The Marauders: Year Seven Part Two

The Merging of the Lists

James carried a list to Dumbledore's office bearing each of the names of those in the Order who had chosen to stay. It wasn't much of a surprise to James, the ones who had stayed and the ones who had left, he could've easily made this list himself without consulting any of them, really. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, Marlene Mackinnon, and Emmaline Vance. And, of course, their silent member, Regulus Black, whose name they had all agreed would not be on the list, not even the copy they gave to Dumbledore. The eight of them would keep that secret exclusively to themselves. 

Dumbledore looked over the list, musing to himself, nodding as his eyes roved down the names. "A very strong collection, I do say," he mused.

James nodded, "The strongest."

They were sitting in Dumbledore's office two days after the meeting James had called in the Room of Requirement, just the pair of them. Dumbledore nodded and put the list down on his desk, then studied James a moment, and took up his wand, swishing it with a flick of his wrist. A decanter and two glencairn glasses appeared on his desk. James stared at them, then up at Dumbledore as Dumbledore opened the stopper on the decanter and poured a small amount of the dark amber whiskey into the glasses. Putting the stopper back in, he motioned to James to take the glasses closest to him, and Dumbledore lifted his own.

James felt nervous holding the glencairn. He stared down at the whiskey, then looked up at Dumbledore, in disbelief that the Headmaster was giving him alcohol. 

"To those who we've lost, and those who we fight to save, for the world we long to live in, and the lives that we long to create," Dumbledore said, holding his glass up in a cheers to James. He paused, then said, "In my family, we have long had an affinity for phoenix. It is said that when a Dumbledore is in need, a phoenix will ever be at their call." He looked toward Fawkes for a moment, then back to James. "Perhaps that is why the Order of the Phoenix appealed to me so." He smiled. "But in my family we have a motto - and I do think it will be a rather decent motto for the Order to adopt... if you deem it so worthy, Mr. Potter."

"What is it, sir?" James asked.

Dumbledore tilted his glass toward James and James inclined his glass too. Dumbledore cleared his throat, "From the ashes, we rise."

 ;....,m nbDumbledore clinked them together gently, then downed the entire glass in one go of it. James hesitated slightly, then mimicked Dumbledore, thankful for all the times he and Sirius had drank so that the burn in his throat and the rush in his head was not new, and he was able to hold his liquor as he swallowed down the warm whiskey.

James drew a deep breath, and put the empty glencairn on the desk. "Very good, sir." His voice was a little rough and croaky.

Dumbledore's mouth twitched into a smirk. "A bit better than Sirius Black's firewhiskey, I imagine."

James's face turned a light shade of red, and he nodded.

Dumbledore leaned forward, uncorked the decanter and poured another small amount in each of the two glasses, recorked the bottle, then opened a drawer, removed a parchment, and slid it across the desk to stand beside James's glass. "This doesn't leave this room, but it is only fair that we both know who we are working with," he said, and he leaned back, took a slow sip from the cup, and held it, swirling the liquid just below his nose.

James looked at the list before him.

Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Minerva McGonagall, Edgar Bones, Newt Scamander, Fabian Prewett, Gideon Prewett, Fleamont Potter, Euphemia Potter, Aberforth Dumbledore, Filius Flitwick, Kinsley Shacklebolt, Dorcas Meadows, Bilius Weasley, Caradoc Dearborn, Florean Fortescue, Jasper Odair, Frank Longbottom, Andrew Woodhouse, Megan Johnson.