"'…I ask a third favor, now, of my old friend. A time is upon us now that we ask for help from our secluded friends, may your photosynthesizing be everlasting and your comrades never fall!' What does this mean, Kingsley?" the Minister of Magic implored, gazing deeply into the tall man's eyes, looking for some sign of recognition.
"I don't know," Kingsley replied smoothly.
"What about this part here…" Scrimgeour's finger traced the page looking for the passage on the will he had been earlier reading. "Ah, 'I ask a third favor' my counting shows that so far, Dumbledore has only asked one other favor. Have I miscalculated, or had the old geezer simply gone mad when he'd written it?"
"I don't know, sir," Kingsley said, slightly irritated at the Minister's questioning.
"Well then, I suppose I must give this to you now, as it says…" Scrimgeour reluctantly handed the will to Kingsley.
"I bid you good day, sir," said Kingsley, tucking the scroll in his pocket and striding out the door. As soon as he was out of earshot, he conjured up a patronus to send message that an impromptu meeting was starting at the headquarters and everyone should gather there as quickly as possible.
Meeting
Kinsley stood at the head of the table in Grimmauld Place and surveyed the order members around them as they soaked in the details from the excerpt of Dumbledore's will that he just shared with them.
"The Minister's right, there were clearly only two favors mentioned. That puts a great emphasis on the aspect of three things..." Moody said, gruffly.
"Why does that photosynceration thing-y sound familiar?" asked Ron. After much pleading and begging, Ron, Harry, and Hermione had finally been admitted into the order.
"Because," began Hermione, irritated, "you've heard it countless times in Herbology. Photosynthesis is the process plants go through to make their own food, so" she now turned to face the group, "Dumbledore was talking about plants or some group of people associated with plants."
The group nodded and slipped back into a quiet contemplation of the will's true meaning.
"He's talking about leaves," Remus's voice broke the thick silence "leaves or something to do with them. See, he says, 'may your comrades never fall'. Leaves fall annually, and they are the main photosynthesizing members of a tree."
"Yeah…" said Harry, "but where does the three reference fit in? When was the last time you've heard of a tree having three leaves?"
A mumbling of agreement came from the Order.
"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione, she brought a hand to her lips "Hidden leaf…?" She ran out of the room and up the stairs. The order members started muttering amongst themselves. Hidden leaf? What was that supposed to mean?
"Hermione!" Kingsley called up the stairs, "What hap-" his question was stopped as a mass of curly hair bustled past him and slammed a book on the table.
"Of course, Hermione consults a book for help," muttered Ron to a sniggering Harry.
Hermione opened the book and rifled through its pages, looking for the one she wanted.
"Ah!" She said excitedly, "'The greatest of all Shinobi, the Kages, are seen as leaders in the hidden villages. The Third Hokage-sama of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…' See? This is it! We call on a favor of the Hokage-sama!"
Murmuring swept the room as the assembled members discussed the latest information.
"What kind of favor?" Tonks asked. "What exactly does Dumbledore want this Hokage guy to help us with?"
"A mission. We send a request for a mission, so the ninjas can help us fight the battle and… other things," Hermione said, exchanging a glance with Harry and Ron. They knew what she meant – Horcruxes.
The order debated on whether they should act upon this request, and if so, who would go. It was decided that Kingsley would make the mission request and so the order meeting adjourned.