A/N: Okay I want to apologize right away to any of you that thought the last chapter was confusing. The person that was watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Hagrid's was Wormtail. I thought I made that obvious but maybe I didn't. And the last meeting was a meeting of the order of the phoenix and if it is as secret as I say it is then I don't think they would use their real names. Can anyone guess who they all were? Ooh pop quiz! Oh well you should be able to figure them out by the end of next chapter (not this one). Ok so for right now here's the next part. Enjoy.
Harry Potter and the Sunfire Ring
Chapter 8: Me?!
Harry woke early the next Tuesday. He dressed quickly and shook Ron awake. "Oy you lump get up! I'm going to breakfast c'mon," Harry said irritably. It was Tuesday, which meant three hours of Snape and his Slytherins this morning. Harry was not looking forward to it!
"Okay, okay I'm up. Give me a minute and let's go!" Ron replied groggily.
Fifteen minutes later the two of them were scooping scrambled eggs onto their plates. "You nervous about Saturday?" Harry asked Ron. Saturday was the 1st quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
"No of course not!" Ron replied with an air of false overconfidence. Just then they were interrupted by Hermione plopping down across the table.
"Good morning!" Hermione said cheerfully.
"Why are you in such a good mood?" Ron asked through a mouthful of toast. Hermione flicked a bit of toast off of her robes, "Cuz I'm gonna ace this potions test today! My Levitation potion works perfectly!" she replied grinning at the look of horror on Harry's face.
"Shit!" Harry swore getting up. "I'll meet you guys there!" he called.
Harry ran up seven stories to Gryffindor tower. He grabbed his bag and sprinted to the library. He spent the next twenty minutes trying to find and memorize a good Levitation potion. Just as he was shoving the book back on the shelf the bell rang. "Shit!" Harry swore again. He was supposed to be I Potions right now and it'd take him at least ten minutes to get down to the dungeons.
He quickly made his way downstairs and ran into the largest dungeon.
"Good of you to join us Mr. Potter. Let's see you are nine minutes late so I think I'll double that. That's eighteen points from Gryffindor!" Snape snapped.
Harry said nothing. He knew better than to argue with Snape. He walked to the only open table. Ron and Hermione threw him apologetic glances from three rows ahead.
"As I was saying, a good Levitation potion will levitate its drinker approximately 2 meters off the ground and will last for about one half hour. You all should know your recipes by now; you all have 2 hours to brew your potions. You may begin," Snape said greasily.
Just as Harry was taking out his ingredients Draco Malfoy wandered into the room. He was nearly twenty minutes late. Snape looked up from his desk as Malfoy walked by. "You're late Mr. Malfoy," he said.
"Sorry Professor, I slept in."
Snape just stared at him for a moment then said coolly, "Well try not to do it again."
"Yes, sir," Malfoy said with a smirk. Glancing around the classroom, his smirk widened and an evil flicker cast across his eyes. The only open spot was at Harry's table.
"Potter," Malfoy said by way of greeting.
"Malfoy," Harry spat back. This class was going to go downhill. First Snape shows his obvious favoritism, and then he has to spend 3 hours working next to Malfoy.
"So Potter, you've been outta the sky for a year now. Try not to fall off of your broom or anything," Malfoy sneered sarcastically.
"Get stuffed Malfoy," Harry sneered back.
They went on like that for the next two hours, Malfoy making snide comments and Harry telling him to get stuffed, or some form of that. Harry was so put out with Malfoy that he hardly noticed what he was throwing into his cauldron. With ten minutes left to work Harry's potion was a sickly orange when it was supposed to be neon blue. There was no way his potion was gonna levitate him, in fact Harry was a bit frightened of what it was gonna do to him.
"Okay you should have added all of your ingredients by now. It needs to simmer for fifteen minutes before we test them," Snape said suddenly.
Harry cleaned up his work area and started to worry. What if his potion was dangerous? What was gonna happen to him?
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Dumbledore himself walked in. A lot of people in he class looked shocked. They hardly ever saw Dumbledore aside from mealtimes. "Professor?" Snape asked.
"Ah yes, Severus, I need Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied. Harry looked relieved, Dumbledore couldn't have had better timing.
"Yes Professor," Snape said scowling as he turned away. "Clean up and go with the headmaster."
Harry excitedly threw out his orange potion and threw his ingredients in his bag. He almost skipped out of the dungeon with Hermione and Ron following him.
"Thank God we got out of there!" Harry said quietly so Dumbledore wouldn't hear him.
"Why? My potion was perfect!" Hermione replied.
"Mine sucked. It was bright orange and I have no idea what it would have done if I drank it!"
"Why was it do bad Harry?" Ron asked. "Did you not find a recipe this morning?"
"Yeah I did but I had Malfoy sitting there hissing insults at me the whole time. I didn't eve notice what I threw in!" Harry said right before running into a very solid something. He stumbled backwards and looked up.
"Careful Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore said smiling while readjusting his glasses. They had stopped right in front of the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "Pumpkin Pasty," Dumbledore said to the gargoyle which instantly sprang to life and stepped aside.
The four of them stepped inside and the stone wall slid back into place. They rode up the moving spiral staircase to the big door to Dumbledore's office.
"Hullo Fawkes!" Harry said as they walked in.
"Are you talking to the bird?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"Yeah."
"You're nutters," Ron muttered.
Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk and gestured for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to take seats opposite him. Fawkes immediately flew over to Dumbledore and landed on his shoulder.
Once they sat Dumbledore smiled and spoke, "Now I'm sure none of you know why I have called you here. There's no way you could. Have any of you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?"
Hermione nodded. "I read it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. The book just said that it was a You-Know-Who resistance movement."
"That's correct. It's very important and very secret. I am the head of it. And I beg that you don't interrupt me," he said as Ron was opening his mouth as if about to speak. Ron quickly snapped his mouth shut looking embarrassed.
"The Order of the Phoenix is based around an age old prophecy. A prophecy about a phoenix bringing forth the two greatest wizards ever in existence one good and one evil. There are currently ten members. We need thirteen. During Voldemort's last reign we had thirteen. Two have since died and one has turned to the dark side."
At that he glanced pointedly at Harry. Harry knew exactly what Dumbledore meant. Harry's parents and Peter Pettigrew, the person who betrayed his parents.
"So now I ask the three of you to join me and nine others in the Order of the Phoenix."
Ron and Hermione just sat dumb-founded staring at Dumbledore and said, "I'll do it." His parents did this, maybe that's why Voldemort had come after them. This was something he felt he had to do.
"I'm in!" Ron said, a smile slowly creeping back onto his face.
"Are you sure you want us, sir? We're not even fully qualified yet!" Hermione said barely above a whisper.
"I'm positive," Dumbledore replied. "In the last four years you three have accomplished more than most people do in their lifetime. In my opinion that makes you perfectly qualified."
That seemed to be enough for Hermione because her face became determined too. "I'll do it."
"That's wonderful! All right, this Saturday you three need to report back here at 9:30 p.m. Tell no one about this. Do you understand? No one must know. Not everyone at this school is trustworthy. Ron, Hermione do you have any questions?"
"Who are the other members?" Ron asked.
"Alas I cannot speak their names aloud for their own safety. You will meet them all on Saturday. If that is it you two may leave, I wish to speak with Harry a moment."
Ron and Hermione shot Harry excited glances before exiting the office.
Dumbledore stared calmly at Harry. Harry' mind raced with questions and thoughts as he stared around the circular room. He'd always loved Dumbledore's office. It was so inviting. Pictures of previous headmasters and headmistresses lined the walls. A small fireplace crackled to the right of Dumbledore's large desk.
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked drawing Harry's attention back to himself. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"Yeah actually, um were my parents, I mean, they were the two you were talking about right?"
"They were," Dumbledore replied. Harry just sat thinking for a moment. A phoenix bringing forth the two greatest wizards ever. That didn't make sense. Fawkes suddenly ruffled his wings as if reading Harry's mind. Wait what had Dumbledore said at the end of last year? That Harry and Voldemort's wands were connected and had come from "Fawkes?" he asked aloud. "Fawkes is the phoenix from the prophecy?"
"He is," Dumbledore said calmly.
"That means that it's Voldemort an-and me?!" Harry said in shock. "The prophecy is about me?"
"It is," Dumbledore replied.
"But wha-how am I on of the greatest wizards ever?"
"Harry you have powers that you do not yet know you posses. I do not even know what you can do. You have had a difficult life Harry and I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't going to get any easier. You are our only chance. Without you we are lost. The world is lost."
Harry was shocked. This was too much. First Dumbledore wanted him in the Order of the Phoenix, the he finds out he's the reason for it.
"Is this why Voldemort wanted to kill me?" Harry asked carefully.
"It's part of it," Dumbledore replied still calm as ever. "Harry do you remember at the end of your 3rd year when I told you Professor Trelawney had made a total of two real predictions?"
"Yes. The one with Voldemort's return because his servant, Wormtail, escaped was the second. You never told me the first," Harry replied curiously.
"Harry, Voldemort know that he fulfilled half of the phoenix prophecy. He spent years carefully searching for the other so he could destroy them before they became too powerful. When your parents were in their 7th year Professor Trelawney came to work here. She went into the same type of trance during James' final that year. Her prophecy is forever emblazoned in my mind."
"What was it? What did she say?" Harry asked anxiously.
"She said that the phoenix prophecy would be fulfilled by the first child of Lily Evans. James and Lily were seriously dating at the time and were most certainly going to be married. Everyone knew that. Some how Professor Trelawney's prediction leaked out. Presumably Peter told Voldemort because only select people knew. So the Order was formed to keep Lily and James and eventually you safe. We also spent much of our time trying to counter Voldemort. Harry, Voldemort was never after your parents for any reason besides they had captured a few of his deatheaters. He was after you."
Harry let out the breath he had been holding. This was way too much. His parents had died simply because they were his parents. After all these years of wondering he really didn't want to know. How does someone react to that?
"Oh," was all he could manage to say.
"Harry I know this is a lot for you to handle. Go to Gryffindor tower. Get some rest. Think things over. You're excused from afternoon lessons," Dumbledore said kindly.
Harry just nodded a glazed look was across his eyes. He slowly turned and trudged back up towards Gryffindor tower. His mind was about to explode. He was one of the greatest wizards to ever live? How is this possible? Why me? He thought to himself. Why me and my parents? Harry barely even noticed were he was going and soon was standing n front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Hello dear!" she said cheerily.
"Grilled cheese," Harry muttered and the Fat Lady swung open. Harry climbed through to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him.
"What'd he want?" Ron asked as soon as he saw Harry.
"Are you alright?" Hermione questioned after noticing the look on Harry's face.
Harry walked right on by barely acknowledging his friends' presence much less answering their questions. He walked straight up the stairs to his dormitory. Once safely enclosed by the hangings of his four-poster the tears that had been threatening since Dumbledore's office finally spilled over.
A/N: Again. Okay everyone please do not skip this author's note. A very good author and friend to people (I personally don't know him) Prongsy is very very sick so if everyone could please put him in their thoughts and prayers and maybe send him a note in a review of his story I'm sure it could help a little bit.