The New Marauder

Six

Albus Dumbledore sat uncomfortably in his chair in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. He had been working through the enormous stack of admission forms the Ministry demanded to see while taking a break from looking over all the reports he had received from The Order. He knew why the Ministry wanted the admission forms, but first, he must remove any Muggle-born students from its registry. It's not that he doesn't want them to attend Hogwarts; it's that he's holding them at bay for as long as he can so they would remain protected from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
As the snores echoed softly from the portraits adorning the walls, the quaint tunes chimed from the lively trinkets dancing upon the shelves, and the murmurs of the Sorting Hat composing next year's tune whispered in the air, he remained hard at work. Turning page after page, meticulously considering each name, his unwavering dedication persisted, all his efforts going to shielding young minds from the imminent danger they would be in if Voldemort's reign continues.
That is until the fireplace lit up with towering vibrant green flames that light the office in an eerie manner, and a man with floor-length black robes and hair so greasy shampoos everywhere are terrified of him.
Dumbledore took his time to examine the frantic state his young charge was in as he paced across the room playing with his fingers. "Ah, Severus, shouldn't you b-"
"He's going there tonight." Severus almost shouted as if in pain.
"How does he know where they are?" Dumbledore asks, standing up with concern written on his face.
Severus shakes his head in panic. "All we know is that one of their friends betrayed them; he never said who."
Out of all the people in the world, Albus Dumbledore would have never guessed it to be one of their friends. He might have cast the charm to keep them from harm, but after James and Lily refused him as Secret Keeper, he begged them not to speak a word of who they chose a secret and not tell anyone, even himself. Either way, after Sirius left to find Joanna, Dumbledore has his suspicions on who they had chosen; he just hopes they weren't too lost in the dark to actually betray them.
"I need to leave at once. You are to remain here until I return, do you understand Severus?" Dumbledore stated, walking to his fireplace, grabbing a handful of silvery powder.

With Charlie now out of the room, Saranna lowers her wand, but her cold, calculating eyes remain fixed on James Potter. "Are you done being stupid, or do I need to give you another lesson?"
"You don't have to be so cruel," James mutters, standing wobbly to his feet and walking to sit next to his wife.
Saranna rolls her eyes and follows, sitting in Charlie's recliner. "There are many reasons why I am so 'cruel.' And right now your presence here is endangering the safety of one of them."
"Why are you here? I mean no offense, I'm just genuinely curious," Lily asks her softly, eyeing the Auror badge whileqw trying to keep tensions low.
"That is a long story," Saranna laughs at the memory of first coming here. "To sum it up, Charlie Swan was classified as a No-Maj when he was brought here from London as a baby. Because of that this past year we have gone through hell and back to make sure he was re-classed as a Squib." Saranna starts to explain but pauses when she meets Lily Potter questioning gaze. "I don't know if you know our laws here on this side of the pond, but we practice total segregation from the non-magical populace. Meaning no marriages or friendships can happen between-"
"Witches and wizards are not allowed to interact with Muggles, period?" Lily gasps. "What if someone's children—"
"We have good reasons for our laws to be in place," Saranna growls. "For one, it lowers the possibilities of someone trying to rise to power because of certain beliefs." Saranna gives them a knowing look. "Anyways, due to the circumstances that brought Orion to the US, and Charlie's Reclassification, mine and Theo's presence in Orion's life is part of the stipulations for him to live here with his family instead of an orphanage. Essentially, we are responsible for him so long as he remains in Charlie's care. We are to make sure he gets the training and care the MACUSA has deemed appropriate."
"What about Hogwarts?" James sputters. "He will—"
"Attend Hogwarts as he was meant to unless the Ministry or Ministry assigned protectors deem it unsafe for him to attend. And even then, the MACUSA will be sending delegates, myself or Theo, to accompany Orion while out of the country to act at his temporary guardians." Saranna sighs deeply. "Look, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you have to understand how seriously our Ministry is taking this case. We tried to keep his identity under wraps, but word got back to my boss about who he is. We think it was Charlie's ex-wife who leaked it when she filed for divorce and primary custody of their kid, but this is the way it is."
"I'm trying to understand," Lily nods. "But what I don't understand is why all of the protection and secrecy."
"Because of his family." Saranna looks to the ceiling, trying to think of how to explain it without giving too much information away. "The Black family is not just known in Britain. There was a time long ago when one member of that family helped Grindelwald lay waste to almost half of New York. And now with all but one member siding with an even greater threat in Britain, MACUSA wants to ensure that there will be no possibilities of another incident like New York. In addition to that, they also want to ensure an innocent child's life by protecting him from those specific followers crossing the sea and searching him out just because of what his father was doing."
"That's insane; no one has heard from Sirius in over a year now," James says, rubbing his temples.
"Not directly, no. I shouldn't be telling you this, but before Sirius went dark around six months ago there were reports of a lot of Death Eaters and Pureblood believers that have gone missing or have been found dead. And the chatter that MACUSA had gathered has his name all over it," Saranna explains grimly. "MACUSA does not mess around, they will  do anything and everything to keep Magic a secret."
"This makes no sense; how do you guys know all of this, yet our Ministry has been in shambles?" Lily asks, rubbing her hand on James' thigh to ease the anger coming off of him.
"I cannot answer that, I've already said too much on the matter." Saranna shakes her head.
"Can't or won't—"
"Anna!" All heads turn to the doorway as Orion runs in wearing nothing but a pair of briefs and jumps into Saranna's waiting arms, not caring about the two people sitting on the couch across from her. "Anna, no jamas." He yells out excitedly.
"No jamas?" Saranna asks, pulling him in close, taking in the lavender smell left from his bubble bath. "I don't think that's right. Where's Uncle Charlie and Theo?"
"They fighting'." Orion giggles happily, burying himself into one of his favorite people.
"Oh, they are, are they?" Saranna smiles, looking down at her curly-headed boy. "You know you're going to have to put jamas on though, right? We can't have a naked boy run around all night."
Orion's grey and teal eyes meet hers, and she almost gives up until she feels the warmth of a spell wash over her. In a matter of seconds, Orion was giggling wildly while Lily and James tried to hold back their own laughs.
"He still does that?" Lily says through a soft chuckle.
"Yes, it's not the reason why Theo and I were assigned to him until he is of age and can legally consent to MACUSA's laws." Saranna answers, not taking her eyes off the boy in her lap. "The older he gets, the more magic he seems to use. Mostly, it's been just color-changing charms, but when one of us uses a new spell around him, he picks up on it and will try to do it himself."
The loud bark of laughter James lets out startles not only the two women but Orion as well, causing him to jump. "Sorry." James apologizes once he realized he scared his nephew. "It's just his mother was the same way, or so our parents told us. She had what Muggles call an eidetic memory; everything she saw, she could replicate after a few attempts. Got better though when we hit Hogwarts, and she had a wand; she was the top student of her year in Ravenclaw, Prefect in the fifth year, and Quidditch Captain and Head Girl in Seventh."
"She was amazing; it was always funny when she put you and Sirius in your places." Lily laughed, remembering their Hogwarts days.
"Who you?" Orion asked shyly, peeking his head out from Saranna's neck.
"They are friends of Uncle Charlie." Saranna answers quickly, giving the two a look.
"They stay?"
"No, buddy, they have to go home soon," Saranna answers just as Charlie and Theo run into the room, disheveled and out of breath. Looking at the clock, she notices how late it is and lets out a tired sigh of her own. "Okay, bud, how about we get you in pajamas and off to bed."
"Candy?" Orion asks softly, giving her his pouty eyes.
"How about a bedtime story and cuddles, and tomorrow we will eat candy," Saranna suggests, trying  her best not to give in to him.
"Kay." He replies through a yawn.
Holding him tightly, Saranna stands to her feet and moves to stand next to Theo. "Handle them, make sure they know to keep their distance," she mutters under her breath, not commenting on his pink hair and beard, before taking Orion back up the stairs.
"On it, Cap," he calls after her, still a bit out of breath.
"You're still here?" Charlie asks them as he sits down in his recliner. "Thought she would have run you off by now."
"She was just explaining things," Lily says, taking James' hand in hers.
"So you understand that you can't come back the same way you came today, then?" Theo asks to make sure everyone is on the same page.
"How are we supposed to visit?" James asks, furrowing his brow.
"You don't," Charlie huffs, picking up the beer he left on the table.
"You can't expect us—"
"Just until everything in your country is settled," Theo interrupts James quickly to avoid another fight. "Maybe you should keep to Britain. After your government has everything under control, you will need to contact the Auror Office in Seattle before coming to the US. They will reach out to us and we can work something out."
"Can we at least write and send gifts?" Lily asks quietly.
Theo looks to Charlie for an answer, but deep down, Theo already knows the answer. Sirius promised to keep Charlie updated through letters, yet other than the one left in the folder locked in his gun safe, Charlie hasn't heard a word from his brother. Perhaps these people don't know about the promise he made, but regardless, it still hurts to hear more updates about his brother from Saranna than Sirius himself.
"I can't stop you from sending anything, but if you drop off the face of the earth or just stop contact without a good reason, then don't expect us to come looking for you," Charlie says, getting up and stretching. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to check on Orion, then go to bed. Don't be here when I wake up." He warns, leaving Theo to escort them out.
Putting on his protective uncle mask, Theo takes a moment to fully examine the two people sitting on the couch. The man leans forward with his head in his hands, while the woman next to him looks lost and in pain.
"Sorry about all this crassness, but you have to understand where we are coming from," Theo begins.
"We understand enough," Lily replies, reaching up to rub soothing circles on her husband's back. "As we had said many times tonight, we had just hoped to catch a glimpse of him. To make sure he is safe and loved."
"I just didn't expect it to hurt this much," James whispers, staring a hole in the carpet.
Theo nods his head solemnly, understanding the depth of their emotions. He knows how much they love that little boy, and if Orion were ripped away from him just as he was to these two people, Theo doesn't know what he would do. He just knows there would be bloodshed in the search to get him back.
"Time will help it hurt less," Theo assures them not knowing if it were true or not. "I just want you to know that he has two Aurors and a community of witches and wizards here to protect him. Not to mention, our Ministry has thrown every protection spell at this house and the Reservation, so you shouldn't worry about him."
Theo turns to go into the kitchen to retrieve their wands. As he walks into the living room, an idea pops into his head. Moving over to the wall, he plucks a small frame holding one of the last photos he had taken of Orion from the wall and returns to the living room to see the two adults standing to their feet. Without a word, he holds the wands out to them along with the photo.
"What's this?" James asks, taking the frame out of his hand.
"Orion had just caught his first fish, he was so happy he demanded a picture to be taken." Theo explains. "I have another copy somewhere around here, but I thought you guys might want something to take with you just in case...." Theo trails off leaving the words unspoken.
"Thank you," Lily smiles through the tears threatening to spill from her vibrant green eyes. "We should go, James." She says, taking her husband's hand.
"Just remember—"
"We know. Thank you," James cuts him off, holding the picture up.
After Theo gives them a nod, their bodies turn into a swirl of matter, and a loud crack rings throughout the room.