Chapter 4

Disclaimer:  The first sentence of the Oath belongs to Diane Duane from the Young Wizards series.  A very good series if you get the chance to read it…

As Harry's feet touched the ground at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he immediately prepared to go back to the Dursleys' to retrieve Ginny's letter.  Unfortunately, when he held the phoenix ring up and said, "The Dursleys' of Number 4, Privet Drive," nothing happened.

Harry felt Dumbledore place a hand on his shoulder as he spoke.  "Forget something Harry?"  Harry nodded.  "I'm sorry, but you cannot go back now, the Dursleys' have now been cut off from any form of magical travel.  Was it anything important that you left?"

"No sir," Harry replied shaking his head.  "It was…just a letter—from Ginny Weasley—that I haven't had the chance to read.  I guess I'll just ask her about it when I see her at school."

Dumbledore nodded.  "Very well then.  Come with me Harry, the representatives from the Department of Mysteries are here.  It is time for you to meet your instructors."

The Headmaster led Harry through the winding corridors of the castle and up the stairways, being sure to skip the disappearing steps.  As they walked, Harry thought about writing to Ginny tonight and asking about the letter.  She might be angry with me for forgetting about it, he thought.  On the other hand it would be better to let her know now than waiting until school started up again.  He resolved to owl her that night.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when Dumbledore stopped abruptly.  With a jolt, Harry realized they were in the third floor corridor, which had been off limits in Harry's first year.  More specifically, they were at the trapdoor which it had been Fluffy's job to guard.

The Headmaster gestured and the trapdoor opened, revealing a staircase where there had once been a lengthy drop.  Following the Headmaster, Harry stared in wonder at the changes that had been made to the room.  As they descended the staircase, Harry could see that the Devil's Snare had been cleared out of the room, which was now well lit by the torches that were periodically placed along the chamber wall.  A large table sat in the center of the chamber surrounded by seven large wooden chairs, five of which were currently occupied.

When Harry and Dumbledore reached the bottom of the staircase, the five witches and wizards stood to greet them.

"Ah!  Albus, so nice to see you again, old friend."  The eldest wizard of the group greeted the Headmaster enthusiastically.  As they embraced, Dumbledore responded warmly, "It's been too long Alex, it really has."

The wizard turned towards Harry then, and studied him critically.  "This must be our new recruit."  The wizard offered his hand, and Harry shook it firmly.  "Hello Harry, I am Commander Alexander Bailey and I will be your commanding officer and supervisor during your training."

Harry took the time to study Commander Bailey thoroughly.  He seemed to be in his late fifties—although with wizards, looks could be deceiving—sporting close cropped silver hair and a clean-shaven face.  He was only a few inches taller than Harry, standing about two inches short of six foot.  He had broad shoulders and was surrounded by an air of authority and power.  With one look, Harry could tell that Bailey was a natural leader.

"Well," Bailey said, "Let me introduce you to the others."

Harry now looked to the four people standing behind Bailey.  Two of them were witches in their mid-twenties.  One of the witches sported long raven-black hair, while the other had short curly blond hair.  The blond was slim and muscular, and seemed to glide when she walked.  Harry got the distinct impression of a tiger stalking its prey.  The other two were very nondescript looking wizards.  Both with light brown hair, they had no distinguishing features that would stick in one's memory.  They seemed like the type that could easily blend in with a crowd.

Bailey gestured to the blond woman, who stepped forward to shake Harry's hand.  "Harry, this is War Wizard First Class Samantha Dunegall.  She will be handling your weapons and wandless magic training.  She is our top field officer."

Harry shook her hand, surprised at the strength of her grip.  "Pleased to meet you."

She flashed Harry a dazzling smile that cased a peculiar feeling in his stomach.  "War Witch, actually," she said still smiling.  "And you can call me Sam."

Harry nodded and turned to the raven-haired witch, whom Commander Bailey was now introducing.  "This is Lieutenant Jennifer Hammil, who will be teaching you advanced charms, curses and hexes.  She will also be tutoring you on how to use them in battle situations."

"Hello Harry," she said as she took his hand in her own.

"Hello."

"Lieutenant Duncan Marsh here," Commander Bailey was saying, "is your physical trainer and will be instructing you in hand-to-hand combat."  The shorter of the two men bowed deeply to Harry, and Harry solemnly returned the gesture.

The last wizard stepped forward and pumped Harry's hand as he was being introduced.  "And lastly, this is Sergeant Calvin Jefferson.  Jefferson is our magical artifact specialist and will be training you in their use.  If you ever need a Portkey or a PCD fixed, he's the one to talk to."

Sergeant Jefferson laughed at this and said, "That's why everyone calls me Doc, I guess.  They say I can fix anything."

With his hand still being pumped up and down, Harry asked, "Ummm…what is a PCD?"

Doc abruptly stopped shaking his hand and began talking rapidly, with an enthusiastic look in his eyes.  "Oh!  Well, you see, a PCD is my own little invention—comes in quite handy really—and it stands for Personal Communication Device.  It's a specially designed-"

Commander Bailey placed a restraining hand on Doc's shoulder, effectively cutting off his speech.  "There will be plenty of time later to explain the intricacies of your inventions to our new recruit.  Right now, however, I think we should all sit down and explain to Harry just what it is that he is getting into."

Doc nodded and saluted his commanding officer, but looked a little sad that his oration was cut off.  He seemed to truly enjoy his inventions.  Commander Bailey sat at the head of the table and motioned for the others to sit.  They did so, with Professor Dumbledore to Bailey's right and Sam to his left.  Harry sat directly across from the Commander, and the others filled in the rest of the chairs.

"Harry," Commander Bailey began gravely, "First of all, I want you to know what we are expecting of you.  War Wizards are trained to be the best of the best of the best.  The best Aurors are inducted into the Department of Mysteries, which holds itself separate from the rest of the Ministry.  From there, only the most qualified inductees are chosen to be trained as field agents, as you are going to be.  The rest…well, let's just say they never get to brag about being initiated."

Harry nodded his understanding, indicating for the Commander to continue.  "As you are still a student, barely half way through with your basic schooling, you may find yourself lacking some of the knowledge we take for granted.  If you ever come across a situation during your training in which you do not understand what we are telling you, do not hesitate to ask.  We will do our best to make sure you understand everything you are doing.

"Many of the things we normally teach, you may find beyond your abilities.  If—when—we encounter a situation in which you fail to grasp an advanced technique or concept, we will move on and attempt to re-teach it to you at a later date.

"Now, do you understand everything I've said so far?"

Harry nodded, "I understand, sir."

"Good," Bailey smiled, a satisfied look in his eyes.  "Now, I'll have your instructors tell you exactly what you will be doing for the next month.  After school starts, we will have to come up with a different schedule, but until then…" He nodded towards Lieutenant Marsh.

Harry looked at Marsh, who smiled wickedly, his face closely resembling that of Fred and George Weasley just before playing a very nasty prank.  "You will begin every day with me, Harry, every day, promptly at five o'clock in the morning.  At that time, you and I will be going for a nice, refreshing, morning run."  Marsh looked pointedly at his scrawny frame.  "And by the looks of it, we should probably start you on some kind of weight training program as well.  Then, after our run, we will commence with your hand-to-hand combat training.  Eventually you will be well versed in all forms of martial arts, courtesy of my instruction."

"Then, after a quick shower and some breakfast, you will come to me," Doc began speaking in his rapid and enthusiastic tone of voice.  "I'll brief you on all the equipment you will be using, including that wonderful new Portkey you have there," he pointed at the phoenix ring Harry was wearing.  "My lectures shouldn't last long, and after the first month you will have this time as a free period unless I come up with something new."  Doc smiled benevolently at Harry.

Lieutenant Hammil spoke next.  "After your refreshing break with Doc is over, you will come to me for instruction in some advanced charms, curses, and hexes.  Most of what I teach you will be what you will need to know in a battle situation, but I will also instruct you in Magical First Aid, and some forms of self-transfiguration.  Dueling is also my specialty, but for that, we will bring in a world champion Dueler, who not even I have been able to best."  Hammil grinned mischievously.  "I daresay you may already know him Harry.  Have you by chance heard of a Filius Flitwick?"

Harry nodded slowly taking in everything he was being told.  He had heard of Professor Flitwick being a world-class dueler, but he could never before imagine the jovial charms professor as a dangerous fighter.  I guess there's a side of everyone that you never get to see under normal circumstances, Harry thought to himself.

Still grinning, Lieutenant Hammil said, "Once we begin talking about dueling, Filius has volunteered to join us and help me in your training.  I believe he has also been talking about starting up a proper Dueling Club at Hogwarts this year.  When we talked about it, he mumbled something about incompetent, bigheaded megalomaniacs."  Professor Dumbledore snorted.  "Do you have any idea what he was talking about?"

Suppressing laughter, Harry nodded and explained.  "In my second year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Gilderoy Lockheart.  I'm sure you've heard of him."  At her nod, Harry continued, "Well, he tried starting up a Dueling Club.  Needless to say, it didn't work out quite the way he expected it to.  We only met once."

Hammil chuckled sympathetically and simply stated, "Well, I dare say Filius will run a better program than Lockheart did.  You may actually get something useful out of it."  Still laughing, Hammil sat down to make room for Sam.  The blond-haired witch smiled at him again, and Harry timidly returned the smile.

"Well," she began, "after training with Lieutenant Hammil and grabbing a quick lunch, the real work begins." Lieutenant Marsh snorted, but when Sam shot him a warning glance, Marsh quieted and yielded to the smaller woman.  Returning her attention to Harry, Sam grinned wickedly.  "You'll be with me for the rest of your day, Harry.  We'll begin with instruction in wandless magic, but first understand this Harry—and this is very important—wandless magic is not for all wizards.  Some pick it up quickly and can use it in all sorts of situations, while others work for years and can never master levitating a feather without their wand.  These first few weeks I will spend testing you to see how well you will react to the training.  If it seems you are receptive, we will continue training you; however, if you can't learn wandless magic…" Sam shrugged.

Harry spoke up, asking something that had been bothering him since wandless magic had been mentioned.  "But how can someone do wandless magic?  I mean…in school we were taught that the wand is a wizard's most important tool:  the focus of one's magic.  You can't perform spells without a wand unless you're emotionally upset, and even then you can't control what happens.  I can attest to that fact."

Sam just smiled at him again.  "A very good question Harry, and one that all trainees ask; however, I will answer that during our first lesson, so save it until then."  Harry nodded his consent, a little put out, but willing to wait.  Sam continued describing what they would be working on.  "After I drain you mentally with the wandless magic, I will proceed to exhaust you physically with weapons training.  You will be instructed in the use and defense of both medieval and modern Muggle and magical weaponry, including—but not limited to—the sword and dagger, battle-axe, staff, and spell-catcher.  After training, you will be expected to take a quick cool down run and then you will be left to your own devices."

The War Witch sat down, and Harry silently tried to take in all he had been told in this short period of time.  He was overwhelmed by the diversity of the skills they expected him to master, but was willing to do his best.  From observing the wizards sitting at the table with him, Harry could tell they had fun with what they did.  If they had each gone through this exhausting regime, then he could suffer through it as well.

Professor Dumbledore, who up until now had remained quiet, stood and broke the silence.  "Well Harry, now that you know what is expected of you, are you still willing to continue with this training?"

Harry looked up into the blue eyes of his mentor, and with all the determination he could muster, Harry stood up and said, "Yes I am."

At his words, Commander Bailey and the four Unspeakables sitting at the table stood as well, their faces solemn.  "In that case," the Commander said, "you will now enter into a form of contractual magic with myself, the Department of Mysteries, and the Order of the Phoenix-"

"Just a moment," Harry interrupted.  "I'm sorry, but…what is the Order of the Phoenix?"

Commander Bailey stared at him strangely for a moment before smiling.  "Oh, I'm sorry Harry," he said, still smiling.  "I sometimes forget that new recruits don't know most of the things I take for granted."  He chuckled to himself before continuing.  "The Order of the Phoenix is how those within the Department of Mysteries refer to themselves.  The phoenix is an ancient symbol of loyalty, protection, honor and nobility:  all ideals that the Order upholds.  We therefore use the phoenix as our emblem, and no one outside of the Department knows of it.  Now, may I continue?"

Harry nodded, abashed.  "Sorry sir."

The smile disappeared from the commander's face as he continued speaking.  "As I was saying, you will enter into a form of contractual magic which will prevent you from ever speaking about the Order, or anything you learn on the job.  This is to protect you, your fellow War Wizards, and the Order itself.  This is your last chance Harry, once you take the Oath, there is no turning back."

"I'm ready."

"In that case," Commander Bailey said as he extended his arm.  A pure white staff appeared in his hand, and he rapped it on the floor twice.  "Let the ceremony commence."

At that moment, the candles in the chamber all extinguished themselves, leaving the seven witches and wizards in near darkness.  A glow emanating from Bailey's staff was the only source of illumination.  The harsh white radiance caused the faces of the men and women around the table to appear as lifeless marble statues staring endlessly into an infinite distance.  Harry could faintly hear music, growing steadily louder as another source of light appeared above the table.  This new light, the color of fire, intensified as the glow of the staff diminished, until only the fresh source lit the room.  The light swirled and convulsed, as would a nebula forming into a star in the course of a few moments.  The pristine glow flared once, so bright that Harry was forced to close his eyes, and even then he could see the miniature sun through his eyelids.  When the glow diminished enough that he could open his eyes once again, all Harry could see were the glowing forms of two phoenix hovering in front of him.

The two birds did not seem as solid as he remembered Fawkes being, and he silently pondered this until he realized that they were made of solid flame, not feathers and flesh.  Between the two birds floated a shimmering scroll, which unrolled itself to reveal brightly shining runes covering the parchment.

A voice, which Harry faintly recognized as belonging to Commander Bailey, echoed out of the darkness surrounding the two phoenix and the scroll.  "Read from the scroll Harry."

Squinting at the glowing runes, Harry tried to make sense out of the foreign shapes, but to no avail.  Unfortunately, Harry had never taken an Ancient Runes class, never dreaming that he would encounter a situation quite like this.  He began to panic, thinking that they would not allow him into the Order if he could not translate the runes.  It must be some kind of test, he thought.  Oh, I wish Hermione was here!

Harry took a deep breath and calmed his nerves; he would just have to think logically.  Try to think as much like Hermione as he could.  He concentrated on the runes, willing them to make sense, and suddenly, they did.  Harry could see the words forming in his mind, and knew exactly what he was required to say.

            In Life's name, and for Life's sake, I assert that I will employ the Art with which I was gifted for the service of good alone.  I will guard growth and ease pain.  I will serve honorably the Order of which I am a part; and not divulge any of its secrets unless it is in the interests of the organization to do so.  To these ends, I will ever put aside fear for courage, and death for life—when it is fit to do so.  I will champion the weak and the oppressed; never to use my power for myself, but for the good of the whole.  This I swear, and pledge my loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix and all that she upholds and fights for, until the time I am called upon descend into the peace of eternity.

In the beginning he struggled, the words came to him slowly and he had to fight to understand what it was he needed to say.  As he spoke, Harry could feel the magic taking effect.  The silence of the chamber around him grew to deafening proportions as the world paused in its rotation to observe the results of the young wizard's pledge.  The closer he was to finishing the Oath, the easier it was to speak, almost as if the magic of the Oath itself was speaking through him.  When Harry spoke the last word of the Oath, he could feel the contractual magic take hold, rushing through his body and binding him to uphold what he had just sworn.  The magic pained him, and soothed him at the same time.  Reassuring him that he had chosen the right path.  Harry closed his eyes in pain in rapture, reveling in the power of the magic flowing through his body.  He heard a scream, and by the time he realized it was himself, the scream had stopped and candlelight had returned the room.  When he opened his eyes, the two phoenix had departed, along with the rune covered scroll, and he was confronted by the smiling faces of Commander Bailey, Professor Dumbledore, and four War Wizards.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Harry."