(A/N: Any characters or settings that appear in the official Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling are hers. Everyone and everything else is my creation. And if I do stick something in that belongs to yet another person, they will be duly credited.)

(May be a little boring with all the gabbing, but it's important gabbing: Harry learns more about Talione. This chapter was in two parts on paper, but was too short on-screen so I stuck them together.)

Chapter 3: Explanations and Eldraeli

As soon as Ron said that, Hermione looked like she wanted to slap him. "Well, he'd talk to us more if you weren't giving him a hard time!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice low. "What's your problem, Ron? You're acting like he's Malfoy!"

"He's worse than Malfoy!" Ron snapped. "He's a–"

"If you two are going to have another fight," Harry said a little crossly, "I'm going to go unpack."

Only Hermione looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Harry. I'm really happy you're here, but it's been rough recently," she said. She ran a hand through her bushy hair and sighed. "I'm going to bed. Stay out of trouble, you two. Goodnight."

Ron was still a little angry, but he nodded. Hermione gave them a half-hearted smile and went into the room across from Talione's, slamming the door behind her. "What was that about?" Harry asked.

Ron put a finger to his lips, and picked up one end of Harry's trunk, gesturing for Harry to follow him. "C'mon Harry," he said aloud, "Your room's upstairs." Harry picked up the other end of his trunk and Hedwig's cage and followed Ron up to the third floor.

The redecorating hadn't reached up here; there was still dirty paint peeling from the walls and cobwebs everywhere. At the top of the stairs, Harry saw his name in blue letters on the door to the right, and Ron's in red on the left. "You were supposed to stay in the same room as last time," Ron said, "But Tonks' house was destroyed by Death Eaters and we had to put her in your old room. Talione doesn't come up here a lot—he's allergic to all the dust-- so we have some privacy."

He opened the door with Harry's name on it and both of them went in. There was a pause, and Ron cursed as he bumped into something in the dark. "Dad found a manual during one of his raids and fixed up parts of the house for eleck… er, ecl-"

"Electricity?" Harry suggested.

Ron nodded. "Hermione and I helped fix up your room when he was done. What do you think?" he asked. There was a click, and light flooded the room.

The room was bare except for a dresser, a bed, and an armchair in the room, all with Gryffindor's colors. Three of the walls were red and gold as well, but the fourth wall was painted to show the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch. Painted over the Pitch were two teams, red and green, and someone had charmed them to zoom around on their broomsticks. "It's amazing!" Harry said.

Ron's ears turned pink. "Hermione asked Moody to use the charm for the wall. We thought watching Malfoy get beaten over and over would cheer you up a little," he said. "But there's something else we asked Lupin to add, too." He tapped the nearest wall and said, "Dumbledore's Army." A blaze of gold light rippled around the walls from where he touched, and the walls turned light blue and the Pitch scene was replaced by blueprints of Grimmauld Place with little dots moving around in each room.

"It's a variation of the Marauder Map and Imperntable charm," Ron said. "No one can get in at all, and it makes the room safe from eavesdropping until the password's repeated. But Remus charmed the map to show everyone in the house that you know about. People in the Order you haven't met yet aren't shown."

Hedwig left Harry's shoulder and glided to the top of the dresser with a hoot. Harry set down his luggage and stared at Ron, stunned. All he could say was, "Why?"

Ron sighed and flopped down on Harry's bed. "We needed a place to talk where the others couldn't hear us," he said. "Our fight, Hermione's storming off, was an act for Talione to hear in case he was still listening." He was unusually serious, and Harry realized his friend had grown up a lot in the past couple months. He was still hot-tempered, but when he spoke, he was a completely different person from what Harry knew. "Have a seat, this might take awhile."

Harry sat in the armchair, watching Ron. "Hermione thought I might botch the explanation, but she had to tell Ginny in about something." He grimaced, briefly reverting to his old self. "What do you know about Talione, Harry?"

"Nothing," Harry replied. "I haven't read Tonks' letter yet."

Ron looked surprised. "Didn't any of the others tell you something?"

"Are you kidding?" Harry said. "Moody would skin them alive if they talked about valuable information except in "Headquarters"."

"I'll start at the beginning then," Ron said. "All we know is what Dumbledore told us before Talione arrived. So don't yell at us later." It was a less than subtle reminder to Harry of the previous year, when he yelled at his friends for keeping information from him.

Harry nodded, a little irritated, but kept his mouth shut.

Chapter 3, Part 2:

"A few nights after our fight in the Ministry, Death Eaters attacked Talione's wizard school in Arizona—Dumbledore called it Eldraeli, I think--looking for something. It was the last week of school for them, so the students were all still there. The Death Eaters tore the place apart; only Talione and four other students and three professors survived."

Ron paused, and said, "Tonks was one of the ones sent from our Ministry when the other one found out "our Death Eaters" attacked the school. She found Talione in one of the towers, holding a bloody sword and surrounded by several dead Death Eaters. Every last one of them was either stabbed, or burnt to a crisp, but the rest of the room wasn't touched, and Talione couldn't remember the attack or how he got in the tower."

"He was probably in shock," Harry said. He'd heard from Kingsley once that it blackouts happened sometimes to new Aurors after their first battle. A few wouldn't remember it for days.

Ron shook his head. "He still doesn't remember, and Dumbledore said it might be a suppressed memory." he said. He shrugged and continued. "The American Ministry tried transferring Talione to a different school, but no one wanted to take him." Ron said. "There were rumors that he was cursed and the attack was his fault."

"Why?" Harry asked. "It's not like he got a lightning-bolt scar, too."

"Supposedly, he knew where and what the Death Eaters were looking for," Ron said. "Fred and George said the Order thinks it could be a real weapon this time. Some kind of power amplifier. Moody thinks Talione does know what it is, but Talione won't tell them. He doesn't trust the Order yet."

Harry was dismayed by that. Voldemort was a much more experienced wizard than he was, and the weapon could given Harry the edge he needed. "How's Fudge taking the news?" he asked, referring to the Minister of Magic. He was regretting canceling his subscription to the Daily Prophet. He wanted to know how Fudge was handling the revelation that what Dumbledore, the Order and Harry said about Voldemort's return was true. 'Bloody politics,' Harry thought. There was too much in-fighting on their side. The Ministry was necessary as an ally against Voldemort, but with Fudge still hammering away at Dumbledore (though mmore quietly now), and possible Death Eaters in the Ministry offices, it was hopeless too. He wondered how Dumbledore did it—all the political maneuvering, while still running the Order and Hogwarts.

"Dad says Fudge is just barely hanging onto his job these days, after what happened with the cover-up and Umbridge. If he really finds a weapon, the wizard world might be too grateful to kick him out of office." Ron said. "Most of us can't stand putting up with him anymore. The day after our fight, Fred and George sent him a Howler saying "Told you so!" and telling him how much of a git he was."

"Is Percy still working for him?" Harry asked.

Ron scowled. "Yes. And not even because Fudge is using him to spy on Dad and the Order anymore. He knows Dad is one of Dumbledore's strongest supporters, and that the whole family except Percy backs Dumbledore and Dad. Fudge's keeping Percy as his assistant because to him, even one of us against Dad is a victory to him," he said.

"I can't believe Percy still supports him," Harry said disgustedly.

Ron's face brightened a little. "No. He was as stunned as everyone else when he heard Fudge was told about Voldemort's return and still tried to cover it up by disgracing you and Dumbledore. Percy apologized to the Dad and the Order the day after we left Hogwarts." he said. "Fudge doesn't know it, but he works for the Order now too."

Despite the look on Ron's face, Harry started laughing. After how nasty Ron's older brother was during the events of last year, Percy Weasley working for the Order was as likely as pigs flying. Or—"What's next, Luna showing us photos of a real live Snorcack?"

Ron's scowl vanished and he chuckled. "Or Moldiwort in his underwear."

"What did you call him?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Moldiwort," Ron repeated. He rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore's been after us to stop calling Him You-Know-Who. Fear of a name increasing fear of the things itself, and all that. I still can't say the real name, but corny nicknames are even better. Like Moldiwort."

"Or Who-Bloody-Cares?" Harry asked. He preferred calling Voldemort Voldemort, or Tom like Dumbledore, but he could see the fun in making up new names.

"I got a better one," Ron said, starting to laugh again. "He-Who's-Name-We-Forgot."

"Or the Dim Lord." Harry was starting to cheer up again.

"He-Who-Got-His-Arse-Kicked-By-A-Baby." Ron said. Harry's brief good mood popped like a balloon. That one reminded him too much of what Dumbledore said about the wards around the Dursleys house and why they were possible, and the Prophecy. 'He's tried to kill me since I was a year old,' Harry thought. 'And one of us has to kill the other to survive.'

Do you know why he attacked me in the first place? Harry started to ask, but was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley's voice. "Ron, I know you're still in there, charm or not. Go to bed."

Ron rolled his eyes. "We're almost 16," he complained. "She really should stop that." But he tapped the wall and repeated the password so the Quidditch scene and red-gold walls returned. "Talione has to go to the Ministry tomorrow morning to fill out paperwork so he can remain here until he finishes school. We won't be able to talk in privacy until then."

He got up to leave, and Harry waited until he was almost out the door before he stopped him. "Ron, did you know you said Voldemort's real name without flinching?" Ron stared at him a moment in disbelief, then left. Harry heard a whoop in the hall, before Ron slammed his door.

(Santa Claus: Thanks for pointing out my mistake! Yes, I meant Arthur had NOT been getting enough sleep in chapter 2. I blame lack of sleep.)

(PS: I have noticed that some words are getting stucktogether as well, but can't figure out how, because it only happens when I finish editing and actually post it.)