CHAPTER 6
"I have to agree with Remus on this one, Molly." Said Dumbledore joyfully.
Dumbledore was enjoying a friendly debate with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well as their two oldest sons and Remus Lupin. It was in times like this that Dumbledore could really forget about his responsibilities in the order and enjoy some spare time with some friends.
"Once again, it seems I'm in minority. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother to contradict anyone." Sulked Molly.
"You bother because you care, Mom." Added Bill.
"Very true. The order would not be what it is if you weren't there to object to dangerous missions." Explained Dumbledore.
"Oh...well...thank you." Said Molly, blushing.
They all laughed at her reaction, embarrassing her further. When they finally managed to calm down, Dumbledore took a look around the Great Hall. Tonks was engaged in a heated conversation with McGonagall and Sinistra, the astronomy teacher while Mundungus Fletcher talked with the Weasley twins who had joined the order recently. They had been elected chief of diversion tactics when they had used some of their fireworks to distract Death eaters who were going to kill Tonks after a failed mission. Severus Snape even took some of their Extendable Ears to spy on other Death Eaters. There was several other little group talking together all around the Great Hall while eating, but Dumbledore suddenly frowned when he noticed a group missing.
"Has anyone seen Harry and his friends ?" asked Dumbledore.
"No, they still haven't came to eat." Replied Arthur.
Then, suddenly the doors started to open.
"This must be them." Announced Charlie.
Indeed, it was the four teenagers although it took everyone a second glance to make sure of that. They didn't look at all the way they usually did. Their hair had changed, but the most flagrant modification was Ron's usual orange hair that had become dark red. Remus let escape a gasp when he recognized Harry's hair. Dumbledore too recognized them. They were an exact replica of Sirius's when he was still at Hogwarts.
The four teenagers walked calmly toward Dumbledore and his group, acting as though nothing had changed. Ron sat down between his older brothers, Harry between Remus and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Nathaniel sat between Dumbledore and Bill Weasley. "Good evening everyone." Greeted Hermione with a smile.
"Ron, what have you done to your hair ?" exclaimed Molly.
"Ron, that color is awesome." congratulated Charlie.
"Harry-"started Remus, with tears in his eyes.
"I know, Remus." Replied Harry looking at his second godfather.
"Hermione, I have to say this is quite a nice change." Praised Arthur.
"Hey Nate, you're taking after me, are you ?" said Bill.
"Bill, I have always said you were my inspiration." Joked Nathaniel.
"May I ask why the sudden change ?" inquired Dumbledore with a smile.
"Well, Professor, it's kind of because of you." Replied Harry.
"It is ?" continued Dumbledore, curious.
"You said this afternoon we shouldn't let Voldemort deprive us of our carefree days. So we listened to you and did something carefree, something normal teenagers would do."
"I see. Well, I'm glad to know that, but why did you decide to copy Sirius's hair ?"
"Well, I became aware I had my mother's eyes and my father's features, but I had nothing of Sirius. You could say it's a tribute to those who aren't here with us anymore." Explained Harry.
"Ron, how could you go through such a drastic change without telling me about it ? I'm your mother, after all." Exclaimed Molly.
"Chill Mom, he looks fantastic." Defended Bill with a goofy smile.
"Chill ? You dare tell your mother to CHILL !" yelled Molly.
As he looked at the Weasley family arguing, Harry couldn't help but feel glad he didn't live with them, but glad that they considered him a member of the family. Turning his attention back toward Remus, Harry said :
"You know, now I have to learn to push my hair out of my eyes the way Sirius did." Observed Harry.
Remus had to laugh at that. Even in times like this, Harry still managed to keep a sane mind and joke. "If you want, I could leave a memory of Sirius doing that in Dumbledore's pensive so you can watch it each day before you're Occlumency lesson, if that's okay with the headmaster of course." Suggested Remus looking at the old wizard.
"Of course I am okay with this. Talking about Occlumency lessons, Harry I've been meaning to tell you. I believe you've learned everything there is to know about Occlumency and that you performed every technique extremely well. Now, if you want to continue, I could teach you Legilimency."
"That would be wonderful, Professor. Is it hard to master ?"
"No. In fact, you already know most of theory concerning Legilimency because of our previous lessons. I only need to show you the actual practice."
"Then I'll be meeting you tomorrow same time, same place ?"
"Of course."
For the rest of the evening, everyone enjoyed good food, delicious drinks and friendly conversation. Ron even told the twins how to do the potion so they could create some new prank. Finally, after two or three hours, the order members started to fill out of the Great Hall heading to their meeting.
"Well, good night, kids."
"Good night, Bill."
"Well, my friends. We have the Great Hall to ourselves." Declared Nathaniel as he played distractingly with his new hair.
"I think I'm going to call it a night. I'm tired." Sad Ron as he headed for the Common room.
"I'm going with you, Ron." Declared Hermione as she ran to catch her boyfriend.
"And then, there were two." Said Harry.
The two boys sat together in comfortable silence, neither one wanting to break the silence. Harry was laying down on the table looking up at the fake night sky while Nathaniel rested his head on his arm which was on the table while the other hand was playing with the tips of his hair. Suddenly, Harry got up and came down from the table.
"Where are you going ?" asked Nathaniel following his friend.
"I fancy a nighttime walk around the grounds."
"Let's go then." The two boys left the school and started walking on the grounds. The summer air was refreshing, but not cold. They walked silently to the Quidditch pitch then to the Whomping willow. After that they went to Hagrid's hut which was empty since Hagrid was at the meeting. They walked on the edge of the Forbidden forest before heading back to the school.
As they were making their way back to the school, a movement coming from the Forbidden forest caught Harry's eye. When he turned he saw a thestral flying over the forest.
"I didn't know there was thestrals in the forest." Said Nathaniel.
"You can see them ?"
"My father. He died while the men of the village were hunting a crazed dragon. He was burned to death."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He died like a true Dragon's keeper." Replied Nathaniel when suddenly a frown appeared on his face.
"What is it ?" asked Harry.
"The thestral is acting weird."
When Harry looked back at the creature, he noticed the young druid was right. The thestral was flying erratically in the air, as if it was afraid of going back in the Forest. Suddenly, a huge jet of flame emerged from the forest and almost hit the thestral. The creature screeched and flew off. Harry then noticed that flames were starting to appear all over.
"By Merlin's beard, the forest is on fire." Yelled Harry.
"We have to tell the order. Come on."
Without another word, the boys ran as fast as they could toward the school. Harry's training was finally paying off. At the back of his mind, he realized he was running far faster than before and he wasn't even sweating. His breath was controlled and calm.
They ran straight into the entrance door and pushed it open before running to the stairs. They opened another door and found themselves in the huge room were dozens of stairs were moving on their on while thousands of portraits looked on.
"Hey Harry, Nathaniel, over here." Yelled a voice.
It was Ron and Hermione. They were waving at them from above. They were obviously unaware of the ongoing fire. As Nathaniel and Harry started to ran up the stairs, the druid yelled to this two other friends.
"Ron, Hermione. There is a fire in the forbidden forest. We have to tell the order."
Without another word, the two lovers started to go down the stairs to meet their friends. When they were finally reunited, they ran to the third floor. They ran in the familiar corridor with torches lighting their way. The cobwebs had been cleaned. The corridor didn't look at all the way it did in Harry's first year.
At the end of the corridor, they saw the door that once led to Fluffy's room. On it was graved a huge phoenix. In a final boost, they reached the door and pushed it open. They suddenly found themselves facing a huge round table with a phoenix engraved on it. All the members were sitting around the table except Dumbledore who was up and talking. Without wasting time, Harry explained the situation.
"Professor, the Forbidden forest is on fire. We have to do something or all the animals there will die."
Everyone looked at Harry and his friends who were leaning on the table, breathless. Immediately, Dumbledore took control of things.
"Portus" he said pointing his wand at the table which glowed blue for a second. Immediately, everyone put their hands on the table and suddenly they appeared on the grounds with the table. The fire had progressed. The sky was ablaze and it was hard to breath with all the smoke. Animals were running in every direction. Hippogriffs, thestrals, unicorns, centaurs, owls, snakes, birds. It was total chaos.
"The Ihomed rune. Now." Ordered Dumbledore.
Immediately, the order members formed a tight line and started waving their wands around as if they were writing in the air. When they were finished, a glowing blue sign appeared in front of each of them and by using their wands, they fired the rune in the air above the forest. Suddenly, dark clouds formed and rain started pouring all over the school and grounds. In mere seconds, everyone was soaked to the bone. Suddenly, after assessing the storm, Dumbledore turned to Harry and his friends.
"You four, call the Environmental emergency and the Magical creatures department of the Ministry. Fast. Then, I want you to go back inside." Yelled Dumbledore to make himself heard above all the noise.
"What ? We want to help." Yelled back Harry.
Dumbledore walked to Harry and put his hands on the young boy shoulders.
"Harry, listen to me. Forests don't catch fire on their own. Someone did this to distract us and make us leave the school. That person wanted to enter the school. Why ? I don't know, but I'm counting on you to stop him. The order has to stay here or the entire school will be burned down."
Harry looked directly in Dumbledore's eyes and realized that, for the first time, Dumbledore was asking him to risk his life voluntarily. Harry nodded determinately and left with his friends.
"How do we call those departments ?" asked Nathaniel.
"It's like muggle 9-1-1. Ron, call the magical animals department and I'll call the environmental emergencies." Ordered Hermione.
Ron nodded and the two teens took out their wands and traced a huge circle in front of them. Then, they yelled forcefully the name of the department. Suddenly, in the circle appeared the faces of two wizards.
"Environmental emergencies. What can I do for you ?"
"Yes. A huge fire has broke out in the forest on Hogwarts grounds. We need immediate help." Yelled Hermione.
"Understood. We will send everyone available."
With that, the circle disappeared as well as the wizard. When Ron was finished, Harry told them what Dumbledore asked him to do. They ran inside and started to walk around.
"The school is huge. How are we supposed to find this guy ?" asked Ron.
"No one can apparate here, Ron. The only way to enter is by the front entrance. That person must have entered while the order was concentrating on the rune." Explained Hermione.
"Okay, but that doesn't tell us how we're supposed to find the guy." Added Nathaniel.
"I might have an idea." Said Harry.
With that, they ran to the huge room with moving stairs. Harry spotted the first portrait he saw and asked him:
"Excuse me. Have you seen someone unusual coming here ?"
"Oh yes. A few minutes ago, a group of people came in wearing dark cloaks. I couldn't see any of their traits. They went straight for the founders tower."
"Thank you."
"What's the founders tower ?" asked Nathaniel who still had to learn all the corridors and classes in the school.
"It's a tower that was constructed in honor of the four founders. There's four huge portraits of them and displays of some of their belongings. I wonder why they went there ?" explained Hermione.
"We can ask them when we capture them. Now, we have to get all the way to the last set of stairs. By the time we arrive, it'll be too late."
"Not with this. Spongify" said Hermione while pointing her wand on the ground.
A green beam fired from her wand and transformed into a glowing green square.
"Follow me." Said Hermione.
She jumped on the square and rebounded high in the air. She landed on the last platform. The boys looked at each other then at the green square which acted as a trampoline. Harry was next, followed by Ron and finally Nathaniel.
"Pretty useful trick you got there, Hermione." Complimented Nathaniel.
"Thanks."
"Okay, let's go." With that, Nathaniel opened the door leading to the tower, his hand in front of him.
"I have to agree with Remus on this one, Molly." Said Dumbledore joyfully.
Dumbledore was enjoying a friendly debate with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well as their two oldest sons and Remus Lupin. It was in times like this that Dumbledore could really forget about his responsibilities in the order and enjoy some spare time with some friends.
"Once again, it seems I'm in minority. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother to contradict anyone." Sulked Molly.
"You bother because you care, Mom." Added Bill.
"Very true. The order would not be what it is if you weren't there to object to dangerous missions." Explained Dumbledore.
"Oh...well...thank you." Said Molly, blushing.
They all laughed at her reaction, embarrassing her further. When they finally managed to calm down, Dumbledore took a look around the Great Hall. Tonks was engaged in a heated conversation with McGonagall and Sinistra, the astronomy teacher while Mundungus Fletcher talked with the Weasley twins who had joined the order recently. They had been elected chief of diversion tactics when they had used some of their fireworks to distract Death eaters who were going to kill Tonks after a failed mission. Severus Snape even took some of their Extendable Ears to spy on other Death Eaters. There was several other little group talking together all around the Great Hall while eating, but Dumbledore suddenly frowned when he noticed a group missing.
"Has anyone seen Harry and his friends ?" asked Dumbledore.
"No, they still haven't came to eat." Replied Arthur.
Then, suddenly the doors started to open.
"This must be them." Announced Charlie.
Indeed, it was the four teenagers although it took everyone a second glance to make sure of that. They didn't look at all the way they usually did. Their hair had changed, but the most flagrant modification was Ron's usual orange hair that had become dark red. Remus let escape a gasp when he recognized Harry's hair. Dumbledore too recognized them. They were an exact replica of Sirius's when he was still at Hogwarts.
The four teenagers walked calmly toward Dumbledore and his group, acting as though nothing had changed. Ron sat down between his older brothers, Harry between Remus and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Nathaniel sat between Dumbledore and Bill Weasley. "Good evening everyone." Greeted Hermione with a smile.
"Ron, what have you done to your hair ?" exclaimed Molly.
"Ron, that color is awesome." congratulated Charlie.
"Harry-"started Remus, with tears in his eyes.
"I know, Remus." Replied Harry looking at his second godfather.
"Hermione, I have to say this is quite a nice change." Praised Arthur.
"Hey Nate, you're taking after me, are you ?" said Bill.
"Bill, I have always said you were my inspiration." Joked Nathaniel.
"May I ask why the sudden change ?" inquired Dumbledore with a smile.
"Well, Professor, it's kind of because of you." Replied Harry.
"It is ?" continued Dumbledore, curious.
"You said this afternoon we shouldn't let Voldemort deprive us of our carefree days. So we listened to you and did something carefree, something normal teenagers would do."
"I see. Well, I'm glad to know that, but why did you decide to copy Sirius's hair ?"
"Well, I became aware I had my mother's eyes and my father's features, but I had nothing of Sirius. You could say it's a tribute to those who aren't here with us anymore." Explained Harry.
"Ron, how could you go through such a drastic change without telling me about it ? I'm your mother, after all." Exclaimed Molly.
"Chill Mom, he looks fantastic." Defended Bill with a goofy smile.
"Chill ? You dare tell your mother to CHILL !" yelled Molly.
As he looked at the Weasley family arguing, Harry couldn't help but feel glad he didn't live with them, but glad that they considered him a member of the family. Turning his attention back toward Remus, Harry said :
"You know, now I have to learn to push my hair out of my eyes the way Sirius did." Observed Harry.
Remus had to laugh at that. Even in times like this, Harry still managed to keep a sane mind and joke. "If you want, I could leave a memory of Sirius doing that in Dumbledore's pensive so you can watch it each day before you're Occlumency lesson, if that's okay with the headmaster of course." Suggested Remus looking at the old wizard.
"Of course I am okay with this. Talking about Occlumency lessons, Harry I've been meaning to tell you. I believe you've learned everything there is to know about Occlumency and that you performed every technique extremely well. Now, if you want to continue, I could teach you Legilimency."
"That would be wonderful, Professor. Is it hard to master ?"
"No. In fact, you already know most of theory concerning Legilimency because of our previous lessons. I only need to show you the actual practice."
"Then I'll be meeting you tomorrow same time, same place ?"
"Of course."
For the rest of the evening, everyone enjoyed good food, delicious drinks and friendly conversation. Ron even told the twins how to do the potion so they could create some new prank. Finally, after two or three hours, the order members started to fill out of the Great Hall heading to their meeting.
"Well, good night, kids."
"Good night, Bill."
"Well, my friends. We have the Great Hall to ourselves." Declared Nathaniel as he played distractingly with his new hair.
"I think I'm going to call it a night. I'm tired." Sad Ron as he headed for the Common room.
"I'm going with you, Ron." Declared Hermione as she ran to catch her boyfriend.
"And then, there were two." Said Harry.
The two boys sat together in comfortable silence, neither one wanting to break the silence. Harry was laying down on the table looking up at the fake night sky while Nathaniel rested his head on his arm which was on the table while the other hand was playing with the tips of his hair. Suddenly, Harry got up and came down from the table.
"Where are you going ?" asked Nathaniel following his friend.
"I fancy a nighttime walk around the grounds."
"Let's go then." The two boys left the school and started walking on the grounds. The summer air was refreshing, but not cold. They walked silently to the Quidditch pitch then to the Whomping willow. After that they went to Hagrid's hut which was empty since Hagrid was at the meeting. They walked on the edge of the Forbidden forest before heading back to the school.
As they were making their way back to the school, a movement coming from the Forbidden forest caught Harry's eye. When he turned he saw a thestral flying over the forest.
"I didn't know there was thestrals in the forest." Said Nathaniel.
"You can see them ?"
"My father. He died while the men of the village were hunting a crazed dragon. He was burned to death."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He died like a true Dragon's keeper." Replied Nathaniel when suddenly a frown appeared on his face.
"What is it ?" asked Harry.
"The thestral is acting weird."
When Harry looked back at the creature, he noticed the young druid was right. The thestral was flying erratically in the air, as if it was afraid of going back in the Forest. Suddenly, a huge jet of flame emerged from the forest and almost hit the thestral. The creature screeched and flew off. Harry then noticed that flames were starting to appear all over.
"By Merlin's beard, the forest is on fire." Yelled Harry.
"We have to tell the order. Come on."
Without another word, the boys ran as fast as they could toward the school. Harry's training was finally paying off. At the back of his mind, he realized he was running far faster than before and he wasn't even sweating. His breath was controlled and calm.
They ran straight into the entrance door and pushed it open before running to the stairs. They opened another door and found themselves in the huge room were dozens of stairs were moving on their on while thousands of portraits looked on.
"Hey Harry, Nathaniel, over here." Yelled a voice.
It was Ron and Hermione. They were waving at them from above. They were obviously unaware of the ongoing fire. As Nathaniel and Harry started to ran up the stairs, the druid yelled to this two other friends.
"Ron, Hermione. There is a fire in the forbidden forest. We have to tell the order."
Without another word, the two lovers started to go down the stairs to meet their friends. When they were finally reunited, they ran to the third floor. They ran in the familiar corridor with torches lighting their way. The cobwebs had been cleaned. The corridor didn't look at all the way it did in Harry's first year.
At the end of the corridor, they saw the door that once led to Fluffy's room. On it was graved a huge phoenix. In a final boost, they reached the door and pushed it open. They suddenly found themselves facing a huge round table with a phoenix engraved on it. All the members were sitting around the table except Dumbledore who was up and talking. Without wasting time, Harry explained the situation.
"Professor, the Forbidden forest is on fire. We have to do something or all the animals there will die."
Everyone looked at Harry and his friends who were leaning on the table, breathless. Immediately, Dumbledore took control of things.
"Portus" he said pointing his wand at the table which glowed blue for a second. Immediately, everyone put their hands on the table and suddenly they appeared on the grounds with the table. The fire had progressed. The sky was ablaze and it was hard to breath with all the smoke. Animals were running in every direction. Hippogriffs, thestrals, unicorns, centaurs, owls, snakes, birds. It was total chaos.
"The Ihomed rune. Now." Ordered Dumbledore.
Immediately, the order members formed a tight line and started waving their wands around as if they were writing in the air. When they were finished, a glowing blue sign appeared in front of each of them and by using their wands, they fired the rune in the air above the forest. Suddenly, dark clouds formed and rain started pouring all over the school and grounds. In mere seconds, everyone was soaked to the bone. Suddenly, after assessing the storm, Dumbledore turned to Harry and his friends.
"You four, call the Environmental emergency and the Magical creatures department of the Ministry. Fast. Then, I want you to go back inside." Yelled Dumbledore to make himself heard above all the noise.
"What ? We want to help." Yelled back Harry.
Dumbledore walked to Harry and put his hands on the young boy shoulders.
"Harry, listen to me. Forests don't catch fire on their own. Someone did this to distract us and make us leave the school. That person wanted to enter the school. Why ? I don't know, but I'm counting on you to stop him. The order has to stay here or the entire school will be burned down."
Harry looked directly in Dumbledore's eyes and realized that, for the first time, Dumbledore was asking him to risk his life voluntarily. Harry nodded determinately and left with his friends.
"How do we call those departments ?" asked Nathaniel.
"It's like muggle 9-1-1. Ron, call the magical animals department and I'll call the environmental emergencies." Ordered Hermione.
Ron nodded and the two teens took out their wands and traced a huge circle in front of them. Then, they yelled forcefully the name of the department. Suddenly, in the circle appeared the faces of two wizards.
"Environmental emergencies. What can I do for you ?"
"Yes. A huge fire has broke out in the forest on Hogwarts grounds. We need immediate help." Yelled Hermione.
"Understood. We will send everyone available."
With that, the circle disappeared as well as the wizard. When Ron was finished, Harry told them what Dumbledore asked him to do. They ran inside and started to walk around.
"The school is huge. How are we supposed to find this guy ?" asked Ron.
"No one can apparate here, Ron. The only way to enter is by the front entrance. That person must have entered while the order was concentrating on the rune." Explained Hermione.
"Okay, but that doesn't tell us how we're supposed to find the guy." Added Nathaniel.
"I might have an idea." Said Harry.
With that, they ran to the huge room with moving stairs. Harry spotted the first portrait he saw and asked him:
"Excuse me. Have you seen someone unusual coming here ?"
"Oh yes. A few minutes ago, a group of people came in wearing dark cloaks. I couldn't see any of their traits. They went straight for the founders tower."
"Thank you."
"What's the founders tower ?" asked Nathaniel who still had to learn all the corridors and classes in the school.
"It's a tower that was constructed in honor of the four founders. There's four huge portraits of them and displays of some of their belongings. I wonder why they went there ?" explained Hermione.
"We can ask them when we capture them. Now, we have to get all the way to the last set of stairs. By the time we arrive, it'll be too late."
"Not with this. Spongify" said Hermione while pointing her wand on the ground.
A green beam fired from her wand and transformed into a glowing green square.
"Follow me." Said Hermione.
She jumped on the square and rebounded high in the air. She landed on the last platform. The boys looked at each other then at the green square which acted as a trampoline. Harry was next, followed by Ron and finally Nathaniel.
"Pretty useful trick you got there, Hermione." Complimented Nathaniel.
"Thanks."
"Okay, let's go." With that, Nathaniel opened the door leading to the tower, his hand in front of him.