Chapter 2: The First Defiance (Part 2)
"Poor Ria," Lily said softly into the lull of conversation. They had already been over each of their accounts of what had transpired on the platform and Marlene and Dorcas had just left for home with their families after being assured that Lily was actually alright. Now, supplied with snacks to carry them through the night, the remaining five were spread across James' room on his bed, his desk, and his beanbag chair.
"There were so many of them," Remus replied. Like the others, he had tried not to focus on the bodies sprawled on the ground while he had been fighting, but as the adrenaline wore off, it seemed like those images were burned into his mind indelibly. "At least ten, maybe fifteen. All muggles or muggle-born from the looks of it."
Sirius frowned. "And tell me what Voldemort said again? About what they were doing to them?"
James sighed. " 'Collect the bodies.' And Mulciber's Dad said to add them to the collection."
"So there was definitely a point," Sirius insisted immediately.
"Apparently," James agreed.
"But what do you think their point was? I mean, it could have been anything!"
"I don't know, Padfoot!" James snapped. "I already told you everything I know."
Sirius balked and raised an eyebrow pointedly.
"Sorry. I'm just tired, I guess."
"Understandable. You did just fight off Death Eaters, turn down Voldemort, and escape him all in one afternoon," Remus said, a sardonic grin briefly stretching across his face.
Releasing a tense chuckle, James dipped his head. "Just barely escaped. It was pure luck. One wrong move and we would have been goners. Two more for his 'collection,' whatever that even means."
"It could have easily been me," Lily added. She was sitting at the foot of James' large bed, her legs drawn up to her chest, staring down at her feet.
"It could have been any of us," Remus said.
"I'm a muggle-born and they all knew it. I was being targeted from the start and if you all weren't there to help stop them or if I had messed up once, then…"
"Yeah, but we're always going to have each others' backs," James insisted. "You're never going to have to fight them off alone."
"Besides, they'll be targeting all of us soon enough so then you won't even be alone in that!" Sirius added, his usual facetious self returning in full force. "A bunch of blood traitors and a werewolf, who wouldn't want us?"
Lily smiled gratefully, but her face was still pale and every breath came out shaky. James scooted closer to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her sink into his chest.
"But you see what I mean?" Peter asked, eyeing the pair. "You keep saying it could have been any of us like it wasn't like that already. Ria died! Someone from our year just died from this war and we've been graduates for less than a day! How are we supposed to manage to accomplish anything when Ria is proof that we are clearly not qualified!?"
And for the first time, no one jumped to the Order's defense. No one hurried to reassure Peter or quell his doubts. Instead, they seemed to absorb his anxiety like sponges and consider his concerns as if hearing them for the first time.
"We just have to trust that Dumbledore knows what he's doing," Lily offered quietly. "He wouldn't have given us the jobs at all if he didn't think we would be capable of doing something good."
"And I trust Moody. He's a great auror, he'll teach us and tell us everything we need," Sirius added, his tone somber.
"But still, how much can we really learn in a few months when these Death Eaters have had years?"
"Well think about it, Peter," James said, frowning curiously. "Mulciber and Avery and all of them are joining the Death Eaters and they're essentially in the same underprepared position we are."
"Sure, but that doesn't change things for us. Plus they can use Unforgivable Curses instead of just trying to trap or disarm. So if they hit us, they instantly win. If we hit them, it's still not completely certain what will happen."
"I hope you aren't suggesting that we start using Unforgivable Curses too. 'Cause then we'd be just as bad as them."
"Don't be thick, Padfoot, of course I'm not," Peter reassured hurriedly. "I'm just saying, we're still at a disadvantage compared even to them."
"Okay, fine. I'll admit it. We're out of our depth, here," James said, running a hand through his hair. Peter slunk back into the desk chair, dropping his hands onto the arms of it in frustration. "But that doesn't change that I'm still going to do anything that I can to help. I'm still going to do anything that I can to make a difference. I'll practice every hour of every day until Moody says I'm ready to fight. And until then, I'll help behind the scenes, doing whatever the Order needs."
"Here, here," Sirius said, raising his chocolate frog in a salute.
"Besides, what else could I even do? Who would hire me? I'm a 'half-breed,' remember?" Remus added.
"Same for a mudblood," Lily added. Their gazes met and they exchanged sympathetic smiles.
"I wish you'd stop calling yourselves that," James added.
Remus shrugged. "Yet you have no qualms about Padfoot calling you a blood traitor."
"We're getting off topic," Peter interrupted, waving his hands in front of him to clear the air. "What are we supposed to–"
"Well what do you want us to say?" Sirius cut in, his exasperation adding an edge to his voice. "We can tell you it'll be okay until the sun rises, but will that really make you feel better? If you're questioning if you really want to do this, then back out now before you're in too deep. We won't hate you, we'll still be friends, so don't feel like we're dragging you into this."
"No, no, no! I'm in, I'm in."
James sat up quickly, startling Lily who moved over to make room for his eager hand gestures. "Then at least now you know what you're getting into. This isn't just some DADA review session. This is a war. Yes, we're likely hopelessly outnumbered. We're novices compared to some of those Death Eaters. We have no idea what Dumbledore might assign us. We don't know how this will end. But what we do know is that we're trying to make our world safer. We're at least trying to do something instead of sitting around, hoping that someone else does for us."
Peter sucked on his lower lip anxiously and looked at James for reassurance before slowly nodding and turning back to stare at his shoes, lost in thought.
Remus looked between the two of them for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Speaking of the Order, do we know why there weren't more Order members coming to help today? Your Dad sent Dumbledore the message, didn't he?"
"Yeah, I don't know," James replied. "I guess that's something to ask at our first meeting."
"Which we don't even know the date of yet," Sirius added.
"I'm sure they'll contact us soon. They said they'd be in touch a few days after graduation. That could be any day now," said Lily.
"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see," James acquiesced, wrapping his arm around Lily once more.
It turned out to be a nerve-wracking day and a half later when each of them received a small envelope through their fireplaces, the parchment as crisp and the stamp as pristine as their original Hogwarts letters. The same neat scrawl from McGonagall was copied on each, alerting them of the next Order meeting disguised as an invitation, reading:
Please join us for tea next Wednesday at 3:00pm to the address below.
Until then, enjoy the start of your holiday.
And so, they did just that. Though naturally, they saw each other when they could before the date arrived. Sirius, James, and Lily, of course, saw each other every day since they all lived in the Potter's mansion and they took their week off to look for flats of their own to live in. Remus occasionally joined them as he was considering living with Sirius if they found a place where he could pay for half of the rent instead of living off of Sirius' wealthy, deceased, and similarly estranged uncle who had left most of his savings to his favorite nephew, mostly to anger the rest of his family. Peter joined them not to look for housing since he would be living at home to stave off his mother's worrying, but for their worry-free afternoons and evenings which seemed to be growing ever closer to an end.
Though as previously instructed, they had each memorized the address before destroying the letter and on the day of, they apparated nearby before walking up to the home on some muggle street that none of them had ever heard of. James, Sirius, and Lily apparated together and simultaneously stopped at the small gate in front of the garden, staring up at the perfectly average two-story house with flowers practically spilling out of their pots and threatening to take over the stone walkway up to the door.
"Well whose do you reckon this is?" Sirius muttered curiously, hands shoved deep in his pockets and squinting up at the facade.
"Let's find out." Lily led the way, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the meandering plants, occasionally toeing a stray vine out of the way. "Look!" she said, stopping abruptly. "Nettles!" A moment later she gasped again and pointed excitedly at what James would consider some rather mundane purple flowers, declaring, "And aconite! They must make a lot of potions."
"Well if we ever make it to the front door, we can ask them," Sirius said, his voice overly sweet.
"Right, yeah." Lily hastened her lead and knocked.
Almost as soon as her knuckles touched the wood, the door was flung open to reveal a man she did not recognize, but who clearly recognized her.
"Lily! Come in, come in!" He shut the door after the three passed the threshold, barely acknowledging the two wizards who followed. Instead, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest, wringing them anxiously, while he peered curiously somewhere just beyond Lily's shoulder. "Is it okay if I call you Lily? I know we only just met, but I feel like I already know you from everything I've heard!"
"Er… sure?" Lily responded, bewildered.
"Oh wonderful! I was one of Professor Slughorn's favorites too, you see, and we keep in touch and he's mentioned you quite often. Plus, we're always given brief introductions to new Order members so there's that too, and–"
"Moony!" James cried in relief, spotting the wizard through one threshold off the main foyer. Remus turned and waved them over.
"We're not late, are we?" James asked loudly, trying to find a way to politely sidestep the wizard still eagerly immersed with Lily.
"No, just on time!" the man answered, his head popping out of his other conversation. "Follow me, the meeting will start any moment now. Can I get you anything? I make my own tea, you know, from plants in my garden so I can make you something specific. I do love a good challenge."
"So this is your house, then?" Lily asked as they walked.
"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry, in my excitement I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Henry."
"And you brew potions then?" Lily asked again, not realizing that she was slowing down as she talked, preventing Sirius and James from entering the next room that was taking them torturously long to reach.
"Brew them, study them, experiment with them," he said, waving one hand. "I do what I can. After I started to see the first signs of trouble, Gideon approached me on behalf of the Order offering me a much safer job. More out of sight than a typical potioneer position. So now, I'm the Order's potioneer!"
And again, he and Lily were off in a discussion about something or another. Though James and Sirius didn't wait to find out because the moment they were through the hallway, they stepped around them, and found themselves in an eclectic sitting room with mismatched sofas, armchairs, tables, and quilts thrown about apparently at random with quite a few Order members mingling together as they waited for the meeting to begin.
When the last of them had apparently arrived, the room was quite full with one of the most surprising mixes of people Lily had ever seen. Besides themselves being the youngest of the group and taking up one fraction of the space, the Longbottoms had arrived minutes before in their auror uniforms, the Prewett twins with their bright red hair were talking to somehow who had an undeniably shady air about them; there was a witch who stood by herself in the corner and a scruffy wizard that stood nearby who appeared to be considering if his current jug of some drink or another was strong enough. There was a frail woman who looked like she owned five cats beside two self-assured wizards discussing something quietly, both of whom were twice the size of her, and another wizard whose hat nearly scraped the ceiling. Then to top it all off, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and someone who Lily instantly recognized as the infamous Alastor Moody strode into the room not a minute past three o'clock.
"What a delight to see you all today!" Dumbledore beamed at them as he entered. "I think this might just be our largest meeting yet–though of course, a few regretfully are unable to be with us today."
Lily frowned slightly. This was the largest meeting the Order of the Phoenix has had so far? Sure, it felt like a lot of people crammed into the already cluttered living room, but there were barely over twenty people here, a third of which had only just graduated.
"And let us welcome our newest members!" Dumbledore continued, gesturing to all of them, lined up against the wall. Lily flushed as a symphony of greetings rang out and warm smiles shone at them from all angles; yet still, Lily was under the impression that they were being analyzed by every single person there. As if sensing her nerves, James' hand slipped into hers and she felt herself relax at his side.
"For our older members, please excuse me while I introduce everyone. I see you've already met Henry Lewis, our resident potions expert. And you already know Frank and Alice Longbottom from your shared time as Gryffindors I presume. This is Mundungus Fletcher… and Gideon and Fabian Prewett…" The list went on and when everyone had been introduced, most giving feeble waves in response to their names being called, Dumbledore hastened for them to get comfortable so that the meeting could begin.
Lily wasn't quite sure what she expected, but she knew it was not that the meeting would begin with the house's owner reminding the guests to use the lace doilies when putting their drinks on wooden tables. But sure enough, everyone setting down their drinks and focusing their attention on Dumbledore who sat in one plush armchair opposite the fireplace seemed to be enough to announce the start of their first meeting.
"Now then, allow me to update you all on what has transpired since our last meeting," Dumbledore said, his fingers poised like a tent underneath his chin. "As I am sure you are all aware, the Death Eaters staged their largest targeted attack about one week ago at Platform nine and three quarters when the Hogwarts Express arrived with the students."
A sharp intake from Lily's left told her that he certainly had James' attention now.
"They were attacking only muggle-borns and their families, as well as anyone who fought back, no matter their background. From what Alastor, Alice, and Frank have told me, the Death Eaters did not seem to be doing this just for their usual entertainment or scare tactics. They seem to have been… collecting the bodies, for lack of a better word. The only plausible explanation that I have arrived at is that Voldemort is intending to create an army of inferi. Though I would love to hear other thoughts on this."
He looked around slowly, his blue eyes roving over every member, searching for alternate answers as if this was a classroom.
"If he was really after enlarging an army of inferi, why not just kill anyone and everyone?" asked one of the Prewett twins.
"Well, this way he can stick to his ideology of not being after anyone but muggleborns. This way, he's not isolating himself from half-bloods and purebloods who are still on the fence," replied the woman in the corner. Emmeline Vance, if Lily could recall correctly.
"Precisely my thinking," McGonagall chimed in. "And they are still reminding everyone that they are here, growing stronger and bolder."
"And more dangerous if they're willing to go out in the open," Moody growled.
The room was launched headfirst into a debate on what all of this meant for the Order, though no one seemed to doubt the fact that Voldemort was indeed creating an inferi army, primarily out of muggles, muggle-borns, and anyone who opposed him. While the concept did make sense, the logic behind it that the rest of the Order shared did nothing to quell Lily's growing concerns.
When the discussion generally quieted, Dumbledore nodded slowly and spoke once more. "Thank you for your thoughts. There were certainly a lot of points to take into consideration, but in the interest of time, I think it best we move on to our next topic of discussion." He cleared his throat and crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair. "Thanks to the information that we have gathered, we know that Voldemort still does not know about our mounting resistance."
Lily frowned at that. It seemed highly unlikely that Voldemort had no idea that the Order existed, though Dumbledore seemed to read her mind and continued in his explanation.
"Allow me to give a few more details purely for our newest members. To everyone else, apologies for the redundancy of news which I am sure you all remember." He turned in his seat towards them, all squished on one sofa, taking up the cushions, the arms, and the back edge. "We have managed to keep a vast amount of what we do here hidden from Voldemort's ranks due to a set of very strict rules that I will tell you all after the meeting. But from these guidelines, he does not know how many of us there are, if we are all working together as one group, what our goals are, and the like. Of course he knows that there is resistance, as there is bound to be when someone attempts any type of coup, but he does not know that we are growing stronger day by day, that we are one united front instead of multiple small groups, and that our members are spread out just as far as his spies are, gathering intel."
"Now, back to how this relates to recent events. I would like to praise everyone for responding so promptly to the call last week regarding the attack at the platform. Thanks to everyone's brave efforts, we were able to arrest two Death Eaters and save countless lives. Yes, Mr. Potter?"
Lily started and turned to her side to see James raising his hand as if attending Dumbledore's lecture in Hogwarts.
"Please pardon my ignorance here, but what 'call' are you referring to? We were all on the platform the entire time and I wasn't aware of any Order plans or anything like that going on," he said, careful to keep his tone light and inquisitive.
"An excellent example of my previous point! That secrecy is of the utmost importance!" Dumbledore beamed at him. "Your father alerted me to the trouble moments before the aurors themselves heard. I was able to send a message to a select few Order members who have not been seen by the Death Eaters in some time to provide the aurors with extra assistance. You may not have seen them because they were all disguised as civilians rather than wearing "Poor Ria," Lily said softly into the lull of conversation. They had already been over each of their accounts of what had transpired on the platform and Marlene and Dorcas had just left for home with their families after being assured that Lily was actually alright. Now, supplied with snacks to carry them through the night, the remaining five were spread across James' room on his bed, his desk, and his beanbag chair.
"There were so many of them," Remus replied. Like the others, he had tried not to focus on the bodies sprawled on the ground while he had been fighting, but as the adrenaline wore off, it seemed like those images were burned into his mind indelibly. "At least ten, maybe fifteen. All muggles or muggle-born from the looks of it."
Sirius frowned. "And tell me what Voldemort said again? About what they were doing to them?"
James sighed. " 'Collect the bodies.' And Mulciber's Dad said to add them to the collection."
"So there was definitely a point," Sirius insisted immediately.
"Apparently," James agreed.
"But what do you think their point was? I mean, it could have been anything!"
"I don't know, Padfoot!" James snapped. "I already told you everything I know."
Sirius balked and raised an eyebrow pointedly.
"Sorry. I'm just tired, I guess."
"Understandable. You did just fight off Death Eaters, turn down Voldemort, and escape him all in one afternoon," Remus said, a sardonic grin briefly stretching across his face.
Releasing a tense chuckle, James dipped his head. "Just barely escaped. It was pure luck. One wrong move and we would have been goners. Two more for his 'collection,' whatever that even means."
"It could have easily been me," Lily added. She was sitting at the foot of James' large bed, her legs drawn up to her chest, staring down at her feet.
"It could have been any of us," Remus said.
"I'm a muggle-born and they all knew it. I was being targeted from the start and if you all weren't there to help stop them or if I had messed up once, then…"
"Yeah, but we're always going to have each others' backs," James insisted. "You're never going to have to fight them off alone."
"Besides, they'll be targeting all of us soon enough so then you won't even be alone in that!" Sirius added, his usual facetious self returning in full force. "A bunch of blood traitors and a werewolf, who wouldn't want us?"
Lily smiled gratefully, but her face was still pale and every breath came out shaky. James scooted closer to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her sink into his chest.
"But you see what I mean?" Peter asked, eyeing the pair. "You keep saying it could have been any of us like it wasn't like that already. Ria died! Someone from our year just died from this war and we've been graduates for less than a day! How are we supposed to manage to accomplish anything when Ria is proof that we are clearly not qualified!?"
And for the first time, no one jumped to the Order's defense. No one hurried to reassure Peter or quell his doubts. Instead, they seemed to absorb his anxiety like sponges and consider his concerns as if hearing them for the first time.
"We just have to trust that Dumbledore knows what he's doing," Lily offered quietly. "He wouldn't have given us the jobs at all if he didn't think we would be capable of doing something good."
"And I trust Moody. He's a great auror, he'll teach us and tell us everything we need," Sirius added, his tone somber.
"But still, how much can we really learn in a few months when these Death Eaters have had years?"
"Well think about it, Peter," James said, frowning curiously. "Mulciber and Avery and all of them are joining the Death Eaters and they're essentially in the same underprepared position we are."
"Sure, but that doesn't change things for us. Plus they can use Unforgivable Curses instead of just trying to trap or disarm. So if they hit us, they instantly win. If we hit them, it's still not completely certain what will happen."
"I hope you aren't suggesting that we start using Unforgivable Curses too. 'Cause then we'd be just as bad as them."
"Don't be thick, Padfoot, of course I'm not," Peter reassured hurriedly. "I'm just saying, we're still at a disadvantage compared even to them."
"Okay, fine. I'll admit it. We're out of our depth, here," James said, running a hand through his hair. Peter slunk back into the desk chair, dropping his hands onto the arms of it in frustration. "But that doesn't change that I'm still going to do anything that I can to help. I'm still going to do anything that I can to make a difference. I'll practice every hour of every day until Moody says I'm ready to fight. And until then, I'll help behind the scenes, doing whatever the Order needs."
"Here, here," Sirius said, raising his chocolate frog in a salute.
"Besides, what else could I even do? Who would hire me? I'm a 'half-breed,' remember?" Remus added.
"Same for a mudblood," Lily added. Their gazes met and they exchanged sympathetic smiles.
"I wish you'd stop calling yourselves that," James added.
Remus shrugged. "Yet you have no qualms about Padfoot calling you a blood traitor."
"We're getting off topic," Peter interrupted, waving his hands in front of him to clear the air. "What are we supposed to–"
"Well what do you want us to say?" Sirius cut in, his exasperation adding an edge to his voice. "We can tell you it'll be okay until the sun rises, but will that really make you feel better? If you're questioning if you really want to do this, then back out now before you're in too deep. We won't hate you, we'll still be friends, so don't feel like we're dragging you into this."
"No, no, no! I'm in, I'm in."
James sat up quickly, startling Lily who moved over to make room for his eager hand gestures. "Then at least now you know what you're getting into. This isn't just some DADA review session. This is a war. Yes, we're likely hopelessly outnumbered. We're novices compared to some of those Death Eaters. We have no idea what Dumbledore might assign us. We don't know how this will end. But what we do know is that we're trying to make our world safer. We're at least trying to do something instead of sitting around, hoping that someone else does for us."
Peter sucked on his lower lip anxiously and looked at James for reassurance before slowly nodding and turning back to stare at his shoes, lost in thought.
Remus looked between the two of them for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Speaking of the Order, do we know why there weren't more Order members coming to help today? Your Dad sent Dumbledore the message, didn't he?"
"Yeah, I don't know," James replied. "I guess that's something to ask at our first meeting."
"Which we don't even know the date of yet," Sirius added.
"I'm sure they'll contact us soon. They said they'd be in touch a few days after graduation. That could be any day now," said Lily.
"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see," James acquiesced, wrapping his arm around Lily once more.
It turned out to be a nerve-wracking day and a half later when each of them received a small envelope through their fireplaces, the parchment as crisp and the stamp as pristine as their original Hogwarts letters. The same neat scrawl from McGonagall was copied on each, alerting them of the next Order meeting disguised as an invitation, reading:
Please join us for tea next Wednesday at 3:00pm to the address below.
Until then, enjoy the start of your holiday.
And so, they did just that. Though naturally, they saw each other when they could before the date arrived. Sirius, James, and Lily, of course, saw each other every day since they all lived in the Potter's mansion and they took their week off to look for flats of their own to live in. Remus occasionally joined them as he was considering living with Sirius if they found a place where he could pay for half of the rent instead of living off of Sirius' wealthy, deceased, and similarly estranged uncle who had left most of his savings to his favorite nephew, mostly to anger the rest of his family. Peter joined them not to look for housing since he would be living at home to stave off his mother's worrying, but for their worry-free afternoons and evenings which seemed to be growing ever closer to an end.
Though as previously instructed, they had each memorized the address before destroying the letter and on the day of, they apparated nearby before walking up to the home on some muggle street that none of them had ever heard of. James, Sirius, and Lily apparated together and simultaneously stopped at the small gate in front of the garden, staring up at the perfectly average two-story house with flowers practically spilling out of their pots and threatening to take over the stone walkway up to the door.
"Well whose do you reckon this is?" Sirius muttered curiously, hands shoved deep in his pockets and squinting up at the facade.
"Let's find out." Lily led the way, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the meandering plants, occasionally toeing a stray vine out of the way. "Look!" she said, stopping abruptly. "Nettles!" A moment later she gasped again and pointed excitedly at what James would consider some rather mundane purple flowers, declaring, "And aconite! They must make a lot of potions."
"Well if we ever make it to the front door, we can ask them," Sirius said, his voice overly sweet.
"Right, yeah." Lily hastened her lead and knocked.
Almost as soon as her knuckles touched the wood, the door was flung open to reveal a man she did not recognize, but who clearly recognized her.
"Lily! Come in, come in!" He shut the door after the three passed the threshold, barely acknowledging the two wizards who followed. Instead, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest, wringing them anxiously, while he peered curiously somewhere just beyond Lily's shoulder. "Is it okay if I call you Lily? I know we only just met, but I feel like I already know you from everything I've heard!"
"Er… sure?" Lily responded, bewildered.
"Oh wonderful! I was one of Professor Slughorn's favorites too, you see, and we keep in touch and he's mentioned you quite often. Plus, we're always given brief introductions to new Order members so there's that too, and–"
"Moony!" James cried in relief, spotting the wizard through one threshold off the main foyer. Remus turned and waved them over.
"We're not late, are we?" James asked loudly, trying to find a way to politely sidestep the wizard still eagerly immersed with Lily.
"No, just on time!" the man answered, his head popping out of his other conversation. "Follow me, the meeting will start any moment now. Can I get you anything? I make my own tea, you know, from plants in my garden so I can make you something specific. I do love a good challenge."
"So this is your house, then?" Lily asked as they walked.
"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry, in my excitement I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Henry."
"And you brew potions then?" Lily asked again, not realizing that she was slowing down as she talked, preventing Sirius and James from entering the next room that was taking them torturously long to reach.
"Brew them, study them, experiment with them," he said, waving one hand. "I do what I can. After I started to see the first signs of trouble, Gideon approached me on behalf of the Order offering me a much safer job. More out of sight than a typical potioneer position. So now, I'm the Order's potioneer!"
And again, he and Lily were off in a discussion about something or another. Though James and Sirius didn't wait to find out because the moment they were through the hallway, they stepped around them, and found themselves in an eclectic sitting room with mismatched sofas, armchairs, tables, and quilts thrown about apparently at random with quite a few Order members mingling together as they waited for the meeting to begin.
When the last of them had apparently arrived, the room was quite full with one of the most surprising mixes of people Lily had ever seen. Besides themselves being the youngest of the group and taking up one fraction of the space, the Longbottoms had arrived minutes before in their auror uniforms, the Prewett twins with their bright red hair were talking to somehow who had an undeniably shady air about them; there was a witch who stood by herself in the corner and a scruffy wizard that stood nearby who appeared to be considering if his current jug of some drink or another was strong enough. There was a frail woman who looked like she owned five cats beside two self-assured wizards discussing something quietly, both of whom were twice the size of her, and another wizard whose hat nearly scraped the ceiling. Then to top it all off, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and someone who Lily instantly recognized as the infamous Alastor Moody strode into the room not a minute past three o'clock.
"What a delight to see you all today!" Dumbledore beamed at them as he entered. "I think this might just be our largest meeting yet–though of course, a few regretfully are unable to be with us today."
Lily frowned slightly. This was the largest meeting the Order of the Phoenix has had so far? Sure, it felt like a lot of people crammed into the already cluttered living room, but there were barely over twenty people here, a third of which had only just graduated.
"And let us welcome our newest members!" Dumbledore continued, gesturing to all of them, lined up against the wall. Lily flushed as a symphony of greetings rang out and warm smiles shone at them from all angles; yet still, Lily was under the impression that they were being analyzed by every single person there. As if sensing her nerves, James' hand slipped into hers and she felt herself relax at his side.
"For our older members, please excuse me while I introduce everyone. I see you've already met Henry Lewis, our resident potions expert. And you already know Frank and Alice Longbottom from your shared time as Gryffindors I presume. This is Mundungus Fletcher… and Gideon and Fabian Prewett…" The list went on and when everyone had been introduced, most giving feeble waves in response to their names being called, Dumbledore hastened for them to get comfortable so that the meeting could begin.
Lily wasn't quite sure what she expected, but she knew it was not that the meeting would begin with the house's owner reminding the guests to use the lace doilies when putting their drinks on wooden tables. But sure enough, everyone setting down their drinks and focusing their attention on Dumbledore who sat in one plush armchair opposite the fireplace seemed to be enough to announce the start of their first meeting.
"Now then, allow me to update you all on what has transpired since our last meeting," Dumbledore said, his fingers poised like a tent underneath his chin. "As I am sure you are all aware, the Death Eaters staged their largest targeted attack about one week ago at Platform nine and three quarters when the Hogwarts Express arrived with the students."
A sharp intake from Lily's left told her that he certainly had James' attention now.
"They were attacking only muggle-borns and their families, as well as anyone who fought back, no matter their background. From what Alastor, Alice, and Frank have told me, the Death Eaters did not seem to be doing this just for their usual entertainment or scare tactics. They seem to have been… collecting the bodies, for lack of a better word. The only plausible explanation that I have arrived at is that Voldemort is intending to create an army of inferi. Though I would love to hear other thoughts on this."
He looked around slowly, his blue eyes roving over every member, searching for alternate answers as if this was a classroom.
"If he was really after enlarging an army of inferi, why not just kill anyone and everyone?" asked one of the Prewett twins.
"Well, this way he can stick to his ideology of not being after anyone but muggleborns. This way, he's not isolating himself from half-bloods and purebloods who are still on the fence," replied the woman in the corner. Emmeline Vance, if Lily could recall correctly.
"Precisely my thinking," McGonagall chimed in. "And they are still reminding everyone that they are here, growing stronger and bolder."
"And more dangerous if they're willing to go out in the open," Moody growled.
The room was launched headfirst into a debate on what all of this meant for the Order, though no one seemed to doubt the fact that Voldemort was indeed creating an inferi army, primarily out of muggles, muggle-borns, and anyone who opposed him. While the concept did make sense, the logic behind it that the rest of the Order shared did nothing to quell Lily's growing concerns.
When the discussion generally quieted, Dumbledore nodded slowly and spoke once more. "Thank you for your thoughts. There were certainly a lot of points to take into consideration, but in the interest of time, I think it best we move on to our next topic of discussion." He cleared his throat and crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair. "Thanks to the information that we have gathered, we know that Voldemort still does not know about our mounting resistance."
Lily frowned at that. It seemed highly unlikely that Voldemort had no idea that the Order existed, though Dumbledore seemed to read her mind and continued in his explanation.
"Allow me to give a few more details purely for our newest members. To everyone else, apologies for the redundancy of news which I am sure you all remember." He turned in his seat towards them, all squished on one sofa, taking up the cushions, the arms, and the back edge. "We have managed to keep a vast amount of what we do here hidden from Voldemort's ranks due to a set of very strict rules that I will tell you all after the meeting. But from these guidelines, he does not know how many of us there are, if we are all working together as one group, what our goals are, and the like. Of course he knows that there is resistance, as there is bound to be when someone attempts any type of coup, but he does not know that we are growing stronger day by day, that we are one united front instead of multiple small groups, and that our members are spread out just as far as his spies are, gathering intel."
"Now, back to how this relates to recent events. I would like to praise everyone for responding so promptly to the call last week regarding the attack at the platform. Thanks to everyone's brave efforts, we were able to arrest two Death Eaters and save countless lives. Yes, Mr. Potter?"
Lily started and turned to her side to see James raising his hand as if attending Dumbledore's lecture in Hogwarts.
"Please pardon my ignorance here, but what 'call' are you referring to? We were all on the platform the entire time and I wasn't aware of any Order plans or anything like that going on," he said, careful to keep his tone light and inquisitive.
"An excellent example of my previous point! That secrecy is of the utmost importance!" Dumbledore beamed at him. "Your father alerted me to the trouble moments before the aurors themselves heard. I was able to send a message to a select few Order members who have not been seen by the Death Eaters in some time to provide the aurors with extra assistance. You may not have seen them because they were all disguised as civilians rather than wearing some uniform like the Death Eaters do which would make them instant targets. As I'm sure you can appreciate, this gives the impression that those fighting back were just brave parents rather than an organized resistance movement."
James nodded, satisfied with the answer and leaned back against the couch cushions. Lily craned her neck slightly to hear what Sirius whispered into his ear as James then frowned, whispered back and Remus quickly joined the nearly silent debate. Though turning her attention back to the main discussion, the meeting lasted another half an hour or so, with various members apprising them of updates, with debates on future steps, and at last, reminders for private meetings that were coming up.
As they all rose to apparate home, McGonagall called the recent graduates over and Lily led the way against the current towards the fireplace where Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Moody were all standing. They fanned out in front of them, a melange of nerves and excitement racing through each of their veins.
"Now then, welcome once more to the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said happily, spreading his palms out as if presenting a feast before him.
"Though of course, any of you may back-out at any point," McGonagall added, her sharp eyes scanning them each in turn. "This is a dangerous undertaking, not to be joined lightly."
"Of course. If anyone has any doubts, any mere musings of if this will be worth it, if the stress and danger is worth the goal, then please do not hesitate to turn back with no hard feelings." Dumbledore continued to smile lightly, watching as each of the Gryffindors turned slightly to make sure that no one else was backing away. Lily forced her chin up slightly higher and Sirius crossed his arms defiantly.
"That's what I thought, but please know that the offer will always be on the table."
"Let's see who's ready to quit after a week with me." Moody gave a loud bark of laughter that caught them all by surprise, many of those closest to him visibly flinching.
"Yes, why don't you share your piece first, Alastor?" Dumbledore said politely.
Moody stepped forward, crossing his arms heavily and while one dark eye scanned one half of them, the other whizzed about in its socket, darting between the other half of the trainees and the room itself. One large, faint pink scar stretching across his face and his light brown hair was beginning to grow streaks of gray as it came to a messy cut at his chin, as if he had cut it himself in one fatal swoop. Just looking at his heavy trench coat made Lily start to sweat in the heat and she found herself wondering if he wore it as protection, comfort, or to hide more scars that surely lined his skin.
"Right," he growled after a painful minute of silence, "I will be training you, as I believe Dumbledore has made you aware. I will not go easy on you because the Death Eaters will not go easy on you. My goal is to get as many of you to the end of this war alive as I can. I will do my part in teaching you, so you must do your part in arriving on time and being ready to give the day your all. This is not just a class anymore. This is life or death."
Lily's eyes widened at his grim announcement. Even unshakable James released a heavy breath when Moody's short spiel came to an end.
Dumbledore nodded, but his warm smile was no more. He now matched McGonagall's tense expression almost perfectly. "Thank you, Alastor. As he mentioned, it is essential that you take these lessons seriously. I will not give you any orders in the field until he says that you are ready. Apparate to the Hog's Head Inn, room two hundred and three tomorrow at five o'clock. Alastor will collect you there and your training will begin. Expect it to go late into the night every night. Understood?"
They all nodded and Remus muttered, "Understood."
"Good. I have already told you the basics of the rules when you joined during the school year, but listen carefully now because as I already impressed upon you, these are vital to the survival of the organization. Naturally, everything that is discussed here or anything that is of Order business is not to be discussed with anyone else. Not your parents, not your friends, not even your owl. Once you complete training, I may start to assign you separate missions and these will also need to be kept a secret from anyone outside the Order, but possibly even from those within the Order. That being said, do not ask questions of other members that do not pertain to you as this may put them in an uncomfortable situation. Assume that I will tell you all the information that you need to be successful or that I will have someone else alert you to what is important. Any other information is therefore extraneous and may be best kept to the members themselves."
"I assume that you have some qualms with this Mr. Potter, Black, or Lupin? As you are hopefully aware after today's meeting, I welcome any and all different opinions. They often provide the best opportunities to create new possibilities."
If he was caught off guard by being called on so suddenly, Sirius certainly didn't show it. "I was just thinking that this secrecy within the Order itself seems remarkably similar to the Death Eaters. Isn't it true that none of them even know the full list of Death Eaters?"
"That is indeed true."
"And… are you sure that they are the best group to base the Order off of?"
"Certainly. Part of why they instill such terror is that because no one knows who they are, what they do, or when they are going to do it. This secrecy not only adds to their image but also prevents people like us from easily learning what they are doing and stopping it. By using the same model of secrecy, we can prevent them from similarly learning about our whereabouts and plans."
"Got it," Sirius nodded, yet his brow furrowed and Remus cocked his head to one side, still considering the matter.
"Are there any other issues you wish to raise?"
James shook his head while the rest simply remained silent, giving Dumbledore his answer.
"If you think of any at a further date, please do not hesitate to contact me. The Order of the Phoenix is very much an open discussion. But until then and until you get further along in your training, that is all of the information that I have for you. You are free to leave though I would like a word with Miss Evans, if you please."
"Oh! Er… sure." She glanced at Dorcas and Marlene who gave her bewildered shrugs and whispered that they would see her later as they passed.
"See you at the house?" James whispered to her and she nodded with a smile that she hoped didn't give away the bundle of nerves nestling themselves in her chest.
Lily waited quietly, playing with the bracelet on her wrist to occupy her hands. The three imposing figures before her were silent until the front door opened and shut, her friends' muddled conversation fading away.
"No need to be nervous, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said kindly, sitting down once more in the same armchair as before. McGonagall and Moody sat once more so Lily followed their lead, perching lightly on the edge of the sofa that now felt much wider than it ever did without anyone sitting beside her.
"I believe you met Henry Lewis?" McGonagall asked briskly.
"Yes, I did."
"And did you talk further about his role in the Order?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then to get into the details of it, Mr. Lewis is beginning to get overwhelmed with the amount of potions that the Order would like to have on hand. At the moment, he is brewing the potions on what is needed for the day when someone needs a healing potion or something for a specific mission. It would be much better to have a large stock of standard potions on hand that can be distributed to multiple locations and safehouses instead of just this one house as that could get suspicious if people keep showing up here just to pick up packages. We would like you to brew a set of standard healing potions while Mr. Lewis continues with the more advanced case-by-case needs. You would be doing this during the day on top of your nightly training. Would you be amenable to this?"
Lily blinked, stunned into speechlessness for a moment before a warm glow of pride erupted in her chest. "I would be honored to!"
McGonagall's mouth curved into a tight smile. "We thought you wouldn't say no."
"Mr. Lewis will be very pleased. You can discuss with him which potions you both think would be best and who will be delivering your potions to the other safehouses," Dumbledore elaborated.
Moody chuckled to himself, his gaze darkening. "Of course Lewis will be pleased! She's taking on half of his danger and risk!"
The glow in Lily's chest dimmed. She didn't think about it that way. She would be much more visible: delivering potions, picking up materials,-
"Thank you, Alastor," Dumbledore interrupted. "I think it is probably best to now leave you and Mr. Lewis to yourselves as the resident potioneers. I believe he is out in his gardens if you would like to join him there."
Lily nodded, raising from her seat, letting the reality set in of what she had just agreed to. She followed her Professors through the crowded room and back into the foyer, pausing before the front door to allow herself a breath to orient herself before passing the threshold into the garden and into her new role.
