This is in two parts, since nineteen pages were too much for the site. scowl
August 1995.
"It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."
"P-Professor Lupin? Is that you?"
Dumbledore was seething. Remus had never seen him so angry before. Everybody tiptoed around him, not daring to anger him any further. Mundungus Fletcher, who had left Harry because of a 'lucrative business deal', as he called it, had fallen from grace and was almost bodily thrown out of the house (only to return very timidly a few days later - everybody knew how useful he could be).
It was fortunate that both Kingsley and Arthur Weasley had been working overtime when the attack happened. They had got the news mere minutes after it had happened and were able to react quickly. They had send a message to Dumbledore straight away, using the Order's way of contacting in case of emergencies for the first time and within five minutes after hearing the news, Arthur had been able to send a message to Harry that he was to stay where he was. The Order's reaction was so fast they could almost send it in the same envelope as the Ministry's message.
Leaving Kingsley and Dumbledore to sort everything out - someone from the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office was hardly useful in this matter - Arthur had gone to Grimmauld Place as fast as he could to break the news to everybody there.
Sirius had nearly exploded.
Only Remus insistence that they wait for Dumbledore kept his friend from hitting Mundungus and throwing him out. Not only had Sirius once again been unable to keep Harry safe, but he had been attacked by Dementors too. It was a bit of irony Sirius didn't appreciate at all.
Through some impressive persuading, Dumbledore had managed to turn Harry's certain expulsion into a to-be-decided one, as he let them know. Sirius had demanded and got an owl, which he used to send a letter to Harry, telling his Godson to stay put. He had had a harder time convincing himself to do so, and he had remained fidgety until Dumbledore and Kingsley arrived, a few hours later. The meeting wasn't pleasant for Mundungus.
There are all kinds of poetic ways of describing the state Dumbledore was in. He could be breathing fire, looking daggers, or feel anger boiling inside him. The truth was simply that he felt ready to kill Mundungus.
And it wasn't even just because Harry had been in danger, although that did made up the main part of it. But the head of the Order of the Phoenix also felt betrayed and, to a certain extend, ridiculed because he had put his trust in someone who turned out to be not so trustworthy. Harry hadn't be so safe as he had hoped. And although he was nearly too ashamed to admit it, and at this moment to angry to do so, he was taking his anger with himself out on Mundungus too. Poor man. Poor Mundungus, that is.
After about ten minutes, Remus began feeling sorry for the crook. As he had noticed so many years ago when Sirius had 'introduced' Snape to the Wolf, a genuinely angry Dumbledore doesn't shout. He just gets really pissed off. Combined with a sense of sarcasm to rival Snape's (who would've thought, indeed) and his fingers twitching to grab his wand, everybody present was forcefully reminded why this seemingly frail old man was the only person Voldemort ever feared. When you've seen Dumbledore really angry, you just don't want to piss him off again.
Making it worse for Dung was that he'd lost one of his allies. Sirius didn't try and interrupt Dumbledore - he didn't dare to anyway - but he was obviously agreeing with everything the man said, looking ready to trample whatever Dumbledore left of Dung.
Mundungus had to endure thirty minutes of Angry Dumbledore, and no doubt it was one of the longest half-hour of his life so far. After that, he was told to leave, which he did rather gladly.
Dumbledore sat down at the kitchen table. His eyes were still blazing and he was being eyed carefully by the people around him.
"Could I have something to drink?" he asked, forcing himself to get calm. Without asking what he wanted, Sirius poured him a goblet of Firewhiskey. Dumbledore took it without objection.
A tense silence followed.
Remus did his best to avoid Sirius' eyes. His friend was about as angry as Dumbledore, if not more so. His entire expression seemed to say 'I told you so.'
It wasn't until Dumbledore had finished his Firewhiskey (and he had been drinking very slowly) that Arthur Weasley spoke.
"What are we going to do now?"
Dumbledore hesitated. Everybody always said that the Headmaster of Hogwarts knew how to fix everything, but only few knew that it was largely due to a great talent for improvisation. Most of his great solutions were made up on the spot.
"We do nothing," he said finally.
"What?" Sirius couldn't contain himself. "Nothing?"
"Indeed, nothing," Dumbledore repeated. He got to his feet, and, being about two inches taller than Sirius even, this was a rather impressive move. "There is nothing we can do at the moment. Harry... Harry will not be expelled, his wand has not been taken and he is still where he should be. We have bought some very valuable time, which we need to decide our next move."
Sirius opened his mouth to protest but Remus called him to order. The last thing they needed was another row about Harry. Sirius grudgingly obeyed his friend.
"I will go back to the Ministry now," Dumbledore announced, "and see what can be done to help Harry at that Hearing." And without another word, he walked out of the kitchen.
"We need to get Harry out of there."
That was the general opinion of the people living in 12 Grimmauld Place the following days. Started by Sirius but fervently supported by Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley, nearly the entire Order tried to talk Dumbledore into bringing Harry to the Head Quarters.
"Because," as Sirius stated, "he's been there for more than a month, he hasn't heard anything from us, it would be much easier to go to the Ministry's Hearing from here, and I think it's proven by now that Privet Drive isn't that safe either." That last argument didn't seem to sit that well with Dumbledore, but he eventually had to agree. Although Remus had a feeling he had been agreeing with them all along, but was just taking his time to make up a plan to get Harry to London.
Sirius was ecstatic. Finally something that went his way! He immediately began making arrangements for Harry to sleep and even dared suggest himself going to Surrey. That, however, was something Dumbledore would not allow. His reminder that Sirius was to stay inside put a damper on Sirius' excitement and he calmed down considerably.
Perhaps it was a good thing too that Sirius wasn't allowed to come, because the group who'd volunteered was very large anyway. Dumbledore had imagined it to be a rather quiet affair, not too many people, just flying in and out in fifteen minutes at the most. Mad-Eye Moody had agreed with him; draw as little attention as possible.
But the prospect of actually meeting Harry Potter, Harry Potter, in person was too good to resist. Nearly the entire Order applied and Remus frequently heard members say that they were sorry they had guard duty in the Ministry or other business to attend to, else they would've tried to come too. Snape was almost a relief: he merely scowled at the suggestion.
By the end of it, they managed to tone it down to nine people. Moody was to come, of course - he would hardly trust anyone else. Kingsley came too, together with Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Elphias Doge, Sturgis Podmore and Nymphadora Tonks. Remus had a feeling Moody wasn't too happy with having her around but she had been eager for the job, and her being an Auror had made her better to have around, Moody thought, than the others who wanted to come. He was never really sure whether non-Aurors could be depended on.
Remus was to come too. He was the only person who Harry knew and trusted, and who could be sure that it was actually Harry and not, as Moody had explained, an impostor. At the last moment the group was also joined by Dedalus Diggle, so that with Harry they would be an even ten.
The whole operation was carefully planned. They were to go on brooms. They would set out at sunset on August the sixth. Tonks had sent a letter to the Dursleys to get them out of the house (she had had great fun making up an excuse) and if everything went well, the Advance Guard, as they called themselves, were to arrive a few minutes after the Dursleys had left. Tonks had chosen a place that, what with the Dursleys arriving there, seeing that they had been fooled and going back again, they would have about half an hour. Enough time to rush in, get Harry and get on their way back to London. The entire routine was repeated so often to the Guard that Remus could dream it.
Thankfully, August the sixth had a relatively clear evening. There were clouds, but they were not hanging too low and they would see anything dangerous coming from about a mile distance. Moody was repeating this to the Guard and everybody gathered in the kitchen to see them off. Remus paid no attention; he had heard it all before. He was standing slightly away from the crowd, with Sirius, putting on his gloves. It was going to be cold up there.
"Do be careful," Sirius warned. Remus smiled.
"Sirius, when Harry's on a broom, there's nothing to be worried around. You should actually be more anxious about me not being able to keep up with him."
Sirius' trademark grin appeared on his face. If anything, this told Remus how excited his friend was.
"Of course, I didn't count on this kind of situations when I bought him his broom," he said.
"Well, you should have," Remus joked. "He's a teenager, you should have been prepared for anything."
"'I´ll keep it in mind for your children," Sirius said.
"Make that yours. Mine will undoubtedly be good ones, but yours..." He sighed dramatically.
"Of course, the Moony-genes can't be ruled out. Your children will be little Moony's running around, or, more likely, sitting around reading books."
"And yours will be little maniacs carting about on tricycles, dreaming about flying motorbikes," Remus said.
"And I wouldn't accept anything else," came Sirius' reply, sounding almost proudly.
"Is everybody ready?" Kingsley said loudly. The murmur died away instantly.
"I would like to go over the procedure once more - " Moody began, but he was met with protest. "Perhaps not," he continued somewhat chagrined. "Now then. We are to fly off in a minute, arriving in Surrey in slightly less than thirty minutes. If the Dursleys have left, we will go in, pick Potter up, go outside again and get back. You all know your appointed place on the way back to London; do not leave it. Always keep an eye out, constant vigilance is of importance! We do not know what we can meet, for all we know our plans could have been leaked to the enemy."
"Really Moody, whoever could've done that?" Tonks said. "Hardly anybody knows of it."
Moody muttered something about always being watchful, you never knew what could happen, the Dark Lord and his followers were very shrewd -
"Can we go now?" Hestia Jones asked.
"Yes, let's," Kingsley interrupted the still-muttering Moody. "Come on, outside."
Sirius grabbed Remus' shoulder. "Good luck."
"Thanks. If Snape gets here before I get back, keep him alive."
Sirius scowled. "I'll try, but only because you asked."
The Advance Guard walked out of the house, quietly being wished good luck by the rest of the Order gathered in the hall. It was suddenly silent when Kingsley shut the door.
The nine gathered on the patch of grass in the middle of the Place. Moody couldn't help himself, he went over everybody's assigned places once more. They all mounted their brooms and were off at Moody's signal.
Despite Moody's dark predictions, everything went smoothly. There wasn't an enemy in sight and the journey took even less time than they'd thought. They silently landed in the Dursleys' back garden and dismounted their brooms. Everything around them was quiet.
"First stage of the operation completed," whispered Moody. "Now we must get in and get the package."
"Package?" giggled Tonks. Remus smiled at her reaction and Moody's military talk.
"Hush," said Kingsley softly. "We can leave the brooms here, I think - it won't take that long." The nine wizards carefully laid their brooms on a row near one of the Dursley's hedges. Someone who was just casually passing by would probably not notice them, but a more observant person certainly would. They did have to be quick.
Kingsley unlocked the door with a simple alohomora, and they walked into the house single-file. Remus looked curiously around him as he went in, aware that Sirius was probably going to ask him every detail of the house Harry grew up in.
From what he could see, the Dursleys were decent people. That was it, actually. Just decent. He really had no idea what else to call them; the house turned out to be about as dull as its inhabitants. There were the requisite photos on the mantle piece, the sofas grouped around a TV, the kitchen utensils carefully stored away and the plants well looked-after. But there was no life in the house. It was like a house in a museum.
"Oh, I hope they haven't taken Harry with them," Tonks said, suddenly anxious.
"I don't - "Remus began. He had wanted to say that he didn't think the Dursleys would have done that, judging by what Ron and Hermione had told him, but right at that moment Tonks, who had picked up a plate from the table to examine it, accidentally let it slip. She tried to catch it but failed. The crash made everybody jump.
Moody, not the most relaxed person in the group anyway, immediately had his wand out and was looking around to see who was attacking them. Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance were giggling more because of shock than of humour. Kingsley glared at Tonks, who looked utterly embarrassed and quickly repaired the plate with a wave of her wand.
"Really," the tall Auror said, "this was all about silence and not getting noticed. And you go around breaking things!"
"Sorry," she said. Remus raised a hand to silence her.
"I heard something." Indeed, something - or more likely someone - was moving upstairs.
"What is it?" Moody asked, still suspicious.
Remus smiled. "Harry, I think." He immediately got the attention of the entire group.
"Let's go and get him then, shall we not," Moody said.
Because nobody wanted to be left behind in the kitchen, the nine all walked into the hall. Dedalus Diggle was excitedly whispering the tale of him meeting Harry several years ago to Elphias Doge until Moody told him to cut it out.
Harry was standing on the top of the stairs.
Remus couldn't help himself - he smiled broadly. Seeing Harry again was almost like... well, like seeing a dear old relative again. Not James, exactly, but close. As was to be expected of Harry, he had his wand out and pointed, a bit uncertainly, at the group, ready for anything.
"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," Moody broke the silence. He started Harry, Remus could see that.
"Professor Moody?" he said.
"I don't know so much about "Professor"," Moody said. Tonks rolled her eyes at Kingsley and silently said "blahblahblah." Moody did not see this because he had both eyes on Harry. "Never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."
Harry did lower his wand slightly but still seemed on his guard. Remus decided to take the matter in hands.
"It's al right, Harry. We've come to take you away."
Harry was now really surprised, Remus was sure of it. "P-Professor Lupin?" he stuttered. "Is that you?"
"Why are we all standing in the dark?" Tonks interrupted. "Lumos." The hall suddenly bathed in light, making them all squint their eyes because it was so bright.
Remus smiled even more broadly when he saw Harry, looking, from what he could judge, quite well. The boy was standing on the head of the stairs, his wand still in his hand. He was dressed in a shirt and jeans, and his hair was - as usual - on end. The expression on his face was very close to shock. Further examination, however, was interrupted by the other members of the Advance Guard breathing down his neck.
"Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would," Tonks said excitedly. "Wotcher, Harry!"
"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," came Kingsley's calm voice, "- he looks exactly like James." Remus smiled at this. Kingsley was the one to know - as the Auror in charge of the search for Sirius Black, he had looked through dozens of photos with Sirius and James.
"Except the eyes," came Elphias Doge. "Lily's eyes." Elphias had known both Potters, having been in the original Order. It was the reason why he had asked to pick up Harry.
"Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" Moody interrupted, still suspicious. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"
"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Remus asked calmly. It was a question only a handful of people knew the answer to.
"A stag," said Harry, sounding a bit unsure.
"That's him, Mad-Eye," said Remus, smiling. Moody scowled a bit.
Harry made to walk down the stairs, absentmindedly stuffing his wand in his back-pocket.
"Don't put your wand there, boy!" roared Moody. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" That was Tonks, of course.
"Never you mind," Moody seemed to avoid the subject. "You just keep your wand out of your back pocket! Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it any more," he muttered as he limped to the kitchen. "And I saw that," he snapped at Tonks, who had been rolling her eyes.
Remus ignored them. Harry had arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Remus held out his hand, which Harry shook, still looking shaken.
"How are you?" Remus asked, studying Harry carefully.
"F-fine," Harry said. Remus had no reason to believe this was not true. Although he looked slightly pale, Harry seemed fine otherwise. He had grown several inches since Remus last saw him up close, and they were now about as tall. Harry had lost the last childish features he had had at almost-fourteen and had turned into a teenager, tall and gangly and with a deeper voice. He took after his father, Remus noticed, except, indeed, the eyes.
Harry was looking uncomfortably around at the people staring avidly at him. "I'm - you're really lucky the Dursleys are out ..." he mumbled.
"Lucky, ha!" laughed Tonks. "It was me who lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now... or they think they are."
This seemed to amuse Harry for a few seconds. "We are leaving, aren't we?" he asked, sounding urgent. "Soon?"
"Almost at once," Remus told him, "we're just waiting for the all-clear." Other members of the Order were keeping an eye out for them.
"Where are we going? The Burrow?"
"Not The Burrow, no," Remus said. He had been told about the Weasley's home. He motioned Harry to follow him into the kitchen, followed closely by the rest of the Guard, while he went on, "too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere un-detectable. It's taken a while..."
Moody was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking from his hip flask. His eye was spinning around in his head, looking around at the Dursleys' kitchen. Remus thought it time for introductions.
"This is Alastor Moody, Harry," he said, indicating the man.
"Yeah, I know," Harry said.
"And this is Nymphadora -"
"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," Tonks shivered, as he had expected. "It's Tonks."
"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," Remus smiled.
"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora," muttered Tonks darkly.
"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Remus went on. Kingsley bowed. "Elphias Doge -"Elphias nodded courteously. "Dedalus Diggle -"
"We've met before," squeaked Dedalus for the fifth time that evening. He was so excited that he dropped his violet top hat.
"Emmeline Vance." Emmeline nodded. "Sturgis Podmore." A wink. "And Hestia Jones." Hestia waved, leaning against the kitchen sink next to the toaster. Harry nodded awkwardly to them. He didn't seem to like all the attention.
"A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you," Remus said, fighting back a grin. He had a hard time at it.
"Yeah, well, the more the better," said Moody cheerful as ever. "We're your guard, Potter."
"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," Remus told the boy. He looked out of the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."
"Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" said Tonks conversationally. She was looking interestedly around. "My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"
"Er - yeah," said Harry, unsure what to do with this comment and deciding to ignore it all together. "Look -"he turned to Remus, sounding almost accusingly, "what's going on, I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vol-?"
Just the first syllable made more than half of the Guard jump. Hestia Jones hissed, Tonks' hand shook, nearly dropping a glass, and Dedalus Diggle once again dropped his hat.
"Shut up!" Moody growled.
"What?" said Harry.
"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," Moody reprimanded. He tried to look at Harry but only managed to turn one eye on the boy. His other was stuck facing the ceiling. "Damn it," he said. He reached for the eye. "It keeps getting stuck - ever since that scum wore it." He wedged his fingernails in his eyesocket and plopped the eye out. Everybody flinched.
"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" said Tonks. Moody ignored her.
"Get me a glass of water, would you, Harry."
Harry did so. The members of the Guard who had not seen Harry so closely before - in other words, everybody except Remus - were watching him as though somebody filling a glass with water was the most fascinating thing ever.
"Cheers," said Moody. He plumped the eye in the water and swirled it around. it was a disgusting sight. "I want three hundred and sixty degrees visibility on the return journey," Moody said determinedly.
"How're we getting - wherever we're going?" Harry asked.
"Brooms," Remus told him. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorised Portkey." Not to mention Kingsley's and Tonks' jobs.
"Remus says you're a good flyer," Kingsley said to Harry.
"He's excellent," Remus said. He was looking at his watch and therefore missed Harry's small smile. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."
"I'll come and help you," Tonks announced. The two disappeared upstairs.
As soon as they were gone, the rest began discussing Harry.
"He looks all right," Kingsley noted.
"It is startling, though," Elphias said. "James, but with Lily's eyes."
"And has he really lived here all his life?" Hestia wanted to know.
"Dumbledore thought it the best," Moody growled. He had put his eye back in and it was spinning around.
"Blimey, look at this," came Sturgis Podmore. He was looking curiously at the microwave. "Look." He pressed a button and the machine bleeped and started zooming. Kingsley rolled his eyes and came to stand next to his colleague.
Remus ignored them all. He had taken a quill, a bottle of ink and a sheet of parchment and envelope. He sat down to write a letter to the Dursleys. Apart from Dumbledore asking him to, he felt morally obliged, heavy as that may sound.
Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley,
Please do not be worried when you find your nephew not at home. We - that is to say, a few of his friends - have come to pick him up. It was thought better, especially after recent events. You can trust that Harry will be well looked-after and that he will be safe. We will get him on the train to school, so you won't have to take the trouble. You will of course be able to welcome your nephew again next summer.
Kind regards,
Remus Lupin.
Remus read the letter over a few times. The tone was rather stiff and over-polite, but it had been difficult. What does one write to people one hardly knows except from negative stories?
Tonks and Harry came stomping down the stairs as he was sealing the letter. "Excellent," he said. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry -"
"They won't,' said Harry matter-of-factly.
"- that you're safe -"
"That'll just depress them."
"- and you'll see them next summer," Remus finished dispiritedly. It was like talking to a depressed Sirus.
"Do I have to?"
Exactly like it. Remus smiled but didn't answer.
"Come here, boy," came Moody's voice. "I need to Disillusion you."
"You need to what?" said Harry.
"Disillusionment Charm," said Moody, raising his wand. "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go -"
Moody whacked Harry on the head. A few seconds later, Harry's body had taken on the colours of the kitchen.
"Nice one, Moody," Tonks complimented. Remus noticed her hair was now pink.
"Come on," Moody said. He unlocked the door and walked out, followed by the rest. Remus made sure once more that the letter was in clear view on the kitchen table. Elphias closed the door and locked it again.
"Clear night," Moody muttered as they all picked up their brooms. Harry had his Firebolt in his hand, being eyed jealously by some, although others seemed to take it as a matter of course: he was Harry Potter, of course he had a first-rate broom.
"Could've done with a bit more cloud cover," Moody went on. "Right, you," he said to Harry. He seemed glad to have a new one to command about. "We're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed - "
"Is that likely?" Harry asked nervously. Moody pretended not to have heard him.
"- the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."
"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he'll think we're not taking this seriously," Tonks joked. She'd strapped Harry's trunk and his owl's cage to her Comet Two Sixty.
"I'm just telling the boy the plan," Moody huffed. "Our job's to deliver him safely to Headquarters and if we die in the attempt - "
"No one's going to die," Kingsley's calm voice comforted them all.
"Mount your brooms," Remus interrupted. He had been watching the sky carefully, looking for a shower of red wand-sparks. "That's the first signal!" They all did as he told them and waited for the shower of green sparks.
"Second signal, let's go!"
They kicked off, Tonks first, followed closely by Harry. He nearly caught up with her but remembered to fly behind her. Moody followed them while Remus took position under them. This was perfectly fine with him - the lower to the ground, the better. The rest of the Guard was circling around them, constantly looking around. Remus scanned the ground, though there was hardly anything to see except darkness and little lights. He hadn't counted on Moody's magical eye, though. "Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" the ex-Auror shouted suddenly.
Tonks swerved to the left, followed by the rest. Remus merely did as he was told - it proved nearly impossible to keep his eyes on both the people above him and the ground under him, and he decided to just mind the latter.
"We need more height..." Moody said. "Give it another quarter of a mile!" They immediately soared upwards. Remus was extremely happy that he had remembered to put on gloves - it was freezing up here.
"Bearing south!" shouted Moody. "Town ahead!" They neatly flew around the huge group of lights.
"Bear south-east and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" came Moody's next order.
"We're not going through clouds!" shouted Tonks over her shoulder, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!" She was wording what everybody was thinking.
Moody had to give in, although he did keep making them altering their course, sometimes even flying back and taking another route. Remus occasionally glanced upwards to see if Harry was still above him; listening wasn't an option with this wind, even with his ears.
With Moody's evasive flying, it took them nearly forty-five minutes before they reached London. Remus could see a vast collection of lights, more a bit shining blanket than a mass of individual lights.
"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody announced.
"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?" Tonks screamed furiously. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!" And indeed, they nearly were. Only half a mile to go.
"Time to start the descent!" Remus shouted upwards. "Follow Tonks, Harry!" He dived towards the mass of lights. As they got nearer to the city, the lights grew until Remus could make out individual windows and cars. They were, however, heading for one of the darker spots of the city: Grimmauld Place.
"Here we go!" came Tonks' voice from above. Remus landed, happy to have his feet on the ground, and Tonks came down only seconds after him. She immediately began unbuckling Harry's trunk, clumsily because of her cold fingers.
Harry landed right behind her. He looked around curiously.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Remus shushed him. "In a minute."
The rest of the Guard had now landed too. They were huddled together on the Place, forming a protective circle around Harry. Moody was rummaging about in his pocket until he took out a silver object - Dumbledore's Put-Outer. "Got it," he muttered. He clicked it several times until all the streetlamps were extinguished.
"Borrowed it from Dumbledore," Moody explained, pocketing the Put-Outer again. "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see? Now come on, quick." He took Harry roughly by the arm and pushed rather than led him onto the pavement. Remus and Tonks took Harry's trunk and followed, clumsily walking with the handle of the trunk in one hand and their brooms in the other. The others had their wands out, guarding them.
Moody thrust a piece of parchment to Harry. "Here." He held his wand close to it so that Harry could read it. "Read quickly and memorise."
Harry did so. Remus knew what the parchment said; it was the password to the Headquarters.
"What's the Order of the -?" Harry began curiously, but Moody silenced him.
"Not here, boy!" he snarled. "Wait till we're inside!" He harshly took the bit of parchment again and set fire to it, dropping the burning pieces onto the pavement until it was completely gone. Harry had watched this with amazement.
"But where's -?" he tried again.
"Think about what you've just memorised," Remus hinted, much kinder than Moody.
Harry had clearly done so, because Remus had barely said it and the House appeared in all it's dark, forgotten glory.
"Come on, hurry," Moody growled, not wanting to loose any time. He pushed Harry towards the stone steps. Remus quickly came to stand next to him and tapped the door with his wand. Sirius had changed the lock, so that everybody who was living in the house was able to open the door instead of anybody from the Black family. Remus had felt strangely proud, the first time he'd unlocked the lock.
The door opened with loud creaking, too loud for the Guard's taste.
"Get in quick, Harry," Remus told the boy, "but don't go far inside and don't touch anything."
Harry stepped into the house.
The Guard filed in after him, cluttering uncertainly in the dark. Tonks and Remus stumbled into the hall with the trunk and the owl-cage. Moody lit the streetlamps again, then closed the door. There was complete darkness, and the only sound was that of the old building and the breathing of ten people in the dark.
"Here," Moody whispered. Remus heard a distinct "toc!" as Moody hit Harry with his wand. "Now stay still, everyone," the former Auror continued, "while I give us a bit of light in here." He walked towards one of the old gas lamps, seeing perfectly with his magical eye, and tapped it. Hissing and sputtering, the lamps lit, casting a flickering light on the hallway.
A door opened on the other end of the hall, and Molly Weasley appeared. She beamed when she saw Harry and quickly walked towards him. "Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" she whispered. She hugged him tightly, then inspected him at arms-length in that typically motherly fashion. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid." She then turned to the others: "he's just arrived, the meeting's started."
Good news. Everybody smiled and murmured interestedly. Tonks and Remus carefully stored Harry's trunk and cage against the wall, so that nobody would trip over it, then followed the others to the other end of the hall, to the kitchen. Harry made to follow him, but Mrs Weasley held him back.
"No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order." Remus didn't hear how the conversation went on because the kitchen door was closed behind him and Sirius positively jumped on him.
"Finally," he said. "How's Harry?"
"Perfectly all right," Remus replied, peeling off his gloves, coat and scarf. "What a welcome. Can I have something to drink?"
"Certainly," Sirius said, taking his friend's coat and hanging it on a peg. He seemed restless. "What would you like?"
"Something warm," Remus shivered. "It was freezing up there. I could make bad comments about Eskimo summers instead of Indian summers."
Sirius laughed and handed Remus a goblet of warm wine. "He's upstairs now, I presume?"
"Yes, Molly's probably led him to his room. Or your room. Or whatever."
"Both," Sirius said. "My casa es su casa, except with rooms."
"I'll just assume," came a sneer from the table, "that you mean mi alcoba es su alcoba."
"If you like," said Sirius stiffly. Snape smirked.
The Potions Master was sitting on one end of the table, surrounded by scrolls and lengths of parchment. He looked exceedingly well and almost cheerful; perhaps he was one of those people who thrived in dangerous times. Or it had something to do with Sirius' situation.
He nodded curtly to Remus, mainly to acknowledge the other man's presence. Remus nodded back.
"I see you have kept him alive," he said in an undertone to Sirius. Sirius scowled.
"Only because killing him would've brought me into more trouble." He added, a bit more cheerfully: "but he only needs to stay alive physically, right?"
Remus rolled his eyes and ignored this comment. It wasn't worth answering.
Molly came back into the kitchen and everybody took a seat. The meeting could begin.
It was a bit unusual that Dumbledore wasn't there. Normally, the head of the Order would take matters in hand, leading the group. He had, however, decided to stay out of Harry's presence at the moment. It had to do with Voldemort. Dumbledore had reasons to suspect that the Dark Lord was trying to control Harry, to, if possible, possess him. The first person he would go for was, of course, Dumbledore. Once he was gone, the Order would be without a leader and Voldemort would practically have free reign. Dumbledore wanted to avoid this risk, even if it meant avoiding Harry. He had left very detailed instructions, however, on what he wanted to know from everybody.
They took turns. First the Advance Guard. Moody related the entire event to the rest of the Order, and it was generally agreed that things couldn't have gone better. Then Arthur told them what was happening at the Ministry and what he had heard. He was supplemented by his son, Bill, and by Kingsley and Tonks, who all said that general opinion was that Dumbledore was an old fool and that Harry was lying. Fudge wasn't very co-operative either. Third were the ones who had been looking for new members of the Order. Elphias Doge was the spokesperson for this group. As he said, it could have been better but they had been able to secure the good-will of several people, which was, in this short time and with the contrary opinion of the Ministry, more than they had hoped for.
Finally, there came the news they had all been waiting for.
Snape knew it, of course. He knew that he was now the most important person in the assembled group, that they were all dying to know what he had to tell, and he relished in it. All this picking up Harry, keeping an eye on the Ministry and recruiting was all insignificant to the main question: what was Voldemort doing? And Snape was the only one who knew. Needless to say, it annoyed Sirius to no end.
Snape dropped the bombshell right away. "He knows how to kill Potter."
Remus immediately grabbed Sirius by the shoulder to stop him from lunging at Snape. The others showed similar signs of shock (except that they didn't want to take it out on Snape).
"That is to say," Snape said, calmly, "he knows about the prophecy, and where to find it."
"How?" Sirius bit.
"One of his servants turned out to have a good memory." Snape cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "I believe his name was... Wormtail?"
"How is he going to get to the prophecy?" Remus asked sharply, still holding Sirius back.
Snape took one of the scrolls and unrolled it. It was a map of the Department of Mysteries, where important prophecies were stored. The prophecy they were talking about, was one made by Sybill Trelawney, concerning Harry and Voldemort. "Obviously," Snape said, "the Dark Lord can't walk into the Ministry himself, seeing as how many obstacles and people he'd have to pass." He followed the route on the map with one thin finger. "He isn't so foolish as to risk that."
"But the Death Eaters - "Kingsley said. Snape nodded.
"Indeed, but the Death Eaters. The prophecies will undoubtedly be guarded..." He trailed off, looking at Moody for confirmation.
"Undoubtedly," Moody said, "but unfortunately even the guards are guarded. Only those working at the Department of Mysteries know." Snape's lips thinned with annoyance.
"Right," he said. "Then there's no chance of us getting there before they do."
"I think the prophecy will be safer there anyway," Bill said.
"Nevertheless, we ought to prevent them from getting it, and Voldemort from hearing the final prophecy."
There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobody wanted to admit it, but secretly everybody wanted to know what the prophecy really was about, what it said exactly. Dumbledore knew, but he wasn't telling anyone. Sirius knew too, but he remained as tight-lipped. Remus only knew the gist of it but not the exact wording. The rest only knew that 'it was about Harry and Voldemort and how to destroy them'.
"We will set up sentries at the entrance to the Department of Mysteries," Kingsley said. "We won't have to watch Privet Drive anymore anyway."
They all agreed with this plan and immediately drafted a first version of a schedule. After this, there was nothing left to say, so Snape made to leave. He never stayed longer than was necessary, and Sirius didn't bother to try and make him. Molly went upstairs to tell the children that the meeting was over while the rest had some last-minute discussions. They then went up the small staircase to the hall, lowering their voices to whispers.
Remus and Sirius were the last in the single-file line. Sirius was trying to stay as far away from Snape as possible, looking darkly at the Potions Master annex spy.
"Git," he muttered.
"Pretty useful git, though," Remus noted. Sirius snorted.
They gathered near the door, watching Snape fastening his cloak and telling Kingsley what to report to Dumbledore. Sirius still sulked.
Remus was only half listening to what the rest was saying, when his attention was suddenly drawn by voices from upstairs. He looked at the old staircase, and saw, not really surprisingly, the children leaning over the banister, trying to hear what the grown-ups were saying. They didn't notice Remus looking.
Only seconds later, however, the front door opened and more than half of the Order left. Sirius went down to the kitchen again, to wake Dung up (he'd fallen asleep halfway through the report of the Advance Guard and had therefore missed all the exciting news) while Remus, Tonks and Molly carefully locked the door. It was a complicated task.
"We're eating down in the kitchen," Molly whispered to the children, who'd arrived down the stairs when they'd just finished. They began walking down the hall. "Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall it's through this door here -"
Tonks spectacularly walked into the umbrella stand and crashed down.
"Tonks!" Molly nearly shouted.
"I'm sorry!" Tonks cried from the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over -"The rest of her words were drowned in Mrs Black's unearthly screaming.
They all reflexively clamped their hands over their ears. The curtains which were usually securely drawn over her portrait flew apart, revealing the portrait. She rolled her eyes dramatically, still holding on that high-pitched screaming. To make matters worse, the other portraits woke up too and joined her screaming, making the noise deafening.
Remus thought his head would burst. He ran forward, together with Molly, and tried to draw the curtains shut, forcing himself to ignore the noise, which was all the worse so close to the portrait. Mrs Black tried to claw at their faces, but luckily she was only a portrait and she couldn't reach them. She could insult them, though.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness!" she shrieked. "Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers -"
Molly gave up on forcing the curtains shut and began stunning the other portraits, gradually making the noise less and less deafening. Remus was unsure what to do now, but then Sirius arrived.
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared, which wasn't really working. His mother paled.
"Yoooou!" she screamed. "'Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"
"I said - shut - UP!" Sirius shouted again. Remus gestured for him to get a move on, and they drew the curtains shut together. The screaming died away, and for a moment Remus thought he had gone deaf after all, it was so silent.
Sirius turned to his Godson. "Hello, Harry," he said grimly, "I see you've met my mother."
Harry seemed thunder-struck. "Your -?"
"My dear old mum, yeah," said Sirius. "We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."
"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, as they all went down to the kitchen.
"Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house," Sirius explained. "But I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters - about the only useful thing I've been able to do." Remus frowned at his friend's bitter tone.
Arthur Weasley and Bill were still discussing something over the map. Arthur looked up as they came in. "Harry! Good to see you!" He shook Harry's hand.
"Journey all right, Harry?" Bill added in the conversation, meanwhile trying to gather all twelve scrolls at once. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"
"He tried," Tonks answered for Harry. She stepped forward to help Bill and immediately upended a candle on the map. "Oh no - sorry -"
"Here, dear," Molly sighed, and she cleaned the candle away. She stuffed the map on the load of scrolls in her son's arms. "'This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," she said sharply. She then went to make dinner as Bill cleaned everything away and the rest sat down.
"Sit down, Harry," Sirius invited. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"
The mention of his name woke Dung up. "Some'n say m'name?" he muttered, stilll half asleep. "I 'gree with Sirius..." He sleepily raised his hand.
"The meeting's over, Dung," Sirius told him. "Harry's arrived."
"Eh?" said Mundungus. He tried to focus his eyes on the boy. "Blimey, so 'e 'as. Yeah... you all right, 'Arry?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
"Owe you a 'pology," Dung mumbled. As he had lit his pipe and was obscured by a big cloud of greenish smoke, this was quite a strange experience.
"For the last time, Mundungus," said Molly, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"
"Ah," said Dung. "Right. Sorry, Molly." He stuffed his pipe in his pocket. Remus wondered whether Dung would be on fire before the end of the evening.
"And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand," Molly continued. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey."
"What can I do, Molly?" Tonks nearly skipped to the kitchen sink. Molly eyed her apprehensively. "
Er - no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today."
"No, no, I want to help!" Tonks insisted. Molly spluttered, but she let Tonks get the vegetables. At least they didn't break after falling down. They, Hermione and the other Weasley children were soon busy with making dinner. The rest remained at the table. Sirius was happily looking at Harry, having his godson finally near him. Harry was talking to Dung.
"Seen old Figgy since?" Dung asked.
"No," Harry answered, "I haven't seen anyone."
"See, I wouldn't 'ave left," Dung pleaded, "but I 'ad a business opportunity -"He seemed anxious not to upset Harry too, like Dumbledore. Harry smiled forgivingly at him.
Hermione's red cat jumped on Sirius' lap, and he scratched it behind the ears with a bony hand. "Had a good summer so far?" he asked of Harry.
"No, it's been lousy," said Harry matter-of-factly.
Sirius grinned. "Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."
"What?" Harry said. Remus gave his friend a warning look, but of course Sirius ignored him.
"Personally, I'd have welcomed a Dementor attack," he went on. "A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights... I've been stuck inside for a month."
"How come?" asked Harry.
"Because the Ministry of Magic's still after me, and Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now, Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless." Sirius sighed. "There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix... or so Dumbledore feels," he added gloomily.
"At least you've known what's been going on," Harry said encouragingly.
"Oh yeah," Sirius said sarcastically. "Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time... asking me how the cleanings going -"
"What cleaning?" asked Harry.
"Trying to make this place fit for human habitation," said Sirius. He indicated the kitchen and the entire house. "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist - hasn't cleaned anything in ages."
"Sirius," interrupted Dung, holding one of the goblets Ginny had put on the table. "This solid silver, mate?"
"Yes," said Sirius coolly, eyeing the goblet with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."
"That'd come orf, though," was Dung's expert opinion. He rubbed the goblet with his sleeve. The conversation about silver goblets reminded Remus that he hadn't got his own cutlery, the one without silver, yet, and he got off his chair to get it.
"Fred - George - NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Molly shouted, making them all jump.
Fred and George had their wands out and pointed towards a cauldron with stew, a flagon with butterbeer and a breadboard flying towards the table. But instead of them going slowly and controlled, they hurtled through the air. The cauldron crashed on the table, barely keeping from falling off, the flagon spilled its contents everywhere and the bread knife would have impaled Sirius' hand had he not withdrawn it seconds before.
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Molly screamed. "THERE WAS NO NEED - I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS - JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"
"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" Fred said apologetically. He wrenched the knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate - didn't mean to -"Sirius, being typically himself, was laughing, just as Harry. Dung swore as he got up again; his chair had toppled over.
"Boys," Arthur said, "your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age -"
"None of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Molly scolded. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy -"She stopped dead in the middle of her sentence. There was a tense silence in the room.
"Let's eat," said Bill quickly. Everybody agreed, and they sat down.
"It looks wonderful, Molly," Remus complimented. He ladled stew on a plate and handed it to her, then passed the cauldron on.
Nobody talked for a few minutes, they were too busy eating. Finally, the tension eased away and the talking began.
Remus kept half an ear on Sirius, just in case anything was upsetting him again. Snape had the tendency to make it easier to upset Sirius. However, as Fred and George were sitting between them, he had no real chance of interfering.
Arthur and Bill had come to talk of goblins. Bill knew a great deal about these creatures, having worked closely with them in Egypt. Dumbledore was trying to get the goblins on their side and had put Bill in charge of that. Arthur had just asked his son how things were going.
"Not too smoothly," Bill said. "The problem with goblins is that they're incredibly evasive, especially towards humans. Understandably so, of course."
"Yes, given the fact that we wizards have been exploiting them for centuries," Arthur nodded. "But what are they saying so far?"
"They're not giving anything away yet," said Bill. "I still can't work out whether or not they believe he's back. Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it."
"I'm sure they'd never go over to You-Know-Who," said Arthur decidedly. "They've suffered losses too; remember that goblin family he murdered last time, somewhere near Nottingham?"
"I think it depends what they're offered," said Remus thoughtfully. "And I'm not talking about gold. If they're offered the freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted. Have you still not had any luck with Ragnok, Bill?"
"He's feeling pretty anti-wizard at the moment," said Bill, "he hasn't stopped raging about the Bagman business, he reckons the Ministry did a cover-up, those goblins never got their gold from him, you know -"
The conversation was paused for a moment because of a shout of laughter next to them. The twins, Ron and Dung appeared very amused over something. Something concerning toads Dung stole.
"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," Molly bit.
"Beg pardon, Molly," Dung said. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong."
"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons," said Molly coldly.
"Right," Bill said, glancing at his father. Arthur decided to make no comment, but picked up the conversation again.
About an hour later, they'd gone from discussion goblins to Quidditch. Everybody was feeling comfortably sleepy.
"Nearly time for bed, I think," Molly yawned.
"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius came in. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."
Of course, Remus thought. Leave it to Sirius to start talking about that. He put his goblet back on the table, ready to restrain Sirius if he got too enthusiastic.
"I did!" said Harry. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so -"
"And they're quite right," said Molly sharply. "You're too young."
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. He sounded calm, but Remus knew better. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen -"
"Hang on!" interrupted George.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" his twin added.
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!"
""You're too young, you're not in the Order,'" Fred imitated his mother. 'Harry's not even of age!'
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius calmly, "that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand -"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Molly snapped. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" The tone of Sirius' voice was now definitely tense.
"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," said Molly.
Sirius' eyes narrowed. "I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly," he said. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to -"
"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Molly said hotly. "He's only fifteen and -"
"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," said Sirius, "and more than some."
"No one's denying what he's done!" Molly snapped. "But he's still -"
"He's not a child!" said Sirius.
"He's not an adult either!" said Molly. "He's not James, Sirius!"
Remus did a sharp intake of breath. He was sure Sirius was going to snap at this. But no, his friend stayed calm - relatively speaking.
"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."
"I'm not sure you are!" Molly said. "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked.
"What's wrong, Harry -," she said, still looking fixedly at Sirius. She was really talking to him, and not to Harry. "- is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him! You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" said Sirius hotly. Remus very much wanted to interfere, but the argument went too fast.
"Meaning you have been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and -"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" said Sirius loudly.
"Arthur!" said Molly, going for the last resort. "Arthur, back me up!"
Arthur took his time. He carefully cleaned his glasses first, before saying: "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in, to a certain extent, now that he is staying at Headquarters."
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"
Remus took his chance. "Personally," he said quietly, carefully, "I think it better that Harry gets the facts - "Molly opened her mouth to protest, "not all the facts, Molly but the general picture - from us, rather than a garbled version from... others." He knew that the twins had their own way of finding things out. Very resourceful, very... Marauder.
"Well," Molly said, trying to calm herself. "Well... I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart -"
"He's not your son," said Sirius. Remus wanted to put his face in his hands. Sirius just couldn't stop arguing, could he?
"He's as good as," Molly rose to the bait. "Who else has he got?"
"He's got me!"
"Yes," she said. Remus suddenly noticed that her expression was scarily close to Snape's. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Sirius couldn't contain himself any longer. He got out of his chair, an angry scowl on his face.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," Remus interrupted, nearly getting up too. "Sirius, sit down." Amazingly enough, Sirius did so.
"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," Remus added, "he's old enough to decide for himself."
Of course: "I want to know what's been going on," said Harry decidedly.
"Very well," Molly said, breathing through her nose. "Ginny - Ron - Hermione - Fred - George - I want you out of this kitchen, now."
This order was not greeted with enthusiasm.
"We're of age!" Fred and George immediately said.
"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" came Ron.
"Mum, I want to hear!" was his sister's plead.
"NO!" Their mother was inexorable. "I absolutely forbid -"
"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," Arthur sighed. "They are of age."
"They're still at school."
"But they're legally adults now," Arthur said in a tone that suggested he didn't like it. Molly didn't seem to like it either.
"I - oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron -"
"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!" said Ron quickly. "Won't - won't you?"
"Course I will," Harry said. Hermione and Ron beamed. Molly now looked really angry.
"Fine!" she shouted. "Fine! Ginny - BED!"
"What?" the youngest Weasley shouted. But there was nothing to be done. Protesting and scolding, Ginny was shooed out of the kitchen, stamping her way up the stairs. Her raging woke Mrs Black up. Sirius sighed and gestured to Remus in a silent 'could you..?' Remus nodded and went upstairs, to the noise, trying to ignore the 'abomination! Filth!'-comments thrown at him.
The kitchen was oddly silent when he returned. Sirius waited until Remus had sat down, before he said: "OK, Harry ... what do you want to know?"
End of part one.