Hey everyone,
This chapter is going to determine the role of another couple of players in the game. I am going to focus on Dumbledore and Lupin in this chapter and while Dumbledore will come out of this whole thing more or less positively, I can't say the same for Lupin. But let me make one thing CRYSTAL clear. I do NOT intent to keep Lupin as the stubborn fool that he will portray in this chapter and the same counts for those in the Order who will do the same.
By the end of this story I do plan to have Harry come out of hiding and for him to know that he can indeed trust on the Order to have his back – without stabbing it with immoral actions or them acting without a proper conscience or something. However, this is going to take quite a few chapters, so I don't think this story will be over before chapter 25. And naturally we also still have the trial for our "favorite" toad to get through and I might have something planned for the Hogwarts students.
We'll see,

Venquine1990

Chapter 21
Disruptions And Discussions

24th of December 1995
Grimmauld Place, London
Ron's POV

"Hey, hey, hey, you guys made it. What took you so long?" Someone yells as there is actually loud music playing when we enter the basement. "Umbridge. She caused trouble at the Ministry and Fudge sent Percy to Hogwarts to deal with that. Long story, it'll probably be in the Prophet or on the Wireless.""Well, I sure hope not. We keep having to change the channel just to keep the party going. No need for one of Fudgey's boring press conferences, am I right?"
Some woman yells and to the shock and confusion of my siblings and me a lot of those that are in the room with us, who I can only assume are fellow members of the Order, yell and scream their agreement. "Even we're not this bad when we win a Quidditch match against Slytherin and Malfoy. What's going on here?" The twins ask and this actually halts a few of those near us in their tracks. Several of them stare at us

"They do know what we did last night, right?" Someone asks mum derisively and mum glares at the younger woman as she retorts: "Didn't my son just mention Umbridge, who called dips on taking the credit for the whole thing?" The younger woman cringes back and asks: "Sheesh, what's your problem?""Your tone is my problem, Sarah. You're only three years older than my boys, so you have no right to treat them like they're dumb toddlers or something."
Mum's reprimand makes the younger woman wince again and she mutters: "Sorry about that. But come on, we're free from war. We're safe now. You know that, right?" Yet to this mum just coldly states: "I do, but I don't consider that a reason for us to start insulting or belittling each other." Sarah winces again and mumbles: "I guess not. Sorry about that." And while she sulks off, a group nearby pulls her in and I spot her mood quickly perking up again.

"As if the whole confrontation never happened, I swear." I can't help but think and I shake my head at the very thought. Then another person, this one an older gentleman that looks like he could be mum's father in regards to his age, wobbles over and yells: "Hey, hey, hey, long live peace! Here, you lot, have a drink!" And while he slurs quite a bit, he actually pushes a glass with some kind of smoking liquid in my hands as well as Ginny's.
"MARIUS! ARE YOU CRAZY? THEY'RE UNDERAGE! THEY'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR FIREWHISKEY!" Mum yells, loud enough to silence the entire room. But the man seems too drunk to notice this and just slurs: "Ohhh come on, sweetheart. Give me some lovin'. I played huge role in taking the bastard down, you know. Provided Bernard the arrow that he needed to cut through the man's bloody brains. If he even had one."
And while the drunken man laughs at his own horrible joke, one that makes the twins cringe, I can't help but think: "Is he that drunk that he can't even realize he's digging his own grave? Besides, is he trying to insinuate that Bill was there, but too drunk to say his name properly? Or is he that drunk that he compares Bill's red hair with Umbridge's horrible pink cloths?" And this last thought makes me shudder in revulsion and personal disgust.

And then the man really just seals the deal. While he wobbles and almost trips over his own feet a good three times, he tries to get over to mum, who is so furious with him, she doesn't move from where she's standing with her hands on her hips and everything. But then the man trips and grabs onto mum's shoulders, only to try and kiss her as he pulls himself back up. And of course mum reacts by pulling her wand and shouting: "DEPULSO!"
The spell's power shoots the man across the room and he even hits his head onto the many pipes that are above Kreacher's bedroom. He groans as he falls down, but mum is livid. She storms over to him and screams: "MARIUS EVERSOUL! YOU GET YOUR NO-GOOD ASS OUT OF THIS ROOM THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME, I'LL DO IT FOR YOU! AND YOU BETTER NEVER DARE TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT WITH ME AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?"
And her yelling along with the man hitting his head so many times, as he hit his head against each of the pipes as he fell down, seems to have woken the man from his drunken state. He groans and moans: "I – I hear you loud – loud and – oh, my head. I – I'll head – I'll just head home – ugh, home now." Yet a woman who stands nearby rushes over and says: "You are in no state to Apparate or floo home, Marius. I'll help you. Stupefy." And the man slumps in her arms.

"What's your deal, Molly? Why did you have to ruin the party like that?" The woman then has the guts to ask mum. And mum proves that she's not about to let the woman do so as she glares down at her and snaps: "You lot have been partying non-stop since we all came back the other day. I hardly even slept a wink, you lot were so loud in your partying. Kreacher had to remove Walburga's portrait because your partying kept waking her and, as you call it disrupting the party.
So don't blame me if I decide to defend my honor as a married woman and it does the same." And then mum even moves to stand face to face with the woman, yet she speaks softly enough I can't hear her. The other woman does and her whole complexion whitens horribly. Mum then stands back and asks: "So, who deserves to reprimand who here, Sofia?" And while I feel impressed that mum seems to know all these people by name, Sofia shuffles Marius out of the room.

Then suddenly the Floo lights up and Dumbledore steps out. "Ah Ronald, good to see that you and your siblings got here safely. Would you mind stepping out with me? I'd like a private word before we join the party." The man suggests and I nod at him. I hand the twins my drink and ask: "Get rid of this for me, will you?" The twins nod, grins on their faces. And before mum, who is obviously still riled up, can yell at them, they chorus: "Hey Al, you want this?"
Mum falters and Moody grins as he says: "Bring her over, lads." The twins also take Ginny's drink from her and our sister smiles at them gratefully for this. But when they want to hand both drinks to Moody, I notice the man frowning at the glasses. "Hold on a sec. Something's not right." He growls and instantly he has everyone's attention on him. "What do you mean, Alastor?" Someone standing near him asks and he answers:
"Those two were really shaking those glasses while they walked. Firewhiskey, when that happens, starts to smoke, bubble and froth. But that's not the case here. These drinks have been tampered with." And right as the man says this, he aims his wand at the drinks and casts a detection spell. The results, as I have learned after learning these spells myself, present themselves to him mentally and he curses pretty badly afterwards.

"ALASTOR!" Mum yells, but Moody silences her and snaps: "Veritaserum! This damned drink was spiked with Veritaserum! And there was some kind of calming draught in this one, but it had gone sour thanks to the ingredients of the drink; the two of them mixed wrong. That stuff is practically poison." And as an instant response, the man casts a spell to make the drink dissolve into nothing, just like Snape often did with Harry's cauldrons if he failed a potion.
Yet my eyes aren't really on the empty glass, but on the one that's still full. "That was my glass." I mutter and both Ginny and Hermione turn to look at me. "Why would anyone put – NO WAY!" Hermione screams and Ginny also yelps as she realizes the same thing my best friend and I did. "THAT BASTARD WAS GOING TO MAKE ME REVEAL HARRY'S LOCATION! HE WAS GOING TO MAKE ME BETRAY MY BEST FRIEND!"
I yell, my rage and disgust with the man filling every part of my body and setting my every nerve aflame. "HE WAS NEVER DRUNK! HE WAS JUST FAKING IT TO DISTRACT THE OTHERS!" Hermione screams and Ginny yells: "EVEN HIM TRYING TO KISS MUM MUST HAVE BEEN PART OF IT ALL! THAT MUST HAVE BEEN HIS PLAN IN CASE GETTING YOU TO DRINK WOULDN'T WORK!"

"But Marius is a first class idiot. He only earned Acceptables and worse on both his OWLs and the few NEWTs he did study for. There's no way he could have come up with such a thing." Someone tries to say, but then mum snarls and shouts: "SOFIA! IT WAS ALL HER IDEA! SHE MUST HAVE BREWED THE POTION AND USED MARIUS AS HER PERSONAL SCAPEGOAT!" Yet at this I can't help but ask:
"But why? Why would she want me to betray Harry like that?" And a voice speaks words that I really wish the person behind the voice didn't say. "Because the Fidelius is no longer necessary. And because you have been so stupidly stubborn these past few months, Ronald, Sofia decided to make you see sense the hard way." But while Lupin walks over and while his voice is quite similar to when he was my teacher, his words is what I respond to.

I put my feet firmly on the ground, cross my arms and raise myself to my full height as I stare the man down, my gaze conveying how little I think of his words or his own need to stare me down. "I'm not you, Lupin. I don't break like that. I don't have your stupid weakness forged out of years of hating yourself over an illness that really only affects you 12 nights a month. I don't let one part of my character embody my whole personality. I am Padfoot, not Moony or Wormtail."
I think to myself as I continue my stare down with the stubborn fool of a mutt. But while my stance is firm and unyielding, the man's is calm and self-confident. And this is emulated in his tone of voice as he asks: "So where are they?" And because he asks it as if it's only natural that Sirius and Harry should be here, I think: "Two can play that game." And I grin at the man as I say: "They're where they belong, Lupin. Together, like a family is supposed to be.

Like Lily and James Potter wanted them to be." The man looks startled and then he glares at me. But this time I am the one standing calmly and with a confident smirk on my face. And because I spare a quick glance past the man, I notice that there are others that also falter or look startled. To me, this proves that there are people who were planning to argue Harry's right to spend Christmas with his godfather, a fact that really annoys me. But I don't let this show.
Then Dumbledore comes up behind me and the man asks: "Remus, perhaps it's best if you just return to the party. Ronald did just agree to come with me as I wanted to speak with him, after all." The lupine lets out an annoyed breath through his nose, but he does nod and turn around. And when I turn to look at the older man, I notice a troubled look in his eyes as he stares down at me.
I want to grimace at this as it makes me wonder what I will have to do to convince the man that I was in the right and the two of us head up and out of the room. We head for the first room on the ground floor, which shows the huge family tree of the Black Family and once inside, the man asks: "Was that really necessary, Mr. Weasley? Bringing up the Potters like that?" And while the man probably wants to sound curious, he sounds disappointed instead.

I glare at him over this and snarl: "Yes sir, it was. Because whether you like it or not, the Potters are dead! And whether you like it or not, they didn't die for you, me or any of that sorry lot downstairs. They died for their son and whether you realize it or not, you all are taking advantage of that fact. Of the fact that they're dead. You might not be doing it intentionally, but we both know you would not have done what you did if they had been alive.
That, if nothin else, you would have thought twice about doing so or wondered if you should consult them first. And Lupin, of all people, embodies this. He would absolutely hate going behind Lily and James' back to do what's right for Harry, but he has no problem doing so now that they're not here to do what they did so long ago. Like I said, you may not realize it, but we both know that I'm right, that things would have been world's different if they had lived."

The man sighs and I can easily tell that he feels every year of his age right now. But I just don't care as I say: "I'm going to be honest with you, Professor. The last few months, me being Harry's Secret Keeper, me constantly being in the spotlight, it gave me a chance for something. It gave me a chance to reflect upon the last four years. It, more than anything else, made me feel like I was in Harry's shoes. It made me feel what he felt when it comes to being famous.
And sir, I hated it. Maybe not enough to betray Harry, but I did. I've only experienced that kind of pressure for the past two months, but at the same time, I could hardly believe that Harry had been enduring it for the past four years. And more often than not, the thought occurred to me. He never had a choice." At this the man says: "We always have a choice, Mr. Weasley." But I shake my head at him and, while I still feel my anger rage inside me, I remain calm:

"No sir, not always. And I think I know why you have so much trouble misunderstanding this. You're not seeing the vital difference between you and Harry. And no, I don't mean your character or your backstory, sir. I mean your fame. And more specifically when you gained it." The man tilts his head slightly, though I doubt he's aware that he does this, and I notice a look of intense intrigue and curiosity shine in his blue eyes.
"You were already in your adult years when you became famous, sir. And even before you became famous for your defeat of Grindelwald, you were already becoming well known. As a student, a teacher and later a Headmaster. You're comparing your fame to Harry's – or better said his to yours – because you both became very quickly known in your young life. But here lies the key difference. You made yourself known; Harry didn't."

The man's eyes widen and while I sincerely hope that this time will be different from when we met in the Three Broomsticks, while I sincerely hope that this time I really have the man's full attention, I take my shot. "Sir, when you do something, because you have so much age and experience, it's still something incredible, because it's something different from the last time you became known. And because it's been fifty years since you became famous.
But Harry became famous over another's actions and then started doing things on his own. Things that, because the war was so horrible, aren't as vital to the wizarding world as Riddle's defeat just don't help him stand out, like you do when you do something new like finding all those uses behind Dragon Blood. Yes, Grindelwald and Riddle were both horrible, but Grindelwald was horrible to Europe as a whole, while Riddle was horrible to England alone.
Because of that, and because Grindelwald was 50 years ago, Riddle's actions are more at the front of the minds of all those who live alongside Harry. But, when I look back, they don't always live alongside him. In fact, if I look back, sir, more often than not they try to live through Harry. They try to be the Boy-Who-Lived, by making Harry be that Boy-Who-Lived. But there are two problems with that. One, they never tell Harry who that is supposed to be. And two, to Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived is the Boy who lost his parents."

By now Dobby has made sure that there is a small table and two chairs in the room with us and the two of us have taken seats on the chairs. Dumbledore has his hands clasped in front of him and his head is leaning on his intertwined fingers. I myself am trying not to look down while I explain this and I gently wrap up my explanation as I say: "I get that you want to forget the last war, sir. But that's no reason to forget those that died in it.
And the Potters? They didn't die for this. They died so their son could live. So he could be happy, healthy and safe. But I don't consider Harry safe, sir. Not from the Order, who just wave his rights away for the sake of their own egos and – and not from some of the students, who just can't seem to decide whether they want to believe Harry to be a hero or the next Riddle. I mean, if I look back at the last four years, Harry had it rougher than anyone I've ever known.
And two of my brothers work with Dragons and Goblins, for Merlin's sake." The statement may have been a spur of the moment, but Dumbledore shows a small smile on his face regardless. I take this as a good sign, a sign that I might be able to just continue and so I do. "Sir, I need you. Because, if you don't mediate between me and the Order – and if necessary a few of the students – I might not be able to let Harry go from where he's hiding for another two and a half years.

And I don't want that, sir. And I know you don't either." And while I may have been against his and the actions of the Order for the last few months, I can't help myself and a little note of desperation and need are heard in my voice. And the man, like always, answers to my need as he mutters: "And neither would Lily and James. And the Order – no, Magical England as a whole – has been ignoring their sacrifice and the cause behind it for too long."
Tears of relief prickle in my eyes as I look at the man, who gazes back at me and asks: "What do you need me to do, Mr. Weasley?" I blink the tears away and answer: "First, you need to make sure that that Sofia and that Marius person get their just desserts. They can't just expect that their attempt of make me betray my best friend will go unpunished, that we'll just accept their trickery like that." The man nods and says: "I'll have Tonks and Kingsley arrest them both."
I smile at the man, his tone proving me why so many, for so long, have been relying on him. But then I remember what Bill told me, of his first conversation with Dumbledore after we got rid of the Riddle part in Harry's scar. And so I say: "Next, like I said, I need you to mediate. You need to make sure that the Order listens to me, but you also need to make sure to warn me when I am going where I might make it impossible to have them listen to me. I can get so furious with some of them, I might say something that will sour the whole operation."

The man nods in understanding and asks: "Anything else?" But I shake my head and say: "Not for the moment. Right now I just want to focus on the Order, my dad and his recovery and our upcoming Christmas holiday. The most you might need to do is make sure that those who want Harry and Sirius here for Christmas break so badly they agree with those two that just left stay away from me. I really don't want to argue with them, not when I can be celebrating with my family."
The man nods and yet he says: "Remus might be difficult to convince of this and he definitely won't like it if I suggest that he might have to spend Christmas elsewhere." Yet at this I turn my head and say: "As long as he keeps the topic of Harry and Sirius at the backburner or just stays in another part of the house when he doesn't want to, I don't care." The man nods and says: "A fair compromise, Mr. Weasley. And one that might help us achieve your goal." And yet again the man's words make me smile and fill me with a renewed sense of hope.

Okay, that happened,
And I'm going to be honest with you all, everything bar the Marius and Sofia part was planned. TO be honest, I wanted to extend this chapter up to the point of Percy and Arthur arriving at London as well, Percy first and Arthur next. But I think I will leave that to next chapter. Also, now I don't just have one trial I need to take care of, I also have two questionings to take care of. And then I might just add Smith's questioning to that as well.
Hot damn,

Venquine1990
PS. You can expect a chapter from Dumbledore's POV sometime soon. I plan to have that be somewhere between now and chapter 24. Oh, and don't worry, he's not as on board as he might be portraying. He's not being manipulative, just a low level of stubborn, like all wizards. You'll see.