Disclaimer: not mine, wish it were. any characters you don't recognize are mine, all mine...
A/N: this is an AU story set in Harry's fifth year. I am posting the first two chapters together (these chapters are probably the only ones that will resemble the real story so closely), and I'll let you guys decide if I should continue this story or not (I have not forgotten about The Runaway, in fact the next chapter entitled 'The Rogue' is nearly done (over 7,800 words long) and I will be posting it soon). Some of the things you'll read about in this story may also appear in The Runaway, but I think they will be written/used/designed differently. If you want me to continue it, I don't know how often I'll be updating, but reviews always help motivate me. I don't have a Beta for this story so if anyone wants the job tell me in your review. Enjoy.
Chapter 1
Dreams and Reality
Harry opened his eyes and looked around the cold torch lit room he suddenly found himself in; it was a place that he was becoming all too familiar with, even though he had never set foot in it. A soft rustling of fabric drew his attention to the other people in the room. There were six Death Eaters kneeling before the throne like chair he now sat in, bowing to their Dark Lord. Harry knew that he must have fallen asleep, because he was once again seeing the world through the eyes of Lord Voldemort. The other occupant of the throne apparently hadn't realized Harry was there as he glared down at the kneeling figures before him. Harry felt his mouth start to move but he couldn't control it, "What news have you brought me?" Harry said in a harsh voice, which sounded nothing like his own.
"My Lord," One of the Death Eater visibly shook as he kneeled before the Dark Lord. "We haven't been able to retrieve the Prophecy yet."
"Idiots!" Voldemort snarled, cutting the Death Eater off. "We must find them!" Voldemort raised his wand and the Death Eater fell to the wooden floor, twisting in pain. Harry gasped as his scar started burning.
"My Lord," Lucius Malfoy stepped forward, distracting Voldemort from his torturing of Goyle. "I apologize for our failure, and beg for your forgiveness, but I believe we are getting closer to retrieving The Prophecy…we just need a little more time-" one flick of his wand and Malfoy was withering on the floor along with his comrade.
"I have given you time, and you still haven't shown me any results!" Voldemort yelled, as the kneeling Death Eaters all trembled before him. Harry could feel the anger coursing through him, as if it were his own. He felt more pain shoot through his forehead, but he knew that it was only a small taste of what he would feel when he woke up.
"P-please, m-m-my lord," Wormtail stuttered from his position on the ground "We are making p-progress, but it is very well g-g-guarded." Wormtail flinched as Voldemort waved his wand, but this time it was to end the torturing spell. Malfoy and his comrade thanked the Dark Lord before shakily crawling back into kneeling position.
"Being the merciful lord that I am," This was met with nods all around, "I will grant you more time. Fail me again and I will not be so kind." Voldemort said in a very cold tone. The Death Eaters nodded and Harry felt himself being jerked out of Voldemort's body as everything went dark.
Harry felt the odd lurching sensation and the dream started to change as it usually did. Harry was falling through the dark sky feeling weightless. As he fell he could hear indistinct voices coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, they're so angry, Harry thought as he fell, he could feel the hatred and pain in their voices. He stared up at the retreating sky as the voices became louder, and he tried to brace himself for what was coming next. Even though he knew it was coming, Harry still felt a thrill of surprise when his body hit the water and he began to sink into the dark depths of the ocean. The first few times this happened Harry had tried to swim back to the surface, but when he had been forced to gasp for breath he learned that he could breathe underwater, and struggling wasn't getting him anywhere, so now he just let himself sink. Harry didn't know how long it would take to reach his destination, but the closer he got to it the faster he sank.
He landed near the edge of a very large platform, which began to glow from within the moment his feet touched it and even though his body still felt like it was underwater, Harry couldn't help thinking that he was once again on the surface. As if to solidify that idea, Harry felt an icy cool breeze on his back and a shiver passed through him. He could feel someone – something- standing right behind him, but he refused to turn around and look into the darkness that he knew was right behind him, deciding instead to focus on the task ahead. Harry took his first step away from the edge of the platform, and heard the voices around him grow louder, throwing insults at him. He quickly took his next step and the one after that and the voices increased in both anger and intensity. By the time he was halfway there the voices around him were so loud they were almost physically painful, but he kept walking until he was only feet away, knowing that they wouldn't stop until he either reached the circle in the middle of the platform or jumped off the edge of it. By then the voices had become so loud, so piercing, that he thought he would go insane from it, but he kept walking forward until suddenly it all just…stopped. For a moment he thought he had gone deaf from all the noise, but once he got his bearings he realized that he had finally made it to the middle.
Harry turned, making sure to stay within the circle that was drawn in the middle of the platform and to, and saw exactly what he knew he would. The platform he stood on was illuminated, but beyond the edge there was nothing but darkness. Breathing in deeply, Harry tried to collect himself, knowing that this respite would be brief, and almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard it. The voice he knew was coming but always came as a surprise. He couldn't tell if it was male, female, or even human. It just was.
"The time is drawing near…" the voice echoed around him.
"The time for what?" he called into the darkness, "Who are you?"
"The better question is who you are?" Harry spun around. It felt as though the question had been whispered into his ear, but there was nobody there.
"I'm Harry Potter. What do you want from me?"
"Harry Potter is your name….but is that who you are?"
"Why did you bring me here?" Harry yelled, he was starting to get frustrated
"Because, the time is drawing near…." the voice replied again
"The time for what?!" Harry demanded.
"The time for decisions….The time for change."
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Harry felt the jolting sensation again as he suddenly found himself in his own room, drenched in a cold sweat. He started to sit up but the overwhelming pain in his forehead forced him to lie back down. Deep calming breathes, just take deep calming breathes, Harry thought as the pain slowly lessened to the point where he was finally able to open his eyes. He had become accustomed to pain, but since the dark lord's return to power it had been much worse. Once the burning in his scar died down to a simple sting, Harry put on his glasses and slowly walked over to his desk. He picked up a quill and started writing while his dreams were still vivid in his mind. This wasn't the first time he'd had a nightmare about one of the Dark Lord's meetings. Ever since Voldemort regained power he's been having more and more visions, and every time they are almost exactly the same, Voldemort had been searching for 'The Prophecy' for weeks now and he was getting more frustrated with his Death Eaters failure to find it.
Harry had also had the underwater dream many times before and it was also usually the same. He would try to get some answers, and the infuriating voice would go around in circles only answering questions with more questions. The only thing he had learned so far was that change was coming, which was something he already knew. He was sure that the meeting with Voldemort was real, but he couldn't say the same about the underwater dreams. Maybe it was some type of warning or maybe it is just his subconscious playing tricks on him, whatever it was he would have to figure it out before it drove him insane. After he had written all he could remember about his vision, he put the paper with all the other writings about his dreams and began to write another letter to Sirius and Dumbledore.
Dear professor Dumbledore,
I just had another nightmare, it was like all the others Voldemort is still looking for and 'the prophecy', and he is starting to grow frustrated with the Death Eaters failure. When I woke up my scar was burning again, it seems to get worse every time. I also had the underwater dream again although I still don't know if it is real or not. All I know is that "Change is coming". I will write you again if I have another vision.
Harry Potter
Harry copied this letter twice and walked over to Hedwig's cage, after giving her the letters and telling her who they were to he opened up his window and watched her as she flew off into the night until she had completely disappeared. He wished he could fly away with her.
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That had been three days ago, and Hedwig still hadn't returned. Harry knew that he shouldn't expect her back for a few more days, but he still missed her, she was his only real companion at number 4 Private Drive. Since summer vacation started Harry had fallen into a pattern, he would get up at 7:00, eat his minimal breakfast, since Dudley was still on his diet, and then do whatever chores Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had setup for him. Every day since he came back home from his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry had been forced to do all the chores around the house, but he didn't mind, he thought that he would go crazy if he didn't keep busy.
Whenever he was allowed to rest, his mind would start to wander and he would always find himself obsessing over what the "The Prophecy" could be, or thinking about the Voice, or Voldemort, or Cedric's death. Harry knew he shouldn't blame himself for what happened that night in the graveyard, or at least his 'friends' told him he shouldn't, but that didn't stop Harry from being racked with guilt every time he thought about it. He also tried to avoid thinking about Ron and Hermione as much as possible; he always ended up feeling angry and betrayed whenever he thought about his best friends having fun somewhere without him.
Harry was surprised when the Dursleys called him in early from his chores. The moment Harry stepped into the living room his uncle started talking."Listen boy, we're going out for a night on the town this evening. By 'we' I of course mean Dudley, Petunia and I." Uncle Vernon said making it quite clear that Harry wouldn't be joining them. "Unfortunately Mrs. Figgs can't watch you…something about a 'prior engagement'…so you will be here alone." He said it as if Mrs. Figgs had done something wrong. "So let me make myself perfectly clear -there is to be no funny business in this house while we are away," Uncle Vernon said threateningly, "Do you understand me boy?" he demanded.
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said in a disinterested tone,
"You're not to touch any of our things while we are away." Vernon continued pompously. "And if you do anything out of line while we are away, you will be locked in your room for the rest of the summer. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said again with a bored expression to match his tone.
Vernon stared at him suspiciously for a moment before telling him to go finish his chores. As Harry walked outside to finish cutting the grass, he thought about what he would do once the Dursleys were gone and he had the whole house to himself. He briefly considered doing something just to anger his uncle, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Although he knew what Vernon said was an empty threat he still found it unwise to provoke his uncle. Ever since the Dursleys had found out about his godfather, Sirius, they had treated Harry much better than they had the first two summers after he arrived at Hogwarts. They had taken the bars off his window so Hedwig could deliver mail and allowed him to keep his wand and school supplies in his room. Harry knew he would probably just turn in for an early night's sleep.
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That night Harry sat beside his widow gazing out at Private Drive without really seeing it. He was thinking about Voldemort, and trying to figure out whether or not the voice was real, or if he was just losing his mind. It certainly felt that way.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a loud thumbing sound downstairs. It can't be the Dursleys, Harry thought as he quickly grabbed his wand and crept over to the door, could it be Death Eaters? He wondered and tried to listen for any more sounds that might tell him where the intruders were, but all he heard was the pounding of his own heart. Harry opened his bedroom door as silently as possible and cautiously made his way over to the upstairs landing with his back to wall, still straining to hear any sounds that might alert him to the intruders' location.
Swallowing his nerves Harry quickly turned the corner and felt his heart jump into his throat. There were four people standing at the downstairs landing. "Harry?" one of them asked before Harry could let off any spells. His heart was beating wildly as he tried to make out the people standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was sure he knew that voice.
"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked unsure of whether to believe what he had just heard.
"Yes Harry, it is me," said the voice again.
"Why are we all standing in the dark?" asked a female voice that Harry had never heard before.
"Lumus," the voice said, and the stairwell was bathed in light from the tip of her wand. Harry was suddenly able to make out all the people standing at the bottom of the stairs. Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, and two other people stood at the foot of the stairs looking up at him.
"Professors? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, as he lowered his wand, feeling a wave of hope and disbelief as his brain slowly processed what was happening.
"We've come to take you back to headquarters." Moody answered in his rough voice, as Harry started making his way down the stairs. "We're your advanced guard." When Harry reached his professors, he was met with a handshake from Lupin.
"How are you Harry? Have the muggles been treating you alright?" asked Lupin, looking Harry up and down closely.
"Yes, everything has been fine here." Harry said, "Advanced Guard?"
"Yes," Moody replied, "Make sure you get to headquarters safely."
Harry heard the young women standing behind Moody grumble something about not needing an advanced guard, but he was too excited to pay attention, "Headquarters….You mean we're leaving. Soon?" Harry asked, looking around at the others. He still didn't know who the other two people were but he was still happy to see them.
"We'll be leaving as soon as we have the link open again," Moody said quietly, as if they might be overheard. Harry just stared at him, not sure what link he was talking about or why he needed to whisper.
"You need to get your things packed Mr. Potter," the tall man standing behind Lupin said, in a deep voice.
"Harry, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks," the young women looked as though she was about to interrupt but Remus talked over her "Who prefers to be called by her surname." he finished loudly. Harry took a closer look at the peculiar looking girl, she had spiky pink hair and a nose ring, Aunt Petunia would faint if she saw these people in her house, Harry thought as he looked around at the group. He quickly shook hands with Shacklebolt and Tonks.
"Where are we going? Are you bringing me to the burrow?" Harry asked as he looked around at the adults excitedly.
"No Harry, we won't be going to the burrow." Professor Lupin said, but upon seeing the slight look of disappointment on Harry's face, he said, "But you will be seeing Ron and Hermione soon."
"But if we aren't going to the burrow, then where are we going?" Harry asked confused.
"You'll find out soon enough Potter. Now go get your things." Professor Moody said in a voice that didn't leave room for any more discussion.
"I'll be up to help you in a second." Professor Lupin promised.
"OK," Harry said as he quickly began to make his way back up the stairs "It's right up here, second door to the left."
Harry ran into his room and started going through his clothes and books. He quickly started putting things into two categories, the things that he wanted to take with him, and everything else. The pile of things he wanted to take with him was significantly smaller than the pile of things he was leaving, but Harry didn't care. He was thinking about what he would say to his friends when he saw them. Over the summer, he had become steadily more annoyed with Ron, Hermione, and their letters. One of the few things Harry could tell from their letters was that they were in the same place, most likely the burrow, although now Harry assumed they were wherever the advanced guard was about to take him, and that annoyed him to no end. Knowing that they weren't only together, but they were together at some secret headquarters and neither of them had mentioned it. All summer their letter had said mostly the same thing every time or it was infuriating. Harry had decided that if they were going to keep secrets from him then he wouldn't tell them about his dreams, which really only made things harder for him. At one point he had actually considered just telling them that if they couldn't say anything then don't write to him at all, but if he did he would be cutting off his last real connection to the wizarding world besides Sirius, and that was something he couldn't afford to do.
For the second time that night, Harry was jolted out of his thoughts as he heard a soft knock on his door announcing the arrival of Professor Lupin. As he stood in the doorway and took in the piles clothes and old news papers strewn around the room Harry became very self-conscious, and wished that he had bothered to clean up a bit since he'd been back, but at the time he really hadn't cared. It wasn't as if he was expecting company. "Are these all the things you're taking with you?" Lupin asked with a distracted tone as he slowly moved into the room while fighting down the shock of seeing Harry's bedroom for the first time, if it could really be called that. His room was about as big a jail cell, with very little room to move around. Wondering what his ex-teacher must be thinking Harry said, "Sorry about the mess, I wasn't exactly expecting company."
Remus just nodded, trying to keep his temper in check and deciding not to comment on the room at all. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but this wasn't it. He would definitely be having a word with Dumbledore when they got to headquarters. Nobody should be forced to live in a place like this, especially not Harry, Remus thought, but he kept it to himself. "Is that everything?" he asked again, knowing they would only have a limited period of time to get back to headquarters and that the others were probably wondering what was taking so long. Harry nodded and with a few precise flicks of his wand, Harry had his things packed in a few seconds.Lupin levitated the trunk and broom downstairs with Harry following behind him with Hedwig's cage.
They almost ran into Tonks when they reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked out of breath, "There you are," she painted, "The link is open. We have to go. Now."
"Come on, Harry." Lupin said urgently as he led Harry into the living room. Harry's stomach tightened as he saw how they would be leaving. There was a roaring green fire in the fireplace, and they arrived just in time to see Shacklebolt disappear.
Moody quietly called him over, "You need to memorize this Potter," he said in a whisper as he handed the boy the scrap of paper. Harry looked down at the paper where two short lines had been handwritten. It said:
The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix are found atNumber twelve, Grimmwauld place, London.
Once Harry had it completely memorized, Moody took the scrap and burned it to ashes with the tip of his wand. Harry looked up to see Remus disappearing into the fire, but before he could ask any question floo pounder was being thrust into his hands "Don't say the address out loud, just think it." Moody said, before giving him a push toward the fire.
Harry was still confused. He wasn't sure how this was going to work or where Grimmwauld place was, but he quickly stepped into the fire. Taking one last look around Number 4 Private Drive he thought 'Number Twelve, Grimmwauld place, London' and felt himself start to spin. He knew that he was finally on his way to a new Dursleys free summer.
Chapter 2
Reunions
Harry braced himself as the spinning sensation began to slow to a stop. When he stumbled out of the fireplace, he immediately found himself engulfed in the arms of Mrs. Weasley, and he couldn't have felt happier about it. From the moment the advanced guard arrived at Private Drive everything had gone so fast, and felt so surreal that Harry thought he must have been dreaming. Somehow, seeing Mrs. Weasley, and having her wrap her arms around him like he were one of her own sons made it all seem real.
The fire flared up behind him two more times, as Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody arrived. Mrs. Weasley pulled him Harry back and held him by his shoulders, as she looked him over. "Harry dear, it is so good to see you. How have you been?" Molly asked and then continued without giving Harry a chance to reply, "Have the muggles been feeding you well? You've grown."
"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, really." Harry said with a smile, as he got his first real look around. He saw that they were in a comfortable look sitting room. There were a few couches and chairs around the room, and doors that Harry assumed must lead to other parts of the house. As he was looking around, Lupin walked into the room, along with another man, who went straight to Harry the moment he saw him.
"Sirius!" Harry cried, as his godfather walked over and gave him a big bear hug. While Harry and Sirius hugged, Remus walked over to the others and said, "The meeting is about to start. He's already here, they've just been waiting for us."
"How've you been Harry?" Sirius asked as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder and looked him in the eye. He was surprised to discover that Harry was nearly was nearly eye-to-eye with him. If it was possible, Harry looked even more like James than the last time he saw him.He was taller now, with broader shoulders, toned muscles and a bit of a tan from being out in the sun for long periods of time. Although his hair was just as unmanageable as it had always been. Sirius wasn't much for showing his emotions but he had missed Harry very much. He had been trying to convince Dumbledore to let him or Remus go and get Harry from the muggles ever since summer break began.
"I'm fine Sirius. How have you been? What are you doing here? Where are we? What is the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked in quick succession as he stared up at his godfather with his large emerald eyes. He was very happy to note that Sirius looked much better than the last time he had seen him. He had gained some weight, so he no longer looked half-starved, and he cut his hair and was freshly shaven. Overall, the man in front of him was actually starting to resemble the Sirius he had seen in the picture of his parents' wedding. Harry was also relieved to see Sirius here, because it meant his godfather was safe, or at least he hoped he was.
"Slow down Harry," Sirius said with an amused look at the boy, "Now I will try to answer your questions as best I can but I am afraid a few of them will have to wait until later. First, I am fine Harry, as you can see Molly has been making sure I eat. And to answer your next two questions I am here because this is my house, welcome to Black Manor." Sirius said as he spread out his arms to indicate everything around him. "And the reason we are all here, is because we are using this place as Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius held up a hand as Harry began to open his mouth to ask his final question again. "I'm sorry Harry, but I don't have time to properly explain what the Order is, because I have to go to this meeting now. And besides, I'm sure Ron and Hermione will want to fill you in." Sirius said with a grin.
"Ron and Hermione are here? Where are they?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling excited about seeing his friends.
"They're upstairs with Ginny and the twins." Mrs. Weasley told him as she pointed towards the staircase that lead up to the top levels of the house.
"We shouldn't keep Dumbledore waiting much longer," Mad-Eye said, gruffly and started walking towards the door Sirius and Remus just came through. Dumbledore is here?Harry wondered, but he didn't get a chance to voice his question.
"They should be in a room on the second floor, the third door you come to." Molly said as she and the other adults started making their way towards the room Sirius and Remus had just vacated. With a final glance back at his godson Sirius and the other disappeared behind the door to the room where the meeting was about to take place. Harry just stood silently in the sitting room for a moment, contemplating the events that had just transpired, and wondering what would happen when he saw Ron and Hermione before making his way up the stairs.
As Harry came to the second floor landing he knew he was in the right place. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs he heard Hermione and Ron's voices, it sounded like they were arguing again, although Harry couldn't tell what the argument was about. He slowly walked up to the door and opened it a crack to see his two best friends standing opposite each other yelling. Harry just stood in the hallway for a moment and watched. He hadn't quite realized how much he had missed them until that moment. They had both changed over the summer as well, Ron was no longer the gangly young man he had been last year, he was still taller than Harry and Hermione but his shoulders had become broader and he looked much more fit. Somehow, Ron Weasley had transformed from a boy into a young man, although he still seemed as stubborn as ever. Hermione had also grown a bit taller but still didn't meet the height of Ron or Harry, Hermione also looked fit and had filled out a quite a bit more and now looked more like a young women than the girl she was when Harry last saw her. In fact, Harry was shocked to notice that she had become very pretty. He shook himself out of his thoughts, which were definitely heading in the wrong direction, and realized that he couldn't be too angry with them for keeping him in the dark. He decided to make his presence known, so he straightened up and pushed the door wide open.
"HARRY!" they said in unison as they stared at their best friend in disbelief. Ron and Hermione were momentarily shocked to see Harry standing there, but Hermione was the first one to recover as she quickly launched herself at Harry and threw her arms around his neck. Harry was almost knocked over onto the ground by the force of the hug but managed to stay upright. As Hermione let go and stepped back, Harry could see she was blushing slightly and he could feel the blood rising to his cheeks as well. Oblivious to his friends' odd behavior, Ron stepped forward and thumped Harry on the shoulder with a happy grin as he and Hermione both started talking at the same time.
"Harry, when did you get here?"
"How have you been?"
"How did you get here?"
"Have the muggles been treating you alright?"
"Have you already seen Sirius?"
"Are you angry at us?" Hermione asked, and the flurry of questions came to an abrupt stop as they both waited tensely for Harry's answer, their argument apparently forgotten.
All summer Harry had been thinking about what he would say when he finally saw his friends, and after being left in the dark all summer he couldn't deny his anger. "Yes." He said shortly as he moved into the room to sit on one of the beds. All the energy that had been coursing through his body just a few seconds ago seemed to have left him. He saw that Ron and Hermione were both about to start talking, but he cut them off. "You two have been here all summer?" he tried hard to keep the anger he was feeling out of his voice. It had disappeared when he first saw them, but now that he was getting over all the excitement it was retuning quickly.
Ron and Hermione glanced at each other worriedly. "Dumbledore asked Mum to come help out around here right after school ended." Ron explained.
"I've only been here for three weeks." Hermione said.
Harry looked here in the eye, "Oh, so you've only been lying to me for half the time Ron has." Hermione looked away, unable to meet his glare.
"We haven't been lying to you." Ron told him in a slightly exasperated tone that seemed to annoy Harry even more.
"Really? What do you call it?" Harry demanded. Ron looked away.
"Harry, Dumbledore made us promise not to write anything in our letters about the order, in case they landed in the wrong hands." Hermione said quietly.
"We're sorry, okay." Harry could see the anxiety clearly written on both of their faces. "There was nothing we could do." Hermione brought her eyes up to meet his and Harry had to look away this time. He stood up and walked away from them and the bed, collecting his thoughts and his emotions.
"Yes there was," Harry said with his back still turned towards them, "You could have found a way…If our places had been reversed I would've."
"Harry please-"
"Let's just drop it!" Harry loudly cut Hermione off. They were all silent for a moment, and Hermione couldn't help wondering if Harry was right. Maybe there was a way to let him in on the secret, and they just hadn't tried hard enough. After a few minutes she decided to break the silence, since she knew that neither of the boys would.
"So…you still haven't answered our other questions…" she said lightly, trying to brush off the awkward silence that had settled over them. Harry finally turned back around.
Harry took a deep breath, "Well, I just got here a few minutes ago. Lupin and Mad-Eye came and got me from the Dursley's. The Dursley's better than usual. Not to say that they were 'nice', but they have made a bit of an improvement since they found out about Sirius. As long as I did my chores and stayed out of their way they generally left me alone. And Yes I have already seen Sirius, but only for a minute. He said he had to go to the Order meeting, which brings me to my first question. What is the Order of the Phoenix?" He asked, looking back and forth between them. they didn't get a chance to answer though, because the twins chose that moment to walk in.
"HARRY!" the twins said together, "When did you get here?"
"Fred, George." Harry said in greeting, but he still couldn't tell which was which. "I only just got here a few minutes ago." Harry said, smiling at the two Weasleys.
"Harry was just asking us about the Order," Hermione told them eagerly, now that the last of the tension in the room had disappeared. She and the Weasleys quickly explained that the Order was an organization Dumbledore set up to help stop Voldemort.
"Who's in it?" Harry asked quickly, as he started to pace around the room. Finally he was getting some answers.
"Well, we don't know all of the members," Ron was interrupted by the twins.
"But we do know, McGonagall, Mad-eye, Snape, Sirius-" George said. Harry made a sour face when he heard Snape was in the order too, but didn't interrupt.
"Remus, Mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie and Dumbledore of course. There are others but you haven't meet any of them yet." Fred finished, or at least Harry thought it was Fred.
"You might meet Tonks tonight as well," Hermione provided, "she and Kingsley Shacklebolt are both arurors-"
"I've already met them. They were with Mad-eye and Lupin when they came to get me." Harry explained as he stopped pacing, "Arurors? Does that mean the ministry has finally accepted that Voldemort has come back?" He asked as he turned to look at his friends, who were now seated on the beds. He ignored the shiver that ran through them at the mention of Voldemort's name
"No Harry," Hermione said angrily, "Fudge still won't accept that he has come back, as a matter of fact he's doing everything in his power to stop people from believing it."
Harry started pacing again. He couldn't believe a man as stupid as Fudge had managed to become the minister of magic. He couldn't wait to see what would happen to Fudge when the wizarding world found out that Voldemort had returned to power, and the whole time Fudge was either too scared or too naive to accept it. Harry decided to change the subject before he lost his temper again. "So you lot aren't part of the order then?"
"No, mum and dad say we're all too young to join," Ron said resentfully.
"It's not just your mum and dad Ron," Hermione said. Ron just gave an annoyed sigh and mumbled something under his breath as Hermione continued, "It's a rule within the Order that you have to be out of school before you can join up," she explained. Harry thought about that for a second, he could understand where the order was coming from, but it was annoying nonetheless. Can they really afford to be picky about their members now that Voldemort was really back? Harry thought.
"So you guys don't have any new news on what's going on with Voldemort?" Harry asked, not really expecting them to know anything, and unsure if he should tell them about the dreams. He knew that Hermione could probably help figure out the dreams about the voice, but he still wasn't sure he wanted them to know.
Everyone flinched when Harry said his name, but the twins were the first to reply. "All we know is what you've probably guessed already," George said,
"So far he has been staying under the radar," Fred replied
"Since the ministry doesn't believe you-know-who'sback, he'sbiding his time," George continued.
"After all, why announce that you're back when the ministry-"
"Is spending all their time trying to convince people that you aren't."
"That's basically all we know." Fred concluded.
Harry decided not to tell them about the dreams yet. He wasn't even sure if the underwater dreams were even real, and if they weren't he would just be worrying them for no reason. He knew that they would probably want to know about Voldemort and the 'Prophecies' and he would tell them eventually, but right now he just wanted them to enjoy their summer. He would wait until school started, since there was nothing they could do to try and figure out what the 'prophecies' are or why Voldemort wants them while they were at Grimmwauld place. They were definitely going to have to spend some time in the library when they got back to school though. Besides, this will probably be the last summer they don't have to worry about what the Dark Lord is up to, Harry thought grimly. Before anyone could say anything else Ginny came hurrying into the room.
"There you all are," she said out of breath, "Come on the meeting is just ending!" she said panting slightly. It seemed she had just run up the flight of stairs to tell them. It took her a moment to notice Harry was there. "HARRY!" Before he could reply she had thrown her arms around him in another bone breaking hug. It seemed Ginny would definitely take after Mrs. Weasley when she grew up. Harry patted her on the back awkwardly and after a few seconds Ginny let go of him and started to retreat with a blush rising in her cheeks that almost rivaled the color of her hair.
"Ginny, how have you been?" Harry said, trying to ease her embarrassment. Ginny muttered something inaudible as Fred and George rushed to the door.
"Do you two know how much trouble you'll be in if Mrs. Weasley catches you?" Hermione demanded, reverting back to her usual self. Apparently she hadn't changed that much. Fred and George ignored her as they made their way out of the room and quickly headed to the stairs with Ginny trailing behind them, all too happy to be away from Harry as her face began to return to its natural shade. Harry curiously looked after the three Weasleys as Hermione gave a frustrated sigh.
"Where are they going?" Harry asked as he turned back to look at Ron and Hermione.
"They're going to try and listen in on the Order members," Hermione said in a disapproving tone.
"Won't they get caught?" Harry asked dubiously. The members of the order would realize what they were doing the moment they went down there.
"Fred and George have invented a listening device called 'extendable ears'," Ron explained, "They stand near the first floor banister and throw them over to try and listen to the members conversations. It's quite brilliant actually." Ron said sounding impressed.
"If Mrs. Weasley finds out about this they are going to be in so much trouble," Hermione said irritated "And besides it's not like they've gotten any information from them. the members of the order are much too careful for that."
"Let's go down and see where Sirius and Remus are." Harry said, trying to avoid the argument that was brewing. They all made their way down to the first floor where the twins and Ginny stood with long strings attached to their ears that hung over the banister.
"Anything good?" Ron asked, in a hushed tone as they walked over.
"No," Ginny said quietly as she and the twins all started to retract the ears. "They're all starting to leave. Let's go down and see what mom is making for dinner." everyone agreed and they all started down the stairs. The few remaining members of the Order ended their conversations when they saw the teens coming down. A few of the people Harry had never seen before stared at him with odd looks as they passed.
When they finally made it to the kitchen door it was unexpectedly ripped open, and out came Severus Snape. Harry was shocked to say the least, he knew the twins had said Snape was in the Order but he hadn't realized that he was at the house now. For a moment they all stood frozen, but Snape swiftly regained his composer, and let his usual look of hatred fill his black eyes. It was a look that was mirrored in Harry's green ones. Snape opened his mouth as if he were about to say something but stopped when Mrs. Weasley appeared beside him.
"Professor, won't you stay for dinner?" she asked kindly, ignoring the looks on her children's faces.
"No, thank you." Snape said politely. As he walked past, Snape shot a glare at Harry and the others. Molly walked back into the kitchen with a small shrug.
Once they were both out of earshot Ron said, "Snape is such a git!"
"He is a professor, Ronald, and a member of The Order." Hermione said matter-of-factly as if that settled everything.
"Yes, but he is still a git." Ron countered. Harry and the other three Weasleys walked into the kitchen after Mrs. Weasley. None of them wanted to get caught up in one of Ron and Hermione's arguments. Luckily Sirius walked over with a grin, "Sorry Hermione, I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Ron on that one." That seemed to stop the argument before it really got started.
Harry looked around the kitchen to find Mr. Weasley and Bill just putting away some parchment left over from the meeting. As Mrs. Weasley started assigning jobs to everyone else he casually made his way over to them hoping to get a look at the parchment, but Mr. Weasley noticed him and quickly passed the rolled up parchments to Bill, who left the kitchen presumably to put them in a safe place.
"Hello, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, sticking out his hand to shake.
"Mr. Weasley," Harry said as they shook hands. Mrs. Weasley, who was bustling around the kitchen, noticed Harry waiting for her to give him something to do and told him to have a seat. His protest immediately died down as Sirius and Remus joined him.
"So Harry, have Ron and Hermione explained everything to you?" Remus asked as he sat down next to Harry.
"They already told me what The Order is, and that underage wizards can't join," Harry made a face that made Sirius and Remus laugh, "But that is basically it."
"Well, as I said before, this is the Black family manor, which was left to me when my mother died. We've been using it as headquarters of the Order."
"Why?" Harry asked, "I mean why use Black Manor as HQ?"
"Well, my family being the paranoid bunch that they were," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, "They completely covered the house with protection charms. All that plus the fidelous charm Dumbledore added, has made Black Manor practically a fortress.Besides, it feels good using the manor for something that my mother would have never approved of, she would have a heart attack if she knew about this," Sirius said with a grin.
Remus and Sirius quickly turned their discussion to happier subjects, like quiditch and pranks that the marauders had played back when they were in school. They were so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed that the others had joined them at the table until Molly spoke up, not wanting the kids to hear about one of the more troublesome pranks the marauders had played at Hogwarts, while giving a pointed look at the twins who were listening eagerly. The food was soon served and after some prodding on the twins part they finally managed to convince Sirius and Remus to tell them more stories about their marauder days. Even molly had to laugh when they told the story of how they turned the entrance hall into a skating rink.
By the time they were done eating they were all sitting back in their chairs with contented looks on their faces. "That was great Mrs. Weasley." Harry said, with a chorus of agreement from everyone else at the table.
"Thank you, dear." Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry as she stood up from the table, "I think it's about time you all went to bed." She says to the teens around the table. They are all too sleepy to argue as they all stand up and the adults wish them a goodnight. As the others begin to walk out of the room Harry looks at Sirius, who is sitting next to him, "But I still have so much to ask you." During dinner they had all made a point of keeping the conversation light and happy, talking about everything except the subject that was weighing most heavily on Harry's mind: Voldemort.
Sirius nods his understanding, "Don't worry Harry, we will talk about later." He says as Ron calls Harry from over by the door. Harry reluctantly stands, "I'm not going anywhere." Sirius says with a smile. Harry walks over to Ron and together they walk back stairs.
This was one of the best nights ever, Harry thought sleepily as he crawled into bed, still a bit dazed from all that had happened. In the last few hours he had gone from what seemed to be 'the summer that wouldn't end' with the Dursleys, to staying at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and being with his friends and Sirius for the rest of the summer. Harry closed his eyes with happy smile on his face and drifted off to sleep. A few seconds later, he was once again found himself surrounded by death eaters.
If you want to know what happens next, leave a review. these two chapter are the only ones that will resmble the real story so closely. like I said up top, if you would like to beta this story for me, let me know.