Chapter 9: Another Order Meeting
Sorry, y'all must wait for updates. I only do this on my days off and only when I remember that I'm writing something. Which I only seem to remember in the middle of the day. Sometimes I sleep all day and completely forget that I'm writing something until the wee hours of my morning. I work the graveyard, so my morning is the middle of the night.
Again, I am dictating this so if you see some mistakes let me know and I will go back and try and fix them. I do go back and reread my chapters to orient myself to where I'm at. And do update those chapters and any errors I find and repost them. This does not have a beta, because I am too lazy and impatient for betas. You see, they have a life and I do not. Well, I do have a job. But still…
I have been known to fix, update, and rewrite chapters. I will let you know if I do rewrite something. It's usually not something drastic. If it is, I'll let you know. The last chapter was just minor errors.
Thanks for all the reviews.
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The Order the Phoenix meeting was called, and it was coming on Christmas, which was only a week away, and Harry was ecstatic. He was going to get his house back, according to Waters. They had been going over the parchmentwork for weeks now and found all the loopholes. There was nothing stopping them. The will of Sirius was infallible. And it was all the words that they needed to get what they wanted. Which was Harry's house.
Harry was going to let the Order continue using the house. He wasn't going to let them out of his sight. He was going to give them a false sense of security. He was going to let Dumbledore think he was still in charge. Well, sort of in charge. They were going to be a partnership. Harry was going to continue to cause chaos at the meetings.
The past two weeks have been interesting. He had gotten a few men to beef up his followers into street fighting, much to Dumbledore's displeasure. They were using non-magical techniques and not many wand movements. Then he got a few low lives from Knockturn Alley to show them some down and dirty tricks for wands as well. Now his followers were well versed in street fighting. They could hold their own and get away or take down at least one opponent.
He had also given the list that Tom had given him to Mad-Eye Moody. Old Mad-Eye had gone over the list and found two Horcruxes because of it. One in this very house and one at Hogwarts.
He wanted to talk to Tom personally and Harry said he would see what he could do about that. He didn't know if he wanted the two of those men together. Mad-Eye was a paranoid old sod, and Tom was just as paranoid. They were just paranoid about different things.
"Come together now, everybody," said Dumbledore, coming into the room and going to his chair. "Quiet down now." He took a seat and waited for everybody to settle down. He had been late coming in. He had had a few things to do at Hogwarts.
"Yeah, everybody, shut up," said Harry, banging his fists on the table to get everybody to listen to him. When they didn't, he shot a few fireworks from his hands. He looked much like a magician from the movies.
With that, the followers of both sides quieted down and settled down on either side of the table. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table. Harry at the foot. Harry's people were on the right side. Dumbledore's were on the left. They had settled into this arrangement since the first meeting. And decided it was the best arrangement where everybody was happy.
"I'd like to call this meeting to order," said Dumbledore, looking at everybody's faces as if he were the king of the world. "We need to go over some solutions for what we're going to do when Tom Senior comes on the scene. Has anybody got anything to report?" He wasn't expecting anybody to say anything that he didn't already know. So, he was quite shocked when the news came from the right side of the table.
Crabbe Senior held up his hand and said, "My master thinks that we should, uh, stake out the graveyard in Little Hangleton."
"Why does he think we need to stake out the graveyard?" asked Harry. "What's in Little Hangleton?"
"That's where his birth family is from," said Crabbe, looking at Harry. "He thinks Voldemort, the older, will use the bone of the father." He gave the boy a regal nod.
"Why don't we just destroy the bones?" asked Harry, with the confused tilt of his head. He didn't understand this logic at all. If they knew what he was going to do to get back a body, why didn't they just stop it? That made complete sense to him.
"He feels that we should let him continue the ritual and destroy him then," the overweight Death Eater said. He wasn't one to go over the words of his master. He was just here to relay the messages. And then take back whatever news or gossip was to be had from the meetings.
"I think we should destroy the ritual and let him try something else," said Harry, looking around at the faces of the table to see if anybody agreed with him. Moody did. So did a few other people from Dumbledore's side, and half of his group did too. So, he wasn't alone in his thinking, so he didn't understand why they were having this argument.
"No, I agree with Tom Junior," said Dumbledore, stroking his beard in a thoughtful manner. There was a manipulative look in his eyes.
"Why do you think that?" asked Harry incredulously. He thought for sure the headmaster would agree with him.
"Because that way we know where he is," said Dumbledore with a deep, thoughtful look in his eyes. "We would be able to better keep an eye on him and know what his movements are if we know when and where he is and what he is doing," said the old man.
"I guess," said Harry. He could see the reasonable side of that, but he didn't understand why anybody would put lives in danger for that type of situation. "But I still feel that we should destroy the ritual and see what else he can come up with. That way we can keep him in wraith form longer and prevent the war. If he comes back before we're ready, then all the lives that are lost will be on your head." He pointed his finger at the headmaster and then again at Crabbe so he could take the message back to Tom.
"We will endeavor to do our best to prevent any loss of life," said Dumbledore in a kind, grandfatherly voice, as if he were speaking to a child who was speaking out of turn.
"You can't promise that," said Harry, harshly.
"Now see here," said Dingle. "You can't talk to the headmaster that way." The man always butted in and said the exact same thing every single time Harry argued with the headmaster. If it wasn't him, it was Molly Weasley.
"I'll talk to the old man any damn way I please," Harry said, slamming his hand down on the table, making the teacups clatter. "He's putting other people's lives on the line. Just to play his little head games. I can see where Tom doesn't care about other people's lives. He's a Dark Lord, but Albus is supposed to be the leader of the Light. He's supposed to put other people's lives before his head games." He slammed his fists on the table one more time, just to get his point across.
"I think you're putting too much into this," said Dumbledore, making placating gestures, trying to calm the boy down. "I am not putting anybody's lives ahead of my own. I feel that I am quite strong enough to protect everybody." He opened his arms wide in a grand gesture, as if to take the whole world into his arms to protect it.
"Now you're just being hubris," the young man scoffed, thumping back into his chair as if the man was saying something stupid.
"Do you not think that I'm strong enough to protect people?" the affronted man said, a note of hurt in his tone.
"Protect people, sure, but not everybody," said Harry, waving his hand in the air as if to encompass the entire world. "You can't be everywhere at once. I'm a strong person and I'm not boasting that I can protect everybody."
"We are an army that are 100 strong, Voldemort is but one man. I feel that we can protect the people of England," the headmaster said, once more stroking his beard in a wisely manner.
"And I think you're wrong," the young boy said heatedly. He just could not seem to get his point across that the old man was wrong.
Then Crabbe spoke up and said, "My master is spoken. We will stake out the graveyard." He folded his arms in a defiant manner.
"You Death Eaters do what you think you need to do. I am putting in the vote that we should at least sabotage the bones of the father," Harry said, raising his hand as if he were voting in a school vote.
"In what way do you think we should interfere with them?" Hermione wanted to know, speaking for the first time since they started this debate. She was on his side. She wanted to sabotage the bones too. She didn't think that they should let the Dark Lord come back and just go around randomly killing people, knowing that she and her family would be one of the first ones he wanted to kill.
"I don't know… replace them with animal bones," Harry suggested, pulling something random out of the air.
"But then he will not rise," Crabbe said, knowing that that would work against his master's plan.
"Which is a good thing," Harry said, folding his arms in a triumphant manner.
"We just had this argument," said the old man.
"And I'm having it again," Harry said with a huge grin. He wasn't through having this debate. He was going to have it until either he won, or he was exhausted.
With that they went back and forth for another fifteen minutes, and it was decided that they would stake out the graveyard. But not sabotage the bones of the father. Harry was very put out that he did not get his way on this, but majority rule voted.
"Does anybody else have anything else to report?" asked Dumbledore, hoping for something a little less significant.
"I've found two Horcruxes," said Moody, surprising the hell out of the old man.
"Oh, and how did you find them?" asked the headmaster, staring at his old friend in shock.
"I was given a list by Junior," said the one-legged man. "I found one here, and one at the school," he added.
"How did you get into Hogwarts?" Albus asked, glaring at his friend. No one should be able to get into the school without his permission.
"I have my ways," Alastor stated, not put off by the glare. He didn't even glance at Harry or the Weasleys. It had been the twins that had gotten him in, via Harry. They had been reluctant to work with Harry, but the needs were great.
"And how were you given this list by Tom?" asked the headmaster, a twinkle in his eye.
"Harry gave it to me," Alastor stated with a shrug. It wasn't a secret.
"Why did you not give it to me?" the headmaster asked Harry, complete with a hurt look, as if he was devastated that the boy did not come to him first.
"Because you would have just kept it to yourself," said Harry, as if that were the simplest explanation. Many people were nodding in agreement.
"My boy, I am saddened that you would think that about me," Albus said, putting his hand to his chest as if mortified.
"Oh, don't give me that crap. You know it's true," the teenager said, glaring at the man.
"Nevertheless, you should have given it to me, and we would have discussed it as a group," he said as if that were something he would have done anyway. Which half the group knew was not true.
"We're all here now," Harry said magnanimously.
"So we are," Albus sighed, acting put upon. "If you would, Alastor, share it with the group." He was not sure if it was a good idea, but he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He had little choice but to do it now.
"I have no issue with that," said Moody. He pulled the list out, showed the two places where he had found the Horcruxes and the three that he was stumped on. "I've narrowed it down to these five items," he said, going down the list. "I feel that there's only three left, but I think that these five items are the best possibilities of what they could be. They are Gryffindor's Hat, Ravenclaw's Hairpin, Hufflepuff's cup, The Invisibility Cloak, and the Resurrection Ring. I found Ravenclaw's diadem and Slytherin's locket."
"Do you have any idea where these items could be?" asked Harry, looking at the list. He was wondering if the Invisibility Cloak that Sirius hinted at could be it. He really hoped not, because it was the only thing he had of his father's, and he had yet to obtain it from the headmaster.
"No," said Moody, slumping in his chair as far as his wooden leg would let him.
"Have you decided to ask Tom," asked Hermione, looking over the list as if it would tell her where and what these things were. She was dismayed to see that they were Founders items and Deathly Hollows. These were priceless treasures that should not have been used in such a defiling way.
"Young Harry there said he'd set up a meeting," Mad-Eye said, nodding to Harry.
"I would like to be part of that meeting," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling madly. As if he were calculating something.
"Not on your life," said Harry, making a slashing motion with his hand.
"Whyever not?" asked Dumbledore, completely affronted.
"Because Tom does not want to meet with you," said the teen if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I think we could meet amicably," said the old man, waving away any discomfort that might be had.
"I'm sorry, what part of Tom does not want to meet with you do you not understand?" asked Harry with slow and deliberate words.
"Now you are just being childish," huffed the headmaster.
"And you're just being pushy. He is within his rights not to meet with you. You did him great wrong when you were his teacher. He has no qualms whatsoever about working with you from afar, but if you push it, we can break off this relationship we've got going right now," the younger man stated with heat.
"Very well," said Dumbledore, seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere.
"Anyway, I'll get with Tom and see when he wants to meet with you, but remember he was a Horcrux for fifty years. He doesn't remember much of anything. He's only going by what he thought he was going to do," said Harry, turning his attention to Moody.
"I'll remember," said Mad-Eye, his magical eye roaming the room like crazy.
"Does anybody else have anything else they want to say?" inquired Dumbledore, hoping no one did.
"I do," said Sirius from Harry's pocket in a voice that could barely be heard.
Harry pulled out the painting and enlarged it.
"Yes, Sirius? What can you bring to this meeting?" the old man asked in a tired tone.
"I just want to say that I am very happy to be part of this meeting," said Sirius with a brilliant smile.
"You weren't a part of this meeting until you butted in," said Dingle, menacingly. He never liked Sirius. He still thought the man guilty of something.
"Oh, shut up you old fool. I want to welcome you all to my house and I want to say that I hate every single one of you," Sirius said, still smiling that brilliant smile. He even gave them all a wave. "Well, except Moony and Moody," he added, winking at the two men.
"Sirius! what a thing to say," said Molly Weasley with an aghast tone.
"You all had me Kissed before even finding out my side of the story, and then you took my house away from my godson without so much as a by your leave. How could I not hate you?" said the disgruntled young man. He got up and started pacing around his painting in an agitated manner.
"All right, Sirius, you've made your point. Why don't you go back to sleep now, and I'll wake you up when it's time for the fireworks to start," said Harry, not wanting his godfather to give up the game too soon.
"All right, Harry," said Sirius, winking at his godson. He then went to his chair and fell asleep.
"Sorry about that. He gets agitated sitting there alone, listening to us not being able to do anything," the teen said. Harry shrunk the painting and put it back in his pocket.
"Why do you keep him in your pocket?" asked Hermione.
"He gets lonely sitting on the wall. He doesn't like any of his relatives," explained Harry, patting the pocket lovingly.
"Oh," she said, not sure what to think about that.
"Anyway, does anybody have anything important to add," the leader of the Light asked, moving the meeting along.
"I've talked to the werewolves," said Remus, standing to be heard, "and they said they're going to stay out of any war that is going to start between the three of us. They want no part of it."
"I doubt very seriously they're going to stay out of it if Voldemort Senior decides he's going to throw in his lot with them," Harry said, tapping his finger on the table thoughtfully.
"Why do you say that?" asked Remus, glaring at the boy who had taken away his friend.
"Because he's going to torture them into obedience," said Harry, not the least bit intimidated by the scowl. "That's what he did last time, isn't it?" He looked to Hermione for confirmation.
"Yes, that's right," she said, nodding her head.
"What makes you think he's not going to do that again?" Harry asked, looking at the werewolf.
"We're much tougher than you think we are," said Remus, puffing out his chest trying to appear tough to the crowd.
"Yet it happened the first time. I think it will happen again," said Harry, lifting an eyebrow.
"Let us not argue," said Dumbledore, raising a hand. "Remus, I think you should go to the werewolves and tell them that they should go into hiding if Voldemort comes to calling." He wanted them to not be involved in the war at all. Though with the likes of Greyback, that might not be possible.
"You can't be taking the word of this teenager over mine, can you headmaster?" the werewolf asked, standing up for himself for the moment.
"I think it should be a word of caution that Voldemort is a very powerful wizard that can use torture to bend people into compliance," said Dumbledore, making placating gestures.
"Yes, Headmaster," said Remus, bowing down to the old man's wisdom as he usually did.
"See? You're a ruddy coward," said Harry under his breath.
"In closing. We are going to have the graveyard under surveillance, and we are going to have the werewolves go into hiding. Is there anything else of importance that we need to take care of?" The headmaster asked, looking at everybody.
"We need to beef up the DMLE," Mad-Eye stated, hoping to get some of his friends into the department as spies.
"Is Junior gonna let us do that?" Harry asked with a note of wonder.
Everybody turned and looked at Crabbe.
"I will ask my master if that will be allowed to be done," the overweight man said with a shrug.
"I don't see why he won't let us do that," said Harry after a moment's thought. "We're, after all, going to need a police force."
"You mean an Auror force?" said Hermione.
"Yeah, that."
"Why are we going to need one of those when you have Junior in charge?" she asked, wondering what his thought process was.
"To give people a false sense of security. Why else?" was his answer, again with a shrug.
"Why a false sense of security? Why not have a real sense of security?" asked Hermione.
"Well, I mean, you have a Dark Lord in charge," was his reasoning.
"Is he really a Dark Lord if he's not evil anymore?" she asked, tapping her chin.
"Well, he is still trying to take over the world," Harry pointed out.
"Is he trying to take over the world or is he just trying to take over England?" was her question.
"He's already taken over England. He's just trying to keep control of it now," was his answer.
"Oh."
"I see this meeting has already come to an end. Let me call this meeting closed and you two can continue your debate," Dumbledore stated, standing to leave.
"We're finished," the two stated together.
"Nevertheless, I call this meeting to an end," the headmaster said, standing and leaving.
"I do believe we pissed the old man off," said Harry as he watched the man leave.
"Bugger him," said Hermione not bothering to lower her voice. There was no love lost between her and authority figures these days. "He's pissed me off many times. He just can't seem to hold the meeting without making somebody mad. Especially you." She glared back at the people who were glaring at her.
"Yes, he does seem to be an argumentative old fellow, doesn't he?" Harry said with laughter in his tone. He just waved at those that were looking at him in an angry manner. He could care less what these people thought about him. He'd known them for less than a month. He'd probably know them even less after the war. He had no intention of staying in the school when the war was over. He'd have his house. He'd have his money. He had no reason to stay. Sure, there was the library at the school, but there was an even better library here at this house.
The two of them continued to talk while the rest of the Order and their followers vacated the house. Crabbe was the only one who stayed there with them.
"Was there something else you needed to talk to me about?" asked Harry, when only the three of them were left.
"I was wondering if you wanted me to take a message to my master," said the overweight man. He had been left specific instructions to stay in case there were secret messages that needed to be passed.
"Well, old Mad-Eye does want a meeting, so you could ask him if he wants to meet up with him," Harry ventured. He had nothing else he needed to say to Tom. Anything else he could say to him, he could send a Patronus for.
"I will do that," said Crabbe, bowing his head and getting up to leave.
"Do you think Tom will meet with Mad-Eye?" Hermione asked, not sure how the younger Dark Lord operated.
"Probably. He wants those Horcruxes to be gone just as much as everybody else does," Harry said, tapping his finger to his lips. He thought the meeting was going to be hilarious.
"What I wouldn't get to be a fly on the wall for that meeting," said the bushy haired girl. She thought the meeting was going to be hysterical. She wasn't sure if it was going to be a ha-ha hysterical or a highly paranoid hysterical.
"It should be an interesting one, that's for sure," the male teen said with laughter in his tone. "Why don't you come along when it happens? I don't mind you being there." It was a genuine offer. He didn't know why she didn't join him at most of the meetings he had with him anyway, other than the fact that Tom would continuously call her a mudblood and it might boil down into fighting.
"Can I really?" she asked.
"Of course you can. You're my right-hand man. Be warned, Tom might be a bit abrasive towards you," Harry warned.
"Oh, I'll be ever so thankful. And don't worry, I'll give back as good as I get," she said, going over the things she could say and do to the Dark Lord. That and she knew Harry would have her back in times of predicament.
With that, the two of them continued talking for another ten minutes and then they broke up and decided to leave it for the day. Hermione left, and Harry pulled out the picture of Sirius, and they continued to talk for little while. Harry had a great time talking to his godfather, even though the man was forgetful. They went over the things Sirius had learned from the listening charms, which wasn't much because there wasn't much being said, other than watch out for the containment threats.
Other than that, the two of them joked around and had a good time. Until it was time for Harry to return to Hogwarts. Which he did happily, waiting until it was time for Christmas. Then he would get to open his big present, which would be his house.
The world would change again.
Maybe.
At least he'd have a home.
The world would be brighter for him.