Harry watched in amazement as the other phoenixes changed, one by
one, into humans. Within five minutes there were nearly twenty people there
fighting off the death eaters. They death eaters began to quickly
disapperate, as they were being outnumbered and overpowered. Soon, even the
people that were helping Miss Figg changed back into phoenix form and flew
away. Miss Figg, however, came into Zonko's.
"Miss Figg.you're a witch? An animagus? My phoenix? Loke? Why didn't they attack you?" suddenly realizing that he had attacked Miss Figg himself with his never-ending questions, Harry shut up.
"Hello, Arabella, it's been a long time," Sirius said.
"That it has, Sirius. Harry I couldn't say anything before because I was under orders from Dumbledore. Even if I had, would you have believed me?" Harry didn't answer. "Harry, don't worry. I will always stay with you."
"Who were all those other animagi?" Harry asked finally able to speak.
"That was part of the Order of the Phoenix. It was started many years ago to stop the Dark Side from taking over the Earth. You know that the cry of the phoenix is deadly to the Dark Side?"
"Yes."
"Well, it's not really deadly. It was because of the Order that they started saying this. Whenever we come across an attack from the Dark Side, we cry out to the others in the Order. Anyone in the vicinity that belongs to the Order, can hear our cries, so they come out to help us. The reason we chose the phoenix as our animal is because of the immense healing powers they hold. Harry, I don't have time to explain everything to you. You deserve an explanation, but I believe that you are due to meet the Weasleys here soon. We had better get going." With this, she turned back into Loke. They all then returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Oh, my stars," Mrs. Weasley said when she saw them, "are you four okay?" Her face was filled with an odd mixture of fear, happiness, worry, and even more fear.
"Yes, we're fine, mum," Ron said.
"What happened out there?" Mr. Weasley asked, just as worried as Mrs. Weasley had been.
"Well, we saw the death eaters, and we all tried running. Harry got hit in the back and was knocked down. When we noticed that he was passed out, Sirius turned into a dog and grabbed him by his collar to pull him into the new Zonko's," Ron paused, he knew finishing what had happened was more important than expressing his excitement about the new Zonko's. "The weirdest part was when Loke, Harry's new phoenix, transfigured into a woman. Harry seemed to know her. She said her name was Miss Figg."
"Miss Figg?" Mr. Weasley said with a start. "She's here?"
"She's an animagus. She said she's part of something called the Order of the Phoenix, but she wouldn't tell us anything else about it," Hermione answered.
"She talked about the Order?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Yes, have you heard about it?"
"Oh, of course. Working at the Ministry. Nothing like that would ever get past us without our finding out," he replied rather uneasily.
"Well, it's getting late, and we had better get something to eat," Mrs. Weasley said. They decided to eat in the Leaky Cauldron (Harry's treat) and returned to the burrow. When they got back, most of them went to bed. Harry, however asked to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley; he decided what he wanted to do with the money.
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry said," today, Sirius took all of us to Gringotts to pull money out."
"Yes, I know. Ron told us," Mr. Weasley said. Harry could tell they were a bit annoyed that Harry was keeping them up.
"Well, at Sirius's vault, he showed me a note that my mum and dad had left him. It read that they had another vault left in his possession."
"Okay," Mr. Weasley said, "are you going somewhere?" Harry got the impression that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley thought he was trying to make them look poor, so he decided to get as straight to the point as possible.
"Well, Sirius told me that he is giving me the entire vault, and I could do whatever I want with it. Seeing as how I have a large amount already left by my parents, I am only going to take half of this money. The other half I'm giving to you. It is about seven-and-a-half thousand galleons. It is my way of saying 'thank you' for being here for me always."
"Harry, we helped you because we wanted to and we like you. You don't have to-"
"I know I don't have to. I want to, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it."
"Harry, we can't-"
"Too bad! If you don't accept it, I will have Gringotts put it in your vault anyhow."
"Okay," Mr. Weasley said, "Harry, thank you very much. You have no idea how much this will help us."
"Don't mention it. Anyhow, I wanna go to bed now. So, g'night, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."
"Good, night, honey," Mrs. Weasley said finally speaking. "Thank you again. Very much." Harry headed back to Sirius's house. When he got to his room, Miss Figg was already there, waiting for him.
"Harry, it is time I explained more to you. A little bit ago, I was over in Little Hangleton; Voldemort's dad's hometown. I was staying the night in what they like to call the Riddle House (named after Voldemort's grandfather) to make sure no kids came in and mess with it. Or at least that's what they believed. What I was really there for was that the Ministry had gotten word that Voldemort was going to be returning there by one of their ball-gazers. What they didn't see was that he was going to be there looking for me. When he arrived that night, and was looking for me, I set up a portkey and went straight to Fudge. Because of that incident, Fudge sent me to you to make sure you do not get hurt. He does not know about the Order. But, I am going to tell you about it now. It was started a long time ago, and people don't know about us because, if they did, the Dark Side would simply keep away from us. You have already met one of us before. Your friend, Fawkes, belongs to the Order. His real name is Arian Dumbledore; Albus's brother. Plus, Harry, I was talking to the Order about you last month. We are giving you the chance due to your actions and courage that you displayed last year at Hogwarts during the Triwizard tournament, to become part of the Order. I would be your trainer. What do you say?" she finished.
"Of course I wanna join," Harry said right away.
"It is not something to be hasty about, Harry. It's not just a club you can join. It is a major time commitment, especially since Voldemort has now returned. Plus, you cannot tell a single soul about it. Not even Mr. Ron Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger."
"Yes, I know, and I wish to be a part of it. Voldemort is my enemy, and I will do whatever I can to help rid the world of him."
"Okay, well, you have about five weeks before you return to Hogwarts. If you are not able to become an animagus by then, I'm afraid the Order has said that they will not allow you in."
"I understand. Let's get started as soon as possible."
"We'll start in two days."
The next day went by uneventful, except for when Fred and George tried out a new candy on a garden gnome for Harry; after eating the candy, the gnome grew to the size of a small pig, except for it's arms and legs, which stayed the same size. They all had to work together to throw it out of the yard, and, right before they let go, it changed back to normal. They threw it about five hundred feet. Finally, it was night and Harry went straight to bed and fell asleep.
Miss Figg woke him early the next morning. "Harry, wake up," she whispered.
"Huh? Wh-? Oh, yeah." Harry pulled off the covers (he had dressed the night before) and stood up almost immediately.
"I told Sirius that we are going on a trip. I am pretty sure he knows that it is private, since he didn't ask to come along."
"Where are we going?"
"Hogsmeade. I believe Fawkes told me that there was a certain Shrieking Shack still open."
"How are we getting there?"
"Ah, yes. That brings me to your first task; you must learn to apparate."
"But, the underage wizard law-"
"The Order has informed the Ministry. You are excused from this law from here on out. Now, we will start by practicing in here."
"Why?"
"We must start small. If you were to leave any pieces lying around, you would want them to be nearby. Many fully qualified wizards have trouble with this Harry, you must understand."
"Yes, I know."
"Ok, so don't be discouraged if you don't do too well. Now, concentrate very hard on where you want to go and close your eyes. Then, tap your thigh once with your middle finger, and the roof of your mouth twice with your tongue." Harry did so, thinking about how absurd it sounded. He suddenly felt the entire world stretch out and contract back to normal, but he was in a different spot. He felt a little tingle on his right side and, looking down, he had to stifle a scream; he was being held up by part of his desk, because his right leg was still where he had disapparated from."
"My leg."
"Oh, dear. Not to worry, Harry, I have it." She put it in its place and mended it back on with her wand. "Harry that was very good. No wizard would be able to do that on his first try. Do you know what you did wrong?"
"I think I do. Let me try again." He thought about where he wanted to be and ran through the routine. Then, with a small pop, there was no weird feeling this time, he was on his bed.
"Good job. Let's go farther. Try the bottom of the stairs." She then disapparated. Harry thought hard about the steps and then he was there. "Harry, that is great! I don't think anyone picked up on this so quickly. Not even Albus Dumbledore himself. Okay, one more go. Try the paddock next to the Weasley home." With this, she was gone again. Harry was about to go also, when Sirius walked in.
"Harry, I thought you were going with Miss Figg."
"I am."
"Well, if you're going to apparate over there, try going a bit quicker."
"How'd you know?"
"Harry, my favorite, and best, subject in school is divination. I am an excellent seer. Watch this." He closed his eyes and he was on the other side of Harry. "Try not thinking so long, and don't take to long to go through it."
"Okay, thanks. I guess I'll see you when I get back."
"I don't know. Dumbledore has a project for me, and I don't know if I'll be back in time to see you off to school. The Weasleys will take care of you in that case."
"Okay, well.bye. Visit me at school some time." With this he thought about the paddock and was there with Miss Figg right next to him.
"Wow, Harry. That is really great," she said when he arrived there. "I guess we should just go to Hogsmeade see you there. She left, and Harry stood there, about to make the most important move of his life. It was the only thing that could change him as a human being forever. With this thought, Harry disapparated.
"Miss Figg.you're a witch? An animagus? My phoenix? Loke? Why didn't they attack you?" suddenly realizing that he had attacked Miss Figg himself with his never-ending questions, Harry shut up.
"Hello, Arabella, it's been a long time," Sirius said.
"That it has, Sirius. Harry I couldn't say anything before because I was under orders from Dumbledore. Even if I had, would you have believed me?" Harry didn't answer. "Harry, don't worry. I will always stay with you."
"Who were all those other animagi?" Harry asked finally able to speak.
"That was part of the Order of the Phoenix. It was started many years ago to stop the Dark Side from taking over the Earth. You know that the cry of the phoenix is deadly to the Dark Side?"
"Yes."
"Well, it's not really deadly. It was because of the Order that they started saying this. Whenever we come across an attack from the Dark Side, we cry out to the others in the Order. Anyone in the vicinity that belongs to the Order, can hear our cries, so they come out to help us. The reason we chose the phoenix as our animal is because of the immense healing powers they hold. Harry, I don't have time to explain everything to you. You deserve an explanation, but I believe that you are due to meet the Weasleys here soon. We had better get going." With this, she turned back into Loke. They all then returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Oh, my stars," Mrs. Weasley said when she saw them, "are you four okay?" Her face was filled with an odd mixture of fear, happiness, worry, and even more fear.
"Yes, we're fine, mum," Ron said.
"What happened out there?" Mr. Weasley asked, just as worried as Mrs. Weasley had been.
"Well, we saw the death eaters, and we all tried running. Harry got hit in the back and was knocked down. When we noticed that he was passed out, Sirius turned into a dog and grabbed him by his collar to pull him into the new Zonko's," Ron paused, he knew finishing what had happened was more important than expressing his excitement about the new Zonko's. "The weirdest part was when Loke, Harry's new phoenix, transfigured into a woman. Harry seemed to know her. She said her name was Miss Figg."
"Miss Figg?" Mr. Weasley said with a start. "She's here?"
"She's an animagus. She said she's part of something called the Order of the Phoenix, but she wouldn't tell us anything else about it," Hermione answered.
"She talked about the Order?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Yes, have you heard about it?"
"Oh, of course. Working at the Ministry. Nothing like that would ever get past us without our finding out," he replied rather uneasily.
"Well, it's getting late, and we had better get something to eat," Mrs. Weasley said. They decided to eat in the Leaky Cauldron (Harry's treat) and returned to the burrow. When they got back, most of them went to bed. Harry, however asked to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley; he decided what he wanted to do with the money.
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry said," today, Sirius took all of us to Gringotts to pull money out."
"Yes, I know. Ron told us," Mr. Weasley said. Harry could tell they were a bit annoyed that Harry was keeping them up.
"Well, at Sirius's vault, he showed me a note that my mum and dad had left him. It read that they had another vault left in his possession."
"Okay," Mr. Weasley said, "are you going somewhere?" Harry got the impression that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley thought he was trying to make them look poor, so he decided to get as straight to the point as possible.
"Well, Sirius told me that he is giving me the entire vault, and I could do whatever I want with it. Seeing as how I have a large amount already left by my parents, I am only going to take half of this money. The other half I'm giving to you. It is about seven-and-a-half thousand galleons. It is my way of saying 'thank you' for being here for me always."
"Harry, we helped you because we wanted to and we like you. You don't have to-"
"I know I don't have to. I want to, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it."
"Harry, we can't-"
"Too bad! If you don't accept it, I will have Gringotts put it in your vault anyhow."
"Okay," Mr. Weasley said, "Harry, thank you very much. You have no idea how much this will help us."
"Don't mention it. Anyhow, I wanna go to bed now. So, g'night, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."
"Good, night, honey," Mrs. Weasley said finally speaking. "Thank you again. Very much." Harry headed back to Sirius's house. When he got to his room, Miss Figg was already there, waiting for him.
"Harry, it is time I explained more to you. A little bit ago, I was over in Little Hangleton; Voldemort's dad's hometown. I was staying the night in what they like to call the Riddle House (named after Voldemort's grandfather) to make sure no kids came in and mess with it. Or at least that's what they believed. What I was really there for was that the Ministry had gotten word that Voldemort was going to be returning there by one of their ball-gazers. What they didn't see was that he was going to be there looking for me. When he arrived that night, and was looking for me, I set up a portkey and went straight to Fudge. Because of that incident, Fudge sent me to you to make sure you do not get hurt. He does not know about the Order. But, I am going to tell you about it now. It was started a long time ago, and people don't know about us because, if they did, the Dark Side would simply keep away from us. You have already met one of us before. Your friend, Fawkes, belongs to the Order. His real name is Arian Dumbledore; Albus's brother. Plus, Harry, I was talking to the Order about you last month. We are giving you the chance due to your actions and courage that you displayed last year at Hogwarts during the Triwizard tournament, to become part of the Order. I would be your trainer. What do you say?" she finished.
"Of course I wanna join," Harry said right away.
"It is not something to be hasty about, Harry. It's not just a club you can join. It is a major time commitment, especially since Voldemort has now returned. Plus, you cannot tell a single soul about it. Not even Mr. Ron Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger."
"Yes, I know, and I wish to be a part of it. Voldemort is my enemy, and I will do whatever I can to help rid the world of him."
"Okay, well, you have about five weeks before you return to Hogwarts. If you are not able to become an animagus by then, I'm afraid the Order has said that they will not allow you in."
"I understand. Let's get started as soon as possible."
"We'll start in two days."
The next day went by uneventful, except for when Fred and George tried out a new candy on a garden gnome for Harry; after eating the candy, the gnome grew to the size of a small pig, except for it's arms and legs, which stayed the same size. They all had to work together to throw it out of the yard, and, right before they let go, it changed back to normal. They threw it about five hundred feet. Finally, it was night and Harry went straight to bed and fell asleep.
Miss Figg woke him early the next morning. "Harry, wake up," she whispered.
"Huh? Wh-? Oh, yeah." Harry pulled off the covers (he had dressed the night before) and stood up almost immediately.
"I told Sirius that we are going on a trip. I am pretty sure he knows that it is private, since he didn't ask to come along."
"Where are we going?"
"Hogsmeade. I believe Fawkes told me that there was a certain Shrieking Shack still open."
"How are we getting there?"
"Ah, yes. That brings me to your first task; you must learn to apparate."
"But, the underage wizard law-"
"The Order has informed the Ministry. You are excused from this law from here on out. Now, we will start by practicing in here."
"Why?"
"We must start small. If you were to leave any pieces lying around, you would want them to be nearby. Many fully qualified wizards have trouble with this Harry, you must understand."
"Yes, I know."
"Ok, so don't be discouraged if you don't do too well. Now, concentrate very hard on where you want to go and close your eyes. Then, tap your thigh once with your middle finger, and the roof of your mouth twice with your tongue." Harry did so, thinking about how absurd it sounded. He suddenly felt the entire world stretch out and contract back to normal, but he was in a different spot. He felt a little tingle on his right side and, looking down, he had to stifle a scream; he was being held up by part of his desk, because his right leg was still where he had disapparated from."
"My leg."
"Oh, dear. Not to worry, Harry, I have it." She put it in its place and mended it back on with her wand. "Harry that was very good. No wizard would be able to do that on his first try. Do you know what you did wrong?"
"I think I do. Let me try again." He thought about where he wanted to be and ran through the routine. Then, with a small pop, there was no weird feeling this time, he was on his bed.
"Good job. Let's go farther. Try the bottom of the stairs." She then disapparated. Harry thought hard about the steps and then he was there. "Harry, that is great! I don't think anyone picked up on this so quickly. Not even Albus Dumbledore himself. Okay, one more go. Try the paddock next to the Weasley home." With this, she was gone again. Harry was about to go also, when Sirius walked in.
"Harry, I thought you were going with Miss Figg."
"I am."
"Well, if you're going to apparate over there, try going a bit quicker."
"How'd you know?"
"Harry, my favorite, and best, subject in school is divination. I am an excellent seer. Watch this." He closed his eyes and he was on the other side of Harry. "Try not thinking so long, and don't take to long to go through it."
"Okay, thanks. I guess I'll see you when I get back."
"I don't know. Dumbledore has a project for me, and I don't know if I'll be back in time to see you off to school. The Weasleys will take care of you in that case."
"Okay, well.bye. Visit me at school some time." With this he thought about the paddock and was there with Miss Figg right next to him.
"Wow, Harry. That is really great," she said when he arrived there. "I guess we should just go to Hogsmeade see you there. She left, and Harry stood there, about to make the most important move of his life. It was the only thing that could change him as a human being forever. With this thought, Harry disapparated.