minnow // sirius black

fifty-seven

57 ;  missions

Before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve. 

I ended up having to stay in the hospital, under very close supervision, for nearly two weeks. The moment that my blood had replenished itself, my white blood cells decided to rain Armageddon down on my body. 

The effects of the Cruciatus Curse mixed with the complete and utter exhaustion was overwhelmingly harmful. 

Arlo finally agreed to release me when my blood was no longer actively trying to kill me.

There was no welcome home party this time. 

While I was side-lined for health reasons, a large group of Death Eaters attacked the village that Lily and James were living in. They managed to break into their home, through the dozens of charms that Lily had placed. It was an extremely close call, as Lily and James had managed to hide under James' invisibility cloak under their neighbor's playset while Death Eater's raided their home. Lily was forced to cast a silencing charm on Harry to keep the Death Eaters from hearing him, and finding them. 

I was the only person who had been told of their location.

Since the raids had been so dangerous, so close, Albus was extremely weary and had begun to suspect anyone and everyone of being a mole. As I no longer trusted him, I refused to put Remus or Peter in danger by telling Albus that I was wary of them. Before the dueling club, when I did trust him, I hadn't gotten the chance to discuss them with him. I didn't trust him anymore by the first chance I got to talk to him about a mole in the Order.

For all I knew, he would have them both murdered on the spot. 

So he told me, and only me, where they were. This was immediately before the dueling club, so it is a possibility that someone followed Lily and James home from the hospital, and then ratted. 

Albus then moved Lily and James to a manor Bulgaria, under extreme supervision. There were five Aurors stationed in the manor with them at a time, and ten more blending in with the nearby villagers.  

I had gone to an Order meeting, held the week after I was released from St. Mungo's. The entire meeting was spent with everyone awkwardly avoiding looking at me. I didn't blame a single one of them, as I looked as though I was fatally ill. I had been unable to sleep for weeks, having constant nightmares of the duel every time I even dozed. 

Arlo had been forced to give me a dreamless potion, as well as a sleep potion. 

Even then, I was far too anxious to even think of sleeping, so the dark circles under my eyes were so bad. I had lost a significant amount of weight and looked as though I was a shell of a person. 

Just as much as everyone was avoiding looking at me, they were all glaring deeply at Albus. 

The events of the dueling club had sent a shock wave rippling through the Order, and everyone who had heard was weary around him. They all looked at him with distrust in their eyes. If he could betray someone he was so adamant about protecting, then who wouldn't he hurt? If he was fine with nearly killing me, one of the few people Albus considered vital to the success of the Order, what wouldn't he do?

At that Order meeting, I learned about the increase in Death Eaters patrolling the streets. I learned of the increase in kidnaps, tortures, and bodies being dropped on Order member's doorsteps. They knew that I was not stupid enough to apparate into their headquarters, so they figured that kidnapping their targets was significantly more efficient.

When the meeting adjourned, Albus asked for James, Sirius and I to stay behind for a moment.

Lily was home with Harry, as they both had a cold.