Author's Note: Revised chapter four.  Remember, since this doesn't take place exclusively from Harry's view, Draco and Harry will be referred to as Draco and Harry, not Malfoy and Potter only.

new

dorms

Harry had walked forward to stand in front of Dumbledore, his green eyes piercing quite similarly to the way Dumbledore's sometimes would, his demeanor very calm. He closed his eyes tightly.

But in his mind, Harry was actually quite frightened. What am I getting into? he groaned to himself. I don't stand a chance against Voldemort in any way, I'm not smart like Hermione or anythingI guess I could be good bait for Voldemort, if anything…. He wanted to voice these insecurities, but there hadn't been any chance. I should have gotten up and left when I had the chance, Harry thought bitterly. I'm more of a danger than a help to all these people.

Dumbledore, as if knowing what was going through Harry's mind, smiled reassuringly, and started the incantation.

"Mentis."

The golden symbol began to appear at his feet…yet it didn't stop when it was only faintly blurry…it became clearer, until it became a sharp image of a phoenix.

"Corpus."

From every line, curve, and point of the symbol, transparent flames suddenly rose, growing taller and taller, making Harry's robes swirl around him as if because of an invisible wind…then, as if someone had quickly blew the flame out, it dispersed into the air, where it faded.

"Animus."

The fiery embers covered Harry's skin, but with a sudden outburst, his whole body was engulfed by the transparent flames. Harry's hair blew around in the wind, revealing the legendary scar of his. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling the brightest they had been seen by the gathered people there.

"Issutio Phoenix!"

There was a loud sound, ricocheting wildly through everyone's minds…not a physical sound, but something…something that ran through everyone's "warm and tingly" spots inside them. The symbol at Harry's feet began to fade away, and so did the glow. It took abnormally long for the lights to fade from Harry, and everyone was watching him with slight awe.

Harry blinked, wishing that it hadn't hurt so much—it had been quite painful, the whole thing, like something in him had burst, when he had rather thought it wasn't supposed to—and was about to go sit down in his place when he stopped and found everyone staring at him, even some of the Aurors unknown to him gaping. He frowned, looked at Dumbledore, who was watching him with twinkling eyes. Feeling squeamish under their stares, Harry unconsciously tugged on the collar of his robes, wondering why everyone was staring at him. The same thing had happened to them, hadn't it? So what were they all looking at him for?

"What—" he started to demand, getting rather irritated with all the staring from everyone. Before he could finish his question, Sirius gripped his arm tightly and pulled him back a little. Almost all of the people around the table tensed, as if Sirius would hurt Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked, bewildered at everyone's actions.

Sirius laughed a little wearily, and tousled Harry's already-messy hair. "We'll be discussing technical stuff from now, Harry, it'll be boring for you…. Why don't you and Draco go to one of the common rooms, or go get something to eat from the kitchens? You can use magic now that you're back here as well." Sirius said this very gently, as if trying to coax a terrified child.

Harry frowned. He was the only calm one here, he felt like pointing out; he and Malfoy. Everyone, besides Malfoy, looked as if they had seen a ghost or something—which, in truth, was completely possible, as it was Hogwarts and there were many ghosts. But still, it made Harry suspicious. He gave each adult a swift, piercing glance, especially Sirius, making it clear that he knew they were hiding something, and that he didn't like it. But with a small sigh, he turned around and left, pushing the portrait door open, and shutting it gently.

Everyone was silent for a few moments, until Dumbledore spoke up. "Draco," he said, addressing the young boy, "please join Harry."

Draco narrowed his eyes, and left after Harry.

Dumbledore watched as Draco left, and turned to find the Order gazing curiously at him. The wise old man sighed deeply.

"It has begun."

***

Beyond hearing this, outside of the portrait door, Harry found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy. Neither boys spoke to each other, just merely gazed.

Harry surprisingly felt all of his anger towards the other boy dormant.  Not gone—but not boiling beneath his skin, ready to burst. He understood what the other boy must have felt like, being labeled all his life by something he had no control over and having to become that label—after all, it had happened to him. Besides, Dumbledore trusted him. It was a bit far-fetched, and Harry wasn't too sure if he trusted the other boy yet. But he would give Malfoy a chance.

Draco stared back at Potter, who was now almost exactly the same height but thinner, and searched his face. Draco knew, no matter how much he hated the idea at first, he knew in the back of his mind that Potter would eventually befriend him, and that he'd have to make the best of it. It won't be so bad, he thought, at least he's got brainsunlike Crabbe and Goyle. Before anything happened, though, Draco decided he would make things very clear to Potter.  He may not be evil, but he was still Draco Malfoy.

"Look, Potter.  I don't like you, at all.  In fact, if it weren't for the formerly impossible thought that I could hate someone else more than I hate you, then I wouldn't be here at all.  But now that I am, it doesn't change anything."  Draco's voice dropped to a cold note as he glared at the other boy.  "I am not your friend.  I don't want to be your friend.  Don't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary.  Got it?"

Harry's eyes, if possible, became more piercing than they were before, and Draco felt as though the other boy knew exactly what he was thinking.

Slowly, tentatively, Harry's lips formed a small smile.  He shrugged, then turned away.

Draco felt scared for a moment there.  He wasn't easy to read – what had Potter smiled for? "Shut up, Potter."

Harry didn't look back as he walked away. "I didn't say anything."

Draco watched as Harry became smaller and smaller in his vision.  Not knowing what to do, he let out a frustrated groan before trailing after the other boy.

After about ten minutes of taking shortcuts through the castle that Draco had never known about, he found himself following Harry through a corridor with portraits of food on the walls. He had noticed a little while earlier that Harry was constantly tugging on the collar of his robes and had started to get irked by it.

"Haven't you ever worn this kind of robe?" Draco asked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Rich wizards wear these all the time." There was no way he was going to let anyone forget the fact he was rich—he may not have followed his father's path, but he was still rich and high-classed, so it was going to stay that way.

"No, I haven't," Harry replied, sounding incredibly depressed to Draco…but Draco couldn't blame him, after thinking a moment about it. His smug expression faltered as he, too, shared a commiserating look with the other boy. "There isn't any way to loosen the collar, is there? It's choking me."

Before Draco could sadly answer 'no' and tug at his own collar, Harry stopped at a portrait of fruits. Draco watched with mild curiosity as Harry tickled the pear, as the handle appeared, and as the door swung open.

Dobby the house elf was running to Harry, and had hugged him around the waist before Harry could prevent him.

"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby exclaimed joyously.

"Hey, Dobby," Harry replied, slowly prying the house elf off himself. Draco sneered at Dobby, who he remembered serving at Malfoy Manor until his second year. "Can you bring us some food, please?" Harry asked kindly.

Dobby nodded eagerly, his cheer faltering when he looked at Draco. "I is getting you food, sir!" He hurried off.

"You don't ask house elves to get you something, you tell them," Draco pointed out with a drawl.

Harry frowned, and his eyebrows creased with a bit of anger. "They're living beings. You can't treat them like dirt. You should be thankful that they're helpful."

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, not bothering to try to change his mind—he knew he couldn't. It was his experience that Gryffindors were idealistic snots that thought themselves better than everyone else. When Dobby brought the food and left, they went and sat in a corner of the kitchens to eat.

As Draco finished of a bite of a sandwich, Harry looked thoughtful. "What d'you think we'll have to do for the Order?"

Draco snorted derisively. "Don't get your hopes up, Potter. We're not going to be doing anything more than research—probably not even that. They wanted us to be members so we have their protection, and so that we know whom to trust, but that's it. We're not going to any meetings, or on any missions, and no one is allowed to tell us what they're doing. You think Dumbledore would risk your scarred head?" Draco shrugged. "I don't think that godfather of yours would either."

"He's innocent."

"I figured," Draco replied curtly. "Dumbledore wouldn't have let Black join the Order if he had gotten your parents killed and tried to kill you. Besides, I heard my father saying that Pettigrew had returned to the Dark Lord."

They didn't speak much after that, and once they finished eating, they left the kitchens to go see if the meeting was over.

Sure enough, it was, and Sirius, followed by Remus, Alastor Moody, Dumbledore, Figg, and McGonagall, approached the two of them.

"Did you eat something?" Sirius asked, mostly to Harry, looking him up and down with a frown.

"Yes," Harry replied, sounding irritated and exasperated at once. "You don't think that maybe someone could explain to me what is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, the smile on his face a bit strained.

"Well, everyone was staring at me all weird," Harry said slowly. "And why couldn't we stay for the rest of it? What's this Order of the Phoenix about? Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do earlier? And why didn't Professor Dumbledore join?"

"Yeah," Draco chimed in, "you're all hiding things.  What's the point of us being in the Order if you are?"

Harry and Draco exchanged quick, icy, but understanding glances. The adults noticed this exchange, and before anyone could say anything about it, Dumbledore said, "Harry, do you recall what I told you in your first year, about explaining everything when you were old enough?"

Sirius interjected quickly and finished what Dumbledore was about to say, except in a blunter way. "Well, Harry, you're not old enough."

Harry frowned at that, and Draco fixated his patent Malfoy glare on Remus and Sirius. Although he was in no way friends with Harry, he was curious about what was going on.

"So," Sirius picked up from where he had left off, "you two will have to have different dorm arrangements from now on."

"Why?" Harry asked.

Remus sighed, and said, "Well, Draco can hardly stay in the Slytherin dorms because it is unsafe. Too many possibilities of someone being a Death Eater. It'd be too hard for you to sneak out at night, too; someone would notice. You'll get your own rooms, your own small common room, and that will make everything easier."

"How are we going to explain that to everyone else?" Harry asked. Even more puzzled, he asked, "And why would we have to sneak out if we stayed in our dorms?"

Remus smiled, mischievously. "Many meetings will take place late at night. And for your other question—no one would find it too suspicious that Dumbledore has put you into a separate room for protection, Harry, not after what happened last year. And Draco will not have any problems.  We've arranged it in a way that no one will know that he isn't in the dorms."

"You'll be taking extra lessons," McGonagall said severely, looking sharply at the two boys. "Although it will be hard, it will be no excuse for not handing in the rest of your schoolwork. You will have to study exceptionally hard, and might I remind you, your O.W.L.s are this year!"

"I'll be overseeing your training, boys," Moody said, his fake eye spinning around slightly, then staring at the two. "Auror training. Other days you'll have lessons from some of your other professors."

Harry and Draco nodded. "Er—Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, "can I tell Ron and Hermione about all this?"

Dumbledore shook his head, looking Harry in the eyes and making sure that he knew that he was very serious. "No. It might possibly put them in danger, and it will most certainly put you in danger."

Arabella Figg, Professor McGonagall, Moody, and Dumbledore all turned to leave, when Arabella called over her shoulder, "Harry, I'll have your things sent here. You'll spend the rest of the summer at Hogwarts."

"Okay," Harry said, "thanks."

"See you soon," she replied, not looking back.

Sirius and Remus were the only two left, and they both looked at Harry in concerned fashions. "Come on, then," Remus said, put one hand on Harry's shoulder, and the other on Draco's. "We'll show you to your dorm."

Harry walked behind, so that Remus and Draco were ahead, so he could talk to Sirius. Shooting Sirius a wan smile, he asked, "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

Sirius looked a bit put off. "No, Harry, it's not good for you right now." Then he smirked. "I didn't think you and the brat would get along so well."

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, frowning slightly. "He's a bit much to put up with, but I guess he's okay; if I put aside the things he's done to me the past four years. Dumbledore trusts him, and I have no choice but to work with him anyway. I just don't know what I'll tell Ron and Hermione; they won't see things that way. I'll still have time to hang out with them, won't I?"

Sirius grimly shook his head. "No. Not much time left for you to do anything at all. You and Malfoy are going to have all your classes together, and teachers have been told to make sure you two are always partnered up. It's safer that way, and you can talk to each other about the Order, if you like, and you'll learn to work together. But you won't have much time for any of your other friends."

Harry was quiet as they continued to walk down the hallway, so many thought running through his head that he didn't know what to make of it. How could he possibly survive the year without Ron and Hermione? "What kind of work will we be doing?"

Sirius frowned deeply. "I didn't want you here in the first place, I really didn't want to get you involved with this…. But Dumbledore says you have a right to take part. I made sure he wouldn't send you on missions though; he agreed, since that's way too dangerous. You'll be getting research assignments…Dumbledore remembered how you, Ron, and Hermione managed to find out about the Sorcerer's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets your first two years." Sirius sighed. "Last year, we had all the clues, all the things fit together…if only we'd known about Crouch's son switching with his mother…."

"But Sirius," Harry protested, trying to ignore the thoughts about Barty Crouch Jr., "Hermione figured out all the stuff! I'm only good for getting into the middle of things." He felt a desperation rise in him, just as it had before his initiation. He couldn't live up to their expectations!

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that. "You'll do fine, don't worry. And," he said, his voice becoming very clear, firm, and full of warning, "you had better make sure you stay out of the middle of things this school year."

Harry sighed gloomily. "Besides, I don't think I'm cut out for any of this…. Like Moody's training? I bet he'll just turn both me and Malfoy into ferrets as soon as we step into the room and yell 'constant vigilance!'" As an afterthought, Harry added morosely, "And then he'll prove how we should always be prepared for the worst by bouncing us off the walls."

Sirius laughed at that, and slapped Harry's back lightly. "Well, maybe. Probably. But Harry, listen to me." Sirius' voice subdued, became quiet, but very steadfast. "You are an incredible person. You have handled situations in admirable ways. You are a patient, loyal, trustworthy, and hardworking person. You're noble, brave, merciful, smart, and kind. You're all that and more. You have done amazing things after you set your mind to it." Sirius observed Harry as they walked. "You need more confidence in that, and who you are."

Harry didn't reply, not used to such high, honest praise from anyone before, not feeling as though he deserved it.

They both stopped walking when they found that Remus had stopped in front of a blank portrait.

Remus and Sirius exchanged grins. "So, boys, what do you want on your portrait?"

dorms

end

A/N: There we go.  Smoother.  Remus and Sirius are adults, yet their Marauder-ness shows up.  Right.

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~Jedi Cosmos