"Your..."
"My dear old mum, yeah." said Sirius. "We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."
"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered, as they went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the others just behind them.
"Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house." said Sirius. "But I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters...about the only useful thing I've been able to do."
Y/n noted how hard and bitter Sirius's voice sounded. They followed him to the bottom of the steps and through a door leading into the basement kitchen.
It was scarcely less gloomy than the hall above, a cavernous room with rough stone walls. Most of the light was coming from a large fire at the far end of the room. A haze of pipe smoke hung in the air like battle fumes, through which loomed the menacing shapes of heavy iron pots and pans hanging from the dark ceiling. Many chairs had been crammed into the room for the meeting and a long wooden table stood in the middle of them, littered with rolls of parchment, goblets, empty wine bottles, and a heap of what appeared to be rags. Mr. Weasley and his eldest son Bill were talking quietly with their heads together at the end of the table.
Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. Her husband, a thin, balding, red-haired man who wore horn-rimmed glasses, looked around and jumped to his feet.
"Harry!" Mr Weasley said, hurrying forward to greet him, and shaking his hand vigorously. "Good to see you, you as well Y/n. A very well done on the guard job."
"Thank you Mr Weasley." Y/n said and over his shoulder he saw Bill, who still wore his long hair in a ponytail, hastily rolling up the lengths of parchment left on the table.
"Journey all right, Harry? Y/n?" Bill called, trying to gather up twelve scrolls at once. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"
"He tried." said Tonks, striding over to help Bill and immediately toppling a candle onto the last piece of parchment. "Oh no...sorry..."
"Here, dear." said Mrs. Weasley, sounding exasperated, and she repaired the parchment with a wave of her wand. In the flash of light caused by Mrs. Weasley's charm Harry caught a glimpse of what looked like the plan of a building.
Mrs. Weasley had seen him looking. She snatched the plan off the table and stuffed it into Bill's already overladen arms. "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings." she snapped, before sweeping off towards an ancient dresser from which she started unloading dinner plates.
Bill took out his wand, muttered. "Evanesce!" and the scrolls vanished.
"Sit down." said Sirius now and they all took their seats. 'You've met Mundungus, haven't you Harry?'
The thing Y/n had taken to be a pile of rags gave a prolonged, grunting snore, then jerked awake.
"Some'n say m'name?" Mundungus mumbled sleepily. "I agree with Sirius..." He raised a very grubby hand in the air as though voting, his droopy, bloodshot eyes unfocused.
Ginny giggled.
"The meeting's over, Dung." said Sirius, as they all sat down around him at the table. "Harry and Y/n have arrived."
"Eh?" said Mundungus, peering bale fully at Harry through his matted ginger hair. "Blimey, so 'e 'as. Yeah...you all right, 'arry?"
"Yeah." said Harry.
Mundungus fumbled nervously in his pockets, still staring at Harry, and pulled out a grimy black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, ignited the end of it with his wand and took a deep pull on it. Great billowing clouds of greenish smoke obscured him within seconds.
"Owe you a 'pology." grunted a voice from the middle of the smelly cloud.
"For the last time, Mundungus." called Mrs. Weasley. "Will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"
"Ah." said Mundungus. "Right. Sorry, Molly."
The cloud of smoke vanished as Mundungus stowed his pipe back in his pocket, but an acrid smell of burning socks lingered.
"And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand." Mrs. Weasley said to the room at large. Y/n and Harry went to get up. "No, you two can stay where you are, Harry, Y/n, you've both had a long journey..."
"What can I do, Molly?" said Tonks enthusiastically, bounding forwards.
Mrs. Weasley hesitated, looking apprehensive. "Er...no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today."
"No, no, I want to help!" said Tonks brightly, knocking over a chair as she hurried towards the dresser, from which Ginny was collecting cutlery.
Soon, a series of heavy knives were chopping meat and vegetables of their own accord, supervised by Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley stirred a cauldron dangling over the fire and the others took out plates, more goblets and food from the pantry. Y/n and Harry were left at the table with Sirius and Mundungus, who was still blinking at Harry mournfully.
"Seen old Figgy since? he asked.
"No." said Harry. '"I haven't seen anyone."
"See, I wouldn't 'ave left..." said Mundungus, leaning forward, a pleading note in his voice. "But I 'ad a business opportunity..."
"That does not excuse you of stupidity Mundungus Fletcher..." Y/n interjected and Sirius nodded in agreement.
Mundungus thought of arguing back for a moment but quickly remembered better than to pick a fight with a Grindelwald, even if they were young. Instead, he chose to feign ignorance and pick up one of the goblets on the table.
Harry felt something brush against his knees and started, but it was only Crookshanks, Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat, who wound himself once around Harry's legs, purring, then jumped on to Sirius's lap and curled up. Sirius scratched him absent-mindedly behind the ears as he turned, still grim-faced, to Harry. "Had a good summer so far?"
"No, it's been lousy." said Harry.
For the first time, something like a grin flitted across Sirius's free. "Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."
"What?" said Harry incredulously.
"Personally, I'd have welcomed a Dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights...I've been stuck inside for a month."
"How come?" asked Harry, frowning.
"Because the Ministry of Magic's still after me, and Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now, Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix...or so Dumbledore feels."
There was something about the slightly flattened tone of voice in which Sirius uttered Dumbledore's name that told Y/n that Sirius, like Harry was not very happy with the headmaster either.
"At least you've known what's been going on." Harry said bracingly.
"Oh yeah." said Sirius sarcastically. "Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time...asking me how the cleaning's going..."
"What cleaning?" asked Harry.
"Trying to make this place fit for human habitation." said Sirius, waving a hand around the dismal kitchen. "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages..."
"Sirius..." said Mundungus, who did not appear to have paid any attention to the conversation, but had been closely examining an empty goblet. "This solid silver, mate?"
"Yes." said Sirius, surveying it with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."
"That'd come orf, though." muttered Mundungus, polishing it with his cuff.
"Fred...George...NO, JUST CARRY THEM" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.
Harry, Y/n, Sirius and Mundungus looked around and, within a split second, they had dived away from the table. Fred and George had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of Butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife, to hurtle through the air towards them. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface, the flagon of Butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling its contents everywhere, the bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down and quivering ominously, exactly where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. "THERE WAS NO NEED...I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"
"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Fred, hurrying forward to wrench the bread knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate...didn't mean to..."
Harry and Sirius were both laughing while Y/n just looked around and surveyed the mess. Mundungus, who had toppled backwards off his chair, was swearing as he got to his feet and Crookshanks had given an angry hiss and shot off under the dresser to join Noctis, from where their large yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.
"Boys." Mr. Weasley said, lifting the stew back into the middle of the table. "Your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age..."
"...none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!' Mrs. Weasley raged at the twins as she slammed a fresh flagon of Butterbeer onto the table, and spilling almost as much again. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy..."
She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband, whose expression was suddenly wooden.
"Let's eat." said Bill quickly.
"It looks wonderful, Molly." said Lupin, ladling stew on to a plate for her and handing it across the table.
For a few minutes there was silence but for the chink of plates and cutlery and the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Then Mrs. Weasley turned to Sirius. "I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."
"Whatever you like." said Sirius indifferently.
"The curtains in there are full of doxys, too." Mrs. Weasley went on. "I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."
"I look forward to it." said Sirius sarcastically but Mrs Weasley missed it.
Opposite Y/n, Tonks was entertaining Hermione and Ginny by transforming her nose between mouthfuls. Screwing up her eyes each time with the same pained expression she had worn back in Harry's bedroom, her nose swelled to a beak-like protuberance that resembled Snape's, shrank to the size of a button mushroom and then sprouted a great deal of hair from each nostril. Apparently this was a regular mealtime entertainment as Ginny was soon requesting her favourite noses.
"Do that one like a pig snout, Tonks... "
Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Lupin were having an intense discuss on about goblins.
"They're not giving anything away yet." said Bill. "I still can't work out whether or not they believe he's back. Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it."
"I'm sure they'd never go over to You-Know-Who." said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head. "They've suffered losses too, remember that goblin family he murdered last time, somewhere near Nottingham?"
"I think it depends what they're offered." said Lupin. "And I'm not talking about gold. If they're offered the freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted. Have you still not had any luck with Ragnok, Bill?"
"He's feeling pretty anti-wizard at the moment." said Bill. "He hasn't stopped raging about the Bagman business, he reckons the Ministry did a cover-up, those goblins never got their gold from him, you know..."
A gale of laughter from the middle of the table drowned the rest of Bill's words. Fred, George, Ron, and Mundungus were rolling around in their seats.
'"... and then.' choked Mundungus, tears running down his face. "And then, if you'll believe it, 'e says to me, 'e says, 'Ere, Dung, where didja get all them toads from? 'Cos some son of a Sludger's gone and nicked all mine!' And I says, 'Nicked all your toads, Will, what next? So you'll be wanting some more, then?' And if you'll believe me, lads, the gormless gargoyle buys all 'is own toads back orf me for a lot more'n what 'e paid in the first place!"
"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus." said Mrs. Weasley sharply, as Ron slumped forwards on to the table, howling with laughter.
"Beg pardon, Molly." said Mundungus at once, wiping his eyes and winking at Harry. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong..."
"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons." said Mrs. Weasley coldly.
Fred and George buried their faces in their goblets of Butterbeer, George was hiccoughing. For some reason, Mrs. Weasley threw a very nasty look at Sirius before getting to her feet and going to fetch a large rhubarb crumble for pudding.
"Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus." said Sirius in an undertone.
"How come he's in the Order?" Harry said, very quietly.
"He's useful." Sirius muttered. "Knows all the crooks...well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. But he's also very loyal to Dumbledore, who helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."
Once food had been finished there was a lull in the general conversation. Mr. Weasley was leaning back in his chair, looking replete and relaxed, Tonks was yawning widely, her nose now back to normal, and Ginny, who had lured Noctis and Crookshanks out from under the dresser, was sitting cross-legged on the floor, rolling Butterbeer corks for them to chase.
"Nearly time for bed, I think." said Mrs. Weasley with a yawn.
"Not just yet, Molly." said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. '"You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."
The atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity where seconds before it had been sleepily relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had gone around the table at the mention of Voldemort's name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary.
"I did!" said Harry indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so..."
"And they're quite right." said Mrs. Weasley. "You're too young." She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched an its arms, every trace of drowsiness gone.
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen..."
"Hang on!" interrupted George loudly.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" said Fred angrily.
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" said George.
"You're too young, you're not in the Order." said Fred, in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. "Harry's not even of age!"
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing." said Sirius calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand..."
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply. The expression on her normally kind face looked dangerous. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" Sirius asked politely, but with the air of a man readying himself for a fight.
"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know." said Mrs. Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words.
Ron, Y/n, Hermione, Fred, and George's heads swivelled from Sirius to Mrs. Weasley as though they were following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned Butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin's eyes were fixed on Sirius.
"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly." said Sirius. "But as he was someone one who saw Voldemort come back he has more right than most to..."
"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" said Mrs. Weasley. "He's only fifteen and... "
"...and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order." said Sirius. "And more than some..."
"No one's denying what he's done!" said Mrs. Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But he's still..."
"He's not a child!" said Sirius impatiently.
"He's not an adult either!" said Mrs. Weasley, the colour rising in her cheeks. "He's not James, Sirius!"
"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly." said Sirius coldly.
"I'm not sure you are!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
"What's wrong with that?" said Harry.
"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!" said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes still boring into Sirius. "You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" demanded Sirius, his voice rising.
"Meaning you have been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and..."
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" said Sirius loudly.
"Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley rounding on her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"
Y/n felt quite sorry for Mr Weasley as he watched the man take off his glasses and clean them slowly on his robes, not looking at his wife. Only when he had replaced them carefully on his nose did he reply.
"Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in, to a certain extent, now that he is staying at headquarters..."
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"
"Personally." said Lupin quietly, looking away from Sirius at last, as Mrs. Weasley turned quickly to him, hopeful that finally she was about to get an ally. "I think it better that Harry gets the facts...not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture...from us, rather than a garbled version from...others." His expression was mild, but it looked as if he knew that at least some Extendable Ears had survived Mrs. Weasley's purge.
"Well." said Mrs Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table for support that did not come. "Well. I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this, Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart..."
"He's not your son." said Sirius quietly.
"He's as good as." said Mrs. Weasley fiercely. "Who else has he got?"
"He's got me!" Sirius said angrily now.
"Yes." said Mrs Weasley, her lip curling. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Sirius started to rise from his chair.
'And they say we are the children...' Y/n thought to himself.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry." said Lupin sharply. "Sirius, sit down."
Mrs. Weasleys lower lip was trembling. Sirius sank slowly back into his chair, his face white.
"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this." Lupin continued. "He's old enough to decide for himself."
"I want to know what's been going on." Harry said at once.
"Very well, said Mrs. Weasley, her voice cracking. "Ginny, Ron, Y/n, Hermione, Fred, George...I want, you out of this kitchen, now."
"No..." Y/n instantly said unmoving. "I am staying. I have a question of my own I want answered and I have as much right to know what is going on as Harry does given how much I have suffered and risked these past few months."
"You're too young Y/n!" Mrs Weasley cried once again. "You're grandmother..."
"My Grandmother would allow me to stay, If you wish to take the argument up with her then by all means feel free." Y/n said knowing that nobody would ever wish to engage his grandmother in an argument. It seemed to have worked as Mrs Weasley disappointedly turned from him to the others now.
"Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George upstairs now."
There was instant uproar again..
"We're of age!" Fred and George bellowed together.
"If Harry and Y/n are allowed, why can't I?" shouted Ron.
"Mum, I want to hear!" wailed Ginny.
"NO!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, standing up, her eyes overbright. "I absolutely forbid..."
"Molly you can't stop Fred and George." said Mr. Weasley wearily. "They are of age..."
"They're still at school!"
"But they're legally adults now." said Mr. Weasley, in the same tired voice.
Mrs. Weasley was now scarlet in the face. "I...oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron..."
"Harry and Y/n'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!' said Ron hotly. "Won't...won't you?' he added uncertainly looking at them.
"Course we will." Harry said.
"Naturally." Y/n nodded.
Ron and Hermione beamed.
"Fine!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Fine! Ginny, BED!"
Ginny did not go quietly. They could hear her raging and storming at her mother all the way up the stairs, and when she reached the hall Mrs. Blacks ear-splitting shrieks were added to the din. Lupin hurried off to the portrait to restore calm. It was only after he had returned, closing the kitchen door behind him and taking his seat at the table again, that Sirius spoke.
"You said you had a question Y/n, so you can go first."
Y/n leaned forward in his chair now. "I want to know what the situation with Azkaban is."
Lupin looked to the others who looked uncomfortable then decided to answer Y/n's question. "Azkaban has reportedly been growing more restless by the day. While we can't be sure we are certain it has to do with Voldemort's return."
The table shuddered.
"And what of the cells, the security?" Y/n pressed on.
"There's been no breakouts of yet." Lupin said. "The Dementors still seem to be kept under control for now, but given what happened with Harry we cannot be so sure of that anymore."
"Dumbledore said that they would switch sides, do you think they have?" Y/n asked.
"We don't know..." Sirius said now.
Y/n just leaned back in his chair frustrated and rubbing his eyes, this was not the news he wanted to hear.
Sirius moved his head now. "Ok, Harry...what do you want to know?"
Harry took a deep breath and asked the question that had obsessed him for the last month. "Where's Voldemort?"' he said, ignoring the renewed shudders and winces at the name. "What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything..."
"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet." said Sirius. "Not as far as we know, anyway...And we know quite a lot."
"More than he thinks we do, anyway." said Lupin.
"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked. He knew Voldemort had murdered more than once in the last year alone.
"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself." said Sirius. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."
"Or rather, you and Y/n messed it up for him." said Lupin, with a satisfied smile.
"How?" Harry asked, perplexed.
"You weren't supposed to survive!" said Sirius. "You told us that once Y/n refused to join him he decided to kill him. Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you both survived to bear witness."
"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore." said Lupin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."
"How has that helped?" Harry asked.
"Are you kidding?" said Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"
"Thanks to you two, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned." said Sirius.
"So, what's the Order been doing?" said Harry, looking around at them all.
"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans." said Sirius.
"And you know what his plans are?" Y/n asked.
Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea." said Lupin. "And Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."
"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?" Harry asked.
"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again." said Sirius. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command, witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants, well they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."
"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?" Harry said.
"We're doing our best." said Lupin.
"How?"
"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard." said Bill. "Frieda is doing her part in Austria, but It's proving tricky here though."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because of the Ministry's attitude." said Tonks. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."
"But why?" said Harry desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore..."
"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem." said Mr. Weasley with a wry smile. "Dumbledore."
"Fudge is frightened of him, you see." said Tonks sadly.
"He is frightened of Dumbledore?" Y/n said now. "I understand Dumblerdore is a great wizard but what does that fool Fudge think he is doing?"
"He's frightened of what he's up to." said Mr. Weasley. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister for Magic."
"But Dumbledore does not want..." Harry began.
"Of course he doesn't." said Mr. Weasley. "He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."
"Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice." said Lupin. "But it seems he's become fond of power, and much more confident. He loves being Minister for Magic and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."
"How can he think that?" said Harry angrily. "How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up... that Y/n and I'd make it all up?"
"Because accepting that Voldermort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years." said Sirius bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilise him."
"You see the problem." said Lupin. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumour-mongering, so most of the wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"But you're telling people, aren't you?" said Harry, looking around at Mr. Weasley, Sirius, Bill, Mundungus, Lupin and Tonks. "You're letting people know he's back?"
They all smiled humourlessly.
"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" said Sirius restlessly.
"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community." said Lupin. "It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf."
"It is a load of nonsense." Y/n said annoyed. "You will always be welcome to my table professor Lupin. Werewolf or not."
Lupin just gave a small appreciative smile but said nothing.
"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off." said Sirius. "And it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."
"Malfoy and Macnair for example." Y/n said.
"Exactly. We've managed to convince a couple of people, though." said Mr. Weasley. "Tonks here, for on...she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage.. Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset, too, he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."
"But if none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back..." Harry began.
"Who said none of us are putting the news out?" said Sirius. Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked.
"They're trying to discredit him." said Lupin. "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot...that's the Wizard High Court, and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."
"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards." said Bill, grinning.
"It's no laughing matter." said Mr. Weasley sharply. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this he could end up in Azkaban, and the last thing we want is to have Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to he's going to go cautiously. If Dumbledore's out of the way...well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."
"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" asked Harry desperately.
"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry." said Sirius. "He tricks, jinxes and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment."
"What's he after apart from followers?" Harry asked swiftly.
He thought he saw Sirius and Lupin exchange the most fleeting of looks before Sirius answered. "Stuff he can only get by stealth."
When Harry continued to look puzzled, Sirius said. "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."
"When he was powerful before?"
"Yes."
"Like what kind of weapon?" said Harry. "Something worse than the Avada Kedav..."
"That's enough!" Mrs. Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Y/n hadn't noticed her return from taking Ginny upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.
"I want you in bed, now. All of you." she added, looking around at Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Y/n and Hermione.
"You can't boss us..." Fred began.
"Watch me." snarled Mrs. Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."
"Why not?" said Harry quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."
"No."
It was not Mrs Weasley who spoke this time, but Lupin. "The Order is comprised only of overage wizards." he said. "Wizards who have left school." he added, as Fred and George opened their mouths. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you...I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."
Sirius half-shrugged but did not argue. Mrs. Weasley beckoned imperiously to her sons, Harry, Y/n and Hermione. One by one they all got to their feet and Mrs. Weasley followed them upstairs looking grim.
"Now I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking." she said as they reached the first landing. "We've got a busy day tomorrow. I expect Ginny's asleep." she added to Hermione. "So try not to wake her up."
"Asleep, yeah, right." said Fred in a whisper so Mrs Weasley could not hear. "If Ginny's not lying awake waiting for Hermione to tell her everything they said downstairs then I'm a Flobberworm..."
"Okay..." Hermione said and she turned to look at Y/n.
"I will say goodnight to Hermione then join you in a moment." Y/n said to the others.
"Well, make sure that you do, and no talking about the Order!" Mrs Weasley said." Come on." She said to the others.
"Still got to get used to that..." They heard Ron grumble to Harry and watched as the five disappeared up the stairs.
"Will you be alright?" Hermione asked Y/n now that they were alone. "Sleeping, I mean." She was worried about the prospect of Y/n having any more nightmares.
"Harry and Ron will be in the room so I should be fine. Besides, I will need to adjust for when we go back to Hogwarts regardless." Y/n said. "But thank you, for asking." He added appreciatively.
"Of course Y/n." Hermione nodded and took his hands. "I'm here for you."
"And I appreciate it, I truly do." Y/n said giving her hands a light squeeze as the two looked at each now. Their eyes closed as they leaned in and slowly started to kiss for a moment before they pulled away and smiled. "Goodnight Hermione." Y/n said letting go of her hands and watching as she entered hers and Ginny's bedroom before heading back to the stairs himself.
As Y/n reached the second landing he saw Mrs Weasley standing, pointing him into their bedroom. "Off to bed with you."
Y/n entered the room and Mrs. Weasley closed the door behind him with a sharp snap. The bedroom looked, if anything, even danker and gloomier than it had on first sight. The blank picture on the wall was now breathing very slowly and deeply, as though its invisible occupant was asleep. Harry and Ron had put on their pyjamas and climbed into their chilly beds. Y/n could see Ron throwing Owl Treats up on top of the wardrobe to pacify Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, who were clattering around and rustling their wings restlessly.
"We can't let them out to hunt every night." Ron explained. "Dumbledore doesn't want too many owls swooping around the square, thinks it'll look suspicious. Oh yeah...I forgot...bolt the door would you Y/n.
Y/n didn't understand why he would need to but did as Ron asked.
"Why did Y/n have to do that?" Harry asked.
"Kreacher." said Ron as Y/n began to change. "First night I was here he came wandering in at three in the morning. Trust me, you don't want to wake up and find him prowling around your room. Anyway... what d'you guys reckon?"
Y/n didn't need to ask what Ron meant as he finished changing and climbed into bed.
"Well, they didn't tell us much we couldn't have guessed, did they?" Harry said. "I mean, all they've really said is that the Order's trying to stop people joining Vol.."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Ron.
"...demort." said Harry firmly. 'When are you going to start using his name? Y/n does, Sirius and Lupin too."
Ron ignored this last comment. "Yeah, you're right." he said. "We already knew nearly everything they told us, from using the Extendable Ears. The only new bit was..."
Crack.
"OUCH!" Ron cried.
"Keep your voice down, Ron, or Mum'll be back up here."
"You two just Apparated on my knees!"
"Yeah, well, it's harder in the dark..."
Y/n saw the blurred outlines of Fred and George leaping down from Ron's bed. There was a groan of bedsprings and his and Harry's mattress descended a few inches as Fred and George sat down on the end of each of them.
"So, got there yet?" said George eagerly.
"The weapon Sirius mentioned?" said Harry.
"Let slip, more like." said Fred with relish. "We didn't hear about that on the old Extendables, did we?"
"Do we have any idea to what it could be?" asked Y/n.
"Could be anything." said Fred.
"But there can't be anything worse than the Avada Kedavra curse, can there?" said Ron. "What's worse than death?"
"Maybe it's something that can kill loads of people at once." suggested George.
"Maybe it's some particularly painful way of killing people." said Ron fearfully.
"He's got the Cruciatus Curse for causing pain." said Harry. 'He doesn't need anything more efficient than that."
There was a pause and Y/n knew that the others, like him, were wondering what horrors this weapon could perpetrate.
"So who d'you think's got it now?" asked George.
"I hope it's our side." said Ron, sounding slightly nervous.
"If it is, Dumbledore's probably keeping it." said Fred.
"Where?" said Ron quickly. "Hogwarts?"
"Bet it is!" said George. "That's where he hid the Philosopher's Stone."
"A weapon's going to be a lot bigger than the Stone, though!" said Ron.
"Not necessarily." said Fred.
"Yeah, size is no guarantee of power." said George. "Look at Ginny."
"I wish Harry would." Y/n quietly said to himself.
"What d'you mean?" said Harry to George not hearing Y/n.
"You've never been on the receiving end of one of her Bat-Bogey Hexes, have you?"
"Shhh!" said Fred, half-rising from the bed. "Listen!"
They fell silent. Footsteps were coming up the stairs.
"Mum..." said George and without further ado there was a loud crack and Y/n felt the weight vanish from the end of his bed. A few seconds later, they heard the floorboard creak outside their door, Mrs. Weasley was plainly listening to check whether or not they were talking.
Hedwig and Pigwidgeon hooted dolefully. The floorboard creaked again and they heard her heading upstairs to check on Fred and George.
"She doesn't trust us at all, you know." said Ron regretfully.
It was the next morning and as Y/n slowly opened his eyes he found he was grateful to have gone through the night without a nightmare.
George's loud voice was filling the room. "Mum says get up you lot, your breakfast is in the kitchen and then she needs you in the drawing room, there are loads more doxys than she thought and she's found a nest of dead puffskeins under the sofa."
"Lovely..." Y/n groaned throwing his arm over his eyes.
Half an hour later, He, Harry and Ron, who had dressed and breakfasted quickly, entered the drawing room, a long, high-ceilinged room on the first floor with olive-green walls covered in dirty tapestries. The carpet exhaled little clouds of dust every time someone put their foot on it and the long, moss-green velvet curtains were buzzing as though swarming with invisible bees. It was around these that Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George were grouped, all looking rather peculiar as they had each tied a cloth over their nose and mouth. Each of them was also holding a large bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end.
"Cover your faces and take a spray." Mrs. Weasley said to Y/n, Harry and Ron the moment she saw them, pointing to three more bottles of black liquid standing on a spindle-legged table. "It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad...what that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years..."
Hermione's face was half concealed by a tea towel but Y/n could not help but find it cute as he saw her throw a reproachful look at Mrs. Weasley. "Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage..."
"You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to, Hermione." said Sirius, who had just entered the room carrying a bloodstained bag of what appeared to be dead rats. "I've just been feeding Buckbeak." he added, in reply to Harry's enquiring look. "I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom."
"Buckbeak is here? Would I be able to see him at some point?" Y/n asked.
"It's fine by me. Just don't let him out the room or Molly will have us cleaning this house all over again." Sirius said and Mrs Weasley just frowned. "Anyway...this writing desk... "He dropped the bag of rats into an armchair, then bent over to examine the locked cabinet which, Harry now noticed for the first time, was shaking slightly.
"Well, Molly, I'm pretty sure this is a boggart." said Sirius, peering through the keyhole. "But perhaps we ought to let Mad-Eye have a shifty at it before we let it out, knowing my mother, it could be something much worse."
"Right you are, Sirius." said Mrs. Weasley.
They were both speaking in carefully light, polite voices that told Y/n quite plainly that neither had forgotten their disagreement of the night before.
A loud, clanging bell sounded from downstairs, followed at once by the cacophony of screams and wails that had been triggered the previous night by Tonks knocking over the umbrella stand.
"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" said Sirius exasperatedly, hurrying out of the room. They heard him thundering clown the stairs as Mrs. Black's screeches echoed up through the house once more: "Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of flith..."
"Close the door, please, Harry." said Mrs. Weasley.
Harry took as much time as he dared to close the drawing-room door, he wanted to listen to what was going on downstairs but feeling Mrs Weasley's eyes on the back of his head, Harry regretfully closed the drawing-room door and rejoined the doxy party.
Mrs. Weasley was bending over to check the page on doxys in Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, which was lying open on the sofa. "Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxys bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it."
She straightened up, positioned herself squarely in front of the curtains and beckoned them all forward.
"When I say the word, start spraying immediately." she said. "They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyse them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket."
She stepped carefully out of their line of fire, and raised her own spray.
"All right...squirt!"
Y/n had been spraying only a few seconds when a fully-grown doxy came soaring out of a fold in the material, shiny beetle-like wings whirring, tiny needle-sharp teeth bared, its fairy-like body covered with thick black hair and its four tiny fists clenched with fury. Harry caught it full in the face with a blast of Doxycide, it froze in midair and fell, with a surprisingly loud thunk, on to the worn carpet below. Harry picked it up and threw it in the bucket.
"Fred, what are you doing?" said Mrs. Weasley sharply. "Spray that at once and throw it away!"
Y/n looked round. Fred was holding a struggling doxy between his forefinger and thumb.
"Right-o." Fred said brightly, spraying the doxy quickly in the face so that it fainted, but the moment Mrs. Weasley's back was turned he pocketed it with a wink.
"We want to experiment with doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes." George told Y/n and Harry under his breath.
"Glad to see you two are taking our investments seriously." Y/n whispered back.
Deftly spraying two doxys at once as they soared straight for his nose, Harry moved closer to George and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "What are Skiving Snackboxes?"
"Range of sweets to make you ill." George whispered, keeping a wary eye on Mrs. Weasley's back. "Not seriously ill, mind, just ill enough to get you out of a class when you feel like it. Fred and I have been developing them this summer. They're double-ended, colour-coded chews. If you eat the orange half of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up."
"Moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital wing, you swallow the purple half which restores you to full fitness, enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your own choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom. That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway." whispered Fred, who had edged over out of Mrs. Weasley's line of vision and was now sweeping a few stray doxys from the floor and adding them to his pocket. "But they still need a bit of work. At the moment our testers are having a bit of trouble stopping themselves puking long enough to swallow the purple end."
"Testers?" Y/n asked.
"Us." said Fred. "We take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies...we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat...
"Mum thought we'd been duelling." said George.
"Joke shop still on, then?" Harry muttered, pretending to be adjusting the nozzle on his spray.
"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet." said Fred, dropping his voice even lower as Mrs. Weasley mopped her brow with her scarf before returning to the attack. "So we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week."
"Not a bad way to start up." Y/n praised their thinking.
"All thanks to you two, mate." said George. "But don't worry...Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily Prophet any more, 'cause of it telling lies about you two and Dumbledore."
The de-doxying of the curtains took most of the morning. It was past midday when Mrs. Weasley finally removed her protective scarf, sank into a sagging armchair, and sprang up again with a cry of disgust, having sat on the bag of dead rats. The curtains were no longer buzzing, they hung limp and damp from the intensive spraying, unconscious doxys lay crammed in the bucket at the foot of them beside a bowl of their black eggs, at which Crookshanks and Noctis were now sniffing and Fred and George were shooting covetous looks.
"I think we'll tackle those after lunch." Mrs. Weasley pointed at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets standing on either side of the mantelpiece. They were crammed with an odd assortment of objects, a selection of rusty daggers, claws, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tarnished silver boxes inscribed with languages Y/n could not understand and, least pleasant of all, an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, full of what he was quite sure was blood.
The clanging doorbell rang again. Everyone looked at Mrs. Weasley.
"Stay here." she said firmly, snatching up the bag of rats as Mrs. Black's screeches started up again from down below. "I'll bring up some sandwiches."
She left the room, closing the door carefully behind her. At once, everyone dashed over to the window to look down on the doorstep. They could see the top of an unkempt gingery head and a stack of precariously balanced cauldrons.
"Mundungus!" said Hermione. "What's he brought all those cauldrons for?"
"Probably looking for a safe place to keep them." said Harry. "Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up dodgy cauldrons?"
"Yeah, you're right!" said Fred, as the front door opened Mundungus heaved his cauldrons through it and disappeared from view. "Blimey, Mum won't like that..."
He and George crossed to the door and stood beside it, listening closely. Mrs. Black's screaming had stopped.
"Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley." Fred muttered, frowning with concentration. "Can't hear properly...d'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?"
"Might be worth it." said George. "I could sneak upstairs and get a pair..."
But at that precise moment there was an explosion of sound from downstairs that rendered Extendable Ears quite unnecessary. All of them could hear exactly what Mrs. Weasley was shouting at the top of her voice.
"WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!"
"I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else." said Fred, with a satisfied smile on his face as he opened the door an inch or so to allow Mrs. Weasley's voice to permeate the room better. "It makes such a nice change."
"...COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE..."
"The idiots are letting her get into her stride." said George, shaking his head. "You've got to head her off early otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry...and there goes Sirius's mum again."
Mrs. Weasley's voice was lost amid fresh shrieks and screams from the portraits in the hall.
George made to shut the door to drown the noise, but before he could do so, a house-elf edged into the room.
Except for the filthy rag tied like a loincloth around its middle, it was completely naked. It looked very old. It's skin seemed to be several times too big for it and, though it was bald like all house-elves, there was a quantity of white hair growing out of its large, batlike ears. Its eyes were a bloodshot and watery grey and its fleshy nose was large and rather snoutlike.
The elf took absolutely no notice of Y/n and the rest. Acting as though it could not see them, it shuffled hunchbacked, slowly and doggedly, towards the far end of the room, all the while muttering under its breath in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog's. "...smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my mistress's house, oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh, the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do..."
"Hello, Kreacher." said Fred very loudly, closing the door with a snap.
The house-elf froze in his tracks, stopped muttering, and gave a very pronounced and very unconvincing start of surprise.
"Kreacher did not see Young Master." he said, turning around and bowing to Fred. Still lacing the carpet, he added, perfectly audibly, "Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is."
"Sorry?" said George. "Didn't catch that last bit."
"Kreacher said nothing." said the elf, with a second bow to George, adding in a clear undertone, "and there's its twin, unnataral little beasts they are." The elf straightened up, eyeing them all malevolently, and apparently convinced that they could not hear him as he continued to mutter. "...and there's a Mudblood, standing there bold as brass..." Kreacher continued as Y/n felt his bloody begin to boil. "Oh if my mistress knew, oh, how she'd cry, and there's two new boys, Kreacher doesn't know their names. What they are doing here? Kreacher doesn't know..."
"This is Y/n and Harry, Kreacher." said Hermione tentatively. 'Harry Potter and Y/n Grindelwald..."
Kreacher's pale eyes widened and he muttered faster and more furiously than ever. "The Mudblood is talking to Kreacher as though she is my friend, if Kreacher's mistress saw him in such company, oh, what would she say..."
"Do not call her a Mudblood!" said Y/n, very angrily.
"It doesn't matter." Hermione whispered to him. "He's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's..."
"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying." said Fred, eyeing Kreacher with great dislike.
Kreacher was still muttering, his eyes on Harry. "Is it true? Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it..."
"Don't we all, Kreacher." said Fred.
"What do you want, anyway?" George asked.
Kreacher's huge eyes darted towards George. "Kreacher is cleaning." he said evasively.
"A likely story." said a voice behind Harry.
Sirius had come back and he was glowering at the elf from the doorway. The noise in the hall had abated, perhaps Mrs. Weasley and Mundungus had moved their argument down into the kitchen.
At the sight of Sirius, Kreacher flung himself into a ridiculously low bow that flattened his snoutlike nose on the floor.
"Stand up straight." said Sirius impatiently. "Now, what are you up to?"
"Kreacher is cleaning." the elf repeated. "Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black..."
"...and it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy." said Sirius.
"Master always liked his little joke." said Kreacher, bowing again, and continuing in an undertone. "Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart..."
"My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher." snapped Sirius. "She kept herself alive out of pure spite."
Kreacher bowed again as he spoke.
"Whatever Master says." he muttered furiously. "Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother's boots, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was..."
"I asked you what you were up to." said Sirius coldly. "Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out."
"Kreacher would never move anything from its proper place in Master's house." said the elf, then muttered very fast. "Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it..."
"I thought it might be that." said Sirius, casting a disdainful look at the opposite wall. "She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it I certainly will. Now go away, Kreacher."
It seemed that Kreacher did not dare disobey a direct order, nevertheless, the look he gave Sirius as he shuffled out past him was full of deepest loathing and he muttered all the way out of the room.
"...comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too..."
"Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!" said Sirius irritably as he slammed the door shut on the elf.
"Sirius, he's not right in the head." Hermione pleaded, "I don't think he realizes we can hear him."
"He's been alone too long." said Sirius. "taking mad orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little..."
"If you could just set him free." said Hermione hopefully. "Maybe..."
"We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order." said Sirius curtly. "And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it."
"I have half a mind too..." Y/n said, he did not like Kreacher.
Sirius walked across the room to where the tapestry Kreacher had been trying to protect hung the length of the wall and the others followed.
The tapestry looked immensely old, it was faded and looked as though doxys had gnawed it in places. Nevertheless, the golden thread with which it was embroidered still glinted brightly enough to show them a sprawling family tree dating back to the Middle Ages. Large words at the very top of the tapestry read.
'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black...Toujours pur.'
"You're not on here!" said Harry, after scanning the bottom of the tree closely.
"I used to be there." said Sirius, pointing at a small, round, charred hole in the tapestry, rather like a cigarette burn. "My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home... Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."
"You ran away from home?" Y/n asked him.
"When I was about sixteen." said Sirius. "I'd had enough."
"Where did you go?" asked Harry, staring at him.
"Your dad's place." said Sirius. "Your grandparents were really good about it, they sort of adopted me as a second son. Yeah, I camped out at your dad's in the school holidays, and then when I was seventeen I got a place of my own, my Uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold...he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why...anyway, after that I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr. and Mrs. Potters for Sunday lunch, though."
"But...why did you...?"
"Leave?" Sirius smiled bitterly and ran his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. "Because I hated the whole lot of them, my parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal...my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them...that's him."
Sirius jabbed a finger at the very bottom of the tree, at the name 'Regulus Black'. A date of death some fifteen years previously followed the date of birth.
"He was younger than me." said Sirius. "and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."
"But he died." said Harry.
"Yeah." said Sirius. "Stupid idiot...he joined the Death Eaters."
"You're kidding!'" Harry cried.
"Come on, Harry, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?" said Sirius testily.
"Were...were your parents Death Eaters as well?" Y/n asked curriously.
"No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge. They weren't alone, either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colours, who thought he had the right idea about things...They got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."
"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Oh, no." said Sirius. "No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death."
"Lunch." said Mrs Weasley's voice. She was holding her wand high in front of her, balancing a huge tray loaded with sandwiches and cake on its tip. She was very red in the face and still looked angry. The others moved over to her, eager for some food.
Harry was emptying the glass-fronted cabinets that afternoon. A job that required a lot of concentration, as many of the objects in there seemed very reluctant to leave their dusty shelves. Sirius sustained a bad bite from a silver snuffbox, within seconds his bitten hand had developed an unpleasant crusty covering like a tough brown glove.
"It's ok." he said, examining the hand with interest before tapping it lightly with his wand and restoring its skin to normal. "Must be Wartcap powder in there."
He threw the box aside into the sack where they were depositing the debris from the cabinets, Y/n saw George wrap his own hand carefully in a cloth moments later and sneak the box into his already doxy-filled pocket but decided to say nothing.
They found an unpleasant-looking silver instrument, something like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Harry's arm like a spider when he picked it up, and attempted to puncture his skin. Sirius seized it and smashed it with a heavy book entitled Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. There was a musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound, and they all found themselves becoming curiously weak and sleepy, until Ginny had the sense to slam the lid shut, a heavy locket that none of them could open, a number of ancient seals, and, in a dusty box, an Order of Merlin, First Class, that had been awarded to Sirius's grandfather for 'services to the Ministry.
"It means he gave them a load of gold." said Sirius contemptuously throwing the medal into the rubbish sack.
Several times Kreacher sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under his loincloth, muttering horrible curses every time they caught him at it. When Sirius wrested a large golden ring bearing the Black crest from his grip, Kreacher actually burst into furious tears and left the room sobbing under his breath and calling Sirius names Harry had never heard before.
"It was my father's." said Sirius, throwing the ring into the sack. "Kreacher wasn't quite as devoted to him as to my mother, but I still caught him snogging a pair of my father's old trousers last week."
Mrs. Weasley kept them all working very hard over the next few days. The drawing room took three days to decontaminate. Finally, the only undesirable things left in it were the tapestry of the Black family tree, which resisted all their attempts to remove it from the wall, and the rattling writing desk. Moody had not dropped by headquarters yet, so they could not be sure what was inside it.
They moved from the drawing room to a dining room on the ground floor where they found spiders as large as saucers lurking in the dresser. Ron left the room hurriedly to make a cup of tea and did not return for an hour and a half.
The china, which bore the Black crest and motto, was all thrown unceremoniously into a sack by Sirius, and the same fate met a set of old photographs in tarnished silver frames, all of whose occupants squealed shrilly as the glass covering them smashed.
Kreacher the house elf kept appearing wherever they were congregated, his muttering becoming more and more offensive as he attempted to remove anything he could from the rubbish sacks. Sirius went as far as to threaten him with clothes, but Kreacher fixed him with a watery stare and said. "Master must do as Master wishes." before turning away and muttering very loudly, "But Master will not turn Kreacher away, no, because Kreacher knows what they are up to, oh yes, he is plotting against the Dark Lord, yes, with these Mudblood and traitors and scum..."
At which Sirius, ignoring Hermione's protests, seized Kreacher by the back of his loincloth and threw him bodily from the room.
The doorbell rang several times a day, which was the cue for Sirius's mother to start shrieking again, and for them all to try to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Mrs. Weasley recalled them to their tasks. Snape flitted in and out of the house several times more, though to Harry's relief they never came face to face. Y/n also caught sight of his Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, looking very odd in a Muggle dress and coat, and she also seemed too busy to linger. Sometimes, however, the visitors stayed to help. Tonks joined them for a memorable afternoon in which they found a murderous old ghoul lurking in an upstairs toilet, and Lupin, who was staying in the house with Sirius but who left it for long periods to do mysterious work for the Order, helped them repair a grandfather clock that had developed the unpleasant habit of shooting heavy bolts at passers by. Mundungus redeemed himself slightly in Mrs. Weasley's eyes by rescuing Ron from an ancient set of purple robes that had tried to strangle him when he removed them from their wardrobe.
It was the evening before Harry's hearing now and everyone was sat at the table eating dinner. Mrs. Weasley turned to him during dinner and said quietly. "I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash your hair tonight, too. A good first impression can work wonders."
Y/n, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny all stopped talking and looked over at him. Harry nodded and tried to keep eating his chop, but his mouth had become so dry he could not chew.
"How am I getting there?" Harry asked Mrs. Weasley, trying to sound unconcerned.
"Arthur's taking you to work with him." said Mrs. Weasley gently.
Mr. Weasley smiled encouragingly at Harry across the table.
"You can wait in my office until it's time for the hearing." he said.
Harry looked over at Sirius, but before he could ask the question, Mrs. Weasley had answered it. "Professor Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea for Sirius to go with you, and I must say I...
"...think he's quite right." said Sirius through clenched teeth.
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips.
"When did Dumbledore tell you that?" Harry said, staring at Sirius.
"He and Frieda came last night, when you were all in bed." said Mr. Weasley.
"My Grandmother was here?" Y/n asked surprised.
"Only briefly I'm afraid. She was rather furious." Mr Weasley said.
"About?" Y/n asked.
"She didn't say." Mr Weasley shook his head.
Y/n sighed and put his knife and fork down.
Y/n awoke early the next morning and for a few moments he lay still as he wondered what his grandmother could have been angry about. His thoughts were interrupted though as Harry leapt out of his bed and put on his glasses.
"Morning." Y/n said.
"Didn't realize you were awake." Harry said as he looked down at the clothes Mrs Weasley had placed at the foot of his bed. Harry scrambled into them.
Y/n got up now and opened his trunk before he changed into some fresh clothes, he could see Ron was lying sprawled on his back with his mouth wide open, fast asleep. He did not stir as Y/n and Harry crossed the room, stepped out on to the landing and closed the door softly behind them. Neither said a word as they walked quietly down the stairs, past the heads of Kreacher's ancestors, and down into the kitchen.
Both had expected it to be empty, but when they reached the door Y/n heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side. He pushed it open and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, Y/n's grandmother and Tonks sitting there almost as though they were waiting for Harry. All were fully dressed except Mrs. Weasley, who was wearing a quilted purple dressing gown. She leapt to her feet the moment Harry entered.
"Breakfast." she said as she pulled out her wand and hurried over to the fire.
'M...m..morning, Y/n, Harry.' yawned Tonks. Her hair was blonde and curly this morning. "Sleep all right?"
"Yeah." said Harry.
"I slept well thank you." Y/n replied. "Though I dare say you have not?"
"I've b..b-...een up all night." she said, with another shuddering yawn. "Come and sit down..."
She drew out a chair, knocking over the one beside it in the process.
Y/n just picked up the knocked over chair and sat down in it while Harry took the other chair.
"I'll do Harry's Breakfast first Y/n then yours." Mrs Weasley said and he just nodded.
"What do you want, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley called. "Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"
"Just...just toast, thanks." said Harry.
Lupin glanced at Harry, then said to Tonks. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"
"Oh...yeah...well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions...and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just t-t-too tired." Tonks finished, yawning hugely again.
"I'll cover for you." said Mr. Weasley. "I'm ok, I've got a report to finish anyway..."
Mrs. Weasley placed a couple of pieces of toast and marmalade in front of Harry now and Y/n watched as he tried to eat but it was clear to see Harry was nervous about his hearing.
Mrs. Weasley was attacking his hair with a wet comb. She pressed hard on the top of his head. "Doesn't it ever lie flat?" she said desperately.
Harry shook his head and Mrs Weasley reluctantly gave up turning her attention to Y/n.
"What would like for breakfast Y/n dear?" Mrs Weasley asked him now.
"If it is alright with you would bacon and eggs be alright?" Y/n asked.
"Of course dear, I'm more than used to cooking for all our Weasleys." Mrs Weasley told him.
Mr. Weasley was not wearing wizards' robes but a pair of pinstriped trousers and an old bomber jacket. He turned from Tonks to Harry. "How are you feeling?"
Harry shrugged.
"It'll all be over soon." Mr. Weasley said bracingly. "In a few hours' time you'll be cleared."
Harry said nothing.
"The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones's office." Mr Weasley said. "She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."
"Amelia Bones is ok, Harry." said Tonks earnestly. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."
Harry nodded, still unable to think of anything to say.
"Don't lose your temper." said Sirius abruptly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."
Harry nodded again.
"The law's on your side." said Lupin quietly. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."
Mr. Weasley checked his watch and looked up at Harry. "I think we'll go now." he said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."
"Ok." said Harry automatically, dropping his toast and getting to his feet.
"Harry." said Y/n looking at him and Harry turned his head. "You have nothing to worry about. You have a witness to back you up and I am sure Dumbledore will get involved if he has too."
But Harry didn't look so sure.
"Good luck." said Lupin.
"I'm sure you will be fine Potter." Frieda said with a small smile.
"And if it's not." said Sirius grimly. "I'll see to Amelia Bones for you..."
Harry smiled weakly now.
Mrs. Weasley just hugged him. "We've all got our fingers crossed." she said.
'Right..." said Harry. "Well...see you later then."
"You have our full support Harry." Y/n said as Harry and Mr Weasley left the kitchen now and soon they heard the front door open and close.
Y/n turned his attention to his Grandmother now. "I heard you returned rather angry the other night."
"Is that so?" She asked her eyes looking at the room's other inhabitants who all avoided her gaze.
"Might I ask what made you so mad?" Y/n pushed.
Frieda looked at him properly now and closed her eyes. "Your brother."
"Atticus?" Y/n said his name. "What has he done now?"
"Your foolish brother decided to run away from the Muggles who were taking care of him..." Frieda revealed.
Mrs Weasley placed down a plate with a large helping of Bacon and eggs upon it in front of Y/n who was sat looking shocked. "Atticus...ran away? What does he think he is playing at! Has he been found? Do we know where he has gone at least? Thank you Mrs Weasley." Y/n quickly asked but was certain to make sure he did not forget his manners.
"I know where he will have fled too." Frieda said.
Y/n sighed. He knew too now that he thought about it more. "The Malfoys..."
Frieda just nodded. "Which makes the situation a difficult one. Thanks to you and Harry we have confirmed Lucius Malfoy is indeed a Death Eater, but given his high ranking position in the Ministry and his ability to bribe officials I cannot just storm to his manor and demand the return Atticus. He easily would be able to delay for enough time for Atticus to be moved from his manor before a search could even be conducted."
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Y/n asked.
"Not at this moment." Frieda said. "But Atticus is my problem for now Y/n so put him out of your mind and eat your breakfast."
"Yes Grandmother." Y/n sighed and picked up his knife and fork. "Oh, Professor Lupin." He suddenly addressed them.
"Something the matter Y/n?" Lupin asked.
"No Professor, I just wished to properly thank you." Y/n started. "If it had not been for you leaving me your notes, I do not think I would have made it through the Tri-Wizard tasks last year."
"You are a talented wizard Y/n, I am certain you would have made it through without my notes regardless." Lupin told him.
"I am still very thankful for them Professor." Y/n said with a smile and started on his breakfast.
As Y/n began to eat a pair of footsteps could be heard coming down now and Y/n looked up to see Hermione entering the room.
"Morning." She said to everyone who returned a murmur of good mornings back to her.
"Breakfast Hermione?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"Just Porridge please." Hermione said and she sat herself down in the seat next to Y/n.
"Is Harry awake yet?" Hermione asked Y/n.
"He just left with Mr Weasley for his hearing." Y/n told her.
"He's gone already? Oh, I had some advice I was going to give him before he left...I know he's not done anything wrong but... you do think he will be alright don't you Y/n?" Hermione asked slightly worried.
"He will be fine Hermione." Y/n reassured her. "Dumbledore will not let anything happen to him I am sure."
Using Hermione's arrival as a distraction Frieda leaned over to Lupin from her chair and he angled his ear for her to whisper. "If I am not mistaken you are probably the first figure in Y/n's life that he has truly come to admire and sought to secretly impress. Rather like the father-son relationship you had with my husband."
"But I only taught Y/n for a year Frieda." Lupin whispered back modestly. "He can't look up to me that much surely?"
"That boy has never had a father in his life to guide him, As you remember his grandfather passed while he was still a baby. The boy showed much disappointment in you quitting your post as his teacher did he not? And he still carries your notes with him even when he probably has long since memorized their contents." Frieda told him as the two watched Y/n and Hermione talking. "Yes, I do not think I am mistaken in my thoughts when I say Y/n very much sees you as the father he never had. You needn't burden yourself with this fact however Remus, instead just watch over him and help guide him proudly as I do. And as how my Charles did with you and Sirius. He was very proud of you both till the day he died."
Lupin just watched the boy as he took in Frieda's words thinking about them deeply.