Unsurprisingly, it was Sirius who started the conversation. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here was start asking questions about Voldemort."

"I did!" Said Harry, "I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said that we're not allowed in the order, so…"

"We decided that it was time to give you a little more information," said Lily, and Harry turned to her, surprised.

"Not everything," said James, "But if you'll ask questions, we'll give you the general picture. That is if you really want to know what's going on?"

"Of course, I want to know what's going on!" Harry replied.

"Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George," said Mrs. Weasley, "I want you out of this kitchen now." This caused an instant uproar. Eventually it was decided that Fred and George were of age, and Harry would tell Ron and Hermione anyway. Ginny was sent away, but Lily figured Hermione would tell her later.

"Ok, Harry," she said, "What do you want to know?"

"What's Voldemort up to? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the muggle news and the Prophet, but there doesn't seem to be anything that looks like him. No funny deaths, no…"

"That's because there haven't been any," said James, "Not as far as we know."

"And we know quite a lot," said Sirius.

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," said Remus.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked.

"He's trying to lie low," Lily explained. "It would be dangerous for him to draw attention to himself at the moment."

"His comeback didn't come off quiet the way he wanted it to, you see," Sirius said, "He messed it up."

"Or rather, you mess it up for him," said Remus, sounding satisfied.

"How?" Harry asked.

"You weren't supposed to survive," James said, solemnly, "Nobody apart from the Death Eaters were to know that he'd come back."

"The very last person he wanted to know was Dumbledore," said Remus, "and you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?" Harry said.

"Are you kidding?" Bill joined in. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of."

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Pheonix about an hour after Voldemort returned." said Sirius.

"And what has the order been doing?"

"Trying to stop whatever Voldemort's doing," said James, "Keeping him from completing his plans."

"How do you know what he's planning? What is he planning?"

"Dumbledore's got a good idea," said Lily, "And his good ideas are usually accurate. Severus has been a big help too."

"Firstly, he wants to build up his army again," James said, "That way, when he does decide to reveal himself, he'll be nearly unstoppable. That's his plan anyway."

"In the old days, he had huge numbers under his command," said Sirius, "Not just witches and wizards but all manner of dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one group he's after."

"So, you're trying to stop him from getting more followers?" Harry asked.

"We're doing our best," said Lupin.

"The main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," said Bill, "It's proving tricky, though."

"Why?"

"Because of the Ministry's attitude," said Tonks.

"You saw Fudge after Voldemort came back," Lily said, "He hasn't shifted his position at all. He's point blank refusing to believe it's happened.

"But why?" Harry demanded, "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore…"

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," said Arthur, "Dumbledore."

"Fudge is frightened of him," said Tonks.

"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Said Harry, incredulously.

James nodded. "He's afraid of what he's up to. Fudge believes Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic. He thinks he's plotting to overthrow him."

"But Dumbledore doesn't want…"

"Of course, he doesn't," said Arthur, "He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."

"Fudge knows that Dumbledore is a clever more powerful wizard than he is," Remus continued. "In the early days of his ministry he was always asking Dumbledore for advice. He's more confident now and has become fond of his power. He loves being minister, and he's convinced himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore is just stirring up trouble for the sake of it."

"How can he think that?" Harry said, angrily. "How could he think Dumbledore would make it all up… that I'd make it all up?"

"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble the Ministry hasn't faced in fourteen years," James said. "The first wizarding war was the biggest conflict in our time. To imagine that it could happen again…"

"Fudge just can't face it." Lily finished.

"You see the problem," said Lupin, "While the Ministry insists there's nothing to fear, it's very difficult to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place."

"What's worse is that most people don't even know anything's happened," said James, "Fudge is leaning on the Prophet, so Dumbledore's story isn't being printed at all."

"But you're telling people, aren't you? You're letting people know he's back?" Harry asked, looking around at them.

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand-Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Said Sirius.

"I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," said Remus, "It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf."

"Tonks, Arthur, and I would lose our jobs at the Ministry if we started talking about it. I'm on precarious footing already," said James. "It's very important for us to have spies in the Ministry, since Voldemort certainly will."

"We have managed to convince a couple of people, though," said Lily, "Tonks, for example. Having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage ... Kingsley has been a real asset too. He's heading the hunt for Sirius, so he can keep the Ministry off his tail."

"But if none of you are putting out news about Voldemort ..." Harry began.

"Who said none of us was putting the news out?" Said Sirius, "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're trying to discredit him," said Remus, "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's old and losing his grip, but it's not true. He was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot, that's the Wizard High Court, and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin as well."

"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," grinned Bill.

"It is not a laughing matter," said Arthur, "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore is out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Dumbledore's out of the way, well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."

"Dumbledore's not going to end up in Azkaban," James dismissed, "He's Dumbledore! He's not just going to let them arrest him."

"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit Death Eaters, wouldn't it get out that he's back?" Harry sounded a little desperate.

"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry," said Sirius, "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails. He's well-practiced at operating in secrecy. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too. Plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on them at the moment."

"What's he after apart from followers?" Harry asked.

Lily and James exchanged a quick glance. "Stuff he can only get by stealth," Lily answered, vaguely.

"Like a weapon," said Sirius, which was so close to a lie. "Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?"

"Yes."

"Like what kind of weapon?" said Harry, "Something worse than Avada Kedavra?"

"That's enough," said James, suddenly.

"I agree," said Molly, before Harry could protest. "I want you in bed, now. All of you."

"You can't boss us ..." Fred began.

"Watch me," snarled Molly. "If you tell them anymore, you might just as well induct them into the Order straight away.

"Why not?" said Harry, quickly. "I'll join. I want to join, I want to fight."

"No," said Lily. That she could agree with. "The Order is comprised only of overage wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved none of you realize. We've said enough."

The children stood up one by one and followed Molly out the door. Harry was the last to leave.