true loves poison • james potter

26

Melissa held the Daily Prophet paper in her hands. A moving picture on the front displayed Harold Minchum, the minister, storming into the ministry dated for January twenty sixth, just a day prior. The title across the top read in thick black letters: Minister Denies Inability To Capture Voldemort.

"It's getting worse out there." Melissa said finally, breaking the silence between the three. Lowering the paper, Melissa looked between Liz and Lorelei, "Voldemort has killed three more muggle born wizards."

Silence stretched between the three as they sat on the floor of their dorm room. Liz, finishing a charms essay and Lorelei nearly finished with her book on blood magic.

"I just wish there was something we could do." Liz said gently, setting her quill down.

A knock reverberated through the room, and all three girls simultaneously looked at their door. "Who is it?" Lorelei called out.

"It's me!" Lily called, "Professor Dumbledore asked me to call you three into his office."

Lorelei looked at Liz and Melissa who echoed her expression of confusion. Setting down her book and standing up, she walked over to the door. Lily smiled back and handed her a slip of parchment, "That's the password to his office. It's on the seventh floor, tell the password to the gargoyle statue."

Looking down at the parchment, where fizzing whizzbees was written in impossibly perfect cursive, didn't help ease her confusion, "Why does Dumbledore want to see us?"

Shrugging, Lily answered, "I'm not sure. I was doing my prefect rounds when he found me and asked me to tell you three to go see him."

Melissa and Liz came up behind her, "Thank you, Lily." Melissa said, clearly still confused.

Nodding, Lily quietly walked off.

The three looked at each other and then silently left their dorm, shutting the door behind them, and started off toward the seventh floor. Walking in silence, they didn't encounter any prefects or professors as they walked to Dumbledore's office.

After arriving in front of the stone gargoyle, Lorelei read the words off the parchment, "Fizzing Whizzbees." Which not only made the gargoyle step aside, but also made the parchment crumble apart.

Together, the three walked up the spiral staircase. Knocking on the large door, Lorelei bounced on her heels as she waited for Dumbledore to say, "Come in!"

In total they waited three minutes before the door opened and their gray haired headmaster opened the door. "Welcome, do come in."

Stepping aside, Dumbledore gave them room to step inside before shutting the door behind them. "Take a seat ladies, please." Gesturing at the seats he arranged in front of his desk, Dumbledore sat behind his desk as he waited for them to sit.

Feeling unnerved, Lorelei sat as stiff as possible. "Lily said you asked to see us?" She said, not exactly knowing what else she could say.

"Yes, yes I did." Dumbledore said softly, "I have a very important question for the three of you, but before we get into the...less pleasant business. Please, tell me. How are you doing in your classes?"

Melissa answered first after seeing her friends we're unwilling. "Good enough I suppose."

Dumbledore hummed, "And you?" He looked between Lorelei and Elizabeth.

Lorelei breathed in deeply through her nose, making eye contact with Dumbledore, "Wonderful, thank you." As she held eye contact, she couldn't help but feel even more unnerved. Like Dumbledore had hundreds of eyes planted throughout the room that he could see her every shift of movement with.

"Fine." Liz said light and short, keeping her eyes wandering the room.

Dumbledore nodded and looked between the three girls again. "I have a proposition for the three of you, not unlike other proposals I've made to some of your peers. Have you heard of the dark wizard, Voldemort?"

A shiver ran down Lorelei's back. "Of course we have."

At her answer Dumbledore again made eye contact with her. "And how do you feel about him?"

Annoyance piqued in her stomach, mixing with her confusion and discomfort. "Upset, obviously. Who wouldn't be?"

Dumbledore nodded and squinted his eyes. "What an excellent question, Lorelei. You see, Voldemort is gathering followers to build an army. They call themselves Death Eaters."

The silence in the room turned suffocating as the girls waited for answers.

"Okay." Said Liz, breaking the silence for a moment.

Her voice seemed to spur Dumbledore into speaking again, "Voldemort can not be allowed to take hold of the wizarding world. Which is why," Dumbledore stood and walked over to his window, staring out at the grounds as he finished his thought. "I have been building an army of my own. In case things get dire."

With his back facing them, the girls shared looks. "That's great," Lorelei said completely unconvincingly, "But, professor, what does that have to do with us?"

Turning back to them, Dumbledore said, as if it was the most obvious conclusion in the world, "I want you to join, of course." He walked back over, "You three are some of the top students here at Hogwarts, and you have connections to students throughout houses."

Melissa stood to be at a similar height as Dumbledore, making the other two stand with her. "With all do respect, professor Dumbledore, were only seventeen-"

"Not all of us-" Lorelei cut off.

"We're only teenagers." Melissa finished. "What can we do that an auror, or a ministry official couldn't?"

"Voldemort hasn't corrupted anyone here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore folded his arms behind his back. "I can not say the same about those outside of Hogwarts that I have no ability to observe."

Biting her hangnail, Lorelei watched Elizabeth as she answered. "So you're saying you want us to join your army against Voldemort because you don't trust anyone outside of Hogwarts."

Dumbledore gave a small nod, "Yes, miss Turpin."

Dropping her hand from her mouth, Lorelei puffed out air. "What would you want us to do?"

"Hopefully," He started before sitting back down behind his desk, "Nothing. Yet." He clasped his hands on the desk, "There is very little you can do now, except keep your ears to the ground. If you choose to accept the invitation, I will let the other members of the order know. After you graduate, however." He tapped his hands against the desk and shrugged, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"The Order?" Melissa asked, leaning forward.

"The Order of The Phoenix. Named after Fawkes here." Dumbledore gestured to his pet phoenix, perched in its cage.

For a moment, the ravenclaws stared at the bird while Dumbledore looked unconcerned around the room.

"Okay." Lorelei finally said, looking away from Fawkes. "I'll join."

Liz nodded, "Sure."

Melissa looked between Liz and Lorelei. "I suppose."