Chapter 17: Truths and Dares
It was December 20th and suddenly Christmas seemed a lot closer than it had when they arrived 3 days ago. The Head Quarters however, weren't decorated at all. There wasn't a single ribbon or bell, not one fairy, no mistletoe and certainly no tree. In fact, the house was rather gloomy. Corridor upon corridor of bare walls, stairs and stairs of the same polished, ebony-wood steps and room by room of high, dismal ceilings. Sometimes Harry would walk around on his own. He hadn't explored the whole house when he'd stayed there in summer, and so now, when he was bored, he would let his feet tread solemnly around the house's many dark passageways. On his wanderings he'd discovered a small room, whose door had been hidden behind a tapestry of a very pretty looking woman, draped in all sorts of finery including an enormous necklace with 'Elladora' engraved on it. It was inside this room that Harry happened to be sitting, his head in his hands and his feet dangling off the edge of the desk.
The furniture was extravagant in this room. The chairs and tables all matched each other, and every leg had a golden serpent painted on it. There was a large bed in the centre too, the covers of which looked like they hadn't been touched for decades. There were books lining the shelves too and jewellery hanging off tiny stands on a dressing table. There was a very dusty looking candelabra with snake heads moulded into it on a tiny table in the corner of the room. Harry assumed this must have been Sirius' Aunt Elladora's bedroom; hence the portrait over the door.
It was a little creepy being in here, but he liked the quiet all the same. It gave him time to think things over. Being at the Order's Head Quarter's made Harry exposed to a lot of information and news about Voldemort and the war he'd started. He'd got to re-meet people he'd only seen briefly over the summer before last. Members from the Order would pop by with pieces of information or top-secret letters and then leave again. Back at Hogwarts no-one really knew about the situation the wizarding world was in. Hogwarts was like a safe haven where you could forget about the evil and the terror raging on outside the walls – and simply be a student. Of course Harry knew that Voldemort was getting stronger and gaining more and more followers. He could sense it though his scar and sometimes he would get bout of unexplained happiness – although it was a murky, malevolent sort of happiness, which Harry knew belonged to Voldemort. Now that he was out here in the wizarding world again everything hit him full blast. There was a real war on. Voldemort had returned to strength and was starting to spread terror over the land once again. It was like Arthur and Sirius and Dumbledore and so many others had always said – there were dark times ahead – Voldemort's reign had been hell before and a similar hell had already begun to be unleashed once again.
Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It pained him to be here. He didn't want to admit it – and he'd tried denying it even to himself. But the fact remained the last time he'd been here he could've called out to Sirius and he would have come. All he'd had to do was yell for him and he'd be there. But not now. Last time he'd slept in this house he could've woken up to hear Sirius humming in the kitchen. Last time he'd strolled along the same fine floorboards he had been more worried about not being part of the Order than being with his godfather. Last time he had been here he'd had pleasant dreams: absent of shrieking and crying and flashes of Sirius' shocked face falling away from him.
Harry stayed for a while longer, enjoying the silence echoing around him and then he left. Elladora scowled at him as he walked down the passageway. He barely noticed he was heading back to the main hall, but when he arrived he was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice.
"Harry! Harry!"
He looked up to see her and Ron walking towards him.
"Hi," he said smiling slightly.
"Where've you been?" Ron asked.
Harry shrugged. "Oh just walking."
"Well guess what we just heard!" Ron said grinning. He didn't give Harry time to guess. "Dad and Mad-Eye Moody were talking about this plan the Order have ... They're trying to make something that alerts them of whenever You-Kn ... Voldemort calls his Death Eaters for a meeting-"
"It's really, really advanced magic," Hermione interrupted. "Every time Voldemort makes their Dark Marks burn there'll be some sort of alarm or something that goes off."
"They said it would be useful for when they're planning attacks," said Ron.
"And imagine having that kind of knowledge. They could use it for lots of things! The Order of Phoenix must have been working really hard this past term they've got some really amazing plans!"
Harry nodded. "Yea, I know and they've got spies everywhere too. Dedalus Diggle's working part time in Hogsmeade as a relief person – so whenever any shops need a hand he's there. He overhears loads of useful stuff."
"It's pretty weird. I never really understood that this whole war thing had gotten so far. In the summer there were loads more raids and threats and everything but it's so serious now," Ron said sounding a little apprehensive.
"Mmm" Hermione agreed. "It's scary."
"Move," said a spiteful voice interrupting their conversation. He looked down to see Kreacher frowning at the three of them.
"Excuse me?" Harry said indignantly, ignoring that they were in fact blocking the stairs.
"Where are your manners?" Ron said scolding.
"Kreacher doesn't have to be polite to you. My mistress hates people like you. Blood Traitor!" he hissed.
"OI!" Harry snapped. "Watch your mouth!"
"You cannot tell Kreacher that! Kreacher can say what he wants to you. My mistress would say lots of things to you if she could. Now get out of the way."
"Not unless you ask nicely you stupid house-elf!" Ron spat.
Kreacher's eyes grew wide, "Don't speak to Kreacher that way you disgusting excuse for a pure-blood."
"Don't speak to Ron like that you disgusting excuse for a house-elf!" Harry retorted.
Kreacher shot Harry a death stare.
"Harry, leave him," Hermione said shaking her head.
"Kreacher doesn't want The Mudblood sticking up for him. She would do better to shut up."
Harry sighed in frustration, "Look you little vermin, quit saying horrid things ok? There's plenty more we could say about your beloved mistress so forget about it alright?"
"Don't you dare say things like that about my mistress! Oh if you could see her you'd-"
"Curse her on the spot," Ron interjected.
"Ron, Harry, come on – you know he's not right in the head ... let's just go."
Kreacher grinned evilly, "That's right. Go away you pathetic pieces of scum. Leave Kreacher to do his cleaning."
Harry turned around and walked back up the stairs with Hermione and Ron following him. "Merlin, that house-elf annoys me," Ron grunted when they reached the top.
"Yea, I know!" Harry groaned. "I wish someone would hurry up and shove his head up on the wall with all the rest of them."
"Harry, don't say that," Hermione said.
Half an hour later the trio plus Ginny were all relaxed in a large room with deluxe velvet suites.
"Chuck us the Berti Botts," Ron said. Harry grabbed the packet next to him and lobbed it across the room at his friend.
Molly had been out earlier that day and brought home a whole basket full of sweets for the lot of them. At least a quarter had been successfully demolished already.
Fred and George walked in, "Hey chaps!" one of them said brightly.
Ginny beamed. "Hi."
"How is everyone?" Fred asked.
Ron shrugged.
"Alright," Harry replied.
"Why the doom and gloom?" George asked frowning. "Ran out of food?"
Ginny snorted and Harry couldn't help smiling.
George smiled at his response and sat down next to his little brother. Fred plonked himself on a soft chair near Harry and sighed. "So what are we all talking about?"
They continued chatting, laughing and eating for a while. The shadows splashed along the floor gradually lengthened as noon left and the afternoon grew older. Harry was so full of chocolate, sherbet, gelatine and sugar that he simply couldn't force himself to eat the rest of the Fizzing Whizzbies, which lay deserted on his arm rest. Ron's Blowing Gum, Hermione's Jelly Slugs and the twins' Fudges lay similarly abandoned. The basket in the centre of room could now offer only 4 packets of sweets and one bottle of pumpkin juice.
Suddenly Fred broke the silence and suggested enthusiastically that they play a game of Truth or Dare. Everyone agreed and George was the first victim.
"Truth or dare?" Fred asked him.
"Dare," George replied instantly.
"Um ok—" Fred thought for a second and then beamed as a wicked idea wriggled into his mind. "Call Kreacher in here and make him eat a Canary Cream!"
The room immediately burst into howling laughter; all of them obviously enjoying the same mental image of their least-favourite house-elf transfiguring into a squawking multi-coloured bird.
"EXCELLENT!" Ron laughed. "This is going to super!"
Harry sat up grinning too, "Yea it's great!"
"No!" Hermione said sharply. She was the only one who hadn't joined in on the laughter. "That's really mean! I know we don't like him but you can't trick him into eating one of your prank sweets!"
Fred rolled his eyes. "Hermione he'd do much worse to us if he could, alright?"
"Exactly! Don't antagonise him! He'll only be more unbearable if you make him hate you."
"He already hates us. We're blood traitors remember?" said George.
Hermione sighed. "Look I agree, it would be funny but that's way too mean."
"Alright close your eyes when we give it to him – but you can't stop us," Fred said smiling. "Let's go."
The 6 of them found Kreacher talking to a portrait of Regulus Black and managed to lure him back to their room, convincing him that they had found something that belonged his mistress. When they got into the room George walked towards a bookcase in the corner and titled his head, pretending to read the titles engraved along the spines.
"I'm not sure which one it was," he wondered as Kreacher scuttled eagerly to his side. George picked up a totally safe biscuit from beside him and ate it. "Want one?" he asked, holding out a deceivingly innocent looking replica to the elf.
Everyone was surprised when he accepted and George smiled as he continued faking a search for the book that Kreacher was so impatient to get his hands on.
"Ah - here we go," he said pulling a dusty green one from a shelf. Kreacher's eyes goggled and he held out his arm. Suddenly, (perfect timing from the Weasley Twin) the house-elf screeched and his outstretched arms erupted into wings, his stub nose extended into a beak, feathers popped up out of his skin, a large fancy tail sprouted from his rear and then ... standing before them was a mortified, Kreacher-sized canary.
Harry was doubled over laughing, Ginny had sunk to the floor in a fit of giggles, Ron's face was going red as he choked on his own breath, Fred had thrown his head back and had one hand on the wall for support whilst George, delighted that his plan had worked was howling with laughter along with the rest of them. Even Hermione couldn't suppress a rather large smile. Kreacher flapped his wings frantically and squawked, terror flashing though his eyes. Harry had a stitch in his stomach and could barely breathe. The sight was something all of them enjoyed. Revenge – especially when Fred and George were involved was always great fun.
10 minutes later a very angry Kreacher had ran out of the room muttering curses under his breath. No-one cared much though, it had been far too funny an experience to worry about the house-elf's pride.
Once they had calmed down George grinned, "Alright my turn. Hermione – truth or dare?"
"Um - T-truth," she replied, feeling uneasy about both options considering a Weasley Twin was the one deciding her fate.
"What's the naughtiest thing you've ever done at Hogwarts?" he asked smirking. This should be interesting ...
Hermione looked stumped and clearly had to think hard. "Well that's difficult because Dumbledore always agreed with our rule-breaking since we ended up saving someone's life or something in the end." Seeing George's clearly unsatisfied look she added, "No wait - attacking Snape and knocking him out back in 3rd year."
The twins chuckled, "Good on ya!"
"But on second thoughts that was sort of an accident. And it was necessary, too. He would have done something stupid if we left him conscious," she said frowning slightly as she tried to think of her most mischievous moments. "I don't know. I can't think of anything. Maybe all the things we did to Umbridge. I'd never do that to any other teacher. But I hated her so much! Anyway – that's my answer. My go now. Harry – truth or dare?"