A/N

Okay, I believe that an apology is in order for the delay in updating this fanfic. I honestly have no valid excuse for this delay. I was just enjoying my mid-semester break…and just when I was getting used to the awesomeness of having nothing to do, it just had to end. Sigh. Oh well.

But a very big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who reviewed!

Here's chapter fifteen, and I really hope that you enjoy it!

Chapter Fifteen: Questions and Decisions

The elderly, bespectacled wizard waited until everyone had left the room before he turned to the seven members of the Order that he had asked to stay behind. The fourth meeting of the Order of the Phoenix had just come to an end, and everyone was tired.

They were very tired, in fact, as there had been a mad rush with recruiting people and learning new information whilst going to great pains to keep things secret from the – surprise, surprise – paranoid Ministry at the same time.

And that was not taking into account the great pains they had taken to keep word of their activities from reaching the spies of the Dark Lord.

"Albus, what was it that you wanted to discuss with us?"

He could not help but smile.

"Must we always get straight to the point, my dear?" The dark-haired Witch pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

"I am sure that we all have other pressing matters to attend to, as well as these meetings," she said, and glanced down the long table when she heard a distinct snort.

The dark-haired man's eyes were focused on the table.

"Not all of us, Professor," he said. "Some of us just have to remain in this bloody house. Hiding."

The elderly wizard sighed.

"Sirius," he started, calmly. "You know that I would not suggest such a thing if it weren't absolutely necessary." The 'murderer' shrugged.

"Don't ask me about knowing people, Dumbledore," he said, casually. "The person I thought I knew ended up-"

"-Oh do stop the whole pitiful reel about being betrayed by those who you had trusted with your life," cut in the greasy-haired Potions' Master, from his place seated opposite the escaped convict. "It tends to get old after a while."

"No one asked for your opinion, Snivellus," said Sirius, narrowing his grey eyes at the man.

"No, but I tend to like voicing what I think of people who act with such immaturity that it makes me sick."

"Do shut up, Snivellus. I doubt if anyone here wants to listen-"

"-And about betrayal and the like…you're going to have to deal with it, Black. It was not as though the evidence left behind allowed anyone to even consider the fact that you were innocent. It all pointed to-"

"-I was not talking about that when I said that about traitors," hissed Sirius. "I was talking about how I thought I knew Peter, only to have him end up a traitor to us all."

Snape paused only for half a moment, before shrugging easily.

"Either way Black, it's high time you dealt with it and stopped whining like a little brat." He sneered across the table. "But then again, you've always been used to getting what you wanted…so it must be hard for you, mustn't it?"

Sirius returned the sneer.

"Well, at least I was used to getting what I wanted. Unlike you, of course…"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Snivellus, in your own words, you're supposed to be the oh-so-intelligent one. Are you telling me that you can't figure out what-"

"-That is quite enough," interrupted McGonagall, when she realized that no one seated at the table was about to interrupt the two. Not even Dumbledore, who looked to be deep in thought. But the two former students kept on glaring at each other.

Lupin, who was seated on Sirius' right, was looking on weakly, and not making any attempt to stop them – a fact which confused Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress.

Until she remembered what day it was, for the night before had been a full moon night.

Well, she thought, resignedly, as her dark eyes lingered on the exhausted brunet with a mixture of sorrow and pity, that certainly explains why he hasn't stopped them…

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the Potions' Master.

"Yes, Black, that is quite enough. Spare us from having to listen to you whining for any longer."

"If I were to do that, would you spare us from having to see your oh-so-lovely face for…say, the next decade or so?"

"Sirius, Severus. That is enough!" Severus snapped his mouth shut and chose, instead, to glare at Sirius – who, of course, returned the favor. McGonagall, apparently, decided to join in on the fun, as she glared at the pair of them. "Honestly, you would think that the two of you are thirteen again, with your petty grudges and arguments."

"Might I say, Minerva, that he-" A pointed glare from his colleague and one-time former Professor made the Potions' Master decide that he might as well keep quiet. But he did mumble something about wretched old women, causing pink-haired Tonks to snort.

"Now," said McGonagall, as she turned to the elderly wizard. "Will you kindly tell us what it was that you wanted to speak to us about?"

"Of course, my dear," said Dumbledore. "It's about Harry-"

"-What about him? Has something happened? Is he-"

"-Sirius, if you will not be quiet I will cast a Silencing Charm on you," snapped McGonagall, sternly. The dark-haired man stared evenly at her.

"I would like to see you try, Professor," he said. "I happened to be quite good at Charms…remember?"

McGonagall growled. Of course she remembered – most of his practice had been at her expense after all, with practical joke after practical joke being played on her.

Not to mention, she recalled, with a shudder, that horrendous portrait he gave me as a 'gift'…oh Merlin, I was paranoid around dark-haired portraits after that one.

But…she thought, wryly, I digress. What was I going to say now…? Ah, yes…

"Then I will transfigure you into a rabbit."

People raised eyebrows and stared at her.

Okay, maybe that wasn't really what she had wanted to say. The part with the rabbit, that is. The transfiguring part she had meant to say.

"I quite like those little fluffy creatures…" Clearly, the thought of being turned into something adorable did not frighten the dark-haired man.

Well then, thought McGonagall, I'll just have to think of something else.

"Do you?" She smirked. "Then would you prefer that I transfigure you into a snake? Or perhaps a rat?"

That shut him up.

Hah!

Hmm…maybe Severus was right. It is rather easy to discern the weaknesses of Gryffindors, whereas with Slytherins, you could never really tell.

McGonagall furrowed her brows. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Especially in the circumstances, with the Dark Lord rising and such…?

"Can you transfigure an Animagus, Professor?"

Well, at least it had shut him up for a little while.

…For almost a full minute, that is.

McGonagall frowned as the fingers of her wand arm twitched.

"Would you like to find out?" she asked, irritated both with her thoughts and with the fact that her body actually felt as though it was seventy years old, what with all the late nights each Order member had put in, for 'the cause'.

"I am going to throw the three of you out of this room if you don't shut your traps and let us listen to what needs to be discussed about Potter," said Mad-Eye Moody, harshly, as he banged his fist against the table, causing the sound of it meeting the wooden surface to echo around the room.

"I would much rather be 'out of this room' than sit here and discuss a teenager who I would much rather prefer to not talk about," said Severus, seeing that McGonagall and Sirius were too caught up with glaring at the Auror.

"Then by all means," said Sirius, icily, "Leave. No one's asked you to stay."

Once more, the greasy-haired man sneered across the table.

"Has old age dampened your mental prowess, Black? The Headmaster requested my presence here, for this discussion. Which is why I am seated here and not as far away from you as I would prefer to be."

"I asked you all to remain behind because I wanted to hear your opinions on one particularly pressing matter," said Dumbledore, softly.

The whispered conversations and heated arguments came to an end when the soft voice was heard. McGonagall couldn't help but stare at her superior somewhat grudgingly.

She had never been able to silence a class so effectively; and when she did manage to do so, it was only because of a slight raise in her voice, and a frighteningly stern expression on her face that had scared the heck out of her once when she had practiced it in front of her bathroom mirror.

She winced unconsciously at the memory.

Now that, she mused, was a rather unpleasant experience…

Shaking her head clear of thought, she turned her full attention back to the white-haired and bearded wizard, just as Kingsley spoke up.

"And what would that matter be? Apart from being related to Harry Potter…" Dumbledore smiled.

"I am sure that I need not remind you of this, but Lord Voldemort is at a stage where he would do just about anything to…dispose of Harry-"

"-Merlin, Dumbledore, did you just keep us back to tell us that?" Mad-Eye Moody scowled at his longtime friend, before making to stand up. "Feel free to continue this without me; I have no need to hear the clearly obvious being stated-"

"-What do you think, Alastor, of Harry continuing to be in the care of his Aunt and Uncle until the start of his Fifth year?"

Mad-Eye paused in mid-rant and blinked owlishly at his friend. Dumbledore turned his eyes to the wizards and witches gathered around the table. "What do all of you think?"

"Why are you asking us this, Albus?" queried McGonagall, when no one made a move to answer.

"Because, my dear, I would like to know your opinions. Just in case I have, by chance, made the wrong decision."

"-If Voldemort's…oh for the love of – that's his name and I don't see why we shouldn't use it," snapped Sirius, as a few people winced, "If Voldemort is after Harry, like you sai-"

"-If, Black? So the three attempts at his life – not counting his earliest one on him – were just results of boredom on the Dark Lord's part, is that it?"

Sirius scowled.

"I was merely repeating what Dumbledore said and-"

"-Of course, because you don't seem to have a mind of your own to-"

"-Look, I am sick and tired of you and your supposedly-witty comments! If you have a problem with me-"

"-Which I clearly do-"

"-Spit it out now, and stop acting like some kind of pompous-"

"-I have a problem with you," said Severus, calmly. "In fact, I've had a problem with you since I first saw you on the Hogwarts Express before our First Year at Hogwarts."

"Well I assure you that the feeling's entirely mutual."

There was a fairly long pause in the kitchen at that, which was broken by a surprised Tonks.

"Whoa," she said, sounding very much surprised. "You've hated each other since then?" She shook her head. "You two have more of a grudge against each other than even Voldemort and Harry."

She flushed slightly at the…strange looks she received. "But of course that's not true," she added, quickly, but remained quiet after that.

Dumbledore smiled at the girl before sighing.

"The blood protection that Harry receives whilst he stays with the Dursleys does make it exceptionally difficult for Voldemort to reach him there," he said, continuing to speak in that soft voice of his. "Which, naturally, is why I send him back to that place year after year…"

"And yet, I cannot help but wonder…can both that blood protection and the wards that I have set about the place – for safety purposes, of course – continue to keep the forces of Lord Voldemort away from Harry?"

"Why do you say that?" queried Kingsley, as everyone stared at Dumbledore.

McGonagall tilted her head to a side as she stared thoughtfully at her colleague. What was he trying to say?

Her eyes widened ever so slightly behind her slender glasses.

"Wasn't Potter's blood used as one of the ingredients in his…resurrection, as it were?" she questioned, quietly. A small smile appeared on the Headmaster's face as he nodded.

"Indeed it was," he said.

McGonagall frowned, the wheels in her head turning quickly.

"It was his blood that carried the protection he received from Li-" She glanced quickly in the direction of the dark-haired man, "-from his mother's sacrifice." Dumbledore nodded again.

"So," started Tonks, her – pink – eyebrows shooting up. "What does that mean? Surely it can't mean that Voldemort can breach the protection around the Dursleys' place?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, that protection will remain strong until…" his voice trailed off as his blue eyes locked onto Severus' dark ones. "Until such a time when it becomes…weak…"

He's lying, said a voice in McGonagall's mind immediately. There's more to it than that. The advantage of working for so long with the famed wizard was that at times, she could tell when he was lying. Mind you, it was only at times; she wouldn't be able to spot a lie every time he used one.

"Then-?"

"-Since Potter's blood was used, does he carry some of the same protection now?" Gasps were heard all around the room - but not from Severus - as Dumbledore turned to his colleague, his eyes twinkling.

"As sharp as ever, Minerva," he said, jovially. "That is one aspect that has not changed since the time I taught you…"

McGonagall scowled. She really didn't like the idea of her days in school being brought up; especially not in front of…other people.

"One aspect?" Severus couldn't quite help himself from asking, thereby drawing Dumbledore's attention to him.

"Oh yes, well…actually, no. There are other aspects of her that haven't changed," said the Headmaster, nodding as he thought back to…the old days. "Our dear Minerva always was a bit of a…hmm, what would you call it…? Ah! A worrywart…she was always a bit of a worrywart."

It seemed that only Tonks and Severus were interested in the conversation; Tonks because she was genuinely curious and Severus because…he didn't like the topic of Harry Potter anyway. (And besides, if he managed to hear anything interesting, he could use it to bribe his colleague. Bribe her into...giving the Slytherin Quidditch team her House's practise hours...lest her students find out said 'interesting thing'...)

"A worrywart?"

"Yes, a rather classic one too," said Dumbledore, eagerly. "Always flitting around, concerned about failing house and classmates – not the Slytherins though, mind you – and always worrying over minor things like her schoolwork…" He chuckled. "And there was this one time when she demanded that it not be made mandatory to have a partner for any of the festive Balls, because the opposite sex were just waiting to-"

"-As fascinating as this conversation is," cut in Sirius, "What are we going to do about Harry?" All other conversation stopped. "If the…if Lily's blood protection is with Voldemort too, shouldn't we get Harry out of Privet Drive?"

"Out of Privet Drive and to…?"

Sirius gestured around him with his arms.

"Here, of course."

"The kitchen?"

He scowled at the Potions' Master.

"No, here as in Grimmauld Place." He glanced back at Dumbledore. "With my parents' original protection and now your extra wards and with you as Secret Keeper, wouldn't this be the safest place for Harry?"

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment.

"Yes," he decided, "yes, it would…"

"Then…" there was a somewhat excited gleam in the dark-haired man's eyes. "He can come here?"

The elderly wizard smiled.

"No."

A/N

Part two of this will be up soon!! Hope you enjoyed reading this, despite its length!

See ya soon,

Siriusgirl1