Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 78: From Bad To Worse
Black Manor
McGonagall apparated before the gates of the house. It was past midnight, and the neighborhood was in complete silence.
She walked up the short set of stairs and saw the door opening before she could reach it.
The grumpy house elf of the family gave her an inquisitive look, as if blaming her for her late visit.
McGonagall ignored the creature and the screaming painting of Walburga Black, continuing directly to the main hall, where the other members of the Order were already waiting for her.
The first one she spotted at the table was Tonks. Her usual vibrant pink hair was now dark red, denoting how the girl was feeling at the moment.
Sirius was sitting at her side while Snape was standing further back in the room.
"Where are the others?" McGonagall was sure she had requested everyone's presence during this emergency meeting.
"They should be here soon."
The one who responded was none of them, but the voice came from behind her.
McGonagall got startled and turned around, only to find herself staring at someone she had not seen in a long time. "Remus!"
Remus Lupin smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Minerva. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the funeral…"
"You were outside the country. When did you come back?"
"Just yesterday. I went to Hogwarts first and spoke to Hagrid. He tried to get me up to speed with everything that has been going on." Remus glanced at Sirius for a moment. "Are we really suspecting James's son for all of this? It sounds crazy."
"Why don't we wait for the others to get here," McGonagall suggested. "I could use some coffee in the meantime."
It was almost two in the morning when enough members were able to show themselves in the house.
Arthur Weasley had come by himself, since they didn't want to leave their children unattended, so Molly had to stay at home.
Mundungus Fletcher, Hestia Jones, and Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived last.
Since Hagrid had to remain in the castle and Moody was in charge of the murder investigation, these were all the members they were going to get tonight.
The meeting started, and McGonagall related everything that she had learned, sharing every single detail with all the members.
Since Dumbledore's passing, they had all decided that transparency was going to be a crucial part of the Order of the Phoenix moving forward. No more secrets or misleading information.
Everything was put on the table before they began discussing what should be done next.
"We don't even know where Harry could be. Shouldn't we leave speculations until we have a chance to properly confront him?" Remus suggested.
"There is enough evidence to present a solid case in the Ministry," Tonks pointed out.
"What if this is a setup from You-Know-Who?" Remus looked around and saw their expressions. They had all decided that Harry was guilty, but he was not willing to give up just yet.
"You think we haven't already considered that?" Sirius looked offended.
He had been Harry's number one supporter, but he could no longer deny the reality...especially not after what happened tonight.
Amelia Bones was dead, Susan was missing, and a very dangerous tome of dark magic had been stolen. Harry was the last person who had been seen with the girl and could not be found anywhere.
"The Dark Lord had nothing to do with these last deaths, and he is not one to hide his actions from us. You should have seen his expression when I delivered the news of Albus Dumbledore's death…" Snape had been cursed almost a dozen times that night.
Lord Voldemort was incredibly angry about not having been the one to kill the old man.
"What about the attack on his uncle's house?" Remus asked.
"Again…had nothing to do with that," Snape responded.
"The wards that Albus set up in Harry's house should have prevented anyone with bad intentions toward the boy from approaching or even finding the house itself. He assured me over and over how safe the Dursleys' house was…and why he always insisted that Harry return there, despite…ehm…" McGonagall went quiet.
"So this is just a coincidence? Because it looks to me that all these deaths are benefiting You-Know-Who quite a lot," Remus said.
"What about Lord Malfoy?" Tonks asked. "That one didn't benefit him at all. We all knew that Lucius Malfoy was one of his most loyal followers. That was on the same day that Harry Potter visited Diagon Alley. I found my aunt waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron, but when we went looking for him…he was nowhere to be found. I bet he had gone to Knockturn Alley. I didn't think of looking for him there." She lamented.
"Regardless of this," Hestia Jones intervened, "what Mister Lupin said at the beginning is not wrong. Until we can find the boy, there isn't much we can do about it. So perhaps we should focus our attention back on what the Dark Lord is doing."
"She is right," Mundungus added. "We already have eyes everywhere. Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Hogsmeade…if Potter shows his face anywhere, we will know immediately."
McGonagall nodded before moving her eyes to Snape. "Has the Dark Lord given any indication of what his next moves could be?"
Snape thought about it for a moment, trying to recall the details of his last visit. "Right now, he was trying to lay low and collect as many of his forces as he could."
"We are already keeping an eye on the giant tribes, but the werewolves are much more difficult. They don't like interacting with outsiders," Arthur Weasley said.
"I can help with that," Remus suggested. "I still have a few contacts in some of the most important werewolf clans."
"That would be useful," McGonagall responded. "What about the wizards and witches still inside Azkaban?"
"We have five confirmed Death Eaters in there," Tonks recalled, since she had recently been working there.
"They are well secured though," Shacklebolt added. "Between the dementors and all the guards…"
Tonks flinched as she recalled something she heard from Moody tonight. "Hold on…didn't the Minister call for all personnel to investigate Madam Bones's murder?"
"Yes, the majority of the Auror Department was present there," McGonagall said.
"Indeed," Shacklebolt said. "Even Tonks and I were called, despite not being on duty. We are supposed to start our shift in three hours…" The man lamented the lack of sleep. "What are you getting a—"
Before McGonagall could finish her sentence, Snape gasped loud enough to get everyone's attention.
"The Dark Lord knows that the dementors have been acting up since the day of his resurrection. With less security and the Ministry distracted…he may not waste the opportunity to invade Azkaban and get his followers out."
"And I thought things couldn't get any worse tonight…" McGonagall muttered.
A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.
You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. You can also find characters images to view for free in Collections/Beneath the Skin Images
-patreon.com/Kriogenix
For donations and commissions, go to ko-fi.com/kriogenix