Hello, hello, I hope everyone is all right and as excited as I am to start Order of the Phoenix! As always reviews are greatly appreciated! :)

25 July 1995

"Mr Weasley, please do not make me hex you," Minerva said tiredly. She stopped walking and turned to see Percy Weasley emerge from behind a bush.

He cleared his throat nervously. "The Ministry—"

"The Ministry has no right to have me followed," Minerva interrupted him. The composed and measured way in which she said this had the effect of making Percy look more concerned than reassured. "However, seeing as the Minister is so woefully concerned regarding my whereabouts, I will tell you now that I am merely going to visit my family."

"R—right," stammered Percy, straightening his spectacles nervously. "Thank you, Professor."

Minerva sighed and pressed her lips together, regarding the boy carefully for a moment. "I did not write a reference for you and help you join the Ministry, Percy, so that you could tail me," she said. "I hope that sooner or later you will find more constructive ways to pass the time."

Percy went beet red as Minerva raised her eyebrows pointedly at him.

"I shall bid you good afternoon," she said before he could say anything more. "I hope we will not find ourselves in the same situation again."

And with those last words, Minerva left the third eldest Weasley standing amongst the trees looking a little at lost as to what to do. She was mildly surprised that Cornelius had sent Percy seeing as he had only recently shifted his loyalty away from his family over to the Ministry. If anything she had expected Dawlish again, who had been following her since the start of the summer every time she decided to leave the castle.

Either way, both Dawlish and Percy were not as discreet as they thought themselves to be. Or rather, they underestimated the people they had been tasked to follow. Indeed, most were unaware that Minerva had previously worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement alongside the Auror department. The training was rigorous, especially at the time Minerva had been working there. Not least because she had been working in a relatively new department that the Minister at the time wanted to prove was successful, but because recent events with Grindelwald meant that the Minister had also wanted to be extremely prepared for a potential uprising.

Minerva pursed her lips and continued carefully down the hill. Clearly, Cornelius was not as eager to be prepared as Wilhelmina Tuft had wanted to be, she thought as she pulled out her wand. Minerva cast a quick spell to make sure no one was in the vicinity. Once she was sure that she had been left alone by any other Ministry workers, Minerva still cast a bedazzling charm on her robes before disapparating.

She arrived seconds later in a small alleyway close to the square where Grimmauld Place was located. Minerva smoothed down her robes, then stepped out of the alley and onto the street. A man and woman holding hands walked straight past her without even batting an eyelid. Please that her charm had worked, Minerva took a deep breath then continued towards Grimmauld Place.

She had barely climbed the steps to the house and knocked on the door when it suddenly opened.

"Oh!" she said in surprised as she came face-to-face with Remus Lupin who looked as though he had just arrived.

"Sorry, Minerva," he said apologetically. He stepped aside for Minerva to come in and smiled kindly at her, though he looked exhausted. "You couldn't have been more than a few feet behind me," he said, as he took off his cloak and hat. "I'm surprised I didn't see you."

Minerva shrugged slightly. "Bedazzling Charm," she explained. "I was followed on my way here and thought it would be best to take some precautions."

"Still tailing all of you then?" Remus sighed, as they began to make their way towards the kitchen as quietly as possible. He turned to look at Minerva who nodded. "Who was it this time?"

Minerva didn't answer immediately as they walked past the portrait of Sirius' mother. She thought of Percy Weasley, then Molly and Arthur. They did not need to know about this, she thought finally.

"Nobody I couldn't handle," she told Remus, who opened the door to the kitchen.

"Hullo."

"Afternoon, Sirius," Minerva replied to the morose looking man at the end of the table. Sirius had been that way ever since Albus had encouraged him to move into Grimmauld Place. Although Minerva empathised slightly with Sirius' current predicament, she still agreed with Albus; a cave was no place for a hunted man to reside with a hippogryph.

"Where's Dumbledore?" he asked.

Remus turned to look at Minerva as well. Clearly, he had also just noticed the absence of the Hogwarts Headmaster.

Minerva sighed and sat down. "He is at the Ministry," she informed them. "More specifically, he is attending his last Wizemgamot meeting."

Sirius frowned but Remus nodded slowly. "They're going to strip him of his title," he said quietly as Sirius' jaw dropped.

Minerva nodded. "Foolish man," she said, referring to Cornelius, "but I think Albus expected this after everything that has been in the papers."

"Could they remove him from Hogwarts?"

Minerva shook her head and Sirius trailed away. "Not for this reason," she said. "But increasingly it is looking as though they will try to find a reason to have him removed and replaced by a Ministry worker."

"But you're Deputy Headmistress," Sirius said.

Minerva pursed her lips. "I do not think that counts as much as it did," she said. "Dolores Umbridge has already been given a position at Hogwarts by the Minister. It will formerly be announced in August, so I am told."

A dark shadow passed over Remus' features as Minerva said this. Umbridge was one of the main reasons he had been finding it so hard to find a job since he had left Hogwarts; her new bill meant most employers were unable to hire Lupin even if they wanted to.

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Nasty piece of work, that woman," he said. "I remember what she was like at school," he added. "Downright cruel most of the time."

"Mm," agreed Lupin.

Minerva sighed. "It won't make things easy, I am sure," she admitted tiredly just as a loud crash sounded from the hallway. Minerva, Remus and Sirius tensed as they waited to see what would happen. As expected, the shouts of Mrs Black pierced the room almost a second later.

"Blood traitors! Abominations!"

Sirius stood up abruptly. "Kreacher!" he shouted furiously, already striding out of the kitchen.

Remus got up too. "He keeps on setting her off by dropping things," he explained to Minerva, who was frowning. She began to stand, but Remus shook his head. "We can manage," he assured her. "Back in a minute."

Minerva watched him go, the sound of Cedrella Black's cries still echoing loudly within the house.