Chapter 4: The Order

A month had passed and Bree’s and Remus’ relationship had grown even more serious. Remus had confessed his love to her the other night as they had strolled through the park. She had told him she loved him too. When she had gotten back to her flat, she had cried herself to sleep. Bree really did love Remus, but not in the same way that he loved her. He was probably the kindest man she had ever met. It broke her heart to string him along the way she was doing. She was getting to the point that she couldn’t even look at herself in the mirror.

Honestly, she didn’t know why she was so upset. It wasn’t like her Auror training hadn’t prepared her to be devious. She had learned that there were times when you had to lie and pretend to get what you wanted. This matter was no different. She supposed that if Remus had any negative character traits, it would have been easier, but the man was nearly perfect. She could not remember him saying a negative thing about anything or anyone. He always tried to be upbeat. He was perfect.

And yet he was not her type. She almost wished that she could love him the way he loved her, but she just couldn’t get her mind or heart around that thought. Yes he was perfect, but perfectly the wrong type of man for her. Maybe he was too nice. She didn’t know, but there was just no spark.

She came out of her reverie as there was a light knock at her door. She was expecting him, so she quickly got up to answer it. There he was, Remus Lupin, at her door, holding a bouquet of roses. Bree’s mouth dropped open.

“Oh, Remus, these are magnificent! Thank you so much!” She hugged him ferociously. “You are way too good to me, my dear.”

She turned to find a vase and Remus wandered into the flat and sat down on the couch. He leaned back and got himself comfortable as Bree saw to the flowers. Finally she came back and snuggled him.

“I must admit, I have an ulterior motive in bringing the flowers. They’re not just because I love you so much.”

Bree looked up at him and frowned. “What do you want?”

Remus burst out laughing. “It’s nothing like that, I swear! I just need to tell you something that you might not like.”

Bree regarded him thoughtfully before replying. “Well, spit it out then.”

Remus became incredibly serious. “I have not been fully forthcoming about my occupation.”

“Fully forthcoming. It sounds like you are trying to dance around the issue, Remus. Just spit it out.”

Remus sighed. “I am a member of an organization that is fighting against Voldemort. It’s called the Order of the Phoenix. It is a group of wizards and witches who are trying their best to defeat him. I am here spying on the werewolves, trying to assess their loyalties.”

Bree heaved an inward sigh. Finally, he was telling her. “Wow!” she said. “Is that why you never find the right parcel of land for your boss?”

“Bree, there is no boss; it’s just a cover job.”

“Oh,” she said, trying to look disappointed.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been fully truthful with you. It’s just that I needed to know that I could trust you before I told you such secret information. I wanted to tell you before, when I told you about my being a werewolf, but it’s not just me that I’m protecting. It’s an entire group of people.”

Bree looked at him curiously. “I think I understand your reasons, but I’m a little hurt that you couldn’t trust me, Remus.

He looked down. “I figured you would be. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

She stared at him for a while, seeming to measure him up in her mind.

“I suppose I can,” she said finally. “But is this the only thing you’ve been keeping from me? You’re not going to wait another month and then tell me you’re actually a pirate and are going to sail away in your pirate ship looking for the lost treasure of Captain Cook, are you?”

Despite his concern, Remus laughed. “I swear to you Bree, that’s the last bit of information that you don’t know about me.”

“What exactly do you do with these werewolves?” Bree asked.

“I try to assess their motives. If someone seems as if they might fight against Voldemort, I secretly work with them. I hope to have a small army of werewolves to fight Voldemort when the time comes.”

“How many have you gathered against him?” Bree asked with interest.

Remus sighed. “Not many. Most want to fight with him. I have gathered a small number of them, though.”

“Is it alright that you are telling me this?”

Remus nodded his head. “I trust you to keep my secret. You aren’t going to go running to Voldemort with this information, are you?”

Bree blanched.

Remus smiled at her. “I suspect he knows something of my work already anyway. He has many followers among the werewolves. They know I am an Order member. I’m sure they suspect my motives for hanging around them, even if they are my own people.”

“Tell me more about this Order of the Phoenix,” Bree requested.

Remus explained some of it to her and told her of some of the things that they had accomplished. He told her that they met in a secret location, but would, of course, not tell her where.

“Does this organization take on new members?” she asked him tentatively.

“Yes, if you can prove that you are an asset to the organization and that you’re trustworthy. Are you interested in joining?”

Bree looked at him with determination. “I would do anything I can to help destroy Voldemort!” she told him.

Remus smiled and hugged her. “I was hoping you would say that. There is a meeting tonight. I will discuss the possibility of you joining us. Our meetings usually run late. I’ll bring word tomorrow.”

Bree nodded and smiled at him. He leaned over and kissed her. She wound her arms around him and leaned into his kiss. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and danced with his. She finally pulled away. They were both breathing heavily.

“You’d better get out of here if you have a meeting, Remus. If you stay much longer I won’t let you out of my sight!”

He smiled at her and cupped her chin in his hand. “I will see you tomorrow, my love.”

He kissed her chastely and rose from the couch. Walking over to the door, Remus turned to look at her once more.
“I love you, Bree,” he said.

She smiled back at him and told him she loved him too before he slipped through the doorway and was gone.

After he left, she got her mirror. Calling into it, she waited a moment before a face appeared in it. The man smiled at her.

“Ah, Bree, what news do you have for me?” her liaison said.

“Remus has disclosed his association with the Order to me. He has set off for a meeting and will bring up my interest today.”

Bree had spoken to the man several times during the past month or so, but this was the first time she had news that the plan was moving forward. The man smiled and nodded at her.

“Very good, Bree. It will only be a matter of time before you are an official Order member. There are some things you should be prepared for. The Order will test your abilities. They’ll ask you some questions about magic and probably have you duel someone. Also, Severus Snape will probably perform Legilimency on you to see what your true motives are. You ought to brush up on your Occlumency.”

Bree thought for a minute. “Snape, he’s the spy, right?”

Her dossier had named the major Order members and had given a bit of their background. She had been intrigued to find out there was a spy to Voldemort within the Order’s ranks.

“That’s right. As you know, he is a Death Eater and very talented in Legilimency.”

“I’ll be ready for him.”

Bree wasn’t concerned. She had perfected Occlumency years ago. If she didn’t want someone to know something, they didn’t find out about it.


“I have the utmost confidence in you,” the man replied. “Bree, you are doing well. I didn’t expect you to get close to the Order for at least another month. Congratulations on your hard work.”

Bree frowned.

“Is something wrong, Bree?”

“You know I don’t like all of this deception. I never have. Auror or not, these kind of assignments always upset me,” she replied testily.

“Bree, if there were another option, I would do it. This is our only hope to gain an advantage over our enemies and perhaps defeat them for good. I know this is hard for you, but in this case, the end will justify the means.”

Bree regarded the man for a while. “I hope you’re right, sir.”

The man gave her a small smile. “With your talent and abilities, we cannot fail. Our enemies will be crushed under our feet.”

Bree smiled back at him and said her goodbyes. She put away the mirror, her mind racing a mile a minute. Soon she would be a member of the Order and be privy to their secrets. She knew she would have to remain a faithful member for a while before she put phase two of the plan into operation. She only hoped that she could pass whatever tests they gave her to become a member. She assumed once she had gained their trust, they wouldn’t question her too much after that.

oooOOOooo

Remus sat among the Order members as Albus went over the news. Severus had reported that Voldemort still hadn’t made any more mention of the large attack that he was planning. There had not even been a hint as to what Voldemort was planning to do or where he planned to attack. Remus frowned at the lack of news. It had been a month since the plan had been announced, yet Voldemort had been quite tight lipped about what he wanted to do. No one knew what to make of it.

Finally, it was time to open the floor to comments. Remus was the first to say anything.

“I have met a woman who would like to become a member of the Order,” he told the circle.

There was some mild chatter among the members. Many expressed excitement at having a new member.

Albus regarded Remus with interest. “Tell us about her, Remus.”

“Her name is Brianna Corwin and she has recently arrived here from the States. She’s British and her family was destroyed by Voldemort. She would like to help in his defeat. I think she would make an excellent member of the Order. I spoke with her today and she said she was interested in joining.”


“How long have you known her?” Severus asked suspiciously.

“A little over a month. I have grown close to her and I trust her.”

“What reason do you have to trust her?” Severus snapped.

“Severus,” Albus said gently, “I’m sure that if her motives are impure, you will be able to determine that through your tests.”

Severus scowled at Dumbledore. “And what do we do if she is untrustworthy? Such things should be determined before she is exposed to us, not after!”

“I understand your concern, Severus," Remus interjected. "I assure you, if she wasn’t trustworthy, I wouldn’t have spoken to her about the Order.”

“We shall see, Lupin,” Severus promised.

“Besides, if she is not trustworthy,” Albus piped up, “we will simply Obliviate her. She will not remember anything about the Order or who we are.”

“I believe she will go along with that,” Remus agreed.

“Then it’s settled,” Albus continued. “Bring her to our next meeting. We will have Severus test her, and if she is worthy, she will become our newest member.”

Remus gave Dumbledore a wide grin. Severus nodded in agreement also. He would use Legilimency on the woman. That would tell him whether she could be trusted or not.

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A/N: Next up: Bree is tested by Severus.

Many thanks to Lilith Kayden, my beta. Thanks for reading. Bree and Severus will finally meet! I know you’ve all been waiting for that. Please leave a review. I appreciate your input.