Order of the Phoenix

Why did the Order care so much about protecting the prophecy from Voldemort? All it did was confirm what everyone already knew- that Harry was destined to destroy Voldemort one day.

But I am back to popping in and out here, partially due to the fact I had re-watched OotP the other day.

In 2008, J K Rowling wrote an 800-word short short story to be auctioned off for charity. According to Rowling's announcement of the prequel on her website (no longer accessible), "the action takes place around 3 years before Harry is born." That places the story in 1977. I just want to know your thoughts on this prequel:

The speeding motorcycle took the sharp corner so fast in the darkness that both policemen in the pursuing car shouted ‘whoa!’ Sergeant Fisher slammed his large foot on the brake, thinking that the boy who was riding pillion was sure to be flung under his wheels; however, the motorbike made the turn without unseating either of its riders, and with a wink of its red tail light, vanished up the narrow side street.

“We’ve got ’em now!” cried PC Anderson excitedly. “That’s a dead end!”

Leaning hard on the steering wheel and crashing his gears, Fisher scraped half the paint off the flank of the car as he forced it up the alleyway in pursuit.

There in the headlights sat their quarry, stationary at last after a quarter of an hour’s chase. The two riders were trapped between a towering brick wall and the police car, which was now crashing towards them like some growling, luminous-eyed predator.

There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the alley that Fisher and Anderson had difficulty extricating themselves from the vehicle. It injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like, towards the miscreants. Fisher dragged his generous belly along the wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping off the wing mirror with his backside.

“Get off the bike!” he bellowed at the smirking youths, who sat basking in the flashing blue light as though enjoying it.

They did as they were told. Finally pulling free from the broken wind mirror, Fisher glared at them. They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter’s guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band.

“No helmets!” Fisher yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. “Exceeding the speed limit by – by a considerable amount!” (In fact, the speed registered had been greater than Fisher was prepared to accept that any motorcycle could travel.) “Failing to stop for the police!”

“We’d have loved to stop for a chat,” said the boy in glasses, “only we were trying —”

“Don’t get smart – you two are in a heap of trouble!” snarled Anderson. “Names!”

“Names?” repeated the long-haired driver. “Er – well, let’s see. There’s Wilberforce… Bathsheba… Elvendork…”

“And what’s nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy or a girl,” said the boy in glasses.

“Oh, OUR names, did you mean?” asked the first, as Anderson spluttered with rage. “You should’ve said! This here is James Potter, and I’m Sirius Black!”

“Things’ll be seriously black for you in a minute, you cheeky little —”

But neither James nor Sirius was paying attention. They were suddenly as alert as gundogs, staring past Fisher and Anderson, over the roof of the police car, at the dark mouth of the alley. Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets.

For the space of a heartbeat both policemen imagined guns gleaming at them, but a second later they saw that the motorcyclists had drawn nothing more than —

“Drumsticks?” jeered Anderson. “Right pair of jokers, aren’t you? Right, we’re arresting you on a charge of —”

But Anderson never got to name the charge. James and Sirius had shouted something incomprehensible, and the beams from the headlights had moved.

The policemen wheeled around, then staggered backwards. Three men were flying – actually FLYING – up the alley on broomsticks – and at the same moment, the police car was rearing up on its back wheels.

Fisher’s knees bucked; he sat down hard; Anderson tripped over Fisher’s legs and fell on top of him, as FLUMP – BANG – CRUNCH – they heard the men on brooms slam into the upended car and fall, apparently insensible, to the ground, while broken bits of broomstick clattered down around them.

The motorbike had roared into life again. His mouth hanging open, Fisher mustered the strength to look back at the two teenagers.

“Thanks very much!” called Sirius over the throb of the engine. “We owe you one!”

“Yeah, nice meeting you!” said James. “And don’t forget: Elvendork! It’s unisex!”

There was an earth-shattering crash, and Fisher and Anderson threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle’s turn to rear. Before the policemen’s disbelieving eyes, it took off into the air: James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby.

"From the prequel I am not working on -- but that was fun!"

--- J.K. Rowling

Yes it’s about the order of the pheniox movies

Rules

• Don’t be lack of human aka just don’t break common rules

• You can swear just said like this f..k, s..t

• Respect all

• Dont use a more then 1 year age gap

• Password - Your favorite character from ootp

Form:

Name:

Age:

Year:

Pronouns:

S/S/S

House:

Side (dumbledore army or Whatever Draco was):

Persona:

Apperance

Backstory

Other

Password

This will start on Sunday

Why on earth did Dumbledore choose Snape to be Harry's Occlumency teacher I know keeping Voldemort out of his mind is important, and he may be rubbish at it, but having Snape basically assures that he won't even try and ends up being another instance of Snape expecting mastery at the first try and being a complete jackass to Harry, and him taking it and not even trying to do as he is told. Dumbledore knows how much of a jerk Snape is to Harry so it was never going to work in the first place.

Ideally, Harry would have done better with Sirius or Lupin as a teacher, because they'd probably believe him when he told them something "revealed" through legitimecy wasn't from the dream spying he wasn't supposed to be doing, probably wouldn't blast him while he was scared and then berate him for obviously performing even more poorly

Chapter 3: Assignments (Part 2)

James had certainly been in the Hog's Head Inn before. Not by choice, per say, more out of necessity for a change of pace. They had arrived in room 203 ten minutes early–Lily and Remus's doing–and within the past five minutes of mindless waiting, James reaffirmed his distasteful assumptions. The room could only be described as grey: dark furniture with a healthy layer of dust rested on creaky wooden floors that may have been brown at one point, though you would have a tough time convincing anyone of that. Even the scant decorations were dreary with a black and white landscape hanging tilted on one wall and an empty vase of flowers beside the bed. Even when the room filled with the three additional voices of Peter, Dorcas, and Marlene, it still felt as gloomy as a funeral home, though that may also be because for some inexorable reason, they all determined it best to keep their voices no louder than a whisper.

So when Moody came barging in, throwing the door wide open and announcing in his loud, growling voice, "Follow me"... well, suffice to say it was a startling surprise. Though with a shared look of apprehension, they did just that with no thoughts of disobeying or questioning.

They marched unceremoniously from the room and down a flight of rickety steps. If anyone in the restaurant below thought it odd to see a string of teenagers following a man wearing a trenchcoat in summer, they refused to show it. In fact, not a single person looked up from their drinks except for the barkeeper who nodded covertly at Moody as they passed.

When they reached the street, instead of turning towards Hogsmeade, Moody turned towards the outskirts of the village and strode towards the edge of the path where the gravel road faded away into dirt, then grass. But he didn't stop there; he kept going until the patches of grass disappeared into the shadow of the nearby mountain and then the shadow of the forest.

"Sir? Where exactly are we going?" Sirius eventually asked as he ducked below a branch.

"If there was a name for it, it would be too well-known, wouldn't it?" Moody replied evasively, his bright blue eye whizzing in its socket to peer out of one corner at him.

"We can name it a bloody inconvenience, that's for sure," Remus muttered from somewhere behind James who stifled a laugh.

Whatever name they eventually chose for their training location, the location itself ended up being a clearing in the midst of the woods at the base of the mountain. The tree cover was so thick and the rocky terrain so tall that James questioned how the grass beneath their feet could get enough sunlight to grow, even at the height of noon. Sensing their predicament, Moony had apparently brought a series of lanterns that gave off a pale, warm light and when they arrived at the clearing, he instantly used his wand to send them hovering in a vague circle along the tree edge.

With their circle of light in place, Moody turned around abruptly and clapped his hands together once.

"Right then! This clearing has all of the protective charms that you can imagine to keep us well-hidden except for an anti-apparition jinx, so now that you know where to go, you are to apparate here every evening for training. It goes without saying that this clearing is one of those secrets not to be shared with anyone outside of this group, understood?"

He stared squarely at James, Sirius, and Remus for a second each, waiting for them in particular to nod in turn before he continued on.

"Pair up. Today we see what you're made of."

Dorcas, Lily, James, and Peter lined up on one side, facing Marlene, Remus, and Sirius on the other while Moody stood behind the group of three. Marlene started to turn around in order to see Moody, but he quickly motioned for her to face Dorcas instead.

"The point of me standing here is for you not to see me!" he shouted as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. Marlene blushed scarlet but found some solace in Dorcas's grinning eye roll.

"Behind you three, I will write a spell, curse, jinx, hex, whatever in the air for the group of four to see. Then I will randomly light up my wand and when I do so, you are to fire the appropriate spell at your partner who will have to block it without knowing what is coming or when it is coming. Yes, Black. You have a question?"

"Er… yeah. How does the odd number of people work out exactly? 'Cause right now, it looks like James and Peter are both aiming for me…"

Moody chuckled, a grin lighting up his features. "That is quite the dilemma you are in, isn't it? Now then, ready to begin?"

Sirius furrowed his brow, his confusion no less satisfied than before, but he faced his two opponents nonetheless, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. James grinned back at him, twirling his wand, while Peter sucked on his lower lip nervously, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see what the three on his right were doing.

James craned his neck to see around Sirius at what Moody was writing and saw, in fiery red letters, the words: leg-locking. Then, without waiting a heartbeat after he finished the last letter, a glowing orb appeared at the end of Moody's wand and James quickly fired the nonverbal jinx at Sirius. Peter muttered "Locomotor Mortis" a second later, but both spells bounced neatly off of Sirius's simple shield spell.

Looking further down the row, James was pleased to find that no one was hobbling around with their legs tied together. So far, they seemed to be at least meeting Moody's expectations. Though, that really was too early to judge.

The spells Moody demanded got more and more difficult, some requiring nonverbal incantations while others required precise wrist movements. Some had to be recognized by the defender as powerful enough to break through the simple defensive enchantments, and those who didn't realize this in time, found themselves subject to various hexes and jinxes. Once everyone was breathing heavily and their nerves felt stretched thin, Moody called for a small break before they repeated the exercise, but now in opposite teams.

And so, the evening stretched on and James grew increasingly grateful for the lanterns that Moody had strung up when they had arrived. If it weren't for those, they would have been plunged into pure darkness by now, making the entire test that much more difficult.

"Not a bad base to work from for the most part," Moody announced once the offensive side had finished their turn playing the defensive role. "But now the real work begins."

Peter groaned softly from beside him and James watched as Sirius grabbed onto his shoulder, giving him a reassuring shake.

"Apparate here tomorrow at the same time. From here on out, anytime you step foot within this clearing, assume that I could try to attack you and you need to be ready to defend yourself."

James sucked in a breath at the ominous announcement and from the back of the group, he watched as everyone drew themselves a bit taller.

"That may sound harsh, cruel, crazy, doesn't matter. Call it what you want and guarantee I've heard it before and then some. But it works. And if you want to stay alive, you need constant vigilance. That is one of the things that I will be trying to instill in you and the best way to do that is to practice it constantly. Everytime you leave your home, everytime you go out, be observant. Be careful. Be prepared." He looked at each of them in turn before grunting, "Off you go."

Moody raised two fingers to his forehead, giving them a small salute before he flicked his wrist and the lanterns went black. A second later, they heard a quiet pop and Moody was gone, though they could no longer see anything to make sure of it.

"See you all tomorrow, I guess," Marlene said. A second pop and she was gone too.

With exhausted goodbyes from them all, they disappeared one by one. James landed just outside the small gate of the Potter Manor and held it open for Sirius and Lily who arrived moments after him. They trooped into the house, heading instantly for the kitchen without saying a word. Too tired to cook and it being too late to ask Missy to make something for them, James grabbed the milk and they all enjoyed a bowl of late night cereal.

"Well, I am exhausted and will be sleeping in tomorrow."

"You always sleep in, Padfoot," James laughed.

"I'm just saying, don't plan on seeing me until well into the afternoon."

"I'll be up. I'm going to start a batch of potions tomorrow morning," Lily added, grabbing all of their empty bowls and heading to the sink.

"I don't envy you," Sirius said, stretching his back as he leaned off of the counter.

Lily shot him a confused look over her shoulder. "I thought you were jealous that they gave me something else to do."

"I was, but that was before I knew how tired I would be."

"Fair enough. Just as long as you're up in time for day two of Moody's training."

"I will be," he promised. "See you tomorrow afternoon."

James shook his head ruefully and muttered goodnight as Sirius passed, waiting for Lily before they headed upstairs together, hand in hand. When they reached his bedroom door, he tugged her into his chest and leaned down to kiss her, his heart still skipping a beat when their lips met. The familiar tingles ran down his arms and he knew that no matter how many times they kissed, no matter how long they were together, the thrill would never fade away.

"I love you, you know that?" Lily murmured.

James grinned and lay a gentle kiss at her hairline. "I know. And I love you." He fumbled behind him for a moment, searching for the door handle and was about to suggest she stay the night in his bed, when the door down the hall creaked open.

"James? Is that you?" His father's whisper echoed against the walls, his voice still thick with sleep.

He sighed. "Yeah, Dad. We just got home."

"Just now? Why did they keep you so late? What were you doing?"

James heard him step further outside and shut the door behind him. This was going in the opposite direction as he had hoped.

"I can't tell you, Dad. You know that."

Even in the dark, James knew the sound of his father's frown and this silence was definitely it.

"Right. Well you tell them not to keep you out so late next time."

"Sure. I'll tell them," he said, lightly enough to imply that there was less of a chance of that happening as Voldemort marrying a muggleborn.

"Good. Get some rest. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Yeah, we're heading to bed now."

"All right. Well good night, then."

" 'Night, Dad," James sighed, but his lips quirked into a smile when he heard Lily giggle lightly and she pressed her forehead against his chest in embarrassment.

"Have I mentioned we really need our own place?"

"Yes. Yes, you have." She pressed her lips against his once more then started to slowly walk backwards until their arms were fully outstretched yet they were still holding hands. "Good night, James."

He smiled and let her hands slip from his fingers. "Good night, Lils."

Chapter 3: Assignments (Part 3)

Sirius sighed happily, stretching out on the dusty wooden floors as if it were a bed of feathers. "I'm so glad you decided, Moony."

"Let's just hope I don't regret it," Remus replied, walking slowly around their new kitchen, letting his hand trail on the simple tiled island.

"Either way, it's ours! We're real adults now, free to do what we please."

"Have you ever done anything except exactly what you pleased?"

"Occasionally. Only when that little nagging voice in my head was being too persistent."

Remus chuckled and turned back around, seeing Sirius now making snow angels in the thin layer of dust. "Get off the floor, Padfoot. That's disgusting."

He sighed wistfully. "There's the voice."

Thoroughly ignoring him, Remus flicked his wand and the dust disappeared. Soon, the dust was slicked clear from the kitchen surfaces, the windows, and the single ratty couch that the old owners kindly left for them–or were too scared to get rid of based on the state of it. The faded green fabric looked like it might disintegrate upon touch.

"Come help me clean out our two bedrooms before my parents and the Potters come with our things," Remus said, walking down the short hall where two bedrooms and a single bathroom lay waiting for them.

"I don't exactly please to!" Sirius called after him, already sitting up.

"Then I get first dibs!"

Instantly, Sirius jumped to his feet and raced after Remus. "I'm coming!"

"What are they doing up there?" Lily asked with an amused smile as they heard loud footsteps pound down the hallway above them.

"I no longer care," James announced.

"Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Because the only thing that seems to matter right now is the marvelous fact that I get to live with you, Miss Evans." James smirked, walking towards Lily who was standing in the middle of their small living room.

She turned from the fireplace and grinned sheepishly. "I'm pretty sure I've been living with you at your parents' place for a little bit now."

James shook his head, taking her hands in his and rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her palms. "That does not count in the slightest. I love my parents, but they don't really help with the romance."

"I don't think we'll have much time for romance with training and potion making and eventually we'll have missions on top of that and–"

"Not with that attitude we won't," James murmured, leaning forward to kiss her gently.

She smiled against him and muttered, "I suppose I can make time."

He kissed her again, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her closer against his chest. "How generous of you."

She smiled again but her brain could not seem to fathom a response. Her mind was entirely focused on the tingles that James had sent racing down her limbs as the kiss deepened. She grabbed onto the front of his t-shirt and pulled him forward as she stumbled backwards until her back hit the kitchen island. With barely a pause, Lily pushed herself onto the island and wrapped her legs around James' whose hands found themselves resting on her thighs. His fingers traced under the hem of her shorts and her stomach erupted in a swarm of butterflies.

"Oi! Lovebirds!" A knock shattered their blissful silence, knocking them out of their own private world. "They're here!"

James sighed and rested his forehead against Lily's. "Why did we think living below Padfoot was a good idea?"

"You tell me," Lily said, lying one more kiss against his lips before ducking under his arm onto her feet. She walked backwards towards the front door with a teasing smirk dancing across her lips. "But what did I tell you? There's hardly any time for romance."

"Oh, I'll make time."

Sirius's voice came through the door. "Stop your snogging and get out here!"

Lily threw open the door which Sirius was apparently leaning against and he stumbled into their living room as she walked past, completely unphased. "Good afternoon, Sirius."

James grinned as Sirius righted himself in front of him. "So dramatic, as ever."

"Oh, shove it," Sirius laughed as James walked past him. "But you were snogging, weren't you?"

Turning to face him, the familiar mischievous light dancing in his eyes, he replied, "Obviously."

The afternoon was then filled with flying furniture and parents surreptitiously wiping their eyes and the new leasers hurrying their families out when the day started to drag into the evening and they had to prepare for their training. When the front door was shut behind the Potters at last, James and Lily stood side by side, staring at the door in the silence that seemed to bounce around their flat.

Their flat.

They had their own flat.

Well, 'own' plus Sirius who didn't seem to realize that front doors were not meant to be barged in through. Yet, that is precisely what he did without so much as a knock.

"Ready for training?" he asked as a greeting. Remus was rolling his eyes in the background, refusing to step over the threshold without being invited in.

"Yes, we're ready," Lily replied, scooping up her wand from their small and slightly lopsided kitchen table James' Mom had bought from a friend.

"We can't be late. I don't want to see what Moody makes us do if we're even a second past five," James added. Before he shut the front door behind their group, he peered into the flat once more.

The furniture was sparse and unorganized. Their things were in boxes against the walls. Half of the kitchen appliances needed to be fixed. Yet it was home. Their home that they were renting with money from their own jobs.

Though his blissful smile was wiped off of his face as soon as he landed in the clearing that Remus had dubbed "the Inconvenience" because when James opened his eyes, he saw Moody with his wand pointing straight at him. A stream of freezing cold water showered over him and with his wand safely stowed in his back pocket, James was powerless to do anything but stand there and be glad he was wearing glasses to keep the water out of his eyes.

The stream of water ended, leaving a dripping James Potter glaring straight ahead while his friends, all of whom were lucky enough to not apparate next to him, stifled their laughter behind their hands.

"Constant vigilance, Potter!" Moody said with satisfaction. "Never apparate into an unknown area without your wand ready."

Moody turned on his heel to face the rest of the group, hands clasped behind his back, while James fished his wand out of his jeans and dried himself. He approached his friends and muttered, "Not a word" while the rest carefully arranged their faces into looks of compassion.

Four hours in and sweat had built up on each of their foreheads despite the cool night air. Their jackets all lay in a pile to one side and it was with no small amount of relief that James dropped his wand arm when Moody called them to a stop after hours of practice duels in every pair imaginable. They practiced in assigned groups in various assortments of one-on-ones, two-on-twos, one-on-twos and more while Moody and the rest watched. After one side "defeated" the other or the duel went on for long enough, Moody would call a pause to give them pointers, alter their stances, offer corrections, criticisms, and ever so rarely, a possible compliment. Suffice to say, they were each exhausted and ready to collapse on the nearest surface to sleep for as long as allowed.

But when Moody called the entire group towards him for a closing announcement, James' exhaustion seeped out of him and excitement rushed in.

"Starting next week, you will each be given a few small assignments. Mind you, these are information gathering assignments only. You are not to engage in any magic whatsoever. But essentially, Dumbledore has predicted that Voldemort will soon be turning his attention to the Ministry. We need to find out what we can about what influence he already has and where he might be looking to make his next move. The seven of you are perfect candidates for this because anyone your age could be looking for an intro job at the Ministry."

Moody dug around in his coat pocket until he was holding up a small stack of envelopes. "In my hand, I have separate assignments for each of you with different departments or jobs you are to apply for and people you must get an interview with, as well as what kind of information you should be after. Your homework tonight is to read these envelopes and start getting ideas for how you would get the information out of people without them ever being the wiser. That being said, tomorrow's training will be far less hands-on. We will go over what techniques to use on weedling information out of even the most tight-lipped of people, yet that is a long way off of being useful. You first have to do what you would be doing if there was not a war going on right now. Does anyone know what I mean?"

After a beat of silence, Lily answered. "Make resumes?"

Moody grinned. "Precisely. That is your second homework assignment. Make your resumes and make them well. If this is to work without arousing any suspicion, your resumes and interviews must be as realistic as you can make them. Any questions?"

"I have one," Remus said quickly. "Are we allowed to tell each other about what our assignment is?"

"Ah, Dumbledore said one of you would ask that. All of that information will be found within your envelopes as well. Here is yours, Mr. Lupin." Remus walked forward to collect his envelope and he stared through the parchment as if he could see the words printed inside it. When all of the letters were passed out, Moody gave them a curt nod and disappeared, the lights going out with him.

Too tired to offer much in ways of good-byes, the trainees all disapparated a moment later and James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius headed dolefully towards their flat from the alley near the trash bins. They paused at the ground level front door and glanced uncertainly at each other.

"Well… I guess we should open these on our own, then," Remus said, holding up his own letter. "We don't really know how secretive we have to be about it."

"I'll tell you whatever I'm allowed to," James promised.

"Same," agreed Sirius.

"Let's read them tonight and we can go over everything tomorrow morning with breakfast," said Lily.

"See you tomorrow," Remus murmured, already heading up the stairs.

"See ya," Sirius added, following close behind.

James sighed and slung an arm around Lily's waist as she opened the door to their flat. "Dumbledore better not expect us to keep any big secrets. I feel like that's not a great way to build a relationship."

"Either way, I trust you completely. Any secrets he wants us to keep is for a good reason so it won't be a reflection of our relationship."

"That's true. But if I know what you're doing, I'll be less worried about you."

Lily smiled as James curled his arm around her waist tighter and kissed the top of her head. "I'll always worry about you."

"And I'll always worry about you," James sighed. "I guess that's part of the job."

"Guess so…"

James hastily unwrapped his arms from Lily and clapped his hands, making Lily jump at the sound. "Well. This envelope is not going to open itself. Let's see what boring job I'll be applying to." He collapsed onto their sofa and tore open his envelope.

She watched him read whatever was written on it, trying to gauge how excited or miserable he was by the assignment from the back of his head. Meanwhile, she leaned against the kitchen island and carefully slit hers open too, a mixture of excitement and nervousness racing through her core.

Chapter 3: Assignments (Part 1)

Too many thoughts, opinions, and worries were swirling around through James' head, combining into a slurry of a confusing mess that was pressing against his skull, on the verge of causing what would surely become a blaring headache. He stomped up the garden path, barely pausing at the front door and storming straight through the few rooms into their back garden where he instantly began to pace, flattening the grass into a flat trail in his wake.

"What's up, Prongs?" Sirius asked as they trooped into the garden after him.

James started in surprise. In his haste he had completely forgotten that the others would be following him home.

"Where to even begin?" he replied, continuing his pacing. Sirius snorted and leaned against the house wall in amusement.

"I assume you're thinking about Dumbledore's reasons for secrecy?" Remus prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"Partially."

"And…?" Peter egged on.

"And what do they want Lily for? And how many others weren't at the meeting? And how long will training take?"

"Well we'll find out what they want Lily for whenever she gets back," Remus answered.

"If they'll let her tell us," Sirius added with a grim smile.

"It is an odd rule…," Peter mused, more to himself than anything.

"Definitely not one that I would think of, but one of the reasons that I signed up for this was because Dumbledore is leading it and he has experience. He knows what he's doing. I say we trust him," Remus said, feigning confidence.

Sirius snorted incredulously. "Sure, but basing the Order off of the Death Eaters?"

"It's not only the Death Eaters. It's also a common thread among a lot of other large scale rebellions. Take the goblin revolution of eighteen–"

"Moony, I swear on Merlin's left incisor, if you start spouting some History of Magic nonsense–"

"Yeah, I'm with Padfoot on this one," James laughed. "We graduated for a reason."

Remus smiled. "Fine. All I'm saying is that we've literally been to one meeting. Who are we to assume that we know better than everyone else there?"

"Yeah…" James ran a hand through his hair and stopped his pacing, staring instead at the lawn beneath his feet. "We can always just tell each other what we can, right?"

"Definitely. And hopefully we'll be placed on the same missions together so then we can tell eachother everything anyways!" said Peter.

"I hope we can get out there sooner rather than later. I just want to start any mission, I'm not too picky on what it is at this point," Sirius bemoaned.

"I'm sure Moody will whip us into shape in no time!" James added cheerfully, the knot in his stomach slowly unraveling and untying itself as he fell back into the familiar rhythm of things. All he needed now was the same dorm beds surroundings them or the Common Room fireplace to really ease his worries.

"Hey!" Lily said breathlessly nearly an hour later as she threw open the back door, a bag slung over one shoulder. "Sorry that took so long."

"Lily!" James cried, jumping up from the grass where he had been lounging, dusting off the back of his pants.

"What did they want?" Sirius asked instantly.

"If you're allowed to tell us," Remus added.

"It's okay, I can tell you," Lily smiled. "I even asked to make sure. I'm just helping Henry brew some of the basic potions the Order needs to start making a stockpile while he focuses on the more advanced stuff. Isn't it great?"

"Good for you, Lils!" James said.

Sirius, on the other hand, groaned dramatically and flopped onto his back fully spread eagle. "It's day one and you already get to do something!"

"Calm down, Padfoot. They'll be having you blow up Death Eaters and playing the knight in shining armor soon enough."

Sirius scowled and raised his head just enough to stick his tongue out at her.

"So what potions are you making? Can you share more specifics?" Remus asked politely as Lily joined their circle.

"I made a short list with Henry. Mostly different healing potions: some cleaning wounds, some internal healing, some for nerves, that sort of thing. Henry is sticking to the ones specific to each of the missions, but then we'll be taking turns delivering some of the standard potions to different stockpiles since it's less suspicious to see a bunch of injured people always going to the same house. So I think I'm going to take the first delivery–"

"Good afternoon, boys! I didn't know you were all over. Oh, and Lily! Sorry dear, I'm so used to just saying 'boys.'" Mrs. Potter chuckled to herself from the back door.

"Hey Mum," James said weakly, his heart hammering at the intrusion.

"I'm not sure what delivery you're talking about Lily, but do you want me to have Missy deliver you some dinner or snacks soon?" She smiled at her own word play, missing the nervous glance that passed between the group.

"That's okay," James replied. "We'll come in for dinner in a bit."

"Okay. I'll tell Missy there'll be extras tonight."

Silence stretched between them in her absence as Mrs. Potter went off to discuss dinner with their house elf. No one was entirely sure what to say or what was safe to say anymore.

Eventually, James broke the silence. "We really need our own place."

Sirius laughed. "Agreed. We should just sign that lease. I don't think we're going to find anything much better, no matter how long we wait."

"What we really need is to be more careful about when and where we talk about these things," Remus said pointedly, trying to steer the conversation away from what he knew was inevitable.

"That too," Lily agreed. "But what do you think, Moony? I liked the last set of flats we found, but I know you're feeling a bit more hesitant."

He sighed, hoping the pressure wouldn't turn to him. "Give me a day or two to think about it. I'll let you know."

"Well you have until Friday I think. That's when we have to decide by before they give them to someone else," James said.

"But if you're not sure, we can always ask for an extension," Lily said, sensing his unease.

"Yeah, but they'll raise the price and make it a whole negotiating tactic and…," Remus shook his head with a heavy sigh. "No, I'll decide before then. I will."

Chapter 2: The First Defiance (Part 1)

James' heart froze within his chest when Voldemort called him out so calmly. There goes his daring rescue plan, wrought upon the element of surprise. From beneath his Invisibility Cloak, James looked between Voldemort's thin and towering figure to Lily, slowly getting to her feet. Thinking quickly, he backtracked until he was behind Voldemort to quietly remove the cloak, hoping that Voldemort's sources, whoever they were, failed to mention his prized possession.

Lily's eyes widened as he appeared and Voldemort must have noticed because he turned around, still fingering his wand patiently in front of him.

His thin lips curled into a facsimile of a smile at the sight of James standing so boldly before him. "Ah, Mr. Potter. How good of you to join us without that silly cloak of yours."

Damn. James thought to himself.

Voldemort nodded grimly, apparently not expecting a response and turned away from them momentarily, looking off at the opposite wall of the eerily empty platform, the scarlet train still lining one side. Shooting a confused look at Lily, she hesitantly walked towards James, fully expecting a curse to fly at them at any moment. But, none came.

"You are no doubt wondering why I have not killed you yet. Why you still live when I know that you have fought my followers so vehemently already during your time at Hogwarts. Why should I seemingly spare a mudblood and the foolish boy willing to sully his pure and noble blood?" He turned and began to pace before them, his eyes flashing red with passion. "Well I will gladly tell you."

"You have many faults. Countless and innumerable, surely. Yet from what I hear, I would be willing to look past them. To mercifully let you live because beneath the errors in your ways, you could provide an invaluable use to me. You are both talented, undeniably. You are eager and determined. Qualities that make any good soldier, no matter which side you are on. But your true value lies in the fact that no one doubts whose side you are on."

He stopped his pacing and turned to face the pair head on. James and Lily both gripped their wands fiercely, yet the idea of facing the most powerful dark wizard of their time made their beloved wands feel like little more than twigs.

"No one would doubt that you chose the losing side, even if you were to furtively change your loyalties and become a spy. If you do this–and do not even think about double crossing me, for Lord Voldemort always knows–but if you swear your loyalty to the right side, I will look past your… failures, I will even allow your youthful and naive relationship, and let you live."

"What do you say? A simple request for two spared lives. That is all I ask."

Lily scoffed and shook her head slightly. James still didn't respond, trying desperately to think of a way out of this.

Voldemort's narrow eyes flashed scarlet. "She laughs. She laughs when I have been so kind, but you, Potter… you know what I can offer. You have tasted power in your school days. I can offer you even more of the same glory. You have experienced the thrill of both regulated power and of unmanaged power–"

"When I was a bully, you mean?" James interrupted. Lily grabbed his arm as a warning.

"When you felt what it meant to approach your full potential. Your full influence!"

"Thanks, but I'll pass," James replied, his voice dragging with sarcasm.

"You dare defy me! You dare disregard my merciful offer–"

James suddenly raised his wand at the pillar behind Voldemort while simultaneously grabbing onto Lily's wrist and dragging her down into a crouch. The pillar exploded, debris flying in all directions, but Voldemort had expected something rash. Something foolish. He instantly fired back, though the deathly green curse flew just above their heads, singing the top of Lily's hair as she was pulled beneath its path.

Without waiting to see Voldemort's reaction, James lunged randomly to one side, dragging Lily with him and pulled the Invisibility Cloak over them both before jumping in another random direction right as a crater burned into the stone floor where they had been. James froze beneath the cloak with Lily, both of them lying uncomfortably on the ground, ignoring the pain in his stomach from landing on his side. He didn't dare to move a muscle in case the sound told Voldemort which direction he had leapt in while under the Cloak. Lily was breathing heavily beside him, her legs drawn up as tight as they could be.

"Do you really think that you can hide from me? It is only us here, there is nowhere to run," Voldemort said.

A pillar behind them exploded and they flinched from beneath the Cloak, though thankfully their terror held them at bay from releasing any sounds. Almost immediately following, something seemed to swoop low over them, as if casting them in shadow.

"That is a true Invisibility Cloak, Potter. Yet another value you could bring to my team. Your bravery would be rewarded, but not this blunt stupidity." Voldemort's voice had lost the soft tone, taking on a hard edge in his annoyance.

James tapped Lily lightly on the wrist and painfully slowly, they rose to their feet, still in a crouch, just as another pillar exploded from somewhere to their right. "Now," James whispered in her ear and they began to zig-zag towards the fireplace as curses were fired randomly above their head and at their feet. Though miraculously, none landed other than one catching the back end of James' trainer.

James scooped up a handful of floo powder from the container at the base of the fireplace and pushed Lily onto the logs before throwing down the powder and leaping to get one foot into the green flames as he began to spin away. The last sight that he glimpsed of Platform 9 ¾ was heavy stone debris falling in front of the fireplace, blocking the last exit out.

Far more abruptly than he could remember, the spinning sensation ended. James stumbled out of the fireplace, tripping over Lily and just managing to catch himself before falling face down on the glossed wooden floors.

"James!" His mother's worried cry instantly lifted from out of the crowds. Before he had a chance to take a breath, Euphemia slammed into his chest and wrapped him within her arms. "Oh James, you're okay!"

He sighed, the exhaustion slamming into him like the Knight Bus. "I'm okay."

"What happened? What took you so long? Remus said that you were going to be here ten minutes ago! We were worried sick and—"

"I know, I know, Mum," he said, cutting her off before she grew too hysterical. "I'm sorry, but I'm okay. We're okay."

She held him at arm's length and scanned him as if needing to assure herself of the fact with her own eyes. Then she turned to Lily and repeated the process all over again.

"What's been happening here?" James asked, rubbing one hand over his chin as Sirius, Remus, and Peter saw that he had arrived.

"Other than worrying that you were dead, you mean?" Remus asked.

"Yes, other than that."

Remus glared heartily at him, crossing his arms while Sirius filled him in. "We've sent all the non-injured people home with some of your Mum's spare potions for calming nerves and all that. Remus's parents are off checking on their friends now that they know he's safe. Peter's parents are still around here somewhere. The aurors sent a few extra people to help the injured and they're set up in the foyer, sending people home as soon as they've been checked and are cleared."

"But nothing from the Order?" James asked, his voice dropping.

"Nothing," Peter said.

"Odd." James turned to hide the fact that his heart had just dropped. "And where's my Dad?"

"I think he went off to the Ministry before we got back to make sure the aurors were aware and probably to yell at some officials for letting this happen," Sirius said nonchalantly.

"What happened to—"

"And Ria's family? Did someone tell them?" James asked instead, his eyes straying to Lily, now swarmed by his Mum, Dorcas, and Marlene.

"Yeah, one of the aurors left a few minutes ago," Remus said somberly.

"That's good, that's good." James nodded distractedly.

"So… are you going to tell us what kept you? You seem really shaken up," Peter asked.

James turned back towards his friends, his eyes wide. Shaken up was an understatement. Every nerve in his body was on edge, his heart was pounding with adrenaline, and his legs were so shaky that if he stood for too long, he would surely collapse. He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed heavily, trying to process what had happened himself. "We got stopped by Death Eaters while we were trying to get Ria out and then Voldemort came and offered us jobs as spies in exchange for our lives."

Remus blinked, stunned, and Peter gaped openly.

"What the hell?" Sirius cussed.

James sighed and began to explain the entire ordeal as quietly as he could, meanwhile Lily was doing the same thing for Marlene and Dorcas while Mrs. Potter went off to find a potion to clean the gash in the back of her head.

"Let's get out of this mess for a bit. You need to sit down," Dorcas announced, taking Lily by the hand and frog-marching her and Marlene upstairs, winding through the people still present. Silently, the four wizards followed close behind and the group found themselves safe within James' bedroom walls.