A/N: Hey guys, I told you last time that i'll be moving away soon so that means this may be my last chapter... But don't worry, as soon as everything settles down, i'll get back to writing again. The other chapters are already done so I'm hoping this break won't take long...

Next announcement: I might pull out some of the chapters due to my muse not being cooperative. My plot is planned out already but there have been some problems here and there that have made me question the events that have happened in the other chapters. However this is only a maybe, lets hope it doesn't come to that. But if i do, i won't be pulling the entire story out, just re-writing a few chapters here and there... Hope that gets out okay...

And... since i'm such a wonderful author, i've decided that while you and I wait for my RL to settle down, i'll be posting two stroies for you to preview!!... Screams about how great an author i am... They're the new stories i've been writing and i want to run a poll to see which one of them you want me to continue writing once i get back to 'writing'... choosing one won't stop me writing this fic but it will give you another to sink into. But get this, the one that doesn't get chosen will be pulled out and will get posted once again when my schedule clears...

Okay i guess that's enough ramblings from me... on with the story...

Disclaimer: no comment...

Chapter 10: Of Gatherings and Point of Views

Though the Ministry had now confirmed that the Dark Lord had indeed returned to life and was now wreaking havoc everywhere, it still could not escape the inevitable slander a majority of the public were throwing at them. They had never been more united in their cause when they ousted former Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, after his dismal attempts to reassure the Wizarding Public that he was doing all he could under the circumstances. So weeks later, Rufus Scrimgeour, the former Head of the Auror Office, was elected as his successor with the hopes that he would be able to lead them better through these dark dangerous times.

Other than the public, the press were also lashing out about the government's lack of movement regarding the events that were rapidly unfolding around them. Since Fudge had kept such a tight hold on all print media during the previous year, only allowing them to print news that showed the Ministry in a good light, the press were now going all out to publish all the scoops they had accumulated over the last year. And because of this, the Ministry was rarely in the papers' good side. Some even went to comment that "the Ministry has turned into a bunch of blind politicians leading the blind using a threadbare wand!" or "Flobberworms could be more aggressive than the Ministry when they think someone is about to step on them!"

It was ironic how all of last year, all the papers did was agree with the Ministry and slip in Harry's or Dumbledore's name in as a standing joke. Yet now things were turned in over their heads with Harry and Dumbledore getting all the attention they should have gotten the previous year. The Prophet was even sprouting out that they believed them all along but were unable to tell the public because to Fudge's firm grip.

The whole of the Wizarding World may now know of the truth behind all of the lies that were forged by those who refused to acknowledge the truth, but it didn't make them any safer than when the truth was distorted. In fact it just made them more susceptible to harm, the way the Ministry was dealing with things; witches and wizards here and there taking advantage of the people's renewed fear of the Dark. Just the last week, Aurors had apprehended a couple of con wizards trying to sell off a dozen fake talismans that were supposed to detect Dementors. They were of course bogus, but it hadn't stopped the paranoid public from purchasing them.

However there is a certain group of people, who were trying to fight the Dark outside the weakening hold of the Ministry. A band of people, who for the past few days have done nothing but try to make sure the Ministry didn't intervene with their search. Now, this group of advocates were congregating in the damp and dark kitchen of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. It would be the first time the members of the Order would set foot inside the Headquarters ever since they'd been sent out to track down Harry Potter. Almost all had arrived for the meeting with the exception of some, who were either too far away or caught up in a mission to attend.

The Order was seated around a long wooden table; piles of parchments were scattered before them and the air wrought filled with tension. "Headmaster, we've received word from the conductor of the Knight Bus that Harry had indeed boarded the bus going to London on the morning of the 31st," reported Bill Weasley towards the head of the table were the Headmaster was situated, looking weary yet determined..

"We've looked everywhere in London, Bill, he wasn't there," countered Tonks, who today was supporting a short bob that framed her petite face.

"Yes, Bill, Alastor and I had even talked with the barman at the Leaky Cauldron and he hasn't seen anything out of the ordinary," said Remus sounding grim at their lack of success.

"Harry could have disguised himself," argued Charlie on behalf of his brother.

"The Ministry would have had their hands all over him if he did perform underage magic," stated Mr. Weasley. "And even if Harry had indeed disguised himself, Alastor here would have detected it." He nodded at the ex-Auror who nodded back in agreement.

"Exactly," said Kingsley Shacklebolt "Also, Scrimgeour is already getting scrutinized only after weeks in office because he's not doing anything to find Potter. I believe that if he finds anything significant about Potter's disappearance, he will act on it and no longer heed our advice."

"But, Albus, surely there must be something we could do," cried Mrs. Weasley.

"I understand how you feel, Molly," said Dumbledore calmly. "But this must be kept tightly under wraps. If word ever gets out in the public that their saviour is missing, mass panic would occur. We need to keep the public the way they are now, if we plan to proceed with our plans."

"Dear, another riot won't do us or finding Harry any good," said Mr. Weasley, taking hold of his wife's clammy hands.

"Arthur, he's been missing for days. For all we know he could be in the hands of You-Know-Who. He must feel we've abandoned him somehow," uttered Mrs. Weasley in near hysteria.

"Calm yourself, Molly," intoned Dumbledore. "We know for a fact that Voldemort –" everyone in the room flinched, "is in the same situation as us. He does not know where Harry is as well and he's trying everything in his power to get his hands on the boy before us. The Ministry is the least of our concerns."

"Where else could he be?" wondered Tonks. "We've contacted everyone he knows and none of them has seen him. It's not like he has any place else to go."

"Perhaps it is best if we just let the lad be," said Moody for the first time. A dozen pairs of eyes stared incredulously at him.

"Have you really gone mad, Mad-Eye?" said Molly angrily.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," replied Moody, watching the reactions of the others. "But the boy would not have run away without a reason. And if it's taking a number of qualified witches and wizards to find a mere sixteen year old boy, there's got to be a reason why. Maybe all he needs is time."

Albus had his chin resting on his intertwined fingers and stared thoughtfully ahead.

"Albus, this is completely out of our hands." said his Deputy Headmistress, McGonagall, who was seated beside him. "Severus has already informed us that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named does not have Harry. So that means the boy is not in any imminent danger; he just doesn't want to be found

"But why doesn't he want to be found?" demanded Mrs. Weasley while her husband vainly tried to reign her in. "I understand why he'd want to run from the Muggles, but why us?"

Every single person present in the room turned to look at the direction of Dumbledore for answers. Sighing heavily, Dumbledore went against his better judgement, "We'll continue our search."

Mrs. Weasley smiled smugly at Moody and McGonagall while the other two just nodded and accepted the decision.

"The Dark may not have Harry, but it is still our priority to find him. However, I do realize that we'll get nothing done if we pull everyone out to do the same thing. So I must ask some of you to go back to your previous missions before the search began," said Dumbledore, watching members from his vantage point.

Remus hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation since he first spoke and now turned his attention to the Headmaster, his face unreadable.

"Albus, I must disagree," he said, looking at the Dumbledore straight in the eye. The others turned to look at Dumbledore for his reaction. However Dumbledore only eyed Remus with an amused look on his ancient face, prompting him to continue.

"I do believe that Harry only needs time to reassess his thoughts and emotions. We don't need to chase after him like some sort of fugitive. Perhaps we're only pushing him away by preventing him this small amount of time to be alone. The boy has been through a lot this past few months, a lot has been placed on his shoulder and… and S-Sirius' passing hasn't been easy," said Remus, his eyes filled with sadness and regret.

The whole room was silent for a moment, remembering their fallen comrade and the battles they had fought. They knew how hard it was to pull yourself up after a beating and to imagine a boy doing the same thing that most of them struggle with on a daily basis was intangible.

Dumbledore had a profound look on his face, as if he was battling with himself on what to do with the situation. After awhile he turned his attention back to the room at large. "I know of the loss you all feel, but this is not the time to let our emotions do the talking. Voldemort is out there trying to get his hands on the boy and if we don't act soon, Harry may never get the time he deserves."

"But, Albus, Harry is capable of protecting himself. If he was able to elude both the Order and the Dark Lord this long, he must be doing something right. Can't we just grant him this time to venture off on his own?" argued Remus looking determined.

"Remus," Dumbledore said firmly, "I know you are hurting; Sirius was taken from us too early. But you are not to blame for his death, so do not try to shield Harry by allowing him to run away from his problems."

"And I do believe that the boy is capable; he has proven himself to me time and time again. But this is not a question of his ability. He needs to be protected! You are not helping him by allowing him to do what he wants!" A gleam of something hard shone briefly in the Headmaster's blue eyes. Remus doubted that anyone other than him saw it and wondered why the Headmaster refused to see reason this time around. But seeing the older wizard riled up at him, he lowered his gaze, asking himself what James or Sirius would have done if faced with this kind of situation.

A minute of silence followed Dumbledore's pronouncement and no one else tried to change the wizard's decision.

"If that is all that need be said about Harry, I want to make clear again that Harry must be found at all cost without the Ministry's involvement. Now I suggest we move on to the next agenda," Dumbledore stated, eyeing Kingsley Shacklebolt to be more specific.

Kingsley cleared his throat and reported his findings in the Ministry. "As we all know, Fudge decided to remain in the Ministry after he stepped down and took up Shiloh Markson's post as Head of the Department of Mystery."

A collected murmur of disagreement ensued from this statement. Kingsley smiled knowingly at the reaction and continued, "Well, ever since he came to the DOM, he's been obsessed with figuring out something he claimed to have noticed during the attack at the DOM this past June. He won't clarify what it is but Scrimgeour has recently granted him access to the Old Files."

An assortment of responses came from the Order. Some of them had a befuddled look upon them while others looked interested.

"Aren't the Old Files a collection of accounts by those who survived the Grindenwald era?" asked Tonks. At this, everyone turned their attention once again back to the Headmaster since he was the only one in the room who was present during that time.

"Yes. They are eye witness accounts of those who survived and fought during the Grindenwald era. Most of them are still alive if not a bit knocked on the head but the majority of them have died through the years," answered Dumbledore, a look of worry on his face.

"I want you to keep a close eye on Fudge and report to me any significant things that occur down there," he told Kingsley who nodded at the Order. Dumbledore continued to have a troubled look on his face and watched as his Order discussed other agendas amongst themselves. A quick survey around the room found him catching the eye of one of the Order members in the room and saw that that person was mirroring his emotions. He nodded stiffly at the direction of the person and went back to discussing Order business.

sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs

Across the room, on the banister of the former House of Black, a group of teenagers were gathered together. If someone were to come through the front door, they'd wonder what four teenagers were doing leaning over the third floor banister, flesh coloured strings trailing from their ears.

"It's a major meeting their having down there," said Fred, readjusting the earpiece to his Extendable Ear. "I saw almost every member in the Inner group come in today."

"But did anyone see Snape?" asked Ron. "Isn't he one of the Inner members as well? Don't tell me Dumbledore has seen him for who he truly is." There was a hopeful tone in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by Hermione.

"Ronald Weasley, what a thing to say!" she exclaimed, removing her end of the Extendable Ear.

"What?" said Ron incredulously.

"He could be risking his life. We all know what he does for the Order," said Hermione.

"How do we know he's not working as a double agent?" Ron fought back.

"And how many times have we doubted his actions only to be proven wrong in the end?" came Hermione's sharp reply.

"Why did he allow us to get caught by Umbridge last June then if he's on our side?" countered Ron, removing his Extendable Ear as well. Fred and George stared as the two fought it out and watched them as though they were following a volley.

"D'you know something, Gred?" asked Fred, turning to his twin.

"I think I do, Forge." said George coyly. "We're witnessing the fascinating human phenomenon of –"

"a lovers' quarrel." the twins chorused, clapping their hands high in the air.

Ron's ears were now turning red while Hermione's cheeks were flushed a brilliant pink. She was about to open her mouth to retort to whatever it was that Ron said when she was interrupted by the twins, their hands clasped firmly on her mouth. She mumbled and stared angrily at the Weasley twins.

"Though it pains us to interrupt your invigorating verbal flirtation, we need to remind you that we're not supposed to be here. So if you plan to get caught by mum, just tell us and we'll levitate you right in front of the door," said George sarcastically.

Ron turned a violent shade of red and orange and turned mortified away from Hermione's line of sight. Hermione, however, seemed unfazed by the twins' ribbing and used her free hands to remove the twins' hands from her mouth.

"Oh shut up, George," said Hermione after she'd regain the use of her mouth. Placing the fleshy string back into her ear, she listened back to the meeting going on two floors down. After awhile the three Weasley boys rejoined her in their snooping.

"Shush, its starting," said Ron.

"Oh, like we couldn't hear, little brother," said Fred, looking at his brother disbelievingly. A sharp look from Hermione had shut whatever it was that George had planned to say about Ron.

"What are you doing?" someone said pointedly from behind them causing them to jump in surprise.

"Ginny!" they all exclaimed as they saw who it was that had spoken.

"Who else were you expecting?" asked Ginny walking towards them.

"No one," said Ron quickly the Extendable Ears from sight. "You just gave as a scare."

"Why is it that I don't believe you, Ron?" commented Ginny with her brow raised, arms crossed tightly across her chest.

"Oh fine! There's an Order meeting going on and we wanted to know whether they've found Harry," said Ron, giving in to his sister. After years of living in the same house as their sister, all the Weasley brothers had learnt the hard way that, like their mother, they could keep nothing from the inquisitive eyes of their, no longer little, sister.

The mention of Harry and the Order meeting had interested Ginny and she moved to grab all of her brothers' earpieces that Ron failed to keep from her, which caused them to shout in indignation.

"Quiet, mum will hear us," she said, stuffing an earpiece to her right ear while she held on to the others.

"I swear mum and dad go easy on her because she's the youngest and the only girl," mumbled Fred unhappily under his breath. George and Ron both agreed. Hermione just quietly shook her head at how they thought of their sister, though she too wasn't very pleased with how Ginny was bossing them around this summer. In fact ever since she'd arrived at the Headquarters', she'd rarely seen the teenage girl and when she did, she would either be bossy or doing something none of them had yet to figure out. Ginny's unusual behaviour was slightly worrying the older girl but since her brothers said that this was just how their sister acted when in a bad mood, she didn't put much thought into it. But as the days of Harry's disappearance got longer, Hermione had noticed that the youngest Weasley child was disappearing at longer intervals.

"So, what are they talking about?" asked Ron.

Ginny held up a finger to silence them as her brows furrowed as if what she was hearing wasn't at all good. At last Ginny removed the earpiece and pulled the whole thing away from the door, a slight disgusted look upon her face.

"What'd you do that for?" complained the twins, seeing their invention being stowed away by their sister.

"The meeting's over," stated Ginny, moving away from the railing.

"Are you gonna tell us what happened?" asked Ron.

"No. You weren't supposed to be listening in on it anyway," replied Ginny.

"You weren't supposed to listen in on them either," argued Ron.

"Come now, Ginny, it's not fair. We want to know where Harry is. You're not the only one devastated by his disappearance," said Hermione in a tone she often used to bully Harry and Ron into studying with her.

Ginny stopped at her tracks and turned to look at her brothers and friend, an aggravated look upon her face. "You are such a hypocrite, Hermione Granger!" snapped Ginny causing the older girl to recoil backwards in surprise.

"What are you on about, Ginny?" wondered Ron, coming to his friend's defence.

"Oh she knows what I'm talking about. Don't you, Hermione?" said Ginny maintaining her ground but eyeing the older Gryffindor closely. Hermione was about to reply but was stopped as Ginny continued to rant at her.

"Don't you feel bad at all with what you've done?"

"I only did what I thought was best," said Hermione weakly for her defence. Ron and the twins had confused looks on their faces, not following what the argument was about.

"Oh, so penning a letter that basically goes to say that you're blaming him for the death of his godfather was the best you could think of?" spat Ginny.

"You wrote what?" blurted Ron turning to his friend. Hermione paled wonderfully, ashamed of herself.

"So don't you pretend you care whether Harry's missing or not, coz it was probably your fault he ran. You pushed him away when he needed you the most!" Ginny walked away leaving three open mouthed Weasleys at her wake and a weeping Hermione.

A/N: okay, that's it for me for now. Don't forget to vote for the story you want me to continue...

'til next post...

dan4eva