twenty seven
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Sirius was screwed.
Sirius hated himself and he wanted nothing more than to be hit with the killing curse.
It was one mistake. One mistake. It was supposed to teach him a lesson. The slimy snake had to keep his big nose out of their business.
Sirius thought he was doing Remus a favor.
But Sirius was wrong.
"What's wrong with you, Sirius? He could've been killed! You're lucky you weren't expelled!"
Sirius groaned and rubbed at his red eyes. "I didn't know that would happen, James! I just wanted to teach him a lesson! You know he's been sticking his nose into our business!"
James groaned and grabbed Sirius by the shoulders. "How could you be so irresponsible, Sirius? Do you know how Remus feels right now? Snivellus could've died! And you know Remus would blame himself for the rest of his life!"
"HE SHOULD'VE MINDED HIS OWN BUSINESS THEN!" Sirius roared.
James glowered at his friend. "Don't raise your voice like you're not at fault, Sirius. What you did was wrong! It was wrong and you're lucky that Dumbledore didn't expel you."
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "I was helping us. Now Snivellus knows better than to interfere in our business! And I have detentions for life now, are you happy, James?"
James huffed in frustration and disappointment. "You weren't helping any of us! You were trying to settle a petty difference I thought we put behind us earlier this year! I won't be surprised if Snape doesn't go and tell everyone in Hogwarts! Then how will Moony feel, huh?"
Sirius scoffed. "He won't tell anyone! Dumbledore had him swear that he wouldn't! It doesn't matter anymore, James!"
James sighed in exasperation. "Sirius, just admit that you were wrong! Snape wouldn't have found out anyways -- we're always careful! It was reckless and you could've ruined Moony for life. Do you hear me, Sirius? For LIFE."
Sirius sat down on his bed turned away from James, incredibly annoyed and upset. James breathed out in annoyance, whispering, "Think it over, Sirius. When you're ready to apologize, I don't guarantee we'll be there."
Sirius sighed inaudibly, laying down and closing his eyes in frustration, pushing his tears back. He hoped it would all be better in the morning.
Unfortunately, it was not better in the morning. It seemed that the one person he hoped would not find out found out.
"Sirius, I don't understand. I thought you put your bullying antics behind you. How could you be so cruel?" said Rosie, looking at him with angry eyes.
"I didn't mean for it to happen! I just wanted to teach him to stay out of our business!" exclaimed Sirius, looking at the Gryffindor fireplace.
Rosie sighed. "He could have died, Sirius! Enemies or not, you can't be that reckless!"
"You don't think I know that by now? It's the only damn thing I've thought about the last 12 hours!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, Sirius."
Sirius groaned in frustration and put his hands in his hair frustratedly, tugging at his scalp.
Rosie exhaled and grabbed his hands, lowering them into his lap. "Don't do that, it's bad for your hair," she whispered, looking at his sad face. "Remus is very upset with you. They all are. I don't expect them to forgive you anytime soon."
Sirius scoffed, blinking back his tears. "Thanks for the words of encouragement, love."
Rosie grabbed his hands gently, saying, "I'm only telling you the truth. Sirius, you can't just expect them to forgive and forget this. I'm still very angry at you but I know...I know I'm the only one you have left. So I'll stay with you. I can't leave you alone."
Sirius looked at her angrily. "You're not the only one I have left!" he said hotly. "I have...I have...I have no one," he whispered, looking down solemnly at his realization. He truly had no one except for Rosie now.
Rosie frowned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll always have me...I know you didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I know you're sorry. But it's not my forgiveness you need, it's theirs."
Sirius nodded sadly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He was grateful for Rosie. If he didn't have her, he would truly have no one.
For the rest of the morning, Rosie allowed Sirius to cry on her shoulder and gave him the courage he needed to apologize to his brothers. Unfortunately, Rosie was right, and they weren't ready for his apology at all.
For the next few months, Sirius spent most of his time with Rosie and occupied all of his free time with apologizing to his brothers. He couldn't stand being in his own dorm room, so he slept with Rosie instead, much to the dismay of her other roommates. The two ate all their meals together, studied together, and played games together. By the time his brothers forgave him, Rosie and Sirius were inseparable and the latter had matured a great deal.
Eventually, after a few months, the other Marauders forgave Sirius, unable to cope with his absence anymore -- they were brothers, after all. Sirius was over the moon and was glad to finally have his brothers back.
6th year went by quickly, far too quickly for anyone's liking. As people matured and learned, darker forces became stronger and more powerful. By 7th year, it was a time of crisis for everyone, and Hogwarts became more than just a school to many. For Rosie, her boyfriend, and best friends, it was a time of growth and discovery. It was their last year of school, and they knew to make it count.
"Well, our schedules are just about the same," Remus said, observing the schedule McGonagall had just handed him.
"Shocker," said James sarcastically, earning a smack from Remus.
"Play nice, boys," Peter said, a grin on his face. Rosie and Lily smiled, looked across to each other, and shook their heads at their playfulness. The Marauders definitely matured but were still as childish as small children.
Rosie looked at the bottom of her schedule, expecting and receiving a note similar to the one from last year. She immediately noticed the differences right away. The message was longer, much longer, and the writing seemed almost commanding. She shook away her thoughts and read the note.
Rosie, lessons will resume on the same schedule. Be warned, it is going to be much more difficult, and I'm sure you know why. We will be focusing more on Defense Against The Dark Arts and various spells. You will still be taught more Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms as they are still important and necessary, however, they will only be held once a week. Your assessments will be more frequent.
I understand that you want to tell your friends about reason behind these lessons, but the time will come soon. Until then, they should only know that you are taking advanced classes. The time will come soon, I promise. Until then,
Albus Dumbledore.
Rosie sighed, she knew the reasons why they were getting harder, but she didn't know if she could handle NEWTs and the lessons. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head side to side to relax her tense muscles -- it was times like this she wished her parents were still alive so she could talk to them. Sirius noticed her stress immediately and turned to her with worry.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Just worried about this year and our NEWTs," Rosie lied, offering a small smile to her concerned boyfriend.
Sirius smiled and scooted closer to her. "You've got absolutely nothing to worry about, you'll do great. You always do." He took her hand and rubbed it in his. Rosie sighed and leaned on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Sirius."
"Have you guys seen the Daily Prophet recently? It's filled with attacks and death, it's sickening," said James after picking up his own newspaper, looking down at the filled section of missing witches and wizards.
"It is what it is," Remus sighed, everyone nodding in upset agreement.
"Have there been more muggle attacks?" Lily asked James, concerned for her muggle family.
James inspected the newspaper, answering, "Not that they've written."
Lily sighed in relief, picking up a buttered slice of toast.
"Any names we know?" asked Sirius, looking up from his own breakfast. The others looked up at James as well.
"Fortunately, no."
Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Not even my parents?" asked Sirius hopefully.
Rosie snorted and playfully hit her boyfriend.
"No, Sirius," James laughed.
"Darn."
"Any ministry infiltrations?" Rosie asked.
"Nope."
"Deaths in general?" Remus inquired.
"No, but a half-blood has been hospitalized in St. Mungos,"
"Well then, I'd say that today wasn't bad. Fortunately, no one died," Remus said, everyone nodding along.
--
Lily and Rosie walked alongside each other, Marlene and Dorcas tagging along behind them. Together, they walked to their Charms class. The usually bustling hall was quiet and seemed almost abandoned -- Rosie didn't know if it was because it was already her 7th year of walking down the same corridor or if they were incredibly late.
"Being Head Girl sucks," said Lily, taking Rosie out of her thoughts.
"I'd only imagine, and with James too," Rosie said, nudging Lily's arm. Lily rolled her eyes and humphed.
"Some would say that it's meant to be," Marlene added on, putting her head on Lily's shoulder.
"Fate, if you will?" Dorcas piped in.
"Shut up," said Lily, shoving Marlene off her shoulder.
"C'mon Lily, we all know that you fancy him, and it's no question that he fancies you," Marlene said, Dorcus and Rosie nodding in agreement.
"I do not fancy him," Lily testified.
"Really?" said Rosie, crossing her arms.
Lily groaned in frustration, her face turning red. "Well, it's just a tiny, tiny, tiny crush," she admitted.
The other girls squealed loudly at the confession. "See!"
"Oh shut it."
After their boring Charms class was finally over, they parted ways as Rosie and Lily headed to the Library. On their way to the library, they saw a group of students - mostly 6th and 7th years - crowding around the announcements board.
"What's that all about?" Rosie wondered aloud, her and Lily stopping in their tracks.
"Don't know, let's go see," said Lily, grabbing Rosie's arm and pulling her towards the crowd.
"'Apparation Lessons,'" Rosie read out loud, her eyes scanning the sign-up sheet underneath the note that said 'Lessons come at a fee of 12 Galleons.' She read many names from different houses, starting with - of course - Sirius Black and James Potter. Underneath their names were Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, Remus' neat handwriting drastically different from Sirius' elegant cursive and James' quick signature.
"Ohh. We should probably sign up," Lily told Rosie. Rosie nodded and looked further at the instructions and rules.
"Says we have to be of age by the time of lessons," she said, looking at the paper for any note of when lessons started.
"Well, I'm 17 now, can you still do it?" Lily asked
Rosie. Rosie stayed quiet for a few seconds until she found when lessons started and then replied, "I turn 17 this year before the lessons start, so I guess?"
"Great! Let's sign up!" With that, Lily and Rosie took the quill next to the paper and wrote their names. After signing up, they continued to the library where they would spend the rest of their free period.
--
"You asked to see me, Professor?"
"Ah, Rosie, take a seat."
Rosie walked towards the large chair in front of Dumbledore's desk and sank into the chair.
"I know that you do not have lessons today, and you do not, but it's right that I explain a little bit into what's happening." Rosie nodded as he continued.
"He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, or Lord Voldemort, was not always as he was. He was a student at Hogwarts, just like you. Of course, things took a turn and he entered the world of dark magic. He is a very skilled wizard and hasn't failed to bring together many people who share the same views as him. That wizardry should only be kept between purebloods and of that sort."
"Sorry, but why are you telling me this, Professor?" Rosie asked, politely interrupting him.
"You will know soon," he answered simply.
After a few seconds of silence, Rosie cleared her throat and asked the question she'd been desperate to know for months. "Why did the Death Eaters kill my parents?"
"Because your parents had something that they wanted, but they couldn't find it. Sadly they still took off with your parents' lives," Dumbledore answered solemnly.
Rosie felt her eyes sting with tears. They had died for nothing. "Where is the something that they wanted? Was it in the house?" she asked Dumbledore, leaning toward him in interest.
"Yes, Rosie. It was in the house, and luckily you found it and took it before they could ever discover it," Dumbledore said, beginning to pace around the room.
"What is it?" she asked, knowing that it had to have been in the box sitting underneath her bed,
Dumbledore paused his pacing and turned to face her. "You gave it to me," he said.
"The letter to Asha? Why was that important?" Rosie furrowed her brows, wondering why the contents of the letter were so important that her parents had been killed for it.
"That is of no matter right now, but what does matter is that it's in safekeeping," Dumbledore dismissed, sitting back in his chair.
Rosie groaned in exasperation. Why did Dumbledore have to be so damn secretive? Her parents died for it, for Merlins sake! "Will you ever tell me, Professor?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice.
"One day," he said simply. "Now, when I asked you last year if you were willing to die, this is why," Dumbledore paused and took a breath, "Rosie I would like for you to join the Order of the Phoenix."
Rosie's brows furrowed. "The Order of the Phoenix? What's that?"
"It's a hidden society that I started a few years ago when Lord Voldemort first returned to England. We secretly fight against these dark wizards to make sure that they don't harm anyone, and we bring them to the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore explained. Rosie nodded and understood the concept, figuring that it was incredibly dangerous if he had to ask if she was willing to die. It was almost like the CIA -- a muggle organization she'd learned about while watching a documentary with Lily.
"What would I do, if I joined?" Rosie asked, although knowing that there was an obvious answer a millisecond after the question left her mouth.
"Why you would fight, of course," Dumbledore answered, a smile on his face. "It is up to you to join, I understand as it's very dangerous," he continued, his smile disappearing into a serious expression.
Rosie nodded, knowing that she didn't truly have an option; his words were merely ones of faux comfort. "Is that why you chose me, in fifth year, to take the lessons?"
"Yes. We knew that there were others who could, but we chose you because we knew that you're a fighter, Rosie," Dumbledore answered, further elaborating into their decision.
"How did you know that I would do it and that I'm a fighter?" Rosie asked, still confused by his words.
"It was written in your prophecy."
Rosie furrowed her brows at the word. Her prophecy? "My prophecy?"
"Since the moment you were born, you were destined to help us with the battle against Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore made clear. Rosie nodded but couldn't wrap her head around the thought. Why was she destined to help with the battle against Lord Voldemort? Out of the thousands of witches and wizards, why her?
"Rosaline Andriana Winters. Rosaline Warrior Winters," Professor McGonagall said from Dumbledore's doorway, in the process of walking towards the two. Rosie whipped her head around, startled at the Professor's sudden presence.
"So, Miss Winters, will you join The Order?" Dumbledore asked one last time, making Rosie turn back to face him again. She pondered over her decision before finally opening her mouth and saying her answer.
"Yes."
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edited: 06/07/2020