𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜𝗜 ━━ 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘
083. the order of the phoenix

          𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦, Professor McGonagall was not there. Instead, Dumbledore stood in the office as he stared out of the window silently. 

"Good. You two are finally here,"

"Potter insisted on taking the longer route," Scarlet blurted out, and James shot her an unamused look. 

"I was hoping I could speak to you about something very important," Dumbledore sat down and gestured for the confused teens to take seats. 

When James and Scarlet sat next to each other, Dumbledore started to speak slowly and softly, very careful with every word.

"Whilst Miss Bridget already knows, I want to inform you all the details of my secret organisation," He said, and James glanced at the blonde in utter confusion whilst she wore a rigid expression. "The Order of the Phoenix."

"The Order of — what, now?" James questioned, slightly frowning. 

"The Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore repeated. "It is a secret organisation I have created against Lord Voldemort. It consists of witches and wizards loyal and determined to bring an end to all atrocity. Loyal and determined such as yourselves."

Scarlet's back straightened as she took a deep inhale, and James was incredibly quiet. 

Dumbledore turned to James, "Your parents are part of it," said the man before turning to Scarlet. "Most of the Aurors part of this society are recommended by your mother."

James and Scarlet glanced at each other again, each buried in their own perplexing thoughts. Celeste never spoke about it and neither did James' parents. 

"I am well aware you are very young but that makes you least exposed to manipulation and treacherous acts from the outside world. We need all the help we can get and there are no better influencers I could have asked other than you two," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Talk to your friends, the ones you trust with your life."

"Absolutely," Potter agreed almost instantly, a fierce Fryffindor-like look in his irises whilst Scarlet remained still and quiet, trying to reach a calculated decision in her mind and thinking of all the advantages and disadvantages of getting her friends involved. 

"Thank you, Mr Potter," Dumbledore smiled, satisfied. "I must emphasise how confidential the Order is. I need to make sure I can count on the two of you."

"When will we be able to join?" Potter asked, leaning forward. 

"Well, you must wait until after graduation, and then during your time at the Order, you will be assigned tasks and missions based on what I hear about Lord Voldemort's whereabouts," he silently glanced at Scarlet who nodded sharply, taking the hint of his words. 

When no further questions were asked in between the streched out pause the professor took, he nodded and got up from his seat.

"That will be all, please, do speak to your friends," said Dumbledore. "And do not frustrate Minerva to this extent again, this is my humble request for your two."

James let out a quiet chuckle at the words, "No promises, sir," he grinned lightly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight to you both," when he left, Professor McGonagall entered instantly as though she was waiting for the conversation to be over. She still looked furious and rolled her eyes when she saw James smiling at her. 

"Hello, Minnie," greeted Potter, and even cold-faced Scarlet could not help but smile at that. "Your robes look rather stunning today, is it a new one?"

"Shut up, Potter, I have loads of work to get to," McGonagall ignored him for the time being, starting to mark some homework. She tasked the two of them with organising some of the books on her shelves in alphabetical order which proved to be a difficult task for James — why, Scarlet did not know. He probably does not even know his alphabet and was under the impression that n comes before m.

Not even fifteen minutes passed by before Potter nudged her with his elbow, "Bridget," he hissed. She turned to glare at him which made him continue. "Why did you not say anything?"

"I did not want to give him the satisfaction of an answer," said the girl. "If I seem too eager, he will expect things. I do not like expectations, I like performing based on different circumstances."

James squinted his eyes, stopping at his tasks and looking at her dumbfounded for a few seconds, then he blurted out, "That makes no sense."

"It would if you did not possess a pea-sized brain." She declared with a smirk, putting the last book back on the shelf.

"Excellence. The two of you are done," McGonagall noticed instantly, eyeing the two with a glare to indicate she was still annoyed. "You might as well stay and complete the homework I have set for you, Mr Potter."

"Oh, erm... I have done those already," James replied, scratching his neck awkwardly.

With his words, both McGonagall and Scarlet gave him a crude look, brows furrowed and confusion littering their faces. Scarlet mumbled quietly, "You mustn't tell lies, Potter."

"I'm not." James replied shortly.

"Oh," McGonagall nodded, still perplexed. She turned to Scarlet, "And I presume you've done everything, too."

"Of course, I have."

McGonagall smiled lightly, "Then you both may leave."

James' brows shot up to his brows, "Really?"

"Well, yes," the professor chuckled softly, "take as many biscuits as you two may need on your way out," she pointed lazily to a tray and went back to grading some papers.

      Whilst Scarlet did not take anything, James went forward and took a biscuit in his hand, and then two. Slowly, he looked up and saw a distracted McGonagall, so he took the entire tray.

"Potter, stop following me." Scarlet sighed after walking for a few minutes down the corridors of the castle, watching James who walked rather closely behind her from the corner of her eyes. "Go back to your dorm. Your boyfriends must be waiting."

"I'm dropping you off at the dungeons, Bridget, you should be lucky to have such a gentleman by your side."

"Sod off."

      When they turned around the corner, a small whimper echoed through the corridors, and the two teens shared a horrified, wide-eyed look, coming to an abrupt stop. 

"Oh, Merlin, are they shagging?" James grimaced, leaning against the wall.

"Don't ask me, you're the one with the glasses." Scarlet shrugged wide-eyed expression on her face before starting to walk.

      Suddenly, James placed an arm out before her and pushed her behind him, suddenly alerted.

"I don't think they're shagging..." said the boy. Scarlet fell silent, and the two seventh years approached the source of the noise.

"Get off." A feminine voice muttered and was silenced instantly.

"Shh, we're just having fun—"

James took out his wand, and Scarlet followed suit, "Lumos." The boy muttered, and a flash of light blazed through the empty, dark corridor.

      There was a tall boy in ivy who had a younger Hufflepuff student pressed against the wall, and his lips disconnected from hers the moment James cast the charm and the place illuminated.

"Depulso." Scarlet cast, flickering her wand strongly and the boy was thrown against a wall, a low grunt leaving his lips. Without thinking again, she cast another spell out of anger, "Diffindo—!"

"NO, BRIDGET!" A wide-eyed James hit her arm, and the spell hit a wall instead. The harshness and choice of spells caused the shivering girl against the wall to yelp out in fear.

James' fury-filled eyes fell on the heaving Slytherin boy; Potter lunged forward and his fist connected with his jaw. The boy gasped in pain, and Potter hit him again in the stomach. "Stupid fucking moron!" Were the words he used.

Scarlet's eyes fell on the crying girl and she tugged at her by her yellow robes, dragging her a little further away from James' violent resorts.

"Look at me. Leave. Tomorrow morning, speak to a professor," Scarlet ordered. "Tell someone what happened."

The girl had damped tears on her cheeks, "Nobody will believe me—"

"If they dare dismiss you," Scarlet cut through, and her voice cracked roughly which caused James to turn around swiftly, eyes filled with concern laying on both girls. "Tell them to speak to Scarlet Bridget and James Potter. The two of us will handle everything."

"Scarlet Bridget and James Potter," the girl muttered quietly, trying to memorise the names. She locked eyes with the blonde as she looked up again, and smiled very softly. "Bridget and Potter."

"Now go back to your dorm and get some rest." She said, and the girl nodded again, not seemingly minding her cold tone.

      James and Scarlet were left alone again, and the two kept staring forward where the girl disappeared around the corridor. Suddenly, Scarlet turned around, ignored whatever James opened his mouth to say, and pushed past his shoulders harshly.

"Bridget—?" Realistically, he could not help but follow Scarlet, still a little worried about the way she sounded when she spoke to the girl.

      He huffed in annoyance when Scarlet chose the toilet Moaning Myrtle resided out of all the others. He did not know why she ran, and neither did he care about how irritated she would be to see him following her.

"Bridget?" James stomped over towards her, and then with wide eyes, he rushed into the toilet and stepped over to the sink she was staring at in concentration, hands clutching the edges as she suddenly threw up. James pushed the hair out of her face and tugged them into a messy ponytail behind her, looking away instantly. "Tell me what's wrong. Should I — I'm going to call Poppy."

When she straightened her posture after feeling a little less sick, she shoved him away from her figure, harshly.

"Bridget, Bridget," James softly uttered, closely studying her as he twirled his wand, flickering it as a large, floating, silver stag took shape. Scarlet could not hear anything after that, her ears were blocked as well as her lungs. She could only assume he was sending a Patronus—to whom? The Charm caused the toilet to brighten up, and Potter saw her red her cheeks had gotten.

      Alarm bells rang in her mind when James took another step closer, placing his hand on her elbow—although assuring, his touch felt bloody. It burned her skin. She stepped away with a small whimper escaping her lips.

"Please, don't touch me." She turned sideways, trying to hide her rosy face as she felt utterly humiliated all of the sudden—so weak and pathetic. Nothing even happened to her.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry," James muttered quickly in one breath, locking his hands behind his back and taking a step back. The girl stepped further and further away until her back hit the wall—trying to keep maximum distance between her and anybody else.

"I'm fine. Get out." She uttered strongly.

"I'm not going anywhere, you're ill," James retorted in a much softer tone compared to her harsh one. "You have to see Madam Pomfrey."

"I don't need any of that," she clutched onto the sink again, a lurch in her stomach making its way back. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and Potter could only see her side profile. "Get out, Potter."

"Bridget—"

"I said get out!" She screamed back just when another pair of footsteps hurried in.

"What the hell is going on here?"

      Sirius. Oh, Sirius.

      From the corner of her eyes, she could see Sirius' face dropping, brows furrowed, eyes wide as he brushed past a panicking James, and ran towards his girl. He ran a hand through her hair, collecting it and pushing it back as he tugged her towards him, squeezing her hands.

     She's safe, it's just Sirius. She's safe.

      Sirius pulled her head towards his chest, pressing his chin atop her head. She felt so very safe in his arms, it scared her.

"I'm okay. I'm just fine." She sobbed, trying to bring clarity to the fact that she was in fact well. "I'm fine."

"Shh, I know. I know, love. You're okay." Sirius whispered, holding her tightly.

Scarlet pulled away and wiped her tears away, "Where's Potter?" Asked the girl, mustering a neutral tone. Potter peaked his head from the entrance of the toilet. 

"I'm still here," said the boy. Sirius looked between them with a perplexing expression. "Are you feeling better?"

She nodded assuringly before speaking, "We have to speak to them about..." she trailed off.

"Oh, yeah," James nodded sharply. "Sirius, Minnie gave us a whole tray of bis—"

"Potter, what the fuck — not that, you dipshit," she scoffed, shaking her head at him.

James' lips parted to form an 'o' shape, "Oh, yeah, so Padfoot, we need to wake up all our friends, there is something important we need to talk about." Potter said before turning to Scarlet, eyes roaming over her figure in long-lasting concern. "Get Chasseur and meet us in the Gryffindor Common Room."

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Sirius asked, and Potter and Bridget ignored his question.

      SCARLET PUT UP PROTECTIVE ENCHANTMENTS around the red and gold common room so nobody could hear them. James was explaining everything, from the secret organisation to all the tasks. Scarlet took a seat in the empty space where Sirius left a seat for her, between him and James.

"And Dumbledore talked to Bridget and me about this secret organisation to fight Voldemort's army," James pointed between him and the girl, nodding along with his explanation.

"The Order of the Parrots." Scarlet nodded confidently.

"Phoenix," James squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance, not at her mistake, but at the urge to chuckle. The momentum of the situation kept him rigid. "The Order of the Phoenix, we were asked to join."

Marlene scoffed. "What's a bunch of eighteen-year-olds gonna do?" Asked the girl. "Don't get me wrong but we need Auror training first."

"There are Aurors in this society," Scarlet nodded. "Very experienced and trusted Aurors who would guide us quickly and efficiently."

"The Auror thing is precisely the issue, Scarlet found out from her mother that the Ministry is not letting Aurors fight the war to the best of their ability — they're holding back," James explained. "The Order is there to protect civilians."

"We don't know anything about the war," a sleepy Everest chimed in from next to Marlene. "They are not even allowed to tell us."

"Dumbledore said we can be trusted," James said frustratedly. "We can fight, we can do it."

"You and your friends spent the last seven years spilling slime on people and changing their hair colour!" Marlene shrieked. "You think that's gonna help us win a war?"

Alice interrupted, voice quieter than her friend's. "What she's trying to say is, we don't have the skills or resources to help them."

"Dumbledore believes otherwise!" James snapped back.

"Dumbledore is a jerk!" Everest argued too, joining in as Alice added to her statement.

"We're a bunch of kids!"

James scoffed, "You know, I'm sure Frank would join," he told Alice.

"Scarlet said things went downhill the moment she got close to fighting this," Everest shook her head. "We're not ready to fight an all-powerful dark wizard who destroys everything in sight!"

"Don't you dare use her experience as an excuse!" Sirius chimed in in disbelief at the mention of Scarlet's situation.

Marlene turned to him with an astonished look. "You're on their side?" She pointed at James and Scarlet.

"Maybe we shouldn't take sides—" Peter spoke quietly, but the others' booming voice overpowered him.

"As he should be!" James frantically pointed at Sirius, answering Marlene's question. "If he wants to join, it's the right thing."

"Sirius is only agreeing because of Scarlet!" The McKinnon girl snapped back.

"This is war, some of us didn't even take Defence Against the Dark Arts." Remus threw his arms up, referring to some of his friends.

"Maybe you guys should have!" yelled Sirius.

"Sure, argue ahead, I'm sure if this war was a verbal fight, you'd destroy the Death Eaters!" Scarlet scoffed with annoyance, crossing her arms and slumping back into her seat.

Everest shot her a look in disbelief. "You really want them to have another chance to ruin your life?" Scarlet scoffed mindlessly.

"I'm sure there are Aurors and other adults for defense," Alice spoke slyly and tiredly.

"But Dumbledore asked us, he thinks we can do it—" James argued his case, Marlene cut him off with a raised tone.

"Well, Dumbledore needs to shove his bullshit offer up his fat arse—"

"That's enough from you two!" Sirius stops the two of them from arguing further. "Why would anybody not want to fight to make this better?"

Everest then sits up from her seat. "If you want to sell your youth to fight on the frontline whilst Dumbledore and actual trained soldiers simply sit there, and enjoy the show... then be my guest!" She slammed her drink on the table, standing up and turning to Scarlet. "Stand up, we're leaving." 

      Scarlet sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose angrily as the others continued to argue.

James simultaneously stands up, facing his friends. "There are two options, one, we watch from the sidelines as that bastard kills more Muggles, just like he did Lily's parents—or, we can do something to stop him so we don't regret all those innocent people's deaths for the rest of our lives." He firmly ended.

"What happened to Lily's parents?" Everest asked, looking as confused as Scarlet.

Peter sighed softly, "You don't know?"

"They were killed last night — that is why Lily went home. The Muggles say there was a fire at the campsite they visited, it took out about ten of the Muggles." Alice explained.

Bitterly, fuming with anger, Marlene added, "But we know it was You-Know-Who's work, we have to..." Then it clicked, she had to do something. Everest could see the moment Marlene's mind changed, a different and more fierce look in her eyes.

"In that case, I know where I stand on the matter," Scarlet said from her seat, staring at everybody as firmly. "There's only one right thing to do, and you know what it is."

A deadly silence reigned the room as Sirius broke it, "I'm in."

      James nodded with a half-smile, bringing the boy into a hug and patting his back in a boyish manner. His eyes trailed to everyone else.

Surprisingly, after a few beats of silence, Marlene seemed very confident with her concluding decision. "Count me in, too."

"Moony?" The Potter asked.

"So am I," Remus said after a short pause, firmly shaking hands with the smiling and proud Potter boy.

Marlene smiled encouragingly at Everest's hesitant expression, nodding to give her a form of relaxation. "I'm in, too." Everest went ahead and kissed her cheek, an action that looked rather friendly to everybody in the room but Scarlet who knew about the couple.

Alice shrugged, wiping her tears away from when she cried silently about Lily's parents, and holding Marlene's hand. "We can do it."

All eyes were on Peter whose lips trembled in fear. Slowly, he raised his arms, fist-pumping James as he spoke. "I–I'm in."

Everest pulled up Scarlet into a standing position, hugging her tightly as the blonde kissed her temple in sudden joy. 

"If any of you gets hurt, I will hex Dumbledore into Oblivion." Chasseur promised.

"We can count on Eve when it comes to that," Scarlet chuckled lightly despite the shallow and crooked mood.

      In a world full of darkness, they were each other's light. They were going to avenge Lily's parents. None of it would go in vain.

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

so i think i've left everest's personality
really vague, of course, she's a gossip girl
quite extroverted and loves quidditch.
i want to add more to her personality
because i love her sm.
i want ur opinions on how u see her

so let me know!!