Chapter 4

'Not one of mine,' grunted Moody dismissively and she saw Sirius and Remus exchange a small look of success from their position at the side of the room.

Hermione had been blindfolded once more so as not to glean their location, and frogmarched at wandpoint for over an hour through the forest, stumbling blindly over roots and rocks. None of them had spoken a word until they had arrived at the current Order headquarters; a tumbledown cottage deep in the forest. The inside had been enlarged to accommodate everyone, and she found herself in a large room surrounded by familiar faces, all wearing similar expressions of suspicion and anger. Moody, Kingsley, Hagrid, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Elphias Dodge, Aberforth Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and her brothers Fabian and Gideon. Finally she noted, eyes widening, Lily and James Potter. They were sat together at the back of the room, and she couldn't help but wonder if she would have known she was pregnant yet.

Some faces she only knew from old newspapers, others she had met, and many, she realised suddenly as if she had swallowed ice cold water, would be dead within the year. She could see from the colour of the sky outside that it was early evening, meaning she had somewhere around 3 hours remaining to make her escape. Her hope was to reason with Mad-Eye, a fellow Auror and former (or future) friend, by letting on as little as possible but as much as necessary to gain his trust. She needed a wand to apparate to the extraction point, and she trusted his integrity more than anyone else's. If reasoning failed, then it was time for violence.

'And you're saying she won't talk?' enquired Frank.

'No, sir,' said Sirius. 'She just said she worked for the dark lord, then said she worked for the Ministry. That's all I got.'

'How hard did you try?' Moody was looking right at him, his magical eye seeming to bore into his soul.

Sirius wavered.

'I… uh… '

'Speak up man!' roared Moody, thundering to his feet and upsetting his chair as he hounded upon the young boy who,

'Give me your wand,' he demanded.

Sirius clutched it tightly, cheeks aflame with defiance. The two men glared at each other until Remus dug in an elbow into Sirius' side and he reluctantly handed over his wand.

Moody muttered to himself as he scanned the wand, and Hermione braced herself when she saw Moody's good eye widen in shock, and then narrow in rage.

'So you're playing baby Auror now are you?!' he snarled, rounding on Sirius once more. 'How DARE you!' his roar shook the walls and Hermione saw Remus shrink away from the sound. To his credit, Sirius held his composure. He was probably quite used to being verbally abused, she mused.

'This is a criminal offence, and now I, and everyone else in this room, are complicit. I should report you and have you arrested right now.' He growled, running his fingers through his thinning hair.

'We do not conduct ourselves this way. Consider this your first and only warning, and I mean it Master Black. One more toe out of line and you are OUT of here. And Merlin help you then, I won't be there to babysit you when they throw you in Azkaban.'

Sirius' cheeks were scarlet with shame, but Hermione saw familiar defiance in his scowl and the hard line of his mouth. She saw Remus place a warning hand on Sirius' arm but he shrugged it off.

'This is a WAR! People are DYING! Maybe if YOU all had more of a spine we could kill them all and end this war now and prevent any more deaths!' Sirius yelled, jabbing his finger accusingly at the room of witches and wizards. A hush settled over the room as people noticed the apoplectic look forming on Moody's face, but Sirius soldiered on. 'What's the bloody point if we're just going to sit around and talk about Death Eaters instead of actually getting out there and fighting-'

The sound of the slap reverberated around the now silent room. Angry tears pricked at the corners of Sirius' eyes, and Remus was staring at his feet, pressed into the wall like he wanted nothing more than to shrink into the wallpaper.

Moody's voice was barely audible as he leant in close.

'You two are nothing but boys. Stupid, green, boys playing at war. You haven't seen a real fight in your pathetic lives, and when I gave you simple instructions to SPY ONLY and then report back, you failed. Now, get out of my sight, both of you, before I hex you so hard you can kiss goodbye to ever sitting down again.' He rumbled, disgust coating his voice.

Sirius held his gaze defiantly, muscles working in his jaw to hold back the words he wanted to say. It was Remus who broke the stalemate, tugging Sirius' arm and steering him from the room.

'So what do we do?' asked Frank with a sigh once they had left.

'Well, we don't have a choice now that these two half-wits decided to reveal their faces to her and then bring her here.' Moody glowered.

Frank looked expectant and Moody sighed, seeming irritated to have to spell it out like this was a waste of his time.

'Wipe her memory and dump her back where she came from.'

And with that he turned on his heel and made for the door, signalling the case was closed. Frank stood and approached her, wand raised.

'Wait!' she finally spoke. Moody stopped, but didn't turn back.

'Please… Mad-Eye… I'm an Auror. I'm on a job.' She knew she couldn't say more. And she knew that he knew that too. Aurors were sworn by oath to secrecy on certain jobs.

'I solemnly swear to uphold the principles and duties of an Auror of the Ministry of Magic, to the best of my ability and with unwavering dedication. I understand the immense responsibility that comes with this role and pledge the following oath…' she began reciting.

Moody turned, then, listening, and she saw Frank's eyes widen in recognition of the same oath he had taken not two years prior.

'I swear to protect the wizarding world from all forms of dark magic, no matter the danger or sacrifice required. I vow to uphold the laws and regulations of the Ministry of Magic, and to use my powers only for the just and lawful pursuit of justice.'

His eyes narrowed at her.

'I pledge to be ever-vigilant, to stand against the forces of darkness, and to confront evil wherever it may arise, even at the risk of my own life.'

He raised her hand to silence her and exchanged a look with Frank.

'Please, Mad-Eye. You have to let me go.'

Moody eyed her for a long moment, and she swallowed nervously. Then his magical eye rotated in its socket towards the closed door.

'Lupin!' he called. 'I know you can hear me. Get yourself in here.'

Remus shuffled in, glancing apprehensively between him and her.

'Sir… I'm sorry about Sirius… I should have stopped him-'

'You need to muzzle that dog of yours,' Moody snapped, cutting him off. 'And you've got a new assignment, only this time, don't fuck it up.'