Corrupted Souls | remus lupin

the patronus charm

Neoma stepped into a cozy little house in Hogsmeade at exactly at 2:02 PM per Dumbledore's request, who had made sure to stagger everyone's arrival times as to not arouse suspicion (despite the fact that if someone were watching, it wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together). Luckily it was their first meeting; they could work out the logistics later.

The home she found herself in apparently belonged to Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth. At first glance it seemed to be much too small to host the new and improved Order of the Phoenix, but the man quickly led her down a hatch that opened up into a roomy - albeit dingy - basement. He was far more gruff than the Hogwarts headmaster he shared blood with, and simply offered Neoma a glare when she thanked him.

She saw everyone she expected, plus two new faces. One of them looked fairly familiar (and young), which she assumed meant he was a recent-ish Hogwarts graduate. The other was around middle-aged - perhaps a bit younger - although his gruff expression and scar-smattered face certainly aged him. 

"Hey there Neems," Marlene greeted, though not in her usual upbeat way. The mood in the room was certainly tense, but that came as no surprise. No one had asked to graduate in the middle of a war, but it wasn't in their natures to cower away, so here they were.

"D'you know who we're still waiting for?" Neoma asked Marlene in a low whisper.

Marlene shrugged at Neoma's question and tucked her wand back into her boot, opting to play around with Dorcas's hand, instead. Dorcas gave it a reassuring squeeze before revealing her prediction. "I'd reckon Arthur Weasley. He works for The Ministry with Frank and Kingsley ... and I'm assuming that other guy. Plus he was a Gryffindor - Dumbledore's mentioned him a couple of times over the years."

"He has, like, a million kids already," Marlene protested. "Plus, he works with Muggle stuff or something like that. Definitely not an auror."

"Actually his division is under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so I wouldn't count him out entirely..."

Neoma tuned out their discussion, which quickly moved on from Arthur Weasley to a ranked list of the best departments in The Ministry. She continued to scan the room, her eyes landing on Remus, whose lips quirked upward before falling again. He looked deathly pale, and Neoma had a feeling it wasn't related to nerves; his immune system didn't seem to be the best given the amount of classes he missed when they were still in school. She hoped he was alright.

A few more minutes passed before some walking around could be heard upstairs. The hatch opened once more, and not one, not two, but three people entered the basement. 

Leading the trio was unsurprisingly Aberforth, who seemed to be finished with his greeting duties as he took a spot closer to his brother, though he still maintained a fair bit of distance. More shockingly (to Neoma, at least) Fabian and Gideon Prewett, in all of their cheeky glory, tagged along behind him. 

Neoma's cheeks turned pink as Gideon did a double take upon seeing her in the midst of the group of former Gryffindors. She used to be his go-to snogging buddy at parties, after all, but no one except his brother was privy to that information. (Pretty or not, she was a Slytherin and a death eater's daughter, which didn't set well with sober Gideon's conscious.) 

"I'll be damned," James grinned, shaking both of their hands and doing that weird hug/slap on the back that men seemed to love. "Long time no see, lads."

Sirius repeated the motion, whereas Remus and Peter just went in for handshakes. Dorcas kicked Gideon in the back of one of his knees, to which he replied with a big bear hug. 

"Barf.'Once teammates always teammates'," Marlene whispered to Neoma, who giggled behind her hand. "I would say 'men' in disgust, but my girlfriend is participating. How embarrassing."