From the playlist:

I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire - The Ink Spots

Snakes - PVRIS

Safe & Sound (Taylor's version) - Taylor Swift, Joy Williams, John Paul White

Be Careful - Tommee Profitt

Chapter 44 - How To Catch A Snake

July 17th

The Leaky Cauldron, once a jubilant establishment to have a pint with friends, had recently been reduced to a somber escape from the outside war. Now, wizarding folk only ever came to sit alone and drink to take the edge off.

Emmeline sat in the shadows near the staircase, nursing a dram of firewhisky as she surveilled the front door. Her face was hidden by a hooded black cloak - which might have looked quite suspicious had it not become the latest fashion among witches and wizards. These days, there was safety in anonymity.

That anonymity proved useful for the Order. In response to Dorcas's assassination, Mad-Eye shifted to a far more aggressive approach consisting of well-formulated sting operations. They turned out to be quite effective, and seemed to be preserving the lives of his soldiers. It was how they'd captured Dolohov back in May, as well as Igor Karkaroff. Even though both had been sent to Azkaban, Emmeline didn't feel all that victorious; not with Doe, Ed, and the Prewetts gone. The Order was still tremendously outnumbered, even more so now than ever before.

Eyeing the dying light of the sun outside the window, she grew nervous that she missed the person she'd been waiting for. She'd hurried over after the closing shift at Flourish and Blotts, but wondered if he came through the bar before she arrived. But as soon as the thought came, so did the creaking of the door.

A tall wizard in a black silk cloak strode in, walking right past the bar towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. Emmeline couldn't quite see his face, but the long, silvery blonde hair spilling out from the hood of his cloak gave him away. Tossing back the rest of her firewhisky, she rose from her seat and followed him.

Keeping her wand in her grasp, Emmeline trailed behind the wizard from a good distance away, occasionally stopping to peer into a window to look otherwise occupied. When she passed Slug and Jiggers, Marlene stepped out of the apothecary in her own black cloak and followed behind her.

Mad-Eye had suspected Lucius Malfoy of not only fraternizing, but leading squadrons of Death Eaters for some time.

Just as they knew he would, Malfoy took a sharp turn down a side street and descended a set of stairs leading to Knockturn Alley. Emmeline picked up her pace so she would not lose him around the corner, glancing over her shoulder to see if Marlene was following as planned. Knockturn was as macabre as ever, with dark shop windows displaying even darker objects. Weaving through the crooked backstreet, Emmeline tried to stay far enough away to be inconspicuous but close enough so that she wouldn't lose Malfoy. She passed questionable looking witches and wizards as well as shady storefronts along the way. She had not spent much time in Knockturn Alley, but even with first hand experience battling the dark arts, it made her shudder.

It wasn't long before Lucius reached his destination. Snaking around the side of Borgin and Burkes antique shop, he was halted at the back entrance by another wizard in a black cloak asking for identification.

Unfortunately, Emmeline was not privy to the fact that he was right around the corner, and realized too late that she had allowed herself to get too close. She hoped Marlene had more discernment and stayed around the other side of the building. It would have looked odd if Emmeline turned around and went back the way she came, so without missing a step she walked right past Lucius - just as he was pulling his sleeve back down over a large tattoo of the dark mark on his forearm.

She must have glanced at him for one fraction of a second too long, because he snapped his head towards Emmeline and caught her gaze. She kept walking, hoping that he hadn't seen her face and simply thought her to be a nosy passerby. She and Lucius had been a few years apart in school and hadn't interacted a great deal, so it was possible that he hadn't recognized her at all. After turning another corner with no trouble, she thought she may have been out of harm's way; that is, until she saw Walden Macnair standing at the other end of the alleyway.

"It's her," he confirmed.

She spun around and found that two other masked Death Eaters had caught up to her. Lucius recognized her after all, and set his hounds loose.

"Shit," she breathed.

Suddenly, Macnair was blasted with a stunning spell which knocked him out cold against the brick wall, but not by Emmeline's doing. Darting around the corner, Marlene began sending spells towards the Death Eaters at the other end of the lane. "Run!"

Emmeline dashed past Macnair's crumpled body, then she and Marlene began to flee.

"What happened?!"

"Lucius saw me- on your right!" Emmeline petrified a Death Eater that had just come from around another corner. "If Dung isn't at the rendezvous-"

"He'll be there," Marlene assured her, before accidentally knocking over a wizard who was missing a considerable amount of teeth.

They rounded a few corners then reached the back of Trackleshanks Locksmith, where Mundungus was nowhere to be found.

"I'm going to kill him," Emmeline growled. "Dung knows this place like the back of his hand. We had to study the map of this quarter for two bloody weeks, and yet we're the ones in the right spot."

Marlene listened for incoming footsteps. "Do you think we lost them?"

The green flash of a Killing Curse flew towards Emmeline from an unknown direction, but Marlene yanked her out of its path. It hit the shop's exterior instead, shattering the brick and leaving a large crater where Emmeline's head had been.

"Apparently not!" she barked, pulling Marlene into a sprint.

They wove through the narrow lanes on the outskirts of the darkened alley, unsure of where they were going or how far they'd strayed from Diagon. It became clear that more than two scouts were now after them. Knockturn wasn't very large, and the pathways were slender - it was only a matter of time before they were cornered.

"Hang on!" Marlene hissed suddenly. She backed up to squint down a path they'd just passed. "Dung's just down there!"

Sure enough, there was Mundungus, looking rather jumpy behind Tallow and Hemp's Toxic Tapers candle shop.

"Dung! Where have you been?" Marlene called as they ran towards him. He jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Whaddah you mean? I've been waiting on you lot this whole time! I thought they'd got you," he said defensively, lowering his large carpet bag onto the ground.

"That's because you're in front of the wrong sodding shop, you sack of dragon turds!" Emmeline snarled through her teeth. She and Marlene swiftly climbed into the bag, which had been bewitched with a magical extension charm.

"Listen," he called down to them as he hoisted the bag back up. "I'm not cut out for this geh-rilla warfare rubbish like the restah yeh's!"

It was known that the Death Eaters placed various anti-apparition jinxes within the boundaries of Knockturn Alley for the very purpose of trapping Ministry spies. Mundungus was the only member of the Order shifty enough to be seen in Knockturn without significant suspicion, hence the arrangement for him to be their "getaway driver."

Mundungus moved slowly so as not to attract attention. Inside his bag, which had been expanded to about the size of a water closet, the two witches sat in silence, listening to the voices of those they passed. Emmeline felt as though she had to hold her breath.

The bag tilted at an incline - they'd reached the stairs back to Diagon Alley. One, two, three, four-

"Stop, you there," someone called from behind. Emmeline's heart quickened as she felt Mundungus turn the bag around.

"What've you got there?" another wizard asked. From inside the bag the voices sounded muffled, but they certainly sounded like death eaters, if there was such a thing.

"Oo, me?" Dung asked, playing dumb - something he was rather skilled at. "Not much left today, just some-"

"What's in the bag?" demanded the first voice, drawing closer. Emmeline reached out, found Marlene's hand, and clasped it tightly. There was nowhere for them to run.

"...Well...if-if you're interested, I've recently acquired some rather beguiling wares," Mundungus began, launching into his salesman's pitch. "How'd you like to see some goblin-made cufflinks fer a fair price? Or perhaps - now, don't spread this around, but I got some of what the kids're calling 'pixie dust,' very popular right now-"

"Okay, forget it, on your way…" grumbled one of the wizards, dismissing him. After a few seconds, Emmeline and Marlene felt the bag turn back around and continue in its previous direction, though Mundungus picked up his pace a bit. Five, six, seven, eight, nine...

"Pure dead brilliant. I think Dung's just saved our lives by annoying those death eaters," Marlene whispered.

...

Dung didn't slow down until he reached the upstairs room of the Leaky where Mad-Eye was waiting. When they heard Alastor's voice questioning him at the door, Marlene and Emmeline could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Once the door was shut, Mundungus set the bag down in the middle of the room and extended a hand down to help Marlene and Emmeline out of the carpeted void. In his usual overly-careful fashion, Alastor kept the room dark save for a few candles on the bedside table.

"You two," Alastor's voice addressed them from the shadows. "Conjure your Patronuses."

This was a surefire way to check that Emmeline and Marlene were not impostors. They drew their wands and wordlessly conjured the wolf and the lynx.

When the silver mist dissipated, Alastor emerged from the back wall and lowered his wand. "Well?"

"He's got the dark mark," Emmeline reported, dusting herself off. "But he spotted me. We had to make a run for it."

"You saw this while he was unmasked?"

"Yes."

"Did anyone see you get in the bag?"

"I don't think so. Would've been nice if we found it behind the right shop," Marlene jeered pointedly at Dung.

"Got 'em mixed up in me head is all," he muttered.

Alastor spun to Mundungus. "You got-...you got the shops mixed up? You?!"

"It was an honest mistake!"

"You, who are so closely acquainted with the scum of the underworld that roams around Knockturn-"

"I couldn't remember if it was Tallow's or Trackleshanks! They both start wiff a 'T!"

"Merlin's beard, you're about as useless as they come."

"Oi, I got 'em out, didn't I?! I'd like to see you waddle down there an'-"

"WADDLE?!"

"OKAY, ALRIGHT!" Emmeline barked, her voice surely saving Dung's neck from Alastor's grip. "We took a detour, but Dung got us out. Alastor, I think-"

"Who else was down there?"

"-I- er, Walden Macnair."

"He's one of the ones who stopped me on my way out," Dung interjected. "Nearly pissed myself when-"

"Nip it, Mundungus!"

Marlene sat down on the edge of the bed, causing the nearby candles to flicker. "There were others, but I didnae recognize any of them."

"How many?"

"Six, maybe seven."

"I'll wager there were more in the antique shop - they were meeting in Borgin and Burkes like you said," Emmeline added. She was holding her hands together so that the others wouldn't see them shaking.

Alastor scratched his chin, pondering his next course of action. "Alright, I can bring this back to the Ministry. I just pray they take me seriously this time. You've both done well."

"Should I be concerned that he saw me?" Emmeline asked.

"It's not like we've kept our identities a secret while fighting them," Marlene reminded her.

Emmeline tried to assure herself. "...You're right, it probably didn't come as a surprise."

"If I can bring Lucius in and get him to show the tattoo, there'll be a cell in Azkaban with his name on it by Tuesday," said Alastor. "Even his most powerful friends at the Ministry won't be able to get him off the hook."

Marlene and Emmeline nodded. They'd completed their task, so Emmeline wasn't quite sure why she felt so unsettled.

After a brief pause, Mundungus rocked back and forth on his heels. "...Can I be off now?"

"You can be off when I say you can be off!"

"Okay, okay! Blimey..."

...

"...Alright, everyone's dismissed."

Dung promptly disapparated. With a nod of approval to the both of them, so did Alastor.

"It's no fair that you got to wait down at the pub. I'm in need of a bevvy after that," Marlene exhaled, scooting off the bed.

"...Will Sirius mind if you come over tonight?" Emmeline questioned, her words laced with a bit of bitterness. "My mum sent a bottle of wine I shouldn't finish by myself."

"If you think Sirius could keep me from you, you're mad. If you think he could keep me from the offer of wine, you're mental."

"Should we see if Lily's feeling up to a glass?"

"Splendid idea. She hasn't made up for her nine months of sobriety yet."

…

"I've never been so happy to receive a Patronus in my life," Lily sighed when they appeared in the entryway. Harry lay against her shoulder, babbling contentedly.

"There's my favorite boy!" Marlene gushed, commandeering the baby. "But don't go telling Padfoot…"

Emmeline planted a kiss on Harry's forehead with a "muah," then combed through his head of hair. "I was hoping we'd make it before bedtime," she rejoiced, passing the bottle of chianti off to Lily.

"I kept him up for you, but James is about to get him ready for bed. Harry, can you say 'night night Emmie'?"

Harry gurgled something along the lines of it. Smiling triumphantly, Emmeline took this as permission to steal him from Marlene's grasp, and began bouncing him up and down on her hip.

"How 'bout 'Marley'?" Marlene cooed, bending down to his eye level.

But Harry only giggled.

Marlene's hands flopped at her sides. "I'm throwing your birthday party for Merlin's sake, I can't even get my name learned as thanks?"

"Might be the accent," Lily teased.

"Just for that, I'm gonnae teach him so many ways to curse in Gaelic."

"Minerva McGonagall won't know what hit her."

Just then, James descended the stairs. "Hey! How'd it go?"

"We saw the tattoo, but the aftermath was a bit too exciting for my liking," Emmeline reported, handing Harry off to him.

James took his son in the crook of his arm like a quaffle. "Well I'm glad you two are alright. Nicely done."

"Can we interest you in a glass of wine?"

"By the time I get him down, I wager that bottle will be empty."

"Hey!" Lily jabbed him as he turned towards the stairs.

He just took her hand and kissed it. "Alright, everyone say goodnight to the fawn."

"-Goodnight, Harry-"

"-Night, kiddo."

Harry waved as he passed out of sight, causing all three of the girls to squeal from the cuteness.

"Almost one and already a ladykiller," Emmeline jested, taking the bottle back from Lily and traipsing to the kitchen. "You're in troooouuuuble."

Lily shrugged. "He's his father's son, that's for sure."

"As if anybody had any doubts about that," Marlene quipped as she flopped on the sofa.

Levitating the corkscrew and three glasses from their respective drawer and cupboard, Emmeline tried to uncork the wine, but was still shaking a bit. She enchanted the corkscrew instead, rubbing her hands together.

The crack of an apparition in the entryway made her stiffen.

"Hey, you're here!"

"Hey!" Marlene exclaimed.

Emmeline heard them share a kiss.

"Good?"

"Yeah, good. Erm-"

"How'd it go?"

"A few bumps, but we got what we needed."

"That's fantastic."

"Sirius-" Lily started.

Emmeline cleared her throat, emerging from the kitchen.

When he saw her, his smile disappeared. He let go of Marlene's waist and stood up straighter. "…Alright, Emmeline?"

She stared him down. "…I've been better."

Nobody said anything for a long while.

"...I should go," Emmeline finally offered.

"Emmie, you just got here," Lily protested, approaching her.

But Emmeline hugged her goodbye, kissing her cheek. "Tell James he can have my glass."

"Emmeline," Sirius stopped her.

She turned to him venomously.

"…You be careful, okay?"

Emmeline scoffed, then promptly disapparated home.