Consequences

By Neurotica

Twelve

The night following the dementor attack on Hogsmeade Village, Dumbledore arranged a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. It was time the others met the person who would be giving them information on Lord Voldemort for the duration of the war. During the first war, when Severus Snape started to spy for the Order, Dumbledore's primary concern had been to keep Snape safe—that meant keeping him secret from the rest of the Order. Even when news of Voldemort's plans for the Potters was broken to the Headmaster, Snape's identity had remained a secret.

The new Order was far less trusting of outsiders these days, and with good reason. For months, it was presumed that Percy Weasley had been giving information on the Order to the other side. Though Percy was not a member of the Order, and was not aware of many of the internal workings of the operation, he could have easily betrayed the names of those inside Number Twelve on any given occasion; thus, giving Voldemort more information than any of them were comfortable with.

Percy's betrayal affected more than just his parents; the other Order members learned all too quickly how war can change outlooks on lives. Some of them knew, of course; Sirius Black knew all too well how Lord Voldemort could manipulate impressionable minds. He'd lost two best friends to the Death Eaters' ranks.

With a small pop, Albus Dumbledore appeared in the front lawn of where Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place would appear in moments. He reached into his midnight blue robes and pulled out his infamous Put-Outer. With a dozen clicks of the cigarette lighter-looking contraption, the street was dark, and he waited.

He didn't have to wait long though; his old, sharp eyes could see her shape appear at the end of the street. She'd followed his instructions perfectly, and was wearing a long black cloak with a hood to conceal her identity for the time being. She approached quickly and whispered a nervous hello. He smiled back reassuringly and barely audibly, whispered, "The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."

She nodded once, closed her eyes tightly, and opened them again a moment or so later. He led her silently to the front step, tapped his wand on the door once, and entered the house. She entered first and waited for him to send the lights taken by his Put-Outer back to their lampposts. He gently led her by her arm through the dark house, towards the kitchen.

Sirius hadn't said a word since he'd returned from Hogwarts the night before. No, that wasn't exactly true; he'd muttered to Kingsley and Emmeline that he'd failed as a godfather... They, of course, told him he'd done no such thing, that he was the best thing to ever happen to Harry, but neither was sure he'd been listening.

The entire Order had arrived thirty minutes before, and was now awaiting the arrival of their leader. As they talked amongst themselves, a low buzzing of conversation filling the room until the door to the basement kitchen opened. All eyes immediately snapped to the top of the stairs where Dumbledore slowly descended and nodded hello to them.

"Good evening," he said softly. "I thank you all for coming tonight. This war has taken many unfortunate twists and turns in the last months, and there will be more unforeseen occurrences before it has ended. And it is time for us to up the stakes, as they say.

"Lord Voldemort has many plans for the direction he wishes this war to take. You are all aware of Severus Snape's role for our cause, and I think it time we have another contact in the enemy ranks. Since September, one of Voldemort's followers has been very stealthily sending me information. Through her, whether you have been aware of it or not, many terrible things have been averted. She has been reluctant to come to Order meetings since she's started passing along information, but I have convinced her to join us tonight.

"Those of you who were members of the Order during the first way may remember her. She has made mistakes in the past, and she has realized those mistakes. I want you all to know that I trust her as I trust any of you. She has proven herself to me as you all have in your own ways." He paused and looked to the top of the stairs. Though they hadn't seen it when Dumbledore arrived, they could now see a shadow just outside the door, shifting nervously. "You may join us now," Dumbledore said quietly to the shadow.

Kingsley nudged Sirius in the shoulder, waiting for his friend to look away from the spot on the table he'd been staring at for forty-five minutes. The black Auror nodded towards the staircase when his boss finally looked at him.

Slowly, Naomi entered the kitchen. The hood of her cloak still covered her head, but they both knew it was her. She stood beside Dumbledore, receiving curious, suspicious looks for those sitting around the table. She reached up with long fingers and lowered her hood, averting her hazel eyes so she didn't have to look at those who already knew her. None of them knew she'd become a Death Eater just before the Dark Lord fell; Sirius had only found out a few months before.

Sirius stared at her in confusion. He hadn't been listening to anything Dumbledore said since "good evening," and couldn't understand what the hell Naomi was doing in Order Headquarters. Dumbledore conjured a chair for her at the end of the table and motioned for her to take a seat next to Emmeline Vance. Sirius raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore for his choice in seating arrangements, but the headmaster looked away, his eyes twinkling.

Emmeline sat in an empty classroom at Hogwarts the next afternoon waiting for her pupil to arrive. The room had been hand-picked and charmed by Dumbledore for its seclusion on the seventh floor—it was just down the hall from the Room of Requirement.

A bell sounded throughout the school, signaling the end of classes for the day. Harry had been instructed by Minerva McGonagall to meet Emmeline before going to Gryffindor Tower or doing anything else. The boy's Occlumency lessons were to be kept secret from anybody outside the Order of the Phoenix or Harry's group of friends. Though it hadn't been said aloud yet, the Slytherin House was a threat to Hogwarts and its students. Whether those in Slytherin presently had joined Voldemort while they were in school or not, chances were high that most of them would after graduation. Sirius told her one night that he'd gone through the Death Eater files at the Ministry and nearly all of the Slytherins that were in their years at Hogwarts now had the Dark Mark.

Narcissa Malfoy (then Black) had been in Emmeline's year. Though Emmeline never saw her as a real threat then, she'd gone on to marry Lucius Malfoy, Lord Voldemort's second-in-command, as Naomi informed them at the Order meeting the night before. Emmeline was willing to bet anything she owned that their son would follow in his father's footsteps, from what she'd heard of him. If Draco Malfoy heard that Harry Potter was learning to block his mind from the Dark Lord... Emmeline tried not to think of the ways Voldemort could harm Harry.

The boy hadn't had a single dream since his poisoning, Sirius had told her. She desperately hoped she was helping with Occlumency. While they were hiking in France, Remus had told her about some of the dreams Harry had had since he came to live with his guardians. Remus and Sirius did everything they could think of to end the dreams—potions seemed to be their favorite cure—and still they couldn't save Harry from the pain of Voldemort's visions.

There was a hesitant knock at the door, and Emmeline called for him to enter. "Hello, Harry." Her smile faded as she took in his appearance. He looked more troubled than usual—which was saying something—and as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while. "You okay?" she asked as he deposited his schoolbag on one of the desks.

"Fine," he said. "You?"

She nodded slowly. "Not bad." She had an idea of what was eating at him, but would not bring it up. It wasn't her place, and if he wanted to talk about it, he would. "Well, let's get started, then," she said briskly. "I'm sure you're anxious to start on Lockhart's assignments," she added with a grin.

He smiled weakly. "Sure."

"Okay, since it's been a while since your last lesson, I thought we'd run through the basics again. You do well at blocking your mind, but it definitely doesn't hurt to freshen up your skills," she said, trying to capture his otherwise occupied mind. "Alright, Harry, let's start. Now that you're back in school, it's no longer illegal for you to use magic to defend yourself from mental invasion, but don't take out your wand just yet; first we're going to work without wands."

Harry stood from the desk he'd sat at and readied himself.

"On three, then. One... two... three... Legilimens!" Emmeline cried.

Though she hadn't tried hard, she easily broke through Harry's barriers almost immediately. Flashes of his worst memories flew before her eyes and he did nothing to stop it. When she was able to break free of his thoughts—his mind was unusually strong—both of them were sweating and panting heavily.

"You... all right... Harry?" she panted, pushing herself from the floor and rubbing her elbow.

Harry was doubled over. "Yeah..." he breathed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Time for a break already, I think. Here have some chocolate," she said, picking up a bar of Honeyduke's finest from another desk and handing half to him. They sat in the desks, munching on their chocolate for a few moments.

"Lesson two, Harry, and probably the most important," she began. He looked over at her. "Occlumency is hard to do when your mind is preoccupied with other things. If you're dwelling on things that have upset you, whoever is trying to break through your mind's barriers will see those bad thoughts, as well. You've got to let go of your feelings and emotions in order to be successful with this. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry said, no longer looking at her.

Emmeline sighed. "Another go, then."

They both stood again, and again, Emmeline easily broke into Harry's mind. She saw snatches of the fight he and Sirius had a few nights before; she felt his heavy remorse for what he'd done to Sirius. Emmeline pulled away from his thoughts. Again, he was doubled over, his elbows resting on his knees, his face buried in his hands. But this time, it wasn't from exhaustion.

"Harry," she said softly.

"How is he?" he asked, standing shakily.

Emmeline hesitated. "Harry, I don't think I—"

"Look, you're closer to him that I am right now, and I've got no one else to ask," he said quietly.

Emmeline nodded. "He's not doing too well at the moment, Harry," she admitted. Harry looked down to the floor, biting his lip. "I know it's not my place to say this, but you really hurt him the other night."

"I know," he said. "I didn't mean..."

Emmeline smiled slightly as he fumbled over his words. "Most times, we don't mean the things we say to hurt those we love."

Harry snorted humorlessly. "You sound like Dumbledore," he muttered.

"What can I say? He's a hero of mine." She smirked. "Without getting too deep into Muggle psychology, some of the things we say... We may not want to say them, or even to think them, but somewhere deep down, there's something telling us we do mean them to some extent."

"You know Muggle psychology?" he asked curiously.

Emmeline nodded. "I'm pureblooded, but I was very interested in Muggles as a child. Odd, I know... But I took Muggle studies in school for four years, and after the first war, I studied at Cambridge for a few months." Harry surprised her by chuckling. "What?" she asked with a smile.

"Does Remus know this?" he asked, a grin forming on his face.

"Yes, Remus knows I studied at Cambridge. What's that got anything to do with it?'

Harry shrugged and shook his head. "Nothing at all," he said, still grinning.

"You're as bad as Sirius," she muttered with a smile. Harry's grin faded. "You and Sirius will be okay. Just give it some time."

Harry nodded pensively. "Hey, Emmeline, can I ask you something?" he said hesitantly.

"Sure," she replied kindly.

"The other night... Sirius said the searches for Remus stopped... Is that true?"

Emmeline sighed heavily. "It's true. Harry, we've done everything we could do. He's just... nowhere..."

Harry looked to his feet as if they would reassure him that Remus was okay. "So you've all just given up on him? Just like that?"

"It wasn't done that easily, Harry," she assured him. "We thought Sirius was going to murder Dumbledore for only suggesting it, and he wasn't the only one... It's been almost three months, though, and as much as I don't want to admit it... I just don't see how he could have survived. Especially after the full moons," she said quietly, every word costing her something painful to admit. When she spoke again, she felt as if she had a head cold. "You should probably get to dinner, eh? We can finish our lesson another day."

Harry nodded in understanding. He silently stood from the desk, picked up his school bag, and started to leave the room. Before he left, he turned in time to see Emmeline wipe her eyes on her robe. "Thanks, Emmeline... For, you know, listening."

"Anytime, Harry."

Kingsley and Tonks sat alone in the kitchen of Number Twelve. Molly and Arthur had gone to bed early—a habit they'd formed after learning of Percy—and Sirius hadn't been seen since the three Aurors returned from the Ministry.

The two were looking over a large map that covered the entire kitchen table. It had been used to chart attacks by the Death Eaters in hopes of somehow discovering a pattern or something.

"Kingsley, look at this," Tonks said quietly, pointing at something on the map. The wizard stood from his end of the table and went to Tonks, placing an arm on either side of her. "There seems to be an area with absolutely nothing on it. Here, in the Albanian forest. It's saying nothing's happened there, but that doesn't make sense... That's where the werewolf colonies were slaughtered."

Kingsley looked at the dots surrounding the forest, forming a circle, but none within the trees. There should have been large red dots at either end of the circle marking where the werewolves were attacked. "Do we know what else was in that circle... besides werewolves, I mean?" he asked, examining the area closer.

"No," Tonks answered. "I tried to zoom in, but it won't let me..."

"Hmm..." Kingsley muttered. He straightened up and reached across the table for his wand.

The map, designed by Remus and Sirius, was supposed to allow the viewer to zoom in on any location with one tap of a qualified wand. Once zoomed in on an area, details would appear about the location. It was inspired by the Marauders Map, and some of the Order members were working to improve it—they hoped to charm the map to show all the members of the Order and their locations, just like the Marauder's Map did for Hogwarts.

"What's wrong with this thing?" Kingsley muttered, tapping the circle in Albania that showed nothing but trees.

"Does this map show Number Twelve?" Tonks asked, more to herself. She moved around the table to examine London and tapping the map with her wand. "Yes, it does..." she said, answering her own question.

"Maybe... Kingsley said thoughtfully, "the only reason it shows us Number Twelve is because we know its here. Maybe there's something in Albania with the Fidelius Charm over it..."

"But why?" she asked, staring at Kingsley.

Harry entered the Great Hall and spotted his friends at the Gryffindor table. He silently sat between Ron and Ginny and started scooping macaroni and cheese and roast beef onto his plate. He patiently answered Hermione's questions about his Occlumency lesson without telling anyone what he'd discussed with Emmeline—he was still digesting the information himself. Hermione forgot about her meal as she grilled Harry for details of the lessons—how it felt, what happened afterwards. Sensing that Harry didn't feel like answering, Ron called a passing first year Hufflepuff girl a midget. The girl looked at him like she was going to cry, and Hermione immediately started to berate Ron, taking her attention away from Harry. Beside him, Ginny chuckled into her pumpkin juice, and Harry grinned weakly at her.

Harry quickly found that he wasn't hungry tonight; actually, he hadn't eaten since the Halloween feast three nights previous. The small amount of chocolate Emmeline had given him at his Occlumency lesson had nearly made him ill. He tried to eat a few bites of roast beef off his plate, but it tasted bland.

He needed to write to Sirius, to talk to him. He'd attempted to reach his godfather on the two-way mirrors, but he hadn't answered. It was the first time ever that Sirius hadn't answered Harry's calls. Sirius wouldn't just cut Harry off; maybe his godfather was just busy with work...

Harry shook his head. Emmeline told him Sirius wasn't doing too well at the moment... but what did that mean? He knew he'd hurt Sirius deeply with what he said in the hospital wing. It was a well-known fact that Sirius Black's life revolved around Harry James Potter. No one besides Remus could claim to love Harry as much as Sirius did.

"I'm going to the Owlery," Harry said to Ginny, pushing his plate away from him.

"Do you want some company?" she asked quietly.

Harry shook his head. "No, I need to write Sirius," he muttered. She smiled in understanding and told him she'd cover with Ron and Hermione for him—the two of them were still arguing about the treatment of the younger students.

Harry left the Great Hall quickly. He could feel the eyes of Dumbledore and Mad-Eye on him, following his progress. He was almost convinced the Headmaster had two magical eyes to Mad-Eye's one. There always seemed to be more to Dumbledore than he let on to anybody. Remus had told him numerable times that Albus Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard to ever live. Harry knew many things about Dumbledore's greatness—his ability to see through Invisibility Cloaks, how he always seemed to know what people were thinking, and how he loved lemon drops.

"Harry, wait up!" Ginny called from behind him.

He stopped and let her catch up and they silently walked down the corridors to the Owlery together. Just as they were about to turn their last corner, another voice called out to Harry. "Not lost are you, Potter?" the voice sneered.

Harry's jaw clenched as he turned to face Draco Malfoy. Carefully, he reached into his robes for his wand. "What do you want?" he asked coldly, instinctively stepping in front of Ginny.

Malfoy smirked. "Just to talk, Potter."

"Yeah? Okay, let's talk. So how's your dad, Malfoy? My godfather says he's living off rats these days. Is that true?" Harry asked in mock-concern. "That can't be healthy."

"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy snapped, his eyes narrowing. "You're godfather is useless. They should send him back to Azkaban where he belongs." In a split-second, two wands were pointed between Malfoy's eyes. Harry glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Ginny just beside him. "Touchy subject, Potter?" Malfoy went on quietly. "What about your pet werewolf? I hear he was the one who slaughtered those two colonies in Albania."

Before Harry or Ginny could think of a good enough spell to use on Malfoy, a white light filled the corridor, nearly blinding all three students. When the light faded, Ginny looked down and started to laugh uncontrollably.

"What?" Harry asked. She couldn't answer; she was leaning on him for support, but she pointed down. At their feet was a white ferret with cold, wide, grey eyes, curled up on the stone floor, trembling.

"That oughta teach him to talk about things he don't know about," Mad-Eye Moody growled, stepping out from behind a wall.