evans²| r.lupin

Chapter Thirty-One

Cassiane tightly held Remus' hand as they apparated to an address Philip had sent. Their first meeting with the Order was about to begin, but they had to find the place first.

"We probably made a mistake." He commented as they stood in front of small house at the middle of a deserted street.

"I didn't." She replied sharply, still feeling weird from the apparation. She rested her back against a wall and inhaled deeply.

"Alright, Cas, we'll figure it out." Remus replied and helped her walk around. That was when Peter appeared in front of them and was soon followed by Sirius and Marlene. They all breathed in relief, realizing that they were at the right place.

"Told you." Cassiane teased as their friends gave them a puzzled look.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Marlene wondered.

Out of a sudden, a woman with dark complexion pointed at them with her wand, scaring Sirius so much that he jumped on Peter. She tossed her fizzy hair and giggled before hiding her wand. "I'm not that scary, mister Black."

"But you are a Legilimens." Remus stated, while scanning her.

She smiled at him and Cassiane thought that she almost seemed to be proud of Remus for making that observation. "Very well... What lead you to this conclusion, mister Lupin?"

"You guessed Sirius' name and mine too. And I read an article about you."

"Sorry, what does Legimens  mean?" Peter posed his question and glanced at the stranger.

"I can read minds mister Pettigrew. Now, I believe that it is quite unfair that I know your names and you don't. I'm Dorcas Meadowes. Is anyone here from Ravenclaw? No? How disappointing, I was hoping you would remember me, as I was Head Girl when you first came at Hogwarts."

Marlene offered her hand. "My brother has told me about you. I'm Marlene."

"Right... McKinnon, interesting. Please follow me inside our headquarters and try not to stare at the people and the creatures you might see inside. Dumbledore has done a pretty good job, assembling powerful allies and we wouldn't like to make them feel uncomfortable." Dorcas ordered as she unlocked the door in front of them, using a key instead of magic. "Sometimes, the most obvious solution to a problem is the last one might think."

They all walked beside her, exchanging weird looks, each one of them wondering if Dorcas was reading their minds. Meanwhile, Cassiane decided not to worry about her, since she had nothing to hide and Dorcas seemed like a trustworthy person. "Where's Sharon, Padfoot?"

"We were told that she shouldn't apparate, for the baby, you know. She left early this morning with the bus and the Prewetts."

Dorcas brought a finger to her lips and lead them inside a Hall which slightly resembled the one back at Hogwarts. Instead of benches crowded with students, there were a few large round tables, with plenty of seats, most of them already occupied. Cassiane gazed at the room in awe. It had never crossed her mind that the Order was so popular among the wizards and witches.

Many of the members turned around to see the newcomers. Some gave them friendly, encouraging smiles while others glared at them or rolled her eyes.

"What are those children doing here Meadowes?" A man asked Dorcas, as if it was her fault. 

"The same thing as you, Fenwick. Perhaps you would like to express your thoughts to Dumbledore too?"

He didn't dare to utter a word and Dorcas pointed at a table which was almost empty. Only James and Lily were there, with Sharon and the Prewetts. "Took you long enough."

Cassiane rushed to get the seat next to Lily, causing the second woman to rise her brow. "Could you tell me why you are acting so weird in front of all those people?

"We went to Remus' house yesterday."

"Cas! When were you going to tell me?" Her cousin asked, pretending to be annoyed.

The brunette stung her tongue out, but quickly stopped when Dumbledore entered the Hall, along with a few people that she could recognize from pictures at the Daily Prophet. As Dorcas cleverly noted, most of them were renowned authors, who had joined their cause.

"Welcome everyone to another meeting. I would like to ask some of you to not consume your beverages here, if possible. Alastor may have established this bar, at the corner but you would all be more useful sober. Now, I would like to let you know about a change in the procedures we have been following so far. It came to our attention that the Death Eaters recently used the Imperius Curse on a few Order members."

James suspiciously looked the people in the room, as if he would manage to tell who is being controlled simply by making eye contact. "Bloody hell, they're getting creative."

"From now on," the Headmaster continued, "each time you meet with family or Order members you will ask them questions that no one else could answer. Perhaps you could create passwords too, but you must change them regularly."

Sirius whispered something to Sharon and she nodded decisively, while Cassiane glanced at Remus. "Do you think we should do it too?"

"If Dumbledore says so..."

"I would simply forget the password, just like I did at school." Peter laughed it off.

"Peter... one word could make the difference between life and death. If I were you, I would certainly try to remember." Gideon advised him. Even though he wasn't their trainer anymore, he cared about them and all he wanted was the Order to win the war without more losses.

Once the meeting was over Dorcas helped them find their way back to the street and waved them goodbye. "It was nice to meet all of you. I truly hope that I'll see you again soon."

A/N; Hi!
Quick note! The woman in the gif is my casting for Dorcas!
Have a great day,
Athanasia ❤️