⚯͛ Unfortunate - Remus Lupin ⚯͛

57.

"Hey."

"Hey what," Maeve crunched on a bit of toast.

"Where are you going to stay after graduation?" Remus asked hesitantly, drinking some coffee.

"I...I probably should have thought about it by now, but I haven't," Maeve admitted.

"Would you wanna stay with me? You know, at my parent's house?" Remus asked, before adding quickly, "Only until we can afford a place of our own, of course."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" She asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Maybe..." He trailed off, smiling shyly at her, "So, will you?"

"Of course, silly," She kissed him on the lips happily.

"Brilliant," He grinned, kissing her again.

"Order meeting, now."

Remus and Maeve looked up at a very out-of-breath James.

"Right now?" Remus asked.

"Uh, yeah, come on," James hurried out of the hall again.

"Where's everyone else?" Maeve asked as they caught up.

"On their way to the meeting, it's in Dumbledore's office," James said breathlessly.

"What's this even about, James?" Remus asked.

"I don't know!" James stopped for a second, breathing heavily, "Merlin, I really need to do some more cardio."

"Yeah, you're really unfit," Maeve said, raising an eyebrow.

They got to the office just as Sirius got there from the other direction.

"Alright?" He nodded to them, before muttering the passcode ('curly wurly', whatever that meant).

They walked into the office to see the rest of the Hogwarts students who had been recruited in the Order already standing/sitting round Dumbledore's desk.

"Ah, please come in," The Professor gestured them to come into the room.

"What's this about, Sir?" Maeve asked, as people let her into the front because she was one of the shortest of the group.

"I have two very important things to discuss with you all," Dumbledore began, scanning them for a moment, before continuing, "First: because of the severity of the increase of murders, Maeve's inside information on Lord Voldemort's dark plans, and the discovery of what Peter Pettigrew did the Ministry thought it best to invest in the Order of the Phoenix and make it an official Ministry funded organisation."

"That's amazing," Lily said, everyone else nodding in agreement.

"Really, the Ministry had no option but to invest in the resistance against Voldemort, he was becoming too powerful," Dumbledore nodded, before putting his hand up, "However, there is - of course - a catch."

"What sort of catch?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Every member of the Order of the Phoenix is required to be a fully trained auror."

Damn it, Maeve thought.

"Damn it," Sirius voiced.

"This shouldn't be too big of a problem," Dumbledore reassured, "I know that typically, the Auror training programme takes three years, but these are very unique circumstances. We already have leading Aurors on our side, who can hopefully train all of you substantially enough over the next few months, it will be intense but unfortunately it is necessary. All should be fine. Any questions?"

"So...because it's a funded organisation now, is the Ministry actually paying us?" James asked a bit dumbly.

"That's implied, yes," Dumbledore said, his eyes shining in amusement, "And, for all of your hard work in protecting our community, you will get paid wages, if that was what you were enquiring, Mr Potter."

"Thank you, Sir," James smiled at his feet.

"Secondly, I have conceived a theory. It's just far-fetched enough that I'm almost sure there is truth in it," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his cushioned chair, "Voldemort wanted to know what we were doing about the horcruxes when you were held captive, right, Maeve?"

Maeve tried not to wince at the painful memories, "Yes, Sir."

"Horcruxes are items that someone can put a little bit of their soul into. It can help in someone becoming immortal. They can only be created if one has purposely murdered someone. I have reason to believe that Lord Voldemort has made his own horcruxes," Dumbledore told them.

"God, that man is really awful," Lily shuddered.

"He's less of a man, more of a monster," Maeve said indifferently.

"How do you destroy horcruxes, Sir?" James asked.

Finally, he was asking a smart question.

"Horcruxes can only be destroyed by very destructive and powerful magic processes," Dumbledore told them, "For example, fiendfyre or exposure to basilisk venom."

"So...if we destroy his horcruxes we can kill him?" Maeve realised.

"Exactly."

"So...do we know how many horcruxes You-Know-Who has?" Marlene asked.

"Or, do we even know what they could be?" Lily asked.

"No to both of those questions," Dumbledore said regretfully, "But it is now our job to find the answers. Find out how to end Voldemort, and the extreme danger he poses."

"Brilliant," James breathed.

"So, is that what our job is after we're trained?" Alice asked.

"It will be a part of the organisation's aims and intentions, yes. This is along with protection programs, prevention initiatives to avoid attacks and missions to imprison the dark wizards we are fighting," Dumbledore told them.

"That sounds amazing, honestly," James nodded.

"It does," Maeve agreed, "Is there any way we can get more information on these horcruxes, Sir?"

"There is one book. It was removed from the restricted section of the school library when I became Headmaster, but I believe Voldemort might have read it when he was here," Dumbledore told them, pulling out a book from a draw in his desk, "Here it is: 'Secrets of the Darkest Art'."

"Sounds like a cheerful read," Sirius said.

"Quite," Dumbledore chuckled, "Does anyone want to hold onto this?"

"I will," Lily said, taking the book from Dumbledore's grasp.

"Take good care of it, Miss Evans," Dumbledore instructed.

"Of course, Sir," She nodded, holding the book in her hands as if it was an item of treasure.

"So, after we graduate...that's when everything begins," Frank said quietly, obviously trying to process it still.

"Yes," Dumbledore said gently, "If anyone wants to back out, they are, of course, allowed. You should only do this if you are fully committed. Anyone feeling as if they might stop?"

No one said anything.

"That's settled then," Dumbledore said, smiling.

This was it. The start of the rest of their lives.