Title: Glass Hearts
Rating: PG-13
Summary (of chapter): Frank meets with Dumbledore and joins the Order of the Phoenix. The werewolf attacks in the UK worsen.
--
"Professor Dumbledore?"
Frank blinked his eyes numerous times. Was he dreaming again? This couldn't be true. Here he was, in his quarters in Liverpool, to where he had been transferred for training when the attack took place a few days ago. It was almost three in the morning. He was wearing his pajamas, and Professor Dumbledore, his Headmaster, one of the most famous wizards in the world was bending over his bed, silver hairs from Dumbledore's beard tickling his chin.
"Frank!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I'm sorry for the hour of this call, but I feel I must talk with you about most pressing matters."
"What?" Frank asked. He closed his eyes, rubbed them and then opened them – Dumbledore was still there. But now he was sitting on the bed opposite his, arranging his robes around him, and humming a tune. Frank sat up slowly. "Professor, are you real?"
"Oh, yes," Dumbledore replied, nodding. "Quite real, fortunately."
Frank nodded. "All right," he said. "Just making sure."
"As we have seen over the last seven years," Dumbledore said, waving his hand, "Lord Voldemort is waging war against all of the wizards and witches who oppose his views on blood purity and Dark Magic."
"Yeah, of course," Frank said.
"Well, I am afraid I know who Lord Voldemort is," Dumbledore said. "He was a former pupil of mine, and I know he will stop at nothing to gain power and control over his fellow witches and wizards."
"You know him?" Frank asked, his mouth falling open. Maybe he was dreaming.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Many witches and wizards want to fight and help, but they don't know how to, or their fear takes over their desire for justice. I do not believe you are one of them. Already, you're in Auror training. Usually new Aurors wait until the fall to enter training, but I think, adding to the special circumstances, that you are an exceptional candidate for an Auror."
"Thank you," Frank said. He always knew Dumbledore supported his career choice, but he didn't think he had so much faith in him.
"Perhaps you wonder who else is fighting the fight," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps you've asked the question: Who other than the Aurors is fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters?"
"Actually, sir, I have," Frank said truthfully.
"I have organized a secret society of the best witches and wizards I know," Dumbledore said. "Its sole purpose is to find Voldemort, stop his plans and his followers – and to destroy him."
Frank sat on his bed for a moment, staring at Albus Dumbledore, the man only two months ago had been bidding the seventh years goodbye as they had their last meal at Hogwarts. "What do you think he can do?" Frank asked.
"I am afraid I do not know the limits of his power," Dumbledore said solemnly. "But I know that he does have limits. This society's job is to find out what they are and shorten them in any way that we are able to."
"Prof – Mr. – Dumbledore," Frank said. "Do you really think you'll be able to. . .destroy him?"
Dumbledore only nodded, looking at Frank though his half-moon spectacles. Frank remembered watching the interrogating of a captured Death Eater. He had sworn on Voldemort's immortality and unending power. No one had ever dueled Voldemort and gotten out of alive. But if anyone could kill him, surely Dumbledore.
"I am afraid the only thing we are clinging to at this point is hope," he said.
There was a moment of silence as Frank tried to compute the seriousness of what Dumbledore was telling him.
"Professor," Frank said, before he could stop himself, "it's three in the morning."
"I told you it was a secret society," Dumbledore said, a half-smile on his face. "And I have to be sure no one hears of the Order of the Phoenix."
"The Order of the Phoenix?" Frank repeated.
"I would be honored if you would join us in our pursuits," Dumbledore said.
Frank stared at Dumbledore, not knowing why he didn't expected this – only those who were in it knew about it, right? But he had said a society of the best witches and wizards he knew. . .Frank had always looked up to Albus Dumbledore, even as a child. He felt overwhelmed to be asked to be a member. He looked into Dumbledore's eyes and knew his answer.
He put out his hand. "I would be honored myself," he said, inclining his head.
Dumbledore smiled, shaking Frank's hand. He inclined his head as well. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," he said.
--
One week later, Frank paced around in his flat anxiously. He shared it with Paul Brendell, and it was a nice place in the middle of London. He was waiting for a guest Dumbledore was sending over. He wasn't sure what to expect.
There was a knock on his door sometime after lunch. He walked over to the door and opened it. A young woman with tan skin stood there. "Hey, how's it going?" she said.
"Hey, come on in," Frank said. "You're coming from Dumbledore, right?"
"Yeah," she said, shaking his hand. "I'm Dorcas Meadowes."
"Frank Longbottom," Frank said, giving her a nod. "You want some tea?"
"Sure," Dorcas said. They sat down in Frank's living room and had some tea and crackers. They made some small talk. She had been three years above him in Ravenclaw. "So, anyways, I came here for a reason."
"Of course," Frank said.
Dorcas pulled out her wand. She walked around the small living room. "Muffliato," she said. "Protego Totalum. Salvio Hexia." She then reached into her purse. She pulled out a Chocolate Frog card. Dumbledore's face was on it, smiling pleasantly. She passed this to him. "You may need this," she said. "Dumbledore uses those every now and then."
Frank raised his eyebrows at her.
"For communication," Dorcas said. "You also might want to learn a messenger spell. You Conjure your Patronus and send it to someone. Sometimes it speaks, sometimes it doesn't."
"I think I've heard of it," Frank said.
"It's a bit complicated," Dorcas said. "It's Expecto Patronum Adlego, and then the name of the person you want to send it to. You think the message in your mind. I'll show you." She walked to the other side of the living room, waved her wand, and said, "Expecto Patronum Adlego Frank."
A silver Patronus in the form of a boxer ran to Frank. In Dorcas's slight Portugese accent, it said, "Dorcas Meadowes is sending a message."
"Impressive," Frank said.
"They don't teach it in Auror training," Dorcas said, "so you'll have to work on it in your free time."
"All right," Frank said.
"I would have you try it, but I've got to get going soon," Dorcas said. "Is your fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network?"
"Yeah," Frank said. Many fireplaces were hooked up, but hardly anyone had their fires up. Anyone could Floo into the home. At one time, that had been safe. Now, most people only started fires at certain times of the day or when they expecting company.
"And you've got an owl?" Dorcas asked.
Frank nodded. "Codes change a lot," Dorcas said. "But let me show you the one we'll be using for the summer."
They sat down around the coffee table. Dorcas took a letter out of her back pocket. "The word that starts it is magic," she said. "After that, every tenth word is part of the message. Then it ends with magic again. You have to put the last word or the reader might think there's more to come."
Dorcas laid it down on the table. She Conjured a self-inking quill. "Try to decode this letter," she said, holding the quill out for him.
Frank examined the paper, and made marks under the right words.
Dear Frank,
Well, how have you been? The other day I went to Flourish and Blotts and I bought A History of Magic. My boss says I have to have it for a project at work. It's getting a little hectic. The meetings are so long! We can't eat on the job! Next we won't have Saturdays. Oh, well, at least on Tuesday I'll get to go to the Arrows game. Exciting! Edgar's going to go, I think. You should try to come! You like the Arrows, right? Maybe we can hang at my house afterward. Cookies sound good? I'll make you one good snickerdoodle! I should go, History of Magic is calling me!
Hope to see you,
Dorcas
Frank paused. "A meetings next Tuesday, Edgar's, come at one?" he said.
"Good," Dorcas said. "Sometimes the messages aren't perfect sentences because they take bloody forever to write. And you'd never get such an important message in a letter. Too risky."
"Okay," Frank said.
"That's communication so far," Dorcas said with a shrug. "I mean, there are other ways. They're not that important right now. Any questions?"
Frank paused. "What does the Order of the Phoenix actually do?" he asked.
"We're just trying to find a way to kill You-Know-Who," Dorcas said. "He seems immortal, but everyone's human. . .but we're trying to get close enough to find out what his secret is. Taking down Death Eaters and saving lives on the way." She shrugged as though that was all that important.
Frank's brow furrowed in confusion. There had to be more. "What am I going to be doing?" he asked.
Dorcas shrugged again. "Part of that is Dumbledore's choice," she said. "Actually, pretty much all of it is."
"So, he'll contact me?" Frank asked.
"Yep," Dorcas said.
"And this is top secret?" Frank asked, thinking of Alice.
"Top secret," Dorcas said, narrowing her eyes.
Frank paused. "Who can join?" he asked.
"Adults that Dumbledore approves," Dorcas replied. "He's in charge of the membership. No one know all of the members in the Order. You meet some of them, you do things with some of them, and others you just hear about."
Nodding, Frank realized the seriousness of what he had agreed to. "Does You-Know-Who know we exist?" he asked.
"Not yet," Dorcas said. "Let's hope it stays that way." She stood up. "I gotta go. Burn that letter." She waved her wand, performing the counterspells for the protective spells she had performed earlier. "Oh, who do you live with?"
"My friend Paul Brendell," Frank said.
"Do you trust him?" Dorcas asked.
"Yeah," Frank said.
Dorcas nodded. "Well, be careful, anyway," she said. "I'll see you around."
"Thanks," Frank said, opening the front door for her.
"No problem," Dorcas said. And she left.
--
"Remus! Remus, wake up!"
Remus groaned, pulling the covers over his head. "Remus," his dad said, pulling them back down. "Look at the paper. There was an attack at Liverpool."
Remus reluctantly sat up, rubbing his eyes. He took Magical Greece from his dad. They hadn't been getting The Daily Prophet since they had come to Greece two weeks ago, but there was a paper for the wizards in Greece. There was a picture of the Dark Mark floating over a house, and the headline ATTACK IN LIVERPOOL CLAIMS 43 LIVES.
"Oh, bloody hell," he said. He read through the article - the attack started at four am the previous morning, the city being overrun with Death Eaters and Dark Creatures. "Werewolves?"
Remus looked up at his dad, but he shrugged cluelessly. How had they transformed when it wasn't the full moon? Thoughts flew over his mind; did Voldemort have something to cause the transformation at times other than the full moon? Who would he use it on? When?
He read on, the dark thought looming in the back of his mind. "A handful of seventh years were helping at St. Mungo's all day," he read. "Among them were Lily Evans, rumored to be Head Girl this upcoming year, and James Potter, son of Herbert Potter the Hit-Wizard, and Sirius Black, both of whom are aiming to be Aurors after Hogwarts."
The article went on, giving reasons why Voldemort may have targeted Liverpool. The economy and industry in the city had gone down in recent years, so maybe Voldemort and his followers wanted to further the decline. Many Muggleborns who had risen to power were from Liverpool, including Robert McCorkle and Paul Palmer.
His dad, sitting next to him, shook her head. "I haven't told your mother yet," she said.
Remus let out a sigh. His mum knew about the war, but she wanted their family to avoid it as much as they could. Remus knew it wasn't going to be like that. They couldn't avoid it. He didn't want to even if they could. "Don't tell her until we get back," he said. "She'll want us to move to Greece."
His dad smiled. "That wouldn't be so bad, would it?" he asked. "We've had a great time here."
"Dad, we can't avoid this," Remus said.
His smile faded. "Remus, this war is real," he said. "People are dying. Did you know I've gotten death threats for marrying your mother and having you?"
"What?" Remus asked. "From who?"
"It doesn't matter," he said, "the point is we're in danger."
"So, we're just going to run away?" Remus asked. "You were a Gryffindor."
"Yeah," his dad said quietly as though he wished he hadn't reminded him. "I know that. It's just. . .no one has ever faced You-Know-Who and survived."
Remus stood up, dropping the paper in his lap. "I'm going to get dressed," he said.
His father watched him leave, looking as though he wanted to say something, but remained silent. Remus walked into the small bathroom he and his parents had been sharing. He splashed some water on his face, then looked at himself in the mirror, brushing wet hair from his brow. He wanted to run just as much as his parents, but that didn't mean he was going to.
--
Remus got a letter from James later on that day. Luckily, he didn't think his relatives saw the owl.
Remus,
Hey, are you all right? Last night, when Sirius and I were in Liverpool, he got attacked by a werewolf. It's not full moon, though. . .no one knows what's going on, but I just wanted to make sure you were safe in Greece.
There was a blob of ink, idicating James had written more, but then crossed it out.
Never mind. You're with Muggles, aren't you? I hope the owl isn't freaking them out. Write back.
James
P.S. Sirius is fine, he's just beat up. No bites or anything. But some Auror got bit. Anyways, yeah. Write back.
Remus let out a sigh as James's owl nibbled at Remus's neglected toast. He could tell the subject made James feel awkward. He wanted to visit them, but at the same time, he was afraid of being caught up in whatever You-Know-Who was doing to the other werewolves. He could Apparate there and back. It would be a good distance, though. Splinching was not something he wanted to do.
After laying around on his bed as James's owl waited for a response, Remus finally decided to write Dumbledore.
He wrote and rewrote a letter about ten times. There was a small pile of crumpled up pieces of parchment on the ground by the time he had his finished project.
Professor Dumbledore,
I've never written you during the holidays, so I hope this gets to you somehow. I just had a question about the werewolves that were at the Liverpool attack. It wasn't the full moon, so I was wondering if you had any idea how they transformed. Right now, I'm in Greece with my parents, but I want to make sure it's safe to come home. If it's nothing, just let me know. I'd rather know and be safe than not be sure and be sorry later on.
I hope you're enjoying your summer.
Sincerely,
Remus Lupin
Remus sighed again. He hated this.
His mum walked in their room, making Remus nearly jump out of his skin. "You all right?" Nancy asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah," Remus said. "I'm fine."
"Dad told me about the attack," Nancy said.
Remus wondered if he had told her about the werewolves as well. He nodded, avoiding her eyes. "Sucks," he said shortly.
He looked at James's owl, and then realized he didn't have an owl to send his letter to Dumbledore. If he sent it with his letter to James's, it would probably be read. Remus paused, considering what was worse: the letter never getting to Dumbledore or being read by Sirius or James. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he decided the former. He jotted down a note to James, along with asking him to send the letter to Dumbledore, and then sent the owl off.
"People might start to notice that," Nancy said moderately.
"Yeah," Remus said. "Sorry."
"Well, it won't be like every day, though, right?" Nancy asked.
"I don't think so," Remus said, looking out the window.
"You all right?" Nancy asked again.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Remus said. He looked at his mum and met his eyes. "I'm fine."
Nancy nodded, then left the room with her camera.
--
James had been at St. Mungo's all day. This building was starting to drive him crazy. He was pretty sure he was imagining things, too. Like pixies. . .they didn't have pixies at St. Mungo's, did they?
He had helped around with Lily and visited Sirius. His parents had tried to get him to come home for dinner, but he refused to leave. James was an adult now, too, so his parents had no choice but to leave him there. James decided he loved being an adult. He ate some of Sirius's disgusting food. "They need Hogwarts's house-elves here," he said, making a face.
"No kidding," Sirius said.
Lily walked over to them. She was adorable with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and a name tag on her white blouse. "How're you feeling?" Lily asked.
"All right," Sirius said with a shrug.
Lily motioned to the door. "James, were you looking for Mad-Eye Moody?" she asked.
"Is he out there?" James asked, standing up.
At Lily's nod, he jogged to the door. Mad-Eye was limping away. "Hey, Mr. Moody," he called. He caught up with him.
"How's your friend?" Mad-Eye asked.
"Good," James said. "I was wondering if you guys had found out more about the, uh, the werewolf thing."
"The what?" Mad-Eye asked.
"You know, why the werewolves had transformed when it wasn't a full moon," James said. He scratched the back of his neck.
"Ah," Mad-Eye said with a nod. "You'll have to ask the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, sonny."
"Oh," James said. "They'd know about the werewolves that were there?"
Mad-Eye nodded, both of his eyes on him. "You got a concern?" he asked.
"Well, if there are werewolves on the loose, then yes," James said, crossing his arms. He was thinking of Remus, mostly. Of how James could tell it killed him, how he had to be caged up, how he would hate putting that burden on anyone else. He was thinking of what Voldemort would do if he could change the wizards and witches who were werewolves into their wolf formation at all times.
"Right," Mad-Eye said. "The Aurors will give them reports and all that, of course, but they're in charge of it, ultimately."
James just nodded. "Okay, thanks," he said. "Hey, you know Frank?"
"Longbottom?" Mad-Eye asked. "He'll be a right Auror."
"He's enjoying it?" James asked.
"Well, not many recruits enjoy training, per se," Mad-Eye said. He let out a gruff laugh. He clapped James on the shoulder. "We'll see how you and Black enjoy it next year!"
James grinned. "Yeah," he said.
"See you around, Potter," Mad-Eye said. He limped away.
James walked back to the room, smiling, but then remembered what he had gone to Mad-Eye about in the first place.
--
The next day, Remus woke up as the sun came up. The sun shone through his window, getting into his eyes. He groaned, pulling the covers over his head. It was too early. . .
He heard a rapping noise on the window. He looked up warily. Another owl? Good lord, the Muggles were going to have to start noticing. This one held a paper. He let the owl in. Magical Greece. Remus handed him a knut from deep inside his bag. The owl hooted and flew off into the distance. Remus was about to toss the paper aside and go back to bed, but he noticed an article on the front page.
WEREWOLF ATTACKS SINCE THE LIVERPOOL ATTACK
Following the strange appearances of werewolves at the Liverpool Attack on July 15th have been more werewolf attacks. Although the moon is not full, wolves have been in their complete transformed state in Britain every night since the attack. Last night, there was twelve reported attacks, five of which were on family members. Six of these attacks resulted in a bite, and one victim was killed. Victims had little way of defense; most spells do not work on werewolves. A group of three hid in their cellar after being attacked, and others used Shield Spells or Patroni.
Many werewolves turned themselves in this morning, wanting to keep their family and friends safe. The Ministry of Magic in Britain is trying to figure out the source of these events, although many assume You-Know-Who is behind it. "With many witches and wizards under their wolf formation, You-Know-Who will create a source of fear and panic," Minister of Magic Harver Ogden said in an interview with The Daily Prophet.
If you are a werewolf or you know of one, please report to the authorities until they can fix this problem. For everyone else, as soon as the moon comes out, lock all of your doors and spell-proof your windows. There have been no reports of werewolf attacks in Greece, but You-Know-Who has more power than thought before.
"Shit," Remus breathed.
He pulled on some jeans and then slipped his shoes on. He stuffed his things into his bags. There was no way he was staying here. No way. Even though there had been nothing in Greece, he wasn't going to put his parents into that kind of danger. He left a short note, I had to go. I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm really thankful. I love you guys. -Remus
He left the paper in his mum's purse just in case any of his relatives came in before they woke up. He opened the door quietly and slipped out of the bedroom. The rest of the room was still dark. He walked out of the house. The sun was slowly rising, and the waves shimmered in the sunlight. The boats by the dock rocked silently back and forth. Remus started walking. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to clear his head before he tried to Apparate.
--
A/N: -EHWIES, FaithfulHPReader, mercurywrites, flowerypetal, Hornet-Is-CoOL, muddy worm, and sweetcherrypie: Thank you ssoooooo much for the reviews! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!
Next chapter: Remus tries to figure out what to do and runs into Sirius and James. And there may or may not be an attack.
Also! I started character development journals at .com and .com . There are little extras there like flashbacks, soundtracks, and the like! Feel free to add either journal if you have an IJ or LJ, or just enjoy the entries.