CHAPTER ONE — A RESCUE
Tessa shifted around in her seat, absentmindedly rubbing her arm. She wouldn't even have noticed what she was doing had Professor Severus Snape not stilled her hand with a sympathetic grip and look. Snape's uncharacteristic actions had, however, called the attention of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black to the girl.
Number 12, Grimmauld Place had an anxious air about it that night, and the appearance of an unknown girl had done nothing for Sirius' frayed nerves. When he had asked Albus about her, all the old man would tell him was that she had her own mission to fulfill. This was just the latest in a string of annoyances that Albus had inflicted on Sirius, so the younger man was not in the mood for any more inconveniences.
Tessa took in the reactions around the room and the awkward air and rolled her eyes. She knew that Lupin had forgotten her, though he had been her professor just two short years ago. She knew that she made Sirius uncomfortable, though she didn't know why. And she knew that no one, save Snape and Dumbledore, thought she should even be present.
An Order meeting was occurring that night, and Tessa was the only person under the age of twenty allowed to sit in. As a current Hogwarts student, going into her sixth year, none of the other members of the Order thought she should be there (and rather vocally thought so too). When she had walked into the crowded kitchen just a few minutes earlier, there were more than a few shocked looks thrown her way, but she ignored them. It was none of their concern why she was there, least of all Molly Weasley's (the most vocal of the nay-sayers).
A sharp clap shook Sirius, Remus and Tessa out of their respective stupors.
"All right," Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody growled at the room. "Everyone knows the plan, correct?"
No one in the very full room dared make a sound. Mad-Eye was intimidating as hell, and far be it from Tessa to break the mood.
Moody evidently took the silence as assent and continued. "Good. The guard consists of Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Doge, Diggle, Emmeline, Podmore, Hestia, Sperry, and myself. We fly to Potter's under a disillusionment charm and retrieve the boy exactly according to the plan we created last time. Any questions?"
Tessa's hand fluttered into the air hesitantly.
"Sperry you're kidding," Moody's plea for questions was, apparently, rhetorical.
"Yes, erm, I was just wondering why I was chosen to be a part of the guard?" Tessa stuttered out. "I mean I'm only here in the first place for—"
Moody quickly cut her off. "That reason is exactly the reason that you are coming with us. Are there any other questions that you don't already know the answer to?" Moody glared around threateningly.
The only hand to raise was Sirius'. Moody rolled his eyes. "No, you cannot join us Sirius."
As she shivered from her perch on the broom, Tessa once more questioned the logic of her presence. Why couldn't someone else, Molly Weasley for example, who seemed to have so many opinions on everything, have taken her place? Especially tonight when it kept tingling with increasing intensity. Her hand was once more drawn unknowingly to her left arm before she was startled out of her thoughts by purple sparks. It was time to descend.
The front yard of Number 4, Privet Drive was perfectly manicured, despite the drought that had been plaguing Surrey, Tessa noted, quirking an eyebrow. It seemed Harry Potter's relatives were unconcerned with the water limits that had been imposed.
"Hurry up Sperry!" Moody called back at her. In the time it had taken her to land her broom and inspect the lawn, the rest of the guard had already advanced to the front door.
Tessa groaned and tripped over her own feet. If they had wanted someone who would hurry, they should have chosen someone other than Tessa Sperry to fetch Harry Potter of all people. She was pretty sure she was chosen because Moody thought that the Boy-Who-Broke-Every-Rule-Ever would appreciate a familiar face from school, but she highly doubted that he even knew she existed, let alone that she went to his school and was only a year ahead of him.
Moody eyed them all suspiciously. "Stay in the kitchen or I will blast your biceps off. And let me tell you, it is NOT pleasant to wave a wand around without biceps. Lupin, Tonks and I are going up to get Harry and if you all even think about moving, I won't hesitate."
Tessa stifled a snort. Overkill much? He could have just said stay and she would have happily plopped herself into a seat at the kitchen table but no, that would have been too easy. Now she was concerned that if she took a seat, she'd find herself bicep-less (of all things). Moody's penchant for melodrama was well known, if inconvenient.
Soon enough, though not before a series of very odd sounds drifted down towards the kitchen, Moody traipsed back down the stairs followed by everyone else, and heading up the rear was old "Trouble-Finds-Me" himself. Moody went around introducing everyone to Harry, though Tessa noticed that she was excluded from introductions, presumably because Moody thought that Harry already knew her.
That would be the day.
Once Moody had finished, the boy wonder looked questioningly at her. "Who's that? Why didn't you introduce her?"
Moody's normally neutral expression shifted to one with an almost imperceptible amount of surprise written between his grizzled brows. "That's Tessa Sperry. She's a Hufflepuff in the year above yours at school. I thought you'd know her, but I suppose not," He grunted.
Harry flushed slightly, apparently feeling bad because he thought he should know her, but Tessa saw past his sheepish look. His look of disdain was carefully masked, but was there nonetheless. Being a Hufflepuff was not conducive to being respected by other Houses. For all the Gryffindor talk of being noble and accepting, there was an extreme prejudice against anyone who wasn't sorted into the house of the brave. Sure they occasionally associated with the odd Ravenclaw, but they never talked to a Hufflepuff without the omnipresent condescension. Apparently being fair and kind was something to be looked down upon.
Tessa did her best to ignore it, but it always hurt. Always.
Tessa's trip back to Grimmauld Place was a blur of pain. Her eyes were so badly clouded with it that she could barely see three feet in front of her face. Her arm was burning now, and she didn't know how much longer she could avoid the obvious.
She waited until she was back at Grimmauld Place before bolting past multiple startled faces and locking herself into the first room she saw. Her knees buckled out beneath her and she ripped up the sleeve that had been covering up her left arm, though she knew what she would see.
The Dark Mark was black and slithering, the sinister skull seeming to leer up at her. Voldemort was calling his slaves to him, and Tessa's choices were to either listen or suffer the consequences.
Tessa crashed into the kitchen, ignoring the startled looks that followed her interruption. She should have known that there would have been another meeting occurring just then, but she hadn't thought.
She pushed her way past a startled Arthur Weasley before clenching onto Moody's robes. She would have preferred Professor Snape, as he would have known the severity of the situation better, but the man had a deadly look on his face that had everything to do with the appearance of Harry Potter. It was a particular brand of loathing that was reserved for him.
"He's calling," she gritted out to Moody, her face pale. Tessa's urgent tone had the room's inhabitants even more curious.
"One moment," The auror grumbled at her. He was currently busy trying to pull his whizzing, electric blue eye out of the glass of water that it was residing in. The eye made its way back to the socket with a sickening pop before Moody turned back to Tessa.
"MOODY I NEED TO GO NOW!" Tessa bellowed. Her interest in flying as far below the radar as possible waned with the pain.
Two ginger heads popped around the doorway.
"What was that?" Fred peered suspiciously around the room before his eyes settled on Tessa.
George had a similar look on his face as he surveyed the room. "We heard screaming."
"That is none of your concern," Tessa sneered at them. Any chance of being unknown was well and truly shot by now.
"OUT, OUT, OUT!" Molly Weasley shrieked, bustling the protesting twins out of the room. "YOU KNOW THAT YOU AREN'T ALLOWED IN MEETINGS!"
"BUT MUM—"
"—WE'RE OF AGE! SHE ISN'T!"
"SHE'S ONLY A SIXTH YEAR!"
"OUT!"
The screams echoed through the kitchen long after the three were gone.
Tessa immediately turned her attention back to Moody. "NOW! I have to go! He will hurt me later if I don't listen NOW!"
"All right, all right, calm yourself down girl. Severus will side-along with you."
Tessa's good will towards Moody was extremely limited. "Thank you oh-so much for your prompt attention to my pressing urges. It was truly appreciated," She mock-curtsied to Moody, then yanked Snape's sleeve and pulled him along behind her.
"I don't appreciate being ignored," A voice hissed at the kneeling Tessa. Her head was bowed down, hiding the expression of disgust that she was sporting.
"I apologize, my Lord. I was in Diagon Alley when you called, and it took me a while to find someone trustworthy to apparate me here," She murmured. Her Occlumency shields were strong and would hold, as long as she didn't say anything that made Voldemort turn his full attention to her.
The second she looked suspicious, and Voldemort tried with any effort to see anything beyond what a cursory glance would reveal, well… God save her. She was good, but she wasn't that good.
"Do better next time Teresa," Voldemort whispered. "While you are at school, you are to befriend the Boy-Who-Lived. I want monthly updates on what they are doing and what they know."
"Yes my Lord."
"Very well. As for the rest of you, start to infiltrate the Ministry. I don't care how you do it, but I want at least one of you in a position so that if Fudge just happens to pass on," here snickers filled the room, "You would be next in line for Minister."
"Yes my Lord," The whispers echoed Tessa's earlier statement.
Tessa had risen through the ranks of the Death Eaters alarmingly fast. To make a short story even shorter, Tessa had seen something she wasn't supposed to and was offered a choice. Live and be a Death Eater, or die at the hand of the Death Eaters, as she had witnessed her brother do. The sole reason for her quick flight to infamy was that she was a very talented witch, near in age to Harry Potter and that her house made her easy for everyone to overlook. All told, she was exactly what Voldemort hadn't had yet, but desperately wanted. After all, no one would expect the whip-smart, half-blood Hufflepuff student to be a secret baddie.
After joining, Tessa had immediately gone to Dumbledore and begged for aid in the form of shelter and Occlumency lessons. She didn't want to work for the dark side. And Dumbledore, after some hesitation, had acquiesced, allowing Professor Snape to help her. The only caveat was that she must spy for the Order of the Phoenix (whose existence she hadn't yet known of) and that she must keep it all a secret (which she found all too easy). Now she was residing at Grimmauld Place, with the thought of her slain brother the only thing keeping her from running away from the Wizarding World and all its problems.
A quick bow and side-along apparition later, and Tessa was back in the kitchen of Grimmauld, wanting nothing more than to run upstairs and collapse in the third floor room in which she was staying.
Moody, however, had different plans.
"You're going to explain the Order to Potter and his friends. He won't shut up until someone does, and you're the one, lass," Moody grunted as soon as she walked into the room with Snape.
How did Moody always know what she wanted to do least?
The silence was distinctly awkward. It was one of those silences that hung around and crushed the thoughts of everyone in the room until there was nothing that anyone could focus on besides how awkward the silence was. The cause for the silence? None other than Tessa Sperry. And was it really a surprise?
When Moody had led her into the room so she could "explain the Order" to the Boy-Who-Annoyed-Everyone, the quiet that had encompassed the room was very telling. They had been gossiping about her, every soul that had been sitting in the room, right up until the moment that she had stepped over the door step. And now, knowing this, she was expected to calmly answer every last one of the Pot-Head's questions.
So Tessa had sat down in the open seat that was furthest from Harry's and decided not to talk until some other unfortunate soul broke the silence and broached the topic of the Order with The-Boy-Who-Couldn't-Leave-Well-Enough-Alone.
Molly Weasley tapped her foot on the stone floor. Sirius Black cleared his throat loudly.
Tessa rolled her eyes, yet still didn't speak as the period of silence stretched on, clearing well past a minute.
After what had to be at least another two minutes of everyone looking expectantly at Tessa and Tessa ignoring their curious gazes, Remus Lupin finally spoke up.
"So... you're explaining the Order to this lot. Shall we get on with it?"
Tessa smirked at him. "Gladly. It'd help if one of 'this lot', so to speak, would enlighten me as to what exactly it is they would like to know, though. It's not like I've got all that much to tell."
Ron's face had started to tinge red, although what he had to be mad about nobody knew. After what appeared to be a short internal conflict, he turned to his father.
"What exactly is she doing here? Why is she in the Order and why can't we be? She's only a year older than us!"
Before Mr. Weasley could answer, George pounded the table with his fist. "And Fred and I are of age, and a year older than that!" He cried in an indignant voice.
"QUIET!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. "We are not discussing your entrance into the Order any more tonight! As to why Tessa is here, it's really none of your business. She's the one to tell you because we said so. Now enough."
"Also none of us know why she's here so if you could share, love, that'd be fabulous," Sirius sneered.
Harry's brow furrowed and Tessa shot him a glare before turning her attention to Sirius.
"As Mrs. Weasley said, it's really none of your business, darling."
Sirius rolled his eyes at her biting words.
"Let's just get this bullshit over with," Tessa continued.
"What exactly is the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked. The tension in the room had already been palpable, but when questions about the Order started being thrown around, it blossomed to unimaginable heights.
"I tried to ask Ron and Hermione but they didn't really tell me anything."
"The Order of the Phoenix is, first and foremost, a group concerned with stopping Voldemort. It is a group that not only monitors him and tries to stop his movements before they start, but also tries to subtly recruit new members, those who hadn't been there before, during the first war. Currently, we are trying to track Voldemort's movements, even as he stays out of the limelight, which, believe you me, is harder even than you might think. Also…"
And Tessa explained, better than any single person in the room would've expected her to be able to. Once she had finished, only stopping when the adults agreed that any more information would be detrimental for the fragile minds of the Golden Trio to hear, she quickly vacated the room, uninterested in hearing the thoughts of The-Boy-Who-Just-Wanted-To-Understand and his loyal minions. She didn't care about their opinions on the Order; she just wanted some sleep.
It had been one of the longest days of her life, surpassed only by the day her brother had been murdered. The bed in the small, bleak room she was sleeping in had never looked more comfortable (and indeed never would at any other point in time - Number 12 was not renowned for being either the most inviting or the most comfortable abode). Despite the gloomy grey walls and the overall dreary aura of the room, Tessa was happy to return to it.
As soon as Tessa's head brushed against her pillow, she fell into a deep sleep. And in her sleep, she dreamed.
Across the dark household, in a room that had been carefully guarded against intruders, and looking very much like thieves planning a heist, sat Sirius, Harry, Ron and Hermione. In the commotion after Tessa had left the kitchen, Sirius had crept up next to Harry and whispered a room and a time. Now, in the appointed room and at the appointed time, the Golden Trio and their unofficial advisor sat, wondering how best to get at the secrets that Tessa Sperry was so obviously hiding.
"Well, what do we know about her? We should find out what we can about her, maybe that will give us a hint as to what and who we're dealing with here! All I know is that she's in the Order and she's rather tetchy," Hermione, ever the logical one, chose to take the lead in the conversation.
Sirius looked a bit torn. "I heard something strange today while she was standing in the kitchen, although I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you... " At this cryptic statement he trailed off.
"Sirius, you can't just tell us that and leave it there!" Harry whined.
"Yeah mate, c'mon, share! The hippogriff is basically out of the cage now anyway!" Ron added.
Sirius paused for another second, and then gave in. "Alright, alright, but only because I think this might be vital information for you all. At some point, whilst Harry was being a bit of a twat upstairs-"
"OI!" Harry cried.
Hermione squawked a bit at the language and Sirius winked at her before continuing.
"You were mate, admit it. Anyway, while Harry was mouthing off upstairs, Tessa came running into the kitchen and yelled something about how she 'needed to go there now, or else he'd kill her'. It was all a bit melodramatic if I'm being honest. I don't know what exactly it has to do with her 'mission,' but she pulled Snivellus out with her when she left. Oh! And he was taking her somewhere, although I'm not sure where." Sirius explained.
"That is strange…" Hermione was intrigued.
"There's something wrong with that girl. I don't trust her!" Ron added over Hermione.
Harry nodded solemnly, and threw in his own point: "I just don't understand why she's staying here. Whatever, she's in the Order, I'll let that go for now, but does she really have to live here as well? She's ruining it."
Sirius smiled sadly. "I actually know the answer to that one, although I don't know the answers to much else. We were all told at the beginning of summer so that we didn't bring anything related to the topic up with her. Her brother, with whom she was living, was murdered by the Death Eaters almost immediately after the end of fourth year. I'm pretty sure she saw it happening, too. It was hushed up by the Ministry amongst their campaign of misinformation, which is why I think you lot wouldn't have heard of it. I do pity her at the very least."
"Oh my god," Hermione whispered, her hand covering her mouth.
Harry shook his head. "Maybe… maybe we're being too harsh on her. I just… you know… the whole thing with," Harry's voice cracked and dropped sharply down to a whisper, "Cedric. It's been hard for me. I can see why she'd be acting a bit wildly this summer."
Hermione shot a worried glance at Harry. "You know you can talk to us whenever you want Harry. We'll always be there for you."
Ron, who had been staring around the room with a glazed look, startled when Hermione fired a bony elbow into his ribs. "Yeah mate, whenever. We care about you."
"Thanks guys," Harry smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Err, anyway, back to Tessa, maybe we should just leave it? If her brother really died maybe she's just here under the Order's protection. Maybe it really is none of our business?" He said, though he sounded somewhat subdued. Cedric Diggory's death had obviously taken its toll on the boy.
"Well, you lot can ignore her, but I'm going to work on finding more out about her. I don't think we are just protecting her. Why would there be so much secrecy if that were the case?"
Tessa awoke abruptly the next morning with a pounding headache and the knowledge that the previous night, she had had a terrifying dream. She couldn't remember who was in it or even what had happened, but when she had shot out of bed (much earlier than normal, though that wasn't saying much as it was nearly 10:00 am), her face was wet with tears and she was panting.
Of course, after she had calmed down, Tessa decided that she was going to lay in bed for as long as possible. The bad start to the day seemed to be an omen, and she didn't want to expedite the process of her undoing.
And, of course, the second she decided to do so, a sharp knocking sounded at her door. The groan that Tessa let out could probably have been heard throughout the entire house but honestly, at that point, she couldn't have given less of a damn.
"What the hell?" Tessa asked flatly as she flung open the door to reveal an annoyed looking Sirius and a somewhat apologetic looking Remus. The way she uttered the question made it clear that there was no real question.
"You may be aware that the Order has undertaken the project of cleaning the house up so that it is, well livable. You're also probably aware that this has been going on all summer, and we haven't yet required that you help us but…"
Sirius interrupted Remus with a snort. "What Remus is trying, and failing, to say is that if you're living here you have to earn your keep so get your lazy arse up and help us with the doxies."
Many words can be, and have been, used to describe Sirius Black, but subtle has never been one of them.
Tessa glared at the two.
"Well that's really rough, and I feel for your plight and all, but my head is pounding right now. How about I come down and help around, oh, roughly never," The sharp grimace she gave the pair of aging Marauders was anything but pleasant.
Remus placed a cautionary hand on Sirius' chest.
"Fine, it's fine Sirius. We'll just have Molly come and get her."
Tessa, who had previously turned around and started heading back into her room, halted in her tracks. There were few people who grated on her nerves in quite the same way as Molly Weasley. The woman had a talent for nagging that was unparalleled by anyone else Tessa had ever been acquainted with.
"That won't be necessary. I'll be down in half an hour. What room are we in?"
"First floor drawing room," Remus replied smugly.
"Thanks," Tessa said sarcastically, and then promptly shut the door on the two men.
As that first day of chores went, so did the next week of chores. Seemingly all Tessa did was sort through piles of dark artifacts and, crazy as it was, it made the rest of the summer fly by much faster than the previous few months.
The only break in the schedule was, of course, Order meetings. Almost every night now, a meeting was held, even if every member wasn't always there. And every night Tessa had to listen to assorted members try and come up with the best way to keep Voldemort from the Hall of Prophecies in the Ministry of Magic. Tessa had no clue why Voldemort could possibly need to get into the Hall of Prophecies, or just what made it so dangerous if he retrieved the prophecy he was searching for, but it apparently had something to do with The-Boy-Who-Had-Undue-Amounts-of-Angst, if she was understanding things properly.
And the summer flew on until hearings were held ("HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF!"l), letters were had (Ronnie-kins! A PREFECT!), and everyone was bundled off and packed on the train for another exciting year at Hogwarts. Maybe this time everyone would stay alive.