Chapter 10

The Order Meeting

Severus Snape

They are at the Grimmauld. Sirius - he cleaned up good. Gone was the ragged, crazy-looking man. Black had shaved and had a haircut and changed his dressing style, all in a matter of days.

Severus had asked him what had prompted the other man to change so drastically, wondering if he would flirt with Severus, as he usually did. But, Sirius had replied that he wanted to set an example for Harry. He has applied for the DADA post at Hogwarts.

Sirius is dressed in maroon robes, over muggle jeans and a black shirt. He is looking - he is looking handsome and distracting.

"My boy, I realise that Mr Black looks handsome but we do have more pressing matters at hand."

The amused voice belongs to the great Albus Dumbledore. He likes doing this, teasing Severus. He's always teasing Severus. Severus had never realised that the headmaster was so mischievous.

Severus blushes, glaring menacingly at the headmaster who simply offers him a satisfied, mischievous smile.

The order is here for the meeting -Remus, Regulus, the Weasleys, Shacklebolt, Moody, Andromeda, Malfoys and Mrs Longbottom. Nymphadora is at Hogwarts of course. She's in her second year. The kids are also here, the youngest members of the order.

Severus rolls his eyes as he looks at Molly's very red face and Narcissa's disapproving eyes. They are going to discuss horcruxes today. Ron told Molly and Arthur the truth about himself on the condition that they will take it to their graves. Only the order can know, he said.

Albus clears his throat to call for everyone's attention. The meeting is being held in the great hall of the Grimmauld where huge galas and feasts used to take place in the past. It's adorned with huge chandeliers and torches are lit throughout the hall. There are several round tables scattered and they are gathered around the largest table in the room. It's a mahogany oval-shaped beautiful table but the painting of muggle slaves drawn on it is what's annoying everyone.

The Blacks always had a disgusting sense of humour, Sirius included until he found himself annoyingly attracted to Severus.

"Hello, everyone. We have gathered here today to-"

He's cut short by the opening of the door. It's Bellatrix, in all her mysterious glory. As usual, she's looking unnaturally beautiful. Her irresistible smile is directed at them. She's in a silver dress. It's overflowing on all sides and as usual, it is looking perfect on her. There's no trace of Azkaban on her perfect body. Her long black hair is flowing behind her in curly tresses, unbound and wild just like her.

Despite knowing what she suffered from the Daily Prophet, the order doesn't like her, except for a few people of course.

She walks slowly towards them and stands across Albus.

"I have the recipe of the cure. It's an elf-made potion. You will need elf magic for it," she says, dropping the recipe on the table and levitating it towards Severus, "I have listed the ingredients and procedure. It's difficult but possible. I have used it before."

Everyone looks silently at her.

"How do we know that you're not lying?" Severus drawls.

Her musical laugh spreads throughout the room, making it seem that the entire hall is laughing with her, "as suspicious as ever, Severus. You don't know that. Now, I'll take my leave. I can see that I'm not wanted here. Goodbye, sisters."

She's gone just like that. She disapparates through the wards as if it's as simple as breathing for her.

Remus looks disappointed. He loves her - the poor chap. He couldn't have chosen a woman more complicated or unapproachable. Bellatrix was like the wind. You could feel her all around you sometimes but you can never touch her or control her or expect anything from her. She's unpredictable and wild.

"I'll have a look at it and let you know if I need something," Severus says to the worried order members. Harry and Neville are looking at him with utter relief in their eyes as if he has already made the potion.

That trust - the belief that Severus will brew the potion and bring their parents back - it's disconcerting. Not for the first time, Severus wonders what he did to warrant this trust from these kids. Severus has never been a pleasant man. He's strict and doesn't smile or even laugh.

He's distant and has more than often been called mean and callous. He wants to understand why these kids like him so much.

"I'll brew it. Your parents will be back with you. Don't worry," he finds himself saying, "it might take a long time but they will be back."

The kids nod quietly and Harry murmurs a quiet, "thank you." The kid has become very quiet since that attack. It's understandable but very sad.

"Now, let's move on to these horcruxes," Albus says, "how many horcruxes has he made?"

He's asking the kids who are in high chairs so that everyone can look at them.

"Six," Harry says and then one by one they list it.

"Slytherin's locket."

"Rowena's diadem."

"Helga's cup."

"A journal."

"Ressurection stone."

"Nagini."

Then, they stop and look at each other as if there's something they are withholding.

"Resurrection stone, as in, one of the deathly hallows?" Shacklebolt asks, stunned.

Draco nods and Harry looks directly at Albus, again with that quiet look in his eyes suggesting that he's withholding something.

"What is it?" Albus asks gently, "you can tell us."

"They are all cursed. One will die if one touches them without removing the defences and uncle Regulus has one," says Harry and everyone looks at the man in question.

He takes out a box from his robes and places it in front of the kids. And of course, it's dangerous but they know that the kids know about the Horcruxes and have properly dealt with them before.

So, even though Molly snaps that, "this is absolutely ridiculous. They shouldn't be allowed to touch it," everyone ignores her.

The kids prompt Draco to open the box and he does it before taking the locket in his hand and then immediately dropping it back.

"What happened?" It's Moody who asks this question and the panic in his voice tells everyone that he's attached to Draco.

Moody is constantly vigilant but no one has seen him being concerned about anyone. Compassion is not his thing and it's understandable seeing that one can hardly imagine what horrors this man has seen. He's not quite as ancient as Albus but he was there during the war with Grindelwald.

"This is one of his horcruxes," Draco says and everyone expects him to have it over to Albus.

Even Albus who leans forward to pick up the box is stunned when Draco gives the box to Harry who keeps it inside his robe pocket.

"Harry, we need to destroy it," Shacklebolt says and Molly is glaring so hard at Sirius that if looks could kill, the man would already be dead.

"Yes, sweetheart, it needs to be destroyed. Give it to the headmaster," says Narcissa.

Harry doesn't obey them but the kids do not say anything.

"Our mission is not to destroy it," Blaise says finally and everyone stares at the child.

"Blaise!" Pansy glares at him.

Blaise only sighs in response, "we have to give them something. At the very least, you have to tell them that we won't-"

"No, we needn't tell them anything," Draco says and the other four agree with him Harry even looks directly at Molly before snapping furiously, "don't glare at my godfather. You do not know anything."

"Hey, don't talk to mum like that," says Ron sharply.

"Then, you should ask her to stop admonishing my godfather unnecessarily. It will not stand. He's my dad," Harry glares at the redhead who sighs heavily before muttering in a very exasperated tone, "I'll talk to her."

"Harry, horcruxes are very dangerous. At least, let me cast protective charms on it. I can even give you a locker and you can keep it inside it. You needn't tell me the password," says Sirius, "I don't want you to keep it on your person."

Harry does something very strange then. He looks very arrogantly at Molly before saying in his smug voice, "see. He's very responsible."

It seems that Draco is rubbing off on the boy.

Lucius is smirking while Narcissa is also smiling although both look concerned which is understandable. Horcruxes - only someone monstrous would create them.

"Harry, she's just worried. Don't talk like that with her. You'll feel guilty later on," Ron says reasonably and receives a glare again.

But, Harry hugs Molly silently after that and then the kids leave the hall.

"Sirius, can you show me the locker? This horcrux makes me bitter and angry," Harry calls.

Severus raises his eyebrows in response but doesn't say anything.

Not does Albus.

Sirius follows the kids. He doesn't look at the headmaster. It's impossible to manipulate the man. He has a mind of his own and Albus will never be able to force him to hand over the Horcrux to him.

Everyone knows that.

Albus however only sighs, looking at a loss for the first time.

Remus is the one who speaks up, "well, obviously they have a mission and it doesn't include destroying the horcruxes. I don't see what they will do with them."

"Can someone catch us up?" Says Mrs Longbottom.

"They are from the future. It seems that they used different sorts of time Turners though. Draco travelled as a young man. He seemed in his early twenties but the rest of them - it seems that only their consciousness travelled," Lucius answers, "they don't talk about it and don't tell us what happened in their time but at times some things happen that give us an idea."

"Yes, for instance, James and Lily died in their time and Harry grew up with Lily's sister who mistreated him for some reason and Neville also didn't grow up with his parents," Narcissa says, "it was Severus who told the prophecy to the Dark Lord who killed the Potters but he left Harry alive. Lucius did something that made even Draco detest him. Draco took the Dark mark."

"Draco's behaviour towards me suggests that I died too and Harry sometimes stares at Sirius like he's lucky to have Sirius around. Of course, we don't know why Harry lived with Petunia and not with Sirius. Sirius has custody rights, of course, being his godfather," Severus mutters.

Albus clears his throat before speaking his mind, "little Harry loves me. He looks up to me. The rest of the kids don't like me much. They are disappointed in me."

Molly murmurs, her voice emotional, "Harry is affectionate with me."

Remus pipes in, "they address me as their professor and Draco apologised to me for being disrespectful but I don't see when they happened. The boy is very polite."

"I don't think that Draco had a sister in his time," Lucius says in a very quiet voice, "I think I got the child aborted."

Albus is looking at Lucius calculatingly. Severus wonders what the man is thinking.

"I think that I mistreated Neville in some way. I think that I raised him alone. The child doesn't like me much and he knows me very well," Mrs Longbottom says sadly, "I don't see why would I do that. I love my grandson. He's slightly scared of me and avoids spending time with me. Even when Frank and Alice were fine, he used to avoid me but I didn't notice it at that time."

"They don't tell us anything though and Draco told me outright that he won't ever tell me anything," Lucius says.

Albus sighs again, "well, there's nothing to it then. We know what the horcruxes are. The kids know where they are. The sooner their mission is over, the better it is. Mr Black placed a fake locket in the cave so I don't think Tom would know about his missing horcrux anytime soon. We'll reconvene when Severus has a cure or we find another horcrux."

The meeting ends and everyone goes back to their home. Black squeezes Severus' hand before Severus floos home.

The bad news comes in the evening when he's called by the Dark Lord.

They had known that the turning back of inferi would attract the Dark Lord's attention but they hadn't known that he would link it to the cave.

It did alert him and now Severus is supposed to spy on the headmaster to find Slytherin's locket because it is a prized artefact that belongs to the Dark Lord who wants it back.

Severus thinks that the Dark Lord has told no one about his Horcruxes.

Perhaps, Bellatrix knows. Abraxas must know and now the Dark Lord probably has relocated all of them.

Severus tells this to the headmaster. He goes to the Malfoy Manor to let the kids know.

The Dark Lord wants to know what the prophecy is, more than he did before. Severus heard from Rabastan that Pettigrew had told

the Dark Lord that there is a prophecy related to the Dark Lord and the kids travelled into the past and that the Dark Lord killed the Potters in their time. Of course, the Dark Lord must have thought that he was safe now that the Potters were dead. He must have assumed that he was in danger from the Potters and that the Longbottoms were just collateral damage for him. He wanted to capture the kids to know about the prophecy and obviously about the future too.

It was only a matter of time before the Dark Lord would send a team to the hall of prophecies.

And it hits Severus only just now, pouring whisky for himself that the shortest and quickest way to get inside was through Remus who worked in the department of mysteries.