Hello all, and welcome back. I'm sorry I didn't update for so long, but I apparently am not good at regularly doing things without a deadline. Except for reading, which is integral to my heart and soul. This chapter might be a little boring, but I needed to finish establishing the base story. I'm sorry if I made you wait, and if I continue to, but my schedule is busy and I don't have very much writing time. Enjoy the story!

Reminder! HP timeline: before the OotP. PJO timeline: Nico just turned 14, but looks a little older thanks to being, you know, a demigod and a son of Hades

Nico's POV

"So," said Nico slowly, still trying to process the information he had just been given. "Wizards have… three of your talismans."

"Yes," Thanatos nodded.

"And… if one wizard gets them all… they are the Master of Death."

Thanatos nodded again.

"So… why has no one done so before?" Nico asked, slightly confused on why it was such a hard thing to do.

"Well, young master, that requires a history lesson, as I assume Chiron did not go too far back," Thanatos replied.

This time it was Nico's turn to nod, stifling a groan at the thought of yet another lecture.

"Now, let me tell you the tale of The Deathly Hallows."

(Authors Note: Assume that Nico already knows about horcruxes, but wasn't told about people who had done that)

Harry's POV

Harry frowned at the gobstones board, his brow furrowed in concentration. Across from him, Ron waited for him to make his move, smirking confidently. Gobstones, the wizard equivalent of chess, was extremely difficult. Harry continued to think as hard as he could, when suddenly, a flash of inspiration streaked across his mind like a lightning bolt.

(I know. I just had to make that joke. At least once. I'm sorry. *whispers* Not really.)

Harry moved his queen across the board, taking one of Ron's pieces and checkmating him.

"Ah, come on," whined Ron, his hands already resetting the board. "I really needed that win to beat my record!"

Harry said nothing, just shook his head in amusement at his best friend's complaining.

"What's that? Harry's won? Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione said, looking up from her book to compliment him.

"Thanks, 'Mione. It's all thanks to Ron for teaching me, though," Harry replied, grinning.

"Oh yeah," said Ron, brightening significantly. "Maybe if you become a famous gobstones player, I can come with you and be your coach, or trainer person, and everyone will say, 'there goes Ron Weasley! He taught Harry everything he knows about gobstones'. And people will ask for my autograph and–"

"Anyway," said Hermione, looking at them sternly over the top of her book. "Silly fantasies aside, I want to know what your plans are for O.W.L.S."

"Err…" Ron and Harry said in unison, glancing awkwardly at one another.

"Don't tell me that you haven't thought about them at all!" Hermione exclaimed, looking scandalized. "They're all I've been thinking about! Do you two have any idea how much of an impact they have on your future? In fact, I've been researching it, and not one representative of the Wizengamot has gotten below an E or O in their O.W.L.S.!" She thrust a sheet of paper in their faces. Harry looked down at it. It had a list of names, O.W.L.S. scores, N.E.W.T. scores, and a host of other information.

Ron's face had an alarmed expression on it.

"Erm, Hermione," he started looking at the paper. "Where did you find all this information? Blimey, is that this poor bloke's address?" He asked incredulously.

"That," Hermione said pompously, snatching away the paper from Ron, "is none of your concern. What you should be concerned about are your tests!" Hermione continued to ramble on about the statistics of wizards who got an E or an O, and how that affected their career later in life.

"Blimey," said Ron. "She's really gone off now. She must be stressed about them."

Harry just nodded in mute agreement.

Just then, Molly Weasley, the matriarch of the Weasley family, and a force to be reckoned with, called the trio down to the kitchen, and she did not sound happy.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all quickly ran down the stairs at breakneck speed, hoping to get there in time so they wouldn't get scolded. As they tore through the final hall before the kitchen, there was a loud bang behind them, followed by raucous screeching.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's that troll leg! I keep tripping over it!" said a voice from the entrance to Grimmauld Place #12.

Ron snickered. "She's really done it now. If Mum is in a bad mood, there's no telling what could happen to Tonks."

As if connected by some mysterious force, Mrs. Weasley's voice rang out from the kitchen. Now she really did not sound happy.

"WHAT is going on! What could possibly possess you to make such a noise!" she shrieked, marching forcefully into the narrow corridor.

"Morning children," she said briskly as she passed them. "Harry."

Just then, Tonks emerged from the door to the entrance hall, looking nervously at the furious woman before her. Harry didn't blame her. Mrs. Weasley could be scary, even when she wasn't mad at him.

"Sorry Molly, you know how I am. I'm dead clumsy, I am. Moody says that I'd trip over my own shadow if I could." She looked at her feet with a rueful expression and sighed.

Molly frowned at her fiercely, then sighed.

"Well, Tonks, I suppose I can't exactly blam–" an even larger crash interrupted her mid-sentence, followed by a faint whooshing sound. A silent, nervous moment stilled the air. Then came the inevitable.

"FILTH! MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS! DESECRATING THE SACRED HOUSE OF BLACK! REGULUS WOULD NEVER HAVE TREATED THE HOUSE LIKE THIS! SUBJECT TO—"

"Be quiet, you old hag!" shouted none other than Sirius Black, current (reluctant)owner and housekeeper(kind of) of Grimmauld Place 12.

"Sorry 'bout that, Molly, Harry, company." Sirius ran a hand through his somewhat long black hair, looking disheveled.

Just then, Tonks stumbled in, nearly knocking over an umbrella stand that Harry was pretty sure was a full-body stuffed house elf. He shuddered and looked at the walls, rather morbidly decorated with the heads of past house elves.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius! That troll leg, it's like it's trying to trip me! It's always there! Always!" Tonks gasped, looking at the group. "Oh! Molly! Er… sorry about that. Um…" Tonks trailed off, uncertain what to say as to not anger Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "It's alright Tonks. I suppose we're all getting used to…that woman."

"You mean the wretched, awful, nasty woman. Who had terrible taste in everything, including people. That…" Sirius trailed off as Molly gave him a stern look, stopping him before he continued on a tirade that would surely end up with him yelling and shouting obscenities.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry all shared a sigh of relief, glancing at Mrs. Weasley.

"Right'O, then," Tonks said cheerfully, relieved that she had been spared the wrath of a certain mother figure. "Let's go and have some grub, yeah?" They all looked at her, and while Harry certainly thought that food sounded good, the rest of the group looked unsure. Except for Ron, who was always hungry.

"Or not," said Tonks, catching the look Mrs. Weasley and Sirius passed between them.

"Oh, it's not that, Tonks, dear," assured Mrs. Weasley "It's just that Dumbledore is supposed to be coming to discuss something," she said, glancing around the room as if expecting the eccentric headmaster of Hogwarts to come striding through the walls. Then again, you never knew with Dumbledore.

"Oh, that's right! I remember now," Tonks replied, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Yes. And Order members only," Mrs. Weasley added, looking sternly at the three teenagers.

"But Mum," Ron whined.

"No buts! Order members only! Now go to your room. I'll send Ginny and the twins up in a moment. Now shoo!" Mrs. Weasley made shooing motions with her hands and herded them toward the stairs. "And don't you dare try to eavesdrop!"

Harry frowned. He still thought that he should be able to know what was going on, but he was afraid that Mrs. Weasley would lock him up to keep him safe for the rest of his life. As he climbed the stairs, he wondered what the secret meeting was about. The Order of the Phoenix was very secretive, and its members very powerful. Then again, an organization run by Dumbledore and rebelling against the Dark Lord, one of the most powerful wizards of all time, couldn't really be any other way. Especially with Moody in it. That man was paranoid. For good reason, though. He had been locked in his trunk for about nine months.

"Aaah! Ow!" Harry yelled, startled out of his thoughts by his foot bumping into a precariously perched cabinet, and it promptly falling on his foot. And squashing all of his toes.

"Oh, no! Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked anxiously. Ron snickered behind her.

"Here mate, can't have you dying of grievous toe wounds before you fulfill your glorious destiny." Ron stretched out his hand to Harry, who was sitting on the ground where he had fallen, nursing his injured foot and glaring at the cabinet. Harry sighed and accepted Ron's hand, the red head pulling him to his feet.

"What was that noise?!" came a voice from the kitchen, a rather frantic voice, Harry thought.

"Nothing, Dad! Harry tripped!" yelled back Ron.

"Is he okay?" came the voice, which Harry now recognized as Mr. Weasley.

"He's fine," hollered Ron, grinning at Harry. "He'll have some killer bruises on his foot, though."

"Alrigh—"

"Blimey, Harry. That was almost as big as my crash earlier! Impressive!" came Tonk's voice.

Harry sighed again, ruefully looking down at his poor foot.

"Best be in your room soon, or Molly will be out for blood, kids," advised Mr. Weasley from three floors away. At least that's what Harry thought he said. He couldn't be sure since Mr. Weasley was no longer shouting.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sighed together, heading toward the dimly lit bedroom, Harry wincing every time he stepped on his bad foot.

Just as they were about to open the door, twin sharp cracks!

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, jumping back.

"Ah, look Fred," said George, grinning at them.

"Ah, yes George, a fine trio we have here," replied Fred, also grinning.

"However, not–"

"As fine–"

"As–"

"Us!"

The twins grinned even bigger at each other, enjoying their alternating talk.

"Don't do that," Hermione said, frowning. "What if you had done that too early and Ron had fallen down the stairs!"

"No great loss," Fred and George said together.

"In fact–"

"We'd even–"

"Push him–"

"Down–"

"Ourselves!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get out of the way," Ron grumbled, pushing past them.

Ginny was already in the room, quietly reading a book. Harry felt happy at seeing her happy, a strange feeling. He shrugged. She was his best friend's sister, and his friend too. Of course he was glad she was happy. (Keep telling yourself that Harry…we all know)

"Hello everyone," Ginny said looking up as they all filed in. "Mum banned you too, huh?"

"Yeah," Ron sighed, flopping onto the bed with a muffled whump.

"Now, now, tsk tsk tsk," Fred said in mock disapproval.

"Did we teach you nothing?" asked George, smirking.

Ron just groaned.

Fred copied Ron with a very exaggerated sigh, pulling long, fleshy colored strings out of his pockets.

"What're those?" Harry asked.

"Extendable Ears!" the two twin tricksters shouted together.

"Plug one end into your ear, and the other end does the rest!" said George excitedly.

"Completely safe for users," Fred added with a wink and a nod to Hermione.

Hermione just sighed. "Alright, fine."

"And we have official Hermione approval!" shouted George gleefully. Ginny promptly shushed him.

The group of teenage mischief makers crept to the edge of the railing near the stairs, and let the Extendable ears stretch down to outside the room where the meeting was taking place.

Ginny frowned. "But they put an Imperturbable Charm on the outside of the door. I've checked."

"We can still try though," said Harry, hoping that it had worn off or that the Order had forgotten. It wasn't likely.

The group lowered their ears down, holding their breath.

"Shh, I can hear something," Ron hissed, having gotten up from the bed to investigate.

"The charm must have faded a bit," whispered Ginny excitedly.

"New…unknown…protect…Camp Half-…half blood?…gods…" came voices through the fleshy cords of the ears, faint but distinct. Harry and the others spent at least ten minutes listening to their conversation, but they must have started whispering, as the Ears only picked up faint noises from the room. Once, there came a loud "WHAT?" but without context, there was no way to tell why the person felt they had to shout.

Suddenly, the doors slammed open and the kids had to quickly retract the special Ears before they were spotted.

"Children, you can come down now!" shouted Mrs. Weasley.

"Alright, Mum! Coming!" shouted back Ginny.

As everyone started down the stairs, Harry was about to follow when he realized Dumbledore had been to Grimmauld Place yet again and he, Harry, the one who Dumbledore should have been guiding, helping, protecting, had been ignored! Harry growled in anger and kicked at a rather ugly statue of a small, impish looking fellow with a huge potbelly and snaggly teeth, forgetting that he had hurt his foot earlier. Harry promptly grabbed his foot, said "Ow" and muttered a word under his breath that Mrs. Weasley would have him scrubbing his mouth out with soap for saying.

"Are you coming, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Coming," he called back.

He set his poor foot down and hurried after his friends, wondering if the adults would tell them anything about the sudden meeting.

Nico sighed, twisting his skull ring. He did not want to go to school, no matter where or what it was. He scowled even harder, looking at the long, thin box on the table in front of him. He sighed resignedly and opened the box. He took out a long, slender stick, an object that few could recognize for what it was, and even fewer could wield.

Thank you for reading! I'm going to try to keep my intros and outros shorter so you can read the story without interruption better. With that in mind, bye!

(P.S. I am posting this way, way sooner than I thought I would, so you're welcome!)