CHAPTER TWELVE
A MISSION FOR THE MINISTRY
The household was in a state of uproar. The ghoul, deciding that clearly the screaming and yelling wasn't enough noise, was throwing heavy boxes from the attic. Mrs. Weasley was pacing in and out of the kitchen ("Oh, Ron dear, will you get your things off your father's chair?"). Ron was trying to startle Ginny into telling him what had happened. Each time he said something, Ginny turned pale. Ron had not seen her in such a state since his second year when the Chamber had been opened. Hermione was scolding him, and during all of this, Mr. Weasley appeared and sank into his armchair.
"I'm not going to say a word," Ginny said, sitting down in the couch next to their father.
"C'mon, Gin," said Ron, pleading.
"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to, Ron," Hermione said in a haughty voice.
"I know, but, honestly," said Ron, shaking his head. "I'm her brother."
Mrs. Weasley entered the room as Ginny sighed and went upstairs. Hermione bit her lip, looking as if she wasn't sure whether to follow her friend or to stay where she was.
"Everything in order?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Mr. Weasley sighed. "The Ministry's in an uproar. There have been signs of Death Eaters everywhere." He cast a worried look at Ron, as if afraid his son would start yelling again. "Some of them are holding on to the belief that Voldemort is still biding his time, while others are convinced that this is the time to begin their own take-over."
"Really?" said Hermione, looking interested.
"Yes. Most of them were killed during The War, but the ones who remain aren't prepared to admit defeat."
"Like who?" Ron asked immediately.
"Well, most of them died, but Malfoy has always been a threat. Also, McNair and Nott have both sent death threats to the Ministry."
"Now, are you mentioning Lucius because you don't like him," Mrs. Weasley asked, waving a spatula in his direction, "or is he a real threat?"
"No one can be sure," Mr. Weasley responded. "He's been on the top of our suspect's list ever since The War, just because he's a lot more, er, vocal about Muggle bashing and Voldemort's causes."
"Shall I call the Order together?" Mrs. Weasley asked quickly.
Ron found himself grinning in Hermione's direction. During their fifth year, they would have done anything to be included in one of their meetings. But late sixth year, after Ron and Harry had seen Voldemort face to face, they'd decided to let Harry, Ron, and Hermione become members, even before their coming of age. They'd quickly learned it wasn't all it was cracked up to be-- most of it was strategic reasoning, and the kids still weren't allowed to do anything outright for the cause. They hadn't had a meeting since The War, but Ron was willing to bet that they still wouldn't let him or Hermione do anything adventurous.
"Yes, I think that'd be best."
Mrs. Weasley nodded and set down her spatula. She then picked up several envelopes from the desk drawer, turned to the chimney, said in a firm voice, "Fawkes", and waited until several phoenix feathers fell from the chimney.
It was a revolutionary way of communicating, thought up by Dumbledore. He would tie some of Fawkes's feathers to an envelope and send them to other members of the Order. One feather meant that everyone was okay, but they needed a meeting. Two meant that someone was injured and three meant that someone had died.
Mrs. Weasley tied one feather to each envelope and sent Pig out. Although the owl was much bigger than it had been during Ron's fourth year, it still believed it was small. Pig flew around in a hazardous manner and then finally flew out the window.
Within the hour, people began to show up, both by Apparating and using Floo Powder. Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher, Tonks, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Mad-Eye Mooney, the Weasley brothers and Angelina and Alicia, and a woman Ron didn't know waved their wands and chairs appeared behind them.
The volume in the household increased immediately. Ron sat next to Hermione, but before they knew it, Luna Lovegood, looking as if she'd ended up in the house accidentally, walked up to them and said, "Your house is really loud, you know."
"Er, yes. I do," Ron said, looking at Hermione. He noticed she looked as if she was trying very hard to keep a straight face.
"Order," Arthur said, standing. It still surprised Ron that his father could assert so much authority. Of course, his father had always been authoritative to his family, but never in front of a large crowd like this.
"What's this about, Arthur?" Tonks asked as everyone else fell silent.
Mr. Weasley explained to everyone what had happened as Mrs. Weasley brought platters of food into the front room.
"We need a plan," he admitted. "Accio Parchment et Quill." At these words, a piece of parchment and a quill flew out of the desk drawer in the corner and landed in his lap. "Ah, yes. We need some people on the front lines. Tonks, Cassiopeia, and Mad-Eye. I'm going to ask you to be there for us. You're some of the best Aurors I've ever seen."
The witch Ron didn't know tossed her red hair behind her and stuck her chin in the air. "Call me Cassie. Like my friend Tonks here, I'm cursed with an awful first name."
Mr. Weasley smiled and wrote down a few names. "Oh, will you also help Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Cho? I have the perfect task for them."
Ron perked up. He had been so used to meetings in which they were never mentioned.
"I know they considered you for the Charms professor when Flitwick retired from Hogwarts. Could you help them with charming a few objects?"
Cassie nodded and swished her hair behind her again. Ron could hear Hermione tut impatiently from beside him. He couldn't tell whether she was upset at the fact that Mr. Weasley thought she needed help with charming objects or whether Cassie was getting on her nerves.
The meeting went on much the same way, and several of the members began to leave. In the end, Luna Lovegood stood in front of Ron and Hermione and said, "Are you two together yet?"
Ron could feel his face turn red and Hermione tutted again. "No," she said harshly.
"That Cassie really is something, isn't she?" Ron said, to cover the awkward silence. A sharp pain in his side indicated that Hermione had just jabbed him in the ribs with a sharp object.
"Oh, yes," said Luna. "She raises Half-Backed Snuffleguts in her backyard."
Ron couldn't help but let out a snicker.
Ron had never been able to understand the usefulness of Charms. More than once throughout his years at Hogwarts, he'd wondered what the purpose of forcing a teapot to tapdance really was.
This was no exception. His father had set them the task of turning a bunch of old boots into Portkeys. He'd explained that they were in case the Order needed to go somewhere quickly, but Ron suspected it was probably just to give them something to do. He knew that usually you had to be authorized to turn objects into Portkeys, which was why, according to his father, they needed supervision.
And never had a stranger group of people been assembled in the Weasley's living room. Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, Cassie, and himself had been working for a little over an hour and they had made very little progress. It was very hard work.
"You're not doing it properly," Cassie informed a very angry looking Hermione. It struck Ron that he may have met someone even bossier than Hermione, if that was at all possible. "It's more of a jabbing motion, and then you swish."
"What," said Hermione coolly, "is wrong with this? If you haven't noticed, I've already Transfigured three boots, and I haven't been jabbing my wand."
"It'll make it go faster," said Cassie with a shrug. "See if I ever offer my help again."
Meanwhile, Cho looked as if she was concentrating very hard. Her brows furrowed and her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth. "I can't do this," she said, frustrated. Ron had very little sympathy for her; ever since she had run off with Michael Corner at the end of fifth year, he hadn't liked her very much.
Luna Lovegood appeared to be going through the task slowly and methodically. Even though she was loopy, Ron decided, she truly was a Ravenclaw. She had made the most progress out of any of them, although she did often stop to tell them some fact she had learned from reading The Quibbler.
Ron's own charming wasn't going well, either. He had never seen such a fiddly spell, except for in his N.E.W.T.s.
"What is the use," said Ron, "of Charming these boots? We don't need fifty Portkeys."
"Well, it's very important to have them just in case, isn't it?" Hermione said, casting sideways glances at Cassie and taking great pains to swish her wand as she said the words. "Portus. I mean, you just don't know if they'll be important later on." They watched the blue light cover the boot, letting them know that her spell had been successful. "Wingardium Leviosa." The boot fell neatly into the pile next to them.
"My dad says your dad has a whole pile of boots as Portkeys. It's an undercover plot," Luna said mildly. She watched as her boot fell neatly on top of Hermione's.
Cho giggled. "Port-- Damn. I can't get this right."
"It's because you're saying it too fast," Cassie informed her bossily.
Hermione loudly cleared her throat and said, "I think you're doing it right. It just takes a bit more practice. Your second swish should be slower."
"So," said Ron, detecting a row from a mile away, "what do you think is going on, exactly?"
"That's none of your concern," said Cassie as her boot jumped a bit on the table. Ron caught Hermione's eye, and he couldn't help but grin. His friend looked very satisfied.
"I think the Death Eaters are coming up with a weapon," said Luna.
"Come off it," said Cho impatiently. It looked as if she had finally gotten down the charm. "Of course they're not."
Ron didn't say anything as his third boot fell on top of the pile. He knew that after finding the prophecy had failed, Voldemort had wanted to use a real live human being as a weapon during their latter years at Hogwarts, as they had feared in their fifth year. What would stop a bunch of former Voldemort's followers from doing something similar now? He purposely tried to catch Hermione's eye and when she looked back, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.
"I am an Auror and if they were, we'd know about it," Cassie said.
"You don't think it's possible a Death Eater could do something and not let an Auror know about it?" Hermione said sarcastically.
Cassie opened her mouth stupidly but did not say a word, and the rest of the morning passed in silence.
Later that afternoon, when everyone had left, Hermione and Ron sat in the living room and discussed their conversation from that morning. "You don't suppose..." Hermione started, looking slightly frightened.
"I don't know," Ron shrugged. "But what worries me is that if they're planning on using another human being."
"Me too," Hermione said. After a long pause in which neither of them said anything, she stood up. "I need to get some sleep, though. I promised I'd help your mother with dinner and I just don't have any energy right now."
As he watched Hermione leave the room, he felt his stomach flip flop. It occurred to him that he was truly sorry to see her go.
