disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. I decided to post this chapter a little earlier than this Friday/Saturday as I will be busy and away from my computer. Hope you all like this chapter!
The Order of the Phoenix
"Wait, what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered.
Arabella led the way down towards the kitchen. Harry and Sirius were right behind her, with the others just a step behind them.
"Hasn't anyone told you?" asked Sirius. "This was my parents' house –"
"And now my house, technically," added Arabella, turning her head slightly. "When my grandmother died, she gave this house to me."
"Traditionally it's passed down by blood," said Sirius, "and since Arabella is not a legal adult yet, I'm watching over it. I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters – about the only useful thing I've been able to do."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Arabella led them through the kitchen door. The fireplace was lit and smoke was hanging in the air. Arabella began pushing chairs into the table, clearing the way for the others. Parchment was scattered around the table with goblets, empty wine bottles, and rags. Mr. Weasley and Bill had their heads together, whispering at the end of the table. Behind Arabella, Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat loudly. Her husband, Mr. Weasley, looked up and jumped to his feet.
"Harry!" he said, hurrying forward and shaking his hand vigorously. "Good to see you!"
Bill hastily rolled up the twelve pieces of parchment at the table. Arabella tried to crane her neck to see what was written on them, but Bill seemed to have noticed her. He gave her a small wink before turning towards Harry.
"Journey all right, Harry? Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"
"He tried," said Nymph. She came over to try and help Bill, but ended up dropping a candle onto a piece of parchment. "Oh no – sorry –"
"Here, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. She repaired the parchment and Arabella got a quick look at what looked like a building. Mrs. Weasley looked up, quickly snatched up the parchment and stuffed them into Bill's arms. "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings."
She swept off towards the kitchen dresser, unloading dinner plates. Bill took out his wand, muttered "Evanesco!" and the scrolls disappeared. There was a small frown on Arabella's face as she moved towards the end of table. In what seemed like a pile of rags was actually a man that Arabella detested. She gave his chair a jerk and he woke up, grunting from his snores.
"I 'gree with Sirius," he suddenly declared, raising his hand and looking around quickly, his bloodshot eyes unfocused.
"Meeting's over, Mundungus," Arabella said coldly. "Harry's here."
Arabella took a seat at the table as Sirius said, "You've met Mundungus, haven't you, Harry?"
Arabella rolled her eyes as Mundungus fumbled nervously in his pockets. He stared at Harry as he took out a black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, igniting it with his wand, and took a deep pull on it. Arabella coughed as the air became filled with greenish smoke.
"Owe you a 'pology," he grunted from behind the clouds.
"For the last time, Mundungus," called Mrs. Weasley, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"
"Ah," said Mundungus. "Right. Sorry, Molly."
The cloud of smoke vanished as Sirius and Harry took seats near Arabella.
"And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand," Mrs. Weasley said to the room at large. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey –"
"What can I do, Molly?" said Nymph enthusiastically, bounding forward.
Mrs. Weasley hesitated, looking anxious, and with good reason Arabella thought. "Er – no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today –"
"No, no, I want to help!" said Nymph brightly, knocking over a chair as she hurried toward the dresser from which Ginny was collecting cutlery.
Heavy knives were soon chopping meat and vegetables, and Mrs. Weasley stirred a hot cauldron while others took out plates, goblets, and food from the pantry. Arabella was left at the table with Sirius, Harry, and Mundungus.
"Seen old Figgy since?" Mundungus asked Harry, staring at him blankly.
"No," said Harry. "I haven't seen anyone."
"See I wouldn't 'ave left, but I 'ad a business opportunity –"
"Piss of, Mundungus," snapped Arabella, her lips twisting.
Mundungus's face fell and he shrank back into his chair. Arabella was slightly pleased with herself. He left his post. He put Harry in danger. She didn't care about the man one bit. Sirius, on the other hand, gave her a small smile and patted her hand, trying to soothe her a little. He then turned towards Harry.
"Had a good summer so far?"
"No, it's been lousy," said Harry.
"Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."
"What?" said Harry incredulously.
"Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights… I've been stuck inside here for months."
Arabella's eyebrows frowned and she retracted her hand, feeling slightly hurt. She knew that the summer was rough for both of them, being stuck in here and getting into that fight, and their sudden mood changes, but… she thought that they were somehow making progress. Even if it was a little.
"But, the company's great, of course," Sirius added, turning to smile at her.
"Better be," Arabella muttered, crossing her arms and staring intently at the wooden table.
"Can't you go outside the house as Padfoot?" asked Harry, frowning.
"The Ministry of Magic's still after me," said Sirius, shaking his head. "Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus, thanks to the information Wormtail would have told him by now, so my disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix… or so Dumbledore feels."
"At least you've known what's been going on."
Arabella snorted as Sirius said, sarcastically, "Oh yeah. Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time… asking me how that cleaning's going –"
"What cleaning?" asked Harry.
"Hey!" Arabella exclaimed. "We've been trying here!"
"I know you've been sitting around while the Weasleys and Hermione have been doing all the work," retorted Sirius. "And me and Remus did the bedrooms before you got here." He turned to Harry and said, "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages –"
"Sirius?" Mundungus said suddenly. He was examining an empty goblet. "This solid silver, mate?"
Arabella's nose flared. She reached across the table and snatched the goblet from his mucky hands. He was eyeing the goblet with anticipation. For what, Arabella could only guess. But nothing was for sale, especially things that were in her possession. She glared at him and set the goblet in front of her.
"Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver," Arabella said sharply and quickly. "It's embosses with the Black family crest, so I'll know if you've been selling this on the streets, Mundungus, so you can keep you filthy hands –"
"Fred – George – NO, JUST CARRY THEM!"
Arabella looked around and dived under the table quickly. Fred and George had bewitched the large cauldron of strew, an iron canteen of butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard with a knife. It was hurtling towards Arabella, Sirius, Harry and Mundungus. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt at the other side of the table, leaving a long black burn on the surface. The butterbeer was sent crashing and the bread knife slipped off the board, landing exactly where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. "THERE WAS NO NEED – I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS – JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY THING!"
"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Fred, wrenching the knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate – didn't mean to –"
Arabella, Sirius and Harry began laughing while Mundungus was swearing under his breath from the kitchen floor.
"Boys," said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head and lifting the stew back into the middle of the table, "your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age –"
"– none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley raged at the twins, slamming a fresh flagon of butterbeer onto the table and spilling almost as much again. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy –"
She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband, whose expression was suddenly wooden.
"Let's eat," Bill said quickly.
"It looks wonderful, Molly," said Remus, taking a seat next to Arabella.
For a few minutes, there was silence with the occasional clink of plates and cutlery. Arabella graciously accepted Remus's serving on Mrs. Weasley's stew. It was when she finally took a bite that she realized that it was the first thing she had eaten all day. She was so worried about Harry's arrival and his reaction that she had forgotten to eat.
"I've been meaning to tell you," Mrs. Weasley told Sirius after a while, "there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."
"Whatever you like," Sirius said indifferently.
"The curtains in there are full of doxies too. I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."
"I look forward to it."
Arabella doubt that he was. Who would be?
Next to Remus, Nymph was entertaining Hermione and Ginny by transforming her nose between mouthfuls. Her nose swelled to a beak and then to a mushroom, then sprouted a great deal of nose hairs. After a while Hermione and Ginny began requesting their favourite noses. Nymph naturally obliged.
Remus quietly watched her for a moment before saying, "Your cat nose is possibly the best one, Tonks."
Nymph was in between a pig snout and a duck's bill before her cheeks turned red. Her nose changed into cat's, with the whiskers and all. Nymph ate some more of her stew in between requests. Arabella looked at her closely, noticing the way she smiled into her bowl.
Across from the table, Mr. Weasley and Bill were having a discussion about goblins. After a few moments, Remus joined them. Nymph turned her nose back into a cat's for a moment before taking Ginny's request. In the middle of the table, Fred, George and Mundungus were rolling in their seats, drowning out the other's conversations. Mrs. Weasley threw Sirius a very nasty look before getting to her feet and fetching a large bowl of pudding. Arabella smiled into her goblet, trying not to laugh out loud. Mrs. Weasley was right not to approve of Mundungus staying for dinner. He was a crook. Mrs. Weasley did not forgive him for what he did to Harry. If it wasn't for him, Harry would not be in this mess.
After three helpings of pudding and some custard, Arabella felt as though her jeans began to shrink. She laid down her spoon and stretched her hands over her head. She relaxed against her chair, slightly drowsy.
"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Mrs. Weasley on a yawn.
"Not just yet, Molly," said Sirius. He then turned towards Harry and said, "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."
Arabella was suddenly alert. She leaned forward, hanging onto every word. The atmosphere changed rapidly. Some shuddered from the mention of Voldemort's name, others looked around nervously. Remus was halfway from taking a sip of wine when he lowered his goblet.
"I did!" said Harry crossly. "I asked Arabella, Ron and Hermione, but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so –"
"And they're quite right," said Mrs. Weasley. "You're too young."
She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched upon its arms, every trace of drowsiness gone.
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for weeks. He's got the right to know what's been happen –"
"Hang on!" interrupted George loudly.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" said Fred angrily.
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for weeks and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!"
"'You're too young, you're not in the Order'," Fred mimicked his mother's voice. "Harry's not even of age!"
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius calmly. "That's your parent's decision. Harry, on the other hand –"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" Sirius asked politely. Arabella recognized that voice. It was hers. It was her strained voice, wanting and needing a fight.
"The bit about telling them more than they need to know," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Them?" asked Arabella.
But nobody paid attention to her. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George's heads turned from Sirius to Mrs. Weasley rapidly. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of corks, watching the conversation it her mouth slightly open. Remus, however, had eyes for only Sirius.
"But does she mean by 'them', Remus?" Arabella asked him.
Remus hesitated for a moment. He looked severely uncomfortable, especially after Sirius said, "You and Harry. You're the ones who saw Voldemort come back and you have more right than most to –"
"They are not members of the Order of the Phoenix!" said Mrs. Weasley. "They're only fifteen and –"
"– and they've dealt with as much as most in the Order," said Sirius, "and more than some –"
"No one's denying what they've gone through!" said Mrs. Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling. "But they're still –"
"They are not children," Sirius said impatiently.
"They're not adults either!" Mrs. Weasley said hotly. "They're not – they're not Kassandra or James reborn, Sirius!"
"I'm perfectly clear as to who they are, thanks, Molly."
"I'm not sure you are! Sometimes, the way you talk about them, it's as though you've got your best friends back!"
"What's wrong with that?" said Harry.
"What's wrong Harry, is that you are not your father, and Arabella is certainly not her mother!" said Mrs. Weasley, still looking at Sirius. "The both of you are still at school and adults responsible for the both of you should not forget that!"
"Meaning what?" demanded Sirius, his voice rising. "That I'm an irresponsible father or reckless godfather – or both?"
"Meaning you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and –"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!"
"Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley, rounding on her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"
If the situation was not this serious, Arabella would have laughed. Mr. Weasley did not speak at once. He took off his glasses, cleaned them slowly, and then said, "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is stayed at headquarters, and this applies to Arabella as well –"
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting them to ask whatever they like!"
"Personally," Remus said quietly, resting his hand on top of Arabella's, "I think it's better that they get the facts – not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture – from us, rather than a garbled version from… others."
"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table for support that did not come "well… I see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons of not wanting them to know too much, and speaking as someone who has their best interests at heart –"
"They're not your kids, Molly," said Sirius quietly.
"They're as good as!" Mrs. Weasley said fiercely. "Who else have they got?"
"They've got me! I'm Arabella's father and Harry's godfather!"
"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley, her lips curled, "the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after them while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Sirius started to rise from his chair, but Remus halted his movements, sharply saying, "Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about them. Sirius, sit down."
Mrs. Weasley's lower lip trembled. Sirius sank down back into his chair, pale.
"I think they ought to be allowed to have a say in this," Remus continued. He then looked at Arabella and Harry, and said, "You both are old enough to decide for yourselves."
Arabella looked across the table at Harry. They both looked at each other for a moment and Arabella wanted nothing more than to hold his hand.
"I want to know what's been going on," said Harry.
Arabella could not look at Mrs. Weasley. Arabella was touched by what she had said, but Arabella was not a child. She was not a child the night Bellatrix and her dogs broke into her house, she was not a child when Barty Crouch Jr. kidnapped her, and she was certainly not a child when Voldemort gave Macnair and Avery those orders. She shuddered at the moment and squeezed Remus's hands tightly.
"Arabella?" Remus said quietly.
"Yes," said Arabella suddenly. "Yes, I want to know – I have to know."
"Very well," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice cracking. "Ginny – Ron – Hermione – Fred – George – I want you out of this kitchen, now."
There was an instant uproar.
"We're of age!"
"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?"
"Mum, I want to!" wailed Ginny.
"NO!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, standing up, her eyes over bright. "I absolutely forbid –"
"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," said Mr. Weasley wearily. "They are of age –"
"They're still at school –"
"But they're legally adults now."
Mrs. Weasley was now scarlet in the face. "I – oh, all right them, Fred and George can stay, but Ron –"
"Harry and Arabella will tell me and Hermione everything you say anyways!" said Ron hotly. "Won't – won't you?" he added certainly, meeting Harry's eyes.
"Of course," said Arabella. She turned to Harry, panicking that he would not agree with her. "Right, Harry?"
Harry nodded and said, "Right. Of course we'll tell you."
Ron and Hermione beamed.
"'Fine!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Fine! Ginny – BED!"
Ginny did not go quietly into the night. She stomped and raged her way back to her room with her mother at her heels. When she reached the hall, Walburga's shrieks were added to the mix. Remus and Sirius rushed to restore calm to the portrait. It was only after they had returned, closed the kitchen door behind them, that someone finally spoke.
"Okay, Harry…" began Sirius. "What do you want to know?"
Harry took a deep breath before answering. "Where's Voldemort? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggles news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything –"
"That's because there haven't been any suspicious deaths yet," said Sirius, "not as far as we know, anyway… And we know quite a lot."
"More than he thinks we do anyway," said Remus.
"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked.
"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself at the moment," said Sirius. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."
"Or rather, the two of you messed it up for him," said Remus with a smile, pointing at Harry and Arabella.
"How?" Harry asked uncomprehendingly.
"You both weren't supposed to survive!" said Sirius. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters were supposed to know he'd come back. But you two survived to bear witness."
"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," said Remus. "And you two made sure Dumbledore knew at once."
"How has that helped?" Harry asked.
"Are you kidding?" said Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"
"And thanks to the both of you," said Sirius, "Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned."
"So what's the Order been doing?" asked Harry, looking around at the table.
"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans."
"How do you know what his pans are?"
"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," said Remus, "and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."
"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"
"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," said Sirius. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command; witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants. Well, they'll be just one group he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eater."
"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?"
"We're going our best," said Remus.
"How?"
"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," said Bill. "It's proving tricky, though."
"Why?"
"Because of the Ministry's attitude," said Nymph. "You saw Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened?"
"But why?" said Harry desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore –"
"That's the problem, Harry," said Arabella, slightly exhausted. "Dumbledore's the problem. Has been for a while."
"Fudge is frightened of him, you see," said Nymph.
"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Harry said suspiciously.
"Frightened of what he's up to," said Mr. Weasley. "You see, Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."
"But Dumbledore doesn't want –"
"Of course he doesn't. He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."
'Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much clever than he is," said Remus, "a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice. But it seems that he's become fond of power now, and much more confident. He loves being Minister of Magic, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."
"How can he think that?" said Arabella, shocked. "How could he – how could he think that Dumbledore or me or Harry would make this up?"
"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," said Sirius bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilize him."
"You see the problem," said Remus. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumormongering, so most of the Wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"But you're telling people, aren't you?" said Harry, looking around at Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Remus, Bill, Nymph and Mundungus. "You're letting people know he's back?"
Sirius let out a small humourless laugh and said, "Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand-Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?"
"And I'm not a popular dinner guest with most of the community," said Remus. "It's an occupational hazard of bring a werewolf."
"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off, and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."
"We've managed to convince a couple people, though," said Mr. Weasley. "Tonks here, for one – she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage – Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset too. He's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."
"But if none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back –"Harry began.
"Who said none of us was putting the news out?" said Sirius. "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked.
"They're trying to discredit him," said Remus. 'Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported the he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting to old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot – that's the Wizard High Court – and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First class, too.'
"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," said Bill, grinning.
"It's no laughing matter," said Mr. Weasley shortly. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Dumbledore's out of the way – well, You-Know-Who will have clear field."
"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit Death Eaters, it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" asked Harry desperately.
"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry," said Sirius. "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practiced at operating in secrecy. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in, he's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quickly indeed, and he's concentrating on them at the moment."
'What's he after then?' Arabella asked quickly.
Sirius and Remus exchanged a very brief look before Sirius said, "Stuff he can only get by stealth." When Arabella and Harry continued to look puzzled, Sirius said, "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."
"When he was powerful before?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"Like what?" asked Arabella, looking in between Remus and Sirius. "What else could he possible want? He's able to come back from death, so is it something worse than the Avada –"
"That's enough." Mrs. Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious. "I want you in bed, now. All of you."
"You can't boss us –"Fred began.
"Watch me," snarled Mrs. Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given them plenty of information. Anymore and you might as well induct them into the Order straightaway."
"Why not?" said Harry quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight –"
"No," said Remus, shaking his head. "The Order is comprised only of –"
"That's not what Mad-Eye thinks," Arabella said swiftly. "He thinks that me and Harry should be members."
All the colour from Remus's face was gone instantly. He went still for a moment and then said, in a hush, "Who told you that?"
"Nymph told me what happened during the first meeting here," Arabella continued, staring at Remus. Nymph shrunk in her seat as Arabella said, "If Mad-Eye thinks we're good enough to be members then why not? What, am I not capable enough?"
"It's not about capabilities," snapped Remus, the fire entering his voice. "Nobody is denying that, but the Order for the overage wizards – wizards who have left school," he added as Fred and George opened their mouths. "Wizards who are not fueled by pure revenge."
Arabella let out a cry of shock and amusement. "Like none of you are! You can't pull that on me when your girlfriend died – your wife died," she shot at Sirius, "and I bet the other members have got reasons to fight as well. You can't just single me out like that, Remus, just because I want to get them back – and it's a good reason either way –"
"There are dangers involved –"continued Remus, his voice rising.
Arabella slapped her arms in anger and frustration as she exclaimed, "I wonder what it's like to be in danger!"
"Arabella!" Remus barked, making her jump. "There are dangers involving the Order of which you have no idea of, any of you! I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."
Sirius half-shrugged, but did not argue. Arabella did not look away from Remus, hoping that if she stared hard enough, he would change his mind and agree with her. Of all the members in the Order, none of them had the same conviction or reasons to fight like her. She was more capable than them. She had gone through so much in so little time – they can't just forget that.
"Arabella, it's time to go to bed," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice hard.
Arabella looked at her and noticed her sons, Harry and Hermione behind her. Arabella looked around at the others. Remus finished his wine, Nymph avoided her gaze and Sirius gave her a small smile, picked at his goblet. Arabella recognized defeat and got up, following the others. Mrs. Weasley followed them upstairs, looking severely grim. Arabella muttered a small goodnight to the others before closing her door with a small snap. She flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. For the most part, the information wasn't completely shocking. The Order trying to stop people from joining Voldemort's side should have been obvious. Dumbledore being cast out was already written on the walls.
But that weapon… that was new information. The Order was careful not to mention it in the hallways. But what can it possible be? He's already one of the most powerful wizards in the world. He's got the Cruciatus Curse for pain and the Avada Kedavra for death. There can't be anything worse than pain and death, surely.
Nothing is worse than death, thought Arabella. Nothing is worse than leaving the people you love.
She couldn't stop imagining what the weapon was supposed to be. Maybe something that could kill a lot of people at once. That would certainly be of interest to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Or maybe it was something that could torture and kill all at once. She thought of her mother, tortured and writhing in pain, and then of her aunt, lifeless and broken. What else could Voldemort possible want at this point? He had everything he ever wanted. Except for –
There was a small knock on her door. Arabella sat up quickly, her breath suddenly quickening. Who could it possibly be at this time at night?
She slowly got and went towards her door. She waited for a moment, wondering if the other person was still there, or if someone was trying to mess with her. Most likely Kreacher trying to get in and curse her. She waited for a few seconds for something to happen, but nothing did. She was about to go back to bed when there was another knock, a soft one.
Arabella slowly cracked it open and said, "Hello?"
"It's – it's me," whispered Harry. "Can I come in?"
Arabella opened the door wider and allowed Harry to enter her room. There was a small smile on her face, but she doubt he could see it in the dark room. Arabella then leaned against the door, watching him as he looked around them room for a moment. He took a moment to look at the posters and pictures on the wall.
"This room looks a lot better than the rest of the house," he commented briefly. "Certainly better than the room I share with Ron."
Arabella nodded and gave him another lopsided smile. Then, Harry walked towards her bed, took something out of his pocket, and placed it on her comforter. Arabella scrunched up her eyebrows.
"I read it," Harry said quietly, unable to look at her. "What your mother wrote, I read the whole thing – twice actually. I didn't open up the phials, but I can guess what's on them. I'm… I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I never should have… I'm sorry…"
Arabella blinked a couple times, her eyes began to water a little. She wiped them away for a second before saying, "There are – er – there are pictures she gave me. Some have your mum and dad in them."
She walked over to her dresser and took out the small chest box. She opened the box and handed the photos to Harry. She watched his face, watching his expression turn from slight confusion to pure happiness. He lingered for a moment on the picture of Lily and Kassandra in the sun, and then of Kassandra, Remus and James at the wedding.
"I – I –" Harry said quietly. He looked up at her and said, "I don't know what to say."
Arabella shrugged. "Yeah, I get that. My mind was racing after what I read. I was angry, sad… You name the emotion and I was it. I yelled at Remus and Sirius for a while but after that and the Daily Prophet article, I was so quiet I didn't know what to do with myself for a while."
"What article?"
Arabella's breath was stuck in her throat. "You really… you should really start reading the Daily Prophet, Harry." She then looked down at her shoes and shuffled her feet. "They wrote about me and it's not very… flattering to say the least. Do you want to read it?"
"No," Harry said quickly, shaking his head. "It would just… make me more angry, I suppose. I don't want to read an article bashing you."
Arabella nodded and Harry turned away, looking out the window. The only source of light in the room was coming from outside. The half-moon shined through the window and Arabella could see part of his face. His eyes were trained on the distant view of the street. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She hadn't spoken to him in weeks. She felt so strange. He wasn't a stranger by no means at all, but she wasn't sure if he felt that way as well.
"I'm so sorry," she said in the dark, her voice a hush. "I should've – I should've –"
Arabella let out a small gasp. Harry closed the distance between them and pulled her face close to him. But he didn't kiss her, despite their lips being inches away from each other's. His hand was on her neck and jaw, holding her close to him. She placed her hand on his chest, steadying herself. He was breathing, and that was all she could hear in the room, the sound of his steady breathing. The sound was so loud in her ears, she was sure it was going to wake everyone up in the house.
Arabella pressed her hand closer to his chest and leaned in a little closer. She searched his eyes for a moment before saying, "Harry?"
It took a moment for him to say anything. His thumb brushed against the side of her jaw for a moment before he said, "I thought… I thought you didn't care about… I thought that everything –"
He then turned away towards the window once more, leaving Arabella quite shaken. Slowly and carefully, she moved closer towards him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"If I could have, I would have written to you every day," she murmured. "I would have told you everything that's happened that I could tell you and all the stupid things I've done since the end of the term, including cleaning and reading books. I wanted to write to you, Harry, I wanted to so badly. I missed you like crazy, Harry, you have no idea."
Harry nodded and said, "I thought that… that you didn't care about me or something… that I was out of your mind and –"
"Just stop, Harry," Arabella said sternly, her voice still barely above a whisper. "Don't do that to yourself. Don't, just don't, okay? You are… you're not a fluke, Harry. You're the real deal, Harry. You're… you're my real deal, get that? I could never stop caring about you."
His shoulders stiffened for a moment before he turned around and looked at her. His face was softer and his eyes brighter.
"Really?"
Arabella bite her lips and nodded. Slowly, Harry closes the distance between them and places a gentle kiss on her lips. Arabella's eyes fluttered for a moment before she leaned in and placed her hands on his neck. In turn, Harry moved his arms around her waist, bring her closer, his hands on the curve of her spine. Her head spins a little and she has to remember to breathe through her nose. The kiss was different than the one they shared during the Yule Ball. It was more desperate, more need, more want. A kiss that could not be denied.
They broke away after what seemed like hours. Arabella licked her lips and looked at Harry. He stared at her for a moment before breaking out into a smile. Arabella followed suit and they were soon laughing quietly with each other. Arabella leaned her forehead against Harry's shoulder. She gave his cheek a small peak and sat down on her bed.
"You mean it, right?" he asked her, taking a seat next to her. "What you said, do you mean it?"
"Of course," Arabella breathed out. "Did you expect me not to?"
Harry shrugged and leaned back. Arabella followed suit once more, drawing the blanket around her shoulders. It was silent and peaceful. She placed her hand on his chest and he laced his fingers through her. She wanted to talk to Harry for years and years. She felt as though there was so much she needed to tell him but there was no need for that at the moment. He was finally here with her, Sirius, Ron, Hermione and the others. She had a whole life time to talk to him.
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! Since I will be busy this coming weekend, I will try and post another chapter next week as soon as possible.
Arabella and Harry talking to each other alone might seem a little awkward at first, but they haven't seen each other in a while and those weeks were tense for both of them. The next couple of chapters should be good for the couple as they get back into their groove with each other.