Chapter 2
Harry woke the next morning to a sharp, gleeful pain in his head. That could only mean bad news. He hurriedly put on his dragon hide vest and boots, a robe, and strapped on his two wand holsters as well as his dagger. "Moony?" he called, jogging down the stairs. "Padfoot?" He couldn't find them, but he did find Hedwig flying anxiously through the first floor of the house. "What is it girl?" he asked; she landed on his shoulder and in a burst of flames they both disappeared.
Yells, shouts, and the crackle of flames assaulted Harry's ears. Smoke and sweat greeted him, along with the sight of the Dark Mark hovering above Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry's mind flooded with questions. How could this happen? How did Voldemort find Headquarters? Had someone betrayed the Order? Was that even possible? Was anyone hurt? When did the fight start?
Harry forced them all away and instead appraised the situation. He could see Snape, Moony, Tonks, Splikvin, Mad-Eye, and a disguised Sirius on his left, attacking Death Eaters. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Bill, Charlie, and Dung were warding dementors away with their lion, dolphin, chimera, griffin, and camel patroni. About seven aurors, including Kingsley, were dousing the flames on the building.
Harry quickly took action. First he placed a cloaking spell on himself, and then called the water from the clouds above. He shoved the water down onto the flames, but kept some of the flames alive, hovering in the air. The leftover flames he sent after the new Death Eaters that arrived only seconds later. Leaving them to their own devices, Harry shot out his own patronous and it charged after the dementors. Snape faltered as it ran past him and was nearly hexed—Harry had fired a shield to cover the potions master. "Tallon!" Sirius exclaimed, not taking his eyes off his attackers. "What are you doing here?"
Harry fired a stunner and murmured into Padfoot's ear, "Helping." With that, he ducked and transformed into a werewolf, then leapt at an unsuspecting Death Eater. Since the building was no longer a danger, it was nineteen to twenty Death Eaters and eight dementors. Harry lunged left and right, dodging attacks, while giving the Order members a chance to stun the Death Eaters, and dealing out his own. Someone finally cancelled his spell and it got harder to evade the curses they threw. He called his other three forms and became a chimera once more. Now he shielded the others while they fought back. "It's Potter," one of the Death Eaters snarled.
In reply, Harry roared and lunged for the speaker. He pinned the man and knocked him out, then moved to his next victim. Through the chaos and din of the fight, Harry saw a red-eyed wizard appear, wand pointed at Sirius. "Avada-" Voldemort began.
Harry rushed back into human form and shouted. "Sanctus!" as Voldemort finished the incantation of the Killing Curse.
Sparks flew as the curse hit the shield. Harry watched anxiously as Sirius gained a surprised expression, much like the one he'd had when falling through the veil—this time he remained among the living. Voldemort met Harry's eyes and vanished, along with the dementors and remaining followers.
Harry sank to his knees with relief. "T-Tallon?" Sirius' voice was strained as he kneeled beside his godson.
Harry looked up, "Yeah?" he asked, voice shaking slightly.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Just—a bit tired. The spell—well, spells—fire, the water; they took a lot outta me. What about you?" Sirius didn't get the chance to answer because several aurors Harry didn't know came over.
"What was that?" one asked.
"You're Harry Potter?"
"Was that him?"
"Questions later!" Splikvin snapped from a few feet away, one of the actually jumped. "Aren't you supposed to be following post-battle procedures?" They nodded, blushing. "Then get to it!" she roared, two of them jumped this time and they scurried off to do what she had reminded them to do.
"Scarier than Mad-Eye." Sirius teased her wearily, she smiled.
"How did the Fideleus Charm break?" Harry asked as Remus and Sirius helped him to stand.
"I don't know," Padfoot replied, "but at least the old hag is gone."
Harry attempted a smile, but it wasn't great—he was really tire. Splikvin noticed this. "You overworked yourself," she said gruffly, "Not intelligent. It worked, but it wasn't intelligent." He only nodded in reply.
"We must depart," Dumbledore told the group, "in order to avoid too many questions. The Order is still not an official group."
"Where should we meet?" Bill asked.
"Could use… the castle." Harry croaked, "Fixed it up…yesterday."
Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you for offering Harry; it will do quite nicely." Hedwig landed on Snape's shoulder, startling him. She sang a few brief notes, and then the entire group disappeared.
Harry led them to the main doors, which were over twenty feet tall and made of iron with silver handles. He touched one of them with his ring and they opened soundlessly. Harry sank into one of the plush couches that were in the main entrance, Sirius and Remus also sat next to him. The other Order members all sat as well.
Splikvin raised an eyebrow as she looked around. "Well I'm surprised; the entire place isn't blaring with Gryffindor colors. Why, you even have green." Several others chuckled, but Harry grinned weakly and shrugged.
"You fixed the castle quite quickly Harry," Dumbledore noted, glancing out one of the large windows to look at the tower nearby.
Again, Harry shrugged. "Didn't want dust and broken stone everywhere."
"How much was broken?" inquired Splikvin.
He scratched his head. "Two towers were half gone, some of the doors were broken, the windows were shattered some, and a couple roofs had collapsed; I think that's all."
"'All'?" She repeated, rolling her eyes, but left it at that when Remus looked at her.
"Does anyone know how he found Headquarters?" Tonks asked. It was silent for a few moments.
"I have a theory." Dumbledore answered. "I believe the charm was cancelled out of confusion. When we first established Grimmauld Place as Headquarters, Sirius gave me permission to be secret keeper. When Remus became the owner, he did the same. Now that Sirius has returned, the building itself did not know to whom it belonged and cancelled the charm. Voldemort simply had to track a member of the Order to Headquarters and wait for the opportune moments to strike; when most of us were there."
"Does he know about this place?" asked Moody.
"Not to my knowledge. Harry had only inherited it yesterday."
"Then why don't you use it?" Harry suggested, "I don't really plan to live here, and people can come and go when they need. There's a fireplace on every floor."
Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you Harry, do I have your permission to place the Fideleus Charm on it, just in case?"
By the way he'd said 'permission', Harry knew he was talking about trust. Harry nodded. "You do."
The members of the Order stood, forming a circle with Dumbledore standing in the center. The headmaster began to trace runes in the air while he said something in Latin. Harry identified the names of all the members, as well as his own and the Grangers'. Harry also noticed that Splikvin had not joined the circle, but had stepped back, staring at the floor.
When Dumbledore finished writing their names, he wrote runes for protection, secrecy, and trust, then beaconed to Harry. He stepped forward, knowing that since he was the owner, he was needed to complete the Charm. He raised a hand without being told and said, "I, Harry James Potter, do entrust you to place the Fideleus Charm upon my castle, and offer you the post of secret keeper."
Dumbledore put his hand against Harry's and replied, "I, AlbusBrian WulfricDumbledore, do accept your permission, your trust, and the role of storing this place's location a secret within my soul." A bright flare of golden light erupted, and Harry felt the charm take place. It rushed through him to Dumbledore, and then sped throughout the castle; touching every stone, door, and window. The magic faded, settling into place like a cat on a pillow. Harry returned to the couch, tired again.
Dumbledore turned to Splikvin as she sat. "My apologies for not including you Selena, but in truth, I was not sure what to write as your name."
She nodded. "Understandable Headmaster."
Sirius' stomach growled, easing the slight tension. Harry laughed, "Food's a good idea. Want to go home?"
Sirius grinned. "There's no food here, is there?" Harry shook his head. "Then home sounds good." Tonks' stomach growled.
"Anyone else hungry?" Harry asked with a laugh. Several people nodded and Harry looked at Hedwig. She chirped and all of them vanished to The Hideaway.
Since no one but Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys had been there before, many of them had no idea where they were. "Well, this is our home." Harry said, "The kitchen's down the hall on the left, so's the dining room. If you're not hungry, you can look around if you want, I'll be right back, I've got to check on something." Tonks, Sirius, Dung, Bill, and Charlie all left to eat, Hedwig perched on the stairs, and Harry left the others to their own devices while he jogged downstairs. Salazar was in a frame down there, and Harry told him about the Order members being there, then drank a pepper-up potion. As he came back up, he saw Hedwig nudging Snape and Splikvin into the study. Why there? Harry wondered, and followed. He then saw Hedwig nudging them over to the side where the family tree hung. "What is the matter with you, bird?" Snape growled, "I don't want to look at Potter's family. Uh-oh, Harry thought as Splikvin raised an eyebrow.
"She's not going to give you an option it seems."
"Fine," Snape grumbled, and looked.
Why? Harry cried silently, He's going to kill me! Harry dashed silently down the stairs and to the kitchen. As he entered, Splikvin's laugh and Snape's yell of "WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN!" rang through the house.
"What was that?" Sirius asked, standing up in alarm.
Harry winced. "Hedwig made them look at the family tree." Sirius laughed.
"Oh dear." Remus said as Splikvin entered.
"How long, might I ask, have you know?" she inquired, looking at Harry with amusement.
"Known what?" Tonks asked.
Harry blushed, "Since the beginning of last summer… I didn't tell anybody—I figured he wouldn't thank me for it."
She grinned. "Quite right; he's not exactly thankful towards Hedwig at the moment either."
"Neither am I." Harry mumbled, debating whether or not he should go and rescue Hedwig...
Coming Up:
New Members
Stone Hold
Then:
Summer School
(A/N: I know this chapter is shorter than the chapters of my previous stories, but if I connect them all together, there might not be as many chapters. On the other hand, it means I should be able to post them faster. A.S.Leif)
Review Response: (I will be doing these when there is a good question)
jamesyankee7: Harry could beat Godric and Helga because he was able to use Parsloz magic, along with his animagus forms. He couldn't beat Splikvin because she told him not to use those things. Thank you for bringing that up. (Response to review of ch.21 in Power the Dark Lord Knows Not)