Disclaimer: I think I need a default disclaimer to put on each chapter. This really is getting tiresome. As has been mentioned [two times before], I do not own Harry Potter, his friends, or anyone else you see in this fic that has appeared in the Harry Potter books. I do not own any places, events, or history that you see in this fic that corresponds to those in the books. I own only the storyline, some chapter titles, and a very shady character. The rest belongs to the master who made me want to write the fic. And I believe she lives in England.
An Alliance of Friends
Harry felt himself being guided into an old house. He looked around and while the surrounding looked very familiar, it felt vaguely different. He was in Mrs. Figg's house and was being led into a shabby room. The walls were cracked, the furniture stained, and the halls dark. It was unnaturally cold and the windows were open. A sense of foreboding bore down upon him. Harry looked around tentatively. What was this odd feeling in the house?
All of a sudden Harry felt the wind change directions, and a chill rippled through his body. He began to shake and could hardly lift his feet. His scar burned and he was no longer aware of anything. His head throbbed so much that he hardly noticed the Headmaster, and Arabella, who had transformed into her true appearance- around the age of Sirius and Professor Lupin. He heard them talking, discussing plans, and carefully studying him, yet he was in a world unto himself. He couldn't feel, think, or pay attention. He didn't understand anything. He was confused. His memory and vision swam in and out. Where were they taking him? Where was he? Who were they? Where were his parents?
The curtains in the room flew up, as an ice-cold draft swam in through the open window. Suddenly Harry became rigid. His parents were dead. He was a wizard. His memory came flooding back to him. He stared up at Dumbledore, who had stopped with him.
"Harry? Is something the matter?" Dumbledore asked urgently.
But Harry couldn't see him. He couldn't hear him. All he could see was a terrible dead face that was illuminated with greed and hate. The wide, red eyes glared at him with such force that he stumbled backwards.
"Harry Potter...." it sneered.
Harry's scar burst into a new level of pain. His head felt like it would split in two. Harry was filled with terror. He couldn't see, couldn't move. He tried to turn around and run out of the grasp of the dead green hands that slowly edged towards him, but it was too late. The wizard had gotten him. He was captured. He was lost.
As Harry fell unconscious, he snapped back to reality. His scar still pierced on his forehead, but his vision swam back to normal and he become aware of Professor Dumbledore and Arabella crowding around him. With a weak shiver, his sight turned black and he noticed no more.
... ...
"I think he's been seeing things. Things that have no place in the mind of a fifteen year old," Dumbledore said.
Harry was hearing things. He was sure of it. What was Professor Dumbledore doing here? Why wasn't Aunt Petunia yelling at him to wake up?
He groaned. His scar was burning dully on his forehead, his eyes hurt, he was having trouble breathing, and his head was thudding, as if being pounded by cauldrons. Another cold breeze swept through the room and Harry's blood turned ice-cold. He couldn't understand or remember anything. He shot straight up in his bed and toppled over the side.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, as he realized that he had been laying on a narrow and lofty, mattress. "Should have watched out for that."
Albus Dumbledore and Arabella Figg came into the room slowly, after hearing his thud from the other room.
"Harry," Arabella approached cautiously.
"Where am I, Mrs. Figg?" Harry said groggily, hearing her voice, but not truly seeing her. After a moment of rubbing his aching eyes, he caught sight of Professor Dumbledore. "P..Professor! What are you--"
Once more, all of his memories came slamming back to him. He remembered his vision and looked up fearfully at Professor Dumbledore.
"Harry. I do not know what it is you saw, but I can assure you that I am the Headmaster," Professor Dumbledore said.
Harry nodded timidly. Professor Dumbledore always seemed to be able to read his mind, as he had just now. Although it was a usually a bit unsettling, it was quite comforting at the moment.
"Harry!" A voice cried, as the front door burst open, from downstairs.
"Sirius! Calm down! You'll scare him!" Another voice was calling, trying to catch up with the other. Harry, Arabella, and Dumbledore heard the two people pounding up the hallway, to the stairs.
"Sirius, Remus, please do settle down! Close that door properly, and come in here!" Arabella called out sternly.
Harry heard a door click shut and the two figures come rushing up the stairs to the room. He looked at the door, where the two men were standing. One was thin, average height, with many grey hairs popping up among his handsome head. He was wearing a shabby wizard robe and looked very concerned, yet calmly so. The other man was tall and thin, with long dark brownish-black hair. He had a handsome face, which was currently masked beneath an extremely anxious one.
"Harry! Harry, are you all right?" Sirius came rushing to him.
Dumbledore met him halfway.
"Sirius, do calm down. Harry has just woken up. He recognizes that I am the Headmaster and he's not dashing about, running into doors. He is fine, as far as I can reason. Please, let him catch his breath."
Sirius blushed and stopped.
"Hello Headmaster, Arabella," the one who had remained calm, greeted.
"Hello Remus. I am glad that you two could make it. No one else has arrived yet, and none of us have had lunch. Please, calm your companion down and join us," Arabella smiled.
"Excellent idea, Arabella. Harry, will you please come and join us for some delicious food. I do believe some food in your system will clear your mind," Professor Dumbledore kindly escorted Harry down the stairs to the dining room.
The dining room was a small, cramped room. It was old; the wallpaper was peeling, the furniture was torn, and it smelled oddly like cabbages. There were framed pictures of cats all around, yet there were no cats to be seen.
Harry was reminded of every visit he had ever had with Mrs. Figg and how she had adored her cats. He couldn't recall a single time when he had not seen any of them.
"Mrs. Figg—where are your cats?" he asked timidly, still not believing that old Mrs. Figg could actually turn out to be this young, beautiful witch.
"Oh, do call me Ara, Harry. Old Mrs. Figg is now a part of the past," Arabella waved the name away cheerfully. "What? Oh my cats! Yes, well they are...being entertained. But only for this week," she winked at him.
"This week? What's going on this week?" Harry looked to Professor Dumbledore.
"This week? Well...let's just say, you might be meeting a few new people. And being reintroduced to some old ones. But come now—let's talk later. Now we eat!" Dumbledore started serving sandwiches and pumpkin juice to everyone.
Lunch was eaten happily. Sirius and Remus argued with each other—after they had been assured that Harry was indeed all right—as Arabella and Harry laughed, and Dumbledore twinkled behind them.
"No no no! I did not do that, Remus!"
"I do remember! Cygnus was teasing you, and you took it personally! Called her a 'Big Good-For-Nothing Nuisance' and transfigured her book bag into a badger, you did! Then she went and told Professor McGonagall, and you got detention. Didn't even get the hint that she liked you!" Lupin was grinning from ear to ear.
Arabella and Harry snickered into their napkins, as Sirius took a big bite of his sandwich and continued to argue with Remus.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, just as Sirius was getting ready to transform Remus into a badger, and got everyone's attention.
"All right then. Now that lunch has been enjoyed," he looked pointedly at Sirius and Remus, "we can get down to business. Our other guests have not yet arrived, and I daresay they may not until dinnertime, but we must get things underway.'
'Harry, you have no idea what we are talking about, of course. That will be explained later. I just want to start off by wishing you a happy fifteenth birthday," Professor Dumbledore smiled at Harry while the rest sat back and beamed at him.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry blushed.
"Now, on to business. All summer, as you three," Dumbledore continued, looking at Arabella, Sirius, and Professor Lupin seriously, "know, I have kept every one of you in contact. Should there have been a moment when security had been breeched, and Harry in dangers way, one of you would have been immediately notified and rushed forward to insure his safety. Luckily, nothing of the sort happened. Harry is safe with us, for now. I have called this meeting today because we all know that Lord Voldemort has risen once again. Our plans have been organized and our strategies devised, but we are still not far enough along to do anything. We must unite as many witches and wizards as possible for our cause. The Order needs to surpass Voldemort's own strength. We need to spread the truth quickly and efficaciously."
"How can we spread the truth? You've already tried to reason with Fudge, but, of course, the git wouldn't hear a word of it. After the load of rubbish that Skeeter woman wrote about Harry, how would we be able to persuade anyone to believe us?" Sirius asked.
"No matter what Fudge may believe and whatever Rita Skeeter may have written about Harry," Dumbledore glanced at Harry, "are of no matter. Under no circumstance am I asking Harry to relive last June's events—he has no need to tell anyone the truth. Witches and wizards are bound to get suspicious soon anyway, with or without Fudge's testimony—I am speaking of new activity among the Deatheaters."
"New activity? Have there been more disappearances?" Arabella asked sharply.
"Indeed, there have been," the Headmaster turned to Harry, Sirius, and Remus. "Every muggle—news-station, is it? —has been reporting disappearances all across Britain. Muggles seem to keep vanishing. No trace of them."
"Muggles? Disappearing? That's a bit odd. Wouldn't Voldemort want to keep a low profile at the moment? How would he expect to go unnoticed with muggles disappearing?" Harry asked blandly.
"Or more importantly, why would muggles be disappearing? With no bodies or corpses left behind? I mean...that doesn't sound like him. Just kidnapping? Voldemort doesn't kidnap...he kills," Sirius stared.
"Yes, that does sound strange. How would kidnapping muggles benefit him? Unless..." Lupin stared back from Arabella to Professor Dumbledore, wide-eyed, as if realizing something. "Of course! If they were all there, on his orders—spies, hidden from everyone. They would all vanish, wouldn't they, Headmaster? Now that the Dark Lord is back and has summoned them?"
"So you understand. Yes, they would," Professor Dumbledore nodded to Lupin.
Harry and Sirius looked puzzled.
"Like Arabella, many wizards pretend to be muggles. They hide in the muggle community, only using their powers when absolutely necessary. Yet, not all of them have the same intentions that she had. Many wizards hide themselves among muggles to escape justice, hide their lack of powers, or escape from the Ministry. They do as Wormtail did, only they act as muggles—not sewer rats," Professor Dumbledore explained.
Lupin was pacing across the room.
"Reports of muggle disappearances have been racing everywhere—I've heard them as well. We know, though, that Voldemort doesn't kidnap muggles. He kills them. So, the reports and the facts do not go hand and hand. Meaning--"
"That the disappearances weren't muggles, they were wizards. Wizards disguised as muggles! Probably Deatheaters that have been waiting word from their master! Deatheaters who never believed that their master had fallen. Deatheaters who are now being summoned—and probably richly rewarded for their loyalty—to Voldemort now that he has power enough to recruit them again. Am I correct, Professor?" Sirius turned to Dumbledore.
"We cannot be sure. How many loyal Deatheaters would go about and join the ranks of the muggles? How many truly believed that Lord Voldemort did not die that night? How many would faithfully wait for their master's return for fourteen years? We cannot be sure of anything," the Headmaster replied slowly. "Voldemort himself, when speaking to his throng of Deatheaters last June, said that he had almost given up hope until Wormtail came along. But because of the nature of the disappearances...and in light of last June's events...that would be my theory, yes, Sirius."
"But then..." Harry hesitated, afraid of interfering.
"Yes, Harry? Go on," Professor Dumbledore urged.
"But then, we wouldn't know who was a Deatheater and who wasn't. Many of those disappearing might be squibs or those being put under the Imperius Curse," Harry said nervously. "I always hear about the numerous numbers of Deatheaters. Yet, there was only a handful of them present, when Voldemort called them th-that night."
Professor Dumbledore looked closely at Harry, as if studying him.
"Voldemort lost many supporters when he lost his powers. Many were killed by Aurors; many were freed of the Imperius Curse. So there wouldn't have been many when he called them last year. That and he never called all of his Deatheaters to him at once. He called only the inner circle—the Deatheaters that we know about, that you saw—to him. He would announce his plans and orders to them, then they were ordered to go and tell the others. They were the ringleaders. The head of the Deatheaters, even. That was how we caught so many of them last time. They were caught sending owls, or talking to fellow Deatheaters about their orders," Professor Dumbledore paced the room as well. "You are right, though. We will never know whom the true Deatheaters are, who are being forced against their wills, or who are innocent, just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is half of our problem.'
'On top of that," Professor Dumbledore turned to Arabella, Remus, and Sirius, "I have reason to believe that we have another traitor among us. Wormtail wasn't the only spy for Voldemort. We have another. Information is being leaked out, yet we do not know how, or by whom. All I know is that whoever it is, they're close to us. And that they are here, in our own Ministry—and I do not mean Lucius. Someone else...perhaps more powerful."
The room became silent. No one talked for a while, for they were all were deep in thought. The clock suddenly chimed loudly, breaking them abruptly out of their reverie.
"Headmaster...do you have no clue who it might be?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Only guesses, Sirius. And accusations never get us far," Dumbledore replied swiftly.
"Headmaster, Sirius and I have been discussing it, and---"
"Hello? Hello?!" a pounding sound came from the front of the house.
Everyone went stiff, listening to the beating on the door.
"Hello?Is anyone there? Arabella? Arabella! Do you expect us to wait out here all day?"
"Aaah, I recognize that voice. Harry, why don't you get the front door?" Arabella smiled weakly at Harry.
Harry, though startled, walked through the musty hallway and reached the front door, as the person continued to hammer on it. As he opened the door, four figures toppled on top of him.
"I told you four not to stand in front of the door! But do you ever listen to me? Oh no! Of course not!" a plump lady with brilliant red hair was pulling them up. She was short and, though yelling angrily now, had a kind face. "Hello Harry dear! Have you had a nice summer? I'm terribly sorry about that. I told Fred and George not to push."
She pulled Harry up and began dusting his glasses off.
"Hello Harry! Had a nice summer? I must say, you look absolutely marvelous!" one of the red haired boys said. He was short, stocky, and looked absolutely ridiculous in an overlarge pair of pants, a tweed sweater, and an artist's beret.
"Oh yes! Simply spectacular! That dust does wonders for your hair," another red haired boy beamed at him. He was wearing khaki pants, a bright purple t-shirt, a basketball jersey, and looked exactly like the other one.
"Oh hush you two! You know perfectly well that that is your fault!" the lady scolded, as the twins and the two others snickered behind her.
"Hello Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George" Harry said, grinning at the three. He looked at the twins uncertainly for a moment. "What are you wearing?"
"Oh, these? Dad reckons we should wear muggle clothes, since there are so many of them about," George said, staring distastefully at his clothes.
The third and fourth figures wobbled up and shook themselves off.
"Yes, well there are and you should. So no more arguments," the short man said, getting up and shaking Harry's hands. He was thin and going bald, yet the hair he had left was just as bright as any of the others'. "Harry, how are you? Good, I hope? Splendid!"
"I'm fine, Mr. Weasley, thank you," Harry laughed.
"Hullo Harry! Good to see you all in one piece!" the fourth person said. He was tall, lanky, and his hair was redder than the others'.
"Hello, Ron. Erm...thank you. I think," Harry grinned from ear to ear.
"Have you had a good-"
"Sorry, don't mean to rush, but where is the Headmaster?" Mr. Weasley interrupted.
"Professor Dumbledore is-"
"Right here! Glad you could make it, Arthur! And you, Molly!" Arabella came into the hall.
Professor Dumbledore and Remus came behind her and greeted the pack. Then Sirius stepped behind them.
"Sirius! What are you doing here?" Ron gaped.
"He was invited here, Ron. As were we all. Where would you expect him to be?" Lupin asked, amusement in his voice.
"Yes...well...I thought..." Ron muttered, turning red.
The rest of the Weasley's, meanwhile, were looking at Sirius with suspicion. Mrs. Weasley had met him the previous June, but they had never officially been introduced, and Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley hadn't met him at all. For all they knew, Sirius was still a deadly murderer.
"S-Sirius Black?" Mr. Weasley asked suspiciously.
"Arthur, Sirius is as innocent as you or I. He was framed long ago and I beg you to trust me. We need to stay focused, and use our suspicion on those who deserve it," Professor Dumbledore said sternly.
"Yes. Of course, Headmaster. Sorry. Nice to meet you, I'm Arthur Weasley," Mr. Weasley extended his hand to Sirius.
"Pleased to meet you, Arthur. I do believe we'll get to know each other soon enough. I already know your son quite well," Sirius shook Mr. Weasley's hand and grinned at Ron.
Harry and Ron exchanged amused looks as they looked at the bewildered Weasley family and then grinned up at Professor Dumbledore.
"Perhaps, the children should freshen up and fritter among themselves while all of our guests arrive," Professor Dumbledore winked at them.
Harry led Ron, Fred, and George up the stairs to Mrs. Figg's guest room. While the twin's freshened up in the bathroom, Harry and Ron sat on the bunk bed and talked.
"So, where's Percy?" Harry asked, referring to Ron's older brother who worked in the ministry.
"He's coming later. He's going to notify some people in the ministry about the meeting, or something. Do you know what this is about? This whole thing?" Ron asked, while walking around the room.
"No. Dumbledore wouldn't tell me anything," Harry replied.
"Dunno about this all. Mum and dad have been acting quite odd. Sent Ginny to her friend's house for the week, because they didn't want her involved or something. And so that we could stay here," Fred said, popping out of the bathroom.
George followed him out. "Threw a fit, Ginny did. Couldn't believe that mum and dad wouldn't let her-"
"You're staying here? For a week?" Harry interrupted, his face displaying the shock he felt.
"Yes, you silly twit. You don't think we're going to keep popping back here everyday, do you? It would look suspicious—to the stupid muggles and any Deatheaters who might be watching us," George snickered at him.
"The meeting's going to last a week?" Ron asked, wide-eyed.
"We suppose so. We heard mum and dad talking about it," Fred nodded at Ron. "We also heard something about an alliance, a sort of order."
"What, like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table or something?" Ron asked eagerly.
"Oh yes Ron, we're going to be Professor Dumbledore and the Wizards of the Square Desk," George said, hitting Ron on his head.
"You stupid git, how lame would that be? How are we supposed to defeat You-Know-Who with a name like that?" Fred scoffed at his younger brother.
"Did I hear something about a King Arthur?" Mr. Weasley chuckled, popping his head into the room.
"Need something, Mr. Weasley?" Harry grinned.
"Yes, in fact I do, Harry. We need you kids to greet the guests that come. Is that alright?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Sure," Ron said. "Hey dad! Can you tell us anything about this mystery meeting or anything about this coming week?"
"I could," Mr. Weasley said slowly. "But I won't. You will all see soon enough. Molly doesn't want you all to come to the meeting and I agree with her in some sense. She actually didn't want you lot to come at all, but you are old enough to handle yourselves. ...you'll all see soon enough. Too soon, in fact. Do yourselves a favor and try to laugh freely as long as you can. Something tells me, you won't be able to as much...in the near future."
Mr. Weasley walked out to join the others. A silence fell upon the kids. Fred and George stared at the walls while Harry and Ron gazed out the windows. They knew what Mr. Weasley was talking about. The dark times—they were once a story of the past, but not anymore. They were the present now. A new dark age had come—an unexpected one.
"You never know," Harry said quietly, "until you're in the middle of it...and then it's too late to turn back."
"Harry, don't...don't worry. It's Dumbledore. How can it go wrong?" Ron said nervously.
"I shudder to think what would happen if he wasn-"
"Don't even think that, Harry. Once you go down that path, there's no more hope. We should try to have faith in something while we can," Fred said sternly, to Harry's surprise.
"N.E.W.T's, O.W.L's, Hogwarts, Quidditch, how does any of it matter at all anymore?" Harry asked quietly, staring out the window.
"If we give up on the thing's we love and have control over, how will we ever win? Tell me, Harry. His power is in lies, chaos, and darkness—Dumbledore said so last year. So how will we defeat You-Know-Who if we give up on the very things that he wants us to give up on?," George said firmly.
Harry and Ron looked surprised. They had never seen the twins act so serious before.
"Why do you think that we're always joking around, even when there's nothing to be happy about? Why do you think we want to open a joke shop? Do you think it's because we're not serious enough? That we only want to get attention?" Fred looked at the two.
"I'd never really thought there could be another reason," Harry admitted guiltily.
"We may not be serious about many things and we may goof around a lot, but we know what things to care and be solemn about," Fred replied, ignoring Harry. "You-Know-Who wants us to give in. He wants us to give up everything we've ever believed in...everything we've ever loved. That's his power. He would be powerless if-"
"If we united and had the will to laugh. Laugh in the face of fear. And believe—if we had the power to believe in everyone and believe in hope. That's something he'll never have and never be able to fight off," Ron smiled at his older brothers. "I remember when Hagrid told me that. It was when I wasn't speaking with Harry. I didn't know what he meant, back then."
Harry stared across the street and was just about to say something when the doorbell rang and made them all jump.
"Can you get that, dears?" Arabella called from down below.
The four got up awkwardly and went downstairs to the door. They opened it and found themselves facing a rather eccentric looking old man.
"Dedalus Diggle's the name," the old man bowed excitedly, his top hat falling off his head. "You must be the Weasley's, and of course, Mr. Harry Potter. Pleasure to meet you all. Has the meeting started yet?"
"Not yet, Dedalus. You're just in time," A voice said from behind George.
The twins whirled around and looked up at their oldest brother.
"Bill! When did you get here?" Ron exclaimed.
"While you lot were upstairs. Came with Charlie and Percy," Bill replied, fiddling with his fanged earring and nodding to Harry in greeting. "Come on, Dedalus. Charlie and Dumbledore are fixing up the living room."
The twins followed Bill and showed Dedalus Diggle into the living room, as the doorbell rang again. Harry and Ron opened the door and found themselves faced to face with a group of two wizards and two witches. Two of the faces were unknown and two of them were very familiar. Harry stared up, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, into the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Diggory.
"Hello, Harry dear. How are you?" Mrs. Diggory smiled down at him.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Diggory," Harry replied quietly. He avoided her eyes, and stared at the ground instead. For a moment there was an awkward silence—one of those where no one knows what to say or, indeed, has nothing to say at all.
"Has Dumbledore arrived yet? This is the last group from the street," Mr. Diggory softly broke the silence. Harry reluctantly looked up at him. Mr. Diggory looked a lot older than the last time he had seen him. His hair was streaked with gray, he had wrinkles on his face, and—though he tried to hide it—his eyes gleamed with grief and sorrow.
"Yes, Amos. Do come in," Professor Dumbledore appeared behind Ron and gently gestured them all inside. He was smiling, but he looked serious at the same time. Something about the way he gazed at Mr. Diggory made Harry squirm with guilt. Dumbledore's eyes looked tired and sad, though it did not make an imprint on the rest of his face. Harry remembered Professor Dumbledore looking just this way on the night he, Harry, had brought Cedric's body back from the maze. The night that had changed everything for this once happy family.
More to block his memories than anything, Harry turned slightly to look at the witch and wizard he did not recognize.
"'eadmaster, this 'ere is Ralley Veltosa, like you wanted 'er," the unfamiliar wizard said. He was squat, unshaven and wore a tattered overcoat. He had short bandy legs, long straggly ginger hair, bloodshot baggy eyes, and smelled of mingled drink and stale tobacco. [A/N: Exact description, courtesy of JKR.]
"Ahhh, yes. Thank you, Mundungus. This saves me—all of us, really—a great deal of time. I suppose, I am not permitted to ask you where you...er... retrieved her?" Professor Dumbledore asked, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. He winked, for some reason, at Ron.
Harry looked over to where Ralley Veltosa stood. She was a harsh looking witch, barely older than Sirius. Unlike Sirius, however, she did not have warm eyes or a friendly smile to greet them all. In fact, she reminded Harry of what Sirius had looked like when he had just gotten out of Azkaban—cold and heartless, with dead eyes and the air of one who was not capable of having feelings. Or so Harry had thought about his godfather. But he had been proven wrong about Sirius.
As Harry looked at Ralley, he could not imagine how he could possibly be wrong about her. She had long, black hair, with half of it pulled back into a bun and half of it hanging down over her slender shoulders. She was tall and had an almost abused look about her thin frame. Her skin was so pale that it looked as though she was bathed in moonlight and she looked paler still, dressed in a long, black robe that had flared arms. In fact, everything she wore was pure black, except for the golden and silver bangles that lined down her arms. Her face, however, was the most frightening part of her. Her large, black eyes—which were lined with dark black eyeliner—glittered coldly amongst a thin, white visage and her thin lips—lined with dark lipstick—were pressed together—as if she had never spoken in her life. Altogether, Harry thought she rather resembled a vampire.
"The world needs not know what I do with my time, nor where I spend it, i Albus, /i " Ralley Veltosa spoke in a quiet and icy tone. Something in the way she spoke reminded Harry of Snape, though Snape had never been so rude with the Headmaster.
Everyone in the hall quietly looked at her. Her expression was as cold as the night sky. Harry immediately felt that he did not care for this person one bit and looking around the hall, he could tell that the others felt the same.
"No, indeed, Miss Veltosa. And I assure you, though it may not count for much, that I will not reveal your whereabouts. I suspect Mundungus explained our situation to you?" Dumbledore looked seriously over his spectacles.
Ralley said nothing. She just continued to stare coldly at the Headmaster.
Mundungus looked unnerved. It was apparent that he feared what all of the others would think about him bringing such a person. Just as he was about to say something, the hall filled with several deafening cracks. It sounded as if the hallway had had a small explosion. Harry looked around, heart pounding, expecting to see Voldemort appear before him wand held out, but he was taken by surprise. A small group of witches had materialized in front of him. Surprisingly, he knew all of them for they were his teachers.
"Ahhh, Minerva. So glad you were all able to make it. I trust there were no problems?" Professor Dumbledore looked at the witches, seeming relieved at the interruption.
"No problems at all, Albus. We did arrive in time?" Professor McGonnagal said crisply.
"With time to spare. We're still waiting for a few more people to come," Lupin had come up from behind Harry. The party in the hallway all stared at each other for a few moments.
"A i few /i more people to come? There's already got to be some twenty people, here! How will everyone fit?" Ron goggled at Lupin.
"Why by magic, of course. How did you expect, Mr. Weasley?" Professor Sprout, the squat Herbology teacher, laughed, seeing Ron's astonished face. The adults started laughing, and the momentary tension, which had built up between Ralley and the others broke easily.
While the small party began chattering with each other—waiting for the "few more people" to arrive—Harry stood still, completely at a loss for words. He didn't have a clue what was going on and somehow this made him feel left out. He had seen more than most of them, yet here they all stood...all knew more than he did. Maybe that was what made him feel alone. He had seen so much—gone through so much—in such a short time. Somehow, he didn't feel like he belonged with that loud, happy group.
Why were all these people here? What was Dumbledore planning? Who was this Ralley person? Why was she here? Why were all these people so carefree? Didn't they understand the true danger of Lord Voldemort? Didn't they know what he could do? ...what he'd already done? Harry's head swarmed with questions. He looked from the Diggory's to Ralley to his four professors that had just arrived. Professor Sprout and Madam Hooch were chattering away, while Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomferey were talking diligently about something or another. No one seemed to notice him. Even Ron seemed to be deep in conversation with Mundungus Fletcher.
"Having fun, are we, Harry?"
Harry started. He whirled around and saw Sirius grinning at him.
"Sirius...you took me by surprise," Harry muttered.
"No one paying much attention?" Sirius asked, leaning against the wall.
Harry stared at the throng of people. He really didn't have to say much.
"I know how you feel, Harry. Somehow, apart from the crowd...not really fitting in," Sirius was watching him closely.
"Sirius...I don't know what's going on. What happened while I was at the Dursley's...what happened i at /i the Dursley's...or what happened this morning, for that matter," Harry spoke slowly, still staring at the crowd of people in front of him.
"Harry...you don't have to feel separated, you know. It's much easier to fit in when you're a kid, even if you've seen things that set you apart. It's much harder when you're an adult and an escaped convict who's suspected of killing thirteen people with one curse. An adult who has been blamed with handing over his best friends to the most evil wizard around. You can always talk to me...don't you think I I /I , at least, know how it feels to be distinctly different?" Sirius, too, was watching the crowd. "As for what's going on...you'll find out soon enough. You know we, or at least i I /i won't leave you in the dark.' He paused a little to look at Harry.
'And what happened this morning...we don't i know /i what happened, Harry. We don't know what you saw. Only you do."
"And this helps me a lot, in feeling like I fit right in," Harry muttered.
"We're trying all we can, to prevent him. You know that."
Harry nodded. He knew. He didn't know what they were trying, but he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't take the news that Voldemort was back, sitting down. Dumbledore was different from Fudge.
"What i did /i you see, Harry?" Sirius inquired.
Harry looked at Sirius. As he stared, his vision from the morning came back to him—the terrible green face...the dead hands advancing toward him...that cold sneer... A feeling of cold dread filled the pit of his stomach. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe...all he could do was stare at that face coming...coming-
Just as the vision was starting to swallow him, Harry felt Sirius's hands on his shoulder steadying him and he snapped back to reality. His scar was burning on his head and he was slightly shaking.
"Harry? Harry, what's the matter?" Sirius looked at Harry in concern, his grip on Harry's shoulder becoming increasingly painful.
"N-Nothing, Sirius. It was nothing," Harry mumbled uneasily. I Sirius will know something was wrong—he isn't stupid—but right now I don't care. Right now, I can't go through that vision for anyone. Especially not Dumbledore...it was his face that had turned into Voldemort's. /I Harry's thoughts ran around in his head, colliding one into the other.
Sirius looked as if he were about to press Harry on when, fortunately, another cracking blast echoed the hall.
"Ron, take Harry up to the room where you all are staying. He needs to rest. We'll call you down when the meeting is to proceed," Lupin quickly ordered, as Professor Flitwick, Professor Sinistra, and a couple of other witches and wizards materialized in front of them. From the concerned look on his face, it seemed that he had been paying close attention to Harry and Sirius.
Ron, who had broken away from Mundungus, and was walking towards the three of them, looked surprised to see Lupin's grave face.
"A-Alright, Professor."
As he and Harry were both leaving the entrance hall, they heard Sirius call to them.
"Oh, and answer the door next time. I think you'll like our last visitor from the streets."
Harry and Ron exchanged questioning looks.
"I thought Mr. Diggory said that they were the last group from the streets."
Ron shrugged.
"Dunno. But anymore people come here, and the house'll fall right over."
Harry snorted as they entered the room. His scar's pain had dimmed down and his cold dread had slowly ebbed away, as he began to talk to Ron. He crossed the floor to the window and looked outside. The sun was setting in the distance and the sky was a creamy peach. The light was slowly dimming.
"It's starting to get a bit dark. Wonder who's coming by the streets."
Ron crossed over the room, as well.
"Dunno, mate. Maybe some muggle loving nut, like my dad. You reckon they're coming by car?"
Harry shrugged and continued staring out the window.
"Hey, Harry. Here's all your stuff. They weren't here before," Ron gestured to Harry's trunk lying next to the bunk bed and Hedwig's empty cage on top of the wardrobe.
"How'd they get all this stuff here? We weren't down in the hall I that /I long," Harry looked puzzled.
Ron came up to Harry's trunk. He was about to comment on something, when the doorbell rang again.
"Harry, Ron! Get that will you?" The two boys heard Mrs. Weasley calling to them from the living room downstairs.
They sighed and went down the stairs to the door again. This time when they opened it, though, they were shocked.
"Harry! Ron! I'm so glad to see you!" Hermione shrieked, as she dropped her trunk and flung herself at them. She pulled them both together and gave them a hug that even Mrs. Weasley would have been proud of.
"Ouch! Gerroff..Gerroff 'ermione!" Ron struggled for breath as his head banged clumsily into Harry's. "Ouch! Sorry, 'arry!"
As Hermione backed off and beamed at the pair of them, a ginger cat with a squashed face and a bottle tail swished past Harry's legs.
"Oh, it's so good to see you both! I bet you weren't expecting me! Those are my parents down there! They drove me all the way here, because they received a letter from—well never mind here! Let's get inside, and I'll tell you!" Hermione turned around and waved goodbye to her parents. Harry and Ron, still dazed from her sudden appearance and bone-crushing hug, helped her heave her trunk inside.
As they all hauled her trunk into the already cramped hall, Hermione explained to them what she had done over the summer and how she came to be there.
"...and Professor Dumbledore sent my parents an owl, explaining to them how he was going to have these meetings, and how it was necessary that I come, because I was so close to you both and-"
Suddenly an earsplitting crack resounded beside them. Hermione shrieked loudly as the two Weasley twins appeared beside her, Harry, and Ron.
"FRED! GEORGE! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT APPARATING AND DISAPPARATING INSIDE?" Mrs. Weasley came shouting into the hall, upon hearing Hermione's shriek.
"Ah, but mum! We've passed our apparating tests! What's the good in passing it, if we're not allowed to do it?" Fred protested.
"And besides, there're loads of people that just came apparating here!" George added.
"Passing your apparating tests means nothing! This is a small household, crammed to the brink with people, as you very well know! You might hurt others, if not yourselves!" Mrs. Weasley argued back. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to set up any sound barriers yet! The people apparating here are doing so, so as not to alarm muggles by coming on the street! They will get suspicious by our large numbers coming to this small house! And as you both are already here, there's no need for you to do any apparating!"
Fred and George opened their mouths to argue, but Mrs. Weasley gave them such a dirty look that they knew it would be useless.
"There now. Much better," Mrs. Weasley glowed at the two of them while they scowled openly. She turned to Hermione. "Hello, Hermione, dear! Have you had a good summer? Yes? We're glad you could make it! Now, it's going to be a bit crowded, but we'll manage well enough. You'll have to stay with-"
Before Mrs. Weasley could finish her sentence, the doorbell rang again, causing all of them to jump in surprise.
"Who on earth is that? There shouldn't be any more people coming by street," Mrs. Weasley looked bewildered. "If it's a muggle...or someone that shouldn't be here..."
She tensed up, then turned to the Weasley twins.
"Fred, George, go tell everyone in the living room to be dead quiet. This is an emergency. If this is a Deatheater or a muggle... we I cannot /I be discovered! Go tell them to be dead quiet...and no movements out of them. Hurry!" Mrs. Weasley urgently said, as the doorbell rang again.
As the twins rushed off, she turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As the doorbell began ringing in earnest, her voice became full of panic.
"We have no time to hide you three! Quick, get behind the door, and make no noise." Mrs. Weasley pushed Harry, Ron, and Hermione forcefully behind the door.
As the three hid behind the door with bated breaths, Mrs. Weasley slowly opened it.
She shrieked.
... ...
After an hour's worth of yelling, arguing, wailing—and laughing from the twins—Harry, Ron, and Hermione were settled on the bunk bed in Harry and Ron's room.
"Who would've thought?" Ron chortled.
"Ron! That was really serious of her. Your mum was really frightened!" Hermione chided him.
"I just can't believe she had it in her to do that. I would've burst out laughing if Mrs. Weasley hadn't started shrieking so loudly," Harry grinned.
"Cheers!" Ron laughed.
The door slowly crept open, and a teenage girl with a mane of flaming red hair sheepishly poked her head in.
"Can I come in? Mum's a bit mad, Dad's a bit shocked, the Professors' are a bit amused, and Fred and George are in hysterics. It's the closest thing to chaos and having lived all my life with Fred and George, that's saying something."
"Sure," Harry grinned. "You can tell us what possessed you to do something that would get you labeled as a troublemaker for the rest of your life, Ginny."
Ginny closed the door behind her and came sat down next to Hermione on the bed.
"Oh, come on. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I can't cause as much trouble as Fred and George," Ginny waved the jest away airily.
"We know. You proved just that, didn't you?" Ron snorted.
"Ginny, that was really very serious of you, you know? Scaring your mum half to death like that. She'll be furious, won't she?" Hermione looked reprovingly at her.
"That's one way to put it," Ginny smirked. She saw the look on Hermione's face and waved her hands impatiently. "Oh, come on, Hermione. You sound just like her. I did nothing wrong except alarm her. ("And the rest of us", Hermione muttered.) Besides, she shouldn't have sent me away like that. I'm only a year younger than you all. I shouldn't be excluded!" She stared out the window grumpily.
"Yes, yes, we know. Now tell us what they were yelling about!" Ron ushered her.
"You couldn't hear her? Goodness, I would've thought that Harry's aunt and uncle could hear her from here," Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, we couldn't hear a thing. Just a bunch of muffled shouting. Someone must've put up that sound barrier your mum was talking about," Harry told her.
"Yeah, probably when they realized that mum was about to blow."
Ron, Harry, and even Hermione snorted.
"So...?" Ron waved on, impatiently.
"Oh, yes. Well mum was against me staying, of course. In fact, she was going to send you all back with me...but she isn't of course!" Ginny hastily added, seeing Ron's furious stare. "Anyway, I told her that I was only a year younger than you all and that I I had /I been possessed by You-Know-Who in my second year, so I wasn't afraid, that she had always treated me like a baby because I was the youngest and a girl, and that I should be able to stay here too."
"Of course, mum said no at once, and even dad was about to agree with her. Then Professor Dumbledore interrupted them, saving me I might add. Mum was about to tear my head off. Professor Dumbledore said that he quite agreed with me. I may be young, but I was certainly old enough to hear whatever they would tell us in the meetings that we would attend."
"Th-that we would attend? That makes it sound as though we won't be able to go to all the meetings," Harry looked surprised.
"Or that they'll dim down whatever they say in front of us, and will have separate meetings without us," Hermione added quietly.
"Yes, it does. I was about to point that out, but Dad shot me a furious look. And as I was in enough trouble to get on with, I decided I would have to be satisfied," Ginny continued. "Anyway, mum sent a Howler to my friend's mum saying that she was furious at her for bringing me here. In the end, Professor McGonagall said that I was quite mature for my age, was excellent at magic in general, and shouldn't be allowed to miss out, as I had already gone through so much trouble to come here.'
'She kind of took me by surprise. She was smiling and looked as though she were trying very hard not to laugh. Not at all acting like herself," Ginny added thoughtfully.
"So you're staying?" Ron asked. Ginny nodded. "Great! So we won't be the only ones to get in trouble for trying to spy in on the meetings we aren't allowed to attend."
"How much trouble are you in?" Hermione asked sternly, ignoring Ron's comment.
"Oh, not much. I'm grounded for the rest of this summer, all of next summer, and I have dish duty for the rest of our time here and over Christmas break," Ginny said airily. "Though it doesn't really matter, if I finally get to be filled in on what's going on."
Harry laughed with Ron, and even Hermione looked like she was struggling not to giggle. Harry felt happier than he had in a long time. His vision from the morning seemed dim and unimportant now. He was with his friends, godfather, and professors. He was in no danger, and was finally going to learn what was going on.
Harry looked out the window. Darkness had fallen outside. The houselights in Little Whinging twinkled outside of Mrs. Figg's guest room. As the silence settled heavily over them all, the room door banged open.
"That was absolutely marvelous, Ginny!" Fred marched over to the bed and threw himself down next to Harry.
"Fred and I couldn't have possibly done it better ourselves!" George came in jovially. "We always knew you were our favorite sister!"
"I'm your I only /I sister," Ginny pointed out.
"Oh, details, details, details. Don't bother with such things," Fred waved it away, carelessly. "Anyway, the reason we came up. Most of the professors are gone. Seems as if they've had their meeting with Professor Dumbledore while we were all wandering around. But a handful of wizards and witches are still here. They're about to start I our /I meeting. So Lupin has asked you all to come along."
"W-what?" Harry stammered. The professors were gone? A meeting just for them?
"Yeah. Don't we feel so privileged? I mean, taking time out of their busy schedules to fake a meeting just so we think that we know what's going on," George added bitterly. "They think we're all kids no matter what they say. Of course, they didn't tell us that this was 'our meeting'. Even had to figure that out for ourselves. They don't think we know anything about it."
"We don't," Fred snorted.
"FRED! GEORGE! STOP DAWDLING AND COME DOWN HERE!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.
"Oh yes. Ginny, don't say much to mum. She's in a horribly foul mood. Protested to her end to not tell you anything, or any of us for that matter. Couldn't overturn Dumbledore's decision, though," Fred said cheerfully.
"Er...yes, we should probably get downstairs. If we take more time, our heads will probably be hanging on plaques, come tomorrow morning," George added in amusement.
The group headed downstairs to the living room. As Harry stepped into it, he gasped audibly.
The living room had stretched itself from its usual cramped and crowded size to the size of the Gryffindor common room. The cracked, stained walls were now a dazzling, stainless, white, and the cracks had entirely vanished. They looked completely new. Torches lined the walls, so the room glowed. Black and white chairs and couches filled the corners and walls, and all of the windows had somehow disappeared. The walls were plastered with old daily prophet newsletters, plaques, and photos of moving witches and wizards. In one corner, a huge group portrait was hung on the wall. It was stuck up on a handsome mahogany backboard, and in gold, beneath the picture, the words "The Order of the Phoenix" were engraved.
"Ahh, there you all are. I thought that maybe Fred and George may have...er... I accidentally /i tortured you, while delivering our message," Lupin smiled warmly at the twins.
"Now, Professor. You know that George and I would never do something like that!" Fred said in a mock shocked tone.
"Yes, Professor! Are you suggesting that Fred and I are hooligans of some sort? Going out of our way to make trouble for others?" George added, looking frankly appalled.
"Oh, my goodness no. I would never suspect I you two /I of doing anything so horrendous. I was merely contemplating the delay, after all," Lupin grinned.
As the group laughed, Mundungus Fletcher came over to talk to the twins, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to wander freely, as the adults had not yet called the meeting to order.
"There still seem to be enough people here," Hermione observed.
"Yeah, and they seem to be people that we all know. Bit odd, really," Ron added.
Harry agreed with him. He was sure that in a meeting such as this, with so many people arriving, he would know barely anyone. But as he looked around, most of the faces seemed familiar. The Diggory's were sitting on a couch talking to Mr. Weasley, Professor Flitwick was standing next to Professor Sinistra and having an animated conversation, Percy and Bill Weasley were arguing about something with their brother, Charlie, and Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were standing in the corner speaking rapidly. Harry looked around some more. Sirius and Arabella were doing something to entertain Lupin, who had just rejoined their company, and a wizard that Harry recognized as Mad-Eye Moody.
"So that's the real him, then?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes. I think we'll get to meet him later on," Hermione answered nervously.
Harry watched this Mad-Eye...the real one. He looked and acted exactly as Barty Crouch Jr. had last year. As Harry watched him, a dreaded knot formed in his stomach. He had been made an absolute fool of...and here was the man who had done it. ...or the real man, who hadn't, really. Harry grew uneasy as he noticed Moody's magical eye glancing his way.
"This is too weird," he muttered, turning around.
As he did, he noticed Ralley Veltosa standing in the only dark corner in that brightly lit room. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and staring around the room. She did not appear to be enjoying this happy, bright company. As she turned to look at him, Harry turned away.
"She gives me the creeps," Ginny muttered.
"Well you should have thought of that before you decided to come here," Mrs. Weasley's snappish response came from over her shoulder.
"Mum," groaned Ginny.
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady! I don't know where I went wrong with you! Here you are, my only daughter, and you act just like I them /I ," Mrs. Weasley angrily said, jerking her head towards the twins, who had stopped talking to Mundungus long enough to eavesdrop.
As the twins started to protest, Ron grabbed Harry and Hermione's hands and dragged them away from his family.
" I Honestly! /I As if they don't all fight enough at home. Come on, I don't want to hear them arguing," Ron said, casting his bickering family a dirty look.
"Hey you guys," Harry suddenly said.
"What?" Hermione and Ron both turned to look at him. He beckoned them to come closer.
"Where's Snape and Hagrid?" he muttered quietly.
Ron and Hermione suddenly straightened and scanned the room.
"You're right! They're not here! Where could they have gone to?" Hermione whispered.
"Y-you don't reckon Dumbledore's sent them...you know...off on their missions, do you?" Ron looked nervously at Dumbledore.
"Where else could they be?" Harry mumbled back.
Ron was about to say something, when Hermione suddenly stopped him.
"What?"
"That lady, Ralley, right? She's been staring at us for the past five minutes," Hermione whispered apprehensively. "I don't think she's blinked in that whole time."
"She looks like a vampire," Ron shuddered.
"What's she doing here?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron both shrugged, but something about the way Ron did it caught Harry's eye. As he looked at Ron closer, Harry saw that he looked a bit guilty. Hermione noticed this as well.
"Ron?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" Ron replied, in a completely unconvincing tone.
"What do you know about Ralley?"
"I-I don't know anything," he answered hesitantly.
"Ron, I saw that wink Dumbledore gave to you, you're hesitating, and your ears are turning red. Spill it," Harry said, amused at the look on Ron's face.
"W-well...I'm not really supposed to...Dad told me a long time...and he told me that I-" Ron mumbled nervously.
"Oh Ron! Give it a rest! You're going to end up telling us sooner or later, so just do it," Hermione said exasperatedly.
Ron looked uneasy, and was ready to give in when Professor Dumbledore strolled to the center of the room. Casting a triumphant look at Harry and Hermione, Ron led them all over to a couch where they sat down and waited for Dumbledore to start talking.
"Shouldn't there be a few more people?" Hermione asked, looking around.
"Nah, this is just the kiddies meeting, remember?" Fred replied, plopping down in the couch next to theirs.
"Well it looks like he's going to make it an important kiddies meeting," Ginny said grumpily, sitting down next to Hermione. She looked as though Mrs. Weasley had given her quite a telling off.
"Well we all know he has the power to do that. He is Dumbledore after all," George joined in.
"Hush! He's ready!" Hermione looked toward the center of the room.
Harry looked there as well. Every eye in the room was on Dumbledore. The room fell dead silent, and the atmosphere quickly became very serious.
Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. He looked around seriously at all of them. He caught Harry's eyes, and stared into them for a few seconds. Harry could feel Dumbledore looking into him. He stared back, waiting for it all to begin. And it did.
"Now that everyone is here, we can begin this meeting, at last. This meeting... that will bring us all together and form an alliance among us. A one last alliance...of friends."
... ...