Chapter Two; The Hall of Light

The central meeting place for the Order of the Phoenix had become known as the Hall of Light. Harry had been there only once before for the formality of the Initiation Ceremony. He and all the other Gryffindors had been given official recognition as active members of the Order. Some of them had recently completed their seventh year of education at Hogwarts and could participate in the Orders more demanding activities.

The entire group had been sworn to complete secrecy. If the Ministry of Magic became aware of the Orders existence it was too much to hope for that they would not interfere and expose them. Not to mention that several known Death Eaters were employed among the Ministry. Secrecy and security were paramount to the Orders purpose.

Similar to Harry's new home, the Hall of Light was (according to Hermione anyway,) Unplottable, in addition to having the most powerful Concealment Charms ever devised placed upon it. Members came and went by confidentially issued Portkeys. A specially trained flock of messenger phoenixes were used to distribute them, along with individual assignments and instructions. They were possessed of the ability to disappear and reappear at will, making them exceptionally difficult to intercept and ultimately more reliable than owls.

As Sirius, Harry and Remus suddenly appeared out of thin air in the centre of the lobby, the phoenix took wing, flying off through an archway to their right, presumably back to its aviary.

The lobby strongly reminded Harry of the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts Castle, at least in terms of size. It was huge. But, unlike Hogwarts, it was exquisitely decorated.

A magnificent chandelier was suspended high above their heads. The marble floor was white and gold, so highly polished that it was like standing on a mirror. The walls were decorated with beautiful works of art; unicorns running through ocean waves; dragons soaring effortlessly through raging storms; a moonlit forest with a silver-grey werewolf howling to the moon from the edge of a waterfall and a phoenix singing for joy as it burst forth from a blazing fire atop a mountain peak.

Exotic plants spilled out of beautiful vases. Flowers of every shape and size bloomed in all the colours of the rainbow. Harry's attention was quickly drawn to a sparkling arrangement of lilies that looked as though they were made of fine crystal.

A plumb, dark-haired man in his late forties, dressed in pure white robes came bustling out of an ivy covered archway, fumbling with a long roll of parchment and adjusting his reading glasses. He looked up at Sirius, Remus and Harry, his face splitting into a relieved smile.

'Ah, right on time! Excellent…' He took a violet quill from behind his ear and ran it down the list. 'Let me see, now … Mr Sirius Black, Mr Remus Lupin and Mr Harry Potter, all present and correct.'

He ticked their names off with a flourish beaming at them. 'Not everyone has arrived yet but if you'll just make your way through those double doors there, you'll find the others are congregating in the courtyard.'

'Cheers Claud,' said Sirius, handing over their Portkey. 'Could you tell me if the Weasley's have arrived yet? Or Miss Hermione Granger?'

Harry turned at the questions, immediately pulling himself away from the lilies.

Claud shoved his glasses back up his nose, squinting at the list, muttering. 'Weasley … Weasley … Ah, yes, here they are. They arrived ten minutes ago; they'll be in the courtyard. But Miss Granger has yet to arrive … she has the ten past nine Portkey I believe, so she won't be long. Shall I inform Miss Granger when she arrives that you are looking for her?'

'Thanks Claud, that would be great.'

Moving out of the way so that the next member could arrive safely, Sirius led the way through the double doors into a long corridor lined with numerous suits of armour, the helmets swivelling round to look straight ahead as they entered.

A set of glass doors half way down opened out into the courtyard. A rumble of voices could be heard outside. Stepping through the doors, Harry scanned the crowd, quickly spotting a group of several red heads standing next to the fountain in the centre. As Harry neared the crowd, many stepped back respectfully to allow him through. Mr and Mrs Weasley, along with five of their seven children, looked splendid in their Phoenix robes. Their flaming red hair gave the impression that they were enveloped in fire.

Mrs Weasley began fussing over Harry at once, asking how he was, whether he was enjoying living with his godfather and how he'd done in his exams. Ron had also achieved twelve O.W.L.s of which he was extremely proud, though at the cost of relentless teasing from Fred and George.

Harry was a little surprised to see that Bill, the eldest Weasley brother, was present but not Percy or Charlie.

'Percy couldn't get away from the office,' Mr Weasley explained when Harry inquired about this. 'Keeping an eye on some … ahem … unsavoury characters,' he added, lowering his voice unnecessarily.

'Any idea what the meeting's about, Arthur?' asked Remus.

Mr Weasley shook his head, looking baffled. 'Not a clue. But Albus did insist on Bill attending, said he may provide some valuable assistance later on, but he wouldn't say any more than that.'

'Hmm, I wonder why.' Said Remus thoughtfully. 'Bill's a Curse-Breaker, is he not?'

'Hermione!'

Ron waved over the heads of the crowd as Hermione stepped out into the courtyard. Smiling, she waved back and slipped quickly through the crowd to join them.

'Hello everyone,' she said brightly. 'Does anyone know what's going on?'

'Nope,' said Ron. 'Did you get your O.W.L results? Oh, wait, let me guess … thirty O.W.L.s, am I right?'

'No,' said Hermione, loftily. 'For your information, I only took twelve.'

'What? You didn't try to do more?' Ron looked shocked and grabbed her by the shoulders. 'Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?'

Hermione shook him off. 'Ha ha,' she said blandly. 'Very funny.'

A loud bell rang out across the courtyard. Everyone turned as Claud stood up in front of a set of tall white doors, waving for quiet.

'If I could have everyone's attention, please? Thank you. If you'd like to take your places in the Hall, the meeting will begin shortly.'

The doors behind him swung open. The members of the Order quickly filed in without a word.

The Hall of Light was composed of flawless white marble; tall columns around the room supported the domed ceiling which had been enchanted to show a clear azure sky with an occasional fluffy white cloud drifting slowly overhead. A magnificent round table stood in the centre of the Hall. At least thirty tall, beautifully crafted golden chairs with red velvet cushions were evenly spread around the table.

Many of the Order quickly took their places. As Harry approached one, the chair slid out from under the table of its own accord. Harry stepped in front of it, eyeing the chair cautiously. Slowly, it moved back towards the table and Harry was able to sit down, the chair pushing him up to the table.

Sirius took a seat on Harry's left and Hermione on his right with Ron and the rest of the Weasley's seated beyond her. Remus sat down on Sirius' other side next to an elderly witch Harry recognised as Arabella Figg. She had been Harry's neighbour while he'd been with the Dursley's. Arabella's job had been to keep watch over Harry while he grew up but posing as a Muggle so as not to draw attention to herself or Harry.

Also present were a number of the Hogwarts staff; McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and -

Snape.

Harry's eyes widened. He elbowed Hermione in the ribs and pointed. Hermione blinked hard, stared, looked back at Harry and shrugged. What on earth was Snape doing here? He looked out of place somehow, even though he wore Phoenix robes like everybody else. But since when was Snape a member of the Order?

But Harry was distracted by the arrival of Luke Mossfield and Phoebe Galway, two of the Gryffindors that had helped Harry during Voldemorts attack on Hogwarts. Recently graduated, they were now both in training to become Aurors.

Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell took seats opposite Harry and waved. They too had just left Hogwarts and were working closely with the Order, although details of their work were completely unknown to Harry.

Last to arrive was Neville Longbottom, who quickly threw himself into the last empty seat beside Mundungus Fletcher. Gus was a tall, gruff looking middle-aged wizard with a shaggy grey beard whom Harry had met at the Initiation. From what Harry had heard of him, Gus had been in trouble with the Ministry on numerous occasions for a variety of offences, including dangerous experimental charms and Muggle baiting. Sirius had once referred to Gus as being something of a loose canon with an army officer attitude and the cunning of a fox. But right now, like everyone else in the room, Gus simply looked anxious, impatient for the meeting to begin.

Thankfully they were not kept in suspense for much longer.

Albus Dumbledore swiftly entered the Hall, dressed in the same beautiful fiery robes as the others, with Fawkes, his pet phoenix, perched on his shoulder and Claud trotting at his heels (fumbling with his parchment notes).

He took his place at the head of the table, his cool blue eyes regarding each of them in turn. He looked unusually sombre.

'Thank you all for coming so quickly,' he began. 'As you are already aware, we have an emergency. A very dangerous situation has been brought to my attention and we have very little time in which to deal with it, so I will be blunt.

'Voldemort is planning on sending a Death Eater back in time … on a mission of assassination.'

The tension in the room rose sharply yet no one said a word. All eyes were on Dumbledore, waiting for more.

'The Death Eater will be embarking on his mission in a matter of hours-'

'Well, what are we waiting for? What are we going to do about stopping him?' Gus demanded impatiently, his moustache quivering.

'Hold your horses, Gus,' said Arabella, sternly. She looked back to Dumbledore. 'Albus, what do we know of the Dark Lords plans?'

'Only that the assassin will leave very soon with the intention of altering the past.' He said gravely.

'But what of his target?' Mr Weasley asked. 'Or the time which he intends to change?'

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

'That, I'm afraid, is unknown.'

There was a moment's silence.

'So what you're saying is that we don't know what we're supposed to do about this?' demanded Gus, angrily.

'Of course we do,' insisted Molly Weasley firmly. 'We must go after him, protect the target -'

'But we don't even know who it is!'

' … and stop the Death Eater from changing the past.' Molly glared hard at Gus, daring him to contradict her.

'She's right,' said Vanessa Sprout, nodding. 'What else can we do?'

'We can't go meddling with time,' said Minerva McGonagall coldly, as though the idea was ludicrous. 'Is no one else here aware that to alter the past is against our most important Laws? The Order is not a renegade band of vigilantes. We have no right to take the law into our own hands and mess with time.'

'Yes, why don't you just go and inform this assassin of these laws,' Vanessa replied, sarcastically. 'I'm sure once you've cleared that up with him, he'll realise he shouldn't be playing such games and we'll have nothing to worry about!'

Filius Flitwick spoke up, quickly overriding Minerva's next comment.

'We can't just sit here and do nothing. If he succeeds in killing whoever this target is, it could have numerous effects on the future, on our time! Think about it, he could change time so that the Dark Lord is able to take control, to wipe out the Order of the Phoenix, to destroy those who would oppose him in our time.'

'But we are not supposed to be there!' cried Phoebe. 'Okay, say we did send some people after the assassin … anything we do could have the same consequences! Can we really take that kind of responsibility? To risk causing the same kind of damage that you're saying we must prevent?'

'And what if we don't do anything?' said Gus. 'We simply allow this assassin to get his man? That has just as many consequences and responsibilities. Come on, Albus! You know we ought to at least try!'

'We can't meddle with time.' Minerva repeated stubbornly. 'It's far too complicated.'

'Too late.' Sirius spoke up. 'It's already being messed with.' He looked around at the rest of the Order. 'Look, whoever this target is must to be important to Voldemort in some way. We have to go after the assassin, regardless of the laws.'

'Two wrongs do not make a right, Sirius.'

'And since when is preserving someone's life a 'wrong'? Is it not our duty to protect people lives, whoever they may be? I say it's worth the risk.'

The members continued to argue; some insisting that time should be left well alone and others saying that they ought to go after the assassin and stop him before time became corrupted.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat quietly, listening with rapt attention. Personally, Harry was not thrilled with the idea of allowing a Death Eater to get on with his mission when they could do something to stop it.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, ice-blue eyes darting from one person to the next as they explained their reasons for whichever viewpoint they supported, listening carefully.

Arthur Weasley butted in as the conversation started going in circles.

'Look, whatever we decide we'd better do it soon,' he said evenly. 'While we sit here arguing, that assassin could be on his way.'

Everyone immediately looked to Dumbledore. He looked thoughtfully round at them all.

'Perhaps we can put it to the vote, would that be fair?' he asked coolly.

The Order exchanged brief looks and nods in agreement.

'Very well. All those in favour of sending someone back in time after the Death Eater, please raise your hand.'

Gus and Sirius quickly put their hands up. Molly, Arthur and Vanessa followed suit, Filius Flitwick a moment later. Then Harry raised his hand along with Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fred, George, Neville, and Alicia. Severus Snape also put up his hand. After a few more moments of consideration, Remus, too, raised his hand.

'It is decided then,' said Dumbledore. 'We shall proceed.'

'Um, Albus?' Molly raised her hand again, tentatively. 'I couldn't help but notice you saying that we would send someone back in time?'

Dumbledore nodded.

'Just the one. This is because -' he raised his voice to speak over the sudden spate of confused whispers that had broken out. 'We would need to follow the Death Eater directly as he goes back in time. Since we are unaware of the exact location, we need to intercept the magic that will take him there. It is immensely complex; the slightest thing could go wrong. It would be exceptionally dangerous to risk more than one person, the spell would almost certainly fail.'

'So,' said Gus, folding his arms. 'Who's the lucky Phoenix that gets to go?'

'Ah, yes; now before anyone volunteers, there are some individuals who I must insist on remaining here. Bill Weasley.'

Bill sat up straighter.

'I will require your expertise in Curse-Breaking to intercept the Death Eaters spell when he activates it. Alicia, Katie, I will need you both here as well.'

The two girls nodded, obediently.

'Minerva, Vanessa, Filius, I need the three of you to open the gateway and support a communications link between the two time periods, I don't want our Phoenix to be completely on their own without a means of assistance or a way to get back home.'

McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick also conceded to their duties. Dumbledore turned to the remaining members.

'The rest of you are free to volunteer. But I must remind you all that this task is not to be entered lightly. You must be ever alert for the assassin and identify the target before he or she comes to harm. Rash decisions, impulsive actions could jeopardise the entire structure of the timeline. That must be avoided at all costs. If you feel that you may not be able to cope the demands of this assignment, I ask you not to volunteer.'

There were a few moments of silence. Gus shifted uncomfortably. Harry thought he looked disappointed but resigned, maybe admitting to himself that he shouldn't put himself forward for this. Sirius had his head bowed, deep in thought.

Arabella spoke up first. 'I'm afraid I would be of no use on a mission of this sort,' she admitted heavily. 'I'm just too old to go running around after some young troublemaker. Sirius?'

Sirius looked up.

'Perhaps you would be a more suitable choice?'

'No,' he said firmly, though with obvious reluctance. 'Like Albus said, rash and impulsive? Were they not the trademarks of my youth? And with my temper I'd probably end up doing something really disastrous without meaning to, but then it'll be too late to undo any damage.' He shook his head. 'I'm not the one to go.'

Sirius turned to Remus, but his friend interrupted him before he could get a word out.

'I can't go.'

'Why not?' asked Sirius. 'You're the least likely person to do anything rash. You could probably figure out who the target is and with your knowledge of the Dark Arts and Defence spells, you'd be the best choice, Remus.'

Remus just looked up at Sirius with shadowed eyes.

Slowly, comprehension slid over Sirius' features.

'Oh. Yeah. Right.'

Gus and several others exchanged confused looks.

Remus sighed.

'We have no idea what time the Death Eater is returning to.' He said evenly. 'If I were to go back and find that the lunar calendar has scheduled a full moon for the coming night I would not be of any use whatsoever.'

'But what about the Wolfsbane Potion?' asked Arabella encouragingly.

'I have to take several doses over the week that proceeds the full moon. There is not enough time and multiple doses would have no effect. Ultimately, I would not be able to control my wolf form.'

'The wolf has a point,' Snape sneered unpleasantly, earning him some disapproving glares, all of which he ignored. 'He is too much of a risk.'

'Well then Sev, since you're so eager to volunteer…' Sirius left the challenge hanging, glaring furiously at the Potions Master, a blazing light in his eyes.

Severus returned the glare with equal dislike.

'I am needed here.' He stated coldly.

Sirius looked quickly to Dumbledore who nodded slowly. Sirius folded his arms, still looking angrily at Snape.

'So who's left then? Molly? Arthur?'

But they, too, quickly declined.

'Perhaps one of the young ones should go?' suggested Bill. He looked over at Harry, Ron, and Hermione as he spoke. 'You three have had plenty of experience in dealing with these sorts of situations.'

'Hey, we can't go sending kids!' said Gus.

'Why not?'

'Because - Because this is a very delicate situation -'

'So you don't think they could handle it?' Bill asked coolly.

Gus' moustache bristled.

'I don't see how any child could cope with it. It's dangerous for one thing. Besides, what could they possibly do that an experienced Phoenix can't? They haven't had any sort of training yet!'

Harry, Ron and Hermione all exchanged a look, feeling rather offended. How could they not be able to cope? Hermione had had the use of a Time Turner a few years ago, she was more than aware of the risks involved with time manipulation than anyone and therefore unlikely to do anything to risk altering it. Surely that alone made her a suitable candidate for this.

Ron possessed a brilliant strategic mind. Had he not got them through that giant chess game that guarded the Philosophers stone during their first year? He'd figured out where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was, and the following year he had stood up to Sirius, even though he believed him to be a bloodthirsty murderer at the time, while trying to defend his best friend. Ron would be able to figure who the target was in no time and was quite capable of confronting a Death Eater if necessary.

And Harry, well, he was The Boy Who Lived after all. Had he not faced off with the Dark Lord several times? Battled a Basilisk, Dementors and Death Eaters? Had he not made it through the Triwizard Tournament, a highly dangerous contest designed to put young wizards' skills and prowess against danger to the test?

And Gus didn't think that any of them were potential candidates for this mission?

Maybe Dumbledore noticed their irritation because he said evenly, 'I think that before we rule them out, perhaps we should ask their opinion first.'

Everyone looked round at the three young adults. Harry looked nervously at Sirius, unable to read the expression on his face. Ron and Hermione both seemed to be waiting for Harry to speak first.

Harry cleared his throat and looked directly at Dumbledore.

'Sir, I'd like to volunteer for this mission.'

'Me too,' said Ron.

'And me,' said Hermione.

Harry was relived to see Dumbledore smile. Gus, however, didn't look particularly pleased.

Sirius leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear.

'Harry, you don't have to volunteer, I know Gus can be a bit of a git but-'

'Sirius, I want to volunteer!' Harry hissed back. 'What's the point of me being a Phoenix if I back down from every situation you guys have to deal with? Besides, only one of us can go. It doesn't have to be me.'

Sirius still didn't look happy about it, but he didn't say anything more.

'Are there any more volunteers?' Dumbledore asked the gathering. No one spoke up. He beckoned to Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'Please stand up.'

They did as they were told, ignoring a few looks of scepticism. Arabella gave them an encouraging smile. Dumbledore held out his arm and Fawkes hopped off his shoulder to perch on his forearm, his beady black eyes staring directly at Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'As only one of you three will be able to go, the fairest way of deciding is to allow Fawkes to choose. A phoenix can identify the traits you possess and determine which of you will be most likely to succeed.'

Fawkes spread his wings and flew over the table without a sound to hover in the air in front of them. Then, he burst into song. The beautiful, eerie music reverberated through the Hall, through each of the members and then seemed to centre on Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'State your names.' Dumbledore ordered, his voice sounding distant and faint.

Fawkes turned and stared deep into Harry's emerald green eyes.

'Harry James Potter.' He heard himself say. His voice seemed to echo slightly, like his hearing was trying to focus only on the phoenix song and nothing else.

For a brief second, the eyes of the phoenix glowed a bright green, a reflection of Harry's. Gracefully the bird slowly turned to look at Hermione and then Ron.

'Hermione Granger.'

'Ronald Weasley.'

Each time, their eyes seemed to stare back at them from the phoenix, all the time piping its eerie song. Fawkes fluttered back from them, closed his eyes and bowed his noble head. Harry couldn't take his eyes off the bird even if he wanted too. The music changed slightly, repeating a few notes in quick succession, like it was calling for something … someone.

Suddenly Harry felt something stir, deep within him, a strange warmth, pulsing in time with the music, like the song of the phoenix was being echoed from inside him. Fawkes opened his eyes, turned, spread his wings and soared towards Harry to settle comfortably on his shoulder. The song faded away into silence and Harry turned to see Dumbledore's cool blue eyes sparkling at him.

'The Phoenix has been chosen.'

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To Be Continued

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