Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter series. All I own is the idea and the made up characters. :)

FOUR YEARS AGO

July 17th, 2018

11:24 PM

"It's wonderful that your mother invited the kids over."

"Mm…she's always loved children, that one."

Harry gave a low chuckle and captured Ginny's mouth with his own. One hand was behind her neck, and the other was resting on her back, pulling her closer. Just as things began to heat up, a noise made both of them jump. Harry and Ginny looked toward the kitchen's small window to see a tawny owl standing on the ledge outside. Harry moved toward it swiftly and opened the window to let the owl hop in. He untied the scroll attached to the owl's leg and unrolled it, his brow furrowed.

To Harry Potter,

I'm terribly sorry to have to contact you in this way; I would have preferred a quicker form of contact, but unfortunately, such a thing is impossible for us.

To get to the long and short of it, we need your help. A man known as "Gray" has taken over the United States. I know, you probably don't believe me, but I have been trying to contact you for months now with no luck. Every owl I've sent out has been intercepted by our Ministry's people. Hopefully, you get this one. You understand corruption within the government better than most, but this goes far beyond corruption. Gray himself is not in charge, but one of his most powerful, charismatic, and cruel followers is.

When I say that he has taken over the United States, I mean it. He has complete and utter control over nearly every aspect of our lives. All of you, in your country and Ministry, know nothing whatsoever of this takeover. This secrecy and subtlety Gray used when gaining control was all part of his plan. Regretfully, we didn't catch it until it was too late. Just as in the case of Voldemort, we have been forced to create a rebellious society to undermine Gray's system. So far we have not been openly detected, but our resources are being shut down too quickly; many of our people are considering relocating to Britain. Even though many are in the process of doing this, too many don't want to leave their country, and I don't blame them.

You are the only one we feel we can trust because you've been through almost the exact same thing. We are very wary of governments right now, and your Order of the Phoenix are the only ones we trust.

I know this is short notice, but I would very much appreciate it if the Order of the Phoenix, or some of its members were to meet with some of the members of our Lyon Society. Date, time, and place are only accessible to you, Harry. If you touch the back of this letter, they will show themselves.

Please consider this. If you are skeptical, please meet with us and we will explain everything.

Sincerely yours,

The Lyon Society

Harry quickly flipped the letter over and ran his hand across the back of the parchment. Letters and numbers began to immediately take shape.

July 21st 2018

9:00 PM

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry took a deep breath and handed the letter to Ginny without a word.

"Well…" she said after reading it through. "I don't see the harm in meeting with this Lyon Society. If they wanted something other than a meeting, they wouldn't have picked Hogwarts. They would have picked the Leaky Cauldron or the Hog's Head."

Harry nodded. "I'd better start sending out letters to members of the Order. Kingsley, your mum and dad," Harry said, ticking off names on his fingers, "Bill and Fleur, Charlie, George and Angelina, Percy, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid, Neville, Luna, Teddy, too, I suppose…We'll talk to Ron and Hermione in the morning. Get their take on this."

Ginny nodded, putting a hand over Harry's. "We're doing a good thing, Harry."

"I know."

&&&

"The only person who can't make it is Charlie. Everyone else is going to be there."

"Harry. I know. I read Charlie's letter too. Just calm down."

"I am calm, Gin," Harry said rather irritably. "I just…is it bad that I hope this is just a prank of some sort? Is that wrong of me?"

"Of course not, Harry. You've been so selfless your whole life. It's not bad to want peace. It's not wrong that you want to be selfish for once," Ginny reassured him, rubbing his back.

Harry took a deep breath. "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am, Harry. I'm your wife. I'm always right," said Ginny, kissing him on the cheek.

Harry checked his watch. "Looks like it's that time. Let's go."

&&&

When Harry and Ginny arrived, quite a few Order members were already in the Great Hall. Hagrid was waiting for the Lyon Society at the gates. Everyone in the hall looked apprehensive and anxious. Professor McGonagall looked paler than usual, her lips set in a thin line. Professor Flitwick was talking to Arthur, who had come without Molly, as she had volunteered to watch the children. Bill and Fleur looked to be in deep conversation with one another. Percy was talking to Professor McGonagall in his rather pompous manner. Teddy smiled at Harry and Ginny as the two of them walked up. He gave Ginny a hug and shook Harry's hand. "Thanks for inviting me, Harry."

"You're out of school. Just thought you'd want to be a part of something like this," Harry said with a small grin.

Teddy ran a hand through his bright blue hair, grinning back at Harry.

"Harry," said a deep, soothing voice.

"Kingsley," Harry said, taking the large hand held out to him.

"You believe this letter to be legitimate?" Kingsley asked with no accusation in his voice.

"Yeah, I do. Unfortunately," Harry said with a chuckle. Kingsley nodded, smiling.

Neville was the next to arrive. He looked as though he had just been in a garden; there was a bit of dirt smudged on his forehead. Next to arrive were George and Angelina, bickering amiably as always. Luna was the next to walk in, looking as dreamy and lost as she always did. Last to arrive of the Order members who were coming were Ron and Hermione. They arrived at five to nine, Hermione looking supremely annoyed and Ron wearing his jacket inside out and looking thoroughly harassed. Ron sat down beside Harry and Hermione sat down beside Ginny. Both women started chatting.

"She's going to be the death of me, Hermione is," Ron said in a low voice. "Forget the fact that I'm an Auror. I can see it now: Leading Causes of Death: Heart Disease, Cancer, living with Hermione. And not in that order, mind you," Ron finished darkly.

"Er, mate. Your jacket's on backwards."

"Oh, bloody hell. Course it is." Ron struggled with his jacket for a few minutes before finally wrestling it into submission.

After a few minutes, Hagrid finally walked in, trailed by about fifteen people. Harry stood up, walking to the doors to greet them. One man in their group also came forward. Harry couldn't help feeling pity for the man as he walked forward. His hair was long and shaggy and dark stubble dotted his chin. His eyes were lined, though he didn't appear to be more than forty years old. He looked thin and weary.

"Harry Potter?" he said. "I'm Ben Lyon."

"Nice to meet you, Ben. Is this…everyone? In the Lyon Society?"

"No. We have maybe fifty members all together."

Harry nodded. "We aren't sure who else will join us, but this isn't everyone either."

Ben nodded. "I hope my letter was clear enough? I'm sorry for bringing you into this, but…the Order of the Phoenix were the only ones we could think of. The only ones who knew what we were going through."

"Yeah, we do. We understand completely." Harry paused. "So, where does the name Lyon Society come from? Is it named after you?"

"Not me, no. It's named after my father, Joseph Lyon. He was the United States' Minister of Magic before all of this started…he was killed by Gray's followers. Of course, that isn't how the papers portrayed it. They said it was a burglary gone bad. But we know better than that garbage."

"I'm very sorry about your father."

"Thank you."

"Please, everyone," Harry said to the Lyon Society, "please sit. Get acquainted with each other. This could be a long meeting."

Ben smiled gratefully, choosing a secluded spot along the table. Five people sat on the bench beside him. Harry sat across from Ben, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione on his left, McGonagall and Kingsley on his right.

The six Order members listened patiently as Ben told the story of Gray and how he had come to power. The five sitting with Ben occasionally made insertions and corrections. Ben told of the cruelty of Gray, how he had killed many without the public detecting or suspecting a thing. He told of how Gray's followers burned houses and kidnapped children of important government officials to gain leverage; he told of how that leverage turned into immense power. By the end of Ben's horrible tale, all six sitting across from him were convinced of Ben's honesty and intentions, all having been in that position before. The Order met together while the Lyon Society waited. The Order knew they couldn't let the Lyon Society fend for themselves.

"The Order of the Phoenix has decided to help you in any way we can, starting with helping those who want to move here. Those who wish to live here are advised to adopt new last names. We'll help them find homes here in wizard neighborhoods, such as Godric's Hollow," Harry paused, watching their faces relax a little. "I'm not sure how much we can help, but we will help in any way we can. Those of you who aren't moving here…Do you want to have your children move here anyway, so they're safer? We would put them in homes of people in the Order, people who can protect them. They would also be able to stay with people moving here of the Lyon Society, of course, as long as those families consented."

Many of the Lyon Society looked immensely relieved at these words. Harry guessed that most, if not all, of them had children.

"I would also like to propose that Kingsley and I go to the Ministry to seek help. I understand your hesitancy when dealing with governments, but none of your names need be mentioned to our Ministry. If they consent, you will be getting a lot more help than you asked for, and probably help that you will need nonetheless."

Ben stood. "Thank you all…so much. I can't…we can't express our gratitude to you. I think many will take you up on the offer of keeping their children and helping them settle here. And I don't see a problem with trying to get through to your Ministry. I hope for our sake you can convince them."

"So do I," said Harry, shaking Ben's hand again.

"I'll be in touch. Take care, Harry. Everyone."

"You too, Ben."

Author's Note: First chapter of my first story. Go ahead, review. I dare you. :)