When Marie came back she looked petrified. However, she sat next to Remus, so I decided to take that as a good sign.

“Hey,” I whispered to the couple. “You guys want to come over for coffee tonight?”

“Sure,” Remus nodded.

After Alice and Frank came in and everyone’s ‘hellos’ were said, Dumbledore stood up and began the meeting.

“Ahem,” he said, nodding curtly to the group in front of him. “First off, I’d like to give my congratulations to Frank, Alice, Lily, and James for the excellent news. Now, onto other pressing matters: Remus Lupin has accepted to go on a mission to live with the werewolves for a couple of months. Therefore, absolutely no one needs to contact him while he is away. We cannot blow his cover. We also have two new projects coming up. We need two people to take jobs in the Ministry of Magic.”

“Why? Do you seriously think that He has Death Eaters in the government?”

“No,” Dumbledore answered. “But I believe that the Death Eaters have connections to people in the government, which is just as dangerous. Any volunteers?”

“I will,” Marie said, raising her hand.

Remus looked at her with surprise. I saw him slip his hand into hers for support.

“You do realize that this is still a risky job, don’t you?” Dumbledore asked, his eyes wide.

“Yes, well, if I was looking for safety I wouldn’t have joined the Order,” she replied.

“Alas, well spoken,” he smiled. “Anyone else?”

To everyone’s surprise, Peter raised his hand.

“All right then. You two will her from me later for details. Next, we have another job; this one is much more risky and puts you in life-threatening situations. We need six people to go to the homes of the witches and wizards who have been murdered. They’ll have the Dark Mark above the roof.”

“Why is this so horrid?”

“You’ll most likely be watched the whole time,” Dumbledore replied softly. “I suspect there will be Death Eaters there, to see what they’re up against.”

James and I looked at each other, and I nodded. “We’re in.”

“So are we,” said Alice, referring to her and Frank.

“Er… do you think that’s the best, since both of you are pregnant?” Peter squeaked.

“More sure than I’ll ever be,” replied Alice, and I agreed.

“I'm in, too,” Sirius nodded.

“All right, one more person…” Dumbledore said, searching the room.
A woman named Dorcas Meadows stood up. “I will fight.”

I admired her tough attitude; she stood with her shoulders back and her wand was grasped tightly in her hand.

“Thank you, Dorcas. You will make an admirable asset to the team.”

She smiled one of those strict smiles that McGonagall gave then sat back down.

“All right, meeting is adjourned. I shall contact you all with updates. Good night.”

We said our goodbyes and when we were on the sidewalk, I called to Alice. “Would you like to come over for some coffee?”

“Sure,” she replied, smiling. “Where do you live?”

“There,” I replied, pointing next door.

“That’s convent,” she grinned.

I led the way across the driveway and couldn’t help but to be happy; knowing that I had such good friends during this upcoming time of trouble was more than reassuring.