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Recruiting


The next Hogsmeade Weekend was to be held on March 29th, just two days after James’s fifteenth birthday - which also happened to be the full moon. James sent off a letter to Sirius detailing the information about the trip, requesting that he let them know if he was coming and to meet them at the Hog’s Head on the 29th around eleven in the morning. They would be there with any and all who were interested in joining what James had come to start referring to as The Order of the Phoenix, after the words that Sirius had written in his letter.

They began their recruiting immediately.

Frank Longbottom was, as expected, the first to agree to join. In fact, Frank was just as passionate about the idea as James and Sirius were. “It’s about bloody time someone does something like this!” he said, leaning into the huddle ‘round the table in Gryffindor common room. “If they won’t have us, we’ll fight on our own, you lot are right. It shouldn’t matter how old we are, if we’re willing and able - and we’re bloody able!”

“Count me in, too,” whispered Ali Prewitt, who sat next to him, “Girls are just as capable of fighting as you boys are and I’m not going to stand back and let you lot fight without me. It’s my friends and my family that are in danger from him as much as it is yours.”

Ali turned out to be quite the little agent, too, as she immediately turned around and recruited Marlene and Annalee McKinnon, Emmaline Vance, Pandora Jenkins (who came with a grudging Xenophilius Lovegood), and several other girls she knew including, much to James’s dismay, both Maryrose Jenkins and Lily Evans.

Andy Woodhouse, Jackson Maw, Tobias Clement, Carly Shaw, McKenna Alliston, and Meg Johnson were all on board when approached for the idea, too, and Meg told Jessica Abbott and Marty Brown from Hufflepuff about it, and Pandora told Padamar Turin who told her brother Ian, who wanted to bring his friends Jasper Odair and Breanne Gemini.

The most shocking of all was when Harry Warbeck came over to James one evening in the Great Hall and whispered, “I have someone who wants to come to the meeting about the resistance you want to start. But he wants to meet with you in private.”

James looked surprised, “Alright. But not alone…” he looked at Frank, “Oi. Longbottom. Come with me?”

Frank nodded and the two of them went with Harry into the entrance hall, down the stairs into the dungeons and ‘round the corner toward the boat landings. When they stepped into the underground cove, there was a boy standing on the pier, watching the boats floating on the water, moored all around. James started over confidently - until the boy turned around and James’s eyes landed on the green and silver tie ‘round the boy’s neck. James froze.

“It’s alright, Potter,” Harry said. “This is Alabastar Jackson. He’s in my year and he’s alright.”

Alabastar smiled, “I don’t bite, Potter.” He took a few steps forward, extending his hand to James. James hesitated before shaking it. “I know you think all Slytherins are evil, but I’m not like the others. And I’m not the only one that’s not, either.”

James stared at him warily.

“Al wants to help fight You Know Who,” Harry said.

James asked, “Do you? Or are you a spy trying just to infiltrate our group?”

“Voldemort killed my parents, my sister, my brother, and destroyed my house. He killed my uncle and two of my cousins. My aunt and I are all that’s left and we both despise Voldemort with every fiber of our beings,” Alabastar replied.

James wondered why he hadn’t heard about it - about Alabastar Jackson’s family being murdered. It seemed something as massive as nearly an entire family being killed would’ve made its way through the school.

This wonderment must’ve been evident on his face for Alabastar said, “Nobody gives a damn when it’s a Slytherin whose family’s been killed. They assume they were asking for it, assume they were working for the Dark Lord and therefore deserved what they got. Snape’s mum’s the same way. Nobody’s been talking about her being dead. Nobody cares about Slytherins.”

James’s mouth went rather dry at this - and he said, “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

James took a deep breath and looked at Frank. “What do you think, mate?” he asked.

Frank nodded, “I think he wants to fight, Potter.”

James turned back to Alabastar, “We’re meeting at the Hog’s Head on the 29th. At eleven. We’ll see you there.”

Alabastar nodded. “I’ll be there.”




HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’M SHOUTING THIS AT YOU SO IT IS ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS WITH MANY MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN A COUPLE WEEKS!!!!!!!! I’M GOING TO KISS YOU A HUNDRED TIMES!!!!!!!! MAYBE EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!
Alright my wrist is tired from all those exclamation points and capital letters. You get the idea. I’m still shouting it in my heart though. Welcome to being fifteen! I wish so much I could be there with you right now - it’s absolutely killing me to be so bloody far apart from you. Every night I dream of you, and I think I’ll wake up and find you there, hugging me, with your face up in my fur like you always do but you’re not there. I miss your scratchy jumpers and your stupid hair. I miss your smell. I even miss that bloody shack with all it’s dust and drafts!
I’d be alright with it if you hogged all the bed and left me but an inch of space to sleep upon - you know, a one-arse-cheek-on-the-mattress-one-arse-cheek-off sort of situation.
I really just miss every bit of you there is. I’m so very glad for today, the day you were born, because even if I was only four months old at the time, it changed my entire life.
Thank Merlin for you, Moony.
I love you to the stars.
Sirius.






Remus hugged the letter to his chest as he sat in the dormitory, pressing his nose to the parchment, catching the faintest scent of Sirius Black… He wished it was stronger.

James came bursting into the room, Peter not far behind, carrying a sack of treats he’d knicked from the kitchens. The boys had got the desks down from the ceiling and pushed them together and across them lay a plethora of parchments with all the plans and details they’d collected for the meeting in Hogsmeade, an ever growing mess of writing and drawings and collected notes… Peter pushed this all aside to make way for the sweets and he stacked them high on the desktop. “Look at this - the house elves made a chocolate-chocolate cake for you!” he said, “With chocolate chips on top!” He grinned happily at his crowning achievement, holding out the cake for Remus to see. Across the top of it, scrawled out in lime green frosting, was HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY MASTER LUPIN! But the Rs were backwards, as was the Y and LUPIN was written much smaller at the bottom because the elf that had written it had nearly run out of room. But it was a delightful cake and it made Remus smile.

“Are you certain you don’t want us to get the whole common room going for your birthday? You know the Gryffindors are always up for a good party!” James said, eyes aglow.

“No,” Remus replied, and he reached out a finger to steal a sweep of frosting from the side of the cake, “I like it better just as us.”




It was 14 March when Snuffles went missing from the Potter house.

Charlus Potter stood on the back steps staring out across the field toward the woods that obscured his view of the village, wondering where the shaggy beast had gone. “SNUFFLES!” he called into the dark. “SNUFFLES IT’S TIME TO COME IN!” but the dog didn’t come.

It was close to ten o’clock at night, he’d been in the backyard, waiting, calling since eight, and Dora Potter wrapped a shawl around her arms and stepped out behind her husband, putting a gentle hand on his shoulders. “Darling, it’s time to come inside.”

Charlus stared off.

“He will come back when he’s ready, love,” she whispered, “He came back this time, didn’t he?”

“I wish he wouldn’t go,” Charlus replied heavily.

“I know,” Dora replied. “I reckon he has some sort of canine business to attend to.”

Charlus sighed and he put down the bowl of dog food he’d been holding, right on the edge of the patio. “Just in case he gets hungry,” he explained, and they went inside, Charlus glancing over his shoulder into the dark.

But the next morning the bowl was just as full as it was when Charlus had put it down.




“Mr. Potter. A word.” McGonagall’s voice was crisp. They’d just finished their Transfiguration lesson and the fourth year Gryffindors were about to leave the room, their things all packed, when she’d called for James to stay behind.

James waved Remus and Peter on and Lily glanced over her shoulder as she ducked out the door, pulling it closed behind her, leaving James alone with McGonagall. He stood by his desk, his bookbag ‘round his shoulders.

McGonagall clasped her hands together behind her back and stared down at James through her spectacles, her mouth quirked with what looked to James like a bit of disappointment. He’d had several nightmares since their fight in her office on the 2nd, all about Minerva McGonagall telling him what a disappointment he was. He always woke up feeling awful, but reminding himself that what he was doing was important - and one day she’d see that and perhaps she’d be proud of him once again when she did. Now, she stared at him that way, though, and he felt like a horrible little toad - like a bad boy stepping out of line.

“Yes, Professor?” he asked.

“I have spoken to Headmaster Moody about what you’ve said - about starting your own Resistance. He agrees it is a very dangerous, and terrible idea, what you’ve had. People are likely to be killed.” McGonagall paused, “And in light of that, and in the name of wishing to keep you protected -- We’ve heard the rumors about a secret meeting at the Hog’s Head to be held during the next Hogsmeade weekend, Mr. Potter, and… as a result… in order to prevent this meeting from occurring… we’ve decided to cancel all the remaining Hogsmeade weekends for the term.”

James stared at her.

McGonagall stared back. “It’s for your own safety, Potter, for your own good! And the good of all the others that are involved!”

James shrugged, “Alright. Cancel the Hogsmeade Weekends. That’s alright.” James started to back away, “Is that all you wanted? To tell me you’ve cancelled Hogsmeade weekend?”

“And to warn you against doing this thing,” she said.

James shook his head, “Professor, I told you. You can’t stop us. We’ll just find another way to meet is all.”

“Mr. Potter, why must you insist on --”

“On fighting You Know Who?” he asked, interrupting her. She looked surprised by the interruption. Few students dared speak when Minerva McGonagall was speaking. Her lips went very tight and her jaw very stiff. Of course it would be James Potter that did it, she thought. Of course it would. With an ego and a confidence like he had, it made no sense that it would be anyone else. James continued, “We must insist because it’s what we believe in and Minnie, you’re the very one who taught us to stand up for what we believe in. You and Dumbledore and Moody and every other professor that has taught us well and true at this school.” He shrugged, “I should think you’d be proud that we want to do good in the world.”

“I am proud of that aspect,” she said thickly, “But Potter, I don’t want to see you get yourself killed.”

James shrugged, “There’s worse things that could happen if I don’t fight him, Professor, that’s all.”

He left without being dismissed.




“We’ve got to figure out an alternative to the Hog’s Head,” James said that night in the dormitory, pacing before the desks.

“Maybe an empty classroom? Or the library?” Peter suggested.

“They’d find us there in no time at all,” James said, shaking his head.

Remus was hugging the parchment from Sirius still, a frown on his face, “He’s coming, though, Sirius is somewhere on the way, and he’s going to get here on the 29th and go to the Hog’s Head and none of us are going to be there and ---” he looked quite miserable at the thought of poor Sirius, sitting alone at a booth in the pub, waiting for his friends that would never come.

“I’ll try sending him an owl, telling him the change of plans,” James replied.

“But you dunno where to send it to! He could be anywhere!” Remus argued.

James shrugged. “Bubo’s good at finding people. Right now, I’m more concerned with where we’re going to meet. We need a place with enough space for nearly thirty people to meet, where the staff won’t find us! Think, you lot, where is there a place like that in the castle?”

“The Trophy Room Passageway, perhaps?” Remus suggested.

“McGonagall might still know the way in there,” James said, shaking his head, “And besides, we’d never get all those people to that alcove; it would be a nightmare trying, and so cramped if we did....”

“What about the hiding room?” Peter asked, “That secret room on the seventh floor? The one where we made the potion to become animagi?”

James’s eyes lit up. “YES. PETER! YOU’RE A BLOODY GENIUS!”

Peter flushed red.