As always, totally not mine.
It is appalling how much I manage to NOT get done despite having an entire week-end. Perhaps this is why?
Chapter 9- The Order of the Phoenix
Sirius had assumed their little party that had gathered at Avalon on Friday were the only ones Dumbledore had invited, but he discovered on Saturday evening he was quite wrong. As it approached six o'clock, the time specified in Dumbledore's cryptic message, the doorbell began to ring almost without stopping, and Morgan had to stun her cats to keep them from constantly leaping at people.
Sirius sat in the corner of the library, tipping his chair back dangerously against the wall, and watched the various witches and wizards who entered, some looking apprehensive, some merely curious. They came alone or in groups, greeting people they knew with the familiarity of old friends, and with more formality those they didn't. The wizarding community in Britain was small and tightly knit, so if there was a witch or wizard you didn't know, you were still likely to know their name and someone in their family. And indeed there were few faces he did not recognize. One girl with rosy cheeks and black hair looked hardly old enough to be out of school and seemed very nervous. A wizard with sandy brown hair was also very young and looked impressed by the older witches and wizards he found himself in the company of.
There were very familiar faces as well. Minerva McGonagall was deep in conversation with Emmeline Vance and Elphias Doge, looking quite as severe as she did in front of her classroom at Hogwart's. Gideon and Fabian kept shooting anxious glances at her over their shoulders, as though afraid she might suddenly start giving them detentions just from force of habit. Dedalus Diggle was working the room, talking to everyone in turn, dangerously over-excited. Beaming and shaking hands and occasionally kissing the hand of one of the ladies. Marlene McKinnon arrived with Edgar Bones but was sitting next to Alice talking with her usual enthusiasm. Mundungus Fletcher was one of the last to arrive, and Sirius saw Morgan give him a suspicious look, but she refrained from saying anything.
The room was crowded, and there was an excited and nervous buzz in the room, when Dumbledore finally entered with Alastor Moody, who took up a place by the door. The voices dropped to expectant silence as Dumbledore walked to the front of the room. He was silent for a moment looking around at the anxious and curious faces. He smiled warmly.
"Welcome. Welcome all of you. I thank you all for rearranging your busy lives to be here. Our time is short so I will come straight to the point. You all have an idea why I have invited you here- because you believe the wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort must be stopped."
A frission went around the room at the sound of the name. Several people started visibly at what Dumbledore said so calmly.
"I see many of you flinch at the sound of his name. It is true that he wields great power. There is no one in this room who had not been touched by the poison he is spreading through our world. Many of you have lost loved ones. But what I am asking you now is to not allow yourselves to be paralyzed by fear." Several people looked quite paralyzed in fact, but nobody said anything as he went on. "If you look around the room, you will see there are very few of us, compared to the numbers who serve Voldemort, but we are not helpless. We still have hope, I feel it more strongly as I see the potential here in this room. I know you are capable of taking up this fight. Of taking on the fight of the Order of the Phoenix."
The words seemed to resonate. Nobody moved for a moment, until Alice finally said, timidly, "What is that, Sir?"
"It is an idea that goes back to even the time of Merlin himself, though the actual group has not existed for many centuries. Phoenixes, you see, are fascinating creatures. You will all know that Phoenixes never really die, but burst into flames and then are born again from the ashes. In addition, they can carry immensely heavy burdens, and they are undyingly loyal. Loyalty, and the ability to shoulder great burdens, are qualities required of those who would risk themselves to protect others. This has always been the task of the Order of the Phoenix. To gather in secret and pledge to protect the wizarding world from darkness, from powers that would seek to destroy us, from those who spread fear and pain and death. I have asked you here tonight to take on this fight, for all witches and wizards, and for their children and grandchildren."
"Of course we will!" Said Gideon suddenly, rising from his chair. Dumbledore's words had filled them all with a sense of purpose. "If we don't fight Voldemort there will be nothing left of our world to fight for."
There was a murmur of agreement, but another voice spoke.
"Nothing to fight for if you're dead either Prewett." Peter said, unexpectedly, for he did not usually draw attention to himself in groups.
"You always were a nasty little coward-" Morgan spat, rising, before Sirius grabbed the sleeve of her robes and pulled her back into her chair.
"That's enough." He said in a low, but sharp voice. She glanced at him, but said nothing else.
"We are ready Sir." Said James, ignoring the exchange. Dumbledore nodded at him approvingly, then continued.
"Be aware that this is not something to be entered into lightly. There is very real danger. I cannot promise you no one will get hurt, I cannot promise you no lives will be lost. Aside from what I ask of you now, which is complete secrecy regarding tonight's meeting, I will not ask anyone for anything they are not prepared to do. You must decide for yourselves if you wish to take part. I will never demand blind obedience, or a lifetime of service. I know only too well that circumstances can change, loyalties can change. I do not question the strength or conviction of anyone in this room, but I know that many of your families do not share my opinions." His eyes swept the room, and rested on Sirius and Morgan. Sirius met his eyes boldly, even defiantly. "I will never ask you to betray your families, I understand you may face conflicts of loyalty. I know many of you hold positions within the Ministry of Magic. I will not ask you to risk your jobs, but you must understand that the Ministry may question your loyalty if it's discovered you are in the Order."
"That's nothing." Said Frank dismissively.
"Understand, I do not wish to work against the Ministry. On the contrary, our goal is the same- to destroy Voldemort and the power he holds over the wizarding world. But the Ministry is divided, confused, and afraid. We know there are many spies for Voldemort among them, and he manages to thwart all their attempts to catch him or those who serve him. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is getting desperate, and seems to be heading toward a policy of the ends justifying the means. Aurors should not be asked to kill. And for all these reasons I feel it is necessary to be at least separate from the Ministry, and to work without their knowledge. It is crucial to our success to know as much, if not more, than the Ministry does, and the Aurors are the best placed to have that information."
"I understand what I ask of you is dangerous. If you feel it is too much for you, if for any reasons, out of family, or other loyalties, you cannot continue, I ask you only to tell me, and to not tell anyone what has transpired here tonight. No hint of our existence can be leaked to Voldemort and his supporters. Now, if-"
He was interrupted as the door at the back of the room opened. All heads turned to see the man who stepped into the room. There was a moment of shocked silence, and then-
"Snape!" Growled Sirius.
"What is HE doing here?" Asked Fenwick loudly.
Morgan made herself heard above the exclamations. "What are you doing in my house?"
He turned and looked at her, his eyes flashing fire but his voice controlled. "Retract your claws McCarrick, I am here at the Headmaster's request."
All the shocked eyes turned back to Dumbledore.
"We all know what he is!" Fabian said vehemently. "He's a Death Eater! He's a spy!"
Dumbledore held up his hands, asking for silence once more.
"In fact Fabian, you are correct." He said mildly. "Severus is indeed a spy. For me."
Another shocked silence. Most of them still eyed Snape suspiciously, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Excuse me Sir?" A small voice. All eyes fell on the young black haired witch. "How can you be sure?"
He smiled at her gently. "The same way I can be sure about you, Hestia. I trust you, and I trust Severus."
Well, she hasn't got a great bloody skull burned into her arm." Sirius said violently, and then remembered whom he was speaking to and added lamely. "Sir."
"Is it so hard to believe, Mr. Black, that loyalties may change?" Dumbledore said, a note of impatience in his voice. "I am asking you all to trust me. Without trusting each other, we have nothing."
He looked around the room, there were no more challenges. His manner turned brisk.
"To practical matters then. Miss McCarrick was kind enough to lend her family home for this meeting, but I would suggest that we use Hogwart's as a headquarters for the summer. It is well protected, as you know. Of course, it will be impossible to have our meetings there when students are present. Students are very curious and have remarkable investigative capabilities when it comes to things that do not concern them." He smiled a little. "But we can use it for the summer holidays and in the meantime look for another location. We will meet from time to time, or when there is news. For now, we can use owls, until I can devise a more secure means of communicating. Merely be careful how you word things. I will send word of the next meeting soon and we can make more definite plans." He looked round at all of them. "Thank you, for rising so readily to the challenge. My faith in you was not misplaced."
________________________________________________________
Sus- If you tell K about this I will beat you so hard. Seriously, he would never let me hear then end of it.
It is appalling how much I manage to NOT get done despite having an entire week-end. Perhaps this is why?
Chapter 9- The Order of the Phoenix
Sirius had assumed their little party that had gathered at Avalon on Friday were the only ones Dumbledore had invited, but he discovered on Saturday evening he was quite wrong. As it approached six o'clock, the time specified in Dumbledore's cryptic message, the doorbell began to ring almost without stopping, and Morgan had to stun her cats to keep them from constantly leaping at people.
Sirius sat in the corner of the library, tipping his chair back dangerously against the wall, and watched the various witches and wizards who entered, some looking apprehensive, some merely curious. They came alone or in groups, greeting people they knew with the familiarity of old friends, and with more formality those they didn't. The wizarding community in Britain was small and tightly knit, so if there was a witch or wizard you didn't know, you were still likely to know their name and someone in their family. And indeed there were few faces he did not recognize. One girl with rosy cheeks and black hair looked hardly old enough to be out of school and seemed very nervous. A wizard with sandy brown hair was also very young and looked impressed by the older witches and wizards he found himself in the company of.
There were very familiar faces as well. Minerva McGonagall was deep in conversation with Emmeline Vance and Elphias Doge, looking quite as severe as she did in front of her classroom at Hogwart's. Gideon and Fabian kept shooting anxious glances at her over their shoulders, as though afraid she might suddenly start giving them detentions just from force of habit. Dedalus Diggle was working the room, talking to everyone in turn, dangerously over-excited. Beaming and shaking hands and occasionally kissing the hand of one of the ladies. Marlene McKinnon arrived with Edgar Bones but was sitting next to Alice talking with her usual enthusiasm. Mundungus Fletcher was one of the last to arrive, and Sirius saw Morgan give him a suspicious look, but she refrained from saying anything.
The room was crowded, and there was an excited and nervous buzz in the room, when Dumbledore finally entered with Alastor Moody, who took up a place by the door. The voices dropped to expectant silence as Dumbledore walked to the front of the room. He was silent for a moment looking around at the anxious and curious faces. He smiled warmly.
"Welcome. Welcome all of you. I thank you all for rearranging your busy lives to be here. Our time is short so I will come straight to the point. You all have an idea why I have invited you here- because you believe the wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort must be stopped."
A frission went around the room at the sound of the name. Several people started visibly at what Dumbledore said so calmly.
"I see many of you flinch at the sound of his name. It is true that he wields great power. There is no one in this room who had not been touched by the poison he is spreading through our world. Many of you have lost loved ones. But what I am asking you now is to not allow yourselves to be paralyzed by fear." Several people looked quite paralyzed in fact, but nobody said anything as he went on. "If you look around the room, you will see there are very few of us, compared to the numbers who serve Voldemort, but we are not helpless. We still have hope, I feel it more strongly as I see the potential here in this room. I know you are capable of taking up this fight. Of taking on the fight of the Order of the Phoenix."
The words seemed to resonate. Nobody moved for a moment, until Alice finally said, timidly, "What is that, Sir?"
"It is an idea that goes back to even the time of Merlin himself, though the actual group has not existed for many centuries. Phoenixes, you see, are fascinating creatures. You will all know that Phoenixes never really die, but burst into flames and then are born again from the ashes. In addition, they can carry immensely heavy burdens, and they are undyingly loyal. Loyalty, and the ability to shoulder great burdens, are qualities required of those who would risk themselves to protect others. This has always been the task of the Order of the Phoenix. To gather in secret and pledge to protect the wizarding world from darkness, from powers that would seek to destroy us, from those who spread fear and pain and death. I have asked you here tonight to take on this fight, for all witches and wizards, and for their children and grandchildren."
"Of course we will!" Said Gideon suddenly, rising from his chair. Dumbledore's words had filled them all with a sense of purpose. "If we don't fight Voldemort there will be nothing left of our world to fight for."
There was a murmur of agreement, but another voice spoke.
"Nothing to fight for if you're dead either Prewett." Peter said, unexpectedly, for he did not usually draw attention to himself in groups.
"You always were a nasty little coward-" Morgan spat, rising, before Sirius grabbed the sleeve of her robes and pulled her back into her chair.
"That's enough." He said in a low, but sharp voice. She glanced at him, but said nothing else.
"We are ready Sir." Said James, ignoring the exchange. Dumbledore nodded at him approvingly, then continued.
"Be aware that this is not something to be entered into lightly. There is very real danger. I cannot promise you no one will get hurt, I cannot promise you no lives will be lost. Aside from what I ask of you now, which is complete secrecy regarding tonight's meeting, I will not ask anyone for anything they are not prepared to do. You must decide for yourselves if you wish to take part. I will never demand blind obedience, or a lifetime of service. I know only too well that circumstances can change, loyalties can change. I do not question the strength or conviction of anyone in this room, but I know that many of your families do not share my opinions." His eyes swept the room, and rested on Sirius and Morgan. Sirius met his eyes boldly, even defiantly. "I will never ask you to betray your families, I understand you may face conflicts of loyalty. I know many of you hold positions within the Ministry of Magic. I will not ask you to risk your jobs, but you must understand that the Ministry may question your loyalty if it's discovered you are in the Order."
"That's nothing." Said Frank dismissively.
"Understand, I do not wish to work against the Ministry. On the contrary, our goal is the same- to destroy Voldemort and the power he holds over the wizarding world. But the Ministry is divided, confused, and afraid. We know there are many spies for Voldemort among them, and he manages to thwart all their attempts to catch him or those who serve him. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is getting desperate, and seems to be heading toward a policy of the ends justifying the means. Aurors should not be asked to kill. And for all these reasons I feel it is necessary to be at least separate from the Ministry, and to work without their knowledge. It is crucial to our success to know as much, if not more, than the Ministry does, and the Aurors are the best placed to have that information."
"I understand what I ask of you is dangerous. If you feel it is too much for you, if for any reasons, out of family, or other loyalties, you cannot continue, I ask you only to tell me, and to not tell anyone what has transpired here tonight. No hint of our existence can be leaked to Voldemort and his supporters. Now, if-"
He was interrupted as the door at the back of the room opened. All heads turned to see the man who stepped into the room. There was a moment of shocked silence, and then-
"Snape!" Growled Sirius.
"What is HE doing here?" Asked Fenwick loudly.
Morgan made herself heard above the exclamations. "What are you doing in my house?"
He turned and looked at her, his eyes flashing fire but his voice controlled. "Retract your claws McCarrick, I am here at the Headmaster's request."
All the shocked eyes turned back to Dumbledore.
"We all know what he is!" Fabian said vehemently. "He's a Death Eater! He's a spy!"
Dumbledore held up his hands, asking for silence once more.
"In fact Fabian, you are correct." He said mildly. "Severus is indeed a spy. For me."
Another shocked silence. Most of them still eyed Snape suspiciously, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Excuse me Sir?" A small voice. All eyes fell on the young black haired witch. "How can you be sure?"
He smiled at her gently. "The same way I can be sure about you, Hestia. I trust you, and I trust Severus."
Well, she hasn't got a great bloody skull burned into her arm." Sirius said violently, and then remembered whom he was speaking to and added lamely. "Sir."
"Is it so hard to believe, Mr. Black, that loyalties may change?" Dumbledore said, a note of impatience in his voice. "I am asking you all to trust me. Without trusting each other, we have nothing."
He looked around the room, there were no more challenges. His manner turned brisk.
"To practical matters then. Miss McCarrick was kind enough to lend her family home for this meeting, but I would suggest that we use Hogwart's as a headquarters for the summer. It is well protected, as you know. Of course, it will be impossible to have our meetings there when students are present. Students are very curious and have remarkable investigative capabilities when it comes to things that do not concern them." He smiled a little. "But we can use it for the summer holidays and in the meantime look for another location. We will meet from time to time, or when there is news. For now, we can use owls, until I can devise a more secure means of communicating. Merely be careful how you word things. I will send word of the next meeting soon and we can make more definite plans." He looked round at all of them. "Thank you, for rising so readily to the challenge. My faith in you was not misplaced."
________________________________________________________
Sus- If you tell K about this I will beat you so hard. Seriously, he would never let me hear then end of it.