Disclaimer: This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. No ships. Bashing around everyone.

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18 Finally, A Quiet House August 11

Harry was still in bed when Dobby popped into his room and informed Mr Harry Potters that Bill Weasley was at the front door. Sitting up, Harry said, "That's right. They're leaving this morning."

Climbing from bed, dressing quickly, and running a comb through his hair, Harry came down the stairs to the first floor to discover Bill and Arthur arguing with Molly in the hallway.

"I thought you meant sometime in the morning when you said sunrise tomorrow, Bill," Molly complained. She was in her nightclothes with a dressing gown wrapped around her middle and slippers on her feet. Arthur was fully dressed.

"The children are up and dressed," Arthur said. "And we are leaving in five minutes so pack our trunk."

"I won't have time to dress…twenty minutes," Molly replied.

Mr Weasley shook his head and said, "You can go home in your house coat or naked, but we are leaving this place and going home!"

Thinking back to the previous night and the naked Dora Tonks with her naked son, Ron, Molly began to turn red and growled, "Arthur Weasley, don't you take that tone with me!"

For once, Arthur enforced his will on his wife through the magic their marriage gave him. He replied sternly, "Molly, I am your husband! Obey me!"

"What? You've never done that," Molly replied, not able to deny her husband's command.

"Well, maybe it's time I did!"

Looking at Bill for support, Molly found her oldest son's face closed off without any support. Then she spotted Harry Potter standing at the end of the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Harry's face grew slightly sour – this was his godfather's home – his rightful home. But he didn't reply and feed the fire of an argument. To move the morning along, Bill greeted the teenager saying, "Mr Potter. We are gathering our belongings and will depart soon."

"Very well, but allow me to assist you," Harry said, determined to be shed of the Weasleys after last night.

"What? How?" asked Molly. Arthur looked prepared to object as well, but then Harry snapped his fingers and the trunks of clothing and personal belongings for the parents and the four children appeared in the hallway in their trunks with the lids open.

Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron came out of Ginny's room, dressed and ready to leave. Molly fussed a bit over each of her children as they checked and closed the lids of their trunks. With another snap of his fingers, the trunks were shrunk and levitated into Bill Weasley's hand.

Molly remained in her housecoat and slippers, but Arthur took her arm and guided her toward the stairs. Following at the back, Bill herded his younger siblings as they followed their parents. Ron sneered at Harry but then Bill smacked him on the back of his head and pushed him to move along.

In the entry hall, Alastor Moody stood beside the door that he opened it to allow the Weasley family to step outside of Grimmauld Place. He watched carefully as William Weasley stood in the centre of his family with everyone grabbed onto one another. Then the Cursebreaker activated a portkey and the whole family vanished in swirling magic. Moody closed the door and turned back around to find Harry Potter standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Is your godfather awake?"

"No, I hope he sleeps late to get some real rest."

"Good," the retired Auror stated, leading the way to the kitchen. "We need to talk."

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In the kitchen, Harry was provided with tea while Alastor got a mug of coffee.

"Potter, have you ever seen the Hogwarts phoenix when he has a burning day?"

"She," Harry corrected the older man. "Fawkes is female and yes, I've seen her burn up. There's nothing left but a pile of ashes and then suddenly there's a baby phoenix sitting in the ashes."

"Female, huh?" Moody asked. "Might explain why she stayed with him all these years."

Harry didn't comment but drank from his cup while Moody gathered his thoughts. The retired Auror began, "Last night the Order of the Phoenix experienced a burning day."

The idea seemed to interest the teenager, so Moody expanded his statement, "The primary support team here in Grimmauld Place – Molly and Arthur Weasley – were traumatised. Mrs Weasley tried to bring down the entire house but proved she couldn't hit the broad side of a dragon. This morning, they grabbed their four children and fled back to the countryside. She'll never come back here and won't let Ron bring you home again."

"Two of the order's enforcers – Tonks and Remus – were equally traumatised and left. Tonks with burns and Remus with his leg tucked between this legs again. The man is not a fighter!"

"Dumbledore and his two closest lieutenants were injured and rushed to Casualty at Saint Mungo's."

Harry nodded with each statement. Then Moody said, "Now here's the parts you don't know yet."

Breakfast appeared on the table at that moment and in between bites, Moody continued, "Last night, Padmore realised the Order of the Phoenix wasn't doing anything but guarding you, and that Albus Dumbledore will make up the rules as he goes along. I believe he and Auror Shacklebolt will both resign the order today or tomorrow.

"What about Mr and Mrs Tonks?"

"Potter…they came here hopeful of seeing their daughter who has been wrapped up in Dumbledore's plots for the last year." He grinned and added, "Bet they saw more of her than they've seen in fifteen years or more."

Harry cleared his throat and stated, "They witnessed their only child barely escape from a crazy witch trying to kill her."

Moody grinned, "So it will make sense when they decline to join the order."

"Why do you care if the Order of the Phoenix burns up?"

"Because Dumbledore is going to get everyone on our side killed. He doesn't care if every member of the Order of the Phoenix, every Auror, and every innocent witch and wizard die, so long as he has the chance to redeem a single Death Eater," Moody said. "I despised Barty Crouch, Sr but if he'd authorized the Aurors to kill the Death Eaters in the field, the insurrection would have ended quickly."

"How do you know that?"

"When the Death Eaters started showing up and killed the first muggleborn students and families, the Aurors outnumbered them three-to-one," Moody explained. "We were good too. But Dumbledore demanded the terrorists be given a second chance and they lived while our numbers shrank. Then the wizards on the fence jumped to join the side they thought was going to win."

"If the Dark Lord hadn't been stopped by your dad and mum that night, the Death Eaters would have been in control of Magical Britain by the next summer."

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Morning at Hospital

When Alastor Moody stomped into the discharge room at Saint Mungo's Hospital, he observed Albus Dumbledore seated on a throne(!) while receiving letters from three postal owls. Severus Snape walked through the room without speaking to Dumbledore or Moody and left. The wizard would apparate away to wherever he planned to ruin someone's day.

There were three owls with letters and as Dumbledore read each one, he frowned and appeared to worry.

"Bad news?" Alastor asked rather than greet the old wizard.

"Alastor," Albus replied. "Just…yes, very disturbing developments this morning.

Waiting silently, Alastor knew Albus loved to hear himself talk and even in public setting could not stop himself sometimes. After looking at the three – no four – parchments again, Dumbledore explained, "These are shortsighted responses to the unfortunate events of last night."

Blinking his one good eye, Alastor held out his hand for the parchments and was surprised when Albus handed them over without objection. He quickly scanned them with his magic eye; letters of resignation from the Order of the Phoenix from Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Sturgis Padmore. The fourth parchment was a letter from Ted and Andromeda Tonks declining Dumbledore's offer of membership in the order. Padmore and the Tonks family cited opportunities in other countries as their reasons for leaving. Auror Shacklebolt stated that the duties for the order conflicted with his oaths of service to the DMLE and Ministry for Magic.

"This is some curse or spell that the Dark Lord is using to drive people away from the light," Albus confided with Moody. "He seeks to deny me the fighters needed to block the attacks he is planning."

Moody asked, "You think the Dark Lord is driving people out of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Of course," Albus replied. "I am certain that is the cause."

Alastor looked away with his good eye but kept his magical eye focused on Dumbledore. Then Moody asked, "How is McGonagall?"

"I haven't had word this morning," replied Albus. "The hospital refuses to discuss…"

"As is the law, Dumbledore," declared an older wizard in healer's robes. "Mrs McGonagall's medical condition is none of your concern. We have contacted her eldest son, and he will be here this morning.

"There's no need to bother Laird Blue," Albus stated referring to David McGonagall's title in the Wizengamot. "I am certain that Professor McGonagall will heal fine."

The healer grimaced and said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, you have no reason to loiter in the discharge room! I suggest you leave!"

Offended to be dismissed so rudely, Albus protested, "Why is there such hostility here this morning? I can't fathom any reason that I would be dismissed so heartlessly

The healer stalked closer and hissed, "If you can't fathom the reason? Then allow me to explain why you are not our favourite patient! The guild of healers despises you Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore – universally despises you."

Dumbledore was speechless as the healer continued, "And why is that? Because of the Death Eater you protect at Hogwarts! Since 1982 you allow that beast to destroy the dreams of boys and girls to learn potions and become healers. The numbers of graduates who qualify for apprenticeships began declining in the summer of 1983 and have fallen every year since then. How have you ignored this problem for the last dozen years?"

"Potions are difficult to learn," Albus finally managed to argue. "And Severus is the youngest potions master in this century."

"But he can't teach a niffler to steal a galleon let alone teach anyone how to brew a potion!" the healer spit back. "Saint Mungo's provides revision classes for ten students each year but that is not enough. There are NO muggleborn or half-blood apprentices in our ranks for the last six years – only purebloods."

"And purebloods lack any creativity or thinking outside the potion bottle. Our new healers prescribe standard potions that the hospital buys rather than brews itself. The level of medical care in Great Britain has fallen below the European Standards every year!"

"This is not my fault," argued Dumbledore.

"You're the head of the damn school and you protect the Death Eater from all the complaints that healers, parents, and ministry officials register every year – of course it is your fault! Now, get out!"

Rising and dispelling the spell that transfigured a regular chair into the throne that the headmaster felt was part of his persona, Dumbledore turned to leave without bidding the healer good day. He wanted to discuss the residents at Grimmauld Place with Moody, but the retired Auror had already apparated away.

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