Chapter 5: The Room of Rebellion
Padfoot's Story
Disclaimer: I had to beg J.K. Rowling to let me borrow her characters. They're all hers, Sami is mine.
Be awed by my writing skills as my story unfolds...ha. I crack myself up sometimes...
..........................................................
Sirius had quickly prepared himself for a great number of things that could have possibly been behind the door, so he was surprised to find himself in complete darkness.
Next to him, Sami had let go of his hand.
"Lumos."
Sami's wand lit, throwing small shafts of light onto the depressing stone walls. "Follow me," she whispered to Sirius, and they set off down a dark corridor.
The corridor branched off several times, and Sami changed direction every few minutes. Sirius soon lost all sense of direction as the path they were following twisted around in all directions. The only light was coming from the end of Sami's wand, and Sirius began staring at it out of sheer boredom. He came to realize that the entire floor of this particular passageway was tiled. Each tile was white with an orange lily in the center. After the first ten minutes Sirius lost the excitement he had first had in walking alone with Sami beside him, and became so bored from the lack of scenery it was a chore just to pick up his foot and put it in front of the other. Not to mention that the passageway was extremely cold; and it smelled dank and moldy, as if it hadn't been cleaned in centuries. He didn't notice the gradual downward slope of the floor.
They turned a corner and started walking down a flight of stairs. Sirius lost count at two hundred when his eyes started to droop, and he stumbled. Before he could hit the floor and roll down the rest of the stairs, though, he transformed, and landed neatly on all four feet. Sirius noticed right away that it took much less effort to walk this way, and had no intention of changing back.
"Don't transform," Sami said abruptly. "The others won't be far behind."
The dog shot her a very grumpy look, which she ignored, and transformed again.
Sirius was about to keel over from exhaustion when the stairs ended. They walked about ten feet, before reaching a very solid stone wall.
"A dead end?" said Sirius incredulously. "We walked all this way to reach a dead end?"
"Of course not," Sami replied briskly. "You just have to know how to, you know, get past."
Sirius stared at her, his patience wearing thin. She knelt down and held her lit wand over the flowered tiles. Sirius looked down and noticed something unusual- even though every other tile in the entire passageway sported an orange lily, the flower lit up by Sami's wand was painted yellow.
"Nox," she whispered.
"Can you light up your wand?" Sami asked Sirius quietly, leaning back on the balls of her feet to look up at him. "I need to use mine to sign my name, and it makes it easier if I can see the tile." Sirius did so. "Thanks." She bent closer, and began to trace letters onto the tile with her wand. As Sirius watched, the words "Sami Jackson" etched themselves into the tile in fiery red letters.
"Wicked," Sirius whispered.
There was a loud clicking noise, and a wooden door appeared in the stone wall. At the look of shock on Sirius's face, Sami said, "It will only let you in if you're part of the Order."
'Well, that explains a lot,' Sirius thought sarcastically.
"Let's go, I guess," Sami said uncertainly with a glance at Sirius, and opened the door. Sirius followed.
His foot slipped on stone and he landed on his butt, only to begin sliding downward. The chute was hard, cold, and bumpy, but blissfully short. Sirius slid out the bottom onto a shaggy, scarlet rug that covered the entire floor. He was in a small circular room with burgundy walls and a roaring fire in the fireplace. The room smelled vaguely of orange peel and cinnamon. 'An odd combination, but very nice,' Sirius thought approvingly.
He looked up. The ceiling was enchanted the same way as in the Great Hall, to look like the weather outside. It made the room seem all the more cozy, to know that a thunderstorm was raging outside and a fire was roaring in the fireplace.
Then he turned around, and his jaw dropped. Taking up the entire wall and covering half the room was a gigantic map of the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade. It was in color, and showed every perfect detail of the insides of the buildings. It was almost like a huge Marauder's Map.
Wait a minute...it was a huge Marauder's Map! Black dots the size of quarters were running across the map, all moving down the passageway towards the circular room.
"You're looking at all the members of the Order of the Phoenix. If you're wondering why they're so far apart, everyone enters in five minute intervals, so as not to attract attention," Sami said from across the room. Sirius turned to look at her. She was seated Indian Style on a scarlet couch along the other wall, her hands on her knees. She looked as if she wanted to get the explaining over with as quickly as possible. "And, of course, the map doesn't only show Order members. It'll show You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters if they come into range of the map as well. We really only need it to make sure we're not being followed." Sami paused to draw breath.
"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Sirius asked swiftly.
Sami gave him a hard look, then sighed. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it's a secret organization that Professor Dumbledore founded about a month ago. We try to track down You-Know-Who and keep aware of his plans, goals, and recent crimes. We try to stop him building up an army and prevent as many deaths as we can. We're pretty much the only chance this world has of getting rid of him once and for all."
Sirius's eyes widened. She certainly had his attention.
Sami continued. "This is the headquarters. We're pretty deep underground, in case you noticed that corridor was way longer than the shack behind the Three Broomsticks. Professor Dumbledore was really brilliant with the protective charms he put on it to stop anyone from breaking in here."
"Why didn't he just make it unplottable?" Sirius asked.
"Well," Sami said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure You-Know-Who knows it exists, you know, I mean, everybody knew about this shack in his time. They'd dare each other to spend the night here and stupid stuff like that. I guess Professor Dumbledore thought You-Know-Who might guess the headquarters were here if he made it unplottable. So instead he put a load of charms on it to make it impossible to break in unless you're a member. You can't Apparate in here, you know. And if you say the wrong password at the door to the shack or write someone's name on the tile who doesn't belong to the Order, some pretty nasty stuff will happen to you. Also, he really outdid himself decorating this room- he wanted it to be comfortable. We call it the Room of Rebellion, because we mostly plan our fight against You-Know-Who in here. There are several other rooms off that passageway with other uses, but I've never been in any of them. Anyway, tonight's one of the meetings. The rest of the Order should be here any minute; they seem to have caught up to each other now."
"Who's in the Order?" Sirius asked curiously.
"You'll see," she replied, grinning. "They aren't very many of us yet, but Dumbledore plans to recruit a lot more people after they graduate this year."
"For instance?"
"Well, all the people who get enough N.E.W.T.'s and decide to become Aurors, and some people who end up getting jobs in the Ministry- spies in the Ministry are important. And just about anybody else who's close to him and is willing to face the danger. Personally, I think he has his eye on you, James, and the rest of the gang," she said, now smiling shyly.
Sirius looked away from her, considering what it would be like to join the Order of the Phoenix and defy Voldemort. The thought of the incredible danger he'd be staring in the face was already giving him a thrill...so why couldn't he join now? Sami belonged to the Order and she hadn't graduated yet...and he had always wanted to be an Auror.
Sirius looked up instantly when he heard loud clanging and thumping noises coming from inside the chute. He glanced over at the map. An awful lot of black quarter- sized dots were sliding down the chute towards the Room of Rebellion...
Sirius grunted in surprise as he did a complete somersault and landed on his back, groaning. Something very large had just hit him from behind. The room spun. Rubbing the top of his head, he looked up.
A small group of witches and wizards had come hurtling out of the chute and crashed into him. They were now all standing in a semi-circle around Sirius, looking down at him with interest.
Sirius stood up hastily and tried to wring some of the water out of his robes. Sami walked over to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Everyone, this is Sirius Black, one of my fellow students from Hogwarts," she began in a small voice. "He's in Gryffindor. Sirius, I'd like to introduce you to the members of the Order of the Phoenix." He noticed her voice becoming more confident when no one appeared upset about him being at the meeting. "You already know Professor Dumbledore-" Sirius nodded and Professor Dumbledore smiled at him, "and that's Hagrid, obviously-" Hagrid, whom Sirius had noticed immediately, waved at him and Sirius grinned, "this is Alastor Moody, he's an Auror-" a man with gray hair, a creepy large blue eye that was rolling in all directions, a peg leg, and a very scarred face nodded...
Sami continued pointing out the last few members of the Order, whom Sirius didn't know and whose names he would forget by tomorrow morning.
Professor Dumbledore moved close to Sami as the others settled onto the couch and armchairs. Quietly, he said, "Why is he here, Sami? I thought we discussed that you were the only student we would induct who had not yet graduated."
Sami whispered, "Well, he...um..." she stole a look at Sirius, who was listening closely. He could tell she was doing some quick thinking. "We were studying in the library, and I couldn't shake him off," she finished lamely. Sirius raised his eyebrows at her. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink.
Professor Dumbledore nodded, looking thoughtful. Sirius couldn't tell if he believed her or not.
"Well, as long as he doesn't join us for future meetings, I suppose it's fine for tonight."
Here Sirius interrupted, slightly annoyed.
"But Professor Dumbledore, sir...I'd love to join! I think there's a lot I could do for the Order...you see, my friends and I-"
Sirius stopped, horrified. He had almost revealed that he, James, and Peter were illegal animagi...
"Yes?" asked Professor Dumbledore.
"Never mind," Sirius mumbled. Professor Dumbledore sighed.
"Well, in any case, I'm afraid we can only accept students who have graduated from school. You can not possibly comprehend the amount of danger you would be putting yourself in."
Sirius started to lose his temper.
"But I'm seventeen, I'm going to graduate in two months, I know plenty of defensive spells and charms! I can take care of myself-"
It angered Sirius even more that his words seemed to be having no effect on the headmaster.
"I'm not scared of Voldemort!" he finished. Sami's grip tightened on his shoulder.
"Be that as it may," said Dumbledore patiently, "It's a rule of the Order not to recruit people if they haven't graduated."
For a moment Sirius accepted this answer, until he remembered the Ravenclaw girl standing next to him.
"Hang on...What about Sami?" demanded Sirius. "I notice she hasn't graduated yet!"
Professor Dumbledore glanced at Sami, who shook her head.
"Sami has a very convenient way of disguising herself to spy and retrieve information for us," Professor Dumbledore replied simply. Sirius waited for a more informative explanation, but he left it at that.
The headmaster walked over to the wall opposite the map. Sami steered Sirius toward the couch, where a few other members were already lounging, and sat down next to him.
Professor Dumbledore stood by the wall in front of the other members and surveyed them all over his half-moon glasses. He knew they were going to give Voldemort a tough fight, maybe even be able to finish him off- and then there was the added benefit of he himself being the only wizard Voldemort was afraid of. Professor Dumbledore shifted his gaze to his youngest member, Sami Jackson, and the handsome young man she had brought along for a reason she refused to admit- he could easily tell when someone was lying to him if they made eye contact, and was therefore certain Sami and Sirius had not been having a cozy study session in the library. 'They make a very nice couple,' Professor Dumbledore thought, amused. 'Yes, a very nice couple indeed. Now Sirius can join the Order once he's out of school. And maybe James too... perhaps Lily will finally go out with him...' and now grinning broadly, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. The Order looked up at him expectantly.
He tapped the wall twice with his wand, and a section of the wall flipped upside down to reveal a large bulletin board; there were several snipped-out articles from the Daily Prophet, photographs of a young Tom Riddle, and a world map with little red pins glowing in certain countries on it.
"So," began Dumbledore clearly, "concerning Voldemort's whereabouts-"
Everyone except Sirius flinched.
-----------------------------------------
A few hours later, Sirius was walking back down the passageway with Sami, tired but exhilarated. (The members of the Order had left in groups of twos and threes, as it was now daylight and would look suspicious if such a large group of people all walked by the Three Broomsticks together.) Sirius had completely forgotten about the eventful 'werewolf' episode of the night before. He kept replaying the meeting in his head; how they had discussed the latest murders, talked about Voldemort's plans to build up his army and take over the Ministry (and how to stop them), who might be Death Eaters in Voldemort's inner circle, and which Ministry workers (who had recently been acting suspiciously) might be controlled by the Imperius Curse. At the end, they had paired up (Sirius with Sami, of course) and practiced jinxes, stunning and disarming spells, and the Patronus Charm (which extremely frustrated him because Sami had it down and he could only produce silver vapor. Perhaps the memory of Snivellus sprouting long pink hair all over his body simply wasn't strong enough...).
Sirius and Sami remained silent the entire trip, although one would occasionally catch the other grinning at them. This always made Sirius's stomach lurch excitedly.
Finally they made it to the doorknob. There was something very important Sirius wanted to ask Sami- something he had been dying to ask her for over a year- but he still couldn't work bring himself to do it. Instead he just looked at her with a lopsided grin on his face, the same one he had worn after the day at Hogsmeade.
"What?" she asked him curiously. He shook his head, still wearing a goofy grin. "Well," she said, now smiling as well, "That was a pretty incredible Friday night. I know I probably shouldn't have brought you in there, but- well, do you think you might join, when you...when you graduate?"
"Of course!" Sirius said instantly, and her smile widened.
"Great!" she said excitedly. "It would- it would make the meetings a lot more fun. Oh- and Sirius...thanks again for saving my life."
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He stiffened and raised a hand to touch the place where she had kissed him, then stared at her. Her face was red.
"You're welcome," he said, as the past night's events came flooding back. She giggled nervously. Then she turned the doorknob and the pair of them walked out into the Saturday sunshine.
--------------------------------------
It was a Friday morning, in fact, the Friday morning one week after the Order of the Phoenix meeting. Sami had just sat down for breakfast and was chatting with her friends at the Ravenclaw table. She had come from outside, where she had been up early playing with Sirius by the lake- as a dog, of course. They had been playing fetch with a tennis ball. She still called him 'Pepper' whenever she saw him as a dog.
And yet they hadn't seen each other all week when they were both human –except for a stolen glance during class or a friendly hello in the hallway. Sami wished he wasn't so shy.
"Oh, look, the mail's here," said a fifth year named Rose three seats down.
Sami didn't look up, she had gotten used to the sight of owls soaring overhead years ago. Besides, she didn't get letters very often. Just one from her parents every month or so to see how she was doing.
So she was extremely surprised when a ruffled-looking barn owl landed in front of her, knocking over her orange juice and anxious to deliver its letter.
She reached out uncertainly and untied the scroll. The owl stole some bacon from her plate and flew off.
Just then, Lily appeared, having walked over from the Gryffindor table to say good morning.
"What's that you've got there?" she asked, pointing to the scroll of parchment.
"I don't know," Sami replied, frowning slightly.
She turned the scroll over and saw a very muddy paw print over the seal. Instantly her frown turned into a grin. Sami tore open the letter and started reading quickly, Lily looking over her shoulder. When she finished, her grin stretched as wide as it would go.
...................................................................
I realize that this isn't really the original Order of the Phoenix, because Remus, Lily, James, Peter, and a bunch of other people aren't in it, but they're all going to join when they graduate! Please review, you know I love them!
-Padfoot-Dreamer-