The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

16. The Order of The Phoenix

Carly was in two minds about what she had agreed to do.
Her head told her that what she had done was stupid and dangerous, but her heart told her that she had made the right choice, for it was the best thing for her and Luna's future.
Even though they had agreed to join Voldemort, nothing in their lives had actually changed, and they both went home for the summer holidays as normal.
Neither of them were official death eaters yet, they were just Voldemort's spies. But they had chosen their side of the war, and they knew they could never turn back.

A few days into the summer holidays, Carly woke up to the sound of arguing coming from downstairs.
She quickly got dressed and headed towards the living room, where the shouting was coming from.
And as she stepped inside, she saw that Professor Dumbledore was stood opposite Andromeda, with a large black dog at his feet. And him and Andromeda were locked in a heated debate.
Ted was absent, as he was at work, so Carly decided to head over to Andromeda, to show that she had her guardian's back.

"I'm asking you to reconsider" begged Dumbledore.
"And I'm telling you that is not going to happen. I will not join the Order" insisted Andromeda.
"What's going on in here?" Questioned Carly.
"Nothing Carly. Why don't you go back upstairs, and leave the grown ups to talk?" Suggested Andromeda.
"But I want to know what's going on" replied Carly.
"This doesn't concern you".
"Actually Andromeda, this does concern Carly" said Dumbledore.
"No, it does not. Whether or not I join the Order of the Phoenix, has nothing to do with her or anybody else" countered Andromeda.

"But your own daughter has already joined me, so why wouldn't you want to do the same?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Nymphadora is an adult, so I have no say in what she does anymore. However, she is still young and immature, so she doesn't fully understand what she is getting herself into. She is too young to remember the first wizarding war. She doesn't know what it was like for us back then" replied Andromeda.
"You were not in the Order during the first war" reminded Dumbledore.
"I know that, and yet things still went very badly for me back then".

"I am trying to build up our army, as Voldemort does the same. And I want you and Ted to be a part of the Order. The Ministry is making things extremely difficult for me right now, which is why I need people like you on my side. I know you suffered back then, but so did everyone else. Molly lost both of her brothers last time, yet she has decided to join the fight this time. So, why won't you do the same?" Questioned Dumbledore.
"Molly and I are not the same, even if we are distant cousins. So, I do not need to copy her actions" replied Andromeda.

Carly's palms began to sweat profusely, as Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort building up his army, as her and Luna were a part of it. Which is something they had kept a secret from both of their families.
She knew the Order of the Phoenix was a secret organisation run by Dumbledore, that had tried to stop Voldemort in the first wizarding war.
And Carly really hoped that Andromeda didn't decide to join the Order, as she didn't want to be on the opposite side to all of her family. It was hard enough knowing that Nymphadora was in the Order. Carly didn't want Andromeda and Ted to join as well.

"Look, I lost a lot in the first war. And I am not about to put my family through more turmoil for you. I also can't go around making an enemy of the Ministry of Magic. My whole family were death eaters, which is why I can't risk moving against the Ministry. I can't give them a chance to lock me up with Bella" continued Andromeda.
"You and your sisters are very different. Just because Bellatrix turned out to be a death eater, it doesn't mean that all those who share Black family blood, are evil" insisted Dumbledore.

"I used to think that at first... I knew what Bella was, we all did. But she was still my sister, and I loved her, even though she watched as I was cast out from the family, and made no effort to defend me. I didn't think she was capable of the crimes she was accused of. But then I came to realise that Bella wasn't the black sheep of the family, I was. All of my family were dark and twisted. Cissy married Lucius Malfoy, a cold, evil man, who supported You-Know-Who. My little cousin Reggie turned out to be a death eater as well, and he was killed by his master, when he tried to back out. And then my favourite cousin Sirius..." Andromeda faltered as she mentioned Sirius, before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Sirius's betrayal hit me hard. I truely thought he was different from the rest of our family. I thought he was a good person, like me. He was in the Order afterall, and friends with the famous James Potter. And then Sirius turned out to be a murderous death eater just like the rest of our family... Things don't end well, when people in my family get involved in wars. Which is why I intend on staying out of this one" announced Andromeda.

Dumbledore looked down at the dog at his feet, before sighing deeply.
"If you think so badly about your family, then perhaps it is time I told you the truth about your favourite cousin... Sirius is an innocent man. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew, who was the real traitor. Peter placed the blame on Sirius, before disappearing from the world, so that everyone would believe he was dead. After escaping from Azkaban, Sirius came to tell me all this, and he revealed that James and him had changed the Potters secret keeper to Peter, hoping that no one would suspect him. Peter then betrayed the Potters, to save his own skin. Peter is also the one who helped Voldemort return to power... After learning the truth about Sirius's innocence, Mr Potter and I tried to convince Fudge, but he refused to believe us. The Minister doesn't believe anything, unless he sees it with his own eyes. Which is why he doesn't believe that Voldemort is back" revealed Dumbledore.

Andromeda and Carly's jaws dropped open in shock.
"That can't be true" insisted Andromeda.
"I'm afraid it is. Your cousin has been innocent all along" replied Dumbledore.
"But if Sirius was innocent why didn't he say so during his trial?" Asked Andromeda.
"Sirius was never given a trial. Barty sent him straight to Azkaban, as he believed he had enough evidence to convict Sirius, without the need for a full trial. He didn't even check Sirius's wand, to see who had performed the spell that had killed all those Muggles. Like you said, it's easy to believe that a member of House Black is a bad person, because your family has such a bad reputation. Barty thought he had a guilty man, and felt no need to dive further into the issue" informed Dumbledore.

"So, he just sent my cousin to prison, without evidence? He didn't check his wand, question lots of people, use Veriteserum, or look through Sirius's memories in a Pensieve?" Frowned Andromeda.
"No. He had a statement from me, and the surviving Muggles, and he felt that was all the evidence he needed" answered Dumbledore.
"But that is not right. He should not have abused his position of power like that, and sent Sirius to prison. He condemned an innocent man to a terrible fate. And I was lead to believe that Sirius was a death eater, even though the boy I knew as a child, was nothing like the murderer they were describing. I let the world taint my memories of Sirius. I can't believe I let myself get swepped up in the Ministry's lies" admitted Andromeda.

"It was not your fault. You were not to know. Even I didn't know the truth back then" said Dumbledore.
"But you've known he was innocent ever since he escaped, so why didn't you tell me? You've known for over a year, that my cousin was innocent, yet you didn't feel the need to tell me, until now?" Questioned Andromeda.
"It was too dangerous to tell you at the time, because the more people that knew about Sirius, the more danger he was it. And keeping Sirius safe is my top priority" explained Dumbledore.

"Why tell me now then? Why tell me at all?" Asked Andromeda.
"Because Voldemort's return changes everything, and we all need to band together if we want to defeat him" answered Dumbledore.
The dog beside his feet suddenly transformed into a scruffy looking man with black hair, which made everybody jump.
"And because I was tired of hiding from my family" announced the man.
"Sirius!" Gasped Andromeda.
"Hello Andy" smiled Sirius.
"Merlin's beard" mumbled Andromeda, before passing out onto the floor in shock.