Osbourne House
Chapter 1, Silly Little Boy
Hidden now in the new Order Headquarters, Osbourne House in the lonely acres of Dartmoor, the members congregated around the monster of a table situated in the main hall. The scarred and ancient wood was still sturdy beneath the inches of dust that suffocated every object in the once grand house. A miss-matched array of chairs and benches were pulled up close, huddling together for warmth while Molly and Remus lit the fires that ran down both sides, promising cosy heat. Around them, the grey flagstones stretched, grey stone walls towered and moth eaten tapestries hung. Above them great wooden candelabras reminiscent of medieval grandeur were suspended, their new wax candles lit and flickering, sending waves of shimmering amber light pouring down. Remus had said it had been built in the thirteenth century. He did not, however, feel the need to illuminate them as to how he came to find this place, nor how he knew it to be safe.
A roar and snap signalled that Remus had lit monolith fire down the left side, the room brightened as he paced over to Molly who seemed to be having some trouble. At the table, Harry was arguing yet again with Mad-Eye, Tonks, Hermione and Professor McGonnagall. For the past month Harry had taken on a Sirius-like suicidal belief that by hiding he was a coward, unfit to be a member and a Gryffindor and, as usual he was dragging in the sacrifice of his parents Lily and James, Sirius and Dumbledore into the argument to try and force the other members to see his blind point.
"Look for Merlin's sake!" Harry roared "My mum and dad didn't die for nothing you know! Nor did Sirius and Dumbledore! They died fighting for what they believed in not hiding like a pack of whipped dogs! They didn't lie down and take-"
"They died to preserve you, Harry," The quiet venom and loathing poured into that sentence made Harry stop in mid-tirade, turn and glower somewhere between shock and anger at the cold face of his previous Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.
"So I could fight and kill Voldemort not hide hoping it would all go away! I wont let so much loss go-"
"Loss?" Remus quizzical sneer sent shivers down Harry's spine, stopping him again. Was this the Remus that his father mistook for the death eater? Remus snorted, his lip curled. "You know nothing of loss," Harry's face coloured as rage welled within in him. Of course he knew loss!
"I lost my parents! My Godfather! They'd be proud of my efforts to further our cause, they'd want me to-" Harry screamed into the silence of those around him.
"NO! No, they'd be turning in their graves right now if they could hear you rant on about your loss, about what they would have wanted to win an argument and get the go ahead in some hair-brained notion to try and get your sorry self killed. Everybody has lost something in this damned war and some more than others. Your loss Harry, in number, is thankfully small but their sacrifice for your life is at the moment looking like a complete waste of their lives," Rage contorted the features of the usually sedate werewolf, his body shook with the suppression of it, and his blue eyes had shimmered into a hate-filled amber.
"You who never had the chance to know them, to understand what they would have wanted, dare to even presume you know? You who speak of bravery and greatness yet simper and whine about the loss of parents you'd never spoken too, a Godfather you couldn't understand even if you tried and Dumbledore who not even the closest person to him could boast to know him well enough to understand his decisions. So far Harry, your efforts to further the cause have been a series of generally fortunate mistakes, accidents and meddling in what you could never comprehend. How much thought honestly went into those efforts of yours, hmm? How much selfless consideration for the safety of what you'd call your dearest friends? Of course, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived must be saved, so which friend will go this time Harry?" Remus shook his head and looked back into the emerald green eyes. "You're good at magic, true, but you'll never be the great wizard they all believed you should be until you grow the hell up and get over yourself!"
Harry's face fell into a cold, rejecting leer as he surveyed Remus as if down his nose. He let out a snort of derision as he rounded his assault on Remus.
"And you, wolf, what do you know of loss? What can an animal know of loss?" For a brief moment Remus looked as if he would strike the impetuous Harry, pound his infuriatingly stubborn face into the hard flagstones of the floor. His nostrils flared as he tried to calm himself, his lips set in a hard line and a deep scowl imprinted in the scarred visage that was Remus Lupin.
"Far more than a silly little boy," Remus spat turned on his heel and left the hall, slamming one of the ten foot oak doors hard enough to send a shower of dust raining on the heads of all. Harry span back to face the members arranged around the table. Their faces, for the most part, were chalk white.
"Mark my words Potter, you get on the wrong side of that werewolf and by God you'll beg for death," Moody growled his magical eye now directed to the ceiling. Harry snorted. "I've seen his temper before and it was more than enough to give even me the shakes. Don't you mock it, or me,"
Then, in the silence that followed, Harry sat, sedated and quiet. He gazed fixedly at the table beneath his hands as he mulled over Remus' words. He didn't even notice the plate of food put in front of him some time later.
"I'll take Remus his-"Tonks offered innocently, getting up from her seat, the plate already in his hands. Moody's growl stopped her.
"Sit down girl; you'll only make him worse, you've been pestering him enough of late it's a wonder he hasn't exploded at you yet," Suddenly upset, Tonks returned to her seat, her eyes welling. Molly put and encouraging arm around her. "Miss Granger," Herione's gazed locked with his. "You take it for him; take yours too otherwise it'll have gone cold by the time you return. You'll find him-"There was a pause as Moody's magical eye span and fixed itself towards the left of the building. "On the first floor in the sixth room you come to." Hermione nodded obediently and grabbed the two plates, pacing determinedly out of the door to the entrance hall and the stairs upwards.