Hey everyone,
So I know I haven't touched this series in the longest time and I do feel kind of bad for that, but my mind hasn't been active on new stuff for the longest time; I blame my four new works that come from the other previews for that. However, new inspiration has hit me like Buckbeak after he's been insulted by Malfoy, so
Let's have fun,
Venquine1990
Preview #15
The Actual Order
18th of June 1996
London, England
Harry's POV
Today is just horrible. It all started with what I thought was my last O.W.L.s exam; history of Magic. The theory test was actually quite boring and the Great Hall had been sweltering hot and therefore I had felt myself drowsing and drifting off, yet the minute I had actually fallen asleep upon my test, the horror had started.
A horrific vision of Sirius being tortured and hurt by Voldemort in the middle of the Ministry for Magic, in one of its deepest part played out in my mind and by the time I woke from it, the image of my godfather writhing in pain was practically the only thing I could still see or think about and my terror had been sky-high.
I had rushed for the Hospital Wing, hoping to get to professor McGonagall in the hopes that she could get a message to the Order, yet the attack on her person when she tried to defend Hagrid had left harder effects on her than even I had expected and the woman had been transferred to St. Mungo's; out of my reach.
Dumbledore, the leader of the Order, was who knows where and I really didn't believe that Hagrid had just gone to stay with Grawp as that would make it too easy for the Auror guards who searched the Forest that same night to find him. I had felt I had been left with no other choice but to go myself and go save my godfather.
Yet my best friend Hermione had told me that there was a chance that my vision was a fake and that I should check, the same way Dumbledore did when we thought that I had seen Mr. Weasley get attacked. I hadn't really known how, but with help of some unexpected friends I had actually managed to find a way.
Yet my floo call with London had been just as horrible as I hadn't been able to call on Sirius and had even been told by Kreacher, Sirius' old House Elf, that his master would not be coming back from the Department of Mysteries and that Kreacher and his Mistress were alone again, before cackling and leaving me to my fears.
Yet I had not even been given chance to face those fears as Umbridge, a woman who has been making my entire last year a living hell, pulled me out, had my friends captured by her Inquisitorial Squad and then tried getting me drugged on Veritaserum, only to hear from Snape that he was completely out of his supply of the Truth Serum.
Yet I had drawn on my last hope to have someone save Sirius other than me and I had tried relying a warning message to Snape, only for the man to defy and insult me as he always does and that had been followed by Umbridge losing her last bit of sanity, talking to herself as if justifying her plans and then trying to cast the Cruciatus on me.
To my utter relief and amazement, Hermione had been the one to come to my rescue, making Umbridge think that we had tried contacting Dumbledore and were busy on some kind of weapon when in reality she managed to get us spotted by centaurs in the Forbidden Forest; only to insult them after they took Umbridge.
To my utter relief Grawp had chosen exactly that minute to come looking for Hagrid, got attacked by the centaurs and then drove them off. And finally I had gotten into an argument with friends of mine I really didn't want with me on this journey, only to apparently lure Thestrals to me, which we had gotten onto and used to fly off.
That is now several hours ago, dusk has fallen and it's definitely a few hours into nighttime. For most of this journey all I have been able to think about was the amount of time wasted, what Voldemort could be doing to either convince or break Sirius and whether or not he had gotten impatient and done the worst deed imaginable.
Yet in order to not think about that – other than my waning belief that if it happens, my scar would have let me know already, do I think: "How could all of this have happened? How could Dumbledore let this happen? With him out of Hogwarts surely he's been at London this entire time? How did he – wait, LONDON!"
And instantly I move my frozen body, break my frozen lips apart and hiss at the Thestral: "Sorry, but you need to change course. Head for Grimmauld Place Twelve in London, please!" And while it takes the Thestral time to blink its milky white eye, does it then suddenly change course and move a little more to the far left.
My friends behind me scream and Hermione asks: "Harry, what happened?" And I shout back at her: "London! We can go there first! Even if we can't get help at Hogwarts, we should be able to get help there! Dumbledore will be there! He can take over and save Sirius!" And as I shout this, does the Thestral move its body down.
I grab a tighter hold onto it as its whole body as it starts its actual descent and feel a pang of guilt as three of my friends scream in fright at this, the three of them not able to see Thestrals the way Luna, Neville and I can and yet part of me can't believe how close we were to London when I decided on this change of plan.
The Thestrals land in the run-down looking neighborhood that I have visited twice now in the last year and I move down from its back before patting its neck as I say: "Ginny, take Luna, Neville and the Thestrals to the park over there. They can't see London and it wouldn't be fair to leave them here alone and unknowing."
The girl glares at me, but I still don't feel like including any of the three of them in all of this anyway and part of me secretly hopes that Mrs. Weasley will be her usual smothering self and decide that our protection is more important than a potential suicide mission to save my godfather. Yet as I think this, do I get my second epiphany.
"Wait a second, what happened to my guard?" I suddenly ask and Ron and Hermione look at me as I ask: "My guard. You know, the people Dumbledore has been setting on keeping me safe since last summer? People like Dung who left me with the Dementors. Surely Dumbledore didn't stop them in their duty after he left."
And then I get the shock of a lifetime as a very, very familiar voice, that is trying to sound jovial even though it has a strong undertone of concern and suspicion, speaks from behind me and says: "No, he sure didn't." And while Hermione gasps and Ron's eyes widen like saucers, do I turn around, my own mouth dropping.
A bit of blood coming from his left cheek without any cut being seen, long black hair that seems to be tied in the nape of his neck and dirty looking robes that looked sophisticated at one point, but have obviously been used for something nasty. My godfather, Sirius, who is supposed to be tortured is standing right in front of me.
"Now what are you three – sorry, I mean, you all – doing here? And why did you feel the need to use Thestrals to get here? Why didn't you just try sneaking into Umbridge's floo to get to us?" And instantly I remember what happened only hours ago and a fury like that Voldemort has been feeling overwhelms me as I hiss:
"Get inside – and get me Kreacher." My Godfather looks at me curiously and I turn to my friends and say: "Find the parchment with the Fidelius on it. And try sending the Thestrals back to Hogwarts, I don't think we'll have reason to go back ourselves now that our O.W.L.s are over." And my friends grimace but nod in acceptance.
I then turn back to Sirius, who now seems to have truly realized that what I am doing here is something really serious and important and the man looks every bit the guardian I know him to be as he gently leads me into the house hidden by Dumbledore's Fidelius charm, the house that unveils itself as I move in and into the hallway.
There I encounter Mrs. Weasley and Lupin and I wonder how it could be possible that I didn't encounter either of them when using Umbridge's floo earlier and the woman asks: "Harry, what are you doing here? Why did we see you all arrive on Thestral like that? And where are Ron, Ginny and the others?"
And I answer: "They're still at the park because Neville and Luna aren't part of the Fidelius. Can you and Lupin help them inside?" And the two nod before Mrs. Weasley says: "You will tell me why you're here, young man." And I glower at her retreating back before I ask: "Sirius, did you ever make yourself a will?"
The man looks slightly confused and says: "Of course, the day after you were born I made one and made you my Heir. I've been wanting to adept it to include the Weasleys and Hermione, but they won't even let Bill bring my Account manager here, so I just believed you would make the right decision if it ever came down to it."
And while I can't help but think: "It would have come down to it after tonight if it wasn't for my epiphany." Do I mutter: "Thanks, summon Kreacher, would you? And just leave the rest to me." And Sirius nods, doing as I asked and loudly calling the rotten beast's name, the beast itself appearing in front of us with a loud pop.
"The master calls Kreacher and thus Kreacher must come. But Kreacher doesn't want to come. Kreacher was –." And I angrily snap: "Admitting his treason to his mistress. Yes, I am well aware of your actions, Kreacher." And the elf actually gasps, having not spotted me when he was summoned and I smirk as I say:
"You know what, Kreacher? Your plan was – almost perfect. It just had two teeny-tiny, miniscule, insignificant, totally unimportant, smaller than small issues. Number one, this place is now the home and sleeping base of several members of the Order of the Phoenix. Two, the consequences of Sirius losing his life.
Specifically said, the consequences of your future services if that had happened. Cause you see, Kreacher, you put yourself in the illusion that, once Sirius was dead, you would be able to leave this place and serve your Noble, Honorable, Pureblood Masters. You just missed one tiny detail; Sirius having a will."
And instantly I can tell that Kreacher has realized the same thing I did when I decided to punish the lowlife bastard for betraying my godfather and lying to me and I smile evilly at him, actually using the anger and annoyance Voldemort feels over my tardiness to fuel the nastiness of my smile as I happily tell the little beast:
"That's right, Kreacher. If anything ever happens to Sirius – I became your master – and I will make you hate that more than your precious Lord Lucius hates Muggleborns, especially if you ever become part of the plot that results in his death again. So, the choice is yours, Kreacher; Sirius as your master – or me. Remember that – and get out."
And I hiss the end part, yet before I have finished has Kreacher snapped himself gone and I smirk, crossing my arms and feeling like I just made sure that Sirius has a better chance of staying safe here and then say: "Don't you dare defend him, Hermione. He betrayed Sirius, endangered our lives and deserves to pay for it."
"But Harry, he – he must have been ordered. He – he's not in his –." Yet at this I glare at her and snarl: "Will you stop being such a hypocrite! You constantly say you want House Elves freed because they are conscious beings, but when they do something wrong, suddenly they have no mind of their own and are just tools for their masters.
Make a choice already." The girl looks at me shocked and then snaps: "Look, I get that you were worried about Sirius and that you're shocked to realize that I was right and –." But then Sirius says: "Hermione, no one likes a know it all, especially not when they just experienced something that scares them like this just did."
And Hermione looks at the man shocked before he says: "Now, tell me, how did any of this happen?" And I tell him everything; of the vision, Hermione convincing me to check up on him first, Kreacher lying to me, Umbridge catching us, Snape abandoning us, Hermione leading Umbridge off and our Thestral trip here.
All throughout Hermione tries to make several comments with the same high and mighty tone as before, yet each time Sirius and Lupin send her looks that say things like don't bother and not now and I say: "And then I realized that, like with Dung, I had no one to rely on, questioned it and then you showed up behind me."
The men nod and Mrs. Weasley says: "But that doesn't make sense. Albus has been saying that your protection now is even more vital than before he was still at Hogwarts and he has been constantly making sure you have someone watching you; at the common room, the classes, the grounds, the Great Hall, all the time."
"And he's set very strict rules for your retrieval as well. If you have another vision; if Umbridge gets out of hand or if Voldemort sends Death Eaters to kidnap either you or your friends or orders one of the DE kids to do so, your guard was to instantly grab you – summon you if need be – and then instantly take you here."
"So why didn't they? They had two chances to tell us whether or not Sirius was safe this entire time; when we were in the classroom after my vision and after the centaurs chased Grawp down. And when Umbridge threatened with the Cruciatus? Surely the guard could have disarmed the Slytherins and taken me through the Floo."
I ask the three adults and the three of them look troubled and contemplative while Hermione and the others look shocked and Ron asks: "Could it be that we have Dung problems again?" But Lupin shakes his head and says: "Dung is in Greece. We've been checking out if Voldemort is reaching for outside forces or not."
And while Mrs. Weasley glares at him for revealing this, do I ask: "So why not ask Dumbledore what happened to the guard? Is he here?" And the three look at each other before Sirius says: "I'm pretty sure I saw him an hour before Buckbeak got hurt. Wait, wasn't that around the same time that he usually sends out a Harry Guard?"
And instantly Hermione, Ron and I share a shocked look as I feel as if I am back in that hospital wing bed in my first year, three days after I stopped Voldemort from acquiring the Philosopher's Stone and discussing all of the convenient attributes that we detected after it all happened and wondered if we hadn't been tested or something.
"Oh Sirius, don't be ridiculous. There is no way Albus would threaten the kids like that!" But then Ron mutters: "Wouldn't be the first time he did." Yet I don't look at him, I look past him at Ginny, another epiphany suddenly hitting me and I mutter: "No, it isn't. It's the third time." And everyone looks at me as I say:
"Hogwarts is supposed to have Dark Ward repelling wards that are second to none and yet – Ginny happened.""What is that supposed to mean!" Both Ron and Mrs. Weasley snarl and Ginny growls: "He means, I still managed to smuggle that horrible diary into the school without any wards going off or Dumbledore being notified."
And her two relatives look at her shocked as I say: "Combine that with what we've suspected about Dumbledore back in our own first and the fact that he is only missing in action right now, when he is supposed to be here or at least somewhere you guys know he's at – it just doesn't add up – at least not in the right way."
And while Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and Neville look at me as if they don't want to believe what I just said, do the others all look grim with the realization that I am probably right and that things just aren't right and I turn to Sirius as I ask: "Does the Order have any method of contacting Dumbledore? To check up on him?"
And the man nods before he waves his hand over his wrist, causing for a ruby and gold bracelet to appear on his wrist, only for Mrs. Weasley to shout: "Sirius! How could you just go and reveal that?" And Sirius snaps back: "I could, Molly, because we have more important matters to worry over than Order secrets."
And Mrs. Weasley looks at him shocked as he presses his middle finger on the bead that is at the pulse point on his wrist and he focuses as he moves his finger across and around this bead as he says: "I'm going to try and use the vision function – to at least see where Albus is right now. Not a sound from any of you, got that?"
And we all nod before he presses his finger down on the bead and from it, colored green as if using Floo powder, a vision shows itself, one that instantly makes me know that my suspicions are right. A huge marble-build hallway, made of green marble bricks and with a golden statue to the side; Dumbledore's at the Atrium.
Dumbledore is – WHAT?
But seriously, who else thought that Harry NOT having a guard at the end of Order of the Phoenix is just weird? He had a guard all throughout summer, he had a guard even when he was at Hogwarts and under Dumbledore's protection – and he doesn't have a guard when no Order member is there to help him?
Seriously, that never made sense to me and yes, I will admit that this story is yet another way for me to prove that I think Dumbledore is the worst character Rowling ever created. This will be severe Dumbledore bashing, but there will also be slight scenes of Hermione bashing here and there – and next preview will have that too.
Hope you enjoy,
Venquine1990
Further Story Parts:
Dumbledore gets caught by the Order
Harry worries for his scar when Voldemort realizes that Harry has stopped falling for his trap
Sirius calls Andromeda in to see if she can't do anything to lessen the pain Harry will be in when Voldemort makes the realization
Andromeda realizes the actual truth behind Harry's scar and has Sirius help her to remove it
Arthur takes over from Albus and takes Sirius and Kingsley as his advisors
Molly gets the realization that her pride shouldn't come before the financial help her friends can give her family
Hermione keeps on trying to prove that she was right in believing that Sirius was still at London and annoys even the adults
The Order take all kinds of actions to make sure Albus truly loses everything in regards to control and being able to lead others into what he has planned for them.
I really don't have much else, but that is because this idea never really went beyond the Andromeda part. I do however hope to bring out some serious gold if this preview ever becomes a reality. Also the Hermione bashing won't cover the entire story; it'll probably just be a bit of a sub-plot for the beginning of the story.