Here's chapter twelve :) I know its mostly still set up right now, but I'll be getting into the plot real soon

Chapter Twelve:

The Dark Mark was burning. He recoiled and clutched at his forearm. He broke out in a cold sweat and howled in pain. This was worse than the first time. It was worse than his scar burning, which felt as if someone was pressing a white-hot coil to his forehead. It was worse than anything he had ever felt before. It's going to burn through my arm, he thought stupidly. He bit his lip to stop himself screaming and tasted blood; but he felt no pain in his lip. Ginny has let go in shock and whimpered slightly watching him. His blunt fingernails dug into his arm and he had to use all his self-restraint not to dig it off his arm.

Finally the pain slowly dulled after a full minute to a faint throb and he dropped his head. He was calling a meeting…

'We should go down for dinner…' Ginny said weakly. Harry nodded and raised himself pulling his coat back on. He accepted Ginny's help and as they were walking down the stairs they heard an old loud doorbell and someone trip over something in the hall.

'Tonks and that damn umbrella stand,' Ginny muttered and Harry turned to her, questioning. 'Oh there's an umbrella stand in the hall which Tonks trips over every time she goes in there.' Ginny and Harry entered the kitchen as several people charged out of the kitchen to close the curtains again. As soon as he entered the room he was enveloped in another hug from his godfather.

He used the din from the hallway and the close contact with Sirius to whisper, 'He's calling a meeting.' Sirius snapped his head towards him but Harry was enveloped by Mrs. Weasley and guided to his seat.

He put his hands on the table and felt an empty plate and cutlery in front of him. He jumped slightly as someone grabbed a hand and guided it to their face, identifying themselves as Hermione.

'Food's not out yet,' she whispered. 'Ron's on your right.' He nodded as the screams of Mrs. Black were cut off abruptly and the others came back to the kitchen. He stood up again feeling quite awkward.

'Harry!' Harry sighed with relief as Mr. Wealsey clasped his right hand to shake, signally the greetings of the others.

'Good to see you, Harry,' came a voice from the other end of the table. Harry turned his head in that direction. 'It's Bill,' he said, his voice closer before taking his hand to shake.

'Harry? I don't believe you've met Mundungus,' Sirius said, guiding his hand to a stranger. He smelt like something slightly off or like he hadn't had a shower in many days nor changed his clothes.

'You alright, 'arry?' he greeting and Harry shook his hand, nodding his head.

'Harry,' Lupin greeted, not shaking his hand but letting Harry know he had entered the room. Harry nodded at him and smiled. He sat back down and Hermione muttered that Tonks had entered too. According to Hermione, Mad-Eye and the rest of the guard had just left. He felt slightly uncomfortable that he didn't recognise that another had entered the room. He turned his head as more footsteps sounded from the other side of the room.

'Mrs Weasley, Fred and George coming with the food from the kitchen,' Hermione described. Harry made a mental note that there was two ways into the Dining room.

There were a few clunks and clatters as various plates and bowls of food were placed on the table. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder and leant over him.

'Mrs Weasley? Harry can serve himself,' Hermione said, kindly.

'Oh, it's no trouble,' she said warmly, and Harry felt his face warm with embarrassment.

'I'm meant to serve myself, Mrs Weasley, its part of my training,' he said tersely and the hand on his shoulder stiffened slightly and she hustled off without another word. He reached out and found a large bowl. He felt around the edges until he found the spoon and tested the contents.

'Mashed potatoes?' he muttered to Hermione, murmured that this was correct. They went like this for a while, with the only correction being made was over a bowl of peas which he had thought was corn.

'Is there any gravy,' he asked.

'Here, Harry,' answered Lupin from across the table from him.

'Thanks,' he said, taking the gravy. He then picked up his knife and fork and began to eat.

'That's really freaky,' said one of the twins, Fred Harry thought, with as much as tack as his youngest brother normally possesses. The idle chatter died. Harry paused in his eating, Hermione was stiff beside him and with his hair hiding his face he grinned.

'Think that's freaky?' he asked, aiming at the voice, flicked the half eaten potato at Fred. There was a shocked silence and a soft thump which told Harry he had met his target, before Harry and Fred burst out laughing. The whole atmosphere relaxed and Mrs Weasley told Fred off for his lack of tack and warned him not to start throwing food.

Ron was engaged in conversation with Tonks who was sitting next to Lupin across the table from Ron and Harry turned to join in. 'Do the pig snout, Tonks,' Ginny requested, giggling.

'I'm a metamorphagus,' Tonks said to Harry's incredibly confused face. 'Means I can change my appearance at will,' she added when her first comment made no impression. 'Here,' she said, scrapping her chair backwards and coming round to his side of the table. He dropped his fork and she grabbed his hand. Placing them on her face, she scrunched up her face in concentration and suddenly her nose began to shift and change beneath Harry's fingers.

'Whoa! That's cool,' he said, excitedly. She sat back down and Ginny and Ron continued requesting their favourite noses.

'May I ask what your training consists of?' asked Lupin. Harry looked at him blankly before he added, 'Professor Dumbledore has asked for one of the Order members to become your carer Harry and he mentioned that you've been doing some training with Hermione and Ron to become more independent. I was wondering what that was. Don't feel obliged to tell me though, only if you're comfortable.'

Harry nodded, burying this latest betrayal by his Headmaster and Hermione who had been listened jumped in. 'We've been doing mostly recognition training. For instance, Harry will have his hands on my or Ron's face and we'll make an emotion and he have to guess which one. Another is picking stuff up and figuring out what it is. After a lot of practice he could walk around the Dursley's house without help, so long as no one moved anything without telling him…'

Harry tuned out, bored, as Hermione described the way he can get around with his cane, reading with Braille and how they were teaching him to See with his hands, linking memories of what things and people look like with what they feel like. Then Lupin interrupted his brooding. 'You are more than welcome to See me, Harry.' Harry nodded surprised.

'After dinner?' he asked and there was a pause before Lupin agreed quickly. Lupin, Harry and Hermione fell into a slightly awkward silence and Harry scrambled for something to say. 'Where's Percy?' realising that the third eldest Weasley son hadn't been pointed out to him.

The table fell silent instantly. The tension in the room couldn't have been sliced with a carving knife. There was a smash of china from where Mr Weasley was sitting and sobbing started from where Mrs Weasley was sitting. A clattering of wood on stone told Harry a chair had been knocked over and he presumed Mr Weasley stormed out as the door was slammed shut hard enough for a crack to almost echo over the tense table.

'R-re-reparo,' sobbed Mrs Weasley but Harry didn't hear anything.

'It's okay, Mum,' someone, Fred or George, soothed and Harry heard the other twin repair the door.

Whatever had happened to or with Percy was not good…

Halted conversation started back up again and Mrs Weasley slowing stopped crying. Eventually she repaired the plate that Mr Weasley had broken and was over cheerfully offering seconds or thirds of every dish. Harry had lost his appetite and quickly cleared off his plate which he hardly tasted. Soon as he was done he excused himself and stumbled out of the room.

'Harry, dear, wait! Let someone help you-,' Harry didn't hear the rest of Mrs Weasley's plea, but was soon joined by Hermione, grasping his arm and pulling him along.

'Leave it, Hermione,' he muttered then, when she ignored him, he yanked his arm away, 'I said leave it.'

'Don't be silly, Harry,' she fussed, grabbing him again. 'Let me help you.'

'I don't need help,' he snarled, yanking his arm back. She didn't follow and a few seconds later he heard her return to the kitchen. As soon as he'd reached the landing he sat down against the wall. He pulled off his glasses and massaged his temples. There was a burning sensation that he now association with a need but an inability to cry.

Smash!

Harry's head snapped up at this, turning his head side to side, trying to figure out where it came from. It got up slowly, sliding his glasses back on, listening careful. He heard a shout and tensed. There's someone here! He thought panicking slightly. There was another shout and Harry started when he realised it was Mr Weasley. There wasn't time to fumble his way downstairs to get help; Mr Weasley was in trouble now! Listening carefully he pinpointed the source as upstairs again and he jumped the stairs two at a time, almost tripping at the top thinking there were more steps. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and held it out. He reached the door and listened again. There was another smashing sound and, estimating where it had been thrown from, pushed open the door.

Whoever it was reacted instantly. Harry heard the swish of fabric as they drew their wand and, dodging to the side and bumping into a desk, he heard the spell fly past him. Readjusting his aim, Harry concentrated hard.

'Don't move or I will hurt you,' he warned. 'Mr Weasley, are you alright?' he called to the rest of the room. His words were met with laughter.