A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Drigpawz: The jumping through time has stopped, I promise! As for the ring . . . keep reading! (evil grin)

OliviaAlexander: I wish you could have seen my reaction when I first read your screen name! I was so excited, and so incredibly touched! You are the best! Now, about your question – I'm planning to go through Harry's sixth year with this story.

LinwëTook: Keep reading! Sorry, but I can't give it all away!

Sweetness0984: Yeah, I miss James and Lily, too! They were so much fun to write, and I am totally in love with both of their characters. Well, you already know that I cried when they died. Anyway, about Harry and Laura . . . as this story only goes through book 6, it might be tough for them to get married and have 6 kids, but I'll see what I can do! Haha.

I don't own Harry Potter.

The Old Crowd

Sirius jumped out of his seat as Remus Apparated into the living room. His forgotten newspaper lay on the floor next to him; he had abandoned it hours ago.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. "Tell me everything! How are they? Did Liv say anything about when she could come to visit?"

"Have you gotten any owls?" Remus asked rather than answering his friend's questions.

"Any owls?" Sirius repeated with a frown. "No. Should I have?"

"I got a letter from Dumbledore," Remus said, pulling the parchment out of his cloak. "It found me in France. I guess he only sent one because he figured we'd be together."

Sirius nodded. "That makes sense. What did he say?"

"He's coming to visit tomorrow morning," Remus replied. "He wants to discuss the Order with us."

"Good," Sirius said. "It's time to get this into action. I can't believe we've waited this long before starting."

"I think he was waiting to see if Fudge would change his mind," Remus said thoughtfully. "Don't you think it would be better for us to act with the cooperation of the Ministry?"

"I think waiting for the Ministry is a waste of time," Sirius replied evenly. "They've never been good in a crisis situation. If Lily hadn't sacrificed herself for Harry, enabling him to defeat Voldemort, I'm willing to bet that the first war would still be raging now. They didn't know how to stop him all those years ago, and they still don't today."

"That's probably true," Remus sighed. "But we'll be able to start on everything tomorrow morning. This time, things will be different."

"I hope so," Sirius said earnestly. "I hope it doesn't come down to a battle between Harry and Voldemort again. He's just a kid, Remus. He doesn't deserve this."

"None of Voldemort's victims deserved to fight him or to die," Remus said quietly. "You know that I would never willingly put Harry into battle with Voldemort, but the fact remains that he has escaped him several times already. I'm confident that he can win again if he must."

"I'm sure that he can," Sirius replied. "He's James and Lily's son. With genetics like his, I know he has the power, the strength, and the nerve to battle Voldemort. I just hope he doesn't have to."

"So do I." Remus shivered involuntarily. "Like you said, he's just a child."

"Not that he wants to be told that, I'm sure," Sirius grinned.

Remus smiled. "No, I suppose not. I'm sure that he considers himself quite grown up by now. He is nearly fifteen."

Sirius laughed, then fell silent. After a moment's stillness, he looked at Remus hopefully. "Will you tell me about your trip to France now?"

Remus smiled, and sat down across from Sirius. "The ladies all say hello."

Sirius grinned. "How are they?"

"Laura's highly disappointed that I had to come home. But, like I said, once I explained what I was coming home to, she understood."

"You told her everything?"

"Pretty much. I didn't tell her enough to scare her, but Dana still wasn't happy with me. She wants to keep her innocent of everything that's going on in the outside world."

"You can't blame her for that. She's lost a lot to Voldemort."

Remus nodded. "She was terrified when I told them that he's back."

"Dana or Laura?"

"Dana." He smiled, pride shining in his eyes. "Laura was ready to go to battle with the Order."

"What?" Sirius said quickly. "She wants to join?"

"Of course we told her that she's too young," Remus clarified. "But she was very insistent. She said she wants to save other children from growing up without their fathers the way she grew up without hers."

"I can't even imagine," Sirius sighed. "I know that my father didn't win any Parent of the Year awards, but at least I knew him. And Aidan was a great man – I know he would have been a brilliant father to Laura. It's horrible that she was robbed of that relationship."

A far-away look came over Remus's face. "You know, when I first lost my Laura, one of my greatest sorrows was that I never got to have children. I had always wanted to be a father. One of the things that Laura and I were most looking forward to about being married was starting a family. When she died, so did that dream.

"But Dana was the one who made me see that my child, had Laura and I had one before she died, would have been scarred by the loss of his or her mother. She told me how terrified she was that her baby would suffer terribly because she would never know her father."

"From what you've said, Laura seems as though she's doing very well."

"Oh, she is," Remus agreed quickly. "She's a great student, she has quite a few friends, and she's a sweetheart. But the real reason that she was fighting Dana about joining the Order stems from the fact that she doesn't have Aidan. She sees Voldemort as the one who is responsible for her father's death –"

"Which he is," Sirius interrupted.

"- And she wants to make sure that he can't do the same thing to anyone else." He shook his head with a smile. "You'd love her, Sirius. She's a Gryffindor at heart." He smiled sadly. "When she was trying to convince us to let her join the Order today, she reminded me of all of us when we got back to school after Christmas in seventh year. Do you remember?"

"Kathleen had just been killed," Sirius said, all traces of his smile fading. "We were horrified. Heartbroken. Enraged."

"We wanted to do something – anything – to stop the Death Eaters," Remus said. "That was when Dumbledore first told us about the Order."

"And we all said we'd join." An ugly, angry expression twisted Sirius's features. "Do you think Peter was considering his next move even then? Do you think he was already planning to join the Death Eaters? Do you think he knew that he'd end up killing James and Lily?"

"I don't think Peter ever thought that far ahead," Remus said sadly.

"The rest of us were ready to give our lives for one another."

"Yes," Remus agreed quietly, "we were. And, from what I can see, we still are."

"Of course," Sirius replied without hesitation.

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually . . . I remember thinking that Peter was the most hesitant of all of us about joining."

Sirius looked surprised. "You remember that?"

"Yes. I thought it was odd, because he had lost so much more than the rest of us at that point. He was the one who kept asking if joining was a really good idea. He was the one who thought that there might be a better way."

"My God, you're right," Sirius whispered. "I do remember that. I remember thinking that he was just unhinged by Kathleen's death, but do you think . . .?"

"It's too late now," Remus said sadly. "We can sit here all night and talk about the signs we missed, but it's certainly not going to make us feel any better. We were still in school when all this started, Sirius. It's not our fault that we didn't see what Peter was thinking."

"But we were his best friends," Sirius said angrily. "If anyone should have seen it, it should have been us."

"His mother didn't see it, either," Remus said quietly. "We can't take the blame for what happened. It was too long ago. There's not a thing we can do now."

Sirius looked away for a moment, trying to find a way to change the subject. He had to get his thoughts away from Pettigrew or he was sure he'd start smashing Remus's few possessions in a blind rage. "You said that Dana was terrified and that Laura was ready to fight. What about Liv?"

"She was ready to go to battle, too," Remus replied. "She said to tell Dumbledore that she wants to join the Order again – and she said to tell you that she wants to see you."

"You waited long enough to tell me that little piece of information!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "When is she coming?"

"She's not – not yet, anyway."

"Why not?" Sirius asked, sitting down flatly.

Remus hesitated, unsure of how to tell his friend what Olivia had said.

"Just tell me, Moony," Sirius sighed. "Is she married? Is that the problem?"

"Oh, no, not at all!" Remus said quickly. "She actually said –" He stopped, knowing that he couldn't reveal all that Olivia had said to him about the depth of her feelings for Sirius. "Well, she has dated other men since you've been in Azkaban, but I don't think she was ever really serious with any of them. I know she was never engaged. She never lived with any of them."

Sirius nodded his approval. "But?" he prompted.

Remus sighed. "She said she isn't ready to see you, Sirius."

"Not ready?" he yelled. "I haven't seen her in fourteen years! How much more time does she need to be ready?"

"For nearly thirteen of those years, she believed, as I did, that you had betrayed James and Lily. She believed that you had killed Peter and twelve innocent Muggles. She believed that you were Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater."

"And she's had two years to realize that everything you've said is rubbish," Sirius shot back. "You've forgiven me, Remus. Why can't she?"

"She's forgiven you," Remus said quietly. "But I'm not sure that she's forgiven herself."

"For what?"

"For thinking that you were capable of such betrayal, such murder, such a horrifying alliance. She had promised to marry you, Sirius. She was planning to spend the rest of her life with you. Then, after one conversation with Dumbledore, she lost all her faith and trust in you. Years later, after one conversation with me, she realized that she should never have stopped believing in you. She's thinking of all the time she could have had, but that was lost. She's thinking that she should have done something to change what happened."

"She told you all that?"

"No, but it's fairly obvious." He smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that I certainly understand a lot of what she's feeling."

"We've been over this," Sirius said, obviously annoyed. "You know that I don't blame you or her, and that there's nothing either of you could have done to change what happened. The past is the past. It can't be altered."

"I know," Remus sighed. "She's just mixed up right now, Sirius. She needs some time to sort herself out. But she will come to see you. She promised that much. Dana and Laura are planning to come, too."

"Did she give you any idea at all of when she might come?"

"I told her to wait until we had a permanent headquarters established. That way maybe she can stay there and we'll know that she'll be safe."

"Good idea," Sirius said. "I wonder what we can use as our headquarters?"

Remus shrugged. "Something far away from Hogwarts. We don't want the kids getting mixed up in this."

"Yeah, definitely," Sirius said slowly. Then his eyes lit up. "Remus! I know the perfect place!"

"Where?"

"My parents' house!"

"What?"

"We can use my parents' house!" he said again in excitement. "They both died while I was in Azkaban, and the house always passes to the oldest male heir – that would be me! It's mine now, and I can do whatever I want with it."

"You're sure this is what you want to do?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't have any other use for it. God knows I don't want to actually live in it again."

Remus nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine that."

"It's the perfect place," Sirius said enthusiastically. "I can't wait to tell Dumbledore."

"Just don't make up your mind too quickly," Remus cautioned. "At least think about it overnight. You won't be able to tell Dumbledore about it until tomorrow, in any case."

"All right," Sirius agreed good-naturedly. "I promise, no snap decisions."

"Good," Remus said. "We'll worry about everything tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Sirius repeated. "You know, I know it seems like it's been a long time since Dumbledore sent me here to regroup the Order, but it really hasn't been all that long at all, has it?"

"No, not really," Remus said slowly. "Sirius . . . are you sure we've done enough?"

"What more could we have done?"

"I don't know. It just seems like all we've done was to track down Arabella and Mundungus – and that wasn't very hard to do."

"We got them both to agree to join again," Sirius said. "That's what Dumbledore wanted. He probably thought it would be difficult to convince them that Voldemort is back."

"I hope so," Remus said nervously. "I just hope he's not disappointed."

"He won't be," Sirius said confidently. "You wait. Everything will be fine."

Remus awoke very early the next morning, already nervous about the upcoming meeting with Dumbledore. He knew that he and Sirius had done their best to contact old Order members; he just hoped the Dumbledore would think that they had done enough. He pulled himself out of bed, knowing that he had to face what was coming.

When he walked out of the bathroom after showering, he could hear movement from Sirius's room. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Despite Sirius's bold words the night before, it was now apparent that Remus wasn't the only one who was apprehensive about their plans for the morning.

Sirius came into the kitchen as Remus was putting the finishing touches on breakfast. One look into his face told Remus that Sirius was just as anxious as he was. They barely spoke as they took their seats and picked at their food. Though neither acknowledged it aloud, they both knew that they were far too nervous to eat.

After making an attempt at eating, they cleaned up the kitchen. Remus had just used his wand to put the last of the dishes away when a knock sounded on the door.

"That must be him," he said nervously.

"I suppose so," Sirius replied. "I'll just go wait in the living room."

Remus nodded wordlessly, and went to the front door to admit his guest.

"Remus," Dumbledore said with a cheerful smile when Remus opened the door. "I hope you've been well?"

"Yes, sir," Remus replied. He couldn't help but smile back at the headmaster as he opened the door wider. "Please, come in."

"Thank you. I trust that Sirius is still with you?"

"Yes, he's right in the living room," Remus said as he led the way through his small house.

"Excellent," Dumbledore said as they entered the living room. "Sirius, hello."

"Hello," Sirius said, springing to his feet.

"How have you enjoyed spending your time in one place?"

"It's taken some getting used to, to be honest," Sirius said. "But it's been great to stay with Remus."

"I thought that the arrangement would work out," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"It's been good to get all the news on a regular basis, too," Sirius added. "I had a harder time keeping up with the Prophet's version of events while I was on the run."

"The Prophet is often wrong in what it prints," Dumbledore commented.

"But it's good to know what the public thinks."

"I couldn't agree more," Dumbledore said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a long, thin box, which he offered to the younger man. "This is for you, Sirius. I've brought you something that I think you'll find most useful."

Sirius took the box with a slight frown. "What is it?"

"Open it," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Sirius took the top off the box and gasped. "You've brought me a wand?"

"That's right. Why don't you make sure it will be appropriate for you?"

Sirius lifted the thin strip of wood from the box, shivering as it grew warm under his fingers. An expression of ecstasy came over his face as he waved it, transfiguring one of the pillows on the sofa into a kitten.

Dumbledore beamed. "Excellent! I told Ollivander to copy your old wand specifications as closely as he could. I see that he's had great success."

"Indeed," Sirius agreed, turning the kitten back into a pillow. "Professor, I don't know how to thank you. At least let me pay you for this."

"Don't be ridiculous," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand. "Consider it a gift to welcome you back into the wizarding world and the Order."

The atmosphere of the room changed with his final words. Looking around, Dumbledore caught the nervous expressions on his companions' faces.

"Please, be seated," Remus said quickly. "Would you like some tea before we begin?"

"That would be lovely," Dumbledore said.

Remus waved his own wand to conjure tea things, letting the tray carrying them settle onto the coffee table. He poured three cups of tea, which he passed around to Dumbledore and Sirius before taking his own.

"How has your work gone thus far?" Dumbledore asked as he raised his glass to his lips.

"Both Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher were very eager to join again," Remus said.

"They're both awaiting your orders," Sirius added.

"They will receive them soon," Dumbledore stated. "Now that the students are home, we need to put Harry under surveillance. He's in more danger than even he realizes."

"But I thought he had protection while he was with his aunt and uncle?" Remus frowned.

"He does," Dumbledore agreed. "Their house has more magical protection on it than any building except Hogwarts. But if he leaves the house, he is far more exposed."

"Does he know that?" Sirius asked.

"No," Dumbledore replied. "His aunt does, though. I sent a letter to Petunia before the students left Hogwarts to explain things to her."

"She knows about Voldemort, then?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide.

"No," Dumbledore said. "I merely told her that Harry is in danger and reminded her of the protection he has while in her care."

Remus nodded. "So you want Arabella and Mundungus to keep an eye on him?"

"Yes. Arabella has been watching over him for me for years; I know that she will be equal to the task. However, as you know, she cannot use magic to defend him should the need arise. For this reason, I want Mundungus to be on the scene as well." He smiled. "Despite the oddities of his character, I know him to be a very capable wizard; I am certain that he could defend Harry and alert the rest of us should something happen."

"Do you expect something to happen?" Sirius asked tensely.

"We must be prepared for anything," Dumbledore said vaguely. Seeing the worried expression on Sirius's face, he smiled reassuringly. "I do not expect anything in particular. But the fact remains that Harry defeated Voldemort in a duel in front of all of his Death Eaters. I cannot expect that Voldemort will not attempt to retaliate. He has wanted to destroy Harry since the day he was born, and I am certain that he will stop at nothing until he achieves it. He showed how far he will go only two weeks ago; he took Harry from Hogwarts while I stood watch."

"So you think he will try to take him from his uncle's house?" Remus asked.

"I know that he would be foolish to attempt to do so. He knows this as well. However, if he is angry enough, he may not think of the potential consequences of his actions."

Sirius shook his head. "We need to get him out of that house."

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "but where will we take him? He would not be any safer here than he is there."

"Oh!" Sirius said, sitting up straighter. "Have you decided on a place to use as headquarters for the Order, sir?"

"Not yet," Dumbledore replied. "I am considering several options, but they all have downfalls that tend to outweigh their advantages."

"In that case, I'd like to offer you my parents' house to use as headquarters."

"Your parents' house?" Dumbledore repeated.

"Yes, sir. Number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

"It is not in use right now?"

"My parents have both died and, according to family tradition, it should have passed into my possession."

"And you are willing to give it over to us?"

"I have no love for the place," Sirius said with a shrug. "It represents all that my family stood for, and is a reminder of a childhood I'd rather forget. I'm sure that it will be of far more use to you than it ever will be to me."

"I'll look into it," Dumbledore promised. "I assume that you'd like to come with me?"

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I know most of the charms that were used to conceal it, and I should be able to get past them." He winced. "I'll also need to convince Kreacher to let you in."

"Kreacher?" Dumbledore repeated.

"The house-elf," Sirius clarified. He scowled. "He's an evil little thing, but if I tell him to keep his silence about the Order, he'll have no choice."

"Very true," Dumbledore nodded. "When would you like to go check over the house?"

"Anytime you'd like."

"Well, then," Dumbledore said, standing to his feet, "there is no time like the present. Remus, would you like to join us as well?"

"Of course," Remus said, standing up.

"Then let us be off," Dumbledore said with a smile. "To number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

It took several moments for Sirius to break through all the protective charms on his parents' house. With each new barrier that he encountered, he became more disgusted.

"They really didn't trust anyone," he said as he was finally able to turn the knob to enter the house. He continued to talk as he stepped over the threshold. "There are even more Muggle-repelling charms. They weren't ever about to let anyone who wasn't a pure-blood enter their house."

"You think you can come back here, do you? Out! Out of my house, you blood traitor!"

Remus gasped. "What is that?"

"Mother?" Sirius exclaimed in shock, looking around wildly. "How – why – what?"

"You are not welcome! Be gone! Take your half-breed friend and leave at once!"

"Damn her!" he yelled as his eyes fell on the portrait that was screaming at him. He used his new wand to stun the painting, which instantly froze in place. "Well, that will have to be the first thing we get rid of."

"I had forgotten how loudly she could scream," Dumbledore said with a hint of a smile.

"You knew her?" Sirius asked.

"Only as a student," Dumbledore replied. "She was just as vocal then, let me assure you."

Sirius smiled grimly. "Well, I'll make sure she can't scream much longer." He pulled the curtains closed over her portrait. "Come on, let me show you the rest of the house."

Just as they were about to start walking down the hall, a small, filthy body sprang out of the doorway to the left. Remus started, but Sirius's expression darkened.

"Kreacher," he said without emotion. "Do you remember me?"

"Master Sirius?" the house-elf asked, his eyes wide. "You have dared to return?"

"I have," Sirius replied evenly. He looked around at the thick cobwebs and several inches of dust that seemed to coat every surface. "You have dared to let the house fall into disrepair like this?"

"I have taken care of the house according to my mistress's commands," Kreacher said stiffly.

"Your mistress has been dead for years," Sirius said dismissively. "I'm home now, and you will obey my commands."

Kreacher gave him a look of deep loathing. "He breaks his mother's heart, then comes home demanding to be obeyed. Such . . . bravery."

Sirius rolled his eyes at the taunt his parents had thrown at him at every opportunity after he had been Sorted into Gryffindor. "You need to get some of your own material, Kreacher," he said. He turned to his two companions. "Kreacher, these are my friends. You are to treat them with respect."

"Yes, Master," Kreacher said a bit sarcastically, sinking into a low bow.

"Oh, get up," Sirius said with annoyance. "And stay out of our way while we go over the house."

They wandered through the massive house slowly, discussing its potential as the central hub of the Order's activity. Dumbledore was pleased to see the number of rooms; he said that it would be conducive to meetings of various groups, as well as provide ample space for members who wanted to stay close to the center of activity. Remus agreed with Dumbledore, but couldn't help noticing that Sirius's expression grew darker with each new room they entered.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a low tone as Dumbledore explored the kitchen.

"No," Sirius said bluntly. "Being back here . . . seeing my mum and Kreacher . . . I didn't ever want to have to think about that part of my life again."

"We can take down the painting of your mother . . ."

"It's not just that," he sighed. "Remus, I had somehow managed to forget just how obsessed my parents were with the dark arts. Have you seen all the dark artifacts they have?"

"We can take care of those, too. We'll do a thorough purge of the house."

"I'd rather not look at them long enough to get rid of them."

"Sirius, listen," Remus said in a low voice. "You were the one who suggested this house for our headquarters. You were incredibly excited about giving it over to Dumbledore. Now that we're here, I have to agree that it would be prefect. Everything that Dumbledore has said about the size and number of rooms is true. Besides that, with all the protective spells it already has on it, we may not have to do all that much work to conceal it. And who would even think to look for it? No one will suspect that you would go back to your parents' home to hide from the Ministry, and everyone knows that it's your house now – well, everyone who matters, anyway."

"Is there a point in there somewhere?"

"The point is that you were right. This house is perfect for our headquarters. And that means that you're going to be spending a lot of time here in the future. So you either need to get used to that idea or find a better place for us to use."

Sirius sighed. "With such options, how could I choose?"

Dumbledore came back to join them, beaming. "Sirius, you are right," he said. "This will do for our headquarters quite nicely. We will need to give it a very thorough cleaning, of course, but that can be handled as time allows. We have more important work to attend to first."

"Such as?" Remus asked.

"We need to call our old members into service," Dumbledore said. "And we need to make sure that this building is Unplottable and protected by the Fidelius Charm, in addition to strengthening all the protective charms that are already in place."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Sirius said with a ghost of a grin.

"But it is for the best of causes."

The next day, Dumbledore called the members of the original Order of the Phoenix to a meeting at Hogwarts. Remus and Sirius Apparated to a point outside of Hogsmeade, where Sirius transformed into his Animagus form to walk up to the castle with Remus.

By the time they arrived at Dumbledore's office, only McGonagall and Snape had arrived. They were talking quietly as Remus led the way into the room.

"Remus!" Professor McGonagall stood to greet him. "How have you been? I've been thinking about you all year – I had been hoping that you would be back to teach Defense again."

Remus smiled. "Haven't you heard, Professor? The job is cursed."

She waved her hand dismissively. "If that were true, you'd have had some horrible or fatal experience like your predecessors."

Remus's eyes slid past her to look at Snape, who was looking at him as though he could only dream that Remus had died like Professor Quirrell or lost his mind like Gilderoy Lockhart. Not wanting to delay the moment to the point of awkwardness, he arranged his face into a smile.

"Hello, Severus."

"Lupin," Snape said with a sneer.

Dumbledore came in. He beamed when he saw Remus standing next to Sirius, who was still in Animagus form.

"Remus, welcome!" he said. "And, Sirius, if you could transform . . ."

Sirius immediately transformed, becoming a man before their eyes. McGonagall nodded as though she had been expecting this, but Snape's eyes narrowed into a loathing glare.

"We're still awaiting the others," Dumbledore said. "We have quite a bit to discuss tonight; I hope they will be prompt."

"Will Aberforth be joining us?" McGonagall asked.

"On a Friday night?" Dumbledore smiled. "Perish the thought! He is eager to do all that he can for the Order, however, and has assured me that he will arrange his work schedule so that he can attend our future meetings."

The door to Dumbledore's office opened, and Mundungus came in, leading Mrs. Figg. They both smiled as they greeted the members who were already assembled.

"How has Harry been?" Sirius asked Mrs. Figg before she even had a chance to sit down.

"Still shell-shocked, from what I can see," she sighed. "The poor thing. He always looks so miserable. I had him over for tea two days ago, but I think that might have scared him more than anything else." She smiled sadly. "I'm afraid I couldn't be very nice to him when he was little. If Vernon and Petunia had thought that I was nice to him, they never would have let me babysit. Goodness knows they've done their best to make sure he doesn't ever have fun. Unfortunately, that means that he doesn't exactly look at me as someone he can trust. Drop him a line, Sirius. I think it might bring up his morale."

"I will," Sirius promised. "I wish I could see him."

"All in good time," Dumbledore said as his office door opened again, this time admitting Dedalus Diggle and Sturgis Podmore.

Both Diggle and Podmore checked on the spot at the sight of Sirius sitting among the Order members. They exchanged a look, then Dedalus stepped forward.

"So, it's true, then? What Dumbledore said? You were framed?"

"That's one way to put it," Sirius said wryly.

Diggle extended his hand. "I'm sorry for believing that you could have done such a thing."

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said uncomfortably, shaking both men's hands. "It's over now, and we have far more important things to worry about."

Emmeline Vance and Elphias Doge entered next, both sharing similar moments with Sirius. He was feeling thoroughly uncomfortable with the entire situation, but it helped him to see the sense in what Remus had said about Olivia not being able to forgive herself. If these people who he had counted more as colleagues than as friends harbored such guilt over his stay in Azkaban, how must his once-fiancée feel?

The door opened for the last time, and Mad-Eye Moody stepped into the room. Sirius started at his first sight of his former supervisor. The Moody he remembered had the same scarred face, but had not sported a magical eye.

"He lost it in the battle to capture the Death Eaters who tortured the Longbottoms," Remus whispered, knowing what Sirius must be thinking.

Sirius nodded and swallowed. He couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say to Moody after so much time.

Moody, who had been greeting Emmeline, caught sight of Sirius staring at him with his magical eye. He turned to face him, slowly stepping closer. He fixed Sirius with both of his eyes, staring into the haunted depths of the younger man's face.

"I never wanted to believe it was you," he said quietly. "I'm glad to see that it wasn't. You were one of the best Aurors we had. It's a damn shame your career was cut short."

Sirius smiled, really smiled, for the first time since he had stepped into Dumbledore's office. "Thank you," he said softly. He wasn't sure it was the right thing to say, but they were the only words that came to him.

Moody nodded. "I'll expect to see your usual level of performance in the Order."

"I'm ready to do all that I can," Sirius said simply.

Moody nodded again. "It's good to have you back, Mr. Black."

"If I could have everyone's attention," Dumbledore said, standing near his desk, "it would appear that we have all arrived."

Silence fell over the room as the Order members took seats. Dumbledore smiled at them.

"You all know the reason you have been called here," he said. "Despite the Ministry's repeated denials, Lord Voldemort has indeed returned. We are reforming the Order of the Phoenix in an effort to stop him before he is able to cause the sort of destruction that he has been known for in the past.

"There are several things that must be discussed tonight," he continued. "The first is the establishment of our permanent headquarters. Sirius Black has generously offered us the use of his parents' house. Due to the . . . reclusive nature of his parents, the house is already equipped with many charms to keep intruders away. We will, of course, need to add more protection before we move into the house."

"We'll need to make it Unplottable," Moody interjected. "And have you considered the Fidelius Charm?"

"I think those are both excellent ideas," Dumbledore nodded. "I am willing to be Secret Keeper not only for the house but also for the Order, if you are all in agreement."

A general murmur of assent went throughout the room.

"I'll perform the charm, Dumbledore," Emmeline offered. "I've done it before."

He nodded. "Thank you, Emmeline."

"Making the building Unplottable could take some time," McGonagall said slowly.

"I want to have it done as soon as possible," Dumbledore replied. "Once we have the house completely concealed, I want to bring Harry Potter to stay in it with us."

"By himself?" Sirius frowned.

"I had hoped that you would stay with him," Dumbledore said softly.

Sirius nodded at once. "Of course."

"That does, however, bring us to our next point," Dumbledore continued. "Harry, as you all know, is in grave danger. We need to make sure that he is under round the clock surveillance. I want to know everything that happens, every time that he leaves the house."

"He's been out and about more than usual this summer," Arabella offered. "He never leaves the neighborhood, but he's been out walking quite a bit."

"We need to make sure that he is followed," Dumbledore said. "We'll devise a schedule to make sure that someone is always watching.

"We also need a schedule to guard the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries."

Quite a few eyes widened as renewed murmuring broke out. Dumbledore held up his hands for silence.

"There is a record of a prophecy there that is of great interest to Voldemort," he said. "It contains part of the mysterious connection he has with Harry."

"Will we be searching for a way to take it, sir?" Snape asked. "We could bring it here to protect it."

"No, we cannot do that," Dumbledore said. "Only those whose names are found in the prophecy may touch it. If you or I tried to take it from its shelf today, we would be lost in insanity."

"I didn't realize the prophecies were so highly guarded, sir," Snape said.

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Most prophecies are better left unheard."

"How exactly will we protect it, then?" Podmore asked.

"We will take shifts standing guard outside the entrance to the Hall of Prophecies. There are several invisibility cloaks among us; they will be essential to our work."

"We're going to need more manpower," Mundungus said. "That's a lot of guard shifts; there's far more than just that to be done."

"The Weasley family has already consented to join us," Dumbledore said. "That will bring us five additional members immediately."

"Olivia Alexander said she'd be happy to start a movement in France," Remus said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Good. We'll need to have active members in as many places as possible. Will she be able to come here for meetings?"

"I'm not sure," Remus said. "I don't know how easy that will be for her to arrange."

"I'll arrange it if necessary," Moody said. "I can call her to England for Auror work. I can't bring her here too often, though, or it will look suspicious."

Dumbledore nodded as he looked over at Moody. "Alastor, I had asked you to consider your Aurors . . .?"

Moody nodded. "I've already spoken to Shacklebolt and Tonks. They're my first choices. Both said they would join."

"Tonks?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself. He knew his cousin Andromeda had not been an Auror before he had been sent to Azkaban and that her husband's family was Muggles, thereby eliminating their chances of being Aurors. Could she or Ted have gone through the training program in his absence? "Ted Tonks? I don't remember him being an Auror."

"No, not Ted," Moody said, giving him a smile. "His daughter."

"Dora?" Sirius exclaimed. The last time he had seen Andromeda's Nymphadora she had been quite young.

"Nymphadora, yes," Moody affirmed. "But I wouldn't try calling her that if I were you."

Sirius grinned, remembering the number of times Andromeda had defended her choice for her daughter's name. "Oh, I won't."

"They will all be invited to our next meeting," Dumbledore said with a satisfied nod. "Now, about those schedules . . ."

Remus was exhausted by the time the meeting broke up. He barely noticed the distance to the edge of Hogsmeade, where Sirius transformed back into his human form so that they could Apparate to his house. When they arrived, Sirius looked at him with a grin.

"What are you so chipper about?" Remus asked.

"I'll get to see Dora again," he said. "The last time I saw her was at Regulus's funeral. Do you realize how long that's been?"

"Harry's whole life," Remus replied.

"Just about," Sirius agreed. "She hadn't even started at Hogwarts by then! She was close though – I think she was about nine or ten."

"She must be a brilliant Auror, then, if Moody's willing to consider her for the Order when she's so young."

"I'm sure she is." His grin stretched even wider. "I'll get to see Liv soon, too."

"If she can come."

"If she can come," Sirius agreed. "Has she changed much?"

Remus shrugged. "We've all changed, haven't we?"

"I suppose."

"You'll see when you see her."

"Remus, can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"Do you take pleasure in torturing me?"

Remus grinned. "Yes," he said again.

"Prat."

He sighed. "Look, Sirius, I know that you miss Liv. I wish that I could conjure her out of thin air for you, but the fact remains that I can't. You'll just have to be patient, all right?"

"Since when have you known me to be patient?"

"You spent twelve years imprisoned for a crime you didn't commit. One would think that such an experience would teach patience."

"One would be wrong," Sirius said. "It's taught me that what James said years ago was, and still is, true. We have to live like there's no tomorrow, because we never know if there will be. I want to see her now because I have no idea how much time I have left to see her. You know very well that my life is in quite a bit of danger."

"She knows that, too," Remus said quietly. "I'm sure she won't keep you waiting forever."

"I hope not," Sirius replied, "because I doubt that I have forever to wait."