It was dark, though Lyra's hair was a bit too blonde to fade into the darkness. It was one of the only things she disliked about her hair being so light, it made it hard to sneak around. She did sneak around surprisingly a lot. 

She wasn't even sure why she was sneaking around, though. If it had been up to her, she'd shut herself inside Malfoy Manor, keeping herself and her son safe from whatever her husband was running around and doing. She didn't ask and he didn't tell. It was like they had quickly gone back to the way things were around fifteen years ago. 

The one thing that felt more like she had traveled twenty years back was who she was meeting. It felt like she was a fifteen-year-old newly minted prefect again, nervous about how her patrols with her partner would go.  "Hello, Remus. Fancy seeing you here."

Remus smiled at her, looking quite tired as he approached the dark corner she had been in. The grey streaks in his hair were surprisingly prominent in the darkness, but his scars were harder to see. It was a strange mix of him looking both younger and older. "Not much of a coincidence, is it?"

"It never is when you send someone a secret note asking them to meet you," she smiled cheekily, before pursing her lips tightly. "What do you want? You know I love you and talking to you but... it's not really the best time."

"On the contrary, I'd say it's the perfect time," he retorted, and she already knew that this was a conversation she wouldn't want to have. At least, one she wasn't ready to have. "If we don't do this now, then I don't think we ever will."

"Do what?" she asked. Just because she had a feeling it had to do with the impending war, didn't mean she knew exactly what he wanted from her. She just hoped to stay out of it, be a neutral party, like she's always been. 

"You know what."

She raised an eyebrow at him, especially when he seemed so certain that she did. It had be something obvious she just didn't think of. "I clearly don't, so why don't you you save us both the pain of me trying to figure it out and just tell me."

"The Order of the Phoenix," he confirmed the thoughts that were in the back of her mind. She knew the name well, a bit better than she wanted to. "We're back in action, now that Voldemort's back."

Lyra quickly winced at the mention of the man that she had always called the Dark Lord, or maybe You Know Who or He Who Must Not Be Named at some rare occasions. "Don't say that name."

The werewolf didn't seem fazed by her fear of the name. It made sense to him, as she had to spend more time around the man than anybody in the Order during the last war, all because of who her husband was. "Why? Because you're scared?"

"Yes, because I'm scared," the blonde hissed, glancing around to double check that there was nobody listening to them. She couldn't afford anyone finding out she was there. "You remember how life was during the first war, didn't you? What we lost?"

"I can't forget," Remus said, his voice low. Behind his eyes, she could now see the way the war had haunted him, the same way it had for all those around their age. "We can't let that happen again."

"But it will," she sighed, though she knew she sounded too pessimistic in comparison to him. "We can't stop it. He's too strong, too powerful. Only now, he's much angrier. All we can do is try to stay out of his way as much as possible."

He frowned at her in exasperation. He knew she had never liked confrontation or fighting, but but this was something bigger than all of them. "You know we can't do that. Someone needs to fight him."

"Why does it have to be us?" Lyra whined, almost feeling annoyed at herself. She wished she was the kind of woman that would gladly become a hero, but she had already lived through a war and lost so much because of it. She didn't want to do the same again. "We've been fighting for years already."

"Because we owe it to those who couldn't fight back then," he stated. Her mind quickly flashed to the children and teenagers, those who probably could barely remember those dark times, if at all. "And we've got something now that we didn't before."

"What? Harry?" Lyra asked, furrowing her brows. He was a powerful, young wizard but he didn't belong on a battlefield. "He's a child, Remus. We can't put him at risk because we're scared. He's still a child."

"He's strong," Remus reminded her. He had known that better than most, having been his professor for about a year, teaching him spells that many witches and wizards would never learn. He did it when he was thirteen.

Lyra shook her head stubbornly. She didn't care about how powerful or good Harry was, as long as he was as young as he was. They didn't fight at fifteen. She experienced the terrors of war at sixteen and it still haunted her. Harry would go through much worse. "A strong child."

"I know why you're being so difficult," said Remus, trying not to feel a bit annoyed at her stubbornness. Part of him had missed it, but it was hard to deal with. "I know that when you look at him, you can't help but see James. I see it too. Losing James once was hard, losing him again..."

She stiffened. She hadn't wanted to admit it, that he had reminded her too much of his father. It was hard not to see James in Harry, when they looked as much alike as they did. But she cared about Harry, it didn't have anything to do with things that happened many years ago. "This has nothing to do with James."

Remus looked at her in doubt, knowing exactly how she felt. He couldn't help but see his old friend in the boy either. Maybe it had clouded his judgement at some point, but at least he could admit it. "It has everything to do with James, Lyra."

"Fine." The blonde shook her head, knowing that he was right. There was no use continuing that argument. "Maybe I wouldn't have cared as much as I do if it wasn't for James. Well, I probably wouldn't have. That doesn't mean that's the only reason I don't want to put a child at risk."

The werewolf didn't want to see the boy get hurt either. If he could stop it, he would. But he knew there was no other way to win this war. "He's the only chance we've got. He fears him, I think."

"He fears Dumbledore too," she pointed out stubbornly. There were ways to keep the children out of the war, there always was. They just didn't seem willing to do it. "Yet nobody talks about putting him the line of fire."

"You don't know what Dumbledore's doing," he said, though he wasn't sure if he did himself. Nobody had heard much about what the leader of the Order of the Phoenix was planning, but they did know more than she seemed to think. 

"Do you?" she retorted, raising her proudly. She could remember meeting Dumbledore at twenty years old, scared and pregnant, and he wouldn't give her more information than absolutely necessary. She had no idea what to think until the war ended. "Because it seems to me like he's always liked having people in the dark."

Remus frowned at this. She had tried to stay out of everyone's way for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to fight. "You don't understand what we do. You never have, because you left before you had a chance to."

"I understand how the Order of the Phoenix works," she responded coolly. "I don't know if you know this, but I was the one who first found out about its existence. Long before any of you did. I don't think it's in my nature to help you."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that. Because no matter how much they'd age, he could still see the girl he had once known in front of him. "I'm not sure you remember who you were before they came and forced you to be who you are today. Because that girl was wonderful and kind and bright, with hopes for her future. Now we're in the future and you seem to have lost all hope."

She looked down at his words, trying to collect herself. Because it had been so long ago. It was closing in on twenty years since they had first become friends. So many things had changed since then. "There's no reason for me to have any hope, Remus. I've never been the fighter type."

"Things are different now," he agreed. But he also took a moment to study her, to see her once bright and hopeful green eyes having turned cold while always having a sense of hurt betweent hem. "You're different now."

"How?"

Remus shrugged. He had seen her a few times over the last year, and the times the fierceness returned to her eyes was when she had something to fight for. She didn't seem to think she had that for so long. "You're a mother. Don't you want to stop this war for your son?"

"Don't use Draco against me," Lyra said firmly. She knew that wasn't what he meant, but she had faith that the precautions her and Lucius were taking would be enough to keep him out of harm's way. "He's safe, I've made sure of it."

"But for how long? And Harry?" Remus added, having noticed that she had felt strongly about the idea of him being in battle. "You care about him, I see that. He's going to be in the frontlines anyway and you know it."

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to calm herself down. The thought of a young, innocent boy having to fight for his life was enough to break any mother's heart. "I'm scared, Remus. If I do this and I'm caught... There's no way to protect me then. I'll meet a fate worse than death."

"Because of your husband?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. The thought of Lucius Malfoy being the one to keep his old best friend in this rut was enough to make him clench his jaw in anger. "Just leave him, Lyra. This has been going on for far too long."

Lyra gaped at him, feeling like he was forgetting a key reason as to why she had stayed with her husband for all these years. "No, I can't do that. You know why. I can't imagine ever leaving my son, especially with everything that's going to happen."

"Right," he nodded, though thinking it had been worth a shot. They both knew that Draco wouldn't be dragged along with her if she left. He had been his teacher after all. "But if it wasn't for him... what would you have done?"

She hesitated, trying to say that she would have done the same things she had. But she wasn't sure, she couldn't imagine things being another way now. She had only lived the life she lived, she didn't know how another version of herself would have been. "I don't know."

He looked away for a moment, not having gotten the response he had been hoping for. "Please, Lyra. You're the wife of a prominent Death Eater, you're strong, you're powerful. We could need your help."

"I can't," Lyra shook her head. There had been only a week or two since the Dark Lord had returned, she couldn't process all of this so quickly. "I'm not ready for this, Remus. Everything's happening too fast."

Remus looked at her sympathetically, though still frustrated that she couldn't see how much potential she had and the way she could use it to help someone. "If you spend your time thinking that one day you will finally be ready, you're wrong. You can't keep waiting, or you'll be waiting for the rest of your life."

"I know what you want from me, but... this isn't an easy decision," she reminded him. She was in a much more vulnerable position than most of them. A lot of them had nothing left to lose, that wasn't the case with her. "This could cost me my life, and they'd punish Draco for it too, I'm sure of it."

"They won't ever find out. You're an Occlumens, Lyra," he reminded her, a small smile appearing on his face. He had always thought the fact that she had a natural gift for Occlumency was so cool. "They can't ever read your mind to find out."

But she wasn't the biggest problem, she knew that. The Order of the Phoenix was bigger than Remus and Dumbledore. "And I'm supposed to trust that nobody in the Order would ever squeal if tortured enough?"

"Yes," he said without any hesitation. "We don't let just anyone join. It's quite the well-hidden secret except from those considered the most trustworthy and useful. We can trust whoever is there."

"But you'll let me?" the blonde asked doubtfully, wondering what he was thinking with trying to recruit her. "This isn't my side of the war. I feel much more comfortable just staying home and taking care of Draco and making sure he's alright."

"The only way to guarantee his safety is through ending this war once and for all," he said calmly. "Only the Order can do that. Only Harry can do that, no matter how much you wish it wasn't on his shoulders."

"We were children once," she muttered, flashes of all that had happened to them coming to mind. She never wanted Draco, Harry or his friends to experience something like it. "The weight of the world was put on our shoulders and it ruined us all. I don't want it to ruin them."

"Then we must stand up and fight to make sure that never happens," Remus stated strongly, his voice was still soft to keep anyone from hearing that they were there, but it was quite firm. "We can take some of the weight away, make it easier to carry."

Lyra looked at him for a few moments, her eyes shining in the way they hadn't since they were seventeen. She hesitantly smiled widely, her teeth grazing her lip in uncertainty. "You always know just what to say, don't you?"

"I just know what to say to you," he responded, smiling in return. "We have may spent over a decade apart, but you're still Lyra Black, even if you call yourself Malfoy. I know you like the back of my hand."

She pursed her lips to keep her smile from becoming too wide. It wasn't the time to be happy, she knew that. The Second Wizarding War was approaching after all. But something about Remus always brought something out of her. "I love you, you know that?"

"Enough to do this?" he asked cheekily. She snickered at how he brought the subject back to the Order of the Phoenix. It was why they had met up after all, with all this secrecy and sneaking around, like teenagers again. 

"Where's Sirius?" Lyra asked, the final thing that was needed for her to be convinced. If this gave her the opportunity to see her cousin, to be close to him again, she knew there was nothing left stopping her. Not even her fear could ruin that. 

"He's there," Remus confirmed, trying to keep from smiling too widely. He knew he'd gotten her with that. The chance of the three of them, all together like back in the day, would be enough to make him 

Lyra felt a bit defeated. That after all the arguing, just the answer to that one question could convince her. Like always, she'd loved those boys a bit too much. "Can you take me to him?"

He wanted nothing more, but he couldn't do so without knowing that they'd have her with them. "Not unless I get confirmation that this is what you want to do, that you're willing to fight with us as long as you can."

She glanced at him, seeing how tired he was, yet he seemed much happier than when she had seen him two years ago for the first time in many years. She scrunched her nose up as if she was thinking deeply. "There aren't any weird marks on your arm, right?"

The werewolf rolled his eyes, though he snorted at the question. It would have been a bit funny if they'd tattoo red Phoenixes on their arm or something, like the Death Eaters did with the skull and snakes. "No."

"Only you could ever convince me to do this. The things I do for you, Remus Lupin," Lyra teased him, grinning widely. It felt like he was her best friend again, which she supposed he was. Like nothing had ever changed, though they knew it had. 

Remus turned a bit more serious, not wanting her to do these things just because of him. He wanted her to take this opportunity to improve herself. "You're doing this for yourself. Because you have an opportunity to make up for all the mistakes you regret making."

Lyra frowned deeply. "I have made plenty."

"You can't change them. But you can repent for them," he said comfortingly.  "If nothing else, do it for him. To avenge him. He shouldn't have died and you shouldn't have ended up where you are. You should have been together right now. This war ruined both of your lives. End it for good."

While part of her felt like it was a bit manipulative to bring up her dead ex-boyfriend, she knew that wasn't what he meant. He probably felt the same way, wanting to avenge him. "Smart of you to mention James."

"If anybody understands what it was like for you to lose him and not given the proper opportunity to grieve, it's Sirius and I. We're right there with you. Like old times." It sounded so perfect, but they knew it wasn't. The only way it would have been perfect was if James was there with him, if Peter hadn't ever betrayed them. But there was no way to change the past, like Remus had said. 

"For you. For all of you. I'll try. I'll do what I can. This war can't go on forever and..." the blonde struggled, but she managed to push out the name of the man she had been so afraid of for so long. "Voldemort needs to be stopped before he ruins anyone else's lives like he ruined ours."

"Come on then. Let's go stop him together," Remus winked, holding out his hand, which was holding a piece of paper. "The Headquarters is under the Fidelius Charm. Read this, memorize it and you'll get it. I'm sure you remember this place."

She grabbed the piece of paper, rolling her eyes as she realized where this was. "You've got to be kidding me. This place? Really?"

 The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. 

▹▹▹

A/N: So this chapter was mostly just about setting up future chapters, but I hope you guys are happy with the direction we're going in. I know a lot of you wanted it to end up like this.