Golden Children and the Others

Faryn didn’t know why she was so shaken. Okay, yes she did. Death Eaters were resurfacing? How could that be possible? They had no case without Voldemort, and he was definitely as dead as he was going to get. James’ father had killed him sixteen years ago! It was simply unfathomable that the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, had returned. So what were his followers up to?

Faryn didn’t know what had come over her in the meeting. She had acted like a child who didn’t deserve - no, couldn’t handle - a seat within the Order of the Phoenix. She glanced at her cousin to give her a hint, and thank Merlin Ava understood. Faryn hadn’t even felt James’ arm around her until he was leading her out of the room. For one, she had been practically quacking in her boots. Also, James did it all the time. Sometimes even when Dawn was around. It was a comforting gesture for the two friends. 

When the door opened and the older kids filed out, Louis, who was the first out of the room, nearly tripped over Adalia and Scorpius.

“Addy,” Fred grinned from behind Louis.

“What are you two doing? You know they put all sorts of spells around that door.” Scorpius exchanged a grin with Adalia and answered for them.

“So? We can still keep trying,” Fred chuckled and moved out of the way for Faryn and James to exit and close the door behind them. Adalia peered at her sister.

“Faryn, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something,” Faryn tried to grin but probably failed.

“I’m fine, Addy. The adults just wanted us out of the room for a bit.” Adalia frowned as Faryn, James, and Fred trooped up to James’ room. She knew that there had to be something seriously serious for even the kids to have to leave. 

The moment the three were in James’ room with the door shut, Fred turned to Faryn.
“Ryn,” he said, using the group’s nickname for her.

“Are you okay?” Faryn bit her lip and sat down on James’ bed.

“No. Yes,” The Hufflepuff sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. I’m sorry for getting us all kicked out. We should be in there. We’re part of the Order.” She said quietly. Fred shrugged.

“S’okay.” James looked at them from where he had been reading a frayed newspaper clipping.

“Dad’ll at least brief me. You know? I gotta know what’s going on as leader of the DA.” Faryn smiled slightly at the name. Dumbledore’s Army. A generation later the name still remained. Though they hadn’t lived to know the famous man, she and James had visited the Headmaster’s office-only a few times for the pranks James and Fred liked to pull off. Of all the portraits of the great witches and wizards who had been Headmaster before their Headmaster McGonagall, Dumbledore was her favorite. He often jumped into conversations or struck them up with kids waiting to see the Headmistress. 

Fred broke the silence by shuffling his deck of Exploding Snap cards.

“Man, I wish Professor Scamander’d let her boys join,” he commented.

“If Lorcan and Ly were here we’d have enough people for a bloody good game of Snap.” James laughed and turned to Fred.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever play Snap with you again, Fred. My eyebrows have only just grown back after being scorched off! Mum had a riot about that,” Fred laughed and even Faryn giggled, getting a glance from both boys. Fred shrugged.

“My dad was one of the best. What kind of son would I be if I didn’t carry on his legacy?” His spiel only made James and Faryn laugh more. 

Faryn smiled at the two of them, so easily calm and light-hearted that it rubbed off on her. She knew they’d be able to cheer her up. One thing Faryn knew as the Death Eater situation was pushed farther to the back of her mind was that these were her boys, and no one, not even Death Eaters, were going to take them away. 

[x]

Addy flopped her head back down onto her arms once her sister left.

“Cheer up, Buttercup!” Scorpius sing-songed. “It’s nothing bad, I’m sure, just stuff that they don’t need to be in there for. And you know Faryn – she gets upset when they discriminate by age.”

There was a dull thud as Albus settled himself on the floor with the others. He had a sandwich in his hand and a grin on his face. “What happened now?”

“All the Hogwarts kids had to leave the meeting. Faryn seemed upset,” Addy supplied, still grumbling. “It’s annoying me.”

“Hm, wonder what’s up. Dad’ll probably tell James what’s going on, just cuz he runs the DA,” Al thought aloud. “Wonder if I can get him to tell me…”

Addy’s head jerked up suddenly. “Allie boy, you’re brilliant!” she hugged him as she got up. “That’s exactly what we need to do!”

Both boys exchanged looks of bewilderment. “What?”

“Those three went and hid in James’ room, right?” At their nods, she continued, “They left so we wouldn’t hear them. But we have these,” she dangled the Extendible Ears, “and I’m willing to bet they didn’t think to put any wards or anything up.”

Brilliant grins lit up their faces, a look of wonder in their eyes. “Didn’t think you had it in you, Ads,” Albus praised. “Welcome to the Dark Side.”

They crept as quietly as humanly – and magically – possible to the landing in front of James’ room. Settling themselves on the floor, and placing Harry’s old Invisibility Cloak that Albus had borrowed overtop of them, they set in to wait.

Greeted with the amplified sounds of a game of Exploding Snap, they groaned as one. “What if this is all they’ll do?” Adalia sighed.

“They won’t,” Albus said, confident. “James just likes to mull things over before he talks about them.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, James spoke up. “Why do you think the Death Eaters are on the loose again? It hardly seems practical, since the Order put all of them away last time.”

Faryn’s voice was timid, almost on the verge of hysteria. Addy had a sudden urge to rush in and comfort her, even though the consequences would be bad. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. And the fact that last time was at Headmistress McGonagall’s? It makes it seem much closer to home. No one dared attack Dumbledore last time around…”

“But they also didn’t know where he lived. I heard rumors that his whole life was inside the castle,” Fred supplied. “That was probably why. I wouldn’t worry that much, though. Not much longer and we’ll be back there, safe and sound. And until then, our families are all part of the Order. Heck, we are. So we’re fine.”

“I do hope you’re right,” Faryn sighed. “I don’t like not telling the others. Especially Addy and them. They’re as capable as us to handle it, if not more so. Those three are cunning and can throw curses like no one’s business.”

Out in the hall, the three silently preened at the praise.

James spoke up again. “I know what you mean. Al can hold his own against me in duels, Dad’s had us practicing. Lily’s getting good too.”

“Well, that’s because Adalia’s been training her,” Fred snorted. “She’s a right loose canons in duels. Fights dirty.”

“What do you mean?” Faryn asked.

“She sneaks out to the dueling club sometimes, been coming to the summer meetings lately. We all could stand to learn a thing or two from her.”

Adalia turned red. “She wasn’t supposed to find out about that,” she fumed. “Now I’ll be in trouble with Mum for not telling her where I’m going.”

“What’ve you been telling her?” Scorpius asked, looking sideways at her.

“That I was practicing for Quidditch with you two.”

He and Albus chuckled. “Age old excuse, huh?”

“Excuse for what? Because you’d better have a good one for this, you lot,” came a voice from behind them.

Turning slowly, the cloak falling off, the three looked.

Molly and Louis.

“Oh bloody hell,” Albus whispered. “We’re screwed.”

[x]

Everyone was on pins and needles once the children left the meeting. Teddy’s grip on Ava’s hand had tightened to something more akin to his own fear than trying to comfort her.
“We can’t bring a baby into this kind of a world,” he whispered fiercely to her, “Not if it’s anything like last time.”

Ava understood. He had already been in the same place, abandoned by his parents’ murders. It never really showed, this hurt and longing and wistfulness, but it was still there, just beneath the surface.  She frowned, recalling the many anniversaries of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks with Teddy. At those times she could only thank Merlin that Harry was his godfather, as generous with Teddy as Harry often boasted Sirius was to him.
To distract herself from Teddy’s anxiety, Ava focused on her own, exchanging anxious glances with Ginny. They were both glad that the children were gone. Let them enjoy freedom while they could. The time when they might have to fight as Harry and his friends had so long ago might come sooner than anyone wanted – though they hoped the day would never come at all.

Harry cleared his throat and continued. “Minerva was not harmed, thank Merlin. But her house was completely burned out. She was smart enough to Apparate to Professor Flitwick’s house when she noted this. Death Eaters,” Harry almost had trouble getting the name out, “did enter. No doubt they would have killed her.”

The whole table exchanged grave looks, and George chuckled and said, “Hasn’t lost her sixth sense, that wily old bat,” to relieve the mood a bit.

Harry, standing at the head of the table, put his palms on the wood to steady himself and lowered his head. “I’m as worried as everyone else is, and I’ll tell you the truth. The Aurors and I don’t have a clue as to what’s going on. I’m temporarily resigning as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts to devote all of my time to this.”

Murmurs circled the table. Ava knew the kids would have a hard time without Harry there, though they’d have Minerva, Hermione, Neville and Luna there. He was a great professor and a dueling officiator at times. And, to be honest, Hogwarts was better with as many Order members as possible.

In fact, Ava herself had once conversed with Teddy about possibly becoming professors at Hogwarts. They had decided it would be fun, living back at Hogwarts, where they themselves had had their training in wizardry. She’d thought it would be nice to be closer to Faryn and Adalia, more so than just during winter and summer holiday and the occasional owl during the year.

But there as also the baby. The eight month old baby nestled into Ava’s stomach. The baby that was half her, half Teddy. The baby that no one but the two of them knew about. Her maternity concealing spell was very useful, but there would be many questions once the little girl or boy was born – she and Teddy were specifically waiting for the birth to find out the gender.

If they were going to teach at Hogwarts, they couldn’t take the baby with them. Plus, they had decided that they wanted to enjoy being parents.

Harry interrupted her thoughts, looking up and around the room. “As much as it pains me to ask this, it’s our responsibility as the Order of the Phoenix,” he said, palms still flat against the table, “But the only way to figure out what the Death Eaters are after is for someone to infiltrate their meetings, undercover.”

The Boy Who Lived truly did look pained to ask this of one of his comrades. They all knew that if the mission failed, their spy would die a gruesome death at the hands of the new Death Eaters.

Ginny gasped, looking worried, and put a hand on her husband’s arm.

Teddy squeezed Ava’s hand.

No one volunteered. Harry would probably do it himself, they all thought.

But Ava stood and said, “I will.”