Chapter 54
Two Orders, One Goal
Message from J.M. Jackson: I know it's been a few weeks since the last update, and for that, I am sorry. Life has been… very difficult on a personal level, thanks to the grief of the loss of my beautiful fur baby, as well as depression, plus November is trying to destroy my childhood. First, the loss of Kevin Conroy, who was my favourite Batman, and now Jason David Frank, the original Green Power Ranger, has left this world. It feels like the world just wants this month to go badly, and I won't let it, so I am sorry for the delay, and right now, I'm publishing two chapters to catch up, and I hope to get posting once a week. In the meantime, I hope you like the chapters.
Over the next few weeks, Lily spent time learning about cooking and cleaning with magic from Molly Weasley, knowing how important the spells would be. Whilst she knew not everyone would want to learn the spells, they would be useful.
The biggest shock of the summer holidays wasn't the way the Daily Prophet was treating Lily, or how the ministry was acting, but rather, the news that came one morning whilst everyone was having breakfast.
The daily owls arrived, with a letter for Ron, and one for Hermione. As Lily was reading the Prophet, she dropped it when she heard a screech from Hermione from the living room.
"Hermione, what is it?" Lily asked as she entered the room.
"I… but this…" Hermione seemed to be stuttering. Lily went to her, and saw a badge on the floor, which had the letter P on it. Lily looked at the letter, and grinned. Hermione had been named a Prefect.
"Congratulations, Hermione," Lily congratulated her with a hug.
"No, this… but you… I… how…" Hermione seemed to stutter.
"Fleur, your girlfriend's broken," Lily called out, causing Fleur to come racing into the room.
"Hermione?" Fleur asked, looking at her.
"She just got named Prefect," Lily explained. Fleur grinned and hugged Hermione, who returned the hug.
"It should have been you, Lily," Hermione finally said. Lily chuckled.
"Please, you absolutely deserve it," Lily said, as Molly and Ron came into the living room.
"Have you heard? Ron's been named Prefect," Molly exclaimed.
"So has Hermione," Lily revealed. Molly embraced Hermione in a hug, congratulating her.
Dinner that day was a celebratory event, for the two new Prefects, with Molly buying Ron a new broom. She had gone with Sirius, and returned with a Nimbus 2000, like Lily used to have. Molly hadn't said anything, but from the look of guilt, Lily knew Sirius had chipped in.
After dinner, whilst the table was being cleared, Lily overheard Moody, Sirius, Remus, and Arthur talking.
"Why didn't Dumbledore make Lily a Prefect?" Sirius asked.
"I'd have done so; it'd have shown confidence in the lass," Moody agreed. Lily frowned as she stood near the door, hidden.
"I suppose he must have had his reasons," Remus stated calmly. "We must trust them. We know Albus is having to fight the Ministry as well, with White having appointed Dolores Umbridge as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Yes, well, I did offer to return, but the Minister wouldn't let that happen," Sirius said bitterly.
"I offered as well, lad, since I know Potter is going to need help this year. White's got an agenda, but I'll be damned if I know it," Moody stated.
"So, what do we do? I mean, Alastor, you can use our flat at Hogsmeade if you want, that way you can stay close to the school if there's an emergency," Sirius offered.
"Thanks Sirius, I'll take you up on that," Moody said, with a nod. "What are we gonna do about White?"
"Not sure there is anything we can do, not yet, but Kingsley's looking into it. He'll be giving us a report at the meeting tonight," Remus stated.
"I think Potter should join us for the meeting." Moody suggested
"Absolutely not!" Sirius replied. "She doesn't need to know about this."
"She deserves to know, Sirius, it's her life," Arthur stated.
"And she's my goddaughter, I'll decide what she should and shouldn't know," Sirius said. Lily saw him roll his eyes as Moody smirked. "What?"
"Well, funny you should say that Sirius, when the lass is hiding behind the door," Moody said. Lily froze and closed her eyes; she had forgotten about Moody's eye. She opened them to see Sirius staring at her.
"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" Sirius demanded. Lily decided to just play it straight.
"Eavesdropping, since you don't want to tell me anything about Voldemort or what he's up to, and since it's me he wants to kill, I should know this stuff," Lily said defiantly. She looked into Sirius's eyes, and for one moment, she was afraid she'd crossed a line.
That feeling vanished when Sirius burst into laughter, pulling her into a hug.
"You get more and more like your parents every day. Your dad would have said the same thing. Hell, your mum would have slapped me for trying to hide anything from her," Sirius said, smirking.
"So, I can join this meeting tonight?" Lily asked.
"Yes, and you can be there as leader of the Order of the Dragon," Sirius said.
"Ginny will want to be there, and Ron and Hermione," Lily said.
"I can't say about Ron and Ginny, but Hermione is welcome to. Molly and Arthur will have to decide if they want their kids at the meeting," Sirius said. "Go and tell the others, we meet in an hour."
As Lily sat at the table, she was surprised to see Dumbledore had arrived, as had Snape. She was still a little unsure about Snape, but since finding out that he had loved her mum, Lily had wanted to know more about Snape.
Molly had tried to argue against any of her children joining, but after some persuasion from Arthur, who also pointed out that they were part of the OotD, as well as the fact that Lily wouldn't keep any secrets from them, Molly had agreed. Ginny sat with Lily, holding her hand as she looked at the Order of the Phoenix, with Dumbledore chairing the meeting.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can find on White to suggest he's in league with You-Know-Who, and we can't do or say anything without evidence," Kingsley said.
"Which means we need to be extra careful," Sirius commented. "We need to figure out White's plan and quickly."
"At the moment, I suggest we allow things to play out," Dumbledore stated. "It is likely that we will find more information before too long, especially since he has appointed his Under Secretary to Hogwarts."
"What do we know about her?" Cedric asked, having joined the Order of the Phoenix when he had graduated from Hogwarts.
"She's someone who would be right at home with Voldemort," Remus said. "She drafted some Anti-Werewolf legislation a year ago which makes it harder for me to get a job. She believes in pure blood, and nothing else."
"Great, that makes things fun for Hogwarts," Sirius said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"Sirius," Remus chided softly. "Albus, what does this mean for the Order of the Dragon."
"For the moment, I suggest keeping the group as an After School group. I also suggest a different name, lest we raise suspicion from those we do not want to know of it," Dumbledore said.
"We decided on keeping it as Dumbledore's Army," Lily said. "People who are ready can move up to the OttD, and when they graduate, we were thinking they could join the Order of the Phoenix."
Lily was shocked to see a glimmer of emotion in Dumbledore's eyes.
"I am very touched, Lily," Albus said. "And I agree, that is an excellent idea. I will support your group wholeheartedly."
"Do you have plans in mind, Lily?" Minerva asked, looking at her.
"I have a few in mind. We're going to want to do some… extra defensive studies, but we're also going to handle some other lessons, such as using magic to cook and clean, as well as basic survival skills for after graduation. I know not everyone thinks of those things, and we decided, as a group, that if anyone were to ask, we can say that we're studying just the home economic lessons," Lily said.
"An excellent suggestion, Lily. Albus, I can assist with those sessions. We know that it will be needed for the group to have a sponsor, least the Minister attempt to interfere," Minerva suggested.
"Very well, I shall officially approve the group as Headmaster, so that no one can say it is not an official group," Albus said. "Now, Lily, I know you have many questions, so I shall turn the floor over to you."
"Where is Voldemort? What's he been doing? Since being here, I've been watching the muggle news and reading the Prophet, but there's not really been anything," Lily said, ignoring the winces at the use of the name. "There haven't been any reports of unusual deaths either, as far as I know."
"That's because there haven't been, and we know a lot," Sirius said, smirking.
"More than he thinks we do," Remus added.
"Why has he stopped killing people?" Lily frowned, curious about the change in style.
"I would have thought that would be obvious, Miss Potter," Snape spoke for the first time, with a hint of sarcasm and scorn in his voice. "The Dark Lord does not wish to draw attention to himself."
"He's right. His comeback didn't go as he wanted, because you messed it up," Sirius said proudly.
"I did?" Lily was confused; he had come back, what had gone wrong?
"You survived, Lily, and you weren't meant to," Lupin explained, with a smile.
"Lily, he didn't want anyone but his Death Eaters knowing he was back, but you survived, and Fleur summoned help," Minerva said.
"And Albus knowing was the last thing he wanted," Moody explained.
"Really?" Lily asked.
"You kidding? Professor Dumbledore is the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of," Bill pointed out. Lily looked at Dumbledore, who was blushing.
"You flatter me, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said.
"Just being honest, sir," Bill said.
"Thanks to you, Lily, Professor Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix an hour after Voldemort returned," Sirius said. "Since then, whilst I've been keeping an eye on you, we've all been working as hard as we can to make sure he can't carry out his plans."
"What is he planning?" Ginny asked, looking at Lily. Dumbledore smiled at her.
"Like his first attempt at a takeover, he will need an army, and as such will have been recruiting people. We know people like Lucius Malfoy, Barty Crouch Jr. and Peter Pettigrew are helping with that, and the names you gave us from who you saw helped us know who to monitor," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort is willing to use assistance from other groups, including Werewolves, Giants, and more."
"Such as Dementors?" Lily asked. Dumbledore nodded in confirmation.
"Indeed," he confirmed. "With the Ministry being of the attitude it currently is, however, that is proving difficult."
"Why? I mean, can't I just show my memories or something?" Lily asked, frowning as she felt anger rising through her.
"If Cornelius were still with us, he would have insisted you do so to prove to everyone else, although he would certainly have believed you," Dumbledore replied.
"White is afraid of Dumbledore," Kingsley explained. "Now he's in power, he thinks Albus is plotting to overthrow him, at least that's the best guess we can surmise."
"That's ridiculous!" Lily exclaimed bitterly.
"We know you've rejected the job multiple times, sir," Hermione stated.
"I have. I will always prefer to teach than to lead," Dumbledore agreed.
"Everyone knows how powerful and popular you are, Albus," Minerva stated.
"Again, I am flattered and touched, Minerva," Albus said, chuckling.
"So White's trying to discredit you, so it looks like you're just crazy?" Lily asked. Dumbledore laughed softly.
"To many, Lily, I am crazy. I suppose it comes with the age. Also, the Ministry has not had to cope with trouble the likes of which Lord Voldemort can bring for fourteen years, and no one wishes to risk that. However, this does provide us with an advantage, as we can work quickly to stop his plans, before he makes them known," Dumbledore explained.
"That's not exactly a fair trade off though, sir," Lily stated. "I mean, you get called crazy, and I heard you were removed from the Wizengamot?"
"I will only be concerned if they remove me from the Chocolate Frog cards; I rather enjoy those," Dumbledore said, with his usual, charming smile. Everyone around the table laughed at the joke.
"There are, of course, rumours and stories of Voldemort's return," Remus said. "However, the Ministry, who was asked about this, insists that there is nothing to fear since he isn't back, and they're leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet to not report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's ramblings and attempts of lunacy, so most of the Wizarding Community are completely unaware of what's going on, which makes them easy targets for Death Eaters, especially if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"We've convinced a few people, but we have to be careful, otherwise Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry, as would Percy. It's very important to have spies inside the Ministry, since we know Voldemort has them," Sirius said.
"Is Percy on our side then?" Lily asked.
"He is; however, that's not the public view," Arthur said. "Percy suggested that he and I have a public argument, and he leave the house, to see if the Minister would see that as a chance to try and break us all apart. He was promoted at work and is now the Junior Assistant to the Minister. Whilst he was doing well in the Department of Magical International Cooperation, Minister White said he wanted someone a little more experienced in the role, but offered Percy a job in his own office, and a pay rise. So, Percy is saying that we argued, and he isn't talking to us. We communicate as best we can though."
"That has to be difficult," Lily said softly.
"We know he loves us, and we love him. We're proud of him," Molly said, smiling weakly. "And it won't be forever. We'll have him back soon."
"Whilst he's recruiting, we also know that getting new followers is only one part of his plan," Sirius said.
"What else is he after?" Lily was confused. "I mean, he gets enough followers, then he can attack, right?"
"That's what he thought last time," Arthur said.
"There is something else he wants," Snape spoke up for the second time in the meeting. Lily had almost forgotten he was there. "Something he didn't have before."
"A new weapon," Bill added.
"Sirius, I think we should end it there," Albus said. "This is not information that you should have at this time."
"Why not?" Lily demanded.
"Lily, he's right. We tell you more, we might as well induct you into the Order, and no, we're not doing that," Sirius cut her off before she could speak. "I think you've heard enough for now, so I'd say it's time for bed, all of you."
"Yes, Uncle Sirius," Lily agreed, recognising both the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice. That meant he wouldn't allow any argument or debate on the subject. As Lily went up the stairs, followed by Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George, Lily wondered what the weapon could be. Was it her? Or was it something else? She didn't know, but she'd find out, one way or the other.