A\N: Hello there. I am not going to bother you with many author's notes, I just wanted to announce that this is my newest story. Hope you like it, please tell me what you think of it.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Headquarters
It was a light night, stars filled it and bright colorful lights hung upon strings over the sides of the wide paved street of Diagon Alley. A large crowd was just dispersing; a crowd of listless, fearful people scurrying hurriedly before the clock struck nine. It was the national curfew of Magical Britain, after all and anyone found out after the allotted time would 'mysteriously disappear'. It had been enacted two months ago among other more cruel regulations, ever since Tom Riddle, also known as the Dark Lord Voldemort took over the Ministry.
Death Eaters stood stationed at the sides of the alley, smirking nastily as the hurried the people through the two Floo stations available for transport. The Leaky Cauldron has long since closed off. In a narrow alleyway on the side of the bustling alley, a man stood against the wall in the darkened shadows flitting and filling the corners, hiding him from the dispersing crowd.
His emerald eyes were narrowed as his calculated stare perused everything in sight, and then he saw him. The man was striding across the alley hurriedly, a large black cloak with the hood pulled up obscured his features but our emerald-eyed friend recognized the man easily; his magical aura shone brightly to the emerald-eyed man's expert gaze.
"So he hadn't quite learned how to hide his aura." Harry fought the urge to laugh as he flitted from shadow to shadow silently, moving in pursuit of the traitor-who-killed.
Harry saw the traitor look around and when he felt a bit surprised that he had been sensed, he mentally slapped himself. The traitor had been the greatest spy in magical history after all, he would know if he was being followed. Harry sighed and - summoning a little strength - jumped upwards so high he was almost flying.
His legs moved smoothly and he landed quite gracefully upon a rooftop , away from the traitor's searching eyes. He flew from rooftop to rooftop following the man until he had reached the end of the smaller, dark alley where the traitor stood. Harry stood upon a roof and stared down at the traitor who instinctively looked up.
"Hello Sevvy." Harry sneered in an expression very similar to the hated-potions master turned traitor in front of him.
"Potter," the soft-voice sneered back as condescending and cold as it ever was.
Harry leaped down into a graceful crouch upon the floor before straightening out into the dark shadows, and in two seconds Snape had his wand at Harry's throat.
"Do not move a muscle, Potter. I will not hesitate to kill you."
The boy - no man - in front of him scoffed. It was a louder noise than expected but the crowd, and the Death eaters were at a safe distance, Harry calculated.
"Of course you would," he smirked "I know the truth, Severus" he said. Snape's eyes narrowed in fury.
"You know nothing." Severus hissed, his wand burrowing further into Harry's throat.
"I do, Severus." Harry's face was serious and fearless. "Dumbeldore told me. Well , his portrait did."
"No," Snape whispered and lowered his wand. Harry stepped back, placing his hands at his side in a peaceful gesture and then slowly motioned for Snape to follow him before he headed back up the alley.
Harry walked steadily in the dark shadows, only looking back twice to check that Snape was indeed following him.
"Why did he tell you now, Potter, after all these years?"
Harry paused then and silence filled the next moments until he sighed and turned around, emerald eyes filled with a distinct kind of pain and a little shame, not the strength and defiance that had been there only moments earlier. This was when Severus reminded himself quite sarcastically and with the undercurrent of a sad emotion that Potter was still a child, barely eighteen.
"He did not believe I was ... eh ... he did .."
"Articulate as always, Potter." He could not resist.
"He did not believe that I or you were ready for the shocking revelation." Potter spat. "I was angry at first of course."
Of course Potter would be angry that his Potions master was actually innocent.
"Because, eh I mean he could've told me. You were all alone then, thought a traitor, hunted down, and if he had told me or anyone else for that matter. It wouldn't have been so messed up."
He could see Snape was shocked and wondered what he had said to cause that reaction.
The shock displayed on Severus Snape's face was hastily hidden by a vicious sneer.
"I do not need your pity, Potter."
"Nor am I giving it to you, Snape." Harry replied knowing that men like him and Snape disliked pity immensely; he could relate. As soon as that thought entered his mind he shuddered involuntarily but could not deny, he and Snape had a lot in common. Snape huffed, but a gleam of gratitude appeared in his eyes for moments before it was wiped away to leave a blank, expressionless look in the onyx eyes.
Harry sighed and turned the corner, heading into the small apartment building squished between two other dirty and trodden buildings.
"We're here." he stated quite unnecessarily.
Severus didn't answer. Both climbed several flights of stairs silently until they reached a dingy door. The only one, it appeared, in the whole building. Potter stepped towards it and then moved his hand in an intricate design and turned to Snape.
"Remember this," he said and demonstrated an equally intricate hand motion with his hand. Snape copied it and the door swung open. Harry nodded slightly and allowed Snape to enter first before following him quickly.
The door slammed shut with an ominous click, and Harry sure that the door was closed turned towards his guest who was standing in the middle of the almost bare room looking around.
Severus noted the shabby walls, the barely together couch, and a dingy mattress lying in a corner, the only pieces of furniture in the room and frowned. He turned to Potter in bewilderment wondering what this place was.
A listless, bitter smile met him:
"Welcome to the headquarters of the Order of The Phoenix"
