Responses:
A.M. Bookworm247: well the dozens, where I come from, is a game played by trading insults. Usually this is just between friends, so no fists fly. You usually have a large group around as two people trade insults. Every time you have to try and top the last insult. Thus you have to be more creative. I am just using ones I had already heard (some a bit tweaked for Wizards).
I'm S.S.M.: thanks, well you still have few chaps to go. Basically you can assume someone is watching Harry still. You will find out everything, but in my opinion it is JKR's style to keep us all wondering and not focus on anyone aspect of the plot. They didn't spend their entire first year worrying about the Sorcerer's stone
Anthony: thank you again. It is always appreciated to hear reviews from a fan.
Bye: I would like to know what made you unhappy. I would have rather you used the review system for its intended purpose of constructive criticism rather than just a harsh insult.
Also a note- I would like to say that the use of Percy's name in the party chapters was an accident, he was not there. He would not have come. My apologies for this rather late correction.
Harry Potter and the Warriors of Zelcara
Phoenix Fire
Harry spent a restless night in his own bed when he returned to Grimmauld Place. His dream was still taunting him. The dream of Death, and Hermione and the kiss (see chapter one) was still quite fresh to him as he awoke. He noticed that Order members were coming and going, the ones he didn't know introduced themselves as a matter of courtesy to the master of the house.
It was on the second day that Harry was exploring the house deeper when he found the new plaque where the picture of Sirius' mum had been. It read:
In Loving Memory of those we have lost, we rededicate ourselves anew.
James and Lily Potter
Sirius Black
It went on to name many more names, some that Harry remembered Mad-Eye telling him about, some that he didn't. Then he noticed one at the bottom
Cedric Diggory
Dumbledore, almost appearing out of nowhere, put his hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "The innocent shall not be forgotten."
"Why aren't the Longbottoms on here?" asked Harry, fighting back a tear at Cedric's memory.
"Why should we be?" asked a voice behind them.
Harry whirled his head around, and saw three people standing in front of the fireplace. One of them was Neville; the other was the people Harry recognized from St. Mungo's as Frank and Alice Longbottom. Harry's eyes went as wide as bludgers. "Look who got better faster than I thought," said Neville weakly.
Harry ran up to Neville to shake his had, but no sooner than he did, he found himself pinned to a wall by a wild-eyed Frank Longbottom. His face was contorted in rage. There was hardly any humanity in the eyes. Neville pulled at his father's arm, which was currently depriving Harry of oxygen, "Dad, he wasn't gonna hurt me. He was just gonna hug me or something. Right Harry?"
Harry shook his head furiously, and slowly Frank Longbottom released. "Sorry there kiddo," he said in a shaken tone. "We may be back to old minds, but there is still a little of the nasty taking up space."
Harry wasn't sure what he meant. Dumbledore put an arm around both Frank and Alice and said, "As with all wounds, scars remain. Harry knows that better than anyone, I am sure he will forgive your eccentircies."
Harry smiled broadly, "I know a house-elf who through trying to save my life almost got me killed three times. No big deal if you try to kill me. Everyone does." Frank and Alice gave Harry a worried look and started to laugh with him and Dumbledore.
two nights before Christmas Eve, Winky showed up in Harry's room and said, "Mr. Harry sir?"
"Yes Winky?"
"Prof. Dumbledore wants Mr. Harry sire to wear special robeses for a ceremonies tonight." She laid out robes of a cool midnight blue.
"Thank you Winky. Do you need anything else?"
"No sirs, thank you."
Harry changed into his robes and walked down stairs. Once there he found Ron, Hermione, and Neville waiting. They too wore midnight blue robes. He was about to ask what was going on when, many order members, few that Harry recognized entered the main Hall. They all wore brilliant robes of gold.
Dumbledore walked up on a stage and said, "it is with heavy hearts to night that we sacrifice two innocent souls to this war."
From the kitchen marched eight figures. Six, dressed in gold with their hoods up, walked in a guard formation around the other two, who were dressed in midnight blue, also with their hoods up. Not one of the eight faces could be seen. They walked to the front of the stage and stopped.
"Who will vouch for these two. Our order calls for at least three for a new member." Dumbledore looked very unhappy at the job he was performing.
The figure who had lead the march knelt and pulled back his hood. It was Mr. Weasly. "I, Arthur Weasly, will vouch for both of them."
Then the one to the left front knelt, and pulled back the hood to reveal Charlie, "I, Charles Weasly, will vouch for them."
Then the right front, "I William Weasly will vouch for them."
The left rear, "I, Remus Lupin, will vouch for them."
Right rear, "I, Severus Snape, will vouch for them."
The very last, "I, Philius Flitwick, will vouch for them."
Dumbledore nodded, "you have surpassed the required three. You are recommended on the claims that you are brave, loyal, and clever. Do you understand what you will be giving up?"
Both knelt and spoke at the same time, obscuring the voice, but not the words, "Yes, neutrality, innocence, and possibly out lives."
"Do you enter freely, and willingly, with no desire but to serve the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore lifted his eyes to the sky and said, "When a soul is thrown in the fire of war, childhood and innocence is burned away. But from the ashes of those can rise a new soul, the soul of a hero." As he began to speak, the two in blue were surrounded with a blaze. The fire was a brilliant red. Harry remembered the color from when he had watched Fawkes on his burning day. As Dumbledore concluded his speech, the flames died away, and the two figures were now clad in gold. "You were born, and grew. Now the flames of war have burned away your youth. But from those flames you rise. Stand now and be greeted for the first time as fully honored members of the Order of the Phoenix, Fredrick and George Weasly." The two new members stood and pulled back their hoods, showing that indeed it was Fred and George. But this time they wore something Harry hadn't seen them wear since just before last Christmas, and never before that; serious expressions.
Harry recognized a wail from the kitchen. He looked in and saw Mrs. Weasly, wearing her own gold robe. He knew the last thing she wanted them doing was joining the Order. Now the only non-Order members in the family were Ron, who she knew was just a matter of time, Percy, who had been mutually disowned the previous year, and Ginny. She was so afraid. Harry went up to her, with Hermione and Ginny at his side and gave her his first unsolicited hug.
"Don't worry, we'll keep them safe," Harry said. Mrs. Weasly collected them all in a hug so tight. Harry knew it would be a trying Christmas on everyone.
Some hours later, Harry was wandering through the party, which apparently was also a part of the ceremony. Fred and George received several pats on the back. Harry found Prof. Snape, sitting apart as usual. He was never very sociable when he was in the house. "Professor?" Harry asked, "May I ask why you vouched for Fred and George?"
Snape shook his head and smiled as if remembering something. He turned to Harry, the smile instantly fading into a scowl, "They may be idiot nar do wells who are constantly up to no good . . ."
"Which they will solemnly swear to," interjected Harry.
Snape gave him a suspicious gaze before continuing. "But, their work with potions and magically endowed substances is nearly on par with my work. Even Miner . . . Prof. McGonagall is impressed with their transfigurative items. She is still trying to reverse engineer the 'Canary Crèmes'."
Harry snickered at the thought. Then he realized that Prof. Snape was serious. "You are lucky that we are not at Hogwart's. I believe calling a teacher's judgment into question would be worth at least twelve points."
"the last time I try talking to him about something," Harry thought to himself. Christmas was the most wonderful he had ever had. It was full of laughter and jokes. There was a roaring fire beside the tree in the drawing room. Remus stayed over, along with almost all the Weaslys, Percy was still having issues with his family, Tonks was there, as was Prof. Dumbledore, and Hagrid. Dobby was invited, meaning he cried a lot. Winky was given the day off so that she could join in the fun. Even Dung was allowed to join in the children's family fun. Hermione even showed up.
The mistletoe trapped three couples; Harry and Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, and Prof. Dumbledore and Winky. Winky almost tried to run as Prof. Dumbledore bent down to give her a small peck on the cheek. all in all the night was one long memory of joy. Harry stayed up, as usual, and watched every one leave. When all was said and done, only he, Winky, and Dung were staying the night. Dung crashed on the couch, Winky retreated to her quarters, and Harry went back to his bedroom. As Harry relinquished himself to Morpheus, he thought I hope it isn't the dream again. Alas it was a hope against odds.
A.M. Bookworm247: well the dozens, where I come from, is a game played by trading insults. Usually this is just between friends, so no fists fly. You usually have a large group around as two people trade insults. Every time you have to try and top the last insult. Thus you have to be more creative. I am just using ones I had already heard (some a bit tweaked for Wizards).
I'm S.S.M.: thanks, well you still have few chaps to go. Basically you can assume someone is watching Harry still. You will find out everything, but in my opinion it is JKR's style to keep us all wondering and not focus on anyone aspect of the plot. They didn't spend their entire first year worrying about the Sorcerer's stone
Anthony: thank you again. It is always appreciated to hear reviews from a fan.
Bye: I would like to know what made you unhappy. I would have rather you used the review system for its intended purpose of constructive criticism rather than just a harsh insult.
Also a note- I would like to say that the use of Percy's name in the party chapters was an accident, he was not there. He would not have come. My apologies for this rather late correction.
Harry Potter and the Warriors of Zelcara
Phoenix Fire
Harry spent a restless night in his own bed when he returned to Grimmauld Place. His dream was still taunting him. The dream of Death, and Hermione and the kiss (see chapter one) was still quite fresh to him as he awoke. He noticed that Order members were coming and going, the ones he didn't know introduced themselves as a matter of courtesy to the master of the house.
It was on the second day that Harry was exploring the house deeper when he found the new plaque where the picture of Sirius' mum had been. It read:
In Loving Memory of those we have lost, we rededicate ourselves anew.
James and Lily Potter
Sirius Black
It went on to name many more names, some that Harry remembered Mad-Eye telling him about, some that he didn't. Then he noticed one at the bottom
Cedric Diggory
Dumbledore, almost appearing out of nowhere, put his hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "The innocent shall not be forgotten."
"Why aren't the Longbottoms on here?" asked Harry, fighting back a tear at Cedric's memory.
"Why should we be?" asked a voice behind them.
Harry whirled his head around, and saw three people standing in front of the fireplace. One of them was Neville; the other was the people Harry recognized from St. Mungo's as Frank and Alice Longbottom. Harry's eyes went as wide as bludgers. "Look who got better faster than I thought," said Neville weakly.
Harry ran up to Neville to shake his had, but no sooner than he did, he found himself pinned to a wall by a wild-eyed Frank Longbottom. His face was contorted in rage. There was hardly any humanity in the eyes. Neville pulled at his father's arm, which was currently depriving Harry of oxygen, "Dad, he wasn't gonna hurt me. He was just gonna hug me or something. Right Harry?"
Harry shook his head furiously, and slowly Frank Longbottom released. "Sorry there kiddo," he said in a shaken tone. "We may be back to old minds, but there is still a little of the nasty taking up space."
Harry wasn't sure what he meant. Dumbledore put an arm around both Frank and Alice and said, "As with all wounds, scars remain. Harry knows that better than anyone, I am sure he will forgive your eccentircies."
Harry smiled broadly, "I know a house-elf who through trying to save my life almost got me killed three times. No big deal if you try to kill me. Everyone does." Frank and Alice gave Harry a worried look and started to laugh with him and Dumbledore.
two nights before Christmas Eve, Winky showed up in Harry's room and said, "Mr. Harry sir?"
"Yes Winky?"
"Prof. Dumbledore wants Mr. Harry sire to wear special robeses for a ceremonies tonight." She laid out robes of a cool midnight blue.
"Thank you Winky. Do you need anything else?"
"No sirs, thank you."
Harry changed into his robes and walked down stairs. Once there he found Ron, Hermione, and Neville waiting. They too wore midnight blue robes. He was about to ask what was going on when, many order members, few that Harry recognized entered the main Hall. They all wore brilliant robes of gold.
Dumbledore walked up on a stage and said, "it is with heavy hearts to night that we sacrifice two innocent souls to this war."
From the kitchen marched eight figures. Six, dressed in gold with their hoods up, walked in a guard formation around the other two, who were dressed in midnight blue, also with their hoods up. Not one of the eight faces could be seen. They walked to the front of the stage and stopped.
"Who will vouch for these two. Our order calls for at least three for a new member." Dumbledore looked very unhappy at the job he was performing.
The figure who had lead the march knelt and pulled back his hood. It was Mr. Weasly. "I, Arthur Weasly, will vouch for both of them."
Then the one to the left front knelt, and pulled back the hood to reveal Charlie, "I, Charles Weasly, will vouch for them."
Then the right front, "I William Weasly will vouch for them."
The left rear, "I, Remus Lupin, will vouch for them."
Right rear, "I, Severus Snape, will vouch for them."
The very last, "I, Philius Flitwick, will vouch for them."
Dumbledore nodded, "you have surpassed the required three. You are recommended on the claims that you are brave, loyal, and clever. Do you understand what you will be giving up?"
Both knelt and spoke at the same time, obscuring the voice, but not the words, "Yes, neutrality, innocence, and possibly out lives."
"Do you enter freely, and willingly, with no desire but to serve the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Yes."
Dumbledore lifted his eyes to the sky and said, "When a soul is thrown in the fire of war, childhood and innocence is burned away. But from the ashes of those can rise a new soul, the soul of a hero." As he began to speak, the two in blue were surrounded with a blaze. The fire was a brilliant red. Harry remembered the color from when he had watched Fawkes on his burning day. As Dumbledore concluded his speech, the flames died away, and the two figures were now clad in gold. "You were born, and grew. Now the flames of war have burned away your youth. But from those flames you rise. Stand now and be greeted for the first time as fully honored members of the Order of the Phoenix, Fredrick and George Weasly." The two new members stood and pulled back their hoods, showing that indeed it was Fred and George. But this time they wore something Harry hadn't seen them wear since just before last Christmas, and never before that; serious expressions.
Harry recognized a wail from the kitchen. He looked in and saw Mrs. Weasly, wearing her own gold robe. He knew the last thing she wanted them doing was joining the Order. Now the only non-Order members in the family were Ron, who she knew was just a matter of time, Percy, who had been mutually disowned the previous year, and Ginny. She was so afraid. Harry went up to her, with Hermione and Ginny at his side and gave her his first unsolicited hug.
"Don't worry, we'll keep them safe," Harry said. Mrs. Weasly collected them all in a hug so tight. Harry knew it would be a trying Christmas on everyone.
Some hours later, Harry was wandering through the party, which apparently was also a part of the ceremony. Fred and George received several pats on the back. Harry found Prof. Snape, sitting apart as usual. He was never very sociable when he was in the house. "Professor?" Harry asked, "May I ask why you vouched for Fred and George?"
Snape shook his head and smiled as if remembering something. He turned to Harry, the smile instantly fading into a scowl, "They may be idiot nar do wells who are constantly up to no good . . ."
"Which they will solemnly swear to," interjected Harry.
Snape gave him a suspicious gaze before continuing. "But, their work with potions and magically endowed substances is nearly on par with my work. Even Miner . . . Prof. McGonagall is impressed with their transfigurative items. She is still trying to reverse engineer the 'Canary Crèmes'."
Harry snickered at the thought. Then he realized that Prof. Snape was serious. "You are lucky that we are not at Hogwart's. I believe calling a teacher's judgment into question would be worth at least twelve points."
"the last time I try talking to him about something," Harry thought to himself. Christmas was the most wonderful he had ever had. It was full of laughter and jokes. There was a roaring fire beside the tree in the drawing room. Remus stayed over, along with almost all the Weaslys, Percy was still having issues with his family, Tonks was there, as was Prof. Dumbledore, and Hagrid. Dobby was invited, meaning he cried a lot. Winky was given the day off so that she could join in the fun. Even Dung was allowed to join in the children's family fun. Hermione even showed up.
The mistletoe trapped three couples; Harry and Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, and Prof. Dumbledore and Winky. Winky almost tried to run as Prof. Dumbledore bent down to give her a small peck on the cheek. all in all the night was one long memory of joy. Harry stayed up, as usual, and watched every one leave. When all was said and done, only he, Winky, and Dung were staying the night. Dung crashed on the couch, Winky retreated to her quarters, and Harry went back to his bedroom. As Harry relinquished himself to Morpheus, he thought I hope it isn't the dream again. Alas it was a hope against odds.