𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧

━ twenty-three

"ARE WE GOING TO ignore the fact that Sirius's brother and Maddie Snape are leading a rebellion thingy?" James Potter asked as the four Marauders lounged around the living room in the Potter household. 

Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew stared at him blankly, as Remus Lupin avoided his gaze all together. 

"I guess we are," James muttered. 

In a way, James was jealous of Maddie and Regulus, who were already fighting while Dumbledore had repeatedly told the recruited members of the newly minted Order of the Phoenix that their time would come. 

But when? It was evident that they wouldn't be fighting anytime soon, while muggleborns lost their lives everyday. What if it was Lily Evans next? 

He abruptly stood up, ignoring the questioning stares from his friends as he strode out the door. Oh, he was going to fight, and Dumbledore wouldn't be able to stop him. 

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, Potter?" a venomous voice hissed in the dark. "Do my brother, or your friends know you're contacting me?"

"I know about your rebellion," James Potter replied, undeterred by the figure standing in the shadows.  

"What are you going to do about it?" the dark figure asked, not sounding concerned. 

"I want in," James simply said. 

"PRETTY BOY POTTER WANTS in on our Rebellion?" Maddilyn Snape asked in disbelief. "Don't make me laugh." 

"I was there, he sounded like he wanted to join," Regulus Black replied. 

"A Gryffindor? Willingly wanting to work with a pit full of snakes. Now that is definitely not something you see everyday," Maddie said. 

"So what are we going to do about it?" Milla Parkinson inquired. 

"We do need someone else on the inside of the Order of the Phoenix," Lucius Malfoy said. 

The four Rebellion leaders were meeting at Grimmauld Place to talk about the dilemma they were in. Maddie had used a spell that she and her brother created to make sure that Walburga and Orion Black wouldn't hear a word they were saying. 

"Nightshade's not enough?" Maddie asked. "Plus Reg and I are going to join."

"Nightshade is new blood, which means, though it's unlikely, that she could be blamed for suspicious behavior. Potter has the trust of Dumbledore and literally all the Gryffindors," Lucius reasoned. "There's no way you two will get information from Dumbledore. I suspect the only reason that he ever asked you two to join was to make sure the Rebellion was in his control, and that he could oversee it as he saw fit."

"Nobody on the Rebellion will listen to him," Milla scoffed. "Dumbledore's literally the one who has made every Slytherin's life a living hell. 

"Real question is, if we do accept Potter into our ranks, will we have him know that his god-sister is also in on our Rebellion?" Regulus asked. 

"I believe they are really close to each other, so it's possible that they might let it slip," Lucius stated. 

"No, we can't let them know, nor work together," Maddie said. "Their status as a Rebellion member would stay secret from everyone. Us four would be the only ones that know about their allegiances. And on the chance that they do let it slip, I'll Obliviate them." 

"And on the second topic of why we're here, how is Horcrux hunting going?" Milla asked. 

SIRIUS BLACK WATCHED AS the snow fell in the Potter's backyard. It was early in the morning, so none of the others were awake. 

The serenity was nice, as Sirius contemplated his life. He wondered what went wrong with him and Maddilyn Snape. What did he do fundamentally wrong, that Maddie went off dating his brother?

Sirius Black didn't know. And seeing her on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, going to Grimmauld Place to stay with his brother just broke his heart even more. 

The world was turning on him. And Sirius didn't know how to feel. Did he deserve the bad karma? It seemed like the universe was telling him he deserved it. And Sirius was slowly coming to agree with the idea that he deserved it. 

"CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE PART OF the Snake Bite Rebellion," Regulus Black told James Potter. 

"Who would've imagined, a self-righteous Gryffindor working with a pit of snakes," Maddilyn Snape said, smirking. "It's ironic, really." 

"It's surprising you two are fighting against Voldemort, and not for him," James said. 

Regulus winced at the name, and it was evident James noticed. 

"Slytherins aren't evil, Potter, it would do you some good to realize that," Maddie snapped. "Sure, having Voldy being a Slytherin Alumni doesn't help, however people don't realize that the majority of the next generation Slytherins are in this Rebellion." 

"Riddle me this, Potter," the cold, drawling, unfortunately familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy, said, the Malfoy heir startling James as he stepped out of the shadows. "Sirius Black comes from a family of Slytherins, yet he doesn't share the same morals as a typical pureblood. He gets Sorted into Gryffindor and eventually gets disowned. Meanwhile, the rest of us live in most cases, an abusive place to grow up, and are actually doing something about the war, because we also don't believe in the morals of purebloods. But we get alienated if we ever admit it.  Your Order of the Phoenix can't do anything for the war because they don't have the intel, and your oh so precious Dumbledore wants to ally himself with us because he doesn't care if we, the 'evil' Snakes, take the fall. The best way to rebel is from inside the system, not from outside. You can attack the system all you want, but you can destroy it from the inside." 

"Hold up a sec, did I just hear you quote something from a Muggle book?" Maddie asked in disbelief. 

"Shut up, Snape," Malfoy said, glaring at the onyx-haired girl. 

Maddie grinned and looked back at James. "Final chance to back out Potter. You'll be getting intel that none of your bloody self-righteous Gryffindors get, and won't be able to share them, like your hero complex urges you to do. Are you willing to lie to your friends, to fight for the Snakes like they are your fellow lions, to potentially die for one of us?" 

"Yes," James said simply. He hoped he didn't regret it later. (spoiler alert, he would)

"Then I, Maddie Snape, accept you, James Potter, into the ranks of the Snake Bite Rebellion," Maddie declared. 

"I, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, accept James Potter into the ranks of the Snake Bite Rebellion," Malfoy said in the same manner as Maddie. 

"I, Regulus Arcturus Black, accept James Potter into the ranks of the Snake Bite Rebellion," Regulus said. 

James nearly jumped as another person spoke. "I, Milla Aldara Parkinson, accept James Potter into the Ranks of the Snake Bite Rebellion." 

"We said it, so mote it be," the four said in unison. At that moment, a green and silver burst of magic came from each of their wands and was circled around James' right ring finger. As the light died down, he saw the initials SBR, similar to the pendants that the four SBR leaders wore, except in the background of his, instead of a silver snake, was a gold lion. 

"Unlike most SBR rings, yours has limited contact, only to us four and others if we deem it needed," Maddie said. "Now go before your friends get too suspicious." 

So James left, feeling slightly excited, but also nervous as he realized, he just committed himself to fight a war. But this war he was fighting for? He wasn't fighting from the good or evil standpoint, he was fighting from the gray area. The most unpredictable side of a war. He was wondering what he was getting himself into, and if it was worth it.