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Chapter 5

Harry jumped backwards and looked at the skin colored string slightly open mouthed. He looked up and could see Fred and George, together with Ginny standing one floor above them, snickering as they looked at his face.

"What in the name of devil's snare is that?" he asked.

"Come up here and see for yourself," whispered Fred.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione who were both smiling and shrugged before he went up the stairs, his two friends following. He then realized that Fred, George and Ginny all had one of the strings in their hands and held them to up to their ears. George seemed to be looking through his pockets and took out another one.

"Here, these are Extendable Ears;" he said and gave it to Harry.

He stared at them like they had gone nuts and took it hesitantly. George gave Ron and Hermione one too and then seemed to concentrate intently while holing the string to his ear. Ron followed suit and frowned

Harry looked at Hermione who also stood there and didn't make any attempt to use the 'Extendable Ear'.

"Ah… 'Mione? Care to explain?"

Hermione sighed and dropped her string on Fred's shoulder. "Those things make the listener able to eavesdrop on conversations they aren't supposed to hear." she looked at the others pointedly as she said that last part. "Fred and George came up with them. At first I wanted to listen too, but with Moody in there…"

Harry nodded and took a few steps back from the railing. "So they do this often? Listening to the Order meetings?"

"Yeah," answered Hermione and eyed him questioningly. "I thought that you especially would want to know what's going on."

"Naw…," said Harry and shook his head. "I'm curious that's all. But risking it to be caught by Moody or Mrs. Weasley? No, thank you! And also, when they want us to know what's going on they will let us stay in the kitchen."

Hermione looked at him and smiled softly. "It seems that you have grown up a bit. And not just physically."

"Gee thanks 'Mione. I'm honored," said Harry but smiled nonetheless. He looked at the string he was still holding in his hand and draped it on Fred's shoulder. "I think I can guess what they are talking about anyway. Why else would Snape be here if not for giving his report on Voldemort?"

"It's Snape!" interrupted Ginny quietly. "He's talking about… some known Death Eaters and what they are doing at the moment!"

Hermione looked at Harry astonished. He grinned. "See? What did I just say?"

She shook her head. "You are unbelievable."

"And proud of it!" Harry grinned back. "What was Mrs. Weasley screaming about when you came running from the kitchen? I just heard something about… cleaning?"

"Yes. As you can see the house looks a little bit like the Shrieking Shack and according to Sirius, there are many dark objects that have to be removed. Mrs. Weasley sent us to clean the salon on the second floor."

Harry looked down and smirked. "Oh? And why are we on the third floor then?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes and leaned against the railing. Fred, George, Ron and Ginny still were listening with their Extendable Ears and all wore an expression like they were watching the most interesting movie in the world.

Harry scoffed softly and shot one last smile to Hermione before he went down the stairs again and made his way to the salon. He remembered how it had looked like when Mrs. Malfoy had been here the last time and wrinkled his nose as he saw the damage that had been done in here.

You could no longer see the shiny ebony floor, and the green and silver carpet was hidden under tons of dust. He looked to his left where a big tapestry was hanging and then to the right were some cupboards, glass cabinets and a number of extravagant chairs and a large table stood. He had known that the house would be in bad shape but he hadn't expected it to look like shit. And it really did in his opinion.

He quickly closed the door behind him and took out his wand. With a little flick some of the dust vanished and you could see the wooden floor again. With a second flick the carpet was visible once more. He sighed when he remembered that he couldn't clean the room all at once because the others would arrive here shortly. And he surely didn't want to answer as to how he was able to clean this fast without magic.

He grudgingly put his wand back into its holster and went to the cabinet. Harry looked at several medals and awards that were presented there and also saw an Order of Merlin Third Class. Some very expensive looking goblets were in there as well and Harry could swear that most of them were at least a hundred years old.

He started to open one of the cabinets when suddenly loud banging could be heard from the hallway. Harry quickly conjured a mop and a bucket of water and pretended to be cleaning the floor. The door crashed open and Harry winced and rubbed his ears.

The Weasleys and Hermione were strolling into the room and looked around with disgusted looks on their faces. Only Hermione was looking at the floor with a raised eyebrow and then looked – what a surprise – straight at Harry.

"Why do we have to clean?" Ron angrily wanted to know. "I mean, mum would just need a swish of her wand and everything would be done!"

"Honestly Ronald! A bit of physical activity has never killed anyone," huffed Hermione.

"Yeah, Ronnikins," said Fred mockingly. "You of all people could use it."

Ron's ears turned red and he smacked Fred's shoulder who then promptly tackled him to the floor.

Ginny looked around and Harry grinned slightly when a blush made its way onto her face as she caught his eye.

"But how are we supposed to do this?" she wanted to know and looked at her brothers and Hermione.

Harry casually leaned on the mop in his hands. "How about with dusters and mops? You could use your hands or clothes of course, but that would be a bit awkward, wouldn't it?"

"Ha, ha, Mr. Obvious," said Hermione. "As if I don't know that."

Harry shrugged and flashed her a smile. "I wasn't talking about you 'Mione. I know that you know how to clean something without magic. How could you not? You are the most brilliant girl of your age. But it seems that our favorite redheads don't have a clue."

"I'm going to get the stuff we need," said Ginny quickly and stormed out of the room.

Harry shook his head and looked at Ron who was still wrestling with Fred on the floor. He put the mop back into the bucket and folded his arms.

"I cleaned the floor," he smirked. "You do the rest. Have fun!"

He dashed out of the room before the others could get what he had said and went down the stairs that led to the main hallway.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" was heard from Hermione when she got what he had said.

He grinned and held a finger to his mouth when Mrs. Black's curtains opened. He looked sternly at her and she closed her mouth. He smiled and bowed formally when the curtains closed again.

"So where was this library Mrs. Malfoy spoke of…," he murmured to himself and looked around.

He stopped when he saw a candlestick on the wall that looked different than the others, right next to Mrs. Black's portrait.

"There you are!" he smiled and took a few steps towards it and frowned. "Now something like the Marauders' Map would come in handy…"

He touched the wall in different spots near the candlestick and suddenly found a small hole right under it. Harry looked over his shoulder and took out his wand. It fit into the hole perfectly and a loud clicking noise was heard when he turned it like a key.

He stepped back when a door appeared before him and smirked. "That is something worthy of an 'Indiana Jones' movie."

With one last look over his shoulder he slipped into the room he knew was behind the door and with another clicking noise the door had sealed itself again.

It was totally dark in the room and he murmured a quick 'Lumos' to change that. What he saw next was exactly what he remembered from Mrs. Malfoy's memories. He stood in a big room that was full of bookshelves stacked with an abundance of papers, books and numerous other things.

He smiled triumphantly and went to one of the bookshelves. He whistled when he saw which books were displayed there and once again the Black family held to its reputation. Every single book and object in this room was classified 'dark' by the Ministry as far as he knew. There were books about Necromancy, Torture, Rituals and the purest of the Dark Arts.

"And they ask why there are dark wizards?" asked Harry loudly. "No wonder with all this things written down."

"Very well observed," said a voice behind Harry and he jumped.

In an instant he had his wand drawn and whirled around to stand face to face with a… ghost?

"Who are you?" he asked baffled and lowered his wand.

The ghost in front of him reminded him strangely of Sirius. He was good looking and had short hair which he guessed was black when he had been alive. He had very aristocratic features and carried himself proudly and confidently. He wore a little old fashioned wizard's robe with expensive clothes underneath.

The ghost smirked and bowed slightly. "My name is Regulus Black."

Harry's eyes widened comically. "Of course! You are Sirius' younger brother!"

The ghost seemed to be taken aback and nodded briskly. "Indeed I am. How do you know about that?"

"Mrs. Malfoy told me that he had a brother," answered Harry and frowned when the ghost's… well body, seemed to stiffen.

"You… know the Malfoys?" Regulus sneered. "And associate with them? Then you must be one of those bigoted idiots that allied themselves with Voldemort as well, I suppose?"

Harry looked at him strangely. "I thought you were the Death Eater here! And yet you accuse me of being one of those bigoted idiots? How could I ally myself with Voldemort? He's wanted to kill me since I was born!"

"Then you are Harry Potter?" asked the ghost of Regulus astonished as his eyes flickered to Harry's forehead.

Harry just nodded and raised his eyebrows questioningly when Regulus seemed to be far away in lala-land all of sudden.

"Someone in there?" Harry asked and waved his hands in front of the ghost's face.

Regulus blinked and cleared his throat. "Well… it's rather surprising to see you in this house. My dear mother must have grown old. But on the other hand you know the Malfoys, so…"

"Your mother is dead. How is it that you don't know that when you are here?" said Harry surprised. "And I was with Draco and his mother for most of the holidays. She and Lucius are divorced now and Draco asked me for help."

Regulus' face brightened. "So Cissy finally woke up, did she? That's good… oh! And I didn't know that my mother is deceased. I'm bonded to this room only and can't leave it. I arranged it myself unintentionally before I died."

"Ah," said Harry. "Um… why exactly are you here? I mean… no offence but I know that you were a Death Eater when you were alive."

Regulus chuckled. "Very good. And do you also know why I'm dead now?"

Harry shook his head but then his eyes widened. "Of course! Mr. Malfoy said that you were killed because you betrayed Voldemort!"

"Exactly," nodded Regulus. "I found out something about him that he didn't want anybody to know. So he ordered his followers to kill me. I was heavily injured and knew that I hadn't much longer to live. But I made it into this house with a valuable object of his and hid it. I came down here and performed a ritual that bonded me to this house, but it went wrong and now I'm only bonded to this hidden library."

"When was that?" asked Harry.

"I was killed in 1984." (I know it's not like in the canon, where he died before but hey… it's a fanfiction.)

"What was this object you stole from Voldemort?" Harry wanted to know.

Regulus looked at him and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust you enough yet to give you this information. It's suspicious that you have contact with the Malfoys and I don't know if what you say about Cissy is true."

Harry sighed. "I understand."

Silence filled the room again and Harry saw that the ghost of Regulus seemed to debate something with himself.

"When you've figure out your question, go ahead," urged Harry in a friendly tone.

Regulus looked at him. "Well… I… I would like to know how Sirius is. I know that you are likely not in good terms with him because of your parent's death and the fact that he is in Azkaban, but… is he still alive?"

Harry laughed. "He was innocent to begin with. Peter Pettigrew was my parents' Secret-Keeper and tricked Sirius. He escaped Azkaban two years ago and is still on the run."

"H-he escaped Azkaban?!" choked Regulus with wide eyes. "H-how?"

Harry smirked slightly. "He's an unregistered animagus. A dog to be exact."

Regulus laughed loudly. "That fits! Sirius is the dog star my brother is named after and his animagus form is a dog." He sombered up again. "And you say he is on the run? Is he alright?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "He looks very healthy and seems to be just like he was when he was younger, when I can believe the stories about him and the Marauders. He's here in fact. This house is now the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Sirius is here? And Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix? Damn… my ancestors must be rolling in their graves!"

Harry chuckled. "Probably. Do you… do you want to see him?"

"Sirius? Well I… I guess so. I want to tell him the truth but… I still need some time."

"Very well," said Harry and looked around the room again. "Does he know of this room?"

Regulus shook his head. "No. Not as far as I know. Mother and father surely didn't tell him. Every member of the Black family is told about this hidden library when they come back from their first year at Hogwarts. Since Sirius was in Gryffindor… no, surely not."

Harry looked at his watch. "Damn… I've already been here for half an hour. I really have to go before somebody comes looking for me."

Regulus grinned. "Sneaked out, didn't you?"

Harry shrugged. "Something like that. I avoided cleaning the house by hand."

"But if I remember correctly, you are only fifteen. Or did the Ministry change the rules about underage magic?"

"A little bit. You are allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts at sixteen now. And I had some nice trips through time. So I'm that age now," grinned Harry.

Regulus just shook his head smiling and Harry went back to the entrance.

"I'm not telling Sirius about you at the moment, but I will come back sometime," said Harry and opened the door with his wand and went back into the hallway.

Just as the door behind Harry disappeared again the kitchen door burst open and Mrs. Weasley appeared. She stopped when she saw him standing there.

"Oh, Harry dear. I was just coming to get you," she said and he could see that her smile was forced. "Some of the Order members want to talk to you."

"Of course," he said and made his way around her.

When he entered the kitchen all eyes turned to him. He could see that Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were there now as well and he reckoned that they arrived by floo after he had left the kitchen. He also saw that most of the members were gone now and just a part of the Hogwarts staff, the last Marauders and Tonks were still there.

He saw that McGonagall was looking at him with wide eyes and grinned broadly at her before he winked and flopped himself down on a chair next to his godfather. The Professor huffed and looked at Dumbledore.

"Well Harry," began the headmaster. "I would like to know if I can tell those who don't know what you did over the holidays so far."

Harry looked at the other Professors and Tonks and then back to Dumbledore. "Professor, you may as well tell them but with one condition."

"Yes?"

"I want to know what Voldemort is looking for at the Ministry."

Shocked silence met his statement and he knew that he had totally thrown them off guard. Tonks' hair changed into an alarming shade of white just like her face. Sirius and Remus just looked at him and Flitwick and McGonagall were looking at Dumbledore who had gone a little pale. Lastly Harry looked at Snape who looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he raised one in return. He could have sworn a small smirk made its way onto the potions Professor's face, but dismissed it.

"Well… you see Harry… this is nothing that should be discussed at the moment," said Dumbledore uncomfortably.

"Very well then," said Harry coldly. "Then you shall not tell them until I see it fit to do so. You know… I placed a spell on you that makes you unable to tell someone without my permission so don't even try it when I'm out of the room."

"Mr. Potter!" said McGonagall loudly. "You can't just go around and do magic on the people around you! Just let him tell us or tell it yourself! It could be important."

"My apologies Professor," said Harry in the same tone than before. "But I don't see why I have to tell everyone what's going on in my life when you people withhold information from me. You, just like everyone present in this room, know that Voldemort is after me and I need every bit of information concerning him as much as you do."

"He's looking for something he didn't have in the first war.", said Sirius suddenly.

"Sirius!" chided Mrs. Weasley who entered the kitchen just now. "He's too young!"

"Nonsense," scoffed Sirius. "He's right. He has a right to know what's going on."

Mrs. Weasley glared at him. "He is still a child! And-"

"And I have faced Voldemort more times than you could ever hope to," interrupted Harry and gave her a pointed look.

"But I'm responsible for you!" said Mrs. Weasley. "If I don't care for you who else will?"

Sirius stood up and his chair crashed to the floor. "I care! I'm his godfather Molly and therefore he is under my care! You know that!"

"But you are-"

"I'm what?!" spat Sirius angrily. "An insane guy from Azkaban? A reckless idiot? A convicted murderer on the run? Don't you dare bring that up!"

"You aren't fit to care for him," said Mrs. Weasley sternly. "You have your own issues so you don't have the time to care for a child! I was always there for him!"

"YOU-", began Sirius but Harry interrupted him when the glasses on the table burst into thousands of pieces.

Everyone looked at him wide-eyed when he slowly rose to his feet and turned around to face Mrs. Weasley. The temperature in the room suddenly seemed to drop.

"Mrs. Weasley…," he said quietly but with steel in his voice. "Don't even start to finish this argument."

"But I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Harry seethed. "You don't have the right to decide what I do and for that matter, what someone tells me! Your family took me in and you, like everyone else, treated me like one of your family, and I respected you for that," he glared at her. "But you have just lost some of that respect! How dare you insult Sirius in front of me? Who are you to pass yourself off as my mother?"

"Harry I...," began Mrs. Weasley shocked.

"NO," said Harry who had now entirely lost his cool. "I don't care what you have to say! MY PARENTS ARE DEATH! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!"

He took a deep breath. "I don't need someone to fuss over me and try to shield me from harm! I need someone who supports me and my decisions. Someone who stands behind me and can give me advise when I need it. Someone like Sirius, or even Remus. I say it again: YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!"

The room was deadly silent when Harry finished and everybody looked at Mrs. Weasley who looked shell-shocked and seemed to be fighting with herself.

"I… I'm sorry Harry…," she said after a while but didn't look him in the eye. "I… I didn't want to replace your mother. I… it's just…"

Harry sighed, rubbed his head and sat down again. "Mrs. Weasley… I can understand that you want to protect me and I'm sorry for my outburst… but you must understand that I grew up without a family and never had someone who tried to control me - not that it would have ever done any good," he chuckled and the tense atmosphere in the room lessened. "I just don't want you to ever talk to Sirius like that again. It's not his fault that he was in Azkaban. You have to blame Pettigrew for that."

He smiled slightly when Mrs. Weasley nodded after a short while and went to the stove to make lunch.

"So Harry… what Sirius said before…," said Dumbledore as he cleared his throat. "He's right. Voldemort is looking for something he didn't have in the first war."

"Something he didn't have in the first war…," Harry needed some time to clear his thoughts and nodded. "Like a weapon?"

"Yeah…," said Sirius who had also calmed down now. "You could say that. A weapon… that could decide the outcome of his plan."

"What's this weapon?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry Harry, but that's something we won't tell you until you are older."

Harry threw him a look that clearly said. 'I'm sixteen and an adult for Merlin's sake! You know that!'

A small smile played on Dumbledore's lips. "At least we won't tell you while you still attend Hogwarts."

"Are you serious?" asked Harry disbelieving.

"No, that's me!" quipped his godfather and Remus hit him over the head.

Harry ignored him. "You won't tell me for three years? What if Voldemort is able to gain access to this… weapon? What if he uses it against us?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry but this is all you will get for now."

Harry ruffled his hair in defeat and leaned back in his chair. "Very well. You may tell them where I was and what I did but not for how long."

Dumbledore nodded and told the other people in the room where Harry had been staying. McGonagall sometimes threw him disbelieving looks and so did Tonks and Flitwick. Snape on the other hand smirked slightly and Harry stood up to stand next to him in the shadows.

"Aren't you excited about the re-sorting, Sir?" he asked him.

Snape looked sternly at him. "I must say that was… a very Slytherin move of you before… but still. I doubt that you and your foolish Gryffindor bravery would end up in my house Mr. Potter."

Harry shrugged. "Not that I really care. Hogwarts is Hogwarts. It's not really important which house you are in. I just bet that the press will make my life a living hell if I end up in another house than Gryffindor."

"Probably," answered Snape when Dumbledore finished his explanation.

"Mr. Potter?" asked McGonagall. "Did I hear right, you want to change classes?"

Harry left the shadows and nodded. "I want to drop Divination. That subject is just utter rubbish and I'm tired of Trelawney predicting my death every five minutes."

She snorted. "Very well then. I will speak to Bathsheba and Septima. You will probably have to do a test to see if you are fit to be in their classes this year."

"Thanks Professor," said Harry and flashed her a bright smile.

"Now that that is settled," stated Dumbledore. "Sirius I would like you to go meet Narcissa Malfoy in the next few days and ask her if she wants to join the Order."

Sirius nodded. "I wanted to go anyways, even if just to restore her status as a Black."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again over his half moon spectacles and he looked at Harry. "I understand that you learned Occlumency and were able to throw me out of your mind, but are your shields steady?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Professor you have seen my form. You know as well as I do that nothing can shatter the shields of that creature."

Professor McGonagall's head snapped in his direction and he could have sworn that he heard a crack in her neck. "Form? Mr. Potter don't tell me that you are an animagus, please!"

Harry smirked. "Indeed I am Professor."

She sighed pitifully and rested her head in her hands. "We're doomed…"

"Now now Minerva!" said Dumbledore and soothingly rubbed her back while the last Marauders chuckled. "I'm sure you know that James was an animagus too and did no harm."

"But that's the problem!" the Professor countered. "He was an animagus and the biggest troublemaker I ever met!"

"Hey!" interrupted Sirius pouting. "What about me?"

"And the Weasley twins?" quipped Harry.

McGonagall didn't answer, just buried her head in her hands again. Tonks chuckled and Harry looked over at her. He had totally forgotten that she was there.

"Tell me Tonks… how old are you anyway?"

Tonks blushed. "I'm twenty now and fresh out of the Auror Academy."

"So you're an Auror?" Harry asked surprised.

Tonks nodded. "Yeah. But I nearly failed one of the tests. I can be dead clumsy at times and I'm not very good at stealth. But I countered that with transfiguration."

"So you're good in that subject?"

"Jep," Tonks smiled. "I'm a Metamorphmagus so I can change my appearance at will. That's what saved me from failing."

"Yeah… I saw that when your hair changed color," said Harry and unbeknownst to the others, changed a small strand of his jet-black hair to red for only her to see.

Her eyes widened and then she smiled at him. Harry didn't listen to the other people in the room any longer, but felt Sirius' and Remus' eyes on him.

"So… wait a moment! You were at Hogwarts!" said Harry suddenly.

Tonks looked at him oddly. "Of course I was. Every wizard or witch in Britain went to Hogwarts at some time."

Harry shook his head. "No. You were there when I started school!"

"Yeah!" answered Tonks grinning. "And you were one ugly little boy, let me tell you. I was in fifth year then."

Harry grinned as well. "So, you were that damn hot Ravenclaw girl back then! I always wondered who that was." Tonks blushed and he smirked. "Well, I was ugly then, what am I now?"

Tonks blush deepened and her hair changed into a deep red before she started to sputter some incoherent words.

"That was a good!" laughed Sirius and Remus chuckled.

"What can I say," grinned Harry. "I'm the best!"

"Jerk!" said Tonks and started to sputter again when Harry threw a kiss in her direction.

Suddenly he heard a gasp and looked at Snape who was clutching his right arm in pain.

"He's calling," the Professor just said and gritted his teeth. "Excuse me."

Dumbledore nodded and Snape stormed out of the kitchen and everyone heard the front door closing upstairs.

Harry looked at the others and raised his eyebrows. "When is somebody going to tell me officially that Snape is a spy for the Order and has the Dark Mark?"

The people in the room just dropped their jaws.

So that was the fifth chapter. I hope you liked it!

Review and tell me your opinion!

Dark Phoenix of Slytherin