A U G U S T  1 9 7 7

.・。.・゜✭・.・✧・゜・。.

JAMES. DUMBLEDORE WANTED JAMES IN THE ORDER. Not only that but all of them. Remus, Peter, and Sirius as well. All of this information had been dumped on her before her first Order meeting had even taken place.

The revelation came when Clara had finally worked up the courage to open Dumbledore's letter. It was just after her first day at St. Mungo's. While Fabian cleaned up after tea in the small kitchenette of their Diagon Alley flat, she sat at the nearby table and broke open the wax seal.

The truth inside that letter hit her like a punch to the stomach. All air was stolen from her lungs as she read the words. It was a mere courtesy, she realized. Dumbledore wanted no input on the matter, nor any help from her in convincing James. He was merely informing her that he intended to recruit her brother and his friends at the end of their last term. Telling her was out of kindness. That's what Dumbledore surely thought. But to Clara, the information felt more like a threat.

In the days since, Clara had been left feeling numb. All she'd done was go to work, avoid replying to James' latest letter, and go to sleep. Of course Fabian had noticed the change in her, but she'd brushed off all his concerns. The excuse of their first upcoming meeting with The Order seemed to be plausible enough for him to stop pressing her about what was wrong.

And now, she was sitting inside a stranger's dining room. The familiar faces who could offer her comfort were scattered around the room as Marlene and the Prewett twins sat at the opposite end of the table. A man by the name of Frank Longbottom had bravely volunteered his modest home to an army of a dozen or so witches and wizards. 

Before the meeting could even get well underway, all Clara could think about was how she was going to get her brother out of this.

"Miss Potter?" Dumbledore's soft voice carried across the room to her.

She gazed at the elderly wizard, mind blank, "Yes?"

He smiled warmly. An expression that should've been disarming forced bile to rise in her throat.

"Would you care to introduce yourself?"

A meet and greet. That's essentially what her first meeting with The Order had been. Though she had admittedly been tuning everyone out as she had been trying to formulate a plan on how to confront Dumbledore about James' future involvement. If she had only opened the letter much sooner, she would have been much more prepared for this scenario.

Clara stood, wiping her sweaty palms along her jeans as she glanced around the room. Fabian gave her a reassuring nod when their eyes met. But it was Edgar Bones who held her gaze.

The two had met on her first day at St. Mungo's where he worked as the lead Healer in the medical ward she was assigned to work in - Lastwicke Whitmore Ward for Spell Damage. As they got to know each other, Clara quickly learned of his own involvement in The Order. The thought quickly dawned on her that Dumbledore had likely had a hand in her placement within the hospital. 

How much power and reach did her former Headmaster truly have?

Despite the unnerving circumstances of her employment, Edgar had quickly won her over. Not only did he have a warm nature to him, but he also immediately showed trust in Clara. Taking her suggestions on treatment of their patients seriously and not disregarding her thoughts merely because of her youth and inexperience.

Edgar almost felt like having an older brother. She'd never had anyone take her under their wing before. Not having to look out for someone herself was surprisingly refreshing. But perhaps she only felt a connection to him so quickly because they were bonded by war.

Clara cleared her throat and introduced herself to a room of people whom likely already knew everything about her thanks to the man at the head of the table. But Edgar smiled as she spoke, and at least for those thirty seconds, her anxiety seemed to subside. But once Dumbledore thanked her and she sat back down, her racing thoughts were released once more like a wild animal uncaged.

As the meeting went on, Dumbledore had eventually decided to call for a break. Clara watched as the elderly wizard pulled aside a man named Alastor Moody for what was clearly meant to be a private discussion. As the two men disappeared around the corner, a cup of tea found its way to Clara.

A blonde woman, maybe five or six years older than Clara, had set it down on the table in front of her before taking her seat beside her.

"You look like you could use a cuppa." the woman said with a smile.

"Thank you." Clara said hoarsely, suddenly grateful for the warm beverage.

"I'm Alice," the woman said, "Alice Fortesque. But I suppose you already know that since we just went around the table."

Clara didn't have the heart to tell Alice that her mind had been elsewhere the entire duration of everyone's introductions, but she still nodded.

Alice glanced across the room to see Frank and Edgar follow after where Moody and Dumbledore had gone. The blonde's brow furrowed slightly before she returned her attention to Clara, her warm smile growing once more.

"The first meeting is always overwhelming." Alice assured her, "I promise it gets easier. Most of the meetings are debriefings rather than actual assignments."

Clara merely nodded, sipping on her tea.

Either unaware or simply undeterred by Clara's silence, Alice went on, "I heard from Eddie that you were in Gryffindor. Frank and I were as well."

This caught Clara's attention and Alice's smile grew as their eyes met. Curiosity took hold as Clara wondered what Alice's role was in The Order, but she kept a tight lip. Surely if she'd been paying attention to everyone's introductions, this would be common knowledge.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you went the Healer route. I don't know many people from our house that would have chosen that." Alice added after a moment, "Then again, Frank and I are a bit of a stereotype, aren't we? Being Aurors."

Clara's shoulders sagged a bit, somewhat relieved that Alice had unknowingly offered up crucial information about herself that Clara lacked.

"I'm convinced the Sorting Hat was confused when he put me in Gryffindor." Clara admitted wryly.

"You think you were a better fit for Ravenclaw, I take it? All books and brains." Alice mused before leaning in and lowering her voice, "I bet Eddie hasn't told you he was in Hufflepuff yet, has he?"

The corner of the Auror's lips tugged upward slightly as something like surprise flashes in Clara's eyes. Edgar Bones had to have been at least in his thirties - Clara knew he had a wife and children - and the crows feet that deepend around his eyes when he smiled at his patients gave away his years. Still, who he'd been as a student had never crossed Clara's mind in their first weeks working together. But as she thought more about it, Healing wasn't all about books and brains like Alice said. When she watched her new Mentor work, it was clear that compassion, hard work, and patience were just as important as intelligence - if not more so.

Clara wished she had more time to talk with Alice, but as soon as she had started to feel more comfortable with the woman, Dumbledore had returned to the room. The other men filtered in behind him and returned to their seats at the table.

Alice gave Clara's shoulder's a reassuring squeeze as she stood to return to her place beside Frank - the other Auror, Clara now knew. Edgar, or Eddie as Alice had affectionately called him, found his place across from Clara once more.

"Now that we've gotten to know each other a bit, the time has come to discuss our roles and duties amongst the group."

Clara's eyes broke away from her former Headmaster and flashed towards Alice. In the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw the woman tense slightly. Though she couldn't quite figure out why. When Frank turned to her and gave her a look as to say we can talk about it later, Clara wondered if there was some kind of rivalry between them. Maybe Frank's opinion had been deemed more important by Dumbledore and that's why the men had chosen to discuss matters in the other room, leaving Alice behind.

But now wasn't the time for assumptions. Now was the time to find out her fate. Although she was fairly confident, she'd never be sent on any dangerous missions, she truly couldn't be sure until the words left Dumbledore's lips. So, she brought all of her attention back to the man at the head of the table.

The seating arrangement around the room had clearly been deliberate, as Dumbledore discussed their roles. On the far side of the table, Marlene had been seated beside a woman named Emmeline Vance - an employee within the Ministry of Magic. The two would be working closely together to gather data about assumed Death Eaters within the Ministry.

Beside Edgar sat Dorcas Meadows and Benjy Fenwick, who were evidently quite talented in both Herbology and Potions. They would be working closely with Edgar and Clara as Healers for the order. As she nodded cordially to her new teammates, she supposed they were, she felt quite guilty that she'd been so distracted during their introductions. But she supposed there would be countless meetings in the future where she could make up for it.

But her social ineptitude took a back seat in her mind when she noticed Fabian and Gideon. The twins sat near the Aurors - flanked on either side by Frank and Alastor Moody. A sinking feeling struck Clara's heart as it nestled heavily in the pit of her stomach. Before Dumbledore could confirm her fears, she knew Fabian and his brother would be the ones out there on the front lines. 

Frightening images sped through her mind like a flipbook. What if Fabian came back from a mission so severely injured that there was nothing she could do to help him? Would she have to watch him die in her arms? What if he never made it back to the safe house for her to even attempt to save him? Would she have to find out at Frank Longbottom's dining table that the first boy outside of her family who'd ever made her feel cared for had died before he'd ever even had the chance to live?

The sound of chairs scraping the floor signalled the end of the meeting. Despite the whirlwind of emotions flowing through Clara's mind, a calm clarity took over.

She needed to get James out of this. She didn't need him to experience this kind of fear. She didn't need to live in fear for her brother's safety. Clara rose from her seat, peering through the small crowd of people, attempting to spot Dumbledore. But it was as though he had vanished in thin air. And perhaps he truly had.

Though the man was no doubt incredibly busy, between The Order and Hogwarts, part of Clara couldn't help but wonder if her former Headmaster was avoiding her.