I think I had a bit of trouble making this chapter sound okay. If you like it give me some reviews and I'll keep going.

Chapter 3

Harry swirled around, engulfed in flames, but he did not get burnt. The fire dissolved around him and he found himself on the familiar street of Grimmauld Place. Harry rushed down the street, stood between number 11 and 13, and thought to himself, "The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve Grimmauld Place, London."

The house of his dead godfather Sirius squeezed itself into the space, pushing the other two houses to the side. It was a dark and gloomy house that Harry did not want to enter, but it was his now. If the Order still needed it as their headquarters then Harry would have to ignore the terrifying memories the ancient house brought him. It was the cold emptiness of this house that had forced Sirius to leave and be killed at the hands of his cousin, Bellatrix.

Although Harry was not looking forward to reentering the Black's house, he did not feel right standing on the street, and therefore made his way up the walk. Not knowing whether he should simply enter or if he should knock Harry chose the latter. The knocker was a large silver serpent that felt much heavier than if looked. After a few moments of silence Harry realized that there may not be anyone in the house, after all, the only frequent inhabitant previously had been his godfather. He then chose to open the door but he realized that it had no knob or handle, not even a keyhole. Finally remembering, Harry took out his wand and after tapping the door, heard the clicks of many locks and it swung open for him.

The hallway was very dark and silent. Someone must surely be there waiting for him. They must have known he was coming. He strained his ear for a hint of sound, looking around up the staircase. Without paying attention to where he was going he knocked into a curtain, which swung open to reveal a very angry looking old woman.

"You, Filthy Boy! You think you have inherited the Honorable House of Black! Get out of my house! Return my servant!"

At this moment, the dining room door opened and the Imperturbable Charm lifted. Harry could now hear a large group of people in the next room, but the meeting was paused while everyone looked around to see the cause of the noise. Mrs. Weasley had left the room and been startled to see Harry who was now trying to force the curtains of Mrs. Black's portrait closed.

"The wretched Muggle-lover! And the hideous half-breed! Befouling my halls! Leave at once!"

Harry turned again to see his old professor, Remus Lupin standing at the doorway. With his help, Mrs. Weasley was able to slam the curtain shut and the wailing ceased.

"Hello Harry," said Lupin tiredly, "We weren't sure when you would be arriving."

"It's good to see you Harry," said Mrs. Weasley, greeting him as though she had not seen him all year, although she had seen him only a week ago.

"Now that you're here, you should accompany us back to the meeting," said Lupin with a slightly proud look at Harry.

"No Remus, can't it, can't all that wait," said Mrs. Weasley with a scared look on her face.

"You know that this must be done as quick as possible," said Lupin.

"What? What's going on?" Harry asked, not understanding what seemed to be worrying Mrs. Weasley so much.

"Come with us Harry," said Lupin, steering Harry into the room.

Harry had known it as the dining room of the house but it seems much larger and the table which used to sit in the middle was gone. Instead were rows of long benches encircling a sort of podium. The room was full of witches and wizards, some that Harry recognized, some he had never seen before. He immediately noticed that Hagrid was there, sitting in the back row and giving him a wave. A large amount of people he recognized from the picture Moody had shown him two years ago. Mrs. Weasley joined the rest of the Weasley family in the front row.

He headed towards them but Lupin held his shoulder, directing him into the middle. He got very worried now, looking at the podium. Was he expected to give some sort of speech? Professor McGonagall had not mentioned anything. He tried to think what a large group of wizards wanted him to tell them. Luckily, Lupin motioned towards a small bench behind the podium where his friends Ron and Hermione were seated. They both looked as puzzled as Harry and he thought that they must not know why they were here either.

"Harry!" Hermione called nervously, while Ron nudged over to make room for him. Sitting down, Harry felt a bit more comfortable. He was back with his two best friends in the world, and he didn't have to make a speech.

"Oh Harry we've been so worried. I mean there was no reason to be of course you're perfectly protected at your Uncles house but, oh, you just never know," said Hermione very quickly. She avoided saying that the reason everyone felt so worried was that Dumbledore was gone. Harry had of course not felt protected at the Dursley's at all.

To avoid thinking about his old headmaster he turned to Ron and asked; "What's going on? Why'd they bring us here?"

"Dunno mate, they just told us that we needed to be involved in the next meeting. Mums been in a right state about it too," said Ron, looking around at all the wizards in the order.

"Yeah, she said something to Lupin earlier, wanted to wait or something. But Lupin said it needed to be done right away," said Harry, who still had no idea what "it" could possibly be.

"Oh those two have been on about it all week. There was a big meeting that they kept us out of, and even since Mum and Lupin have been having these little rows about it. Of course they stop once they see that we're listening so we've no clue what they keep going on about," said Ron, and Harry was pleased to see that Ron was as confused as he was.

"What do you think it could be that involves us?" asked Hermione, who was now looking a bit pale.

Before they could make any guesses ashort man in a top hat, who Harry knew as Dedalus Diggle,stepped up to the podium and the room grew silent. "We decided on all this last week," he began in a very squeaky voice, "so lets just get to it then. After Hogwarts was infiltrated by Death Eaters using both teacher and student spies, we have decided that it will be necessary to put additional members of the Order in the school. As Headmistress McGonagall had trouble filling various positions in her staff this will mean those positions will be filled by the Order. I myself will be filling in as the Transfiguration teacher."

"Why isn't McGonagall teaching?" asked Ron.

"Oh Ron, shes the Headmistress, I expect she'll be far too busy. But he'll be fascinating, we're sure to learn loads from him," said Hermione happily.

"So that means that more of the teachers left this year. Who would want to leave?" asked Harry quietly.

"Dunno mate. Who do you reckon Hermione?" asked Ron, looking over at her as though she already knew.

"We also,"Diggle continued, "feel the need to provide protection at a different level." He was looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione now and Harry began to feel very nervous. "Although some of you don't fully agree with this decision," as he said this Harry saw Mrs. Weasley cross her arms and purse her lips tightly. "It has been decided that three students will be made members of the Order of the Phoenix to protect the students of Hogwarts."

All eyes were on Harry, Ron and Hermione now. Ron seemed very pleased and triumphant with the decision; they had all wanted to be part of the Order for sometime. Hermione smiled nervously, although Harry could tell she was a bit scared at the thought. Harry was not sure what to feel. It was true he had desired to be a member of the Order. That was back when it contained Dumbledore, and Sirius. Now it seemed like they would be expecting him to stay at Hogwarts and protect everyone, and Harry was not sure he could.

Lupin pulled Harry to his feet and Ron and Hermione nervously stood up as well.Diggle stood in front of them as everyone in the hall peered at them anxiously. "Do you swear," he said, his voice even squeakier, "to commit to the mission of the Order of the Phoenix. To put that mission above all else. To, if necessary, die for that mission." At the last part Harry heard Mrs. Weasley hiccup slightly. "and to never divulge the secrets of the Order," Diggle concluded.

Ron did not seem as anxious as before, perhaps the realization that this war may take their lives had set in a bit. He still enthusiastically said, "Yes!"

Hermione looked over at Harry with a slight frown, but then put on a determined face and said, "Yes."

Harry saw his two best friends make the commitment. He was the reason they were doing this. If he hadn't got them involved they would never had to make this vow. They would follow him through anything, simply out of friendship. While Harry was willing to his own life to stop Voldemort, he didn't want to risk theirs. With a grim look on his face he looked into Diggle's eyes and said, "Yes."