It was the last choir practice for the graduation ceremony.

There have been only a few practices due to the exam pressure, and the performers were doubtful about their performance. But Professor Flitwick gave a heartfelt speech wherein he assured them that they would stun the crowd and that he was proud to be their teacher. He even went a little teary eyed as he said goodbye to the seventh years and wished them all the best for their futures.

The choir members dispersed and went on their own way. Dorcas stood by the door and waited for Leigh to join her, which he did a minute later. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked with a grin.

Dorcas frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? I'm not sick."

He laughed at her answer. "I mean how you are you feeling in general? About graduation, about leaving Hogwarts?"

She shrugged and linked their arms together before making their way out of the Great Hall. "To be honest, I'm not really feeling anything. I used to think I'd bawl my eyes out, but I'm kind of … empty. I guess the gravity of the situation hasn't hit me yet." She looked at him with a playful smile. "Are you going to miss me?"

"Am I supposed to?" he teased, earning a smack on his arm.

"Are you busy? Let's walk."

Dorcas didn't have much to do now. She was done with most of her revision, and she didn't want to cram her head with just a few days left before the beginning of the exams. Besides, with the horribly gloomy air in the castle, she found it difficult to stay inside for long; she would start to suffocate.

They went out to the Hogwarts grounds. It looked particularly beautiful that morning, with the warm sun blessing the grass and the trees with its light. The air was much cooler than it was inside the castle and she inhaled deeply. She could almost hear her lungs thanking her for the fresh air.

"You're spending summer at my place," she said, "you remember that, don't you?"

Leigh nodded. His eyes flitted around the grounds, like a fly buzzing through the air. He was nervous.

Dorcas couldn't blame him. Ever since that attack on Hogsmeade, everyone has been on edge. Even though Dumbledore has assured them, multiple times, that Hogwarts was protected and that the death eaters would never find a way inside, he couldn't do much to omit the fear that was growing day by day. A few students have even been taken away from school by their parents after the news spread.

The protection around Hogsmeade has been strengthened personally by Dumbledore, and a few guards have been stationed around the village to keep a lookout night and day. Of course, it didn't do much to ease the tension, but at least there would be someone experienced to fight back any intruders.

Dorcas gripped his arms, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I'll introduce you to my step brother," she said. "He starts Hogwarts this September, and since I won't be here, I'm passing on my duties to you. If you're up for it, of course."

"Of course I'm up for it," he said with a grin. "My brother hounds me all day. I'd love to have a younger brother to hound on myself."

"Hey, do you want the job or not?" she asked, brandishing her finger in front of his face.

"I do, I do."

A girl, probably a first or second year, came up to Dorcas just then and handed her a small piece of parchment. "From Professor Dumbledore," she said and ran away.

With a frown, she unfolded the paper. In it, was written a small note in neat handwriting.

Meet me in my office. Destroy this note.

– A.D

PS. The password is toffee eclairs.

"Toffee eclairs," said Leigh with amusement. "Actually this doesn't surprise me."

Dorcas didn't find any amusement in the letter however. The way it was written, paired with the fact that he had asked her to destroy it filled her with unease. Why did Dumbledore want to see her?

She lit the note on fire and watched for a moment as it crumbled into ashes in her hand. A steady line of smoke rose into the air and vanished before her eyes. "Well, see you later, Leigh."

"Can I come with you?" he asked. "I don't have anything to do right now."

Dorcas didn't argue.

When they reached the location of Dumbledore's office, Leigh said goodbye to her and left, while she said the password. The stone gargoyle that blocked her path shifted to reveal a staircase. She climbed it.

Dorcas has never been to Dumbledore's office before. It was large, and quite eccentric. Lots of bizarre instruments sat on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. Large shelves lined the walls, holding numerous books. She recognised the Sorting Hat on one of the shelves – it appeared to be dozing. Portraits of previous headmasters hung on the walls, and behind a large desk sat Dumbledore, his half moon glasses resting on his nose and the tips of his fingers pressed together.

"Welcome, Ms Meadowes," he greeted her with a calm, almost soothing voice. It almost felt like she was being drugged as the words entered her ears. "Do sit down."

"Good afternoon, Professor," she said and sat down on the chair opposite him. "Why did you want to see me?"

"I'll get right down to business," he said. "You fought death eaters at Hogsmeade two days ago, I believe?"

She nodded her head, wondering why she would be brought into the Headmaster's office for this. Would she be punished?

"Would you be interested to have a full time job of fighting death eaters, Ms Meadowes?"

"I don't understand."

"I have founded an organisation recently to resist the rise of Voldemort and his followers," he explained. "It's called the Order of the Phoenix, named after my beautiful bird, Fawkes, who is currently in the process of emerging from these ashes." He gestured towards a tray on his desk that Dorcas hadn't noticed before.

"You have a phoenix?" she asked in amazement.

Dumbledore smiled. "I do have a phoenix, Ms Meadowes. He will appear in due time. Anyway, the Order has quite a few members as of now – perhaps you're familiar with a few of them – and we are looking to recruit more. I was hoping you would join us after your graduation."

"I will," she answered without a moment's hesitation. "I'll join you. What do I have to do?"

"Nothing right now. I will send you more details when the school year ends."

"Who else have you asked?" she inquired, but bit her tongue a moment later thinking that perhaps it wasn't in her place to ask questions. But Dumbledore didn't seem to mind. He answered her patiently.

"Quite a few from seventh year. I do not wish to disclose any information right now as it is a highly secret society, and I wouldn't want any of the young death eaters to go after you for information. And I do request that you will keep this conversation to yourself."

"What about Maeve and Silver?" she asked. "Have you asked them?"

"Not yet. I want to recruit the most trustworthy students from my school."

"They are trustworthy," she said defensively, but when she realised that her voice was a bit too loud, she quickly cleared her throat, adding, "Professor."

He only smiled at her reaction. "I am aware. However, I do have to be cautious as I do not want any information to be leaked." He paused and nodded. "Can you bring Ms Burton and Ms Saunders here after dinner tonight?"

"Yes. Of course, Sir."

"Thank you, Ms Meadowes." He stood up and picked up the tray of ashes in his hands. "Ah, it's time. Would you like to watch?"

She gingerly got to her feet and peered into the tray. It looked ordinary at first, with nothing but some ashes scattered over the surface. Suddenly, a fire lit up, dancing over the ashes, and from amidst the fire, a beak appeared. Dorcas watched in awe as a whole bird rose from the flames, giving a surprisingly loud caw that echoed through the room. It was rather ugly as it had no feathers.

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

Dorcas nodded.

"Well, that will be all," said Dumbledore as he picked up the bird in his finger and deposited it on a bird stand on his table. "Good luck for the NEWTs."

She thanked him and left.

Dorcas returned to his office again after dinner, this time with her friends.

Dumbledore told them about the Order of the Phoenix and asked if they would like to be recruited. Maeve, like Dorcas, agreed immediately, but Silver seemed to hesitate. He looked at her curiously.

"Well, I got a job," she explained. "I'll be moving to Dublin over the summer."

"That is not a problem at all," said Dumbledore. "If you wish to, you can be overseas and still be a part of the Order. We need wizards and witches to spread the word about Voldemort so that we can get as much international help as possible. You will be travelling to Greece, I believe?"

The three girls glanced at each other in surprise, for Silver hadn't mentioned the part about traveling to Greece. Nevertheless, she nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"Well, you can help to gain assistance from foreign wizards and witches. Any kind of help we can get will be of great value to us."

After a few more minutes of questions and answers, they finally left the office. They were silent as they walked through the corridors. Dorcas suddenly felt the temperature around her drop a few degrees and she shivered. The war had always seemed a long way from them. Shielded in this castle with professors to look out for them, Dorcas had never fully acknowledged the seriousness of what was truly going on outside the castle walls.

But now that she was officially part of a secret society aiming to defeat Voldemort, she suddenly began to realise the weight placed upon her shoulders.

When she was younger, she would fantasise about her future. She would envision living in a big house, her own house, with her mother. A piano would sit on the living room and she would play it whenever she pleased. She would have a nice job, enough money to travel at least twice a year, perhaps even a swimming pool in the backyard. She would see a glowing future with a woman standing by her side.

But now all she saw was a lurking darkness that threatened to swallow them whole.