A PROPOSTITION
“Hey you” she smiled nervously.
She was met with looks of confusion on Harry and two others, presumably Ron and Hermione’s, faces and a look of absolute shock and horror on Sirius’ who was standing right in front of the fireplace.
The room was silent until the sound of glass shattering broke it as Remus dropped the teacups he’d been holding when he entered the room.
They continued staring at each other in stunned silence as they just took each other in.
She looked at Sirius and felt a pang of pain in her chest at how much older he looked. Besides the pictures she still had from when they were younger, she’d only seen the horrifying reel the wanted posters posted that Dumbledore brought for her. However, the pain lessened when she saw the smile lines, the crinkles by his eyes, his hair, and body, he looked healthier than his mugshot photos. He was doing better.
Remus had more scars on him before but he was as handsome as ever. He still wore soft trousers and sweaters that she had the urge to steal as she always had in the past. He looked well too.
And Harry-
The moment was abruptly broken when Sirius lunged forward, his wand at her neck.
“What kind of sick fucking joke is this! Who the hell are you” he shouted in her face, his wand digging painfully into her throat.
Remus moved quickly in front of the trio, his wand pointed at her, ready to protect them if necessary.
She put her hands up, “Sirius it’s me. It’s Vera” she cried out, the wand becoming painful. He continued to glare at her and then jerked her so that she was pinned against the wall.
“Remus alert Moody and Shacklebolt.”
“Excuse me but what is-”
“Shut it Harry” Sirius snarled.
“Wait! Ask me a security question! Anything!” she pleaded.
Sirius got in close to her face and whispered, “I will kill you.”
Clearly they didn’t believe her and wouldn’t listen to her.
“Family is not made, it is chosen” she rushed out with a wince. She’d said this to him for the first time when he came to stay with them permanently. He cried to her for hours wondering how his family could do this to him and how he had felt so unloved by them. He would never admit it but his family’s rejection hurt Sirius so deeply and she constantly reminded him that they were not his family because a family would never treat him the way they did.
Sirius froze and his wand hand faltered slightly. His eyes were wide on hers as if he was just looking at her for the first time.
She moved just slightly to see Remus over Sirius’ shoulder and spoke out, “Wherever and whenever Remus. Give a shout and I’m there.”
Remus gaped at her and Sirius turned around as if to confirm what she said made any sense and he just jerked his head in a nod, seemingly unable to form words either.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione just looked desperately confused from the table they were all now standing by.
Sirius turned back to her and dropped his arm. He didn’t make any further move and Vera figured she’d have to push.
She reached to the chain around her neck and pulled it out from under her sweater, it was twin to the one around Sirius’ neck.
That seemed to snap Sirius out of it as he gasped and staggered backwards.
“Gods” his voice shook as he spoke.
“It’s me” she choked out, tears filling her eyes.
Remus approached then, slowly walking forward.
“I heard your shouts” she whispered quietly, a message only he would understand.
Remus lunged forward then and swept her up into a crushing hug and she felt all her stress melt away. She buried her face into his shoulder and inhaled his scent. She missed him so much and at the feeling of his arms around her she, rather embarrassingly, broke down into sobs.
“How are you here?” he questioned her ear, his tone one of absolute disbelief.
“I always was here, just out on a little holiday” she whispered back, not letting go.
She could feel his body shake as he cried into her shoulder as well as he missed her just as much as she missed him. She felt overwhelming relief to know that she hadn’t been forgotten.
A whimper from the side caused Vera to pull back from Remus and look at Sirius.
“Sirius…” she whispered.
He repeated Remus’ actions by pulling her into a hug and picking her up off the ground.
She clung to him as he did so and they both cried into each other's shoulders again.
He then put her down and pulled back to look at her before breaking out into howling laughter and pulling her back in and they were both in absolute stitches at the end of it.
“What the bloody hell is going on” Ron spoke aloud and that immediately cut off their laughter and tears.
“Sirius…who is that?” Harry asked.
All eyes turned to Vera as she suddenly felt very awkward in their presence, feeling too large for the room.
“Harry,” was all she could say and she smiled at him. He looked so very confused but Vera was just staring at him. Seeing James and Lily so obviously in him she wanted to curse their genetics. Harry was looking at her as well- the long wavy hair, the hazel eyes, the straight nose, it was all twin to James.
“I’m Vera Potter...your aunt,” she said hopefully with a grimace slash smile on her face, her heart beating erratically now feeling nervous about how Harry would take it.
His face scrunched in confusion, “My what?”
“I’m James’ sister, well, twin actually. I’m your aunt” she repeated and damn it felt good to say it aloud to someone other than Dumbledore.
He looked to Sirius and Remus as if in confirmation and they both just nodded at him, still basking in the surreal moment.
They all just stared at each other for a moment, as if trying to understand whether any of this was real, any of them were real. None of the occupants in the room could believe the other was there and the room was silent. Vera just plowed forward,
“And you are Ron and Hermione I assume?”
They both just quickly nodded but didn’t move, seemingly as shocked as Harry.
“I believe I should thank you both for keeping this knucklehead alive. Dumbledore kept me up to date about everything you’ve been doing”
Ron burst out into laughter, turning red and Hermione just giggled nervously. She liked them already.
“But I don’t- No one ever told me” he turned on Sirius then, “You never thought to mention this?” he accused.
“I don’t know if you noticed but up until three seconds ago I thought she was dead.”
“Still!” Harry urged.
Remus cut in then, “It’s complicated…”
“We need to have a talk…” Vera began before she thought back to how this all began and how she could explain a lifetime of memories.
_______
“Can you help me find my wand please” James asked Vera as he rushed around the manor in an effort to find his wand.
“Why don’t you just let me take this round, no one has to know!” Vera urged James.
He paused from his spot on the floor searching under the sofa and looked at her with a deadpan expression, “Absolutely not.”
She rolled her eyes, Accio James wand .
It flew out from the cooling cabinet in the kitchen.
Every day Vera remained on the sidelines of the war. The Order was a well oiled machine, everyone had a role to play, except her. James refused to hear her out, not allowing her to join the Order on account of it being too dangerous. She didn’t need James to allow her to do anything but whenever he brought up their parents and not wanting to lose her, she couldn’t help but give in. But it gnawed at her every day.
“I’m going to have a talk with Dumbledore” she refused.
James paused, “Vera, please don’t” he sighed.
She just turned away to go up the stairs.
“I love you!” he called out.
She just mumbled back and disappeared upstairs to the library.
She stayed there for the rest of the day waiting for someone to come home. Potter manor became pretty much everyone’s home after school, Remus and Sirius were permanent members- abandoning their flat in London, Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas dropped in and out for the occasional sleepover, and Peter came once in a while, always preoccupied with work.
The sun made its slow crawl across the sky and she eventually dozed off on the rocking chair but was awoken by the sound of the floo whooshing to life, indicating someone’s arrival.
“Who is it?” she called out.
When she reached the stair’s landing she caught sight of Sirius, bloody, his face contorted in pain.
She rushed down the rest of the steps, and dashed to the cabinet under the kitchen sink where they kept the first-aid kit.
“Sirius” she breathed out.
“Hi” he whispered, face strained as he stepped out of the fireplace.
“What happened?” she worried, guiding him to the sofa, half carrying him herself.
“I was doing patrol at Diagon, a pair of death eaters caught us, they got me.” He had a large lashing wound that went from the center of his abdomen up to the right side.
“Who was with you?” she asked while waving her wand furiously over the wound, stitching it up and making sure there were no other internal injuries.
“Marlene, she’s okay though, back at headquarters giving a report to Moody.”
“Good” she felt slightly relieved, both for Marlene and because Sirius would be okay.
“Take this off” she pulled at the leather jacket and t-shirt beneath it.
“How improper of you, what if someone comes in” he teased though he winced while taking off the stiff jacket.
“I’m not so sure Moony would appreciate that” she arched an eyebrow and began to wrap a thick white bandage around his midsection, hissing as she increased the pressure.
“While we’re on the topic, Bagman asked about you again,” he pointed around.
She just rolled her eyes in response.
“Oh c’mon he's liked you for months now, I’m starting to feel bad for him.”
“You go out with him then.”
“I’m not so sure Moony would appreciate that” he parroted.
“I’m just not interested in him” she shrugged, scourgifying her hands and his clothes.
“Who then?”
“No one.”
“Well I guess that makes my job easier then.”
She paused, “Since when did my love life have anything to do with you?”
“I don’t have to beat anyone up,” he said very obviously.
“Yeah right” she laughed.
“I’m serious, I would” he emphasized.
“What about Rowan in fifth year?”
“Yep, I caught him with Alicia behind a tapestry, beat him up after.”
She gasped, “No you didn’t”
“Course I did,” he shrugged, stretching out his arms.
“You’re horrible” she paused and turned back to look at him, “but thank you.”
He just smiled and groaned while he lay back.
She heard an incessant tapping noise on the window to the kitchen and saw Biscuit, flitting around, waiting for her to let him in. She rushed over and opened it, letting the ball of fluff in.
“Did you bring me a letter? You’re amazing” she cheered on the young owl, stroking his soft feathers as he hooted cheerfully.
She untied the nondescript envelope from around his leg and ripped open the unfamiliar seal though it had the Hogwarts crest on it.
She pulled the parchment out and began to read,
Vera,
I hope all is well. I’d like to speak to you in private at dinner this upcoming weekend. I have an interesting proposition I would like to bring up but we shall speak more then.
Sincerely,
Albus.
Right…that wasn’t odd.
She hadn’t seen him in quite some time, and when she did it was only briefly at the few recreational gatherings they had these days. They planned on hosting dinner at the manor in a few days time so she had until then to hypothesize what he might want to bring up
She peeked over the sofa and saw Sirius was fast asleep so she just put a blanket over him and sat by the fire with a book. She tucked the letter into the back pages of the book because Merlin knew none of them would find it there.
__________
“Remus the muffins are burning!”
“James, can you please set the table?”
“Sirius, your jacket is on fire!”
These boys were taking years off of her lifespan at this point but throughout the chaos there was enough laughter and love to fill the world twice. They had music playing on the wireless in the background as well, adding to the general ambiance. She loved the days when they were all together and could forget about the worries of the world.
They finally managed to get everything together by the time Marlene and Dorcas arrived.
They exchanged greetings and everyone mingled as more members trickled in throughout the night- Pete, Mary, the Prewetts, Kingsley, McGonagall, and eventually Dumbledore.
They all had drinks and ate snacks while mingling in various places around the Manor. It was a little while later that Dumbledore caught her eye and he just slightly gestured his head.
She excused herself and walked to the Study, knowing Dumbledore was right behind. When he entered she shut the door and turned around to see Dumbledore putting up a silencing spell and clarifying with a “just in case.”
“Sir?”
“Please, just Albus.”
“Frankly sir, I don’t think I can ever call you that”
He just smiled and sat on a chair and Vera lit the hearth, taking a seat on the opposite chair.
“How are you?” he asked kindly.
“Bored” she answered very honestly.
“I must admit, I’ve been surprised you have yet to enter the Order.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried numerous times. It’s just that James worries.”
“I’ve recently come up with an idea of how you might be able to become more involved, only if you were willing” he searched her face then.
She felt excited at the prospect of finally being given a chance at doing something to contribute to the effort. She was tired of feeling useless, waiting around in the manor while the war and world passed her by.
“Yes sir, of course I am.”
“I must warn you, it will be dangerous and risky but should it be a success, we may just change the course of this war.”
“I am willing to do whatever it takes,” she truly was. She didn’t fear for her own life but for the lives of everyone outside of the room, for her brother, best friends, mentors, people who had been with her throughout her life.
“The main issue the Order has at the moment as the war escalates is lack of intel. We do patrols and guess where the next attacks might be but the fact is, we don’t know. We have no way of finding out what their next move is and we are constantly wasting resources all around the wizarding world and are forced to play on defense, focused on putting out fires rather than starting them.”
It was true, she often listened in to the conversations the others had, the stress in their voices, how tired they were, the constant late nights and early mornings. They were all wearing thin while Voldemort gained power and they didn’t do anything significant. The war was at a standstill for the Order.
“We need a spy and I think you would be perfect for the job.”
She froze at his words, letting them sink into her bones, trying to figure out what that would entail exactly, would it be simple rounds like James and Sirius do, maybe a bit of tracking? Or would she have to go farther, the way Dumbledore spoke made it seem like the latter.
“A spy in what sense exactly?”
“I’ve thought through this and considered every angle and to ensure the most success…you would have to work your way into his ranks, get him to trust you, to divulge useful information to you.”
“Join his ranks? How would I even- Why me?”
“You are an extremely talented witch Vera, even when you were in school you were extraordinarily exceptional. You are also very intelligent and cunning, I suspect the Hat may have wanted to put you in Slytherin.”
It did.
“You have a natural aptitude for Occlumency and Legilimency as we saw in your last year. Those would be exceptionally useful moving forward, should you choose to.”
She remembered that section in their last year in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She did well though she hadn’t practiced in quite some time. She remembered when her, James, Remus, and Sirius all practiced with each other and she was able to go through their walls as if it was a sheet of silk whereas her own mental walls were like steel, impenetrable to their efforts.
But there was one thing that presented the biggest obstacle.
“But I’m a Gryffindor. I’ve never shown any real interest in the dark arts or anything related to Voldemort. I’m best friends with a Black, a werewolf, and I myself am considered a blood traitor. How could I join them without it being a completely obvious ruse.”
“That will be difficult, I admit but not impossible. For one, you have never been involved in any Order activity, never having fought for the Order will help feed in to the lie that you don’t believe in the cause. Furthermore, you are a Pureblood, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that you want to join the others in their superiority, that you don’t want to be on the losing side when this is all over.”
She started to feel sick at his words. She couldn’t imagine herself ever championing any of their causes but she saw the logic in his plans. It could work.
“I don’t know if I can do this all on my own.”
“But that’s the thing, you wouldn’t be alone, my child. I understand that this would lead down a dangerous path but a vital one and I shall help you along in any way necessary.”
His words reassured her but she still felt out of her depth.
“Where would I even begin?”
“We can only proceed if you give your commitment, if you are willing to do this for the Order.”
She assumed if it wasn’t her, he would approach someone else. A spy could help give the Order the significant advantage they desperately needed and if she was being offered the position, she wouldn’t pass it along to someone else and have them risk themselves unnecessarily. She would ensure success, no matter what it took.
“I am. Make me your spy” she nodded with a tense jaw.
“Very well. We must begin slowly, working the backstory up for a significant amount of time before contact is even made. It would do well to be seen in areas that death eaters frequent, Knockturn Alley, Hog’s head, and the sort. Doing deals with illegal magical sellers and the like. From then you can establish contacts and move forward.”
“When would I start?”
“Your position would be effective immediately. You are given a week to prepare, work on Occlumency, and most importantly, mentally prepare yourself. However, above all, your position is secret, not to be shared with anybody, not even James. It is crucial that no one else knows what you are doing so you will also have to create a cover story with him.
She thought that would be the hardest part of all. How would she be able to sneak away from them all unnoticed? Maybe…
“Madame Pomfrey is still a healer at Hogwarts, yes?”
“She is.”
“I can use her as my cover, given you inform her as well. I can pretend to study Healing while I’m out doing other business. They wouldn’t question it” she offered hopefully.
“I shall notify her of this cover, she will go along with it for the Order”
She nodded and at that moment she heard shouts from down the hall
“Vera! It's time for dinner, where are you!”
It would seem James ended the conversation for them.
They both stood and Dumbledore began, “I shall stay in correspondence with you and send you a letter in a week's time.”
She nodded and when her hand was at the door handle, Dumbledore continued,
“You can do this Vera. I have the utmost faith in you, you are stronger than you could possibly imagine,” he smiled with a twinkle in his eye.
She steeled herself and nodded and left the Study a different woman than who she walked in as.
“What were you up to?” Pete asked as she took a seat by him at the table.
“Nothing much, just chatting with Dumbledore, catching up and all,” she let the lie roll off her tongue and was successful when Pete didn’t question her in return, just gave her a quick side eye that she shrugged to.
"Where've you been lately, we haven't caught up in a while" she bumped his shoulder.
"The ministry is all over the place lately, I've had to work long hours" he sighed mournfully.
"Come over soon yeah? We miss you."
He smiled, "Miss you too."
The dinner passed by easily and by the end, Vera felt a touch lighter, hoping she could carry that feeling with her while she travelled the road no other had yet.