Chapter 36

"I want to know what's going on!" Harry shouted at his mother as they were getting ready to start another Order meeting.

"Harry, you're too young to be a part of the order."

"This is concerning Voldemort! I want to help fight, you weren't even there in that graveyard. You didn't see dad come out of his wand and tell me what to do, you've experienced none of this and now you're just shutting me out from it!" He sounded as though he was about to cry and Lily froze at the mention of James. "I want to be able to help too because I know more about what happened than you do, just because you fought in the same war before doesn't make you some great war hero, none of you know what it's like to actually face him with a wand in hand because you and dad were too stupid to have your wands with you when he tried to murder you."

"Harry, that's enough." Sirius snapped pulling Lily away from Harry by her shoulder.

"I hate all of you!"

"Are we ready to start this meeting?" Dumbledore asked calmly once Lily and Sirius had returned to their seats at the table.

Lily nodded numbly and Sirius clenched his jaw. Harry had been acting this way all summer and the headlines in the prophet about him hadn't made it any better. Just the other day Dementors had swooped down into the street on Harry and Lily as they were returning home from the muggle grocery store, luckily the ministry couldn't tell if Harry had cast the spell, but it hadn't stopped them from sending a warning letter which in return earned a howler from Lily, only aggravating the ministry even more.

"Let's get a report on the Death Eeaters movements then, Severus if you would please enlighten us."

"Lord Voldemort is hesitant to move forward with any actions towards those he considers unfit to be in our world. He likes the cover he has from the ministry as they have yet to accept he has returned. The Dark Lord is determined to build his army before revealing himself to the world. We have already sent Hagrid and Maxime to parley with the giants, but I think we should take actions against him finding or creating in inferi, it would be best if we have not only the mermaids at Hogwarts on our side, but ones farther up in Scotland and maybe even some of the Italian ones as he is looking to extend his reach outside of England." Severus explained clasping his hands together on the table in front of him and leaning forward. "Any magical creature we could persuade to be on our side would be worth taking a look at, even the werewolf's who are so obedient towards Fenrir Grayback."

Remus stiffened at the mention of the beast who had turned him. He was watching Severus with narrowed eyes, hoping he didn't mean what Remus thought he meant.

"We just so happen to have an agent in our midst as well."

"You're not suggesting we send Remus to suffer and live with other werewolf's?" Lily's eyes widened as she stared at Severus who was sitting next to her.

"It is a possibility Lily and we don't have anyone else we could possibly send." Albus interrupted calmly. "We will keep this idea on the back burner for now and discuss it later. Let's move onto other topics and discuss what kind of creatures we could pull in almost immediately."

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked peering through his bedroom door. She could hear Ron yelling at him for a while before she came down to see what was going on. Ginny, Fred, and George were right behind her.

"He's running away!" Ron yelled exasperatedly.

"Harry, you can't run away." Hermione attempted to placate.

"WHO SAYS I CAN'T?" Harry shouted shoving a final T-shirt in his bag. He grabbed the sack of money off his bedside table and threw it onto the bundle, some of it spilled out onto the covers. He fisted the coins in his hand and pushed them back into his rucksack and pulled it tightly closed.

"Harry," Ginny reached a hand out, but he shrugged her off.

"Come on mate," Fred tried.

"It can't really be that bad?" George asked.

"I'm tired of being kept from everything, I'm going to go find answers on my own." Harry said stomping down the stairs waking the portrait of Mrs. Black in the hall.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron called after him, the door slammed and they were left standing awkwardly in the hall.

"What's going on out here?" Molly Weasley asked, throwing the door of the kitchen open. Sirius rushed up the stairs to shut up his mother and all the other portraits which had awoken.

"Harry ran away," Ginny explained, Lily appeared in the door behind Molly.

"He what?"

"He wanted answers and no one would tell him anything and so he ran away, just moments ago."

"Harry ran away?" Sirius called down the stairs, leaning over the railing.

"Apparently." Lily responded, Remus and Severus appeared behind her as well.

"Well I think this meeting will need to end early. Let's go find Harry." Dumbledore announced from inside and all the wizards began to sweep outside in search of the teenage boy.

"You kids stay here, we don't need anyone else getting lost." Molly told her children.

"I'll stay to watch them." Bill put a reassuring hand on his mother's shoulder and then they watched as she disappeared into the crowd rushing to find Harry.

Harry was sitting silently in the yellowing grass, his eyes fixated on one spot, hoping he might get some answers.

"Hey dad," Harry greeted the headstone. "I wish you were still here. Mum is happy with Professor Snape and Sirius is an okay dad figure, but I just need someone who knows me. Neither of them understand, you were there and I-I want you back permanently. Why did you have to die?"

Harry stood and turned to make his way out of the graveyard in Godric's Hollow, he froze when he saw who was standing at the gate; Severus Snape was watching him without expression, calmly waiting for him to emerge. Giving up on his escape plan, Harry resigned himself to his fate and quietly walked forward to meet his teacher.

"You're here to take me back, aren't you?"

"Your mum is really worried about you." Severus replied.

"I don't want to go back unless I know what's going on. Voldemort is going to recruit people at Hogwarts, he did in your time didn't he?"

"He was a force at Hogwarts which many, including myself, couldn't ignore. He didn't recruit us per say, but we definitely did things we hoped he would notice and praise when we got the chance to meet him."

"I just want to be able to know who to fight, I want to help from inside the walls of Hogwarts because it's bound to reach inside the castle quicker this time than the last."

"I can see your thinking, you're smarter than you look." Harry looked up at the compliment.

"Thanks, I guess." Harry scuffed his shoe along the sidewalk. "What made you decide to betray the Death Eaters?"

"Your mother. I was young and in love and your dad just got to her first. I made some mistakes and I'm very lucky to have a second chance." Severus confided.

"You're really nice when you want to be." Harry told him with a small smile.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Would you prefer me to be mean to you?"

"No, I was just making an observation." He bit his lip. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Right now both sides are trying to gather an army, Voldemort doesn't want to branch out too far as the cover he has from the ministry is a compelling benefit. There's something as well, an object concerning you and your mother, but you more specifically."

"What?"

"It's just a small thing, and The Dark Lord is after it. It may seem inconsequential to a few people, but if it were to fall into his hands the whole world would be in danger."

"How come no one could tell me this?"

"I won't pretend to know why Dumbledore is so determined to keep you in the dark, personally, telling Lily has the same risk if what he's told me is at all true."

"What has he told you?"

"Apparently there is some sort of connection you have to Voldemort, it's also in Lily. He can access any information he wants through the both of you, if he's willing to tell one, I'm not sure what he's thinking."

"I have a connection to Voldemort?" Harry looked up at him, shifting his rucksack.

"Dumbledore seems to think so."

"Can you help me get into Order meetings or tell me what you discussed after they are over with?" Harry asked excitedly.

"I'll see if I can maybe do something, just wait a little bit longer."

"Alright, I think I can do that-thanks professor."

"Why would you just run away like that?" Lily screeched once Harry had been safely returned to the Order Headquarters with Severus.

Harry didn't think a response was necessary and chose to stay silent. He climbed the stairs and slammed his door behind him, Mrs. Black began to wake up but Sirius quickly shut her off.

"Where did you find him?" Lily asked.

"In Godric's Hollow at his father's grave." Severus replied looking at the shut door with narrowed eyes.

"Thank you for returning him home," she paused, "will you be having dinner with us?"

"Not tonight, has Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, he informed me he would be there waiting for news of Harry's safety."

"I need to talk to him tonight about something important. I'll see you on Friday."

"Good night Sev," Lily kissed him on the cheek and he walked quietly out of the house.

Note: Okay, shame on me. I was bored during my classes at school today because everything my teachers are doing is online and so I can pretty much teach myself off their PowerPoints. Anyway, I wrote this and I really like it, I think it's one of my better chapters. I don't know what you think, but still shame for not paying attention in class. :S Please let me know what you thought of this chapter as well, I don't think the next one will come this quickly. Which, read the AN in the previous chapter to know why in case you forgot or didn't bother to read it. :D Bye guys! ~M