Book I: Birth of the Order

Chapter X: Pour-out

Ness and Tabitha took another step further just as James came around the corner from the backyard. "What was that noise?" Tabitha pointed to the bins and he drew his wand. The door opened and Remus stepped onto the porch with Elise. "Sirius said to keep it down," He said with a chuckle. "He needs his beauty-" but he stopped with Elise patted his arm to silence him, seeing everyone's expression. Remus quickly stepped in front of Tabitha and Nessa protectivefly and drew his wand. When no curses flew at him he dared to walk closer. Movement came from the overturned can. A soft grin appeared on his face sa he pocketed his wand. Recognizing the figure, he leaned out the window and grabbed the intruder. Rose was pulled forward with a banana peel sitting on her head. "You have some awfully large rats here Prongs," Remus said with a sigh. James rose an eyebrow and pulled the peel from the student's head. "Rose...do you mean to tell me you didn't go back to school and you followed us all the way here? Because if so, I'm sending back through the floo network directly to Dumbledore's office."

"Truthfully, James, I didn't meant to tell you anything and it doesn't seem like I had too." James sighed and looked to Remus. "She's your cousin, I'll let you decide what to do with her. But until she's out of school I don't want her getting involved in this." He looked back to Rose. "I think Dumbledore will say the same."

"I agree with you James." Remus let her go. "You should be in school Rose not following us around and getting into trouble."

"If the big issue is that I'm still in school then I'll just drop out." She said in a matter of fact tone as she brushed off her Gryffindor robe.

"Of course you will..." Tabitha sighed. "Rosie... This isn't a game. You may have put us all in danger by being here. You're only 16, so you still have the trace on you. And no disrespect to the ministry, but we never know who to trust." Rose looked towards Nessa. "You work for the ministry right? Maybe you can get the trace removed early?"

"I can," Nessa said as everyone looked at her, shocked. She looked back to Rose and added, "But I won't. For one, it would raise far too much suspicion," Nessa said bluntly. "Listen to them Rose."

"Stop treating me like I'm a child."

"Rose you are acting like a child." Remus said with a stern tone. "You've just provedn to us all that you can listen. This is a war and we are soldiers. Soldiers have to take orders or they get killed. Don't be so selfish."

"No. You're the one being selfish!" She gets more angry as Rose storms off. "Ugh she's more stubborn than-"

"Than who?" Remus said quietly. Tabitha met his eye and shook his head. "Nobody."

"So we are back to keeping secrets then," he said with a forced chuckle. The statement caused Tabitha to look at the others, wondering if they heard that. "Remus… The things we've said today… they never should have been…" She just sighs in frustration, feeling that this time she truley had lost her friend, Remus, for good. She feared that would happen when she admitted the truth and now it had. "I'll fetch her and her her back to school." With that she followed Rose. Remus watched them both run out. What was it that she wanted to say, he wondered. Exhausted, he sat down on the step and buried his face on his hands. Elise and and James exchanged glances and the short girl said, "I'll help Tabitha round up the little spit-fire." She nodded to James then followed the girls.

James sat beside his friend and after a long, quiet moment said, "You wanna talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about? So far today I have gotten drunk, torn a rift between my cousin and I and lost a best friend on the same day I got her back."

"Hmm… Yep, I think you're entitled to a bad day." Remus stretched out for a moment and took in a long, deep breath before hunching over again and looking at the street. James tapped his foot to break the silence then said, "I almost got my fiance killed. And I lied to her about seeing Snape in Diagon alley. And I have to buy new trash bins because your cousin ruined mine." This earned a chuckle from Remus which made James pleased. He looked at his feet and said, "I told Tabitha… what I am."

"You did?" He nodded. "Why did you tell her? Not like she deserves it, being gone for so long."

"Because I'm the reason she left."

"You? Why would she-"

"It doesn't matter, Prongs. The point is that I caused all this. Now I've told her and it's just… weird between us." He ran a hand through his hair and James patted his back. "I showed my animagus to Lily."

"And?"

"She thinks all deer should wear glasses," he smirked. "Just don't tell Stark or McCrimmon. They may want us to register ourselves with the ministry."

"Would it matter? Dumbledore suggested we destroy those records anyway?"

"True." James nodded then joined Remus' gaze ointo the street. "Remus, when Dumbledore told me I would be leading this little group… I got so excited. I thought we would be battling it out or being sneaky and undercover. I never expect to feel so… so… defeated before we even started."

"Well that's saying something, because you hardly accept defeat easily."

"It just doesn't all feel real, and yet it's the most real situation we've ever been in."

"Well… we will get through it. Even a matted old werewolf like me." He chuckled and stood up. "Come on. Let's go see if Pete and Sirius are bored without us." But when he stood, he saw Nessa standing in the doorway, jaw dropped. "Nessa!" James shot to his feet and looked at Remus. "How much did you just hear?" Her silence was her answer… she had heard enough.

"Rose?!" Tabitha ran through dark. The sun barely broke the horizon, making it hard to see. "Rose?! Stop trying to be brave and come back here! Rose?" People look out their windows and hollered at her. "Oh hush yourself! Go back to bed! Don't you know what time it is?" When the muggles slam their doors and windows shut she mumbles, "eejits," under her breath. She stood quietly and listened, hoping to hear some sign of Rose's hiding spot. Elise came up from behind and startled her, "Tabitha?"

"Godric!" The irish girl jumped and spun around. "If I were a cat I would be down to eight lives now."

"Sorry. Where is Rose?"

"She's hiding from me," she sighed, "She's being an absolute child about all of this. She's going to get herself killed. How can I explain to her that this is dangerous. She's trying to be brave, she's trying to help. But she can't! She is putting herself in danger and I can't do anything about it because she won't listen!" Elise gently put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Whoa, hey. It will be alright. She'll be alright. Just give her some time to calm down."

"He's too brave for his own good," Tabitha muttered. Elise noticed the slip up and tilted her head slightly. "He?" Tabitha's face flashed a look of realization as she quickly corrected herself. "She. She… Rose."

"Is there… someone else too brave for their own good you were thinking of?"

"No… I mean there was, but not anymore. Sorry. I just… Rose means a lot to me and I don't want her to get hurt. Elise pondered over who Tabitha could be speaking about. "I know I just met you, but if you need to talk to someone-" She stopped when she heard a twig snap behind them. She turned and flicked her wand, issuing a leg locking charm. A startled yelp came from the shadows and Rose fell forward. She wiggled on the ground, trying to push herself to her feet. Elise scowled. "That's enough, Rose. You want to be treated like an adult, then start acting like one."

"You guys wanted me gone so I left. Don't reprimand me for doing what I was told."

"There's a difference between doing what you're told and running off into the dark like a moody teenager, Rose." Elise shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now you listen to me. I will not get the trace removed from you early. I know you want to help, so just hear me out. If you promise to stay in school, and study and work hard, then I will talk to Remus about allowing you to come to some of our meetings. Only ones that you receive an invitation to. Ones where we can ensure your safety. Is that a fair compromise?" Elise proposed, her voice still firm. Tabitha's jaw dropped but Elise continued, "Furthermore, once you've attended the meetings, You can train with us on defense against the dark arts and healing, should you ever be caught in a pinch. Now that does NOT mean that you can go out looking for trouble. I work for the ministry, you know. If you put a single toe out of line, I will ensure that you are held accountable for it."

"What?!" Tabitha squeaked. "No no she's not join at all! She's in enough danger as is. If enemies find out her connection to Remus they could harm her to get at him. I'm not having her put in that position."

"Tabs, they're bound to find out either way. When they find out, it's better that she knows when and where to get in touch with us and have us keeping an eye on her, then to leave her on her own. This way if she is found out, she has the training to hold them off until we can get to her." Elise reasoned. Tabitha shook her head. "Do you have any idea how Rose and I met? I was helping her out of a jam with some Slytherins because she egged them on too much. She looks for trouble."

"Oi!" Rose said, "They deserved it! Besides, you don't get a say. You've been gone for a year. You left us all."

"Rose, I didn't-"

"You can't just come back here and state the rules, you know."

"That's enough," Elise barked. Tabitha and Rose glared for a moment more before the younger teen turned and walked back towards the house, the older girls following. Elise looked to the side at Tabitha's defeated face. For some reason, Tabitha felt the need to protect this girl at all costs… and Elise's curiosity was peaked.

Remus rubbed the back of his neck. "Nessa, I'm…"

"A werewolf."

"So you did hear…"

"And James is an animagus? An unregistered one I might add." She gave him a disapproving look as Remus said, "You aren't afraid of me?"

"I guess not. I've seen my share of things working for the ministry. Besides, I went to school with you, Remus. You wouldn't hurt a soul."

"I wouldn't… the other form of me may have other intentions." He looked down and James set a hand on his shoulder. It encouraged the taller young man who looked up and said. "So that just leaves Elise."

"What do you mean?"

"I may not need to tell the entire order my secret, but I should at least tell you lot who are in the same little travel group as I. I want you to be safe every time I… change. Now everyone knows except Elise."

"Then we will be there when you tell her," Nessa says. "But don't worry. She won't be afraid of you either." She smirked and Remus chuckled. "Blimey I sure lucked out with this travel group. You should have seen Peter when he found out. Stared at me for a month as if I was going to spontaneously burst into flames at any moment."

"Remus Lupin, there's a lot of things to be scared of in this world and you aren't one of them."

"You can say that again," Elise said as she approached from behind. "Although why it warranted saying is still unexplained." Remus and James turned to face the approaching witch and saw Tabitha and Rose right behind her, Rose sulking and staring at the ground. "I'm going to take her back to school," Tabitha said and Remus' eyes widened. "How did you manage to convince her?"

"With a great deal of help," She said with a look to Elise then smiled at Remus and for a moment the two forgot there was ever a rift between them. "I'll floo her back to school."

"Do you have to go now?" Nessa asked and Tabitha nodded. "Aye, before she changes her mind," she said with a lowered voice and nodded to Rose. "Oi!" The teen shouted. "I'm right here!" Tabitha gave her usual smirk and the two walked by the others into the house. Remus watched as they walked off, noticing how confident Tabitha walked, different from their school days. "What are you staring at?" Elise said with a raised eyebrow to Remus who fumbled over his words in response. "W-wha um nothing! Elise we want to speak with you. With everyone actually."

"Oh a Team meeting? Sounds fun."

"Right…" Remus sighed, "Fun…"

Everyone had gathered, but for Tabitha who still hadn't returned from dropping Rose off yet. James brought in a tea tray and set it just so on his coffee table. "Mum gave me this for when I entertain. I guess it's fine to use it for you lot."

"Thanks mate," Sirius said bluntly. "Right then. What's this all about?" Everyone looked to James, once more forcing on him the realization that he was the leader in all of this. "Um… well Remus and I were talking. We all are about to split up. Elise and Nessa, you girls have work to do at the ministry and need to destroy those animagus records. Lads, we need to find a good place for the Order to meet in secret and practice dueling. After today I realized we are outmatched. Longbottom's group is investigating Knockturn Alley and seeing if that's where the Death Eaters are hiding. Delaney can probably keep an eye on the muggle side of things when she goes back." Sirius glanced at Remus when he heard that then looked back to James. "And your wife?"

"What about her?"

"Excuse me," Lily chimed in. "But I deserve a task too."

"No."

"James!"

"It's too dangerous."

"Need I remind you that danger that awaits you if you try to cage me up," she said with a tone and James turned a slight shade of pink. "Fine. You can…"

"Find out more about how the death eaters recruit."

"Absolutely not!" James aid. "That's far too dangerous."

"I'll be fine."

"You just want to do it so you can try and talk Severus Snape out of-"

"James," Remus said to stop the digression and shook his head. James huffed out his frustration then faced the group. "Right… well. Before we part ways for a bit, I think it safe to disclose any secrets that might endanger the order."

"Shouldn't we wait for Tabitha?" Elise asks. "No," Sirius said with a scoff. "The little Irish Bug kept her fair share of secrets during school. She can stand to be out of the loop on a few more."

"She already knows one," Remus said softly then looked up at Elise. "I'll start…"

The hour that followed was a bitter one. Remus divulged his tale of the night he was turned by none other than Fenrir Greyback. The werewolf's cruel attempt of revenge on Remus' father. He told them about Rose, who had been visiting that night as a toddler and was scarred by the monster, but not turned. Still, her face was enough to scare her parents into abandoning her. For her entire life, Remus and his parents were the only family she had known.

Sirius's secrets weren't too private. The entire wizarding world knew he was the outcast in his family. He told the order just how dark the relationship was, though. That his family disowned him the night he ran away to live with the Potters. He laughed off his "blood traitor" label, saying it was nothing they didn't already know. Still, they needed to know the dangers of the Black Family and their demented schemes. He wouldn't show it, but it pained him to talk about it.

Lily of course was an open book. She was a light in the little group. Still, she expressed her concern about her family and admitted her consideration to cut off communication with them, should the war put them at risk.

James explained how three of the boys mastered the art of animagi when they were students to help their friend James. They also mentioned, however briefly, that Snape knew of their capabilities as well as Remus' condition.

Elise told of the turmoil in the ministry. Things she never thought she would have seen. Perfectly upstanding ministers, turning a blind eye while muggleborns were brutally killed and purebloods disappeared. It brought her concern for her family, especially for her brother who was expecting a child of their own one day. The thought of starting a family on the dawn of a war seemed almost unheard of.

Nessa was the last to speak. She looked at the room as she sat awkwardly. Carefully leaning forward, she lifted her skirt and rolled down her knee high socks to reveal the graphic scarring on her legs. Suddenly the Mauraders regretted ever taunting her for her walk. She was crippled and had gone through magical surgeries to even manage a limp. Had she been a muggle, she most likely never would have walked. And yet, she kept little contact with the family who had taken care of her so. The contempt they held for her as a result of her refusing the family. "All that being said," she sighed as she finished. "My father is sick... dying even... and once he is gone then death eaters wont be far behind to "acquire" my sister, or attempt to, for their ranks. They've been after my father long enough. I need to go see him and get his affairs in order so they will be protected."

"One of us will go with you, when the time comes," Lily said with a soft smile and the frizzy haired girl nodded in thanks. "Well," Sirius said as he rotated his arm to stretch his sore shoulder. "That was a lovely outpouring of our innards."

"Sirius," Lily gave him a look as he mocked the meeting. "Oh no, I mean it. Now all we need is Delaney to tell us why she is such a prat and then all secrets will be out in the open."

"Sirius!"

"Leave him alone, Lily," Remus said softly. "Once he's talking about a rivalry nobody can stop him."

"What about Tabitha?" Elise interjects. "Lily, you were her roommate. You know her best. Anything she's hiding that could put the order at risk?"

"I... don't know." Elise sat quietly, thinking over Tabitha's slip up from early. "Who was the boy?" she asked referring to the brief mention by Tabitha of someone who had been too brave for his own good. Lily looked her in the eye and whispered. "It's not my secret to tell."

Just as their curiosity was peaked, a pop was heard in the back yard. Some stood and drew their wands while Peter dimmed the lights. James stepped towards the door slowly. "It's probably just..." as he opened the door his suspicions were confirmed. "Delaney." But Tabitha wasn't alone. Rose was with her, her Hogwarts robe torn and singed and Tabitha had a bleeding cut on her lip. "Potter." She said with an exhausted tone. "I'm starting to thing Hogwarts isn't as safe as we thought."

The Adventure Continues Next as We Travel to The Ministry of Magic

Next Chapter we find out what happened when Tabitha tried returning Rose to school. Then the gang separates and Remus gets ready for the full moon.