Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to the wondrous mind of J.K.Rowling. I am simply borrowing them.
A/N: Hello everyone. This one's a little smaller than the last chapter, but they will get longer, I assure you. Another new chapter will come next week. Enjoy and please review.
Harry Potter and the Shards of Voldemort's Soul
Chapter 9: The Meeting of the Order
"Uncle Vernon, what are you doing here?" Harry asked wearily, not having the strength to put up with his overbearing Uncle's antics. Harry knew that he would have to get his uncle under control before he could say or do something stupid to offend the many people around him. He did have to admit that Vernon was being awfully brave to come down here with insults in front of all of these witches and wizards.
"What am I doing here? YOU shouldn't have to ask me that question since it is your fault that we are here in the first place, you disgusting freak?" Vernon spat viciously. He saw many of the onlookers flush with anger and he knew he didn't have much time to cap the explosion that was about to erupt.
"Uncle Ver," Harry began, but he was cut off rudely.
"I don't want to here anymore from you. You have risked our lives, bringing those horrible people in to our home and now you've kidnapped us and brought us to God-knows where." Uncle Vernon's eyes were bulging and his face was dark purple with rage. His fists balled together tightly and he took but one step towards where Harry was standing before half of the room jumped to their feet and thrust their wands towards the horrible Muggle.
"NO!" Harry shouted at them to hold them from firing jinxs. "Don't touch him," Harry commanded. "Everyone leave him alone." They all looked at Harry in confusion who was now walking towards his loathsome Uncle. "Uncle Vernon, you have to calm down or I can't be held responsible for the consequences of your actions," Harry said calmly, but this only seemed enraged Vernon even more.
"YOU DARE TO THREATHEN ME BOY. I RAISED YOU, FED AND CLOTHED YOU, YOU UNGRATEFUL CHILD! HOW DARE YOU?"
"Uncle Vernon, please calm down, I'm not threatening you. But you are after all surrounded by wizards who at the slightest raise of your fist will hex you in to oblivion. I'm trying to protect you from harm," Harry pleaded with him again, this time driving home the realization that Harry was indeed correct and Vernon now saw that several wands were pointed in his direction. His face suddenly drained away of color turning pale white with fear.
"Now Uncle Vernon, what are you doing here?" Harry asked again calmly.
"W-w-we want t-to g-go home," was Vernon's quavering reply.
"Uncle Vernon, Privet Drive was attacked by Death Eaters. You have no home to go back to. You can stay here until we decide where to move you. I will personally finance the rebuilding of a new house for you and give you some start up money to help get you back on your feet. Is that satisfactory to you?" Some of the Order members gasped at Harry's more then generous offer to the ungrateful and undeserving Muggle that had by all rights, abused him since he was a child, but said nothing. Vernon's eyes bulged out and face was regaining its normal hue. Obviously the thought of a free home and spending cash sounded appealing, Harry thought. Vernon only nodded his agreement, seemingly not finding his voice to speak.
"What about Dudley, he gets out of school in about a week; he won't know what had happened?" Vernon tentatively added.
"I will have an Order member accompany you and Aunt Petunia to pick up Dudley when school finishes and then you could be brought back here until your new home is completed. Does that work for you?" Harry asked again wearily and a quick nod was his reply.
"Very well, Dobby will take you back to your room and get you anything you need," Harry told him. Dobby opened his mouth to call for Dobby, but before he could, Dobby popped in before him. "Hi Dobby, how did you know that I needed you?" Harry asked in surprise. The little elf squealed in excitement jumping up and down in place.
"Oh master, tis part of the bonding process. I is able to anticipate your needs sir. What can Dobby do for Master?" Harry smiled at the House Elf's exuberance, but kept his laughter in check.
"Dobby, please escort Uncle Vernon back to his room and see that they have everything that they need."
"Yes sir, Master Harry Potter," Dobby responded in glee. Turning to Uncle Vernon, the little elf bounded forward causing Vernon to jump back in fear. Turning tail, he barged back out of the kitchen at full speed with Dobby trailing after. At this Harry did laugh and turned back to the assembled Order members who were still staring in shock at the whole affair. Instantly, Harry grew somber, having his personal affairs aired out in front of the entire Order was not the best way to start his leadership of the Order.
"Harry, I know what you're thinking and none of us here think any less of you because of your Uncle," Ginny said softly eliciting some agreeing nods from the others. Harry looked at them and smiled at their acceptance of him and retook his place at the head of the table.
"I'm sorry everyone for that. Now let's get down to business. Specifically on the topic of moving my Aunt and Uncle out of headquarters, I was serious in that I will finance a new home for them as I was responsible for the destruction of their old one," Harry began raising his hand to stay the immediate protest that he knew would come from Hermione that it wasn't his fault. "Hermione, it was my fault and there is nothing that you could say to change that. I have more then enough money from my inheritance from Sirius to finance this, but I don't know anything about converting Galleons in to Muggle money or about building a new home."
"We can look in to that Harry," Remus said with Mr. Weasley nodding emphatically.
"Yes, Bill should be able to help with the finances since he works for Gringotts," Mr. Weasley added.
"While on the topic of your inheritance Harry, you should probably request an account manager since you'll be of age soon, you'll be able to access the Potter family vault and you should have someone to manage your affairs," Remus advised which Harry had already considered and had a pretty good idea of who he was going to ask to help in that role.
"Thanks Remus, but I've actually thought of that already and I will be making a visit to Gringotts soon to take care of that," Harry advised resulting in Remus widening his eyes in surprise. "Now then, back to business. I must admit that I am very shocked to be standing up here and I have to say that I don't believe that I deserve to be here. I am no Albus Dumbledore; I am only an almost-seventeen year old kid that can wave a wand around. I am inexperienced and I need help. Dumbledore relied on you; he trusted you and I need you all in that same role. I need your wisdom and your experience. I need your help to defeat Voldemort. I hope that you all can bear with me and forgive a reluctant leader's mistakes."
He paused to scan the faces of his audience and found mixed emotions. Some were teary eyed like Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione and some were focused and determined like Ron, Remus and Moody. Then there were others that he couldn't read like McGonagall and the Malfoys. Yes, they were indeed a motley crew and they definitely needed to get over their differences. He only hoped that without Dumbledore, that somehow he could bring these men and women together to help stop the most evil force on Earth.
"Laddie, it is the nature of any leader to make some mistakes. The key is to learn from those mistakes and not make them again. It is also the mark of a good leader to know when to ask for help and you've already cornered that market, so you are well on your way," Moody said, shifting his wooden leg slightly to make it more comfortable.
"Thank you Professor Moody," Harry responded soliciting a growl from the scarred old man.
"I weren't your Professor as you well know. And since you're the leader of the Order now, it's about time you start using our first names."
"Ok, Alastor," Harry managed to stammer out. This would take some getting used to, he thought. Clearing his throat, Harry continued. "Ok, before we begin, as Hermione has mentioned to you all, I am not willing to blindly trust as we have done in the past. This Order has been sullied by traitors and I will not allow that to happen again. Hermione has the contract which all of you must sign, including me. Hermione, can you explain the terms of the agreement. I trust that you have the modified Phoenix pins with you?" Harry asked her as she practically jumped up from her chair.
Hermione nodded emphatically while pulling out a cloth bag that she passed on to Ron. Taking one gingerly, Ron eyed the pin tentatively before passing the bag on. One by one, the Order members each took a pin until finally Harry took the last one. The pin had an engraving that resembled Dumbledore's Phoenix Fawkes in flight. A single tear escaped Harry's eye before he could wipe it away and Hope trilled a few soft notes that filled his heart. Looking back to Hermione, she was now unrolling the brown parchment revealing an official looking document written in what appeared to be gold lettering. Hear and there, the runes twinkled in the flickering lamp light giving it a mystical quality. She then proceeded to explain the details of the contract and the features of the new Phoenix pins.
"Before we get to sign the contract, I'm afraid that there is one last item that needs to be addressed. The magic of this contract is more then a binding agreement and as such, it requires something more from each participant. I'm afraid that I will need a small sacrifice from each of you; your blood, about five drops each to be exact for you to sign your names with. I'm sorry, but without this the contract will be magically void to you and thus you will not be permitted to remain here."
Hermione's face was stern and emotionless, almost an exact replica of McGonagall who in this instance was sporting her typical frown. Harry looked out at everyone in the room, silently pleading for their acceptance in this. Harry could not afford to be complacent anymore, he had to keep a tight vigil and not allow their secrets to fall in to Voldemort's hands. Thankfully, no one in the room disagreed and Hermione took the silence as her cue to continue. She waved her wand and a small glass bowl and a small steel knife with a sturdy black handle materialized next to the contract. One by one, they all stepped up to her and pricked their finger relieving five drops of their blood in to the bowl to write their signature. After each signature was signed, for a brief second, the name would glow brightly before it faded away. The last to sign was Harry who grimaced at the small sting of the knife. Signing his name on the parchment made him realize that there was no turning back now, not that there was anywhere else to go but forward and hopefully that somehow they would come out of this war alive.
"Well that's everyone except for Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey who can sign these later today. From this point forward, you will be unable to talk about the information discussed here to anyone, including other Order members with the exception of those wearing our new Phoenix pins. Hermione and I will be the only ones who have these pins, so if you wish to induct other members in to our core group, they must be discussed with either of us first," Harry told them looking at each over briefly, watching for any signs of comment or disagreement. Seeing none, Harry proceeded back to the head of the table and everyone sat back down. "Most of you don't know what it is I am about to tell you and I ask that you all remain silent until I am finished. This will be hard for me, so please be patient with me."
Harry began by retelling the night in the Department of Mysteries and the details of the prophecy. Most were shocked at the telling, but some only wore stony grimaces indicating that they had already come to the same conclusion. He continued by detailing his training sessions with Dumbledore and what they had learned about Voldemort's Horcruxes, the trip to the cave and the note from RAB. He avoided any talk of Dumbledore's death as it was a far too painful story to tell. At many parts, Harry reached up absently to pet Hope's soft feathers and each time his face seemed to lighten slightly as if she was willing the sadness and guilt he felt away. At the end, he sat down and waited for the information to finish sinking in to the group. Mrs. Weasley was crying softly and Arthur was patting her shoulder soothingly. McGonagall was the first the respond.
"Well, I must say that Albus definitely had his secrets and this one has definitely taken the cake. Mr. Potter, I understand your trepidation in telling us this information and I have to agree with Albus' choice to confide in you. Now, the question is where do we go from here?" Minerva said earnestly.
"Professor, we already have a list of tasks and items that need to be accomplished. I think we should review these first and build upon them. Then we can discuss anything that we've missed," Harry said interrupting her train of thought, causing her to quirk her eyebrow in surprise at his foresight in preparing an agenda.
More and more, Harry was proving to be an accomplished successor to Dumbledore, she thought. Such a pity that he has to be forced to mature so young and take over the reigns in such a manner.
"Hermione, I know that you have the list with you. Why don't you run over what we've got down?" Harry asked politely causing the girl to blush with pride. Hermione quickly reviewed the list that they had prepared at Hogwarts listing off a few new items which Harry knew that she had added in her spare time.
"Well, as I explained to Harry earlier, the issue of the Fidelius charm over Grimmauld Place has been answered leaving us still with a mystery. Who is the second Secret Keeper?" Remus announced to the group. Many shook their heads in dismay not knowing the answer to his question. "This does leave us with the question of security as Severus knows where Grimmauld Place is. I don't think we have any choice but to add a new Fidelius charm over the old one," Remus finished looking around the room for comments.
"Will that work Professor? I mean, won't the old one still exist?" Hermione questioned, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Technically yes, but the new one will supersede the old one thus effectively keeping Headquarters safe from Snape." Harry interrupted before Hermione could ask another question.
"We should do this as soon as possible. I would feel a lot safer knowing that Snape can't get in," Harry said, his face clenched with his hatred of Snape.
"Flitwick can help with that, but we need to choose a new Secret Keeper," Minerva informed them while wearily stifling a yawn.
"No problem, I'll do it," Harry responded quickly, causing Mrs. Weasley to look up sharply.
"No Harry, it's too dangerous," Molly pleaded loudly, her eyes full of tears again.
"I'm sorry Molly, but I have to agree with Mr. Potter. Since he is the leader of the Order, it is proper for him to take on this responsibility. I must warn you Mr. Potter; this procedure will tax some of your strength and exhaust you quite quickly. Considering that this is the first day of your recovery, I would feel much safer knowing that Poppy had a look at you first," McGonagall said, her lips stretched in to thin line.
"But Minerva," Molly sobbed while dabbing at her eyes, but Arthur stepped in.
"Molly, you know that this is the right thing to do. Albus in his place acted in the same capacity. This is Harry's right and privilege as leader of the Order and as the owner of this house," Arthur told his wife calmly, but Molly just pulled away forcefully and burst in to tears. Arthur gave Harry a helpless look, but Harry just moved on.
"It is decided then, I will act as the new Secret Keeper for the Order," Harry said firmly pausing momentarily for any other comments. Seeing that there were none, he continued. "Professor, can you please have Professor Flitwick come by at his earliest convenience to re-cast the charm?" McGonagall only nodded in response. "Now then, there are a lot of different tasks that need to be accomplished. Obviously, in the end, it's going to come down to me against Voldemort," Harry stated which brought out the usual shudder of fear at the name of Voldemort.
"Harry, it's not up to," Mrs. Weasley started, but even she realized the futility of her statement. The prophecy stated that one must die by the hand of the other.
"Exactly, it is up to me. The prophecy says it all."
'But Harry, prophecies can be interpreted in many different ways. It may not necessarily mean what it says," Remus interjected, trying to find a loop hole in Harry's logic.
"You're right. It will be the job of the Order to come up with another solution if there is one," Harry told him. Surprised with the response, Remus only nodded, realizing that Harry was right. If there was another way, they would have to find it.
"In the mean time, I'm going to need training." Ron coughed suddenly and Harry smiled.
"Let me rephrase that, we will need training," Harry amended.
"Absolutely not," Molly bellowed. "My children will not risk their lives fighting dark wizards. It's bad enough that you have to put yourself in harm's way; I can't prevent that. But I will not let you take my chil…," Molly shouted leaping from her seat.
"MUM!" Ginny exclaimed in shock, but Molly wouldn't listen.
"We're going to help Harry whether you like it or not," Ron told her briskly which only caused her face to get redder.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! You are both far too young and I simply will not permit it," Molly shouted, her voice raising an octave.
"You can't stop me. I'm of age," Ron retorted loudly.
"I DON'T CAR…," Molly started screaming but stopped when she felt a strong force against her. She looked up at Harry in astonished awe as did the others. Harry was standing from his chair; his eyes iron grey and his face furious; rivulets of power were emanating from him in waves.
"ENOUGH!" Harry shouted his voice heightened by the magical force he was exuding. They sat there in silence staring at him for a moment before Harry's aura returned to normal. "Mrs. Weasley, I promise you that my intentions were never to take anyone with me to face Voldemort. Ron and Hermione have volunteered to stand by my side, but they will not be with me in the final battle. Ginny and I have also talked and if it can be helped, she will not be participating in any fighting. My intentions are simply to expand their knowledge and experience in the possibility that they may be forced to defend themselves. My own needs are clear. I need to learn how to fight dark wizards as Voldemort will surely surround himself with his Death Eaters that will all be targeting their wands at me." Mrs. Weasley fell back in to her chair in defeat, knowing that Harry was right.
"Most assuredly," Draco muttered softly, but not soft enough that Moody didn't hear him.
"Aye and young Malfoy here may be able to assist ya in your training," Moody stated with a sly grin.
"Me!" Malfoy cried out incredulously.
"Actually, that may not be a bad idea. Malfoy has worked with the Death Eaters having been one himself and learned some of their tactics and strategies. He would be a good training opponent to help you get started. Mind you, it would all be supervised of course," Remus added, further sealing Draco's fate. Draco looked at his mother for help, pleading silently for her to extract him from this predicament.
"I agree with Lupin. Draco will help you with Potter's training. I'm sure he will be of great assistance to you," Narcissa replied coldly completely ignoring her son's protesting glare. Looking at the faces of his friends, he found that they were as equally stunned as he was.
"We'll be helping you train as well Harry," Tonks piped in giving her Aunt Narcissa a dark look, her hair now the color of orange flames. "Remus, Moody, Kingsley and I can help you improve your techniques and teach you more advanced spell work." Harry gulped and wondered at the wisdom of having a former Death Eater, three trained Aurors and one highly skilled teacher who was also a werewolf, all casting spells at him.
"Well, with that decided, I think Hogwarts might be the safest place to train, unless you have an objection Professor?" Harry inquired, but McGonagall shook her head. "Good, Hermione can you work with everyone and get a training schedule setup for us?" Harry asked, but Hermione was already writing notes down furiously anticipating their needs. Harry smiled briefly at her enthusiasm and caught a brief glance at Ron who was grinning boyishly. Ron loved Hermione so much; it was so plain for everyone to see. Harry wondered if he'd ever be aloud to have that with Ginny and heaved a great sigh before continuing.
"The last thing we need to discuss is the continuation of my quest from Dumbledore; the search for Voldemort's Horcruxes. We now know what is left to find. There is still Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, an item of Rowena Ravenclaw's or Godric Gryffindor, Voldemort's snake Nagini and the shard left in Voldemort himself. Each of the other Horcruxes must be destroyed first before I can take on Voldemort himself. We're going to need two teams of researchers: one to retrace the steps of Tom Riddle's life just like Dumbledore did and try to track down the artifacts items that could be holding a piece of Voldemort's soul; and the other will try and find out who this mysterious R.A.B is and where Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket might be. Lastly, we're going to have to try and find a way to destroy these objects themselves," Harry paused a moment to look out over the group already having a good idea of how to group them.
With a small quirk of smile, he looked briefly at Hermione who was intently focused on her parchment. "I'm sure that Hermione has already broken some of you down in to separate groups, we'll review the teams and let you know which group you'll be working with," Harry said bringing out a huge blush from Hermione who had indeed already split the members in to different groups. "I believe that's all for now. Does anyone have something to add?" Professor McGonagall was the first to respond.
"Mr. Potter, I would like to say that I'm very proud of you at this moment and I believe there could be no greater choice for our new leader. Well done," McGonagall said with an uncharacteristic display of warmth and pride heralding a host of comments from the others. Harry was overwhelmed and for a moment was stunned speechless.
"No need to say anything Harry, others will think you wise by your silence and respect you more," Tonks chided jokingly bringing out a few laughs. Harry blushed in response and joined in the laughter.
"But kidding aside, I do have something to report. I have had preliminary meetings with the Board of Governors and thus far there has been no real decision made on the reopening of Hogwarts. I hope that they decide in our favor as the school is still the safest place for the children, however, I do not know if we will even have any students come September. I have received nothing but letters from parents demanding that their children be pulled permanently from the curriculum and kept at home and I doubt unless we do something to stay their fears that they will even bring their children back. I don't have very many arguments to try and persuade them differently. I am trying to get the Minister to send us Aurors for protection, but he is not very accessible at the moment. I'm not really sure what more we can do."
McGonagall looked stressed and beaten. She really was doing her best as the temporary Headmistress, but the loss of Dumbledore had taken away the light in her eyes and now all that was left was hopelessness. He knew intimately how that felt. Hope sensed Harry's intention and flew in to the air circling the ceiling twice before settling down before Professor McGonagall who watched in surprise. Hope trilled loudly and began to sing her song filling the room with euphoria of peace and tranquility. McGonagall watched the majestic beauty of the bird and her eyes filled with tears. She gently stoked Hope's soft neck, who was preening under her touch. Hope trilled a loud note once more before flying back to Harry's shoulder.
"There's always hope Professor," Harry said softly.
"Yes Potter, that there is," McGonagall replied. "Please call me Minerva; I think you've earned it."
"Ok Minerva," Harry said with a smile as he tried out her name for the first time. "Ok, back to the topic of Hogwarts. We can only hope that the school reopens and if it does, I would like to submit another possibility for the protection of the school. By no means are they a replacement for Ministry Aurors, but if properly trained they could be an asset in a pinch," Harry said with a light in his eyes.
"The DA," Ginny burst out which brought an agreeing nod from Harry.
"You can't be serious. Children fighting against seasoned Death Eaters," Narcissa blurted out in disgust.
"Well those children did very well against your husband in the Department of Mysteries, Malfoy," Arthur retorted but Draco started laughing.
"Right, isn't that the night that you're dog was kil…," Draco drawled out but couldn't finish as he was assailed by an unseen force that pushed him violently out of the chair crashing to the floor. He looked up, absently wiped blood from his broken lip and looked up and saw Harry's dark cold eyes staring at him, his face a mask of fury. He backed down and quietly picked himself back up.
"Getting back to business, yes I am recommending the DA and if properly trained, they can be a useful force in case of an emergency," Harry finished ignoring the concerned stares he was getting.
"Well Harry, until we know for sure that the school will reopen, there is not much else to do at the moment, but if it does, then we shall strongly consider the DA," Minerva replied.
"Ok, how about the Ministry? How did they respond to the attack on Privet Drive?" Harry asked now focusing his attention on Tonks, Kingsley, Moody and Arthur. Kingsley was the first to answer.
"The Aurors arrived well after you and the Death Eaters both disapperated leaving them to clean up and wipe the memory of the public. The official word is that a gas line in your house exploded and that everyone inside was killed which works out perfectly for us since we have to relocate the Dursleys under different identities anyways," the gruff wizard explained absently scratching his ear which jingled his bizarre ear-ring.
"Different identities?" Arthur asked in confusion.
"Yes, its similar to what the Muggle police call the Witness Relocation Program," Harry explained to which Arthur along with several others simply stared at him incomprehensively.
"We are giving them new names temporarily so the Death Eaters wont be able to find them again and use them against me," Harry explained which now resulted in nods of understanding.
"The Minister has not official responded to the attack and the press has been quick to note that as well. Scrimgeor is not in a good position politically right now," Kingsley continued as if not having been interrupted.
"That's going to make things more difficult. If the Minister feels that his back is to a corner, he may make a rash move to try and raise his image in the eyes of the people," Tonks said sadly knowing that it would be the Aurors who would have to pay the price.
"That would be typical of our recent Ministers, but we'll just have to deal with that when the time comes," Arthur piped in while stretching out his back. Harry could see that they were all getting tired and that he should wrap this up soon.
"What about Voldemort himself? What is he doing now?" Harry asked them hoping that the answer would not be too gruesome to hear.
"Surprisingly, there have been no attacks. He is building up his forces right now, but he won't be complacent for long. We're going to have to be ready to move against him," Remus replied weakly stifling a yawn.
"Well that just makes it more important for us to train. Hermione is going to talk to you after the meeting to draw up a schedule. I would like to start as soon as possible." They all nodded. "Well, I think we should close for the evening and reconvene in two days. We'll meet here again in two days at eight in the evening. Thank you all for supporting me. You have no idea how much it means to me. Meeting adjourned," Harry said dismissing the group. As everyone began to rise from their seats, Narcissa surprised everyone by remaining seated and loudly clearing her throat. Startled, Harry motioned for her to take the floor.
"While I'm sure that you are well pleased with all of your plans so far, but I do have some information that you might be interested in."
"Well, don't just hold us in suspense. Out with it Malfoy," Moody growled impatiently.
Narcissa smirked before responding reminding Harry that mother and son were not that far off from each other in personalities. "I believe that one of your Horcruxes is in our possession; specifically Helga Hufflepuff's cup. But it won't be easy to retrieve," she informed them coolly again pausing for someone to urge her on.
"Please Mrs. Malfoy, tell us where the cup is," Harry politely asked through clenched teeth, his patience rapidly wearing thin with the Malfoy family. Narcissa smiled again that chilling smile.
"The cup is buried deep within the Malfoy family crypt on our former estates," she answered while casually removing a strand of blond hair from her eyes. "These crypts are guarded by a trio of very old Vampires that remain dormant in their coffins unless the seal that guards the cup is broken." Ron snickered as Draco shuddered at the mention of vampires, but Hermione absently hit his shoulder in reprimand. "The seal was created by another vampire and only a vampire from that same clan can remove it," she finished now waiting for the question that she knew would follow. She didn't have to wait long as Remus seemed to have found his voice first.
"What clan can remove the seal?" Lupin asked her. Again, she smiled that cold evil grin that seemed to remind Harry so much of her sister Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Only a vampire from the clan of Snape is capable of removing the seal that guards Helga Hufflepuff's cup."
"Snape's related to vampires, no wonder we always thought he was batty," Ron chortled loudly.
"Hush Ron," Molly shushed him with Hermione following up with a backhand to the back of the head.
"Why didn't you mention this before," Minerva asked impatiently.
"Nobody asked me," Narcissa replied in mock hurt.
"Alright; Moody, Remus, please work with Narcissa and draw up a plan to raid the Malfoy crypts," Harry ordered.
"Harry, you can't be serious. These are vampires not run of the mill Death Eaters. They are old and very powerful," Remus pushed back.
"Do you have a better idea? We must have that cup; there's no other way," Harry replied bluntly cutting him off. "I want options and suggested methods of fighting the vampires. If there is a way to try and circumvent the seal, please try to find one. We will discuss options at our next meeting." Harry knew that Remus was right, but they really did have no other choice. They had to have the cup in order to destroy that shard of Voldemort's soul. There just had to be another way, he mused. "Narcissa, as part of this group, it is your duty to offer any information or suggestions you have. In the future, please speak up," Harry said coldly while Narcissa innocently smiled.
"Of course, Mr. Potter. My apologies," she answered sweetly.
"Dismissed everyone," Harry told them while rising from his seat and stretching out while watching everyone file out of the kitchen of which Hermione followed after with her parchment and quill. Spying his friends who were waiting for him, he approached them.
"Harry, I'm really proud of you," Ginny said pulling him in to a warm hug that sent his pulse racing.
"Yeah mate, you were awesome," Ron said with a big grin giving him a clap on the back.
"The way you handled everyone and forestalled mum was the best. Although, for a moment though, you did look a bit scary."
"Ron," admonished Ginny, but Harry chuckled.
"I don't know what it was, but I sort of felt my anger flow through me and if filled me with power," Harry said shaking his head in disbelief.
"Well, you'll just have to learn how to harness that power and Voldemort will have no chance," Ginny told him while leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Chock up another item on our list of things to do," Harry muttered dryly.
"Yes, but there's already so much to do," Hermione piped in suddenly joining them.
"Trust Hermione to always bring up the brighter side of things," Ron said dryly earning himself a deadly glare. Harry stepped in before the fight ensured.
"Thank you guys, but Hermione is right. We still have a lot to do. I'm going up to the study; I need to write a few letters before dinner. I'll come find you guys later," Harry said pulling Ginny in to a quick kiss before leaving them. Well, his first meeting as leader of the Order had passed. There was just so much to do still and time was fleeting. How did you do it? Harry silently asked knowing there would be no reply. He settled down in the chair that once belonged to Sirius, now his own. Pulling out a quill and parchment, Harry began to write.
A/N: Well folks, that's all for now. This will be my last chappie before New Years. Everyone have a happy holiday and I will update more through the week. Please review and let me know you're thoughts. I'd really like to hear from you. Ciao.