Disclaimer: Seriously! I don't own Harry Potter!

A/N: Here's chapter three as promised! I actually got it up quicker than I thought I would, but I chose to write instead of study more (I'm horrible!). I'm going to try really hard to get chapter four up before I leave on the 23rd for Thanksgiving break, if I can't I'll probably try to update by the 30th at the absolute latest! Lastly, a big thanks to Eilisan and Mysterious-Storyteller for reviewing the story, you guys are awesome!!

Chapter 3: Return to Grimmauld Place

Harry had to wait another four days before he heard from the Order again. He was asleep when Hedwig returned from her trip to Hogwarts. She had to nip him on the hand to wake him up. Bleary-eyed, Harry fumbled for his glasses and saw that she had another piece of parchment attached to her leg. Curious, Harry sat up and removed the letter and read it:

Harry,

Some members of the Order are going to come and pick you up

from the Dursley's on August fifth at about three o'clock

in the afternoon. Be packed and ready when they

arrive to take you to headquarters.

There was no name on the letter, but Harry could tell by looking that it was Dumbledore's handwriting. He read the letter twice again just to be sure he read everything correctly, apparently he had. He was going to leave the Dursleys's house tomorrow and spend the rest of the summer at Grimmauld Place. He still wasn't sure if he should be happy about that fact or not. On one hand, he would be leaving Privet Drive and wouldn't see any of his relatives again till next summer. On the other hand, he didn't want to go to Grimmauld Place knowing that Sirius wasn't going to be there.

To say that the Dursley's didn't take the news that wizards were coming to their house tomorrow very well was a big understatement. When Harry made the announcement over breakfast three things happened at once: his aunt dropped the plate of bacon she was carrying to the table, his uncle turned three shades redder than normal, and Dudley nearly turned the breakfast table over in an effort to get out of the kitchen as fast as he could. Harry almost laughed at their reactions, but decided against it the minute his uncle rounded on him.

"You will write to those freaks and inform them you're not going! I remember what happened last time they came, our bloody living room got blown up and Dudders tongue grew four extra feet!" Uncle Vernon bellowed.

"I can't write them back!" Harry said exasperatedly' "They're coming to get me tomorrow and if you have a problem with that I'm sure you talk to Moody!"

Uncle Vernon stayed uncharacteristically quiet after this statement. Harry could tell from his face that his uncle was trying to figure out which was the less of those two evils. Obviously he was going to let the wizards pick his nephew up.

"Alright, you can have those...people come and pick you up, but they have five minutes to do so!"

The rest of the day was rather quiet and subdued. Aunt Petunia started putting plastic covers over all the furniture and went about putting fire extinguishers in random places in the house (Harry even found one in the bathroom). Uncle Vernon was trying to unblock the fireplace and Dudley was busy finding wood to board up his door with when the wizards came tomorrow. All the while, Harry spent the day in his room packing for tomorrow.

He took his time, as he was in no hurry to return to Grimmauld Place. Harry wished there was a way he could just go to Hogwarts, to skip spending the summer at the headquarters of the Order. He wasn't ready to see everyone again; Mrs. Weasley would fuss over him and everyone else would give him pitying looks. He wasn't ready to deal with going to Grimmauld knowing his godfather wouldn't be there.

Unfortunately for Harry, the day went by rather fast and before he knew it he was sitting down with the Dursleys at the breakfast table the next morning. No one said a word at the table; the Dursleys were all afraid of this coming afternoon, when there would be wizards in their house. They did seem really nervous too; Uncle Vernon kept going outside checking to make sure the neighbors were too busy to spy on the house, and Aunt Petunia went about making the house even cleaner than normal.

The Order did pick him up at three o'clock exactly. They had all been in the living room when the clock turned three, and the doorbell rang. Both his aunt and uncle stared at it as if it were a basilisk. Since they didn't make a move to answer the door, Harry came down the stairs and opened it. There, standing on the doorstep, was none other than Remus Lupin.

He looked far older than Harry when he left him at the train station; it probably had to do with Sirius's death. He had more gray hairs than before and he looked much more tired. Nevertheless, he smiled when Harry opened the door and let him in. It looked like it was just Lupin there, but that didn't make any sense. Last year there had been at least a dozen wizards acting as his guard, why was this summer any different? Lupin must have seen Harry's curious expression because he answered the unspoken question.

"Tonks is under an invisibility cloak," he said quietly, "there won't be a need to have as many people here because we're taking a portkey to headquarters."

"That's absolutely right Remus!" Tonks said from behind him, as she discarded the invisibility cloak once the door was closed.

The Dursleys both jumped, obviously they knew nothing about invisibility cloaks. Uncle Vernon recovered first, however, and when he had found his voice, he began to yell.

"I will not have that unnaturalness under my roof! You have five minutes to take the boy and go! And I'll tell you another thing..."

What that other thing was, Harry didn't find out. At that same moment, Tonks pulled out her wand and pointed it right at Vernon.

"You were saying?" she said sweetly, still pointing the wand at him.

Uncle Vernon, however, seemed lost for words. He started sputtering indignantly and went bright red. Lupin looked slightly amused by this but after a moment he looked at the clock.

"Enough Tonks," he said, "we can't take very long here, remember?"

"Right, all packed, Harry? We'd better get going!"

Lupin nodded and pulled a crushed cola can out of his pocket. The Dursleys looked at him as if he was insane, but they soon started screaming as the living room began to dissolve around Harry. Before he knew it he landed facedown on the floor of the gloomy entryway of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Remus helped him off the floor, and before he could recover completely, Mrs. Weasley emerged from the door that lead to the kitchen and pulled him into a big hug.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad your back!" She said while she gave him a second hug, "If your hungry you can go into the kitchen and get some food. The others have just started and I need to talk to Remus and Nymp...Tonks for a few minutes."

Harry looked over at Lupin and Tonks; both were not looking at him, and then went into the kitchen. Just before the door closed, he could see the three of them huddled together, talking about something that was obviously top secret. Shaking his head in frustration, Harry figured he'd ask the others what was going on. He had barely walked a few steps in the kitchen when he was given his third hug since arriving at Grimmauld. Hermione and Ginny were on either side of him with their arms around him, giving him a bone-crushing hug and talking very rapidly.

"Harry! I'm so glad you're finally here!"

"How was your summer?"

"Did you get the letters we sent?"

They continued on like this for sometime until Ron decided to rescue him. Harry shot him a thankful glance then looked around the table to see who was there. Bill was talking to the twins about their shop; Harry assumed it was doing well since the twins both wore new dragon skin suits with stripes of lurid colors. They all greeted Harry as he sat beside Ron and helped himself to some of the sandwiches at the table. At that moment, Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Lupin all walked into the kitchen and Bill got up to join them.

"They were probably talking about the secret Order meeting tonight;" Ron whispered to Harry.

"Don't worry though," Fred assured them.

"Yeah," George continued, "We've just invented something new to eavesdrop on tonight's meeting."

"Could be even better than the Extendables!" Fred said in a proud whisper.

Ron, and even Hermione, looked excited about this idea. Ginny nodded in agreement. Harry was rather sure that the Order would be very displeased to know that they were still listening to their conversations, but he found that he really didn't care so much. He had every right to know what Voldemort was up to and if the Order wasn't going to tell him, then he'd find out himself.

"Wait," Harry said to Fred and George, "the two of you have already left Hogwarts, why aren't you allowed to join?"

At this, both the twins exchanged dark looks.

"The Order--" Fred said.

"Or our mum at least--," continued George.

"feel that since we didn't exactly finish our N.E.W.Ts --"

"--we shouldn't join"

They looked like they were going to say more, but they stopped talking as the adults sat down at the table. Lupin gave them a suspicious look as he sat down, but didn't say anything. Hermione must have also seen this look because she immediately began to talk about S.P.E.W much to the others' dismay. Before she could really get on the topic, however, Harry cut her off.

"How did you two do on your O.W.Ls?" he quickly asked

Hermione didn't look like she appreciated the interruption, but her face brightened at the prospect of discussing grades.

"I got all 'Outstanding' O.W.Ls !" she said with more than a hint of pride in her voice.

"I got two O's, four E's, and three P's," Ron informed him, "not as good as Hermione's, but one of the O's was in potions!

"Yeah, I'm taking potions too!" Harry said, still not believing it, "I thought for sure that I failed it!"

"Can you picture the look on that git's face when we walk in there?" Ron said, ignoring Hermione's stern look. Harry could tell from his face though that Ron didn't really want to know the answer.

"Where's Kreacher?" Harry asked as the new thought struck him. He hadn't seen the house-elf anywhere in sight. He was rather relieved at that because if he had seen Kreacher, he didn't know what he would have done.

"He left," Ginny said.

"Left?" Harry said, confused, "but I thought he couldn't."

"He's gone to serve the Malfoy's now," Ron said with a disgusted look on his face, "serves that nutter right..."

The group fell silent just to hear the last bit of conversation that Mrs. Weasley was having with Bill, Tonks, and Lupin.

"...have to tell him tonight at the Order Meeting." She said.

"There's a meeting tonight?" Fred asked with interest, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley confirmed, "but never you mind about that."

After saying this, she started arguing with Bill over hair length, but missed the look Fred shared with everyone else at the table that weren't in the Order. They were planning something, and Harry was sure it had something to do with the meeting tonight.

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"What's going on with the meeting tonight?" Harry asked once he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were alone in the room he and Ron had shared last summer.

"That's the thing," Hermione said, "We're not really sure. The Order puts Imperturbable Charms on the door during the meetings, it's impossible to hear anything that goes on in the room."

Hermione was about to continue but was interrupted by a loud popping noise as the twins apparated into the room.

"Ah, but it isn't, Hermione," George said with a triumphant look on his face.

"How did you know what we were talking about?" Ron asked confused.

To answer Ron's question, Fred walked over to the wall and pulled off a black speck that looked like a bug.

"These," he said with a big grin.

"What are they?" Harry asked.

"We'll show you," George said while kneeling on the floor.

Everyone else knelt down with them and watched as Fred set the black speck on the floor. All of a sudden, the black speck unfolded itself and began to crawl around the room on eight legs, rather like a spider. Harry and Hermione watched its path amazed; Ron, however, jumped back onto his bed out of fear. Fred and George snorted with laughter before continuing on with their explanation.

"These are Spyders!" George announced proudly.

"We can put these into any room to hear AND see what's going on," Fred said.

"See?" Hermione questioned, "How will we be able to see what's going on?"

"With these," George smirked and pulled out a pair of what looked like Muggle sunglasses with earphones coming out the sides.

"And how do you suppose we'll get one of these things into the Order meeting?" Ron asked, looking a lot keener to join the others on the floor now that he knew that the spider was a fake one.

"Already done!" George stated, "and we have six pairs of the sunglasses for all of us."

George took out more pairs from a pocket and handed the sunglasses to each of them.

"Oy!" Fred said as he looked at the watch, "the meeting's started!"

Harry immediately shoved the pair on over his own glasses, and saw the other five do the same. After he put them on, a screen appeared on the sunglasses and the room where the meeting was starting came into focus. It was rather like watching a movie.

Harry could make out several people that he knew. Tonks was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley while Kingsley Shacklebolt and Lupin seemed to be talking to Moody and Professor McGonagall. Emmeline Vance was in a conversation with Bill and, to his surprise, Fleur Delacour! When did she join the Order? He also saw Snape there, sitting off away from most of the crowd. The low murmuring in the room quieted down, and people began to take their seats when Dumbledore rose and began to address the room looking very grim.

"It has indeed been confirmed," he began without preamble, "that Voldemort (almost everyone in the room winced at the sound of his name) is now in possession of the amulet. Many Muggles in the vicinity of the museum claim they saw buglers in black cloaks and white masks before the Aurors modified their memories."

"What good will the amulet be to him now?" asked Emmeline Vance, "the his Death Eaters have killed the only person capable of getting it to work."

"I really don't know," Dumbledore stated, "unless it truly wasn't Sirius who sealed the amulet the last time Voldemort (collective shudders) tried to steal it."

"Sirius!" Harry thought, "What could this possibly have to do with Sirius?"

"No, it was him," said a square-jawed wizard named Sturgis Podmore, "I was there when he sealed it. It couldn't have been anyone else."

Harry noticed the silence that fell around the room. Many of the Order members looked lost in their own thoughts. Lupin, however, looked as if he were battling himself over a difficult decision to make. The silence lasted a few more minutes before Snape broke it.

"There has to be a reason the Dark Lord stole it," he reasoned, "He must have found some way to access its power."

"That would be impossible," Dumbledore said firmly, "the only way he could use it is with Sirius's blood, and he is beyond his reach. Sirius is gone and he has no children Voldemort could use to access the amulet's powers."

"That's not entirely true," Lupin said regretfully at last, as the whole room stared at him.

Harry looked at his face and saw the resignation on it. He couldn't possibly mean what he just said!

Obviously Dumbledore was thinking along these same lines because he said, "What do you mean, Remus?"

Lupin took a deep breath before continuing. Harry could hear Hermione let out a loud gasp of surprise but he still focused on Lupin.

"Sirius has a daughter and if Voldemort knows about her, he can use her to reawaken the amulet's powers."

The whole room looked like they were trying to digest the piece of information Lupin had just given them. Harry himself was numb with disbelief. Why hadn't Sirius told him?

"Where is she now?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.

"In France now with her godmother," Lupin said slowly, almost as if he did not want to tell them any of this.

"Godmother?" Professor McGonagall said, "Where is her mother?"

"Probably ran off after she found out that Black was the father," Snape snorted bitterly.

Lupin gave him a look of deep hatred before he said quietly, "She's dead."

"Who was her mother?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Lupin seemed to be bracing himself to answer the question because he fell silent and didn't speak for a long while. Harry noticed that Dumbledore opened his mouth to repeat the question when Lupin finally spoke.

"It's Sasha," he said quietly.

Many of the newer Order members, like Tonks and the Weasleys, obviously didn't know who Lupin was talking about by the look of confusion written on their faces. The ones who were there for Voldemort's first war, however, looked stunned. Even Dumbledore, Harry noticed, was thoroughly shocked by this revelation. Snape, in contrast to all the others, looked quite beside himself in anger.

"Black!" he said, his voice quivering with deep fury, "Black and my sister!"

"Yes," Lupin said softly, even though most of the people in the room didn't look like they believed him.

"But they despised each other!" Professor McGonagall said weakly.

"Regardless of what happened, if this is true, we need to bring her here as quickly as possible, before Voldemort discovers she exists." Dumbledore said, leaving no room for debate.

"I don't see how he could," Lupin said, "The only ones who knew were James and Lily. I didn't even find out about her until last year."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Moody interrupted, "Pettigrew was spying on us, he could have overheard them. We can't take that risk!"

"I agree," Dumbledore said, "We have to go to France, as quickly as possible, and bring her here before Voldemort does."

"Eef ze girl livees in France, zen does she go to Beauxbatons?" Fleur asked suddenly.

"Yes she does," Lupin answered, "her name is Lyra."

"Lyra!" Fleur repeated, looking astonished, "but I know 'er!"

"I'll go," Lupin said, turning to Dumbledore, "She knows who I am and I can tell her godmother what's going on."

Dumbledore merely nodded, he still looked lost in thought. Lupin got up and left the room. As the door shut behind him, Dumbledore finally turned to Snape and spoke.

"Severus, Voldemort will most likely ask you where your niece is. Be sure not to tell him anything until Remus returns."

"Yes, Headmaster," he said, though he really didn't look like he was paying attention. If anything, he looked as if someone had force-fed him an entire tube of bubotuber pus.

"Well, I think we've said just about everything for one evening," Dumbledore said, trying to add a note of cheer to his voice, "I think it best we end the meeting here, I myself am feeling rather hungry."

At this, most of the Order members filed out of the room, muttering in low whispers as they went. Mrs. Weasley went into the kitchen door to prepare dinner muttering all the way there. Harry noticed, however, that Professor McGonagall was in a deep conversation with Dumbledore. He adjusted the volume on his sunglasses so he could hear their whispers.

"Albus, what do you plan to do with the girl once she is here?" she asked, "She cannot stay at Grimmauld for the entire year."

"That is something we must decide once she gets here," He answered simply, then a smile touched his face, "I do believe, however, that Hogwarts will soon be home to another child of the infamous Marauders."

Professor McGonagall looked almost frightened by that idea, but instead she said, "We should tell Potter and the other children. They'll need to know this."

"I agree," Dumbledore said, "which is exactly why I'm staying for dinner tonight."

"Bill," Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen, "could you go upstairs and tell that lot that dinner is almost ready?"

At that bit of conversation, all six of them simultaneously took off the sunglasses. Harry handed his back to George without a word.

"Well," Fred said, as he pocketed the glasses, "that was a very interesting bit of news!"

"Yeah, too right you are!" Ron agreed.

"Sirius never said he had a daughter," Hermione said, her voice a little shaken.

George looked like he wanted to add something to that, but before he got the opportunity to the door opened and Bill walked into the room.

"Meeting is over," he announced, "Mum wants you all down fast. Dumbledore has something he has to tell you."

They all picked themselves up off the floor and marched out the door. As Harry was walking, he felt someone tug on the sleeve of his shirt. He turned to see that it was Hermione. There was concern written all across her face.

"Harry?" she said uncertainly.

She didn't say anything else, but Harry could guess that she was worried about his reaction to what he just heard. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about discovering that his godfather had a daughter, and he didn't feel the need to inform him. He didn't know what to think. At last they reached the kitchen and Harry walked through the door.

"Why didn't Sirius tell me?" he thought silently to himself as the door swung shut and he looked up to face Dumbledore.

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A/N: Well, this seemed like a good place to end the chapter. Please don't kill me...I promise the next chapter will be up soon!! Well it's about four in the morning here so I'm gonna get some sleep!! Don't forget to read and review!!