.

So far... Harry and Ginny are on the run from both the Death Eaters and the law. They have set up home in a small house in Harby Port and are making it their own. But Sirius arrived and invited them to a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix at Grimmauld Place. Now read on...

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Chapter 36

Chary Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Part 2

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~~~ Twelve Grimmauld Place ~~~

"Welcome to my home," whispered Sirius, as he led Harry and Ginny over the threshold. "But try not to wake anyone up." He put a finger to his lips. "Shh..."

To Harry, the house had a forbidding atmosphere of decay and decrepitude. The long entrance hall was illuminated by hissing gas lamps; the dull carpet was badly worn and the wallpaper faded and peeling. Grimy ancestral paintings did nothing to lift the gloomy atmosphere.

Mrs Weasley came hurrying out from a door at the farthest end; she looked distraught and pale. She seized Ginny without a word and hugged her tight as if she would never let her go.

"Mum! I'm alright, honestly."

Mrs Weasley relaxed her grip and mumbled incoherently for a while, dabbing at her nose with a plain cotton handkerchief. Harry stood by rather awkwardly until she suddenly noticed him and it was his turn to be embraced. "Thank you, Harry, for looking after our daughter."

Over his shoulder, Harry could see Sirius slipping away towards the door through which Mrs Weasley had emerged. Ginny waited for Harry. The moment he was free, Harry made to follow Sirius, but Mrs Weasley held him back.

"No, Harry, the meetings are only for members of the Order. Your friends are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meetings over, then we'll have dinner.

"What d'you—?"

"I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting - I'll just show you and Ginny where your rooms are."

Pressing her finger to her lips, she led them on tiptoe past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains, behind which Harry supposed there must be another door, and after skirting a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed Harry that the heads belonged to house-elves. All of them had the same rather snout-like nose.

Harry's bewilderment deepened with every step he took. Why on earth did Sirius' house look as though it belonged to the darkest of wizards?

"'Mrs Weasley, why—?'"

"Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I've really got to dash," Mrs Weasley whispered distractedly. "There—" they had reached the first landing, "—that's yours, Ginny, and you're on the next floor up, Harry, the door on the right. I'll call you when it's over."

And she hurried off downstairs again.

Ginny swung her door open and peered inside, then looked back at Harry.

"Is it alright?" he said.

She nodded. "Two beds." She pointed to a collection of bags at the foot of one. "That's Luna's stuff but where's Hermione?"

They tried the next door. "Twin beds in here too," said Ginny. She went further into the room. "That's Hermione's trunk but I don't know whose the other one is."

"Maybe Ron's sharing my room. Perhaps the girls are up there?" said Harry.

They went up the next flight of stairs, crossed the dingy landing, and started to open the door...

Harry caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy, high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair. Hermione had thrown herself on to him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat, while Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed frenziedly in and out of the open doorway, barely missing their heads.

"Harry! Ginny! We were so worried!" Hermione said excitedly, then she called back over her shoulder, "They're here! They're here!"

Hermione pulled Harry a few steps further into the room so Ginny could get in through the doorway, then continued in one long stream of words without pausing, "We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know my letter was useless — but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us — the accusations, the hypocrisy — it's all just outrageous."

"Let him breathe, Hermione," came Ron's approaching voice, grinning as he squeezed past to close the door behind the new arrivals. He seemed to have grown several more inches during their weeks apart, making him taller and more gangly looking than ever, though the long nose, bright red hair and freckles were the same.

Still beaming, Hermione let go of Harry and reached for Ginny. Now Harry saw, further inside the surprisingly big chamber, Neville and Luna with smiles as wide as could be, and Luna dancing from one foot to the other in her delight at seeing them both again and waiting for Hermione to finish hugging Ginny so she could have her turn.

"We wanted to tell you what we knew, mate," said Ron. "Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us—"

"—swear not to tell me," said Harry. "Yeah, Hermione's already said."

The warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of his stomach.

There was a strained silence in which Harry gazed around the room but he clearly was not interested in what he saw, if he saw anything at all.

"He seemed to think it was best," said Hermione rather breathlessly. "Dumbledore, I mean."

"Right," said Harry, very sharply. "Well, guess it doesn't concern me does it! I mean, I'm only on the wanted list of the Ministry, the Aurors, the Death Eaters, everybody really — yet I'm not wanted at all by anyone else!"

'Harry we're really sorry!' said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. You're absolutely right, Harry - I'd be furious if it was me!'

"Harry, it's not their fault," said Ginny, softly.

He swerved resentfully around to face her but the moment he saw her concern he yielded and his shoulders relaxed a little.

"But Luna managed it," he muttered, as a final grumble.

"The headmaster forgot to tell me," Luna said happily. "It's quite handy sometimes, how everyone forgets about me."

"Erm... Luna, we don't..." began Hermione. "It's just..."

"Oh, it's alright, I don't mind. Come and sit down, Harry. We've had six on your bed once." She lowered herself down and patted the quilt. "It's lovely and soft."

"Fred and George are here as well," explained Ron as Harry sat next to Luna. Ginny took her place beside him too. The others sat opposite on Ron's bed.

"So... what's been happening? What are they planning?" Harry said.

"We don't know any details," said Neville, mournfully. "There's well over twenty in the Order we've seen coming and going but we think there's many more. We know some of them are following known supporters and sympathisers of You-know-who, keeping tabs on them, you know."

"Some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order," said Hermione.

"And some of them have been searching for someone," said Ron. "They're always talking about trying different parts of the country, mostly Muggle territory.'"

"Couldn't have been looking for me and Ginny, could they?" said Harry sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron, with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Well, good luck with that. Stupid waste of time. They'll never find us."

"I don't think they want to, anymore," said Luna.

"What?"

"Well, now they've lured you here, they'll expect you to get comfortable and stay. They want to control you, I'm sure."

Harry stared at Luna. "Why? I'm supposed to be the one that does him in — You-know-who! If anyone does it then it's supposed to be me according to the Prophecy. If anything, they should be looking to me to find out what to do!"

"Surely you don't want to control them, Harry?" said Neville.

"Of course not, I'm not a leader, I'm a—"

"But, Harry, that's exactly what you are," said Luna, "but they don't know it yet."

He stared at her at his side and, out of the corner of his eye, he sensed that opposite them, Neville was nodding too. Ginny squeezed his arm. Both Hermione and Ron looked positive.

Harry laughed and shook his head as if at a joke. "I'm no general, not even a corporal, but I'm not going to be regarded as a worthless irrelevance either, it'd be like being back with the..."

"The Dursleys?" said Ginny.

Harry nodded. "I've finished with all that. I'll see what they've got to say but if I'm not included then I don't know why they asked me here."

"Perhaps—" began Hermione.

"I'm not going to be a prisoner here!" snapped Harry, still dwelling on his own thoughts. He got to his feet and began walking back and forth. The others watched him. There was silence for a while, broken only by the mournful creak of the floorboards below Harry's feet and his mutterings which sounded like, "I'll never be a prisoner again..."

"As it happens, we know something ourselves," he said finally.

"What?" said Ron. "What do you know?"

Harry stopped his pacing and turned to face them. He had a crafty smile on his face.

"You must swear not to tell anyone — especially Dumbledore."

"Oh, Harry! We couldn't possibly do that!" said Hermione.

"Yet you swore to Dumbledore to not tell ME anything!" seethed Harry.

"Yes, but..."

"I swear," said Luna.

"I do, too," said Ginny.

There was a long silence.

"We six are the only ones we can really trust," said Harry. "If we can't rely on each other..."

"My word too, then," said Ron, making up his mind at last. "I swear."

"Ron!" said Hermione.

"What? It's up to Harry. If he wants to tell them something then it's up to him, not me."

"I swear too," said Neville.

"Hermione..." said Ron. She shook her head. "Hermione, you can't walk out on us, not now. We're the Six-pack."

"I didn't say I wouldn't... I mean... What if it's life or death?"

"What if it's my life or death if I don't know something because they think I shouldn't be told?" said Harry. "You swore to Dumbledore. What if you discovered I'd be at great risk if you didn't tell me something? And who's to decide? I think it should be me that decides about my own life. The more I know, the better able I am to make decisions about avoiding trouble. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe Dumbledore knew that You-know-who and six or seven Death Eaters were in that shop?"

"Harry!" cried Hermione

"Suppose!"

There was more silence while Hermione thought about it.

"Your call, Hermione," said Ron.

"I'll nag you to pieces if it's serious," said Hermione.

"Nag away — just don't tell anyone unless I say."

"Very well... I swear."

Harry sat down again. "For starters, You-know-who is definitely alive."

There was a gasp from the three opposite him. Luna didn't seem too surprised.

"But he's not been able to fix his wand arm. I don't think he can. All he's managed is a metal stump. And he is totally blind now. His eyes are gone, I think. That fiery gunge set like solid stone. No way he can fix his sight because if they remove that stuff then... You see, it's pressing on his brain. He thinks he might die if that's removed."

"That makes no sense," said Hermione. "He—"

"It's what he thinks though, Hermione! He's not going to consult a Muggle surgeon, is he?"

"And he's suffering - really bad," said Ginny. There wasn't quite the eager relish she had shown when she had first heard but there was still no sympathy in her tone.

"Makes it harder for him to think straight," said Harry.

"A maddened Mackled Malaclaw is as menacing as a Manticore," said Luna, thoughtfully. "You humiliated him. Now he's sitting in the darkness full of hate and thinking only of one thing."

"He's definitely weaker!" countered Harry. "And that's not all..."

"What?" said Neville, for them all.

"They were thinking about trying Moody's eye."

"Harry!" said Ginny. "You never said before."

"It's too horrible, Ginny. You were upset." He looked at the others who were looking back rather stricken.

"I think Mad-eye's alive!" said Harry.

"Harry, that doesn't mean anything," said Hermione. "Did he say?"

"No, but it was a feeling."

"You can't go on that."

"That's all I go on, Hermione! I sense his feelings and I got the impression You-know-who was holding him somewhere in case he might be of use — perhaps to explain how to work the eye or something. Or maybe extract any secrets."

"Harry..."

"And another thing," said Harry, excitedly now, "I can control these visions quite a bit - better than in Snape's lessons actually because Snape knew and was resisting me. The Occlumency I mean. I can reduce the power and the pain when I can't bear it but I can still hear and see stuff sometimes."

"How is this possible though, at a distance?" Hermione frowned. Something wasn't right.

"Dunno. Who cares?" said Harry. "Look this is the best news we've had since—"

"Harry..." persisted Hermione, "you have to tell Professor Dumbledore about this."

"That's up to him, isn't it?" said Harry. "One of the first lessons I learned as a kid was to keep something back when someone has an advantage over you."

"But this is far too important. They need to know," she said.

"And what do I need to know? Ask yourself that." Harry looked up at the ceiling while he thought for a few seconds. "Why did Dumbledore question Ginny's diary? What did he find out?"

"What!" said Ginny. "When was this?"

"Just after the second task — that's when I found out, I mean. He had been questioning it, finding out something, but he wouldn't say exactly what."

"But he has destroyed it now, hasn't he, Harry?" said Ginny, anxiously.

"Yes, it's destroyed alright. But what was its secret? And has it anything to do with me?" said Harry.

"Harry," said Hermione, more firmly. "Dumbledore must be told."

Harry smiled grimly. "He will be... at the right time. Trust me."

"You must let him know immediately. Perhaps he might be able to help Professor Moody."

"Nobody here will tell him," said Harry, quietly, "and Moody is beyond our help."

Hermione bit her lip and her cheeks were flushed. She said weakly, but defiantly, "Yes, they will. I will — if you still refuse. But it would be better coming from you. So you may as well tell him."

"Nice bluff, but no, you won't," said Harry. "You're Hermione Granger, and you gave me your word."

Hermione sagged a little, perched there on Ron's bed, then she rose and went to the window and looked out. "You've compromised us all terribly, Harry."

Ginny jumped to her feet. "Nobody made you agree, Hermione!"

"Hermione," said Luna, "you made a decision to trust Harry, now you should trust your decision. Or do you trust Dumbledore more than Harry?"

Hermione remained silent.

"You don't want to believe what they say about him in the Daily Prophet, Hermione," said Ron.

It was not clear whether Ron was trying to lighten the atmosphere but Hermione whirled around. "Of course, I don't, Ron! This is different!"

"What are they saying about me, Ron? Apart from being a murderer?"

It was Hermione who answered. She spoke very fast, as though it would be less unpleasant for Harry to hear these facts quickly. "They're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something. They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears, they say something like, 'A tale worthy of Harry Potter', and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's, 'Let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next'"

"I don't want anyone to worship—" Harry began hotly.

"I know you don't," said Hermione quickly. "I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going."

"I didn't ask — I didn't want — Voldemort killed my parents!" Harry spluttered. "I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never—!"

"We know, Harry," said Ginny, earnestly. "Don't take any notice of it. You know what Rita Skeeter's like!"

"It's not Rita," said Hermione. "She's not doing work for the Prophet these days."

"She's not?"

"No, she..." Hermione frowned. "Come to think of it, I don't remember anything by her since... just before the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. She turned spite into an art form. By comparison, these other put-downs are mere amateurish gibes. But still... they do enormous harm. I wish we could stop them."

Harry took a turn at the window, deep in thought. Outside, a sparrow suddenly fluttered outwards from the eaves above. It startled him, triggering a memory as it sped away across the square and up into the grey sky.

"Neville..." Harry turned and took his seat on his bed again. "Remember when we were in the owlery last? Dumbledore's Patronus, yeah?"

"What about it?"

"What did you think it was?"

"Some kind of big bird, I think."

"No, I mean, at first, you thought it was something else, not a Patronus at all."

Neville shook his head, then his face lightened. "Oh yes, first off, I thought it was a phantom owl, so I was surprised when it started talking."

"A what?"

"Phantom owl. People conjure them sometime."

"For sending messages? Then why don't we all use them?"

Ron laughed. "They're very unreliable, Harry. Nobody uses them hardly. They go astray or just don't turn up. Many of them, the magic fades before they reach their destination."

"How unreliable?"

"Definitely don't ever use a phantom owl for important or urgent messages," said Neville.

"Yes, but how bad exactly are they?"

"On average, only eighty-two out of a hundred false owls reach the correction destination," recited Hermione, "and twelve of the missing eighteen go to the wrong address which is worse than disappearing if its private, or even secret. Normal owls are quite advanced, magically, and mostly quite intelligent, and very reliable."

Pigwidgeon started fluttering excitedly around the room once again and crashed into a wardrobe upon which it was trying to perch.

"Present company excepted, of course," added Hermione in a lowered tone.

"Why are you asking, Harry?" said Ginny.

"Just wondering about something..."

"It's nice to wonder about things," said Luna absently. She had now taken to the window herself, gazing out dreamily across the square. Harry had thought she wasn't even listening to the conversation.

"Luna, did you ever do that interview with Ginny?" said Harry.

Ginny cut in first, "Yes, a few days after. I'd forgotten about it though."

Luna said, "but it didn't seem appropriate to publish it."

"Why ever not?" Harry frowned at the girl at the window but she didn't turn around. She was waving at someone.

"Nobody can see you, Luna," said Hermione. "We're magically concealed, remember?"

"I know," she said lightly, "but I can see them."

She turned around and smiled as she explained, "Two young people holding hands on a bench in the park; they look very happy." Her expression darkened slightly as she came again to sit down beside Harry.

"It was too late for the next Quibbler and then you were expelled, Harry. You and Ginny were separated. I asked my dad to withdraw the interview. I didn't want to start anyone even thinking about who you were with on that morning after Christmas."

There was a sharp knock then Mrs Weasley appeared in the doorway.

'The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to see you, Harry."

.

~~~ Isolation ~~~

They were surprised to see another new face in the kitchen: Susan Bones was deep in discussion with Remus Lupin and Fred and George. She looked up as they entered and they all exchanged tentative hellos. But that was the height of any effort towards a convivial atmosphere. Harry wondered why she had been at the meeting when he and his friends couldn't and that didn't help his general irritability.

"I came here to try to help!" snapped Harry, after twenty minutes of having his questions blocked. "Sirius, you asked us to join the Order!"

Remus said, "It's for overage witches and wizards only, Harry."

"I meant, join us here," said Sirius, "so you can be part of us."

"But I'm not part, am I? None of us are!" His arms swept around to take in all his friends. "How can we help if nobody will tell us anything?"

"You're just a boy," said Mrs Weasley.

"It's not as if I want to fight," said Harry, "but I need to know as much as possible to help defend myself — not just me, all of us who were in Parry's are threatened."

"We'll protect you, Harry," said Remus, "you're quite safe here."

"Yeah, and what about Snape? What's he doing in the Order? How d'you know he can be trusted? And where's Dumbledore? I wanted to ask about Ginny's diary. How does it affect me?"

Mr Weasley looked up then, and so did his eldest son, Bill.

"Why, what have you heard, Harry?" said Mr Weasley. "It was cursed, wasn't it?"

"I think there's more to it," said Harry. He looked around the faces that were all staring at him; it was disconcerting and he felt uncomfortable suddenly. "Well, I did..." he mumbled, reddening slightly.

He averted his eyes to gaze around the kitchen. Like the entrance hall, it was gloomy, although the glowing fireplace tried to give the room some warmth and life. But iron pots and pans hung threatening from the dark ceiling and there was a pallor of smoke fighting what illumination there was. The long wooden table at which they all sat was laden with the remnants of their meal. He reached for an apple and began toying with it distractedly, head down.

Ginny put her hand on his shoulder and he looked up quickly; he was still the focus of everyone's attention; pitying else annoyed. An urge to flee their attention seized him and he stood up pushing back his chair behind him with a clatter.

"It's not about you, Harry," said Bill. "Are you sure you're not imagining—?"

"It's supposed to be about me!" he flung at them all. "I'm supposed to end this. It always had to be me — just me! I've always been isolated! If the Order won't take me in then I'll do it myself with or without anybody's help."

He stomped out, despite the calls for him to come back. He heard Mrs Weasley say, "What did he mean it's supposed to be—?" but then the door he had pulled hard behind him slammed shut and cut her off.

"Who is this that disturbs the quiet passages of the Noble House of Black?"

Harry froze in astonishment. Before him was an old house-elf, naked except for a filthy loincloth. Its loose, greying skin and decrepit appearance seemed to fit the setting perfectly.

But the ancient elf muttered on to itself as if Harry was merely an item of furniture. "Is it the boy they speak of? Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it."

"I..." began Harry.

"Oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh, the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves. Poor old Kreacher, what can he do?"

"Did you say, 'werewolves'?"

"It's asking as if it is Kreacher's friend."

The elf shuffled hunchbacked, slowly and doggedly, away along the dingy corridor, all the while muttering under its breath in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog's, until it disappeared through a doorway.

Harry trounced up the stairs more thoughtfully than he might have done a few moments before but he was still angry. He sat on his bed fuming, waiting for Ginny to follow him, but she never came. After half an hour during which his spirits sank lower and lower and he felt more and more sorry for himself, there was a faint tap at the door. It was Luna. He went back to his bed to sit down and she followed him, but this time she sat opposite, on Ron's bed.

"You've cursed your own foot, now, Harry. They don't want Ginny to go back with you."

Harry had expected as much so he did not reply.

"They weren't going to even let you go back but—"

"Hah!" huffed Harry. "Like to see them try."

"That's what Mr Black said. He's trying to persuade them again you just want to lie low and Ginny's as safe with you as anywhere. I said if anyone were given Veritaserum they could honestly reply they don't know where she is."

Harry looked up then. "What did they say to that?"

"It helped a bit, I think."

"What about Susan? Why was she there and not us?"

"Oh, she told me she wasn't at the meeting but came in just before us. She and Professor Lupin are planning extra lessons at the school."

"Hogwarts? Why?"

"The headmaster couldn't find a replacement for Professor Moody. I don't know why but he didn't want to appoint Professor Lupin again."

"Why not?"

"I don't know but it seems something bad happens to all the Defence teachers, doesn't it?"

There was a short pause while Harry waited for her to continue but she was gazing at the wallpaper pattern. Finally, he said, "And?"

"Oh, yes, the Ministry are sending a substitute teacher to teach Defence."

"But that's good isn't it?"

"Well... Professor Lupin examined the Defence curriculum — that's the textbooks and lessons — and she's—"

"I know what 'curriculum' means, Luna!" snapped Harry then immediately regretted it, but Luna sailed on unperturbed.

"—and she's not teaching any defensive spells at all."

"How can she not be going to teach spells? I mean, how can anyone defend themselves without magical spells? That's madness!"

"I know."

"What's the point?"

"I know."

"So...?" said Harry.

"Some of the Gryffindors listened to you when you said you thought You-know-who is coming back and they should prepare themselves, remember?"

Harry nodded. "At least someone takes notice of me," grumbled Harry.

"Oh, I think a lot of people look up to you, Harry, more than you can believe," said Luna. "After Thrust and Parry, the news spread quickly. Students were contacting their families asking what they should do. They weren't sure if You-know-who was really dead, you see."

"You mean... some of them want to take extra lessons from Lupin like we did?" said Harry, suddenly hopeful and excited.

Luna nodded. "And not just the Gryffindors. I don't know if you know, Harry, but years ago, Death Eaters killed many of Susan's relatives. She is one of the most enthusiastic about learning to stand up to them."

"You think she might be leader?"

"Perhaps."

Ron came in at that point. He paused when he saw Luna, then came and sat down beside her. He waited to see if they had finished talking before he spoke.

"Harry, Neville said he supports you first, and the Order second. Hermione told them they're not the only ones who can keep secrets from each other."

"WHAT!" Harry was on his feet, his fists clenched. The tension of the last half hour was ready to spill over into action — any action.

"Calm down, Harry. She's not told them anything." He glanced furtively around the room. "Look, she said it works both ways. If they create a rift then we're all with you."

"We?"

Ron looked puzzled. "Us six of course — the Six-pack. You saved our lives Harry and we don't forget. You did your best to stop us going in that shop. It was our fault — but you saved us and nearly got yourself killed into the bargain. Fat lot of use we were."

Harry couldn't speak for nearly a minute. He sat down again and nodded but it didn't quite convey what he wanted to express. The news about other students apparently believing him together with his five best friends' solid support created a new emotion within him that he couldn't fight.

"You diverted them," he said finally. "Together you five were a real threat. They had to focus on you all, even You-know-who. Gave me time to use the cloak or I'd be dead right now. Seriously, if I had gone in alone, I'd be dead. You lot saved me as much as I saved you."

"Ah... right," Ron murmured to himself. He looked less dejected about it suddenly.

"That's a really nice thing to say, Harry," said Luna, softly.

"Ginny's spitting fire," said Hermione from the door. She came in with Neville. "They're keeping her away from you until they've spoken to Dumbledore. Don't be surprised if she blasts her way in through the wall during the night."

Harry grinned despite himself. Why had he even thought she might give in timidly?

Hermione sat down with Ron, while Neville sat beside Harry.

"So, what's the plan, Harry?" said Neville.

"Plan?" Harry looked around. His gaze fell upon Luna and a faint idea resurfaced within this thoughts.

"What's your dad doing, Luna?"

"Oh, he's supporting you."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes. But it's the right thing to do, don't you think?"

Harry paused. "What circulation, I mean, how many copies of the—?"

"Seven out of every hundred magical households receive the Quibbler by owl," she said proudly. "and hundreds more buy them from vendors and—"

Harry pursed his lips and frowned. "It's not enough."

"What are you thinking of doing, Harry?" said Hermione.

"We here, we all saw what happened, but Fudge doesn't want anyone to hear us. People need to know he's back. Everyone should know. They have to be prepared. It's time to show that Ministry-manipulated Prophet how twentieth-century Muggles do their muck-spreading."

"What about the Order members?"

Harry grinned. "They're not young enough."

.

~~~ The New Wolf Pack ~~~

Together, the six agreed it was best to remain for a while at Grimmauld Place and let things cool off. The Weasleys had time together with Ron and Ginny — enough time, Harry hoped, to appease them. Harry reflected upon how he might get back at the acid publicity of the Daily Prophet and let the public know the real truth. Ron and Hermione were glad of these days together with each other. Susan Bones became more accepted by the six and she even asked Harry for leadership advice which made him laugh. Luna and Neville established means of contact with their families.

"We need more defence lessons at Hogwarts, not less," explained Susan as the seven youngsters gathered together in Ron and Harry's room. "My aunt says Umbridge isn't a real teacher at all but Fudge's assistant."

"Umbridge? Is that the new Defence professor?" said Harry.

"Yes, but she's not a real professor. She has no teaching experience. She's just Fudge's spy."

"Better keep quiet about Lupin then," said Ron.

"Oh, he's organising it really. There's a magic room you see — oh, you probably know already? Anyway, he's making it so it's impossible for the wrong sort of people to find it."

"Who's the right sort then?" asked Harry. "Who's taking the classes beside yourself, Susan?"

"Well, Ernie, Leanne, and Hannah are very keen. Then there's Anthony and Michael and some other Ravenclaws. There are plenty of Gryffindors of course — your brothers, for instance." She looked at Ron who was sitting with Hermione on his bed and only half-listening.

"Fred and George? Must be important then if they're taking it seriously," he said. "Wonder if Mum knows?"

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~~~ Clean Up ~~~

Mrs Weasley was spending these days busily organising cleanup assignments to make the home more habitable and by keeping them occupied they were all distracted somewhat from worrying about their situation. Sirius had stacked up several boxes of unwanted items ready for disposal and was keeping his eye on them.

"Kreacher hates me disposing of what he sees as valuable Black family heirlooms but they are really of no use gathering dust here. He keeps stealing stuff back and hiding it away."

"But some of it does look nice," said Luna.

"Yes, that little brooch is very pretty," said Ginny, lifting it up and holding it against her top.

"You like it?" said Sirius. "You can have it."

They all went through the packages but Sirius was right, most of it was old-fashioned and unappealing. The girls found one or two pretty trinkets each but Harry wasn't interested. He was beginning to become impatient to get away from this dreary house.

As the weeks passed though, all the other youngsters began to feel more and more confined too. Fred and George and Susan left first because they had to prepare for the new school year. In a way, the others envied them but all six knew they were now targets not only of Death Eaters, but all Voldemort supporters. Grimmauld Place began to feel more and more like a prison.

By the time September came, and with it thoughts of Susan and other children returning to Hogwarts with the chance of learning more defensive magic, the six were looking at one another for some action to bring purpose to their situation. They were becoming irritable for lack of it.

"I'll kill that evil little—" cried Ginny one morning. "My brooch is gone!"

"My hairgrip too," moaned Hermione. The girls compared notes and all the Black bric-a-brac they had saved for themselves was missing.

"Kreacher!" yelled Sirius.

"Sirius, he's not right in the head," Hermione pleaded, "I don't think he realises we can hear him."

"He's been alone too long," said Sirius, "taking mad orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little—"

"If you could just set him free," said Hermione hopefully, "maybe—"

"We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order," said Sirius curtly. "And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it."

Hermione, Ginny, and Luna resigned themselves to a desultory search but the house was far too big for them to have much hope of finding anything the old house-elf might have stashed away, let alone anything as small as jewellery.

Harry had more important things on his mind. As the September days slipped away, he wondered how he might return to Harby Port. Even if he could find a way to persuade the Weasleys to let Ginny come with him, it would feel strange to leave the others behind when they were so close, and all of them were in hiding. Would he hear from them ever again, if Dumbledore had his way?

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—oOo—

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Author's Notes

Will the six friends be parted? Or will they unite and become stronger? What can they do anyway to thwart Voldemort and reveal their innocence if they remain isolated? Don't miss the next exciting episode to find out.

Somehow, Mrs Black's portrait screaming never got into this chapter and maybe never will — just in case you were wondering.

I wish to credit J K Rowling with a few of the lines which are brief, fair use, direct or modified quotes from Order of the Phoenix (because I felt they were irreplaceable and the situation unavoidable) to preserve canon as closely as possible unless changed as a consequence of Chary's character.

Many thanks for all comments and reviews. These are most welcome and very encouraging. :)

- Hippothestrowl

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