"Did you get the patronous?" Sirius burst through the flat door.

Remus and Peter were standing in the living room. Remus was leaning against the mantel and he looked up at Sirius and Marlene as they came in the room, and Sirius could tell by the upset look on his face that they had, indeed, gotten the patronus.

Peter nodded, "Yeah. What d'you reckon it's about? The meeting?"

"Dunno," Sirius answered, "But I reckon we ought to get over there." He hurried to the shelf where they kept the floo powder. 

Marlene glanced down at her clothes, "Merlin's beard, I can't believe I'm going anywhere dressed like this."

"I'd offer you another t-shirt, but I'd never get it back," Sirius said, taking his handful of the powder out of the snuff box and holding it out to her.

"Take a picture of it to remember it by, then, you arsehole," she answered, taking the snuffbox, flushing as she took her share of powder. She handed it off to Peter.

"Oh Sirius, you could take a photo with your camera!" Peter said, not getting the meaning of Marlene's statement.

"Shut up, Wormtail," Sirius said.

Remus took the snuffbox from Peter, took out his handful of powder and returned the box to its proper place. "Go on Peter." 

"Me first?"

"Yeah." Remus waved a palm.

Peter gave Remus a funny look, then chucked the powder into the hearth. "MOODY'S HOUSE!" he shouted and he disappeared in a flash of light. 

Sirius's eyes met Remus's. There was a long moment in which their stare stayed locked, and he paused, licking his lips. "Marly, darling, go next."

"Ugh, I cannot believe I'm going in my pyjamas!" she stepped into the hearth, "Moody's place I guess!" and she was gone.

"What were you, watching us out the window just now?" Sirius asked the moment she was gone.

"I glanced."

"Long enough to see I stepped back?" Sirius asked.

"Did you?"

"Of course I did."

Remus drew a deep breath.

Sirius raised his eyebrow, "C'mon, you cannot possibly have thought that I enjoyed that?"

"Well you did date her once."

"EONS AGO!" Sirius said, "And we broke up, too, didn't we?"

"Yes but you've done a lot of cuddling her lately."

"She's heartbroken," Sirius said, "She needed it."

"Okay."

"Don't be pisser."

"I'm not pisser," Remus snapped. But even as he said it, he knew he was being pisser. 

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You're the only one I want to be with, you arsehole," Sirius said and he threw his powder into the hearth, "And I told her that. So calm your tits. MOODY'S HOUSE." And he was gone.

Remus stood alone in the flat and shook his head, then threw his own powder into the fire. "Moody's," he muttered and he felt the world spin as he twisted through the network, flying past an array of hearths until he'd landed and stepped neatly out into a living room.

The moment he had, a wand was pressed against his neck. "The - the n-name of the Charkorias birds w-we once - once saved t-together?" Newt Scamander held Remus's shoulder firmly.

"Bert and Ernie," Remus stammered in surprise, not expecting to be greeted with a wand to his throat.

Newt lowered his wand. "V-very g-good. I - I am sorry for - for having start-startled you."

"It's alright, Mr. Scamander," Remus replied, though he rubbed the spot on his neck that the wand had pressed for Mr. Scamander had pressed rather hard. "What's it for, though?"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody shouted, thumping over.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one that got held at wandpoint," James said, and Remus looked to his left where James was also rubbing his throat. "And you're rather lucky you knew the answer to your question," he added darkly, eyeing Frank Longbottom, who was tucking away his wand as he walked away. "Mine was a question about something that happened if fifth year," he intoned darkly.

Remus's eye followed Frank as he  paced away across the sparsley furnished living room.

"Luckily, Sirius had just come bounding through and was able to counter question me right off before the zealous auror in training hexed my head clean off."

"Bad luck, mate," Remus said.

The living room was crowded with nearly all the members of the Order, including Albus Dumbledore and his brother Aberforth, both of the Prewett twins, Dorcas Meadows, Sirius, McGonagall, Urquart, Florean Fortescue and Jasper Odair, who had also brought along Meg Johnston, Marlene Mackinnon, Edgar Bones, Remus, Newt and Tina, who held a small boy on one hip while Newt clutched the briefcase in his fist tightly, Frank, Alice Prewitt, Peter, James and Lily Potter, and, standing as far away from Marlene as she could get, Emmaline Vance, with her arms crossed over her chest looking father cross.

Nearly everyone who had been present at the founding meeting of the Order, when Dumbledore had called for the student group to join the adults in the resistance and Sirius's brilliant name had been taken upon the group as a whole. Well, nearly everyone, Remus thought eyes flitting to a sepia-toned wizard photograph that Moody had taken to commemorate the moment, besides those who had been killed or were still missing. The photo, Moody had said then, would act as the binder for who was held to the vow to uphold the mission of the Order to defeat Lord Voldemort -- any who were in the photograph that violated or betrayed the others would suffer unnamed consequences. Whatever they were, Remus had reckoned then and reckoned now, they would be most horrific given that it was Moody who had set the spells.

Probably better off dead than to try and back out of the Order if you'd been one of the members captured in that photograph, Remus reckoned.

Moody marched among them, his wooden leg thumping on the floor. "For those not caught up on the news, there's been another major attack this morning. All over the prophet. Doesn't seem to be any provocation. And there's been more direct attacks on houses - less public, didn't make the Prophet's front page - but quiet disappearances here an' there... Kept quiet by Ministry officials who aren't entirely up to keeping up their bargains with their superiors..." Moody glanced at Dumbledore.

Frank glanced at James, and they shared a look for a long moment before James looked to Lily. Lily's eyes met his and they both turned back to Moody as he clomped along. 

"My point is that we need to tighten up, need to begin planning offensive moves going forward. This war's about to break loose of the stalemate it's been in for years, I believe, and we're going to need to be MORE THAN JUST ON GUARD," Moody continued, "We need to begin actively attempting to assassinate You-Know-Who."

Lily's face paled and she reached out to her side to grab hold of James's hand. Their fingers laced together. 

Marlene glanced at Emmaline, but Emma did not look up.

"We believe there are three places which may be headquarters for the Death Eaters," Moody said, "According to prior intelligence and work done quietly on behalf of some of my bravest men, we've extracted some information about our enemy from the current prisoner of Azkaban, Walburga Black."

Sirius's eyes flashed darkly as he looked at Moody. Remus stood up straighter, and he saw McGonagall look at Sirius with concern.

"What did dearest mother have to say for herself?" Sirius demanded in a sneering voice. "Did she have a load of rubbish to whimper about what a bloody hero her precious Dark Lord is?"

Dumbledore and Moody exchanged a look and Dumbledore shook his head ever so slightly. Moody looked back to Sirius, "Provided us with some locations to investigate. We're working on warrants from the Ministry in order to go and search the homes mentioned."

"Because waiting for a warrant doesn't give them time to relocate their headquarters or anything," muttered Gideon Prewett in an angry, frustrated voice. Dorcas put her hand on Gideon's arm and Gideon frowned at her. "Well it does!" he said.

"Shh," she whispered.

"We have to go about things above-board," Moody said sternly. "And the warrants are being filed in top-secret conditions.

"You know they have spies at the Ministry," Fabian argued.

"We suspect as much," Moody replied, "We do not know for certain."

"What is the good of constant vigiliance if we're not going to act on what we learn, man?!" Edgar Bones exploded, "This is the second goddamned time that we've had information and we've taken it slow and if we're not careful we're going to end up with another catastrophe like what happened at the Chainwright Theater!"

"The Chainwright Theater happened because of aurors that did not follow their instructions and allowed untrained individuals to assist." Moody glanced at Jasper and then James.

Jasper looked down.

James stared boldly at Moody, "And if I hadn't been there your entire team would've been dead. They were aware you were there, Moody, I've told you that. Bones isn't where I got my information about the meeting at the Chainwright. My informant knew you lot were there before I did."

"And what does your informant have to say now? Why hasn't your informant given up the headquarters of the Death Eaters to us?" Bones demanded.

"His informant is defected," Sirius spoke up sharply.

James gave Sirius a withering look, then looked to Moody, "We don't currently have contact, at least."

Moody thumped his wooden leg on the floor roughly to call attention back to himself, "Enough. I want us to pre-form teams so that the moment warrants are made we've got Order Members ready to accompany my aurors to each of the locations issued so that we have representation at all three locations until we've ascertained which is the true headquarters." He paused, then, "Prewett One, Prewett Two, Bones - you three will head up the teams. Bones, no spares. You work with who you're assigned only." Moody glared at Jasper Odair, then back at Bones. "I mean it, or you'll see yourself running detail and paperwork for the rest of your bloody career."

Edgar's mouth twisted with displeasure at the insinuation, but he didn't speak an argument.

"Potters, Fortescue, Scamanders Meadows, and Albus will be with Gideon. Lupin, Black, McGonagall, Longbottom, Prewitt, and Urquart - Fabian. Mackinnon, Vance, Pettigrew, Odair, Johnston, Aberforth, and myself - Bones."

"We should have the warrants within the next two days, and we'll act --"

"No." James voice was bold.

Every head in the room turned to James.

"Excuse me?" Moody asked.

"Evans and I won't be able to take part in this one, I'm sorry." James's voice was firm.

Moody stared at him. "And why not?"

James glanced at Lily, then back to Moody, "We'll be out of town, sir."

Lily whispered, "James --"

"No," he said, looking at her. Then he looked at Moody again. "As I said -- no."

There was an extremely long pause in which Moody stared at James and James stared back. Moody opened his mouth to speak and Dumbledore spoke up, "I should think that the teams would still be quite evenly matched, Alastor, even if the Potters are not able to attend this particular battle." He stepped forward and put a hand on Alastor's shoulder, chuckling in a merry sort of way, "After all, they've postponed their honeymoon once already, they needn't do so again."

Alastor looked rather like he wanted to  argue the point, but Dumbledore turned to Jame and Lily, essentially cutting Moody off. "We wish you bon voyage, of course," he said, smiling benignly.

Moody muttered, but he didn't continue on arguing. Instead, he simply said, "If you're not going to be a part of the operation, then the pair of you leave out as the rest of what we're to discuss is confidential."

James fingers gripped Lily's tighter. "Very well."

"You'll be part of the next mission, though boy," Moody said, eyeing James carefully. "And next time, be remembering the answer to your security question the first time you're asked."

"Then ask me one that isn't half a decade passed," James challenged. "C'mon Evans, let's go." He turned and they walked to the hearth. He threw a handful of the floo powder into the hearth, "There you are, Lily," he murmured. 

She looked at him, glanced over her shoulder at the others, then stepped into the glow. "Home," she said and disappeared.

James looked 'round the room, then threw another handful of powder into the hearth, and followed her. "Home," he murmured, and he was gone.

"Good for him," Emmaline said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the room for several long seconds after he'd gone. "In the midst of all the fighting in this bloody war, it would do others well to remember what we're fighting for - our lives, which we can't stop living just because there's a war on."

Marlene's eyes flashed to Emmaline and she snapped, "It isn't as easy as all that, is it, though, really? You can't just make a pros and cons list and walk out of a battle just because you've got other plans!"

"Hey now, no hate on Prongs," said Sirius, rounding on Marlene.

"I wasn't hating on Prongs," Marlene answered.

"And last I checked, I wasn't the one who walked out," Emmaline said, "I was the one who sat on the floor all night wearing your stupid sweater!"

Glances were exchanged all around. 

Sirius took Marlene's arm and dragged her over to Emmaline. "Excuse us, you lot," he said, taking Em's arm with his other hand, "We'll be just a moment...." Marlene shook his hand from her arm and Sirius glared at her, then took his wand from the knot of hair atop his head, waved his wand and a stack of teacups and steaming pots appeared on the coffee table, along side a tiered tray of tiny triangular-cut orange marmalade sandwiches. "Entertain yourselves for just a moment while I get these two sorted out." He tucked the wand away and grabbed Marlene's arm again, pulling both girls through the door and out of the house.

When the door had banged shut behind them, silence fell over the remaining Order members in the room. 

Peter said, "Well..."

And everyone looked at Peter.

"I mean, I don't mind having a spot of tea myself," he said, stepping forward for one of the cups. "And Sirius does make a grand orange marmalade..." He took a couple of the little marmalade sandwiches from the tray. "I think it comes from Costa Rica." He looked at Remus meaningfully - for it had been Peter who'd been standing beside Remus when he'd glanced out the window, after all. "And we all know how much he loves Costa Rica!" 

Remus shook his head, and turned hurrying to join Sirius and the girls outside.