The Leader

Chapter 48

The Order of the phoenix sat cramped around the table of the Weasley home in the Burrow, waiting on their esteemed leader. Bill Weasley hated being there, he'd never thought he would hate the burrow quite so much but ever since his own family had basically abandoned him (except a select few) because he had been turned into a werewolf he hated what it reminded him off. This was no longer home; his home was somewhere much different, where he was welcomed and not made to feel ashamed of whom he was.

As always Molly was rushing around, preparing coffee, tea and biscuits she had made just earlier that day in preparation of the meeting. Trying to encourage Hermione to help, to learn how to cook and do things the traditional way a pureblood wife would. Using your hands to prepare the food was just utterly distasteful, no there was spells for that and she would make sure Hermione did it properly. She would one day have to cook and feed her son and any child they had on her own once they left the burrow and got their own place. Not that she minded them here, since most of her kids had moved out it was nice to have others in the house. It meant she had plenty of time to make sure Hermione knew how to feed her son the way he preferred, nobody knew her son better than she did after all.

"Hermione, get the cups would you dear?" Molly said, as she stirred the coffee into the first pot and removed the tea bags from the second pot, both were mismatched but that had never bothered her.

Hermione didn't say a word as she got to her feet and began to remove the cups from their place in the cupboard and onto a tray. Irritated beyond belief at Molly, she had been more annoying today than usual. She gave her some leeway since this time of the year was still saddening to the family, they still grieved for Ginevra Weasley who had died - her body like the statement had said in Hogwarts had never been recovered. Molly was trying to turn her into a version of her younger self, trying to get her to have a child young, constantly interfering with how she cooked, even going so far as to complain about how often she had her nose buried in a book instead of paying attention to her husband. The Weasley name certainly hadn't been worth this but what could she do? If she wanted to get anywhere in life she was going to need a good name. Percy would have been more ideal, more her speed, but Percy had ambitions of his own that required a good pureblood marriage and he'd never looked at her once.

Levitating the full tray onto the table, blatantly ignoring Molly's beam of pride and approval, she reclaimed her seat next to her husband, shifting to avoid those wandering hands. Hiding her revulsion at the thought of him anywhere near her, still as potent as the first time she'd 'shown' a romantic intention towards Ron, who hadn't gotten any of her clues, the dim wit that he was. Why couldn't he have been smarter? More studious? With a desire to be better than what he was? Three years they'd been out of Hogwarts, three whole years, and neither of them had a job yet. She was getting desperate enough to consider the secretarial job in the dangerous beast department.

"Kingsley, do you know if there are any new openings in the Ministry?" Hermione asked turning her attention to the Auror seated across from her.

"None since the last time you asked me," the deep smooth voice of the Auror replied, showing none of his exasperation at her questioning. He'd told her often enough that she had to work her way up the Ministry. She couldn't just be expected to apply for a position like the undersecretary for the Minister of Magic and get it. Unfortunately the girl was so sure of her own superiority that she did not take their advice, which was a shame, she was obviously smart and could go places.

Hermione bit back a frown, a resigned sigh leaving her lips; she so badly wanted a job, to get out of this damn house, away from Ron for at least the majority of the day. He only ever had one thing on his mind, thankfully though with his mother around he wasn't quite so blatant about it or his desires. Her attention switched as the fireplace flared, and Dumbledore in his multicoloured robes vacated the Floo network stepping into the warm welcoming Burrow.

Dumbledore moved away from the Floo, glancing at the clock, everyone was aimed at 'Home' with the obvious exception of Ginevra Weasley, who's hand was at 'Mortal Peril' had remained so since she died since the clock hand did not have a 'dead' setting, now that would have been quite depressing. It was depressing nonetheless; he regretted her death, unfortunately knowing where the chamber was, was useless especially when he didn't know the password to get into the chamber's secret entrance. "Good evening," he said giving them a smile, but it wasn't his usual beaming one but even he couldn't pretend to be happy at all times.

"What's going on? We just had a meeting yesterday morning?" Charlie grumbled, he was constantly in a bad mood, between his mother trying to cut his hair and tell him how to act (usually Bill received the same treatment too but he was always away from the house) and being away from his dragons, his career, everything he worked towards, he wasn't going to have a job at this rate if he kept this up and he didn't want to lose his job.

"The plans for the new prison have gone through," Albus admitted, sitting down tiredly, but not showing it, the urge to gulp down another pepper up potion was strong but he refrained. He had spent all day in the Ministry, going back and forth gathering as much information as he could. "As of now Azkaban is empty and the prisoners have been transferred elsewhere."

"So soon?" Charlie gaping in stunned disbelief, everyone else was pretty much having the same reaction, except for Bill, who was, if Charlie wasn't mistaken, trying to look shocked but looked amused more than anything. "Didn't the plans just go through yesterday?"

"They were signed yesterday, yes, whoever is behind it moved swiftly," Albus sighed, rubbing his temples. "My biggest fear is that this is some sort of scheme that Voldemort has cooked up. If that is the case…the worst of the Death Eaters will be out there right now ready to defend Voldemort and his cause once more."

"Wasn't Potter the one to suggest it?" Moody asked.

"Yes, I do not believe he's a Death Eater…but with Severus on his side he may be being led in a direction he has no understanding of." Albus informed them perturbed. "I have spent all day at the Ministry trying to look for information on this Thorn character but I've found nothing, I believe he either isn't from this country or it's an alias."

"You think Snape's playing him? That he's rejoined You-Know-Who?" Molly asked wide eyed, hand over her mouth in horror.

"I am not sure what to think," Albus admitted, "Either way it doesn't look good at all, the plans were sudden, Harry joining the Wizengamot and getting the bill passed just as Severus abandoned us."

"Maybe if we speak to him again we could get through to him?" Arthur questioned, the thought of a child being manipulated into doing something unspeakable was horrifying to him.

"I'm afraid that Harry will not listen to me," Dumbledore said shaking his head, "He believes the worst of me, and nothing I say will make things any better. He knows the prophecy and has yet to come to me, I do not he will come to me for aid."

"He will," Hermione said surely, "He just needs to realize he won't be able to do it alone, if he's attacked by You-Know-Who he will know he needs your help."

"I don't know about that," Bill said lazily, "I mean that duel he had with him…it was Voldemort who ran, they might be equally matched."

"Have you succeeded in finding anything about this Thorn character or Harry?" Dumbledore zoned in on Bill, he was perhaps the most useful of all the Weasley's, his job at Gringotts saw to that.

"I managed to get into the Potter files," Bill informed them, sitting up properly, "Most of it was redacted, all places Unplottable, but that isn't a surprise most pureblood's did this during the first war."

"That is disheartening," Albus admitted, "Did you see any statements while you looked?"

"Well a few months ago were the first transaction since he was eleven years old," Bill said thoughtfully, giving only information that his Leader had suggested. "It's almost as if he didn't know about his accounts, which is silly; I mean he must have got money from his vaults for Hogwarts supplies…so why didn't he ever use it again?"

Albus made a noncommittal sound of agreement, he had made it so Harry was unaware of his immense fortune, in the hands of an eleven year old abused boy, and well he shuddered to think what he would have done. He had to control him, and giving him the opportunity and means to run away was just asking for trouble. He must have been bitten by a vampire in the Muggle world…then returned and claimed his rightful place…what if it had been orchestrated by Voldemort? Vampires were looked down upon what if he had done it so the boy would eventually turn to the dark. What if this had been some sort of long term plan? Merlin help him, he hated not knowing, and the unknown was driving him mad. "What about Thorn?"

"Oh, his account is heavily watched, warded and secured, only a few goblins can access it," Bill said grimly, "I've never seen anything like it, except for the Malfoy and other Death Eater families." he said with a sneer.

"That's disappointing," Albus wanted to curse; it was obviously someone with a lot of power, clout and money to back him up. The Goblins rarely played favourites, but they were obviously doing it with Thorn. "Do you at least know which vault it is so we can gauge how new it is?"

"It's old, extremely old, it's number twenty-three," Bill shook his head, which would blow a hole in Dumbledore's thoughts and plans no doubt.

"If it's an old pureblood vault how come we haven't heard of the name Thorn?" Shacklebolt wondered, understanding what was going on.

"Probably got changed when the name did," Bill suggested, "It's not often done but still…" he let it trail off.

"I can't say I've heard even a Muggle-born or Half-blood with the name Thorn, have you?" Doge queried, and he knew a lot of people it came with the territory of being an important member of the Wizengamot within the Ministry of magic.

"Bill I need you to find out what the name on that vault used to be," Dumbledore demanded, "If we know who it used to be we might have more luck tracking him down. We have to find out what he wanted with the prisoners of Azkaban."

"Amelia might know," Doge suggested his tone thoughtful. "Surely she's met him at least once if she trusted him enough to take the property and turn it into a prison."

"It cannot hurt to ask at least," Dumbledore nodded his approval at the suggestion. She wasn't easy to get information out of; she was tight lipped, if not honest in her work. She hated Voldemort, he had killed her entire family off except her niece, there was no way she'd hand over those prisoners if she thought for a second a Death Eater had his hand in this venture. Perhaps if he explained his fears she might actually spill some information out of fear.

"This is all useless without Harry though, we need him if we are to win this war," Moody grumbled, with Dumbledore saying Harry wanted to remain out of the war…they were merely winning battles but ultimately they'd lose the war.

"Did he actually say he wasn't going to participate in the war?" Fred asked, speaking up for the first time.

"No, just said he wasn't going to let a prophecy dictate his actions that if You-Know-Who thought they were destined to fight then he would come after him and they'd fight anyway." Hermione revealed, she'd been reading the books she could about wizarding law, mostly the Wizengamot and the power they had. She wanted to know if Harry was right that Dumbledore hadn't acted because he knew Sirius was innocent and didn't know anything. She was browsing through all back copies of the daily prophet to see if Dumbledore had been inactive in other Death Eater cases or not. She didn't want to believe it, but the way Harry had spoken of it so sure and self confident she began to believe him.

Albus cleared his throat, giving Granger a disapproving look, he could speak for himself thank you very much, and he didn't need her to be a mouthpiece. Especially considering he hadn't informed them much of how the meeting had gone, determined to get Harry Potter in line no matter how difficult it was.

"Well, what about Snape?" Tonks questioned, "Have you not spoken to him? Why not just ask him what's going on? Why he ended up a vampire and young to boot." the thought of some sort of modified spell out there that turns you young and immortal sounded pretty sweet to most people but as an Auror was horrified at the thought of it being used all the time. She felt it was much worse than the killing curse. "I mean other than that meeting you had with Harry…you've not had any contact with Severus have you?"

"I have not, I feel that would be a lost cause," Albus stated sharply and immediately, he didn't want any of them to realize it had been him who screwed up, it was the reason that Severus was alive and in seemingly comfortable position in Harry's life. At least he had been, he thought viciously, he doubted Harry would trust Severus again; he didn't seem gullible so perhaps even when Severus explains he will still not be given a second chance. In fact he preferred not, perhaps Severus would come crawling back with his tail between his legs soon.

"Snape's never given us any indication of being disloyal, maybe he should get the benefit of the doubt," Shacklebolt agreed with Tonks. There was something…missing, they couldn't see the entire picture. Snape had worked hard for years to bring them back information and at near personal cost, he'd been brutally tortured and yet the first thing he'd done upon awakening was give them what information he'd gained.

"I will not bring this matter up again," Albus said firmly, his blue eyes dimming, a sad tortured look crossing his face, Severus' betrayal weighted heavily upon him. He had no idea what Severus had told Harry and he was apprehensive about it.

Shacklebolt shared a look with Tonks, when she nodded he realized she felt the same we he did. They were missing something…the only way they were going to get the other side of the picture was is if they got in touch with Severus himself and got answers. From there they would see what happens. Could Remus and Sirius be with Harry as well? After all Snape hadn't been found neither were Remus or Sirius…he didn't dare bring up the possibility, not until he spoke with Snape. Something was seriously wrong with all this. Snape wasn't one to just switch allegiances like that, and Sirius and Remus running and not coming to the Order for aid? Yes, extremely fishy and he was glad he wasn't the only one to think it. "Seems to me like we should leave Potter to it," Shacklebolt commented, changing the subject. "What? Voldemort will go after him, he believes the prophecy, he's already gone after him twice in the past, the third time they met by sheer coincidence, next time might be the final battle, we should just keep doing what we are, minus trying to get Potter onside, keep fighting the battles." twice in the past once when Harry was a baby and the end of his first year, then of course the Ministry of magic just a month ago.

"He'll need additional training, he may feel confident in his abilities to defeat Voldemort, but from all indications he's only been back in the magical world for a month…" Albus argued, he did not want them to stop the searches for Harry, he was too important when would they realize that?

"He got help to take his OWLS and NEWTS when he was thirteen," Hermione reminded Dumbledore, and honestly she wasn't sure how to feel about that still.

"I do not believe he did," Albus said, lips twitching, "There is nothing in the archives pertaining to Harry James Potter taking any exams," he was going to make a move at the next Wizengamot meeting to make sure the boy took his exams or stood down as a honoured member of the Wizengamot body. It would help hinder whatever plan they were using Harry for.

"He lied?" Ron gaped, shivering in revulsion as he remembered the meeting. He wanted nothing to do with Potter, he was scary.

"Ha!" Hermione exclaimed smugly, he had been lying after all, she'd known it, it was impossible for him to have taken them at thirteen.

"But they wouldn't be at the Ministry if he took them at the bank," Bill pointed out the flaw in their thinking. "The results would be in his folder at Gringotts and he will have a copy of them, perhaps he didn't send a copy to the Ministry, or ask one of the goblins to do it?"

"The results should be forwarded automatically," Dumbledore straightened up, cautious now.

"That is no law that's ever been put forth in Gringotts," Bill stated, and he would know, as a representative of Gringotts he had taken multiple tests to ensure he was familiar with all their laws - he'd had to, to get the job with them.

Dumbledore had to stop himself from cursing, damn it that was all his plans and machinations being interrupted before even being put forth. Although come to think of it, it was probably a very good idea, he needed something concrete, not a flimsy idea that could be torn apart in seconds. He would need to go to Gringotts; surely exam results would be a matter of public record, just like they were in the Ministry. If they wouldn't cooperate he would need to get the Minister involved, if he could. Cornelius was quite intimidated by the Potter brat, if he didn't need him he would have been happy to make sure the boy never saw daylight, he was proving to be a hindrance.

"Albus…continuing to look for someone who's not missing is not a good use of our time," Diggle said quietly, voicing what the others dared not. "HE might be planning something, there's been no attacks lately…there's something building up, he's never been this quiet for a long while. He might even be preparing to overtake the Ministry or the Dementors like last time…we have to take preventative measures, stop what we can."

The others began to nod in agreement; the boy obviously didn't want to be found. The fact he was a vampire honestly didn't come into it.

"He's just a young boy, out there on his own, he needs a family," Molly protested most profoundly, conveniently forgetting he was nineteen years old and that most boys that age had already left home, married, had families and a job to boot. "He needs to be taken care of."

Ron snorted at his mum's words, shaking his head, disagreeing with her, it flew by his mind that they were the same age and he was still being coddled by his mother.

"That he does," Dumbledore nodded, and Molly had given him a package at Christmas during his first year, that showed she cared even before he went missing. It mattered little that it had been a not so subtle suggestion on his part - but she hadn't needed the push.

Everyone just remained silent utterly exasperated, but that was just the way the Order had always been. They wanted to make a difference so they put up with Dumbledore's quirks, normally the outcome was good but they felt as though this time…it wouldn't be. Stubbornly they ignored these feelings, consoling themselves that Albus was probably right, he always was. He had been through two wars, this was his third he must be doing something right he'd survived them all.

They traded ideas and questions back and forth for another hour, neither Harry Potter nor Severus Snape came up again. Eventually they ran out of things to talk about and with one glance at the clock, Albus declared the meeting over with, nobody stayed around after that either jumping off their seats and out into the garden to Apparate away or making hasty use of the Floo.

"Why don't you stay for a bit Bill? Maybe let me cut your hair?" Molly suggested, trying to get her eldest son to stay a little longer.

"I can't, I have things to do," Bill said, batting away her wand, with care of course, he didn't want to snap her wand as angry as he was at her if anything happened he'd forever feel guilty. He hated the fact they were worrying about where he would transform or how he'd get the Wolfsbane potion - as if he'd drink that swill.

"Things to do? That's more important than your own family?" Molly questioned her hands on her hips.

"Molly," Arthur sighed, already resigned to how overbearing his wife could be with their children.

"Can't a mother ask her own son a question?" Molly huffed in exasperation.

Bill bit his tongue viciously; a mother wouldn't have been terrified of her own son, and refused to speak to him for ages after he was turned into a werewolf. "I have to go," Bill said, otherwise he was going to say things he definitely wouldn't regret.

"But where are you staying? You haven't stayed here for months and months!" Molly protested, she asked this every time and Bill had yet to answer her.

"With a friend," Bill told them, before finally getting out of the Burrow and Apparating away, Apparating to his sanctuary only to freeze as the wards flared around him, making him glow bright red, before his face joined in as anger took hold. Someone had put a tracking charm on him, he was utterly furious. He heavily suspected it was his own mother, too curious for her own good. The only thing stopping him from snapping out was the fact he knew the spell wouldn't 'track' him here. No, they'd end up elsewhere, and think he'd found the charm and removed it.

"Who were you with?" Harry demanded, with a casual yet powerful wave of his magic stopped the alarms and righted the wards.

"The Order," Bill answered, relaxing only marginally.

"It's someone with familial ties, a male relative," Rick stated as he joined Harry in eyeing the stand of magic. "It wasn't the one we saw with Dumbledore, but the magic is only a few years older than his."

Bill groaned, "The twins," he muttered in realisation. They wouldn't stop once their curiosity was peaked, he would need to do something to divert their curiosity. If Harry found them he would kill them, there were so few exceptions, and the twins wouldn't be one of them. Shit, this was going to get bad, why the hell were they so interested in what he was doing? Admittedly the twins and Charlie had been the only ones to be slightly normal towards him after he was bitten. The twins wouldn't outright ask him where he was going they'd rather find out for themselves.

"You better make sure it doesn't happen again," Harry cautioned him, waving his hand removing the spell from his person. It put absolutely everyone on edge when this happened, and it didn't happen very often.

Bill gave a weak laugh that was a good one, him? stop the twins when they got their heads into something?

"Go back to your business," Harry called out, "Brecon take over from Jessie, watch the Malfoy's I'll be down to see them soon enough, are they behaving?"

"They've been sleeping since they came mostly," Jessie informed Harry, already making her way towards her Leader. "The shock will wear off sooner or later."

Harry nodded not overly surprised, their lives had spiraled out of control in a single day, they lost the comforts and riches of Malfoy Manor and were now in the hands of those they detested werewolves and vampires squashed in a small hut. Oh, yeah, they were in shock, he was honestly surprised they hadn't been more vocal, at least Draco at any rate, he'd never known when to shut the hell up. "You best have Darius look them over," he added, rolling his eyes, "Only when he has the time, let him know there's no rush."

Jessie and Brecon smirked, both nodding their understanding, now with that immediate crisis over he relaxed.

"Look's like they've got it covered here," Rick told his Leader, "I'm going to head back," it was a question but upon receiving Harry's confirmation he Apparated away to the prison to finish inspecting the prisoners.

Harry did the same, but he made his way to Potter Manor, the Goblins of Gringotts had apologized for their 'king's ignorance' in other words the so-called goblin king had realized just how much money he had in Gringotts between 'Thorn' and as Harry Potter. In compensation for their 'oversight' they had given him the cup. He wished he had been there for the conversation between his goblin and the goblin king, now that would have been a sight to see.

Do you want to see the conversation between the goblins? Next chapter I think will mostly contain Voldemort and maybe a bit of Harry and his group it was suggested to me that we were seeing a little too much of just what Harry was up to :) I do agree with that so this is the result :) it's always fun to write Dumbledore floundering around trying to be useful :D so will he make the mistake of thinking Harry hasn't taken his exams? how will Hermione react? IS she finally getting a clue? will she be able to face the reality of what her hero is like? Or will she just shove it aside and make herself think Harry was just trying to get to her? Will we see her ending up with someone else and redeemed in the end? perhaps the mate of a werewolf or vampire? Or is she destined to go down along with the old Ministry? R&R please