Black Roses

Chapter Two: Of Weasleys and Orders

Well, I better get the door; it's no good if I just let them stand outside. Of course, I could always do that. I wonder who it is. Maybe it's Remus. But no, he didn't owl me in advance. Besides, I hear he's been really busy lately with some Order work. I walked to the door and opened it. Fred and George Weasley walked in.

"We're back!" the two twins shouted loudly in unison. "Did you miss us?"

"Was it too quiet without us?" George asked.

"Was it too clean without us around here to mess it up?" Fred added. I just laughed and nodded my head. I moved out of the way and let them in. Molly Weasley came next, pointing an accusing finger at the eighteen year-olds.

"I've told you two a thousand times not to ring the bloody doorbell!" Molly scolded. "I've told you millions of times that you'll wake up the portraits!"

"Awe, mum, what's the point of a quiet entrance?" Fred complained.

"Yeah, we haven't seen ole Sirius for months and you're ruining it by telling us not to ring a doorbell," George added.

"We would like to announce our arrival properly, mum," Fred noted. George nodded his head, agreeing. Molly rolled her eyes.

"Get your trunks at least," Molly told them softly. With two small pop! Fred and George had Apparated out of the house and outside to gather their trunks. Molly sighed and then turned to me. The screaming suddenly stopped. "It's good to see you, Sirius." I shook her hand.

"It's good to see you too, Molly," I replied. Arthur Weasley walked in and took the hat off of his balding head.

"Ah, Sirius, I hope you've done well since the last months!" Arthur exclaimed, shaking my head thoroughly. Molly sighed at how loud her husband was and I grinned. She Apparated to get her trunks.

"Quite well, thank you, Arthur," I answered honestly. "I hope it was the same for you." Arthur nodded his head.

"Yes, better than last summer, I can tell you that," Arthur sighed with relief. "Cornelius Fudge has been apologizing to me every time he sees me. It's a load off." I chuckled along with him.

Ron walked in, pulling his trunk behind him. Ron had gotten--if possible--even taller since the last time I saw him. He was now taller than Fred and George by half an inch, most likely. He was frowning as he dragged his trunk in without magic. Fred and George Apparated beside him and scared him half to death.

"Hey!" Ron shouted. The portraits went off again as Fred and George howled with laughter when Ron fell over his trunk. I rolled my eyes. Molly went into another fuss.

"Boys, now really, don't scare your brother like that!" Molly yelled. The portraits screamed louder. Ron pulled himself over his trunk awkwardly.

"I was not scared, mum!" Ron said defiantly.

"You scream like a girl, Ron!" Fred laughed.

"Hey!" someone shrieked from behind them. Ron moved to the left and I saw Ginny walk in past her three older brothers, dragging her trunk. "That was not funny, Fred. He does not scream like a girl!"

George shook his head, but still laughed. "Okay, okay, we're sorry, Ginny," he chortled. "C'mon, Fred, let's get these up to our room." Fred nodded his head and they Apparated again. Ginny frowned and began dragging her case to the stairs. The screaming went quiet again.

"Hullo, Sirius," Ginny sighed as she attempted to carry her heavy trunk up the stair case to her room two floors up. I grinned and walked towards her.

"Here, let me--"

"Help you with that," someone interrupted. Both Ginny and I looked up and I saw Talitha walking down the stairs slowly. Ginny stared at her, confused. I smiled. Ron dropped his trunk and it landed on his foot.

"Ouch!" Ron squealed with pain. He lifted the trunk off his foot and grabbed it. He began doing a dance in pain as we all tried not to laugh. Ginny wasn't sure what to do so she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Who're you?" the red-headed girl asked. Talitha pulled out her wand absentmindedly.

"I'm Sirius's younger sister, Talitha," Talitha told her. Ginny stared at her, even more confused. Ron looked up at them.

"What?" Ron said loudly. He tripped over something and fell over. I laughed. Ron sat up quickly as his ears turned red. He walked over to us. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"Not many people do," I told him.

"Locomotor trunk!" Talitha said, pointing her wand at the trunk. It immediately began to float in the air. She began to walk up the stairs and it began to follow her. Ginny scampered up the stairs and walked beside her. "You must be Ginny Weasley. Sirius has said a lot about all of you."

"Here, Ron, I'll help you with that," I told Ron who was gaping at Talitha. He nodded his head slowly. I shook my head and helped him carry his trunk to his room.

Ron told me that they were picking up Harry in two days and that Hermione would be here tomorrow. Bill, Charlie, and Remus were coming today later in the day. A little bit before dinner, most likely. Talitha was excited to see Remus. She hadn't seen him for a while. She came down the stairs with Ginny flanking her side, both smiling, in minutes.

"Mm, Sirius, did you cook breakfast?" Molly asked me as I walked into the kitchen. She smelled the waffles that Talitha had cooked this morning before I woke up. Arthur, Fred, George, and Ron walked into the kitchen.

"Oo, waffles are on the table!" Ron exclaimed. He snatched one and ate it with his hand plain. Fred and George took one and stuck some fruit on it. They started a match to see who could eat three waffles with fruit the fastest. Fred was in the lead at the moment. Molly scolded them, but they didn't stop.

"No, I didn't cook them," I told Molly as I watched Fred swallow half of a waffle in one gulp in amazement. Ron started choking on his waffle when he saw George's face.

"Then, who did?" Molly questioned, turning around to face me.

"I did," Talitha answered as she walked into the room with the fifteen year-old red-head smiling brightly. It was nice to have another girl around the house. I know this was what Ginny was thinking. Molly stared at me and then Talitha. She only then noticed that we looked remarkably alike.

"Talitha, I didn't know you were here!" Arthur exclaimed, giving her a hand shake.

"Hello, Arthur, I didn't know you were coming," Talitha replied. I stared at them. I didn't know they knew each other. Then again, they do work in the Ministry of Magic and Arthur probably passes through the Magical Law Enforcement Department often.

"Who's she?" Molly asked. Before Talitha could say anything, Ginny ran to her mother.

"This is Talitha, mum; she's Sirius's little sister!" Ginny explained excitedly. "She's so cool. She's an Auror, mum!" Ron choked on his waffle again.

"Um Awer?" Ron garbled loudly with his mouth full. Molly looked at him very disapprovingly. We all stared at him. He swallowed his waffle. "You're an Auror?"

Talitha grinned and nodded her head. I can see why Ron said that. Talitha looks so small, thin, and fragile. She looks like she wouldn't be able to take the rough training. "Yup, I'm an Auror, alright," she replied.

"But that's not the best part of it, Mum!" Ginny exclaimed happily.

"What is it?" Molly asked her daughter softly.

"She's coming to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Ginny squealed loudly. This time, Ron, Fred, and George all choked on their waffles. I laughed.

"Is that right, Talitha?" Arthur said with a grin.

"Yup, and I'm so not going to be like that Umbridge woman," Talitha said. "Bloody hell, she sounded awful."

"She was!" Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George shouted loudly all together.

"Man, why couldn't we have had an Auror for a professor when we were in school?" George pouted, but took the opportunity to shove a waffle in his mouth.

"We did, George," Fred said knowingly. "Remember when we were in our Sixth Year? Professor Fake Mad-Eye Moody?" George swallowed and laughed.

"'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'" George screamed, mocking him. Talitha laughed loudly. She'd worked with him a few times, the real one anyways.

"But he turned out to be a Death Eater instead," Ron sighed thoughtfully. He took a rather small bite on his waffle compared to his others. Arthur sighed.

"I remember that incident," the man said. I sighed and shook my head. I had not been living in this house alone for most of the time. I had lived as my Animagi dog form to hear from Harry. Then, Voldemort rose and things went haywire. Talitha exhaled and something in her eyes flickered. I only then realized that I hadn't asked her if she thought that Voldemort had risen when Harry said. Molly said something that I didn't quite catch and Talitha nodded her head.

"This place looks a lot better since the last time I saw it," Molly chirped. I nodded my head. I was never the cleaning sort--unless it came to getting rid of my parents' old junk--and the house was never very neat. When we were children, Talitha's room would always be virtually spotless. Not that she was a clean freak or anything, but she liked a clean room and not a messy one.

"Ah, yes, that would be me," Talitha sighed solicitously. She punched me in the arm playfully and grinned. "Sirius was never the cleaning type. I was the one they always put to work. Ugh, Andromeda and I were always cleaning. Clean, clean, clean; sweep, sweep, sweep; wash, wash, wash; it was a never ending cycle, I suppose. The house elves were good, but they didn't pay attention to detail, the poor things. Well, except Kreacher, he was always a sour one." Everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes.

Molly sighed deeply. "Well, since this place is clean, we'll have nothing to work on," she noted. "I guess we should get ready for tonight."

"What's happening tonight, mum?" Ron asked. Molly stared at Ron with all her motherliness. I knew what that meant. She didn't want him to know. She still treated him like a small child. Ron frowned at his mother, apparently figuring it out.

"Oh, why can't I listen in on this one, mum?" Ron whined.

"I didn't get to come to the one they went to last year!" Ginny exclaimed.

"You can't make us not come!" Fred and George said in unison. "We're out of school now, and successful businessmen to boot. Can't keep us from growing up anymore, mum." Molly narrowed her eyes at the twins, but knew they were right.

"Alright, you two can come," Molly sighed, defeated, knowing that she couldn't stop them from coming to the Order meeting tonight. Talitha looked perplexed about everything.

"I came last year..." Ron said. His little sister swelled up angrily.

"Ron got to come when he was my age! I should be allowed to listen now!" Ginny exclaimed hotly. She stared at her mother and Ron nodded his head.

Molly stared at her daughter. "Ginny, Ron, I don't think--"

"Mum!" Ginny and Ron shouted. Molly opened her mouth, but Arthur hushed her with one finger pressed against his lips. She closed her mouth.

"Molly, they're both right," Arthur sighed wearily. "Ron was allowed to hear things last year, and he is another year older. They should be allowed to know what is happening." Ron and Ginny looked at each other, then at their mother, and then nodded their heads vigorously. I chuckled. Molly sighed grumpily, but nodded her head.

"I--I suppose they could listen in for tonight," Molly said softly.

"YES!" Ginny and Ron shouted. Luckily, the door was shut so the portraits didn't start screaming. I sighed with relief.

"Um...excuse me, but...what is happening tonight?" Talitha asked, bemused. Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't even told Talitha about the Order of the Phoenix yet. She knew nothing about it. I felt rather thick and turned red when Arthur and Molly glanced at me. This was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and Talitha didn't even know about it. I laughed nervously and Talitha looked back at me. "What?" I stepped towards her.

"Talitha, do you remember the Order of the Phoenix?" I asked her. Talitha turned to face me and nodded her head. She had known about it from me. When I had moved to my own house the summer before her Sixth Year, she had come to live with me, out of this house. She had figured out that I had begun to work in the Order of Phoenix. She had wanted to sign up, but being that she was only sixteen, I would never let her. I sighed. "Well..."

"Dumbledore has set up the Order again, hasn't he," Talitha interjected. I should've known that she would've figured out. She told me that she had figured out what Peter had done and tried to tell everyone in the Law Enforcement Department, but no one listened. Besides me, she was the first person to figure it all out. I should've known. I nodded my head and she smiled brightly. "I knew it! I knew it!"

"Were you in the first Order?" Molly asked softly, her eyebrows rose. Talitha shook her head serenely and sighed.

"Yes, but not for long because was only sixteen when I had figured out that Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus were in the Order. I got in when I left Hogwarts when I was seventeen. And soon after that...Voldemort's fall came," Talitha answered. Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all flinched at the name. I again heard her hesitation to say his name, but she did it anyway and overlooked their flinches. "Sirius, here, wouldn't allow me to come into the Order until I was out of school. He was afraid for me, you know, with all the deaths and all."

Her shoulders had fallen. She was not smiling anymore. I knew why. Talitha had taken everything to do with the Order very seriously. For not even being in it, she had been committed to it. She would've been a better choice to switch with as Secret-Keeper than Peter.

She was young and looked fragile. Not many people knew that she was great friends with Lily for being one years below her. But she was feisty and was very talented--I think more than me in Defense Against the Dark Arts. No one would have suspected a Secret-Keeper still at Hogwarts. James and Lily both trusted her very well, but I couldn't do that, Talitha was only eighteen when they had been murdered.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Molly and Arthur looked at each other. Ginny glanced at Ron, who swallowed the last of his waffle. Fred and George had stopped their competition.

"But...I guess I can be in this one, right, Sirius?" Talitha asked me, opening her eyes to stare at me. I hesitated, still feeling that she wasn't old enough. I knew I was acting like Molly. I didn't want my last relative--the closest and best family member I ever had--to die in front of me. Everyone had been afraid that I had died; I didn't want to lose her again and make her feel alone. I couldn't do that to her. But she could be in on her own decision now.

"Yes, you can," I sighed. She smiled lightly and stood up. The tension and grimness in the air was lifted almost immediately and Fred and George continued their competition, chewing on their last waffles. Talitha could stop the happiness with one word and look, and she could return it just as simply. It was strange. It always felt strange.

Talitha walked to the kitchen door and peered out of it. She sighed unhappily and stuck her head back in. "Well, it's time for me to go to work," she announced. "It's going to be a slow day for me."

"Why's that?" Arthur asked. Talitha looked at me and chortled loudly. She shook her head softly and waved her hand in the air dismissively.

"Well, for one, I'm one of the Aurors on the team that are searching for the escaped convict Sirius Black," Talitha chortled loudly. Ron, Fred, and George snickered. Molly smiled. Arthur nodded his head with a raised eyebrow. Ginny laughed shortly. "Kingsley does a good job in stopping that short. You know, I'm quite affronted that Kingsley didn't tell me about the Order of Phoenix! I'm Sirius's sister, and I know he knows, because he was there when I started Auror training at seventeen. It was rumor that I was a Death Eater and was going to be at Sirius's side. Bloody hell, those were some rough days. I made the most racket about my brother being innocent though."

She shook her head.

"But, I'm not the youngest one there anymore," Talitha said happily. "Nymphadora Tonks is younger than me." Arthur chuckled.

"Do you two get along well?" he asked her.

"Quite well, actually," Talitha replied. "Why?"

"You'll be seeing her tonight with Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody," Molly chirped. Talitha spun around to face me and stared at me.

"Sirius, were you even going to bother telling me all this important stuff?" Talitha questioned me loudly. The twins laughed. I sighed.

"Yes, in my own time," I noted. She shook her head and grinned. She sighed, but looked at me kindly. She gave a short laugh.

"I should've been used to that, but I hadn't seen you for a long time," Talitha sighed. She snatched an old black robe and slipped it on over her dark blue jeans and white long-sleeve blouse. She put her wand underneath her black hair and pulled up, twisting her silky hair in a messy twist with her wand stuck in the middle of it. She pulled out two dark sticks and pushed them in the very messy bun. She pulled her wand out and placed it back in her pocket. Ginny gaped and then glanced at her red hair put in a small pony-tail in the back. She went pink. Talitha looked around the room.

"Ginny, would you like to come with me to work today?" Talitha asked nonchalantly. Ginny's mouth dropped and the twins laughed.

"Re--really?" Ginny questioned. Talitha shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just going to be answering and listening in on the phone calls from the hot line today, and I usually don't even do that," Talitha chortled. "I have a rather large lunch break so we could go out to eat and if it's alright with your mother, we could go shopping after I work. I mean, since Kingsley is the head of the hunt and in the Order, he still has to act like he's suspicious of me and all so I get let off early."

I almost thought that Ginny was about to die of shock. Her eyes were very large and wide and her mouth was hanging about as far as humanly possible. She didn't even care that Fred, George, and Ron were laughing at her loudly. She spun around to Molly.

"Oh, please, mum, please, oh, please, can I go with Talitha, please!" Ginny begged summarily. She ran to Molly. "Please, mum, please!" Molly looked censoriously at her youngest child.

"I'm not sure," Molly sighed. "I'm already letting you come to the Order meeting tonight. And I don't want you to be a burden to Talitha at her work."

"Mum, please!" Ginny pleaded, giving her mother puppy eyes.

"Molly, she won't be a burden to me," Talitha reminded. "It'll be nice to be around another girl. Tonks doesn't get in until after my lunch break, so I'm stuck around all these idiotic guys that are around my age who try to hit on me--"

"What?!" I yelled. Fred, George, and Ron howled with laughter as I stared at my little sister. She was biting her lip and grinning. Arthur sighed and Molly looked surprised. Ginny started giggling. Talitha put her wrist at her mouth and coughed. "They do what?!"

"Gosh, Sirius, it's not like they act like you did when you were in school," Talitha joked. I stopped short and turned pink when Fred and George started laughing even louder. Molly looked really surprised and Arthur sighed again. Ron propped himself against a chair to keep standing and Ginny started giggling loudly. "They don't ask me to make out with them in a closest or anything--wait; actually they do act like you when you were in school and they do say that."

I stared at her.

"They do?!" I shouted. Talitha nodded her head serenely.

"Well, I think most of them are just joking, but there are those odd few..." Talitha trailed off thoughtfully. Fred and George were rolling, Ron fell over the chair, Ginny was chuckling profusely, Arthur gave a short laugh, and Molly was taken aback.

"Now, I'm sure that--" Molly began, but was interrupted when Talitha lifted up her hand.

"Molly, I promise you that thirty-two year-old men will not hit on your fifteen year-old daughter," Talitha promised seriously. "They can be a little strange, but with Ginny around, they'll mainly act all professional. They might joke around with me a little, but any serious crazy idea will go unspoken. I'm a fully trained Auror, Molly, and if one of them tries to do anything to her, they'll find themselves in a very bad predicament."

Molly looked at her only daughter who had pleading eyes and then back at a very serious Talitha. She sighed.

"Alright, I suppose you can go, Ginny," Molly said softly. Ginny squealed with delight and began to jump around the room wildly. I chuckled, but my thoughts were still on what Talitha had said seconds earlier. "And you must act appropriately."

"Yes, mum, thank you!" Ginny squealed happily. She felt like her feeble Patronus from last year in the secret D.A.--a.k.a Dumbledore's Army--could've been great. Talitha grinned.

"But, Talitha, I have no spare money that I can give you to take her shopping," Molly sighed rather unhappily. Ginny stopped in her tracks and her shoulders immediately dropped. She remembered and frowned sadly. Talitha waved her hand in the air dismissively.

"Don't worry, Molly; I'll just use my money," Talitha told her.

"Oh, I don't want you to use the money you've worked hard for!" Molly replied quickly.

Talitha rolled her eyes. "It's no problem, Molly, really," she said softly. She looked at Ginny and winked. "I'll just call it a big present for all of the birthdays I've missed. Now, that's how many? Fifteen birthdays?" Molly looked at both of the girls disapprovingly.

"I don't want you to have to spend your money on her," Molly sighed. Talitha smiled at Molly and shook her head.

"Molly, it's no problem," Talitha stressed with a small smile. "I have more money than I need. I live in this place and the only money I use is to buy clothes and food. Soon, I'll be working two jobs: Looking out for Sirius Black at Hogwarts and being the D.A.D.A. professor at Hogwarts. It's okay."

Molly sighed again. Arthur put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"She's as stubborn as you are, dear," Arthur said truthfully. "Let it go." Molly looked over at her husband who had a smile on his face. He was right. Talitha was always so obstinate in our childhood years and when she lived with me. The only battle I actually ever won against her was her signing up for the Order of the Phoenix at the light age of sixteen. Molly was just as obstinate.

"Alright, but, remember, you don't have to, Talitha," Molly replied. Talitha saluted her jokingly.

"Okay, I'll remember it," Talitha said. "C'mon, Ginny, grab a hat from your trunk in your bedroom; it's raining pretty hard and since you can't Apparate there, we'll have to go the Muggle way." Ginny nodded her head and ran out of the room. Talitha shook Molly's hand.

"Nice meeting you," Talitha noted with a smile.

"Same to you," Molly said lightly. Talitha nodded her head and shook Arthur's hand.

"See you at work?" Talitha asked. Arthur sighed and nodded his head. He rolled his eyes and then shook his head.

"Of course, we've been having a lot of unpleasant jokes on Muggles lately," Arthur explained wearily. He sighed deeply again. "Have you caught that Carson Angelo yet?"

Talitha shook her head. This guy must be a guy that plays some pretty nasty jokes on Muggles. In my younger years, I would find that funny, but now that I know why he does it, I find it rather sick.

"Nope, Danny Wilson is still searching for him," Talitha said with a note of reproach. With her tone, I took this as a note that she either thought he was a bad Auror or he was one of those 'odd few'.

"Danny Wilson...is he one of those guys?" I chipped. Talitha turned around to me.

"If you have to know, yes, he is one of those strange ones that freak me out," Talitha said. "He's a terrible Auror too. Oo, he's a guy that's like Snape and Malfoy put together!" She shuddered involuntary. Fred, George, and Ron looked at each other.

"Severus Snape?" Molly asked.

"That's the ticket," Talitha answered with a shiver. "I went to school with him at Hogwarts, two years below him. Oo, he creeped me out, him and his Dark Arts. That was a very bad situation he got himself into though. I was the Auror that caught him."

"What?" Fred and George yelled. "You caught him? Doing what?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Molly said sternly. Fred and George looked at each other and then Ron whose eyes were wide.

"You're going to tell us, little brother," I heard George mutter to Ron. Ron nodded his head furiously and I looked back at Talitha. Ginny walked in.

"And the Lucius Malfoy?" Arthur questioned. Talitha sighed and nodded her head slowly.

"I think he's even worse than Snape!" Talitha noted with a would-be calm tone. "Remember that frightening tip that Sirius was in London? Well, Mr. Malfoy was the one who gave it to us, but he proceeded to go full out. Seems notes are below him and Muggle phones--ha!--are too degrading and disgusting for him. Since I'm the one that usually takes the calls and notes, he came to my section of the Auror office and walked in. Shuts the door and interrupts me.

"No, he doesn't even notice that I still have a job. I think he about had a heart attack when I told him my name. Him and his cocky self--tells me what he saw and then all about his successful self. I smiled and told him that he's not allowed in my office. You know what; he scared the crap out of me! Bloody hell, he doesn't even have to speak to unnerve you senseless! He just advances on me and I was like, 'Whoa, you're too close!' Bloody hell, he scared me. I had chills after he left."

"Lucius Malfoy came to your office?! He walked to you?! Did he do anything else?!" I yelled. That stupid man, I swear, when I get proven free, I'll hurt him. Talitha rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, and no, he didn't do anything else," Talitha said. But something told me that she was lying. Ginny cocked her head.

"I'm ready," Ginny announced. Talitha turned around and smiled.

"Okay, let's get going then," Talitha sighed. She walked over to me and gave me a hug that I really needed. She looked at me slyly. "And don't do anything stupid, hear me?" She grinned. I smiled and nodded my head.

"Alright, but if he comes back to you're office..." I said to her. Talitha rolled her eyes again and sighed. Ron's eyes were wide.

"I got it, I'll tell you," Talitha sighed, tapping me on the head with her finger, "after I hex him."

Fred and George laughed.

"Good-bye, everyone, see you in the afternoon!" Talitha exclaimed.

"'Bye, mum, dad, Sirius, Fred, George, Ron, see you later! Have fun here!" Ginny laughed. She ran out of the kitchen door quickly.

"Yeah, we'll have fun messing this place up," Fred and George shouted in unison. Talitha guffawed as she walked out of the kitchen door. She waved good-bye and I followed her out of the kitchen door. She pulled a dark blue umbrella out and grasped the door.

"Ready for a fun-filled day, Gin?" Talitha chortled.

"Oh yeah!" Ginny giggled. I smiled as I saw Talitha open the door and open the umbrella.

"Do you want to walk to the Muggle Underground or take the Knight Bus?" Talitha asked. Ginny hesitated and looked up at Talitha, she was wide eyed. "If we walk, I'll do a Drying Charm on you." Ginny thought about it for a second or two.

"I'd rather walk, if you don't mind, Talitha," Ginny sighed. Talitha grinned.

"Even in this weather, I agree with you, Ginny," Talitha sniggered. Ginny giggled. Talitha put the umbrella over them both and walked out. She looked back and caught my eye. She grinned and shut the door. I stood there, staring at the door, thinking of how great it was to have my sister back. But with my sister back, a whole wave a worries were washing over me.