/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟕.𝟡.𝟣

"there must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors." ~ Adrienne Rich

~march 1977~

Sirius's fingers trailed through Artemis's hair again and again. It was a nervous habit when he was sitting with her. She could tell how stressed he was by how quickly his hands moved. She gently trailed her fingers along the frayed rips in his jeans, a silent message to take a deep breath. He wouldn't show that he was stressed, never in a million years. He was Sirius Black, the boy who wasn't afraid of anything. But she always knew.

The eight of them were sitting in their usual seats in the common room. It was late. Marlene was toying with the hem of her pink miniskirt, letting her toenail polish dry by the fire. Lily was leaning against the foot of James's armchair, her head resting on the side of his knee as he scanned through newspaper after newspaper, handing them down to her once he was done.

Peter and Mary were still in the midst of their seemingly never-ending chess tournament, their game paused between them as they rested on the floor, Mary's cheek resting on her bare knee as she stared forlornly at the black and white pieces. Remus was scribbling in his notebook, writing cross-hatch ever since he'd run out of room. He needed to write, to feel like he was doing something with his hands. Otherwise he felt like he might lose his mind.

"How many teachers d'you think are part of the Order?" Peter asked, picking at a paint stain on his t-shirt.

"Teachers?" said Lily, looking up from her section of the paper. "What makes you think-"

"Well, McGonagall's in on it," Sirius said, looking up to catch Peter's eye. "You think anyone else is?"

Lily thought for a moment and shrugged. Marlene shook her bottle of nail polish in one hand and blew a piece of hair away from her face. "I'll bet you ten galleons Slughorn's in on it. Wouldn't you say, Lily?"

"Hmm," was Lily's only response.

Sirius stopped playing with Artemis's hair and looked over at her. She was staring at her hands, toying with the drawstrings of her sweatshirt. He nudged her gently. "What're you thinking?" he asked, soft enough so only she could hear.

"Are we all on board with this?" she asked. Everyone looked up at her. "I mean, have we all completely decided we want to do this?"

"Having second thoughts?" Remus asked mildly.

She shook her head hard. "Not me, no. I'm in it no matter what. But I need to know if everyone else is. I need to know... what to prepare for."

"Don't get all doomsday on us now, Art," said James, not looking up from his paper.

"She's being realistic," said Sirius.

Artemis sat up straighter and brushed her hair to one side. "Look, all I'm saying is that we're getting ourselves into real danger. And I'm prepared to do what I have to do for the cause, it's not me I'm worried about. But you guys... I need to know if you're all going to be in danger too. I just... need to know."