Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!
Rated M: Mature
Updated: 3/15/10
Welcome Back Potter
Chapter 8: Order of Phoenix
"I bring this meeting of the Order of Phoenix to order," spoke Albus Dumbledore with a full-blown twinkle in his eyes that seemed to be missing over the last few years of the war. "I am truly sorry for the late hour, but I can assure you that it's quite important."
"So what happened with the Death Eater attack on Gringotts, I assume that's why we're here?" asked the rash redhead and newly married Ron Weasley, who was as impatient as ever for being interrupted from his last few days of vacation following his honeymoon.
"When we arrived, we knew the attack had already started over thirty minutes previously at precisely midnight, and were prepared to help the goblins who by that time should have been at the end of the fight. At the very least we thought that the fight would have by that time progressed into the bowels of Gringotts, but when we arrived that was not the case," spoke Dumbledore clearly before pausing slightly to rub the bridge of his nose before replacing his half-moon spectacles. "We found a single wizard had defended the front doors of the bank against the only ten or so remaining Death Eaters."
"So, ten wizards aren't too many; you, Shaklebolt, and Moody could do that sir," interrupted the ever impatient Ron Weasley stupidly, and wondering what the big deal was.
"There were only ten Death Eaters left, the other ninety or so Death Eaters and ten giants were already knocked out or killed," yelled Tonks angrily back at the arrogant youngest son of the Weasleys, to the absolute shocked faces of those not present at the scene of the very bloody battle.
"GIANTS!" screamed Molly Weasley frantically, causing several people present to cringe at her screeching tone.
Everyone who wasn't at the battle paled after her scream as the realization of such a powerful wizard being able to battle a hundred Death Eaters and a handful of giants singlehandedly. Even those that were present had a hard time believing the scene they saw upon arrival, the carnage and destruction of countless Death Eaters left an irremovable image burned into their minds as they remembered all the blood and mangled bodies. Never had the dark lord's forces suffered even close to that scale of defeat, and most could hardly fathom the entire Order being able to do as much as the lone wizard had.
"So, who was this wizard? Any chance he would join us? Do we even know which Death Eaters were killed or captured?" asked a breathless Hermione Granger Weasley, eager to get even more information like always only to hear Kingsley make a slight snort before his face returned to the quiet blank mask it had been since he arrived twenty minutes ago.
"What is it Kingsley? Do you know something?" asked Dumbledore, looking to one of his most able lieutenants wondering what he was thinking.
"The goblins have not even told the Ministry of any attack or any of the prisoners captured or killed," replied Harry in his best interpretation of Kingsley's deep voice and detached behavior.
"The goblins took all the prisoners?" asked Hermione not expecting anything like that.
"Yes, as an attack on Gringotts and hence the Goblin Nation, Head Goblin Griphook informed us that they had all rights to prisoners and the dead, and he is most accurate because of –" started Dumbledore only to be interrupted by the walking encyclopedia.
"The Goblin Treaty of 1821," interrupted Hermione in her usual know it all attitude, and received a bright smile from her boss and former Headmaster.
"So who was the mysterious wizard who fought for the goblins?" asked Hermione curiously, trying to remember any cases in the past where wizards aided the Goblin Nation against other wizards and came up with nothing.
"Ah, that's were we get to the real issue of tonight's meeting," replied Dumbledore as the twinkle in his blue eyes beamed brightly again for the first time in years. "Again, according to Head Goblin Griphook, who I have no reason not to believe, the wizard was the one and only Harry Potter."
"WHAT?!" yelled many of the members at the same time as the room erupted into chaos?
"I thought that murdering bastard was already dead?" yelled an angry and disbelieving Ron Weasley. "You told us that You-Know-Who killed him himself over three years ago when he destroyed Azkaban."
"Yes, and I'm afraid I was mistaken, although Griphook confirmed that Voldemort still thinks that Harry is dead," spoke Dumbledore thoughtfully as he ran over the conversation with the Head Goblin for the twentieth time that in the last hour.
"You don't think You-Know-Who knows then that he's alive?" asked Harry disguised as Kingsley, hoping for some clarification.
"Every time I've faced him since, He has taunted me with Harry's death, He's even let me watch the scene where he killed him with an Aveda Kedavra to the chest before entombing his body in the ruins of Azkaban. I know He didn't fake the memory, He believes that He killed Harry, and after watching that memory over three years ago I believed it too," replied Dumbledore to the shocked faces of most of the Order, having never heard the story on how exactly he learned of Potter's death.
"Then how did he survive?" asked Hermione nervously.
"He's probably working for You-Know-Who now and they staged the whole thing," argued Ron loudly, causing Kingsley to sadly shake his head at the redhead's words and beliefs but not expecting much different.
"Harry would never join Voldemort!" yelled the oldest Weasley brother vehemently glaring at his youngest sibling.
"Then how did he survive?" asked Hermione more loudly again, wanting her question answered or at least thought about.
"We'll probably never know that," answered Kingsley's deep voice, "Can we at least move on to something productive?"
"Good thinking Kingsley," responded Albus gratefully to the tall black auror. "Griphook has said that he would forward letters to Harry if we wanted to write him."
"Why would we want to write that murdering traitor? He can rot in hell for all I care," yelled Ron angrily and completely oblivious to the flash of anger that appeared in the black auror's eyes.
"RONALD!" scolded Hermione half-heartily.
"You fucking git," shouted Tonks equally angry as she glared at the obnoxious redhead with absolute loathing in her eyes. "He loved you, your family, and especially Ginny," she snapped to the instantly quiet group at the mention of the youngest Weasley. "He did what any of us would have done to the people who killed the ones we loved. How can you condemn him for that?"
"He condemned himself when he became a dark wizard and got my sister killed," spat back a livid and bright red Ron.
"He didn't get her killed you little shit," she screamed back as her hair began cycling through colors violently to match her mood, and causing enough of a disruption in the room for Harry to take another discreet dose of Polyjuice to maintain Kingsley's immaculate appearance.
"All I know is that if Potter wasn't around her, she never would have been killed …he got everything he deserves," yelled back Ron to the shocked faces of most of the Order, causing them to mutter angrily at the clueless arrogant idiot.
"This is getting us nowhere," replied Dumbledore calmly, trying to regain control of the meeting. "Regardless of Mr. Weasley's objections, I am planning to write Harry and offer him a place among the Order. If tonight's battle was any indication then we could desperately use his help."
"We don't need his help," shouted Ron stupidly.
"Are you seriously this dumb Weasley?" scolded Moody who had remained quiet up to this point, but couldn't take anymore of the moron's idiocy. "Because in case you haven't noticed the Order is losing this war rather badly! Potter just destroyed almost half of Voldemort's Death Eaters …we need that kind of help!"
"So it's okay he just killed almost ninety people?" asked a scandalized Hermione in defense of her new husband.
"How has capturing them worked for us?" asked Kingsley's deep and calm voice.
"I'd like to write Harry too sir," spoke Tonks to Dumbledore, ignoring some of the glares sent her way by several of the more morally righteous members of the Order.
"Me too," added George Weasley quietly.
Harry watched George warily through Kingsley's dark brown eyes, and felt his heart go out to the last remaining Weasley twin. Kingsley had been present and aided Lucius Malfoy in killing Fred, and had seen several scenes through the dark auror turned spy of George practically disappearing after his twin's death only to reemerge a year later as a quasi twin to Bill, despite being a totally different person from that point on. George had lost all of his innocence and joy in life, and was easily visible in his clouded hazel eyes that once held such mischief and life. Harry knew he would read any letters from George and Tonks, and was glad to learn that not everybody hated him as much as his former best friends did.
"How could you George? He's the one responsible for Ginny being raped and killed," yelled Ron angrily as he glared at his older brother over the strangled cries of his mother and father.
"No Ron, the LeStrange brothers killed Ginny, and I can guarantee that Harry did everything he could to prevent that, and more than any of us to avenge her death afterwards," replied George in an almost rage of emotions that instantly sent his youngest brother back to his seat grumbling and huffing in anger.
"It's always about Harry Bloody Potter, isn't it?" pouted Ron like the emotionally underdeveloped child that he still was.
"Oh, grow up Ron," snapped Tonks defensively, as many Order members nodded in agreement at the impatient, petulant, and hot heated redhead.
Harry smirked unnaturally in Kingsley's body at Ron's angry muttering to himself as the rest of the Order from that point ignored him and his childish behavior and returned their attention to Dumbledore. Albus sat looking over the Order, judging where everyone in the Order stood by doing a bit of passive legillimency to read their surface thoughts. He was not surprised to find the aurors all with full shields up blocking him from any of their thoughts, nor the three oldest Weasley children who all seemed to have advanced tremendously in Occlumency over the years. Most were simply weary of what had become of Potter after seven years in Azkaban and another three in hiding, and the scene either witnessed or described of tonight's battle didn't sit to well with several of them but they all realized the possible need for someone like that if they were to have any chance in the war against the dark lord.
"I plan to have my letter for Harry ready by lunchtime tomorrow to send to Griphook," spoke Albus after a long pause of studying his Order members, "any one else wishing to write him should have it to me before then."
"Did anyone actually talk to Harry when you saw him?" came another question from Hermione.
"Yes and no," answered Dumbledore in his usual non-answering way. "We did not discover his identity until he left."
"Actually, Griphook thanked him by name before he left remember?" spoke up Alex Chapman, a young middle-aged wizard with long scraggly brown hair and a long thin scar down the left side of his face courtesy of the late Antonin Dolohov.
"Yeah, and before that Griphook mentioned something about him returning home to see his wife and kids," added a bored Fleur Delacour Weasley who has long since lost her French accent after eleven years in Great Britain and marrying Bill.
"WIFE AND KIDS!" yelled an enraged Ron, "and you lot think he actually loved Ginny?"
"That was ten years ago Ron, you have no idea what he's gone through in Azkaban or afterwards," screamed back George still glaring at his stupid youngest brother who had become an even greater prat than the late Percy ever was.
"Ten years to the day," came the smooth baritone voice of Kingsley solemnly, causing several people to realize just what day had ended, not that the levelheaded Weasleys needed any reminder of what July 31st was.
"Indeed," sighed Albus tiredly, "We know nothing of what he went through after Ginny's death since he was in Azkaban by the time the sun came up on August 1st, and I know he had not one visitor during his years there. I will say that the person Voldemort believed to have killed over three years ago was hardly a shell of the boy we knew as Harry …more emaciated and broken than any prisoner I've seen. His appearance in that memory still haunts me to this day, and I would like to offer him any help we can."
"Shouldn't we vote though if he should even be allowed to become an Order member?" interjected Hermione arrogantly, "I for one don't want that traitor anywhere near me, and I know I'm not alone."
"I'm sorry, but anyone that can take on that many Death Eaters and just walk away is alright in my book," spoke Moody gruffly and with a glare at the boy's former friends.
"Well said Moody," added Kingsley with a strong nod to the retired auror.
In the end, only Ron, Hermione, Charlie and his wife Rosmilda, Joseph and Irma Pince, and Dedalus Diggle didn't want Harry's help, while the other twenty-four members did. Harry was rather grateful that most of the Order was willing to not hold his past or killing of Death Eaters against him and wanted him to join the Order. Not that he had any intention of joining since they mostly just wanted to use him as a weapon and to keep their own hands clean, but it was still a nice thought. There were definitely a few though that really wanted to see him and have him back in their lives, and those were the ones he made sure to remember for the future.
The Order meeting broke up quickly after the vote, and Kingsley didn't hang around saying he needed some sleep before work tomorrow and quickly left the school. Once he reached the gates he gave a goodbye to Tonks, Chapman and his wife Michelle, and the two other aurors in the group Xavier Limas and Elizabeth Wrenn, who were both Tonks' age and a recent couple. Harry still disguised as Kingsley then apparated to Kingsley's flat were he proceeded to pack and shrink everything the spy owned in minutes before returning to the statue garden on Potter Island. He entered the underground dungeon to check on the still and most likely permanently unconscious Kingsley and to wait the last few minutes until the dose of Polyjuice ended.
Ten minutes later a very tired and exhausted Harry made his way back into his house. As he passed his son Sirius' room and saw him sleeping soundly, he got a large smile on his face as he thought about why he needed to make the world a better place for his children. In his own room, Bellatrix was sprawled across their bed sleeping restlessly while Lily was slumbering soundly in her neighboring crib. He quickly took of his clothes and slipped into bed next to his beautiful wife who instantly awoke at the bed's movement.
"Is that you luv?" she asked tiredly, obviously not as asleep as he thought.
"Yes Bella, go back to sleep …I'm home," replied a tired Harry with a small kiss to his wife's cheek as he snuggled up to her wrapping his arms around her protectively before falling asleep almost instantly.
AN: The war has begun, I thought a chapter on what the Order and wizarding world was up to was due to fill in what Harry missed over the last ten years.
Sorry for the long wait on getting the next installment of chapters out. I had been struggling to write my three current stories at the same time, but now that Runic Animagi is finished I think I can work on the last two relatively simultaneously …or at least take turns every once in a while to keep them going. I hope you can all forgive the wait and enjoy the ride.
