"There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."
-- George Burton Adams (1851-1925), American educator, historian
"No, Albus, Ginny is too young for this, I cannot believe you are getting her involved. I let you have Ron but Ginny should not be involved!" The order meeting had commenced and Mrs. Weasley had a few choice words to say to Albus.
"Now molly, Ginny is bright young woman-" Albus was interrupted again
"Yes, and it should not be wasted in this silly little defense group, she is much too young to be involved in the war!" said molly, Arthur trying to calm her down.
"Molly, this is the age of war and she must know how to defend herself." Said Albus.
"She's in Hogwarts, she's protected! She doesn't need to be in the defense group, it's much too dangerous. You should've told me before you gave her that blasted letter" Shrieked Molly.
"Yes, indeed, Hogwarts is very safe but that does not mean it's impossible to get in, And Ginny is one of the main targets, She and the others who had not taken their owls are very talented in this area, We must use that talent and train them to protect." Said Albus.
"No, I will not allow it!" she said, a stubborn look on her face.
"Molly, Albus does have a point, Ginny should learn to protect herself, and this is the only way." Said Arthur soothingly.
"But she's just a young girl." Said Molly pleadingly.
"Ginny has grown to be a strong young woman, whether you like it or not Molly, She is a main target and she must know how to defend herself." Butted in Sirius. Many of the order members nodded. Seeing she was outnumbered she resigned.
"Fine. Alright, but I will not have her thrown in the war, Train her to protect herself, but nothing more." said Molly.
"I cannot promise anything, If Hogwarts in under attack she will have to defend herself as all the other have to, Whether they're in the defense group or not." Said Albus solemnly.
Molly nodded with a look of defeat.
"Now to other things, we'll need some guards for Hogwarts. Sirius you'll head off the team to patrol Hogwarts, we can never be too safe, we can get a few aurors from the ministry to help, Moody will you volunteer?" asked Albus. Sirius looked pleased with his position and glances at moody.
"Nothin' else to do, do I. I'd like to see some of those youngsters, see how alert they are." Said Moody gruffly, with a twisted smile. The order Members looked worriedly amongst themselves.
"Remus as you know you're teaching defense against dark arts for fourth year and under, but I am requesting you act as secondary guard for Hogwarts." Said Albus. Remus nodded determinedly.
"Tonks and Kingsley, you'll check the wards and the whole area every few nights, I know you'll be busy with other things, so I'm sure that'll be enough." Albus went on.
"Okay, The trainers for, Ron, Hermione, and Harry, have agreed to help with the phoenix fire training. Any objections?" asked Albus. It was silent, nobody minded.
"That's all I have, anything anyone wants to add?" said Albus. Severus stood up, looking slightly smug.
"Yes Severus."
"I thought we should keep a close eye on the Potter boy, you know how he has a knack for getting in trouble, would not want any more deaths would we." Said Severus silkily, half smirking. Sirius stood up, and glared at Severus.
"It's not his fault that a homicidal maniac is chasing after him, I'm wondering how he always finds him, maybe he has some inside information." Said Sirius pointedly.
"Or maybe it's the fact that he's so big-headed like his father, and runs to Voldemort just to show-off." Said Snape menacingly.
Sirius lunged for him, and Remus pulled him back, while Sirius yelled obscenities to Severus. Albus stepped in.
"Quiet! Control yourselves, and cease with the childish rivalries!" said Albus, giving an uncharacteristic glare at both of them, Sirius muttered an apology and sat down. Severus straightened his robes and sat down.
"Now, I agree we should keep a better eye on Harry" He lifted a hand as Sirius was about to interrupt. "Only because he keeps to himself often and we need to make sure no one is attacking him from the inside. We don't want any Umbridge affair or any dreams we do not know of. Keep a close eye on the whole trio in fact." Said Albus. Sirius' eyes darkened at the mention of Umbridge.
"That is all, you are dismissed." He said, everyone got up and communicating quietly amongst each other.
I walked down, hearing that that the meeting was over, Hermione and Ron were following. We were so anxious to get down because being left in the room with the twins was more than one could bear. They weren't horrible, but they were almost unbearable, I was able to avoid most of their tricks, at times I question my investment.
Ron was looking accusingly at me the whole time, I think he questions, or in a better said way, HATES my investment. I looked apologetically at him. The order members were leaving, Molly was talking to Ron, hugging him. We were going to diagon alley with them tomorrow. We had to do it soon, if we had to be a Hogwarts a day early.
Once everyone left, we went in the kitchen, all our trainers had went to Hogwarts to get prepared, and they had a lot to set up. So it was pretty much just, Remus, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, and me. It was nice to get a break from all that training, but we have improved drastically.
We were eating of course and Ron, Hermione, and I were talking while Remus and Sirius were chatting about something in the order.
"Eurgh, this looks like the basilisk that attacked me in the second year." I said looking at some unidentifiable lump of food on my plate.
"Basilisk!" Sirius said looking startled. Surely he knows!
"Didn't you read about that in the paper? I asked incredulously.
"One word Harry, Azkaban." He said, half-glaring at me. Oh crap! He doesn't know!
"Well it's not really anything important." I said quickly, avoiding his eyes.
"No, I think I'm quite curious now for a few stories." He said with false cheer, his eyes narrowed.
"Hey Hermione, Want to go play some chess!" said Ron, grabbing Hermione's arm. Hermione nodded, they hurried out as I glared at them.
"I think you should start with your first year with the Cerebus (three-headed dog)," said Remus amusedly. How can he be amused at this time? I looked crossly at him.
"CEREBUS!" said Sirius in alarm.
"I got some, papers to look at." Said Remus, exiting quickly. I huffed and cross my arms, some friends they are I thought, as I watched Remus go. I turned around only to find Sirius looking menacingly at me.
"Really Sirius you need to calm down, it's not that big of a deal." I said, trying to take the nervousness out of my voice. Sirius snorted, crossing his arms.
"Let me be the judge of that, go on. First year." He said sternly, I rolled my eyes.
"Fine" I sighed, "Okay well I guess it starts when we find Fluffy, the three-headed dog, we accidentally were on the forbidden corridor, and were trying to hide from Filch. That's when we got curious and we found out about the philosopher's stone, and about Nicholas Flamel. So we found out that Voldemort was trying to take the stone, but no one would listen to us so we went in the chamber that was heavily guarded. Erm…then we played music for Fluffy and went under the trap door, got tangled in this devil's snare thingy, then these flying keys, and then a human-sized chess thing. Ron sacrificed himself, then some potion we had to take to get through this door. That's where I went in alone and found our defense teacher was possessed by Ole Voldie, and I burn him to dust because he couldn't touch me, be cause of my mum blood, Dumbledore came in and I passed out, and thus saved the philosopher's stone." I ended meekly.
"So let me get this straight, you found Fluffy, because you were on a corridor you weren't supposed to be on, you go snooping around Hogwarts to find more about something that you really shouldn't find out about. Run straight into danger, that could've gotten you and your friends killed, could've been killed if it wasn't for you Mum's blood, and Dumbledore comes and saves you." Ended Sirius staring piercingly at me.
"Well if you put that way." I was quieted with another well-pointed glare. This happened years ago, and suddenly I'm getting lectured now! Nothing is ever fair for me.
"Why don't you start with the second year now." He said, I wished he'd stop staring at me like that!
"Okay, well, err… we had an idiot, fraud for a defense teacher, there were attacks all over the castle because of a basilisk, but everyone thought it was me because I could speak parsel tongue, and that was a sign of being a heir of slytherin. Hermione, Ron, and I wanted to find who was the heir of slytherin, so we thought Draco, so we made a poly- I mean potion that makes you look like people." Oh yeah he's not going to guess that. "We found out it wasn't Draco, then I find this diary by Tom Riddle, and It tells me it's Hagrid, Hermione gets petrified, we go to Hagrid, he gets sent to Azkaban and tells us to follow the spiders, we do that and end up in the forbidden forest in an acromantula nest. We find that Hagrid's innocent but almost get eaten. Ron's flying car saves us that we used to get to Hogwarts and almost got expelled by doing that. But we were fine, finally we find it was a basilisk by Hermione, she had a paper in her frozen hand. We accidentally overhear a teachers meeting that Ginny was taken to the chamber. Lockhart was supposed to save Ginny but he was leaving, we lead him by wand-point to the chamber of secrets. We go down and the wall caves in, Lockhart goes mental, Ron and I get separated. I find tom riddle and it turns out he's Voldemort in a sixteen-year-old memory, and he's been using Ginny to be alive again, with a journal that takes life out of you little by little. He sets a basilisk on me, the sorting hat gives me a sword, I kill the basilisk, but it bites me, I use the fangs to kill Tom. Fawkes heals me, and takes Ginny, Ron, Lockhart, and me out of the chamber." I ended.
"So you fly a car to Hogwarts for who-knows-why reason, make a poly-juice potion that could've killed you if you made it wrong. Where you got the ingredients I do not want to know. You use a life-sucking diary that blames Hagrid. You follow his advice, out of all the advices, to go in the forbidden forest; you know why it's called forbidden don't you? Almost get killed by acromatulas. Eavesdrop on a teacher conversation, and hold another teacher at wand point, into a one-thousand year old cave. Run straight into danger once again, almost get killed once again, and would've died if not for Fawkes." He said, giving me one of those looks again.
"How do you make every good thing sound like the worse crime in the world." I said exasperatingly.
"Well if you wouldn't be running into your death every year, then maybe I wouldn't have to. Do not say it's alright, because you still run into danger without even thinking, your third year ring a bell, how about fifth year, or maybe this summer for instance. What are you trying to do give everyone a heart attack? You should be glad I wasn't there for your first two years, or I would've taken you out of Hogwarts and locked you in a dungeon. If you make another stupid stunt like the ones in the past I just might." He said sharply. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"Fine Sirius I won't run straight into danger, happy?" I said, giving him a cheeky smile. He snorted and tried to ruffle my hair; I ducked and ran out of the room before he could say anything more.
I found Hermione and Ron sitting, playing chess.
"Oh look my friends" I said sarcastically. The both jumped and looked at me apologetically.
"We're sorry." Said Ron.
"Riiiiight, uh-huh, I'm sure." Being sarcastic once again.
"Oh come on Harry, we got our dose of lectures at that time, it's about time you got one." Said Hermione, smiling in a mischievous way that I never thought I'd see grace her face. I rolled my eyes, and watched Hermione lose dreadfully against Ron in chess, which was some consolation in itself.
We were going to diagon alley today, with the rest of the Weasleys, who were in school. We had practically everything on the list for the Phoenix fires, except Ginny. All we had to do was get the books. The order was on watch all over diagon alley in case there was an attack, it was a little annoying, but Ron, Hermione, and I got our privacy, that's all that mattered.
"So do you think everyone's going to come to the meeting." Asked Hermione.
"I'm not sure, but I'm glad we don't have to deal with a slytherin, so I guess we'll get along with everyone." Ron said.
"I don't know, Cho and me didn't really leave on good terms." I said.
"Cho and I, Harry." Said Hermione. Ron looked at me and smirked.
"What about you and Cho 'Mione." Said Ron, teasing her.
"I meant in correct grammar- OH Ron! You know what I mean!" she said playfully hitting him. Ron I just rolled our eyes.
"Maybe you should just avoid Cho, That's what I do." Offered Ron, I shrugged.
"It's hard for me to avoid people." I mentioned the nodded as we entered flourish and blots.
Hermione started picking up her books while Ron and I stopped in the front look at quidditch magazines.
"Do you think the cannons have a chance Ron." I asked.
"Yeah, of course, they're the best team ever." He exclaimed, I think I heard the store clerk snort, but maybe I imagined it, I shrugged and went back where Hermione was, she already had more books in her hand than what we need for all seven years.
"Err. Hermione, why are you carrying so many books." I asked, she stared at me with a "Don't-you-know-me" look, I put my hands up in mock surrender and grabbed my books quickly, Ron and I wanted to head to the quidditch store next, Ron already had his books, by the time we got to the checkout, as of right now he was nagging Hermione to hurry up. She just ignored Ron like he was a scrap of paper, so we had to wait another half hour while Ron went from between nagging Hermione and whining to me. I just read up on some of the books we were going to use for the phoenix fires.
"Ok I'm done" said Hermione, who shrunk her books to the size of a pebble.
"Finally! There's only so much I can stand in a book store." Gasped Ron.
"Oh honestly Ron, I'm going to your quidditch store, it's only fair." Said Hermione.
"Err. Let's just go, before one of the order guards think we were kidnapped in the bookstore." I said smirking.
They had a new racing broom called the lightening 360, Ron and I drooled over while Hermione read the whole time. I couldn't figure why Hermione disliked quidditch that much. I guess flying wasn't her thing.
"Oh Merlin!" cried Hermione, we turned around sharply to see Hermione gasp at her watch.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"We're thirty minutes late, we were supposed to meet together at the leaky cauldron." She said.
"Bloody hell! We better get there fast!" said Ron, getting ready to sprint.
"OH crap, Sirius is going to kill me; you know how he is about time limits! He's obsessed." I said, darn it!
"Well let's stop talking and get over there." said Hermione, we sprinted all the way to the leaky cauldron, and we were about 45 minutes late when we got there. Molly, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Ginny, and Arthur were there. None of them looked happy per se, but the look on Sirius' face wanted me to be someone other than myself.
"You know guys; I wish we had our time turner as of right now." I whispered as we slowly approached the table, very, very slowly.
"My mum looks real angry, but Harry, I feel sorry for you, Sirius is gritting his teeth." Said Ron.
"You're are too lucky Hermione." I said as we came into view. Sirius got up quickly and was up in my face faster than I could count. You know, there are times when I wonder if Sirius was really guilty of the murders back in the day, you know when he looks like he's about to kill me!
"Where have you been? What part of three o'clock don't you understand, it's almost four, how in the world can you be late a whole hour!" he said, his eyes ablaze. Breathe in, breathe out, don't get angry at him, he's just an overprotective maniac.
"Answer me Harry!" he whispered, overprotective maniac, overprotective maniac, overprotective maniac.
"Erm, we got distracted at quality quidditch supplies." I said in suppressed anger. Overprotective maniac, overprotective maniac.
"For a whole hour!" he said glaring at me, overprotective maniac, overprotective maniac.
"Ron don't let Harry answer for himself, I'm sure you were just as irresponsible! Do you know how worried we were!" she said sharply at Ron. Ron turned red.
"Mrs. Weasley, it's my fault I had a watch I should've been watching it, I mean I wasn't even looking at the brooms." Said Hermione sincerely, looking properly abashed.
"Oh dear, don't take all the blame, I'm sure you had your share, but the other two are as much at fault." She said, glaring at Ron particularly.
"Well since you, Harry, were not paying attention for this second time this summer, Harry, you won't be going to the first Hogsmeade weekend." Said Sirius, I sighed loudly, earning another piercing stare, overprotective maniac, overprotective maniac.
"That goes for you to Ronald, Hermione dear this is your first time so don't worry." She said sweetly to Hermione.
"No, I think I'll stay at Hogwarts also." Hermione said, I looked at her admiringly. There are time I know exactly why Hermione is a prefect.
Sirius cooled off some, Remus, helped. I never wanted to wonder what it would be like not to have Remus there. I'd probably be locked in a dungeon for real. Ron spent the rest of the day complaining how unfair it was and how everybody is late at sometime, and it wasn't like they had done it one purpose. Then he got a big lecture from Hermione, how they just care and don't want us to get hurt.
Ron of course didn't listen and went on complaining, until Mrs. Weasley said she would take his broom if he didn't be quiet. He was quieter than I have ever seen after that.
When we got home, we were getting ready for the trip to Hogwarts tomorrow, I was nervous and excited. For one thing both Sirius and Remus were going to be there at Hogwarts, if I know them, they'd be keeping an eye on me more than anyone else, and I know them pretty darn well. Since we are more advance than everyone we get private lessons, and less time to ourselves. Hermione kept rearranging her study schedule, I don't thinks she's done yet.
The next morning was a rush we put on our battle robes with the phoenix fire crest on it, they had a phoenix on them with blue fire circling it. We took a port key to Hogwarts, everyone was arriving slowly, I waved to Ariadne, who was wearing the phoenix fire crest, except it had a red flame around it. I guess that indicates leadership.
As everyone started to arrive we greeted them, Neville look surprised to be here, getting an outstanding in anything was amazing for him. We were ordered to sit down and we did, Dumbledore got on to the platform. He looked around and smiled, his eyes twinkling like a million stars.
"Welcome, I am pleased that you all have made it safely. Today we are going to duel to determine ranks, and a series of test. So get read for the Fire of the Phoenix Tournament!" he said his eyes twinkling, we just stared with our mouths agape.
A/N: OMG, I cannot believe I updated soo late, I totally lost track of time! It's been like what over a week, well my internets been insufferable lately, but no worries; I will try try try to get this up. I got so sidetracked with my new story I'm making that this (I don't know how) slipped my mind. Well I hope you like this chapter; it was more light-hearted and fun. I wanted to get a little humor in here. Please review all you pplz! Thanks for reading!
SIDENOTE: check out my c2 community, called "Godfatherly Comfort", I'm sure you guys will love it!
Reviewers.
Luuvgurl: Yeah, I can't wait to make the tournament, it'll be awesome. Still working on how the ranks will work out but hey! Thanks for reviewing!
Ickle-princess: I'm glad I made your day, I was half expecting an email from you…lol well here you go! Thanks!
charl1e: hello Charlie, I 'm always excited for new reviewers! I like your community! Thanks!
ambereyes2873: Yeah, I love those moments, I'm trying to make it interesting so I guess this will work…lol! Thanks!