A/N Well to start off with sorry it took me so long, but as you probably guessed my interest fades in and out, but rest assured it never disappears completely.
We're trying to figure out where those dementors came from. whatever you do don't leave the house, arrangements are being made.
-Arthur Weasley
Harry had very nearly blown his top when he read the letter. He was willing to admit the matter was serious but where the hell did Dumbledore get the idea that he could restrict his movements. He had however managed to keep a lid on his anger and instead had sent back a short two word message "I understand." there was no point in offending Dumbledore's men this early on.
To make matters worse he didn't even have anyone to get information from, as to the best of his knowledge Tonks had been removed from the guard rotation. And the one time he had attempted break the forced curfew Mad-eye had escorted him back. Eventually he resorted to having Dobby pick up his mail for him, it was risk but one he felt was worth it.
To pass the time he had fallen back on reading his textbooks and when he was in the mood for a little humor the auror report on some of the Wizengamot members. There were few things funnier then reading about the sexual perversions of Wizarding worlds leading aristocrats. But there was one section of Lucius Malfoy file that confused him.
July 21st 2100 hours
Subject made contact with a group of what appeared to be vagrant looking muggles at warehouse 12 Morrison Freight in Tameside. Further investigation recommended.
It was odd that that Malfoy would stoop to talking to muggles, and Harry had long ago learned that anything odd was usually bad. Unfortunately the entries stopped abruptly after that, and the entire file was marked closed by order of the Minister.
He was thumbing through a list of known contacts, attempting to piece together a list of possible death eaters, when a crash came from downstairs. 'The Dursleys are out so it must be-' thought Harry.
"Shit!" he cried when he realized what that must mean, if the Order caught him with classified documents it was all over. He began to put the report back into the envelope, careful to not look like he was in a hurry. If Mad-eye thought he was acting odd questions might be asked, and question would kill him just as assuredly as the dementor would've.
Once he had the papers back in their place he picked up his wand and ran to the stairs as if eager for a fight. What he saw when he got down stairs would come to epitomize his future experiences with the Order. Two old men were whispering to each other while three more were staring at a toaster as if it might spring to life at any moment. Only Tonks and a larger black man in Auror robes even seemed to have noticed his presence.
"Ahem, can I help you lot with anything?" Harry asked not bothering to keep the irony out of his voice. Before he knew it all the attention of the rooms nine occupants was immediately focused on him.
"Oh he looks just like I imagined," opinioned one woman near the toaster.
"How do we know it's really him?" asked a belligerent looking man who had been staring at the toaster.
"Quick what form does your patronus take?" asked the familiar voice of Professor Lupin.
"A Basilisk," Harry replied, he couldn't help but wonder how exactly that was a good question as an entire stadium full of people had seen him cast the spell in his third year.
"That's him alright," Lupin said apparently happy with his piss poor question. "So how have you been holding up?" he asked while peering at Harry as if he might pass out at any second.
"Fine, fine, lucky that the Dursleys aren't here Vernon would throw a fit" Harry answered eager to turn the subject away from his near early grave.
"Lucky ha!" Tonks replied, "I sent them a letter telling them they were on the short list for the best kept suburban lawn competition."
"Best kept suburban lawn competition?" Harry repeated questioningly, though somehow the idea of this group being frightened of two overweight muggles and a housewife didn't seem as ridiculous as it should.
"Yep!" Tonks said proudly unaware of any irony in the situation.
"We are leaving aren't we?" Harry asked "soon?"
"Almost at once," replied Lupin, "we just need to wait for the all clear."
"You need an all clear to apparate?" Harry asked confused.
"We aren't apparating," said Lupin, "we're flying."
"Why?"
"Because I said so, that's why," growled Mad-eye's familiar voice from next to Lupin. By the expression on the faces of the some of the guard they thought it was just as stupid as Harry did.
"Right well, I believe you've met Alistair…" Lupin said ignoring Moody's outburst. "And I've heard that you've met Nymphadora-"
"Don't call me that," interjected Tonks, "it's Tonks."
"Who wishes to be called by her last name," Lupin continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"Wouldn't we all," chuckled Harry.
"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," he said pointing to the competent looking black wizard, who gave a small bow. Harry nodded back trying to remember where he had heard the name before.
"Elphias Dodge," he continued gesturing towards a man who was wearing a stupid looking hat. "Dedalus Diggle-,"
"We've met," interjected the old wizard with a small smile.
"-Emmeline Vance," a stately looking witch inclined her, and Harry wondered again why a guard detail held so many damn old people.
"-Hestia Jones," a witch who was still enthralled with the toaster raised her hand in acknowledgement.
"-Sturgis Podmore," a square jawed wizard with straw blonde hair tipped his hat.
"And Henry Clive," the man who had asked Harry to confirm his identity nodded.
"Remus says you're a good flier," said Kingsley in his distinctively deep voice.
"He's excellent," said Remus, "but in any case you had better get packed we only have a few minutes left."
"I'll help," Tonks said eagerly.
"I hope I didn't get you into too much trouble," Harry said once they were safely out of earshot.
"Not much, Mad-eye got pissed but everyone else was just glad I…"
"Saved my life," Harry said helpfully.
"Yeah," Tonks replied easily.
"I don't think I ever thanked you properly for that," Harry said awkwardly, he wasn't used to being indebted to anyone.
"Don't mention it, you would have done the same for me," Tonks said waving away his thanks.
"I still can't believe I was so stupid, Harry said opening the door to his room, "missing that dementor like that."
"Wow…I thought I was messy," Tonks said once she had looked in his room, which was to be fair littered with dirty clothes and sheets of discarded parchment.
"Oh shut up," Harry replied mildly embarrassed as he bent down to throw dirty shirt into the trunk and onto the report he had been reading.
"This might be a little quicker if I do this, pack!" she cried moving her wand in a long sweeping movement across the floor. Instantly clothes, books, and other objects that were littering the floor flew into the trunk, landing in an unorganized mess.
"My mother always managed it better, never could figure out how she did it," Tonks said with a frown as she surveyed the jumbled mess in the trunk. "Oh well no use worrying about it now. Got everything, cauldron Broo-"
"That's the signal time to move!" came Lupin's voice from downstairs.
Harry would largely remember the flight from Surrey to a London suburb as cold and largely pointless journey.
When they did eventually touch down in the northwest of London Moody shoved a small slip of Harry's hand "here, read quick and memorize it."
The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.
"What's this supposed to mea-," Harry began before he saw a building shove it's way into existence between number 11 and 13. "Fidelius charm?" Harry asked.
"Got it in one," Tonks chirped happily as the group made their way across the street.
"So what exactly is the Order of the Phoenix," Harry asked as Lupin raised his wand and knocked on the doors three times.
"Well it-," began Tonks.
"Not here," growled Moody, "wait 'till we get inside."
The door opened to reveal the beaming face of Mrs. Weasley, Harry had just enough time to cringe before he was undeveloped in a heart sickening hug.
"Harry dear it's good to see you, you're looking peaky, you need to get some food in you. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait." Mrs. Weasley said all at once.
"He's just arrived and the meeting is about to start," she said turning to the Advance guard members. Who all made noises of interest which sounded more like a gaggle of schoolgirls seeing their crush then a group freedom fighters going to a meeting.
"Harry dear I'll take you up to see Ron, and Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said as the Order members all went through a door and down a flight of stairs presumably to the meeting.
Harry wished he could've gone with them but he knew Dumbledore would never allow that. So he didn't even protest when Mrs. Weasley led him past a troll leg umbrella stand into a different section of the house entirely. As they started to climb a staircase Harry couldn't help but wonder who they had hired to do the interior decorating. Even to his uninncoent eyes the severed house elf heads seemed to be in rather poor taste.
"Mrs. Weasley what-," Harry began.
"Not now dear," that was the second time he had been told that today he was beginning to wonder whether or not he would ever get a word in edge wise. "Ron and Hermione will explain everything, I've really got to dash I don't want to be late for the meeting, your in the second door on the right," she said before running off.
'She's goes to the meetings?' Harry thought shocked, 'is it a paramilitary organization or a fucking PTA.' He knew that Dumbledore was hard pressed for men but letting housewives in was taking it to a ridiculous extreme. Shaking any critiques of Dumbledore's hiring policies out of his head he began to walk towards the room.
He wasn't looking forward to this meeting, ever since what he had done at the end of third year he and his friends hadn't gotten along very well. That was more his fault then theirs, after that night playing chess sort of lost meaning. The whole Triwizard fiasco hadn't helped matters with Ron much either.
"HARRY!" the only thing he managed to hear before he was engulfed in a hug that was only mildly less rib crushing then Mrs. Weasley's had been. This time though he wasn't acting when he returned it. Hermione whatever her other faults had been loyal to him when few others had, and that meant something to him.
"Let him go Hermione your going to strangle him," came Ron's amused voice from the corner. Harry glanced over at the redhead in time to see a flash of emotions in the boy's eyes.
'what could that be about?' Harry thought to himself, but the thought had no real urgency. Harry had long ago accepted that Ron would always be jealous of something. There was a time when that would've worried him but now the best emotion he could come up with to describe Ron was pity. It wasn't so much that Ron had ambitions, it was because he had never made any attempt to fulfill them.
"So are you guys going to tell me what the hell has been going on all summer?" Harry asked feigning anger.
"We don't know more then you," Ron somehow managing to sound both bitter and placating.
"You know where the fuck we are, that's more then I do," Harry replied truthfully.
"It's the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione said, "It used to be Sirius's Parent's house, she stopped as if expecting Harry to have some reaction to the name. when he gave no sign of having heard of him before she continued "they apparently put enough protections on the house, that Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea to headquarter the Order here."
"What exactly is the Order anyway?" Harry asked though he had a relatively good idea already.
"It's a secret society," answered Hermione, "Dumbledore is the founder and leader. It's made up of people who fought You-Know-Who last time," she finished.
"The people who fought You-Know-Who last time? Well that sounds promising," Harry replied deadpanned.
"True, but what are you going to do mate?" Ron said forestalling any indignant response from Hermione.
"Well what are they doing?"
"Don't know they won't let us in the meetings," Ron replied.
"What Ron means is we don't know exactly," Hermione interjected, "but we do have a general idea."
"That's mostly because of Fred and George's extendable ears," Ron cut in.
"Well what have they been do-," Harry started, "wait, extendable ears?" he asked wondering if he had heard right.
"Yeah Fred and George invented it," Ron said holding up what looked to be an ear on a string. "You put the ear part where it can hear what you want to listen to, then you take these strings and put them in your ear."
"We're in a house that has a fucking cloaking device, but they can't even make a transmitter that's wireless," Harry said stunned.
Ron shrugged, "that's magic for you mate."
"Well anyways," Hermione said clearly disapproving at the way the conversation had gone. "We know that some of them are following Death Eaters trying to keep a tab on their activities. Others are trying to recruit new members, and then some other people are trying to guard something," Hermione explained.
"That last one couldn't have been me could it?" Harry asked.
"Oh yeah," Ron said with a dawning look of comprehension.
There were times when Harry couldn't help but question the competence of his friends. Hermione was book smart and Ron on exceedingly rare occasions had his moments. But they had both been in the Headquarters of this organization since summer began and hadn't managed to find out anything useful. In fact staying at his uncle's house Harry had found out more about the Order's activities.
"You guys said you'd been keeping busy, if your not allowed into the meetings what have you been doing?" asked Harry.
"We have been busy," Ron replied, "this house has been empty for ages and stuff has been… you know breeding."
"Mrs. Weasley has been running us ragged all summer," Hermione said.
"Why didn't you guys just use house-…" Harry stopped just a second too late.
"House, what Harry?" Hermione asked dangerously.
"Housekeeping spells," he replied thinking on the fly, "if the house is under the fidelius how is the Ministry supposed to detect it?"
"H-Harry, why didn't I think of that," Hermione said stunned.
"The Ministry might not catch us but mum will," Ron pointed out dryly.
Any further discussion on the subject was quickly shoved out of Harry's mind as two loud pops sounded from the corner of the room. Before his mind had fully registered what had happened his hand was already in his pocket and on his wand.
"Stop doing that," Hermione muttered to the twins weakly.
"Hello Harry we thought we heard your amorous tones-" began Fred.
"And thought we should investigate," finished George.
"You two pass your apparition test, then?" asked Harry, as he slowly moved his hand away from his pocket hoping that no one had noticed his reaction. He had been considerably more jumpy since the incident with the dementors.
"Yes we did as a matter of fact, passed with flying colors," Fred said proudly.
"How much longer could the stairs possibly have taken?" asked Ron sarcastically.
"True," began Fred, "but what's the point of being utterly superior to you and not being able to rub it in?"
"Anyways I hope you lot don't mind us barging in but we were having trouble with the reception," George said taking a flesh colored string out of his pocket.
"If mom catches you with one of those-" began Ron.
"Well worth the risk, they're having a major meeting down there, and I for one don't feel like being left out of the loop," replied George.
Before Ron or Hermione could reply the door opened to reveal Ron's little sister Ginny.
"Extendable ears are a no go they put an imperturbable charm on the door," she said. "Oh hello Harry I thought I heard your voice," she said barely sparing him a glance.
"How'd you know?" George asked crestfallen.
"Tonks told me that you can figure out if they put it up or not by chucking dung bombs at the door," she replied.
"Well I'm glad they take security seriously here," Harry said careful to keep the irony out of his voice. This was supposed to be a pseudo military organization not some damn club house for teens. If he had thought about it a little more Harry might have noticed that he was being hypocritical, his own hypocrisy however generally flew under his radar.
"Yeah bit of a buzz kill, huh," said Fred.
"Too bad too, I was really looking forward to seeing what that greasy git had to say," George said sighing.
"Snape?" Harry said surprised, he realized that Snape was on Dumbledore's side. but letting someone who came in constant contact with the enemy into your 'secret' headquarters sort of defied all logic.
"Yep, giving a report, top secret," Ginny replied clearly offended that she wasn't invited.
'As if she should be offended that a fourteen year old schoolgirl isn't included in the meetings,' Harry thought sarcastically to himself.
""Charlie's in the order too, but he's still in Romania," said George as Harry realized that he had missed a good bit of conversation.
"Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards as possible," Ginny explained, "so he spends his days off recruiting."
"Couldn't Percy do that?' Harry asked before he could stop himself. From Harry's letters with Ron and his meetings with Percy Harry had gathered that some sort of schism had occurred but he hadn't probed to deeply into it.
"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy to mom and dad," Ron warned.
"He's a great bloody git," opinioned Fred.
"Dad tried to get him to join," Ginny said sadly, "but wanted nothing to do with the order."
"Said Dumbledore was just another troublemaker and everything, him and dad had a great big fight, and we haven't heard from him since," Ron explained.
"Why," Harry asked pretending to be stunned, he wasn't really though it all made sense from what he knew about Percy.
"You know how he is, but the odd thing is he never got in trouble for the whole Crouch thing," said Ginny.
"Yeah he actually got promoted," George interjected.
"Between you me and everyone else here I think someone got a hold of him," Fred said dangerously.
"Who?" Harry asked, hoping he didn't sound unnatural.
"Fudge who else?" George said, "Percy's a fucking idiot, but he's not exactly Death Eater material."
Any further discussion of the subject was forestalled by the sounds of footsteps on the stairs.
"Shit!" Fred exclaimed before he apparated with an audible crack.
"Well, must be going gents, oh and Harry lovely to see you again old boy" George said using his Percy impression from second year before apparating out himself.
The rest of the night turned out to be rather mundane, which was particularly surprising as halfway through dinner Remus had seemed to suggest that he was going to let Harry ask any question he wanted. Harry had of course taken advantage of this but found himself less then impressed with the answers. It wasn't that he was being lied to it was that the answers were so ridiculously vague that they were useless. Of course Voldemort was attempting to gather followers if Remus thought that Harry wasn't aware of that he was an idiot.
And the other thing he had hinted at hadn't been even more vague. 'Honestly' Harry thought to himself as he climbed into bed 'something he can only get by stealth he might as well have just come out and said he didn't know anything'.
"I don't see why your speeding it's not like we're in a hurry," Andromeda Tonks née Black said as she stared out the window.
"You might not be in a hurry I am," her husband replied testily.
"Oh Merlin's saggy left nut!" she exclaimed, "not that stupid sport again?"
"We've been married for how many years and you still have to ask," Ted said annoyed.
"I still don't understand why you like it so much just a bunch of grown men running around in shorts kicking around a little ball like little children," Andromeda knew before Ted even opened his mouth that they were going to fight but after being practically dragged out of the mall she was far from caring.
"Not this shit again!" Ted said under his breath.
"Yes this shit again, all you ever do is sit in front of that thing staring off into space, the only time you ever talk to me is when you want a beer."
"I work all day just so you can tend to your fucking garden all day long so excuse me if I would like an hour of-" Ted didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before his wife interrupted.
"Oh you work all day, well so do I!"
"No you don't!" Ted argued.
"Oh so I guess the house just cleans itself, huh?"
"Yes it does, it literally cleans itself, you made me by pay that Scottish bugger 150 Galleons so it would do that" Ted pointed out.
"Well I still have to garden don't I?"
"No you don't, that's your hobby, you do it for fun, remember?"
"The house has to look nice doesn't it?" Andromeda pointed out.
"No it doesn't David from across the street hasn't mowed his lawn in half a year, and you don't see anyone making a fuss about it."
"That's why David has no friends, Ted"
"No David has no friends because David smells like a dead fish!"
"Well he smells a lot better then you!" Andromeda said before turning and staring out the window.
"FUCKING HELL!" Ted yelled as a beat up white van swerved in front of him. "Little fucker cut me off," he mumbled.
"Oh will you just slow down, is watching the first two minutes of the game really worth your life?" Andromeda asked.
"Oh shut up," Ted said even while he started to slow down slightly. Andromeda stared at him for a little bit but ultimately decided to accept his tactic admission of defeat.
"SHIT!" Ted yelled as he slammed on the brakes a few seconds to late to avoid hitting the van in front of him which had inexplicably slammed on the breaks. Unfortunately he was far to late and the front end of his car collided with the back of the van.
"Are you all right darling?" Andromeda's voice came from his side with just a hint of worry.
"What the hell was he thinking?" Ted demanded angrily as he started to get out of the car.
"Well I did tell you to slow down," Andromeda said annoyed.
Ted maintained his dignity and slammed the door so he could pretend he didn't hear his wife. 'What the hell was that little bastard thinking just stopping in the middle of the road like that he could've killed somebody,' Ted thought as he advanced on the van.
"Are you all right man?" Ted asked when he saw a scraggly looking male step out of the driver's side of the van.
"Of course I'm fine, you on the other hand-"
Ted never got to hear the rest of what the man said as while he was speaking he was bringing his arm up until it pointed almost level with Ted's head. It took the husband and father of one a second to recognize what was in the man's hand. It was an old piece of shit Makarov pistol that was probably older then the man holding it. No professional would've used it but it did it's job as poor Ted Tonks was dead before he hit the ground.
Andromeda had heard the bang and immediately knew something was wrong. She bolted out of the car and looked for some sort of cover as she tried to pull her wand out of her purse. She was too slow and two bullets hit her in the back.
The man who had done the job ran back to the van and took off as fast as the old beat up thing would allow him to go. He wasn't proud of what he had done, but once he was sure that the police weren't following him he had to admit that it was the easiest 250 pounds he ever made.
A/N So I do have a quick question to ask all of you. Do you think I should et Andromeda survive the shooting? My original plan was to kill her, but the more I think about it the more I'm not sure. Well thanks for reading and everything have a great weekend. Oh and review please.