Disclaimer: See previous chappies
(A/N: Sorry this is so late! I was infected a bit by Summer Laziness, and Writer's Block, and today some vampires (disguised as doctors wanting blood work) got me... And I was a bit disappointed by the lack of reviews, but I now realize that FF was down, so that made me a bit happier! Okay, I'll let you read now. See my AN after...)
Chapter 12: Kidnappings Galore!
The Order had gone frantic once again. This time, there were three people that had gone missing. Hermione Granger, Ron, and Ginny Weasley were nowhere to be found.
At first, they were sure that they had just stepped out to the backyard to fly a broom around or something like that. The three teens weren't there. Then the Order rationalized that they were in their rooms. They checked. The three teens weren't there. Only slightly worried at this point, the possibility that they were hiding in the house, playing a prank on the Order, went up. A full-scale search of the house didn't turn up the teens. An owl was sent, with a tracking charm on it, to each of the teens. Reassured that the owls would find them, the Order relaxed.
The owls came back, their letters unopened. That was when the Order started to panic. It was bad enough that Harry had run away; now his friends were gone, possibly kidnapped.
A meeting had been called, and everything was going down hill. "My two youngest are missing, presumed kidnapped, and you suggest we just sit around and wait?" Molly Weasley glared at Snape, who sneered at her.
"Those stupid Gryffindors probably ran away to join their Golden Boy. The know-it-all will probably quail at this breaking of the rules, and come back with her tail between her legs. Then she will tell us where they went, and we will collect the brats, including Potter."
Molly Weasley was about to start yelling, when Dumbledore arrived in the kitchen. All of the members turned to stare. For one, their esteemed leader was bleeding from small wounds, some looking like scratches. His robes were even torn. For another, he looked old and broken. The usual twinkle in his eyes was at record low levels, almost nonexistent. The shocked Order members, Snape included (although he did not show it), wondered what had happened to their leader.
"Headmaster, is everything okay?" Professor McGonagall asked tentatively.
Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, Minerva. I take it you are discussing the disappearance of Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley?" He sat down at his usual seat slowly.
The Order members nodded, still a bit stunned at this change in the Headmaster. "We don't have any clue to their whereabouts." Mundungus Fletcher, who was normally drunk, sounded dead sober. He had been a little…tipsy, but the appearance of Dumbledore had the same effect as someone tossing a bucket of cold water on him. His clear-headedness made some of his fellow Order members stare incredulously at him, before turning their attention back to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "What have you already… Fawkes?" His head shot up, as he sensed the Phoenix coming closer.
Indeed, the Phoenix appeared in a ball of fire. Clutching to his tail were the missing teens. "Wow, that was bloody awesome!" Came the comment from Ron.
Hermione smacked him upside the head. "Ron, watch your language!" Ron glared at her, and Ginny covered her mouth to hide her giggles.
"Where in the world have you three been?" Molly Weasley stood, and glared at them. Ron blinked, and pointed at the Phoenix. Fawkes shook his head violently, trilled in alarm, and disappeared. Ron muttered something about "traitorous overgrown roasted turkey," and this time, both Hermione and Ginny had to hide their laughter. Some of the order members were quietly snickering.
At Mrs. Weasley's glare, Ginny quailed. "Um, we've been with Harry, Mum." She tried to placate the angry matriarch of the Weasley family.
Her words caused a shock wave among the gathered Order members. Remus grinned; he had a very good guess as to why Harry had wanted to see them. Snape smirked in triumph. Dumbledore seemed to gather himself at those words.
"Ms. Weasley, do you know where he is?" The Headmaster asked gently.
The teens looked at each other with smirks. All three of them knew very well where Harry was, especially Ginny. "Of course, Professor! However, Harry made us promise not to tell, and we can't break that." Ginny said with a small smile.
Professor Snape stood up, put his hands on the table, and glared at the youngest Weasley. "You will tell us now, or I will dose all of you with Veritaserum." Ginny merely smiled back at him, causing the Potions Professor to grow more furious.
Hermione wrung her hands. It pained her to not tell the Professor, but… she looked up as an owl flew through an open window. Not just any owl, but a Snowy Owl named Hedwig. Hermione held out her arm, and Hedwig landed, stretching her leg out. Hermione took the letter, and Hedwig flew away.
"What does it say, Miss Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
Hermione motioned Ron and Ginny over, and they looked at it and grinned. "Harry's given permission for us to tell you."
Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well? Are you going to tell us, or are you waiting for the apocalypse to happen?" He sneered at them.
Ron looked at Ginny, who looked to Hermione, who looked back at Ginny. The youngest Weasley sighed, and capitulated. "He currently resides in the Chamber of Secrets."
As the Order started to whisper, Remus couldn't take it any more. He started laughing.
"What did we do to deserve this?" Ron grumbled, staring at the wall. Hermione and Ginny sat on the bed. All three of them had been confined to a bedroom, so that the Order could digest this new information that had been given them.
Hermione sighed. "Ron, calm down. The Order has things that they need to discuss that we can't hear…"
"That's bollocks, and you know it Hermione. They're just upset that we managed to evade their little headquarters and get out on our own." Ron told her.
Ginny sighed as the two got into an all-out argument. She idly wondered when they would realize they fancied each other. It was painfully obvious. There was even betting among the residents of Gryffindor Tower when they would get together. And Ginny had heard rumors of pools going in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw as well.
She raised her head when the door to the room opened, and Remus came in. Hermione and Ron paused in their argument as he closed the door.
"I take it Harry wanted you to be the next generation of Marauders?" Remus opened with.
Hermione nodded. "You were the one that inducted Shadowfang, weren't you?"
Remus looked pleased. "He showed you his form? Quite impressive, isn't he?" The werewolf was still proud of how fast Harry had transformed.
"It was bloody awesome!" Ron declared. He didn't quite duck another swat to his head, courtesy of Hermione. "Ron!" He rubbed his head, frowning.
Ginny grinned. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. And we even found out our own forms! I'm a Jackal, or a Wolf, I'm not quite sure which."
Hermione sighed. "Ginny, its one form, just with a multitude of names. A Simien Jackal is the same as an Ethiopian Wolf. Professor, I'm a kneazle!"
Not to be outdone, Ron smiled. "And I'm a fox!"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Well done, all of you! I didn't know that you could have a magical form, good job, Hermione! And please, I'm no longer your Professor. Call me Remus, or Moony, if you prefer."
Hermione looked queasy at that. It was sacrilege to her to not call a Professor, even a former one, by a first name or nickname.
Ginny chuckled. "We'll try, Pro- Moony. Anyway, Harry told us that you could help us look up information on our forms. Would you?"
Remus grinned. "For Shadowfang, and his new pack, I'll do anything. I believe we have some books in the Library about all sorts of creatures. If you'll just wait a moment, I'll get them for you." At the teens' nods, Remus slipped out of the room.
As the werewolf stealthily slipped out of the library, books in hand, he overheard a bit of the Order meeting going on, the one that he'd been dismissed out of because he was laughing too hard to make any useful comments.
"We have to get Harry! He's not safe!" Remus rolled his eyes. Molly Weasley was too overprotective of Harry sometimes.
"If what those brats said was true, then Potter is safer than we are." Remus recognized the silky drawl of a most-likely sneering Snape. Silently, the werewolf agreed with the Potions Professor.
He heard Dumbledore sighed. "We will send an owl to Harry, asking him to come back. As of now, I believe that Severus is correct; he is safer than we."
"Headmaster, what about Fawkes? Could we not use the Phoenix to teleport one of us to the Chamber, then teleport him back here?" That was from Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore sighed again. "That will not work, Minerva. Fawkes is fond of Harry, and I do not think he will teleport us to the Chamber to kidnap Harry."
Remus left, having heard enough. He snickered as he climbed the stairs; his sensitive ears accidentally catching protests that they weren't trying to kidnap Harry, only making sure that he was safe by relocating him to a place where they could protect him.
Harry smirked as he conjured a pebble, thinking about the Order's probable reaction to the news that he was right under Dumbledore's nose all that time. All of them would start making plans to kidnap Harry, although they wouldn't call it kidnapping. Snape would sneer, calling him a bigheaded, attention-seeking brat, or something of the sort. Mrs. Weasley would start crying, demanding that Dumbledore get him and bring him back under their wing. Dumbledore himself would be trying to calm everyone down.
Harry shrugged, banishing thoughts of the Order from his mind, and concentrated on the pebble in front of him. He was attempting a very hard exercise that was highly recommended, a mix of charms and transfiguration. First, he had to conjure a small object, transfigure, charm, transfigure, charm, and so on until the finished product was nothing like the start, then break all the spells at once, turning the object back into its original form, then banish it.
Closing his eyes to see the magic that he was going to use better, Harry swished his wand, levitating the pebble to about level. Another wave and the pebble transfigured into a small cup. The cup then was charmed to become another color, and was transfigured shortly after.
Making his way through various changes, Harry watched with fascination as various webs shrouded the object, forming into the shapes that the pebble became. Even though the pebble was now a purple with neon green polka dots covered television, Harry saw through the magic, and could make out a small gray pebble.
A few changes later, and Harry opened his eyes, grinning at what was in front of him. A floating, neon pink with bright purple and neon green dots all over, small muggle house lay in front of him. Harry winced at the colors; they hurt his eyes. Closing his eyes, Harry looked at what seemed a mess of webs, ready to break all the spells at once. The exercise forbid using a simple "Finite Incantatem" to revert the object back to normal; instead, Harry had to find a way to call the object's nature to the fore, rendering all the spells useless.
Harry thought about it, before grinning. There was a simple spell that could technically work, if he modified it just a bit…
"Accio Pebble" Harry said, pointing his wand directly at the pebble amidst the magical webs, concentrating hard on what he wanted. A web of golden magic shot out of his wand, plunging through the mass of webs around the pebble, heading straight for the small rock.
Harry saw his magic grab the pebble, and start pulling it toward him. He felt resistance, as the pebble broke through the various webs, making them disappear. Harry opened his eyes to see the house disappear, changing until it went back to the bed it was before Harry transfigured it into the house. Closing his eyes once again, Harry saw the pebble breaking up the webs, going faster than before.
He focused his strength on the Summoning spell, making the pebble speed up as the golden magic around it went faster as well. In a few seconds, Harry held the pebble in his hand, completely free from any spells or transfigurations. A triumphant smile lit Harry's face, as he tossed the pebble up and down in his hands.
"You did very good, Harry! You've improved since last year!" Harry turned around, startled at the voice. Hedwig, who'd returned from her deliver, stuck her chest out in pride at her master.
Harry grinned. "You startled me! Thanks, Hedwig, I was surprised I could do it. How did they take the letter?"
Hedwig shook her wings. "Well, the red-haired girl told everyone, and they were shocked. The werewolf started laughing." Although she had flown away as soon as she had delivered it, Hedwig had immediately stopped to listen in.
"Figures Moony would. He was probably tickled pink that I thought of it, and no one else had." Harry shook his head, amused.
Hedwig cocked her head, puzzled. "No, I did not see him turn pink, nor was he tickled."
"It's a human expression, Hedwig. It means that he was amused." Harry explained.
Hedwig preened her wings. "Silly humans. 'Tickled pink' indeed!"
Harry chuckled, and went to his bed. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He wanted to make sure that his friends went through their transformations without losing their minds on the first one. Sure Moony was there at Headquarters, but he never became an Animagus, so he wouldn't be much help. Professor McGonagall was there, and she was an Animagus, but she would ask questions, and Harry couldn't afford that.
As he saw it, Harry had two options. He could either move to Headquarters, which he really didn't want to, as he would be under close supervision, or he could find a way to get his friends to live with him. Harry preferred the second option, but with the two youngest Weasleys in his group, Mrs. Weasley would most likely object, and forbid them to come.
Well, Harry thought with a mischievous grin, if that happened, Harry would just have to kidnap them.
"Harry, an owl is asking if he should deliver a letter from Dumbledore to you." Harry looked up at Hedwig.
"From Dumbledore? Probably asking me to go to HQ, and surrender quietly. Ask him if Dumbledore placed any charms on him or the letter, please."
Hedwig blinked, transmitting the message. "He says that Dumbledore waved his wand at the letter, saying something like 'Poor tus.' Is that bad?"
Harry frowned. "Yes, it means that the letter is a portkey. Ask your friend to come here. Dumbledore's going to get a little surprise when I arrive, that's for sure." Harry told Hedwig. The Owl obeyed.
Harry sent out his own mind. "Fawkes?" He tried to reach the Phoenix.
"Yes, Harry? Do you need me?" Came the answer. Harry couldn't help but grin at his success at talking telepathically across a distance.
"Actually, Fawkes, I do. Dumbledore's forcing me to go to Headquarters, and I'll need a way out. When I call, could you appear and take me away? I might also try to get my fellow Marauders to come." Harry realized that if he was going to get his friends to the Chamber, now was the time.
"He's WHAT? Oh, I'll do whatever you want, Harry. When you call, be ready." Harry winced as he felt Fawkes' anger in the transmission. Apparently the Phoenix was ticked off at Dumbledore.
"Thanks, Fawkes." Harry sent, and made a few adjustments to the Chamber while he waited for the portkey to come.
By the time the owl arrived, a partition was set up, with Harry's and another bed on one side, and two other beds on the other side. Each bed had a small table with a lamp on it beside the head of the bed, and a dresser opposite the foot of the bed, against the partition. Mirrors hung above each dresser. All was in readiness for the rest of the Marauders to live with Harry. Of course, they would add their own little personal touch to their separate areas, and some modifications would undoubtedly be made, but for now, they could live with this.
"Hedwig, as soon as I arrive, could you deliver this to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny? You'll need to perch on my shoulder." Harry asked, handing the Snowy Owl a scribbled letter.
"As you wish, Harry." Hedwig flew to his shoulder, and clasped the letter in her beak.
Harry took one last look around, and turned to face the owl that had somehow managed to find its way in to the Chamber, carrying Dumbledore's letter/Portkey.
"Hello, Harry Potter. The Owls all know now that you can speak to us." The owl inclined his head towards Harry.
Harry smiled. "I am grateful for your assistance. Without contacting Hedwig ahead of time before delivering the letter, we would have been in a bit of trouble. Thank you."
The owl dipped his head in a bow. "It is no trouble for us, Harry Potter. I hope that you are well. Hedwig, you have a nice human. Make sure you keep him." He dropped the letter he was carrying at Harry's feet.
Hedwig hooted, amused. "I will." The other owl flew off, and Harry looked at Hedwig. "Your human?" Hedwig kept silent.
Harry shrugged, and bent to pick up the letter, wand out. Sure enough, as soon as he touched it, he felt a hook behind his navel, jerking him away.
He stopped in front of the Order, and thankfully he didn't collapse like the last times he used a Portkey. Hedwig flew away, and Harry twirled his wand between his fingers, hiding his temper.
"Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting that." Harry grinned evilly, his eyes glinting. Oh yes, he was ticked off, and based on the way some of the Order glanced nervously at each other, they were aware of it. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore. Fancy seeing you here, when I thought I made it clear I didn't want to see you until next year! What an amazing coincidence!" The Order members could almost see the sarcasm dripping from his words. Suddenly, some of them were very, very afraid.
Well, again, I'm sorry for this being so late. Like I said, Summer Laziness, Writer's Block, vampires (AKA Doctors who wanted my blood), and the lack of reviews kind of slowed my writing of this chapter down. But the lack of reviews is partly because of FF being off, so that's been cured. I'll try not to let SL, WB, and vampires distract me from the next chapter.
Also, I've been getting complaints about my reviews. Seeing the first polite review asking me to tone it down, I decided to think about it. And here's my response: I will write full responses when there's not many reviews, or very short revvies. If there are a lot of revvies, I'l write short responses, or just acknowledge and thank those that reviewed. If I keep getting anastronomical number of reviews, I'll seriously consider putting my e-mail up, so that I can respond personally to those that reviewed. If you do want a response when the review numbers go up, please leave an email, so I can email you.
Okay, onto the reviews! Since there wasn't that many at the time of this posting, I'll do this like normal, and then next chapter I'll do what I said above. Okies? Ok! You know the drill by now (I hope)
Keaira Black: Thanks! I'm glad you like, and I appreciate the review!
HeWhoComesWithTheDawn: Thanks, sorry 'bout not updating, but I'll try to keep a steady update schedule. Appreciate the review!
CastusAlbusCor: He's not so lovable right now, is he? Oh well... ;-) Thanks for the review!
PsychicLunar: I'm glad I cheered you up, and Zatch Bell is an anime, I'm guessing? R&R your fic... Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you like!
shdurrani: Hehe, Ron is a bit of a dunce when it comes to... erm... almost everything? Albus isn't one of Harry's favorite people right now, as you can see. Or Fawkes' for that matter... Thanks for reviewing!
jessdarkwater: Thanks, I'm glad you like the fic! While I do try to veer from the norm (as I've said many times before), I still try to make (a little bit of) sense. The forms and pairings are a result. Thanks for your support, and for the review!
HermioneGreen:-D Thanks! I'm glad I passed too! Otherwise, you'd probably have to wait until the end of the summer until the next chapter got posted (my parents would kick me off the 'puter...) and I'd have a mob of angry people after me! So I'm glad that didn't happen! Thanks for the review
mewer4444: blushes I wouldn't say I'm the best, but thanks! Just remember, this is my theory on how Dumbledore got Fawkes, so it's not true unless JKR says so. Good guess, but no lollies. Thanks for the review!
nonion: sorry, no lollies (Crookskanks? Do you mean Crookshanks? The first wouldn't be... erm... appropriate, and the second is already taken by Hermione's pet)Thanks for the review!
Wytil: Really? I've never read that book... just thought it up myself.. wow, that's kinda cool... Anyway, no lollies (thank goodness ;-) ) So, no, I don't need a psyciatrist. ;-) Thanks, glad you like, and I appreciate the review!
Catnip070: No lollies... good guesses, but incorrect. Thanks for the review!
like: you are the polite person I mentioned above. As I've stated, I'll tone down the responses. I'm glad you like, and thanks for not just yelling and telling me I suck! I appreciate that!
lil1318: Thanks for the advice. I'm not planning for H/G to get together in the near future. I'm glad you like, and thanks for the review!
Bloodless Ace: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the confrontation... Thanks for the review!
rockyfort: Ha ha, dad, very funny. I haven't seen my friend since last summer, so be nice. Thanks, love ya!
Windy River: Er... here you go?
HecateDeMort: Glad to see you again! Thanks for the review!
Treck: Thanks, I figured out why there weren't that many reviews after I read that.
albert87: Thanks! I'm glad you like! I appreciate the review!
Katherine: Yeah, I'll try to write some more soon
Ferdia: I think I stated that there wouldn't be a repeat, but if you didn't read that, there will be no betrayal. If there was, do you think I would tell? ;-) Thanks for the review, glad you like!
Tmctflyboy: Thanks! Glad you like!
APS: Interesting siggy... Thanks, glad you like!
Well, there it is! Enough of that, Q&A time! (or is it A&Q the way I"m doing it?)
Answers: You'll find out within the next couple of chapters. If I can work it in, it'll be in next chapter
Questions:
1) What is Hermione's Marauder name?
2) What is Ron's Marauder name?
3) What is Ginny's Marauder name?
4) Do you like what I'm going to do with review responses (a free lolly for you if you even answer!)
Okay, until next time!