-Chapter 12-
"So you are now Lord Potter?" Remus asked with a clipped tone which made Harry a bit uneasy.
"Yes, it's what Mum and Dad wanted." Harry answered simply. He didn't notice that everyone was listening in.
Remus scoffed a bit, adding two sugars to the tea Mrs. Weasley put in front of him. "Don't you think you are too young for such a political role?"
As Mrs. Weasley put a hefty plate of shepherds pie, sausage and treacle tart in front of Harry, he frowned deeply at his former DADA professor and didn't answer him right away, pretending to be thinking his answer. 'What's gotten into him? Is he really mad at me or just being an ass?' He took the fork Sirius handed him and stabbed one sausage, noticing he was getting an icy glare from Remus, "Fine.. two can play this game.'
"I guess I could see what you mean if it wasn't for the fact that I am already being hunted down by the darkest wizard of all time." Harry sarcastically drawled, taking a big bite of his food and looking Remus directly in the eyes.
"Now you know that's completely different!" Remus began, clearly irritated. "That is not something you had a choice about, and you have us to protect you." He took a long sip of his tea before continuing. "I mean we could protect you if you would follow orders and stay put in your relative's home!"
Harry was getting angry but with the Horcrux gone, he had more control of his emotions so he just rolled his eyes to make it look like he was annoyed. He stayed quiet, hoping Remus would let it go.
Remus waited for Harry to reply, clearly not letting up so Harry countered calmly but his tone was laced with venom."Much good that did my parents, huh Remus. Following orders got them killed if I remember correctly."
There was a unanimous gasp from the red headed side of the table at Harry's statement but he just continued to eat, even complimented Mrs. Weasley's cooking which earned him a wavering smile from the woman. Remus looked like he was about to phase into his werewolf form with how he was shaking with anger but Harry barely paid him any mind as he took a long drink of his pumpkin juice.
"Now, now gentleman." Sirius finally tired to interject, he was enjoying the bickering the two were doing as it reminded him of when Remus and Lily argued points of view but at Harry's remark it was clearly time for it to end.
"We can't control what happened in the past, we can only look to the future now and how to make it a better one for all." Sirius said calmly looking between his godson and best friend.
Harry plastered a fake smile on his face though his emotions wanted him to do otherwise and agreed with his godfather.
Remus just gave a curt nod, stood up and left the room as everyone but Harry looked on.
The room was quiet for a moment, all that could be heard was everyone eating before Harry looked over at the Weasleys. "Mr. Weasley, I do hope you received an owl from Gringotts." He asked, clearly more himself than he had been just a moment ago, which caused Mr. Weasley to react slowly but then he nodded.
"Oh yes! It got sent to the Burrow but Charlie let us know as soon as he was able to stop by here. We can't thank you and your parents enough, though I am sad we got a gift from them this way." He said, a sad tone lacing his words towards the end but then there was a playful sparkle in his eyes, "Ya know, I really do miss Lily sometimes, she used to tell me some amazing stories regarding muggles!" Mr. Weasley reminisced, getting a chuckle from everyone and an loving pat on the shoulder from his wife.
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Harry was able to explain to the Weasley clan all about him taking over his Lordship and the Potter Manor, which he played off as being rather boring but Hermione knew he was holding back a lot of information from them.
He also kept the details of his second Gringotts from them and lied about his physical changes. Harry simply stated it was a growth spurt and a potion he took per his parent's will to be able to take his lordship.
After he was sure he convinced them, the clock struck 7pm. Remus came back to the room, still clearly anger but with his temper in check. "Molly, the rest of the Order will be here soon." He simply stated as he took his seat next to Sirius who was messing around with his cigar pipe.
At once, Mrs. Weasley started to shoo the teens to their rooms, Ron and Ginny did not fight her on it and left the kitchen. However, Harry and Hermione stood their ground.
"Dumbledore told me he would speak to us. Is he not coming tonight?" Harry asked calmly but his usually bright emerald eyes seemed stone cold.
Mrs. Weasley was a bit taken aback by the look but held her ground as well. "Yes, he will be in tonight, The Order is meeting which is not the business for you children." She tried to push them out the kitchen door but Harry sighed irritably and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Mrs. Weasley, I was emancipated a couple of days ago through my Lordship remember? If I am correct, I'm a full fleshed adult now and capable at making my own choices." Harry stated curtly. He hated being this way with her, he saw her as his motherly figure for the last 5 years now but he was not letting them shut him out this time.
The older red headed woman seemed to struggle for an argument as Arthur interject, "If Dumbledore told him it was okay, then let Harry be. However, I doubt he gave that permission to Hermione." Harry could tell Arthur didn't mean it as a threat but it irked him that they would gang up on Hermione like if she were a little one.
He had to take a deep breath to calm his temper, "Hermione is a protected and important vessel as Lady Potter to the Potter house. She has taken the Lady Potter Ring and per my request, she will be allowed to be here with me." Harry stated calmly but firmly, surprising everyone in the room.
Without his glasses, Sirius and Remus saw the famous Evans temper rise so they interjected.
"Harry is right, if Hermione is to be currently Lady Potter, she is allowed to be with him wherever he goes." Sirius stated from where he sat next to Remus.
There was a cold and tense silence before the Weasley parents gave in. Though Molly did ask, "So you two married?" Her voice had a bit of hurt behind it. But Harry and Hermione quickly explained that they did not marry each other.
"The Lady Ring can be given to anyone the head of house deems worthy." Hermione quickly began, "Harry gave me the ring to protect me, since with Vo- The Dark Lord is back. He will more than likely try to come after me first since I am the muggle-born friend of Harry's." Hermione finished, trying to sooth Molly Weasley's worries.
Harry smirked a bit, "That and I know she would not pick a troublesome person like me to marry." Harry joked quietly, getting a nudge in the ribs by Hermione.
"Git." She mumbled but she smirked at him, causing Harry's hear to flutter. "Any girl would be lucky to have you."
Harry just shook his head, as she was the person he liked but he still stomped that fantasy away. Hermione did the same. Both looking at each other with a fake but longing smile.
Remus caught the look they shared which surprised him but he would ask them later as the kitchen door opened and Kingsley, Mad Eye, Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore made their way in. Each were surprised to see Harry Potter standing before them.
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"Harry Potter! " Dumbledore happily greeted him, he walked over to him and Harry could tell he was sizing him up. "I hardly recognized you my boy.."
"Growth spurt and a goblin potion can do that to you, sir." Harry lied, trying to sound as calm as possible. He felt a bit of a tug in his temple from where Mad-Eye was standing so he turned his eyes to him. Like he had done with Voldemort's split soul, he pushed Mad-Eye out of his mind quickly which seemed to surprise the old Auror. It seemed to come easier to Harry now that he had the dark magic out of his head.
"Mad-Eye, pleasure actually to meet the real you sir." Harry said in a charming voice, a smirk growing on his lips. "It would be great if you could not intrude into my mind. Bloody headache it gives a person afterwards."
Mad-Eye looked bewildered for a moment and then let out a booming, humorless laugh. "Guess I should expect that from the 'chosen one'. Though no one would know it was the real Potter, his scar is barely visible." He stated, "Goblin Potion, as I stated before but I cannot go into details per the Goblin's blood oath." Harry stated in a clipped tone which made Mad-Eye grumble but Harry ignored him and gave his attention back to a serious faced Dumbledore.
"Mr. Potter, per your reply I didn't expect you for a couple more weeks." The old headmaster explained his confusion, his blue eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.
Harry didn't feel a tug at his temples like with Mad-Eye so he knew he was safe from any mind invading.
"Yes sir, but Hermione and I have dire need to speak to you." Harry explained earnestly, only to hear Professor Snape scoff.
"Mr. Potter, I regret to say whatever you need to say will have to wait. This is an adult meeting." Snape then took his seat.
Harry closed his eyes briefly and bit back his temper as best he could before turning to the bat like man. "The information we have is for Dumbledore's ears only, Professor, so I am sure it can wait til later." Harry said in an almost sickly sweet tone to the potions master which made him do a double take, "But I am here to attend the Order meeting. We both are." He stated firmly as he took Hermione's hand in his. This surprised the young witch a bit as a faint blush touched her cheeks before she gave everyone in the room a confidant look.
Dumbledore seemed to want to argue with Harry but then just nodded, and sat down at the head of the table next to Sirius and Remus. Their head of house sat next to Snape. The Weasley parents sat next to Remus and next to them sat Kingsley and Mad Eye.
Harry and Hermione took the last remaining seats at the the other end of the table, facing directly at Dumbledore. There was a tense air around the room.
"Wait... Dumbledore you are really letting them attend the meeting?" Kingsley asked slightly shocked. He knew Dumbledore was trying to keep Harry at bay from any Order business.
"Mr. Potter and I have concluded that he is to be told everything regarding the Order, the Dark Lord and... well.. everything to put it simply." Dumbledore explained to the group gathered which made Harry and even Hermione smirk slightly. "He is an adult now, he took his Lordship just a couple days ago."
This surprised the Order members that had yet to hear the news of this. But they all nodded in agreement with Dumbledore after a moment.
"Well I guess we should bring him up to speed then." Mad Eye grumbled as he slammed the Daily Prophet in front of Harry.
The front page headline read, 'The Boy Who Lies!' and a huge picture of him from the Tournament last year. A brief section under the photo stated that Dumbledore to be using Harry as a ploy for the seat as Minister of Magic.
Below that, a smaller headline read, 'ALL IS WELL!' and a picture of Minister Fudge next to it, 'Smug idiot..' Harry thought to himself.
He didn't bother to read the load of rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote and looked up at the group gathered. "Okay, more slander. Nothing new." Harry dismissed, a bit annoyed with the Daily Prophet even more now. "The old coot still thinks Dumbledore and I are making everything up."
Hermione shook her head beside him in disgust and shoved the paper away. "He should be axed already." She simply grumbled.
Everyone else was surprised that Harry was taking the news rather, blandly. Harry caught their looks, "Oh don't be so surprised!" he almost laughed as he looked around the room, "Ever since the end of term, no one has believed me." He scoffed, "They would rather believe me to be some crazy babbling baboon than believe the Dark Lord to be back!"
McGonagall smirked just a bit at her student's reference.
"You're right, everyone thinks Dumbledore is making you say this instead of saying Cedric died in a tragic accident during the final trial of the tournament." Kingsley explained, making Harry exploded. "He didn't! That stupid goblet was a portkey! Cedric was murdered in cold blood!"
Everyone in the room looked at him wearily, only a few he could tell believed him as well.
"Ya know... For knowing some of you for 5 years, it really surprises me that you really think of me as a fame hogging imbecile..." Harry confessed, anger seething in his words.
"Last year, I really didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire. I didn't want to participate. I had to do what you said because I would lose my magic otherwise per the tournament's rules." Harry began explaining, "But if you must know, for you all to believe me, this is what happened...Cedric almost did get disqualified in the Maze but I saved him, when we got to the cup... he told me to take it."
Everyone, except for Dumbledore, was surprised top hear this. "I tried to tell him no, and told him he should take it since he was the true Hogwarts champion." Harry stopped for a moment to get his thoughts in order. He let out a shaky sigh as he continued, "He wouldn't listen and then talked me into grabbing it together, to show a united front. At the count of three, we grabbed the cup and were suddenly taken to that stupid graveyard... Wormtail came out with Voldemort's wrapped up fetus like body and he ordered him to 'Kill the Spare.'" Harry's words choked at the end, tears were freely running down his face. "He was gone... dead. Within seconds."
Everyone was quiet, grimed faced. Even Snape looked on sadly. "If I could take it back, I would... If I could have been selfish in that moment and took the cup, to save his life. I would have. In a heart beat."
Harry then grabbed an empty flask from his pocket, and captured the tears that were still falling. "If you still don't believe me, here are the memories." This caught everyone by surprise. "It took me a bit of concentrating but I think I got them all..." He then stood up and gave them to McGonagall as he knew Dumbledore already had the set of memories of that night.
"I trust you more than anyone at the moment to view the memories and make duplicates for the Order members" He simply said to a very shocked and teary eyed McGonagall before heading back to his seat. Hermione immediately took his hand and soothingly rubbed his lower back.
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Everyone was quiet for a couple more moments before Mad-Eye stood up.
"Well... I guess that is over with." He said as he cleared his throat, then went on to report that there have not been new death eater attacks. He also explained that Tonks was currently with other members of the Order while they kept watch of the Malfoy Manor as best they could from the ward lines. They knew Voldemort was hiding there.
"That is good news. Severus, any news from the other side?" Dumbledore inquired, clearly trying to move the meeting along.
"The Dark Lord seems to be temporarily subdued, I have to keep giving him pain potions every few hours to keep him coherent." He informed them blandly.
"Did someone attack him?" Dumbledore asked, a bit surprised at this turn of events.
"No, from what Lucias Malfoy stated, he suddenly collapsed earlier today and hasn't been the same since." Snape drawled.
Harry, finally having composed himself, and Hermione shared a knowing glance. 'Seems destroying the Horcrux in my head has worked in our favor..' Harry thought before he turned his attention back to the meeting.
"Any news on how to secure the prophecy?" Dumbledore asked, everyone looked between him and Harry for a moment. The tense air returning slowly.
Mr. Weasley cleared his throat, "Not just yet, Kingsley and I are trying to see how we can sneak in and stand guard for now without rising suspicion. So far we know that it is safe to assume it is still in the Department of Mysteries"
"Prophecy?" Hermione questioned, all eyes now turned to her. Snape rolled his eyes, clearly cursing Hermione is his mind.
However, she did get a reply to her question. "Yes Ms. Granger, sadly I cannot discuss that information at this very moment. Once we are back at school, you, Mr. Potter I will discuss this further." Dumbledore explained, giving Hermione a soft, grandfatherly smile.
"Understood... Headmaster." Harry nodded, keeping his temper in check. Hermione seemed irked about the delayed information but also nodded in understanding.
The meeting ended there as there was no more information to discuss. Well, none that Harry wanted to announce during this particular meeting. The teens waved goodbye to McGonagall as she made her way out. Then they turned to see that everyone else had left the room except for Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus who all waited for them.
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AUTHOR NOTE:
I hope this was better and a bit longer chapter than last time! This story is finally moving in the direction I have hoped for! I'm crossing my fingers to have more time in the next coming weeks to post more content for you all. I currently am working on chapter 13 and 14 so it should not be a super long wait.
Please do review and comment any feedback you all have for the story so far!
Lastly, thank you so much for following this story!