Chapter 2: The Reunion
Harry
The flight was quiet, all of Moody's preparations for naught. Harry landed next to Lupin, his feet hitting the ground softly, his dismount near perfect. He had practiced a lot, after all. Tonks touched down next to him, her landing not nearly as gracefully. She stumbled off the broom with a yelp, catching herself on Harry's shoulder, causing him to bump shoulders with Lupin. The former professor raised his eyebrow at the display. Tonks recovered, raising her eyes to meet Harry, sweeping her messy pink hair out of her face. She winked at him, not having the same effect after her little blunder.
"Thanks for the catch, Harry." Harry was pretty clueless with girls, but even he could tell Tonks was laying it on thick. He had never flirted before, he didn't even talk to any girls besides Hermione and his quidditch teammates. Don't get it twisted, he certainly has noticed the lovely witches at Hogwarts, but none seemed to hold any interest in him. Maybe he just didn't notice, Hermione did always say he was clueless. He gave himself a mental shrug. Might as well live a little, haven't done much of that lately. He attempted to lower his voice, mildly successfully. "I'd catch you anytime."
Tonks' head was thrown back as a hearty laugh escaped her throat, her shoulders shaking in mirth, a quiet snort coming from the opposite side of Harry. Face reddening slightly, he shrunk in on himself at the failed attempt. "Not bad Harry, not bad. We'll have to work on that before you go back to Hogwarts though, can't let the witches down."
His embarrassment forgotten, Harry registered the witches words, go back to hogwarts? "I thought I was expelled?"
"Don't you worry about that, Harry. Dumbledore has the hearing all taken care of." Lupin's voice said from behind Harry.
"Yeah, you'll be back at school in no time." Tonks added. Harry's shoulders visibly relaxed at their reassurances, he had assumed there was no hope. Normally, kids his age would be celebrating in the streets, being permanently done with school, but Hogwarts was different, it was his home - being with his 'family' certainly was not home. What would he do without Hogwarts? His pessimistic mind hadn't quite reached that far, until now. But according to Lupin and Tonks, he needn't worry… he still would, until he was back within those magical stone walls.
"Enough mucking around, constant vigilance. We're not out of the woods yet." Moody had made his way over to them, his face twisting at Tonks' laughter. He shoved a slip of parchment into Harry's hands. "Read this, commit it to your memory." The headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix is at 12 Grimmauld Place. The note was gone, leaving only a flaming piece of ash. Harry jerked and drew his hand away as the flames tickled his palm, letting the parchment float to the pavement. "Order of the Phoenix?"
He was met with a scathing glare from Moody's normalish black beady eye. "Quiet! Don't know who's listening." He returned his normal eye to the unassuming building in front of him, prosthetic eye still constantly darting in seemingly random directions. Harry took his first look at the building. It was thoroughly unimpressive, a completely normal complex, windows lining the face of the building in a set pattern, the occasional light shining through as the residents remained awake at this ungodly hour.
His eyes widened slightly as, before his very eyes, the building began to move. The side of the building splitting down the middle, the halves shifting in opposite directions. Harry could see a man in one of the alit windows. He was standing at the sink, washing dishes, continuing as if the building itself weren't splitting like the red sea. The two halves of the building settled, their movement completed. Another door was revealed in the separation, an ornate door that was out of place on the drab London street, well Harry thought it was London at least. The rest of the building did not share the same ornateness of the door, it was rather dreary. Black tones covered the building, an ominous feeling washing over Harry even at a distance - it was not the most inviting house he had ever seen.
Moody began to walk towards the door, the rest of the group following, Lupin and Tonks staying close to Harry. Lupin gestured forward, the two younger magicals following his lead. Moody stood guard at the door, he eye(s) facing towards the street, searching for any eavesdroppers. Harry entered a dark, more than slightly creepy, long hallway. He continued on, slowly creeping down the hall, unsure if he really wanted to enter this house. Lupin passed him by, Tonks following shortly after. "See you around, Harry." She winked as she walked by. "Oof!" She exhaled as her foot connected with an umbrella holder resting on the side of the hallway, causing her to tumble forwards, the umbrellas clattering to the ground. A curtain Harry had yet to notice flew open at the sudden noise, revealing a moving portrait.
Filthy mudbloods! How dare they enter MY home! Harry went to cover his ears as the lady in the portrait screeched, until Moody caught up to them, a light from his wand shutting the curtains, ceasing the incessant yelling. He kept walking, passing Tonks, who was still on the floor, Lupin hovering over her.
"I swear that thing moves every time." Tonks raised from the floor, Lupin cleaning up the mess with his wand. He shook his head slowly as they followed Moody through a door at the end of the hallway. They cleared the doorway, leaving a sight line for Harry to peer into. He stopped in his tracks as he locked eyes with a familiar, dark pair. His Godfather, Sirius Black. He looked a lot healthier than the last time he saw the man, he had gained weight. Though, there were lasting effects from years in Azkaban that could never be lost, that look in his eyes, sunken into his face, it was not pleasant. Nonetheless, a smile crossed both of their faces as they saw the other. A warmth blossomed in his chest momentarily, until his view was blocked by a small, red-headed woman. She was beaming as she gave him a crushing hug.
"Harry, dear! How are you?" She made a show of looking him over. "Much too skinny. We'll have to fatten you up while you're here." Harry always appreciated the care she showed for him, almost as if he were one of her own, many children.
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley." Harry removed himself from her overbearing embrace, smoothing his wrinkled clothes. "What is going on in there?" Mrs. Weasley's face dropped at his question, a tired look flashing in her eyes.
"Don't you worry about that right now, dear. Ron and Hermione are upstairs." She gestured towards the creaky stairs at the corner of the hallway. Apparently, the builders of this house did not believe in lights, the stairway was devoid of any of it, Harry was not sure if he could make it up without twisting his ankle on some sort of object haphazardly lying on the stairs. "Up the stairs, third door on the left."
Harry nodded and gave her a half smile. He wanted to know what was happening through the door, he was tired of being left in the dark. That anger and frustration from earlier began to creep back into him. He was highly tempted to protest, to demand to know what was going on. If it were anyone else, he probably would have, but this woman had taken him in, fed him and treated him better than anyone else. The look in her eyes was the final straw for Harry, he was not willing to upset his surrogate mother, not this late anyway.
So, he respected her wishes and made his way up the winding staircase, careful to keep an eye on where he was stepping. He hesitated momentarily as he came across an old house elf, judging by the wrinkles covering his body, muttering under his breath. He seemed like the polar opposite of Dobby, Harry was almost positive he would not appreciate socks.
The door Mrs. Weasley mentioned was as dark and dreary as the rest of the house, two familiar voices bleeding through the door as they argued - probably about some meaningless issue. The voices halted as he pushed his hand forwards, the door creaking as he was allowed further vision into the bedroom.
They were standing on the opposite side of the bed, face to face in a rather heated discussion, Ron's fiery red hair clashing with Hermione's mousy brown. Their heads whipped towards the door, an awkward moment passing before they registered he was there. Hermione's face lit up as she sprinted across the room, "Harry!" She crashed into him, her sweater tickling his nose as she swung her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms loosely around her back, Ron standing awkwardly behind them.
"They said you were coming this week, didn't know when, exactly." Hermione pulled back from the embrace.
"So that's it then?" Harry had to say something. "Not a bloody word all summer? And you act like nothing's wrong?"
"Mate, we wanted to but…" Ron tried from the other side of Hermione.
"But what? I was left in the dark after what I went through last year. Do you know what that's like?" Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Harry was on a roll. "No, you don't. You've been here, in the middle of everything, while I've been with my 'family', wondering, waiting for something to happen. And then I get attacked by dementors, and expelled from school. So no, you don't know!"
"Harry… D-Dumbledore told us not to send any letters." Hermione said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Why would he do that?"
"Dunno, mate. Something about tracking you." Ron shrugged his shoulders. "We don't really know what's going on either. They won't even let us in on the meetings."
Letting out a big sigh, Harry made a conscious effort to let go of his anger. "I'm sorry guys… I just get so frustrated sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Ron attempted a joke, Hermione's glare stopped him in his tracks.
"So, this Order of the Phoenix. What is it?"
"It's an organization dedicated to fighting You-know-who. It was formed during the last war… but that's all we know." Hermione answered. For Hermione to not know something… they must really be in the dark as much as Harry. If she was in the position to educate you, Hermione would not hesitate to flaunt her knowledge. The three friends jumped, from what Harry would estimate, about a foot in the air as two loud cracks rang through the room without warning. Two more red-heads appeared, slightly taller than Ron, and much more mischievous.
"Ah, Harrikins… thought we heard yelling." Fred, or was it George, smiled at him. 'You know Fred?" So it was George.
"What George?"
"I reckon we have the perfect thing for these kids' thirst for knowledge." He whipped his hand from behind his back. It was an ear…hopefully not real, with a long string attached to it. "With this rather unassuming thing… one can satiate their curiosity for the unknown, hearing all that goes on behind closed doors."
A rather loud creak from the door caused George to pause his sales pitch, closing his hand around the ear and sliding it deftly into one of his pockets. The youngest Weasley entered the crowded room, her long red hair joining her brothers'. "Hey mom sa- Oh, hi Harry." Harry returned her greeting with a smile. "Mom said the meeting is almost over… what're you guys doin?"
"Catchin' up with our old pal Harry, here." One of the twins answered, their best innocent expressions plastered on their faces.
"I'm not stupid." Ginny deadpanned. "I've lived with you my whole life… I know when you're up to no good." Her eyebrow raised, she stared down the twins until George relented, revealing the ear from his pocket.
"We're listening in on the meeting." George began.
"You want to join-"
"-little sister of ours?"
"Why not? Nothing else to do in this place." GInny said with a shrug of her shoulders. The twins' lips upturned slightly. "Wicked." The group moved as one to the railing at the end of the hall, tiptoeing, attempting to avoid the noise a large group on the move would normally cause. Leaning on the railing, George slowly lowered the ear towards the kitchen door, heads leaning towards Geroge to catch a whisper of the goings on. The ear reached the door, complete silence on the stairs was broken by quiet voices, Harry had to strain his ears to hear anything.
"-looking for a weapon-"
"-should tell him, he deserves-"
"-have to do more if we don't want to repea-"
The ear was only able to pick up snippets of conversation before George's hand jerked down. Harry peered over the balcony, Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, had the ear in her grasp, mistaken for a toy. It didn't take long for the cat to separate the ear from the flimsy string, trotting away her head held high. The group trudged back towards the bedroom in disappointment, not much information having been gained from their venture. The twins left with a quick farewell, probably to work on more ideas for joke products they had stewing in their minds. Ginny and Hermione retreated to their room to 'freshen up' before the food was ready. Harry decided to take a quick nap, extracting a promise from Ron to wake him when the food was ready.
Harry was awoken what felt like moments later by a rough shake of his shoulder. His eyes slowly opened to reveal the freckled face and red hair of Ron. "Wake up, mate. Dinner is ready." Harry rose from the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. A quick splash of water on his face left him feeling rejuvenated as he followed Ron down the stairs. They were the last to dinner, everyone seated around the table; Tonks, Lupin, , Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, all except Mrs. Weasley, who was keeping herself busy in the kitchen, a towel draped over her shoulder.
"Harry…" A soft voice came from the table. A chair scraped on the tile floor as Harry's godfather rose from the table to walk towards him. A smile erupted on his face as he met the man for a strong hug. "Sirius!" His face buried into a bony shoulder, still not fully recovered from his time in Azkaban, the embrace was warm nonetheless. Harry did not want to pull away anytime soon, until an unfamiliar voice changed his mind from the doorway, a strange accent accompanying.
"Yeah this is touching and all, but I'm hungry." Harry removed himself from his godfather's arms and spun around to face the stranger. He was surprised to find a young man who couldn't have been more than a few years older than himself. He was quite handsome, Harry noticed, with windswept jet black hair, a strong jawline, sea-green eyes that churned like the ocean and tan skin like he never left the beach. Overall, he looked kind of similar to Harry, if he worked out and spent a lot of time on the beach, ate healthy… and was handsome.
"Thanks, Percy. I was having a moment with my godson." SIrius rolled his eyes at the newly dubbed 'Percy'.
He shrugged and moved towards the table, taking a seat next to Tonks, who looked strangely nervous. "You know how I like to ruin moments." He shot a lopsided grin to the young auror next to him. "Hey Tonksy."
Tonks blushed a dark shade of red before she responded, her voice quiet, a far cry from when she was talking to Harry earlier. "Hey Perce." Harry took a seat next to Ron, shooting him a questioning gaze. His intelligent response was a shrug of his shoulders. With Ron not being any help, he turned to his female best friend, only to find the brunette staring at the newcomer, unblinking. He didn't seem to notice.
"Alright everyone, dinner is ready." Mrs. Weasley's voice broke Harry and his friends out of their trance, heads whipping towards the Weasley matriarch as if she had shouted at the top of her lungs - which can be quite loud if you ask Ron. A delicious looking plate of food appeared in front of Harry, the smell wafting into his nostrils making his mouth water. He was about to dig in when he spotted Percy leave the table and walk towards the fireplace. The young man stood still for a moment, doing something with his food, before returning to the table with the rest of the party, retaking his seat next to Tonks.
Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, small conversations taking place between one or two people, but none that involved the whole group. That was saved until the food was cleared from the table. Percy made a show of rubbing his stomach and thanking Mrs. Weasley profusely for the food, "That was delicious, Molly."
"Thank you, dear." She retreated to the kitchen, refusing any offered help with cleaning up the mess. Harry was talking quietly with his two friends when Sirius spoke up from the head of the table. "Harry, I'm sure you have loads of questions." The table fell silent as they all turned towards him. He was dying to ask all of the inquiries that had been brewing since he arrived, but all the attention caused him to hesitate.
"What is all of this?" Was the only question he could manage to get out at the time.
Sirius nodded. "This is the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. A secret little club Dumbledore formed to combat Voldemort-" cue the gasps, "- in the last war. Seeing as what happened last year, we decided to reconvene, obviously."
"What are we doing?"
"We?!" Mrs. Weasley's agitated voice came from the kitchen, her cleaning put on hold. "We are not doing anything, Harry. You kids are going to school and continuing to live your lives." Mr. Weasley got up to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Molly, please."
"During the first war, Voldemort's forces weren't restricted to just witches and wizards. He had all manner of dark creatures on his side - giants, vampires, werewolves - he's attempting to recruit them once again." Sirius continued after the interruption. "The order is attempting to interfere with that, weaken his influence with them, lessen his forces."
"So what he's saying, Harry, is that we're sitting on our asses and not doing enough."
"Percy!" Lupin contributed for the first time. "You brought up your concerns in the meeting, this is not the discussion to be had now." Percy just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on the table. Fred, or George, leaned forward, eyeing Percy.
"How old are you, mate?" Percy raised his eyebrow. "I'm eighteen." The twins made a noise of disbelief, turning towards their parents. "How come he gets to be in the order -"
"-when we can't?"
"We're only one year younger!"
"And it's almost our birthday!"
Mrs. Weasley's face began to turn a light shade of pink. "Percy is an exception, according to Dumbledore." She did not look thrilled about it. "I will not let my children risk their lives when they're not even out of school yet!"
"Anyway…this time, we believe he's after something he didn't have last time… a weapon of sorts." He sucked in a breath to continue before he was cut off again, this time by Mrs. Weasley.
"Alright, that's enough, off the bed children." She began to usher out her protesting children. Harry refused to leave.
"No, I want to join. If Voldemort is raising an army, I want to fight!" Sirius slapped the table and threw his hands in the air as if he had just won a long standing argument. Mrs. Weasley did not agree. "You are much too young, dear. Leave it to the ones without a promising future." Harry could not help but think that may have been a dig at Sirius, who looked furious as he got up from the table.
"You are not his mother, Molly!"
"I'm as good as. He needs to enjoy his childhood while he can."
"Molly… from what I understand, Harry has never had a childhood to begin with."
"Thank you, Percy!" Sirius pressed. Mrs. Weasley was as red as a tomato, Harry thought she was in danger of bursting. When she spoke, it was strained, her mouth hardly opening.
"Fine. But we will not discuss this tonight. Off to bed, all of you… NOW!" The red headed children nearly jumped out of their chairs in their haste to leave the kitchen, avoiding the wrath of their mother. It took all of Harry's willpower to stay seated, until Sirius laid a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, go get some sleep… we'll continue this tomorrow, promise." That is what it took for him to relent. He slinked out of the chair and followed his friends upstairs, back to the drab and dreary room. He opened the door, Ron sinking into a chair on the side of the room, Hermione and Ginny sitting on the bed, the twins absent.
The two heads of long hair were huddled together, whispering and giggling - when did Hermione giggle? - Whispering excitedly, but low enough where Harry had no hope of understanding. Ron just occupied his time staring at the ceiling, looking bored out of his mind. He joined his first friend, taking a seat in the chair next to him, observing the strangely interesting ceiling. "What're they talking about?"
"Dunno, mate. Something 'bout that Perry bloke." Ron deadpanned.
"His name is Percy, Ronald."
"Don't really care 'Mione. He's not anything special anyway."
Ginny spoke up this time. "Sure, Ron. Did you see Tonks' face? She was hopeless…" A small chuckle accompanied the end of her sentence. Harry felt he should come to his friend's defense in light of the two girls teaming up on him. "I wasn't that impressed either, honestly."
"Harry, how could you say that? He stood up for you." Hermione argued.
"You know after all that has happened, it's hard for me to trust a teenager with an American accent who claims to be on our side." Harry huffed out.
"Whatever, you two are hopeless. Can't even notice what is in front of your face. Dumbledore vouched for him."
"You're just saying that 'cause you fancy him 'mione." Hermione gasped. "I do not, Ronald… C'mon Ginny, leave these two to their sulking." she stormed out of the room, Ginny close on her heels.
"Girls are crazy, mate… crazy." Ron muttered. Harry hummed as he continued to stare at the plain, dark ceiling, much more intriguing at that moment than it had any right to be.
