The Order of the Phoenix

John was the first to know when Harry came through the front door, followed by everyone else when the portrait of Sirius' mother began screeching.

John groaned, pushing himself up on his elbows. 'Harry's here,' he mumbled.

'Mmm.' Sherlock was already half asleep, but rolled over blearily. 'We should see if he's all right.'

They crawled out of the fort Sherlock had built, and stumbled out into the hallway.

John was hit by the wall of malice again, though its intensity had begun to fade, since the Weasleys and Hermione cleared out more of the rooms.

There was a meeting going on in the kitchen, but once the portrait's screaming was quietened, there were hushed voices, and Mrs Weasley brought Harry up the stairs.

'Just there, on the right,' Mrs Weasley said, pointing at Ron's room, before dashing back down to the meeting.

Harry gave John a confused look, who just shrugged, and led him into Ron's room.

As soon as Harry was in the room, Hermione threw herself at him, nearly knocking him flat, and John dropped onto one of the beds with Sherlock.

'HARRY! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless - but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us - the Dementors! When we heard - and that Ministry hearing - it's outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations-'

'Let him breathe, Hermione,' said Ron, grinning as he closed the door behind Harry.

Hedwig then soared down from the top of a wardrobe and landed on Harry's shoulder.

'She's been in a right state,' said Ron. 'Pecked us half to death when she brought us your last letters.'

'Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know-'

'We wanted to give them to you, mate,' Ron said. 'Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us-'

'-swear not to tell me,' said Harry. 'Yeah, Hermione's already said.'

John looked Harry up and down. He could almost see the anger bubbling up inside him, and it only got stronger as he paced around, asking them why Dumbledore wouldn't let them tell him anything.

'Maybe he thinks I can't be trusted,' said Harry.

'Don't be thick,' said Ron.

'Or that I can't take care of myself.'

'Of course he doesn't think that,' Hermione said anxiously.

'So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you lot get to join in everything that's going on here?' Harry demanded.

Pain lanced through John's head and his eyes watered.

'How come you're allowed to know everything that's going on?'

'We're not!' Ron interrupted. 'Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young-'

'SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU LOT HAVE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT!'

Sherlock prickled, but John placated him with a hand.

'WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!'

John squeezed Sherlock's knee, forcing him to hold his tongue, and keep from reminding Harry that they had both done several of those things as well.

'BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?'

'Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did-'

'CAN'T HAVE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-'

'Well, he did-'

'FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON-'

'We wanted to-'

'I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-'

John winced, Harry finally hitting a nerve, and clenched his fists. 'Yeah, I've been having a fantastic time,' he snapped. 'I've had Death Eaters try to kidnap me and kill my mum, I'm not going to see her again until Voldemort's gone, and I've been stuck inside a house that hates me personally, all the while people are expecting me to be able to just watch in on Voldemort and find out what he's planning, but yeah, I'm having a brilliant time. Just bloody wonderful.'

Harry ground his teeth, but stopped shouting.

John sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, calming his temper. 'What hearing?' he asked.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

'What? Why do people keep expecting me to just know everything?'

'Harry's got a hearing for doing a Patronus in front of a Muggle,' Sherlock explained. 'You've got one too.'

'I have? I thought Mycroft was meant to be sorting it?'

'He will. It'll just be a formality, probably just Madam Bones asking you some questions.'

John groaned and lay back on the bed, not bothering to input while Ron and Hermione explained where they were to Harry, but decided he'd had enough when Fred and George Apparated into the room, and left.

'I can't wait to get out of this house,' he grumbled, sitting in the fort while they waited for dinner.

Sherlock played with the crystal ball, rolling it around in his hands. He never saw anything in it, but he could feel its energy through John. It was indeed a powerful object, and no doubt the reason Cassandra Trelawney was renowned for her prophecies. He offered it to John, who shook his head.

'Too hungry,' John said, pushing it away.

Sherlock shrugged, and hid it away in its black pouch.

Eventually, Mrs Weasley knocked on their door, and called everyone to dinner.

Down the stairs and into the basement, where the kitchen was, the majority of the Order was milling around, waiting for their food.

John passed what looked like a pile of rags in one corner, but it moved slightly, and John recognised it. He poked it, and a head of dirty ginger hair popped out.

'You were supposed to be watching Harry,' John accused angrily.

'Oh, so you knew he was tailing me?' Harry scowled.

'I tried to get them to protect you,' John said, dropping into a chair beside Harry, with Sherlock on his other side.

'I don't need protecting, thanks,' Harry said shortly.

'Right, because we all get randomly attacked by Dementors.'

'Who's helping me set the table?' Mrs Weasley said loudly, interrupting their sniping.

Ginny and Tonks hurried forward, Tonks knocking almost everything over along the way, and helped gather up the cutlery.

Sirius and Lupin also sat down at the table, along with the rest of the Weasleys.

'How are you getting on, John?' Lupin asked.

'I haven't seen anything worth something yet,' John frowned.

'That's not what I was asking.'

'Oh.' John looked up at his kind smile. 'I'm all right, I suppose. This house…'

'Yeah, tell me about it,' Sirius laughed. 'Don't worry, it hates me too.'

'And you, Sherlock?' said Lupin, nodding at Sherlock.

Sherlock just shrugged.

Mr Weasley passed everyone a goblet, and Mundungus surveyed his with interest.

'Sirius, mate, this solid silver?'

'Yes,' Sirius said distastefully. 'Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest.'

John snorted. 'Who even still has a family crest?' he smirked.

'We do,' Sherlock said flatly.

'Yeah, that's my point.'

'Fred - George - NO, JUST CARRY THEM!' Mrs Weasley shrieked.

They all looked around, then dove away from the table. Fred and George had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of Butterbeer and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife, to hurtle through the air towards them. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface; the flagon of Butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling its contents everywhere; the bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down and quivering ominously, exactly where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.

'FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!' screamed Mrs Weasley. 'THERE WAS NO NEED - I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS - JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!'

Sherlock laughed softly, holding John's hand under the table. Not long until I can do whatever magic I like.

John rolled his eyes. I can hardly wait.

Lupin and Bill helped pass around plates of stew and slices of bread, until everyone around the table had some food. Then Mrs Weasley turned to Sirius.

'I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a Boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out.'

'Whatever you like,' Sirius said indifferently.

'The curtains are full of Doxys, too. I thought we might try to tackle them tomorrow.'

'I look forward to it,' Sirius said, not hiding the note of sarcasm very well.

John focused on eating his food. There were so many people around the table, and all the noise was beginning to blur together. He squeezed Sherlock's hand. 'I don't like this,' he muttered.

'I'm sure you'll be all right as soon as we can leave this house.'

'What if I'm not?'

Sherlock didn't have an answer, and John sighed.

The food helped, and the noise quietened down when everyone finished their food. The energy in the room became sleepy, and John relaxed as everyone else did, watching Crookshanks chase Butterbeer corks under the table.

'Nearly time for bed, I think,' said Mrs Weasley with a yawn.

'Not just yet, Molly,' said Sirius, turning to Harry. 'You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort.'

John shuddered as everyone around him tensed.

'I did!' Harry said indignantly. 'I asked everyone, but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-'

'And they're quite right,' said Mrs Weasley. 'You're too young.'

'Since when did someone have to be in the Order to ask questions?' asked Sirius. 'Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know-'

'Hang on!' George interrupted loudly.

'How come Harry gets his questions answered?' Fred said angrily.

'We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!' said George.

'Harry's not even of age!'

The table devolved into an argument about whether or not Harry should be told what's going on, and John's temperature rose, flushing his cheeks, his head spinning.

'We should get back upstairs,' Sherlock whispered, concerned, but John's legs refused to move, and they both remained at the table, rooted to their seats.

'I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this,' Lupin said calmly, 'he's old enough to decide for himself.'

'I want to know what's been going on,' Harry said at once.

'Very well,' said Mrs Weasley, her voice cracking. 'Ginny - Ron - Hermione - John - Sherlock - Fred - George - I want you out of this kitchen, now!'

There was instant uproar.

'We're of age!' Fred and George bellowed together.

Sherlock just laughed.

'If Harry's allowed, why can't I?' shouted Ron.

'Mum, I want to hear!' wailed Ginny.

'NO!' shouted Mrs Weasley, standing up. 'I absolutely forbid-'

'Molly, you can't stop Fred and George,' said Mr Weasley wearily. 'They are of age.'

'They're still at school.'

'But they're legally adults now,' said Mr Weasley, in the same tired voice.

Mrs Weasley was now scarlet in the face.

'I - oh - all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron-'

'Harry'll tell us everything you say anyway!' Ron said hotly. 'Won't - won't you?'

'Course I will,' Harry said.

'Fine!' shouted Mrs Weasley. 'Fine! Ginny - BED!'

Ginny did not go quietly. They could hear her storming and raging at her mother all the way up the stairs, waking up Mrs Black's portrait, adding her shrieks to the din.

Lupin hurried off to calm the portrait.

'Are you all right with this?' Sherlock asked John.

John shrugged. 'Maybe I'll see something.'

Lupin returned, closing the door behind him, and Sirius spoke.

'Okay, Harry, what do you want to know?'

Harry took a deep breath. 'Where's Voldemort? What's he doing?'

The room wavered, and John was forced into a dark, but familiar house. He caught sight of Wormtail, and Voldemort very briefly before snapping back to the kitchen, clenching his fist.

'How come he's stopped killing people?' Harry's voice came from far away.

'Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself,' said Sirius. 'It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed up.'

'Or rather, you two messed it up for him,' Lupin said with a satisfied smile, pointing at Harry and John.

'How?' Harry asked.

'You weren't supposed to survive! You weren't supposed to see him!' said Sirius. 'Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But Crouch got cocky with the curse he put on John, and you survived to bear witness.'

'And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore,' said Lupin. 'And you two made sure Dumbledore knew at once.'

Harry nodded. 'All right, so what's the Order been doing?'

'Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans,' said Sirius.

'How d'you know what his plans are?' Harry asked quickly.

'Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea, thanks to John,' said Lupin, 'and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate.'

'So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?'

'Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again.'

John shuddered so violently he almost fell out of his seat. He saw Dementors swooping around amidst giants, and acromantula.

'So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?' Harry continued.

'We're doing our best,' said Lupin.

'How?'

'Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard. It's proving tricky, though.'

'Why?'

'Because of the Ministry's attitude. Fudge is absolutely refusing to believe it's happened.'

'But why?' Harry said desperately. 'Why's he being so stupid?'

'He's frightened of Dumbledore,' Sherlock explained. 'He thinks Dumbledore's making everything up to try and destabilise his position, and take over as Minister for Magic.'

'But Dumbledore doesn't want-'

'Of course he doesn't,' said Mr Weasley. 'He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it, and Fudge never forgot the support he had, even though he never applied for the job.'

'And accepting that Voldemort's back would cause trouble for the Ministry that they haven't had to deal with for fourteen years. It's far more comfortable for him to convince himself that Dumbledore's lying than face it,' said Sirius.

'And while the Ministry insists that there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it becomes ever harder to convince people he's back. That's why he's been leaning so heavily on the Daily Prophet,' Lupin said. 'Deny Voldemort's return and discredit Dumbledore. Two birds with one stone.'

'But you're all letting people know he's back, right?'

Grimaces and sighs ran around the table.

'Well, seeing as everyone still thinks I'm a mass murderer, I can't really go around handing out leaflets,' Sirius said bitterly. 'Arthur and Tonks would lose their jobs if they started shooting their mouths off, and it's really important to have spies in the Ministry. We already know Voldemort has them. We just don't know who they are.'

'We've managed to convince a couple of people, though,' said Mr Weasley. 'Tonks here, for one - she's too young to have been in the Order last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage - Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a huge asset; he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet. Mycroft as well has been invaluable. It's very handy to have someone so high up in the Ministry on our side.'

'Right, but if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?' Harry asked.

'Voldemort doesn't just march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry,' said Sirius. 'He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one of the things he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can only put into operation very quietly, and he's concentrating on those for the moment.'

'What's he after apart from followers?' Harry asked swiftly.

John's head throbbed again.

'Stuff he can only get by stealth. Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time.'

John grunted, swept away into a swirling vision before he could stop it. He couldn't hear anything, but he found himself sitting in front of Professor Trelawney, only she looked much younger than he remembered. She appeared to be in a trance, and her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. He tried to focus on her, but it hurt his head, and before he could get anywhere, he was flung somewhere else. He briefly saw Snape, and a Death Eater mask, then he saw the white orb again, so bright that it burned his eyes. He turned away from it, but everything turned bright pink, before he pulled himself out of it.

The kitchen still had a pink tint to it when John came around, and he felt the familiar stickiness of blood on his face from his nose bleeding again. 'Ugh.'

Sherlock's arm was protectively wrapped around him.

When he looked up, everyone but Lupin and Sirius had disappeared from the table.

'What happened?' he mumbled. 'Why is everything pink?'

They glanced at each other.

'I think we should get you to bed,' Lupin said, concerned. 'Everyone else is already gone.'

'What- what's the weapon?' John asked, climbing unsteadily to his feet. 'Is it the orb thing? What is it?'

Lupin frowned. 'I think you ought to ask Dumbledore when you next see him. I'm not sure if we're supposed to tell you or not.'

'Mm.' John didn't argue any further, and allowed them to guide him up the stairs and into bed, where he dreamt pink dreams.

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Morgause Pendragon for the review! See you again next time!