Chapter 3 – A Spark

The Order members sent to pick up Harry and Hermione arrived in a white van, and when they stepped out Harry grinned and said, "Hello, Lupin. Tonks."

"Wotcher, Harry," came Tonks's usual reply. "Hi, Hermione"

"Nice to see you, Harry and Hermione," said Lupin.

Tonks was the Order's disguise expert, being well-versed in the arts of applying make-up and dyeing hair. Lupin was very good with animals and had domesticated a few wolves to help track enemies. The two had also recently gotten together, despite a bit of an age gap.

Without a word, Harry grabbed the still-knocked-out prisoner by the feet and Lupin grabbed the head. The two women opened the van's back doors, and Harry and Lupin tossed the man in. Lupin and Tonks went in the front while Harry and Hermione hopped in the back with the prisoner, sitting side-by side on the bench running length-wise along the left side of the van.

Lupin and Tonks chatted quietly in the front, too quietly for Harry or Hermione to hear what they were saying, and Harry and Hermione rode in silence, both a little tired from the earlier excitement. After not too long, Harry felt a weight on his shoulder and turned his head to see Hermione dozing peacefully on it, her face relaxed and stress-free. Harry spent the rest of the ride admiring her beauty, from the soft curls of her hair to the graceful curve of her pale neck.

When they arrived Harry nudged Hermione softly and she slowly woke up, blinking and looking around, and groaned.

Harry smiled at her. "Good dream?"

Hermione sighed. "You don't even know."

Harry laughed and asked, "What was it about?"

A red flush began creeping up Hermione's neck to her face. "Well…er…I…"

The van doors flew open, and both Harry and Hermione jumped—they had forgotten that they weren't alone. "Will you two hurry up and quit lollygagging? It's cold out here and warm inside, so I want to get inside," finished Lupin tersely.

"Sorry," the two teenagers muttered in unison.

Hermione hopped out as Harry and Lupin picked up the limp prisoner and headed towards the Order's southern headquarters, which was a located in a run-down hospital in Brighton. At least, it looked run-down from the outside. The only hint that it was much more on the inside was the high-tech numbered keypad next to the door.

Tonks punched in the code and the door swung open, admitting the four Order members and the unconscious prisoner into a different world. Pristine white walls, chrome instruments, and flashing lights filled the rooms, the amount of technology astounding. They went to the basement of the building where the jail was located and tossed the prisoner in after removing his handcuffs. The man would be interrogated thoroughly and most likely disposed of despite what Harry told him earlier. Voldemort frequently busted his followers out of various correctional facilities, and the Order didn't need to give him his members back when they were already so outnumbered.

After locking the cell, the four headed back up to war room, and Harry and Hermione gasped as they saw who was sitting there. "D-dumbledore?" Harry stuttered.

Indeed it was the old man, his long silver hair and beard reflecting the artificial light emanating from the light bulbs above. The founder of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore was a legend.

"Indeed, it is I," said Dumbledore, a small smile playing on his lips. "Did you really think you two could go on a vacation without having me near you? You're too valuable to leave unattended."

"The prisoner we took said something similar," Harry piped up. "That's why Voldemort wants us dead."

"Yes, and that's why your vacation is over," said Dumbledore sternly, leaving no room for argument.

Hermione sighed. "I figured as much."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers under his chin and glanced at Lupin and Tonks, then said, "Could I please speak to these two alone?"

The two older Order members stepped out of the room and Dumbledore gestured for Harry and Hermione to sit across the table from him, and they did so in silence. They sat for a minute with Dumbledore appraising them, then he said, "What I am about to tell you two is strictly confidential. Only your friend, Ron Weasley, may know about this. You cannot tell anybody, or our resistance to Voldemort will be crushed like an insignificant bug."

"You don't trust Lupin and Tonks?" Harry interrupted.

Dumbledore sighed the sigh of a weary and beaten man. "Frankly, I don't know who to trust now but you two and Mister Weasley." At the look on Harry and Hermione's faces he continued. "Do you two wholeheartedly trust your friends?"

"Of course," they replied in unison.

"And how did Voldemort know where you two were?" Dumbledore asked them patiently.

The two teens glanced at each other and Hermione quietly said, "I see, sir."

"The only reason I know to trust you two is that you were both orphaned by Voldemort and have truly devoted yourselves to destroying him. You two have every reason to hate that man and never join him," said Dumbledore with a hint of fire in his voice.

The three sat on that for a bit before Hermione asked, "What were you going to tell us?"

Dumbledore glanced at them seriously, then said, "I know how to defeat Voldemort completely. I know how to end this secret war and eradicate the Death Eaters."

Harry and Hermione were on the edge of their seats. "How?"

"It all lies in supplies and the smaller gangs that they recruit from, the biggest of which is known as the Slytherins, which is headed by a man known as Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore informed the two teenagers. "If you stop Voldemort's flow of supplies and members, you may find that he is more vulnerable to being wiped out."

"So…" said Hermione, obviously working out what needed to be done. "We just need to get rid of the smaller gangs that Voldemort relies on for the menial aspects of running a crime organization?"

"I think we'll find that much more easily said than done," said Harry. "That sounds like a tough job to me."

"Yes, it will be, considering the time frame in which you have to do it and the lack of information we have," said Dumbledore, now pacing around the room.

"Time frame?" inquired Hermione.

"In only ten months, according to my spies, Voldemort is planning to release a biological weapon on Britain," said Dumbledore gravely.

"Why in ten months?" asked Harry. "Why not now?"

"Because," said Dumbledore, "Voldemort and his followers all need to strengthen their immunity to the virus and they need ten months to do so."

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair. "So, ten months to track down the branch gangs and wipe out them and the Death Eaters? Sounds like fun."

"Oh," said Dumbledore, "and once you start wiping out the gangs, he'll reinforce the remaining ones."

Hermione shifted in her seat a little. "Excuse me, sir, but you said 'you'. Surely you don't expect that only Harry and I will do this ourselves."

"Of course not," said Dumbledore. "It will be you two, Mister Weasley, Miss Weasley, Mister Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood."

"But sir, I thought you said to tell nobody but Ron," said Hermione.

"Yes, that is vital," said Dumbledore. "You must take care to speak of the mission only to Mister Weasley, and invent a reason that you are targeting the gangs, considering the fact that we would normally never assign such a dangerous mission to a group of teenagers."

"Alright, sir, you can count on us," said Harry.

"Yes sir, we won't let you down," said Hermione.

Dumbledore smiled from behind his silver whiskers. "I know I can. For now, you two will go to Hogwarts, and I will collect your friends and take them to the school as soon as possible so you can get started. Meanwhile, the rest of the Order will be fortifying the school in case of a possible attack."

"But nobody knows where the school is but the students," said Harry without thinking.

"Honestly, Harry," said Hermione, vexed. "One of our friends sold us out, and our only friends go to school with us."

"Precisely," said Dumbledore. "We must be prepared for the spy to give Voldemort the location of the school."

"We have a rough few months ahead of us," said Hermione.

"Don't we always," said Harry.

Harry knew it would be rough, just as Hermione said. But in the end, this chance was the perfect opportunity to bring about the end of Voldemort for good.

A/N: Sorry, I know this chapter is short and late, but I am having an insane case of writer's block! And I plan to start updating at least two times a week, and I also plan to have another chapter up on Thursday to make up for this lousy filler.

Please Review, it means a lot to me!