CHAPTER 2:

I don't own Harry Potter... if I did book 5 wouldn't have ended the way it did. O_o

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

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Harry sat staring at the parchment he had just signed long after the room emptied. As he finally decided to rise from the kitchen chair, he felt as if he had just signed his life away.

"You," Harry muttered as he saw the elder house elf standing in the doorway.

"Oh hello new master, sir, Godson of the filth," Kreacher said, taking a deep bow. Harry had a strong desire to kick him, but took a deep breath instead.

"Yes. As your new master, I order you never to leave this house no matter what I say. You are never to leave this house under any circumstances," Harry said and the elf bowed again.

"Yes, master," the elf said in a monotone voice. Harry defied the urge to strangle him by going up to the room he shared with Ron the previous summer. He wished Ron wasn't at the Burrow. Why should Harry be forced to stay in this filthy house without anyone to talk to but Kreacher? His stomach twisted as he realized this was Sirius's life only months ago. He sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, Sirius's grandfather and former Hogwart's headmaster. He knew that Dumbledore had spied on Harry through means of Phineas the previous year. Harry looked bitterly around the room, his eyes falling on Ron's vacant bed. He rummaged through his trunk and finally emerged minutes later with some tacks. He took a bed sheet and pinned it to the wall on either side of Phinneas's portrait, so the sheet completely covered it.

"Hey, now," Phineas called out, his voice muffled. "I can't see anything!"

"Oh," Harry said, holding back a mischievous laugh that was threatening to escape. "Is that all?"

"Professor Dumbledore said you don't have to remove this, though the occupant of the portrait feels it's necessary, but it's about time you opened your O.W.L scores!" the portrait called out a minute later. Harry stared at the sheet but didn't get a chance to answer as two identical redheads had just apparated into the room.

"Hello, Harry," one of them said taking a seat. "We were just at a meeting," he cleared his throat importantly, "you know, with the Order."

"So ... are you in the Order now?" Harry asked sarcastically after a moments silence. They obviously had wanted a response.

"Yes, we are," the other said, "we get a lot of customers, and Dumbledore thought it'd be best if we were in the Order, to report any rumors, and everyone knows Fred and I are superb at eavesdropping."

"Anyway, Mum just came here to make dinner for you and was surprised to see Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, those rebels, had appeared by means of floo powder seconds later. So go downstairs, they're all getting yelled at. Should be fun to watch. Oh, and Dumbledore sent Fawkes with a message to take down the sheet," they both disapperated. Harry looked gloomily at the sheet but didn't take it down. He didn't want to go downstairs to see everybody. He wasn't hungry, he didn't want to socialize. Instead he reached in his trunk and found his O.W.L scores. Tonks must've put them in there when getting his belongings from Privet Drive.

He took a deep breath and unfolded the paper. As his eyes scanned over the paper, he saw that he had done absolutely horrible in Astronomy, and he cringed as he saw his Divination grade. On the other hand, he did very well in Charms, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures, which he thought made up for his bad History of Magic grade. His heart swelled as he saw he did "Outstanding" in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it plummeted when he saw he received an "Exceeds Expectations" in Potions.

He turned the paper over looking for a "JUST KIDDING, POTTER," but as he knew Snape had no sense of humor, he crumpled up the paper and threw it towards the door, which had just opened. Ron caught his grades. Hermione snatched the paper out of his hands.

"Nine O.W.Ls Harry! That's terrific!" She said happily. "Oh! Look -- we'll have Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and Defense together!" A frown came upon her

Ron looked at the paper and a weird look came upon his face, "We will still have Divination though. Everyone gets in Divination. Trelawny doesn't look at the test scores, remember?"

Hermione frowned as her eyes scanned the paper again, "Harry... you got Exceeds Expectations in Potions..." He nodded grimly, "Well... that means you won't have Snape anymore..." She tried to cheer him up.

"Yes..." he said. He wanted to say more but there seemed to be a heavy feeling in his stomach. He only needed an Outstanding to get into Potions... if only he tried a little harder... the chances of being an Auror were now completley gone. Hermione's frown became more prominent as she looked at Harry, but Ron didn't seem to notice anything.

The three headed down to the kitchen for dinner and saw Moody, Tonks, Lupin, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley around the table, Mrs. Weasley at the stove, cooking. They all greeted him as he took his seat. Minutes later, a feast was before them and everybody was helping themselves to food and picking up conversations as they filled both their mouths and stomachs.

"Potter," Moody said while chewing on some turkey. Harry tried not to look to closely at him, he didn't seem to want to close his mouth while eating. "I've got you a gift," he said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a badly wrapped package. Harry raised his eyebrows and Moody nodded, motioning him to open it. Harry did and inside he found a small flask with an attachment that looked as if it was to fit on your belt loop.

"A hip flask?" Tonks said, leaning in and eyeing the object. "Moody you've got to be kidding!" She said, laughing.

"The boy was poisoned!" Moody growled, taking a long swig from his own. "It comes in useful when people are trying to kill you," he said, winking at Harry, who was bewildered.

"Er... thanks," Harry said, nodding and putting it to the side. He didn't say much more and felt more comfortable listening to conversations rather than joining in.

Only about five minutes into dinner, Lupin had excused himself and walked out of the room. Nobody but Harry had seemed to ponder on this. Lupin hadn't said a word the whole night and looked as depressed as Harry felt. He had decided to not think about it anymore, when the discussion turned to the Order. Harry felt sick listening to the subject, and he started feeling spasms in his left forearm. He checked the place where the dark mark was. He had avoided it for the entire day, but it felt as if the skin was twitching. Harry examined it under the table and saw that it looked more like a scar than the authentic mark that he had seen on Snape. It was bright red and looked more like deep gashes sketched into the shapes of a skull and serpent.

When the discussion died down a bit and everyone realized Harry was staring at his arm, he became even more uncomfortable and excused himself. He climbed the stairs, rubbing his forearm absentmindedly, wondering where Lupin had gone off to. This was answered as he heard a rustling of papers and a soft thud coming from the room Harry was staying in. He burst in the room and strode over to Lupin, who was sitting on the floor next to a box.

"Explain this," Harry said, thrusting his forearm into Lupin's eyesight. He stared at it and shook his head.

"I can't," he started slowly, "because I have no idea."

"What? What do you mean you have no idea?" Harry snapped, shocked. Lupin put down the picture and he saw it was of the four marauders, all smiling and looking younger than Harry did.

"Professor Snape analyzed the milk. He said it was a poison frequently used on enemies of those supporting Dark Arts, but there is no reported case of the Dark Mark actually appearing, not even your uncle got the mark," Lupin said, sighing. "I don't know anything. How long it'll stay, if it's permanent, what it means. I don't know, Harry. I have no idea."

Harry sighed, thrusting his hands in his pocket. He wanted an answer. Lupin cleared some pictures off the floor and a spot appeared big enough for Harry to sit down. He did.

"Where'd you find these pictures?" Harry mumbled, picking a large stack up. The one on top was of his father and mother, smiling proudly at him. He recognized Head Boy and Head Girl pins sitting perfectly on the front of their robes.

"After we all left Hogwarts, Sirius's mother died and Audrey, Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, and I used this house whenever we were in the area. Sirius hated it but it was an easy place to meet in." Harry nodded and continued looking at the pictures. He stopped as he came across one that looked like one he had seen loads of times before. But looking at it more carefully, he realized he had never seen this one before. It was a wedding picture, but instead of the two beaming people in the middle being his parents, it was Sirius and a woman Harry had never seen before.

"Sirius was ... married?" Harry said, choking on his own words a bit. Lupin nodded grimly.

"That's Audrey," he said, pointing to the smiling woman. She had brown hair in perfect ringlets that fell past her shoulders. She had a pretty smile, and large, innocent-looking eyes. She kept on looking up at Sirius and smiling happily.

"What happened to her?" Harry asked. It was quite obvious she must have died if he had never heard of her, but it still came as a shock.

"Her name was Audrey Rockwood before she married Sirius," Lupin started, and Harry noticed he looked even more depressed. "Her father is a deatheater, managed not to be put in Azkaban and was working with the ministry up until a few months ago. He's now finally in Azkaban for leaking Ministry secrets to other deatheaters. Her father killed her ... it was right after she married, too."

"Why'd he kill his own daughter?"

"Because he knew who she was married to. Sirius Black was always known as ungreatful and foolish to the supporters of Dark Arts. Him and your father made sure it was publicly known that they despised the Dark Arts. Audrey's father knew this, and was horrified that his daughter had married somebody like that ... so he killed her."

"And he wasn't caught?"

"He said he was under the imperius curse. That was a lie. He didn't even show up at his own daughter's wedding. Sirius was out of control after it happened. He was terrifying. He was never good at controlling his emotions. He was grieving on the inside, but he refused to show that. He became a maniac. He personally felt the responsibility to destroy the dark forces. He caught Audrey's father but the ministry liked him too much to put him into Azkaban. Sirius was outraged that he personally started conflicts with the deatheaters, put about ten in Azkaban, did permanent damage to a couple others. That's when Dumbledore started the Order of the Phoenix ... so Sirius would calm down. It worked, Sirius gave his life to the Order, and then was falsely accused as murdering your parents," Lupin took a deep breath, now also staring down at the picture of the wedding. "Do you know what the veil is Harry?"

"Well, I'm guessing it's a portal between life and death..." He started slowly. He had been thinking about it every night since it happened. "I just don't understand it..."

"Nobody does," Lupin said, giving the smallest of laughs. "That's why it's in the Department of Mysteries. Nobody is sure what it is. All they know is that if a living person enters, they will die.

Harry felt red-hot anger spreading through his body. Sirius had never mentioned a word that he had been married. But that's not why he was mad. He was angry because he never got a chance to ask Sirius. Him and Sirius had never had a conversation that would bring up the topic of a wife. They never had the chance.

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Harry was walking down the stairs to the kitchen only minutes later. He couldn't stand the realization that all he had of his parents and Godfather were pictures. Photographs in their happiest moments, not realizing the fate that they'd be receiving. As he walked gloomily to the kitchen he glared at the walls around him, hating everything about his surroundings.

As he entered the kitchen he hears Ron's voice, angry, followed by his mothers yelling.

"Ronald Weasley you will not stay here!" she shrieked. Harry slipped in the room and took a seat next to Hermione, who glanced at him and put a finger to her lips to silence him.

"I'm staying because it's dark, depressing, and disgusting and Harry should NOT be forced to stay here!" he roared back, "Home of Kreacher, the filthy little..."

"Ron!" Hermione interrupted him. Harry glared at her.

"Don't you even START on rights for house elves. Don't even dare, Hermione Granger. I don't want to hear it. Kreacher is a murderer! How can you..."

"I wasn't going to!" she hissed back, as though they were whispering to each other, even though the whole room had heard Harry's outburst. "Ron shouldn't be swearing if he wants to get his way. Ginny and I want to stay here as well! It's not right that you'll have to be here alone!" Harry silently agreed at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, Ginny spoke.

"We all hate Kreacher, Harry. Honestly. I was just saying I'd like nothing better than to throw his head in a fire so he doesn't get his wish of being next to his mother," she said in a mischievous voice. Harry couldn't help but grin at her. She was acting more like Fred and George every time he saw her. "But, Harry, I would never dream of throwing his head in a fire. You're his owner, I think that should be your honor..."

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked angrily at her youngest child. Ginny just shrugged. "FINE! All of you can go get your things... I'll light a fire for you. But don't be blaming me when you all will be shut in your rooms the whole time! the Order isn't going to let you hear them..."

"But you were willing to shut Harry in here!" Ron yelled angrily.

"And we don't need to go get our stuff, thank you. We brought it along with!" Ginny said, leaving the room with Ron following, still fuming. Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards the two of them.

"Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Weasley ... and thank you for letting us stay ... and thank you for..." Hermione started and Mrs. Weasley nodded putting a hand up for her to stop. Hermione stole a glance from Harry before going to catch up with the others. Harry was just getting up to follow when Mrs. Weasley stopped him.

"Harry, it's not as if Dumbledore wanted to lock you up..." she started, but her voice trailed off.

"Thank you for the dinner," he said, not even the slightest convinced as he left the room.

"You'll find out later..." she called out quietly after him. Harry pretended not to hear her as he left to catch up with the others.

(a/n: what do you think? I promise it gets more exciting!)