A/N: Gar: should have updated yesterday but ffn decided I was a virus and ate every document I uploaded. So today is early morning update day!

Lost: One Godson, Answers to Harry

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Ron lead Neville, who was having difficulty walking in a straight line, out of the Gryffindor common room and down the darkened hallways towards the Hospital wing. He had had the sense to bring his wand to light the way, but Neville didn't seem to be able to see properly anyway. He kept muttering to himself, but Ron could not catch the words.

"We're going the wrong way," Neville said as they passed a staircase. "Dumbledore's office is this way…"

"No, no, you're confused, it's this way," Ron insisted, pointing at a corridor which he knew lead sooner or later to the Hospital wing. Neville tried to pull away from him, and Ron hung on tighter.

"Let me go!" Neville was shouting now, and he sounded nearly hysterical. Ron tried to shush him, glancing around uneasily. The portraits around them were waking up, shaking their fists at the two boys. Neville's wails grew louder, "Let me go! I have to warn Dumbledore!"

"Now what's going on here?" a thin, cracked voice hissed. Ron gulped as Argus Filch, wearing a long, scummy nightgown and carrying a candle, limped into view around the corner. Mrs Norris padded around his feet, mewing. "Students out of bed, is it?" Filch cackled. "Oh, I haven't caught any for months, what a treat…"

"I'm taking him to the hospital wing!" Ron protested. "He's sick, he's had a fit…"

"I have not had a fit!" Neville yelled. In the light from Filch's candle he looked very pale and ill, his eyes sunken and lined with shadows.

"Excuses, excuses," Filch wheezed. "Well, we'll just see how you like spending the night locked in my office, and in the morning I'll deal with you…"

"No!" Neville was wriggling so hard now Ron had to tuck his wand into his pants to grab the boy with both hands. "No! I have to see the Headmaster! It's an emergency!"

"Emergency, is it? Perhaps your head of house could tell you how much of an emergency it is when they take all those points off?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall! Call Professor McGonagall!" Neville begged. "Please, we haven't got time!"

"Oh, no, I won't do anything of the sort…"

"What's going on here, Filch?" said a stern voice. Professor McGonagall had just come around the corner and her nostrils were white as she took in the two students out of bed. Ron saw to his surprise that McGonagall was not dressed in a dressing gown or slippers: she was wearing full-length robes, boots and a travelling cloak, as well as a fur-lined pointed hat. She looked as if she was going out for a tramp through the woods. "Mr Weasley, Mr Longbottom! What are you doing out of bed?"

"Professor!" with a final struggle, Neville wrenched his arm out of Ron's grasp and dashed towards her. "Please! I have to see Dumbledore!"

McGonagall took one look at him, grabbed his arm and said, "Come with me at once then, Longbottom."

"What?" Ron stumbled after them, ducking around Filch as the caretaker tried to grab him with his wizened claws. McGonagall and Neville were disappearing up the corridor that Neville had claimed lead to Professor Dumbledore's office. He followed them, jogging behind McGonagall's heels, until they stopped outside a large stone gargoyle.

McGonagall opened her mouth, but Neville beat her to it. "Sherbert Lemon, Sherbert Lemon!" he gasped, and the gargoyle immediately sprang aside to allow them passage.

Ron gaped at Neville. How on earth did he know the password to the Headmaster's office?

"Wait here, Mr Weasley," McGonagall commanded.

"Professor, I'm not waiting out here for Filch to get me!" Ron retorted.

"I don't have time to argue…" McGonagall swept through the doorway, Neville straining ahead of her, but as Ron had done, she was still holding onto him tightly. She seemed afraid of what he might do if let loose. Ron ducked through the doorway as it closed behind them. McGonagall glared at him, then said, "You may not repeat anything you hear tonight to anyone, do you understand?"

"Of course, Professor," Ron nodded. The staircase beneath their feet was rotating, lifting them upwards. At last they stopped in front of a tall wooden door, and McGonagall pushed it open without even bothering to knock first.

Ron stared around him in wonder as they entered. He had never seen a place such as this: though the room was light by only a few candles, this made it seem all the more enchanting, as unseen objects glimmered in the shadows, and rows upon rows of portraits snoozed in their frames high above him. Dumbledore himself was standing in front of a roaring fireplace, and like McGonagall, he was dressed in warm travelling clothes and walking boots.

"Ah, Minerva, ready to be off…?" Dumbledore raised his head and suddenly realised McGonagall was not alone. He raised his thick white eyebrows in surprise. "Are we to have company?"

"Professor!" Neville broke free of McGonagall's grasp and threw himself forward, nearly crashing into Dumbledore's desk. In an instant, Dumbledore was by his side and guiding the distressed boy into a chair. Neville gasped, "It's happened again, Professor! I had to come…"

"What did you see, Neville?" Professor Dumbledore said quietly. Ron glanced from McGonagall, standing stiffly by the doorway, to Neville, who was nearly sobbing with urgency.

"There was a woman, and others, but they had masks, and she…they hurt her…I was h-him," Neville sobbed. "I – I mean, He – stepped up to her and did…you know, the thing, Legili-whatsit, and he got what he wanted, and then they cut off some of her hair…they know that you're coming, Professor, they know you're coming at midnight and they're waiting for you, they're going to kill you…and the woman was shouting at them, and then I woke up…"

"This was just now?"

"Half an hour ago," Neville nodded. Under Dumbledore's gaze, he was calming a little.

"What did the woman look like? Did you hear her name? Do you know who she was?"

Neville shook his head. "No. She was young; she had brown hair, kind of greyish-brown. She said, 'don't you dare…' then she said, 'please…don't hurt Remus…' and that's all I got. They didn't seem to want to kill her, but I think they were going to…"

Dumbledore nodded. He paused for a moment, and then took out his wand. "I have to know for sure who this woman was, Neville. I think I will recognise her if I see her. But will you allow me to…?"

"Of course, Professor," said Neville. Ron frowned, wondering what was going on. He watched as Dumbledore gently touched Neville's forehead with his wand, and then spoke, very quietly.

"Legilimens."

It lasted a brief moment. Neville's teeth were gritted, his face screwed up, and then Dumbledore pulled his wand away and Neville slumped forward a little.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Neville rubbed his forehead.

Dumbledore straightened up. His eyes were cold and hard. "Minerva, what is the time?"

"Quarter to midnight," McGonagall said at once, as if she had been waiting for the question. "Professor, what did Neville see? Is this to do with tonight?"

"Yes. We must go at once. Don't worry about Apparating from Hogsmeade, there is no time, we will floo there. I can remove the barriers on the exit fireplace as we go," he strode towards the fire, took a bag from the shelf, a pinch of powder from within and the flames roared emerald green as he threw the powder over them. McGonagall went to his side.

Dumbledore looked back over his shoulder at Neville, sitting in the chair at his desk, and Ron, standing lost and muddled by the doorway.

"Both of you return to your dormitory, and do not leave it," he instructed. "Neville, try to get some sleep – and thank you."

With that, he put his foot into the green flames and murmured something under his breath. McGonagall followed him a moment later.

Ron looked at Neville, who was now resting his head on Dumbledore's desk, looking exhausted. After a moment, the round-faced boy got wearily to his feet and went over to Ron, saying, "We better go back to bed."

"Back to bed?" Ron gulped. "After everything that's happened tonight?"

"Dumbledore will take care of it," said Neville, as calm as anything, as he pushed open the door to the office and went down onto the stairs. Ron followed him, feeling as if his knees had turned to jelly. Something very strange had happened, and he hated knowing that he had not understood a bit of it.

As they walked through the darkened corridors back to Gryffindor tower – there was no sign of Filch or Mrs Norris – Ron asked, his voice shaking a little, "You said 'again' – this has happened before?"

"Twice," said Neville. "But…never so urgent…"

Ron shuddered, remembering the panic and desperation Neville's face, and how quickly Dumbledore had believed him. "Are you a Seer?"

Neville, staring straight ahead, shook his head. "No."

"But then…what was that? Your dream – it was real?"

Neville nodded. "I hope the woman is okay," he said aloud.

"Yeah…er…me too," Ron replied, as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

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The tunnel was not very long: within a few minutes, Sirius saw light glowing at the end of it and he followed Arthur Weasley out into a wide, low-ceilinged room. Several closed doors lead off it, and a large fireplace that was unlit and empty of fuel occupied one wall. A long table filled most of the room, and set around it were many mismatched chairs.

People filled the room, one of the strangest groups of people Sirius had ever seen. From bandy-legged, ginger-haired, ragged-clothed Mundungus Fletcher, who squatted in the corner swilling a bottle of butterbeer, to tall, stately Kingsley Shacklebolt, who stood in front of the unlit fireplace, staring moodily into its depths. At the table was Edgar Bones, chatting animatedly to a bored-looking Sturgis Podmore, and there – Sirius took a sharp breath. There was Emmeline Vance, second-in-command to the Minister himself – Sirius had not expected her to be here. His eyes ranged over the other faces around the room, some familiar, some unfamiliar, and he felt his stomach flop when he saw a hooked nose and a veil of greasy black hair hovering in the corner.

Before he could move towards Severus Snape, a squeaky voice cried, "Sirius! Well, it's good to see you here!" And Sirius found tiny Dedalus Diggle throwing his arms around him. "And here I was thinking all those years of exile had left you a coward, Sirius!"

"Er…no more than usual," Sirius said, as several more people got up to welcome him. Emmeline Vance turned her eyes towards him but did not move from her chair. Sirius caught sight of Snape over someone's shoulder, but the potions Professor had not left his corner.

Another knock on the door sent Arthur Weasley scurrying back up to answer it, and a few moments later Hestia Jones came trundling down the stairs after him, unbuttoning her thick woollen cloak. She thumped Lupin on the back when she caught sight of him. "Whew – bloody icy night out there. Sorry I'm late, Remus, I – good lord, is that Sirius?"

Sirius gaped at her in return. "You didn't tell me you were in the Order!"

"I could say the same to you!" Hestia retorted, rolling her cloak up and dumping it on a bench nearby.

"I wasn't, until tonight," Sirius grumbled. Hestia raised her eyebrows at Lupin, who gave her a quietly triumphant smile.

"Well, it's good to see you anyway," Hestia chuckled, turning to the rest of the crowd. She hurried over to Tonks, who was sitting by herself at the table, looking rather nervous. Hestia dropped down next to her. "Hello, Tonks. Get away from Auror headquarters alright?"

"Hello," Tonks replied. "Er…no, I was staying at my parents' house tonight. They weren't home, though."

"They on holiday, or fled the country?" Hestia asked, only half-joking.

"Er…I don't know…just out for the evening, I think," Tonks looked away.

Sirius and Lupin took a seat a little way down the table. Dedalus Diggle went to get a round of drinks from one of the side rooms, but only a few people took up the offer. Most did not seem to share Diggle's jovial attitude. There was a definite tenseness to the atmosphere. Lupin explained to Sirius that nobody felt very secure with so many of the Order members meeting in one place, but Dumbledore had organised the night personally, to discuss a new headquarters.

"This is getting worse and worse," Sirius said bitterly. "Is that really the only reason I'm invited tonight? For my house?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Lupin rolled his eyes. "There's also…" but he suddenly frowned, looking past Sirius at the dead fireplace where Kingsley Shacklebolt was still standing. Suddenly he was on his feet. "Kingsley! Look!"

The tall black wizard stepped back as flames licked out of the hearth, and something within could be seen, revolving very fast and growing larger and larger every moment. In an instant, a dozen wands were drawn and pointed at the fireplace as everyone in the room realised what was happening and prepared to defend their headquarters.

"But there are barriers – no one can floo in here…" Edgar Bones was shouting as Kingsley and Emmeline called for stunning spells to be fired on their command.

And then a deep, booming voice roared out of the flames, a voice nobody could doubt was the voice of Albus Dumbledore, "All of you – get out of the way!"

The Headmaster erupted out of the fireplace, his robes twisting around him like streamers, his white beard illuminated green and red by the flames, his wand already raised. He landed on the wooden floor without a sound, took two steps forward to steady himself, opened his mouth and cried, "Stupefy!" before anyone had time to see where he was pointing.

The red bolt of light that flew from the end of Dumbledore's wand hit Nymphadora Tonks squarely in the chest, and threw her backwards. She crashed into a bench against the wall and sprawled onto the ground where she lay prone, stretched out, her head turned to the side.

Cries and yells filled the room. Sirius grabbed Lupin around the chest as he tried to leap over the table to reach Tonks. Minerva McGonagall suddenly emerged out of the fireplace after Dumbledore and was nearly stunned by Diggle before he realised who she was. Several people turned their wands on the Headmaster, apparently under the impression that he was attacking everyone: but Dumbledore had lowered his wand and waited a moment before he commanded, "Silence, all of you!"

It took only a moment before the noise died down to nothing. Dumbledore strode forward and walked around the table to look down at the unconscious Tonks. Hestia had knelt by her head to check that she was not injured, but after a moment she stood up, a shocked expression on her face. She was holding a small leather case which she had apparently taken from within Tonks' pocket, and was looking at the contents.

People broke into conversation, babbling to each other in their confusion.

"What's going on?"

"Is she a spy?"

"Tonks? Never!"

Dumbledore raised his hand and there was quiet once more. He was looking directly at Lupin now, who was still being restrained by Sirius. The Headmaster's voice was cold as he spoke. "Remus, did you meet Tonks tonight and allow her to enter?"

Lupin was white as chalk, and Sirius could feel him shuddering a little. "Merlin's beard, Albus…I'm sorry…I didn't check, I didn't even ask her a question…"

Dumbledore turned away and his eyes ranged over the rest of the group. Everyone waited in silence for him to speak. At last, he did. "Emmeline, Kingsley, Hestia, Edgar, Sturgis – floo to a point from which you can Disapparate, and then Apparate to the house of Andromeda and Ted Tonks at once. There is still a chance Nymphadora Tonks is alive, but to my knowledge, at least three Death Eaters are still there. Go now."

The five he had chosen nodded and Kingsley turned and ignited the fireplace with his wand. Someone passed him a bag of Floo powder and he and Emmeline vanished into the flames. Hestia threw the leather case she had taken from Tonks' robes to Dumbledore before she, Edgar Bones and Sturgis Podmore disappeared into the fire.

Lupin sat down heavily on the chair. He was staring at a point just over Dumbledore's left shoulder, and his expression was blank with shock.

Dumbledore opened the case Hestia had thrown him. Within, snugly wrapped, were two glass bottles. One was full of a thick soup which Dumbledore sniffed and then put back into its place. He handed the other bottle to Snape, who had come to stand beside him.

"The first one is Polyjuice potion. Severus, you'll have to tell me for sure, but I assume the second is some kind of poison."

"Polyjuice potion?" someone echoed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Does anyone know whether this person," he nudged the unconscious body on the floor, "ate or drank anything tonight?"

"No, she didn't – I mean, they didn't," said Diggle, who was knotting his fingers together nervously.

"Then the potion should wear off soon enough," Dumbledore walked back around the table and looked into the flames. "Then we will know who the intruder is, and we will decide what to do with them," he raised his head to look around the circle of shuffling witches and wizards. "Whoever they are, they have seen all of your faces and no doubt did not come here with anything but malignant intent. We have been breached, my friends: not for the first time, not for the last – and we can only deal with this encroachment as best we can. We cannot truly take back what this person has seen."

Severus Snape had knelt and was already shooting cords from his wand to bind and gag 'Tonks' very tightly. He looked up at the Headmaster, saying quietly, "Perhaps it would be best to kill them as soon as possible. That would solve our problems."

"I do not think we need to go so far just yet, Severus," Dumbledore reproached him.

They waited, some of the Order members murmuring between themselves. Sirius was sitting next to Lupin, all his anger having vanished after one look at the expression on Lupin's face. The young Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was unable to tear his eyes away from the intruder lying on the floor with Tonks' face. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

Then someone cried out and pointed, and Dumbledore stepped back as the face of the person lying on the floor rippled. The skin seemed to stretch and sag, growing paler and spottier, Tonks' spiky hair becoming limp and straight and the bright pink fading away. A pointed chin sprouted to fill the sagging cheeks so that the skin became stretched taut once more. At last, the transformation was over: a short man with a long, twisted face was lying where Tonks had been a moment before.

This time, it was Lupin who grabbed Sirius' arm to keep him from launching himself at the Death Eater.

"Sit down, Sirius, for God's sake!" Lupin's voice was still weak and horrified.

Sirius tried to wriggle out of his grasp. He hissed, "It's him! Let me go…He's the one – Moony, he's the one who took Harry!"

Before Sirius could get anywhere near the Death Eater, however, another figure had jumped over the table and tried to attack the unconscious man. Dumbledore and Snape together had to grab the red-haired figure, who to everyone's surprise, bore face was contorted in rage as no one had ever seen it before.

"Arthur!" Dumbledore roared, pushing him back into a nearby chair. "Get a hold of yourself – this is despicable behaviour…"

Arthur Weasley was trembling and growling. "Dolohov," he spat, "murdering scum! He killed the Prewetts, Dumbledore, he was convicted of it, but he escaped…the swine escaped, and he's been murdering others for you-know-who ever since…"

"Arthur, for goodness' sake, we are going to deal with Dolohov," Dumbledore said sternly. "But I won't have vengeance breaking out in my presence – that goes for you too, Sirius," he added, looking over at Sirius, who was muttering mutinously where he sat. "And another thing. In all the confusion, I forgot to thank you for coming tonight."

Sirius glanced at the Headmaster, whose expression had softened a little. "You're welcome, Albus," he said grudgingly.

"I assume Remus told you why you were invited?"

Sirius nodded.

"Then you will understand why your part is all the more vital after what has happened here tonight. We will not be able to meet here again. But I will discuss this with you later – someone is returning – "

They all turned towards the fireplace, where a figure appeared, spinning very fast. After a moment, Edgar Bones, his coat-tails flying, stepped out of the flames, coughing a little. His face was grim but he did not seem to be injured.

"What news?" Dumbledore asked at once.

Edgar ran his hand through his hair. "She's alright, Albus –" Sirius felt Lupin slump against his shoulder in relief, "Emmeline and Sturgis have taken her to St Mungo's. There were three Death Eaters in the house, like you said, but they scattered as soon as we arrived. Emmeline and Sturgis both caught a nasty slash from one of the buggers, but they're alright too. Hestia and Kingsley have gone to look for Andromeda and Ted, but as far as we can tell, they've just been out at a friend's place, they had no idea anything had happened."

Dumbledore nodded at Edgar, and looked around at the remaining members of the Order. He sighed, "All of you must leave at once. I do not know whether more Death Eaters will come to this house now that they know their first plan has been thwarted. Arthur, Severus, both of you stay with me, we are going back to Hogwarts. Remus, you stay too, I need to speak with you."

Within moments the members of the Order had donned their cloaks and hurried up the tunnel into the darkness. Only McGonagall, Sirius, the sleeping Dolohov and the ones Dumbledore had asked to stay remained. Arthur was still seething as he looked at the Death Eater. Sirius suddenly remembered why it was the normally mild-mannered Weasley was so furious – he had heard about the murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Their sister was Molly Weasley, Arthur's wife, and Arthur had been very close to his brothers-in-law. No wonder he was so eager to hurt Dolohov.

Dumbledore went over to the fireplace and sprinkled some fresh Floo powder on it.

"Sirius, you can go home for now," he said.

"Unlikely, Headmaster," Sirius replied. "I'll stay with Remus for now, if you don't mind."

Dumbledore did not answer him. He flicked his wand and Dolohov's body floated up slid through the air until it was hovering beside him, as if borne by an invisible stretcher. The Headmaster beckoned for them all to follow him into the flames, then he took a hold of the floating Dolohov's collar and stepped into the fire.

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Sirius emerged, rubbing soot out of his eyes, and found they had arrived in a disused classroom in Hogwarts. The classroom was empty of all furniture and the walls were beginning to grow mildew. Dumbledore and Snape were laying Dolohov to one side, small clouds of dust rising as they lowered him to the ground. Sirius stepped out of the way as Arthur Weasley came spluttering out behind him, followed by Lupin, who stumbled and grabbed the mantelpiece to keep himself upright and had to jump sideways to avoid being bowled over by Professor McGonagall, who stepped regally out of the hearth, brushing a live coal off her shoulder. Then Dumbledore straightened up and turned to them.

"We had a very close call tonight," he said softly, looking at Lupin, who was staring at his feet. "Dolohov did not come just to spy on our meeting. I believe he was going to do his best to poison us – probably not all of us, but myself at least, and then slip away without any of us being the wiser. He may easily have succeeded if by luck I had not been forewarned of him. Remus, I have repeatedly reminded the Order to remain vigilant with each other as well as with strangers."

Lupin didn't answer. Arthur Weasley burst out, "That's not fair, Albus! None of us would have suspected that it wasn't really Tonks walking in there."

"I should have," said Sirius. Everyone turned to look at him. "I'm sorry, but I should have known at once that something was up. Tonks – I mean, who we thought was Tonks – she wasn't behaving normally. She's always so cheery and annoying, but tonight she didn't even speak unless spoken to. And besides that – her hair was all pink."

"Nymphadora is a metamorphmagus, Black, unless you have forgotten already," Snape said smoothly.

Sirius bristled but did not rise to the bait. "I know that. But whenever she goes anywhere near Remus, her hair goes brown. I should have picked up on that. I'm sorry."

Dumbledore sighed. "Thank you, Sirius, and it is no matter now, disaster has been avoided and we cannot change the past with hindsight," he turned back to Lupin. "Remus, what I fear is that of all the members of the Order gathering tonight, the Death Eaters could have impersonated any one of them and still not been able to enter because of the fidelius charm. Any one of them but Sirius or Tonks – the only two who were to be shown the secret tonight. The very fact that the Death Eaters discovered the time and place of our meeting disturbs me, but the fact that they knew the only possible way of sneaking in uncovers worse possibilities."

McGonagall spoke up this time. "Headmaster, many of the Order knew that Tonks hadn't been to the storm cellar yet. I hope you're not suggesting that Remus is somehow responsible…"

"I am not suggesting anything yet," Dumbledore cut her off. "But perhaps I will continue this later. Severus, I need you to fetch a small bottle of Veritiserum. The two of us will question Dolohov ourselves. Sirius, much as I appreciate you, you should go home – I will come to speak to you about your house at a later date. Arthur – if you will consent, you have the most important job to do tonight. You are going to help us dispose of Dolohov once we have learned all we can from him."

"I…I am?" Arthur Weasley said nervously. Dumbledore nodded.

Sirius began to protest, but Lupin cut him off. "It's alright," he said. "I don't need you to hold my hand, Sirius. Go home and get some sleep."

Sirius made an indignant face, then he sighed in resignation. He thumped Lupin's shoulder to say goodbye. "Come see me as soon as you're finished here. Don't let old Dumb-door forget you're on holiday now."

"I heard that," Dumbledore said, but his voice was not reproachful.

Without reply, Sirius turned away and put his foot into the flames and cried his address. He was sucked through the floo network, his stomach churning as he spun around and around. Then, the wind rushing through his ears, he stumbled out into his small flat in London.

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TBC

A/N: A short note about the Prewetts connection. Although in the books there is very little information about them, JKR has stated on her website that Molly Weasley's maiden name was Prewett, and I think she said (or at least suggested) that Gideon and Fabian, who really were murdered by Antonin Dolohov in the books (although probably not just Dolohov, but a number of other Death Eaters as well) were Molly's brothers. So I imagine there would be a lot of bad blood between Mr Weasley and Dolohov.

:) Thankeee everyone.