Alright, it's a bit late! But here it is. I figured that some of the plot from the original book is incredibly important, but I changed it a little bit so it adds in Draco, because you know he would have warned Harry a bit on how to get his way. Got a Slytherin, put him to work. I won't be posting again until tomorrow or the day after, my friend and I are working on a storyline for the series we're thinking of making, and I am attending a Debate meeting later today to see if I actually want to join the club. I OWN NOTHING!
At about twelve the next day, Harry stood in front of the Leaky Cauldron, his cloak hiding him and his things. Draco stood nearby, leaning against the wall with a disillusionment charm cast. "Remember, Potter. Be calm. Use that special watch I gave you if you need to talk to me, or just send me a letter. And… since you said you wanted this kept a secret…"
Harry nodded, then, remembering Draco couldn't see him, spoke. "I'll make sure to talk to you. And yeah, I think it's better if we just carry on like we have the past few years, for now. In public, at least."
Draco nodded, knowing that Harry could see if he looked. "Be careful, and make sure that you don't take off the cloak." He strode off, the charm falling as he did so.
Harry waited in the shade, tapping his foot softly. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Ron, Hermione, and Ron's parents appeared with McGonagall. Harry swept off his cloak. "Hey." he said, watching them jump in surprise.
"Harry dear, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley hurried over. At his nod she drew in a sharp breath, ready to start a scathing lecture.
"I'm sorry I just disappeared, Mrs. Weasley. To be honest though, I never got your letters. I don't think any of the owls could find me."
Ron looked at him quizzically. "But the owls can always find people!"
Harry shrugged. "I dunno, mate. It was my bad. I came here and got some of my galleons changed to Muggle money. Figured it would be safer if I stayed anonymously at a Muggle hotel. Oh! And I sent you letters, I just figured that you hadn't gotten them yet." He lied smoothly, the words tumbling perfectly from his lips.
Hermione looked skeptical still. "And what were you doing?"
Harry tried to look sheepish at this. "I… May have finished my homework. A bit."
McGonagall coughed in surprise. "You did, Potter?"
He nodded. "I had some issues with the Potions paper, but I muddled through it." This was true. He hadn't done well on the Potions one at first, but Draco had been a tremendous help.
Looking very put off, Hermione and McGonagall retreated slightly as Mr. Weasley took over. "Before anything else, I think we should get off the streets, and then we can hear your story."
Harry nodded. They loaded his belongings in a taxi, Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall Disapparating. Mr. Weasley sat in the front, while Harry sat in the back, looking in confusion at his friends' suspicious stares. The ride was an uncomfortable one.
When they reached their destination, Harry looked around in bewilderment. "Um?"
"Here. You're supposed to memorize this." Ron handed him a small slip of paper in writing he recognized- Dumbledore's.
The Order of the Pheonix can be found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
Harry looked at the paper. "What?"
Hermione pointed between 11 and 13, the two houses in front of him, and murmured. "Focus on what you just read."
He did as she said as she took the paper from him, lighting it on fire with a lighter that she held in her pocket. Almost immediately, a large house burst into being. The trio hurried inside, with behind them. "Ron, Hermione, take Harry upstairs and fill him in. Everyone else should be in the meeting already, so I should get in there. And try not to wake anything up."
He hurried off, leaving the three teenagers alone. "C'mon." Ron said, grabbing Harry's trunk.
They set off up the stairs, barely getting three feet before Hermione sighed and cast a lightening charm on the trunk. "Honestly!" She muttered. "Do be quiet, I don't want to get yelled at."
They came to a small room with two beds. One was already taken over completely by Ron, the other stood forlorn. They set Harry's things down at its foot and opened the window for Hedwig to come through when she came back.
Harry turned, glaring at Ron and Hermione. "What the hell?" His voice was hard.
The two looked at each other. "Harry, look, we know you're probably a bit mad, but we couldn't tell you! Dumbledore made us swear not to, and he cast a charm so that only he can tell anyone about the Order and this house and, and-"
Harry held up his hands, giving them a small smile. "Alright. I accept that. What can you tell me?"
Looking a tad thrown off by his apparent switch in mood, Ron and Hermione filled him in on what they could until Mrs. Weasley called them down for dinner. By the time they went down, Harry knew about the extendable ears and the small amounts of information that they had all gleaned from them, as well as the row that Percy and Mr. Weasley had.
They had a nice meal, even if Fred and George caused some trouble. After it was cleared, Sirius spoke up. "I'm kind of shocked, Harry. I thought you'd come storming into the meeting first thing the moment you got here, demanding to know everything."
Everyone froze, staring at Harry and Sirius. "Sirius, I really don't think that-" Mrs. Weasley began.
"I'm sorry, Molly, but I am genuinely confused as to why he's not doing as expected, and I'm sure that you are as well."
The rest of the adults around the table nodded reluctantly. Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I just figured… I might as well get my bearings around here first, and that you're unlikely to allow me to know anything until I can prove myself responsible enough to know, y'know?" These were infact, not Harry's thoughts. Draco had offered him this advice, and Harry had seen the wisdom in it.
The others were suspicious, and Harry reasoned that they could be as he was acting completely unlike him. Then Sirius spoke. "I think that knowing that proves that you're adult enough."
Mrs. Weasley gasped. "Sirius, you can't be serious!"
Sirius snorted slightly, and with laughter in his voice, he murmured "Ah, but I am, aren't I? You just called me that."
Quailing slightly from her glare, his smile softened. Remus spoke before they could get into an argument. "I agree with Sirius, Molly. Harry does deserve to know, especially as we he's Voldemort's main target."
Mr. Weasley and McGonagall voiced their agreement and Mrs. Weasley let out a huff. "Fine. Tell him. Tell them all, but it's on your heads if something happens to them!" She crossed her arms, glaring at her husband.
"Alright, Harry. What do you want to know?"
"Whatever you can tell me. I already know some, like why there hasn't been any strange deaths. Doesn't want to draw attention, does he? And then there's also the issues that Dumbledore's been having, and how everyone is trying to 'discredit him'." Harry knew all this from Draco. The blond had become very talkative after the first week, when he had discovered that he and Harry shared mutual love for many things. "And also how Voldemort's been trying to gain more followers, and that if anyone at the Ministry is caught consorting with Dumbledore then they'll likely be fired."
Remus looked at Harry in surprise. "How do you know all that?"
Harry shrugged, realizing that in his excitement he'd made a mistake and revealed too much. He thought quickly, spinning truth and lies together into an intricate tale. "I haven't seen any reports on deaths, and Voldemort's intentions on that front are easy to figure out. ANd obviously he doesn't want to take everyone on at the same time. Already failed once, didn't he? He has his immeasurable pride, so he'd be a tad more cautious this time around after the mistake he made last time."
"And the stuff about Dumbledore?" Mr. Weasley asked. Ron and Hermione were staring in awe at Harry, as were Ginny, George and Fred. They'd all stayed silent in fear of getting kicked out.
"I saw the Prophet reports about how he's been kicked out of several of his positions. And if they're risking Dumbledore's wrath then they'd be targeting his followers as well, wouldn't they?" Draco had been very helpful in this part, telling him slips of information from his father in passing.
"Yeah." Sirius looked slightly surprised, as if he hadn't expected Harry to know so much. "So is there anything you want to know?"
"I want to know if you have the names of any people I should be cautious of."
"We don't know very many. These people are secretive. Obviously, the old Death Eater families, like Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoys count…" They continued to list names, and Harry listened avidly. After they were done he thanked them, and claiming tiredness, went up to bed.