Disclaimer: Ok, one more time, I don't own anything except for Anna.
Chapter Thirteen: The MeetingI believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
- Martin Luther King
Sirius sat in the kitchen, nervously fidgeting with his fork. In one hour, old and new members of the Order of the Phoenix would be coming to Grimmauld Place for their first meeting, and also to hear the truth of Sirius Black.
"Sirius, don't be so nervous. It'll be fine." Remus' voice cut through Sirius' worries like a knife in butter.
"How can you be sure? I mean, what if one of them freaks out and tries to kill me?"
"Sirius, what is the likeliness of that happening?"
"Slim to none, but slim is still a possibility! And what if one of them is a Death Eater? Or a spy?"
Remus raised an eyebrow incredulously at Sirius. "Don't be daft. Do you really think Dumbledore would be stupid enough to recruit someone who could be spying? Besides, Anna will be there and she can use her Empathy to figure out if anyone is being dishonest."
"Exactly," Anna interjected from her place perched on the kitchen counter. "Please stop being so nervous, you're making me feel sick!"
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
"It's alright," she said, hopping off the counter. "I'm going to go upstairs to concentrate the Empathy before the meeting. I'll be back down soon." After giving Sirius a quick kiss on the cheek, she left the room bounding up the stairs three at time.
"So. Sirius. What's happening between you and Anna?" Remus asked slyly from across the table.
Sirius smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Actually, I would rather be spared the gruesome details," Remus chortled. "But I'm sure Snape will be very interested in the whole thing."
Sirius shuddered. "I'd forgotten about him. We sort of reached a truce after Malfoy found Anna. That was only after she completely exploded at us about our, wait a minute, what did she say? Oh yeah, our 'petty insults' and 'schoolboy grudges.' You should have seen it, it was terrifying. Even Snape looked scared."
Remus chuckled.
"Oh well," Sirius said wistfully. "I'm sure you'll see her tell of old Snapey at some point. Now that's funny. Seeing Snape being put in his place by a girl twelve years younger than him."
Sirius was interrupted by the appearance of Moody. "Come on boys," he growled, "Let's set the room up before people get here."
They spent the next fifteen minutes setting up the kitchen with chairs for the meeting. The doorbell rung, setting off Mrs. Black once again.
"Quick! Sirius, change!"
Sirius swiftly morphed into Padfoot and strolled over to the back of the room where he jumped onto a chair and waited patiently. He barked softly when Anna popped into the room and she hurriedly came to sit by him. She reached out a hand and began to comfortingly scratch him behind the ears. "Who's a good little doggy? Hmmm?"
Sirius growled.
Remus walked into the room shortly after accompanying two other people, a tall black man with a gold hoop earring who Sirius vaguely recognised and a young woman who had a pale, heart-shaped face and bright, bubblegum pink hair. The pair walked over to Anna and Sirius as Lupin bounded back out of the room, the doorbell and Mrs Black going off again.
"Hi, I'm Anna," Anna said warmly, holding out her hand to the newcomers. "Anna Fair."
"Kingsley Shacklebolt," the tall man said, shaking Anna's hand.
"Hey Anna!" the girl said brightly. "Haven't seen you in years!"
"Tonks!" Anna cried, jumping off her seat to embrace the young woman.
Sirius, knowing the name, barked in surprise. All three turned to look at him, Anna with a warning glint in her eye. He grinned sheepishly.
"How strange. That dog seriously looks like it's grinning at us," remarked Tonks, who Sirius now knew to be his cousin's daughter.
"Yeah, he's a strange dog, this one," Anna said uncomfortably. "It's so good to see you! It's been what, six years?"
"Yeah, you all but disappeared on us! Where'd you go?"
"Oh, long story, I'll explain later. So what've you been doing with yourself?"
They talked amiably for a while, and from what Sirius gathered, Tonks and Anna had been in the same year at Hogwarts.
"Anna!" Sirius turned to see Snape making his way towards the group. After giving a quick kiss to Anna's cheek, he smirked at Sirius and then stalked off to speak with Moody on the other side of the room.
"Ah. Remember back in Hogwarts?" Tonks asked nostalgically. "I swear, you must be the only Gryffindor student ever that was favoured by Snape."
Anna laughed. "He absolutely hated that I was put there instead of Slytherin. He was utterly convinced that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. He got over it after a while though."
They talked for a while about Hogwarts and Tonks' new job as an Auror, Anna petting Sirius every now and then as she sensed his unease until the kitchen had filled up with people.
"Right," said Dumbledore, standing before the assembled group. "Looks like everyone has arrived." He gazed seriously around the room for a moment. "I'm sure you all know why you are here. You are here because you believe, or believe there to be a chance, that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned." A shudder swept across the room as Dumbledore said his name.
"What makes you think he really is back?" a witch Sirius knew to be Emmeline Vance asked from the second row of chairs.
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, as if he had expected this question to arise. "I heard Harry Potter's account of what happened that night; of how he was transported to Voldemort as he touched the Tri-Wizard Cup. Of how Cedric Diggory was murdered on Voldemort's orders; of how Voldemort was restored to his body and of how they fought, Harry barely escaping with his life. I then heard the Veritaserum-induced story from Barty Crouch Junior and how he was smuggled out of Azkaban by his father; how Voldemort came to him and how he impersonated Alastor Moody and eventually led Harry to Voldemort. The stories fit perfectly, and other than that Harry Potter would has my absolute trust; there is no reason for him to lie and there is no other explanation for how Cedric Diggory was killed. Although some have always believed that Voldemort was dead, I for one never thought it was so. It was only a matter of time before he once again reclaimed his old power and rose against us again. That time has come."
Dumbledore studied the room over his half-moon glasses once more. "Now, what you must decide is whether or not you believe this truth, and whether or not you wish to fight. No slight will be made of anyone who leaves this room now, and I certainly do not wish to put any pressure on you to stay. Many of you have families or have felt the loss that fighting in this war can lead to. In the last war we lost many great people; Marlene McKinnon, Edgar Bones, the Longbottom's, the Prewett's, the Potter's, and many more. And that could very well happen again. I ask only that you think about what is best for yourself and what you think is the right thing to do. If any of you wish to leave, you may do so now."
Dumbledore held an outstretched hand to the door. Not one person moved.
He smiled, somewhat sadly.
"Very well. Fudge's reaction, while not unexpected, is very unfortunate. He refuses to believe that there is any chance of Voldemort having returned. Those of you who work at the Ministry will have to be very careful that Fudge does not suspect you to be associated with the Order. In the meantime I have a very shrewd idea as to what exactly Voldemort is after. I believe he will be beginning to recruit his army; Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime are already on their way to the mountains to discuss peace with the Giants, hopefully before Voldemort can. There are many other things that I think Voldemort could be after that we can discuss at a later time. Now, it is time to recognise one of our number for who they are." He gave Sirius a slight nod.
"Many of you might be wondering who's exactly this house is. While being a little less ideal in a decorative manner, this house is being used because it is Unplottable, Muggle-Repelling and it has protection wards, Anti-Apparation fields and the Fidelius Charm cast around it. Also, this house is the last place the Ministry, or even Lord Voldemort would ever expect the find the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
Anna's hand tightened in Sirius's fur.
"This house belongs to one of our members. It belongs to Sirius Black."
Gasps of shock and terror swept across the room. "Sirius Black!" one wizard shouted, looking around him as if he expected Sirius to come in at any moment, wielding a chainsaw, "What in Merlin's name are we doing here? He's a murderer! What if he comes back?"
Dumbledore held his hands out, attempting to calm the crowd. Only Anna, Snape, Moody, Remus and the Weasley's hadn't moved. "Sirius Black is not, and never was a murderer," the old man continued. "I discovered this truth a little over a year ago when Sirius confronted Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. I was told the truth of that Halloween night fourteen years ago. And I will tell it to you now..."
Dumbledore went on to recount the betrayal of Peter Pettigrew, the switch in Secret-Keepers leading to the eventual demise of Lily and James Potter, Sirius' confrontation of Pettigrew in a Muggle street, his wrongful imprisonment, and eventually his escape.
There was a pregnant pause.
"Preposterous! You can't really believe this?"
"Yes, Dedalus, I do believe it, I'm only sorry I couldn't see the truth earlier. But if you have any questions you are free to ask. Sirius is here now. Sirius?" Sirius nodded to Dumbledore before transforming amid gasps and shrieks.
There was a stunned silence.
Suddenly, a man Sirius knew to be Mundungus Fletcher stood up. "Well, if Dumbledore believes it, then I believe it. Good to see you, Sirius."
It seemed that Mundungus' words had broken the ice, for Sirius was soon swamped by old and new friends, all offering their condolences for his twelve years wrongful imprisonment and greeting their him back into the fold.
Kinglsey Shacklebolt made his way over to Sirius. "Kingsley Shacklebolt," he said, extending his hand for Sirius to shake. "I'm the Auror in charge of the search for you." Sirius gulped. "But you know, it never did add up, the whole story. It's good to hear the truth."
Sirius smiled, shaking the man's hand.
"So, Sirius. Ever been to Tibet?"
A/N: Uggghhh! Finally! That chapter seriously took FOREVER to write! It was just all so complicated; trying to figure out how much Dumby would tell them and what their reactions would be, etc, etc, etc. I'm so glad the chapter is finally over. Uugghhh, I hate it. Seriously, I don't care if it's all crappy and confusing, I just want it to be finished and done! Hope it's not too bad. Oh, and about the whole "One/On the Same Page" thing, I think I seriously need glasses. But in my defence, it was late at night and I'd just been working at work so I was really tired and grumpy. I have changed it but for some reason my computer isn't being very nice and it hasn't fixed it yet. Hrrmmm... Stupid technology. Anyhoo, thankyou all for you're lovely reviews, I get all tingly when I read them and they're such a motivator to keep going. I even don't mind the bad ones, and Lord knows how much I can't handle criticism, I must be improving. Hahaha. So I hope you enjoyed it, not to sure what the next chapters going to be about.... Hrrmmm.... Wow, this A/N is huge, better stop here. Bye!!!