Title: Dratted Death Eaters!

Author: Super Smexy Snuffles

Beta: R. F. Lupin

Disclaimer: Already went through this . . .

Summary: It is the first Order meeting all of the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione will attend since Dumbledore died. What will happen when a shocking truth is revealed? Find out now, oh ye of little faith. Also a little more background for y'all.

A/N: Firstly, R&R please! Comments and feedback make nice presents!

Secondly, there's a trip to the Department of Backstory in this one, and I feel it's necessary to mention that this fic shares a lot in common (namely, a character and her relationship) with "Scattered" by R. F. Lupin. If you want the full story about Pippa, please read that one . . . More at 11:00.

Chapter 3: Oh Ye of Little Faith

There were so many things Alexandra wished she had done in her life. Many included being able to save her godfather, but that wasn't possible and she knew it. Albus had told her of her origins when she was seventeen, which was actually three years after she was supposed to turn seventeen. It was now her job to continue his work, save Harry and the world, and prepare that world for the age to come.

Remus was still talking to her; she had spaced out, but came back in at the point where he was suggesting some good methods for dealing with "Gred" and "Forge."

"I know you have teaching experience, but I am very capable of handling the Weasley Wonder Twins. I've known Gred and Forge since they were born, they don't stand a chance," she told him.

Remus laughed, probably the most he had since he became the last true Marauder. Alex smiled; it was always good to make other people happy. With that thought, memories of her childhood with Lily and James and the Marauders and Morganna, and all the others came back in a rush. Oh how she missed them all.

"Would you like to see them again?" Alexandra asked him quietly. She knew that he would understand whom she meant.

"Not yet, I will see them when this is over. And that will have to be good enough for me," Remus said quietly.

Alex nodded, then took a deep breath and began,

"This will take some explaining, but about . . . "

Their voices faded and those listening to their conversation, namely Fred and George, strained to hear the rest, but it was as though a Mufiliato spell had been cast over the entire household and all its inhabitants.

Harry was sitting in the kitchen, stuffing his face in a Marauder-like way, having noted the buzzing in his ears. He stood, excused himself from the table, and went out into the backyard. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny following closely behind and joining him beneath a tree.

"Ron, Ginny, tell me about Alex," Harry began. "I heard Lupin saying she was Dumbledore's god daughter? Tell me all you know." He felt he already knew some of it nipping at him.

Ginny was the one who answered him.

"Well, see Alex is actually Alexandra Isabella Gryffindor, youngest daughter of Godric Gryffindor, and your Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Aunt. She was born in Hogwarts, and disappeared shortly after she was born. She appeared in the future, in I think, 2008. When she was about two she appeared in 1969 or 1970."

She recited all this as if from rote memory. Harry interrupted her before she could continue.

"How is that possible? Godric Gryffindor lived over a thousand years ago, and 2008 is eleven years in the future!"

"Time travel, obviously," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I mean, even though she was an infant and toddler at the times she did it, she traveled through time without a Time-Turner. Which means she was at Hogwarts . . . " She trailed off as she realized who was at Hogwarts in 1970.

"With my parents!" Harry finished eagerly. "She knew them! She knew Lupin, too, did you see the way he looked at her? Like a ghost from long ago?" He was nearly overwhelmed with implications of his musings.

Ron decided it was time to move on and elaborated.

"She was there the whole while, then she came forward in time and went to Hogwarts the same year as Bill. She was a second year when You Know Who killed your parents. Bill says she collapsed when Dumbledore told her. He heard her sobbing as she was scooped up by her godfather and taken to the hospital wing. Lupin came the next day, and took her out of school for three weeks."

"She was raised in Hogwarts, by your parents, the Marauders, their friends, and Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall," Ginny said. "She even owns the castle and it's grounds . . . But what you really need to know is that Dumbledore entrusted everything he knew about You Know Who to her, and left her everything, including control of the Order, and knowledge of exactly what he planned." Ginny had to pause for breath at this point, and Hermione saw fit to mention something she had "overheard."

"She's been in hiding since the Death Eaters found out Dumbledore had done this. They want to torture the prophecies out of her."

"Wait, what prophecies? I know about mine, but what others?" Harry asked.

"Well I don't know that," Hermione answered. "Mama Weasley and Remus realized I was there and stopped talking immediately. But you know what? Even your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had met her."

"'Mama Weasley?'" Ron interjected, having the attention span and mentality of a two year old. "Not you too! First Pippa, then Alex, now you! Good gracious, she wants you to marry one of us!" He wailed, and moaned, "Oh, what a disaster! I think I'm going to go get some food." He got up and returned to the house, mumbling about "crazy women," "the end of the world," and something about Alexandra and Pippa being the bane of his existence.

Harry knew that Pippa had been Bill's first serious girlfriend. His fiancée, actually, but she had been shot and killed by one of her ex-bosses before the wedding could take place. Ginny had explained all this to Harry earlier that summer, after Fleur found Bill's old pictures of Pippa in his drawer.

"Ginny, don't take offense, but your whole family is a bit insane," Hermione laughed.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said as she and Hermione got up to leave.

Harry really needed to think, and only returned to the house sometime later, finding the Order members gathered around the kitchen table again.

Alexandra had come back and Remus was uncharacteristically fidgety, yet oddly ecstatic. As all the people currently residing at the Burrow were members of the Order (even Ginny and the others, such as Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Bill, Phlegm), it was decided that they could all be present for the meeting. Professor McGonagall and Mr. Weasley were the last to arrive. Once everyone was seated around the table, McGonagall began her list of assignments. All were in code, and everyone except the newest members knew the code. Once all the assignments were announced (the youngest members didn't get any), Alexandra stood, and began,

"Okay, so as you are all aware, two years ago Sirius fell through the curtain in the Department of Mysteries. It was believed that this curtain lead to the Realm of the Dead, thus killing Sirius." Several people were watching Harry, because the mention of his godfather still upset him. "This is not the case however," Alex continued. "After my own trip through the curtain, I know that it is, in fact, a passage to other realms. And it changes often. It is only a doorway to the Realm of the Dead every thirty-five years. On the day Sirius fell through it, there were still twenty-three years until it would lead to that particular place."

"Does this mean . . . " Harry began, but he never got a chance to finish.

"Oh ye of little faith! I'm Sirius-freaking-Black! I outwitted Dementors, escaped Azkaban, and evaded the Ministry. Do you really think drapery could kill me?"

Sirius Orion Black was standing casually in the doorway of the Weasley kitchen, a rather smug grin on his still-gaunt face.

There was a tense silence, and no one spoke for a full minute. Then, in a flurry of movement, numerous redheads, a werewolf, Harry, and several others practically tackled Sirius to the ground.

"Wow, I should die more often," Sirius mused. "Okay folks, a man needs to breath. And Molly, I really missed your cooking, so . . . Got anything for me to eat?" He was partially back to what Remus would call his "old self."

Molly Weasley, being unaccustomed to non-ghosts returning from the dead, had a bit of a delayed reaction. Complete pandemonium broke out at this point as everyone started asking questions about where he had been, who he had seen and what not.

"Well, I was in the Elf Realm, then the Water Realm, and after that there were so many. I think I need a Pensieve for all of it," Sirius explained as he ate some beef stew and bread. "Now, what have I missed?"

Professor McGonagall, who had started to tear up when she saw him, was now back to her normal, brisk, self and immediately asked, "Mr. Black, when precisely did you return?"

"Four months ago, I attended the funeral with Alex and Pi . . um . . . someone else. Alex had disguised us. Then we had to go into hiding for a while. I know about Dumbledore, and how much Harry knows. Now, I have messages for Harry and Remus, so if you two will come with me?"

Sirius, Harry, and Remus all left the room and went upstairs.

"In the other realms, contact with the Elysian Fields is a common practice," Sirius began. "The Elysian Fields are where good people go when they die. Well, I was contacted by James and Lily. They both wanted me to tell you that they love both of you. Remus, they say they are sorry for ever suspecting you, and are grateful for the times you checked up on Harry.

After Remus indulged in a small smile, Sirius continued hurriedly.

"Harry, they wanted you to know that they love you so much and want you to return to Godric's Hollow. They believe one of the Horcruxes is in the ruins of the mansion, the shield of Godric Gryffindor. It cannot be removed from the property by anyone other than a Gryffindor descendant, something no one knows unless they attempt it."

Sirius watched as all that he said registered with them. Both began to tear up.

"We will be going there in two days," Harry announced finally. "I had planned to go after the wedding, but now I don't think I can wait anymore." He had matured a lot in the last months; almost all his adolescent qualities were gone.

But, like a true Potter, he would never really grow up.