Chapter Four
Winter term started with an excellent feast that night. Dumbledore welcomed everyone back from Christmas Break and then everyone broke into groups and started gossiping. Dolores Umbridge was still at the Teacher's Table, as proud and as pink as ever. Katie Bell, a really good friend of mine, was sitting next to me, filling me in on her Christmas Break.
"I didn't really do much, at all," she was saying, in-between breaks for eating and sipping her pumpkin juice. "But I did get a letter from Fred!"
I looked up at her, casually. "Wow. That's great. I'm happy for you. Did he ask you out?"
"No," she answered. "But, we've exchanged more letters this year than before. I have a good feeling about it."
My eyes drifted to the Teacher's Table. "That's only if Umbridge doesn't destroy the school first." She followed my gaze, elbowing me in the side, murmuring about how I shouldn't be such a "Debby downer" and although I understood the gist of what that meant, I didn't understand fully. Who's Debby? When I was turning my head back to look at Katie, the sixth-year Slytherin from the carriage ride caught my eye. He was looking over here, a cute grin on his face. When I caught his eye, he winked. He seemed to like winking. I did the only normal thing I could do: I winked back before returning to my conversation.
"Ooh. He likes you. Slytherin, aye? Why is it that you're only ever attracted to Slytherins?" Katie demanded, pulling my attention to her rapidly. Her eyebrow was raised in the way I had taught her last year to make the question seem all that more ridiculous.
"I'm not only attracted to Slytherins," I rebuked. "I had that, um, fling with Lee Jordan at the start of last year."
"Fling?" She doubted. "It was more like a Hi-Bye relationship. You went out on one date and that was it. No, what I mean is every meaningful relationship you've ever had was with a Slytherin. Nott, Zabini." It had been more than one date – it had been like three and a whole lot of snogging but my brother hadn't needed to know about it, so we'd kept it on the down-low, especially from Katie. She was a great friend but a big gossiper.
"I didn't go out with Zabini," I protested. "I only went out with Nott. One relationship cannot lead to 'I only date Slytherins'."
"One relationship, fine. But what was that with Prewett?"
"That was a wink."
"That was more than a wink. Hey, wait, I swear you did go out with Zabini," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I took a bit of food and ate it, delaying my inevitable answer. Then, for good measure, I took a long sip of my juice before she became really impatient. "Gem!"
"Fine. No, I didn't go out with him. He just proposed, really, really loudly." Yeah, you heard right. Blaise Zabini proposed marriage when I was fifteen. What a joke! He'd heard about my substantial inheritance from Draco and wanted in on the action. Let's just say he ended up in the hospital wing for a week and a half.
Katie wisely let the subject drop. "Well, okay, if you say so. Now, back to Fred… do you think I should ask him out? There's a hogsmeade trip coming up and Angelina told me George asked her out."
"I think you should," I encouraged. "He's leaving at the end of this year. You should act fast."
"Yeah, I should," she said, distantly, looking down the table where the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan were joking around, quite loudly. They were regaling their audience with a story of Lee's tarantula from their third year. Urgh! Spiders.
After the feast, I caught Draco's eye before we separated to our respective dorms and shot him a comforting smile. I knew this would also be the last year for him with his friends. Most of them were the children of death eaters and so, next year they would avoid him when it comes to light what I plan to do now.
In the crowd of Gryffindors, I lost sight of Katie and Alicia and Angelina, who'd joined together against the rush of people. Alicia and Angelina were in the year above and often hung out with Katie and I considering we were the only two girls in sixth year. Well, we had been born during the First Wizarding War, so it was no wonder that birth rates had been low. Although, there seemed to be a greater number of boys. Weird. Using the crowd to my advantage, I slipped out the other side and ducked around the corner, avoiding the head boy and head girl wrangling the new first years.
I headed up some moving staircases, going in the opposite direction from Gryffindor Tower and ended up in front of the Headmaster's gargoyle, right where I wanted to be. "Password?" It said.
"Gryffindor," I guessed. "Slytherin. Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff." When the gargoyle yawned, I decided to take a more direct route. "Can you let me in to speak with Professor Dumbledore? It's urgent." The gargoyle barely batted an eye. "Er… Grindelwald," I guessed. Who hadn't heard the stories? "Phoenix. Order of the Phoenix. Hogwarts. Platform 9 and ¾. Fawkes. Transfiguration. Oh, I don't know."
That was when the gargoyle opened its wing and revealed a hidden staircase into the Headmaster's Tower. Tenderly, I stepped onto the first step (much to the amusement of the gargoyle) and when nothing happened, I trudged up the staircase and came to a wooden door, which I knocked upon gingerly. "Come in," came the voice of Headmaster Dumbledore.
I turned the door knob and entered into the magnificent office of the Headmaster. There were shelves all around the room with curious ornaments, as well as portraits hanging above them. Professor Dumbledore sat behind a cluttered desk, gesturing for me to take the seat opposite him. I did as gestured. Professor Dumbledore was an older man, with a long white beard and these all-knowing eyes that spoke of all the secrets hidden within.
"Miss Malfoy… Miss Black, how may I help you today?" said Headmaster Dumbledore.
I ignored the correction of my surname. I knew that would happen a lot come tomorrow when classes started up again. Especially from Severus, who had refused to acknowledge the change. "Well, Professor-," I started.
"Oh, would you like a lemon drop?" Interrupted the Headmaster.
I shook my head. "No, thank you. Professor, I-"
"I know perfectly well why you are here, Miss Black," he interrupted once more. "We do not need to go into the details. Just tell me - Are you willing to defend those that need defending? To stand up against Dark Wizards and Witches that bear familiar faces? Are you willing to turn your back on all that you have ever known?"
"I am willing," I answered, too stunned to formulate any other words. It felt as if my grasp on the English language had disappeared.
"Well, then, welcome to The Order of the Phoenix."
"I," I started. Then changed my mind. "Thank you, Professor." I made to get up and disappear back down the staircase before I remembered a crucial detail that I needed to ensure. "And my brother?" I asked, scrutinising the older wizard.
"Safe, I promise you. He will stay with you this summer at headquarters." This time, I did rise with a nod to one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Headmaster Dumbledore returned the nod, his eyes twinkling with uncontained knowledge. I turned and with two steps, I was closing the door to his office. "And Miss Black?" He called.
"Yes?"
"Help is always provided to those who ask for it."
I knew without a doubt he was talking about the missions I would be doing during the summer, and my failed attempt to guess his password.
Without another word, I turned on my heel and descended the staircase.
On my trek back to the Gryffindor Tower, I passed the illuminated corridor that would bring me to The Dungeons. It was this that made me think of my mentor, Severus Snape, and Dumbledore's all-knowing smile. Could it be possible that it had been Severus that had informed Dumbledore of my father's plans before I could? Had Snape vouched for me after my father had confessed our plans? It was this train of thought that made me turn around and walk down this corridor, straight into the potions classroom and past his desk to the door of his office. I knocked loudly.
"Go away," came the ever-loving voice of my brother's godfather and my mentor.
I let myself in anyway. Severus was sitting behind his desk just as Dumbledore had been but unlike Dumbledore, Snape's office was clean and meticulous just like his potion work. I should know – he'd hammered that meticulous into me also when it came to potions. Otherwise, acceptably clean was alright with me.
"Gemima," said Severus, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be with the rest of the lions?" With the last word, he added a sneer like usual.
"Thank you," I said immediately. Unlike most people, my mentor did not look confused. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I had thought to bring the Tonks up to let Dumbledore know I had their support but Severus, as Dumbledore's built-in-spy, was more adequate support anyway.
"Of course," came the answer of Severus Snape, as if I never had to ask for his help, it would always be there whether I wanted it or not. His voice had softened how it seldom did around his students or colleagues. I sat down in the seat opposite him, more relaxed than I had been in the Headmaster's office. I'd known him my whole life and loved him like another father for most of it, too. Unlike Lucius, who barely encouraged my intellect as a female, Severus encouraged me in every aspect and he had since my first coherent question about potions.
He'd been visiting my parents over a decade ago when I'd wondered into the room. I had smiled at him and climbed into his lap. He, like always, had a barely concealed sneer on his face and deposited me onto the armchair next to him. I'd returned to his lap almost instantly, asking, "What's a bezoar?" However, the word had tumbled out of my five-year-old mouth strangely. His lips had twitched, as most a smile you would ever receive. His answer was textbook perfect, of course, indulging. After that, whenever he visited, I'd ask questions (even coming up with questions when I heard he was due to visit) and he'd teach me patiently. Then, as I started Hogwarts, we'd moved onto the harder magical areas. He'd helped me for as long as I could remember and here he was again – helping me join The Order.
"Severus," I said. I wanted to ask why he continued following Voldemort, continued sacrificing so much when he could just disappear with the hep of Dumbledore and nobody would be wiser. I wanted to know what meant so much to him that he would put it in front of himself for nearly two decades. Instead, I told him, "I have another project I'm working on this year."
He leaned forward. "And what project would that be?"
"I want to become an animagus."
"And you want my help to achieve this?"
"Yes."
"Saturday. After Breakfast. I expect you to have read – and memorised – the process and any other relevant information."
"Done," I answered.
"As expected," he replied. "Now off to bed. Don't stay up to late. Your first class tomorrow morning is Potions."
"As expected," I mimicked. "Goodnight, Severus."
With that, I smiled at him, brightly, and hurried out of the dungeons and up the moving staircases and towards the Gryffindor Tower, when I remembered that I didn't know the password. I walked slower. It was past curfew, I doubted any student would be coming by soon. My eye spotted the window on this floor easily enough. The Fat Lady was already asleep in her portrait and since I didn't know the password, it would help to disturb her. Instead, I looked down towards the charm bracelet hanging preciously on my left wrist. The broomstick I had received for Christmas was still attached from Dora and I's ride to Diagon Alley.
The idea was stupid, I knew, but I hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor over Slytherin and Ravenclaw for nothing. So, I enlarged that particular charm and unlatched the window. With my broom in hand, I jumped, landing on my broomstick easily. I started rising above the window and around the tower. Most curtains were closed and other rooms were vacant (probably still in the common room). I ascended to the dorm of the Sixth-Year Girls and knocked on the window. There was no answer. I slid out my wand from my cloak and with a whisper of 'Alohamora', the window clicked open. I balanced my feet against the ledge, gripping tightly to the upper part of the window and slid my broomstick inside the room. I followed after it easily.
I landed with a light thump into just the dorm I wanted. I locked the window again, shrunk my broom and added it back onto the charm bracelet. It was best that it stayed there from now on.
Katie and I's dorm was just like any other – single beds with roaring red curtains and a warm atmosphere. There was even a bathroom off the dorm for us to share. At the start of our first year, there had been five beds but as there was only the two of us, Professor McGonagall had vanished two to allow us more space. Now, my bed was beside the window and Katie's bed was all the way across the room beside the other window and in-between there was just a spare bed in case one of our girl friends wanted to come and stay with us for the night. Angelina like that option the most – Katie and Angelina stayed up gossiping about the Weasley Twins for hours on most weekends.
Unlike those nights, our dorm was empty. So I set out in search of my Gryffindor friends, whom I hadn't seen in over two weeks. Like I expected, they were in the common room. It was actually a really big group – Katie, Angelina, Fred, George, Harry and Hermione were crowded around the fireplace. It was past 10pm so some classmates had already adhered to the rules and returned to their dormitories but that rule wasn't strictly enforced considering teachers barely enter the common room.
"Hey, Gem!" Katie called. "Come join us."
I plopped down beside Katie on the couch in front of the fireplace, giving a smile to all those gathered with us.
It was Hermione who spoke first. "Hey, Gemima, We have a proposition for you." I turned to face her (she was at the opposite end of the couch beside Harry). Fred and George were sitting on the two closest arm chairs, like Angelina. "Harry's running a club for Defence. Considering nobody's learning anything in Umbridge's class, we wanted to know if you'd like to join."
"This goes against all her new rules," I noted. Before they could get a word in, I continued. "I'm in." This was a handy opportunity to get in better with Harry's crew and their – our – side. Not to mention extra practice for summer.
Fred and George laughed. "Alright!" One of them said. I can freely admit that I could not tell them apart. They each leaned over and gave me a high five. Hermione tucked something into my hand. I rolled the galleon over in my hand. It was fake, I knew, the writing was missing (and the date was very, very recent, so I knew it wouldn't have been release yet).
"Why do I need a fake galleon?" I asked.
Hermione looked up, startled. "You can tell it's fake?"
"Well, yeah, some of the writing is missing." I pointed to the smooth edge of the galleon. "This should have an inscription on it. 'Made by Gringotts' or something like that."
"Right," said Hermione. "Oh well. I've already gave the rest out. These will have to do." I shrugged. Any person who'd seen enough galleons would note the difference. If they took a close look, I mean. "Anyway. These galleons will heat up whenever there's a meeting. Get Katie to show you where for the first time. Be discreet."
"Alright," I murmured, shooting Katie a smile. I tucked the galleon into my pocket.
For the next hour and a half, the group dwindled and dwindled until it was just Harry and I. Katie had been the first to leave, followed by Angelina and the twins, then Hermione.
"So, you're joining The Order," stated Harry after there was only the two of us in the common room.
I looked up, shocked. I had only halfway-joined after dinner and he already knew. How? There was no way Dumbledore could have said anything after our talk. "How-?"
"Professor Dumbledore told me a couple days ago."
"I didn't speak to him until tonight," I confessed. But I knew now that Severus had expressed his loyal support before tonight, so why was I shocked? Well, it could be that he was younger than me and more involved than I would ever let Draco become, even if they were the same age. It saddened me a bit – that this boy, so young, not even of age yet, had so much resting on his shoulders, and even I, tonight, had recognised him as the future saviour.
Just then, the fire in front of us started to flicker and turn green, spitting little bits of hot coal at us. "What-?"
"It's Sirius," declared Harry, leaning down in front of the fire, just as a piece of coal flung itself at his head. I grabbed his arm and yanked him to the side as the piece drifted through the air where his head was before. That would have hurt. A lot. And, then, as I let go of his sleeve, Sirius Black, or who I assumed was Sirius Black, appeared in the embers of the dying fire. The fire died down, the pieces stopped sparking and everything returned to how it should be, with the exception of the face in the fire, of course.
It was an exceptional piece of magic, I had to admit. Clever, too, with Umbridge monitoring the mail and all the floo networks, save her own and Snape's. Who would ever monitor Snape's correspondence anyway? They'd have to be pretty desperate or stupid, now that I think about it.
"Harry, Harry," whispered Sirius Black. Harry placed himself right over the fire, waving slightly. I stayed out of view, observing. He was not as I expected him to be. He was healthy – unlike those who had a long stay in Azkaban. And he had a moustache. I never imagined him with one. Would my father have had one if he was still alive today?
"I'm here," said Harry, unnecessarily. "There's someone I want you to meet."
I guess that was my cue. I moved over, into the full view of the fireplace. The eyes of the man in the fire widened considerably. "Er, Hi," I said, stupidly.
"Gemima," said Sirius.
"You… you know who I am?" I asked. Then, why had he not tried to contact me?
"Of course. You look so, so much like your father. It's quite uncanny, actually." Sirius was silent. "Do you know that I'm your-?"
"Godfather? Yeah. My mum told me," I answered, moving into a crossed legged position in front of him. "She's told me everything she knows of you and my father. But there's still so much that I don't know."
"How is your mother?" He asked, smiling. "God, I haven't seen her since I was twenty." He said it so normally that I would have just assumed he'd lived his life like anybody else and not spent twelve years in the most horrible prison.
"She's good. She remarried. I have a brother," I offered. From beside me, Harry snorted. I shot him a glare. I didn't care if he and Draco didn't get along. He wouldn't ruin this for me. He raised his hands in a defensive position, palms flat and exposed in a sign of surrender.
"I always wondered what happened to you," Sirius told me. His groomed hair seemed to shake but then again, that could have just been the projection. "…what happened to the little baby that my brother loved enough to turn his back on everything he believed in. You know, when your mother brought you to me and asked me to be your godfather, I almost said no. But she told me it had been my brother's dying wish and I couldn't say no – to her or to you." Now he seemed hesitant. "Has your life been good so far?"
"Yes," I answered. "I have loving parents and a younger brother that I love to tease. And I visit Andromeda most holidays."
"Andromeda?" repeated Sirius. "Yes, her daughter is in The Order."
"Yeah. Dora loves danger. She can't help herself," I laughed.
That was when I remembered Harry was there – he made the sound of a choked laugh. Sirius and I looked at him. "Your Tonks' cousin?" He asked and then started laughing, falling back on the floor.
"What?" I demanded.
"You were the one that helped her escape from the muggle police when you were thirteen?"
I flushed. "Shhh. You can't tell anybody – especially not Draco. My parents would flip. Please, Harry." I pounced, shaking his shoulders. He continued laughing but his laughs became more silent as he lost control. I guess that was for the best as we didn't want anybody coming down the stairs.
"Okay. Okay. I won't tell."
"I want to know that story," said Sirius, eagerly, grinning like the troublemaker I had heard he was in his younger days.
"It was Dora's fault," I professed. "She'd been flirting with this muggle and you know her – she's clumsy – so when she was walking away, she fell and her wand snapped. Half the wand hit the muggle in the face. She tried to get up and apologise but she slipped again and grabbed his arm to steady herself." By this point, I was grinning. "But, what do you know? She pulled him down, too. I was standing nearby, trying not to laugh. Her hair changed colour. To blue or green or something like that. The guy's a muggle, you know, so he gets the shock of a life time.
"Anyway, I was going to intervene but the muggle fell back on top of me and well, I didn't fancy explaining to my mum why my new robes were all muddy, so I caught myself with magic. The guy slid off me and hit the ground hard. His friend, who was a muggle auror, demanded to know what happened. The idiot said my cousin had attacked him. I mean, yes, she was flirting and with her, that's basically the same thing, but come on!"
By this point, Harry cast a silent Muffliato charm so nobody can hear us and a notice-me-not charm to keep everybody away. Sirius was spitting embers while laughing, and Harry was basically copying him. I grinned.
"Dora failed her apparition test four times and I was only thirteen and we had no brooms or anything. So, we were essentially screwed. But we decided the best thing to do was run. We legged it out of there but they started chasing us. Dora's hair wouldn't stop changing colour and so all the muggles up and down the street were staring at us. In the end, I pulled her into an alleyway and apparated. Yes, I know, I know, I wasn't old enough and all but Dora wasn't going to do and we had no other way, so… I mean, it worked and everything. We landed back home easily. But don't tell anyone that. The aurors still don't know who it was."
"Definitely a Gryffindor," muttered Sirius.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I think my parents threw a fit when I was sorted into Gryffindor. But they'd known for a while."
"That story is wicked," said Harry. "Any more?"
"Loads," I grinned. "Dora and I get ourselves into the most ridiculous situations. Ask her about the muggle zoo, her hair will turn red. Always works."
"They can wait for later," said Sirius, taking on the role of the adult. "Off to bed with you both. And Harry, Gemima? Steer clear of Umbridge, okay? Don't get any detentions."
Harry and I nodded before Sirius' head disappeared and all that was left was the dying flames of the actual fire. I stood up and stretched before turning back around and catching Harry's eye. He'd been observing me. I guess I'd never laughed in front of him before. And we'd never hung out. It was a bit weird.
"So, you're my godbrother," I said.
"Nah, they don't exist."
I gave him a hand up, which they took. "But we have the same godfather, so I say we invent it."
He laughed. "Alright, Gemima. Godsister. I've always wanted a sister."
"Well now you have two," I told him.
"Two?"
"Yeah," I answered. "What? Did you think Draco was a boy? Not with that haircut."
"Now that's weird," he replied. He shuddered at the thought. I nudged him. It felt great to have another friend. A real friend. At least now I wouldn't have to pretend to like him, like my dad suggested. "I think one is just fine."
"Okay."
We both went up our separate staircase. Katie was already fast asleep when I entered, so I changed quickly and slid into bed. My last thought as I fell asleep that night was Now that's an extra person on my list to protect.
