Chapter 12: Order of the Phoenix
***IN DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE***
Hermione was staring at Dumbledore and Macgonagall. Her brain was screaming at her, "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! I AM IN A DREAM!" She pinched herself hard and it hurt, so that completely ruled out the possibility of this being a dream. Order of the Phoenix? Her? She shook her head for the millionth time and stared with her mouth open in amazement.
* * *
Harry cast a half-glance at Ron and saw a blank expression on his face. He realised that he was not the only ignorant one around. One look at Nina and Hermione had told him that they obviously knew what was going on, for Nina had just nodded and Hermione's jaw had dropped open. He looked at Dumbledore with a questioning look and just managed to catch a small smile behind all that seriousness. Dumbledore began.
"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization, ceaselessly battling against Voldemort (Ron flinched). It consists of a hundred or so witches and wizards, who are among the most powerful ones around. Young witches and wizards, not unlike yourselves, whom we identify, will be taken in to train. You will train till you are equipped enough to face Voldemort. This may take years. Now, you will find out more as you go along. Let me inform you of the schedule and you responsibilities . . ."
* * *
Nina listened to Dumbledore explain about the Order of the Phoenix to Harry and Ron. "Talk about ignorant . . ." she thought. Of course, she knew that she had been selected long ago, ever since her relatives were . . .she swallowed the huge lump in her throat. She did not want to think about it. She knew that Hermione, Harry and Ron were selected too. However, Dumbledore had forbid her from telling them anything, so she had zipped up. She could not see why Dumbledore had wanted her here, if all he was going to do was announce the news of their selection . . .well, she would just have to wait and see.
* * *
Ron was staring at Dumbledore in utmost amazement. He could not believe what he was hearing. How could he, Ronald Weasley, be selected for something obviously so honourable and important? He listened to Dumbledore explain the schedule.
"You will be informed," Dumbledore said, "Of the timings of meetings. It will mostly be in the evenings, after dinner. You are to be present at all meetings unless you have a proper reason. Training sessions will also be after lessons. There will be a meeting tomorrow and I expect all of you to be present. You will be informed about the time and venue tomorrow. Now I must ask all of you to get enough rest and pay full attention in class, as being part of the Order of the Phoenix does not mean that you are excused from your O.W.Ls."
Ron scowled deeply.
"But," Dumbledore continued with a twinkle in his eye, "You will be excused from homework on training days." He looked around, solemn all of a sudden. "I do hope you all realise that this is a lot of responsibility, as I have high hopes for all of you." He paused for a moment. "Alright then, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley and Minerva. I expect you will want to get some sleep now. Harry, Nina, stay. I need to have a word with the two of you." Dumbledore showed Hermione, Ron and Macgonagall to the door.
* * *
Harry stared at Dumbledore. What was it that he wanted to say? Why couldn't Hermione and Ron know about it? He waited for Dumbledore to start. Dumbledore, however, did not seem to be in any sort of hurry. He stared at Nina. She seemed to know what Dumbledore wanted . . .
* * *
Nina looked at Dumbledore. She knew what he wanted to talk about. And he probably knew that she had not told Harry about it yet. She braced herself for the stream of questions. It didn't come. Dumbledore merely stared at her. She suddenly realised that Dumbledore expected her to know what he wanted. He wanted her to start talking. She looked at him for help, but he merely nodded. "Go on, Nina."
Nina turned to Harry and started, slow and stammering. "I . . . Harry, you see . . . there is something I have to tell you. This . . . is very important . . . and I . . . I was supposed to tell you long ago, but, well . . ." she hesitated. She couldn't tell him that she did not dare to talk to him before! "Well, I am telling you now," she said, not having found a believable excuse.
"You see, I cannot tell this to anyone except you, my sister and of course, Professor Dumbledore. That is why I did not tell you this earlier, when I was talking about my past. Because I cannot tell Hermione and Ron about this. Harry, the thing now is . . ." she paused. "The whole world's fate is in our hands."
* * *
Hermione started walking away from Dumbledore's office, dragging Ron along as he had insisted on listening in through the door. "What is it that Dumbledore wants to tell Harry and Nina that we cannot hear?" he had moaned to Hermione. So, Hermione had had no choice but to firmly drag him away. In actual fact, she herself had been wondering about what Dumbledore had wanted to tell them. She was just too polite to eavesdrop.
Hermione turned behind to look at Ron. He was still mumbling to himself.
"Oh, Ron, drop it will you?"
"Just leave me alone, mione"
"Fine!" she snapped and turned away. If that's what he wanted, that's what he was going to get. She marched off towards the common room without one look back. She reached the portrait, gave the password, and slipped in quietly. It was not all that late yet and there were still some seventh years sitting in the common room, trying to finish their homework. They were so engrossed that they did not even notice her come in. She tiptoed past them and quietly went to her dormitory. She was still deep in thought about what had happened that evening as she got ready for bed. The Order of the Phoenix . . . her parents were going to be so proud of her . . .
* * *
Harry walked to the common room with Nina. They weren't talking. They couldn't. Harry's brain was struggling to absorb everything that he had heard that evening. First the Order of the Phoenix, and then this. The whole world's fate was in his hands. Harry was not a normal fifteen-year- old and he was used to surprises in the wizarding world, but this was overdoing it. Which fifteen-year-old would be able to handle such an immense responsibility? He looked at Nina. To tell the truth, he thought, she was handling it fine . . . and she was going through much more than he was at that very moment. Maybe he had something to learn from her . . .
* * *
Ron walked up to bed, dragging his feet up the stairs slowly. He was tired and he didn't feel like waiting for Harry as it would mean facing Nina. The Order of the Phoenix . . . what were his Mum and Dad going to say? And then a thought struck him. His father . . . was he part of the Order of the Phoenix? Ron suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow. The first meeting, he thought. He felt so important . . .
* * *
The next day finally dawned on Hogwarts. Nina sprang out of bed. Her first Order of the Phoenix (OOTP) meeting. She couldn't wait. She knew her parents had been part of the OOTP. Now she felt like she was taking their place. She and Natasha. If only her parents could see her now . . .
Nina shook herself, dressed and went down for breakfast. She had to have a good meal to be able to concentrate in class. She started to chat with Hermione who had just arrived while helping herself to pancakes and maple syrup.
* * *
That evening, Harry, Hermione, Nina and Ron made their way to Dumbledore's office right after dinner. Dumbledore was waiting for them. He ushered them into his office and cast his wand around. He uttered a spell, which they could not quite hear, and all of a sudden, they were sitting in a room full of paintings of ancient witches and wizards who were pointing at the four youngsters and whispering excitedly. There were no others in the room except themselves and judging by a good look around, the four newcomers guessed the room could hold more than a hundred and fifty people. They turned to Dumbledore in awe.
"This room is where meetings for the Order of the Phoenix will be held." Dumbledore explained. "The only way to get here is by a spell only known to members of the Order of the Phoenix. Now, you will not be told of the spell yet, as you are still trainees. Once you are a certified member, you will know the spell. So until then, the only way for all of you to get here is to let me transport you here." He smiled. "Now I suggest that you wait here, in the front. The others should be arriving any moment."
* * *
Ron looked around him, struck by the size of the room. Wherever this place was, it definitely wasn't in Hogwarts. There was no way a room of this size could be concealed in Hogwarts. Plus, there was no such room indicated on Harry's map- The Marauder's Map. He turned to Harry to say something, but was cut short by the eighty or so witches and wizards, of all shapes and sizes, appearing in the room. His mouth dropped open. Here and there he spotted a familiar face waving to him but was too shocked to wave back.
* * *
Hermione was staring in awe. She spotted familiar faces waving and waved back. There was Mad-Eye Moody, Professor Lupin, Mr. Weasley (Ron's dad) and that, she blinked to make sure, that was definitely Sirius. He looked completely different from what she remembered of him. He was more clean- shaven now, and looked much younger. She watched as Snape sulked past and felt a pang of satisfaction. "You can't avoid the fact that Harry is a powerful wizard now . . . treat him 'like any other student' will you? He'll show you . . ." she thought to herself.
Finally, Dumbledore stepped up to the small platform at the front of the room (Or was it a dungeon? There were no windows at all . . .) and began to speak.
* * *
Harry listened as Dumbledore started to speak. He did not want to miss a word of it. He was so excited about everything that was going on, even though he did not know why. However, now he understood why Sirius had said that they would be seeing each other soon. He cast a glance at his godfather and felt reassured. Yes, Sirius had always been there, just as he had promised. Dumbledore began.
"We meet again, fellow witches and wizards. Today, we have four youngsters with us. They have been identified by all of you here and will start their training very soon. I introduce Mr. Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Nina Holland and Mr. Ronald Weasley."
There was a huge applause. The sound bounced off the walls and the ceiling and rang loudly in Harry's ears. He smiled broadly and noticed that the other three were doing the same. Obviously, they all felt the same- honoured and important.
*** CHANGE OF SETTING***
In a faraway forest, hidden from the rest of the world, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were standing in the middle of a circle of hooded figures. A cold voice spoke from the nearest one as it moved into the middle of the circle. The three youngsters took a step back.
"My dear Death Eaters, the time has come to introduce to you the new members of our family. Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe and of course, Draco Malfoy."
There was no applause, no cheers, in fact, no response at all. A chill wind picked up and the three in the middle shivered. The cold voice spoke again.
"They will start their training very soon. And hopefully, they will be ready to work for me . . . soon, yes very soon . . ."
* * *
Draco Malfoy was scared. Yes, for the first time in his life, he was frightened beyond his wits. And that cold voice was only frightening him more. He tried to block it out but it was boring into him. He was chilled to the bone, even though the wind had died down ages ago. Was this how it felt to work for the Dark Lord? Was this all? Was this what he had longed to do, for all these years? If it was, then he was sure that he had made a big mistake, for he did not like it all. He hated it. That cold voice was freezing his soul, he could feel it . . .
For once, Draco Malfoy could not wait to get back to Hogwarts.
* * *
Harry has finally found out Nina's secret. And now it's his secret too. How is he going to handle the pressure?
The first OOTP meeting went well for our heroes . . . would it continue that way?
And how about the Death Eaters? How will Malfoy handle his situation now?
Find out in coming chapters!
A/N: Hallo all of you! A BEEG THANX to everyone who reviewed . . . U GUYS ROCK!! Anyway, hope u all enjoyed that chapter . . . the next one might take a little time, very sorry, I will put it up soon, I promise! Thanx again for reading my story! PLS leave me a review, so that I can know the standard of my writing . . . THANX A LOT!! :)
***IN DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE***
Hermione was staring at Dumbledore and Macgonagall. Her brain was screaming at her, "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! I AM IN A DREAM!" She pinched herself hard and it hurt, so that completely ruled out the possibility of this being a dream. Order of the Phoenix? Her? She shook her head for the millionth time and stared with her mouth open in amazement.
* * *
Harry cast a half-glance at Ron and saw a blank expression on his face. He realised that he was not the only ignorant one around. One look at Nina and Hermione had told him that they obviously knew what was going on, for Nina had just nodded and Hermione's jaw had dropped open. He looked at Dumbledore with a questioning look and just managed to catch a small smile behind all that seriousness. Dumbledore began.
"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization, ceaselessly battling against Voldemort (Ron flinched). It consists of a hundred or so witches and wizards, who are among the most powerful ones around. Young witches and wizards, not unlike yourselves, whom we identify, will be taken in to train. You will train till you are equipped enough to face Voldemort. This may take years. Now, you will find out more as you go along. Let me inform you of the schedule and you responsibilities . . ."
* * *
Nina listened to Dumbledore explain about the Order of the Phoenix to Harry and Ron. "Talk about ignorant . . ." she thought. Of course, she knew that she had been selected long ago, ever since her relatives were . . .she swallowed the huge lump in her throat. She did not want to think about it. She knew that Hermione, Harry and Ron were selected too. However, Dumbledore had forbid her from telling them anything, so she had zipped up. She could not see why Dumbledore had wanted her here, if all he was going to do was announce the news of their selection . . .well, she would just have to wait and see.
* * *
Ron was staring at Dumbledore in utmost amazement. He could not believe what he was hearing. How could he, Ronald Weasley, be selected for something obviously so honourable and important? He listened to Dumbledore explain the schedule.
"You will be informed," Dumbledore said, "Of the timings of meetings. It will mostly be in the evenings, after dinner. You are to be present at all meetings unless you have a proper reason. Training sessions will also be after lessons. There will be a meeting tomorrow and I expect all of you to be present. You will be informed about the time and venue tomorrow. Now I must ask all of you to get enough rest and pay full attention in class, as being part of the Order of the Phoenix does not mean that you are excused from your O.W.Ls."
Ron scowled deeply.
"But," Dumbledore continued with a twinkle in his eye, "You will be excused from homework on training days." He looked around, solemn all of a sudden. "I do hope you all realise that this is a lot of responsibility, as I have high hopes for all of you." He paused for a moment. "Alright then, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley and Minerva. I expect you will want to get some sleep now. Harry, Nina, stay. I need to have a word with the two of you." Dumbledore showed Hermione, Ron and Macgonagall to the door.
* * *
Harry stared at Dumbledore. What was it that he wanted to say? Why couldn't Hermione and Ron know about it? He waited for Dumbledore to start. Dumbledore, however, did not seem to be in any sort of hurry. He stared at Nina. She seemed to know what Dumbledore wanted . . .
* * *
Nina looked at Dumbledore. She knew what he wanted to talk about. And he probably knew that she had not told Harry about it yet. She braced herself for the stream of questions. It didn't come. Dumbledore merely stared at her. She suddenly realised that Dumbledore expected her to know what he wanted. He wanted her to start talking. She looked at him for help, but he merely nodded. "Go on, Nina."
Nina turned to Harry and started, slow and stammering. "I . . . Harry, you see . . . there is something I have to tell you. This . . . is very important . . . and I . . . I was supposed to tell you long ago, but, well . . ." she hesitated. She couldn't tell him that she did not dare to talk to him before! "Well, I am telling you now," she said, not having found a believable excuse.
"You see, I cannot tell this to anyone except you, my sister and of course, Professor Dumbledore. That is why I did not tell you this earlier, when I was talking about my past. Because I cannot tell Hermione and Ron about this. Harry, the thing now is . . ." she paused. "The whole world's fate is in our hands."
* * *
Hermione started walking away from Dumbledore's office, dragging Ron along as he had insisted on listening in through the door. "What is it that Dumbledore wants to tell Harry and Nina that we cannot hear?" he had moaned to Hermione. So, Hermione had had no choice but to firmly drag him away. In actual fact, she herself had been wondering about what Dumbledore had wanted to tell them. She was just too polite to eavesdrop.
Hermione turned behind to look at Ron. He was still mumbling to himself.
"Oh, Ron, drop it will you?"
"Just leave me alone, mione"
"Fine!" she snapped and turned away. If that's what he wanted, that's what he was going to get. She marched off towards the common room without one look back. She reached the portrait, gave the password, and slipped in quietly. It was not all that late yet and there were still some seventh years sitting in the common room, trying to finish their homework. They were so engrossed that they did not even notice her come in. She tiptoed past them and quietly went to her dormitory. She was still deep in thought about what had happened that evening as she got ready for bed. The Order of the Phoenix . . . her parents were going to be so proud of her . . .
* * *
Harry walked to the common room with Nina. They weren't talking. They couldn't. Harry's brain was struggling to absorb everything that he had heard that evening. First the Order of the Phoenix, and then this. The whole world's fate was in his hands. Harry was not a normal fifteen-year- old and he was used to surprises in the wizarding world, but this was overdoing it. Which fifteen-year-old would be able to handle such an immense responsibility? He looked at Nina. To tell the truth, he thought, she was handling it fine . . . and she was going through much more than he was at that very moment. Maybe he had something to learn from her . . .
* * *
Ron walked up to bed, dragging his feet up the stairs slowly. He was tired and he didn't feel like waiting for Harry as it would mean facing Nina. The Order of the Phoenix . . . what were his Mum and Dad going to say? And then a thought struck him. His father . . . was he part of the Order of the Phoenix? Ron suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow. The first meeting, he thought. He felt so important . . .
* * *
The next day finally dawned on Hogwarts. Nina sprang out of bed. Her first Order of the Phoenix (OOTP) meeting. She couldn't wait. She knew her parents had been part of the OOTP. Now she felt like she was taking their place. She and Natasha. If only her parents could see her now . . .
Nina shook herself, dressed and went down for breakfast. She had to have a good meal to be able to concentrate in class. She started to chat with Hermione who had just arrived while helping herself to pancakes and maple syrup.
* * *
That evening, Harry, Hermione, Nina and Ron made their way to Dumbledore's office right after dinner. Dumbledore was waiting for them. He ushered them into his office and cast his wand around. He uttered a spell, which they could not quite hear, and all of a sudden, they were sitting in a room full of paintings of ancient witches and wizards who were pointing at the four youngsters and whispering excitedly. There were no others in the room except themselves and judging by a good look around, the four newcomers guessed the room could hold more than a hundred and fifty people. They turned to Dumbledore in awe.
"This room is where meetings for the Order of the Phoenix will be held." Dumbledore explained. "The only way to get here is by a spell only known to members of the Order of the Phoenix. Now, you will not be told of the spell yet, as you are still trainees. Once you are a certified member, you will know the spell. So until then, the only way for all of you to get here is to let me transport you here." He smiled. "Now I suggest that you wait here, in the front. The others should be arriving any moment."
* * *
Ron looked around him, struck by the size of the room. Wherever this place was, it definitely wasn't in Hogwarts. There was no way a room of this size could be concealed in Hogwarts. Plus, there was no such room indicated on Harry's map- The Marauder's Map. He turned to Harry to say something, but was cut short by the eighty or so witches and wizards, of all shapes and sizes, appearing in the room. His mouth dropped open. Here and there he spotted a familiar face waving to him but was too shocked to wave back.
* * *
Hermione was staring in awe. She spotted familiar faces waving and waved back. There was Mad-Eye Moody, Professor Lupin, Mr. Weasley (Ron's dad) and that, she blinked to make sure, that was definitely Sirius. He looked completely different from what she remembered of him. He was more clean- shaven now, and looked much younger. She watched as Snape sulked past and felt a pang of satisfaction. "You can't avoid the fact that Harry is a powerful wizard now . . . treat him 'like any other student' will you? He'll show you . . ." she thought to herself.
Finally, Dumbledore stepped up to the small platform at the front of the room (Or was it a dungeon? There were no windows at all . . .) and began to speak.
* * *
Harry listened as Dumbledore started to speak. He did not want to miss a word of it. He was so excited about everything that was going on, even though he did not know why. However, now he understood why Sirius had said that they would be seeing each other soon. He cast a glance at his godfather and felt reassured. Yes, Sirius had always been there, just as he had promised. Dumbledore began.
"We meet again, fellow witches and wizards. Today, we have four youngsters with us. They have been identified by all of you here and will start their training very soon. I introduce Mr. Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Nina Holland and Mr. Ronald Weasley."
There was a huge applause. The sound bounced off the walls and the ceiling and rang loudly in Harry's ears. He smiled broadly and noticed that the other three were doing the same. Obviously, they all felt the same- honoured and important.
*** CHANGE OF SETTING***
In a faraway forest, hidden from the rest of the world, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were standing in the middle of a circle of hooded figures. A cold voice spoke from the nearest one as it moved into the middle of the circle. The three youngsters took a step back.
"My dear Death Eaters, the time has come to introduce to you the new members of our family. Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe and of course, Draco Malfoy."
There was no applause, no cheers, in fact, no response at all. A chill wind picked up and the three in the middle shivered. The cold voice spoke again.
"They will start their training very soon. And hopefully, they will be ready to work for me . . . soon, yes very soon . . ."
* * *
Draco Malfoy was scared. Yes, for the first time in his life, he was frightened beyond his wits. And that cold voice was only frightening him more. He tried to block it out but it was boring into him. He was chilled to the bone, even though the wind had died down ages ago. Was this how it felt to work for the Dark Lord? Was this all? Was this what he had longed to do, for all these years? If it was, then he was sure that he had made a big mistake, for he did not like it all. He hated it. That cold voice was freezing his soul, he could feel it . . .
For once, Draco Malfoy could not wait to get back to Hogwarts.
* * *
Harry has finally found out Nina's secret. And now it's his secret too. How is he going to handle the pressure?
The first OOTP meeting went well for our heroes . . . would it continue that way?
And how about the Death Eaters? How will Malfoy handle his situation now?
Find out in coming chapters!
A/N: Hallo all of you! A BEEG THANX to everyone who reviewed . . . U GUYS ROCK!! Anyway, hope u all enjoyed that chapter . . . the next one might take a little time, very sorry, I will put it up soon, I promise! Thanx again for reading my story! PLS leave me a review, so that I can know the standard of my writing . . . THANX A LOT!! :)