I do not own Harry Potter.
CrystalKaouri: I think Mrs. Weasley's perspective is not wanting children get involved in a war, which is fair. The professors tried to kick out all the underaged students in the last book after all. But I agree, she is wrong in this circumstance. They're just learning, Harry, at least, can't help being in the war, and several students were legitimately concerned about not passing there DADA exams under Umbridge. There are lots of reasons the group is a great idea.
Thanks for the review, and don't worry if you don't review every update. If there's one thing I understand, it's being busy :)
It was nearly one in the morning when James was unceremoniously pulled from his sleep by a flash of light. He started from the bed, wand raised, just in time to see a tongue of flame disappear. A letter lay on the floor.
"What is it?" Lily mumbled sleepily, having been awoken by his sudden movement.
"Fawkes," said James, heart beating as he summoned the letter. What had happened?
Arthur Weasley has been attacked by Nagini. He is on his way to St. Mungo's now. Harry saw the event in a dream and was able to raise the alarm. He and the Weasley children have been sent by Portkey to Grimmauld Place. Please, join them there as quick as you can.
Albus
"Lily," James said, quietly but urgently, as he got out of bed, "Get up, we have to go."
Lily was already half out of bed. "What happened?" she asked as she scrambled into clothes.
"Arthur's been attacked," said James, pulling on his shoes, "Harry saw it in a dream. They're all at Grimmauld Place."
"Does that mean Voldemort was…"
"Nagini," James interrupted, knowing she would understand. Voldemort had not gotten the prophesy.
More or less ready, they went to the fireplace and used the floo. Stepping into the kitchen, they found Sirius, Harry, and the younger Weasley's sitting listlessly around the table. Lily embraced Harry, while James asked Sirius for an update. Then, they joined them in silent vigil at the table. Soon after their arrival, Fawkes delivered another letter, saying that Arthur was currently alive and at St. Mungo's. Otherwise, they sat at the table, drinking butterbeer in silence.
Finally, at ten past five, Molly walked in the door. "He's alive," she said, "We'll be able to see him later. He's sleeping. Bill's sitting with him now. He's going to take off work."
"Breakfast!" Sirius shouted, joyfully, "Where is that accursed house elf? Kreacher? KREACHER? Oh, forget it then. So, it's breakfast for, let's see, nine, bacon and eggs, I think, and toast." Lily and James jumped up to help him and give the Weasley's some space. Molly hugged and thanked Harry. Then she thanked Sirius, who said he was happy to help and invited them all for Christmas, which he seemed heartily pleased about. Then…
"Dad," Harry's voice beside him caught his attention, "Can I have a quick word? Er... now?"
James nodded and followed Harry into the pantry, where he promptly told James everything about the vision, including news he had hitherto not known, that he had seen it through the snake's eyes.
He listened without interruption to the end, then asked, "Did you tell Dumbledore this?"
"Yes," said Harry, "But he didn't tell me what it meant. Well, he doesn't tell me anything anymore..."
"I'm sure he would have told you if it was something to be concerned about," James said. He hoped anyway. He knew Dumbledore liked his secrets... still, if Harry or anyone else was in danger, he was sure the Headmaster would have said something.
"That's not all," Harry whispered, "Dad, I... I think I'm going mad. Back in Dumbledore's office, just before we took the portkey... for a couple of seconds there I thought I was a snake. I felt like one... my scar really hurt when looking at Dumbledore. Dad, I wanted to attack him."
James wasn't sure what to say to this. Harry had no reason to want to attack Dumbledore, and James was sure his son wasn't going mad. Voldemort, however, had every reason to want to attack Dumbledore, and they knew Harry had a connection to him; he had literally just had a vision seeing into his mind. Maybe it was an aftermath of that. Or maybe Voldemort knew about the connection now. It didn't matter. Right now, he needed to reassure his son, who looked like he was about ready to fall apart.
"You aren't going mad, Harry," James said, firmly, "It was probably the aftermath of the vision, that's all. You were still thinking like you were in the dream and..."
"It wasn't that," said Harry, "It was like something rose up inside me, like there's a snake inside me..."
"You need to sleep," said James, "You're going to have breakfast and go upstairs to sleep for a few hours before going to see Arthur with the rest of us. And I promise you, it is perfectly safe for you to sleep. You're blaming yourself for things you only witnessed. And if you hadn't witnessed it, Arthur might have died. Try not to worry so much."
And he guided Harry out of the closet toward the breakfast table before he could protest.
That afternoon, everyone except Sirius headed off to St. Mungo's to see Arthur, joined by Mad-Eye and Tonks. The non-Weasley's, except Harry, stayed outside the room while they visited Arthur. Then, the kids were kicked out, and the Order members entered.
"How are you feeling?" Lily asked Arthur.
"I feel absolutely fine," said Arthur, beaming. "I just have to stay here until they find a way to stop the wounds from bleeding. Now, what's been going on?"
"Well," said Tonks, "even the Ministry can't ignore a giant snake attacking you. They searched the entire area, but they couldn't find the snake anywhere. It just seemed to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur. But, You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"
"I reckon he sent it as a look out," Moody growled.
James nodded. "If only because he hasn't been having any luck so far."
"He's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's up against," Mad-Eye continued. "If Arthur hadn't been there, the beast would have had much more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?"
"Yes," said Lily. "Do you get the impression Dumbledore's just been waiting for him to see something like this?" she asked, feeling a little uneasy. "I mean, after his visions last year, it only makes sense they'd be stronger now."
"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," said Molly.
"'Course he's worried," said Moody. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake. Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him..."
"My son is not possessed," James said, firmly.
"It doesn't make any sense," Lily said, before anyone else could protest. She would have listed the reasons that it couldn't be possible but was cut off by Moody.
"He couldn't be possessed in the traditional sense," he agreed, "But since when has anything about your son been traditional? The fact is that Potter is seeing things from You-Know-Who's mind."
"Wouldn't that be more like Harry's possessing You-know-Who?" Tonks asked.
"Or he could simply be reading his mind," said James.
"Which isn't that much better," Moody growled. "If Potter can read his mind, You-Know-Who could read his."
"Wasn't that what we were already concerned about?" Arthur asked, "The connection working both ways?"
"I think Dumbledore has some kind of plan to try and protect Harry," Lily said. "Occlumency would be the logical step."
"If this is a matter of minds," said Moody.
"Look," said Molly, "We can't leave the kids out there for long. Let's call them back in to say goodbye, and we can discuss this later, when we have more information."
"That's a good idea," said James, crossing to the door.