Grimmauld Place: The Orders Hideout

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You're just like Remus with that chocolate, Tillie." He smiled weakly and broke off a piece, popping it into his mouth. " His eyes flew to Claire as she entered the kitchen. "I wouldn't mind help actually." He looked down at the bandages now in his lap. "Bit hard wrapping your own arm up."

"Thought it would be," Claire said, smiling as she pulled a chair over to him. She sat down, crossing her ankles beneath the chair, and took one of the bandages in her right hand. "Here, just hold up your arm," she said. "Lots of experience bandaging younger sibling's cuts and scratches, don't worry. Though yours are quite a bit deeper. What-?" she began to ask, then stopped; she had no right to pry. "Nevermind," she muttered, a soft pink blush now upon her cheeks, and gently began to bandage his arm.::

"Werewolves." He muttered grimly, holding his arm up. "Spying with Moony you know." He sighed and shook his head. He gave a weary smile as he watched her. "Least I know I'm in good hands."

"Must be hard, going undercover there," Claire said, not raising her eyes from his arm. "Haven't gotten to know Lupin much, no one here trusted me enough to be in meetings or anything until about a year after I joined so I didn't really have the chance to."

::She came to the end of the bandage and tied a tight knot, tucking it under. As she reached for another, she continued, "I brought coffee and tea to the doors of wherever they were meeting, knocked, and set the tray down. Someone would open the door, pick it up, and I was suposed to be gone by then. I expect they thought I'd drop out, get tired of doing meaningless chores....But I stayed." Didn't- don't have anywhere else to go, she added to herself. She shrugged and began wrapping the second bandage around his arm.::

"It is, but you get use to it, I suppose...Bloody hard staying away from Greyback though..." He crinkled up his nose as he watched her. "Lupin's a right nice fellow...keeps me out of trouble most of the time." His vived eyes watched as she worked,full of a worn-out sort of look unbecoming of a man his age. "They can be stubborn like that. I only got in because Lupin took me under his wing."

Tillie came back, changed for the mission, and sighed as she sat down on a chair. She smiled at Aiden and Claire.

"Chocolate is a very good remedy for the mind," she said, grinning and nodding. "Not for the body though," she added thoughtfully.

She giggled and got back on her feet, winking at them before leaving the room to go see if Mila had arrived yet.

Dylan appeared with a loud crack outside Grimmauld Place, much like he had earlier in the day, muttering and cursing under his breath. Whichever idiot had decided to assign him to teaching battle ethics and morale to the rookies was going to be hexed into next week when he got his hands on them, as the note he'd just left pinned to the municipal notice board in the department plainly told everyone.

He just hoped it wasn't Moody. Moody would kick his arse into next week and then hex him into next fortnight.

He opened the door quietly, managing to creep through the Hallway this time without awakening that troll in the portrait. He spied Tillie up ahead, flagging her down with a silent hand gestures.

"Are you all ready?" He whispered, keeping his voice purposefully low not just for the portrait of Mrs. Black, but also for any enquiring ears that might have chosen to pick up on their conversation.

Tillie saw Dylan and raised an eyebrow.

"I am... but Mila is not here yet," she said.

::Claire waved a good-bye to Tillie, puzzled. Whatever had she giggled for? There was nothing remotely funny about the situation that Claire could see. She was merely helping a fellow Order member, that's all. And if he happened to be a particularly good looking Order member...well, that had nothing to do with it.::

::Feeling someone watching her, Claire raised her eyes and saw Aiden's, careworn and tired, looking at her. She quickly looked back down to her hands and the long gash on his arm, now mostly covered.::

"Once this is done you're getting some sleep," Claire said sternly, carefully wrapping the bandage around a particularly wide section of the gash. Her eyes narrowed slightly, angry of what he had had to live with, as she continued, "They've been working you too hard, that's easy to see. You need rest and time to recover and aren't going back to wherever you are usually until you're back to normal if I have anything to say about it."

::She smiled a small sad smile, not caring if she sounded a bit like his mother. Claire couldn't help worrying about him, she had always been that way. Worried about her parents when they went away for long periods of time while she was a child, worried about her older siblings when they joined with the dark when she was a teenager, and worried about the futures of her two younger siblings, if they would escape and come to her or follow the rest of their family. Images of a boy and girl of around thirteen and fourteen years old flitted into her mind. Both with the dark hair and eyes like their family, the looked like they had seen too much in their few years. That's what growing up with Death Eaters did to you, as Claire had realized when she was about their age. The images she saw were of when she had seen them last. Tanya's going to be seventeen this year and Nick's already sixteen, she realized suddenly. No, don't think about them right now, she thought. Can't afford to be thinking of them tonight....::

His eyes moved to Tillie as she left, giving a small wave to the girl. Why in the world was she giggling? He shook his head, dismissing the inquiry from his mind. he was far too tired to think about that now.

He noticed the start Claire gave when she saw him looking at her and allowed a small smile. He had seen Claire about Grimmauld Place before, but they never had really talked...he was usually rushing in to get something or to tend to a wound...or because his temper had risen so high being so near to Greyback he needed to back off and cool down before he did something stupid. She was quite a striking young witch, but he really had no business felving too far into relationships...that would only lead to more trouble.

His eyes closed slowly and he leaned his head back against the back of the chair. "Well, I did tell Remus that I needed a break...its murder being down there so much, but if I'm gone too long they'll start to get suspicious of me." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, sighing. "I figure I probably have two, maybe three days."

He frowned slightly, thinking of how the day had gone. Everything was fine until that bloody bloke had to get into a row with him...Moony tried to break it up, but Aiden was stupid like that and had to go along with it.... He bit the inside of his cheek silently, his temper had gotten so short since he left Hogwarts and was attacked by Greyback...it was really an irksome situation. He couldn't help but blame his fater for getting on the wrong side of Voldemort...granted, that was hard not to do it you wern't a Dark wizard, but he didn't have to go flaunting about his business with the Ministry to everyone in the wizarding world. Then there was bis brother...Tristan...he had become a Death Eater...sometime while they were still at Hogwarts Aiden suspected. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing...but he suspected he was having a right better time than he was.

"Well, that time will give you a start," Claire remarked. She glanced at her watch, and cringed. She quickly finished binding his arm and said, "Sorry, it's nearly six and I have to meet with Dylan, Tillie and Mila for something we're doing do tonight."

::She stood up and pushed her chair back to its place.::

"Feel better," Claire said, and gave him one last smile before turning and heading out into the hall. After a moment she spotted Tillie and Dylan and walked over to them.::

"Well, I'm ready," she said. As I'll ever be. She tossed her head, long black ponytail now behind her. Claire pushed all thoughts of her family...and Aiden...from her mind, completely focused on the task ahead.::

"When do we leave?"

"Well I think we're waiting for Mila," said Tillie with a shrug.

~Mila rushed towards the gropu once she apparted. She had completely lost track of time. She noticed that both Tillie and Claire had made it there and Dylan stood impatiently, waiting. There was another standing to the side of him, but she couldn't pin point his name~

"Sorry, I'm late," she said trying to remain her cool. "I ran into some trouble." She gnawed on her bottom lip, trying to find something else to say. "Er -- is this it then, are we ready?"

Tillie smiled at Mila.

"It's okay, it's not exactly 6 yet," she said. "I think we're ready to go now though."

"Yeah, me too," Claire said to Tillie. "Oh, hey Mila. Yep, just before six," she said, glancing at her watch. She turned to Dylan, shrugging. "Shall we?"

Tillie turned her attention to Dylan as well, waiting for him to tell them when to leave.

::Melody walked into Grimwauld Place, rubber her hands together and shut the door behind her. She kept her coat on, hoping to warm herself up and entered the kitchen. It was fairly empty. Striding to the counter, she poured herself a glass of hot tea and sat down at the wooden table::

Aiden nodded as Claire hopped up and left the kitchen. "Have fun then." He offered a small smile before he stood, looking a bit stiff. "I don't know how he does it." He winced, thinking of Moony down there all alone right now. He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought on what to do. "I ought to rest...Claire might pitch a fit if I don't...." He clicked his tongue and removed a quill from his pocket and a scrap of parchment and scribbled down a quick note on it, setting it on the kitchen table. He nodded and hesitated a moment before bounding back out the door which he had entered, back on his way to the underground.

(Drake, Jenn told me that *takes a big breath* Seamus told her that Drake told him that you wanted me to post (can't resist) and that Hagrid's looking for me. So here is my lovely post )

::Claire, realizing that she had forgotten something, muttered a quick, "Be back in a moment," to the others then walked back into the kitchen. You still here Aiden? she wondered, but the table was empty. She sighed and looked around the kitchen for (er....what could I have possibly...hmmm) bag of hers that she had left in the kitchen earlie. Aha! There you are, she thought. Claire picked it up and set it in on the counter and as she turned to leave the kitchen something on the table caught her eye. Curious, she walked over and picked up the piece of parchment.::

Claire,

I know you're going to...

::She read on and scowled. Aiden....Well, what he wrote was correct, that's for sure. Still a bit puzzled about the end of the note, Claire shoved it into her pocket and exited the kitchen, and went back to Dylan, Mila and Tillie. Whyever would he.... But, like many other thoughts she had had as of yet, she pushed that from her mind. Come on Dylan...let's go...please?::

(*walks off to go find Hagrid*)

Some time later, Aiden wandered back in through the kitchen door and out into the hall, weary eyes scanning up and down the hall. "Everyone must've left." He sighed, crossing the hall and heading for the stairs, carefully avoiding the draped paiting on the wall. It was bloody terrible when someone happened to knock it down. Oh the noise. He stepped heavily up the stairs, heading for an empty room where he could lay down for awhile. He'd be about some time later...after had had gotten some rest.

::Sara looked darkly around the room.::

::She rarely participated in the meetings, still being in school...but what she had been asked privatly but dumbledore himself, to do.....she felt that she owed her side to attend the meetings.::

"This is it." ~Fated sneered quietly as he watched the goings on of the hideout. For days he had been seeking the Order's hideout. Voldemort had told him that he was to spy on them until he could gather enough information that would be useful to the Dark Lord. He stayed behind the large tree that he'd been hiding behind. He was sure that he wouldn't be able to just walk right in or the Order would surely capture him and so he decided to bide his time and watch quietly from his hiding place.~

::sara's eyes went wide when she recognized the death eater who had just entered.::

::She shrank into the shadows, trying not to be recogonized, or her whole assignment would be in danger.::

~He shook his head, feeling very uneasy to be so close to the Order. Surely he'd be discovered. He started backing away towards the cluster of trees and then dove into them to keep from being seen..again~

::Sara scanned around, but could see the death eater.::

::She tried squinting, but still, it was too dark.::

~Fated kept very still and quiet, glaring towards the area where he could have sworn that he had seen someone recognize him~

::sara moved carefully towards the trees. She hovered, unsure whether to draw her wand and confront and risk exposing her identity to the dark side, or to remain hidden, but in doing so endanger the order.::

~His senses were alert as he felt the movement of an unseen being. He did not know if he should attack and risk alerting the rest of the order or make a run for it. Surely by exposing himself, he would be discovered. He held his breath, waiting...~

::Sara thought for a moment, then kicked herself for forgetting her own ablitites.::

::closing her eyes for a second or two, her long brown locks morphed into short curly dark brown, her eyes changed from brown to black, and she changed her height and other smaller things about her appearance::

::She then pulled out her wand and spoke clearly, but quietly into the night.::

"whose there?"

~Fated pulled out his wand and tapped his skull mask that was on his face making it disappear along with his death eater cloak and now he wore a tattered brown cloak that made him look like a normal person. He cleared his throat and then stood up and took a few steps out of his hiding spot raising his hands as though he were surrendering~ "Please don't hurt me." ~He said now his voice very soft and almost shaky completely different from his usual demanding, arrogant tone~ "I...I mean no harm!" ~He called out~

::Sara took a step back, not lowering her wand.::
::She didn't recognize him, although his voice was familiar from somewhere.::

::She could not risk the order....she would try to keep him talking.::

"who are you?" ::She asked, the only thing in her mind was how fast she would have to be to summon his wand and wipe his memory before he could fight back.::

~Fated swallowed and stepped forward slowly.~ I am just a lonely young wizard seeking revenge on the Death Eaters who killed my family. I want to join the Order!" ~He pulled out his wand and held it tightly as he remembered his Death Eater training of never let your enemy have the upper hand~

::Sara felt her heart catch in her throat. his family had been killed too. She swallowed hard, reliving yet again the horrible emotions that she had experienced hundreds of times before.::

::She blinked quickly and tried to keep her hand from quaking.::

::her voice quivered as she tried to compose herself. fortunatly for her it was still dark.::

"I...what are you talking about?" ::she said, trying to not let him trick her into admitting that she was an order member and the order location.::

~He was glad that it was dark for he worked best in darkness and so he took a few more steps out allowing the beaming moonlight to descend upon his fragile looking form.~
"Please don't hurt me, I mean no harm. I was told that the Order's hideout is around here."

~He paused, feeling a sense of sadness and wondered if that feeling was from the girl.~

::Sara glared at him. something wasn't right.::

"what order? does this sound like some reseraunt to you? you want to place an order?" ::she did her best to lie and to act confused. In reality her mind was racing with more important questoins. Could he be trusted? what had happened to him? who was he really?::

~Fated wasn't sure what to say but then he thought of something. He dropped to his knees and slapped his hands over his face and began to cry~

"I was so sure the Order was around here" He sobbed forcing real tears to fall.~ "I can't believe I came all this way braving the adverse weather conditions in high hopes of joining the Order only to find that I...I...I have been lied to!" He sniffled and cried even more~

"So....I guess we're postponing this mission?" asked Claire, slowly inching towards the staircase. Not recieving an answer, she waved and headed up the stairs. She got up to the first landing and after glancing around her to see if anyone was there, took the note out of her pocket. She stepped into a small alcove and reread it, dark eyes moving swiftly across the small piece of parchment. After, once she was sure she hadn't read anything incorrectly, she folded it and put it back into her pocket.::

::With soft footfalls she walked towards the door to the first room she came to and peeked inside. It was empty. One down...well, I have no idea how many more are in here, so on to the next one. She checked a few more, and then came to one with its door closed. This must be it... She raised her fist, hesitated for a moment, than knocked on the door. And if it isn't...well....I can make up a reason for knocking quite easily.::

::Sara stared at the boy as he started crying.::

::She sighed.::

"Look, i don't know whose lied to you or what you're babbling about...but i guess..." ::she felt a pang again, knowing what it was like to loose family.::

"i guess you can come in and at least get something to eat ... do you go to hogwarts?"

~He stood up and wiped his eyes~ "Thank you so much ma'am...I'm starving, my journey here was rough and I haven't had a good meal in a long time."

~He staggered slowly towards her.~ "As for Hogwarts, yes I do go there...do you?" He replied as he followed her inside.~

He sat bolt upright in his bed, technicolored eyes darting about. "Oh." He gave a great yawn, realizing that someone was knocking on his door. "Just a minute." He stretched and turned in his bed, putting his bare feet on the somewhat cold floor and striding across the room. He seized a shabby, patched robe from the hook on the wall and threw it on before working the lock on the door and opening it. "What i-" He stopped as his eyes fell upon Claire. "Claire." He ran a hand through his blond hair, leaning in the doorway. "I thought you had a mission? Not that I'm complaining, mind you." He offered a tired smile. "What brings you up here?"

::Sara took out her wand and conjured a patronus that galloped into the building with a message. The message to hide all traces of the order.::

"this way then." ::She took her time leading him to the front door and an even longer time fiddling with the lock and door.::

~Patiently, he waited trying not to show any indication that this was exactly what he wanted. He was sure that this was the hideout of the Order.~

"Need a little help there?" He asked trying to sound helpful~

::Sara raised an eyebrow, something of a trademark or hers.::

"no thanks" ::She said cooly. She saw a very small transparent creature, a patronus, slide out from under the door. She knew this was the signal that it was safe to bring in this stranger.::

"i'm sorry i didn't catch your name?" ::She asked as she led the way into the entrance hall.::

"My name is Fa-erm-uh-Ray. Yes my name is Ray" He said not really wanting to give his real name incase she knew of him~

"And what is your name?"

::Sara raised an eyebrow.::

"Fayurmaray? o......kay....." ::She opened the door and let him into the entrance hall.::

"I'm Sara."

~He blinked at how calm she seemed but just smiled and nodded as he followed her in. His eyes carefully scanned around the room, looking for anything that would tip him off as it being the Order's hideout~

"Claire. I thought you had a mission? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. What brings you up here?"

"I did too," Claire said. "Dylan had some other things to attend to, it seemed, and I found your note...so I just thought I'd check and see if you were back. And unless I'm imagining all of this, you are back, though I seem to have interrupted your rest. Sorry, I could just go..."

He nodded slowly, listening to her explination. "Things like that seem to happen a lot." He slipped his feet into his shoes by the door. "No, don't worry about it." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand and slipped from the doorway, out onto the small landing with her. "I needed to get up anyway." He pulled the door closed behind him and ran a hand trhough his shaggy mop of blond hair."Cup of tea?" He nodded across the hall to a small sitting room as he fished his wand out of the pocket of his robes, an old set he had nicked from Remus at one time or another.

::Sara saw him looking around and began to lie easily.::

"this was my family's house, ever since the late 1400's." ::She began in her best boring museum tour guide voice.:: "My Great great great great great great great great grand father bernie's mother's uncle left it to him when he died...bernie's uncle inherited it from his great great great great grandfather.::

~Fated nodded though he tuned her out as he started walking down a hallway, noticing muffled voices coming from behind a door~

'Can those be the voices of the members of the Order?' he thought~