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Thank you so much for Following, Favorite-ing and Reviewing last chapter. It means the world to me that you all are still interested in this story even after more then 40 chapters. pianomouse, moonlightkiss1515, StormWitch19851, miskachick, Azkahdeliah, DeadDelta, Raven that Flies at night, Calimocho, Jily71102, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; you all are simply amazing.
And Raven- don't worry. I have LOTS more planned...
"I don't know if it's a good idea, Hermione," Sirius stood in the kitchen of the oversized cottage and pleaded with the brunette witch in front of him.
Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Why not, Sirius? We were both invited to the Order meeting. There will only be few Order members there. They said we can bring in trusted people for approval. I want Regulus to come with us."
"This is our first Order meeting. They probably all think Reg is a Death Eater already. He's gone to almost all their secret meeting this summer, he hangs out with a few of them when my parents require it of him and he's a bloody Slytherin; everyone thinks he's on the Dark Lords side," Sirius shook his head and rubbed his temple as a sharp pain shot through his head.
"Don't you dare lump all the Slytherins in with the Death Eaters. That's prejudice and dangerous." Hermione's face was turning red with the anger building up inside of her, "And what does it even matter. We can vouch for him. Lily and the other Marauders can vouch for him too!"
"But I thought he was just going to be an informant, not an actual double agent." Sirius swallowed thickly as he tried to push down his anxiety, "I… I still don't want Reg to do this… He's my little brother, Hermione."
The witch sighed and closed the gap between them. She tilted her head up and laid her forehead against Sirius's as she cradled his scruffy cheek, "I know it's a horrible situation. I hate this too. But we are already changing things for the better. In my time, you hated Regulus. You thought he was just a sheep and a terrorist." Hermione leaned in and laid a kiss on the Marauders lips, "And double agent and informant are unfortunately the same thing. Let's just focus on trying to help Regulus as much as we can. We are still planning on saving him; we cannot lose hope that we can keep changing the future."
Regulus smiled; it felt like the first time he had smiled all summer. It was a little bit like being a child again and dressing up for All Hallows Eve again, like he and Sirius had done before their Hogwarts years. He chuckled at Hermione as she finished the last glamour charm and held up the mirror so that Regulus could see his disguise.
Hermione had easily charmed his hair shorter and light-brown. Regulus marveled at his newly hazel brown eyes and slightly shorter nose, "Wow, didn't even recognize myself."
"That is kind of the point," the witch chuckled as she went to the closet and found a light jacket for herself to where in the cool summer night. Her voice dropped a little and took on a motherly tone, "Now, remember; this is a real Order meeting. It's going to include some very important people, and they will probably all need convincing that you're actually on our side. This is not going to be easy, Regulus."
"I know. I just need them to know I'm not a threat to them; that I want to help," Regulus was beginning to grow worried the more he thought about tonight. His leg began to bounce up and down like a nervous tick.
"Exactly. The only reason we're disguising you is so they will hear you out before they have a chance to judge you," Hermione really didn't like the plan, but it was all that she could come up with. She knew that Sirius was right, that Regulus would be judged automatically as a threat simply because of his name and house at school. The disguise would probably not go over well either. Most would probably greatly dislike being deceived when they finally revealed who their guest was, but it was better than having Regulus being hexed as soon as he stepped through the door.
The meeting was being held at an old bungalow on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.
There were at least fifteen members present there; some faces Hermione recognized personally and some that she only knew from pictures. She greeting people who approached her, but she tried to keep from interacting too much with anyone she knew in her future time. Regulus stayed by her side and kept a low profile as well.
Sirius mingled and introduced himself to everyone in the room that he did not know. But when James and Lily arrived with Remus and Peter in two, he became a bit distracted and began ribbing James and Lily for disappearing off the face of the earth after their engagement. Apparently every member of their family had requested a visit when they found out about the happy news and the couple had been traveling around continuously for almost two full weeks.
Hermione was completely floored when Albus Dumbledore himself arrived at the house and ushered everyone into the kitchen. She had thought, and honestly hoped, that McGonagall would be in charge of this particular meeting. The headmaster always seemed so busy; she hadn't anticipated his involvement tonight.
Everyone followed suit and filed into the large kitchen through a swinging door. When Hermione walked through, she felt a strange prickling sensation that started at the top of her head and washed over her entire body. She scrunched her expression in confusion for a few seconds before she looked down at her hair and suddenly realized what had happened.
Hermione turned around and threw out her hand to stop Regulus from walking through the doorway... but she was too late.
She watched in horror as all the glamours that she had placed on Regulus seemed to simply melt away revealing his true identity to the whole gathering before he was even able to utter a single word about wanting to support and help the Order.
There was a deafening moment of silence before the enormous uproar began.
A few of the people at the meeting were recent graduates of Hogwarts and knew of Sirius's brother, but only by his horrible reputation. The other Order members knew Regulus simply by his family features and immediately reacted to that. Hermione stood in front of the Slytherin, trying to shield him from the hateful words and even a few wildly brandished wands.
Sirius quickly jumped beside Hermione and tried to talk over the ever growing chorus of prejudice stereotypes. James also stepped in and tried to quell the noise. But their words were drowned out until Dumbledore himself called for silence.
"That will be enough." The headmaster's voice was calm and even as he spoke, but it still carried throughout the room and demanded compliance from everyone. He gestured for everyone to find a seat around the table as he magically enlarged it to fit the group, "I doubt that Sirius Black or Miss McGonagall would bring the younger master Black into our midst without a very reasonable explanation."
There was a collective murmur of harsh voices as Sirius and Hermione took seats on either side of Regulus. Hermione found Lily had somehow ended up beside her and had offered her a comforting squeeze of her hand. The redhead also covertly reminded Hermione that the charm on the doorway had revealed her natural brunette hair color, which she quickly glamoured back to blonde while Dumbledore called the meeting to order.
Dumbledore began the meeting by describing the latest heinous act that the Death Eaters had committed in the name of conserving the purity of the magical community. Regulus twitched nervously as the headmaster described in detail the torture that the man had endured and the extensive recovery that the doctors at St. Mungo's were hypothesizing he was going to need. Hermione wrapped a hand around Regulus's forearm and tried to silently reassure him that everything was going to be fine. Sirius leaned forward on the table to black his brother from view of a few severe looks some of the other attendees were throwing his way.
When Dumbledore was finished, he offered the floor to Hermione. She wasn't sure why the headmaster had singled her out and not Sirius; but she quickly collected her Gryffindor courage and stood from her seat.
"Um, hello. My name is Amelia McGonagall," Hermione looked around the large table and saw flickers of recognition cross the faces of the people who didn't know her personally. She shifted nervously as thoughts of her younger self being recognized plagued her thoughts. That was something she was going to have to sort out later though; this moment had to be about Regulus. "My parents were killed by Death Eaters because my pureblood father married my muggle-born mother. I only say this so that you understand that I have absolutely no love for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or his radical followers."
Hermione quickly glanced over to Sirius, who offered her an encouraging look; and Regulus, who's face had taken on a slight shade of green, but look at her with a hopeful expression.
"I know that we all believe that The House of Slytherin can only produce witches and wizards who are tempted by the Dark Arts; but that is not true. I ask that you keep an open mind when you hear my friend, Regulus Black, speak. I vouch for him and his story."
"And why should we believe you and your oaths? You're barely of age; just graduated like the rest of the new recruits, I'm sure. You probably don't even understand the weight of your own words, girl," the older man, who had been hiding in a shadowy corner of the room, came into view.
Hermione gasped a little when she saw that it was Alastor Moody but she quickly composed herself and glared at the man, who she thought looked quite strange with two eyes. "I may not look like much Mr. Moody, but I understand more than you believe I do."
The Auror crossed his arms and stared at the young witch. He looked as if he was trying to read her mind; trying to decipher if she was really as knowledgeable as she seemed, "So this is Minerva's niece? Are we sure she is who she says, Albus? You're sure Minerva isn't being inperioed?"
Hermione made sure that she didn't move a muscle in reaction to Moody's accusation, "Minerva McGonagall is the only family I have here. Please do not insinuate that my aunt can be deceived so easily."
"You think the Imperius Curse is easy, little girl?" The Auror looked like there was smoke coming out of his ears.
"Of course not. But I'm sure someone would have noticed if the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts was acting strangely. My aunt would not fall under an Imperius Curse without a fight," Hermione had always been a little wary of Mad-eye Moody; but in this moment she was not sure if she was impressed by his suspicion of her origin or annoyed that he thought McGonagall was weak minded.
To her surprise, Moody smirked, "I guess there is a bit of McGonagall in you after all. Carry on."
Hermione's mouth fell open as she watched Alastor Moody sit back down in the corner of the kitchen. She shook off the strange feeling of appreciation at the Auror's words and introduced Regulus again.
Regulus stood a little shakily as every single pair of eyes settled on his face. He hadn't expected this; though he hadn't known what to expect, he hadn't expected to stand and give some lecture about himself. He crossed his arms behind his back and tried to stand up a little taller before he began, "As Amelia mentioned… I am Regulus Black. I'm sure my name gives you pause; but assure you that I am not one of them. I to be a blind follower of the Dark Lord."
The younger Black glanced at his brother, "I know it is no easy task, but I hope that you can believe that I am here to help. Sirius and Amelia initially open my eyes to the true darkness of the Death Eaters. And I am now unfortunately able to confirm their horrible corrupt ways from a firsthand experience."
The kitchen erupted into harsh objection and demands to further explain his last statement.
Alastor rapped his wooden leg against the floorboards and hollered until everyone fell quiet again.
After a brief beat of silence, a small voice asked, "Are you marked?"
Regulus turned to find a girl he vaguely recognized, staring intently at him. He knew that she had graduated this year with Sirius and his friends and that she was a Ravenclaw, but he knew very little else about people outside of his house or year. "No. But I believe I will be invited to do so relatively soon." Regulus pulled up the sleeve of his left forearm and showed off his unblemished skin for confirmation.
"You say invited like it's a cheery induction," the Ravenclaw girl spoke again, not tearing her eyes away.
"Oh, it's not. Sometimes it's just easier to lie to yourself though, isn't it?" Regulus looked at the girl and noticed that her stern expression had softened; he sharp blue eyes seemed more curious than judgmental now. He cleared his throat and decided to admit a little truth, "I'm terrified of receiving the mark. I've come to realize that I am in a unique position though, and that position will require me to take the Dark Lord's mark and become a Death Eater if I want to be able to help the Order."
A murmur broke out in the kitchen again, but Hermione was relieved to hear that it was not as biting a tone as before.
"And what do you indent to do with this potion that you speak of, young Mister Black?" Dumbledore asked gently as he looked over the boy standing in front of him.
Regulus shuffled his feet. He took a deep breath as he stood up to his full height and puffed out his chest a little, "I want to assist in bring an end to the Dark Lord. I intend to become a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix."
Eeek! This chapter was a bit difficult to write because I wanted to make sure that the Order reacted accordingly, but didn't just outright curse Reg. Let me know what you all thought please!
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Ps. Check out the other stories by me: 'Begin Again,' 'The Bookworm and The Prankster' and 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief.'