All the characters belong to J.K. Rowlings, or inspired by her genius.
THANK YOU so much, Aurora, for your support and for being so sweet :)
An overly artistic eye would compare the scene to a gloomy still nature painting: a dark, weather-battered cabin standing on a thick carpet of dead leaves. Rumors said it had once belonged to an eccentric hunter who had passed away years ago, leaving his creepy shelter unattended and forgotten in the depths of the woods.
It was clear however that arts and paintings never touched Alastor Moody’s mind when he stared at the cabin through the icy autumn mist. Tightening his black cloak around his shoulders, he rolled his magical eye around the deserted area. At last, my instructions had been followed, he noticed, with a certain relief, that no smoke could be seen from the awkward chimney, and the dusty windows just looked like dead eyes on a ragged face.
“Gentlemen, welcome to our headquarters,” Alastor announced to the four young men, who were shivering with cold behind him.
“Lovely!” exclaimed one of them, so unconvincingly that the others chose not to chime in.
Moody’s eyes swept over them, as if he was memorizing their faces and appraising their characters. They all looked so young, and the eagerness he could feel in them just proved how inexperienced they might be on real combat situation. Of course, they were only apprentices at this stage of their training and still had plenty of time to test their freshly acquired Auror’s skills.
“You will learn, my young lads, that nice locations never meant successful missions,” Moody snapped, motioning to them to follow him.
“At least, someone in there has a good sense of humor…” another apprentice grinned, pointing at the doorstep.
Moody’s eyes immediately caught the object of their repressed giggles. Someone had indeed placed a Halloween pumpkin at the cabin’s front door: scars and stitches had been humorously painted all over its surface; and the highlight of the masterpiece was obviously a ludicrous eye globe that was dangling oddly out of its orbit.
“Very funny,” Moody muttered, pushing the door, and instantly shut off the laughter and cheers inside.
“Evanesco!” a voice called urgently, making every sign of what seemed like an ongoing Drooble’s Best Blowing Gums fight disappear on the spot.
“I said no sign of our presence outside the cabin,” the old Auror growled, and he waved off the guilty pumpkin with his wand before talking to the apprentices again. “Make yourselves at home, gentlemen!”
The apprentices found their seat in a heavy silence, nodding to the other persons sitting in the room. Luckily, Moody’s scarred face and grim mood were not at all representative of his team. Indeed, the group of “more experienced Aurors” they had expected to meet turned out to be not much older than themselves, and half of those Aurors were very good-looking women, who greeted them with a friendly smile.
Still mumbling his bad mood, Moody sealed the door shut. He limped silently to the front, near a stone fireplace where a fire was spreading warmth and light to the poorly furnished room.
“You are no longer at Hogwarts, boys, and there is no more Dumbledore to clean up your mess!” Moody glared angrily at the group. “I said CONSTANT VIGILANCE! That was an order, not just a simple security rule you can play with.”
A young witch with curly hair and a kind face raised her hand, but one of the men sitting behind her loudly shifted his chair back to its four legs.
“There is not living soul miles around, sir,” the handsome long-haired man replied, “and who cares about a pumpkin in this lost hole?”
“I do, Black!” Moody hissed. “If I can see it, any Muggle or Death Eater also can.”
Something in Moody’s voice must have convinced the young man named Black to drop the subject. After a while, Moody finally turned his gaze back to the pretty witch who had raised her hand earlier.
“Welcome back, Longbottoms!” he said in a lighter tone. “How was the honeymoon?”
Instant jokes about love-struck newlyweds poured out, along with pads on the young couple’s shoulders. Alice and Frank Longbottom’s cheeks turned crimson red, although they both laughed heartily with the others.
“Silence, please!” Moody had to raise his gnarled hand to impose his authority again. “You have certainly noticed four new faces among us today. They are the most promising apprentices from this year’s Aurors new training program: Burke, Anderson, Collins and Downey. They will participate in today’s mission and observe how our team operates.”
Moody turned to the four impressed young apprentices who were sitting in a tight pack in a same corner.
“For your information, boys, I don’t mind you calling me ‘Mad-Eye’, but let’s make one thing very clear. I hate repeating instructions; so, keep your ears wide open, only ask intelligent questions, follow my orders, and we will get along just fine. Now let’s get to business!”
Moody then stepped aside and pointed a black board behind him. His audience turned their undivided attention to the board, where a stick of white chalk, held by an invisible hand, was hastily drawing a map, moving and pointing at precise spots at Moody’s will.
"This is Skull Hill," Moody’s voice sounded now serious and sharp. "And this is the clearing at the edge of the Holden Forest, which is HERE! (The chalk marked the location with an ‘X’).
"We have received information that a group of Death Eaters will hold an outdoor meeting tonight, somewhere near this clearing. Your mission is to divide into four teams, and patrol the North, East, West and South side of the hill. You will locate the meeting and collect every piece of information they might discuss. Of course, it will be a valuable asset for us if you can identify a few faces hidden behind those ugly hoods.
“Tonight’s mission is NOT about picking a fight with Voldemort’s boys,” Moody insisted on each word. “I repeat, your mission is about collecting information without being uncovered. Did I make myself clear? Any question? No? Very good!
"This cabin will be our headquarters. Our operation code is 'The Clearing'. And … Black, may I ask what is this frown of disgust on your face?"
"Sorry, sir," the Auror named Sirius Black answered, not at all impressed by the mad eye Moody had narrowed at him. "I just thought that we could have chosen a better code than 'The Clearing' for our mission."
"Rubbish, Black! Great codes never meant successful missions! We will stick with good old 'Clearing'."
For a moment, they both glared at each other. Then a young man sitting at Sirius’s left nudged him, shaking silently his untidy head in warning. Judging by the way Sirius shrugged and leant back to his chair, those two men clearly carried a lot of influence with each other.
"Again, constant vigilance is essential," Moody continued. "The area is crammed with moats and holes. Treacherous traps of nature, those ones are! Remember to stay alert and never leave sight of your teammate in case one of you is in difficulty.”
Moody then took a piece of parchment from his pocket and unfolded it. The white chalk immediately moved away from the map, ready to scratch names on the available space of the board.
"As I have mentioned earlier, each patrolling team will be accompanied by an apprentice. Here are the teams for operation 'The Clearing'.
“Longbottoms, Frank and Alice, you will take Burke and the North side.
“Pettigrew … Pettigrew’s not here? No problem! Lupin, you will take his place, and the East side along with Vance and Collins.
“Pudmore, you will cover the West side with Downey and me.
“Potter, Evans, and Anderson, you will patrol the South side.
“Black, you will stay here, at headquarters, and take charge of liaison for all teams.”
James Potter immediately put his hand on Sirius’ shoulder, just in time to prevent his best friend from jumping at Moody’s face. Alice Longbottom looked immensely upset and guilty, but once more her raised hand was ignored by their commander. Although no word had been spoken, every member of the team had understood the message loud and clear: Sirius just got the rap for the pumpkin prank.
"Don’t say anything stupid, mate," James whispered to Sirius.
Sirius, however, decided to act thoughtfully. Taking a deep breath, he spoke to Moody with a rather steady voice, considering the anger that everyone knew he was trying to hold back.
“With all due respect, sir, I am more qualified than the midge … I mean … the apprentices here. Therefore, I suggest you assign the liaison task to one of them and let me accompany a patrolling team instead."
Everyone in the room was holding their breath. Even Moody was staring at Sirius, an unreadable expression on his face. Merlin’s beard, I know that look, Moody reckoned, feeling taken back in time. That look had once belonged to a young, unscarred Alastor Moody. He still had both of his natural eyes then, and they were burning, just like Sirius’s, every time Alastor faced his own commander to demand more action. This boy sure has guts, Moody knew a brave heart when he saw one. The Auror in him kept roaring that bold, courageous people were too rare to be held behind. However, no matter how gifted young Sirius might be, he must learn to accept his place in a team. The road leading to victory was long and dangerous; teamwork was the only way to stay alive and carry on the fight.
"I have two answers for you, Black!" Moody finally replied, choosing his words carefully. "First, I do know your qualifications. Second, I can’t have an apprentice assure liaison for this mission. I need a reliable, resourceful person at headquarters. Are you telling me that you are not up to the task?"
Sirius still held Moody’s gaze, but his mind was racing restlessly. His intuition, that had never deceived him so far, was urging him to keep to his commander’s decision. In the meantime, no self-respecting Marauder would turn down a challenge. If this was another test, then he will gladly show Moody what metal he was made of.
"You can count on me," Sirius declared.
“Wonderful! Let’s do it, then!" Moody said gleefully. "Don’t you worry, Black, you will see loads of action soon enough."
“I will certainly keep that in mind," Sirius’s eyes twinkled. "And sir, as you consider it such a strategic task, I’ve even found a code for my ‘housekeeper’ mission: Operation ‘Watchdog’.”
The stick of white chalk fell to the floor, shaking with uncontrollable giggles. Moody himself nodded then turned to the black board to hide his grin. His magical eye kept rolling, taking in every movement behind his back. He even pretended not to see Alice Longbottom turn to Sirius.
“I am so sorry, Sirius,” Alice was obviously upset at her forgetfulness. “How stupid of me, I just forgot to get rid of ‘Mad-Eye Pumpkin’ before the real one showed up…”
A/N: Thank you for reading :) I know, there is not much of James and Lily in this chapter, but the next chapter will focus on them, I promise. Please let me know what you think, OK?? :) :)