Chapter Two – The List
With tea having been made by Mrs Weasley, Ginny was lead upstairs as she was still considered too young to be present during the meetings of the Order. Harry sat next to a dishevelled looking Lupin with Ron by his side and Hermione sat opposite him next to Tonks, whose hair was electric blue and spiked. Unfortunately, Harry was in Snape's prime glaring position and he seemed even more sour than usual if that were even possible, he must have seen a child smiling or something on his way from Hogwarts. Dumbledore arose fluidly, a graceful movement Harry wouldn't usually have expected from a man of his age. He gazed quickly around at the faces sat before him before he began his harangue.
"As some of you are already aware, the Dark Lord has acquired knowledge of our existence and various plans. How this came to be is yet to be discovered, but I'm sure all shall make itself apparent in due course. Thanks to the excellent work of Severus, we now have a little more information." At this point, Dumbledore lowered his head slightly and all members seemed to start paying a little more attention, Harry included. "The Death Eaters have been doing a little espionage of their own and have compiled a short list of names. Names which we have struggled to keep secret. I have here said list and those who feature will be assigned a guardian of sorts."
Harry swallowed hard. He heard Ron do the same. The tension as Dumbledore lifted the small scrap of parchment was immense. Lupin put a hand on Harry's arm not just to settle Harry's nerves but also his own. Harry would bet his Firebolt that his name was on that list, it never failed to astonish him how he was always at the epicentre of these horrors. That knowledge loosened a band of tension in his chest and he patted Lupin's hand which he noticed was trembling. Dumbledore began to read out the list of names.
"Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger and Sarah Melena." Dumbledore rushed the names as though dwelling on any one of them would cause them to drop dead. Harry caught sight of Hermione, one hand clasped over her mouth and the other held tight by Tonks. Ron had paled a few shades and was looking worriedly at his mother who was resting her head on Arthur Weasley's shoulder. Professor McGonagall looked entirely unaffected by the mention of her name. Harry hadn't a clue who Sarah Melena was, but there were a few new members that he didn't know so didn't trouble himself. He was deeply shocked by the omission of his name; thankful to once not be in the firing range. Dumbledore went on to announce who would be protecting the five unfortunate members.
"I have come to the decision that Molly Weasley should be protected by all members of her family excluding of course young Ginny. Remus, you shall be under the protection of Tonks, Minerva I shall see that no harm befalls you, Severus you shall watch over Sarah and I think Miss Granger you will be safe with Harry, Ron and Sirius. I am terribly sorry to have to bring such news. On a far lighter note however there are three new Order members for you all to become acquainted with. One being Sarah Melena, a sixth year student at Hogwarts." Dumbledore motioned in the direction of a girl sitting on Snape's right. She had jet black hair tied in loose plaits that fell in front of her shoulders and deathly pale skin. Her eyes were striking blue, like those of a husky dog, and her lips were painted a brilliant red. Harry wondered how he'd never noticed her in school. "Elpha Von Nere, a young witch recently passed her auror training, with flying colours might I add," Elpha was tall and slender with a silver ring on each delicate finger. Her hair was long, wavy and blonde and her eyes jade green. "And last but by no means least, Lex Entner a highly respected worker at the Ministry of Magic and a close friend of mine for many a year." Lex was ultimately menacing. He had thick set features and dark brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail which reached his lower ribs. He was very tall and muscular with a stern expression. "If we may, I would like to adjourn this meeting and gather again early tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure you will all agree that it has been a very tiring day." With that said, Dumbledore stole away with a short nod of his head.