In this fic, Sirius is still alive.
Dumbledore Explains it All
London: 12 Grimmauld Place
Arthur Weasley apparated into the kitchen with a loud "pop". His wife, Molly, was sitting at the table, reviewing the escape plan that the order had instituted just in case the Roswellians were attacked again and were not able to make it to the Southern Peach Hotel.
"We've just had a small development, Molly." said Mr. Weasley as he joined his wife at the table. "Are any of the other order members here?"
"There's coffee up there on the stove, dear. Yes, I think Tonks is here, but she's about to leave for her post at a gas station about five minutes from the Hotel…and then she's going to apparate every few miles to stay with the van if they decide not to got to the hotel. Need me to get her?"
"Please. Is Dumbledore coming back today?" Mr. Weasley got up and went to fix himself a cup of coffee as Mrs. Weasley rose from her chair to find Tonks.
"I don't know, but I'll give him a message after you leave for the Southern Peach." She went out into the hallway and yelled for Tonks. She came back into the kitchen and began busily preparing for dinner. Presently, Tonks herself entered the kitchen. Her bright purple hair was topped with a small hat and she was wearing a t-shirt that said "Weird Sisters: Halloween 2003".
"Hi, Mr. Weasley. Got news for me?" Tonks sat next to him and helped herself to his cup of coffee. This didn't escape his notice. Mrs. Weasley fixed him another one.
"Yes. You and Molly can help pass this news to the others. I had a very pleasant conversation with the youngsters at the rest stop I was stationed in."
"Really, Arthur? I thought they would take longer to risk asking questions. Arabella and Kingsley must have worried them. Merlin!" Mrs. Weasley had accidentally dropped the colander of lettuce she had just washed. She waved her wand and all the lettuce flew back into the sink to be washed again.
"Yes, they must have. But, I'm glad they did ask. They are still pretty suspicious that we're part of the Unit, especially Michael Guerin." Replied Mr. Weasley, taking a sip of coffee.
"Well, from what Dumbledore said, Michael had the toughest time growing up." Said Tonks. "I think it is only natural that he should take more time to trust us. He'll come around. He'll have to, Arthur."
"According to Moody - he's been keeping an eye on the Unit's movements, you know - they are getting dangerously close again. We may have to make a move before the van reaches the hotel. I don't think they realize just how close the FBI is. They've obviously figured out Michael's color changing tactic…I should have told them to change the…what's it called, again…..um…oh! Licentious Plate. Bet that's why they can't seem to get away from the Unit." The three wizards mused silently for a few minutes, the sound of Mrs. Weasley's knife, merrily chopping onions on its own, filling the room. Presently, Tonks got up and polished off Mr. Weasley's old cup of coffee in one swig.
"All right, then. I'll be off. If nothing happens, I'm due to be back when my shift ends at midnight. Save some for me, Molly. I'm gonna be hungry!" Tonks disapparated. Mr. Weasley stood up to go, too.
I'll go, too. I need to check in at the hotel." He gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek and disapparated, too.
In the still-maroon van in Georgia
"Shit! Max! Can't you go any faster?" Kyle was yelling from the backseat.
"I'm trying, Kyle! Just shut up! I'm cornered on all sides!" Max shouted back as he accelerated even faster. The government cars had caught up with them again just about two miles from the Southern Peach Hotel. Max was really pushing the van hard. Only one mile to go now. Everyone was silently praying, hoping that they'd make it the hotel and that Mr. Weasley was as trustworthy as they all hoped.
"I can flatten their tires." Isabel offered.
"No, we can't!" Shouted Liz. "There are other cars on the interstate! That would put them in danger, too!"
"Well, what are we supposed to do? Let them run us off the road?" Isabel was crying now. Maria was hyperventilating in the back, sniffing her vial of cedar oil. She did this whenever she was very nervous or upset. Just then, they saw a strange greenish laser-like light hit the government car in front of them.
"Which one of you did that?" Max shouted.
"Not me!" Michael and Isabel shouted back in unison.
"Liz?" Michael asked in turn.
"No. You guys know I'm not that powerful and I can't control my powers!" Liz answered. Though, she wished she had done it. It would have made her feel better to be able to do something, instead of sitting there helplessly, hoping that Max wouldn't wrap them around a tree or hit another car.
"Look! There's the Southern Peach! I see the sign! Hurry up, man!" Kyle shouted excitedly. Max veered towards the entrance to the site.
"Oh, my God…I don't wanna die…" Maria whined to nobody in particular. "I'm too young…oh, my God, Liz, I don't wanna die!" She kept repeating this phrase over and over again, totally losing it.
"Shut up, Maria, we'll make it!" Liz took her best friend by the shoulders. "Sniff some more cedar oil." But, Liz was trying to convince herself, too. Whatever the green light was, it had pushed the government vehicle in front of them out into the other lane and it looked as though they couldn't get back over. It was as if some invisible shield was keeping the car on the left side of the van to give Max room to accelerate. Max did not waste the opportunity. He slammed on the accelerator and then skidded to a stop, violently turning the wheel to avoid crashing into the side of the hotel.
"Everybody OUT! Get into the building…NOW!" He yelled. Everyone got out as fast as they could and ran towards the lobby, which was about fifty yards from the van. The government vehicles were coming up fast behind them and the agents began shooting at them. As they neared the lobby, they saw more of these strange, green lights coming from the windows in front of them, aimed at the agents, who were now on foot. Mr. Weasley rushed out of the door to help Isabel, who had just tripped and fallen behind.
"It's okay, Love.. I've got you." Mr. Weasley pulled Isabel to her feet and helped her inside. Miraculously, everyone made it into the lobby without getting shot.
"Now what?" Mask asked through heavy breathing. Maria and Liz caught Isabel as she ran in to keep her from losing her balance again and they collapsed onto the floor in a tight hug. Kyle and Michael were kneeling under a window, looking up so they could peer out at the bottom.
"Oh, my God!" Maria said for the millionth time that day, "I thought they had you! I thought you were dead!" Maria was crying so hard that her cedar oil was forgotten.
"It's okay, Maria. I'm okay." Isabel soothed, hugging her back in sheer relief. The agents were now surrounding the little lobby. Everyone inside could hear the commands and the radios coming from the other side of the walls.
"Mr. Weasley, we're trapped! I thought you said we could trust you?" Michael yelled. At that moment, two people appeared suddenly out of thin air. Maria and Isabel screamed and Max and Michael put up their hands ready to defend themselves and the others.
"Put those hands down, boys. We ain't the enemy." The one on the left growled. He was strange looking. He had dark, wild hair, a disfigured face, and a patch on one eye.
"Where did you come from?" Max asked in surprise. The other figure was as different from her gruff companion as night from day. She was vibrant, with her purple hair and pink Weird Sisters t-shirt.
"No time!" growled the man on the left, "We have to go now!"
"Go how exactly?" Michael growled back sarcastically. "In case you didn't notice…we're surrounded!" Mr. Weasley answered him.
"Everyone take an object from this table here. They're portkeys. We've had them altered so they can transport Muggles. Highly unusual. They'll take you out of here." The table was a small round end table that was covered in junk, like a thrift store shelf. There was a bowl, a ceramic figure of an18th century lady, and a baby rattler, among other things.
"What's a Mugg...nevermind. You've got to be kidding, right?" Kyle said, disbelievingly. The noise outside grew more menacing. The agents started shooting into the lobby and kicking the door in.
"Just do it, Kyle! What choice do we have now? Grab something!" Liz ran to the table, grabbed an old, broken mirror, and promptly disappeared. Everyone, momentarily forgetting their situation, stared at the spot she once occupied, stunned with surprise.
"NOW!" shouted Moody, shocking them out of it. He pushed Liz and Maria towards the table. In about ten seconds, every single one of the Roswellians had grabbed a piece of junk and was gone.
Two minutes later, when the Special Unit broke into the lobby of the dilapidated Southern Peach Hotel in rural Georgia, all they found was broken glass and an empty table.
London: 12 Grimmauld Place
The Roswellians stood around the kitchen table in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. They all stood shocked, letting the fact that they were no longer standing in an abandoned hotel lobby, being attacked by Special Unit agents sink in.
"Well….at least now we know what he meant by 'portkey'." Kyle said sarcastically. Mr. Weasley and the two strangers appeared suddenly next to the stove, making Maria jump back and clutch her chest in alarm. Two seconds later two others appeared. It was the old lady (who was clutching an ugly object of her own) and the attractive black man. Mr. Weasley took a deep breath and began.
"Good. It looks like everyone's here. Tonks, would you mind getting Molly for me?"
"Sure." The girl with the purple hair left the kitchen. Mr. Weasley gestured to the table.
"Have a seat everyone. As soon as Tonks comes back with my wife, we'll explain everything." Everyone grabbed a chair and sat down wearily. Max put his arm around his wife, who was crying in relief. It had been quite scary to arrive in a strange house alone. Michael sat next to Maria and held her hand. Maria looked pale and she felt really dizzy. Isabel sat next to her brother with Kyle on the other side of her. Kyle patted her knee in comfort. Mr. Weasley and the other strangers remained standing.
In a few minutes, Tonks came back followed by a woman with the same red hair as Mr. Weasley and accompanied by another gentleman in a shabby robe and long, black, shabby hair.
'Oh! Sirius! Good to see you, mate! Glad you joined us." Mr. Weasley said to the shabby man. "Oh and hello, dear." He said tenderly, kissing his wife." Mrs. Weasley looked shaken. "It's all right, Molly. I'm still in one piece." The pale woman went to the cabinet, took out some glasses and began serving drinks.
"All right. We're only missing Dumbledore, but I expect we won't see him until a little later. Let me introduce everyone. You already know me. This is my wife, Molly Weasley." He indicated the red-haired woman, who now looked less shaken with her husband back and serving drinks to keep her occupied. Mr. Weasley then pointed to each member of the order in turn and each bowed as they were introduced.
"You've met these two - Arabella Figg and Kingsley Shacklebolt. The ones you saw in the hotel lobby are Alistair "Mad-Eye" Moody and Nymphadora Tonks. And this is Sirius Black. He owns the house." Sirius bowed and welcomed the Roswellians.
Max rose from his seat and politely began introducing his own group.
"I'm Max Evans and this is….." Mr. Weasley interrupted Max with a wave of his hand.
"We all know you already. Maxwell Evans, Isabel Evans Ramirez, Michael Guerin, Elizabeth Parker Evans, Maria DeLuca, and Kyle Valenti." Mr. Weasley pointed to each of them in turn as he said their names.
"Yes. How do you know us?" Max had seated himself again and taken a glass of water offered by Mrs. Weasley. "Thanks." She smiled warmly at him as tears welled in her eyes. Max took an immediate liking to Mrs. Weasley. Her husband began to talk.
"We know a lot, but don't be alarmed. We're on your side. We know about the UFO crash. We know about your alien abilities and you being lost in the desert as children - and your subsequent adoption and foster situations. We know just about everything you've found out about yourselves and your human friends' involvement. We also know that your fourth alien, Tess Harding, is dead and also your good friend, Alex Whitman. Max, we know also about your son. There's not much we don't know, except what you lot have to do with us. That's what we're trying to figure out." Mr. Weasley paused to let this register.
"But…how? Why?" Isabel asked. The others shared looks of concern and panic. Mr. Weasley nodded and continued.
"I should explain to you who we are. We're not FBI and we're not alien. We're just as human as the three of you." He indicated Liz, Maria, and Kyle. He pulled up a chair for himself and sat down without pausing. "But, with one small difference. We're wizards." The Roswellians sat in shocked silence, hardly daring to believe this. They were expecting strange - a secret section of the British government, maybe, but not wizards. Mr. Weasley waited patiently for one of them to say something.
"Small difference?" Kyle quipped uselessly.
"So, now there are aliens and wizards?" Maria asked incredulously. She took out her vial of cedar oil and waved it under her nose. She closed her eyes for a second to get her bearing. "Unbelievable! Okay. Get it together, DeLuca." Maria said aloud to herself, taking a deep breath. "But, what's that got to do with us?" she asked, opening her eyes.
"Well…" Sirius offered, taking over the explanation from Mr. Weasley.
"The wizarding world is secret. We live alongside Muggles - people who aren't magical-but, but most of them have no knowledge of our society's existence. The children of wizard families go to school here in Britain…" Sirius was interrupted by a chorus of "We're where?" and "We're in Britain?"
"Oh...yes…you didn't know." Sirius chuckled, along with several members of the order. "Yes. You're in number 12 Grimmauld Place in London, actually." The Roswellians looked at each other in surprise. There really couldn't be anymore surprises today. Immensely pleased with himself, Sirius continued.
"As I was saying, this school that wizard children attend is called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is run by Albus Dumbledore, the greatest headmaster the school has ever had. He is the one who investigated you and asked us to help you."
"Why?" Max asked, unable to fathom why a school headmaster in the British Isles, wizard or no, would invest time and energy into teenaged strangers an ocean away -even if they were aliens. "Mad-Eye" Moody decided to explain. His voice sounded like a bear.
"In the late 1940's, Dumbledore defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald. Previous to his defeat, this dark wizard apparently had some invested interest in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, according to the headmaster's sources. The only momentous thing that happened there in 1947 was the famed UFO crash. Dumbledore has been trying to find a connection between that event and Grindelwald ever since. He knew that Grindelwald continued searching for something or someone until the time of his defeat, but he could never find out what it was. All of this led him to you."
"I don't get it." said Maria. Suddenly there was a loud popping noise from the hallway. Everyone looked toward the door to see what had made the noise. They only had to wait a moment. As soon as the person entered the room, the Roswellians noticed a change in the atmosphere at once. Everyone seemed to respect and love this man. He looked very old, yet still very capable. He had long white hair, a white beard, and wore half-moon spectacles. He wore robes of rich purple and he had the kindest, most mischievous eyes that, paradoxically, seemed to hold the wisdom of time.
"Professor Dumbledore! Why don't you have a seat and I'll get you some water." Mrs. Weasley offered to the ancient man. So, this was Dumbledore. Dumbledore seated himself next to Kyle, who moved his chair over to accommodate the robes.
"I think I can answer that for you, my dear." Dumbledore said amiably to Maria, who quickly blushed. "I have been following your progress closely ever since I learned about a certain young man who apparently healed a waitress in a small Café in downtown Roswell, New Mexico." He looked over his spectacles at Max and Liz. To their great surprise, he followed this with, "I really have been waiting such a long time to try that wonderful looking pie…the 'Pleiades Pie' I think it's called.." The Roswellians couldn't help sharing grins. Dumbledore continued.
"I decided not to interfere. I wanted to watch you and try to see if you were connected to this mystery. Following your progress, I soon realized that you were the aliens of the crash and that you were the thing Grindelwald never managed to find. What is still a mystery to me is why he wanted you. However, there was also another problem. Can any of you guess what that is?" Dumbledore looked around the table at everyone. "No? The problem is that I started to care about you all as if I knew you personally - as if you were my own students. I could not stay detached. Even if I had found out that you were not connected to Grindelwald in any way, I would have still watched over you. I have the same problem with a certain student of mine.
You see, humans, both wizard and Muggle alike, attack what they do not understand, and I understood that only too well. I watched you fall in love with each other, end relationships with each other. I watched as friendships were made between unlikely people and former enemies. I watched Max perform miracles in a hospital at Christmas. I watched Michael learn the value of friendship and the importance of family. I watched Isabel's heart break every time her wish for a normal life was challenged. I watched Liz suffer when she thought Max's grand destiny did not include her, and, then, finally when she was included, it was not in a way she expected. That is, her close association with Max started to open her pineal gland, allowing her to use the latent powers all humans possess –did you know that all humans can do what you do?" Dumbledore paused to let this information take root. But, of course they knew that. Nasedo had said this when they rescued Max from the White Room.
"I also suffered as Max was taken into that White Room and emotionally and physically tortured. That's when it was hardest for me to watch. I almost interfered when Agent Pierce captured Max, but changed my mind at the last minute when I realized that your rescuers were successful. If they had not been, I was ready to act." Dumbledore paused again, this time in deep reverie.
Max was stunned, yet grateful. It was comforting to know that he had had an unknown guardian angel and he would have been rescued regardless. Liz kissed him with tears in her eyes. Isabel broke down and cried.
"Oh, God, Max……Oh, God…you would still have been okay. Sir, you have no way of knowing how much what you just said means to us." She sobbed. Mr. Weasley handed her his handkerchief. Dumbledore snapped out of his own head to correct Isabel.
"Mrs. Ramirez, I do understand. I have watched all of you suffer through endless trials that no Muggle teenager should ever have to worry about. But, in watching all of you, I lost focus in my mission to find out about Grindelwald. But, your lives are more important than a deceased Dark Wizard's secrets. I still have not found my answer. But, I have a new purpose in you. And I may still find my answer yet."
Everyone sat quietly taking in all of these new revelations. Eventually, Mrs. Weasley broke the long silence.
"Professor Dumbledore. Arthur. It's been two hours and these people are probably starving and tired. I think they've had enough excitement for one day. Let's all have a bite to eat and turn in for the night." Mrs. Weasley started to bark orders, but refused to let the teenagers or Dumbledore help in any way.
They all ate their fill, while Mr. Weasley explained the purpose of the Order and about Voldemort and Harry Potter. Then, Kingsley Shacklebolt entertained them with stories of his auror adventures with Moody cutting in occasionally. Dumbledore rounded out the evening musing over his love of Muggle sweets and drilling the Roswellians about American candy.
When they'd all eaten their fill, Mrs. Weasley sent them all up to bed amid compliments on her cooking. This was the first time in ages that the group from Roswell could relax. They could actually sleep a full night - and in their own rooms, no less. Sending them up the stairs, Mrs. Weasley told them all that they could write to their parents and it would be safely delivered. Not only that, but Mr. Weasley would see about reuniting Isabel and Jesse. This was the first night in weeks that Isabel would sleep soundly.
On their way up the stairs, Max put his arm around Liz and said mischievously. "Now, about the sealing of our marriage thing you mentioned the other day…"
