AN: Sorry for the delay but when time for Book six to come out got closer I decided to wait and see what happened then decided if I wanted to either just stop this story or even rewrite it to take the new book into account. But after reading I decided to continue this story as is. Of the six HP books I think Half Blood Prince is the best and I love they way it ended but right now I like the direction this story is going and if I were to rewrite it as a seventh year fic it would take away a lot of the events I have in mind.

THE NEW ORDER

By

Padfootjr23

Chapter Twelve: A trip to Hogwarts

After Leaving Twinkle and Susan to their cooking Harry went to search for the snake that had been found in Borgin and Burkes. After searching many rooms and questioning quite a few people he came across Snape who had just returned downstairs after making sure that Blaise was settled into her new room. When asked about the reptile he wasted no time telling Harry that he had killed it just shortly after arriving back to the house. Apparently Blaise had spoken with it briefly after she was stunned during the fighting and her portkey kicked in and the snake was most definitely allied with Voldemort. Snakes, unlike people, never waver after they declare their loyalty so there was no hope for gaining her allegiance or any information. Harry was disappointed at first until he learned that Snape only killed the creature after it attempted to bite Blasie. A bite that would have surely resulted in her death.

After dinner that night Harry decided that he should sit down and talk to Susan to see how much Dumbledore had told her and decided what should be done with her because he would be damned if he was going to keep her locked up like some prisoner against her will. When they had both finished eating he led her into a small cozy sitting room to talk. Her obvious fear of him did not go unnoticed and he quickly found out why. When asked what she had been told about their current situation she replied with one word. Nothing.

Needless to say Harry was pissed. That old fool Dumbledore felt the need to explain everything to a person he knew to be a Death Eater yet he brings an innocent teenage girl to stay with a group of 'murders' without so much as a simple explanation. No wonder the girl shrank back every time Harry was near. Harry spent a few minutes cursing Dumbledore's name with some very colorful language that left Susan red faced. She thought that he had even made up a few words of his own. After taking a few calming breaths Harry decided to do this a thoroughly as possible and asked Twinkle to bring in some Veritaserum which she did gladly. Harry told Susan to ask any questions she wanted as long as they didn't involve his personal life. Needless to say she was convinced that she was in no danger after nearly fifteen minutes of questioning.

"Now we have to decide what you are going to do while you are here." Harry began after the effects of the truth potion wore off.

"What do you mean?" The Hufflepuff asked in confusion.

"Well you can't very well sit around and do nothing all day. A person would go insane locked up in here with nothing to do, especially since we don't know how long you will be here."

"Well why can't I help you?" She asked after thinking for a few minutes. Harry, for his part said nothing, just stared at her for sometime before speaking.

"You are here because Voldemort has some twisted grudge against your family. You're Aunt and Dumbledore has trusted us with your safety so tell me why I should place you into a situation where your life would be in danger?"

"You're in the same situation that I am in so why is there any difference?" She snapped back.

"The difference is that most people here are adults and skilled fighters. Blasie has her parent's permission to do this while my relatives couldn't care less if I lived or died. But the biggest difference is that Snape, Tonks, Blasie and I are not only wanted by Voldemort but also the Ministry. We have no choice but to do things this way and that means taking certain risks. So why should I allow you to place yourself in danger against your Aunt's wishes?"

"Like you said, you don't know how long I will be here, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit around here for months on end and do nothing while those madmen is out killing other people." She nearly screamed as she stood up from her chair swiftly. "If I can help stop at least some of the Death Eaters then I AM going to do it." She seethed as Harry just regarded her with an expressionless face. His silence was really beginning to piss her off and she was working herself into one hell of a temper when Harry suddenly cut her off.

"You will join Blasie and me in our dueling training with Bill Weasley every afternoon. You will not leave this house until he believes that you can handle yourself well in a fight. Every evening you spend time with Mundungus Fletcher who will teach you some less respectable skills you will no doubt find useful. I suggest you also acquaint yourself with Snape as soon as possible because when you are allowed to leave for whatever reason you will be paired with either him or Bill. They are two of the best fighters we have and at no time will you leave their side and you will do exactly what they tell you. If we are involved in a fight and someone orders you to activate your portkey and get away, you will do so without hesitation. It would be wise to spend your free time either researching and practicing different spells or working out in the gym to enhance your strength, stamina and flexibility. Those are my terms. You will either except them all and act upon them or you will remain here. Do you except my terms?"

"Yes." She answered without hesitation and Harry mentally grinned. Of all the qualities of the different houses of Hogwarts he admired the fact that Hufflepuffs had very little fear of hard work the most

"Twinkle!" An instant later the loyal house elf appeared at Harry's side. "Would you please show Susan where the gym and library is? And can you see about getting her some cloths to work out in." Twinkle nodded and Harry turned back to Susan. "I believe Bill is in the gym now, I suggest you speak to him about what your training will consist of." Susan merely nodded before following twinkle out of the room. Harry was preparing to leave himself when Fawkes arrived in a sudden burst of flames. Taking the note off of his offered leg, Harry thanked the phoenix before sitting back down to read whatever Dumbledore wanted. Several times he growled out loud as the old headmaster apologized several times for allowing Draco Malfoy to have information that should never have been spoken to anyone in the first place. Harry allowed himself a slight smile when he read that his memory charm had apparently been more powerful than usual, probably because of his intense anger at the time, and Draco had lost the memory of not only the last hour as he had intended but of the last three. Dumbledore obviously had one of his moments of wisdom when he decided to simply send him back to Malfoy Manor instead of pushing to 'rehabilitate' him.

After the very lengthy apology he included a few small bits of information, none of which Harry found very interesting, that is until he read that there would be a mass Order meeting at Hogwarts in a few days time. Slowly a large grin began to spread across his face as a plan began to form in his head. He quickly stood and walked out of the room, he would need to speak with Snape and Tonks about this one.

It had been over a week since 'Potter's Raiders' had ransacked Borgin and Burkes and three other shops in Knockturn Ally now shared it's fate. But unlike that first raid the others met no resistance from the Aurors. Minister Fudge was having the time of his life giving speech after speech about how dangerous Harry Potter had become but the general public was raising hell at the obvious lack of progress in either capturing or eliminating even one of his 'followers'. Most people now viewed Harry in much the same light as Voldemort and fear was beginning too spread. The only thing that kept that fear from becoming out right panic was the fact that he had not yet attacked anyone other than those that followed the dark arts.

Professor Dumbledore was currently sitting at the head table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts rubbing his temples trying to fight off the headache that was beginning to take hold. For the first time this summer they were holding a meeting with every member of the Order and everyone was trying to voice their opinions at the same time, refusing to even listen to anyone that did not share their views. Like the new hierarchy the rest of the Order was also divided in their belief of Harry's intentions and those that supported him were in the minority.

"SILENCE!" The headmaster and leader of the Order shouted out in frustration. The effect was instant and silence was the only response. If the situation wasn't so serious he probably would have found it amusing that he had the same effect on a room full of the most powerful wizards in England as he did on a roomful of ruckus students.

"Now, I have made no secret of my beliefs in this matter but I cannot and will not try to force them on any of you. But since this has so obviously torn the loyalties of the Order it is something that must be addressed. So I propose this. You will each select someone to speak for you and we will have a small debate. They will each address their beliefs and concerns and show evidence that supports them. We will have no speculations or theories, only facts. Afterwards that will be the end of it. I want no more fighting amongst ourselves. If Mr. Potter proves to be a threat to us in the future we will face it as we have faced the threat of Voldemort. Choose your speakers now!" Dumbledore finished before retaking his seat as both 'factions' of the Order began to speak amongst themselves. Ten minutes later the choices had been made and Professor McGonagall stood as the representative of those who believed in the missing Order members' innocence.

"As Albus has instructed, I will merely point out the facts. Severus, Mr. Potter, Ms. Zabini and Ms. Tonks all vanished only to reappear nearly a week later after Mr. Potter killed twelve Unspeakables. Those are the only details everybody will agree on. However there are many more that everyone else seems to want to forget. The fact that everyone of them was treated for exposure to the Cruciatus Curse and both Severus and Mr. Potter had obviously been tortured quite severely has been forgotten. The Ministry and many within this room will have us all believe that they left of their own free will to either join You-Know-Who or possibly form their own group with Mr. Potter as some new Dark Lord. They wish us all to agree that they attacked and killed those Unspeakables in cold blood but Minister Fudge refuses to allow ANYONE, even Albus or Geoffrey Stevens, the head of the Department of Mysteries, see or even question the only Unspeakable that survived.

Also, Minister Fudge has told the press that these 'innocent' men were defeated by Potter's use of the dark arts. But as we know Mr. Potter's wand was found at the scene by a team of Aurors and after testing it they found that no dark magic whatsoever had been used. A fact that the Ministry has repressed. Another fact they refuse to release was that the wands of the Unspeakables were also tested. Nearly everyone of them had used a great deal of dark magic, some even recently casting each of the Unforgivables numerous times.

Now I will get to more recent events." She stopped for a moment to collect herself again and Albus took the time to look over the faces of those that stood against Harry. He was pleased to see that though they sided against their fellow Order members a few among them clearly had their doubts. However, sadly he could tell that the vast majority of them obviously had no intention at all of even paying attention to anyone that did not share their point of view. As his eyes moved across the room they suddenly stopped on 'Mad Eye' Moody. The man appeared to not be paying attention to what his colleague was saying but instead was looking towards the back of the hall with a wide grin on his scarred face. Intrigued, the Headmaster followed his gaze and his eyes instantly went wide. He stared for what felt like an eternity until Professor McGonagall's words broke through his racing thoughts.

"This past week Mr. Potter's group, called Potter's Raiders by the Ministry, has raided several shops in Knockturn Ally and removed an unknown number of dark objects from several hidden chambers within the various shops. Both the Ministry and the Order have known for some time that such hidden items existed yet, sadly, neither have had the nerve to go after them for fear of retribution from the Death Eaters. The one time this group, now joined by Mundungus Fletcher and several others, were faced with opposition from the Aurors they restricted themselves to simple and non-lethal curses and despite being vastly out numbered for most of the fight they continued to prevent seriously harming their opponents. Some," She continued as she shot a dark look at Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Have been saying that they restricted themselves to such curses because Mr. Potter was using this raid as an opportunity to help train his fighters. Anyone with any common sense could see how utterly ridiculous such an excuse is. The Aurors were out classed by people that were holding back. From their own testimony the Aurors admit that Mr. Potter could have had them killed at any time, so why didn't he? It is clear that if they needed to 'practice' or 'train' as Kingsley has claimed then they would be better served to practice amongst themselves where they could get a proper challenge. The only reason for not harming them was simply because the Aurors, although trying to arrest them, are not their enemies. Now, with the exception of my last statement everything I have said is cold fact. If it were anybody else Fudge would not have over ruled the Department of Mysteries and placed the investigation in the hands of his own administration. And who did he choose to lead this investigation? Deloris Umbridge. I am sure that each and every one of you know of the hatred and animosity that both Umbridge and Fudge share for Mr. Potter. Fudge has already ordered that there will be no trial. I think that in of itself should raise serious questions regarding the Minister's motives." After saying this the transfiguration professor sat back down and spoke silently to Molly Weasley who was sitting beside her.

As silenced reined through out the room Dumbledore stole another glance at the two figures standing in the back of the hall. The man was leaning casually against the back wall and looking thoroughly bored while the young woman looked a little worried and a bit shocked at the argument currently holding the Order's attention. Albus had to hold in a chuckle as the man stifled a yawn as he shook himself as if he needed to fight to stay awake. 'What audacity.' He thought to himself as the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. In an attempt to contain his amusement he refocused his attention back on the Order members present, or more specifically Hermione Granger who had been chosen to speak as well. The old man felt a great deal of sadness at her attitude lately. Though she spoke out against Harry he could tell that she had begun to have her doubts, but the raids in Knockturn Ally seemed to have strengthened her belief in his guilt. It was obvious that she was chosen to speak because she was one of Harry's best friends and if she believed him guilty then it must be true. Despite his order that there was to be no speculation or theories it seemed that was all that she put forward. After all there were very few if any facts that proved Harry to be a cold blooded killer. With a sigh he turned back to her ramblings and was about to put a stop to her unfounded not to mention ridiculous theories when she finally said something that caught his attention.

"If Harry truly was innocent then why did he run away?" Dumbledore and several others snorted at this ridiculous question considering Harry was unconscious when he had been 'taken' from Hogwarts. "There would be absolutely no reason to hide from the rest of the Order unless he were doing things that the wizarding community would not permit if they were aware of them."

"And why does the Order hide it's actions from the wizarding community as well?" Everyone present spun around in their seats at the sudden appearance of a very familiar voice. "After all it was not that long ago that members of the Order were speaking of kidnapping." Everyone's eyes and a number of wands shifted around nervously looking for the source of the voice when the man began to chuckle. "Here, let me help you out." And with that the man dropped his invisibility charm to reveal the smirking face of Harry Potter. He was wearing the same heavy rust colored robes he had worn on his raids in Knockturn Ally though both Moody and Dumbledore could see through the concealment charms that hid what they truly were. Most of those present had not seen him since before he 'went missing' and so they were deeply shocked to see how severely his face was scarred. While most within the hall were frozen with shock Moody almost seemed to nod in approval at the fact that he still used the scarf to cover his right eye despite it's new magical replacement. After all you were at an advantage if someone were to seriously underestimate you.

A select few had been able to shake off their shock and jumped to their feet and began shooting curses in rapid secession. Harry however simply stood there and ignored the curses until they impacted heavily on a shield that seemed to cover the entire back wall of the Great Hall, including the doors. Everyone, including Dumbledore, was shocked that not a single curse got through but a few pulled themselves together and tried again with the same result.

"As you can see I could start throwing any curse I like right now and there is nothing any of you could do to stop me so you might as well put your wands away." Harry said with a grin. Of course his shield was very powerful but it also prevented him from attacking as well but they didn't need to know that little detail. Despite his words though no one put their wands away and some even continued attempting to get through his defenses. "Suit yourselves then. Now to answer Hermione's question, I didn't 'run away' as she put it. I was unconscious at the time and remained so until two days after I was 'taken' from Hogwarts. Also to the question of why I would avoid the rest of the Order, the greeting I just received would be enough to keep anyone away. I have no use for friends or allies that would turn on me because of the word of Cornilius Fudge."

"Potter you..."

"Hermione, every time you open you mouth these days you IQ seems to drop several points so why don't you do yourself a favor and keep quite for once." Harry cut her off quickly because he had no desire to even look at her much less speak to her. Despite the situation many around the Great Hall had to force themselves not to chuckle at the look on Hermione's face.

"Harry, may I ask why you are here?" Dumbledore asked kindly though he was deeply confused and even a little worried that he may be caught.

"I have a few sources that informed me of this meeting and I decided that I wanted to hear for myself what pathetic arguments my so called friends were making against me. And I must say that I am very disappointed. I would have thought that they could come up with something more intelligent but I guess my expectations were set just a bit to high. Speaking of which, Professor," He said while turning to Professor McGonagall. "Great speech. You covered all the bases, presented all the facts and even pointed out the flaws in the opposing argument. Great to see someone here is still using their intellect. Ten points to Gryffindor. Good job." He praised while giving her a thumbs up.

"Harry..."

"Sorry Headmaster I'm getting off track. I would like to point out the most obvious fact that McGonagall made and expand upon it. And that is the fact that IF caught myself and my esteemed colleagues will not receive a trial, which is in itself against the law but since when has our honorable Minister of Magic cared about such things. If found we will all be given the Dementor's Kiss immediately. To those of you who don't remember, Fudge had the same thing done to Barty Crouch at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament to get rid of the only witness that knew of Voldemort's entire plan to have me taken from the Hogwarts grounds for his rebirth ritual. As a result he was able to deny his return for an entire year while calling me and Dumbledore liars. Now he wants to get rid of me and the others just as quickly. I find it curious that Fudge is trying his hardest to prevent the only five people alive that know, first hand, what took place to talk about it. Myself and my friends will basically be put to death without a chance for a fair trial and the one surviving Unspeakable is currently being hidden away. Who knows, he himself might very well be dead."

"Are you suggesting that Minister Fudge would kill someone just to make you look bad?" Kingsley shouted as he jumped to his feet. He had no love for the Minister but he found the accusation insulting.

"Are you deaf and blind? He's already done it before. He had Crouch Kissed just to shut him up what makes you think he wouldn't do it to someone else? Fudge and that fat bitch Umbridge even tried to have Dumbledore arrested last year to get him out of the way. What makes you think he wouldn't do it to someone else?"

"Well for someone who claims they haven't gone dark you certainly seem to be spending a lot of time in Knockturn Ally lately." Kingsley sneered in a very Snape like manner.

"What we have done in Knockturn Ally is nothing more than what the Ministry should have done years ago. You and the Ministry may be afraid to provoke Voldemort by going after his supplies but I am not. Besides, it proves for very useful study material." He commented in an off hand manner and those that were against him seemed to think this was a confession of quilt.

"So now you admit to studying the Dark Arts?" Harry sighed in aggravation but when he felt someone nudge his left shoulder he suddenly got an idea.

"Well since you seem so confidant Kingsley I'm going to lower my shield and we will have a demonstration." In one fluid movement he removed his wand from his robes and with a flick of his wrist and a softly spoken word the crowd before him could see his shield dissolve. Many of those present, led by Kingsley, took the opportunity to renew their attack but were shocked once again when each of their curses were either deflected or bounced harmlessly off of his robes. Everyone sat stone still as they stared at Harry wondering how he had avoided so many without even moving. Their questions were answered when four other figures seemed to appear out of no where as they removed their own invisibility charms. Standing at Harry's side was Snape, Blaise and two other figures that had their hoods up and faces concealed. They were all wearing the same robes as Harry and the looks on Snape's and Blaise's faces seemed to make everyone nervous.

"Now that you got that out of your system I would like to point out that, as I'm sure Kingsley has already informed you, our portkeys will activate on it's own if we our seriously wounded or stunned and they can pass through any anti-portkey wards so you might as well not bother trying to capture us, you will fail. Now we can proceed with our demonstration." He explained as if he were lecturing to a bunch of first years before he stepped forward away from his colleagues.

"Kingsley, you are the most senior active Auror in the Order and are a very accomplished duelist so if you would step forward?" Harry asked in a polite tone while those behind him smirked at the Auror. Kingsley of course sure as hell wouldn't be shown up by a mere boy so he quickly stepped forward and raised his wand. Quick as lightening Harry snapped up his wand and shot a bright orange curse at his opponent before lowering his arm again. The Auror cast a quick shield charm and was preparing to retaliate when to his shock and the shock of most of those present Harry's spell shattered his shield and slammed into the man's chest sending him flying to the floor where he lay motionless. Seeing Kingsley beaten so easily surprised everyone present so much that no one could even think straight enough to raise their own wands in case they themselves were attacked.

"Now as you can see despite his skill and experience he is now flat on his back. Can anyone tell me why?" Harry continued with his lecture type voice as if he had not just attacked a fairly powerful wizard at the same time he stepped back and raised his shield again. "No one? The reason is simple. The curse I used is a little known Dark Arts stunning spell. It is similar to a regular stunner except it will knock you out for at least three hours and will leave you with a killer headache. It moves a great deal faster than your normal stunner will pass through most of your standard shield charms. Now can any of you explain to me why Kingsley apparently did not know this?"

"That's the Dark Arts, Kingsley doesn't use those." Hermione shouted as if she felt the need to defend the unconscious man from any implication that he may have any thing to do with such 'evil magic'.

"Almost but no." He answered while ignoring her tone. "It is not that he doesn't use the Dark Arts but rather the fact that he knows next to nothing about the Dark Arts. He wasn't old enough to be an Auror during Voldemort's first war so he and most of you has had little experience with those that use a great deal of these curses in a duel. And here is the million galleon question. If he does not know the Dark Arts how can he defend against them? With the exception of Dumbledore and certainly Moody over there, none of you know the first thing about such curses. True, you know the basics that you learned while in school but that will do you absolutely no good when someone is throwing a bunch of unknown curses at you. Most of the wizarding world is so self righteous and swelled up in their own self importance that they think that everyone that knows the Dark Arts is evil and to study them would corrupt you and turn you into a Death Eater. I find such beliefs rather pathetic.

While the Ministry is doing nothing more than sitting on their asses and the Order is doing nothing but bickering we are actually getting some work done. And to do that work we must understand what we are fighting. 'Know thine enemy' I believe the quote is. But now I'm afraid our time together draws to a close so I will leave you 'noble' people to your petty arguing but in the mean time we have work to do so I bid you good day. Oh, one last interesting fact. Last time Voldemort was trying to seize power he and his Death Eaters were outnumbered at least twenty to one and yet he was still winning. In fact, the Ministry was on the verge of collapse when he killed my parents and was subsequently defeated. Could it be the so called 'Light Side's' ignorance of the Dark Arts that had them at such an overpowering disadvantage?" He finished with a smile before turning around to leave the Great Hall but was stopped by the voice of Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry, before you leave, may I inquire as to what are in those?" He asked while pointing to the three trunks sitting on the floor just outside the door. Harry looked at the trunks as if he had no idea what the man was talking about before turning back to him with an innocent expression on his face.

"Um, souvenirs." He grinned before reaching out to grab at something that didn't appear to be there and they all activated their portkeys and vanished. Everyone continued to stare at the spot Harry had previously stood with a mixture of emotions such as confusion, fear, anger and amusement. They were pulled out of their thoughts however when a frantic Madam Pince ran into the Hall. Dumbledore sat down and let out an audible sigh. Just by the look on the school librarian's face he knew what was wrong. Harry had merely been distracting them while his 'raiders' had a free hand all over the castle. Adding Hogwarts to his ever growing list of targets certainly wasn't going to win him any support from the community and it was sure to bring up questions of Hogwarts' security. After all, if a 'blood thirsty murderer' like Harry Potter can slip into the school under the nose of Albus Dumbledore than what is to prevent him from doing the same thing when the castle is full of students.

When Harry and his small group reappeared in the entry hall of Potter Manor he was greeted by the rather smug face of Tonks while Mundungus' friend John looked very put out. After shaking off the usual effects of portkey travel he seemed to let go of something and a moment later Susan Bones stripped off Harry's invisibility cloak that he had loaned her for the evening. After handing it back to Harry she help Blaise and a few others take their trunks of 'souvenirs' up the stairs while Snape left quickly, presumably to the potions lab.

"So how did it go?" He asked as he turned towards the pink haired former Auror. As an answer her smug grin became even larger before she reached behind her back and pulled out a very familiar wand. Seeing it, Harry's eyes went wide.

"Where the hell did you find that?" He asked as he took the offered wand from her hand.

"It was in Fudge's office. Apparently he took great pleasure in displaying it on his desk like some kind of trophy." Harry just nodded dumbly for a moment as he ran his fingers over his first wand before her words seemed to have registered at which time his head shot back up and his eyes narrowed.

"Why were you in Fudge's office? Nothing went wrong did it?" He asked worriedly.

"No everything turned out all right. Fudge's office is right next to Stevens' so I thought that as long as we were there I might as well poke around for anything else that might be useful. Unfortunately I hadn't gotten very far before a few guards decided to interrupt."

"Ah, I take it that is why you aren't looking very happy?" Harry asked as he looked towards the scowling thief. The man just growled in annoyance and stalked away leaving Tonks laughing uncontrollably and Harry confused.

"It wasn't the guards, it was Stevens. For an old man he has some quickness in him. John was hit by about a half dozen curses the moment we walked through the door so he has been a bit sulky. We have him locked up down stairs right now."

"Good, has Dung returned yet?"

"No but he sent Bill back a few minutes ago to say that they will be a little longer. Apparently they found a few other things that they didn't want to leave behind. Don't ask me what because Bill wouldn't tell me." She added quickly when Harry was about to ask what they would risk staying in the headquarters of the Order for when they had plenty of time to finish what they had been sent there to do.

"Potter!" Snape shouted as he returned with a vial clutched in his hand. "Since we seem to have moved up from thievery to kidnapping high ranking Ministry officials I suggest we get on with this." He snapped as he stalked back out of the room. Harry and Tonks watched him with some amusement for a moment before Harry turned to her with a grin.

"Well, shall we join him my dear?" He asked with a mischievous grin as he held out his arm. He was rewarded with a grin almost as big as his own.

"Lets." She answered as she took his arm and the two followed after the rather surly potions master. Maybe now they would find out just how far the Death Eaters had penetrated into the Department of Mysteries.

TBC