Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

4 March, 1980 - Assistance

The start of the new year passed uneventfully, rung in by the quiet clinking of glasses at midnight in the little house by the sea. No one murmured foolish nonsense about expecting things to change in the new year. It had been months without change by now and they were all just hoping they could hold everything the way it was because the world seemed so unlikely to swing in their favor.

But things did start changing in the new year. Within a month, Minister Minchum stepped down, finally bowing to mounting pressure from those who said he wasn't doing enough. Replacing him was Millicent Bagnold, who everyone seemed to have high hopes of. Lavinia couldn't blame them. Though she knew little of the woman, hearing her talk it was impossible to deny that she was tough. And she intended to fight.

The hit wizards most certainly liked her. They praised her as a leader who understood what it meant to be on the front lines and she mobilized them in droves. This meant plenty more work for Lavinia as not a day went by that five or six hit wizards didn't enter the ward with some sort of injury. More and more frequently, being on call was less a formality and more just an extra shift dedicated entirely to the side ward.

It seemed incredible to all of them that things could really be changing, and changing for the better. It seemed to good to be true. Because it was.

On the other side of the war things were also changing. The Dark Lord had mobilized the giants and between them and the seemingly renewed fervor of the Death Eaters, the Ministry's increased response didn't seem to be having much of an effect.

Naturally, the Order responded with as much strength as they could muster and Lavinia was left home alone increasingly often. She knew Remus and especially Sirius felt rather guilty about this, but she always assured them that it was okay. That she didn't mind because they were fighting for a good cause. That she would be fine on her own. But this was an outright lie.

She did mind. And she was quickly realizing that she was not fine.

Too often she woke up from dreams of their deaths at the hands of all too familiar faces. Too often, she spent the wee hours half hoping she would be called to the hospital if only so she'd have something to do because the dark and the silence kept echoing her nightmares back to her. Too often, there was no one for her to run to.

Sometimes Lily came over, when James was away as well. Lily had insisted that she was fine to fight, that she wanted to fight, but James wouldn't hear a word of it. Knowing her friend felt useless and frustrated, Lavinia did her best to teach the redhead a few healing spells so she could at least be of some assistance when Dumbledore inevitably came to the door with Order members for Lavinia to patch up. And Lily was good at it.

Lavinia had always known the other girl, like Lavinia herself, had a penchant for both charms and potions, but even she was surprised at how quickly the other girl picked up healing magic. It was useful, however, and Lavinia couldn't deny that it was nice that she didn't always have to be the one to patch people up. It was getting old, really. Old enough, that Lavinia had taken to keeping a small stash of particularly useful potions in the bathroom cupboard to save herself time and energy, both of which seemed all too precious these days.

On a blustery day in early March, when Lavinia was sitting with Lily, playing cards and trying to stave off the worry-laced quiet that permeated the house, Dumbledore appeared once again at the front door. This was becoming somewhat normal as Lavinia flat out refused to have random people apparating on her doorstep. If Dumbledore or one of her friends didn't bring them, then they weren't coming inside her home. She didn't want to risk it. And it said something that neither Dumbledore or any of the others challenged her on it.

But this time, Dumbledore didn't come with someone for her to heal. He came with a somber expression and a question Lavinia had been dreading for some time now. With the addition of the giants to the war, clear targets had been marked for the first time. While the Death Eaters seemed to vanish into the wind and no one knew where they were holed up, giants were far more difficult to hide, which made the giant camps targets. The Death Eaters, of course, knew this, and, not wanting to take risks, always stationed a few wizard guards at each camp. This did nothing to stop the Order of the Ministry, but it did plenty to make their lives difficult.