Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the idea of Harry Potter or any of the money making forms of it.
Question Concerning:
Barty Crouch Jr.: He was never linked with the torture of the Longbottoms, but more will be explained about him later.
- - - Book 2 – Part 7: Enter the Custosae de Lux
The following weeks passed faster than they had thought possible, and were extremely busy.
Draco had moved in with Snape and was often allowed to visit Neville, Harry, and the others who were staying at the Longbottom Mansion.
It was clear that Augusta Longbottom missed having such life in her house, and for Neville it was a little disturbing at first. He had never seen her smile so much.
Ginny had a room to herself, which she shared occasionally when Hermione came over, which had only been a few times since the funeral; however, during those visits, the Custosae took advantage of the time.
The twins and Ron had the room beside Ginny's. Neville's room, where Harry stayed as well, was at the end of the hall next to Ron's and across from the study which was beside the library.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stayed on the first floor, below the children, across from Mrs. Longbottom's Master suite. Their room was the second suite that was easily three times bigger than their room at the Burrow.
The Weasley's treated their time at the Longbottom Mansion as a kind of vacation, staying until the repairs/improvements at the Burrow were finished which took a solid three weeks due to the structural damage done by the bombarda.
Harry was adjusting well to staying at the Mansion as well, though for some reason, Riddle's memories were surfacing more often, and his dreams seemed to be replaying more and more of the Dark Lord's young life. Perhaps it was due to how much he had been thinking and trying to figure out more things about him? Whatever the reason, he now had a much bigger grasp of the boy, teenager, and, in the end, the man who became Lord Voldemort.
It was disturbing to be quite frank, and after waking up a few times in the night, he couldn't help but compare himself to the monster…to the boy who really didn't have to be, but became one anyways…
Neville had noticed something was bothering him right away, (how could he not? he woke up at 2 am one night to find Harry sitting up in his bed, staring at the wall).
Harry told Neville what he had learned, and what he was thinking, and though Neville still found the whole memory thing kind of creepy, he told him something Harry will never forget.
"Harry, you might have some things in common with him…but you will never be like him. You would never choose to do the things he has done."
And there it was…
Choice.
"Thanks, Neville," he whispered with a soft, thankful smile.
- -
The Custosae, save Vince and Greg, met a few times when Hermione was able to come and visit. During these meetings, they spoke of their new thoughts on magic (which they spoke of outside of meetings as well while studying), discussed things they should learn next, how they were doing in Occlumency (which included some soft poundings from Harry who was just beginning to improve the control of his Legilimency), as well as ways, methods, and rules of recruiting new members, and searching for possible Friendlies.
The letters to the possible Friendlies were going quite well, and with the secrets Harry was learning from the now frequent 'memory dreams', they were becoming very intriguing to say the least.
From learning about Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, or at least as much Voldemort knew (which included Snape being his 'spy'), to learning more about Tom's childhood (including an orphanage, his muggle father, and Dumbledore coming to invite him to Hogwarts), it was all very enlightening, and each memory revealed more and more.
Harry was itching to get things moving with the Custosae letters.
With certain adults on their side, who were able to do things they were not able to do yet, things would go so much faster, and things would be more secure as well. Everyone a part of the operation would be safer, for if anything happened they could easily lockdown the Custosae through the network, call a kind of 'radio silence' until things had been sorted out. Ultimately, danger and harm to those involved would be limited, unlike the damage Harry knew had been inflicted on the Order all those years ago.
With Hermione, and, surprisingly, Neville's in depth research, they now knew how to spell and charm letters to only let the person it was addressed to be able to read it, and to also safeguard the letters against being tracked back to them, among other things, including: copying the letter, giving it to someone else, and attempting to reverse the protections. The Longbottom Library was very helpful. A few other minor spells would also be placed that warded against fire and water damage, including spell damage; the only problem was casting these protections if they were going to send the first few out before school started.
Well, this problem was solved by none other than Mad Eye Moody.
One day he stopped by, wanting to make sure everything was secure. This was less than a week after the funeral.
"Constant Vigilance! Never know…" he growled, his large blue eye whirling around like a seriously confused marble.
His eye, and then slowly both of them, settled on Harry and his friends sitting at the table eating breakfast.
"Get up and do something productive, this house doesn't have underage tracking spells on it. Go and prepare yourselves! Never know when you'll be thankful for the preparation," he stated, completely ignoring the shocked and mildly enraged looks from the adults, the thrill and excitement ebbing from Harry and company, nor the evil grins from the twins.
"Alastor!!! What on earth has gotten into you! Underage magic is illegal for a reason you know!" Molly shouted, angry and reproachful.
"Better they learn here than amongst Death Eaters…though, they've already done that…" Moody said, his voice rumbling darkly.
And that was that. Harry and the others, as well as Ginny, were free to use magic, though only on the Longbottom property and out of sight from Ministry people and such.
Percy had been outraged, but knowing the rules of underage magic, he stayed silent…though not recommended, it could be allowed on the property of an owner who consented, and Augusta definitely consented.
She beamed like Neville had never seen before after she had observed Neville teaching Harry a plant growing spell. So, due to that and many other instances, Percy finally gave in and joined in the casting a few days later, though he did so sparingly and away from prying eyes.
- - -
Lupin was a simple man, well, not really, but he sometimes wished he was.
Young Malfoy and Severus Snape had taken their leave that afternoon again, Snape now the sole guardian of Draco Malfoy, sole heir of the Malfoys.
Lupin had kept his distance from his friend's son thus far, and watched on in pride as Harry's friends dismally left, promising they would come back to visit as often as possible.
Hermione always left this way, as did Draco, and what had surprised the werewolf was when Snape had nodded in silent consent to this statement the first time they had left.
Since the first time Lupin had entered this group of people since the rescue operation, he was astonished by many things, one of the first being how Snape regarded Harry: the son of James, Snape's mortal enemy in many rights.
He didn't see the hatred or the pure distaste he had thought he would see in the spy's eyes when they looked at Harry. Instead, he saw acceptance, respect…and protectiveness?
That was what had really thrown him off. He would have never believed such a thing.
Sure, Harry was Lily's son, but to show such unguarded feelings? This being 'unguarded' in comparison to how he usually was: which was normally a fortification that would put the Great Wall of China to shame. 'Unguarded' in this context meant his expression revealed things to people who knew him well and knew what to look for. Lupin was one of these people.
The other thing that had pleasantly shocked Lupin was Harry and his friends' knowledge of magic. They were easily beyond their third year in several areas, one of them being in how to wield a wand. The young soon-to-be second years had taken to the art of wand movements very well, this being shown after Moody's declaration for them to throw the law of under-aged wizards out the window and let it be stampeded by enraged Hippogriffs.
Lupin smiled before he focused on what he planned to do this day.
Dumbledore had been working hard since the demise of Peter, and his work had just paid off. Sirius Black was now a free man, and after going through all of the proceedings and red tape, he had been awarded a sizable sum and a heart felt apology from the Ministry. Madam Bones had wheedled out a public statement from the Minister as well—Justice would never be pushed aside again, that was for sure...
Sirius was now recuperating at an undisclosed location, most likely a hotel, and would be able to come to the Mansion as soon as he had rested, this being ordered by Madam Pomfrey.
Lupin had been requested to inform Harry about all of this, and to tell him about his Godfather by Dumbledore, though he had not been told how to do this.
This day had been quiet compared to most other days, Hermione had just left, as had Draco, and now the only children in the Mansion were Neville, Harry, Ron, the twins, Percy and Ginny.
Coming into the living room, he saw the twins talking quietly in the corner (never a good sign), Ron playing and winning in a game of chess against Percy, and Neville showing Ginny a spell to change the colors of her socks.
Where's Harry? Lupin wondered.
Turning into the hall, he nearly ran into Augusta.
"Oh, pardon me, Augusta," he said.
"Quite alright." She looked past him then back to him. "He's in the garden if you're wondering," she whispered, before stepping around him and into the room.
"Uh, thanks…"
He went out back and headed to the garden, the form of Harry coming into view within one of the three greenhouses.
The Longbottom property was large and grand, easily twenty acres.
Making his way across the grounds, he finally made it to the greenhouse. Hesitantly pausing for a moment, he took a breath and entered with a knock.
"Am I intruding?" he asked, causing Harry to turn to him.
"No, not really," Harry answered, a little surprised and inwardly happy to see he had finally the opportunity to talk with his father's old friend, alone.
The past week had not given any opportunity to, though Lupin had politely greeted him at breakfast and such, but it never went further than a hello of sorts.
"Well, um, we haven't really had the chance to get to know each other, so I figured now would be a good time," Lupin began, a little awkwardly. "I'm Remus Lupin, in case you don't know, and you can call me Remus or Lupin. Mr. Lupin makes me feel old, though," he added with a smile.
What do you say to your friend's son who knows nothing about you?
"Oh, hi Lupin." Harry smiled. "I'm Harry, but you already know that… I've uh, actually been looking for a good opportunity to start a conversation with you, but one never came up before," Harry said.
"Oh?"
"Professor Dumbledore said you were a friend of my dad," Harry said, though quietly, shuffling his feet slightly and looking down.
Lupin just stared at him for a moment, wondering how much Dumbledore had told him.
Shaking himself, he found his voice.
"I was."
They were quiet for a little while.
"Harry, I know this must be strange for you; it is for me…" Lupin trailed off, wishing he knew what to say. "So… how did you like your first year classes?"
Harry smiled, knowing that Lupin knew the events surrounding his first year and was purposely approaching the less traumatic portion of it.
"It wasn't what I expected, but I learned a lot. I liked all of my classes…well, except History."
Lupin chuckled. "Yeah, I can understand that. So what do you think about your teachers?"
"I like Professor McGonagall, she can be stern, but she's always fair."
"That she is. What about the other teachers? Flitwick? Snape?"
"Professor Flitwick is funny, it's never boring in his class, even though I learn the material really quick."
"That's good. You know, Flitwick was a Dueling Champion when he was younger."
"Really? Wow, I didn't know that."
"So, what about Professor Snape?" Lupin asked, curious to hear more.
"That man is more than he appears to be. He helped with the Voldemort thing last term, and then with the attack. I sent him a letter, asking for help and telling him that Draco was there with me. He replied real quick and sent help in time. I'm glad he's on my side."
Lupin was stunned. He knew about Snape somehow playing a vital part in the rescue, but was surprised that Harry had requested help from his specifically.
What had happened during the school year for a child, a Gryffindor and son of James, no less, to trust the colder-than-ice Snape with his life?
"Yes, he definitely is. I'm glad you are seeing more than the surface."
Harry smirked. "He said the same thing when I was talking about Quirrell to my friends in the hall. He took five points for being careless, but then awarded one point for seeing beyond outward appearances."
Lupin raised an eyebrow, again learning a side to Snape he had not known before.
"Did he now?"
"Yeah. I think he even liked the nickname I gave him."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Severely-Strict."
"That definitely fits him."
"I thought so."
Lupin stepped beside Harry, and they soon were walking around in the greenhouse, careful of the poisonous squirting plants and thorn throwing ones.
"Harry…I was asked to talk to you about someone."
They continued walking, and were now exiting the greenhouse and began heading to the small stream that flowed through part of the garden beside the greenhouse.
"Has this person got to do with anything about why Dumbledore has been really busy lately?" he asked.
Harry obviously wasn't dumb, he and his friends had been listening, and they were aware of efforts being made by Dumbledore and others in the Ministry to correct an injustice. And the fact that Dumbledore had said that he was working on getting Sirius Black could only mean so many things.
"How much do you know?" Lupin managed, deciding this would be easier.
"I know you, Sirius Black, and the traitor Peter Pettigrew were once my Father's friends. I assume that Sirius Black had somehow gotten in trouble, and because of the discovery of Peter, the truth was revealed, which involves who truly was my parent's Secret Keeper," Harry said, trying to decide if he should continue.
He knew more, but it was more about Lupin than anyone else…
He had learned about this after Dumbledore had told him that Lupin had been one of his dad's friends. Looking for Lupin, and waiting for someone to say his name, he saw Moody approach a tattered looking man in the living room before calling him Lupin.
That had caused Harry's eyes to snap onto the worn-looking man as a memory suddenly surfaced.
"Cursed that wretched werewolf," he hissed, looking at a murderous looking man with others before him. "Greyback, if you cannot finish him, then I will find someone who can."
"I will kill Lupin; should have finished him when I first bite the little runt," Greyback growled.
"You better finish him; you know how I treat failures," he warned.
After seeing that memory, and knowing Voldemort's thoughts at the time, Harry learned something that he was certain Lupin wouldn't want someone his age, or anyone for that matter, to know.
Coming back to the present and in the garden, he looked at Lupin.
"Is that all?" Lupin asked.
"Uh…" He trailed off.
Should I tell him I know? How would I explain me knowing? How would he react? Would he be okay with this? Harry asked himself.
He has a right to know that I know, Harry thought. But it is his secret to tell…
How can it be his secret to tell when you already know!? He argued with himself.
Yeah, but what will I say when he asks how I know?
"Harry? Is there something else?" Lupin asked, his eyes staring curiously at him.
"Um…"
"It's okay Harry, you can tell me, if it makes you feel better, this will stay between us."
"Really? You promise?"
"Well, if it's something I think others should know, I'll try to encourage you to at least tell Dumbledore, but I won't do anything other than that, I promise."
Harry looked at his hands, suddenly finding them fascinating before gathering enough courage.
Come on Harry, you're the Leader of the Custosae! He told himself.
"Well… don't ask me how I know…I just do, but…" He quickly looked around to make sure they were alone. After making sure no one else was around, he quickly rambled out the following words in one big breath.
"I.know.you're.a.werewolf.and.I'm.okay.with.that — I.promise.I.won't.tell.anyone — Sorry.if.I've.upset.you,.but.I.thought.you.should.know.I.know,.wouldn't.be.right.for.you.not.to. — If.it.were.me.I'd.want.to.know.that.someone.knew."
"Wha-?"
Lupin's heart was suddenly ramming against the inside of his chest, having caught the word 'werewolf' and a few other select words in the garbled mess.
Harry took a breath, fidgeting a little; okay, fine, fidgeting a great deal.
"You were bitten when you were little. You're a werewolf…" Harry whispered, inwardly slapping himself for adding the tidbit on when Lupin had been bitten.
"How—how do you know that?" Lupin asked, kneeling down to Harry's eye level as calmly as he could.
"It doesn't matter, I just thought you should know that I know, and that I don't care that you are," Harry answered, somehow managing to keep eye contact despite how much he wanted to look down at his feet.
Lupin slid his hand against the side of his face and through his hair, trying to collect himself. Exhaling a shaky breath, he couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.
How had this conversation turned into this? Wasn't he supposed to be talking to the kid about his Godfather and where he would probably be staying the next summer? Yet here he was, being told that his secret was known.
"Have you told anyone?" Lupin asked, finally finding his voice.
"No, no one but you."
"How long have you known?"
"For over a week."
"'For over a week'," Lupin quietly repeated, fighting against going into shock.
Lupin cleared his throat.
"And, you haven't told anyone? And you're okay with…with this?"
"I haven't told anyone. And why wouldn't I be okay with it?" Harry asked, confused at why someone should care if someone was a werewolf. It wasn't their fault they had been bitten, and being bitten didn't make one evil, if it did, he was sure Moody or Dumbledore would have acted.
"You are an interesting young man," Lupin said with a smile, again, not knowing what else to say.
Harry smiled back, waiting for a moment before talking.
"So what did you need to tell me about Sirius Black?" Harry asked; glad to see that Lupin was calming down.
Lupin stood up, accepting there was little he could do about Harry knowing his secret and that it was probably better this way. If he wanted to get to know his friend's son, secrets wouldn't help.
"Professor Dumbledore has been working on getting him free, and after some legal things, has gotten him freed. You see, it had been believed that he was the Secret Keeper," Lupin said.
"So they thought he told Voldemort," Harry stated, following without much effort.
Lupin tried not to show his surprise upon Harry calmly using the Dark Lord's name. He of course wasn't afraid of using it, but was just surprised that one so young would use it without so much as batting an eye.
"Yes, and with everything at the time, and feeling it was an open and shut case, they sentenced him without a trial. They of course did not make that public knowledge, and it had been assumed that they had followed the law, just quickly because of so many Death Eaters and sympathizers being captured."
"So he's been in prison for eleven years?"
Lupin sighed and nodded.
"But thanks to Dumbledore, and to you I believe he said, Sirius is free and is currently recuperating."
"So I'll get to meet him?" Harry asked, excitement evident in his voice and eyes.
"Yes, that's the other reason I was told to talk to you. Harry, he's your Godfather, and in all rights, now that he has been proven innocent, is your guardian."
Harry's eyes grew wide.
"Really?" his voice nearly cracking.
"Yeah. So next summer, if you want, you can go live with him."
"Like how Draco is living with Snape now?" Harry asked. "Why can't I move in with him this summer?"
"Well, he's still getting better, and his house also needs some cleaning because it's kind have been in disrepair. It honestly wouldn't be safe for you to live there right now. Magical houses do weird things when you leave them empty for too long."
"Oh."
"But don't worry, I'm sure you can visit him while he's fixing up the place, and I'm definitely sure he will be happy to come here to visit you. Your father and Sirius were really close."
Harry gave a soft smile as they walked beside the slow stream.
They continued talking until they decided it was time to go back in for dinner, Lupin happily telling stories of his Hogwart's years, including some pranks with pink poof balls and flying bunny rabbits.
- - -
Two Days Later
"Are you ready to do this?" Neville asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Draco said, taking the sealed letter and placing it into his robes.
"You are sure you can secretly leave it in his study?" Ron asked.
"Yes."
"And you have the cover story set if you're caught?" Neville asked.
"Yes."
"Then good luck," Harry said, leading them out of the room.
They were done with their first two Custosae letters, and were ready to deliver them to what they hoped would be the first of many successful recruitments of the Friends of Light, or what Neville had dubbed: the Amici Lucis. They would also call them Friendlies, but officially, they were going to be known as the Amici Lucis.
Draco would deliver the first letter, and Dobby the second.
"Now just two more before school starts," Harry whispered to himself.
Snape was the first contact they were hoping to gain, then Dumbledore, then Arthur, and then Bones. The rest would receive their letters soon after, but the first four, Harry and the others decided, were the most crucial, so would be handled with the utmost of care.
The names on the web had increased, and if things worked out, they would have contacts in the Ministry (including the Auror, Muggle, and Law Departments), in Gringotts, in Romania, in Egypt, in St Mungos, as well as several magical nations or groups (possibly including the Giants, Werewolves, Centaurs, House Elves, and Goblins).
Oh yes, they were raking up possible allies.
- - -
Snape's Home
Draco went to bed early after they had returned from the Longbottom's, going upstairs while Snape made a drink for himself. Snape was looking forward to a quiet evening in his study, and was happy that everything was moving forward at a comfortable rate.
Draco was settling in nicely and they were both adjusting to each other's company well.
Sirius had yet to make an appearance, but due to the reports from Remus, it was no surprise. He had slept away the first few days of being out of that awful place, and currently was trying to clean himself up, like get a hair cut, get some good robes, and begin making plans of how to repair that despicable Black house: 12, Grimmauld Place.
He would be visiting Potter soon and Snape had purposely arranged for himself and Draco to be busy in rearranging the library that day.
He checked on Draco after walking up the stairs with his calming drink and found the boy was already asleep. He inwardly smiled and closed the door to a crack. He then went to his study, already making plans on what books he would look into for the research of possible new potions.
Entering his study and flicking his wand to light the candles, he quickly found an object on his desk that should not be there and the window partly open.
"What's this?" he whispered, cautiously approaching.
One can never be too careful; things are known to sometimes have proximity charms on them, triggering explosive curses. Not finding any harmful things linked to the envelope, he pointed his wand at it, causing it to slide towards him, so he could look at the seal.
The seal wasn't one he recognized, and the color of the paper was also intriguing.
It was charmed, causing it to sparkle slightly, and the seal appeared to be pulsing.
The seal was made up of a large C, within it was 'de' and beside that, vertically going down, was 'LUX'.
Finding no curses, jinxes, hexes, or anything harmful, he gently picked it up, and turned it over.
SEVERUS SNAPE
"Alright…"
Breaking the seal, he nearly dropped the letter after feeling a magical surge run into his fingers.
He was confident it was nothing harmful, at least to him, but it was still surprising. He had been stupid not to search for safety charms, but he was used to people trying to hurt him, not protect him.
After passing his wand over the envelope and letter, he found a number of charms and spells that surprised him, including some wards.
They all either protected the letter from damage, snooping people, or manipulation, such as a back-tracer, which would aid in the search of the writer or writers of the letter. There was also a charm that insured only he, the receiver of the letter, could read it.
Ingenious, if Snape did say so himself.
Snape walked around his desk before taking the letter out the rest of the way; if he was going to read this mysterious letter, might as well do so comfortably. Flicking his wand to the window, the window closed, Snape assuming the owl or hawk that had delivered it had been the cause.
Pulling out the black charmed page, he unfolded it, finding white intricate cursive writing. It was quite bold on the black shimmering background, and Snape paused to wonder why someone had taken so much time to do this.
Shaking himself, he began reading.
…………
Admirable Severus Snape,
You do not know of us, nor have you heard of us. We are the Custosae de Lux. Due to recent events, we have been forced to act and reveal ourselves to you and select others. We are a secret organization, a guild of sorts, and one that cannot be intimidated by those of evil or those ignorant enough to follow the like.
We have been watching and will continue to do so, but forever standing idly by is not like us. We have heard of your works and have seen your beliefs and ethics in action. We know of your deeds against Tom Riddle, also known as Voldemort, and know of the serious risk you have placed yourself in while spying in his ranks and pretending to be someone you are clearly not. We know you provide invaluable information for the Order of the Phoenix, headed up by Albus Dumbledore, and understand the role you will continue to play when the war sadly picks up again. Well, before I continue, let me inform you that earning our approved attention is not easy, of that you can be certain, so I congratulate you for unknowingly succeeding in that endeavor. I also apologize if we have alarmed you with our knowledge, this is not our intent, but rest assured, your secrets and the Order's are safe with us, we are on the same side after all.
As we are sure you know, Riddle is trying to rise again, and those in his ranks are stirring once more. We have more information to share, but that can wait. I am sure you want to know our motives and a little more about us. As we have already written, we are a secret organization and wish to stay that way, at least for now. We are working to permanently end the threat of Voldemort and endeavor to protect the innocent and those of Light.
People like ourselves do not take words at face value, written or spoken, so I do not blame you for doubting the contents of this letter—secretly sent and written by mysterious and unknown individuals. However, please hear us out, for you will want to read the following carefully.
This concerns young Draco Malfoy, and due to the fact you are his Godfather, we feel you have a right to know. We approached young Malfoy at the end of term, and he has graciously accepted to aid us in the fight against Riddle by promising to act as a look out and messenger if it were ever needed. Well, after recent events, though no doubt tragic, we have decided it is time for him to carry out these duties. We understand your possible disagreement in his participation in such things, but with all due respect, he is a part of things now, with or without your consent, and refusing his contribution would be a mockery to his parents' sacrifice. I would also like to remind you that if we are to win this war, every person of light will have to contribute, and that it is an obvious fact too many people underestimate the capabilities of younger individuals. Draco Malfoy is what we call a Friendlie, a part of the Amici Lucis, which is under our umbrella. He also willingly placed himself under Wizarding Oath, so will not answer questions he is not allowed to answer; however, feel free to search for any outside influences, you will find none. People who join us, unlike those who join Riddle, always do so of their own free will. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, to the point…
Voldemort's followers are attempting something now that will succeed without our interference. We have come to some startling discoveries and conclusions, which we will inform you of later, but what we will tell you now is that it has a great deal to do with the diary the Death Eaters, who attacked and murdered the Malfoy's, retrieved. We are in need of your assistance. Will you agree to join the Amici Lucis and assist us? We have vital information that we are certain even Albus Dumbledore is unaware of, but it is not safe to share until we are certain these things will stay secret.
If you need to contact us or have come to a decision, notify Draco Malfoy in secret and say: Tavi, We are a Formation of Defenders. I am the Dark Knight, please tell Griffin … and then give him the message you wish to be sent to us. This sort of exchange will always be the same, unless I tell you otherwise. He will then tell you what we are need of from you.
Do not write of this letter, and only speak of it in complete secrecy with your two contacts. We have protections on this letter, as we are sure you have noticed by now, so giving it to someone it was not addressed to will be most unwise. Your two contacts are Draco Malfoy—codename Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (Tavi for short), and Albus Dumbledore—codename Long Beard. Do not tell anyone who your two contacts are, not even other Amici Lucis, and never reveal anyone's codename identity. This includes telling Long Beard about who Tavi is, and vise versa. This is for our protection, as well as theirs and yours.
Long Beard will contact you to speak about this in secret. He should contact you by the end of the week, if not sooner.
We are trusting you will keep what you have learned to yourself no matter what decision you come to. We understand you will not make your decision concerning all of this immediately, we would be surprised if you did, but whatever your choice, just know we are here, and here to stay—For we are the Guardians of Light, the Custosae de Lux.
We await your decision.
Head of the Custosae de Lux,
As One we will march against our Foes, the Enemies of Light
…………
Snape slowly exhaled, trying to digest everything contained in the letter.
Who are these people? Why are they really doing this? Are they telling the truth? How do they know all this? What should I do? Why did they contact Draco? Was it because they knew who his father was? Most likely. How do they know about me? How do they know about the Order? How much do they know? When will Albus contact me about this? How much is he a part of this?
Snape continued to sit there, trying to keep himself calm.
What do they know they are sure Dumbledore doesn't know? How do they have that information? What do they know about the diary? How much does Draco know? What did his oath involve?
Morning found him in this state, Draco still peacefully sleeping in his room down the hall.
- - -
Dumbledore entered his personal study in his home within the Swiss Alps, ready to read a nice novel next to a comforting fire and a bowl of lemon drops, maybe start the one with Mars robots or the one with a spaceship called Enterprise. This, however, was not going to be; for when he entered, in the talons of Fawkes was a curious letter.
"Fawkes? What do you have there?" Dumbledore asked, closing the door behind him.
Fawkes looked him in the eyes, quickly sending his feelings.
They were of the serious nature, ones that expressed importance, duty, and action for the Light.
"Hmm. Alright, let's see what this is that has got you all worked up," he said, taking the envelope from Fawkes.
He immediately detected over a dozen charms, spells and wards all over the parchment, and quickly knew whoever had sent this was serious in whatever they had written to him.
Glancing at the slightly magically pulsing seal he didn't recognize before breaking it, he opened the letter up, already knowing that if there was anything harmful within, Fawkes would have warned him, or wouldn't have given it to him in the first place.
As he expected, he felt the magic in the letter check that he was the person who the senders had intended, and carefully opened the black paper, finding the message written in white.
Intrigued, he went and sat in the large leather chair by the fire, and began to read.
…………
Honorable Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,
You do not know of us, nor have you heard of us. We are the Custosae de Lux. Due to recent events, we have been forced to act and reveal ourselves to you and select others. We are a secret organization, a guild of sorts, and one that cannot be intimidated by those of evil or those ignorant enough to follow the like.
We have heard of your works and have seen your beliefs and ethics in action. We know of your deeds against Tom Riddle, or as he is more popularly known: Voldemort, and know of the efforts being carried out by the Order of the Phoenix, which you lead. Well, before I continue, let me inform you that earning our esteem is not easy, of that you can be certain, so I congratulate you for unknowingly succeeding in that endeavor. I also apologize if we have alarmed you with our knowledge, this is not our intent, but rest assured, the Order's secrets are safe with us, we are on the same side after all.
As we are sure you know, Riddle is trying to rise again, and those in his ranks are stirring once more. We have more information to share, but that can wait. I am sure you want to know our motives and a little more about us. As we have already written, we are a secret organization and wish to stay that way, at least for now. We are working to permanently end the threat of Voldemort and endeavor to protect the innocent and those of Light.
People like ourselves do not take words at face value, written or spoken, so I do not blame you for doubting the contents of this letter—secretly sent and written by mysterious and unknown individuals. However, please hear us out, for you will want to read the following carefully.
This concerns Severus Snape. We know of his serious duties against Riddle, and know the deadly risk he is taking to carry them out to provide invaluable information for your Order. Like you, we have just made him aware of our existence and have asked him to become what we call a Friendlie, a part of the Amici Lucis which is under our umbrella. As we said before, we will keep the Order's secrets, including Severus Snape's.
The other thing of importance is about Riddle. We have a great deal of information on him, the least of which includes his half-blood heritage and his growing up in an orphanage, but we can exchange notes at a later time. However, what you need to understand is that we have crucial information that will have an impact on the war, and we are certain you do not know of the things we speak of, but it is not safe to share until we are certain our secrets are as safe with you as yours are with us. Will you agree to join the Amici Lucis and assist us?
Do not write of this letter, and only speak of it in complete secrecy with one of your two contacts at a time which are provided below. We have protections on this letter, as we are sure you have noticed by now, so giving it to someone it was not addressed to will be most unwise. Your two contacts are Severus Snape—codename the Dark Knight, and Amelia Bones—codename the Lone Lantern. Do not tell anyone who your two contacts are, not even other Amici Lucis, and never reveal anyone's codename identity. This includes telling the Dark Knight about who Lone Lantern is, and vise versa. This is for our protection, as well as theirs and yours.Please contact the Dark Knight at your earliest convenience. He has already been contacted by us that you will, and I am sure he wants to discuss joining or not joining our cause as much as you do. Lone Lantern will be contacting you at a later date to discuss the same matter.
If you need to contact us or have come to a decision, notify Severus Snape in secret and say: Dark Knight, We are a Formation of Defenders. I am Long Beard, please tell Tavi … and then give him the message you wish to be sent to us. This sort of exchange will always be in the same format, unless I tell you otherwise. This is a precaution against imposters.
We are trusting you will keep what you have learned to yourself no matter what decision you come to. We understand you will not make your decision concerning all of this immediately, we would be surprised if you did, but whatever your choice, just know we are here, and here to stay—For we are the Guardians of Light, the Custosae de Lux.
We await your decision.
Head of the Custosae de Lux,
As One we will march against our Foes, the Enemies of Light
…………
Dumbledore was still for several minutes, Fawkes unusually quiet as well, waiting for his old, though younger, friend to come to terms with what he had read, and face the possibilities.
"Well…now I know what's gotten you all worked up," Dumbledore said quietly. "Though I'm still trying to figure out how they got you to deliver this," he continued, eyeing his familiar who suddenly appeared to shrug.
"Ah, so you're not telling. Could you then give me your impression of them?" he asked seriously, and yet hopeful.
A moment went by, an intense exchange of emotions between them.
After that, Dumbledore gave a nod, while stating simply, "I see," before standing up. He then grabbed some floo, and called Severus Snape.
It had begun. The Custosae had entered the war.
- - -
A/N: Again, for those of you who review (kindly and honestly), -thanks- each of you help me improve and type faster. :)
Here is the list of Codenames so far; as time goes on, I'll add the list to my Profile, as well as their contacts.
Custosae-
Harry- Griffin
Draco- Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (Tavi)
Hermione- Hermit
Neville- Fly Trap
Ron- Fire Ant
Vince- Sebastian
Greg- Silver Gargoyle
Amici Lucis-
Amelia Susan Bones- Lone Lantern
Albus Dumbledore- Long Beard
Severus Snape- The Dark Knight
Arthur Weasley- Torch
Next Part: Godfathers
