Chapter 2: The Offer
"Why not Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.
"After Dumbledore's death, the members of the Order elected McGonagall as the new Secret Keeper. Dumbledore's Fidelius charm couldn't be removed, so they had to settle for a new Headquarters," Eliza explained as they went up the stairs.
" i McGonagall? /i " Harry asked.
"That's right," Eliza replied in an offhand voice.
"But, doesn't magic die out when the caster dies?" Harry questioned, remembering how Dumbledore's Freezing Charm had died out after his death.
"Usually it does, but Dumbledore's case is different. He took some precautions to see to that his charm doesn't die out," Eliza elaborated.
"Then why couldn't they use Grimmauld Place?" he argued. Now they had reached the third-floor corridor. Eliza looked at him quizzically and said, "Fond of the place, are you?"
"Not really, but-" he began but she cut in.
"If the Order stays at Grimmauld Place, new members cannot get access to the Headquarters, and there are quite a few new members," she said. They went right up to the last room on that corridor and Eliza pushed open the door, without even bothering to knock.
"This is your room," Eliza announced as they entered a large bedroom. She lit the candles, and as light flooded the place, Harry saw that the room had comfortable three beds, each looking fit for a king.
"You take this bed," said Eliza, pointing at the middle one.
"Which school did you go to?" Harry inquired.
"Beauxbatons, Seventh Year. But I'm not sure Mum will send me back. What with the war and all…" she said, and as her voice trailed off, Harry began thinking about it. He, for one, was sure that he would not go back to Hogwarts, even if it re-opened. But Hogwarts had been like a second home to him. Even the mere idea of not returning, made him feel as though he would be missing one of his closest friends.
"What time is it? I think the Weasleys should be here by now," she said, interrupting his thoughts. Even as she spoke, they could hear noises downstairs implying that the meeting was over. Harry was filled with happiness for he would be seeing Ron and Hermione again.
"Shall we go down?" she asked. He nodded in response and said, "Let's go."
Sure enough, when Harry went downstairs, Amanda, Tonks, Mrs. Weasley and Lupin were conversing in low voices. Ron and Hermione were standing nearby and when Harry came, both of them smiled at him. Tonks and Lupin were seated in one of the cushions and seemed to be deep in conversation with each other. Eliza tried to eavesdrop, but Tonks cleared her throat and they all turned to look at Harry and Eliza.
"Hello, Harry, we'd better get going, c'mon, Remus," Tonks said impatiently and they Disapparated, before Harry could even respond to her.
"I guess I need to go, too," Mrs. Weasley said.
"You're straining too much, Molly. It's just a wedding," Amanda scolded.
"Not at all. Well, bye." With that, she Disapparated.
"Now, listen here, all of you," Amanda commanded in a crisp voice, "None of you can go wandering off out of the house." Looking pointedly at Harry, she continued, "Maximum protection has been added to the house and you can enter only using a password. So try no tricks for your own good. Understand?" The four of them nodded. "Ron, you can share Harry's room and Hermione can stay with Eliza. And, Eliza, come with me," she said, and then left the room.
Eliza raised her eyebrows but followed leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione together.
"How was your stay with the Muggles, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"Oh, fine," he said off-handedly. Unable to control himself, he asked, looking at Ron, "Ron, why didn't Ginny come?"
"I don't know Harry, but whenever we talk about you, she acts weird. Did you do something?" he demanded in a very Hermione-like tone.
"I broke up with her," Harry said quietly.
"What for?" Hermione asked.
"If she's close to me, then that would put her in danger," he said.
"Even if she's not your girlfriend, she's vulnerable, Harry," she reasoned.
"Yeah, but I thought she accepted my decision that day," he said.
"Maybe, she was in shock that she couldn't respond," said Ron. Silence fell as each one was immersed in their own thoughts. Try as he might, Harry could not stop thinking about her. He finally decided to push her to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to worry about, anyway. Amanda walked in, lost in thought. Harry made up his mind to ask her.
Clearing his throat, he asked, "Mrs. Rosenay, did my parents live near here?"
"Yes," she said softly and then added, seeing the look on his face, "I know what you're thinking, Harry. But you can't go anywhere out of the house."
"Why?" he demanded.
"For your own safety," she said matter-of-factly.
"Voldemort's not going to jump at me, now, is he?" he asked, sarcastically.
"Do you claim to know what he's going to do?" she asked in a polite tone but Harry realized she had won. He said nothing but decided to use his Invisibility Cloak at night. As though on cue, Amanda said, "In case you're thinking about using your cloak, you can't get out of here without the password."
"Are you a Legilimens?" he asked her, looking astonished.
"Yes, and an Occlumens. Minerva feels you need to become one, too," she stated.
"What for?" he asked.
"To block your mind, of course," she said, smiling slightly.
"But if Voldemort is practicing Occlumency against me, then-"
"I never said you had to use it on him, Harry. It's very useful when you become an Auror," she said.
"Yeah..." said Harry, lost in thought.
"Well, do you want something to eat?" she asked.
"No, tha-" he started, but was interrupted by a loud pop. Lupin and Tonks apparated looking worn out. Tonks sported a cut lip and was limping slightly. Lupin had a bandage around his arm but presented a better picture than her.
"What happened?" Amanda asked, fearfully, motioning them to sit down on the cushions.
"The Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade. Lucky we were there," Lupin said, smiling ruefully. He checked his arm to see if it was still bleeding and then wrapped it again.
"We actually lost no one but two of the Death Eaters are dead," Tonks said, examining herself in the glass window.
"Was there an attack now?" Harry asked, alarmed.
Yeah, and Amanda, Greyback will be safe in Azkaban, by now," Tonks said with a small smile.
"Azkaban? That's great news!" Amanda exclaimed.
"Still, old Scrimgeour isn't making matters easy. Any decent Minister would be glad at the way we're progressing in the war. But it's not good enough for him," Lupin declared.
"Yeah, he insists that we take Veritaserum everyday," Tonks said, rolling her eyes. "Amanda, did you hear, because of the change in the war situation, the Ministry has decided to re-open Hogwarts and Minerva's been named as the Headmistress by the Governors."
"Really? That's-"
Pop!
McGonagall Apparated, looking worried.
"Minerva, what's wrong?" Amanda asked, looking concerned.
"I need to ask you a favour, Amanda," she said. Amanda said nothing but raised her eyebrows. McGonagall continued, misinterpreting Amanda's surprise for assent.
"Will you return to Hogwarts to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
A/N: Eliza doesn't have a French accent because she was brought up in England, and due to Amanda's love for England, they converse in British English, hence, never lost her British accent.