Table Talk

Diana was contemplating putting her things away when she heard shouting. She quickly walked out the door and down the hall to the room that Harry was in. When she was close enough she recognized the voice as Harry's.

"WHY SHOULD ANYONE TELL ME ANYTHING? I'M ONLY THE ONE WHO WARNED EVERYONE VOLDEMORT'S BACK!"

Diana opened the door to see Harry standing with his back to her, and two other teenagers. There was a red-haired boy, his face a mixture of shock and shame. There was also a girl with bushy brown hair that looked to be near tears. They both cowered slightly as Harry shouted at them.

"What's going on here?" asked Diana.

Harry whipped around to turn on whoever was interrupting, but his anger faded when he saw Diana.

"Diana…" words failed him as he looked back at Ron and Hermione. Neither of them would look him in the eye, "Guys I'm- I'm sorry."

"Harry," said Diana softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned toward her, looking down at his shoes in shame, "Look at me, sweetie."

Harry reluctantly looked up at her face.

"Do you remember what we talked about the other day, about how sometimes your frustrations can just build up until you have to let it out?" Harry nodded, "As much as I understand how that feels, you have to remember that these are your friends and you know that no matter what they're always going to be here for you, and that it hurts them just as much as it hurts you that they had to be here without you and couldn't tell you anything." He nodded again.

"Now what you need to do is to not dwell on anything that's happened recently and go over there and talk to your friends. Tell them how happy you really are that you finally get to see them, and then catch up with them like friends are supposed to."

Harry nodded one final time and turned back to his friends. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Harry finally spoke, "I really am glad to see you guys."

Ron patted him on the shoulder, "It's alright, mate," he said, "We know you're only saying that because she told you to,"

Both boys began laughing, and Harry gave him a playful shove. Both Diana and Hermione smiled at the display, though there was a hint of an eye roll from Hermione.

"Oh, yeah, this is Diana," he said to them, turning and gesturing at her, "This is Ron and Hermione."

"It's good to meet you both," said Diana.

"Have we met before?" asked Hermione with a puzzled look on her face.

"No, I can't imagine we have,"

"I just feel like I've seen you somewhere before, but I can't put my finger on it," said Hermione.

"Oh, yeah, Dumbledore mentioned you," said Ron.

"He did, did he?" said Diana, tensing slightly, "What exactly did he tell you?" she asked.

"Just that you'd be the school counselor," said Ron, taken aback.

"Oh, yes," said Diana, "Yes that is the truth. I will be your school counselor."

"What is this place?" asked Harry, changing the subject.

"It's headquarters…" said Ron.

"… for the Order of the Phoenix," finished Hermione.

"What is the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I'd like to know that too. I remember Professor Dumbledore mentioning it once when I first met him."

"You're not a member?" asked Hermione.

"No," said Diana.

"It's a secret society. It was formed when You-Know-Who first came to power."

"What're they doing about Vol-," Ron and Hermione flinched as Harry spoke the name, "-demort?"

"They don't tell us about anything they're doing," said Ron.

"But we've got a general idea," said erHerHermione, "Most of them are keeping tabs on known death eaters and trying to recruit new members."

"How do you know that?" asked Diana.

"My brothers, Fred and George, they invented extendable ears. They're sort of like ears on strings, and they were using them to listen in on meetings, until my mum found out," Ron suppressed a shudder.

"What've you two been up to if you can't attend meetings? Your letters said you've been busy," said Harry.

"We've been cleaning the house up. It hasn't been lived in in years so a fair bit of dust and grime built up."

"I can imagine," said Harry, looking around at the musty bedroom, "whose house is this anyway?"

"Oh it's…" began Hermione, but she screamed as two loud cracks filled the room.

"Hello, Harry," said Fred.

"We thought we heard your dulcet tones," said George.

"You shouldn't bottle up your anger like that,"

"Let it out,"

"I bet there're people about fifty miles away that…"

"…didn't hear you."

"Hello Fred, George," said Harry when his heart calmed down from the shock.

"Would you two stop popping up like that?" asked Hermione breathlessly.

"It would have only taken you about two more minutes to take the stairs," said Ron sarcastically, but he was ignored when the twins noticed Diana.

"Enchantè, mademoiselle," said Fred, bowing and kissing her hand, "Fred Weasley, pleased to make your acquaintance," he said. Diana was barely suppressing her laughter as George nudged Fred out of the way and took his place.

"I'm George, the funny one,"

"But I'm the handsome one,"

"I'm Diana Prince," she interrupted the emerging argument.

"Did you two have a reason for coming in here?" asked Ron irritably.

"Oh," said both twins in unison.

"We came to let Harry know that he was interfering with reception," said Fred, holding up an extendable ear.

"Those won't work anyway," said Hermione, "Your mother's put an imperturbal charm on the door to the kitchen,"

"How do you know?" they both asked.

"Tonks told Ginny how to find out by throwing dung bombs at the door,"

"That's a shame. We were so looking forward to listening in on Snape's report,"

"Snape's here?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said George.

"He's still a git," said Ron.

"Who else is in the Order?"

"Well, Bill moved out here to join," said Fred.

"He's been spending loads of time with Fleur Delacour," said George.

"He's helping her with her English,"

"But I think she's mostly been teaching him French,"

"Okay, I didn't need to hear that," said Ron.

"Charlie is still in Romania trying to recruit some foreign wizards,"

"What about Percy?" Harry asked. Ron, Fred, George and Hermione all shared an uncomfortable look.

"You might not wanna mention his name in front of mum and dad," said Fred.

"Why not? What happened?"

"He and dad had a row," said George. The three brothers went on to explain about Percy's promotion and the fight that he had with their father.

"That's horrible," said Diana.

"Hang on, why would Fudge want Percy to spy on us?"

"Oh, yeah, we haven't told him about that yet," said Ron to the twins.

"Told me what?"

"You've been mentioned in the Daily Prophet several times," said Hermione.

"No I haven't. I would've seen," said Harry.

"Have you been reading all the way through?"

"No, I've just been skimming the front for news on Voldemort," the others, except Diana, all flinched, "Come on, you guys have to get used to hearing…"

"Wait a minute, Harry," she said, stepping forward.

"Voldemort," she said, causing the others to flinch again, "Voldemort," and again.

"Would you stop that?" asked Ron.

"Sorry, just having some fun," said Diana, as Harry was shaking while trying not to laugh, "Volley ball," They all flinched again, and Harry burst out laughing and collapsed on the nearest bed. Fred and George just stared dumbfounded as Diana herself began to laugh.

"I don't know whether to hate her…" began George as the twins looked at each other.

"…or fall in love," finished Fred.

"Can we get serious again please?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I've had my fun, you can go on."

When Harry was able to stand again, Hermione went on, "Fudge and the Daily Prophet have been spreading the story that you and Dumbledore are just trying to make trouble by saying You-Know-Who's back,"

"What?" said Harry, suddenly angry again.

"The Daily Prophet's been publishing stories calling Dumbledore mad and you an attention-seeking liar. Plus any time there's a far-fetched story, there's some snide comment like 'a story worthy of Harry Potter',"

"Why would they say things like that?" asked an indignant Diana, "The people need to know the truth about Vol-," there were three intakes of breathe, "… the bad guy."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley came in, "Oh, you're all here. The meeting's finished. It's time for dinner. But remember to keep quiet in the hall." Her eyes narrowed, "What are those, Fred?" she asked as Fred hastily stuffed the extendable ears into his pocket.

"What's what?" he asked innocently.

Mrs. Weasley didn't look convinced, "I'd better not catch the two of you with more extendable ears," she said as she walked back out of the room.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Diana. Everyone followed Mrs. Weasley downstairs where the remaining Order members were discussing something.

"…nearly got caught during my last shift. I'll have to ask Moody for his spare invisibility cloak next time," Tonks was heard saying to Mr. Weasley.

"Things like that should not be discussed outside of meetings," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"Oh, sorry, Molly; it won't happen again," said Tonks.

"Diana, this is my husband, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley gestured said man, who held out his hand.

"Lovely to make your acquaintance, Ms. Prince," Mr. Weasley said as Diana shook his hand.

"Oh, please, it's Diana," she said with a smile.

"Tonks look out for that umbrella stand!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley a split second too late.

"Oops, I'm sorry," said Tonks, picking up the troll's leg stand. Suddenly there came an awful screeching from the end of the hall that caused everyone to cover their ears. Diana and Harry both looked to see a portrait of an elderly woman with yellowing skin screaming at the top of her lungs.

"MUDBLOODS! BLOOD TRAITORS! SUPERHUMAN FREAKS! SCUM OF THE EARTH!"

Diana felt noticed someone run past her; it was a man with shoulder length brown hair.

"SHUT UP YOU HAG!" he shouted at the woman's portrait, which had begun to awaken all of the other sleeping portraits. The man ran up to it and tried to pull the curtains closed over it. While he did that, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Tonks went around stunning the other portraits. After a few minutes the newcomer managed to tug the curtains closed and the others silenced the other portraits.

"Sirius," said Harry, happily, running up to the man and hugging him.

"Harry," the man smiled as he pulled back and held Harry at arm's length, looking him over, and said, "Glad to finally have you here. You've grown since I saw you last."

"And you're looking a lot healthier," Harry replied. Sirius no longer looked emaciated and the bags under his eyes weren't as prominent. He was wearing robes that, though slightly old fashioned, were made of a fine material.

"That's kind of you, Harry. But I'm afraid I'll have to let these robes out soon with the way Molly cooks," it was then that Sirius noticed Diana. "And who's this?" he asked, putting an arm around Harry's shoulder and walking over to Diana.

"Oh, this is Diana,"

"So I finally get to meet the one who's been looking after my godson. Sirius Black at your service, milady," he said, shaking her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sirius. You should be proud of Harry; he's a very brave young man," she said with her stunning smile.

"He's his father's son alright. His father and I were best mates back in school," Harry beamed at being compared to his father.

"Who was that?" asked Harry.

"My dear old mum,"

"You're joking,"

"We've been trying to get her down from there for over a month. The old hag must've put a permanent sticking charm on it."

"But why is a portrait of your mother here?" asked Harry, bewildered as they walked into the kitchen.

"This was my parents' house. When Dumbledore restarted the Order, I offered it up for headquarters. It's about the only useful thing I've been able to do for the Order."

"Why's that, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Diana, sitting across from Sirius and Harry, next to Ginny.

"It's a long story," he said.

Diana was about to inquire further when she heard, "NO, JUST CARRY THEM!"

Everyone turned to see a pot of soup and a bread board, complete with a knife, speeding toward the table. They all jumped back just in time when the soup skidded across the table, leaving a long scorch mark. The bread soon followed and the knife landed, tip down, exactly where Sirius's hand had been seconds before.

Sirius and Harry began laughing as Ron picked himself up cursing from where his chair had toppled over.

Mrs. Weasley was shouting at the twins, "THERE WAS NO NEED! I'M SICK OF THIS- JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEED TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERYTHING!"

"We were just trying to save some time," one of them said.

"Why can't you both be more responsible? We never had trouble like this from your brothers! Bill didn't need to apparate every few feet, Charlie didn't charm everything he met, and Percy didn't…" she stopped, breathing heavily, her bottom lip trembling. Mr. Weasley's face was set in an angry scowl at the mention of his third oldest son.

"Molly," said Diana, getting up and standing next to the woman, "even though their actions were unnecessary and irresponsible," she sent a pointed look at the twins, who were looking down and shuffling their feet with their hands behind their backs, "they really didn't mean any harm. Why don't we all sit down, relax and have a nice dinner," Mrs. Weasley nodded stiffly and sat down next to her husband.

"It looks delicious, Molly," said Remus, ladling the soup out for everyone. Soon enough the incident was forgotten and everyone was engaged in conversation.

Diana was currently laughing along with Ginny and Hermione at Tonks, who was changing the shape of her nose in very comical ways, when Mrs. Weasley looked at the click.

"It's time for bed," she said to the teenagers.

"Just a minute, Molly," said Sirius, turning to Harry, "I'm surprised; I thought the minute that you got here you'd be asking about Voldemort."

Everyone went silent and turned to look at them, "I did; I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said they didn't know anything because they're not allowed in the Order…"

"That's right," said Mrs. Weasley, "Because you're all too young,"

"Since when do they have to be in the Order to ask questions?" asked Sirius, "Harry's got a right to know."

"Hang on," said George, "Why does Harry get his questions answered?"

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us anything!" said George.

"It's your parents' decision not to tell you anything, but Harry…"

"Do you remember Dumbledore mentioning not telling him more than he needs to know?"

"I'm not going to tell him more than he needs to know!" Sirius said, "Seeing as he's the one that saw Voldemort return, he has more than a right to know…"

"He's only fifteen!"

"He's dealt with more than most…"

"No one's denying what he's done!"

"He's not a child!"

"He's not an adult either! He's not James!"

"I'm perfectly clear on who he is, thanks very much!"

"Are you? Sometimes you act as though you've got your best friend back!"

"What's wrong with that?" asked Harry.

"You're not your father, Harry. You're still at school and those responsible for you should not forget that."

Sirius was about to retort when Diana stood up, "Alright both of you stop it!" They both turned to her in surprise, "I'm sorry, but you should not be arguing about this in front of Harry, or the other kids!" Everyone in the room stared at her in awe. No one had ever scolded Mrs. Weasley that way.

"Now it's clear that we all care about Harry. You may not want to get him involved," she said to Mrs. Weasley, "He's still young and you don't want him or the other children to get hurt. I get that. But everything that happens with the death eaters, with the Order, all of it affects them too. They need to be prepared for whatever's coming."

"The lady makes an excellent point," said Moody.

Mrs. Weasley turned to look for an ally at the rest of the table, "Arthur, what do you think?"

He waited a minute to answer, cleaning his glasses, "I agree with Diana and Sirius," Mrs. Weasley let out an exasperated sigh, "Now I don't think we should tell them everything, just the general idea."

She looked around once more, then, "Fine!"

"So what do you want to know, Harry?" asked Sirius.

"What has Voldemort been up to? I've been watching the news, but there hasn't been anything about suspicious deaths or disappearances."

"There haven't been any," said Lupin.

"Why not?" asked Diana.

"Because Harry ruined his plans," said Sirius proudly.

"Me? How'd I do that?"

"He never thought you'd escape that graveyard. And as soon as you did, you alerted Dumbledore, the one person he's ever feared."

"So since he knows you're onto him, he's laying low?" Diana stated more than asked.

"Exactly," said Moody.

"And what's the Order been doing?" asked Harry.

"We've been trying to make sure that he can't carry out his plans," said Lupin.

"How do you know what his plans are?" asked Diana.

"Dumbledore has an idea, and his ideas usually turn out to be correct," said Sirius, "he mostly wants to rebuild his army."

"We've been trying to keep that from happening by convincing as many people as possible that he's returned," said Lupin.

"The Ministry is making it difficult though," said Tonks.

"But how can they be so stupid…" began Harry.

"Fudge is under the impression that Dumbledore is after his job," said Lupin.

"But that's mad. How could anyone think that?"

"Fudge is scared because people admire Dumbledore more than they do him. Dumbledore is much cleverer than he is. When he first took office, he would ask Dumbledore for advice,"

"But Fudge is fond of his power now," said Mr. Weasley, "And if You-Know-Who is back it would cause trouble for the Ministry that they haven't seen since the last time he was in power."

"Then how've you been getting the word out?"

"Why do you think Dumbledore's in such trouble with the Ministry?" said Lupin, "Fudge's been trying to discredit him. They may take away his Order of Merlin, he was voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards, and he's been demoted from Chief Warlock of the Wizengamont."

"But he says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off of the chocolate frog cards," said Tonks, laughing.

"It's not a laughing matter, Tonks," said Moody, "If Dumbledore keeps it up he could end up in Azkaban. That would be the worst possible thing for the wizarding world."

"But it's bound to get out eventually. If Voldemort's raising an army…"

"I don't know much about this guy, but I doubt he stands out in the street with flyers," said Diana. There were nods from several adults.

"Besides, he's got other plans too, that he can put into operation very quietly," said Sirius.

"Like what?"

"Well, one of our sources told us about a plan involving someone called Wonder Woman. But Dumbledore gave instructions to leave that up to him, so we don't know anything else about it," Harry and Diana shared a glance. Hermione perked up on hearing the name, and looked at Diana.

"We also know he's after something, something he can only get by stealth," said Sirius.

"Like what? Like a weapon, something he didn't have last time?"

"That's enough," said Mrs. Weasley, "you've given them plenty of information. If you say anymore you may as well induct them into the Order right now."

"I want to join, though," said Harry.

"No," said Mr. Weasley, "The Order is comprised of overage wizards only, that are out of school," he added when Fred and George were about to argue.

"It's time for bed," said Mrs. Weasley.

"You can't boss us…" began Fred.

"BED, NOW!"

The teenagers all rose up defeated, to leave the table. Harry had a sudden thought, "You can still talk about it with Diana can't you?"

"I'm afraid we can't," said Moody.

"Oh, really?" said Diana, standing and crossing her arms irritated, "And why is that? I'm over seventeen, I'm not in school. Why am I left out of the loop?"

Lupin, Mr. Weasley and Sirius all shared a glance, unsure of what to do.

"Order members only I'm afraid," said Moody.

Diana looked at the remaining adults, "Fine," she said simply. She turned on heel and left the kitchen.

=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=w=

I think this may be the longest chapter in this story so far.

There is a lot of information and dialogue from the book in this chapter that I felt it couldn't do without, but I did try to condense it and change it up a bit so that it doesn't run too long and so that it's not like you're just reading what you've already read in the book.

I know I promised at the end of chapter 11 that Harry's hearing would be in this chapter, but the chapter was running too long already. But I can guarantee it'll be in chapter 13.

And for those of you who think that Diana is just sitting back and letting things happen, next chapter you will all get to see what I want to do with her character. I hope you'll all enjoy it when you read it.

On a side not, have any of you been on Pottermore? I joined up recently and it's very cool. It's got lots of information about the books that you won't find anywhere else. Also, when you're exploring the first book, when you get to Ollivander's, you get your own wand that's chosen for you based on a series of questions that you have to answer, and then when you get to Hogwarts you get sorted.