When Ron and Harry returned from checking out the rooms, two new guests had
shown up: Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. Draco had also joined the
group in the common room. They were all staring at Harry expectantly.
"Umm... would you like something to eat or drink?" He asked shyly. There
was a loud uproar of hunger-crazed teenagers. "Harry held out his hands as
if to stop them, they all went silent. "Okay, let's see. What we need is
a dinning room." Harry was thinking to himself and was vaguely aware of
all the eyes on him. He muttered and thought for a few seconds, snapped
his fingers and said, "Follow me."
Harry led the way to the wall by the piano. A door appeared that wasn't there before. Harry stepped onto a rotating stair and stepped off as he reached the top. They all surrounded him and were taken aback at the sight before them. A large fireplace right above the one down stairs was roaring with a well lit fire. Where the kitchen was downstairs was now a large dinning table that sits about ten with a large feast atop it. There were four large, overstuffed beanbag chairs around the fire and off to the side was a chess board equipped to play muggle chess and wizard chess. A large painting of the castle stood opposite the group on the wall.
Draco spoke up first, "When did we get this? I never noticed it before and how did this food get here so fast professor?"
"I believe you should be asking Mr. Potter that question but not right now. Now we eat!"
Harry cleared away the remnants of their supper and bowed his head so as to not have to look at anyone. He was thinking about what to tell them when Dumbledore's voice ceased his thoughts completely, "Well now Harry that was rather good. Thank you. But now I need to talk to you all about the up coming year. You six will be the only people in the whole school to take these classes. Most of them are usually reserved for upper level auror training. First of which will be advanced wandless magic, you will each go through the basics first but those will go very fast. You will all be expected to learn these skills very quickly.
Second you will be taking Potions: Master level. This will be very difficult but I believe all of you will be able to cope. Along with this class you will be learning to identify different potions by the appearance and smell. This is extremely difficult and will be very surprised if any of you will be able to master it. Professor Snape is the only wizard who is able to do this without flaw so he will be teaching this class.
You will also be taking highly advanced transfiguration classes with Professor McGonagall. You will each learn to become an animagi and be able to turn into it on command. You will also learn to apparate.
Finally you will be learning telekinetic techniques that will help you in battles. You will be able to communicate with friends and confuse your enemies. You will be taking some other classes but they will not be daily, such as Mastery of Defense against the Dark Arts, Advanced Charms, and some Divination skills that are necessary. As you progress through the year you will be taking some other classes. Now are there any questions before I go?"
Draco Malfoy spoke up, "What about the Order? Will we be attending any meetings that occur during the school year? Will we be treated as real members or will we be babied about like we are kids even though we are getting training that many of the other members have never even heard of?"
Everyone agreed by nodding their heads or saying, "Yeah!" Dumbledore smiled at them all. "Actually all meetings pertaining to the whole Order will be held here in the castle. If a single Order member is meeting with me, then no, you will most likely not be included. We will not keep secrets from you though. If we are worried about your safety or if something is going on with the war then you will be informed. We will not baby you, as you put it Mr. Malfoy."
Hermione asked, "Professor, will we still have access to our houses common rooms? Are we still in our houses or have we formed a new one? What about our prefect statuses?" Hermione was very concerned about this because she loved being a prefect and Head girl.
"Miss Granger, I am sorry to say that you will no longer be prefects do to the fact that you will simply not have the time to keep up with a prefect's duties. It will also be your choice if you wish to return to your houses' common rooms but I warn you, they will most likely pose difficult questions pertaining to your absences in classes. But it is your choice."
Each of the students was ruminating on what Dumbledore had just said. Harry noticed a tingling sensation on his robe and looked down. Each and every one of the students' robes now had a red and silver phoenix where the proper house crest used to be. No one else seemed to notice so he decided to ask, "Professor, what is the phoenix on each of our robes mean?"
The students saw the phoenix now on each of their robes. A quizzical expression graced each of their faces. Dumbledore sighed, "I almost hoped that none of you were going to notice but since I said I wasn't going to baby you then it isn't fair to go back on my word already. The phoenix represents two separate things. The first is that you are apart of the Order. Each member has one on his or her robes to show other members were their loyalties lie. It can only be there if the wearer is truly a member and wishes to be. The second significance is that you six have formed an ancient house that has not been formed since the founders were here.
The founders decided after six years of study here that six students were to be chosen to form a separate house that would take all the classes that you are now. It was only formed one other time besides this because the amount of students that showed potential weren't enough. You six are most likely the six most powerful wizards today. There may be a few more powerful but I assure you, there is not many. All students who you happen to see will still see the proper crest there but the staff and the Order will be able to see the phoenix. I think that may be enough answers from me tonight, maybe you wish to question each other now. I must go."
The students didn't really notice Dumbledore's lack of presence because all eyes were now on Harry. They all wanted to know how he made the whole upstairs with a wave of his hand. "Before you all bust out with your questions, I think I should just talk for a few minuets. Last year I found out I could do wandless magic. I didn't tell anybody because it just so happened that the first time I did wandless magic consciously was in the presents of Dumbledore and he told me not to. I have also been here for a couple of weeks studying about wandless magic and being poked and prodded at by Dumbledore, Snape, and Lupin. They want to find out how I am doing wandless magic 'cause I do it differently than most wizards."
Just then Draco spoke up, "I for one want to see you actually do wandless magic. I don't know for sure if you actually did this or if it was here before." As he was doing this he started to levitate off the floor. Everyone was staring, "What is happening?" Fear obvious in Draco's voice. Harry snickered, "Potter! Put me down!" Slowly he began to float to the ground in a sitting position, landing perfectly on his chair.
"I wasn't finished Draco. Learn to wait your turn." Harry stuck out his tongue very childishly to let Draco know he was poking fun at him. "As I was saying, they want to find out why I am able to do wandless magic without a spell or spoken words. It's more like I see it in my mind, whatever it is that I want to happen, I close my eyes and it just happens. I can't really explain it more than that. Now Draco, you guys can ask me questions. I just wanted to explain as much as possible so wouldn't have as many people asking questions."
Draco simply said, "Show us. I want to see you do wandless magic and maybe if some different people are watching you perform we might see something the professors didn't."
Harry just shrugged and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Pansy spoke up, "How about you give us all presents? This way we will see you do wandless magic, we will be happy, and we can see how well you know each of us by the presents you give us."
Harry thought that this was actually a very good idea, kind of an ice breaker of sorts for the six room mates. "Umm... okay let me think a minuet. I'm not going to give you all your presents at once because I want to see your reactions individually. That will probably tell me what you actually think of it. Pansy, I think you should go first because you came up with the idea."
Harry thought for a minuet and decided to decorate her room in plush purples and pinks first so that she would have an extra surprise later. The next part was going to be harder. He always thought of Pansy as a real girly girl, so he decided on a large bouquet of red and pink flowers, a box of dark chocolates, and a white and yellow gold rope chain with a small red and silver phoenix pendant that went on the chain. He closed his eyes and a second later he heard a large gasp.
He opened his eyes and saw Pansy's mouth hanging open. She sniffed the flowers first. Then she moved to the bow of chocolates and took one. Last she picked up the necklace box and opened it. A tear appeared at the corner of her eye. She got up and walked around to Harry. She gave him a small hug, said thanks, and then offered him the box to put the necklace on for her. He did and she returned to her seat, offering the table a piece of chocolate. On her bed awaited a small black kitten with a white front paw.
He went around the table, giving each of the occupants three gifts and secretly putting one in their rooms also. He didn't really know Blaise all that well but knew he played Quidditch. Harry ended up giving him a large broom car kit, a book on present day Quidditch, and a single earring for his left ear, the only one pierced. The earring was a snake fang wrapped in white gold. The earring also was charmed to let him wear any time he wanted without the adults seeing it. On his bed awaited a set of eagle feathered quills and assorted inks along with a bottle of fire-ice whisky.
Ron was seated next to Blaise so he was next. His first gift was Chudley cannons parafanalea. It consisted of a jersey, a set of pads, and a signed quaffle by each of the players. Next was a new set of ivory and obsidian wizard's chess pieces. The third present was a small bag with a space enlargement spell on it. It held large portions of every piece of candy imaginable. On Ron's bed was sitting a neatly wrapped Firebolt 2000. There was also a note asking him to keep it quiet, also telling him that everyone had another gift on their bed and to not make a scene.
Hermione was rather easy. He figured books quills and highlighters, then he thought again. He decided that he would put a large bookcase in her room with the same spell and set up as the one in the study room but that it would be linked to a muggle library system. She had once told him that she loved muggle fiction. Her first present, a charm bracelet, was enchanted so that each charm could do what ever spell she needed at the moment. She also received a box of white chocolates and a set of quills, inks, highlighters, ball point pens, pencils, colored pencils and pens, and markers. She hugged him for a long time.
After Hermione composed herself and sat back down, Harry glanced at the remaining person at the table. What in the world could he possibly give Draco that he didn't already have. Harry really wanted to impress him for some reason but couldn't think what to give Draco. Draco's first present was a sphere of green fire. The fire was enchanted to either be cold or hot depending on the holder's preference. His next present to Draco was a set of dress robes. They were the exact color of Draco's eyes and since his eye color changed with his present emotion, so did the color of the dress robes. The robes were embroidered with sapphire encrusted silk The cape that went along with the robe was a rich, navy blue silk embroidered with the same color thread as the robes. The robe was also long sleeved. His last gift to Draco was a golden snitch that was engraved in an elegant hand, Draco Malfoy. On his bed was a bracelet box containing a silver chain linked bracelet and each link was encrusted with small emerald flakes. This also had a charm on it that allowed him to wear in the presence of adults without their noticing.
Draco' mouth hung open as he stammered out an enthusiastic thank you. Harry then sat with the rest of them and conjured up desert. He ate a large piece of chocolate cake but everyone else was to busy admiring their gifts. Harry was truly happy because all of his room mates loved their gifts and that made him proud.
Harry led the way to the wall by the piano. A door appeared that wasn't there before. Harry stepped onto a rotating stair and stepped off as he reached the top. They all surrounded him and were taken aback at the sight before them. A large fireplace right above the one down stairs was roaring with a well lit fire. Where the kitchen was downstairs was now a large dinning table that sits about ten with a large feast atop it. There were four large, overstuffed beanbag chairs around the fire and off to the side was a chess board equipped to play muggle chess and wizard chess. A large painting of the castle stood opposite the group on the wall.
Draco spoke up first, "When did we get this? I never noticed it before and how did this food get here so fast professor?"
"I believe you should be asking Mr. Potter that question but not right now. Now we eat!"
Harry cleared away the remnants of their supper and bowed his head so as to not have to look at anyone. He was thinking about what to tell them when Dumbledore's voice ceased his thoughts completely, "Well now Harry that was rather good. Thank you. But now I need to talk to you all about the up coming year. You six will be the only people in the whole school to take these classes. Most of them are usually reserved for upper level auror training. First of which will be advanced wandless magic, you will each go through the basics first but those will go very fast. You will all be expected to learn these skills very quickly.
Second you will be taking Potions: Master level. This will be very difficult but I believe all of you will be able to cope. Along with this class you will be learning to identify different potions by the appearance and smell. This is extremely difficult and will be very surprised if any of you will be able to master it. Professor Snape is the only wizard who is able to do this without flaw so he will be teaching this class.
You will also be taking highly advanced transfiguration classes with Professor McGonagall. You will each learn to become an animagi and be able to turn into it on command. You will also learn to apparate.
Finally you will be learning telekinetic techniques that will help you in battles. You will be able to communicate with friends and confuse your enemies. You will be taking some other classes but they will not be daily, such as Mastery of Defense against the Dark Arts, Advanced Charms, and some Divination skills that are necessary. As you progress through the year you will be taking some other classes. Now are there any questions before I go?"
Draco Malfoy spoke up, "What about the Order? Will we be attending any meetings that occur during the school year? Will we be treated as real members or will we be babied about like we are kids even though we are getting training that many of the other members have never even heard of?"
Everyone agreed by nodding their heads or saying, "Yeah!" Dumbledore smiled at them all. "Actually all meetings pertaining to the whole Order will be held here in the castle. If a single Order member is meeting with me, then no, you will most likely not be included. We will not keep secrets from you though. If we are worried about your safety or if something is going on with the war then you will be informed. We will not baby you, as you put it Mr. Malfoy."
Hermione asked, "Professor, will we still have access to our houses common rooms? Are we still in our houses or have we formed a new one? What about our prefect statuses?" Hermione was very concerned about this because she loved being a prefect and Head girl.
"Miss Granger, I am sorry to say that you will no longer be prefects do to the fact that you will simply not have the time to keep up with a prefect's duties. It will also be your choice if you wish to return to your houses' common rooms but I warn you, they will most likely pose difficult questions pertaining to your absences in classes. But it is your choice."
Each of the students was ruminating on what Dumbledore had just said. Harry noticed a tingling sensation on his robe and looked down. Each and every one of the students' robes now had a red and silver phoenix where the proper house crest used to be. No one else seemed to notice so he decided to ask, "Professor, what is the phoenix on each of our robes mean?"
The students saw the phoenix now on each of their robes. A quizzical expression graced each of their faces. Dumbledore sighed, "I almost hoped that none of you were going to notice but since I said I wasn't going to baby you then it isn't fair to go back on my word already. The phoenix represents two separate things. The first is that you are apart of the Order. Each member has one on his or her robes to show other members were their loyalties lie. It can only be there if the wearer is truly a member and wishes to be. The second significance is that you six have formed an ancient house that has not been formed since the founders were here.
The founders decided after six years of study here that six students were to be chosen to form a separate house that would take all the classes that you are now. It was only formed one other time besides this because the amount of students that showed potential weren't enough. You six are most likely the six most powerful wizards today. There may be a few more powerful but I assure you, there is not many. All students who you happen to see will still see the proper crest there but the staff and the Order will be able to see the phoenix. I think that may be enough answers from me tonight, maybe you wish to question each other now. I must go."
The students didn't really notice Dumbledore's lack of presence because all eyes were now on Harry. They all wanted to know how he made the whole upstairs with a wave of his hand. "Before you all bust out with your questions, I think I should just talk for a few minuets. Last year I found out I could do wandless magic. I didn't tell anybody because it just so happened that the first time I did wandless magic consciously was in the presents of Dumbledore and he told me not to. I have also been here for a couple of weeks studying about wandless magic and being poked and prodded at by Dumbledore, Snape, and Lupin. They want to find out how I am doing wandless magic 'cause I do it differently than most wizards."
Just then Draco spoke up, "I for one want to see you actually do wandless magic. I don't know for sure if you actually did this or if it was here before." As he was doing this he started to levitate off the floor. Everyone was staring, "What is happening?" Fear obvious in Draco's voice. Harry snickered, "Potter! Put me down!" Slowly he began to float to the ground in a sitting position, landing perfectly on his chair.
"I wasn't finished Draco. Learn to wait your turn." Harry stuck out his tongue very childishly to let Draco know he was poking fun at him. "As I was saying, they want to find out why I am able to do wandless magic without a spell or spoken words. It's more like I see it in my mind, whatever it is that I want to happen, I close my eyes and it just happens. I can't really explain it more than that. Now Draco, you guys can ask me questions. I just wanted to explain as much as possible so wouldn't have as many people asking questions."
Draco simply said, "Show us. I want to see you do wandless magic and maybe if some different people are watching you perform we might see something the professors didn't."
Harry just shrugged and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Pansy spoke up, "How about you give us all presents? This way we will see you do wandless magic, we will be happy, and we can see how well you know each of us by the presents you give us."
Harry thought that this was actually a very good idea, kind of an ice breaker of sorts for the six room mates. "Umm... okay let me think a minuet. I'm not going to give you all your presents at once because I want to see your reactions individually. That will probably tell me what you actually think of it. Pansy, I think you should go first because you came up with the idea."
Harry thought for a minuet and decided to decorate her room in plush purples and pinks first so that she would have an extra surprise later. The next part was going to be harder. He always thought of Pansy as a real girly girl, so he decided on a large bouquet of red and pink flowers, a box of dark chocolates, and a white and yellow gold rope chain with a small red and silver phoenix pendant that went on the chain. He closed his eyes and a second later he heard a large gasp.
He opened his eyes and saw Pansy's mouth hanging open. She sniffed the flowers first. Then she moved to the bow of chocolates and took one. Last she picked up the necklace box and opened it. A tear appeared at the corner of her eye. She got up and walked around to Harry. She gave him a small hug, said thanks, and then offered him the box to put the necklace on for her. He did and she returned to her seat, offering the table a piece of chocolate. On her bed awaited a small black kitten with a white front paw.
He went around the table, giving each of the occupants three gifts and secretly putting one in their rooms also. He didn't really know Blaise all that well but knew he played Quidditch. Harry ended up giving him a large broom car kit, a book on present day Quidditch, and a single earring for his left ear, the only one pierced. The earring was a snake fang wrapped in white gold. The earring also was charmed to let him wear any time he wanted without the adults seeing it. On his bed awaited a set of eagle feathered quills and assorted inks along with a bottle of fire-ice whisky.
Ron was seated next to Blaise so he was next. His first gift was Chudley cannons parafanalea. It consisted of a jersey, a set of pads, and a signed quaffle by each of the players. Next was a new set of ivory and obsidian wizard's chess pieces. The third present was a small bag with a space enlargement spell on it. It held large portions of every piece of candy imaginable. On Ron's bed was sitting a neatly wrapped Firebolt 2000. There was also a note asking him to keep it quiet, also telling him that everyone had another gift on their bed and to not make a scene.
Hermione was rather easy. He figured books quills and highlighters, then he thought again. He decided that he would put a large bookcase in her room with the same spell and set up as the one in the study room but that it would be linked to a muggle library system. She had once told him that she loved muggle fiction. Her first present, a charm bracelet, was enchanted so that each charm could do what ever spell she needed at the moment. She also received a box of white chocolates and a set of quills, inks, highlighters, ball point pens, pencils, colored pencils and pens, and markers. She hugged him for a long time.
After Hermione composed herself and sat back down, Harry glanced at the remaining person at the table. What in the world could he possibly give Draco that he didn't already have. Harry really wanted to impress him for some reason but couldn't think what to give Draco. Draco's first present was a sphere of green fire. The fire was enchanted to either be cold or hot depending on the holder's preference. His next present to Draco was a set of dress robes. They were the exact color of Draco's eyes and since his eye color changed with his present emotion, so did the color of the dress robes. The robes were embroidered with sapphire encrusted silk The cape that went along with the robe was a rich, navy blue silk embroidered with the same color thread as the robes. The robe was also long sleeved. His last gift to Draco was a golden snitch that was engraved in an elegant hand, Draco Malfoy. On his bed was a bracelet box containing a silver chain linked bracelet and each link was encrusted with small emerald flakes. This also had a charm on it that allowed him to wear in the presence of adults without their noticing.
Draco' mouth hung open as he stammered out an enthusiastic thank you. Harry then sat with the rest of them and conjured up desert. He ate a large piece of chocolate cake but everyone else was to busy admiring their gifts. Harry was truly happy because all of his room mates loved their gifts and that made him proud.