Prophet - Witch Weekly Awards - Friendliest Rivalry Award

With Rachael (Foolofatook) - Wimbourne Wasps

And Ash (VanillaAshes) - Pride of Portree

With the help of Alina (CupCakeyyy) - Pride of Portree

Prompt: [Location] The Knight Bus.

Word Count: 1677

A/N: Set during Order of the Phoenix, and probably AU, but who's to say it didn't happen? ;)

I had a great time working with Rachael! :D

It was a dark time. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, murdered a seventeen-year-old boy during the Triwizard Tournament, and yet the Ministry of Magic refused to acknowledge it. Therefore the Order of the Phoenix had once again been formed.

Bringing together those who would oppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's ideals and were willing to fight him, his followers, and do what was right despite the Ministry's statements of false safety was a dangerous thing. If the Death Eaters discovered where they met - at 12 Grimmauld Place - then there would be little light left in the Wizarding World.

Therefore, after Hogwarts had restarted for another year, Dumbledore had come up with a second meeting location which could offer some flexibility, safety, and a changing location.

This location was the Knight Bus.

The alley was dark, and fog crept along the ground, obscuring anything more than ten feet away. Everything was still but for a stray cat nosing along with an overturned rubbish bin.

Shooting through the peaceful silence, there was a loud crack and a man in midnight-blue robes and a long, pointed hat appeared at the mouth of the alley. The stray cat scampered away, startled.

After standing in the alley for about two minutes, the man reached into his robe and withdrew a slim wand. He then stuck his hand holding the wand out and waited.

BANG! A violently purple triple-decker bus came roaring around the corner. The man in the midnight-blue robes stood with a serene smile, his wand hand still extended, patiently waiting until the bus came screeching to a halt, the door swinging wide with a hiss. He boarded the bus, and with another BANG it disappeared, leaving the alley dark and silent once more.

"Albus," said Mad-Eye Moody, standing up to give him some room as he began to climb up to the third tier of the Knight Bus. The grizzled Auror had stationed himself near the doors, presumably to make sure whoever came through them was friendly.

"Alastor," the man in the midnight-blue robes replied with a nod. "How many others are here?"

"About five or so," he replied, his magical eye flicking up toward the ceiling. "Not everyone's here yet - I made sure they're leaving enough time in between so as to not be followed." He thumped his walking stick on the ground. "Oi!" he shouted to the driver. "We've been in this spot for too long!"

Dumbledore gave Moody another grave nod and continued up the stairs.

Kingsley and Tonks stood to one side, conversing to one another about methods of flying. Kingsley had a firm hold on the side of the bus; Tonks, however, was at risk of losing her balance when the bus moved again - but that girl was prone to bumping into things when on a steady flooring, let alone a moving vehicle.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were picked up directly after Dumbledore, and they joined Hestia Jones and Professor McGonagall, who were seated near one of the heavily tinted windows. Everybody was keeping a quiet, watchful eye on Dumbledore, waiting for him to address them all, but continued their small conversations.

After several more stops, their ranks had filled out completely, and Mad-Eye joined them in the top section of the bus. "I still don't like this, Albus," he growled, his eye whizzing in all directions. "It's far too exposed. Half of Wizarding London uses this thing!"

"Which is precisely why no one would expect us to be holding a meeting aboard it," Dumbledore replied calmly, taking a seat in one of the armchairs that the bus had in lieu of seats.

Despite everyone's hesitance, they didn't say anything as Dumbledore started the meeting. Earnie didn't pay them any attention, as his eyes were solely focussed on the whizzing street in front of him to make sure they didn't crash into any Muggle cars. Stan, although peeking in every now and then, stayed close to the front of the bus, leaving them to discuss matters that were way too sensitive for normal citizens' ears - that included those of the shrunken head, although most everyone doubted that it could be called a normal citizen.

The meeting went by uneventfully but successfully. The situation was getting more serious as the time went on and the longer they spent discussing the happenings, the less of a chance they would stand once it came down to getting active and joining the fight.

They didn't know when that would happen and they didn't directly talk about it as it would come sooner rather than later, but there was the unspoken promise of everyone to be ready to fight, to protect, and, if need be, to give their lives.

The orange sun set behind the silhouette of houses in the distance as his face descended into shadows, obscuring him from view. After the attack on Arthur Weasley, they were all more cautious, taking turns at Number 12 and the Knight Bus and keeping the members to a minimum: only those strictly necessary for the plan they were discussing at the time could come. If there was a leak, they'd hate to get caught in a large group - that was just waiting for an ambush.

Sirius leant against the wall, enjoying as the cold night airbrushed his hair to the side. This would be only the second time he was invited to a meeting outside of his home - after all, there were risks if he were to be seen in public. He was a wanted fugitive after all.

Finally, a loud BANG alerted him to the presence of the Knight Bus. Stan had pushed the doors open with a flourish and looked around absentmindedly before Sirius made himself present. "All aboard!"

Sirius couldn't help but agree with Mad-Eye's outspoken objections about using this form of location for meetings. He stepped onto the bus, silently greeting Stan before finding a chair to sit in straight away. The former Azkaban prisoner didn't want to fly all over the place.

"Arthur Weasley's attack at the Ministry was a test. We know this. But we don't know what the test is," Mad-Eye started, his eye darting around.

The bus lurched forward suddenly, causing Tonks to stumble suddenly into one of the tables, though she kept her balance enough to not end up on her butt. "Who put that there?" she asked.

"He's targeting Harry," Sirius spoke, ignoring the fact that his chair slid and slammed into the wall. "We need to protect him!"

"He's at Hogwarts, he's safe there," one of the other Auror's stated: Kingsley, if Sirius remembered correctly.

Sirius looked down, seeing Tonks actually stumble to the ground this time, but chose to ignore it. Despite wanting to, he couldn't trust that that was the truth - he had been targeted before by the madman at Hogwarts and even had one of his friends killed mere months ago. "We have to act. What information have we gotten about the whereabouts of him?"

"Not much," Kingsley admitted, his words clear over the rumbling of the bus. "Rumours, though, have indicated that he's staying with some of his Death Eaters, ones that he trusts."

The bus jolted to a stop, and Sirius barely caught himself from sliding out of his chair. "Why'd we stop?"

"We got another person!"

Remus Lupin stepped onto the bus, brushing his almost shaggy hair out of his eyes and took hold of a metal bar right in time before all the furniture flew backwards as the bus took off instantly.

Mad-Eye continued without missing a beat. "Who does he trust?"

"Nobody," Tonks put in.

"Must be an older Death Eater, one from the first war."

Sirius sighed. "Bellatrix or Narcissa?" It felt strange to suggest his cousins, but they had been big supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named during the first war, just like most of Sirius' family. And he knew that they likely supported him now.

"That sounds-" Mad-Eye paused to step out of Tonks' way as she fell down. Remus tried - and failed - to catch her but helped her up. "Are you done?"

Tonks cleared her throat. "Sorry," she mumbled. With a step towards the edge, she held on. "So we could raid the Lestranges' house? Or Malfoys' house?"

She was so young, so ambitious. "If he is there, they'll be ready for us," Sirius pointed out. At her questioning look, he sighed. "We'll lose lives. With the Ministry behind us, we can't afford to get our supporters killed."

"We could take him!"

"Them," Remus corrected curtly.

Tonks turned her attention to him. "Them, then! I don't give up! We can do anything if we put our mind to it!"

Remus sighed. Sirius instantly caught wind of the argument they had had for weeks - or was it months? "Sometimes rushing into things is a mistake! It's not good for you!"

"Oh, because you're so concerned about what's good for me? You don't get to decide!"

"I do when it's me you're per-"

A deep voice interrupted their bickering. "The Ministry has been infiltrated. Reports are coming in of Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries."

Everybody looked at Kingsley, eyes widening in shock.

"Come on then, you kids, let's not die as we rush in!" Mad-Eye announced before Apparating off. Tonks and Kingsley were the next ones to disappear with a crack, barely even waiting for the words to sink in.

Sirius had stood up - should he go too? He hadn't been told to stay. He looked at his friend, "Give her a chance, will you? Tomorrow might never come."

Remus sighed. "I'm too old for her."

"And Marlene wasn't right for me either… too bad I'll never know." Sirius let that sink in - his former girlfriend had died not so long after they had broken up because he had wanted her to live a better life. The last pops of sound left the bus empty apart from those driving it.

Little did Remus know at the time, but that was the last bit of advice Sirius would ever be able to give him. And he followed it.