Harry's eyes opened wearily as Harry sat up from his bed in his brightly lit room. Looking around him, Harry was confused for a second at his surroundings before remembering that he had shifted in with Sirius the day prior. Taking in his environment once again, Harry was still amazed at the size and the design of the room, Sirius personally took charge of designing Harry's room, theming it based on the Gryffindor house. His bed was a huge king-size bed with red blankets while the rest of the room was filled with posters of Gryffindor and pictures of Harry's quidditch success. His favourites however, were the two paintings on the wall, a gift from Luna, one of him and Cho at the second task and another of him lifting the Quidditch cup with his teammates. Taking a moment to admire the posters, Harry eventually got out of his bed and left to wash up. Walking around Grimmauld Place felt almost foreign to him, gone were the days of the creepy dark house, it was now decorated and newly renovated, filled with sunlight from magical windows. It was to Harry's surprise as well that there was a roof which was now made into a small garden and barbeque place, perfect for gatherings with friends. In this renovated house, there was only one reminder of the past left which was Sirius's mother who still went on racist rants from time to time. Otherwise, the place was perfect. Heading down to the dining room, Harry found Sirius at the dining table, reading a newspaper.
"Didn't expect you to be up so early," Harry said as he took his seat.
"New habit," Sirius replied, still reading the paper, "Kreacher!"
With a pop, the house-elf appeared in front of both Harry and Sirius, ready to take orders.
"Yes Master?" Kreacher asked.
"Prepare Harry some breakfast."
"What would you like Young Master?" Kreacher asked Harry.
"Some toast and scrambled eggs will do," Harry replied, "thank you Kreacher."
"It's my duty," he replied, bowing and leaving for the kitchen.
"So, when's the Order meeting?" Harry asked.
"Tonight," Sirius answered, "everyone is coming down, even Amelia."
"It will be pretty major then," Harry agreed.
"How's your project going," Sirius asked.
"It's done," Harry said with satisfaction, "just have to test it on Fleur."
"You will need another test subject as well," Sirius added, "someone who is susceptible to her allure since you aren't."
"Ron will play that part nicely," Harry responded with a sly grin.
"What you've done is rather impressive if I do say so myself," Sirius said, "creating something like that, you can sell those and earn some big bucks."
"Maybe," Harry shrugged, "the only problem is that only I can make it and making that many amulets for all the Veelas in the world is impossible, at most I will just make it for Fleur's family, Gabrielle would probably love to have something like that."
"Agreed."
For the rest of the day, Harry spent most of his time studying Ancient Magic, looking deeper and deeper and experimenting more. In addition to this, Harry had duelling sessions with Sirius who was one of the strongest duellers in the Order, only behind Dumbledore, Kingsley and Mr Chang. A Mad-eye in his prime would also defeat Sirius but with Mad-eye's retirement, his skill level had dropped meaning that Sirius realistically was the better wizard. Harry however, could go toe-to-toe with Sirius, able to beat him consistently even though he was truthfully holding back as he did not tap into the more deadly magic in his arsenal. Limiting himself however, proved to be very helpful for Harry, allowing him to focus more on the technical side of his duelling, working on his speed and quick thinking in a battle, something that Sirius himself excelled in. The night however, quickly came and one-by-one, Order members began arriving. First came the entire Weasley clan (together with Fleur and Hermione) as Mrs Weasley decided that she would be making a feast for everyone coming, something that Harry and Sirius were grateful for. Harry however, had a task to complete.
"Fleur, Ron," Harry called out, "can you two help me with something?"
Both looked confused by Harry's request but both obliged, coming to Harry's room. Bill himself also followed, something Harry didn't mind.
"What is it Harry?" Fleur asked.
"It's a project that I've been working on for the past few weeks," Harry replied, taking out the amulet, "McGonagall told me during the birthday party that she wanted to employ you as the History of Magic professor just that your part Veela heritage makes it rather unfeasible."
"She did," Fleur frowned, "but what has that got to do with your project."
"I think that I've found a solution," Harry replied, eyes gleaming with excitement, "It's a bit tough to explain but I theorised that your Veela magic is intertwined with your magical aura-"
"Magical aura?" Fleur interrupted.
"Yes," Harry replied, "it is hard to explain now and Dumbledore will share something about it later, but yes your magical aura, I came across a spell which can diminish and hide a wizard's magical aura and I theorised that if I can do that to your aura, it will diminish your allure as well."
"You can do that?" Fleur asked, eyes wide with surprise.
"That's what we are about to find out," Harry replied, giving Fleur the amulet he made, "I worked with our Runes professor and found a way to contain the spell within the amulet, if you put it onto yourself and tap on it with your wand, I reckon that it would work, I have placed it on myself and Sirius and it does hide someone's magical aura, whether it would also stop the allure, we would have to see."
"Wait," Ron said, "why am I here then?"
"Because I need a test subject," Harry replied, turning Ron's face slightly red, "I'm pretty sure that I'm immune to the allure for some reason, but you are a different story."
"I've been improving," Ron protested.
"Ron, just let us run this test for a while alright?" Harry pleaded, "can you lower your Occlumency shield?"
Ron scowled but nodded.
"Ok Fleur, it's time to test," Harry said. Fleur nodded and wore the amulet, she then used her wand and tapped on it. The amulet glowed a bright purple before returning back to normal.
"Ok can you talk to Ron," Harry said, observing Ron's mannerisms which still haven't changed. Harry watched in amazement as both engaged in a short conversation with Ron still looking in control and not attracted to the allure.
"Amazing!" Harry exclaimed in excitement, "Ok Fleur, can you concentrate your allure on Ron? You can do that right?"
"I can," Fleur replied before turning to Ron and making eye contact. After a short while, Fleur broke the eye contact and Ron was still unaffected.
"It's not working," Fleur said in amazement, rushing to Harry to give him a hug, "I think it works!"
"You are bloody brilliant Harry," Bill said, giving Harry a huge hug as well.
"Just doing what I can to help," Harry said, he however, was equally excited, his invention actually worked and the last week did not go to waste, "we should go and tell McGonagall tonight, save her the stresses about finding a new Professor."
"Thank you so much Harry," Fleur thanked him again, her eyes becoming misty from the emotions, "I owe you too much, first saving Gabrielle and now helping me get my dream job."
"Just doing what I can," Harry smiled, "speaking about Gabrielle, I can also make one for her, now that the testing is done it shouldn't be too hard to make, this amulet can go a long way with helping you guys."
"I will tell her the good news," Fleur replied excitedly, "she has been complaining about the unwanted attention."
After delivering the good news to McGonagall who Harry has not seen so happy in a long time, the final Order members finally made their appearance. In the room was Dumbledore, Amelia, McGonagall, Mad-eye, Kingsley, Mr Chang, Ms Chang, Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Percy, Audrey, Tonks, Sirius, Lupin, Diggle, Doge, Mundungus, Hagrid, Podmore, Jones, Ron, Hermione, Cho and Harry with the only members missing being Charlie who was in Romani and Snape who Dumbledore said was unavailable.
"Welcome all," Dumbledore said, "thank you for making it here on time, we have many important matters to attend to today so let's begin then, the first agenda we have on our list today is to keep everyone up to date on current events, Amelia please."
"The Ministry has been very busy these days," Amelia started, "the Death Eaters are making more and more attacks, both of the muggle and the wizarding world, just a few days ago they tried to kidnap Ollivander but were stopped by the Aurors in Diagon Alley, our intelligence are telling us that they have been growing in numbers, hiring Mercenaries and thugs to fight for them, our intelligence also show us that the Werewolves and the Giants are on their side now, we believe that they are preparing for larger attacks, likely on more significant targets as well."
"Like Hogwarts and the Ministry," Dumbledore added, "we are increasing the defences around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, I of course, will be ready to defend Hogwarts if the attack comes."
"Indeed," Amelia agreed, "and as for the Ministry, we are working hard to avoid any infiltration but I believe that the Ministry at the moment is susceptible to infiltration and attacks."
"What can the Order do then?" Sirius asked.
"Nothing much unfortunately," Dumbledore replied, "the role of the Order now is to defend Hogwarts and to thwart any major attacks, our role comes when an all-out attack happens and when that comes, I expect all members to react immediately and come to aid."
"So we are just going to sit back and do nothing at the moment?" Fred asked.
"We are not doing nothing," Dumbledore replied, "in fact, we are doing the most important role to bring down Voldemort, it's time I introduce to you all what I have been working on."
"Together with Mad-eye, we have been working on tracking and locating Voldemort's Horcruxes," Dumbledore said, leading to some gasps from around the room, "for some, this is old news while for others, you might not be aware of what a Horcrux is, Horcruxes are some of the foulest and darkest magic known to wizarding-kind, it involves placing a part of your soul into an object, to do this, you will have to rip your soul through cold-blooded murder, doing this however, will grant you immortality as long as that piece does not get destroyed."
"And Voldemort has these?" Tonks asked, clearly disgusted.
"Yes, very much so," Dumbledore replied gravely, "and not just one, he made seven."
There was more gasping in the room at this news. Harry however, knew what was coming next.
"We have thankfully, made immense progress, two of these Horcruxes are already destroyed, the first, Tom Riddle's diary, the artefact which opened the Chamber of Secrets a few years ago, unintentionally destroyed by Harry when he stabbed it with a Basilisk Fang, one of the only known ways to destroy a Horcrux," Dumbledore said, "the second-"
"Is me," Harry said, leading to many confused and shocked looks, "I was a Horcrux until the Battle of the Department of Mystery where it was destroyed when Voldemort's Killing Curse hit me."
"Indeed," Dumbledore confirmed, "Harry was an unintentional and improper Horcrux, made when Voldemort's Killing Curse rebounded when he tried to kill Harry as a baby, a piece of soul thus latched onto the closest living being which was baby Harry, while making a Horcrux using a living thing is highly impractical, it is still possible and thus, Harry became one, usually, this would result in Voldemort's soul overpowering Harry's and taking control of him, however, due to many special circumstances, Harry was left unaffected, with the soul only hampering his power levels, it's also about time we introduce a special ability Harry has, unlike all of us here, Harry was born with an affinity to Ancient Magic, a powerful old magic which very few can tap into and use, those who can possess an affinity to it and while it's possible to tap into it without an affinity, it requires immense amounts of practice and learning to do so, this affinity to Ancient Magic however, makes Harry one of the most powerful wizards in the room right now and highly capable of duelling and defeating dark wizards, a point which I will bring up again soon."
"In addition to two Horcruxes being destroyed, I have also found and retrieved another Horcrux which is currently safely contained in my office, Mad-eye and I are also closing in on another Horcrux's location which would bring us to four of the seven, of the last three, I am certain that one of it is Voldemort's snake, Nagini, this leaves only two more Horcrux to find, something which I reckon we would achieve before the end of the year, this brings me to our plan, it's my believe that destroying Horcruxes does alert and affect Voldemort, in order to prevent this, I plan to collect the last four Horcruxes excluding Voldemort's snake before destroying all of them, after which, we would launch an attack on Voldemort's location and attempt to destroy the snake which would finally put an end to Voldemort, while the plan is still in early stages, with no details about it yet, one thing I'm certain of is that Harry must be the one to put an end to Voldemort."
Dumbledore stopped speaking, looking at the crowd and preparing to defend his decision, looking specifically at Mrs Weasley, to their surprise however, no one said anything, still absorbing the plan, wanting to hear his explanation.
"Harry and Voldemort are bound by a prophecy which states that neither can live while the other survives, it's my belief that this prophecy means that Harry has to be the one who puts an end to Voldemort, meaning that he has to be at the battle and has to be the one who destroys the snake," Dumbledore said, "while Harry is still a student, his ability in combat magic exceeds many of us in the room and places him at the upper echelon of wizards, I will continue training him and preparing him for that time but I believe that he is already more than ready for a battle, we must however, protect Harry during the battle itself, he has to be the one who puts the blade through the snake, he must."
The room became silent after the announcement. For Harry however, he wasn't fazed by it, truthfully, he wanted to be part of the final battle. He would very much rather not have to fight again but the truth is that there would be a final battle, and he wants to be a part of it. He has fought Voldemort for his whole life, he wasn't willing to be left out of the final battle against him. He however, turned to Cho who looked strangely calm, as if she knew that something like this would happen.
"Let's continue with other aspects of the war then," Amelia continued, "at the Ministry, we are going to be going on more raids of suspected Death Eater locations, Thomas is leading this operation, we have also been tracking the movements of known supporters and sympathisers and trying to see if it would lead us anywhere, McGonagall has also agreed to allow us to interrogate students who are suspected to be involved in any activity, we are also opening more safe houses around the island and should any Order members on mission require it, we will happily provide for you all as well, despite all the bad news, we are very operating on the front foot here, Voldemort forces are numerous but only a select few of them are actual threats and at the moment and they have been quiet, our defences on Azkaban is strong and we can respond quickly to any breakouts."
"What are you going to do about the Werewolves and Giants?" Hestia Jones asked from the crowd.
"For the Giants, we are monitoring their movements very intently," Amelia responded, "we don't think that they will be in any battles anytime soon, they will most likely be used for a major attack whenever that will come, but in the meantime, we can only sit back and hope that we can sway them to our side subtly, for the Werewolves however, I plan to weaken them by implementing a new Werewolf policy, the policy main aim is to change the public's perception of werewolves and to help them to live a smoother life despite their illness, I will be launching this soon but we have some details to iron out first."
"How would you do that though?" Hermione asked, "Getting them employment and all?"
"We plan to give the adult one's education separate from Hogwarts, while those at schooling age will be admitted into Hogwarts and be given special care, something like what Remus received while he was in Hogwarts, our problem however is that we are unable to find any land to build a school for the adult Werewolves, we don't really have anywhere that can accommodate them at the moment."
"Hold on," Harry suddenly said, "I have land that you can use, where the Potter Manor was, you can build a facility there."
"You would really give up your family's land for this?" Amelia asked, looking at him shocked.
"Yeah, I mean my parents will definitely support that decision, and if it helps us win the war, I'm willing, besides, I don't have a use for it," Harry shrugged.
"Thank you then Harry," Amelia said, nodding happily, "I will settle the paperwork with you later, but otherwise, this is it for now, Albus, anything?"
"Nothing, but just a reminder to always be alert in times like this," Dumbledore warned the group, "look out for each, the Death Eaters will start targetting us soon, take care of yourself."
"In that case, the meeting is adjourned."
Exiting the Floo Network, Harry found himself in The Burrow and was immediately greeted by the Weasleys. Before Harry's arrival at Grimmauld Place, there had been a special instalment of a modified Floo Network, one that connected the many safe houses of the Order, they however, can only be used and accessed by Order members. Harry wasn't sure of the details but Dumbledore worked out a way for the fireplace to identify the user, thus ensuring that Order members can get around safely while potential intruders can't.
"Welcome Harry dear," Mrs Weasley said, giving him an embrace after Harry's got rid of the soot from his shirt.
"Good morning Mrs Weasley," Harry replied respectfully, while this wasn't Harry's first visit to The Burrow, it still felt as magical as always, going to the only place that truly felt like home to him. Just then, Sirius exited the Floo Network as well.
"It's good to see you Sirius," Mrs Weasley greeted, "take a seat you two, the letters should be arriving soon."
"Cho isn't here yet?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, who each gave Harry a hug as well.
"Nope," Ron responded, "she should be arriving really soon- oh here she is."
Just as Hermione was about to finish her sentence, the Floo Network glowed again and out came Cho who after cleaning the soot off her outfit, gave Harry a hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Worried?" Cho asked Harry.
"Nah, I did well enough," Harry replied, surprisingly confident about his performance.
"I'm not," Hermione said worriedly, "what if I flung my subjects this time."
"Relax Hermione," Ron comforted her, "the one that should be worried is me."
"You better do well Ronald Weasley," Mrs Weasley said strictly, glaring at him.
"What would your reaction be if I did badly," Harry whispered to Sirius seated next to him.
"You haven't," Sirius replied confidently, "Minnie would have murdered you already if you did."
"Fair point," Harry shrugged, returning to his toast which Mrs Weasley had prepared for him.
Just then, Harry spotted from afar five owls flying towards The Burrow, three of which would be carrying O. results and the other two carrying booklists.
"Here they come," Harry said, starting to feel the nervousness kick in.
"Oh no!" squeaked Hermione who looked pale.
As the owls landed on the table, the three O.W.L students immediately snatched their letters while the other two took theirs rather nonchalantly.
"Together?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione who nodded, in unison, all three ripped open their letters and dig into it's contents. Taking out his results slip, Harry read it immediately.
Harry James Potter has achieved:
Ancient Runes: O
Arithmancy: EE
Astronomy: EE
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Herbology: EE
History of Magic: P
Potions: O
Transfiguration: O
Reading through his result slips again, Harry heaved a sigh of relief, he did exactly how he thought he would, the only stain on the record was History of Magic but truthfully, he wasn't expecting to pass the subject in the first place, here's hoping that Fleur would prove to be a better teacher. Otherwise, six outstandings was amazing.
"How did you do Harry," Sirius asked, Harry immediately showed Sirius the result slip resulting in Sirius choking on his drink.
"Merlin's beard Harry," Sirius exclaimed, "that's Remus type of grade, how on earth did you achieve that while captaining a team and fighting Voldemort?"
"By working hard obviously," Harry rolled his eyes jokingly before turning to Cho to show his results. Cho however, was staring at something else, a badge on her hand which read Head Girl.
"Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, "Head Girl? You are fucking amazing."
"I have no idea how did this even happen," Cho said, accepting Harry's embrace, "how did you do?"
"Six Outstandings, three Exceed Expectations and Poor for History."
"Fucking brilliant," Cho said, giving Harry a peck on the lips, "you have to be what, top three students behind Hermione and Daphne?"
"Probably, Hermione, Ron, how did you two do?" Harry asked.
"Alright I guess," Ron replied, showing Harry his result slip which had six Exceed Expectations, one Acceptable and two Poor.
"That's pretty good," Harry congratulated Ron.
"Well not impressive compared to you and Hermione," Ron shrugged, "but I mean no one can compare to you two and Daphne so it's good enough I guess, which brings up the point, how did you do Hermione."
The table watched as Hermione looked up from the result slip before finally speaking.
"Decent?" Hermione said, giving the result slip which Harry, Ron and Cho read together. Using decent to describe her result was an absolute travesty, she did excellently with nine Outstandings and a sole Exceed Expectations for Defence.
"Decent?" Ron questioned, "This is absolute madness Hermione! Nine Outstandings? That is crazy!"
"Yeah Hermione," Cho said, "this is as good as what I got last year."
"You have to be top of the cohort man," Harry added on, "I reckon Daphne got better than me but just below what you got."
"I guess so," Hermione said.
"Wait hold on Ginny, what do you have there?" Ron asked, looking at Ginny who was looking at something in her palm.
"Oh no bloody way," Harry commented, knowing what exactly it was.
"Ginny is a Prefect!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed in delight, rushing in to give her daughter a hug, "Oh my, wait till I tell Arthur about this, this calls for a celebration, a Head Girl, amazing results for the O.W.L students and a Prefect, I'm going to start the preparation."
With that, Mrs Weasley disappeared into the kitchen, where she continued to chant that Ginny was a prefect.
"Well this is actually a crazy day," Sirius commented. Something that Harry wholeheartedly agreed with.