----> Ardor

[Dorcas Meadows]

Cas slowly opened the door of one of the guest rooms and couldn´t help but sneeze and stare at the room with mistrust. Living in her flat had become quite dangerous lately, so it had been deemed best if she stayed at Grimmauld Place. Muttering a Lumos charm, she slowly entered the room, inspecting her surroundings and taking in every detail.

"Bloody Hell" she muttered in frustation whe she took a good look at the room Molly had given her.

The walls painting was old and faded and some weird looking mold spots were forming on the corners. The corners that could be seen, anyway. Dust had made its way to every inch of the room, and creaking noises could be heard from time to time. Hopefully they belonged to mouses, and not Doxys or anything worse. The drapes seemed to have a life of its own, moving without wind. Cas felt extremely choked in the room, and decided it´d be best to open the drapes first to allow light to enter. She carefully aproached the drapes and when she reached a reasonable distance, she opened the with her wand. First mistake.

About five doxys flew out of the drapes and started to cirlce the roof. Cas opoened her eyes in fear and squealed. She pointed her wand at one Doxy and casted a stunning spell at it. The other four noticed this and directed towards Cas, who really wished someone would come along to help her, seeing she had left the dedoxyfier potion downstairs

[Rhian Plidith]

Number 12 Grimmauld Place had presented itself as a gloomy, underkept, abandoned residence with zero to no potential of a mix-up when Rhian had first stepped foot inside the residence. Doxies in every set of curtains, rusty, biting handcuffs in every locked trunk, and, of course, the ever-frightening prospect that Sirius' dying mother might find a way out of her always-locked bedchamber and start cursing everyone in sight. Why wouldn't that woman just give up and die already?

In any case, there had been very little missions going on in the Order during the first week or so, in which time most of the members' time was devoted to de-pesting the house and getting rid of particularly nasty artifacts. And Ana had personally witnessed Sirius and Andromeda hauling a plastic shopping bag full of old family photos outside to the garbage the previous week. She really couldn't blame them. If Ana came from a family like that...but she didn't, so all was well and good. Most of the Order had already realized that it would take a miracle to get the house into perfect shape again, but that didn't mean the various other residents were making it easier on them.

Rhian had had an encounter with a boggart already, and about four people had been rudely addressed by a jarvey a couple days previously. And they were still finding new dark artifacts that needed to be removed.

It was a tedious job, indeed.

As Ana strolled down the hall in which the doors to bedrooms were swung open on either side, she took care to not disturb any of the portraits they had so far not been able to take down. Why the hell did Rhian's bedroom have to be the one at the very end of the hallway when everyone knew how much of a klutz she was? Maybe it was her stupidity of arriving first [after Molly and Arthur, of course] that landed her room number one. Of course.

A groan of frustration met her ears as Ana passed an open door. She peeked in to see what was going on and a not-so-unfamiliar sight met her eyes. A doxy lay frozen on the floor while four others were flying in a frenzy at her good friend Dorcas who seemed to have landed herself into a spot of trouble. Ana stepped into the bedroom and whipped out her wand. She was becoming quite a hand at the stupifying spell, as the spell had become practically a daily usage for her.

"Stupify, stupify!" she cried, hitting a doxy squarely in the chest.

[Sirius Black]

More wizard sightings, eh?

“People are getting sloppy,” Sirius mused in a sing-song voice, his gray eyes scanning the wizarding paper and the article present. It seemed that some muggles had sighted a group of flying broomsticks, which at first looked like migrating geese, but evidently the masking spell had worn off at the worst possible time. The eldest Black son shook his head in disappointment, put the paper down an inch or so from his face, and brought the cup of coffee towards it instead. While most normal people chose to read the Daily Prophet in the morning during breakfast, Sirius always took a stab at it in the late evening. That way, he wouldn’t have people constantly pestering him for certain sections. “Arthur, pass me the Entertainment section,” was usually the voice of Molly Weasley bright and early in the morning, or, “Oi mate, Imma need the Sports section,” of Mundungus Fletcher. Reading the newspaper when nobody else was in the kitchen was the perfect time to do it, as Sirius had every single section all to himself. The only parts he read were the front page and the comics anyway, he just liked to relish in the fact that nobody was bothering him for dusting, or something.

The rest of the Order was either out on a mission, turning in for bed, or when it came to the younger crowd, out and about with their mates. Sirius claimed he had grown too old to do such things, even though James, a married man, wanted to go out from time to time. Remus had never been the type to let his hair down, and Peter was a little antisocial to begin with, so Sirius was quite lucky that he only had to fight off one of his best friends. Why he had been in such downer spirits lately, nobody could explain. Half of the house knew he was a werewolf, as he made it known to all of the newbies to try and scare them out of their wits, so they all assumed it was post-transformation blues. Part of it was true, but it was mostly the notion of having to take care of his dying mother in the master bedroom. In reality, he wanted that room to himself, as it was quite large and the best kept room in the house. His cranky old mother, however, had to be on her deathbed for two months in a row, it was surprising that Sirius hadn’t gathered his senses together and put her out of her misery.

The twenty-one year old went back to gazing at the paper for a few moments, until a ruckus from the upstairs made its way to his ears. No matter what time of day it was, there always seemed to be catastrophe throughout the house. It wasn’t always Sirius that came to the rescue, seeing as how James liked to play that part, but as there was no one else in the kitchen who was volunteering to go check out whatever said noise was, Sirius took the liberty of doing so. He pushed himself out of the kitchen chair, reluctantly put down the newspaper and his half-empty coffee mug, and made his sweet time up towards the bedrooms.

"Stupify, stupify!"

Oh great. It seemed like the house’s infestation of Doxies hadn’t taken care of itself. What a shame.

Entering one of the bedchambers off of the hallway, Sirius found himself in a room with fellow co-workers Dorcas Meadows, who was currently preventing four or so evil buggers from biting her head off, and Rhian Plidith, whom he hadn’t gotten to know all that well to begin with. Brandishing his wand like a knight would brandish his sword, Sirius flicked it lazily towards the magical creatures, and one by one, they dropped to the floor, a stunned look on their poor faces. He had gotten so used to using one spell over and over again; he was surprised he didn’t stun people in his sleep.

“Bloody Doxies,” he muttered, stepping over one to take a look at the others. After feeling satisfied with his work, he turned to the two women, “No serious injuries, I presume?” he inquired, although Dorcas herself looked a tad ruffled.

Where was James when you needed him.

[Rhian Plidith]

All the doxies were down. Right.

Rhian was about to turn around to face Dorcas when about seven or eight more of the little buggers came swarming out of the curtains. "Oh bother," she groaned, and pulled out her wand again. This time, however, it didn't seem necessary to actually use the spell, as she spotted a wand being flicked out of the corner of her eye, and one by one the doxies dropped down on the floor, pathetic little creatures.

“Bloody Doxies.”

Oh joy. It was Sirius Black. Ana hadn't really taken much time to get to know the oldest Black yet, and so she was a bit wary as she watched him walk passed her and Dorcas and stoop down to take a look at the frozen doxies. Yes, one would probably have expected her to be quite friendly with him, as most of her Hogwarts friends were Gryffindor boys in her year, but Rhian never really had that much contact with any of the Marauders, as they called themselves. Except James, but only because of the Quidditch team.

A slight buzzing could be heard from the curtains, which were still moving around in a frenzy, an obvious sign that there were still ten or so doxies there. "We'll need to get the antipesticide in a bit," she commented, nodding in the direction of the buzzing curtains, "Unless you enjoy the company of your little roommates." Ana chuckled softly. No one in their right mind would actually want the doxies to remain.

“No serious injuries, I presume?"

It was that tone. Ana hated that tone. It just stated clearly, "Oh, don't thank me. We all know I'm perfect." Now, Rhian had never been one to judge, but people who used that tone around her were usually given a big, black X in her book.

"I'm fine," she said indifferently, stooping down to gather the doxies into the palm of her hand. Upon her co-workers' inquiring stares, Rhian said, "A couple of us have been trying to lure that damn jarvey out of the house. Nothing's worked yet, but I remember reading somewhere that doxies are jarveys favorite food."

She dumped the handful of hairy little bodies into the pocket of her long overcoat and stood up. Dorcas looked a bit frazzled, and Ana couldn't really blame her. The first thing she was going to do before going to bed was give her bedroom a thorough spraying of antipesticide.

[Dorcas Meadows]

"Stupefy, Stupefy"

Cas watched with relief two Doxies bring hit squarely in the chest, falling down with an astounded expression on their hairy faces. The buggers. She was going to thank her friend Rhian, when another swarm of doxies made its way out of one of the corners, directing again towards them. What was she? Doxie food or something? She prepared to use a the stupefy spell again, but the doxys were hit with another stupefying spell and fell one by one, sistematically to the floor.

"Bloody Doxies"

She could clearly distinguish Sirius Black´s voice. Cas heartily agreed with him. She hated doxies, and became a little inefficient around them.

"We'll need to get the antipesticide in a bit, unless you enjoy the company of your little roommates."

"I rather be hugged by a Dementor, thank you very much." Cas replied to her friends joke with a hint of amusement in her voice. When she was little she had stumbled upon a nest of them in the forest near her house, and she had to run with twelve or so of them on her heels until she found her father and he paralyzed them, so she had an infance trauma of sorts with those hairy creatures. It wasn´t she had joined the Order that she had to start overcoming her fear of them.

“No serious injuries, I presume?"

If there was something Cas had learned during her Hogwarts days, was to tell apart Sirius´s tones and his moods. This tone was often taken as arrogance, and while it held some of it, it was as well a somewhat depressed one as well. She was well aware of Black´s werewolf issue, and thought it might be post transformation, but she also had seen him like this for a few months or so.

"I was just having fun with my doxy friends, you know. We were going out for a butterbeer before you two appeared" Cas said casually. She wondered if Sirius´s mood would improve.

Ana then started to pick up the doxies and put them in her overcoat pocket, and Cas couldn´t help but stare at her friend quizically. Why on Earth would anyone want doxys for? She highly doubted it´d be fo pets. Maybe getting rid of another pest.

"A couple of us have been trying to lure that damn jarvey out of the house. Nothing's worked yet, but I remember reading somewhere that doxies are jarveys favorite food."

Ah so that was it. The Jarvey. Cas encountered it a few days ago, and having an overgrown ferret insult you when you are sleep deprived and tired isn´t nice. Either to her or the Jarvey. She hadn´t seen it since that day and had assumed it was gone, but she had been proved wrong.

"Maybe it´s too entertained bickering to leave? But a lot of those should work" Cas offered a comment and helped pick up some doxys and put them in a bag she had brought with her for cleaning purposes, thinking that maybe the Jarvey had found it´s way to Mrs. Black´s bedchamber and were too absorved insulting eachother.
"

[Rhian Plidith]

"I rather be hugged by a Dementor, thank you very much."

Rhian grinned. She could clearly remember that night when she was twelve years old, playing Truth or Dare with a bunch of her friends in the Common Room [she had finally convinced Dorcas that the boys wouldn't bite], and Cas reliving her 'Most Horrifying Memory'. Although she had roared with laughter at the time, Ana's dislike for doxies had only increased after that.

All the same, she laughed and said, "Personally, I'd take the doxies."

"I was just having fun with my doxy friends, you know. We were going out for a butterbeer before you two appeared"

Ana loved Dorcas' ability to make anyone lighten up. It was just a gift of hers. Unfortunately, she could sense that Sirius wasn't going to give in that easily. The little bugger,

"Maybe it´s too entertained bickering to leave? But a lot of those should work"

"Well, let's hope so," she said, brushing her hands together and causing several stray black hairs to fall onto the ancient carpet. Ana had always been to lazy for her own good, and walking four steps to her left to put the hairs into the garbage bin would just be too much work for her.

"Ugh, did you hear about the Lovegoods?" Rhian inquired, suddenly remembering the headline of the morning's newspaper, "Became visible right as they flew over Buckingham Palace. I mean, George has never been that hot with the masking spells, but that was just ridiculous."

[Sirius Black]

What, he couldn’t be concerned about other people’s well being anymore?

What other people have learned about Sirius (from James, most likely) is that he still had that Black superiority in him. You couldn’t blame him, after all, as he was born with it pumping through his arteries. The general public also liked to assume that if Sirius was best friends with as big of a conceited ass as James Potter, he had to have an identical personality. In school, it was true. He thought he was the king of the world back then. But now that he has to take care of a huge house all on his own, people don’t cut him enough slack. They didn’t know him well enough to determine if he was being haughty enough, and the last time he checked, caring about other people wasn’t classified as haughty at all.

"I was just having fun with my doxy friends, you know. We were going out for a butterbeer before you two appeared,"

“Mhm, right,” he said to the room, a grin crossing his face. He wasn’t going to look into what Dorcas did in her spare time. “Just making sure I don’t lose two of the best Order members to six-inch flying fairies,” he assured them, knowing full well that Dorcas was trying to lighten the mood, while Rhian didn’t seem to hot with Sirius coming into the midst of things. He watched her bend down and pick up the damned things off of the carpet. Perhaps she was taking inventory; after all, Merlin knows how many of the things were around the place. Dorcas hadn’t a clue at what her friend was doing, but an explanation came sooner rather than later.

"A couple of us have been trying to lure that damn jarvey out of the house. Nothing's worked yet, but I remember reading somewhere that doxies are jarveys favorite food."

Oh yes. The jarvey. Arthur had said he had taken care of that, then Remus said he had taken care of it the day before last. It looked like Sirius needed to take a look, after all, he had experience with dealing with the absence of the house elf and his mother not giving a damn about the state of the house. The boggart had been fun, no doubt, and Sirius was glad he had remotely paid attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He, however, was not about to touch one of those things, let alone put one in his pocket. Who knows where they had been.

"Maybe it´s too entertained bickering to leave? But a lot of those should work,”

“Maybe,” Sirius agreed, “That or he’s too hungry, hence the doxy feast I’ve provided it with,” he remarked, stuffing his wand in his back pocket despite Moody’s constant reminder of not to do so, and crossed his arms across his chest. For all he cared, the jarvey could go on living in his second floor closet until the day he died, as long as it didn’t bother Sirius. Molly and the majority of the female population, however, didn’t agree with the future owner of the house, and wanted it spotless from head to toe, including getting rid of the jarvey. Hey, as long as he didn’t have to dust, he was cool with whatever they did.

"Ugh, did you hear about the Lovegoods? Became visible right as they flew over Buckingham Palace. I mean, George has never been that hot with the masking spells, but that was just ridiculous."

“Made the front page of the Prophet,” Sirius added with a nod of his head, a wry grin creeping onto his face. “I’m surprised the muggles hadn’t made a comment about how Canadian geese have seemed to migrate over the pond,” he barked out a laugh, and shook his head. Honestly, Canadian geese? Why not pick seagulls, although less attractive, it wouldn’t have been as obvious.

[Dorcas Meadows]

((The post above is mine... my pc logged me off and I realised after I had posted so... yeah ))

[Rhian Plidith]

['Tis fine, luv ]

"Just making sure I don't lose two of the best Order members to six-inch flying fairies,”

Rhian couldn't suppress the amused smirk that escaped her lips. Now that her friend had worked her magic in lightening up their cocky comrade, she was fully confident that the next ten minutes or so would pass by in a much more enjoyable manner than she had expected a minute before when Sirius had entered the room. He was even complimenting them, which was certainly different. Yes, much more enjoyable.

"Well, you've succeeded so far. We've overcome the Knights of Walpurgis and a doxy won't be our executioner."

"Yes, but if we don't do something soon about that awful boggart in the kitchen, it may be," Ana put in, suddenly remembering that she had been going to ask Dumbledore to help them with that, "Either that, or Molly. She goes absoloutely berserk whenever she tries to prepare dinner, she opens up that cupboard, and sees her little boy laying there in the dark."

Ana shivered. "Horrible thing," she added.

“That or he’s too hungry, hence the doxy feast I’ve provided it with,"

There he went again. For, like, a blip Ana had thought Sirius might be able to get through a decent conversation without trying to put excess emphasis on one of his many perfections or accomplishments. Ah, well. Rhian had never been one to go looking for a fight, and tonight really was no exception. She'd tolerate him.

"In that case I guess I´ll have to claim the Jarvey as my roomate, without hesitation. After all I believe silencing charms are quite easy to perform"

"You can put up shop in my room until we get this lot taken care of," Ana said, nodding towards the doxies, "I'm sure it's much more preferable to spending the night in here, or on that horrid couch."

Oh lordy, would Rhian ever be able to forget the night Kreacher had locked himself in her room and she had to spend the night on the parlor couch, possibly the lumpiest and most uneven sofa in all of the United Kingdom? Fortune was not exactly looking in her favor.

"Made the front page of the Prophet, I’m surprised the muggles hadn’t made a comment about how Canadian geese have seemed to migrate over the pond.”

"They should have passed as doves or something more common. But then again, weirder things have happened to the Muggle world lately, so a couple of geese isn't something to worry about."

Ana laughed. That did seem the sort of thing the muggles might print.

"Oh, Sirius, you've got to give them a bit more credit than that," she protested not-so-persistantly, "Muggles aren't that stupid. Even they would know Canadian geese are strictly exclusive to North America."

But Dorcas did have a point. For heaven's sake, while small children were starving around the world, the muggle governments were pouring money into the pockets of the entertainment industry for films on talking pigs and the end of the world. Of course, at least to them that was all pretend.

How very uninformed they were.