Chapter Three

Reordering the Order

Bright and early the next morning, TJ Selwyn met her brother Elliot in the common room and walked down to the Owl Room for breakfast.

"Good morning, everyone!" TJ said cheerfully as she came in, happy to see most of the order was there already. At the Slytherin side of the table, Eben sat next to Jack Black and Jay Clemmons, who was busy reading the paper. Ella Hauk somehow managed to sidle past them with her plate of sausage rolls, taking the end seat.

"So it's morning, then. That would explain why it's so bright in here," Mickey grumbled with his head on the table, sitting next to Olivia Potter.

"We never have a set schedule in the summer," Dawn explained from where she sat on the Ravenclaw side of the table. "Our father always warns us to try to get into the routine before the last two weeks of summer starts, but Mickey never does."

"Well, why doesn't your father put his foot down about it?" Sean Ramsay asked.

"My parents really don't put their foot down about much of anything," Dawn admitted. "They tell us that if we don't listen to them, we typically find things out the hard way and deserve it. They're only really strict when it comes to security matters."

"It's all apart of being a Snape," Rus agreed. "Defense is one thing we can't make compromises on."

"I don't see how compromising sleep is any better than compromising on security," said Sissy Kendrick. "Perhaps you ought to get an alarm clock, or a familiar trained to wake you up at a certain time."

"It never hurts to have both," Gloria Brittle suggested.

"Having both is a bad idea. I'd be tempted to chuck the alarm clock at my familiar," Mickey said, and a couple of them laughed at that.

Hector Weasley came in, followed close behind by Garnet Greisley and Elmira Balmweed.

"There are our Hufflepuffs," TJ smiled.

"We went to take a walk around the Quidditch Pitch," Elmira said smoothly.

"Actually, we went out there to poke around," Garnet admitted, Elmira giving her a dirty look.

"Yes, I got the officially official word from Brittle herself," Hector said, grabbing a morning bun and some tea before sliding into his spot. "The new house is allowed to play Quidditch and football, but Brittle's going to pick the first Quidditch team for safety reasons."

"An entire team of only first years! How could they possibly win?" Jack Black asked. "Talk about the ultimate definition of a building year!"

"I bet that breaks all sorts of Hogwarts records. I imagine there's never been a team with all first years before," Penny Morris said.

"Yes, but don't be so quick to rule them out either, Jack Black," Sissy warned. "All they really need is one fast Seeker."

"So how fast is Quintin, Rus?" Hector asked.

"He's unlikely to play that position if he plays at all," Rus replied. "He's a fairly good flyer, but he doesn't really care for Quidditch or flying in general unless he can't avoid it. He prefers strategic games, and typically plays physical games for the exercise rather than for fun."

"I agree with Rus," Jay said, looking above his paper as he turned the page. "If he plays at all, it'll be Keeper or Chaser, but only if he can't get out of playing. In football, he typically prefers goalkeeper."

"It sounds like there's nothing to worry about then," Hector decided.

"I very much agree," Jay said calmly. "Just don't join the Tennis Club unless you have a death wish."

"True enough," Rus agreed. "Speaking of Quintin, when are we going to talk about possible order members from the new house?"

"I take it that means you want to nominate him then?" TJ asked curiously.

"Surely if anyone over there is well adjusted and doesn't need help, it's Quintin," Elmira said. "Did you see that Sorting Ceremony, not to mention how they all follow him in the corridors? This morning they even came into the library as a group, and then hovered around Quintin until he pointed each one to the right section of the library for their project," she said critically. "And all the while, that mate of his follows him around with a reporter's journal in case Quintin says something brilliant and he has to write it down."

"Jeremy's always had an 'I'm awesome because my best friend is awesome' attitude since he was just a kid," Jay said. "He loves to go home and brag to everyone he knows about spending the occasional holiday with us. Not that he's just kissing up or anything like that, they really are good friends, but Jeremy tends to gauge his personal success by what other people do and not what he does."

"True, but he doesn't think about it like that, Jay. He really doesn't see that's what he's doing at all," Rus put in. "In short, he's a bit starstruck."

"If that's so, it sounds to me like it's Jeremy that's the one who needs to be in here," TJ ventured.

"Well, maybe, but I'm more worried about Quintin at the moment," Rus admitted. "I saw him at dinner last night. He was feeling quite isolated and very cut off from his family. Snapes don't tend to do very well when they're cut off from family."

"Some don't, anyway," Jay said icily. "There are exceptions."

"Maybe so, but Quintin's not one of them," Rus said. "He's feeling pretty unsure of himself right now. I'm going to go out to the main library to see what plans he has for today. He may feel better after some family time."

"Fine, if he's not doing anything, I'll go too," Jay said begrudgingly. Rus nodded with a smile, stepping out. "After all, I only have a few more years of school left, and after boot camp, I'll be assigned far away from here... if I'm lucky," Jay added, turning his attention to the newspaper again. A couple of minutes later, Rus came back in.

"Quintin says he's having lunch with Professor Scribe, and then their whole house is going out to the football pitch this afternoon. Perhaps we can go out there and help them get their football team set up?" Rus suggested. "Then maybe we can have lunch with him tomorrow."

"Fine," Jay said, not looking up from his paper.

"Do you suppose they need any more help this afternoon?" TJ inquired, Rus looking at her searchingly. "I was just thinking that it might be a good opportunity to get to know them better so we have a better idea of who to invite."

"I'm all for that," Hector agreed, and several others chimed in.

"Alright, I'll let him know that he's in for an invasion, then," Rus chuckled, going back out to confirm it.


Jennifer walked through the different sections of the Guard Wing, frowning at the rooms at the far end before returning to the front room. Severus was watching John clear out the debris and check for hidden magic items.

"There is very little light in these rooms," Jennifer complained. "Slit windows in some cases, and other rooms have no windows at all, especially the ones on the lower level."

"What do you expect? This was the Guard Wing when it was constructed, Jennifer, and the lower portion was the Armory," Severus said. "These are also some of the largest rooms not in use in the castle, and it will service them well over the long term."

"Even Slytherin and Hufflepuff have more windows than this, and their lower level is underground," Jennifer went on, Severus sighing silently with exasperation. "It may be easier to secure, but students need sunshine and fresh air and it's going to have to be modified."

"Do you realize just how long that would take?" Severus said critically. "Not to mention that the renovation expenses will have to be presented to the school board. We need to get the students housed as quickly as possible."

"Well, why don't we work on the common room first, and then put temporary doors in for the dorms and use some empty residential rooms from other parts of the castle until more suitable dorm rooms can be renovated?" Jennifer suggested. "I have a suggestion for what we can use for the common room, because one of the rooms on this level is very large and has those lovely windows that look out onto the grounds. If the old sword racks are any indication, it was once used as a training room."

"Yes, I know the one you mean, but it's two rooms in from this corridor..." Severus mused.

"Perhaps we can extend that room into this room," she said, walking into the next room with Severus following behind. "As for the very first room, we can fill the it with arches and open it up to connect to the outside corridor. Then we can use the end close to the common room to add some security statues and make a proper entrance area. We could even plaster over a section of the unused portion and make a hidden corridor to tie it to the secret passageways on the thirteenth floor. That way, they'll have a faster way to get to their classes," she suggested.

Just then, a trap door was flung open and Anna climbed up the ladder, looking annoyed.

"Okay, the first thing that gets changed is adding a staircase instead of a ladder!" Anna declared in protest when she got to the top.

"Anna, what do you think about the windows in the Guard Wing?" Jennifer asked.

"What windows?" Anna said flatly, Jennifer nodding fervently in agreement. "Except for the room that looks like it was set up for swordplay and that tower on the lower level, there isn't much light in here at all. How is it that there's a tower downstairs?"

"It's not directly below us. It's off to the side, in the opposite direction of the windows in the practice room," Jennifer explained. "From the stonework, it looks as if it had an entrance and exit that connected to the front grounds, but it was blocked up at some point."

"We should fix that as well, then. It'd make for a good emergency exit, even if it's not safe enough for a regular entrance," Anna suggested. "Sirius should be over here in a bit, by the way. He promised to help Zoe work on John's house this morning."

"Oh, are you having your house renovated again, John? I thought you two finally had it the way you wanted," Jennifer asked, peering curiously at him through the open doorway. John sighed and looked accusingly at Anna. "Why, John!" Jennifer beamed.

"Mitch has been after me for awhile wanting to adopt," John confessed sheepishly. "I wasn't sure how I felt about the responsibility myself, even after Thomas and Alex stepped in and said they'd speak to Family Services about my record. But Mitch is practically impossible to argue with when his mind is set on something, and now that his business is profitable and our expenses are manageable, I've no true objections left."

"Just let me know when you need time off, John. I know from watching Danyelle go through the process that you're going to need to set time aside to concentrate on that," Severus replied.

"Sirius has already promised to come in for John, Severus, as long as you don't mind us dropping Sam off at the daycare," Anna said.

"Not in the slightest. I wouldn't mind if you use the daycare more often in any case, for Serendipity's benefit," Severus admitted. "Besides, I haven't seen her since early August."

"You should have said something before, then," Anna said.

"I'm sorry, but the last two weeks before school are hectic for me, as you know perfectly well," Severus said briskly. "So how about we get started on this temporary housing plan of Jennifer's?"

"Yes, I was thinking that the room with the tall windows should be the main common room," Jennifer suggested to Anna, leading them inside to inspect it. "Oh, look! They seem to be out on the football pitch. You can see them clearly from here," Jennifer pointed out. "And a whole bunch of other students seem to be out there with them... there's Ella Hauk for certain... I bet it's the Order of Owls down there."

"Good, I was a little worried. Quintin seemed a bit down last night at dinner," Anna said, peering outside.

"Yes, I noticed it as well... after all, these are very big changes for them too," Jennifer said. "And right now they're sleeping in the Gym while their teachers are scrambling. The sooner we can get them into regular rooms the better, even if it isn't ideal. I really think the best thing to do is put the common room together and borrow some doors so they can get into something more stable as quickly as possible. Besides, it'll be much faster and easier to add house room security on a single room than a whole wing. I'm sure Janus can recommend a gargoyle or two for the entrance and the Rogue Painting could recommend some security paintings."

"That sounds good to me," Anna agreed.

"Then why don't you help John here clearing things out until Sirius arrives, Anna?" Severus suggested. "You have my permission to go through storage and get whatever you can from there. John, make a list of what you could salvage and what we'll need to purchase. I will go with Jennifer to find you some spare rooms, and then we'll speak with Janus to work out some door guards."

"Sounds good," Anna said. As they left, Anna look out the window to watch her students on the football pitch.


It was pretty obvious from the start that Pete, Jeremy, and Quintin had the most football experience; in fact, Pete had come out wearing a Manchester United jersey. As Jeremy began lining students up to dribble to each other, Pete took mid and Quintin went to the net, shooting to test each other's skill level while Owls jumped in to help the newer players.

"Watch out, Pete, Truth Seekers make for strong keepers if you don't know how to hide your thoughts," Jay warned him after seeing Quintin make every stop.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pete asked.

"He can read minds," Jay explained. "So can my brother, and you'll be facing him when you play Ravenclaw," he added. "Want me to give you some tricks on how to deal with it?"

"Hey!" Rus protested, then went over to help Quintin.

Ambrose, who had just come back from the museum to see if he could help with the new wing, noticed the students practicing and veered in that direction to watch, walking over to where Cecilia Kendrick was sitting on the stands with her retriever, Fetch.

"Heya, Sissy," greeted Ambrose when he got close.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Tinker," Sissy replied.

"Mind if I sit a moment?" Ambrose asked.

"Sure," Sissy said with a smile.

"I see the Owls came out to support the new house," Ambrose said.

"Yes, from what I'm hearing, they're doing really well, too," Sissy replied. "There aren't many experienced players out there, so they are having to do some handholding, but it sounds like they're all having a lot of fun. I can't wait to find out what their Quidditch team is like."

"Well, not to slight my new house at all, but I doubt Ravenclaw has much to worry about," Ambrose admitted with a chuckle.

"No, I'm more worried about Gryffindor, really. They're quite strong this year, especially with TJ as their Seeker. I barely outstretched her last year, and I'm sure she's much stronger now."

"So are you! And you were only a second year, after all..."

"Yes, and they constantly underestimated me," Sissy said. Ambrose picked up a hint of irritation in her voice.

"There's nothing wrong with using that to your advantage. Besides, I sincerely doubt anyone is dumb enough to underestimate Ravenclaw again this year, especially after taking the Quidditch cup," Ambrose said.

"Sissy!" Rus came off the pitch, running up to them. "You're not going to sit there the whole time, are you? Come help me shoot so they can get a taste of goalkeeping. We can use the other net. You can use my owl as your goal assistant if you want," Rus suggested.

"Thanks, but I'd rather use mine if it's all the same," Sissy admitted.

"Wrongway, go get Fletcher for Sissy," Rus called to one of the owls at the top of the stands watching the game, and the owl took off. "So what are you doing here, Ambrose? Mr. Tinker, I mean."

"I'm going to be the new house assistant," Ambrose explained with a smile.

"Good! They're going to need all the help they can get... especially when it comes to football," Rus admitted.

"Need a good defensive mid? I can spare a half an hour," Ambrose offered.

"Sure," Rus said. A moment later, Fletcher flew down, landing on Cecilia's shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever seen you play over on the football pitch, Sissy," Ambrose said.

"Well, it's not exactly five-on-side, is it? But I'm sure I can kick hard enough to keep them challenged," Sissy said as they walked over. "Do you want to play Stomp the Keeper, Fletcher?" she asked her owl, who hooted excitedly.

"Is that what you call it?" Ambrose chuckled. "Do they even know yet?"

"That depends on if Quintin's mentioned it, I suppose. Either way, I expect they'll figure it out soon enough," Sissy said.

"Let's see how long it takes them," Rus suggested wickedly. Sissy pulled a pair of ear clips out of her pocket and put them on.

"Game on," Sissy said, firmly securing her shades as she stepped over to where Rus was.

"I'll see if I can round you up a volunteer," Ambrose said.

"And I'll line up the balls," Rus offered. "Five ready to go, Sissy."

"Yes, I know. I'm picking them up clearly," she assured him.

"Hello, Fifth House!" Ambrose called out cheerfully, getting their attention. "If anyone else wants to practice goalkeeper, Sissy Kendrick's willing to shoot balls for you at the other goal."

"Oh, I bet Fletcher's going to love that. I know how he gets about tennis," Quintin said.

"Who's Fletcher?" Jeremy asked curiously.

"One of her familiars. Her owl," Quintin explained.

"Wait, how come she gets to have more than one familiar?" Pete complained, turning around. "And one is a dog? I didn't see that on the allow list!"

"You can ask permission for other familiars. I have a rabbit," Quintin explained. "Why don't you go over there and get in the box, Pete?"

"I suppose I could, but I'm not as good as a goalkeeper as I am a striker," Pete warned, more than a little afraid of being stuck in that position.

"All the more reason to get some practice," Quintin reasoned. Pete shrugged and went over.

"Quintin? Are you going to take this other net or what?" Jeremy complained.

"No, get Oscar or Pippa to do it or something," Quintin suggested. Both of them pointed at themselves as if wondering what he was thinking, so Libby Martin sighed and walked over to do it herself. In the meantime, Quintin distractedly flipped the ball in his hand to one of the others and watched with interest.

"Now!" Sissy said loudly.

Fletcher hopped up and down on the net bar, hooting enthusiastically. It caused Pete to look up at an inopportune time as the first ball shot past him unexpectedly.

"Hey, what gives?" Pete complained.

"You're supposed to watch the ball, not the bird!" Rus shouted at him.

Fortunately, since Pete had looked over at Rus, he had caught the movement of another ball coming in and flailed in an attempt to get it.

Pete frowned at the enthusiastic owl that had flew up to get out of the way before landing back on the bar. Then it began hooting enthusiastically again. After hearing a warning from Quintin, Pete looked up just in time to block a high strike.

"Hey, he blocked it that time," Rus reported, and Sissy decided to clap at that.

"What's with the annoying bird?" Pete wanted to know.

"Oh, he's just happy. He loves playing games," Sissy explained. "Isn't that right, Fletcher?" she asked, and he began hooting cheerfully.

This time, Pete wasn't about to look up, realizing now that she seemed to kick right after the bird went nuts. Sissy slammed the ball hard but this time Pete was ready, burning his hands but managing to block it.

"That's the spirit!" Rus shouted encouraginly.

"I take it he's looking in the right direction now," Sissy commented.

"For the moment. Maybe you should lend him one of your ear clips," Rus joked.

"It has merit," Sissy replied, then put her foot next to the ball, signaling Fletcher to start hooting wildly again.

Doing his best to ignore it, Pete instead tried to use the noisy bird to anticipate the ball coming in, finishing off the rest of the row with no other problems.

Rus levitated the balls over and spaced them out in a row again, but just as he was finishing, a ball came over from the other side. Fetch barked loudly and jumped up to block it. Sissy ducked down in response to Fetch's warning, despite the fact that she hadn't turned around to see where the ball was. In fact, she didn't even look around to see where the ball was headed.

"Time! Time!" Pete said. He walked over and stared at her. "Hang on, are you blind or something?" Pete asked her.

"A bit," Sissy said with a smile. "Well, mostly, actually. Low vision," she explained. "Been like this since I was a baby. Are you ready for another round yet?"

"How come you wear sunglasses if you can't see?" he asked curiously.

"Really? We're starting there, then?" Sissy asked. "Which of my introduction cards would you like? The polite one, or one of the rude ones I got out of the Weasleys' joke shop?"

"Give him one of the rude ones, Sissy," Quintin immediately suggested.

"Very well! My card," she said, pulling out what looked like a normal introduction card.

Pete frowned and walked over to take it, glancing at the name Cecilia "Sissy" Kendrick before flipping it over.

"There's a mouth on the back," he reported.

"Yes, and boy does it have a sarky mouth," Cecilia said. "You see, these cards can record all sorts of personal information that I set up. It's like a frequently asked questions list. My parents bought them for me because they were tired of hearing me complain about dealing with the same questions day in and day out. Go ahead and try it."

"Okay. Why does Sissy wear sunglasses?" Pete said.

"To protect her eyes, you moron! Why do you wear them? She happens to get very bad headaches when looking at bright lights, as I'm sure anyone would if they stared at them too long!" the card said.

"How does she cast spells without line of sight?" Pete asked curiously.

"Her magic adapted to fit her needs, using her other senses," the card said. "It is considered a special type of Focus Casting."

"What, is that it? Where's the insult?" Pete wanted to know.

"Only rude questions get rude answers!" the card informed them. "Like when people ask her how does she find and use the loo. Like sight has anything to do with it! Does she look like she's two?" the card huffed, and Rus grinned.

"What other questions does it answer?" Pete said.

"Tell you what... why don't you just play with it and ask it any questions you wanted to ask me," Sissy suggested. "If you find one it doesn't answer, you can ask me directly. Then I'll make sure it gets added to my next set of introduction cards, so I don't have to deal with the same question again," Sissy added.

"Okay," Pete said, wandering towards the stands with the card in his hand, thinking up questions to ask.

"Anyone else want to come over?" Rus asked. A great many students had been watching the exchange by then, so they got several eager replies. They picked numbers to decide who was going to go first, and Jeremy was the first one in the net.

"You know, I really like this house," Ambrose decided with a smile.

"Really?" Quintin said, glancing at him. "I'm sure glad someone does." Ambrose chuckled.

"There are quite a few people in shock at the moment, Quintin. Breaking the status quo can be jarring for everyone. But don't worry. The moment they realize this house is here to stay and understand what it stands for, they'll start to accept it," Ambrose assured him.

"What do we stand for, though?" Quintin said, pondering the question thoughtfully.

"That's up to all of you," Ambrose said with a shrug. "But if you want my advice, you won't try to force an answer, because if it's anything like forming the Order of the Owls, you'll figure it out as you go along," Ambrose explained.

"Speaking of the Order, I don't suppose you're interested?" Rus suggested to Quintin with a smile. "You won't even have to lead or anything."

"Sold!" Quintin said fervently. Rus laughed at that, then watched at Jeremy's attempts to concentrate while Fletcher hooted enthusiastically over his head.