The silence that followed Éponine's question to Sirius was enough to make a slight bit of self-doubt return to her chest. She wondered if she had taken too long to pursue any sort of chance that she stood with dating him. She wouldn't blame him if he had moved on or decided to pursue someone else, after all, there had been no agreed commitment that Sirius had to wait until Éponine was ready again if he ready to date someone else. And as he gently took her by the arm and led her off the side, Éponine prepared herself mentally to be rejected.

"Nin," he began, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that the others weren't eavesdropping, " are you sure about this? The last we spoke...well, I don't want you to feel pressured or-"

There was such a sense of relief that Sirius was not flat out telling her "no" bringing Éponine to smile as she reached out and gently held the sleeve of his shirt to get him to stop rambling.

"You gave me the time I needed," she said, " and you've been so supportive of me. I'm sure about this. At least, we can give it a chance, right? And if it doesn't work out in the way we think, I hope that you'll always want to be my friend."

The nervous expression that had previously taken over Sirius' face, suddenly vanished, replaced with a rather giddy grin. He quickly took the hand that had been holding his sleeve and held it in his before agreeing to the date, shortly after, bringing Éponine into a hug. One that she embraced wholeheartedly.

Her graduation ceremony symbolised an ending to one chapter of her life, but she would never forget the memories she had made at the school; good and bad. All of them had been a part of allowing her to become the person she was currently, and she was ended to end on a good note, before starting another chapter of her life. One that involved her being part of the Order of the Phoenix, and hopefully, making a difference in the world, while also still pursuing her own form of happiness.

She and Sirius turned back to the others, who seemed to be anxiously awaiting the confirmation. But as they both turned, they could see James in the distance, talking to Dumbledore. Curiosity got the best of them, waiting until James returned to figure out what the headmaster had wanted.

"There's a meeting tonight," he announced, looking slightly apologetic as he noted that Sirius was still holding Éponine's hand. "Dumbledore wants the rest of the Order to meet with Éponine, the sooner the better."

While the message had been something Éponine should have anticipated, it still managed to catch her off guard. It seemed Dumbledore didn't want to waste any sort of time once she had graduated to get her involved. She could see the frown developing on Sirius' lips, but she gave his hand a squeeze, reassuring him that they could always go on a date the next evening.

She was ready to see what life would be like serving in the Order.

Éponine wanted to take the Hogwarts Express back to Kings' Cross Station one last time to keep Gian company, promising Sirius that she would make her way back to the flat before the meeting while leaving Toulouse in his company. She bought Gian loads of treats off the trolley, promising that even though she would be busy over the course of the summer, she would still make time to visit him. It was rather bittersweet for her to know that she wouldn't be able to spend time with him at Hogwarts anymore.

She had no doubt that he would continue to be successful in her endeavours, but it was odd to think she wouldn't be able to see someone she considered to be her little brother almost every day.  Of course, Éponine made no mention of it, not wishing to bring the mood down in the compartment, it was supposed to be a joyous event after all and more than likely if she mentioned anything of the sort, Gian would tell her to stop worrying about him.

It was agreed before the End-of-Term that Éponine would bring Gian to his home. They arrived at the platform in the early evening hours, with Éponine stepping off the train first.

As she waited for Gian to gather his trunk, she was nearly left short of breath as she spotted Walburga and Orion in the distance.

No, it wasn't them as she quickly came to realise, only a couple that looked similar in appearance. They were greeting a younger student that hopped off the train and ran towards them. It was amazing how she had gone so long without thinking of any of them to suddenly having memories flood her mind. She remembered when they had dropped her and Regulus off at the train station at the start of their fifth year.

How proud the two of them were that she and Regulus and had become prefects. Or perhaps the fact that they had been there to see her off when her own parents couldn't be bothered with. She still remembered those times, but she also remembered how Walburga had labelled her a "whore" and neither one of them had a kind word to say about her when she decided to run away from Toujours Pur.

Just like her parents, their love was only conditional.

"Are you alright, Nin?"

Stuck in the daze of her own thoughts, Éponine hadn't even noticed Gian approach her. The concern written on his face was enough to make her realise that he had probably been waiting for a few minutes for a response.

"Yes, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something, that's all. Come on, let's get you home."

There wasn't much time to relax when Éponine finally arrived at the flat. Only a few minutes after she had shown up, Sirius was telling her that it was time to leave again. They agreed to side-apparate, with Sirius in charge, as they were to meet with the others at the designated location. Since the Order was to remain as a secret society, Éponine wondered where they would meet. But when they arrived at the location, she didn't recognise the building that practically looked abandoned on the outside.

She was just about to ask where they were when she spotted Lily making her way over with James walking behind her.

"Remus and Peter are already inside," she said, gently linking arms with Éponine, "are you ready to go in?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Éponine answered as Sirius opened the door and allowed the two women to enter first.

"Don't worry, even the toughest faces in here are all good people," Lily reassured her in a whisper, " we're all fighting for the same thing, they'll be happy to have you here."

It hadn't even been a thought that crossed her mind that other members of the Order wouldn't want her to be there, but since Lily had mentioned it, Éponine suddenly felt nervous as she spotted a sea of new faces, all of which were looking in her direction.

With just a quick glance around the room, Éponine was willing to bet that she was the youngest out of all the adults present. Besides James, Sirius, Lily, Remus, and Peter, everyone else appeared to be at the very least in their thirties, with some of them appearing older.

She didn't know whether it would be appropriate to introduce herself or wait to be introduced as she stood awkwardly beside Lily. Thankfully, among the other adults was Dumbledore, who came to stand in the centre of the room.

"Ms Rosier," he greeted with a kind smile, " I'm glad you were able to join us this morning. Now before we get started, we'll take a moment to have everyone introduce themselves, so you can start getting acquainted. Unfortunately, not everyone is here tonight, but you will meet them in due time."

"Albus," a woman's voice interrupted, " this has to be a joke of some sort, right?"

Éponine peered over to see a woman with short blonde hair step out of the crowd as she walked closer to where Éponine was standing. There was a softness to her face, perhaps because it was naturally round, but her eyes were a piercing blue that made Éponine feel cold all over the longer she stared.

"I bit my tongue the last time you brought the others that were fresh out of school because you highly recommended them," she continued, " but how many more children are you going to drag into this cause? We should be looking to add experienced adults to the Order, not a child."

"I'm not a child!" Éponine managed to find her voice finally. "Pardon me, Miss...?"

"Alice Longbottom," the woman answered her. " Listen, I'm not trying to insult you, I'm-"

"You're not giving me a chance either," Éponine said. "I may be young, but I do know right from wrong."

Alice's expression softened, almost in a motherly way before she shook her head. "Knowing right from wrong isn't enough in this fight, sweetheart. This isn't Defence Against the Dark Arts Class in Hogwarts!"

"Alice," a softer voice called from behind, revealing a man that stepped over to where they were. "I understand the point you're trying to make, but she's only just arrived. Give her a moment to settle in-"

"No," Alice replied sternly, shaking his hand off her arm before facing Éponine again, " I don't care if I'm coming across as harsh right now. We want to keep casualties to a minimum so these are the questions we need to ask now, not when it's too late. Are you going to be able to kill someone before they kill you first?"

The room suddenly felt smaller and Éponine was finding it harder to breathe as it seemed everyone was waiting on for her to answer. Truth be told, the idea of taking someone's life had not really crossed Éponine's mind. It was true, in Defence Against the Dark Arts class, there had never been an instance where a student was put up against the idea of taking someone else's life to save their own. It was more or less focused on dodging jinxes and lighter curses, with only the discussion of forbidden curses being used on others.

"I may not be the best dueller in the room," she said, "and I'm probably the least experienced out of everyone, but I am willing to do what it takes to make sure my loved ones live a better life in a world that's safe for them. I'm willing to learn if you'll teach me."

"You gave us a chance," Sirius spoke up, looking at everyone, " we were fresh out of school too when we joined and I haven't heard any of you complain. You all don't know, Nin, or what she's capable of. She's too humble for her own good, so she's not going to brag about how she could wipe the floor with some of you in a battle."

"Sirius is right," James chimed in, "no one needs to worry for her, but you'll have to worry if you're against her. I mean, she dropped me and Sirius on our arses back in her fifth year."

"She even took out a werewolf," Remus added with a small chuckle. "I can attest to that."

Éponine smiled as her confidence returned.

"I also know how that other side thinks, I know a lot of their weaknesses from growing up with them over the years, so let me show you what I can really do. I promise you won't be disappointed."