'm still flip-flopping on including it. We'll just have to wait and see!
Padfoot'sPixie, I understand your anger towards Snape, haha! And I tend to get equally as caught up, even though I'm the one writing it and pulling the strings, so to speak.
Thank you also to XVampWitchCatX for subscribing! Hope you're enjoying!
Next chapter will consist of someone else popping up that's previously been in our story, plus a somewhat deeper Sirius/Davie heart to heart. Hope you ALL stick around! Cheers!