The trouble with Fudge and the Order of the Phoenix…
Their first class that morning was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Fudge, the new teacher at the school, wasn't very popular among the students. He was known for his pompous manner, though he was quite young. Fudge seemed as though he would be better suited for politics, rather than teaching the students how to defend themselves.
James groaned as he looked at his timetable.
"I can't believe they've got that guy teaching us! What was Dumbledore thinking?" he whined. Lily and Sirius clucked sympathetically, as they walked down the halls to Fudge's classroom.
"Oh well, we only have to put up with him for a year." Lily consoled him.
"I think the rest of the school will only have to put with him for a year too." Said Sirius, "He's the defence teacher; when have we ever had one of them who has lasted for more than a year?" the others laughed, reminiscing about some of the jobs previous occupants, including a cat crazy squib and a man old man who was obsessed with muggles.
"True. I just hope that Fudge gets us through exams ok…he doesn't seem to want to admit that there's anything wrong with the world!" Lily argued. It was true. Fudge seemed oddly reluctant to admit that any one of his pupils were in danger, much less himself. Anything to do with Lord Voldermort was treated with the vague wiping away of questions, and he seemed to get nervous a lot, twirling his lime green bowler hat in his hands as he strode across the room superiously.
James raised his hand. "Excuse me sir." He prompted, when failed to acknowledge James wavering limb. "Sir? I was wondering if you could answer a question?"
"Certainly." Fudge said, and then turned his back briskly on James and walked in the opposite direction.
"Sir?" said James, "My question?"
"Oh! I assumed that you had asked it already, and I gave my answer, certainly, but, if you want to ask another then I suppose that that wouldn't be the end of the world." Said Fudge, clearly struggling to buy himself time. He dreaded his lessons with James Potter. The boys flashing hand in the air was a beacon of dread for the teacher, who asked questions of a grave manner. When Cornelius had taken the job, he assumed that it would be a leg up in his career; where he really wanted to be was at the ministry, but, what with all the attacks at present, he felt that it would be best if he took a back seat for now, and see where life took him once the so-called war was over.
So, it was no surprise that James Potter's interrogations about Voldermort and how to defend unforgivable curses and what not put Fudge on the edge, and that it was with dread that he faced the current one.
"Thankyou sir." Said James politely, not wanting to give Fudge an excuse to catch him out for bad manners and avoid his questions. "Now, the daily prophet reported this morning that Voldermort was seen near Cattleburg. How would people know? What does he look like?" Fudge picked his bowler hat back up off the floor, and many other students scurried around, recovering items that were flung aside in shock at the mention of Voldermort's name.
"You know who" reprimanded Fudge angrily, "looks simular to any other man, I would expect. I would not know, I have not seen him. And besides, I don't think that it's best that we talk about him so openly in this class. There could be spies even in this very room, and if he suspects that people in this school are plotting against him then-"
"Plotting against him?" Lily spoke up, "Excuse me for saying so, sir, but this class is Defence Against the Dark Arts Voldermort is a master of the dark arts sir, I think that the very essence of this class is meant to be plotting against him."
"Miss Evans! Kindly do not say his name aloud, I think the entire class would appreciate it, and secondly, I am here to inform you about the types of things out there that you could be faced with, and how to defend yourself. You know who is merely one of these, and I think that if he found out that we had spent a lesson focusing on how to recognise and attack him then-"
"Not a whole lesson!" said Sirius, while James let out a grunt of frustration, and slammed his head on his desk. The rest of the class were looking on with a mixture of excitement and awe. Not many other people would have spoken up to Fudge like that. "James only wanted to know how we would recognise him! It'd be a great look out if we took up the offer to, I don't know, ride of the back of his broom stick, wouldn't it? He could be sitting at the next table in the pub and we wouldn't even know!"
Fudge turned his back to the class and began to write on the board.
"Yes Mr Black, and so I think the lesson here should be not to take lifts from strangers and to never drink in the Hogs head. Now, werewolves." Fudge said, scribbling note on the board. James and Sirius groaned, but James looked livid.
"So much for Defence! That guys an idiot!" James steamed, when they got out of the classroom.
"Calm down James, we can find out some other way…" Lily tried to calm him, but James would not be comforted.
"No Lily! I can't believe it! That guy is so in denial that it's not funny! Do you know what happened the other day? A whole family was killed, all at once, and about a week ago, a dementor took the soul of a six-year-old girl! I mean, it's fine for him! He's got Dumbledore here, protecting him and paying him for it! But he wouldn't last a day in the real world, and thanks to him we might not either!" the corridor that they were in was deserted, and Sirius and Lily gave each other hopeless looks. They couldn't calm James down. They would have to let him keep steaming until it wore off.
"I don't know what Dumbledore playing at! Imagine employing him! HIM! He's hopeless! At least the rest of them knew that there was something wrong! I want to know! I want to know what it's like to be out there, helping! But I'll never be able to this way! What was Dumbledore thinking!" he ranted. Lily and Sirius had frozen.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" came a deep, calm voice from behind James. His eyes widened in shock as he turned around, and found himself face to face with the headmaster.
"Come, I have sometime now, why don't you three have a drink with me in my office. We can talk then Mr Potter, and please, feel free to yell all you want. I am sure that my portraits will appreciate it much more than Madame Pilfer here." A woman in the portrait opposite them nodded appreciatively, and muttered a tiny, "here here."
James nodded, still in shock, and Sirius and Lily followed close behind, nervously. They were exactly scared of Dumbledore, but he gave off an aura that was so calm and collected that it frightened the three. How could a man this composed be the only one that Voldermort ever feared?
"Sugar quills." Dumbledore greeted a stone gargoyle cheerfully, and it sprung aside, revealing a tall, spinning staircase, which he jumped on quite carelessly. The others followed him closely, and they were taken to the top of the staircase, where a large, finely made wooden door stood solemnly. Dumbledore opened it without hesitation. This was obviously his office.
"Take a seat, take a seat." Dumbledore said warmly, gesturing from the three students to three comfy chairs, which sat opposite a rather large and ornate one on the other side of a heavy wooden desk. They didn't take any notice of his at first. They were taking in their surroundings. Dumbledore office rose high above them, with a wonderful glass decorated ceiling, through which light flooded mercifully, dancing on every one of Dumbledore trinkets and gadgets, the most important of which took pride of place on small, spindle legged tables. Massive bookcases rose to the roof, and Fawkes was perched in the corner. Lily whisked over to the bird immediately, and stroked it lightly on the beak, as it gave out a soft, low, musical cry.
Behind Dumbledore desk was a mass of movement and colour, with excited murmurs being issued from the hundred of portraits that adorned this back wall. All the previous headmasters of Hogwarts peered down at the students curiously, and James and Sirius suddenly felt very self-conscious. They had been in McGonagal's office many times, but Dumbledore usually didn't reprimand students. James and Sirius, though they had caused their fair share of trouble over the years, had always fallen short of real mayhem, and Sirius quietly congratulated himself on being here for the first time, under pleasant circumstances.
Once they were done scanning the marvellous room, they took the seats that Dumbledore had offered. The headmaster chuckled at their wonder-filled expressions, and set his hand on the desk in front of him, the fingertips touching lightly.
"How, James, what was it that you wished to talk to me about?" said Dumbledore quietly.
James gulped. He wondered frantically how he was going to complain about Fudge without sounding accusatory. Thankfully, Lily spoke up.
"If you don't mind Professor," said Lily kindly, looking sideways at James and sensing the reason for his silence, "We're quite unhappy with our defence against the dark arts class." Dumbledore hid a smile.
"Is that so, and why," he turned back to James, "why is that?" James, spurred on by the success of the topic, began to rant on about his dislike for Fudge.
"…And he wont admit to anything that has been going on outside the castle! Today he practically told us that if we didn't hitchhike then Voldermort couldn't hurt us!" he yelled Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"Oh, sorry sir, You-Know-Who…"apologised James, incorrectly interpreting Dumbledore's wonder.
"No no!" Dumbledore said, shocked, "Fear of a name only increases fear of a thing itself! I was only shocked that you, dear boy, have shown a great amount of resilience in speaking Voldermort's name aloud. I would have thought that you three, who have been brought up fearing the very sound of it, would have been one of those who whimper when it is said!"
James felt a rush of pride at these words, for he had never received such a compliment from Dumbledore, and so carried on in a much less angry manner to the one he had worn earlier.
"Anyway sir, the thing is, no one knows anything about him! He could be anywhere! We want to know what he looks like, how to stop him, what we can do to help, I mean…you should have known sir. I don't mean to sound rude, but why did you let Fudge teach us this year? Why did he even get the job?" James finished. Dumbledore stared at him.
"He got the job, James, because no one else would take the job. The subject would have had to be closed completely, but Professor Fudge said that he would take up the post." Dumbledore said, but his mind wasn't really on the discussion. He was surveying the three teenagers sitting in front of him with the up most curiosity.
"But Professor…" Sirius spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. He seemed entranced by the strange object close to the desk, emitting slight puffs of smoke, but had been soaking in every word of the conversation.
"Sir, is any one really doing anything? I mean, the ministry's out there, but they can't do very much, none of the students here are being taught real defence, what happens when we leave? Is there anyone out there?" he asked somewhat desperately, "Is anyone brave enough to be on our side anymore?"
Sirius looked into Dumbledore's eyes, and saw something seem to flicker in there, behind the sparking blue. Was it pride? Little did they know, that inside Dumbledore's brain was a waging battle between his heart and this common sense. These three kids could be so useful to the order of the phoenix, but they hadn't left school yet. They wanted to help, they wanted to fight, and nothing that he could say was going to stop them. Wasn't it best that they had the help of people like himself, Alastor and Dodge? He looked from Lily's determined eyes, a dazzling green, to James' darkly resolute brown ones. Sirius stared back at the headmaster, anxiously awaiting an answer, and Dumbledore avoided giving the one that he wished that he could. They were too young. Maybe in a year or two, they would be ready to join the Order, but, for the moment, they would have to bide there time. They would have to continue reading the Prophet hopelessly and feel discouraged every time that they read of more deaths and casualties. They couldn't do anything to help. And so they couldn't know about the Order of the Phoenix. It was much too dangerous for them.
"There are people." Dumbledore started, slowly weighing his words, " Who are doing things. Organizations…" Dumbledore trailed off. He couldn't tell them. He couldn't waste their last year of innocence just because there was a war waging outside the castle walls. "And once you have finished school then you shall be able to learn more about them. Until then…" he trailed off. There was nothing else that he could do…he desperately wanted to help the three sitting in front of him, but anything that he could teach them could be used against them, and they could be put in danger. Dumbledore sighed, and turned slightly. A blinking, glittery light caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A draw in his cabinet was ajar, and something silvery was reflected…
The Pensive"However…" said Dumbledore slowly, looking back into their puzzled faces, "There might be something that I can show the three of you, but it must no leave this room, understand. Anything that I show you cannot reach the ears of anyone else, with the exception, I think, of your friend Remus Lupin. I think that it is safe to say that he is trustworthy." They nodded, excited. Lily was scared as to what Dumbledore could show them. Was it something to do with the heliotrope, or anything else that they had heard in the Three Broomsticks?
Dumbledore walked serenely to the cabinet and drew out of it the pensive. Lily, James and Sirius gasped. The contents of the stone basin Dumbledore had produced was like nothing that they had ever seen before. It seemed to be neither solid nor liquid, and it played with their curiosity shamelessly.
He set it down on the desk before them, his old, and tired featured illuminated by the soft glow of the substance.
" This," said Dumbledore, "Is a pensive. You can use it to deposit thoughts, and then revisit them. It makes it easy to see patterns and connections in events and mysteries, as well as remember the exact happenings of an important situation. And, it helps on occasions like this, when I wish for others to revisit my memories." He added on the end. James looked up at Dumbledore, gapping.
"Sir, when you said 'revisit' did you mean…" Lily began.
"Let me show you, shall I miss Evans?" Dumbledore said. "Now, I want you all to do exactly the same thing that I do. And don't panic. Just follow me."
Dumbledore said, and, without further ado, stuck his head into the mysterious substance. Lily gave a small yelp. Dumbledore was falling, falling through the basin. It wasn't possible. There must be no bottom to it. Lily looked under the table. No, it was all there. Just air where it should be, under the desk. Dumbledore was in the pensive.
"Well, he knew that this was going to happen," said James, once the initial shock had worn off, "I guess we have to follow him." He said it begrudgingly, but looked positively gleeful at the idea of following the greatest wizard in the world down into an unknown substance. It was his idea of a great adventure, and so he plunged his head into the pensive, and dived through it, like the headmaster had before him. James gasped. There was nothing there. He kept on falling, though his body seemed oddly weightless. It was a strange sensation, and one that James was not sure that he liked. It was strange practically flying when there was no broom beneath him.
Back up in the headmaster's office, Sirius and Lily were looking down into the pensive, where their friend had just disappeared.
"Ladies before gentlemen" said Sirius, still looking at where James had disappeared.
"Do you really consider yourself a gentlemen Sirius?" Lily teased. Sirius scoffed, jokingly.
"I don't need that form you Evans, I get enough from Doyle!" he said, nudging her towards the pensive's edge. She looked down into its depths. She could faintly see a scene, in which two figures stood close, in the centre, but it was far away, and hard to see. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she dunked her head into the pensive, and felt herself falling forward, colours rushing pat her as she came closer and closer to the scene at the bottom of the pensive.
Sirius glanced around the room. He gave one last look a to thew portraits above the desk, who stared down at him expectantly.
"See you all later!" he said cheerily, and fell into the pensive, coming closer and closer to the three figures at the bottom of it.
"Wonderful." Said Dumbledore, as though the four of them had just witnessed a particularly great performance by a string quartet. He didn't find it strange at all that they had just fallen into what he told them, was a memory, nor that the way they had fallen was now nothing but a stormy grey sky, through which thunder cracked, and lightning lit up the murky night.
"Yes," he said, "We'll be here in a minute…now, I don't want you to be scared when we come. You should know that no one can see you. This all happened two years ago. You can't affect anything. You're only here to watch."
They looked at each other, confused. Dumbledore led them over to a tree, where they stood at its base. Rain fell around them, but it did not soak them, or even make them feel remotely wet. The rain had fallen two years previous.
"I can hear someone coming." Hissed James. Dumbledore smiled darkly.
"Yes, " he said, in regular tones, "I am on my way."
They were severely puzzled, until Dumbledore stepped out of the cluster of trees and into the open a few metres away. Lily, James and Sirius spun around to face where he had just stood, and where shocked to see that he hadn't moved at all. A further inspection of the other Dumbledore; who was now brushing himself down and emptying his hat of water, told them that he was wearing different hued robes, and, if possible, his face was less lined than the one who was standing behind them.
There was a loud pop, and another figure appeared in the clearing. He was hooded, in black robes, which seemed to hang loosely on his tall, delicate frame.
"James, you wished to know what Lord Voldermort looked like…" Dumbledore said quietly. James stammered, and looked back at the man in the hood. He bent back his head slightly, and a sudden strike of lightening illuminated his distorted face.
He was not like any other person they had ever seen in their life. Now they knew how people could tell that it was Voldermort; there was something inhumane about him that was unmistakable, from his long fingered, spider-like hands, to his flat, murky, snake-like face. There was something reptilian about his skin, and his pointed chin, but if there were to be one distinguishing feature about the man, it was his eyes.
Thin, red slits peered out from underneath the hood. They were the eyes of somebody who has never known love, but they weren't just clod and barren; there was a menacing urgency about them, and James shuddered as he looked into their depths, though he couldn't look away.
"Ah, Tom." Said the wet Dumbledore conversationally. James looked at him inquisitorially, but the present day Dumbledore silenced him with a look.
"Dumbledore." Voldermort greeted back, coldly.
"Would you like to explain to me why you wished to meet me here, with no allies? I'll admit that it was quite risky on my part."
"We both know why we are here Dumbledore." Said Voldermort coldly. "I am going to kill you tonight."
"No Tom, no, I don't think that you are. Do you think that I would come here tonight if I believed that it would be my downfall?" Dumbledore said. Voldermort merely sneered.
"Ignorance Dumbledore." He jeered at the headmaster. His calm expression did not shatter, and Dumbledore did not break the gaze.
"I wish to, once again, apply for the position at your school Dumbledore." He said seriously. Dumbledore actually laughed.
"And why do you think that I would agree to that?" his voice cold now, slicing through night air as cold as the icy droplets of rain. "After all that you have done? I think that the answer to that would have been obvious."
"I can harm the school Dumbledore. You know that. I can have every single one of those students destroyed overnight." Voldermort hissed. Dumbledore's features became grey and stony.
"No Tom, that is impossible. Now, tell me the real reason that you came tonight? Is that all? To blackmail me into letting you take over Hogwarts? Because if it is, then it is not at all up to your usual standards! If you wanted to destroy Hogwarts then you would have done so Tom! But you love that school like you have never loved a person! It isn't fear of me that has stopped you all these years; it is fear of loosing the school! And like it or not Tom, every single one of those students is a part of the school." He roared fiercely over the struggle of thunder.
"Now we know why I decided to come here Dumbledore," roared Tom, "But why are you here?"
The slits of his eyes narrowed so that they were no more than thin, red lines, dividing the murky surface of his pupil.
Voldermort whipped out his wand so fast that it took them a few seconds to realise that he now held the long, thin yew rod in his hand. The memory Dumbledore, however, realised at once, and, just as speedily, had his wand in his hand.
There was electricity running through the old man that James had never seen before. It wasn't menacing, it wasn't sinister, but it was determine, and it was angry.
Voldermort raised his wand, and pointed it at Dumbledore's chest. His eyes flashed for just a moment, and a long, green jet of light burst out of his wand. Dumbledore was unharmed. He disappeared, and appeared seconds later behind Voldermort.
"What was that Tom? I am going to ask you some questions now, questions that I don't think that you would want your friends in the forest to hear…." Said Dumbledore. Voldermort sneered.
"It is not for you to bargain Dumbledore, and it isn't your job to interrogate me. I could kill you in an instant-"
"But you know that I am not the only one out there who is a danger to you Tom-" Dumbledore said, with a hint of humour in his voice. Voldermort cut him off.
"If you are talking about your Order then I don't think that we have anything to worry about." He jeered.
Dumbledore's wand drew higher still.
"I can see that I am to be disappointed by you tonight Tom. I thought perhaps…but clearly I was wrong. My hopes were not high. Goodbye Tom." Dumbledore disappeared with a loud crack, and Lily, James and Sirius caught a glimpse of Voldermort's furious face before they were surrounded in a misty darkness. Next thing that they knew, they were standing back in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was pleased to see that they were not nearly as shaken as a regular student may have been.
"That," he said, resuming his seat behind the desk, "Was my memory, from two years ago. I received an owl from Lord Voldermort asking that I met him. Naturally I met him, though I didn't dare tell the ministry where I was. I don't think very highly of the ministry's desire to rid the world of Voldermort. They wont be the ones to finish him. I told no one where I was going, and I hoped that he would offer some reason, some explanation, or, perhaps, some revelation as to why he has done what he has done. I was foolishly optimistic, but at the time we clung to all hope that was offered. I was sorely disappointed, as you saw, and Tom Riddle merely wanted another chance to take over this school."
"Sir," said James quietly, but with as voice that was strongly determined. Dumbledore nodded for him t continue, "Why do you call him Tom?"
Dumbledore actually smiled at this question. "Tom Riddle is the name that Voldermort used at school. I myself taught him in fact, as did many other teachers here. Professor Slughorn, Kettleby…" Dumbledore trailed off. "I believe that Hagrid even attended school with Tom Riddle."
"But you could have stopped him!" Sirius burst out, "you had the chance, you could have killed him right there!"
"In the middle of nowhere, where no one would see that he was gone? When none of his followers would have known, where none of the innocent lives that he has ruined getting closure? I could have Sirius, it is true, but merely taking his life would not satisfy me. And even if I had tried, Tom Riddle has many means of protection. I think that I am right in saying that pointing a wand and saying the correct incantation could kill him now."
Lily said nothing, and just stared miserably at the table in front of her. She had been hoping that Dumbledore was going to show them something to do with the heliotrope, or show them something that they could do to help.
"But Professor, he said something…your order…what did he mean? You don't have a…" James trailed off, scared to say anything more. Dumbledore smiled at them serenely. He couldn't ask them to join. They were just as young as they had been before they had entered the pensive. But there was no harm in telling them.
"The Order of the Phoenix," he began, "Is a group that have founded, devoted to fighting Voldermort, and, most importantly, discovering his secrets." The student's faces lit up.
"But when can we join!" asked Lily enthusiastically, "I mean, we can join, cant we? I mean, this is exactly what we meant, we want to help!"
Dumbledore shook his head, "I am afraid that there is little that you can do for the Order while you are at school. I hate to say it, but you are too young, all of you. However, if you would like, in a year's time, to still help me, then I think that will be fine. I think, in fact, that it would be wonderful." His mood had changed dramatically. Dumbledore kept a smooth, smiling face while the students were surveying him so intently. He had seen the disappointment in their eyes when he had said that they were too young, though, James thought, it was as he had expected. The thing that worried Dumbledore, however, was the fact that in a year's time would they still be too young? Fresh out of Hogwarts seemed much to junior to be fighting for your life against Voldermort. And the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore was sad to say, didn't have a very high mortality rate.
Lily, James and Sirius nodded, Sirius pouting, James keeping a firm face, and Lily gracefully disappointed.
"Now, if the three of you don't mind then I must ask you to leave. I really wish that I didn't have to, but I do have a meeting with the Minister at five, and the three of you should be getting ready for dinner." They nodded, and moved to the door, thanking Dumbledore as they went.
"Oh, and I don't even have to ask, but I would appreciate it if the contents of our meeting remained between the four of us. And Remus Lupin, if he would care to know." They nodded, grinning, and left Dumbledore's office.
" Too young…" Sirius muttered furiously under his breath, as they walked the familiar track to Griffindore tower.
"Calm down Sirius," said Lily.
"Calm down! I can't calm, down! What does age even-" Sirius continued, but James cut him off.
"That was pretty good of him though, wasn't it? Showing us all that? I don't think he was really meant to. Great guy, Dumbledore. And besides, we are too young. We don't have the qualifications to fight Him." Sirius's face was going red, and Lily knew that something was boiling inside of him that went much deeper than the conversation in Dumbledore's office.
"You don't understand, do you! He doesn't care about age! That's what we're up against! Do you remember Bellatrix? Fifth year when we were in first? We're cousins, ok, and do you know where she is now? She dropped out of this place so that she could fight for Him when she was sixteen! If they don't care then we're a step behind them, they'll always outnumber us! I cant stand it, sitting here, reading the paper every day!"
Lily and James stood there, shocked. They didn't know what to say or do that could console Sirius, who was now breathing heavily and resting his head against a wall.
"Sirius? We do understand, ok? We do. But the only reason that people are dropping out of school to fight for Voldermort id because he doesn't care. It's enough for me that Dumbledore cares enough for our education over his victory. And besides, we've got less than a year left here, and then we're gone. I don't want to give that up." Lily said quietly, laying a hand on Sirius's shoulder. He finally looked up, and they walked in silence back to the Griffindore tower, by which time none of them felt remotely like dinner.