Notes: My feet hurt from standing in line for nearly 4 hours to take care of some university red tape, I'm starving, and there's still a bunch of stuff I need to o before classes start, but whatever here's the chapter. This one goes out for my BFFF, Crystal. Thanks for reading all the crap I send you, though it may be more than a hundred pages long, and written at 4 in the morning.

Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their lists and especially thanks to those that have reviewed (and whose continued support motivates me to keep this up). You could say this chapter is where the story truly begins.

Chapter 6: First Impressions

….

The next day was quite calm for the genome.

He visited Ollivander at the Hospital Wing right before the crazy old wand maker left, seeing as he was already deemed fit enough to be discharged. He managed to avoid getting lost in the huge castle only because of his abilities as a thief and because of his previous experience traversing large structures. If Zidane had to be honest, the place was simply huge, and more than just being huge, it was fun. There were dozens of secret passages here and there, staircases that changed position, spiraling towers, moving paintings, trick steps, statues that opened up, and towers that could be opened with passwords. In one word; it was a thief's playground.

'Too bad the old man said thieving was strictly prohibited. Just imagine all the treasures that are lurking within the castle!"

The blonde thought with a sigh as he pondered whether treasure hunting would actually be considered thieving.

Zidane really couldn't help it. It was just part of his nature. He wasn't an S classed treasure hunter for nothing. He left his precarious perch on top of the Astronomy Tower and decided to explore the grounds next. There was a large peaceful lake and a cozy hut standing at the edge of a dark menacing forest. He was told it was dangerous inside and not to go in, and since he saw no reason to do so, he just carried on. There would be time to explore later.

Eventually he decided to stop and rest somewhere in the shade, since it really was quite hot outside and he'd had quite enough of stone passages for the time being.

'Say maybe I can rest under that odd looking willow?' Zidane thought, deciding to approach the lonesome tree. It was an odd looking tree, but he supposed that shade would be shade no matter what tree he decided to rest under.

Bad idea.

The moment he got near, the tree attacked him. He was only able to dodge in time as the demon tree tried to slam him with its branches. Why did trees always want to kill him? No, the better question was; why would anyone decide to put a bastardized Iifa in a school full of children?

In his anger he somehow managed to procure a small explosion with 'thievery' as the tree tried attacking him again. The willow fell back as part of its twisted trunk was hit and set ablaze. He was going to go for a second shot, before he was stopped by Professor McGonagall, the strict looking witch from last night. She doused the fire on the tree and berated him for attempting to destroy a rare and valuable species of tree.

"Hey, it's not fair! Iifa's bastard love child here attacked me first!"

That got him reprimanded for his language as well.

After the Whomping Willow incident, the wizards decided to get him out of their hair for the rest of the afternoon, and sent him to the house of another order member, Arabella Figg, there he also met a scruffy ginger-haired man by the name of Mundungus Fletcher. While the batty old lady was nice enough, Fletcher reminded him of some of the shadier dealers he had met in Treno, the stench of cigars and alcohol that emanated from him did not help his image in any way.

Soon Mrs. Figg got in a heated argument with the man, who left to do something along the lines of buying stolen cauldrons. Yep, definitely a dealer. He really wondered how the man ended up joining the Order. Soon he and the old lady settled for tea, well at first she accidentally gave him a bowl of milk that was meant for one of her pets. It was then that he realized that the old lady also happened to be a cat lady; a cat lady with lots of cats. Well, they were supposedly half Kneazle, but still, they looked like cats, cats that seemed to be particularly interested in him.

"Awww see, Hoppy, Tufty and Mr. Paws like you. Now Snowy, stop playing with the nice boy's tail."

Indeed, two of the cats were purring loudly while begging for his attention, a third was sleeping comfortably on his lap, while a fourth was batting playfully at his tail, which he decided to leave uncovered since Mrs. Figg already knew about it. He wasn't going to hide a part of himself like that unless there was danger involved, and of course, he couldn't care less about the stares he occasionally got from the wizards. He'd already learned to ignore them long ago.

Soon however, Mr. Tibbles came in through the cat door with a message. Mrs. Figg was quickly out the door, tartan slippers still on feet and her handbag dangling on one shoulder, while he was left behind with several cats on his person and orders to wait for her until she got back.

….

"I AM GOING TO KILL MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER!"

Those words echoed across the empty street as Harry dragged his large unconscious cousin on his back, Mrs. Figg the old cat lady from Wysteria Walk, now revealed to be a Squib working for Dumbledore, was still shouting curses at the man who was supposed to have been watching him. But his mind was elsewhere. He had just fended off two Dementors and produced a Patronus, which meant he had just performed underage magic, meaning he could be expelled from Hogwarts and have his wand snapped.

The walk back to the Dursley's felt long and agonizing. His muscles felt like they would snap from the exertion of having to drag his large fat cousin, who by the way, weighed more than three times his own weight. His head was also throbbing with the two injuries he acquired the same day, a bump in his head from when he hit it earlier as he was trying to sneak under the window to hear the news, and his most recent addition when his stupid cousin socked him in the face.

After watching Mrs, Figg savagely beat the scruffy looking Mundungus with her handbag (which seemed to be filled with cat food) and getting back to the house, he received an earful from his walrus-like Uncle Vernon and the skinny horse-faced Aunt Petunia, and nearly got kicked right out of the house, stopped only by a surprising howler sent to his aunt. He received a series of letters, first expelling him, then one from Mr. Weasley telling him to remain calm and stay there, finally, and much to his relief, a second letter from the Ministry decided to postpone their decision to expel him until after a hearing on the 12th of August.

Which brought him back to the present.

I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.

He sent the message to Ron, Hermione, and Sirius, snapping at his snowy owl, Hedwig, in the process, which only to make him feel terrible afterwards. He'd make sure to apologize with an owl treat later.

He had expected a fast reply, but no, three days afterwards and he still had no reply whatsoever. And in those same three days his frustration only grew, his only slight relief was that the Dursleys were avoiding him like the plague. Still, that didn't change the fact that everyone was keeping him isolated and in the dark. In few of their letters they almost sounded like they were reprimanding a naughty boy.

But finally after four days since the incident, his answer came in the form of a crash downstairs. Harry knew that the Dursleys were away, so it couldn't possibly be them. When he did come downstairs, wand out, to check who the intruders were, he never expected to find his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Well, technically he didn't get to do much teaching considering he was locked up in a chest for months by an imposter.

"Lower you wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out."

Lupin was there as well, looking older and with more patches in his robes, but he was more than happy to see the man again. There were also several other wizards and witches that came to greet him. He quickly came to like the somewhat clumsy auror, Nymphadora Tonks, who he learned was a metamorphmagus and preferred to be called by her surname. But his curiosity peaked when Lupin introduced him to a certain wizard. It wasn't just because Lupin was the one doing the introductions, unlike the others who had no problems introducing themselves, but also because the slightly short wizard before him hadn't said a word and wore a black cloak and scarf that fully hid his features. All he knew about the strange and somewhat eerie man was that his name was Marcus Crescent.

…

Zidane waited for Harry and Tonks to come back down with all the teen's things ready. He had practically badgered everyone to let him come since he was curious about his future charge, and quite honestly, he wanted some action. Dumbledore was reluctant to let him come since he didn't want Harry to know he was in the Order, mainly because once he became a student, it would make it much harder to get close to the spectacled boy. That's why they decided that a disguise was in need, as well as a fake name. Thusly, Marcus Crescent made his debut once again.

The genome had to admit he was a bit excited, this would be the first time he would get to ride a broom of all things (he had already been explained how to do it and everything, but it wasn't the same), and it would also be his first time visiting headquarters.

After ten minutes or so, Harry and Tonks came down the stairs with the boy's trunk and a birdcage, most likely for his owl. Moody had just reset his magical eye in his socket, which had been previously dumped in a glass of water since it had been having some 'technical difficulties', just as Lupin finished sealing a letter to the boy's relatives.

"Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry-"

"They won't."

"-that you're safe-"

"That'll just depress them."

"-and you'll see them next summer."

"Do I have to?"

Lupin laughed while Zidane raised a hidden eyebrow. 'Someone hates their relatives.'

Then Moody called the boy over an explained exactly what they would be doing. After Tonks cracked a joke, breaking the tense atmosphere, and Kingsley assured them nobody would die, Moody called Harry over to stand next to him, and then called for the genome.

"Crescent!"

Zidane knew what he had to do, it was partially the reason he was allowed to come. He walked up to the wizard, who he noted was a bit taller than him, and began to prepare his spell. The teen before him looked at him curiously and even seemed to strain his vision to see the face under the hood, but to no avail. Zidane had made sure his face was perfectly hidden by a scarf and he even tilted his head forward so his eyes wouldn't accidentally reflect any light and freak the boy out. When the spell was fully charged, he raised a hand, startling the boy, and released the spell, making the boy and even his broom disappear out of thin air.

…

Harry flinched as he saw the hooded wizard raise a hand, and then he felt as if something odd yet completely intangible had enveloped him. He looked down but then saw that he was invisible. Moody patted the wizard on the back being clearly impressed, and many of the other people in the room looked on with amazement.

Once they lifted from the ground after the green signal, Harry realized something about the man he hadn't noticed before. He had cast that spell without a wand. Looking to his side, he saw the wizard again, hood still in place despite the wind, and noticed that his posture seemed very rigid and tense, almost as if he had never flown a broom before.

….

Zidane held onto the broom for his life. He had borrowed this broomstick from one of the Order members who called it a Nimbus 1700. It was more comfortable than he thought a wooden stick jammed near his crotch could possibly be, but that didn't change the fact that he was soaring through the biting cold winds, high in the air, at around one hundred and eight miles per hour. His fingers felt numb even from within his gloves, while he had long lost feeling of his invisible tail. For all he knew, it had most likely frozen tightly around the broomstick since he had curled it there for extra grip. The hood of his cloak had surprisingly stayed in place. Zidane assumed it was because it had frozen solid. The only thing he was thankful of was slight protection that his disguise gave him against the cold.

Zidane mentally grumbled to himself. 'Lindblum never got this cold, even when it snowed it seemed warmer than this!'

After some bickering amongst the members, especially from Moody who wanted to circle around once more to make sure no one followed. The group finally, and much to everyone's relief, landed in a patchy square of grass. After making sure that an invisible Harry was still with them, they decided to move on. Nearby was a series of houses that didn't exactly look…welcoming. Many of them had broken windows and trash piling in the streets.

Moody fumbled with cold fingers for something in his pocket, with a cry of victory he pulled out a silver lighter and clicked it. One by one the lights in the street lamps were sucked into the device, bathing the street in darkness. Moody then beckoned both Harry and Zidane over. Harry had to point himself out because of his invisibility, while the genome moved awkwardly because his tail (and therefore part of his butt) was still very much numb and frozen. He fished out a slip of paper and showed it to them.

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld place, London.

….

"What's the Order of the-" Harry was about to ask but was shushed by Moody.

He, as well as the cloaked wizard next to him, were told to think about what they read. Soon a large derelict looking house expanded from between numbers eleven and thirteen. They walked up to the peeling black door, Harry noticed that 'Crescent' was walking rather slowly and awkwardly, almost stumbling a few times, but just like before he remained silent. Moody soon tapped the door with his wand, and the sound of opening locks greeted his ears.

Inside the place looked just as abandoned as the outside. The only sure sign of life was the quick scuttle he heard behind him, the sound of footsteps from their group, and the faint sound of something being dragged across the floor. It was completely dark so he couldn't see the house's features or really anything. At some point he could have sworn he stepped on something, and because of his slight shock, he bumped into the hooded wizard that had frozen in place in front of him. Moody then did something, and made the old gas lamps flicker to life with a hiss. With the new illumination he was able to see his surrounding and took notice of the dark colored furniture, the grotesque displays, and the house's recurring snake motif.

If he had to take a guess, he would say he was in the house of a very dark wizard, with Voldemort as its interior decorator.

The hooded wizard then turned around to face him, and for a moment he could have sworn he had seen something glow from under the hood. More importantly he wondered how he knew exactly where he was, the black depths from the hood seemingly staring straight at his very soul. Needless to say it made him feel very uncomfortable.

The cloaked man raised his gloved hand once again and he felt the intangible cover disappear. It was then that they were greeted by the plump red headed woman that was Mrs. Molly Weasely, Ron's mother. She was much thinner and paler than before, but it was still good to see the Weasley matriarch.

"Oh Harry, it's lovely to see you!" She whispered, pulling him into a hug and then examining him critically. "You're a bit peaky. You'll need feeding up, but you're going to have to wait a bit until dinner I'm afraid."

She then proceeded to tell the other wizard that 'he' was here, meaning that the meeting would start soon. Harry was going to ask Mrs. Weasely about the house, but instead he was told to quietly go up to the rooms, so as to not wake anything up, and meet with Ron and Hermione who would fill him in since the meeting was for members only. He grumbled under his breath but obeyed and headed up the creaking sets of stairs, looking in disgust at the many 'decorations' that littered the place, like the house elf heads that had been reduced and put up in display.

When he opened the door to the room he was told to go to, he was nearly thrown back as a force collided against him. When he opened his eyes he saw a mass of bushy hair. It was Hermione.

"HARRY! Ron, Harry is here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you?..." Hermione carried on. Harry barely caught her saying something about being sorry and that he couldn't possibly be expelled, but Harry tuned it out since at the moment he was barely getting enough oxygen to stay conscious.

"Hermione, let him breath." Ron said and Hermione released him from her vice-like grip. The redhead had gotten taller over the summer making him look ganglier and more awkward than ever.

"Hedwig!" Harry turned and indeed the snowy owl flew and settled on his shoulder while Ron's owl, Pig flew around their heads.

"She wouldn't stop pecking us, probably knew you'd want an answer." Ron said holding up his hand to show the bite marks. Harry could also see some on Hermione's hand.

Which reminded him…

…

Zidane settled in one of the stools, closest to the door (out of habit), since chairs with back-rests weren't comfortable for his tail. Said tail was currently invisible, but being massaged by him. It was stinging painfully, not just from having nearly been frozen solid, but also because Harry stepped on it earlier in the hall. Sheer willforce was the only thing that stopped him from crying out earlier, though it still being a bit numb from the cold did help.

He was surprised the moment he got in and saw the many people gathered. He was even more surprised when his eyes fell on the ponytailed redhead he had met in Gringotts in what seemed like an eternity ago.

"Bill?"

The redhead reacted to his name and turned around to look at who had addressed him. He looked at him in confusion for a moment and then Zidane realized he still had his hood on. He took it off and saw the redhead look at him in surprise.

"Marcus?"

Zidane grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head and giving a nervous laugh, before offering his hand. "Sorry about that, name's really Zidane, Zidane Tribal."

"Bloody hell, you mean YOU'RE the new member?"

Zidane nodded as Bill shook his hand. The redhead suddenly had a look as if he had just realized something great.

"Then you're not…?"

"Yep."

"Bloody awesome… well then, welcome aboard!"

Suddenly Mrs. Weasley entered the room, closing the door behind her and muttering a spell while pointing her wand. As she made her way past him, she looked at him, passed it off, but then stopped dead in her tracks, turned back to face him, and gave him a once over. Suddenly, she looked like she had just seen someone kick a puppy, but then she turned around and walked away with a fierce look in her eyes, most likely to go strangle Dumbledore by the looks of it.

As he went back to looking at the table, he flinched when his sensitive ears heard some impressive shouting coming from somewhere upstairs.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS FOR A MONTH!..."

It looked like Harry had gone into full angst mode.

….

Harry finished his loud rant, feeling his breath come in gasps, but feeling so much better. Ron and Hermione had their eyes wide and mouth hanging in shock. Hedwig and Pig had wisely decided to take refuge on top of the wardrobe. Hermione had already apologized but he really wasn't in the mood. Soon after he calmed down, at least enough to talk, though his tone was still cold and distant, he began to ask his questions.

"What is this place anyways?"

"The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"And will anybody be willing to tell me just what the Order of the Phoenix is?"

The Order of the Phoenix was, as he learned, an organization created by Dumbledore to put a stop to Voldemort when he first came to power. There were several members, and from the few things Ron and Hermione had gathered from eavesdropping with the Weasely twins' new inventions, the extendable ears, the order was working to keep tabs on Death Eaters, recruit more people, and guard something, well, probably him.

Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione had been helping with clean up duty in the house. And judging by what he saw, the place was really in need of it. Then Fred and George decided to make an entrance and apparate into the room, startling Hermione in the process.

"Hello Harry. We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

The twins attempted to eavesdrop again but then Ginny showed up to tell them that the door had been charmed making such task impossible. They then proceeded to tell him everything that had happened. Apparently Snape was also in the Order, Ron's brothers Bill and Charlie were in the order as well. Bill returned from Egypt and had gotten a desk job here in London. He was also now in a relationship with Fleur Delacour, Beuxbaton's champion from last year's tournament. Charlie was still in Romania, helping to get as many foreign wizards as possible. And also, Percy had gotten in a row with the rest of the Weasleys. Apparently it would be wise to avoid mentioning him in front of Ron's parents. He had never been his favorite out of Ron's siblings, but he had never thought he would turn his back on his family like that. They also mentioned Kreacher, the probably mad house elf that lived here. This was all Hermione needed to start talking about SPEW again.

Suddenly, Harry remembered something he wanted to tell them.

"Have you guys ever seen this hooded fellow, Lupin said his name was Marcus Crescent, he was one of the men that came to take me, and well…he did a spell wandlessly, and not just any spell. He made me and my Firebolt invisible."

"We've never heard of that bloke before. We did hear of a new member, but nothing else, maybe that's him."

"Are you sure? Wandless magic is extremely difficult, and as far as I know, there aren't spells that make people fully invisible. Are you sure it wasn't just a disillusionment charm?"

"I'm sure, I wasn't just blending in, I was fully invisible."

The group was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley who came to tell them that they could come down now. They quickly headed downstairs hoping to catch a snippet about what happened at the meeting. They saw Snape leave since, according to his friends, he never stayed for dinner. And then they heard a crash and all hell broke loose.

Tonks had tripped and knocked down an ugly umbrella stand, and as soon as she did that, the moth eaten curtains that Harry had seen on his way in opened revealing possibly the ugliest he had ever seen in his young life painted on canvas. The woman in the painting was old and had waxy yellow skin, with a crazed look in her eyes, and with a mouth that drooled as she screamed almost as if she were under the Cruciatus curse. Her banshee like screeches reverberated through the house waking up the other portraits who joined in.

"Filth! Scum! By products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds! Mutants! Freaks! How dare you defile this noble house! Get out!"

Meanwhile Mrs. Weasley was trying her hardest to close the curtains but to no avail. Tonks was trying as well, looking quite sorry and embarrassed. But the shouting didn't stop. Harry was already fearing for his eardrums when he saw a long haired man, who Harry immediately recognized as his godfather, Sirius Black.

The woman in the painting took a look at him, and screeched.

"YOOOU. TRAITOR! ABOMINATION! SHAME OF MY FLESH!"

Sirius went to help Mrs. Weasley with the curtains while shouting in an attempt to match the insane looking woman.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

Sirius continued screaming but it didn't seem to help. Just then the door from the kitchen slammed open revealing the exasperated expressions from the people within. Harry saw with some surprise that the hooded man from before pushed past everyone else until he was with Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Tonks. Only instead of helping, he raised his hand as a spell seemed to fly out of it. The spell hit the painting and the moment it hit the woman, there was silence. She was still screaming her lungs out, but there was no sound. Then the hooded individual turned around slowly in a way that it would appear he was looking at the other paintings as if challenging them. The other paintings promptly shut up. Then as if nothing happened he walked back into the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

Sirius seemed to take a sigh of relief and then smiled like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He then turned to Harry. "Hello Harry, I see you've met my mother, I'll have to thank him later for that."

Apparently this was Sirius's old family house. And up until now, they have tried everything to get the portrait to permanently shut up. They had tried bringing it down but it had proven impossible to do since it was likely it was charmed to the wall.

Harry entered the kitchen with everyone else. It was a cavernous room with stone walls that was slightly less gloomy than the other rooms, but that was probably because this room had already been worked on. On one corner of the room was Mundungus Fletcher who he had initially mistaken for a pile of rags. He was woken up by Sirius and was about to light up a pipe until Mrs. Weasley stopped him. She clearly did not approve of the man. Mr. Weasley was reading the newspaper calmly until he saw him and came to greet him. Next to him he could see that Bill and Marcus were talking to each other in whispers so low Harry couldn't even hear Marcus's voice. In front of them were some papers that looked like building plans.

"Journey all right Harry?" Bill asked. "Moody didn't make you go through Greenland did he?"

Marcus scoffed and that was probably the first real sound he had heard from him.

"He definitely tried to." Tonks said before tipping off a candle and making it burn the papers on the table. "Oh sorry!"

Mrs. Weasley put it out and after seeing his curious gaze, she made the paper disappear. She then asked around for people to help out. The only ones she told to stay put were him, Tonks (most likely for her clumsiness), and surprisingly Marcus, even though the hooded man had originally stood to help. Harry wondered briefly if he would ever take off his hood.

It was… unnerving.

Harry went to join Sirius and Mundungus, looking a bit surprised to see that Marcus was right behind him. The scruffy ginger headed man apologized to him for leaving on his shift before, asking to talk privately with Marcus which earned him a look from Sirius. He watched both men sit further away, before flinching as he felt something rub against his leg. Looking down he saw Crookshanks look right up with yellow eyes before rubbing against him in greeting, and then heading over to where the other men sat. To his surprise he saw the ginger cat rub against Marcus while purring quite loudly and meowing to get his attention. He had never seen Crookshanks greet a stranger like that. To his even greater surprise the man picked up Crookshanks carefully, put him on his lap, and began to pet the cat. When Mundungus made a reach for him, the cat bared his fangs and hissed at him. Beside him, Sirius laughed.

"That cat is a good judge of character."

For reasons unknown to him, those worlds made him feel only slightly calmer. Harry then learned that the reason Mundungus was in the Order was because of his connections to the several crooks, giving him the ability to hear things nobody else did. When he asked about Marcus he was told that he only joined recently and that as far as he knew, the hooded man had combat experience, and was the type of man to have several aces up his sleeve, otherwise nobody really knew much about him.

The conversation then took another turn when Sirius mentioned Harry's small run-in with the Dementors. Apparently all Sirius could do was waste around the house and help clean, since Voldemort probably knew about his animagus form by now. The ministry too was still after Sirius, making it impossible for him to get a break.

Harry sighed and then looked at Marcus. He really wondered what the man looked like underthat hood. From his position here he could only hear whispers from their conversation which was mostly one-sided. It looked like Mundungus was trying to get something from the other man, but the other continued shaking his head. Harry strained his ears but only caught a few words.

"-Trade secret-…-noble-…-information-…-equal share…-could be rich."

Sirius too was eavesdropping a bit on the conversation, but he had clearly a better idea of what was going on. Harry was going to ask him but he was snapped out when he heard Mrs. Weasley shrieking.

"Fred-George, NO JUST CARRY THEM!"

He heard Crookshanks yowl and saw him jump from Marcus's lap before all four looked around and jumped out of the way just as a series of charmed objects flew at them. A metal flagon of butterbeer fell with a crash, making it spill its contents. A cauldron filled with stew skidded along the table, leaving black trail marks on the wood. A heavy wooden breadboard complete with a knife also flew at them, the knife dislodging itself from the wood and flying towards them. Harry only saw a blur of black from where he fell on his back, and the knife was gone. He saw Sirius next to him also on the floor, and a few feet away he could see Mundungus as well. Seeing that Marcus was not next to Mundungus, he looked around and then he saw him. His hood was still in place obscuring his features, but rather than having fallen down, the man was in a low almost animalistic crouch, he would have been on all fours had it not been for the fact that he had in his right hand the same kitchen knife that was flying through the air just seconds ago. The most terrifying thing however, was how he held the knife; it was in a position that could only be described as 'poised and ready to strike', his whole stance suggested experience with blades and the way the hood masked his features made him look all the more terrifying.

"JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DO MAGIC DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD JUST WHIP YOUR WANDS AT EVERYTHING!"

Mrs. Weasley once again shrieked, and this seemed to snap Marcus out of his stance as if he didn't even realize he was in it. The man straightened up and put the knife on the table. Harry then heard a sound emanate from him, and after focusing on the rhythmic sounds he realized the man was chuckling. But it was low and yet light-hearted.

The rest of the meal went without another accident. While Bill was in a deep discussion about Goblin loyalties with Remus, Tonks used her metamorphmagus skills to entertain everyone. Harry of course found himself on the receiving end of Mrs. Weasley's mothering spree. But much to his surprise he wasn't the only one. The Weasley matron also seemed to fuss over Marcus as well, only in a more guarded way. The mysterious man had yet to take off his hood, even to eat, but his posture gave him the feeling he was just as uncomfortable with the attention as he was.

"Nearly time for bed, I think." Molly said with a yawn.

"Not just yet Molly." Sirius interrupted and then turned towards Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

Harry felt indignant. "I did! I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said we are not allowed in the Order so-"

"And they are quite right. You are too young." Mrs. Weasley snapped, all traces of drowsiness gone.

"Since when does one have to be in the Order to ask questions?" Sirius asked, and Harry thought he heard Marcus snort. "He has been stuck in that Muggle house for a month. He has the right to know what has been happening!"

…

'Marcus' felt like rubbing his eyes, he could totally see how this would turn into an argument. The twins, Fred and George, as well as the others were complaining about not getting any information. He really couldn't blame them. Mrs. Weasley was a nice woman, and she could be a real behemoth when it came to protecting her kids, but they had a point, they really were old enough. Maybe it was because he had already set out and traversed the entire Mist Continent alone when he was even younger than them. Hell he practically helped save the world and he was still a bit younger than the twins. Regardless, the woman was missing the point. There was doubtlessly going to be a war and the more her kids knew, the safer and more prepared they would be and that meant they were less likely to die.

Soon the argument escalated. Sirius wanted to tell them everything, Molly wanted them all ignorant, Mr. Weasley was more tolerant stating that Dumbledore knew that they should be at least informed of some things, and Remus insisted it was better for them to know now than for them to get some jumbled up facts later. When Mrs. Weaseley turned to him with her hands on her hips as if daring him to disagree with her, since she already knew he was sixteen, he just raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender. He really didn't want to get involved.

"Well… I see that I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart-"

"He's not your son." Sirius said quietly.

"He's as good as! Who else has he got?"

"He's got me!" Sirius snapped back.

"Yes, the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban hasn't it? Sirius, he is not James!"

Zidane mentally winced, judging by Sirius's reaction, that had hit right below the metaphorical belt. Remus intervened just as Sirius got up to do something he would have most likely regretted later. In the end she practically dragged Ginny upstairs, though she was most likely going to get the facts from that girl, Hermione later, since they all looked like a pretty close knitted group. He was quite happy to see that Harry trusted so much in his friends even after they kept him in the dark. That would help him a lot later, though judging by what he already heard about him, the three had already been through many adventures together.

The adults answered all the teen's questions. He knew by the boy's reaction that he had already known most of these things, most likely from his friends. The explanation was greatly generalized and quite obvious too. Voldemort was waiting his time because he hadn't expected Harry to survive and then tell Dumbledore, Voldemort's worst fear, who quickly got his act together. Because of this, the man had avoided bringing unnecessary attention to himself. But then, if you thought about it, he pretty much failed epically at that too. After the genome entered the picture, Aurors had been posted to guard Diagon Alley, and to make manners worse he had practically blown up part of the street when snake-face decided it would be fun to abduct a wand maker. So yeah, subtlety really had failed. If that didn't make the populace think something was fishy, then he had some really bad news for them, and they had nothing to do with Voldemort.

"Well the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard. It's proven tricky though." Bill said.

"But why?" Harry asked.

"It's the Ministry. You saw Fudge after the third task. He hasn't changed his opinion from last time. He continues to insist that Voldemort has not returned. He has also been heavily relying on the Daily Prophet to make everyone believe that everything's okay, using his influence to also tarnish Dumbledore's name. The only reason he decided to post some Aurors in Diagon Alley was because he got pestered by some of the high ranking members of the Ministry after a string of thefts. He knew he couldn't refuse them and risk losing their favor, and in the end it worked out better for us." Tonks said.

"Wait, so was the Order related to the thefts? And why is Fudge after Dumbledore?"

"Well the first was simply… unexpected luck." Lupin said and Harry noticed how he glanced away and hesitated. "As for why Fudge is after Dumbledore, it is simply because he fears Dumbledore is after his job. Accepting Voldemort's return would mean that the Ministry would face troubles like there haven't been in around fourteen years. This could easily lead to his demise as Minister of Magic if he is unfit to handle it. That's why he thinks this is all an attempt from Dumbledore's part to overthrow him. "

"But, that's preposterous!" Harry cried out. "Dumbledore doesn't want to be Minister of Magic!"

"I agree. But Fudge's mind has been overcome with fear, and people aren't known to think straight when overcome by fear. Fudge only became Minister because Dumbledore rejected the offer, and Fudge liked it. But he stills remembers just how popular Dumbledore was, which frightens him."

Zidane nodded to himself, but then soon tuned out the rest of the conversation since it was all things he already knew. His attention was brought back however when Sirius let his mouth slip. Sure he was all for the kid knowing, but Dumbledore specifically told them to keep this information a secret. And since Dumbledore was his 'employer' he had been forced to accept it as well, though he didn't exactly agree with the man.

"Like what kind of weapon? Something worse than the killing curse?"

"That's enough!" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked after coming back from upstairs and gave Sirius a pointed look. "I want all of you in bed now! You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."

"Why not? I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight." Harry said and Zidane could see the figurative flames in his eyes.

"No. The Order is only compromised of overage wizards. Wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved of which you have no idea about. I think Molly's right, Sirius, we've said enough." This time it was Lupin who spoke.

Mrs. Weasley then dragged everyone upstairs with an iron grip. Harry seemed to resist but then wisely gave up and opted to avoid angering the already furious motherly witch. After the door slammed and they were gone out of hearing range, Zidane then decided to take his hood off, revealing his blonde hair and a bemused expression.

"Well that went well." The genome said sarcastically. "And what was that about? The Order is only compromised of overage wizards?"

Remus rolled his eyes as he heard the blonde say the last with a goofy impersonation of his voice. Sirius of course, being who he is, laughed his heart out.

"Good one!" Sirius said, wiping an invisible tear.

"I had to say something believable. Besides, you're a special case." The ill-looking man said in defense.

"Still, for a moment during the meeting I thought Mrs. Weasley would kill Dumbledore with one of her glares. She obviously doesn't approve of me being in the Order."

"That's mum for you. Should've seen her when I decided to grow my hair out." Bill said with a laugh just as Mrs. Weasley appeared through the door. How did the saying go? Think of the devil and he will appear? Sounds about right.

"Just what do you think you were doing? The one thing Dumbledore told us to keep secret and you let it slip!" Mrs. Weasley said, her wrath obviously directed at Sirius.

"Harry has the right-" Sirius was going to begin, but he was interrupted by Zidane.

"Mrs. Weasley, I know you worry about Harry, but from what I've heard about him and what I saw tonight, even if Sirius almost let it slip, Harry will likely find out about it sooner or later. He won't simply stand down either. He has been the only one to ever defeat Voldemort, and now that he is back, Harry sees it as his personal battle. And as much as you may try to stop it, Voldemort will likely come after him again."

Mrs. Weasley was left sputtering but then regained her voice. "You, young man, shouldn't even be in the Order! Human or non-human, you are still a child! Just because Albus allows it, doesn't mean I should too. Aren't you parents worried?"

Zidane felt like rolling his eyes. Had this woman known just how many 'adult' things he had done in his life, she wouldn't be pestering him like this. The blonde just wasn't used to being mothered. Growing up he never had a mother figure, the closest thing was the pickle lady in Lindblum who would occasionally give them pickles as treats, that was it, end of story. He had always been pretty independent. He didn't even think he had a mother, unless Garland counted, and that image was just disturbing.

'I'm not a damn brat!' Zidane wanted to shout, but the woman had been awfully nice to him so maybe if he tried explaining it to her calmly. Maybe that would be best.

"Mrs. Weasley, I may still be sixteen, and I appreciate your concern, really, but I've already been in wars and am no stranger to fighting. From where I'm from, I'm not considered a child. As for my parents, that isn't a problem since I don't really have any. The closest thing I have to one is the man that raised me and I don't live with him anymore."

The Weasley matriarch was taken aback, not really expecting that sort of answer. Zidane saw the look of pity that crossed her face, and suddenly her tone softened and he had the feeling she wanted to adopt him into her, already large, family. While touching, it wasn't really something he felt comfortable with.

Still, he couldn't exactly blame a mother for wanting to protect her children.

"I'm sorry dear, I-I had no idea." She suddenly looked ashamed for probably 'bringing up bad memories'. "Will you be staying with us? I can always prepare an extra bed if you'd like, it's really not any trouble for us."

"No, thanks a lot, but I'll be staying at Hogwarts. Dumbledore already set up some tutoring lessons for me. And we really should be going right, Tonks?" The teen said politely. At least he'd managed to win her over. He may be a hero and an experienced fighter, but that didn't mean he'd want to be on the receiving end of her glare.

Tonks nodded, suddenly remembering her duty of taking Zidane back.

"Right, goodnight Molly."

He said his goodbyes and pulled his hood back on, leaving the Kitchen and then number twelve altogether. His mind still over today's events.

'That was…interesting.'

To be continued…

…..

A/N: First of all, I understand that the Harry POVS can be kind of tiring since most of you have probably read a similar plot in the book/movie/hundreds of other fics on the site. It is unfortunately a necessary evil which is why I tried to play a bit by switching between the Zidane POV and the Harry POV. It's hard to write a fic without falling back to the original works, especially concerning the plot, but yeah, I'll try to make it less obnoxious.

See you guys next week!