Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! Please R&R

Chapter 3

Harry lay on his bed, in an almost catatonic state. It had been three days, three long days since the incident with the dementors. No letter had arrived from Sirius, or from anyone else for that matter. The last three days had been spent in alternating moods. One minute it was extreme anger at himself, Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione, the Dursleys and just about anyone else he could think of. The rest of the time he would be lying on his bed, unresponsive for hours on end, gazing at the ceiling listlessly. He was thinking about what on earth was going on in the wizarding world to cause dementors to turn up at his home in Little Whinging, and what Voldemort was up to if he wasn't out killing and torturing muggles.

Heaving a sigh, Harry wondered why Sirius still hadn't written back to him. Had he given up on Harry, just like everyone else seemed to have? It didn't seem much to ask, for even a small note telling him what was happening now. Was he still going to be expelled from Hogwarts? Had Dumbledore managed to sort anything out with the Ministry? A feeling of anxiety immediately settled over Harry as he thought about the idea of never going back to Hogwarts, but he was pulled away from his thoughts a moment later by Uncle Vernon rapping on his door.

"We're going out."

"What?"

"I said, we're going out."

"Fine."

"I'm locking you in your room, so you can't touch anything."

"Whatever."

Vernon squinted his eyes at Harry suspiciously, obviously wondering about his lack of response. The truth was, Harry honestly didn't care about anything the Dursleys did at this point. What did it matter to him? He watched uninterestedly as Vernon walked back out of his room and a moment later he heard the click of the lock.

It could have been a minute later or an hour later, he had lost track of time, but Harry was suddenly aware of the sound of voices downstairs. The voices definitely didn't belong to the Dursleys. His interest sparked, Harry jumped off his bed and grabbed his wand, cautiously creeping towards the door. Whoever was downstairs, it was apparent that they were getting closer. Harry crept closer to the door, heart racing, trying to hear what the voices were saying. Just as he got within a foot of the door his lock clicked open and he jumped back, cat like, as the door swung open towards him.

Harry stared out of his door in shock at the crowd of people that were standing in the Dursleys' hallway. At the front was Mad Eye Moody, his (supposed) old professor. Next to him was Remus Lupin, and clamouring behind them were a few other people that Harry had never seen before. He looked in confusion at Remus, who took pity on him and stepped forwards.

"Harry, it's good to see you again! We're here to rescue you," he smiled at Harry, extending a hand for him to shake. Harry shook it and stared in wonder, lost for words.

"I…it's great to see you too, professor! What's happening, why are there so many people here?"

"You can call me Remus, Harry, I'm not your professor anymore after all. When we put forward the idea to come and get you from the Dursleys, the idea seemed very popular…" Remus tailed off, glancing in amusement at the assortment of bashful wizards and witches behind him. "Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Nymphadora," Remus said, pointing at a young witch with bright purple hair standing next to him. She scowled at Remus.

"It's Tonks!"

"Ok, Tonks. She prefers to be known by her last name."

"So would you, if your parents had called you Nymphadora," she said testily, "nice to meet you Harry." Harry smiled at her, then turned his attention back to Remus as he began to introduce everyone else, pointing to everyone in turn.

"This is Elphias Doge, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore and Mad Eye Moody."

Harry smiled nervously at all of them in turn, overwhelmed by the large crowd that seemed to be standing far too close to him.

"Alright everyone, we need to get going. Harry, get your suitcase packed and meet us downstairs in 5 minutes," Moody growled at Harry in his deep scratchy voice. With one last glance at the group, Harry turned and grabbed his trunk, throwing everything into it hastily. Somehow managing to cram the lid shut, Harry dragged his trunk down the stairs, wincing at the loud bang it made on every step.

Entering the kitchen, Harry saw the group of people crowded around staring in awe and confusion at the assortment of muggle appliances around the room. Tonks looked particularly puzzled by the dishwasher, and Dedalus Diggle was poking the microwave with his wand, apparently fascinated. Remus turned and saw Harry standing awkwardly in the doorway, and ushered him into the room.

"We're just waiting for the signal, Harry, and then we'll be off. Get your broom ready," Remus advised, and Harry pulled out his Firebolt.

"Wow, a Firebolt!" Tonks said in an awed voice, and Harry grinned at her.

"There's the first signal!" Moody growled, pointing out the window at a shower of red sparks in the sky. Everyone exited the room and stood in the back garden, mounted on their brooms and waiting with bated breath. Harry saw his breath misting in front of him and felt the chill air around him, wishing he had thought to put on a thicker coat. It was too late now, however, and with a shower of green sparks in the sky Moody called out the signal for them all to take off.

If it had been cold on the ground, it was nothing to how it felt in the air. Harry felt as though he was going to be frozen to his broom in a minute, and his hands had already become numb. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Harry followed the twists and turns of the group as they attempted to avoid detection by any muggles that happened to be looking up. Luckily it was a dark night with no moon, and they were fairly hidden against the black backdrop of the winter night sky.

After what felt like hours to Harry, with the freezing wind whipping at his frozen face, Moody called for them to start the descent. They flew downwards, the tiny lights of the city looming up towards them as they rushed towards the ground. Coming to a halt, they landed in a small square in what seemed to be the outskirts of London. Harry looked around, mildly confused at the location and wondering why they were here.

As he stood somewhat awkwardly, Moody shepherded them all across the square to stand in between two gloomy houses. Harry opened his mouth to ask where they were, but he was ushered into silence and simply handed a piece of paper by Mad Eye. Harry took it uncomprehendingly and read what was on the paper.

'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London'.

"What's the Order of the—" Harry began, but he was cut off quickly.

"Not here!" Moody snarled, "wait until we're inside!"

Harry looked around, and saw that they were standing between houses eleven and thirteen. He looked at Remus in confusion.

"Where's number twelve?"

"Remember what you just memorised," Remus advised him, and Harry thought the sentence through in his head. When he reached the part about number twelve, Grimmauld place, a house suddenly began to appear between the other two houses. It pushed its way out, shoving the neighbouring houses to the side, although it appeared the muggles inside had no idea. Harry watched in amazement, to the amused look of Remus.

"Come on, hurry up", Moody pushed Harry forwards, poking him in the back. He stumbled up the steps towards the old black door, and Remus tapped it once with his wand.

"Get inside, quick, but don't go far and don't touch anything," Remus whispered to him. Harry apprehensively crept forwards, taking in his surroundings. The hallway was exceptionally dark and dingy, and covered with cobwebs. It looked like it hadn't been used in years, there was a distinct feeling of neglect and abandonment in the air. It appeared that someone had beheaded and mounted several house elves on the wall, and Harry was starting to feel more and more foreboding. Why on earth had he been taken to this house that gave off an incredibly dark aura?

"Hang on, I'll get some light in here," Harry heard Remus' quiet voice behind him, and with a muttered spell the gas lights down the hallway sputtered into life and cast a sickly light on them which wasn't much better than the darkness. As Harry looked around, trying to get an idea of where he was, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the hall. Harry looked up and saw the face of his godfather appearing out of the shadows.

"Sirius!" Harry whispered, rushing towards him. Sirius grinned and enveloped him in a bone crushing bear hug. It was overwhelming to be here, after being at the Dursleys all this time. It didn't matter that he was in this dank, miserable house which virtually stank of the dark arts, he was with Sirius now and it felt like home. Harry pulled back slightly and looked at his godfather. Harry thought he looked healthier than the last time he had seen him, his dark hair was cropped fairly short, accentuated by a floppy fringe that almost brushed the tops of his grey eyes. This, coupled with the wide grin on his face, made him appear years younger.

Harry reluctantly pulled away and allowed himself to be ushered further into the house by Moody. He was greeted by Molly Weasley who pulled him into another hug.

"Harry, dear, it's good to see you! You look thin, have the Dursleys been feeding you properly?" she tutted at him, taking in his thin frame. Harry snorted.

"Of course not! When do they ever?" he said wryly, earning him a roll of the eyes from Mrs Weasley and a concerned look from Sirius.

"They haven't been feeding you? Wait til I get my hands on them, they'll regret it," Sirius growled angrily.

"Leave it, Sirius. Get back into the meeting, we've got to press on," Moody snarled at him and walked towards the room that Molly and Sirius had come from. Harry began to follow them, but Molly stopped him before he could enter.

"The meeting is just for Order members Harry, you should go upstairs and see Ron and Hermione. Straight up the stairs, first door on the left," she whispered to him, and ushered him towards the stairs. Harry thanked her and began to climb, suddenly feeling tiredness wash over him as the adrenaline from the journey and seeing Sirius again began to wear off. He trudged up the stairs and turned the corner, heading towards the room with a dim light coming from it.

Harry had barely opened the door before he was bombarded by a very enthusiastic Hermione Granger.

"Harry!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him and screeching in his ear. "I'm so glad you're here at last!"

"Give him some space, Mione," Ron laughed, clapping Harry on the shoulder as Hermione let him go with a blush. Harry grinned at them, but for some reason it didn't quite feel genuine. All of the angry thoughts he'd had about them over the summer were flooding back, and he was suddenly aware of the reason he had been so frustrated for all this time.

"So. Where are we?" Harry said flatly.

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione said immediately. She looked disconcerted at Harry's tone.

"Yes ok, I know that, but will someone please tell me what that is?" said Harry heatedly, feeling his anger building again. It didn't seem to take much these days to get him frustrated. Hermione looked at him nervously, but answered the question.

"The Order was set up by Dumbledore, it's made up of all the people that fought You-Know-Who in the last war."

"Right. And that was too dangerous to put in a letter, I guess," Harry countered.

"Dumbledore seemed to think so. He really didn't want us to tell you anything, Harry, or I swear we would have!" Hermione looked pleadingly at him, but he found that he didn't care.

"What a surprise, Dumbledore didn't want me to know anything. Seems to be doing that a lot recently. It was me that saw Voldemort return, me that saw Cedric killed right in front of me, but why should I be told anything? Let's all just leave Harry at the Dursleys with no information, no idea about what's going on in the wizarding world even though he just had his own blood taken from him, even though he had to watch as Voldemort used the blood to get a new body, even though he duelled with him—"

Harry's voice was rising and he felt a grim sort of satisfaction when he saw Ron and Hermione's expressions.

"Harry… we're sorry, we really are! But Dumbledore thought you were safer there—" Hermione began, but Harry was having none of it.

"OH, WELL IF DUMBLEDORE THINKS I WAS SAFE THERE, IT MUST BE TRUE! HAVE EITHER OF YOU BEEN ATTACKED BY DEMENTORS THIS SUMMER? NO, I DIDN'T THINK SO! I'M THE ONE THAT'S BEEN LEFT TO STARVE WITH THE DURSLEYS FOR A MONTH, AND YOU'VE BEEN HOLED UP HERE WITH EVERYONE ELSE, KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON! WHAT DID YOU DO TO DESERVE THAT?" Harry yelled, feeling his voice grow hoarse. He felt almost pleased when he saw tears in Hermione's eyes, then the fight suddenly went out of him and he sat down on the bed, feeling drained.

"Harry…mate, we really are sorry," Ron muttered, averting his eyes. Harry huffed and looked at the floor, feeling slightly ashamed of himself although he was still frustrated.

"Whatever. What have you been doing here this whole time, anyway?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"We've been cleaning up the house, trying to make it actually fit to live in," Ron supplied eagerly, obviously very interested in steering the conversation in a different direction. "It hasn't been lived in for years, and it's infested with all sorts of weird creatures and dark objects."

"Right," Harry replied, still trying to wrap his mind around this situation. Ok, so he had been kept in the dark for weeks but he was here now, he had Sirius, and despite how angry he was at them he was still happy deep down that Ron and Hermione were here too. He sighed, and looked up at the two of them. They were gazing anxiously at him, and Harry felt regret wash over him.

"Look, I'm sorry—" he began, but Ron cut him off.

"No, it's fine mate. You have every reason to be angry. Just try to remember that it's not our fault, yeah?" Ron spoke quietly, and Harry nodded at him, feeling rather ashamed. The atmosphere in the room felt much better now that the air had been somewhat cleared, and Harry laid back on his bed, feeling like he could almost fall asleep. A few minutes later he heard the hushed voices of his friends as they left the room to give him some space, and he drifted off into a fitful doze.

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter :) I'd love it if I got some reviews for this story so I can know if I'm doing ok and what I can improve on! Thanks for reading! x