Title: The Rising Phoenix. Chapter: 6 – Less Is More
Main Characters: Harry Potter, Ginny Potter nee Weasley
Author's Note: Sorry about updating today instead of yesterday! I have a worm or virus or something on my computer which screws with my internet connection. Just when I think it's gone it comes back. GRRR! Anyway, thanks for your patience, and here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters!
"Harry pissed Riddle off earlier today." Lily said turning from the window where she had been standing. James, Sirius, Audrey, Remus, and Dora were gathered in her living room. Harry and Ginny had asked the two older Potters to get everyone together, for they had something they wanted to say. Right now, the two younger Potters were missing and the Marauders were asking James and Lily about them, capitalizing on their momentary absence. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Theirs jaws were almost to the floor with that statement. Lily couldn't help but chuckle a little at their faces.
"Wha…?" Sirius asked.
"Pissed off…" Remus' voice died.
"Riddle?" James finished in a high pitched voice.
Lily nodded and then told them the story of Diagion Alley. When she finished, everyone was still staring at her in astonishment.
"How the hell did you guys get out of there?" James asked.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I knew the barrier was up preventing us from apparating. I also was well aware that Harry was insulting Riddle not two feet in front of me. Next thing I knew, Riddle was getting ready to kill us when we were apparating away."
"Well at least we know we have the right guy for the job." Sirius commented in awe.
"Maybe he has a plan?" Remus offered hoping that it was true.
"Oh he has a plan." James said looking over at his friends. "I have no idea what it is, but he does have a plan."
"Helps that he's your son," Sirius joked laughing.
James got a weird look on his face at that comment. "Yea…" James agreed in a voice that was only slightly above a whisper. Everyone heard it though and Dora started talking to cover the awkward moment.
"Well let's think about it logically."
"Yes, let's." Sirius said sitting up and straightening in an effort to look smart.
"Oh don't even try Sirius; we all know you can't be logical." Lily quipped from the window.
They all laughed as Sirius looked at Lily shocked. "Oi!"
"So what's Harry's next step?" Dora asked looking at Lily and James.
The two Potters looked at each other before shrugging. "I don't know. He hasn't said." James answered. Everyone considered that before a moment before Audrey broke the silence.
"But why would he do such a thing?" Audrey asked still not able to grasp the concept of standing up to and provoking Riddle. "Is it wise?"
James shrugged. "If I could get away no problem, then I would probably do the same thing. Is it wise? Probably not."
"Well now I know where Harry gets it from." Everyone turned to the kitchen door to see Harry and Ginny walking in, grins on their faces.
~RP~
In the kitchen, Harry and Ginny were having a conversation. Ginny was sitting on the table, her legs resting on the chair and her arm propped on them, holding her head in a hand as she watched Harry pace along the table.
"So, now what?" Ginny asked.
"Hopefully the Marauders are up to the task." Harry said sighing heavily. "I think as we go, we might gain more followers eventually, but until then, it's just going to be us."
"I think they are more than up to it. James and Sirius seem to be some of the best duelers we know. Lily can handle herself as well and we know Dora is accomplished."
"Remus is one of the best that we have ever met as well." Harry added.
"Exactly. Honestly, I think that the smaller we keep this organization, the better. So don't worry too much Harry," Ginny comforted him. "Now, we need to decide on where we go from here. You have a room full of people out there who are ready to follow you."
Harry leaned against the counter opposite of Ginny and sighed heavily. "Maybe we shouldn't have broken from the Order. What if Crouch's approach is the right one?"
"You know as well as I do that's not true." Ginny told him. "Crouch is egotistical and controlling. He throws people in a cell that replicates the effects of Azkaban for a small crime like talking back. He's little better than Riddle himself." Ginny ranted at him. She continued until she noticed a small smile on Harry's face. She trailed off in mid rant and raised her eyebrows at him.
"And here I thought you might play devil's advocate." Harry teased lightly.
"Not a chance in hell when it comes to him." Ginny replied laughing.
"We need to tell the others." Harry said looking at her.
"Well obviously, but don't you think you should figure out what we're going to do first?" Ginny asked.
Harry started laughing. "Yes we do need to do that, but I meant that we need to tell Sirius, Remus, Audrey, and Dora about the Horcruxes and such." Harry explained grinning.
"Ah. Yes, that would be a good idea. But after we do that, they are going to want to know what's next. So, what's our next step?" She asked.
Harry sighed and thought for a moment. "We need to get the Horcruxes obviously, but before we do that we should have a way to get rid of them."
"And we should make sure that we have to find them." Ginny also pointed out.
Harry sighed. "Well I guess the next step is to talk to Slughorn and talk to James and Lily about commissioning a Goblin sword."
"Don't you need the sword of Gryffindor?"
"Any goblin made sword will do." Harry answered shaking his head. "We just have to imbibe it with basilisk venom."
"Oh that'll be easy." Ginny commented sarcastically.
"Yeah," Harry agreed nodding and grimacing. "Come on; let's go talk to the others." Harry and Ginny walked into the living room to find everyone gathered and talking softly.
~RP~
"You have some explaining to do mister." Sirius said looking at Harry.
"It's dangerous out there and we need you!" James added.
"What the hell were you thinking about provoking Riddle?" Remus threw his bit in.
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and started laughing. "Were they like this in school?"
"Hey! Answer their questions!" Audrey chided.
"Alright, sorry," Harry stopped laughing and sat on the arm of the couch. "Like we told Lily, it's high time someone showed Riddle that he is no longer unopposed."
"But provoking Riddle?" Audrey asked in astonishment.
"We were going to have to poke the snake sometime." Harry said shrugging.
"It just happened to be yesterday." Ginny added.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise and Harry and Ginny took the opportunity to move on. "So we have some questions for all of you." Ginny said sitting down next to him. "We know about Lily and James, but we would like to know about you now. Do you want to leave Crouch and his organization?"
"Yes." Remus answered first and immediately. "He's too aggressive."
"We've lost more men, and women, in the last few months then we have ever before." Sirius added nodding in agreement.
"We've achieved nothing." Audrey added.
"Riddle himself considers the order little to no issue for him." Dora added.
"Have you heard anything new from them?" Harry asked curiously. He was wondering if people had gone back to help Crouch or if it was just him and his lieutenants now.
"I heard that Moody and Wormtail blew up several booths in the marketplace near Hogsmeade and Dawlish blew up a convoy heading to Hogwarts." Sirius said scowling.
"Oh great, they're still continuing with that waste of time and effort." James huffed.
"What?" Harry asked confused looking at James.
It was Lily who answered in explanation. "James has been upset since this practice started. They were blowing up people's livelihoods and called it progress."
"Bloody morons," James spat shaking his head.
"Moody, Crouch, and the others believed it was a means to an end." Sirius added.
"Two wrongs do not make a right," Audrey said frowning. It was clear she agreed with James.
"The problem with what they were doing was that it didn't really affect Riddle that much. They would blow up the markets the Death Eaters frequent or the convoys that are bound for Hogwarts and their actions usually have consequences to the people that own the destroyed product or convoy." Lily added.
"Like last week, Moody and Wormtail blew up a convoy that was heading for Hogwarts. Because the owner of the destroyed goods couldn't deliver them to Riddle, Riddle tortured and then killed the man for his failure." James told Harry.
"And still Crouch encourages these attacks?" Harry asked.
The group nodded soberly.
Harry shook his head in disbelief and sighed. "Figures." Harry was suddenly aware that they were all looking at him with expectant faces, making him realize that the new Resistance group had formed, and he was at the center of it.
"So Harry, what do we do now?" Remus asked.
Harry sat down on the arm of Lily's chair and rubbed his neck. "Before we do anything, I have some things to tell you and ask of you."
"What do you have to tell us?" Audrey asked.
"Well first, I would like to ask you to swear an oath of fealty to me and this group." Everyone looked at him in surprise. "I know how this sounds." Harry said in an assuring voice, "but I have long learned the problems with spies in my midst. It cost my parents their lives and it nearly killed me and my friends several times."
"What if we don't swear the oath?" Sirius asked.
"Then I only tell you what you need to know to do your job and you will not be informed of anything bigger." Harry answered calmly and gazed at everybody. They all looked at each other, all silently asking their significant other if they were willing to take the vow.
Lily stood up first and turned to face Harry. "I will. I swear on my magic and on my life that I will follow you and your orders and not betray you or this group to any." Lily vowed, her wand glowing brightly as she spoke the words to Harry. She made to move aside, but Harry stopped her.
"And I swear, Lily Potter, on my magic and on my life that I will protect your trust in me and this group." Harry replied, also binding himself to her and the group. Everyone smiled as they realized what Harry did. With his oath coupled to their own, they truly could never betray each other. One by one, James, Remus, Dora, Sirius, Ginny, and Audrey followed suit.
"Thank you everyone." Harry thanked them. They inclined their heads in return. "And now, I think it's better for everyone if we told you our story." Harry said. With the help of Ginny, Harry told his story about his life up to now. When he was finished, everyone was silent as they thought about what Harry had just told them.
"Horcruxes. No wonder we can't kill him." Remus sighed heavily.
"Indeed." Harry agreed. "But all is not lost. We can still do it."
"It's just going to take some work." Ginny added.
"So that's why you wanted to talk to me the other day." Sirius said slowly.
Harry looked at him and nodded. Everyone looked at him in curiosity except James and Lily. James had long ago told Lily when they first married as Sirius tended to become a little depressed on the day that his brother had died. Sirius looked at Harry and then at the group. It was everyone that he trusted in the room and with the oaths, no one he didn't want to know about the story would.
Sirius drew a deep breath and then told the others the story of his brother. When he was done, he sat back and was drawn into Audrey's arms. She hugged her husband close to him as Harry started to speak again.
"So that's an obvious difference between this reality and mine, but I'm pretty sure I know where each and every Horcrux is, save one."
"Which one?"
"Well I don't know what it is," admitted Harry a little reluctantly.
"But didn't you do this before?" Dora asked confused.
"I was the seventh Horcrux in my reality. I destroyed it by dying myself." Harry explained.
"Oh, right… I forgot that you died." Dora said a little sheepishly.
Ginny chuckled. "Yeah, it's hard to believe." She agreed. "But here, Riddle has succeeded in killing both Harry and Neville. He used Harry's death to create the final Horcrux."
"I am hoping that I'll be able to discover it when I examine Lily and James' memory." Harry explained patiently.
"I do not envy that task." Sirius muttered softly. Others could only nod in agreement with that sentiment.
"So what is our first course of action?" James asked looking at his young friend.
"I need to speak to Slughorn to prove my theory is correct. And we'll also need to have a way to get rid of the Horcruxes when we find them."
"Do you have any ideas on that?" Sirius asked. "Because there are very few ways you can really get rid of them, and a lot of them are not things that I want to even think about using."
"Like what?" Dora asked.
"Fiendfyre for one thing." Sirius answered shuddering slightly.
"Oh great." Audrey moaned, not liking the situation.
"Well, I do have another idea, but it's probably just as dangerous." Harry said. He told them how he had used the sword of Gryffindor to destroy the Horcruxes and how it had been imbibed with basilisk venom.
"So now we get to kill Riddle's basilisk?" Remus asked a little nervously. Harry looked at him and shrugged looking a little hesitant and uncertain. "Oh great," he moaned.
"No problem, we'll just cover our eyes and strike with swords." James said trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Lily excitedly yelled and sat up straight.
"What?" James asked his wife as everyone eyed her in surprise.
"Basilisk venom is used in some potions right?" She asked grinning.
"Sure," Sirius answered wondering where she was going with this.
"And Riddle can get to his Basilisk whenever he wants, right?" She asked grinning widely and her eyes shining with excitement.
"Yeah…," James answered nodding slowly.
"Well who do we know that conceivably has access to both those things?" Everyone was silent for a moment, but Harry got it first. He stayed silent because he wanted to know how everyone would react. Ginny took her cue from Harry, for she had figured it out as well. She was wondering how long Harry wanted to wait before meeting with the Potions Master.
"Oh bloody hell!" Sirius moaned when he figured it out. "No. No way." He flat out denied.
"Sirius Black, you better not be saying no because of some stupid childhood grudge." Lily's eyes flashed as she spoke to the Marauder.
"No, I'm saying no because he's a lying, cheating, slimy git!"Sirius defended himself.
"Padfoot," James started but was cut off by Sirius.
"That bloody bastard is the reason you two lost your child!" Sirius yelled.
Lily stood up and had her wand pointed at the Marauder after that statement. "Severus Snape is not the one who betrayed us to the Riddle. The prophecy was known to several people. You have no evidence that it was Severus who told Riddle!"
"The greasy bastard was ejected from the Hog's Head by Aberforth that night Tralawney made the prediction!" Sirius countered back, also standing up. "Who the fuck else could it have been?"
"There were several people in the pub that night. It didn't help that the whole Order knew about it several days later. You have no actual proof that it was Severus." Lily's eyes flashed.
"Padfoot, Lily, both of you calm down." James said slowly rising.
"No James! Your wife is saying that Snivellus, Snivellus James, is not only on our side, but not responsible for the death of my godson!"
"It's true Pads," James said softly. "Severus is a good man and we were idiots in Hogwarts."
Sirius looked at James as if he had been betrayed. He looked at Harry who was watching the scene in front of him with curiosity and a little apprehension. For his part, Harry was wondering if he should be worried about the future encounters between the two men, for Harry fully intended to bring Severus into the loop, and soon.
"Harry? Tell them. Tell them that Snivellus is the enemy! That he's working for Riddle!"
Harry took a deep breath and measured the mood in the room before sighing and standing up. He wet his lips before speaking, his green eyes soft and sympathetic. "Sirius, in my reality, when Riddle went after Lily, Severus lost all faith and belief in Riddle."
"OH COME ON!" Sirius yelled in frustration and turned away from the group.
Harry continued, everyone had to hear this anyway. "He turned spy for Dumbledore and helped to protect and save lives. What I do know for sure is that he had his own torrid history, and he was a man with very conflicted emotions. What I also know, is that he was one of the bravest men I ever knew."
"Padfoot my old friend," Remus said getting up and laying a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I know this is hard for you, but think back to when Lily and James were attacked. Severus was there for Lily as often as he could be. You know as well as I that he helped. It's time you left this schoolboy grudge behind."
Sirius whirled on Remus, his face drawn in a scowl. "Moony, don't tell me that you are also going to stand for this?"
James touched his wife's shoulder and she sat down, still fuming, but not itching to hex Sirius anymore. Remus sighed heavily. "Sirius, take a look around at the people gathered here. These are the only people that we can trust as of right now." Remus gestured at the room of people. "We just broke from the Order, no help will be coming our way from them. Riddle already wants Harry for being a cheeky bastard to him in Diagion Alley. Once we really get going, he's going to try to hunt us down like sheep for slaughter."
Sirius made to interrupt, but Remus kept going. "We are going to need every person we can get to pull this off. James, Lily, Harry, and Ginny all vouch for Severus. Not only would he be an asset to our operation here, as he knows all about Riddle and his ongoing activity, but he may even be in a position for a spy on Crouch. There are only a few other people that I would trust to join us."
"Anyone would be better than Snivellus." Sirius muttered growling.
"Sirius, let's try something else." Harry said speaking up. "Why do you hate Severus so much?"
"He was a scrawny git who dabbled in the dark arts while we were at Hogwarts. He tried to get Moony expelled when he found out he was a werewolf. He attacked James and me every chance he got. He was a Slytherin." Sirius answered immediately.
"And you feel that you're justified in declaring that a man who risked his life to help his friend, hours after the attack, brewed pain potions, calming draughts, and passed information to your Order in order to better take down Riddle is working for Riddle?"
"Y-yes." Sirius answered, not feeling so sure of himself at the moment.
"And you feel that your grudge from school that was based on House rivalries, petty differences, and the mistakes of youth also justifies your reasons for hating Severus?" Harry asked gently.
"I," Sirius paused and looked at Harry. "N-no." He knew his grudge was petty. He had never really been able to let it go. Everyone was right, Severus had changed and helped as much as he could, but Sirius didn't want to see it. He looked at James and Lily and then at Remus and Dora before looking at Audrey and Ginny before finally looking at Harry. Harry's eyes were twinkling and he had a soft smile on his face.
Harry knew that Sirius knew that his grudge was petty. "All I ask for Sirius is that you try to be civil with Severus when he gets here. I don't want to have to blast you apart every time you're in the same room together." Sirius just looked at him with the expression of reluctance. "I'm not asking for you to suddenly love him like a brother, just to be civil," Harry went on.
"I-," Sirius paused and then nodded. "I'll try Harry."
Harry grinned and nodded. "That's all I ask."
"So, now that we have that all figured out, when do you plan on contacting Severus?" Lily asked curiously.
"Soon. The sooner the better." Harry answered. Harry looked at the group in front of him and gazed at all the faces.
"I just want you to know, that Ginny and I have talked at great length about the situation here. I know you expect me to save the day, but I want you to know, that I'm going to need all your help. Our mantra this time is less is more. I lost everyone in this room in my reality, and I'm not going to repeat that experience. We do everything after it has been planned out. We work in groups of at least two. Nobody does anything without approval. Nobody engages Riddle until we're ready. As of right now, we have only one mission, and that's to find the Horcruxes. We don't talk to anybody else about what we are doing. The first three things on our list is this: finding and talking to Slughorn, getting Severus with us, and finding a way to get rid of the Horcruxes once we have them. Those are the things we need to do first and fast."
"So, James and Sirius, since you two are of old families, we have a question for you." Ginny spoke up after beaming at her husband.
"Shoot." James answered. Sirius was still a little too embarrassed and uncomfortable to speak.
"Can we commission a Goblin sword? How much would it cost?"
"An arm and a leg," James answered sighing. "But why do you need to commission a sword?"
"Like we said earlier, there are only a few ways to get rid of Horcruxes. We figured a sword would be the easiest to handle." Ginny told him grinning.
"You do have a point." Lily said laughing. "But, I don't think the Goblins have made a sword in a long time. It would take months."
"Well thankfully, we won't have to wait that long." James said grinning.
"What?" Harry asked surprised.
"We have a few Goblin made weapons in our vault at Gringotts. After we get them it'll just be a question of getting the venom to imbibe the blade with." James said.
Lily looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Oh yes, because that'll be the easy part." Lily snorted. "You're forgetting that Gringotts is required to report you to Riddle if you try to stop by."
"Well we can probably come to an arrangement." James said giving Lily a significant look.
Harry saw it but didn't say anything.
"I think we should divide up jobs," Audrey said suddenly, "in the interests of time and all."
"That's a good idea actually," Harry commented. "Who is the closest to Slughorn?"
Everyone looked at Lily. She shrugged. "I guess I am. But there is no way that Harry and James are going to Gringotts without me." She huffed folding her arms.
"Or me." Ginny added.
Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Well it was a good idea Audrey," Harry commented dryly. "Although I think there are some other jobs we can divide up."
Ginny pulled her notebook out and flipped it to the list they had made earlier. For the rest of the evening and late into the night, they all planned for the coming next few days.
