The Art of Living - R. Black

five

September 20th, 1995

The drawing room of 12 Grimmauld Place is filling up as new and old members of the Order find their seats. Sirius is seated at the head of the table, Remus on his left, Regulus on his right. I am currently seated between Regulus and Emmeline.

I'm half listening to the story that Emmeline is telling me about her older brother, Eric. I'm more focused on watching the people that come into the room. There are some familiar faces, and some new ones.

I genuinely have no idea how many people will be here. The Order was a decent size during the first war, but there were so many casualties that few people from the original Order remain.

The seats are starting to fill up so I'm assuming that Dumbledore should be here soon to start the meeting.

"Meredith-," Emme said softly.

"Sorry-, what'd you say?" I asked, meeting her eyes.

Emmeline smiled, "I asked what house Elio got sorted into."

"Oh, right. Elio got sorted into Slytherin," I said with a smile.

"I figured he would, either that or Ravenclaw," Emmeline commented.

Regulus leaned in and joined in the conversation. "I'm out five galleons because I thought he was going to be Ravenclaw," He admitted.

"And I'm five galleons richer," I said, patting my husband on the cheek.

Someone else walked into the drawing room, causing me to flick my gaze to the doorway. Jack looked around the room, his eyes falling on Regulus, Emmeline, and I.

"Sorry, am I late?" Jack asked.

Regulus sat up straighter. "Yes," He said.

I stepped on his foot underneath the table, making him welp. Sirius watched the whole thing, looking very amused.

"No, Dumbledore's not here yet," Emmeline answered. "Take a seat."

Jack nodded, taking a seat on the other side of Emmeline.

Tonks, who was sitting directly across from me, next to Remus, leaned in. "Wait, isn't that your ex boyfriend?" She whispered.

"Yes, that's Jack," I whispered back.

She looked extremely entertained. "So that explains why Regulus's sudden attitude."

"I'm not a fan, never have, never will be," Regulus muttered.

I leaned closer to Regulus to whisper in his ear. "Joue bien, mon chéri," I whispered. "At the end of the night, I'll be going home with you, not him."

Regulus inhaled sharply, placing his hand on my thigh under the table. "You make a good point, love." His pinky brushed against the hem of my dress. "Have I told you how much I love it when you talk French to me?"

I grabbed his hand and set it back on the table. "Tell me later, we've got a meeting to attend to," I whispered.

The drawing room doors were closed as two final people entered the drawing room. Dumbledore took his seat at the opposite head of the table, and Severus took a seat beside him.

I could practically hear Sirius roll his eyes at Severus, a clear look of distaste on his face.

I guess some grudges never go away, especially if they're grudges held by the Black brothers.

"We'll get started now," Dumbledore announced. "Welcome everyone to the first official meeting of the Order of the Phoenix."

I glanced over at Remus who looked like he might be sick. To his side, Sirius had an almost proud look on his face. Being called back to fight in a second war is something that I never wanted to do, but now I have other people to think about.