Chapter 19
At ten to eight that evening three boys and a girl stood uneasily in front of a stone gargoyle.
At five to eight the boy with platinum coloured hair spoke, his aristocratic voice blending in perfectly with the somewhat gothic surroundings.
'Well, I s'pose it was just to damn hard for him to give us the fucking password.'
'Stop stressing, Draco, he'll let us in when ready. Why are you so worried? It's only Dumbledore.'
'It's alright for you to say that, Grang.Hermione, you are never called in here except to be praised through the skies for some heroic deed. When I come here I am in trouble. You are a muggleborn, a race of slightly inferior people whom the old fool loves. I am the son of Voldemort's right hand man.'
Ron frowned slightly at Harry, and then raised his eyebrows as if to say 'why is he worried about that?'
'Draco? Why are you bringing this up now?'
'Harry, you, Ron and Hermione are the Eternal Trio. You don't understand what hard decisions are. You fly through your lives, having fun, taking risks and you have the conviction that no matter what happens to you, you were fighting for the "light". You have never seriously considered any other way of life. You have the luck of not having to decide between what you have been brought up with and what's right. Other people however, have to make those decisions, some are tougher to make than others.' Draco seemed to be off in his own dream world now.
'.I thought there were a few safe weeks left for me, but I think that this is it. I have to choose.'
'Draco?'
At that moment a voice sounded behind the group and Dumbledore stepped out from the shadows. 'Well Mr Malfoy, you are quite intuitive. I didn't think it was that obvious. You know about the order? Very well, well don't worry now. Lets go upstairs and have supper before we get down to business.'
Draco nodded dumbly as he and three equally confused teenagers followed the headmaster upstairs.
While the four were finishing their meal, Dumbledore surveyed them through keen eyes.
Hermione, to his left, was dabbing her mouth lightly with a napkin. Her superior, know-it-all expression, that had become a permanent display, during her 2nd and 3rd year had been replaced by a happy and eager young girl, who was slowly growing up and maturing in her looks and behaviour.
Ron, was still tall, awkward and gangling, but he too had a more mature outlook on life. Eyes that had once looked upon every person with barely concealed envy, were more satisfied and teachers had commented about his change in priorities, since the beginning of the previous year. He put more value in relationships than material possessions. Dumbledore supposed that after having nearly lost his best friend two years in a row was the cause of this.
He turned his eyes to Harry. The tiny, scared boy, whom he had seen at the age of ten, when he started his education at Hogwarts; had grown. But he had not grown in a way Dumbledore had hoped. His face was a mask nearly all the time. Although he smiled at something that Ron had muttered to him, his eyes were old and dominated by anguish and guilt. How Dumbledore longed for the naïve 11 year old that he had observed 4 years ago.
Naïve. There was one word that could never describe Draco Malfoy. He had also been one of Dumbledore's constant studies. The aged eyes of Harry were nothing compared to Draco's, although they had aged differently. Draco had had the eyes of an adult when Dumbledore had first met him at age six. His eyes, unlike Harry's, were aged with knowledge and cynicism. Now, as Dumbledore looked at him, he appeared to the casual glance, aloof and in control but to the four around the table he seemed troubled. His hands trembled slightly and knocked over the glass next to him as he felt Dumbledore's gaze upon him.
'Just get on with it will you.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione simultaneously jumped as Draco uttered his first words of the whole evening. They were still confused as to what was going on, especially now that Draco had said that, even though his tone suggested he would rather face an Hungarian Horntail, wandless, than stay in the room a second longer.
'Very well Mr Malfoy. I assume the rest of you have been wondering why I invited you here. Well, I have a proposition for you.'
The other three teenagers eyebrows raised but they didn't say anything.
'First of all, however, I would like to give you a small History lesson. Who of you here has heard about Grindelwald?' He nodded as all four students raised their hands. 'Very well, and what do you know of his defeat?'
Ron spoke 'Ummm, you killed him.'
'That, Mr Weasley, is what most people would say if I asked them. However, it was a great deal more than just me. I was the leader of a large group of witches and wizards who worked together to defeat Grindelwald. This faction has existed since before the founders themselves. Merlin, himself was the first leader of this group. Does anyone know of what I am speaking?'
Hermione raised her hand shyly 'The Order of the Phoenix?'
'Exactly. Now, the members of the Order are known only by the other members and it is forbidden to mention their business to outsiders. Well, the last time the Order was called together was in the last rein of Voldemort. Now that he has risen and the Ministry refuses to acknowledge it, we have had to try and deal with it by ourselves but we have greatly decreased in number. Many, many of the people killed in the last war were members of the Order. I have the task of finding as many new members as possible in the shortest amount of time. Students are not usually invited, as they are inexperienced but you, Harry, Hermione and Ron have much more experience than our average students and Draco has much more inside knowledge of the dark arts than all our students.'
Harry lifted his eyes to meet the Professors. 'Are you saying what I think you are saying, sir?'
'I believe so. You four, will probably have the honour of being the first students asked to join The Order of the Phoenix. But there are some obstacles which should first be overcome.'
'Me.'
'Unfortunately, yes, Mr Malfoy. I know you thought you had a while longer, but I have to ask you now which side you will fight for if it comes down to battle. This meeting is confidential and if you so desire, I can ask Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger to wait outside while we discuss this.'
'No, its fine. I.I have made my decision. I have always known what was expected of me by my father, one of my first memories of him is when he told me why I had been born. I am supposed to be the heir of Voldemort. I grew up with that knowledge, and I never considered any other possibility until I came here. I am not going to explain the reasoning, nor the logic behind my fathers and my decisions. All that I will say is that I totally renounce the Dark Lord as my master and I will never follow him.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared open mouthed at Draco while Dumbledore twinkled proudly.
'Thank-you, Mr Malfoy. You words are encouraging, to say the least.'
At that moment Fawkes flew through the door.
Dumbledore turned to the teenagers in front of him. 'The Order of the Phoenix is named because it is a Phoenix that tests the loyalty of each candidate. He will sit on each of your shoulders and if he believes that you should be admitted then he will shed a feather. If he, however does not believe that you are worthy then he will simply fly off without shedding a feather. If this happens then your memory will be wiped of this meeting and nothing more will be said.'
When he finished Fawkes flew and landed on Harry's shoulder, immediately shedding a feather. He repeated this action with the other three.
Dumbledore smiled broadly. 'Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. As it happens there is a meeting tonight and you all are just in time. Oh Harry, may I speak to you after the meeting has concluded?' Harry nodded as Fawkes flew to a cupboard at the side of the room, let out one quavering note and a room opened up behind it.
Hermione and Ron entered the room first and were followed by Draco. Dumbledore walked in after them, leaving Harry to bring up the rear.
As he entered he looked around the room. The stone walls were covered with thick luxurious tapestries and the floor had, instead of cold stone, oak floor boards. Red and gold drapes fell from the ceiling which was illuminated by tiny lights, representing the stars. Three rows of benches surrounded two thirds of the room and at the front, next to the door, was a magical image projector and a large pulpit where Dumbledore was standing behind a desk, covered in scrolls.
Harry bent to hear Draco as he whispered 'Typical Dumbledore, he would do the place up in Gryffindor colours.'
Harry stifled a chuckle as he and Draco joined Ron and Hermione at the front of the room.
They stood awkwardly as Dumbledore motioned them to stay where they were. He turned back to arranging the scrolls and parchments on his desk.
Harry turned his gaze to the people sitting on the benches who were staring interestedly at the foursome.
His eyes flew over Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey. His eyes stopped briefly as they met Snape's and then continued across the room. Remus Lupin was sitting next to Sirius and they both waved enthusiastically. Ten or so people that Harry didn't recognise were sitting in clumps or off by themselves. He heard Ron's amazed gasp and followed his gaze to see Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie Weasley waving. Mrs Weasley looked disapproving and Harry guessed that she had protested violently against her youngest son and his friends being allowed to join the Order at such a young age. He smiled and turned his eyes to the person who was currently in conversation with Arthur Weasley and the smile died from his face and his mouth opened in astonishment.
'Mrs Figg?'
At the sound of her name she glanced up and looked at Harry's surprised face, smiling faintly. Her look turned to one of surprise as Harry glared at her before turning pointedly away.
'Harry?'
Harry turned to Hermione who recoiled at his face. He saw her fright and relaxed.
'Sorry, Mione,'
'What is it?'
'Um, I know the woman talking to Mr Weasley, that's all.'
'Hmmmmmmm.'
Hermione looked as if she wanted to say something else but was silenced as Dumbledore motioned for quiet.
Harry was aware that he was making some introduction and explaining Draco's presence but he hardly heard. His mind was whirling. He jumped when he felt Ron's hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see that the other two had sat down and that everyone was waiting for him.
He moved forward, ignoring the hurt and surprised looks of his godfather and best friends as he sat in the corner by himself.
He sat for the rest of the meeting listening avidly to Dumbledore and an Auror with a terrible haircut who was called Adam Francis. All the meeting seemed to be about were updates from different people about the current situation. Before he knew it, the meeting had ended and people were standing and engaging in conversations with their neighbours.
He turned away when he saw Ron, Hermione and Draco walking towards him, he needed to think and didn't want to be stuck talking to them, and walked smack into Arabella Figg.
'Harry?' her old voice was cracked as she looked at his furious face. 'What's wrong?'
Harry faced her, a look of incredulity on his face.
'Well, Mrs Figg what do you think? Are you that surprised that I am not overjoyed to learn you are a witch? Why do you think I'm not that happy? Well, lets see, you have known who I was my entire life and never said anything. You knew exactly how the Dursleys were treating me and yet you did nothing. You knew that Dudley and Vernon beat me and you just sat in that house with your pathetic cats and left me. How many years have you been living just across the road and watched me and my shitty life? How many times was I left at your house with an opportunity to tell me who I was? How many times did you just turn your back on the obvious? That is how may times you have betrayed me Mrs Figg. So, forgive me if I am not in raptures at seeing you again.'
His voice had raised, unbidden and he turned to see the entire room staring at them. He slunk off into a corner and curled in a chair. He knew he had to wait and speak to Dumbledore after everyone had left otherwise he would have gone immediately.
Harry sat for half an hour and when the noise level had died down a bit he glanced around the room. People were beginning to leave. He put his head back down on his knees and tensed as he felt a presence behind him.
'Go away.'
'Harry?' Sirius asked gently. 'What's wrong?'
'Fine, if you won't, then I will.'
Harry jumped to his feet and marched across the room. He looked for a secluded corner and moved towards it. He was about to sit when he saw that Snape was sitting directly where he himself had been planning on sitting. The corner was so dark that he hadn't seen the man.
He turned to leave, but was startled when Snape spoke.
'Don't mind me, Potter, you are quite welcome to join me as long as you have no intention of speaking.'
Harry didn't reply, but sat next to him in silence.
At ten to eight that evening three boys and a girl stood uneasily in front of a stone gargoyle.
At five to eight the boy with platinum coloured hair spoke, his aristocratic voice blending in perfectly with the somewhat gothic surroundings.
'Well, I s'pose it was just to damn hard for him to give us the fucking password.'
'Stop stressing, Draco, he'll let us in when ready. Why are you so worried? It's only Dumbledore.'
'It's alright for you to say that, Grang.Hermione, you are never called in here except to be praised through the skies for some heroic deed. When I come here I am in trouble. You are a muggleborn, a race of slightly inferior people whom the old fool loves. I am the son of Voldemort's right hand man.'
Ron frowned slightly at Harry, and then raised his eyebrows as if to say 'why is he worried about that?'
'Draco? Why are you bringing this up now?'
'Harry, you, Ron and Hermione are the Eternal Trio. You don't understand what hard decisions are. You fly through your lives, having fun, taking risks and you have the conviction that no matter what happens to you, you were fighting for the "light". You have never seriously considered any other way of life. You have the luck of not having to decide between what you have been brought up with and what's right. Other people however, have to make those decisions, some are tougher to make than others.' Draco seemed to be off in his own dream world now.
'.I thought there were a few safe weeks left for me, but I think that this is it. I have to choose.'
'Draco?'
At that moment a voice sounded behind the group and Dumbledore stepped out from the shadows. 'Well Mr Malfoy, you are quite intuitive. I didn't think it was that obvious. You know about the order? Very well, well don't worry now. Lets go upstairs and have supper before we get down to business.'
Draco nodded dumbly as he and three equally confused teenagers followed the headmaster upstairs.
While the four were finishing their meal, Dumbledore surveyed them through keen eyes.
Hermione, to his left, was dabbing her mouth lightly with a napkin. Her superior, know-it-all expression, that had become a permanent display, during her 2nd and 3rd year had been replaced by a happy and eager young girl, who was slowly growing up and maturing in her looks and behaviour.
Ron, was still tall, awkward and gangling, but he too had a more mature outlook on life. Eyes that had once looked upon every person with barely concealed envy, were more satisfied and teachers had commented about his change in priorities, since the beginning of the previous year. He put more value in relationships than material possessions. Dumbledore supposed that after having nearly lost his best friend two years in a row was the cause of this.
He turned his eyes to Harry. The tiny, scared boy, whom he had seen at the age of ten, when he started his education at Hogwarts; had grown. But he had not grown in a way Dumbledore had hoped. His face was a mask nearly all the time. Although he smiled at something that Ron had muttered to him, his eyes were old and dominated by anguish and guilt. How Dumbledore longed for the naïve 11 year old that he had observed 4 years ago.
Naïve. There was one word that could never describe Draco Malfoy. He had also been one of Dumbledore's constant studies. The aged eyes of Harry were nothing compared to Draco's, although they had aged differently. Draco had had the eyes of an adult when Dumbledore had first met him at age six. His eyes, unlike Harry's, were aged with knowledge and cynicism. Now, as Dumbledore looked at him, he appeared to the casual glance, aloof and in control but to the four around the table he seemed troubled. His hands trembled slightly and knocked over the glass next to him as he felt Dumbledore's gaze upon him.
'Just get on with it will you.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione simultaneously jumped as Draco uttered his first words of the whole evening. They were still confused as to what was going on, especially now that Draco had said that, even though his tone suggested he would rather face an Hungarian Horntail, wandless, than stay in the room a second longer.
'Very well Mr Malfoy. I assume the rest of you have been wondering why I invited you here. Well, I have a proposition for you.'
The other three teenagers eyebrows raised but they didn't say anything.
'First of all, however, I would like to give you a small History lesson. Who of you here has heard about Grindelwald?' He nodded as all four students raised their hands. 'Very well, and what do you know of his defeat?'
Ron spoke 'Ummm, you killed him.'
'That, Mr Weasley, is what most people would say if I asked them. However, it was a great deal more than just me. I was the leader of a large group of witches and wizards who worked together to defeat Grindelwald. This faction has existed since before the founders themselves. Merlin, himself was the first leader of this group. Does anyone know of what I am speaking?'
Hermione raised her hand shyly 'The Order of the Phoenix?'
'Exactly. Now, the members of the Order are known only by the other members and it is forbidden to mention their business to outsiders. Well, the last time the Order was called together was in the last rein of Voldemort. Now that he has risen and the Ministry refuses to acknowledge it, we have had to try and deal with it by ourselves but we have greatly decreased in number. Many, many of the people killed in the last war were members of the Order. I have the task of finding as many new members as possible in the shortest amount of time. Students are not usually invited, as they are inexperienced but you, Harry, Hermione and Ron have much more experience than our average students and Draco has much more inside knowledge of the dark arts than all our students.'
Harry lifted his eyes to meet the Professors. 'Are you saying what I think you are saying, sir?'
'I believe so. You four, will probably have the honour of being the first students asked to join The Order of the Phoenix. But there are some obstacles which should first be overcome.'
'Me.'
'Unfortunately, yes, Mr Malfoy. I know you thought you had a while longer, but I have to ask you now which side you will fight for if it comes down to battle. This meeting is confidential and if you so desire, I can ask Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger to wait outside while we discuss this.'
'No, its fine. I.I have made my decision. I have always known what was expected of me by my father, one of my first memories of him is when he told me why I had been born. I am supposed to be the heir of Voldemort. I grew up with that knowledge, and I never considered any other possibility until I came here. I am not going to explain the reasoning, nor the logic behind my fathers and my decisions. All that I will say is that I totally renounce the Dark Lord as my master and I will never follow him.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared open mouthed at Draco while Dumbledore twinkled proudly.
'Thank-you, Mr Malfoy. You words are encouraging, to say the least.'
At that moment Fawkes flew through the door.
Dumbledore turned to the teenagers in front of him. 'The Order of the Phoenix is named because it is a Phoenix that tests the loyalty of each candidate. He will sit on each of your shoulders and if he believes that you should be admitted then he will shed a feather. If he, however does not believe that you are worthy then he will simply fly off without shedding a feather. If this happens then your memory will be wiped of this meeting and nothing more will be said.'
When he finished Fawkes flew and landed on Harry's shoulder, immediately shedding a feather. He repeated this action with the other three.
Dumbledore smiled broadly. 'Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. As it happens there is a meeting tonight and you all are just in time. Oh Harry, may I speak to you after the meeting has concluded?' Harry nodded as Fawkes flew to a cupboard at the side of the room, let out one quavering note and a room opened up behind it.
Hermione and Ron entered the room first and were followed by Draco. Dumbledore walked in after them, leaving Harry to bring up the rear.
As he entered he looked around the room. The stone walls were covered with thick luxurious tapestries and the floor had, instead of cold stone, oak floor boards. Red and gold drapes fell from the ceiling which was illuminated by tiny lights, representing the stars. Three rows of benches surrounded two thirds of the room and at the front, next to the door, was a magical image projector and a large pulpit where Dumbledore was standing behind a desk, covered in scrolls.
Harry bent to hear Draco as he whispered 'Typical Dumbledore, he would do the place up in Gryffindor colours.'
Harry stifled a chuckle as he and Draco joined Ron and Hermione at the front of the room.
They stood awkwardly as Dumbledore motioned them to stay where they were. He turned back to arranging the scrolls and parchments on his desk.
Harry turned his gaze to the people sitting on the benches who were staring interestedly at the foursome.
His eyes flew over Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey. His eyes stopped briefly as they met Snape's and then continued across the room. Remus Lupin was sitting next to Sirius and they both waved enthusiastically. Ten or so people that Harry didn't recognise were sitting in clumps or off by themselves. He heard Ron's amazed gasp and followed his gaze to see Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie Weasley waving. Mrs Weasley looked disapproving and Harry guessed that she had protested violently against her youngest son and his friends being allowed to join the Order at such a young age. He smiled and turned his eyes to the person who was currently in conversation with Arthur Weasley and the smile died from his face and his mouth opened in astonishment.
'Mrs Figg?'
At the sound of her name she glanced up and looked at Harry's surprised face, smiling faintly. Her look turned to one of surprise as Harry glared at her before turning pointedly away.
'Harry?'
Harry turned to Hermione who recoiled at his face. He saw her fright and relaxed.
'Sorry, Mione,'
'What is it?'
'Um, I know the woman talking to Mr Weasley, that's all.'
'Hmmmmmmm.'
Hermione looked as if she wanted to say something else but was silenced as Dumbledore motioned for quiet.
Harry was aware that he was making some introduction and explaining Draco's presence but he hardly heard. His mind was whirling. He jumped when he felt Ron's hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see that the other two had sat down and that everyone was waiting for him.
He moved forward, ignoring the hurt and surprised looks of his godfather and best friends as he sat in the corner by himself.
He sat for the rest of the meeting listening avidly to Dumbledore and an Auror with a terrible haircut who was called Adam Francis. All the meeting seemed to be about were updates from different people about the current situation. Before he knew it, the meeting had ended and people were standing and engaging in conversations with their neighbours.
He turned away when he saw Ron, Hermione and Draco walking towards him, he needed to think and didn't want to be stuck talking to them, and walked smack into Arabella Figg.
'Harry?' her old voice was cracked as she looked at his furious face. 'What's wrong?'
Harry faced her, a look of incredulity on his face.
'Well, Mrs Figg what do you think? Are you that surprised that I am not overjoyed to learn you are a witch? Why do you think I'm not that happy? Well, lets see, you have known who I was my entire life and never said anything. You knew exactly how the Dursleys were treating me and yet you did nothing. You knew that Dudley and Vernon beat me and you just sat in that house with your pathetic cats and left me. How many years have you been living just across the road and watched me and my shitty life? How many times was I left at your house with an opportunity to tell me who I was? How many times did you just turn your back on the obvious? That is how may times you have betrayed me Mrs Figg. So, forgive me if I am not in raptures at seeing you again.'
His voice had raised, unbidden and he turned to see the entire room staring at them. He slunk off into a corner and curled in a chair. He knew he had to wait and speak to Dumbledore after everyone had left otherwise he would have gone immediately.
Harry sat for half an hour and when the noise level had died down a bit he glanced around the room. People were beginning to leave. He put his head back down on his knees and tensed as he felt a presence behind him.
'Go away.'
'Harry?' Sirius asked gently. 'What's wrong?'
'Fine, if you won't, then I will.'
Harry jumped to his feet and marched across the room. He looked for a secluded corner and moved towards it. He was about to sit when he saw that Snape was sitting directly where he himself had been planning on sitting. The corner was so dark that he hadn't seen the man.
He turned to leave, but was startled when Snape spoke.
'Don't mind me, Potter, you are quite welcome to join me as long as you have no intention of speaking.'
Harry didn't reply, but sat next to him in silence.