A/N: Blabbity, blabbity, blabbity... who ever reads Author's Notes?
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter and all that, do you think I'd be here right now? No, I'd be happily lounging in some big, magical castle dripping of the Dark Arts with a shirtless Draco Malfoy waiting on my hand and foot (and every other body part, for that matter.)
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The Star Crossed
Chapter 2: The Order
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Mayhem at Muggle Games
On May 23rd, an event known to non-magical peoples as a 'football game' was abruptly ended in chaos when the stadium roof caved in; trapping many spectators. The Ministry neither confirms nor denies the possible involvement of Death Eaters...
Missing Official
Ministry of Magic employee, Araknanth 'Arkie' Nuunsday, Captain of Auror Squad Number 23, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Directly after returning from a questionable mission to Stonehenge...
Possible Death Eater Captured
After hearing strange reports on the actions of famous seeker of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team, Victor Krum, the Ministry of Magic has taken him into their custody for questioning on the grounds of possible suspicious activity of, but not limited to, the smuggling of illegal magical items into the country...
Harry furiously slapped the Daily Prophet down on the table with a humorless chortle of irony. "Have you seen the paper? Guess who the Ministry arrested this time!"
Hermione and Ron looked up from their breakfasts. "Who?"
"Victor Krum!"
Hermione's eyes widened and Ron looked taken aback.
"Krum?" He asked incredulously. "What makes them think he's a Death Eater?"
"Sounds like Quidditch rivalry to me." Remus Lupin spoke up from the other end of the table, eyeing his own issue of the Prophet.
Hermione frowned. "No one would really go so far as to call him a Death Eater, though, would they? I mean, really..."
Ron had snatched away Harry's paper to look at it. "This is ridiculous! They already canceled most of the big Quidditch games— why even bother?"
Harry just shook his head. "It seems the Ministry is getting bolder and more desperate with its accusations every day."
Hermione scowled. "They should really be worrying about people like Lucius Malfoy; remember, he escaped from Azkaban just a couple weeks ago? I haven't heard anything about any progress as to recapturing him ever since the day they announced he escaped! And here they are, arresting Victor Krum because he might be a Death Eater!"
"Well, at least the Ministry's good for something." A voice said gruffly from the doorway.
Everyone looked up to see Mad-Eye Moody stumping into the kitchen, with a tired-looking Tonks behind him.
Remus smiled— more for Tonks than for Moody. "I was wondering when you two would get back. How did it go?"
"Werewolves!" Moody crowed, moody as ever with a sleepless night now behind him. "The place is guarded, I tell ya!"
Annoyance flashed across Tonks' face. "I don't think that's what it was— and there was only one."
"Well, what else could it be?" Moody snapped, thumping across the room.
Tonks shrugged, looking at Remus. "I think it was at least half human... but there was no moon last night."
Remus frowned. "It gave you trouble?"
"What did it look like?" Hermione piped up, hoping she might recognize the creature by description.
Tonks shrugged herself into a seat next to Lupin. "It was white, had big ears, and a tail. All white fur."
"A werewolf!" Moody repeated.
"It was humanoid?" Remus's frown deepened.
Tonks nodded; Hermione racked her brains.
"Well, anyway," Harry cut in, "Did you find anything?"
Tonks shook her head. "Sorry, Harry, all we found was that white creature— and it set us on a wild goose chase all around the woods, too."
"I say it was guarding something." Moody said, "It was leading us away from something, I bet."
"It's possible..." Remus said, sipping at his morning tea.
"Well, why don't we go back tonight? But with all of us this time— because it could still be there, the white thing might be guarding it..."
"Harry, it's a small possibility that one of the Horcruxes is in those woods. It was just a rather desperate guess..." Hermione said.
"Well, how do you explain the white guard thing?" Harry replied. "We can't afford to take chances and just go the easy way! We should be looking everywhere, the Horcruxes could be almost anywhere!"
"Alright! We'll set out tonight!" Remus said quickly, for they had all had to endure Harry's speeches often enough. "But until then— Tonks, Moody, why don't you get some rest? You've had a hard night."
"But that white thing— was there anything peculiar about it? Any distinguishing traits?" Hermione jumped up from the table to follow Tonks out the door. "Surely, there must be something more you can tell me... I bet I could find it in one of the books in the library..."
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A/N: Short, again, I know. I also know this wasn't a very satisfying chapter. But I prefer short chapters with frequent updates to long chapters and no updates, don't you? Anyways, I'm already working on the next chapter, and that will be a fun one, believe me. (Lots of Draco in the next chapter! Yay!)