/
Chapter ten
New members of the Order
/
The official summons letter specified the exact time when she was supposed to appear in the fireplace at the Ministry of Magic. They did not want to risk anything, and two grumpy Aurors were there waiting for her. Angela barely managed to shake off some the ashes, and they were already dragging her by the elbows for inspection.
There were many other people working in the main corridor, doing their best to remove the consequences of previous night's attack. At the counter in the middle of this chaos, the bearded wizard ran the long golden rod at least three times around Angela's body from the front and back, staring at her like she was some particularly disgusting exhibit in a museum. She also received a silver tag that read: ´Angela Rosier For questioning´ and with obvious disgust, he checked her wand.
"Ten inches, ebony wood, unicorn hair core, used for six years?" he hummed inquiringly.
Angela simply nodded. For a moment, it looked as if the wizard behind the desk did not even want to return her wand, but finally she could slip it back into her back pocket. The Aurors escorted her to the emergency staircase, since the elevator was not in use. They went all the way down to the floor where the elevator did not even go normally and then even lower, down the stone staircase to the floor where the old courtrooms were located.
One Auror walked in front of Angela and the other behind her. She clenched her nails nervously. Where in the hell were they taking her?
At last, they stopped in front of a small oak door. The first Auror banged on the door, it opened and he motioned for Angela to go inside. She took a deep breath and stepped into a dark, small and rather bleak room lit only by three torches. There was a table in the middle and a hard chair on each side of it.
Oh, no! Angela groaned inwardly.
Mad-Eye Moody was sitting on one of them with a mischievous expression. The Minister of Magic was standing behind him in the corner, which surprised her a little, but otherwise, she did not pay him any attention. Also, two members of the Council sat inconspicuously by the wall.
The door slammed shut behind her, and she assumed that the Aurors who had brought her here were standing on guard outside the door.
"Hello, Miss Rosier. Sit down," Moody urged her with a wry smile.
"Hello," Angela replied, trying not to show her uneasiness, and settled in the offered chair. The Minister of Magic merely nodded at her. Several candles suddenly lit up directly above Angela, making her face clearly visible.
"Since our early morning conversation was a bit… Well, let's just say incomprehensible, we'll start right from the beginning," Moody began.
Angela just kept looking at him and did not react. She just subtly covered the fingers of her right hand with her left hand. Moody opened a bulky folder in front of him and leaned against the back of his chair until it creaked. He waved his wand and a quill appeared on the table, along with a seemingly endless piece of parchment.
"The first of August, year 1997, room number five on the zero floor, the interrogation of Miss Angela Mary Rosier, born on the nineteenth of September, year 1980," Moody dictated, his quill scrabbling frantically across the parchment. It reminded Angela of the Quick-Quotes Quill she had seen in the reporter Rita Skeeter´s hands, when she was in the fourth grade at school because of the Triwizard Tournament.
"Mother – Mary Sandra Rosier, born on December the 3rd, year 1960, father unknown..."
Rufus Scrimgeour blinked in surprise.
"Are the information I provided correct, Miss?" Moody glared at Angela.
"Yes," she nodded.
"So, it's simple, I ask you questions and you answer them. In truth, of course."
"Sure, sir," Angela had to stop herself from smirking.
"When did your mother supposedly die?"
As if he did not know that from the newspaper, Angela thought.
"Three months after You-Know-Who disappeared, on the seventh of November 1981," she answered aloud.
"And how?"
"It was said she died in a skirmish with the remaining Death Eaters, who had not yet been arrested while trying to protect her injured sister."
"She had a funeral, didn't she?"
"Yes."
"Therefore, the coffin is most likely empty..."
"I do not know."
"You don't know who your father is?"
"No."
"Who took care of you after your mother's supposed death?"
"Until I was almost sixteen, my mother's sister – Aunt Marion. She died of an incurable disease a year ago."
"Where is your aunt buried?"
"At Death Manor Wizarding Graveyard."
"Is she there really?"
She narrowed her eyes angrily: "What kind of rude question is that, Mr Moody?"
"Just answer it."
"Yes, she´s buried there! She passed away right in front of my eyes," Angela responded, already a bit upset.
"All right, then… Who's taken care of you since then?"
"Narcissa Malfoy."
"Why?"
"She's an old friend and distant relative of my mother. If she didn't take me in, I would have to go to an orphanage. I have no other relatives."
"How long have you been living with the Malfoys?"
"Almost exactly a year."
"And did you happen to catch a glimpse of Mr Lucius Malfoy there?" Moody fired at her.
"No," Angela snapped. "If he was there, I don't know about it."
Damn, Mother was right. All those lies were coming out of her mouth almost by themselves.
"How is your relationship with Madam Malfoy's son – Draco?"
"What does this have to do with my mother?" Angela shot back. "We know each other from school," she replied as Moody glared at her.
"So, you're friends?"
"Yes, you could say that."
"Hmm, you're probably going to move out when you're of age, aren't you?"
"Yes. The house at 33 Golden Street where I used to live with my aunt is now mine."
"Really? Yes, yes, I have your aunt's last will here…"
There was a short pause.
"Did you know your mother was a Death Eater back then, before her public death?"
Angela answered cautiously. This was quite a nice trap.
"And how did you come up with this?" she wondered. "I didn't know about that."
"What about your aunt? Was she a follower of You-Know-Who?"
"No," she replied after a moment's hesitation.
"Do you know where your mother was after she supposedly died and left England?"
"I read in the Prophet that probably in Europe."
Moody kept frowning more and more. He was not probably very happy about her answers.
"So, when did you find out your mother was alive?"
Angela stared at him. What should she say? If Dumbledore had been there, he would have had her back. Both the minister and Moody knew that she found out about it earlier, but there were two other people here and her statements were recorded…
"Early this morning from you," she said firmly.
The Minister of Magic nodded his head as if expecting this.
"Then, you don't know exactly when she returned to England?"
"No."
"She hasn't contacted you in any way? Her own daughter?"
"No."
"How does it make you feel now that she's alive and a servant of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Moody asked sarcastically.
Angela paused. She almost wanted to jump on the old Auror and bang his head against the table until his nasty magic eye fell out.
"Not very well, sir… But I don't take her as my mother anyway. My aunt Marion was, all those years."
"You don't know where your mother might be right now?"
"No."
"If she came to you and wanted you to come over to her side, what would you do, Miss?"
Angela shrugged: "My aunt brought me up in belief that it is wrong to do evil. I would want to refuse, but… she is my mother after all…"
"That's a somewhat questionable position..."
"Yes, I know. Therefore, I would try to persuade her to give herself up."
"Hmm, all right. There is one more thing... I know your house is protected by a protective spell, so I must ask you to let us in there."
"Why?"
"We need to search it to see if your mother is not hiding there."
"Oh, yes, sure. Do you want to go there now?"
"As soon as possible, yes."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, basically. Here, you just have to sign your testimony."
"Of course."
The quill finally stopped scratching and moved through the air into Angela's palm. The end of the parchment also appeared on the table in front of her. She scanned the sentences with her eyes and scrunched the tip of the quill in her fingers. She felt her knees shaking and was glad that her hands were not.
She bent down and signed with a decisive movement. Although not by full name… She might want to add ´Black ´behind her surname, but she could not afford it. She was kind of interested in what it would look like...
/
She glared grumpily at the Aurors, who were turning everything upside down in the house. If they could and knew how, they would probably drain the water from the pool. She finished the note and tied it to the foot of the black owl patiently waiting on the table.
Half an hour later, when the owl returned with the answer, she tapped twice on her silver bracelet.
Five minutes later the Auror squad finally dropped out and she headed out into the corner of the garden.
/
"Angela! Come inside!" Daria invited her in with a worried expression.
They settled on the small balcony that belonged to Daria's room, because the afternoon shade was already resting on it and it was a little more pleasant there than in the stuffy rooms of the house.
"How are you?" her friend asked cautiously after sipping a glass of iced juice.
"Not particularly great," Angela admitted. "I was released from questioning about two hours ago."
"They rushed it," her friend raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, given the chaos the Ministry is in right now. The crap I threw at them makes me sick," she added tiredly.
"You had to lie. Otherwise, they could even arrest you," Daria comforted her.
"I know. But I still have a bad conscience about it. They even searched our house."
"Is your mother hiding somewhere?"
"Yes. And I'll leave her there for a while. At least I have a bit of peace for myself."
Angela took a drink and looked thoughtfully over the roofs of the other houses into the distance.
"And how was the party?"
"Huh? What party?" she raised her eyebrows, but then she remembered. "Yeah, the birthday… It was pretty good."
"Good? And that's all? What about Harry?"
"Harry? Yeah, he was happy."
"Angela, you know what I mean," Daria urged on her.
She sighed: "I didn't even get to tell him I was engaged to Draco."
"What? And don't you think you should tell him as soon as possible?"
"I wanted to, but then something interrupted us and my chance was gone."
"Oh, Angela, you never…" Daria stopped in mid-sentence, listening. Some voices came from around the corner of the house where the main entrance was.
Daria smiled in delight as she recognized Draco's voice in addition to her grandmother's. Angela, on the other hand, sighed again. Daria stood up, leaned over the railing, and called loudly: "Let him in, Grandma!"
Malfoy junior and Mrs Merrill at the door both distinctly heard Daria's call. The grandmother looked Draco Malfoy over once more and then beckoned him inside.
"Up the stairs, to the right and second door on the left," she instructed him.
He thanked her and went in the indicated direction. He was really looking forward to Daria. With her, at least for a while, he might forget everything that happened at the Ministry. He knocked and the door to her room immediately flew open. Daria jumped around his neck.
"Hello, sweetheart," she greeted him with a smile and a quick kiss on the lips.
Then she wanted to pull away from him, but Draco would not let her get away that easily. He pulled her close again and began kissing her in a way that almost made Daria's knees buckle. They had not seen each other for a few days, but still he could not get enough of her presence.
Angela peeked into the room from the balcony, saw them standing in the doorway, and turned away with a sad smile.
Their lips slowly parted and Draco brushed Daria's unruly hair from her forehead.
"I missed you," he said softly.
"We saw each other three days ago," Daria reminded him.
"So what?"
She pulled away from him with a short, sweet chuckle, took his hand and pulled him to the balcony.
"Come on, we've already prepared a chair for you."
We? Draco thought, scowling. As soon as he saw the long light brown hair tied in a braid from behind, his assumption was only confirmed. They sat down next to Angela, who raised her head.
"Good afternoon, Draco," she addressed him dryly. "I really wouldn't expect you here."
He looked at her and snapped: "Hi!"
"Aren't you glad to see me?" she asked smugly.
"On the contrary, I am overjoyed," he retorted cynically.
"But you don't look like that."
"Would you kindly stop?"
"Doing what?"
"Oh, come on, both of you!" Daria cut in. "Is this how just engaged couple treat each other?" she added sarcastically.
Both Draco and Angela gave her a very nasty look.
"Oops, I know," she raised her hands in overreacted apology. "I'm sorry I even mentioned it."
Angela glared at her right hand as if she wanted to cut it off on the spot and Draco stared grimly straight ahead.
"You know what? I see you need to talk, so for now I'll go get Draco a drink and you guys deal with it, okay?" Daria stood up from her chair again, striding past Angela and left.
There was silence for a long time. Finally, Angela broke it.
"So, what troll invaded your room this time?" she asked.
"Me? Don´t you think it got into yours?" Draco protested. "I just wanted to be alone with Daria, that's all."
"I see."
Draco eyed her frowning: "Are you still mad at me about that ring?"
Angela sneered: "What do you think? It only causes problems for me, about which of course you don't care at all!"
"Hey, don't take it out on me! It's not my fault that your mother is incapable!"
Angela froze. "What did you just say?"
"I get it – you probably had a bad day, but it's not my fault," Draco repeated.
"What did you mean by that incapability?" she specified her question more clearly.
Draco rolled his eyes: "Your mother was careless and they cut her off from others. She was extremely lucky she didn't get caught and her mask just fell off."
His fiancée stared at him: "And you know all this how?"
Only then Draco realized his tongue slipped a bit. "Well, I was there," he replied after a moment.
"At the Ministry?"
"Yeah."
"But... You're not yet..."
"A Death Eater, I know," he finished for her. "My father suggested it and the Lord agreed."
Angela was looking at him somewhat worriedly now. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sitting here in front of you, am I not?"
She frowned: "Don't be so cynical."
There was another silence for a while.
"Who paid for it?" Draco asked quietly then. "I heard the Lord left a… business card there."
"Yes, he did. Didn't you read the newspaper? She was a friend of Nymph-" Angela stopped at that moment.
"Yes? What did you want to say?" he prodded her with a terrifying smile. "Whose friend?"
Angela swallowed. She was the one not holding her tongue back this time.
The name of Nymphadora Tonks was not in the Prophet. She was a close friend of that murdered witch. She was convinced that this was what Draco had been waiting for. When she forgets herself and says something like that. Now, she was lost on words and did not know how to get out of it.
"You're silent," Draco stated flatly. "I expected that. You probably know more than you dare to admit, huh?"
Angela did not know what to think of his behaviour. She believed she already knew the young Malfoy, yet now he seemed more mysterious to her than ever. Was he upset or just disappointed?
"Never mind, forget it. Have you been to that interrogation yet?" Draco changed the topic as if nothing had happened.
Angela nodded slowly: "Yes, I was."
"And they've certainly searched your house, haven't they?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then why don't you tell your mother, who's sitting in our living room?"
Angela snorted: "I think it can be understood," she snapped grumpily.
Draco did not answer. Daria entered the balcony.
"So? Is it better now?" she asked as she sat down and placed a tall glass in front of Draco.
"I think so," her boyfriend replied, fixing his gaze on Angela.
"I agree, but I'd rather go," Angela finished her glass quickly. "Have a nice day, you two… Bye."
"Stop by again soon!" Daria called after her.
Angela just nodded and walked away.
Draco did not wait for anything else and immediately pulled playfully defensive Daria onto his lap.
/
Another morning came, another day, and the second of August along with it.
Angela´s mother left early with a rather disgusted expression and only said that she would not return until late at night. Although Angela found it strange why she would be gone for so long, she knew from experience that it was better not to ask. At least she did not have to bother with Draco's bracelet and made her way to Grimmauld Place around four in the afternoon.
In the entrance hall, she ran into Hermione, with whom she started talking normally after an awkward moment, and before long Harry joined them. Ron arrived not long after Angela, accompanied by rather grumpy looking Mrs Weasley, which looked rather unusual, and the twins Fred and George in tow. Angela quite understood their mother's expression. She knew that from that day she would have almost her entire family in the Order, and that would not add to the peace of mind after all.
They started talking and Angela noticed that everyone was deliberately avoiding the subject of her mother. She was just happy for that. After Moody´s interrogation, she did not feel like answering any more questions about her.
After a quarter of an hour, the door opened again and Lupin walked in, leading – to everyone's surprise – Neville Longbottom and his proud grandmother.
"Neville!" Ron welcomed him beaming. "You too?"
Before the rather lanky young man with black hair could answer, his grandmother was already pushing him toward them with a smile.
"Of course! My Neville will be as good as his parents, bet on it! They will be proud of him!"
"But Grandma, they hardly notice anything," Neville said quietly, after greeting everyone.
"What are you talking about? I'll tell them everything, everything. Let them know what has become of their son!" Neville's grandmother continued.
Harry and the others graciously took him into their circle, and the more and more excited conversation continued. The current members of the Order arrived then, some still scarred after the battle at the Ministry. Pale Tonks, slightly less limping Moody, Sturgis Podmore, Elfias Doge with a cane, Hagrid, who proudly showed them another knocked out tooth, Kingsley Shacklebolt unexpectedly came as well, with a bandage around his head, Dedalus Diggle constantly throwing some pills into his mouth and Arthur Weasley with a tape on his eye. Dumbledore and his brother Aberforth were the very last to enter the hall.
Dumbledore greeted everyone and then they all moved downstairs to the kitchen. There his brother uncovered the secret entrance to a long corridor. They walked to the very end of it. Albus Dumbledore opened the double oak doors with his wand and entered a spacious underground wood panelled room. It was lit by many glowing torches with three long tables with sturdy chairs on either side and across these tables on the other side against the wall stood two comfortable armchairs. Above it all was a beautiful, colourful wood carving of the Phoenix. The sign of this magical bird was also on the backs of all the chairs.
However, only some wizards remained in this room. The others continued into a much smaller room with a round table. Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Aberforth Dumbledore, Harry, Angela, Ron, Hermione and Neville took their seats around the table. The door they had come through closed tightly, blocking their view of the Weasleys, Lupin, Tonks, and the others.
Albus Dumbledore scanned everyone in the room, stopping at each for a while. Harry thought that there were a lot more wrinkles on the professor's face than the last time he saw him.
"I was hoping there would be more of you," Dumbledore finally looked at three empty chairs.
"They're scared, Dumbledore," Moody noted in a deep voice.
"And can we be surprised?" remarked the Hogwarts Headmaster's brother.
There was silence for a moment.
"So," Albus Dumbledore finally began. "The three of us, as the oldest members of the Order, must always unequivocally agree on accepting another member. We normally accept students after graduation, as you've heard several times before, but recent events are forcing us to make some changes. You are all of legal age except Miss Rosier, but I have briefly familiarized both my colleagues with your situation, Angela. It was necessary, so I hope you won't be too upset about it."
Not exactly having any word in it, Angela just shook her head dumbly.
"You all already know the main seat of the Order of the Phoenix, you know what Lord Voldemort can do, and you volunteered to become members of the Order. Before you swear an unbreakable oath of allegiance, I must ask you again whether you have changed your mind."
One by one, they all firmly voiced their ´no´.
"Good. Then, there is also the last chance for one of the three of us to speak out against your acceptance, or to ask him or her a question. Naturally, I don't mind any of you… Aberforth?"
His brother looked them all over and Harry felt just as strange about his x-ray gaze as the Headmaster's. He stopped at Angela's for a long time.
"I only have two questions," he said at last. "Miss Rosier, who taught you Occlumency?"
"My aunt Marion Rosier. She used to teach even Aurors at the Ministry."
"Oh yes, I remember her. An admirable woman… And the other… Who taught it you, Mr Potter?"
Harry stopped for a moment. He did not expect such a question, but he answered it calmly.
"Snape."
"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected him automatically.
Harry did not react and Aberforth seemed to be satisfied.
"I have no further questions or objections," he announced casually, leaning back in his chair.
"Alastor?" Dumbledore turned to the Auror.
Moody was staring intently at the table, and Angela did not have a good feeling about it.
"Well," he drawled. "Against these four," he pointed at Neville, Hermione, Ron and Harry. "I have nothing at all, but Miss Rosier is a different case."
Angela stared into his eyes, however unsettling she found them.
"When I interrogated her I realized that she is a great liar, when you then told me how it really was, Dumbledore. I also find hard to believe that the daughter of a Death Eater would sympathize with the Order that much and risk her life for…"
"Professor Dumbledore didn't explain that to you?" Angela interrupted him, trying to stay calm.
"Very briefly," assumed Moody sourly.
"Should I explain it to you all in details and risk my life even more?" she asked then.
Moody's scarred face sneered, but he remained silent.
"You can't throw all the descendants of Death Eater families into one bag! What do you know about what´s like to have parents like that?" Angela continued, anger seeping into her voice. "Most of them are raised to serve evil and they like it, they can't even imagine a different life, yes, but not all of them! Not everyone is like that!"
For a moment, even a straw would be heard if it fell to the ground. Then Moody straightened up and said: "Well, let's say you convinced me a little with this speech. But I have one more question, Miss."
"Then ask," Angela coldly urged him.
"Can you explain to us why you have the Malfoy family ring on your right hand?" snapped Moody.
Angela's rage faded. She looked at Moody, realizing it too late. After all, his magical eye could see through almost anything.
"Alastor, I can…" Dumbledore started, but Moody rudely cut him off.
"No, Dumbledore! I want the young lady to explain it herself!"
Angela looked down at her right hand.
"I have it because it can't be taken off," she replied quietly.
"And why can't it be taken off?" Moody asked in a dangerous tone.
"Because I'm engaged to Draco Malfoy."
Deep silence followed. Everyone but the Dumbledore brothers stared at her in shock.
"Sorry? Can you repeat that?" Moody spoke in a weird tone.
"I'm Draco's fiancée," Angela repeated a little louder. She could feel Harry's burning gaze on her, but she was afraid to look up. "Of course we both protested, but it was no use. He wanted it, and no one dares to oppose Him."
"Who wanted your engagement?" Hermione asked in a strained voice, though she knew the answer like everyone else.
She took a deep breath: "Lord Voldemort."
"But… why?" Harry wondered quietly.
Angela finally looked at him with her eyes shining: "I have no idea," she replied shakily.
/
"I swear loyalty and devotion to the Order of the Phoenix and help to all its members in any situation. I promise not to betray it and to always fight on its side against evil."
After pronouncing the oath, Dumbledore placed a fairly wide gilded bracelet with a miniature phoenix on their right hands. Even before that, Angela wanted to make sure she could take it off whenever she wanted, because if she showed up at a Death Eater gathering with this… Rather not to imagine the reactions. On that, Dumbledore told them about a very convenient feature of the bracelet – only the Order members could see it. Angela was quite relieved to hear that.
After their induction into the Order, Dumbledore took Harry, Angela and Lupin aside and asked them to go with him to the privacy of salon. They settled there and waited tensely for Dumbledore´s words.
"I've been having a bad feeling lately and I'd like to clear something up," began the Hogwarts headmaster, who suddenly looked like a stooped old man, which almost startled Harry. "I just want to discuss with you who will be the Keeper of Fidelius Charm after me. After all, I'm too old now and anything can happen, so we have to agree in advance on who will take over after me.''
All three of them were stunned into silence.
"Please, don´t all of you volunteer," Dumbledore smiled weakly. "Of course, it's a huge risk, but it's got to be up to someone."
Harry and Remus both spoke at the same time.
"I'll do it."
"It will be me."
Dumbledore sighed.
"That's exactly what I expected."
"But if something were to happen to you, Professor," Angela said a bit hesitantly. "Voldemort would be expecting that it is Lupin or Harry who took over the secret."
"That is quite possible, yes…" Dumbledore nodded.
"What about you then, Angela?" Lupin eyed her with a thoughtful expression. "He would have never guessed, it could be you, right?
Angela turned to him a little surprised and Harry frowned.
"Those are reasonable reasons, but I don't think it should be her," Dumbledore countered. "There´s already too great a load on this young witch´s back."
Angela dropped her gaze to the floor and did not react.
"So, who do you think it could be, Headmaster?" asked Lupin.
"Someone that Voldemort would expect even less than Angela. Severus Snape."
"Not him!" all three of them jumped up angrily at once.
"No way!" snapped Lupin.
"Forget it!" protested Harry.
"I won't allow the secret of this house to fall in the hands of that man!" Angela fumed.
"How did you even think of that, Headmaster?" Lupin wondered.
"How can you trust him so much?" Harry joined him.
"I wouldn't believe anything he says!" Angela declared.
"Calm down, please," Dumbledore quieted them. "Although I expected such a reaction, I was hoping you might have changed your mind."
"Changed our mind?!" Harry howled. "You can't be serious, Professor!"
Lupin sat down in astonishment.
"You trust him, Professor, and I won't take it from you," Angela said a little more calmly. "But neither of us will allow that."
"Well, all right," Dumbledore nodded tiredly. "In that case… I think it should be you, Angela. Even if it makes me feel guilty."
Young Rosier sat down on the couch again, her expression tense and serious.
"All right… But I´m willing to take it upon myself, only because I believe that you, Professor, will remain the Guardian of this secret for a long time to come."
Dumbledore smiled sheepishly. It was like a whiff of a light summer breeze.
"I don't like it," Harry objected. "There's really going to be too much of everything on Angela with this."
"Then you need to take better care of her, Harry," Lupin commented with a smile.
Harry's face picked up a slightly reddish colour, while Angela anxiously stared at the ground. She did not believe she would have a chance with Harry, especially now that he knew she was engaged and she had not told him about it herself.
