Every time Aria would finger his scars in astonishment, Regulus' body would tense and then shiver, sending electric tidal waves through his veins.
Finally, he placed his shirt down, covering his wounds. The pair sat in an awkward silence, before an...
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Aria wordlessly followed the sounds of Sirius' footsteps until, at last, he stopped. Before him stood a large, stoned wall. Aria hid in the nearest classroom, peering out of the doorway and watching him pace the hallway.
After three rounds of pacing, a large, oak door, similar to the entrance to the great hall appeared. Sirius looked from right to left, making sure no one was coming and he entered the room.
The room of requirements, Aria thought, remembering her sixteenth birthday spent in the secret room, but only people who need to hide something go in there.
Aria made way to enter the Come and Go room, however, the seal was quickly closing. In a quick motion, Aria was no longer in the deserted hallway of Hogwarts. She had managed to enter the room in time, allowing herself to come face to face with the Order of the Phoenix.
The room had antiqued mirrors all along the walls. There were pillars, shaped and carved, holding the ceiling. In the center of the room were wizards and witches alike, all shooting spells at a mechanical, wooden, mannequin.
James was first to see her and abruptly lowered his wand, signaling for the others to do the same.
"Um, what are you doing here," his paled complexion said, "It's dangerous in here, go before-"
"I know what this is," she caught him off, "some sort of 'club' you guys are in, a club that fights, fights against You Know Who"
The marauders were dumbstruck, standing still amongst other Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors.
"Dumbledore knows about it too, he runs it doesn't he?" she continued, "But the real question is; why did Sirius just get summoned from detention if you guys are just 'practicing'."
"That would be my doing, Miss Sterling" said the familiar voice of Dumbledore as he too, entered the room.
Students began to flee the room, one after the other, they were all gone until only her, the Marauders, lily, Marlene, Alice, Frank, Mary, Dorcas and Dumbledore were left.
"The Order of the Phoenix was summoned here tonight at precisely 8:30 pm to prepare for a mission" continued the professor.
"A mission? As in like against Voldemort?" she asked, trying to search the guilty expressions of her friends.
"Yes, Miss Sterling, against the Dark Lord," he began, "your dear friends were merely helping out the older students prepare for combat."
"Why is it, that all my friends have been recruited but me" she asked, a tint of hurt in her voice.
When Dumbledore did not speak immediately, Aria turned to face her friends.
"You are the daughter of well known death eaters." Marlene said confidently as Lily lightly slapped her leg.
"But who says I am a 'well known death eater'" Aria said, defensively.
"We just assumed-" Marlene was cut off.
"What Mar is trying to say," James cut in, "is that we were doing this to protect you."
"Oh don't give me that bullsh- nonsense" Aria corrected herself as she realized she was in the presence of the headmaster.
"It's true," Sirius chimed in, "If your parents find out that your on the opposing team, they'll disown you!"
Silence.
"Who says they'll find out?" Aria said as she began expanding on her idea, "When we're of age, we can wear masks, similar to the death eaters to protect our identity."
Silence.
"And-and we can continue these secret meetings and not tell anyone"
Silence.
"And I can stay-I can stay out of the photos, you know so no one can track me down. There will be no record of me joining the order!"
The silence was shattered. Soon, the room was buzzing with teens not so politely saying no to Aria's idea.
"THERE IS NO WAY YOU ARE GOING TO JOIN AND RISK YOUR LIFE" yelled James.
"YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN'T. THEY WILL FIND OUT, TRUST ME!" Sirius screamed.
"IT'S TOO DANGEROUS" Marlene said.
"I think it's a rather good idea." Said Lily, significantly more calm than the others.
"YOU WHAT?" the trio said in unison.
"I said; I think it's a rather good idea," Lily said, wrapping a loving arm around Aria, "Sirius was born into one of the most notoriously known death eater families and I didn't see any of you refusing his offer to join."
The room was once more flooded into silence.
"Look it's different with Sirius, he's more-" James started.
"What? Experienced? Because if you think Sirius is better at magic than Aria because he's a boy, you are strongly mistaken." Lily said, tightening her embrace around Aria.
"No, no, no," James said defensively, "I was going to say that Sirius' relationship with his family is far worse than Aria's."
"It doesn't matter guys," Aria began, "I want to join and that's my choice!"
Silence emitted the room once more before a familiar voice spoke up.
"If the girl wishes to join, it is her wish I must fulfill" said Dumbledore, crammed in a tiny corner, away from the buzzing teens.
"But sir!"
"No buts!" the grey-haired man said, "Welcome Aria to the Order of the Phoenix."
