A/N: This chapter is REALLY long. Much longer than I intended it to be, but I wanted to get all of the foundation stuff out of the way. I didn't want to split it into two chapters, because I'd rather get the crew to school as soon as possible. Hope you can all endure such a long chapter. Read and review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character and my plotline. Everything you recognize, including characters, plot developments, settings, and certain scenes and lines from the Harry Potter series, belong to JK Rowling.
--- CHAPTER TWO ---
Teamwork
Juliet Christie
There was a meeting going on with the Order, and as I was keeping up my act of knowing nothing about what was going on, Fred and George had enlisted me to help them eavesdrop. The twins were busy working with their Extendable Ears—which I quickly realized were a quite ingenious idea indeed—and Ginny and I were busy trying to figure out whether or not a charm had been placed on the outside of the kitchen door.
The adults were situated on the other side, supposedly having top-secret discussions about You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. Despite the fact that I knew more than the others, I had to admit I was definitely intrigued. I wanted to know what was being said just as much as the others did.
"We're going to have to tell Fred and George that their Ears are useless," Ginny said.
The two of us had been whipping Dungbombs at the door from the overhang above the kitchen. The things kept soaring away from the door without making impact. It definitely seemed the adults were taking extra precautions to keep us from listening in.
"Looks that way," I commented dully.
I wasn't really in a very good mood.
Today was the day Harry was going to be rejoining the group. Word had gotten out that he had used underage magic in order to protect himself against a Dementor attack. He was awaiting trial at the Ministry of Magic, thus someone had been sent to fetch him and bring him back to Headquarters as soon as possible.
That was the reason for my unease. I was certainly not looking forward to seeing or speaking to Harry Potter.
"If only there was another way to listen in on them," Ginny mused, leaning over the banister with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Yeah, if only," I said idly.
The twins had been pestering me to sneak into the meetings in my cat form. They suggested I linger under the sink or tuck myself in a cupboard somewhere where I wouldn't be seen. I had told them time and time again that the idea was foolish. Someone would be bound to catch sight of me, and then my father would have my head. Unlike the rest of them, Dad knew I was an Animagus.
"You know, I haven't had the chance to ask…how've you been all summer?" Ginny questioned. I pursed my lips. I had been avoiding talking to both her and Hermione about how I was feeling. It was a difficult thing to achieve seeing as the three of us were once again sharing a bedroom. I was growing tired of the way the two of them would watch me every time I stepped into the room. It was uncomfortable.
"There's no need to ask," I told her. "I've been fine."
Unlike Fred and George, Ginny seemed to know when she should keep her mouth shut. She didn't press the matter like her brothers did. Her strategy was different. She tended to wait until I came to her. This time, however, I had absolutely no intention of speaking to anyone about Cedric. Except, of course, for one person…but I was still uncertain whether or not I was able to handle that conversation.
"That sounds like Harry," Ginny said suddenly, her head jerking up.
My jaw clenched. I knew I needed to face Harry sooner or later… I needed to speak to him about the night Cedric died…but I certainly wasn't looking forward to it. It seemed my Gryffindor courage was failing out on me.
I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat, trying to hide the way my fists had suddenly clenched the railing in front of me and the fact that my legs had grown rigid. "Only you would know Harry's voice through a wall," I sniggered.
Ginny smirked sarcastically at me, and she went to investigate. I lingered behind for a few moments, weighing my options. I decided I had better just suck it up and face the boy. There wasn't any sense in avoiding him anymore. I had managed it at school, but confined in a space as small as the Black house, there really was no hope in staying away from him.
Ginny hurried along, clamouring down a set of stairs, stopping in front of a closed door. Behind it I could hear several voices. I gritted my teeth in anticipation as Ginny wrenched open the door.
"Oh, hello, Harry!" she greeted, stepping into the room. "We thought we'd heard your voice."
I entered the room cautiously, intent on avoiding Harry's gaze. It ended up failing almost immediately, however. As soon as I took a step inside the room my eyes snapped instantly to his.
I could immediately tell that Harry wasn't keen on being around me either...maybe he knew part of me held him responsible for Cedric's death. In any case, his gaze moved quickly from me back to the other occupants of the room—including Fred, George, Hermione and Ron. I looked away from him, pursing my lips as Ginny spoke.
"It's a no-go with the Extendable Ears," she said. "She's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
George looked crestfallen. "How d'you know?"
"Tonks told me how to find out," Ginny said. "You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. Juliet and I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."
Fred sighed heavily and gave me a meaningful look. I shook my head. There was no way I was sneaking into the Order meetings. I wasn't going to betray my dad after everything he had been through. After Mum made her standing clear, the two of us needed to stick together…even if that meant keeping secrets from Fred and George for a little while.
"Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to," Fred said, still staring at me meaningfully.
"Snape! Is he here?" Harry said, and Fred's gaze left mine, thankfully. I was sick of him trying to guilt trip me into caving. Did he not know who he was dealing with? It didn't work on me.
"Yeah," George said, moving behind me to close the door quietly. He took a seat on one of the beds. "Giving a report. Top secret."
Fred and Ginny moved to sit down next to George. I stayed where I was, my arms crossed over my chest. I was continuously feeling like people were wary of me. I would frequently catch some, or all, of them staring at me as if I were about to have a meltdown. It was unsettling and highly frustrating, and definitely kept me from wanting to sit comfortably amongst them.
"Git," Fred said.
"He's on our side now," Hermione said, defending Snape.
Ron snorted. "Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us."
"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny put in, as if that settled the matter.
"Is Bill here?" Harry asked, taking a seat on the bed opposite Ginny and the twins. "I thought he was working in Egypt?"
"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," Fred told him. "He says he misses the tombs, but," he smirked, "there are compensations."
I rolled my eyes. Although I hadn't quite been filled in on all of the happenings from the summer, I had been informed about Bill's new…endeavours.
"What d'you mean?" Harry questioned.
"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" George asked. "She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish—"
"And Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," Fred said with a snigger. "Juliet doesn't like her," he added, gesturing for me to sit with him. "Do you Jules?"
I said nothing. It was true I didn't like her—both due to her personality as well as the fact that she reminded me of Cedric's death in the Triwizard Tournament. I definitely didn't approve of Bill's sudden interest in her. I wasn't, however, about to jump in on the conversation. I knew Fred was trying to ease my discomfort. It wasn't working too well.
"Charlie's in the Order, too," George said, taking the attention off of me again. "But he's still in Romania. Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."
"Couldn't Percy do that?" Harry asked. The rest of us exchanged dark looks.
"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad," Ron warned.
"Why not?"
"Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying," Fred explained.
"It's been awful," Ginny said sadly.
"I think we're well shot of him."
"What happened?"
"Percy and Dad had a row," Fred told him. "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who shouts."
"It was the first week back after term ended," Ron said. "We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted."
"You're kidding?" Harry said, visibly surprised.
"Yeah, we were all surprised," George agreed, "because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realised Crouch was off his rocker and informed a supervisor. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain."
"So how come they promoted him?"
"That's exactly what we wondered," Ron said. "He came home really pleased with himself—even more pleased than usual, if you can imagine that—and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts: Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."
"Only Dad wasn't," Fred said grimly.
"Why not?" Harry questioned. My eyes involuntarily met his again before I snapped them away once more.
"Well, apparently Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore," George said.
"Dumbledore's name is mud with the Ministry these days, see," Fred said, once again reaching out his hand to have me come sit down with him. I ignored it, hoping his arm would get tired and he'd give up. Having Harry in the room was making me more tense than I had anticipated. "They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back."
Fred noticed my obvious reluctance, and jumped up to take my hand in his. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I obliged, and slid onto the bed behind him. He gave my shoulder a squeeze and I settled in next to him, letting his body shield me a little from the rest of the occupants of the room.
I listened patiently as the others continued to fill Harry in about Percy, and Fred aimlessly traced designs and shapes out on the back of my hand with his index finger.
"Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clean out their desks," George told him. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession."
"But what's that got to do with Percy?" Harry asked.
"I'm coming to that," George said, continuing. "Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family—and Dumbledore."
Harry let out a low whistle. "Bet Percy loved that."
Ron gave a hollow laugh. "He went completely beserk. He said—well—he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been—you know—not had a lot of money, I mean—"
"What?" Harry said in disbelief, and Ginny made a sound much like one I would make in my cat form.
"I know," Ron said. "And it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he—Percy—knew where his loyalty lay, and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family any more. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."
Harry swore under his breath. His reaction seemed about the same as mine had been when the twins had told me the story. It was hard to believe that even a pompous git like Percy would say those kinds of things to his father. Although, contrary to my former belief, it seemed family didn't actually trump all else. It certainly wasn't the case with my family.
"Mum's been in a right state," Ron continued dully. "You know—crying and stuff. She came up to London to try to talk to Percy but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work—ignores him I s'pose."
"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," Harry said slowly, ignoring the simultaneous twitch from everyone in the room. Fred's hand momentarily stopped tracing, but picked up again when Harry continued. "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof."
"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row," Ron said. "Percy said the only evidence was your word and…I dunno…he didn't think it was good enough."
I scoffed. That definitely sounded familiar. At least my mother wasn't the only one who didn't believe the word of Harry and me.
"Percy takes the Daily Prophet seriously," Hermione informed, and the others nodded along in agreement.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. We all stared at him warily. Didn't he already know?
"Haven't—haven't you been getting the Daily Prophet?" Hermione asked with a nervous voice.
"Yeah, I have!" Harry said.
"Have you—er—been reading it thoroughly?" Hermione questioned. She was anxious, probably hoping not to upset him.
"Not cover to cover," Harry said. "If they were to report anything about Voldemort," everyone flinched, "it would be on the headline news, wouldn't it?"
"Well, you'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they—um—they mention you a couple of times a week," Hermione continued.
"But I'd have seen—"
"Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't," Hermione told him, shaking her head. "I'm not talking about big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a standing joke."
"What d'you—?"
"It's quite nasty, actually," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "They're just building on Rita's stuff."
"But she's not writing for them anymore, is she?" Harry asked.
"Oh, no, she's kept her promise—not that she's got any choice," Hermione replied. "But she had laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now."
"Which is what?" Harry asked, sounding both annoyed and impatient.
"Okay, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that?"
"Yeah," Harry replied. Rita Skeeter had written ridiculously preposterous articles about Harry for ages in an attempt to knock him down. It had caused a lot of people to decide not to take him seriously. Hermione had had something to do with her undoing, although I wasn't quite certain what.
"Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something," Hermione said quickly. "They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears, they say something like, 'A tale worthy of Harry Potter', and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's, 'Let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next'—"
"I don't want anyone to worship—" Harry said, growing defensive again.
"I know you don't," Hermione interrupted before he could erupt. "I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going."
"I didn't ask—I didn't want—Voldemort killed my parents!" he yelled. "I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never—"
"We know, Harry," Ginny stressed.
"And of course they didn't report a word about the Dementors attacking you," Hermione said. "Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, out-of-control Dementors. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy. We thought they would, it would tie in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off. We think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town—I mean, if you're expelled, obviously," she said hastily. "You really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you."
Hermione paused to take a deep breath as I tried to unscramble my brain. It was a difficult thing to do—follow Hermione's thinking word-for-word. I bet Harry was having a difficult time taking in so much information all at once. I was just waiting for it all to be over and done with. I was growing keen on having a word alone with him.
Before anyone managed to say anything else, the sound of footsteps could be heard on the stairs.
"Uh oh," Fred said, ceasing the tracing on my hand and giving his Extendable Ear a hearty tug. There was a loud crack and he and George had vanished just as Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway.
"The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to see you, Harry. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"
"Crookshanks," Ginny said without missing a beat. "He loves playing with them."
"Oh," Mrs. Weasley said thoughtfully. "I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please."
Ginny grimaced and followed her mother out of the room, leaving me feeling highly awkward with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. They seemed unsure of what to say to me, and I knew there wasn't anything I wanted to talk to all three of the about. I sensed I wasn't going to be able to pry the lot of them apart, so I stood up from my seat and cleared my throat loudly.
"I'll see you three at dinner," I said. "Good to see you, Harry."
I excused myself quickly, and left the room. I figured I'd get my chance to question Harry at some point. I'd just have to wait until I could get him alone.
-------
Dinner was full of conversation on all fronts. It was a time to catch up for everyone involved…but that didn't mean in the slightest that it was a joyous affair. Everyone was on pins and needles trying to sidestep the topics of both Percy and my mother, all the while trying to keep tight-lipped about the Order.
I didn't have much of anything to say to anyone…or at least, not as a large group. Instead I listened idly to the conversation around the room as I helped place cutlery and napkins at each spot of the table.
"Trying to make this place fit for human habitation," Sirius was saying, waving his hand around at the dismal kitchen. "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist—hasn't cleaned anything in ages."
"Sirius," Mundungus interrupted. He hadn't seemed to be very involved with the conversation, but was instead inspecting a goblet situated in front of him very carefully. "This solid silver, mate?"
"Yes," Sirius said with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."
"That'd come orf, though," Mundungus muttered, causing me to laugh involuntarily. The guy really was a dingbat.
"Fred—George—NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, causing everyone to stop what they were doing to survey the scene.
Everyone jumped away from the table at having spotted Fred and George. They had bewitched a cauldron of boiling stew, an iron flagon of Butterbeer, and a wooden breadboard and knife to hurtle through the air toward the table. The cauldron of stew scraped along the top of the table leaving a long burn mark the entire length of the way, the Butterbeer fell with a crash soaking everything in its path, and the knife slipped from the board and landed pointing down exactly where Sirius's hand had been only moments before.
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. "THERE WAS NO NEED—I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS—JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"
I winced at the volume of Mrs. Weasley's voice. It didn't matter how many times I heard her yell at the twins, it never ceased to shock me when she lost it. She was quite terrifying when she was angry, and I was uncertain how the twins managed to keep their cool with her.
"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" Fred defended, rushing forward to yank the teetering knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate—didn't mean to—"
Sirius, however, was laughing at the mishap, as was Harry. Mundungus, on the other hand, looked scared out of his mind. I was certain it was better if things stayed that way. I had a bad feeling about Mundungus and I wasn't sure I liked the idea of him getting too comfortable with his surroundings. He definitely seemed like the least trustworthy member of our group.
"Boys," Mr. Weasley said sternly, making quick work of cleaning up the mess Fred and George had made, "your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now that you've come of age—"
"None of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted in a huff. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy—"
She stopped short, and her breath caught in her throat just as Mr. Weasley's expression turned stiff and unreadable. The rest of us exchanged quick looks before Bill jumped in.
"Let's eat," he said quickly.
"It looks wonderful, Molly," Lupin complimented, trying desperately to clear the air. No one wanted to deal with watching Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have a meltdown. It was an uncomfortable thought, and we all wanted to avoid it at all costs.
Everyone was completely silent for a few minutes. We listened to the clink of plates and scraping of forks and knives. I met George's eyes across the table and made an uncomfortable face, which he returned. Fred was seated next to George, staring down at his food with the same expression.
Mrs. Weasley was the one to break the awkward tension, which came as a huge relief to everyone.
"I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a Boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."
"Whatever you like," Sirius said. He didn't seem concerned about the topic in the slightest.
"The curtains in there are full of Doxys, too," she said. "I thought we might try to tackle them tomorrow."
"I look forward to it," Sirius said in the same dull tone.
I felt myself frowning. I knew by we Mrs. Weasley meant us. She planned on having the kids rid the room of the Doxys. Typical. I figure that's why adults have children—to do the chores they grow tired of.
As dinner progressed the mood lightened substantially. Tonks amused everyone with her ever-changing appearances, while Mundungus told tales of questionable business dealings he had done in the past. Mrs. Weasley wasn't impressed—probably figured he'd fill Fred and George's head with too many deceitful ideas.
Through everyone catching up on lost time and enjoying themselves, there wasn't much room left to do anything but eat. Dessert was even better than dinner, and even I began to feel more like myself by the time everyone had had their fill. It was a good feeling knowing I wasn't a total lost cause. Being around my family and friends really brightened me up.
I even caught myself sending a playful nudge with my foot toward Fred across the table. I wondered idly if someone had slipped something into my drink to get me feeling giddy, because it was unlike me to willingly flirt with Fred. In the past, we had obviously had something going, but with everything else going on, it was quite possibly the furthest thing from my mind.
Fred didn't seem to care, however, and flung a few peas back at me in reply. We laughed whole-heartedly, and for a while, nothing seemed at all wrong with the world.
Of course, that moment of carefree fun was quickly stamped out when the conversation suddenly changed.
"Nearly time for bed, I think," Mrs. Weasley said, attempting to stifle a yawn.
"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius said, pushing his empty plate away. He turned to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."
The light-hearted mood immediately vanished, and there was an automatic ripple as everyone shivered at the sound of the name. Everyone was once again tense and alert—the kind of alertness that always managed to make me nervous and uneasy.
"I did!" Harry exclaimed indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so—"
"And they're quite right," Mrs. Weasley interrupted sternly. She looked unimpressed by the change of topic, and I could see her jaw clenching tightly as she eyed Sirius. "You're too young."
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Pheonix to ask questions?" Sirius asked. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen—"
"Hang on!" George interrupted so loudly that I jumped.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" Fred asked, dropping the spoon he had been holding poised for another attack on me—leftover peas went rolling across the table. His tone was angry, and he and George were displaying identical looks of outrage.
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" George said.
"You're too young, you're not in the Order," Fred mocked in a high-pitched voice that matched his mother's uncannily. "Harry's not even of age!"
I kept my mouth shut. Dad hadn't told Mrs. Weasley that I was already in the loop about the entire thing, because she would have surely gone bizerk and banned me from speaking to either of the twins. She seemed impressively keen on keeping them out of harms' way, but I knew any attempts she was making would eventually turn out to be futile. When Fred and George wanted something, there was no stopping it.
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius said calmly, "that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand—"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. She looked downright scary. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" Sirius asked, pretending to sound polite.
"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know."
Everyone's eyes moved from Mrs. Weasley to Sirius, watching their battle of words. I was almost positive Sirius was going to win, but with the look Molly was sporting, it was a bit difficult to tell. She looked like she could tear his eyes out at any given moment.
I sent Fred and George a pained look from across the table. They both pulled uncomfortable faces at me.
"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly. But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to—"
"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "He's only fifteen and—"
"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," Sirius said dangerously, "and more than some."
"No one's denying what he's done! But he's still—"
"He's not a child!" Sirius yelled impatiently.
"He's not an adult either! He's not James, Sirius!"
"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."
"I'm not sure you are! Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked, and I bit my lip uncomfortably.
"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!" Mrs. Weasley said, without taking her eyes off of Sirius. "You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius demanded. His voice was louder now, and the air in the room was beginning to get thick as if an explosion were about to take place.
"Meaning you have been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and—"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!"
"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley squealed, rounding on Mr. Weasley. "Arthur, back me up!"
Mr. Weasley's face was thoughtful. He didn't speak straight away, and everyone turned to look at him expectantly. He removed his glasses and began cleaning them on his robes without looking at Molly.
"Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in, to a certain extent, now that he is staying at Headquarters."
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"
"Personally," Lupin said quietly, causing attention to shift to the other side of the table where he was seated, "I think it better that Harry gets the facts—not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture—from us, rather than a garbled version from…others."
The twins and I immediately picked up on what he meant and exchanged a wary glance. Lupin must have known about the Extendable Ears…either that, or he was aware about the fact that my father had already disclosed information to me in private. Perhaps he expected I may not render the truth accurately.
"Well," Mrs. Weasley said, taking a deep breath. She looked as though she were waiting for someone to join her side. When no one did, she continued, "well…I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart—"
"He's not your son," Sirius said quietly.
"He's as good as. Who else has he got?"
"He's got me!"
"Yes, the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Everyone watched as Sirius raised himself from his seat, and if possible, the atmosphere grew even more tense and uncomfortable.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," Lupin said. "Sirius, sit down."
Sirius obliged, but didn't remove his eyes from Mrs. Weasley's heated face.
"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," Lupin continued calmly, "he's old enough to decide for himself."
"I want to know what's been going on," Harry said simply.
"Very well," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice annoyed and cracking. "Ginny—Ron—Hermione—Juliet—Fred—George—I want you out of this kitchen, now."
There was an instant uproar from everyone but myself. I sat quietly in my chair, with absolutely no intention to leave. I locked eyes with my father, and he gave me a small nod, closing his eyes as if the conversation were giving him a headache. I had to agree with him.
"We're of age!" Fred and George were bellowing.
"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Ron shouted.
"Mum, I want to hear!" Ginny wailed.
"NO!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "I absolutely forbid—"
"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," Mr. Weasley said wearily. "They are of age."
"They're still at school."
"But they're legally adults now," Mr. Weasley said tiredly.
Mrs. Weasley looked like she might explode.
"I—oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron—"
"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!" Ron said hotly. "Won't—won't you?" he asked, turning to Harry, suddenly looking uncertain.
"Course I will."
"Fine!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Fine! Ginny—BED!"
She then wheeled on me. I met her eyes without flinching. I was probably the only one in the room without emotion displayed on my face. This whole argument hadn't concerned me in the slightest. In fact, aside from being mildly entertaining, I was quite tired of it…much like Mr. Weasley appeared to be.
"Juliet, I suppose the boys will tell you whatever they hear—"
"There's no need for a speech, Molly," Dad interrupted. "Juliet's my daughter, and she's of age. I've already told her everything."
Jaws dropped around the table, and I had to conceal a flinch at my father's words. I hadn't intended him to tell everyone that I already knew. That would certainly put me in the bad books with the twins.
Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny looked positively dumbstruck. I tried not to look at them. I knew they'd be angry with me for not telling them. Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious.
"Everything?" she repeated.
"To an extent, Molly," Dad answered calmly. "I didn't see any sense in leaving her completely out of the loop."
"I doubt her mother would feel the same way, Kirk," Mrs. Weasley said, and I clenched my fist under the table. I still hadn't forgiven my mother.
"Well her mother's not here, is she?"
Mrs. Weasley looked like she could rip out his eyes now.
"Don't look at me like that. It wasn't your call," he said. "And you've got nothing to worry about anyway. I made Juliet swear not to repeat anything I said to any of your kids. By the looks of it she kept her promise."
Mrs. Weasley scanned the room and took in the surprised and angry faces of the others sitting around the table. The sight didn't seem to satisfy her at all, but she shut her mouth as Ginny got up from the table and stormed up the stairs. Upon passing Mrs. Black's portrait, she set her ear-splitting screeches off as well. Lupin got up to restore calm, and I tried not to make eye-contact with either of the twins. Certainly I was going to get an earful from them later on.
When Lupin returned and reclaimed his seat, Sirius finally spoke.
"Okay, Harry…what do you want to know?"
The rest of us were silent, waiting to hear the answers to the questions on Harry's mind. Although I had already received quite a bit of information from my father, it didn't stop me from wanting to hear it again. Maybe something had changed, or maybe Sirius would go into more detail than Dad would. I listened on in curiosity, avoiding eye-contact with Fred and George who were staring at me incredulously from across the table.
"Where's Voldemort?" Harry asked, ignoring the shudders and winces he set off. "What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything."
"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet," Sirius explained, "not as far as we know, anyway…and we know quite a lot."
"More than he thinks we do, anyway," Lupin cut in.
"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry questioned.
"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself," Sirius said. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."
"Or rather, you messed it up for him," Lupin corrected with a satisfied smile that made my stomach churn. Nothing about You-Know-Who's return had been at all satisfying.
"How?" Harry asked.
"You weren't supposed to survive!" Sirius explained. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."
"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," Lupin said. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."
"How has that helped?"
"Are you kidding?" Bill spoke up incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was scared of!"
"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned," Sirius continued.
"So, what's the Order been doing?" Harry questioned, looking around at the adults at the table.
"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans," said Sirius.
"How d'you know what his plans are?"
"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," Lupin said, "and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."
"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"
"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," Sirius divulged. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command: witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."
"So you're trying to stop him from getting more followers?"
"We're doing our best," Lupin said.
"How?"
"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," Bill explained. "It's proving tricky, though."
"Why?"
"Because of the Ministry's attitude," Tonks said. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."
"But why?" Harry asked, sounding irritated. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore—"
"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," Mr. Weasley interrupted with a wry smile. "Dumbledore."
"Fudge is frightened of him, you see," Tonks said.
"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Harry said sounding flabbergasted.
"Frightened of what he's up to," Mr. Weasley elaborated. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minster for Magic."
"But Dumbledore doesn't want—"
"Of course he doesn't," Mr. Weasley said. "He's never wanted the Minster's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."
Lupin continued, "Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice. But it seems he's become fond of power, and much more confident. He loves being Minister for Magic and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."
"How can he think that?" Harry asked hotly. "How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up—that I'd make it all up?"
"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," Sirius said bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself that Dumbledore's lying to destabilise him."
"You see the problem," Lupin said. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumour-mongering, so most of the wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"But you're telling people, aren't you?" Harry asked, looking around the table. "You're letting people know he's back?"
The smiles on everyone's faces were grim and humourless.
"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius said.
"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," Lupin said. "It's an occupational hazard being a were-wolf."
"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off," Sirius continued, "and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."
"We've managed to convince a couple of people, though," Mr. Weasley said optimistically. "Tonks here, for one—she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage—Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset, too; he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."
"But if none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back—"
"Who said none of us are putting the news out?" Sirius interrupted Harry. "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked.
"They're trying to discredit him," Lupin said. "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true; he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot—that's the Wizard High Court—and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."
"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards," Bill put in with a grin.
"It's no laughing matter," Mr. Weasley scolded. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this he could end up in Azkaban, and the last thing we want is to have Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to he's going to go cautiously. If Dumbledore's out of the way—well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."
"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" Harry asked desperately.
"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their doors, Harry," Sirius said. "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment."
I sat up higher in my seat, leaning forward in interest. Never had my dad mentioned anything about You-Know-Who's other plans.
"What's he after apart from followers?" Harry asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.
"Stuff he can only get by stealth," Sirius answered carefully, and I knew we were nearing the end of the conversation. No one wanted to give us any more information than was absolutely necessary. It was too dangerous to let us in on every secret of the Order.
"Stealth?" I asked, unable to hold myself back. The others were too busy looking anxiously at Sirius to really take notice that this was something even I hadn't been told of yet.
"Like a weapon," Sirius explained. "Something he didn't have last time."
"When he was powerful before?" Harry clarified.
"Yes."
"Like what kind of weapon?" Harry questioned. "Something worse than the Avada Kedavra—?"
"That's enough!"
Mrs. Weasley's scream was so sudden and unexpected that the rest of us jumped in our seats at the sound. Her arms were crossed and she looked positively furious.
"I want you in bed, now. All of you," she said, looking around at Fred, George, Hermione, Ron and me.
"You can't boss us—" Fred started, sounding defiant.
"Watch me," Mrs. Weasley snarled, and Fred shut his mouth. She turned to Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."
"Why not?" Harry said quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."
"No," Lupin said quickly and firmly.
"The Order is comprised only of overage wizards," he said. "Wizards who have left school," he added hurriedly, noticing Fred and George open their mouths to jump in. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you…I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."
It was safe to say the discussion was officially over. Mrs. Weasley beckoned us all upstairs, and none of us had any choice but to obey her…this time.
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The next day was positively gruesome. As anticipated, Fred and George were furious with me. In fact, they were so angry, that they refused to speak a word to me throughout the entire morning.
We spend the major part of the early hours of the day cleaning, which didn't help ease the ill attitudes of the twins. It also didn't allow for me to attempt to explain myself. The others were holding a bit of a grudge against me as well, but I knew if I could manage to sway Fred and George to forgive me, the others would follow. Unfortunately, with Mrs. Weasley playing dictator as she made us scrub down the walls of the rooms and spray the curtains until they were free of Doxys, there wasn't much time for communication.
So, what would have been a horrid day to begin with turned out to be even worse because no one would converse with me. Hermione and Ginny had both managed to hear me out before bed the night before, and weren't nearly as angry as the others. But the hot-headed Weasley boys—Ron included—were definitely not happy with me.
Harry was another case entirely, as neither of us had spoken much to each other since his arrival at Headquarters. It was becoming a bit awkward. I had a feeling we both knew there would be a confrontation at some point in time. I constantly found myself running through my list of questions whilst I tore through the centuries of grime on tabletops and windows.
When I wasn't contemplating the upcoming conversation I was hoping to have with Harry, I was eavesdropping on the twins. I knew they wouldn't stay mad at me long, but I had decided not to push them while they were angry. I gave them their space so they could cool off, but listened carefully from a few feet away as they chattered with Harry.
They were talking to him about their joke shop…something that I had grown tired of hearing about. I wasn't altogether impressed that Harry had donated his Triwizard winnings toward funding their little project. I couldn't help feeling that the money was tainted. The tie from the money to Cedric's death was too strong. I hated that the twins had accepted it, but every time I broached the subject I ended up sounding stupid. In reality it didn't make any sense. It was only money, after all…even if it was won through the death of someone I loved.
I pushed my worries back. The last thing I wanted was to fall into the depression I was so narrowly avoiding.
"Joke shop still on then?" Harry muttered. I didn't turn my head to look at them, but kept my eyes in front of me at a stain on the wood table that looked suspiciously like blood.
"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet," Fred whispered from a few feet to my right, "so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week."
"All thanks to you, mate," George said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "But don't worry…Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily Prophet any more, 'cause of the lies about you and Dumbledore."
I had seen the advertisement George spoke of, and I had been quite impressed at their initiative. They really did seem as though they had a business plan well worked out. In fact, I had felt a little put-out that I hadn't been a part of it. I wondered if I would have been included in the process had I not been kept away from them all summer…
It wasn't until after noon that Mrs. Weasley was finally satisfied with the curtains. And even then, it was several more hours before the lot of us were freed from the chores for the day.
However, it wasn't until nearly midnight that I managed to speak to Fred and George away from everyone else. Of course, they were still frightfully angry with me, but I wasn't going to ignore their belligerence any longer. After Ginny and Hermione had fallen asleep I Apparated into their room with a loud crack.
"Wassat?" Fred said groggily, and I could just make out his shape as he sat up in bed.
"Lumos," I muttered as a response, lighting the tip of my wand so I could make out both of the twins in the darkness.
There was a loud snore from the other side of the room where George slept on.
"Who do you think?" I said in just above a whisper, intent on not waking anyone else in the house...although I wasn't entirely certain that my Apparation hadn't already done it. "George, get up."
I jabbed him in the side forcibly, and was careful to stifle his moans of protest with one of his pillows, so as not to disturb anyone in the neighbouring rooms.
"What are you doing?" Fred grumbled through the dark. George had woken and shoved the pillow out of his face and onto the floor. There were suddenly three illuminated wands lighting the room.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" he asked, outraged. "And what do you think you're doing, showing your face to us after what you did?"
"After what I did?" I questioned sarcastically. "What, like I physically scarred you in some way?"
"Don't be smart. You know perfectly well we have every right to be angry," George said.
"No you don't," I disagreed, "because you didn't give me the chance to explain myself."
"There's nothing to explain," George said. "You've crossed to the Dark Side and somehow think it's up to you to decide what we should and should not hear."
"Just like the rest of them," Fred agreed.
"Oh, don't be stupid," I said with a roll of my eyes.
"Bet you felt pretty important at dinner, having already heard what we wanted to know all along," George snarled angrily.
I scoffed, and resisted the urge to smother him with his pillow.
"George, don't be an idiot. You know my ego had nothing to do with why I didn't tell you."
"Sure it did," he persisted.
I pushed my hair away from my face in frustration.
"I shouldn't have chosen the middle of the night to do this. Now you're cranky and moronic," I said through clenched teeth.
"Well maybe I wouldn't be cranky if you hadn't been—"
"Shut up, George," Fred interrupted wearily. "Let her explain so we can all get back to sleep."
I glanced at Fred, and although he seemed to be more reasonable despite being awake and arguing at nearly 1 o'clock in the morning, he also looked just as angry as his brother. I guess I wasn't surprised.
"So let's hear it, Juliet," he said. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I couldn't tell you," I said defensively.
"What do you mean you couldn't?" George asked, irritated.
"You heard my dad. He made me swear not to mention anything to either of you."
"And that stopped you?" Fred's expression was both offended and incredulous.
"I had just been betrayed by my mother," I said. "Dad stood up for me. I wasn't about to abandon him. We have to stick together."
"And the three of us?" George asked, his tone still angry. "I was under the impression we were something of a team, Jules, or have you gone and changed that on us?"
I scoffed.
"Do you think I wanted to keep it from you?" I questioned.
"Surely it couldn't have bothered you that much seen as you didn't tell us," George said.
I cast a hopeful look to Fred, willing him to forgive me, but his expression matched his brothers. Even in the dim lighting I could see the anger and hurt in both of their eyes. I could feel my defence wavering a little with guilt.
"If I had thought that anything Dad told me was important enough for you to know straight away then I would have told you," I said. "And I swear to you I never intended to keep it a secret forever." Neither of them spoke, so I continued. "I just…I made a promise to my dad…and after what happened with Mum…I couldn't. I'm sorry."
I could see the argument the twins had been holding on to for the duration of the day was beginning to fall to pieces. They knew as well as I did that they weren't going to stay mad at me forever.
George cleared his throat loudly.
"S'okay," he grunted, to my great surprise. The way George had been rebutting, I thought I was going to be arguing with him well into the morning.
"Yeah, I reckon we'd've done the same thing," Fred said.
"No," George disagreed, "we wouldn't have, but we understand why you did."
I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"So can we drop all the nonsense of you ignoring me?" I asked.
"Well…" Fred said thoughtfully.
"We'd be willing to, on the condition that you won't keep anymore excessively huge secrets from us in the future," George said.
"I reckon that can be arranged," I said, "as long as you two extend the same courtesy to me. We are a team, after all."
"'Course we are," George agreed with a grin, all traces of the previous anger gone. He summoned his pillow with a flick of his wand. "Now do me a favour and shut up so I can sleep." He curled up under the cover of his bed and turned his back toward me. "And you'd better go give Fred a good long cuddle…a snog would probably be a good idea, too. He hasn't been himself all day, what with having to stay angry with you for so long."
Fred reached under his bed and chucked a shoe at George, hitting him on the shoulder. George groaned and lurched forward.
"Fine, she can come snog me if you'd rather. I don't mind," George said. "I just assumed you'd prefer it the other way around."
I smacked my hand to my forehead and sighed, turning to Fred.
"Remind me to never again wake him while he's sleeping," I muttered. "He's a royal pain in the arse."
Fred sniggered at my attempt to side-step an awkward situation. I knew George hadn't entirely been joking in his comment, but I wasn't in the mood to humour the idea that something was going on between Fred and me. With my world hanging by a thread as it was, it definitely wouldn't be a good idea to add another strand to my already tangled life.
"I'll see you in the morning," I said, more to Fred than George, as I could already hear the gargled sound of George's snores.
Fred looked as though he wanted to ask me to stay, and truth be told part of me wanted him to. But before that could happen I extinguished my wand and whirled around to head out the door. I figured George's temper had been pushed enough for one night. If I woke him again he'd surely have my head in the morning.
I paused at the door in a moment of weakness, and looked back at Fred. He was still seated up in his bed, looking at me with that same expression on his face—the one that silently asked me to stay with him. I knew he wouldn't ask, though. He was worried about me, and I think we were both aware that it was going to have to be me who made the first move if anything were to ever happen between us. After Cedric's death, I was certain he wasn't willing to push me.
I sucked in a deep breath and opened the door quietly.
"G'night, Fred," I whispered to him.
And without waiting for a reply, I left, closing the door silently behind me.
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A/N: I intended for Juliet's talk with Harry to be included in this chapter, but it was far too long already, so I'll include it in the next one. Sorry about the length, and the wait. Leave a review, please!