Alice knew she shouldn’t have brought you here. James was clutching Lilly who held ten-month-old Harry, Sirius had needed to excuse himself, Molly and Arthur had left promptly, and you were sitting next to her looking embarrassed.

Merlin. You thought, running your hands through your hair. I shouldn’t be here. They clearly don’t want me here. Can’t say that I blame them- I wouldn’t trust me either.

You, were one of the four daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black. You had seen your opportunity to escape when your youngest sister, Andromeda, had run off with Teddy Tonks.

Last you heard, your niece was named Nymphadora, and she had come out with Bubblegum-pink hair- a Metamorphmagus. Not the first in the Black bloodline; you were just grateful she wasn’t a Seer like yourself.

You wanted to fight against Voldemort- against your family. They always said that blood was thicker than water, but you’d seen enough spilled to know that wasn’t accurate in the metaphorical sense.

You had enough sense to realize that The Dark Lord had lost his fucking mind, and that he wouldn’t deliver in even half of what her promised.

You might’ve shared the belief up until your fifth year, but then you’d been seated next to Alice. A romance had blossomed from that, and her mum was a muggle-born. You couldn’t stand for the love of your life to be hurt.

Regardless of what the other members of The Order thought or said, you had seen the error of your ways.

After a few more moments of tense silence, you got up from the couch in Remus and Sirius’ apartment. You went to the door and grabbed your coat, only for James to follow you.

His bespectacled gaze pinned you to the wall with the coat hooks, and you clutched your wand, only to realize he didn’t have his.

“See, I knew you weren’t serious about The Order. Look at you, fleeing with your tail between your legs like some scared puppy.” His words were cruel, he knew that. He needed you to understand; just like the Death Eaters, this was not something you could do halfway.

You were either a member of The Order of The Phoenix, or you weren’t. There was no running, no time to sit back and make an educated decision. You either beloved in his cause of theirs- no two ways about it. You shouldn’t have to think about where your loyalties lie.

“I’m not a coward, James. You clearly don’t want me here- why stay a place I am not welcome? And tell Sirius I don’t mean to remind him of Walburga and Orion.” You said, stepping away from James and reflexively beginning to draw you wand.

Where you grew up, if there was a surprise that meant you had to be ready to defend yourself.

Pushing his wire-framed spectacles up his nose, he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not going to hex you, Black. If you really want to be part of the order, then stop being a damn drip, and do this. If you want in, commit.”

With that, the taller Pureblood left and moved back to the couch. There, her smiled and slid an arm about Lilly’s shoulders.

Merlin, who knew James could be intimidating?