It was very clear to Harry that people were still reeling from events of the previous evening when the students and staff assembled for one last breakfast. Dumbledore had made sure the Order members who weren't staff had stayed out of the way, but Harry suspected they were still around, making sure everything ran smoothly with the train departure. Harry and the other Weasleys had already spoken to their friends, so they knew that they wouldn't be leaving with them, although they'd been careful not to reveal that they would be sticking around right up until Voldemort returned.
After a tense breakfast, Harry and the Weasleys said goodbye to their friends. Once the last of the carriages left the school doors, heading down to the station, members of the Order began to appear in the Great Hall. Half the staff were missing, having being assigned to watch the students on the train along with a group of highly trained witches and wizards that Moody had organised. Some of the first members of the Order to arrive were Sirius and Lupin, who settled down at the Gryffindor table with Harry and the Weasleys.
"How are you doing?" Sirius asked his godson as he nabbed a slice of toast from the few leftover breakfast items.
"I'm still in shock to be honest," Harry replied. "I just can't believe Hermione would lie to us like that."
"We shouldn't be surprised after that stunt she pulled with Snape," Ron spat. After the shock of what had happened had worn off, he'd gone right back to hating Hermione and wanting her dead. "She's very adept at lying about her family."
"I wonder just how much was a lie," Remus mused. "I wonder how much of the story she and Snape told was true."
"I'd wager the bit about their father leaving them wasn't true," Ginny piped up. "Hermione said Snape found her and her mother when he was looking for his father. She didn't say as much, but she implied that their father wasn't around."
"Yeah, she made a big deal about how she didn't lie to us about her father, because she never mentioned him," Ron added.
"Did she never mention him?" Sirius asked.
"No," Harry replied. "Not that any of us realised that until she pointed it out."
"Yeah, it was always her mother who dropped her off and picked her up at the train station or Diagon Alley," Ginny said. "I assumed she had a father, but I never asked questions."
"None of us did," Ron muttered bitterly.
"I really don't think it would have made a difference," Remus offered sympathetically. "It's clear this whole thing has been an elaborate set up. Even asking questions wouldn't have helped you figure out who Hermione's father was. Just look at Snape, and the fact no-one knew he was You-Know-Who's son. Those sort of people are good at hiding things."
"Do you think all his Death Eaters knew about Hermione and Snape?" Fred asked.
"I don't know," Sirius replied with a shrug. "You lot were here at the big reveal. Did they seem shocked?"
"The only one not wearing a mask was Bellatrix Lestrange," George answered. "We couldn't see the reactions of the others. And it was hard to tell if she was shocked or not, she spent the entire time she was here cackling to herself."
"I would say Azkaban can do that to a person, but Bellatrix never did have the best grip on reality even before she went to jail," Sirius remarked. "As a Black, she may have been slightly more inclined to lean towards the darkness, but she grabbed it with both hands at a young age."
"She's your cousin, isn't she?" Fred checked.
"Sadly," Sirius replied. "I never did get along with her. I much preferred Andromeda. At least she had the sense not to let the family drag her down into the dark arts. I know from experience it's hard to leave your family behind, even if you don't agree with how they live their life, so I respect Andromeda for leaving the family behind and creating a new one with Ted."
"And what about your other cousin, Narcissa?" Harry asked, interested to hear what Sirius had to say about Draco's mother.
"Narcissa was always a bit of a mystery to me," Sirius confessed. "I never thought she was as devout about the dark arts, like Bellatrix, nor did she shun them like Andromeda. However, she ended up married to a man who has very dark roots. I have no idea how involved in the dark she is, but I do know that the second she got together with Lucius, he became her top priority. My advice would be to watch out for Narcissa, especially if you target her husband or son. She might not be an active Death Eater like her sister, but I think she has the potential to be even deadlier than Bellatrix."
Harry hid his amused smirk, and he reminded himself to tell Narcissa what Sirius thought of her. He knew she would get a kick out of him thinking she was more dangerous than Bellatrix. Hermione would also likely find it amusing as it was very clear that his aunt was not a big fan of Bellatrix.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Ron suddenly asked, turning the subject away from the dark.
"We're waiting for everyone to arrive, and for Dumbledore to make sure the train has set off without incident," Remus replied. "Once we're all gathered, Dumbledore has jobs for everyone."
"Speaking of everyone, where are our parents?" George asked.
"And Percy," Fred added. "I'm assuming he's going to help."
"They'll be here," Sirius replied with a slight smirk.
Before anyone got a chance to ask Sirius what he was smirking at, Ginny let out a loud squeal as she jumped to her feet. When Harry turned to find out what Ginny's problem was, he spotted Molly and Arthur entering the Great Hall with Percy at their side. However, it wasn't Percy that had Ginny so excited. Behind her parents and brother, were her two eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie. Obviously the Weasleys had called in reinforcements.
"I can't believe you two are here," Ginny squealed, throwing herself first at Bill, then at Charlie.
"We can't let you lot have all the fun," Charlie replied with a sad smile.
"How is everyone?" Bill asked.
"Angry," Ron spat. "That bitch deceived us for five years. All the time we were nice to her, and she knew her father was going to try and kill us all."
"We all feel betrayed, Ron," Arthur said softly. "We just have to put our personal feelings aside, and make sure we protect ourselves the best way we can."
"Protect ourselves, how?" Ginny asked. "She's been to our house, she can lead them right to us. And both she and Snape can lead the dark to the Order Headquarters."
"Actually, they can't," Sirius said. "Only a few selected adults can actually reveal the locations of the Headquarters. You might all know the place, but you can't say it or write to down."
As if to prove Sirius wrong, both Ron and Ginny immediately tried to say Grimmauld Place. When that didn't work, they tried to write it down, but again they were foiled.
"Okay, so headquarters is safe," Ron conceded. "But what about our home. Ginny's right, Hermione was there, she can lead her father directly to it."
"He doesn't need Hermione. He could find the place without her help," Arthur said. "Our family house isn't hidden. But let's not worry about things like that now. Right now, we need to concentrate on trying to work out how they entered Hogwarts in the first place, and stop them doing it again."
"You know what would have been useful," Remus said to Sirius. "Our map."
"What map?" Molly asked.
"When we were at school we invented a map which showed where everyone was in the school. It also showed every single hidden passageway and doorway," Sirius explained. "We could have used it to make sure we sealed every hidden entrance into Hogwarts."
"Wow, that sounds like a cool map," Fred said, in obvious awe of the map.
"Not that we've needed it," George added with a grin. "We've found all sorts of hidden passageways and entrances over the years."
"I know a few as well," Charlie supplied.
Molly gave her children an unimpressed glance, but she didn't say anything as she instead turned to Remus. "Why don't you have this map?"
"It was confiscated in our last year," Remus supplied.
"I did think Filch might still have it in his office, but Harry looked earlier this year and couldn't find it," Sirius added.
"You told Harry to look for a map so he could sneak around school?" Molly asked in outrage. "Was that really wise Sirius? Especially with You-Know-Who around. You could have gotten him killed."
"I admit, it was bit reckless," Sirius admitted sheepishly. "But it's not like he found it. Filch must have thrown it away years ago."
"We'll just have to search the castle and secure it without the map," Arthur said.
"Is that what we're doing today?" Ron asked, eager to get on and do something.
"Yes, when Dumbledore returns from Hogsmeade," Remus replied.
Ron began to mutter under his breath about Dumbledore returning, but his complaints were cut off after only a few minutes when the headmaster entered the Great Hall, alongside McGonagall.
"Did everything go okay?" Remus asked.
"It did," McGonagall replied with a nod of her head. "Filius and Alastor have everything under control on the train. Once the students are safely back in London with their families, they'll be back to help us out."
"And what about Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked. "Do we have support there?"
"Most people are wanting to stay neutral," Dumbledore admitted with a grimace. "They don't want to throw themselves in with us, and face the wrath of Voldemort and his Death Eaters if things go wrong."
"Cowards," Sirius spat. "And I'm guessing Rosmerta was firmly on the dark side now she's shagging Snape."
"I didn't speak with Rosmerta, the pub was shut," Dumbledore replied. "But we can't blame the others for wanting to remain neutral. Their homes and livelihoods are at stake if they join forces with us. It was very clear that Voldemort is running a different game this time round. His focus is the Order, and those associated with us. By staying away from us, people could save their homes and businesses."
"And by doing that, they're dooming us all," Sirius snorted. "If we don't defeat him, what do they think will happen? If he takes over, it becomes his word as law. If they then do something he doesn't like, he'll punish them and there'll be no-one to stand up for them."
"Then they'll regret not fighting," Dumbledore said with a weary sigh. "But that's not our problem today, Sirius. Right now, I want this school as secure as it could possibly get. I want every single door and window fully secured and warded. I want secret tunnels and passageways, blocked off. I do not want to give Voldemort the chance to return tomorrow evening."
"We're not leaving, though, are we?" Harry checked.
"No, we're not leaving," Dumbledore answered. "We can't risk that this won't work. We want to try and block Voldemort from returning, but unless we can definitely find out how he entered last night, we have to be prepared for the fact he could take us by surprise again."
"No, it won't be a surprise attack this time," Sirius insisted. "He might be able to get into the school without us knowing how, but this time we'll be prepared for him. We'll be waiting, and we're not going down without a fight."
Several people backed up Sirius, vowing to fight until the bitter end. Dumbledore gave the group a solemn smile, before he started sorting people into either pairs or groups of three. Harry wasn't the least bit surprised when the headmaster asked him to join him on his journey around the school. Sirius clearly wasn't happy to be separated from Harry, but Dumbledore placated Sirius by promising that Harry could join him and Remus after lunch, while Dumbledore did some work in his office.
Leaving the Great Hall, the groups all went in separate directions. Dumbledore led Harry out of the front doors, saying they needed to check the outer most wards. As they walked down to the main gates, Dumbledore was silent and Harry wondered if they would spend the morning not speaking. However, by the time they got the man gates, Harry could tell Dumbledore wanted to talk, he just needed a push to get going.
"We're not going to be able to prevent him from coming back, are we?" Harry asked, playing the part of someone who was concerned with what was happening.
"I don't think so, Harry," Dumbledore admitted with a sigh. "I've spent all night going over the security surrounding the school and its grounds, and I can't find any possible weak spots. I just can't see how they entered the castle undetected."
"You think someone was helping them," Harry concluded. In Dumbledore's shoes, it was the conclusion he would have come to.
"I do," Dumbledore whispered quietly as he set about checking the wards around the outskirts of the castle. "And I don't think Hermione has the knowledge to help with such a thing."
"But she wasn't the only dark person in our midst," Harry said, watching as Dumbledore erected a shimmering blue dome around the entire school as he reinforced the wards.
"No, she wasn't," Dumbledore agreed as the blue light on the dome faded, leaving no trace of the extra protection he'd placed around the castle.
"You think it was Snape," Harry announced.
"Unfortunately, I do," Dumbledore replied in a defeated voice. "I know you're struggling with Hermione's betrayal, and I don't blame you for that, but for me Severus's actions have caused the most damage. Seventeen years ago, he came to me begging for a second chance. Everyone told me I was wrong to trust him, but my instinct said he'd been swept up by the dark arts when he was young and vulnerable, and he deserved a second chance. I gave him that second chance in the form of a career as Potions Professor, and until yesterday I've never regretted it. To tell you the truth, I trusted Severus far more than I did other members of the Order. I think after Minerva, he was the person I trusted the most. To think he's been lying and deceiving me for all these years. It just breaks my heart."
As Dumbledore lapsed into a contemplative silence, Harry scrutinised the old headmaster. He really did believe him when he said that Severus had broken his heart. If it had been anyone else, he would have said they were exaggerating, but not Dumbledore. It had been clear for a long time that Dumbledore made snap judgements on people, and once his mind was made up, nothing could change it. He'd made the decision long ago to trust Severus, and nothing would have changed his mind on the subject of his loyalty. It was just a shame for Dumbledore that he was such a rotten judge of character, and Severus wasn't going to be the only one breaking his heart. Harry had no doubt that his own deflection would prove a severe body blow for the headmaster, and if he did somehow survive his encounter with Voldemort, he certainly wouldn't be trusting anyone ever again.
"Well, we best get on," Dumbledore announced as he cleared his throat. "And Harry, what we've just been discussing, it's just between you and me."
"Of course," Harry promised. "I won't breathe a word to anyone."
"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore said, throwing the young wizard a small smile. "At least I know I can count on you."
"Yes, you can," Harry replied, hiding his smirk as he turned to follow Dumbledore back up to the castle where the useless job of sealing up Hogwarts would continue for the rest of the day.