Chapter Twenty Six: Order Meetings:
Remus was bored, the meeting did not take place for another thirty minutes but he was not leaving Severus and Sirius alone all that time. They were meeting in Black castle as the original order meeting place, the wonderful, wacky and very homey Burrow had burned down due to a "random" death eater attack. Those responsible had been arrested and were being tried now but for the time being the Weasleys were without a home. Enter Sirius inviting them to stay with him and have the order meeting at his home. Away from Hogwarts and the rules set up to keep Severus and Sirius on their better behavior around each other. Sirius did not like having his home open fully to Severus (so he said) but he allowed him full rights to bed board and travel. That did not mean he would be nice, that is why Remus sat in the parlor wand out watching these two like a hawk.
It was really too bad Rita was not here with Tarus as he was a calming influence on both men (she was visiting family). Severus liked babies though he vehemently denied this and swore they were a nuisance to be avoided at all costs. Diana and Greg Granger came into the room and saw Severus reading with Sirius curled up as Padfoot by the fire napping. They saw Remus with his wand out and found this amusing, he had to keep his friends in line and was for the moment doing a good job. Padfoot turned to Sirius and bowed slightly to the Grangers, he shook Greg's hand and gently kissed Diana's hand as though she were a queen. He could be a charmer and he was doing well here, until Severus had to put in his two cents.
"Hnn you may wish to wash your hand, no telling where Sirius has been." Severus said getting Remus to bury his head in his hands.
"Shut up grease ball." Sirius said.
"Why don't you?" Severus replied.
"Remus could you get us some popcorn?" Greg asked taking a seat by Remus.
"Of course, I am sorry for these two."
"Alpha dogs, they both are heads of their packs and will not back down." Diana said, "at least they are not hexing each other."
"That was fun to watch, to think our Hermione can do that!" Greg said smiling fondly.
"She did turn Lucius Malfoy's son to a ferret he had insulted her and badly." Remus said. "No wait that was Ginny, no she broke his nose as I recall."
"I could see her doing that, a prat like that would deserve it." Diana replied.
"I said shut it Snape!" Sirius shouted.
"Certainly as soon as you do!" Severus said silkily.
"Bloody hell not again!" Dora said from the doorway she waved her wand and at once Sirius and Severus could not speak. "Much better."
Dora must have failed in calming Harry as she was here, so that meant Harry was back at the school in a foul mood, his head hurting him after Voldemort had gone into a rage hence the meeting. This concerned Remus, first Voldemort was not to full power and second should not the removal of the Horcrux have stopped this? There was more, a young promising witch had been murdered and her son had been taken, he was only nine months old. It was possible he was used in the ritual that brought Voldemort partway back. . Sirius and Severus took a seat both glaring at Dora just as the headmaster and the rest of the order came in.
"Who cast the silencing charm?" Molly asked at once.
"Dora did, it is quieter now." Remus replied.
"These two wankers were getting on my nerves last meeting." Dora said sitting down returning Sirius rude hand gesture with two of her own. "Back at you cousin dearest."
"Dora dear I know they upset you." Molly said trying hard to remain calm, "but you cannot cast silencing charms on them like this!"
"Fine, next time I will turn them into Dodos." Dora retorted.
With a look from the headmaster Dora took the charm off of the two wizards. Severus threatened to do something violent and painful to her involving tying her to a tree by her thumbs. She retorted that he could try but she would have his manhood in a jar in her office. She said this with a sweet but dangerous smile on her face and Severus blinked a bit of shock on his face. Before any more threats of violence could be brought up Remus brought up a question that was heavy on his mind.
"One question I hope you ladies can answer is how is Riddle able to be so strong in such a weak body?" Remus asked. "All I know is it is not general magic."
"Er no it is not, and you are right it is dark witches magic, fueled by the deaths of innocent children." Dora said, "my mum told me a bit and guided me to books to study. I cannot tell you where they are nor what they all say, most are good and pure and are what a witch must learn before she goes out in the world. One was evil and there is a spell..."
"The Infant Host ritual." Molly said going very pale, "that is how it translates, I will not use the black tongue the dark witches used in ages past. No words of that foul speech will cross my lips."
"So how does this work?" Remus asked.
"Well if a wizard got hold of the spell it would work, for a short time, and he would need things that normally would kill a normal man, snake venom is one. With a witch performing it, well the body created will last and keep the mind strong and healthy." Molly said. "For a time that is, the other ritual to bring him back to full body either a witch or wizard can do."
"This just gets worse and worse don't it?" Sirius said, "if I found him right now I would kill him."
Sirius knew about a lot of evil things, he knew about Horcruxes from his own parents who forced him to learn about the dark arts from a young age. He had thought that his family was a normal Wizarding family, and that he would go to Slytherin just like all the rest of his family. Yet even at a young age he had doubts, doubts he shoved far down until his fateful sorting. The sorting hat had to have seen great things in him and had sorted him directly to Gryffindor, even though he pleaded with the hat not to. Now he was here, head of the noble house of Black and he was going to see to it Voldemort would wish he never had come back.
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Severus was busy grading papers when he heard a knock at the door. He bid whoever was at the door to enter and looked up as Harry entered the room. He shoved his quill into his red ink bottle and glared up at the teen. Harry came and stood before his desk looking worried? What did the brat have to worry about? Why would he leave the warmth and comfort of the Gryffindor common room to come down here on a cold January day? If he had come to give him a birthday present he was going to make the teen wish he had not! He accepted the Christmas gifts but he was not going to accept any more bribery for is that not what Potter was about?
"What Potter?" He snapped.
"I know you plan on going back to spy for Riddle." Harry said, "for us I mean and I well I don't want you going."
"Get out, I will not speak to you about this!" Severus hissed.
"No sir, hear me out please." Harry pleaded, "you have saved my life more times than well you had to sir, I have a horrible feeling if you go back. Please sir you are worth far more than just a spy."
"You have no idea who the dark lord is, if you did you would understand…."
"Sir I know what he is, I know what he can and will do, I can see into his mind." Harry took out a small pendent of a dragon holding a ruby heart with a lily, "I asked professor Flitwick to charm pendants like this as portkeys, for family, if you insist on going back sir please at least have this."
"I am not your family Harry." Severus said, "go leave me."
"I don't know sir but something tells me you are, I feel, well like you are an uncle or brother, someone I have to protect." Harry said.
Severus looked at him in shock, he had done some studying of the bond that was created with the unbreakable vow. He had made that vow with Lily when he came back to the side of good and turned from the evil that was Voldemort. The unbreakable vow was hardly ever made for the bond it created between the one making the vow and the one they were bonded to. In short they really did become family. Severus had assumed that since Lily had died the bond would be broken. Or had it? He could not care for this boy, this arrogant brat before him. So like James, no that was not true, Harry was not like James, he could see that in his studies and even how he carried himself. He saw Lily now as the boy looked at him with a look that Lily would give those she cared about. Harry was bound by the bond through his mother and he to Harry. He reached over and took the pendant from Harry and put it on under his robes and Harry smiled.
"So like your mother." Severus said, "always have to care about bloody lost causes, the likes of me don't deserve such kindness."
"Don't speak of yourself like that sir, if my mother was your friend then you have to be good." At the look from Severus, "I know what death eaters do, what you would have done sir, I know you would have killed, but it was war, is war and you were a solder."
"I am a monster Harry, I don't deserve anything from you!" Severus said.
"You do, the activation for the Portkey, well you say Portus then my mum's name." Harry said, "takes you direct to the hospital wing."
"I see, planning on having me tortured by madam Pomfrey?"
"That was professor Flitwick's idea sir, mine does the same." Harry said, "she is not that bad, she really cares."
"Go away brat." Severus said a hint of smile at his lips, Harry grinned and got up walking to the door, "thank you Harry."
"Of course sir, you need anything let me know, I am at your service sir."
Harry left the office and Severus took a seat back at his desk. He fingered the pendant under his robes and hoped he would not have to use it. If he did it would mean he was a failure at spying and he would not fail to fulfill his duty as spy this time.
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Once more Severus sat at an order meeting this time with news that was not going to bode well. Walden MacNair had disappeared, there was no signs of him Severus knew him well enough that he would go back to the dark lord. His job at the ministry would have gotten boring for a murderer like him as of late and his going back would help satisfy his blood lust. Severus knew the perverted man well, he was very tall for a human, nearly seven feet tall. Add to that a face of beauty with neatly trimmed black hair and mustache, those damn violet eyes and no wonder he had his way with the ladies. Severus hated him as MacNair had a very perverted eye for the young (well young at the time) potions master but Severus had been able to teach him to leave him alone.
"What news do you have for us Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I got a letter from Walden after he disappeared, said he wished to meet with me." Severus said, "I did, he asked me if I was going back if called."
"Bet you enjoyed that." Sirius muttered.
"Not as much as you and Pettigrew enjoyed each other in school." Severus shot back.
"Enough from both of you!" Flitwick said sharply getting both to looking at him in shock, he rarely raised his voice like this, "you are on the same side and if you cannot behave I will put you both in detention!"
"You can't put me in detention!" Sirius said.
"Watch me." Flitwick said, "now Severus what did he have to say to you?"
"Just that, he wanted to know my loyalties, I told him I would go back, then told him to leave after I hexed him." Severus said. "He is a pervert."
"Good for you, never liked the man." Remus said remembering his one and only time meeting the man and how unpleasant a fellow he was. "He is very dangerous."
Everyone here knew the signs and they were going to do all they could to try and stay one step ahead of Riddle. The meeting ended and Severus, Remus and Sirius headed back to Hogwarts. Over the next few months they met but there was not much accept training they could add to these meetings. Remus was frustrated the most, he wished Fate would help more, yet then he remembered she had done so much already. All he could do was wait and see what happened, he knew soon something would happen and there was nothing he could do about it.
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Ah yes nothing like keeping the peace between Sirius and Severus! Got to love Tonks! Oh and as a woman I am biased in that witches are stronger than wizards in my story. Wizards may be really good at duels but witches can do other stuff, some really dark and evil. As for Harry seeing Severus as family, well he is, there was an unbreakable vow made and I would like to think that when such a thing is made it binds both parties to help fulfill the vow. The vow transferred to Harry when his parents died, and both Severus and Harry are starting to realize that bit by bit.
So you know what to do! Review please!