- - -
Entering his room, Harry found that Lupin was already inside. Sitting across from him at the table was Albus Dumbledore. Harry stared.
"Professor Dumbledore?!" he asked, amazed. Isabella was dumbfounded as well. Her eyes traveled from Dumbledore to Remus, who met her gaze bracingly. Isabella sat down beside him nervously.
She had never spoken to Dumbledore, even when she was at Hogwarts. He seemed like the ultimate authority figure. She felt small in comparison.
When Dumbledore leaned forward, Isabella shrank back instinctively.
"Now," he said, his pale eyes resting on her, "Miss Fowlie, Remus has informed me that you may be a deserving candidate to join the Order of the Phoenix."
Isabella turned to Remus questioningly, and then turned back to the headmaster. "The what, sir?" she asked, puzzled.
Lupin spoke then. "The Order of the Phoenix is a group of wizards that have banded together to fight Lord Voldemort and the Dark Side in any way we can. There are only a select few in the Order. Sirius was a part of it...and gave his life for it..." his voice, which had remained steady while they saw Sirius in the Pensieve, slightly shook with emotion.
Harry looked at Lupin out of the corner of his eye. The lines that creased his young face deepened and Lupin closed his eyes and brought his hand to his forehead.
"There are obviously dangers involved with joining the Order," Dumbledore said quickly, glancing at Remus over the rims of his half-moon glasses, "But I daresay you'd risk it to return what Sirius did for you?"
Isabella was daunted by the powerful old man facing her, but she practically glared at him. "Of course I would!" she replied firmly, but then said in a much quieter voice, "I'd like to join your Order, sir." Had she offended him? She crossed her legs and sat rigidly in her chair.
Dumbledore looked from face to face in the room. He then hooked his spindly fingers together and turned to Harry.
"Would you please excuse us Harry? I have something I'd like to discuss with Miss Fowlie and Professor Lupin alone," he asked, nodding towards the door.
Harry nodded, but he was annoyed that he was being left out. He wasn't an adult, but he was close enough to being a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He'd done more than some of the real members had. Didn't that count for anything? Didn't he have a right to know what was going on? He grew indignant, and stood in the hallway. Leaning against the wall, Harry scowled at the cheery paintings hanging around him, whose occupants looked quite taken aback at the expression on his face.
A scratchy voice drifted to his ears from downstairs. "Is a woman named Isabella Fowlie staying here?"
Tom, the barkeep, said after a moment, "No, I'm sorry. There's no one registered by that name."
Harry came down the stairs, deciding to see who was inquiring after the newest member of the Order of the Phoenix. Tom was behind the counter, searching through the thickly bound book used as a guest register. The eccentric shopkeeper whom she had identified as Gerard was standing there, looking scandalized. He was wearing woolen, rather ugly orange robes and used a knobbly cane to help him walk. Gerard waved this cane rather enthusiastically when he noticed Harry.
"You, boy!" he rasped, "You were with Izzy before. Where is she now?"
Remembering the meeting that was going on in his room all too well, Harry replied, "Er, she's a little busy right now."
Gerard smoothed his gray hair that was combed over a receding hairline, and banged his cane against the smooth oak floor. He tutted. "That little miss must be quite the social butterfly...just over at my place, and right away she's over here with another engagement, too busy to talk to ol' Gerard...I remember when she was knee-high to a grasshopper..." He continued to ramble in his dazed way as Harry stared at him, growing steadily more confused. The old man paused to take a breath, and Harry seized the opportunity. He interrupted.
"Can I give Isabella a message for you, sir?' he asked, loudly.
"Eh?" Gerard asked, looking at Harry as though he'd forgotten why Harry was standing there, "Oh, yes. Tell her that I'm starting my new project tonight...yes; tell Izzy I've decided to do that..." He then tottered away absentmindedly.
Normally Harry would be amused by the odd man, but this was rubbing salt in his wound. Now there was another thing he wasn't allowed to know! Didn't anyone acknowledge the fact that Harry wasn't a child? He stormed up the stairs, running headlong into someone.
"Oh, excuse me," said a familiar voice. Remus drew backwards. His pleasant smile broadened when he saw who it was. "Harry! I hope we haven't kept you waiting too long," Lupin said, chivvying Harry inside the room once more, "Unfortunately, Albus couldn't stay, but Tom's brought us our pot of tea."
Isabella, who was sitting a lot more comfortably now that Dumbledore was gone, grinned widely when she saw Harry's exasperated face. She laughed, "Don't look so put out, Harry, you'll find out soon enough what we were talking about."
Harry sat down at the table as Lupin poured tea for everyone. When Lupin placed the blue checkered mug in front of Isabella, Harry looked up at her. "Hey," he said to Isabella, "Your friend, the old man from the store, told me to tell you that he's decided to start his new project tonight."
Isabella's face had an odd closed look, but she gave him a faint smile at this news. Harry was reminded of Remus' expression when Harry had asked about Remus' days at Hogwarts during Harry's third year. Perhaps Lupin had noticed this as well. Harry could have sworn Remus had given him a slight smirk over his teacup.
Lupin and Isabella began to chat animatedly. It seemed like having someone like her around would be good for Remus. Harry, dealing with his own grief, hadn't given Lupin much thought until the last few days. Lupin had lost two of his best friends to Voldemort, and Peter Pettigrew had betrayed him forever. Harry tried to imagine how he would feel if Ron and Hermione were killed. It hurt too much to imagine this for long. Blinking savagely, he began to look around, so that no one would notice that his eyes were too-bright. He tuned out the adults' discussion, leaving the two of them to talk idly.
The lamp that lit Harry's room was giving off a warm glow, and he found it comforting as he watched it flicker. Hedwig made a soft noise from her perch on the dresser by the mirror (which had a habit of talking), and she stretched her wings. The tea had made Harry extremely sleepy. The atmosphere around him swam and he caught snatches of the adults' conversation, though slurred, and it felt like each word took an eternity to reach his ears and travel to his brain.
"...Nyphadora Tonks? The Metamorphmagus?"
"Yes, she's in the Order..."
"...No, I don't think I'll stay in Diagon Alley...things to do...before..."
Harry's head flopped to his chest as he fell asleep. It was very late. Slowly, Remus and Isabella ceased their conversation. Not wanting to wake Harry, Isabella whispered, "I'd best be off. I need to go back to Chelsea to make arrangements for the errand Dumbledore gave me. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Remus." She extended her hand, which he shook, and bade her farewell. Isabella gave her shy smile once more before Disapparating, leaving Lupin alone.
- - -
Sighing, Remus ran a hand through his gray streaked hair, and looked around at Harry, who was slumped over, fast asleep. It was amazing how much son resembled father. The hair, the glasses, the smile...even the knack for getting in trouble...It was remarkable.
Remus lifted Harry's cloak off the peg from which it hung on the wall. He draped it over the youth's slumbering shoulders. Lupin paused for a moment, watching Harry peacefully sleep. He then quietly crossed the floor to the dresser. Harry's owl was watching him curiously out of the corner of her amber eyes. Remus reached out and stroked Hedwig's snowy feathers. He then extinguished the lamp, which sent the room into darkness.
Retiring back into the chair he was sitting in before, Lupin stifled a yawn. He put his head down on the table. The maple wood smelled sweet and pungent. It was very tranquil, and soon Remus fell asleep himself.
- - -
When Harry awoke, he found that he was still at the table. Lupin was still dozing, with his head resting on his crossed arms. Harry stood up, rubbing his neck. He was stiff. He moved over to the double pane window and peered out into the streets.
It was late morning. The sky was overcast and people were crowding the cobblestone streets, as usual. There was a pleasantly cool breeze wafting into his room. Harry breathed in deeply, taking in the crisp morning air.
Still twisting his neck to get the kinks out of it, he went to go wash his face. Picking up water in his cupped hands, he splashed it on his cheeks, feeling the droplets trickle down under his collar. Harry tried, in vain, to make his hair lie flat, but as usual, it stuck up more stubbornly than ever.
Replacing his glasses on his face, he came back into the room where Lupin was sleeping. He was snoring softly. Harry decided not to wake him; he had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he needed rest. Harry, however, was restless. He didn't want to sit around and watch someone sleep. He decided to do his school shopping.
Rummaging through the disarray of his trunk, which had been hurriedly packed, Harry found his school list. Taking out a spare scrap of parchment, Harry left a note for Remus saying where he'd gone. Sliding it under Remus' fingertips, he took his pouch, which jingled softly, and left the room.
- - -
Looking over the list, Harry made his way to Flourish and Blott's, the bookstore. Let's see, he thought, I need a new Transfiguration book, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six, Casting and Countering Curses by Angelino Grune and Doing Jinxes Justice by Lance Stephenson.
As he walked, Harry began to calculate in his head how much in total the books would cost him. It was to no avail- he kept losing track of the numbers. Hermione is much better at this sort of thing, he thought after his third attempt at finding the figure.
Grinning inwardly, Harry tried to picture how Hermione would react to the events of the previous days. He knew she would like Isabella, but she would scorn Harry for his anger at Dumbledore the previous night. Harry thought very highly of his headmaster, but Hermione was maddening if he was exasperated with Dumbledore, because she always sided with him.
A sound that resembled a thunderclap interrupted his thoughts and made him jump. Looking around, Harry saw that it was Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. A steady stream of loud and bizarre noises came from the depths of the large shop. The walls had bold streaks of colour, with no particular pattern or design. It was very flamboyant, and some of the more austere looking witches and wizards frowned openly as they passed it, but a large majority looked thoroughly amused.
Harry looked around Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts was just down the street. He really should be heading there... He took another look at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and back at Flourish and Blotts once more. His curiosity had completely diminished his willpower. After all, he thought, as Harry entered the twin's store, he could go find books another day.
- - -