A/N - JKR owns the idea, all of these characters etc.
A/N - Keep posting ideas and suggestions, it can only help.
Chapter 42
Society Secrets
Harry felt a sensation that he had felt only once before of tumbling into a book's pages. The serpent had told him that both he and the phoenix had been waiting patiently for him for years. The serpent said that the phoenix could help him enter the book and watch first hand some historically significant times in the account of the Order of the Phoenix as well as its counterpart, the Order of the Serpent.
Madame Pince had been telling his Defense Against the Dark Arts class all about the dangers of some of these books so Harry had some qualms about listening to the serpent but he had to trust the phoenix. If it came down to it he also had no reason not to trust the serpent. Snakes had always been honest with him in the past. Harry cast these thoughts from his mind because right or wrong, it was done. He was now inside of the book and nothing was going to change that.
Harry decided the best thing he could do was to figure out where he was.
Looking around he realized that he must have traveled to some time in the very distant past. He watched the scene unfold around him. He was in a huge outdoor arena that resembled where gladiators did battle except that there weren't any seats for spectators. It was something from ancient Rome. Around him were phoenixes and wizards gathered as far as the eye could see. Harry knew from his last experience inside of a book that no one could see him so he began walking into the middle of the assembly. Before he got there though he heard a loud booming voice that had obviously been magically modified with the Sonorus Charm or at least its earlier counterpart.
"All right everyone settle thy selves down. Welcome one and all to the first ever meeting of the Order of the Phoenix."
Harry could hardly believe what he was hearing. Was he really witnessing the very beginnings of the Order?
"I have specifically invited ye all here based on two criteria. Ye all are the best five hundred magickers in the world who believe in good over evil. I've spent years compiling this roster because I believe in the need for us to know each other. Now when we look around besides seeing our fellow members we also see hundreds of phoenixes gathered with us here today."
The mysterious speaker paused his speech to let everyone look around and take in his or her environment. Some of the members seemed to be almost as impressed with the sight as Harry was.
"Our secret society is named after the phoenix because they are the most powerful and most pure of all magical creatures. Obviously everyone here already has a wand but I ask everyone to get a new wand made. Walk around and talk to the various phoenixes. Find the one that is a match for ye and ask it for a feather. Take the feather to the local wand maker and get a new wand. Besides these being extremely powerful creatures, I must insist that we have something that ties us together both with each other and with future members of the Order."
Harry watched as the wizards started milling around but instead of choosing their phoenix it was obvious that it was the other way around. Basically the wizards and witches would walk by the creatures until he or she was given a signal to stop by one of them. Then the wizard would ask the phoenix if he could pluck a tail feather. Harry was amazed to notice that after a feather was plucked, another one would magically appear fully- grown. The phoenix would then disapparate.
Harry wasn't able to watch the proceedings very much longer because the image swirled away and was almost immediately replaced by a new image. The same wizard was standing on a dais addressing what seemed to be the same group of wizards that Harry had seen last time.
"My friends, I offer my heartiest congratulations on our early successes with the Order. Today marks ten years to the day that we first came together and officially formed the secret society. I must insist that we start focusing on the future. Now I want to have three or four rules but nothing remotely resembling a long list. These rules should be helpful and guide our way not cumbersome. Honestly I only have three rules that I wish to make a part of our Order."
The speaker, Harry still didn't know his name, paused to survey his audience. Harry was wishing that he would be able to find out this wizard's name. In the interim he stared intently at the man hoping to burn his features into his mind. He spoke again to outline the rules he proposed.
"The first rule I propose is one that I already insisted upon. All members will have a wand whose core is made from the tail feather of a phoenix. The second rule is that our members continue to study and teach magic for magic's sake. We must always be prepared to fight the good fight, which leads me to my third and final rule. I propose that we dedicate our society to fighting against evil magickers."
"Concur!" Someone shouted from the seats below. There seemed to be a general murmur of consent.
Harry was extremely curious to see how this meeting to discuss the rules would turn out. What he was hearing with his own ears didn't seem to jive with the little bit he already knew because he had been told that he had to pass a test at the end of the year. Therefore he was disappointed when the image swirled around disappearing from view.
The third image that formed before him was different some how. They were in the same place as in the previous image but everyone was much more grave and solemn. The same man was speaking.
"We cannot put this off any longer. It is my fault but I can't fix this alone. The Order of the Serpent has declared all out war against everyone, magicker and non-magicker alike, that refuses to join them. They recognize each other by speaking a foreign language. All of their members speak this unknown language that sounds like nothing but hissing and spitting. That it the only thing I know about them except that they want to take over the planet and destroy everyone that gets in their way. We must defeat these evil magickers."
This image now vanished and was replaced by a fourth image. Again they were in the same place but the crowd was thinner, at least by half. Also there was a different man standing on the dais addressing the somber group.
"It's been five long years friends. Finally Python has been defeated. However he took his toll on us as well as others. The Order of the Serpent was responsible for the death of over twenty-five million non-magickers. We have finally confirmed that they were indeed responsible for releasing the bubonic plague in Europe. They spent years developing this sickness that only affected non-magickers. We lost three hundred members in this fight but we did prevail and soon we will be stronger than ever before."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. A dark wizard was responsible for the Black Death. It hardly seemed possible but then again ---. His thoughts were interrupted as the image once again changed.
They were at Hogwarts now, in the Great Hall to be precise. Nicholas Flammel was standing alone at the Head Table addressing a group of no more than one hundred seated witches and wizards.
"Friends, as you all know the leadership reigns must be passed down at least every fifty years. Several of you have asked me to stay on but you know that if the reigns are not passed down every fifty years the rules state very clearly that very old magic will ensure that the Order is disbanded for a period of not less than ten years. During that period if any two members come within ten feet of each other they will be forced to duel to the death."
"But why?" Asked a witch Harry did not recognize. "We can change the rules. There are so many of them anyway let's change the rules tonight." There was a general murmur of approval at the witch's idea. But Flammel was shaking his head and trying to quiet the masses.
"We can change some of the rules if that's what you all would like to do but we cannot change this one. This one was created to ensure the purity of the Order. No one should become the permanent leader. Fifty years is long enough. After fifty years we cannot be sure that the person is still worthy of the title. Tonight I announce who is to replace me."
"We all know who it is so don't pretend to keep us in suspense," someone said from the middle of the group. Flammel flashed a quick smile before making his announcement.
"Again, the rules are quite clear on this. The reigns will only be handed down to the one witch or wizard who best meets the guidelines handed down from the earliest members. That person must then pass the Order's test to prove him or her worthy. If that individual doesn't pass the test the Order will be disbanded for a period of not less than ten years because the founders believed that it is better not to have an Order than to have our Order fall under unworthy leadership."
Harry, again, was having a hard time believing what he was hearing. Every fifty years this Order risked being disbanded. That seemed very extreme to him. Especially considering that the entire point of the Order seemed to be fighting evil. Flammel started talking again.
"According to the guidelines, if we are to continue to exist, the next leader will be Albus Dumbledore." Harry watched Dumbledore, who looked exactly like he did in Harry's time, walk up to join his friend amidst a thunderous round of applause. Flammel turned to Dumbledore and extended his hand for what seemed to be a congratulatory handshake.
"Albus, your defeat of Grindelwald almost ten years ago leaves no room for the possibility that anyone other than yourself can take over as our next leader. Your test is --- "
NO!
Harry couldn't believe his rotten luck that the image chose this exact instant to fade out of view. Oh well, Harry decided that it wasn't that important. He himself was hopefully going to become a full fledged member at the end of the year, the last thing he had to worry about was what kind of test the leader had to take. Still, he wished he could have known what Dumbledore had to do because it might have given him a better idea of what he would have to face to become a full member. Harry decided not to worry about it any more since there was nothing he could do about it. He anxiously awaited the next little revelation.
This next image that was unfolding was extremely different from any of the others. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Two hundred or so men dressed all in black in a dark dungeon of some sort surrounded him and Harry could only calm down when he repeated over and over in his mind that they couldn't see him. The one that was obviously the leader levitated himself over the crowd and spoke to them.
"My faithful followers, the time has come to act on our whims. This planet is not big enough for both magickers and non-magickers. Our ancestors were patient. They waited to see if the Crusades would allow the non-magickers to wipe themselves out but our ancestors were smart. They planned ahead just in case the non-magickers failed to completely destroy themselves. They developed many spells we could use to kill the non-magickers as well as any magickers who get in our way. This is my wish: go forth and conquer!"
Harry was relieved when this particular image faded. The one that replaced it however was no less unsettling.
This time he found himself in a dungeon five times as large as the last one. There had to be at least a thousand men dressed all in black. Harry couldn't pinpoint exactly what made him feel so sick but just being among this group made him think he was going to retch. The same man as before levitated himself and magicked his voice so that he could address the massive group.
"My friends, you've done extremely well for yourselves these past four years. This is not the time to let up. There is a group out there that opposes us at every turn. This is a likeness of their leader." Harry looked up and saw a life-size image of the man who was in his first couple of revelations.
"The Serpent member who brings me this man alive will be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams."
Thankfully this vision swirled away but Harry had the uneasy feeling that this wasn't over yet. It was becoming obvious that the phoenix took him through its' Order's history first and now it was the serpent's turn.
The next image occurred in a small room with only three people: the founder of the Order of the Serpent, the founder of the Order of the Phoenix, and some twenty year old man Harry didn't recognize. Only the first man looked healthy, if not deathly pale.
"Python, you will not succeed. My friends will stop you. You cannot kill everyone on the planet that is a non-magicker."
"Oh I know I cannot do it alone," the one called Python said with a horrible grin. "You will help me."
"Never!" This caused the pale man clad in black to laugh a horrible, guttural laugh. The sound made Harry feel anything but happy.
Python was now standing over a steaming goblet on a small circular table in the middle of the room. He had just finished adding an enormous variety of ingredients to the goblet. Now he was performing the most complex incantation Harry had ever. After two or three minutes he was apparently satisfied with the potion and forced it down the throat of the man Harry knew to be the founder of the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry had never heard such horrible screams, not even in his worst nightmares. The man was screaming so violently and seizing so ferociously that Harry thought he was trying to turn himself inside out. The screams pierced Harry's very soul. He wished that it would end. Finally, after an eternity, there was silence. Harry looked at the man but didn't see him. Instead he saw a dementor.
Python magicked the dementor free from the binding that had once held the wizard he used to be. The dementor just stood there staring at Python. Somehow Python must have communicated with it because the dementor then glided over to the third person that was squirming viciously in his bindings trying to get away from the creature. Harry remembered only too well what it was like being so close to one of those hideous creatures. When the dementor reached the bound man, he kissed him on the mouth.
Harry shuddered. He didn't know this man but who ever he was, he didn't deserve to have his soul sucked out. The world, thankfully, swirled around once again.
The next image was a more familiar one. Harry briefly saw Voldemort surrounded by his Death Eaters. There were probably only fifty dark wizards present. He didn't even have time to realize where they were before the image faded again.
He found himself in a dark dungeon by himself. The only other living thing was the serpent from the cover of the book. It slithered up in front of Harry and raised itself eye-level with Harry. Then it started talking to him.
"Do you know what you sssssssssaw with ussssssssss?"
"I think so."
"Tell me."
"I saw important moments in the histories of the Order of the Phoenix and the Order of the Serpent."
"Very good Harry Potter. Now, do you know why we invited you into our hissssssstory?"
Harry thought for a second. "No I don't."
The serpent didn't speak again for almost a minute. Harry tried to think about what he said wrong. He hoped he hadn't made the serpent mad. Finally it spoke again.
"Sssssssoooooo, did you learn from what you sssssssaw?"
"Yes I did but I still have a lot of questions about both of the Orders."
"I'm sssssssure you do. I will anssssswer one question for you about the Order of the Sssssserpent."
Harry didn't think that the serpent would wait all day but he wanted to be sure that he didn't waste this opportunity by asking him something that he could just ask Dumbledore or look up in a book. It was a little difficult to concentrate while being stared at by a serpent and it certainly didn't help that this creature did not blink. Finally Harry decided on his question.
"How can I bring an end to the Order of the Serpent?"
"You think that I am going to tell you how to sssssssilence my Order?"
Harry didn't answer.
"Well there are a few thingssssssss I will tell you. One issssssss that anyone who can sssssspeak to usssssss can become the leader of the Order. Two issssssss that our rulessssss are alsssssso enforced by old magic ssssssoooo no one is exempt from them. And finally three isssssss that there are many different posssssssible pathsssssss that the Order of the Ssssserpentsssss can follow."
And with that the serpent lowered himself back to the floor and vanished.
"Thanks," Harry called after it even though he was once again alone. Seconds later though the phoenix appeared. He was hovering eye level with Harry. Although he couldn't explain exactly how he knew, Harry was sure that the phoenix was giving Harry the same opportunity to ask him one question. Unfortunately though he wasn't sure if the phoenix would somehow answer any question he asked or if he should limit himself to a yes or no type question. Harry started to ask the phoenix when he realized that that might count as his one question. He thought for a while before posing his question.
"How can I help defeat Voldemort and the rest of the dark wizards?"
Harry found himself once again watching as a new image was starting to form before his eyes. He was in the Great Hall and the image was just like the last scene from the history of the Order of the Phoenix when Flammel was announcing that Dumbledore was to be the next leader. There were a few less members in the room from the last time and Flammel was missing but everything else looked the same. And then Harry saw himself. He looked exactly as he did now. He walked up to Dumbledore and shook his hand. Harry figured that this must be telling him that he had to pass the test and be accepted into the Order.
That image faded away and was replaced by the Great Hall occupied by staff and students. Again this image was obviously the present time because everyone looked like they looked now. There was one weird difference though. All of the staff was sitting with their backs to the students facing the wall so that Harry couldn't see any of their faces. He recognized Dumbledore from behind but that was about it.
The next thing Harry saw was he in his sphinx form. He was cautiously approaching the staff table when he leapt and attacked someone sitting at the staff table. Harry didn't have a chance to do anything except jump in surprise when the image disappeared.
He found himself back in the empty room alone except for the phoenix hovering at eye level. This time, however, the phoenix had its back to Harry. Finally, he figured out what the phoenix wanted. Harry grabbed its tail feathers and found himself being lifted in to the air. Seconds later Harry could feel himself leaving the book's pages and returning to the Defense Against the Dark Arts' classroom.
He was set down back in the exact same spot that he was taken from. When Harry let go of the phoenix's tail feathers the creature flew back to its place on the cover of the book. Without warning, the book burst into flames and burned into a pile of ashes. Harry darted to the table to collect the pile of ashes but as he brushed them into his hand, they disintegrated.
He was dreading what was going to happen next. He had no idea what to tell everyone because he was supposed to keep the Order of the Phoenix a secret. The Order of the Serpent had been a secret even from him but he didn't want to reveal that yet either. He had to find Dumbledore. Harry looked around the room trying to decide how he was going to answer the flood of questions that was about to come at him.
But no one asked anything. Harry turned around and looked into the faces of the other people in the room. Everyone was frozen in a sort of trance. They didn't move and they didn't speak. Harry was a tad nervous when he checked Ron to make sure they were all breathing. Harry didn't know what to do so he did the only thing that made sense to him. He sprinted out of the room for Dumbledore's office.
Unfortunately he ran into Snape instead.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me
A/N - Keep posting ideas and suggestions, it can only help.
Chapter 42
Society Secrets
Harry felt a sensation that he had felt only once before of tumbling into a book's pages. The serpent had told him that both he and the phoenix had been waiting patiently for him for years. The serpent said that the phoenix could help him enter the book and watch first hand some historically significant times in the account of the Order of the Phoenix as well as its counterpart, the Order of the Serpent.
Madame Pince had been telling his Defense Against the Dark Arts class all about the dangers of some of these books so Harry had some qualms about listening to the serpent but he had to trust the phoenix. If it came down to it he also had no reason not to trust the serpent. Snakes had always been honest with him in the past. Harry cast these thoughts from his mind because right or wrong, it was done. He was now inside of the book and nothing was going to change that.
Harry decided the best thing he could do was to figure out where he was.
Looking around he realized that he must have traveled to some time in the very distant past. He watched the scene unfold around him. He was in a huge outdoor arena that resembled where gladiators did battle except that there weren't any seats for spectators. It was something from ancient Rome. Around him were phoenixes and wizards gathered as far as the eye could see. Harry knew from his last experience inside of a book that no one could see him so he began walking into the middle of the assembly. Before he got there though he heard a loud booming voice that had obviously been magically modified with the Sonorus Charm or at least its earlier counterpart.
"All right everyone settle thy selves down. Welcome one and all to the first ever meeting of the Order of the Phoenix."
Harry could hardly believe what he was hearing. Was he really witnessing the very beginnings of the Order?
"I have specifically invited ye all here based on two criteria. Ye all are the best five hundred magickers in the world who believe in good over evil. I've spent years compiling this roster because I believe in the need for us to know each other. Now when we look around besides seeing our fellow members we also see hundreds of phoenixes gathered with us here today."
The mysterious speaker paused his speech to let everyone look around and take in his or her environment. Some of the members seemed to be almost as impressed with the sight as Harry was.
"Our secret society is named after the phoenix because they are the most powerful and most pure of all magical creatures. Obviously everyone here already has a wand but I ask everyone to get a new wand made. Walk around and talk to the various phoenixes. Find the one that is a match for ye and ask it for a feather. Take the feather to the local wand maker and get a new wand. Besides these being extremely powerful creatures, I must insist that we have something that ties us together both with each other and with future members of the Order."
Harry watched as the wizards started milling around but instead of choosing their phoenix it was obvious that it was the other way around. Basically the wizards and witches would walk by the creatures until he or she was given a signal to stop by one of them. Then the wizard would ask the phoenix if he could pluck a tail feather. Harry was amazed to notice that after a feather was plucked, another one would magically appear fully- grown. The phoenix would then disapparate.
Harry wasn't able to watch the proceedings very much longer because the image swirled away and was almost immediately replaced by a new image. The same wizard was standing on a dais addressing what seemed to be the same group of wizards that Harry had seen last time.
"My friends, I offer my heartiest congratulations on our early successes with the Order. Today marks ten years to the day that we first came together and officially formed the secret society. I must insist that we start focusing on the future. Now I want to have three or four rules but nothing remotely resembling a long list. These rules should be helpful and guide our way not cumbersome. Honestly I only have three rules that I wish to make a part of our Order."
The speaker, Harry still didn't know his name, paused to survey his audience. Harry was wishing that he would be able to find out this wizard's name. In the interim he stared intently at the man hoping to burn his features into his mind. He spoke again to outline the rules he proposed.
"The first rule I propose is one that I already insisted upon. All members will have a wand whose core is made from the tail feather of a phoenix. The second rule is that our members continue to study and teach magic for magic's sake. We must always be prepared to fight the good fight, which leads me to my third and final rule. I propose that we dedicate our society to fighting against evil magickers."
"Concur!" Someone shouted from the seats below. There seemed to be a general murmur of consent.
Harry was extremely curious to see how this meeting to discuss the rules would turn out. What he was hearing with his own ears didn't seem to jive with the little bit he already knew because he had been told that he had to pass a test at the end of the year. Therefore he was disappointed when the image swirled around disappearing from view.
The third image that formed before him was different some how. They were in the same place as in the previous image but everyone was much more grave and solemn. The same man was speaking.
"We cannot put this off any longer. It is my fault but I can't fix this alone. The Order of the Serpent has declared all out war against everyone, magicker and non-magicker alike, that refuses to join them. They recognize each other by speaking a foreign language. All of their members speak this unknown language that sounds like nothing but hissing and spitting. That it the only thing I know about them except that they want to take over the planet and destroy everyone that gets in their way. We must defeat these evil magickers."
This image now vanished and was replaced by a fourth image. Again they were in the same place but the crowd was thinner, at least by half. Also there was a different man standing on the dais addressing the somber group.
"It's been five long years friends. Finally Python has been defeated. However he took his toll on us as well as others. The Order of the Serpent was responsible for the death of over twenty-five million non-magickers. We have finally confirmed that they were indeed responsible for releasing the bubonic plague in Europe. They spent years developing this sickness that only affected non-magickers. We lost three hundred members in this fight but we did prevail and soon we will be stronger than ever before."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. A dark wizard was responsible for the Black Death. It hardly seemed possible but then again ---. His thoughts were interrupted as the image once again changed.
They were at Hogwarts now, in the Great Hall to be precise. Nicholas Flammel was standing alone at the Head Table addressing a group of no more than one hundred seated witches and wizards.
"Friends, as you all know the leadership reigns must be passed down at least every fifty years. Several of you have asked me to stay on but you know that if the reigns are not passed down every fifty years the rules state very clearly that very old magic will ensure that the Order is disbanded for a period of not less than ten years. During that period if any two members come within ten feet of each other they will be forced to duel to the death."
"But why?" Asked a witch Harry did not recognize. "We can change the rules. There are so many of them anyway let's change the rules tonight." There was a general murmur of approval at the witch's idea. But Flammel was shaking his head and trying to quiet the masses.
"We can change some of the rules if that's what you all would like to do but we cannot change this one. This one was created to ensure the purity of the Order. No one should become the permanent leader. Fifty years is long enough. After fifty years we cannot be sure that the person is still worthy of the title. Tonight I announce who is to replace me."
"We all know who it is so don't pretend to keep us in suspense," someone said from the middle of the group. Flammel flashed a quick smile before making his announcement.
"Again, the rules are quite clear on this. The reigns will only be handed down to the one witch or wizard who best meets the guidelines handed down from the earliest members. That person must then pass the Order's test to prove him or her worthy. If that individual doesn't pass the test the Order will be disbanded for a period of not less than ten years because the founders believed that it is better not to have an Order than to have our Order fall under unworthy leadership."
Harry, again, was having a hard time believing what he was hearing. Every fifty years this Order risked being disbanded. That seemed very extreme to him. Especially considering that the entire point of the Order seemed to be fighting evil. Flammel started talking again.
"According to the guidelines, if we are to continue to exist, the next leader will be Albus Dumbledore." Harry watched Dumbledore, who looked exactly like he did in Harry's time, walk up to join his friend amidst a thunderous round of applause. Flammel turned to Dumbledore and extended his hand for what seemed to be a congratulatory handshake.
"Albus, your defeat of Grindelwald almost ten years ago leaves no room for the possibility that anyone other than yourself can take over as our next leader. Your test is --- "
NO!
Harry couldn't believe his rotten luck that the image chose this exact instant to fade out of view. Oh well, Harry decided that it wasn't that important. He himself was hopefully going to become a full fledged member at the end of the year, the last thing he had to worry about was what kind of test the leader had to take. Still, he wished he could have known what Dumbledore had to do because it might have given him a better idea of what he would have to face to become a full member. Harry decided not to worry about it any more since there was nothing he could do about it. He anxiously awaited the next little revelation.
This next image that was unfolding was extremely different from any of the others. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Two hundred or so men dressed all in black in a dark dungeon of some sort surrounded him and Harry could only calm down when he repeated over and over in his mind that they couldn't see him. The one that was obviously the leader levitated himself over the crowd and spoke to them.
"My faithful followers, the time has come to act on our whims. This planet is not big enough for both magickers and non-magickers. Our ancestors were patient. They waited to see if the Crusades would allow the non-magickers to wipe themselves out but our ancestors were smart. They planned ahead just in case the non-magickers failed to completely destroy themselves. They developed many spells we could use to kill the non-magickers as well as any magickers who get in our way. This is my wish: go forth and conquer!"
Harry was relieved when this particular image faded. The one that replaced it however was no less unsettling.
This time he found himself in a dungeon five times as large as the last one. There had to be at least a thousand men dressed all in black. Harry couldn't pinpoint exactly what made him feel so sick but just being among this group made him think he was going to retch. The same man as before levitated himself and magicked his voice so that he could address the massive group.
"My friends, you've done extremely well for yourselves these past four years. This is not the time to let up. There is a group out there that opposes us at every turn. This is a likeness of their leader." Harry looked up and saw a life-size image of the man who was in his first couple of revelations.
"The Serpent member who brings me this man alive will be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams."
Thankfully this vision swirled away but Harry had the uneasy feeling that this wasn't over yet. It was becoming obvious that the phoenix took him through its' Order's history first and now it was the serpent's turn.
The next image occurred in a small room with only three people: the founder of the Order of the Serpent, the founder of the Order of the Phoenix, and some twenty year old man Harry didn't recognize. Only the first man looked healthy, if not deathly pale.
"Python, you will not succeed. My friends will stop you. You cannot kill everyone on the planet that is a non-magicker."
"Oh I know I cannot do it alone," the one called Python said with a horrible grin. "You will help me."
"Never!" This caused the pale man clad in black to laugh a horrible, guttural laugh. The sound made Harry feel anything but happy.
Python was now standing over a steaming goblet on a small circular table in the middle of the room. He had just finished adding an enormous variety of ingredients to the goblet. Now he was performing the most complex incantation Harry had ever. After two or three minutes he was apparently satisfied with the potion and forced it down the throat of the man Harry knew to be the founder of the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry had never heard such horrible screams, not even in his worst nightmares. The man was screaming so violently and seizing so ferociously that Harry thought he was trying to turn himself inside out. The screams pierced Harry's very soul. He wished that it would end. Finally, after an eternity, there was silence. Harry looked at the man but didn't see him. Instead he saw a dementor.
Python magicked the dementor free from the binding that had once held the wizard he used to be. The dementor just stood there staring at Python. Somehow Python must have communicated with it because the dementor then glided over to the third person that was squirming viciously in his bindings trying to get away from the creature. Harry remembered only too well what it was like being so close to one of those hideous creatures. When the dementor reached the bound man, he kissed him on the mouth.
Harry shuddered. He didn't know this man but who ever he was, he didn't deserve to have his soul sucked out. The world, thankfully, swirled around once again.
The next image was a more familiar one. Harry briefly saw Voldemort surrounded by his Death Eaters. There were probably only fifty dark wizards present. He didn't even have time to realize where they were before the image faded again.
He found himself in a dark dungeon by himself. The only other living thing was the serpent from the cover of the book. It slithered up in front of Harry and raised itself eye-level with Harry. Then it started talking to him.
"Do you know what you sssssssssaw with ussssssssss?"
"I think so."
"Tell me."
"I saw important moments in the histories of the Order of the Phoenix and the Order of the Serpent."
"Very good Harry Potter. Now, do you know why we invited you into our hissssssstory?"
Harry thought for a second. "No I don't."
The serpent didn't speak again for almost a minute. Harry tried to think about what he said wrong. He hoped he hadn't made the serpent mad. Finally it spoke again.
"Sssssssoooooo, did you learn from what you sssssssaw?"
"Yes I did but I still have a lot of questions about both of the Orders."
"I'm sssssssure you do. I will anssssswer one question for you about the Order of the Sssssserpent."
Harry didn't think that the serpent would wait all day but he wanted to be sure that he didn't waste this opportunity by asking him something that he could just ask Dumbledore or look up in a book. It was a little difficult to concentrate while being stared at by a serpent and it certainly didn't help that this creature did not blink. Finally Harry decided on his question.
"How can I bring an end to the Order of the Serpent?"
"You think that I am going to tell you how to sssssssilence my Order?"
Harry didn't answer.
"Well there are a few thingssssssss I will tell you. One issssssss that anyone who can sssssspeak to usssssss can become the leader of the Order. Two issssssss that our rulessssss are alsssssso enforced by old magic ssssssoooo no one is exempt from them. And finally three isssssss that there are many different posssssssible pathsssssss that the Order of the Ssssserpentsssss can follow."
And with that the serpent lowered himself back to the floor and vanished.
"Thanks," Harry called after it even though he was once again alone. Seconds later though the phoenix appeared. He was hovering eye level with Harry. Although he couldn't explain exactly how he knew, Harry was sure that the phoenix was giving Harry the same opportunity to ask him one question. Unfortunately though he wasn't sure if the phoenix would somehow answer any question he asked or if he should limit himself to a yes or no type question. Harry started to ask the phoenix when he realized that that might count as his one question. He thought for a while before posing his question.
"How can I help defeat Voldemort and the rest of the dark wizards?"
Harry found himself once again watching as a new image was starting to form before his eyes. He was in the Great Hall and the image was just like the last scene from the history of the Order of the Phoenix when Flammel was announcing that Dumbledore was to be the next leader. There were a few less members in the room from the last time and Flammel was missing but everything else looked the same. And then Harry saw himself. He looked exactly as he did now. He walked up to Dumbledore and shook his hand. Harry figured that this must be telling him that he had to pass the test and be accepted into the Order.
That image faded away and was replaced by the Great Hall occupied by staff and students. Again this image was obviously the present time because everyone looked like they looked now. There was one weird difference though. All of the staff was sitting with their backs to the students facing the wall so that Harry couldn't see any of their faces. He recognized Dumbledore from behind but that was about it.
The next thing Harry saw was he in his sphinx form. He was cautiously approaching the staff table when he leapt and attacked someone sitting at the staff table. Harry didn't have a chance to do anything except jump in surprise when the image disappeared.
He found himself back in the empty room alone except for the phoenix hovering at eye level. This time, however, the phoenix had its back to Harry. Finally, he figured out what the phoenix wanted. Harry grabbed its tail feathers and found himself being lifted in to the air. Seconds later Harry could feel himself leaving the book's pages and returning to the Defense Against the Dark Arts' classroom.
He was set down back in the exact same spot that he was taken from. When Harry let go of the phoenix's tail feathers the creature flew back to its place on the cover of the book. Without warning, the book burst into flames and burned into a pile of ashes. Harry darted to the table to collect the pile of ashes but as he brushed them into his hand, they disintegrated.
He was dreading what was going to happen next. He had no idea what to tell everyone because he was supposed to keep the Order of the Phoenix a secret. The Order of the Serpent had been a secret even from him but he didn't want to reveal that yet either. He had to find Dumbledore. Harry looked around the room trying to decide how he was going to answer the flood of questions that was about to come at him.
But no one asked anything. Harry turned around and looked into the faces of the other people in the room. Everyone was frozen in a sort of trance. They didn't move and they didn't speak. Harry was a tad nervous when he checked Ron to make sure they were all breathing. Harry didn't know what to do so he did the only thing that made sense to him. He sprinted out of the room for Dumbledore's office.
Unfortunately he ran into Snape instead.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me