Chapter Three: The Meeting of the Order

They arrived back at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place a few hours later. Harry was ushered inside, and after several moments he was greeted warmly by Molly Weasley, who ushered him quickly up the stairs. Lupin watched them go, knowing that Harry would be full to bursting of questions, knowing that Harry would want to attend the meeting that was already underway.

Lupin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and started down the stairs toward the kitchen. He was beyond tired now; all he wanted was to retire to his room upstairs and fall onto the bed and sleep. Sleep for a week, sleep through the change he knew was coming on him...

He reached the kitchen, barely hearing the footsteps of those behind him, and headed inside. Sitting at a long table were several more members of the Order. Albus Dumbledore was not here this evening, but Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School, sat at the head of the table, looking tired but severe and focused behind her square spectacles. Next to her sat Severus Snape.

Lupin swallowed his distaste at seeing Snape. They had never liked one another. Indeed, Snape loathed Lupin almost as much as he loathed Sirius, as he had loathed James when James was alive. Their mutual hatred went back to when they were all boys at Hogwarts. Snape had once been a Death Eater himself, but something had happened-Lupin had never figured out just what- to make Severus flee Voldemort's service and return to the side of good.

Lupin could not bring himself to hate Snape so easily, however, considering it was Snape's own potions that kept Lupin from being far worse off than he already was. Then again, Lupin knew that the only reason Snape continued to prepare the potion for him at all was because Dumbledore insisted on it. Without this, Lupin was quite certain Snape would be happy enough to let Lupin suffer the full effects of his painful condition without a second thought.

Lupin's eyes caught Arthur Weasley and the Weasleys' eldest son, Bill, and he nodded to them. They nodded back and smiled, but both had serious looks on their faces. Lupin took a seat next to Sirius, who was alternately glaring at Snape and eyeing Minerva McGonagall with some impatience.

"Sirius," Lupin whispered.

Sirius snapped his head round to face Lupin. "Did you-" he began.

"He's here," Lupin whispered. "He's fine. You'll see him later, after the meeting. I expect he's upstairs with his friends now, getting caught up."

"They've been eavesdropping," said Sirius.

"Naturally," said Lupin. "And they'll certainly tell Harry everything they've learned."

"Kids," said Sirius, smiling and shaking his head.

The others all took their seats as McGonagall cleared her throat.

"The meeting is called to order," she said in a pinched voice. "Remus, give us your report."

Lupin stood up, his eyes darting briefly to Tonks, then back at McGonagall. "Potter's here, he's fine. Journey went off without a hitch."

"Good," said McGonagall stiffly, as Lupin sat back down. "Kinsgley, any news from the inside?"

"Security isn't any tighter," said Kingsley in his deep voice. "At least, not going in and out of the Ministry. Inside it's another story. Fudge gets more paranoid by the day. He's taken to patrolling the departments, and sending out lackeys to do the same. And by now he's practically taken over The Daily Prophet, turned it into a propaganda arm of his own office."

Several murmurs of disgust immediately went up.

"Quiet," McGonagall snapped, but her voice was low, and everyone immediately shut up. Lupin smiled; she had been one of his favorite teachers when he was at Hogwarts, in part because he was so impressed by the way she could command attention without ever having to raise her voice.

"Fudge is using some of those loyal to him to keep tabs on employees," Kingsley went on. "We already know Percy Weasley-"

Arthur Weasley coughed and Bill Weasley scowled. Kingsley looked apologetically at them both and continued.

"-is giving him hourly reports on what's going on in certain offices."

"What about Malfoy?" McGonagall asked. Snape stiffened visibly in his chair.

"Malfoy's throwing money at the Ministry every chance he gets," said Kingsley, sounding disgusted. "As far as Fudge is concerned, Malfoy's past history is forgotten, and whatever Harry might have witnessed is nothing more than the usual fantasies by an unbalanced child."

More snorts of disgust, but this time McGonagall joined them before silencing them all again and continuing.

"Malfoy's a clever one," Kingsley continued. "Keeps everything very close to the vest. And he's not just throwing money at the Ministry. He's throwing it at all sorts of big charities and what, making himself look ever more respectful in the community. We're not going to nail Lucius Malfoy anytime soon."

"They can't live in this denial forever," said Emmeline Vance, looking annoyed. "Sooner or later You-Know-Who is going to act. Or some of his followers. The Daily Prophet can't ignore Dementors on the loose, either."

"They can, and they have," said McGonagall angrily. "Not one word about what happened to Potter, not one letter about two Dementors running rampant in a Muggle neighborhood. Are we any closer to figuring out who sent them?"

"Who else could it be but You-Know-Who?" said Arthur Weasley.

"Unless someone from the Ministry, one of Fudge's toadies, did it," suggested Bill.

"That's cracked," said Tonks. "Fudge is a right bugger but even he's not that crazy or that cold. Sending Dementors after a kid?"

"More to the point, Fudge wouldn't take that big a risk," said Kingsley. "He's nothing if not a coward. If he sent them, there's a chance-however small--it might get traced back to him. No. If it was someone inside the Ministry, it wouldn't be the Minister. It would be someone close to him, who had a lot less to lose. And I'd say that person did it without Fudge's knowledge."

"Does it matter at this point?" said Sirius, sounding frustrated. "I'll agree that Fudge didn't send the Dementors, but so what? The fact that they showed up plays right into his hands, doesn't it? What else was Harry supposed to do to defend himself and that cousin of his BUT use magic? Now Harry's facing a disciplinary hearing and he could wind up getting expelled from school. Either way Harry's in a right mess. He saves his own life but he might damn well have his wand taken from him. If that happens he might as well stand on a street corner and ask Voldemort to come take him out." Sirius pounded his fist on the table angrily.

"Easy," said Lupin softly. "Dumbledore's done all he can to help Harry in this. Harry only has to face a disciplinary hearing; there are a lot of people in the Wizengamot who aren't sycophants to Fudge."

"Even if Potter gets off," said McGonagall, "and there's no reason why he shouldn't, the public has already been poisoned against him. And Albus."

"Meanwhile, not one order has been issued about increasing security in the Department of Mysteries," said Kingsley. "Oh sure, they keep the doors locked, but nobody's monitoring who's going in and out."

"Well, then, it'll have to be up to us to monitor the situation, won't it?" said McGonagall archly. "On top of everything else. Do you MIND, Mundungus?"

Everyone turned toward the chair where Mundungus Fletcher was sitting. He was in the midst of lighting up a very smelly pipe.

"Sorry, 'Nerva," he muttered sheepishly, putting out the pipe and huddling into his seat. Fletcher had rather sharply fallen out of McGonagall's (and many others') good graces since he'd abandoned his duties guarding Harry.

At that moment, the kitchen door opened slowly and Molly Weasley entered. She didn't bother sitting but stood off to the side, watching the proceedings quietly, but not before nodding to Sirius and Lupin.

"But in other news," Kingsley said, smirking, "I can report that the hunt for Sirius Black is going very well and we should be making an arrest any day now."

Sirius smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Right," said McGonagall, smoothing her severely styled hair. "We'll have to use the lot of you on the inside, I suppose. Nympha-

"Yeah," said Tonks quickly. "I'm on it."

"You'll start tomorrow," said McGonagall sternly. "Mundungus can handle the night shift tonight, I think."

"Aw, come on, 'Nerva-" Fletcher began.

"Do you mean to argue with me, Mundungus?" McGonagall asked, giving him a supremely disdainful look.

"No," said Fletcher quickly, but not hiding his disgruntled expression from her. Lupin pursed his lips to keep from smiling.

"Nymphadora can rotate with Kingsley and Arthur, I think," McGonagall went on, not seeming to hear Tonks' rather loud wince at the use of her first name. "You know where you need to be, yes?"

"Yeah," said Tonks, running a hand through her pink hair. Lupin remembered that he'd have to have a word with her about that.

"As for Potter," said McGonagall stiffly. "Dumbledore's wishes are clear. He is on a strict need-to-know basis. I'd prefer it if only Black or the Weasleys fill him in. It's not for any of the rest of you to go talking to him about what's been going on. Understood?"

Every nodded, Lupin included, but inside he felt his stomach twist. On the one hand he understood why everyone was being so protective of Harry. On the other hand, Harry was not a child anymore. He deserved to know the truth, didn't he? Not the least because Voldemort was trying to kill him. After spending a month alone, incommunicado, Harry would be dying to know what was going on, what the Order was doing to try and stop Voldemort.

Lupin glanced round at Molly and saw her giving her husband a significant look.

"I should tell all of you," McGonagall went on. "The Daily Prophet is not the only place the Ministry is interfering with. Fudge is in the process of choosing a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts."

"That's Dumbledore's job!" said Arthur Weasley indignantly.

"Not anymore," said McGonagall bitterly. "Oh, of course Dumbledore will have the opportunity to pick a suitable candidate, but in the end it'll be a Ministry drone, someone in Fudge's camp. He'll want someone in the school to dig up as much dirt on Albus and Potter as he or she can find."

Lupin glanced over at Snape, who was scowling. Of course Snape would want the Dark Arts job; he always had. But Dumbledore would never give it to him. Snape's past history...was a strike against him. And even if Dumbledore did offer Snape the job, Fudge would put the bosh on that in a second. Fudge was perfectly happy to overlook Lucius Malfoy's past as a Death Eater, but not Snape's. Snape, of course, didn't have gold to throw around.

"Right, then," said McGonagall, rising from her chair. "The meeting's adjourned, unless anyone has anything else to add."

At the other end of the table, Mundungus Fletcher-who had fallen asleep- began to snore loudly.

McGonagall rolled her eyes. "It's always gratifying to see Fletcher take his duties seriously." She exchanged a look with Molly, and they both gazed at Fletcher with undisguised contempt.

"Dismissed, all of you," said McGonagall brusquely, gathering up a stack of parchment and shoving it into a tartan bag. She pulled on her robes, covering up the Muggle-style dress she wore, and exited out of the kitchen, her back rigid and straight.

Tonks stood up and stretched, ruffling her pink hair again, and started toward the door.

"Tonks," said Lupin. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"What?" she said, looking a bit surprised. Then a smile-a very lovely smile- crossed her face. "Okay."

He put a hand on her elbow and guided her into a corner of the room, as the others filed out.

"I couldn't help noticing the change in your hair color," said Lupin.

"Oh, yeah," said Tonks, blushing slightly. "I realized violet's not really my color."

"Look," said Lupin. "Perhaps I should have said something earlier, but...well...the middle of an important mission is hardly the time to spend on changing your hair. Switching Spells are rather time consuming and-"

Tonks gasped and looked very offended.

"For your information," she said through gritted teeth, "I happen to be a Metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance at will and it takes me all of a second to do it. Care to see?"

Lupin swallowed, feeling even stupider. "Tonks, forgive me-"

But she closed her eyes and screwed up her face as though she were concentrating very hard, and in the next instant her short pink hair was long and dark red.

"Pretty neat trick, isn't it?" said Tonks, struggling to keep her voice down. "So as you can see, REMUS, I wasn't upstairs in Harry's room dilly- dallying over my hair. I'm sure this comes as a complete shock to you but I AM an Auror and I DO understand what's at stake and I DO take my assignments very seriously."

Lupin forced himself to look at her face. She looked angry, affronted, but most of all, she looked hurt. He felt the heat creeping up his neck again, only this time he felt horrible.

"I'm sorry, Tonks," he said, his mouth dry. He looked at the floor. "I...I didn't know..."

Tonks sighed and shook her head. "Well, now you do."

"Forgive me," said Lupin. "I didn't mean-"

"Look, Lupin," said Tonks quickly, holding up her hands. "I may be young and I may be the clumsiest witch on the planet Earth but I know what's what. I know how important Harry is. And not just because...you know." Her eyes wandered over to Sirius, who was in conversation with Arthur Weasley.

Lupin swallowed again-his throat felt like a desert. He felt more ridiculous than he'd ever felt in his life.

"I'm sorry," he said again, for lack of anything better.

"It's okay," said Tonks, her voice softer. "I suppose I shouldn't have done that with my hair, even if it does only take me a second."

There was a silence that seemed to stretch for ages, and Lupin finally said, "So, you're a Metamorphmagus. That's...rare, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Tonks. "Really rare. But it's saved my arse more than once in Auror training."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Remus, you've seen how clumsy I am," said Tonks. "I practically failed Stealth and Tracking, but I got full marks on Concealment and Disguise, so I guess the powers that be thought it balanced out. I make a perfect spy so long as I don't have to engage in any stealth and tracking."

"I get it," said Lupin. "It must be...interesting...to be able to look however you want."

"It breaks up the boredom, yeah," said Tonks.

"I don't suppose you could teach me," said Lupin. "Grey's not my color, see." He fingered a bit of his greying hair, and then blushed and looked down. Where had THAT come from?

But then Tonks put a hand under his chin and tilted his face back up to meet hers. Lupin vaguely realized he was holding his breath, vaguely recognized that she was touching him, that her hand was surprisingly soft, that she looked very lovely with long red hair, that she moved her hand from beneath his chin and to his hair, brushing a stray lock from his eyes.

"I think the grey suits you," she said. "Makes you look...distinguished."

"I think it just makes me look old," he said. Her hand was still in his hair. She was very close to him. The room suddenly seemed to be silent. Lupin felt dizzy and remembered at that moment to breathe. She blushed then, and quickly took her hand away from his hair.

"You're not that old," she said, looking at the floor.

"Gee, thanks," said Lupin wryly.

"That's not what I meant," said Tonks quickly, blushing so that her face now matched the color of her hair. "I mean, you're older than me, of course, and your hair's a bit grey and what but it's not like you're old enough to be my dad or anything. I mean, I have a couple of uncles who are your age but they're not old, either and...oh, bloody hell. Forget it. I really know how to step in it, don't I? My dad always said I had a big mouth."

She was looking up at him, smiling very shyly, and Lupin realized he wasn't breathing again. He was looking at her mouth and he was thinking it was a very lovely mouth...

"I see you two are getting better acquainted."

Lupin blinked and Tonks took a quick step back. Sirius clapped Lupin roughly on the shoulder.

"Yes," said Lupin quickly, hating himself for going red in the face, hating Sirius even more for the knowing look in his eyes. "Uh, your cousin was just telling me about herself. The fact that she's a Metamorphmagus."

"Actually," said Sirius, grinning, "Tonks is my first cousin once removed; her mum's my cousin. How is your mum, anyway, Tonks?"

"She's fine," said Tonks, still blushing. "She and Dad are enjoying their retirement, but she...she told me to tell you that she's willing and able to help, you know, any way she can."

"I should invite her over sometime," said Sirius.

"I doubt your mum would appreciate that," said Tonks, arching her eyebrows.

"All the more reason for Andromeda to come and visit," said Sirius. "Anything I can do to antagonize my lovely mother is always welcome."

The three of them laughed, but a bit uncomfortably.

"So, I guess I'll just go and help Molly fetch Harry and the other kids," said Tonks quickly. "You know, for dinner. See you in a bit, Sirius. Remus."

She turned on her heel and walked very quickly out of the kitchen, but not before tripping over Crookshanks, Hermione Granger's bandy-legged ginger cat.

"Sorry, Crookshanks!" she said quickly, moving to stroke the cat's back, but Crookshanks hissed at her and darted away, out of range of her clumsy feet. Lupin chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Clumsier than hell, that one," said Sirius. "But I see you two are getting along well." He clapped Lupin on the back again.

"Oh, well, yes," said Lupin, finding it suddenly difficult to look at Sirius again. "She's quite...colorful."

"Uh huh, she is that," said Sirius.

From upstairs there came a very loud crash.

"TONKS!" Molly Weasley yelled.

"SORRY!" Tonks yelled back. And then the air was rent with the horrible screeches of another woman.

"Bloody hell," said Sirius, annoyed.

"Sounds like your mother is awake," said Lupin, trying not to grin.

"Yeah, yeah," said Sirius. "Come on. Help me shut the old hag up."

Lupin grinned as he followed Sirius out of the kitchen and started up the stairs.