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batsutousaiTitle: Abandon
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Beta:magickmaker17
Pairings: Harry/Tom(Voldemort), Seamus/Blaise, Ginevra/Theodore, post-Ron/Hermione, Salazar/Godric
Warnings: This will have slash(Guys on guys, ppl.), Dumbledore bashing, Ron bashing
Key:
Mind-speak
:Parseltongue:
’Written thoughts’
°°Phoenix speech°°
Chapter 42, Part 1
----------------------------------
Chapter 42, Part 2
---------------------------------
-~/\~-
It was eleven o’clock Sunday morning when Harry finally woke up to Neville’s voice calling his name. He poked his head out of his curtains tiredly. “Whasa?”
Neville smiled. “Good morning. Herm sent me up to make sure you get up.”
“Time?” Harry muttered, rubbing at his eyes and reaching out blindly to find his glasses.
“Eleven.”
Harry groaned and put his glasses on. “Shit.”
“You’re not late yet, Harry,” Neville offered, walking to the door. “But you’d best get ready. I have no clue how Moody will react if you’re late.”
“I do,” Harry muttered once the door had closed as he climbed from his bed. Morning.
Tom’s mental voice was light and happy. Morning yourself. Feeling better?
You drugged me, the teen complained, walking over to his wardrobe and going through his Muggle clothing.
Yes, the Dark Lord agreed. You needed the sleep and we both knew it.
Uhg. Harry ruffled his hair and pulled out a pair of jeans and his black MacBeth shirt. Maybe I’d rather have slept with you.
No. You would have terrified your room mates or someone else when they couldn’t find you. Anyway, with Dumbledore knowing about our relationship it’s much more difficult for you to spend the night. And you’re a Prefect now; you need to be there. Without you there yesterday, it could have been a lot worse than a destroyed common room.
Shut up. I know all that. Harry sighed helplessly. I can’t wait until the summer comes. I’ll love having you to myself again.
Tom chuckled. I know, love. Now, finish getting ready. I’ll see you after the meeting.
Not before?
No. I have papers to grade. You can always send Gin down, of course.
I’ll remember that. She’s not with Ted?
Ted’s got another detention.
What’s he gone and done this time?!
Scared the hell out of a few Hufflepuffs in front of Sprout, from what I’ve heard.
That boy... Harry sighed, rolling his eyes and grabbing his toiletries. Oh well...
-~/\~-
“Potter!”
Harry turned and blinked at the first year a few times tiredly. “Miss Thorald. What can I do for you?”
Ula scowled and tossed a balled up sheet of paper at his head. “Don’t put things in my books, Potter,” she spat before turning and heading back to where her friends were sitting with their books.
Harry picked up the paper with a shrug and uncrumpled it as he left the common room and headed for the kitchens. She’d written him back neatly.
‘I’d forgotten that he’d stolen Solita Heathcliffe’s book, too. He thought it was mine, I think.
‘I don’t have any other relatives in the United Kingdom. I have an uncle in America and Mum has family in Bosnia. It’s why I’m always sent with Grandpapi.
‘I promise to be nicer to Clough, I suppose, but nothing is going to make me like her, you know.
‘Thorald’
Harry smiled faintly and put the letter in his back jeans pocket. “That girl...”
‘HARRY!’ appeared in front of the young wizard’s face and he stopped, glancing over his shoulder.
“Gin. Hey.” Harry smiled at his sister as she came to a halt next to him, breathing heavily.
‘That Thorald girl is such a bitch.’ Gin grumbled, motioning for Harry to lead the way to where ever he’d been going.
“Oh, I dunno. I’ve got a bit of an understanding going on with her right now.”
‘Does this understanding include her throwing paper and kindness in your face?’
“Yes, actually, it does.” Harry smiled faintly. “That reminds me, Marcus asked me to send you to him.”
‘I didn’t do it!’
Harry cocked and eyebrow at his sister as they stepped into the kitchen hall. “I never said you did.”
Gin smiled sheepishly. ‘Well, good.’
“Oh, go on. Let me get my breakfast before I have to go and meet with Mad-Eye.” The young man chuckled, tickling the pear. The picture seemed to giggle for Gin as she waved and left Harry at the mercy of Dobby the house-elf.
-~/\~-
Mad-Eye frowned when a blond-haired, golden-eyed young man slid into the seat across from him, wearing Muggle clothing. “Can I help you?”
The young man cocked his eyebrow at the auror in a way that Mad-Eye vaguely recognized. “Oh, is it really working, then?”
Mad-Eye was about to yell at the young man when he saw the two necklaces around the teen’s throat that only one person in the entire world had. “Harry?” he whispered.
Harry grinned mischievously. “Good afternoon, Mad-Eye.”
The ex-auror shook his head, smiling slightly. “Albus mentioned something about you being a Metamorphmagus.”
Harry shrugged and glanced around warily. “I know this really great coffee shop that has a fair lunch menu in Muggle London...”
Mad-Eye snorted and stood. “Off we go, then.”
Relief flew over Harry’s face as he stood and led the way out of the Leaky Cauldron and down the street to the little café he and Tom had spent so much time at over the summer. The two sat down and gave their orders to the waitress. “Hey, Mad-Eye?” Harry started, watching a wind chime that was hanging in an open window of a flat down the street.
“Yes?”
“Why’d you actually ask to have lunch with me?” Harry glanced up at the ex-auror. “You always do something for a reason.”
Mad-Eye nodded slowly, appearing to gather his thoughts. “You trust me, correct?”
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man. “For the most part, yes.”
Mad-Eye offered a weak smile. “Stupid question. I apologise.”
Harry shook his head. “Alastor, what is it? I feel like I’m playing twenty questions with you again.”
The ex-auror reached forward and, since Harry checked the desire to draw back, clasped his hand around the Dark Mark pendant. “Do me a favour and don’t wear this to the meeting.”
Harry jerked back and grasped the supposedly invisible necklace, glaring at the man. “You see it. Why?”
“It’s a good spell, almost flawless.” Mad-Eye shrugged. “Except, there is not an invisibility spell out there, Light or Dark, that I cannot see through.” He tapped on the bowler hat that covered his false eye.
Harry held up his wrist with the charm bracelet. “This too?”
Mad-Eye nodded. “A good array of charms. You picked them out yourself?”
Harry frowned, idly fingering his two necklaces. “Yes, for the most part. Mad-Eye, how come the charm can’t see the necklaces?”
“You’ve tested it?”
Harry nodded slowly. “I have... a couple of friends who have the charm bracelets, but not our pendants. They’ve never seen the pendants.”
The ex-auror hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe–“
But they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Once situated and the waitress was gone, Harry gave his mentor a sharp look. “Well?”
“Your charms, I think, are meant more for the simple, legal invisibility spells and potions. The spell you have on the pendants is far more complicated and illegal. Your charms weren’t made for those,” Mad-Eye explained, buttering a role.
Harry nodded. Tom had mentioned that. It was, in fact, a spell closely related to the one on the bracelets, except that that spell was legal, although classified as Dark. “You didn’t tell Dumbledore,” he murmured, looking at his cup of tea.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
“Alastor, what have I told you about playing this game?”
“That you rather despise it.”
“Alastor.”
The ex-auror shot Harry a quick smile, to which the young man scowled. “When was the last time there was a Death Eater attack?”
“Percy was killed,” Harry replied immediately.
Mad-Eye nodded slowly. “True. Before that?”
“While I was suspended.”
“You said yourself that none of those were Death Eaters. They were Dark supporters.”
Harry froze, then frowned slowly. “It was... that one... right before Hallowe’en... right?”
Mad-Eye nodded. “The Order has been tying itself into knots trying to guess what Voldemort is playing at. Who would have guessed it was in front of us the whole time?”
Harry shook his head. “No, not really. He’s been...busy...with...other things...”
Mad-Eye nodded, though he didn’t look like he believed Harry. “Last year was a horror. There was an attack a month, sometimes twice a month. No one wanted to go outside and, when they did, they did it carefully. You remember, I know. He was furious that he didn't get the prophesy. But, over the summer, things calmed down. At first, we thought he was just biding his time, waiting for us to weaken our guard. And so we appeared to. And you were left in London, though no one knew at first.”
“He never attacked,” Harry murmured, shaking his head helplessly. “Well, he did, but it was never in London. Never near me.”
“We’d hoped he just didn’t know where you were. Molly almost had a heart attack when Ginevra followed Hedwig to London to see where you were staying. We all thought, for certain, that that much activity would bring him running. But, lo and behold, he never came. We thought that, maybe, he was slipping. Getting slow in his old age. Maybe London was free from him.”
“But, he’d attacked there last year,” Harry replied, leaning forward.
“It didn’t make any sense,” Mad-Eye agreed. “The old snake appeared to have confused even Albus by the time school started again.”
“Then Marcus came...”
“Yes. Marcus Junius Brutús. An interesting name to have, considering the history attached to it. Albus was leery of him, but Fred and George were friends with him and assured Albus that he was a good man. Very trustworthy. After he’d been hired, Snape came to us, warning us about Brutús. He was a Death Eater. But, by then, school had started and Albus couldn’t really sack him, and he hadn’t found anyone else to take the position, anyway. So Brutús stayed. And you were friends, too. The Order breathed a sigh of relief, despite Snape coming in again and again with warnings.”
“And what about before Hallowe’en? That attack on the Ministry?”
“A lot of worry and concern, at first. But, see, Order members hadn’t been targeted. In fact, they were almost all out when the Death Eaters hit. It was the more corrupt members of the political system that had been hit. It was almost as if Voldemort was telling us that he’d changed his mind about attacking the ‘good guys’ or something. He was just trying to make our world a better place to live. At least, that’s what some members thought.”
Harry nodded slowly. “Yes. He has some very different ideas about the future than the Order, but they do seem to fit together at some points. His ways are a bit more crude, perhaps, but they are very different from what they’d, perhaps, been in the first war, or, at the least, what the Light had thought they’d been in the first war. For example, he doesn’t condone Crucioing his opponents to insanity. In fact, he despises such acts.”
“Even when favoured Death Eaters do it?” Mad-Eye asked. His voice was steady, but his single black eye was filled with a fiery hatred.
Harry’s eyes flashed. “Bellatrix would have been Crucioed to insanity herself, if she hadn’t already been there.” He shook his head mildly. “He wouldn’t tell me what he did to her for that one, and I don’t think I really want to know, honestly.”
Mad-Eye nodded. “He’s really a cold, heartless bastard, then?”
Harry frowned, staring past the ex-auror at the wind chime again. “Not so heartless anymore. Things change. He’s not as bad, now, as he was before.”
“Those Death Eaters watching your house...”
“Tonks said you’d seen them,” Harry agreed. “I had to tell them to move.”
“So that’s why they disappeared.” Moody shook his head with a sad smile. “We’d thought they had been looking out for weaknesses in your home’s protection. When they disappeared, we geared for an attack, but it never came.”
“And you were all the more confused.” Harry snorted. “Who knew that, working together, Voldie and I could outsmart old Dumbles?”
“Voldie?”
“Pet name.” Harry smiled mischievously. “He hates it.”
“No doubt.”
“Alastor? Are you going to tell Dumbles? I mean, you’re about to admit a high-ranking Death Eater into a key position in the Order.” Harry sent the ex-auror a piercing look that reminded Mad-Eye of Dumbledore.
“You know I’ve always questioned Snape. If Albus can have his little spy, I can have mine. As far as I can see, you’ve only been helping us in Voldemort’s troops. Why end it?” Mad-Eye shrugged. “Anyway, the Light needs you, much as you hate to admit it. Without you, we’d be lost. Sending you to Azkaban or your death will undo all the good that has come of this summer. I don’t want another war like seventeen years ago. No one does.”
Harry let out a heavy sigh. “No, I don’t suppose anyone does. Not even Voldemort revels in that much blood spilt again.”
“Just, don’t hand over all of our secrets.”
Harry sent his mentor a quick smile that made Mad-Eye more wary of the teen than ever before. “Who, me?”
“No. The house-elf in my pocket. Yes, you!”
Harry winked. “I’ll do my best.”
“Brat,” Mad-Eye muttered. He couldn’t help but smile when Harry laughed. “Oh, and there was one more thing that made me not want to tell Albus about that necklace of yours.”
“What?” Harry frowned suspiciously.
“You’re happy. Free. I don’t remember ever seeing you like this. Fills my old, broken heart with the hopes of the future.” Mad-Eye winked at the gob-smacked look on Harry’s face. “Would you cover the bill?”
“Oh...fine...” Harry rolled his eyes and hunted through his money purse for some Muggle money after waving the waitress down. “Wanker.”
-~/\~-
“Albus and I were talking about how good you’ve become.”
“Good at what?” Harry turned to glance at the ex-auror with an amused look as they were walking away from the café, Harry’s Dark Order pendent put away in a safe place. “Causing trouble?”
Mad-Eye flashed the younger wizard a quick smile. “No. How good you’ve become at being an auror, after that training I gave you and that other training Saber Upwood gave you.”
Harry shrugged. “Does it matter? If they won’t take me, I can’t do much about it.”
“You can’t take the training, no.”
“...What are you getting at now, Mad-Eye?” Harry growled, golden eyes narrowing at his mentor.
“You can’t take the training, but we could certify you.”
Harry frowned and turned his eyes to the pavement before him. “I see.”
“Consider it? It would be a good idea to get certified, at the least.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’d have evidence that you could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, at the least, and could help defend the school, assuming Voldemort would ever attack it,” the older wizard’s voice was touched with laughter at that.
“True...”
“Think on it.”
“Would they want me to serve?” Harry glanced back up at Mad-Eye.
“Probably not. I mean, no more than they’d ask any other citizen, unless you make it obvious you’d like to, of course.”
“I’ll consider it,” Harry promised before changing the subject. “I appear to have developed a tendency to always come late to meetings.”
“Always?” Mad-Eye inquired calmly, allowing the change.
“I was late to yesterday’s meeting too.” Harry ran a hand through his blond hair. “Of course, that’s just because they have to be held as early as possible to keep little brats from causing havoc while the staff is occupied.”
Mad-Eye snorted in amusement as number twelve, Grimmauld Place came into sight. “And, knowing you, you’re going to tell everyone when these meetings are just so they can cause havoc.”
“Tempting, but I think Dumbles would murder me. Anyway, I’ve been forbidden to tell anyone that I’ve been hired to work at Hogwarts, so I can’t really tell them why I know the time.”
“You just don’t want to fight with the students when you’re a teacher,” Mad-Eye accused as they walked inside the house.
Harry winked. “For the most part. You want to go first? I think I can shock everyone even if I come in behind you. Make up some random story that I’m this wizard you found on the street and dragged in,” the teen suggested, gold eyes glittering with mischief.
“You, Potter, are a nightmare,” the ex-auror declared softly as he led Harry down to the kitchen. Harry pretended the place was new and amazing to him.
“Ah, there you two are,” Dumbledore said as Mad-Eye stepped into the kitchen. As Harry walked in, however, the Headmaster frowned and gave Mad-Eye a confused look. The other Order members weren’t doing much better.
“This is an old friend of mine,” Mad-Eye said evenly. “Ran in to him outside.”
“Lovely place you’ve got here,” Harry decided, smiling at the people around the kitchen table. “Homely.” His voice caught on the last word and he looked away, still faking a smile. A picture of Sirius had been put up on the mantle over the fireplace.
“Harry?” Remus whispered, half standing.
Harry pulled out his wand and spelled the picture on its face before smiling faintly at his living godfather. “Wotcher.”
Dumbledore chuckled. “You two managed to trick even me, that time. Well done. Harry, could you please change back and sit between Remus and Molly?”
“Sure.” Harry shrugged and shifted his form as he walked. By the time he’d sat between his surrogate mother and godfather, he was himself again and fingering his Order pendant.
“What’s this?” Remus leaned over to get a good look and let out a hiss. “Where’d you find this?” he asked gently.
Harry tugged on the necklace gently, successfully getting it back from his godfather’s grasp. “Family vault. It was in a jewellery box. Mad-Eye said it was mum’s.”
“Yes. That was Lily’s,” Remus agreed, sitting back. “Albus, why is Harry here?”
Dumbledore smiled as he turned away from Mad-Eye, to whom he’d been talking. Mad-Eye gave Harry a guarded wink as he went to sit between Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance. “It has been decided that Harry will be inducted into the Order now.”
“Albus, no!” Molly shouted.
“Now, Molly, we did take a vote on this,” Dumbledore said soothingly.
“He’s too young!” Molly shot back. “The vote was meant to see if we’d add him even after Percy’s statement, not now!”
“Molly–“ Dumbledore started.
Harry shook his head sharply at the Headmaster, then turned to face Molly, catching her eyes. “Enough,” he said firmly. “This is my choice and I will go through with it, no matter what you say.”
Molly immediately stood down. “Fine.”
Mad-Eye’s eyes widened and he gave the Weasley family matriarch a quick look-over. He didn’t see the Dark Mark pendant that he’d seen on Harry’s other friends and all of the seventh year Slytherins, but it didn’t stop him from wondering exactly how deeply his one-time student’s information network went. He’d never think a Weasley a member of the Dark Order but, of course, their connections with Harry might very well pull them that way. Their daughter had one, he knew.
“Any other arguments?” Dumbledore inquired mildly.
Harry shot Severus a sharp look as the man started to open his mouth. “Don’t you dare.”
Severus narrowed his eyes at the teen. “Albus, you know I’ve been against letting Potter into the Order for years.”
“Yes, I know.” Albus nodded uneasily. “Severus, surely you understand–“
“Oh, come now, Severus,” Harry said in an even voice. “I don’t think you really want our truce to end over something as silly as this.”
Severus winced briefly. “I concede. Induct the brat,” he spat, turning away from the chilled green eyes.
Harry pretended to look hurt. “I thought you were calling me an imp, Sevvie.”
Severus twitched. “Little monster, then,” he muttered, still not looking back at Harry. Harry smiled victoriously, much to the amusement of the rest of the Order.
“Anyone else?” Dumbledore asked with a chuckle. “No? Very well, then. Remus, could you please take Harry upstairs while I get everyone here settled?”
“Of course.” Remus nodded, standing, and led Harry from the room.
“Remy?” Harry whispered once they were out of the kitchen. The werewolf glanced back at him. “What, exactly, happens during one’s induction?”
“Each one is different.” Remus shrugged. “But, basically, you face Fawkes and Albus and they decide if you mean what you’ve said.” His amber-coloured eyes caught Harry’s. “Be careful.”
Harry nodded absently and twisted the ring from Tom. “I know that.”
Remus grabbed his hand and frowned at the bare finger. Harry nodded at the hand when Remus glanced at him. The werewolf’s eyes widened when he saw the ring as it came into sight. “He gave you this?”
“Yes.”
“Put it away.”
“No.” Harry pulled his hand away and shoved it into his jeans pocket. “I’m not taking it off. If Dumbles throws a hissy fit over it, so be it.”
“It’s the Slytherin family crest, Harry,” Remus hissed urgently. “If Albus sees it, he’ll blow a casket.”
“He has no proof,” Harry replied firmly, refusing to look at his godfather. “Don’t start, Remus. I’ve already been told to take it off. If I won’t listen to Marcus, what makes you think I'll listen to you?”
Remus flinched. “Point made.” He pointed to the only closed door on the hall. “Go on in. I have to get back downstairs.” He turned to go.
“Remus.” Harry set a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder, stopping him. “Don’t leave hurt, please? You know I love you, right?”
The werewolf glanced over his shoulder, eyes painful. “I know I will never stand up to your love for him.”
“No, Remus, no.” Harry shook his head sharply. “It’s different. I love you like a father. I love Marcus like a lover. It’ll always be different. Please don’t compare the two?”
Remus sighed and pulled Harry into a tight hug. “Sometimes I forget exactly how old you are,” he murmured as Harry clung to him. “And then I forget exactly who I’m dealing with.” He tugged away and met Harry’s eyes. “You’re strong, I know. Don’t let them know how strong. I know you’ll be fine.”
Harry gave one firm nod, then turned and walked into the room. Remus sighed sadly before going back to the kitchen.
-~/\~-
Harry found himself in a shadowed space. The door, the only light, slammed shut behind him. He tried to draw his wand, only to find it was gone. In fact, the only material things he still appeared to have that he’d come in with were the ring on his finger, his earring, and the Order pendant around his throat. His bracelet was gone, as were his clothes. He froze, listening for some sound. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Mad-Eye’s voice shouted in his head.
A sound made him spin and he could vaguely make out Dumbledore and Fawkes moving towards him in the faint glow of the fog billowing around them. He did not drop his guard, watching the two approach with a cautious gaze.
“Hello, Harry,” Dumbledore offered cheerfully while Fawkes trilled.
“Headmaster. Fawkes.” Harry nodded slightly.
“Welcome to the dark side of the Light,” Dumbledore offered. “Here, you will face your worst nightmares.”
“Why?” Harry shot back. “What do my nightmares have to do with joining the Order?”
“We like to know who you are,” came the cheerful reply.
“In other words, absolutely nothing,” Harry muttered darkly. “Fabulous. Just what I should expect from a coot.”
The old Headmaster’s eyes twinkled in the darkness. “Good luck, Harry.” He faded from sight.
Harry’s eyes twitched back and forth before him. Nightmares? Like what? Dementors? Losing Marcus? Losing Molly or Arthur or Gin or one of the other Weasleys? Losing Remus? Hermione?
“Very disappointing, actually.”
Harry spun around and gave a startled cry. For there, watching him with disgust, were James Potter, Lily Potter, and Sirius Black. “No...”
“Really, Harry. We’re so disappointed in you,” Lily said in a reproving voice. “So very disappointed.”
Harry shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. “They’re not real, you idiot,” he muttered aloud. “You know they’re not real.”
“Not real?” Sirius let out a cold laugh that sounded like a bark. “How silly! Of course we’re real!”
“No. Dumbles said you’re nightmares. My worst nightmares. Wait, why am I talking to them? They aren’t here!”
“Haven’t left yet,” James taunted.
Harry’s eyes flew open and he narrowed them at his father, a thought coming to mind. “You are disappointed in me? After the way you treated Severus in school?! You two have no right to be disappointed in me! And Mum,” Harry turned on the red-haired witch. “What makes you think you’re any better? So you were a good girl in school, but did you even, for one minute, consider that your sister missed you? No, of course not. You’re too perfect.” He sneered.
The three figures had pulled back and looked like they’d been slapped. “Petunia never wanted me around,” Lily declared.
“Snivellus deserved it,” James said firmly. Sirius nodded.
“Oh, yeah?” Harry shot back. “Well, guess what. Every wrong you did to those two people came back on me. I bore your wrong-doings and, let me tell you, I have more sympathy for Severus and Aunt Petunia right now than I do for you. Don’t you dare say you’re disappointed in me!”
Three shouts filled the air and the figures faded away. In their place was Voldemort. “Well, well. If it isn’t bity Potty. Out for a stroll? Need some company? I’m sure I can arrange for it. After all, there are people dying to meet you.”
Harry turned his back on the Dark Lord. “You’re not half as scary as the real thing.”
The Dark Lord’s image disappeared with a hiss of, :You’re no equal of mine!:
Harry balled his fists. :You wish.:
“What nasty thing are you doing this time, boy?” Vernon Dursley shouted from behind Harry.
Harry slammed his eyes shut. He’s not here, Harry. He’s dead, remember?
“Running around naked. What a pity.”
Harry jumped as his uncle touched his shoulder. He spun to face the man, eyes blazing. “You’re dead! Dudley killed you! Looking for cheese, you bastard?!”
Vernon gave him a vicious smile. “What was that supposed to do?”
“Apparently, make you go away,” Dudley Dursley’s voice said from behind Harry as his hands fell onto Harry’s shoulders heavily. “One of his worthless little magic tricks, don’t you know?”
Harry’s eyes slammed shut again and he grasped the ring Tom had given him on his finger. TOM!
The images faded and Harry opened his eyes to find what he was facing this time. Tom, in his Marcus form, was watching him, shaking his head sadly. “I can’t do this, Harry. Too much stress. I’m sorry.” He turned away.
Harry shook his head, ignoring the tears. “That didn’t bother you before.”
“Then I must not have been thinking straight before. Good-bye, Harry.”
Harry twisted the ring on his finger and lowered his head in defeat. “Marcus wouldn’t leave me in real life,” he whispered.
“So sure?”
Harry looked up and had to blink a couple of times. He was standing in the centre of a white room that was brightly lit. Dumbledore sat at a table in front of him with Fawkes on his shoulder. Harry himself was suddenly in black silk robes. “Yes,” he replied to the Headmaster, reaching up to wipe at the tears still falling. “Just because something is a fear doesn’t make it real.”
“How very true that is.” Dumbledore smiled and motioned to the chair across from him. “Sit, my boy.”
Harry shook his head, frowning. “My wand?”
“You will get it back later. Have a seat,” the Headmaster replied firmly. Harry sat. “Good.” He leaned back and looked over the teen before him. “I find it interesting that your necklace was one of the things you chose to keep with you in that room, as was that ring that I will assume you got from Marcus. But not your wand?”
Harry shook his head. “I’m trained in other types of defence, sir. Being without my wand should not make me helpless.”
“You looked very helpless against your uncle and cousin,” Dumbledore commented in an off-handed manner. He noted that Harry stiffened. “Would you care to explain that certain fear to me?”
“No,” Harry bit out.
The Headmaster shrugged. “Very well. Now, you fear that Lily, James, and Sirius will be disappointed in some of your choices, but not, say, Remus?”
“I know Remus’ thoughts on most of my choices, sir. I cannot fear what I know as fact.”
“Yet you fear Marcus leaving you?”
Harry paused. “Perhaps that is not so much a fact as I would like it to be. I fear Remus dying more than I fear his disappointment, I think.”
“I see.” Dumbledore nodded. “The Dark Room doesn’t deal in death, which is probably a lucky thing. We would have been in here for a while if it did.”
Harry bit his lip. “No doubt.”
“Everyone would be in here for a while, I think...”
“Even you?” Harry inquired.
The old man smiled sadly. “Yes, even me.”
Harry nodded absently. “Sir, does the Dark Room not deal with dementors?”
“No. It’s another thing that is too common among people in general.”
“So it doesn’t include general fears?”
“Exactly.”
“But why, then, did Voldemort appear for me? He’s a general fear of the population.”
“Not true. Many that follow him do not fear Voldemort. His Death Eaters fear him, yes, but not his supporters that have never dealt with him face-to-face.”
“Anyone who does deal with him face-to-face, though, would fear him.”
“Not everyone has to, though. Dementors are a fear that is built in to all people, because they are fear, no matter who they are or who they support, as is death. And everyone has to face those things at one point or another,” Dumbledore replied evenly.
“Does Voldemort fear death, then?”
“Think.”
Harry ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. “Yes. He wants to be immortal, so he would fear it.” He frowned at the man. “But, he doesn’t fear others’ deaths, only his own. It’s still general?”
“It’s still death.”
Harry shrugged. “Very well. I concede the point.”
Dumbledore nodded, gaze serious. “Harry James Potter, you are here to join the Order of the Phoenix. We are an organization meant to fight the Darkness of the Wizarding world and help the Light. Our current task is the destruction of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Do you understand all of this?”
“Yes,” Harry replied firmly.
“Do you agree with this foundation?”
To Dumbledore’s great surprise and joy, Harry paused to think this over. After a long moment, the teen nodded. “Yes.”
“To be a part of the Order of the Phoenix is to put your life on the line in the name of the Light. Do you understand this?”
“Far too well.”
Dumbledore offered him an understanding smile. “Is this something you can do?”
“That was never a choice, sir,” was the dry response.
“Every member of the Order of the Phoenix faces death as you do. Do you understand that you may lose someone close to you?”
“Yes,” Harry whispered, nodding.
“Those who are close to you, even when they are not in the Order of the Phoenix, may become targets. Do you understand this?”
“Yes.”
“Any knowledge gained as a member of the Order of the Phoenix must stay within the Order of the Phoenix unless you are told otherwise, including the fact that you are a member. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And can you abide by this rule?”
Harry paused for a moment. “If the knowledge I have may save someone I care for, I will tell them, even if I have been told not to,” he decided.
Dumbledore sighed. “At least you are honest.” He tugged on his beard gently. “Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Harry James Potter. You have passed.”
Harry relaxed back into his chair and closed his eyes. “This week has been too stressful,” he muttered darkly.
Dumbledore chuckled. “I’ve no doubt about that, my dear boy.”
“I note that you don't apologise for the stress you’ve caused,” the teen said dully.
“Perhaps I do not regret it.” Dumbledore stood, unsettling Fawkes, who flew over to Harry and settled in his lap.
“Fawkes...” Harry murmured, reaching out a hand and running it down the phoenix’s back. A tingle went through him and he opened his eyes to give the bird a curious look.
Fawkes offered a trill and Harry was startled to realize he could understand the sound to mean, °°Feeling better?°°
Harry blinked a few times. “Yes, thank you. How can I understand you?”
“Some members of the Order can understand Fawkes, though he chooses who they are,” Dumbledore explained with a smile. “Come. I’m sure you have many people worried near death for you.”
“My things?” Harry requested, not moving. He didn’t much feel like disturbing Fawkes, who was making a soothing sound that didn’t appear to mean much of anything.
“They will replace the robe when you leave the room. Come on, Fawkes.”
°°Always disturbing me when I’m comfortable. Stupid coot,°° the phoenix complained, flying from Harry’s lap to rest on the teen’s shoulder.
Harry laughed, getting to his feet. “Smart arse.”
°°You bet.°°
Dumbledore chuckled and led Harry from the room. As Harry stepped from the room he felt like something was sliding over his skin. When he looked down, his normal clothing was back, as well as his bracelet. He let out a soft sigh of relief and lifted a hand to run it through Fawkes’ feathers.
As soon as they entered the kitchen, the room broke out in sound. It appeared that everyone in the Order, with the exception of Severus, was cheering for him. In fact, the spy had, judging by his lack, returned to the school.
Fawkes offered the teen a quick, °°Good luck, Harry,°° before leaving him to fend for himself and resting on Dumbledore’s shoulder again.
Harry found himself surrounded by the many members of the Order he’d come to know over the two and a half years it had been around again. Molly was hugging him tightly while Arthur was smiling proudly next to Remus. Mundungus Fletcher was patting him on the back – and ignoring Molly’s dirty looks – while the twins and their friend, Lee Jordan, were plotting in a corner. Fred winked at the youngest member of the Order before returning to their plotting. Tonks was bouncing around happily and Kingsley looked ready to drop dead from trying to control her.
“Come on, Harry! Sit, sit!” Tonks called. “We’ve got cake!”
Harry laughed at her antics. “Tonks, why don’t you do Kingsley a favour and sit yourself?”
Kingsley offered the teen a grateful smile as Tonks shrugged and took a seat. Mundungus sat next to her and dragged her into conversation almost immediately, so Kingsley came over. “Thanks, Harry. It’s a nightmare having her as a partner, let me tell you.”
“She’s your partner at the Ministry?” Harry inquired, curious, as Molly went to get some cake.
“Yes.” Kingsley nodded. “They’ve started pairing us all up so we’re never caught out alone. I ended up with Tonks, somehow. I’ll never get another good night’s rest.”
Harry chuckled. “No, I wouldn’t expect so.”
“Here.” Molly handed Harry a plate with cake on it. “Best eat it before it’s all gone,” she suggested, handing another plate to Kingsley.
“Thanks, Molly.” Harry grinned. “If you’ll both excuse me, I need to catch a word with Xylon and Galatea Thorald before they escape.”
“About what?” Molly asked suspiciously.
“Their daughter.” Harry shrugged and slipped through the crowd over to the two Thoralds. Galatea had long brown hair that shimmered in the faint candle-light. Xylon’s hair was a slightly lighter auburn than his daughter’s. The teen could see that Ula got her lean body structure from her father, but her dark colouring from her mother. “Xylon and Galatea,” he said by way of greeting.
The family appeared to be run the same way as the Weasley family, Harry noted as Galatea took the lead. “Mr Potter. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance,” the woman said, holding out a hand for the teen to shake.
Once Harry shook both of their hands, he brought up his question. “I have spoken recently with your daughter, Ula, at school. She came to me about a few concerns and one of them struck me as serious.”
“Us going to Bosnia.” Galatea pursed her lips.
“Yes.” Harry smiled slightly. “But Dumbledore says he will not change that and, knowing Order business, you may be delayed or find yourselves in danger of some sort, so it is probably best that Ula remain in the United Kingdom. That is understood and accepted. It is her staying with her grandfather that concerns me.”
“Papi is a wonderful man!” Galatea protested. Xylon shifted slightly, looking uncomfortable.
Harry's eyes hardened. “People can have more than one side, Galatea, especially people in positions of power. Ula fears and dislikes her grandfather for a reason. It is my experience that a child’s intuition is often a frightfully exact thing.”
“She has nowhere to go,” the dark-haired woman replied.
“You are both members of the Order of the Phoenix. She has many places to go. All you ever need to do is ask if someone can watch her during the summer and I’m sure you will find yourself bombarded with offers,” was the easy response.
Galatea’s eyes glittered. “Even yourself, Mr Potter?”
Harry paused, considering this. “We would be staying at my lover’s house, as I don’t have one, but, yes, I think we’d both be willing to take her in for the summer.”
“And who is your lover?” the woman asked rather nastily.
Harry cocked an eyebrow at the woman. “Marcus Brutús, and I appreciate like your tone.”
Whether it was the answer to her question or the cold reprimand, Harry didn’t know for sure, but it shut her up, none-the-less. Xylon hummed thoughtfully, filling in the silence his wife left. “Perhaps, it could be arranged. I think I would like to have a meeting with Professor Brutús about it first, though.”
“I doubt Marcus would mind.” Harry shrugged. “As long as he gets his grading done and Ula swears not to cause trouble, that is.”
Xylon smiled. “Understandable.” He tapped his chin. “Shall we try and set up a meeting next weekend?”
Harry glanced over at where Dumbledore and Mad-Eye were talking. He quickly signed the request that Mad-Eye send the old Headmaster over and smiled when the ex-auror nodded and started pushing the man towards where Harry and the Thoralds stood. “We’ll have to discuss it with Dumbledore,” he explained in response to Xylon’s inquiring look.
“What can I do for you three?” Dumbledore asked with a large smile as he and Mad-Eye joined them. Fawkes settled himself on Harry’s shoulder again and the teen stroked a finger down his breast absently.
“Dumbles, you recall me mentioning how I wanted to find Miss Thorald a place to stay this summer that wasn’t her grandfather’s home, I’m sure,” Harry said gently.
Dumbledore shot the teen a look. “Yes. What trouble have you concocted this time?”
Harry looked wounded. “How lowly you think of me.”
“Stuff it, Potter,” Mad-Eye muttered darkly. Harry shot him a quick grin.
“Albus, I think Harry has a good idea,” Xylon said, once it became obvious that Galatea wasn’t planning on speaking any time soon. “But I’m wary of who would be a good person to look after Ula. Since Harry suggested it, I, personally, think he’d make a good guardian for that short time. It’s obvious, to me, that he’ll take care of her, as he cared enough to come to us about it, and that she’ll actually listen to him, since she went to him for help.”
Dumbledore gave Harry a searching look. “I see... And, Harry, what do you say?”
“I agree, but I’ll be staying with Marcus this summer, so it will have to be run past him. I doubt he’ll have any problems, but, as I can’t read his mind, we’ll have to ask him,” the teen replied easily.
°°I’ll bet he’ll say yes just because he’ll never live it down if he doesn’t,°° Fawkes teased.
“Hush.” Harry shot the phoenix a sharp look. “Horrible bird, you are.”
Xylon watched the exchange with wide eyes, as did Galatea. Mad-Eye looked slightly impressed. “So, Fawkes chose you to understand him.” The ex-auror shook his head. “Why am I surprised?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Because you’re an idiot.” He snatched Mad-Eye’s flask as the man pulled it out to drink from it and hid it behind his back with a mischievous smile. “And not paying attention.”
Fawkes flew from Harry’s shoulder as Mad-Eye’s blue eye started twirling around in its socket wildly. “Hand it over, Potter.”
Harry winked. “Actually, I was planning on doing some science tests on i– YAH!” The teen dashed away from the pissed off ex-auror and twisted between other Order members, much to everyone’s amusement.
“That boy.” Dumbledore chuckled. “Times like this I can’t help but wonder how he’s lived so long.”
“How has he done it, sir?” Galatea whispered, watching the chase.
“Lots of luck,” the Headmaster decided. “And, oh, yes, he’s one very powerful and quite brilliant young man.”
-~/\~-
-~/\~-
Abandon & Reclaim Series:
Abandon the Prequel: Sixth Year
Abandon Chapters:
01 || 02 || 03 || 04 || 05 || 06 || 07 || 08 || 09 || 10
11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || 15 || 16 || 17 || 18 || 19 || 20
21 || 22 || 23 || 24 || 25 || 26 || 27 || 28 || 29 || 30
31 || 32 || 33 || 34 || 35 || 36 || 37 || 38 || 39 || 40
41 ||42 || 43 || 44 || 45 || 46 || 47
Reclaim Chapters:
One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten
Eleven || Twelve || Thirteen || Fourteen || Fifteen
Epilogue
Side Stories:
Ginevra Weasley & Theodore Nott
Minerva McGonagall || Minerva McGonagall (again)
Author:
batsutousaiBeta:
magickmaker17Pairings: Harry/Tom(Voldemort), Seamus/Blaise, Ginevra/Theodore, post-Ron/Hermione, Salazar/Godric
Warnings: This will have slash(Guys on guys, ppl.), Dumbledore bashing, Ron bashing
Key:
Mind-speak
:Parseltongue:
’Written thoughts’
°°Phoenix speech°°
Chapter 42, Part 1
Chapter 42, Part 2
---------------------------------
It was eleven o’clock Sunday morning when Harry finally woke up to Neville’s voice calling his name. He poked his head out of his curtains tiredly. “Whasa?”
Neville smiled. “Good morning. Herm sent me up to make sure you get up.”
“Time?” Harry muttered, rubbing at his eyes and reaching out blindly to find his glasses.
“Eleven.”
Harry groaned and put his glasses on. “Shit.”
“You’re not late yet, Harry,” Neville offered, walking to the door. “But you’d best get ready. I have no clue how Moody will react if you’re late.”
“I do,” Harry muttered once the door had closed as he climbed from his bed. Morning.
Tom’s mental voice was light and happy. Morning yourself. Feeling better?
You drugged me, the teen complained, walking over to his wardrobe and going through his Muggle clothing.
Yes, the Dark Lord agreed. You needed the sleep and we both knew it.
Uhg. Harry ruffled his hair and pulled out a pair of jeans and his black MacBeth shirt. Maybe I’d rather have slept with you.
No. You would have terrified your room mates or someone else when they couldn’t find you. Anyway, with Dumbledore knowing about our relationship it’s much more difficult for you to spend the night. And you’re a Prefect now; you need to be there. Without you there yesterday, it could have been a lot worse than a destroyed common room.
Shut up. I know all that. Harry sighed helplessly. I can’t wait until the summer comes. I’ll love having you to myself again.
Tom chuckled. I know, love. Now, finish getting ready. I’ll see you after the meeting.
Not before?
No. I have papers to grade. You can always send Gin down, of course.
I’ll remember that. She’s not with Ted?
Ted’s got another detention.
What’s he gone and done this time?!
Scared the hell out of a few Hufflepuffs in front of Sprout, from what I’ve heard.
That boy... Harry sighed, rolling his eyes and grabbing his toiletries. Oh well...
“Potter!”
Harry turned and blinked at the first year a few times tiredly. “Miss Thorald. What can I do for you?”
Ula scowled and tossed a balled up sheet of paper at his head. “Don’t put things in my books, Potter,” she spat before turning and heading back to where her friends were sitting with their books.
Harry picked up the paper with a shrug and uncrumpled it as he left the common room and headed for the kitchens. She’d written him back neatly.
‘I don’t have any other relatives in the United Kingdom. I have an uncle in America and Mum has family in Bosnia. It’s why I’m always sent with Grandpapi.
‘I promise to be nicer to Clough, I suppose, but nothing is going to make me like her, you know.
‘Thorald’
Harry smiled faintly and put the letter in his back jeans pocket. “That girl...”
‘HARRY!’ appeared in front of the young wizard’s face and he stopped, glancing over his shoulder.
“Gin. Hey.” Harry smiled at his sister as she came to a halt next to him, breathing heavily.
‘That Thorald girl is such a bitch.’ Gin grumbled, motioning for Harry to lead the way to where ever he’d been going.
“Oh, I dunno. I’ve got a bit of an understanding going on with her right now.”
‘Does this understanding include her throwing paper and kindness in your face?’
“Yes, actually, it does.” Harry smiled faintly. “That reminds me, Marcus asked me to send you to him.”
‘I didn’t do it!’
Harry cocked and eyebrow at his sister as they stepped into the kitchen hall. “I never said you did.”
Gin smiled sheepishly. ‘Well, good.’
“Oh, go on. Let me get my breakfast before I have to go and meet with Mad-Eye.” The young man chuckled, tickling the pear. The picture seemed to giggle for Gin as she waved and left Harry at the mercy of Dobby the house-elf.
Mad-Eye frowned when a blond-haired, golden-eyed young man slid into the seat across from him, wearing Muggle clothing. “Can I help you?”
The young man cocked his eyebrow at the auror in a way that Mad-Eye vaguely recognized. “Oh, is it really working, then?”
Mad-Eye was about to yell at the young man when he saw the two necklaces around the teen’s throat that only one person in the entire world had. “Harry?” he whispered.
Harry grinned mischievously. “Good afternoon, Mad-Eye.”
The ex-auror shook his head, smiling slightly. “Albus mentioned something about you being a Metamorphmagus.”
Harry shrugged and glanced around warily. “I know this really great coffee shop that has a fair lunch menu in Muggle London...”
Mad-Eye snorted and stood. “Off we go, then.”
Relief flew over Harry’s face as he stood and led the way out of the Leaky Cauldron and down the street to the little café he and Tom had spent so much time at over the summer. The two sat down and gave their orders to the waitress. “Hey, Mad-Eye?” Harry started, watching a wind chime that was hanging in an open window of a flat down the street.
“Yes?”
“Why’d you actually ask to have lunch with me?” Harry glanced up at the ex-auror. “You always do something for a reason.”
Mad-Eye nodded slowly, appearing to gather his thoughts. “You trust me, correct?”
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man. “For the most part, yes.”
Mad-Eye offered a weak smile. “Stupid question. I apologise.”
Harry shook his head. “Alastor, what is it? I feel like I’m playing twenty questions with you again.”
The ex-auror reached forward and, since Harry checked the desire to draw back, clasped his hand around the Dark Mark pendant. “Do me a favour and don’t wear this to the meeting.”
Harry jerked back and grasped the supposedly invisible necklace, glaring at the man. “You see it. Why?”
“It’s a good spell, almost flawless.” Mad-Eye shrugged. “Except, there is not an invisibility spell out there, Light or Dark, that I cannot see through.” He tapped on the bowler hat that covered his false eye.
Harry held up his wrist with the charm bracelet. “This too?”
Mad-Eye nodded. “A good array of charms. You picked them out yourself?”
Harry frowned, idly fingering his two necklaces. “Yes, for the most part. Mad-Eye, how come the charm can’t see the necklaces?”
“You’ve tested it?”
Harry nodded slowly. “I have... a couple of friends who have the charm bracelets, but not our pendants. They’ve never seen the pendants.”
The ex-auror hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe–“
But they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Once situated and the waitress was gone, Harry gave his mentor a sharp look. “Well?”
“Your charms, I think, are meant more for the simple, legal invisibility spells and potions. The spell you have on the pendants is far more complicated and illegal. Your charms weren’t made for those,” Mad-Eye explained, buttering a role.
Harry nodded. Tom had mentioned that. It was, in fact, a spell closely related to the one on the bracelets, except that that spell was legal, although classified as Dark. “You didn’t tell Dumbledore,” he murmured, looking at his cup of tea.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
“Alastor, what have I told you about playing this game?”
“That you rather despise it.”
“Alastor.”
The ex-auror shot Harry a quick smile, to which the young man scowled. “When was the last time there was a Death Eater attack?”
“Percy was killed,” Harry replied immediately.
Mad-Eye nodded slowly. “True. Before that?”
“While I was suspended.”
“You said yourself that none of those were Death Eaters. They were Dark supporters.”
Harry froze, then frowned slowly. “It was... that one... right before Hallowe’en... right?”
Mad-Eye nodded. “The Order has been tying itself into knots trying to guess what Voldemort is playing at. Who would have guessed it was in front of us the whole time?”
Harry shook his head. “No, not really. He’s been...busy...with...other things...”
Mad-Eye nodded, though he didn’t look like he believed Harry. “Last year was a horror. There was an attack a month, sometimes twice a month. No one wanted to go outside and, when they did, they did it carefully. You remember, I know. He was furious that he didn't get the prophesy. But, over the summer, things calmed down. At first, we thought he was just biding his time, waiting for us to weaken our guard. And so we appeared to. And you were left in London, though no one knew at first.”
“He never attacked,” Harry murmured, shaking his head helplessly. “Well, he did, but it was never in London. Never near me.”
“We’d hoped he just didn’t know where you were. Molly almost had a heart attack when Ginevra followed Hedwig to London to see where you were staying. We all thought, for certain, that that much activity would bring him running. But, lo and behold, he never came. We thought that, maybe, he was slipping. Getting slow in his old age. Maybe London was free from him.”
“But, he’d attacked there last year,” Harry replied, leaning forward.
“It didn’t make any sense,” Mad-Eye agreed. “The old snake appeared to have confused even Albus by the time school started again.”
“Then Marcus came...”
“Yes. Marcus Junius Brutús. An interesting name to have, considering the history attached to it. Albus was leery of him, but Fred and George were friends with him and assured Albus that he was a good man. Very trustworthy. After he’d been hired, Snape came to us, warning us about Brutús. He was a Death Eater. But, by then, school had started and Albus couldn’t really sack him, and he hadn’t found anyone else to take the position, anyway. So Brutús stayed. And you were friends, too. The Order breathed a sigh of relief, despite Snape coming in again and again with warnings.”
“And what about before Hallowe’en? That attack on the Ministry?”
“A lot of worry and concern, at first. But, see, Order members hadn’t been targeted. In fact, they were almost all out when the Death Eaters hit. It was the more corrupt members of the political system that had been hit. It was almost as if Voldemort was telling us that he’d changed his mind about attacking the ‘good guys’ or something. He was just trying to make our world a better place to live. At least, that’s what some members thought.”
Harry nodded slowly. “Yes. He has some very different ideas about the future than the Order, but they do seem to fit together at some points. His ways are a bit more crude, perhaps, but they are very different from what they’d, perhaps, been in the first war, or, at the least, what the Light had thought they’d been in the first war. For example, he doesn’t condone Crucioing his opponents to insanity. In fact, he despises such acts.”
“Even when favoured Death Eaters do it?” Mad-Eye asked. His voice was steady, but his single black eye was filled with a fiery hatred.
Harry’s eyes flashed. “Bellatrix would have been Crucioed to insanity herself, if she hadn’t already been there.” He shook his head mildly. “He wouldn’t tell me what he did to her for that one, and I don’t think I really want to know, honestly.”
Mad-Eye nodded. “He’s really a cold, heartless bastard, then?”
Harry frowned, staring past the ex-auror at the wind chime again. “Not so heartless anymore. Things change. He’s not as bad, now, as he was before.”
“Those Death Eaters watching your house...”
“Tonks said you’d seen them,” Harry agreed. “I had to tell them to move.”
“So that’s why they disappeared.” Moody shook his head with a sad smile. “We’d thought they had been looking out for weaknesses in your home’s protection. When they disappeared, we geared for an attack, but it never came.”
“And you were all the more confused.” Harry snorted. “Who knew that, working together, Voldie and I could outsmart old Dumbles?”
“Voldie?”
“Pet name.” Harry smiled mischievously. “He hates it.”
“No doubt.”
“Alastor? Are you going to tell Dumbles? I mean, you’re about to admit a high-ranking Death Eater into a key position in the Order.” Harry sent the ex-auror a piercing look that reminded Mad-Eye of Dumbledore.
“You know I’ve always questioned Snape. If Albus can have his little spy, I can have mine. As far as I can see, you’ve only been helping us in Voldemort’s troops. Why end it?” Mad-Eye shrugged. “Anyway, the Light needs you, much as you hate to admit it. Without you, we’d be lost. Sending you to Azkaban or your death will undo all the good that has come of this summer. I don’t want another war like seventeen years ago. No one does.”
Harry let out a heavy sigh. “No, I don’t suppose anyone does. Not even Voldemort revels in that much blood spilt again.”
“Just, don’t hand over all of our secrets.”
Harry sent his mentor a quick smile that made Mad-Eye more wary of the teen than ever before. “Who, me?”
“No. The house-elf in my pocket. Yes, you!”
Harry winked. “I’ll do my best.”
“Brat,” Mad-Eye muttered. He couldn’t help but smile when Harry laughed. “Oh, and there was one more thing that made me not want to tell Albus about that necklace of yours.”
“What?” Harry frowned suspiciously.
“You’re happy. Free. I don’t remember ever seeing you like this. Fills my old, broken heart with the hopes of the future.” Mad-Eye winked at the gob-smacked look on Harry’s face. “Would you cover the bill?”
“Oh...fine...” Harry rolled his eyes and hunted through his money purse for some Muggle money after waving the waitress down. “Wanker.”
“Albus and I were talking about how good you’ve become.”
“Good at what?” Harry turned to glance at the ex-auror with an amused look as they were walking away from the café, Harry’s Dark Order pendent put away in a safe place. “Causing trouble?”
Mad-Eye flashed the younger wizard a quick smile. “No. How good you’ve become at being an auror, after that training I gave you and that other training Saber Upwood gave you.”
Harry shrugged. “Does it matter? If they won’t take me, I can’t do much about it.”
“You can’t take the training, no.”
“...What are you getting at now, Mad-Eye?” Harry growled, golden eyes narrowing at his mentor.
“You can’t take the training, but we could certify you.”
Harry frowned and turned his eyes to the pavement before him. “I see.”
“Consider it? It would be a good idea to get certified, at the least.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’d have evidence that you could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, at the least, and could help defend the school, assuming Voldemort would ever attack it,” the older wizard’s voice was touched with laughter at that.
“True...”
“Think on it.”
“Would they want me to serve?” Harry glanced back up at Mad-Eye.
“Probably not. I mean, no more than they’d ask any other citizen, unless you make it obvious you’d like to, of course.”
“I’ll consider it,” Harry promised before changing the subject. “I appear to have developed a tendency to always come late to meetings.”
“Always?” Mad-Eye inquired calmly, allowing the change.
“I was late to yesterday’s meeting too.” Harry ran a hand through his blond hair. “Of course, that’s just because they have to be held as early as possible to keep little brats from causing havoc while the staff is occupied.”
Mad-Eye snorted in amusement as number twelve, Grimmauld Place came into sight. “And, knowing you, you’re going to tell everyone when these meetings are just so they can cause havoc.”
“Tempting, but I think Dumbles would murder me. Anyway, I’ve been forbidden to tell anyone that I’ve been hired to work at Hogwarts, so I can’t really tell them why I know the time.”
“You just don’t want to fight with the students when you’re a teacher,” Mad-Eye accused as they walked inside the house.
Harry winked. “For the most part. You want to go first? I think I can shock everyone even if I come in behind you. Make up some random story that I’m this wizard you found on the street and dragged in,” the teen suggested, gold eyes glittering with mischief.
“You, Potter, are a nightmare,” the ex-auror declared softly as he led Harry down to the kitchen. Harry pretended the place was new and amazing to him.
“Ah, there you two are,” Dumbledore said as Mad-Eye stepped into the kitchen. As Harry walked in, however, the Headmaster frowned and gave Mad-Eye a confused look. The other Order members weren’t doing much better.
“This is an old friend of mine,” Mad-Eye said evenly. “Ran in to him outside.”
“Lovely place you’ve got here,” Harry decided, smiling at the people around the kitchen table. “Homely.” His voice caught on the last word and he looked away, still faking a smile. A picture of Sirius had been put up on the mantle over the fireplace.
“Harry?” Remus whispered, half standing.
Harry pulled out his wand and spelled the picture on its face before smiling faintly at his living godfather. “Wotcher.”
Dumbledore chuckled. “You two managed to trick even me, that time. Well done. Harry, could you please change back and sit between Remus and Molly?”
“Sure.” Harry shrugged and shifted his form as he walked. By the time he’d sat between his surrogate mother and godfather, he was himself again and fingering his Order pendant.
“What’s this?” Remus leaned over to get a good look and let out a hiss. “Where’d you find this?” he asked gently.
Harry tugged on the necklace gently, successfully getting it back from his godfather’s grasp. “Family vault. It was in a jewellery box. Mad-Eye said it was mum’s.”
“Yes. That was Lily’s,” Remus agreed, sitting back. “Albus, why is Harry here?”
Dumbledore smiled as he turned away from Mad-Eye, to whom he’d been talking. Mad-Eye gave Harry a guarded wink as he went to sit between Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance. “It has been decided that Harry will be inducted into the Order now.”
“Albus, no!” Molly shouted.
“Now, Molly, we did take a vote on this,” Dumbledore said soothingly.
“He’s too young!” Molly shot back. “The vote was meant to see if we’d add him even after Percy’s statement, not now!”
“Molly–“ Dumbledore started.
Harry shook his head sharply at the Headmaster, then turned to face Molly, catching her eyes. “Enough,” he said firmly. “This is my choice and I will go through with it, no matter what you say.”
Molly immediately stood down. “Fine.”
Mad-Eye’s eyes widened and he gave the Weasley family matriarch a quick look-over. He didn’t see the Dark Mark pendant that he’d seen on Harry’s other friends and all of the seventh year Slytherins, but it didn’t stop him from wondering exactly how deeply his one-time student’s information network went. He’d never think a Weasley a member of the Dark Order but, of course, their connections with Harry might very well pull them that way. Their daughter had one, he knew.
“Any other arguments?” Dumbledore inquired mildly.
Harry shot Severus a sharp look as the man started to open his mouth. “Don’t you dare.”
Severus narrowed his eyes at the teen. “Albus, you know I’ve been against letting Potter into the Order for years.”
“Yes, I know.” Albus nodded uneasily. “Severus, surely you understand–“
“Oh, come now, Severus,” Harry said in an even voice. “I don’t think you really want our truce to end over something as silly as this.”
Severus winced briefly. “I concede. Induct the brat,” he spat, turning away from the chilled green eyes.
Harry pretended to look hurt. “I thought you were calling me an imp, Sevvie.”
Severus twitched. “Little monster, then,” he muttered, still not looking back at Harry. Harry smiled victoriously, much to the amusement of the rest of the Order.
“Anyone else?” Dumbledore asked with a chuckle. “No? Very well, then. Remus, could you please take Harry upstairs while I get everyone here settled?”
“Of course.” Remus nodded, standing, and led Harry from the room.
“Remy?” Harry whispered once they were out of the kitchen. The werewolf glanced back at him. “What, exactly, happens during one’s induction?”
“Each one is different.” Remus shrugged. “But, basically, you face Fawkes and Albus and they decide if you mean what you’ve said.” His amber-coloured eyes caught Harry’s. “Be careful.”
Harry nodded absently and twisted the ring from Tom. “I know that.”
Remus grabbed his hand and frowned at the bare finger. Harry nodded at the hand when Remus glanced at him. The werewolf’s eyes widened when he saw the ring as it came into sight. “He gave you this?”
“Yes.”
“Put it away.”
“No.” Harry pulled his hand away and shoved it into his jeans pocket. “I’m not taking it off. If Dumbles throws a hissy fit over it, so be it.”
“It’s the Slytherin family crest, Harry,” Remus hissed urgently. “If Albus sees it, he’ll blow a casket.”
“He has no proof,” Harry replied firmly, refusing to look at his godfather. “Don’t start, Remus. I’ve already been told to take it off. If I won’t listen to Marcus, what makes you think I'll listen to you?”
Remus flinched. “Point made.” He pointed to the only closed door on the hall. “Go on in. I have to get back downstairs.” He turned to go.
“Remus.” Harry set a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder, stopping him. “Don’t leave hurt, please? You know I love you, right?”
The werewolf glanced over his shoulder, eyes painful. “I know I will never stand up to your love for him.”
“No, Remus, no.” Harry shook his head sharply. “It’s different. I love you like a father. I love Marcus like a lover. It’ll always be different. Please don’t compare the two?”
Remus sighed and pulled Harry into a tight hug. “Sometimes I forget exactly how old you are,” he murmured as Harry clung to him. “And then I forget exactly who I’m dealing with.” He tugged away and met Harry’s eyes. “You’re strong, I know. Don’t let them know how strong. I know you’ll be fine.”
Harry gave one firm nod, then turned and walked into the room. Remus sighed sadly before going back to the kitchen.
Harry found himself in a shadowed space. The door, the only light, slammed shut behind him. He tried to draw his wand, only to find it was gone. In fact, the only material things he still appeared to have that he’d come in with were the ring on his finger, his earring, and the Order pendant around his throat. His bracelet was gone, as were his clothes. He froze, listening for some sound. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Mad-Eye’s voice shouted in his head.
A sound made him spin and he could vaguely make out Dumbledore and Fawkes moving towards him in the faint glow of the fog billowing around them. He did not drop his guard, watching the two approach with a cautious gaze.
“Hello, Harry,” Dumbledore offered cheerfully while Fawkes trilled.
“Headmaster. Fawkes.” Harry nodded slightly.
“Welcome to the dark side of the Light,” Dumbledore offered. “Here, you will face your worst nightmares.”
“Why?” Harry shot back. “What do my nightmares have to do with joining the Order?”
“We like to know who you are,” came the cheerful reply.
“In other words, absolutely nothing,” Harry muttered darkly. “Fabulous. Just what I should expect from a coot.”
The old Headmaster’s eyes twinkled in the darkness. “Good luck, Harry.” He faded from sight.
Harry’s eyes twitched back and forth before him. Nightmares? Like what? Dementors? Losing Marcus? Losing Molly or Arthur or Gin or one of the other Weasleys? Losing Remus? Hermione?
“Very disappointing, actually.”
Harry spun around and gave a startled cry. For there, watching him with disgust, were James Potter, Lily Potter, and Sirius Black. “No...”
“Really, Harry. We’re so disappointed in you,” Lily said in a reproving voice. “So very disappointed.”
Harry shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. “They’re not real, you idiot,” he muttered aloud. “You know they’re not real.”
“Not real?” Sirius let out a cold laugh that sounded like a bark. “How silly! Of course we’re real!”
“No. Dumbles said you’re nightmares. My worst nightmares. Wait, why am I talking to them? They aren’t here!”
“Haven’t left yet,” James taunted.
Harry’s eyes flew open and he narrowed them at his father, a thought coming to mind. “You are disappointed in me? After the way you treated Severus in school?! You two have no right to be disappointed in me! And Mum,” Harry turned on the red-haired witch. “What makes you think you’re any better? So you were a good girl in school, but did you even, for one minute, consider that your sister missed you? No, of course not. You’re too perfect.” He sneered.
The three figures had pulled back and looked like they’d been slapped. “Petunia never wanted me around,” Lily declared.
“Snivellus deserved it,” James said firmly. Sirius nodded.
“Oh, yeah?” Harry shot back. “Well, guess what. Every wrong you did to those two people came back on me. I bore your wrong-doings and, let me tell you, I have more sympathy for Severus and Aunt Petunia right now than I do for you. Don’t you dare say you’re disappointed in me!”
Three shouts filled the air and the figures faded away. In their place was Voldemort. “Well, well. If it isn’t bity Potty. Out for a stroll? Need some company? I’m sure I can arrange for it. After all, there are people dying to meet you.”
Harry turned his back on the Dark Lord. “You’re not half as scary as the real thing.”
The Dark Lord’s image disappeared with a hiss of, :You’re no equal of mine!:
Harry balled his fists. :You wish.:
“What nasty thing are you doing this time, boy?” Vernon Dursley shouted from behind Harry.
Harry slammed his eyes shut. He’s not here, Harry. He’s dead, remember?
“Running around naked. What a pity.”
Harry jumped as his uncle touched his shoulder. He spun to face the man, eyes blazing. “You’re dead! Dudley killed you! Looking for cheese, you bastard?!”
Vernon gave him a vicious smile. “What was that supposed to do?”
“Apparently, make you go away,” Dudley Dursley’s voice said from behind Harry as his hands fell onto Harry’s shoulders heavily. “One of his worthless little magic tricks, don’t you know?”
Harry’s eyes slammed shut again and he grasped the ring Tom had given him on his finger. TOM!
The images faded and Harry opened his eyes to find what he was facing this time. Tom, in his Marcus form, was watching him, shaking his head sadly. “I can’t do this, Harry. Too much stress. I’m sorry.” He turned away.
Harry shook his head, ignoring the tears. “That didn’t bother you before.”
“Then I must not have been thinking straight before. Good-bye, Harry.”
Harry twisted the ring on his finger and lowered his head in defeat. “Marcus wouldn’t leave me in real life,” he whispered.
“So sure?”
Harry looked up and had to blink a couple of times. He was standing in the centre of a white room that was brightly lit. Dumbledore sat at a table in front of him with Fawkes on his shoulder. Harry himself was suddenly in black silk robes. “Yes,” he replied to the Headmaster, reaching up to wipe at the tears still falling. “Just because something is a fear doesn’t make it real.”
“How very true that is.” Dumbledore smiled and motioned to the chair across from him. “Sit, my boy.”
Harry shook his head, frowning. “My wand?”
“You will get it back later. Have a seat,” the Headmaster replied firmly. Harry sat. “Good.” He leaned back and looked over the teen before him. “I find it interesting that your necklace was one of the things you chose to keep with you in that room, as was that ring that I will assume you got from Marcus. But not your wand?”
Harry shook his head. “I’m trained in other types of defence, sir. Being without my wand should not make me helpless.”
“You looked very helpless against your uncle and cousin,” Dumbledore commented in an off-handed manner. He noted that Harry stiffened. “Would you care to explain that certain fear to me?”
“No,” Harry bit out.
The Headmaster shrugged. “Very well. Now, you fear that Lily, James, and Sirius will be disappointed in some of your choices, but not, say, Remus?”
“I know Remus’ thoughts on most of my choices, sir. I cannot fear what I know as fact.”
“Yet you fear Marcus leaving you?”
Harry paused. “Perhaps that is not so much a fact as I would like it to be. I fear Remus dying more than I fear his disappointment, I think.”
“I see.” Dumbledore nodded. “The Dark Room doesn’t deal in death, which is probably a lucky thing. We would have been in here for a while if it did.”
Harry bit his lip. “No doubt.”
“Everyone would be in here for a while, I think...”
“Even you?” Harry inquired.
The old man smiled sadly. “Yes, even me.”
Harry nodded absently. “Sir, does the Dark Room not deal with dementors?”
“No. It’s another thing that is too common among people in general.”
“So it doesn’t include general fears?”
“Exactly.”
“But why, then, did Voldemort appear for me? He’s a general fear of the population.”
“Not true. Many that follow him do not fear Voldemort. His Death Eaters fear him, yes, but not his supporters that have never dealt with him face-to-face.”
“Anyone who does deal with him face-to-face, though, would fear him.”
“Not everyone has to, though. Dementors are a fear that is built in to all people, because they are fear, no matter who they are or who they support, as is death. And everyone has to face those things at one point or another,” Dumbledore replied evenly.
“Does Voldemort fear death, then?”
“Think.”
Harry ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. “Yes. He wants to be immortal, so he would fear it.” He frowned at the man. “But, he doesn’t fear others’ deaths, only his own. It’s still general?”
“It’s still death.”
Harry shrugged. “Very well. I concede the point.”
Dumbledore nodded, gaze serious. “Harry James Potter, you are here to join the Order of the Phoenix. We are an organization meant to fight the Darkness of the Wizarding world and help the Light. Our current task is the destruction of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Do you understand all of this?”
“Yes,” Harry replied firmly.
“Do you agree with this foundation?”
To Dumbledore’s great surprise and joy, Harry paused to think this over. After a long moment, the teen nodded. “Yes.”
“To be a part of the Order of the Phoenix is to put your life on the line in the name of the Light. Do you understand this?”
“Far too well.”
Dumbledore offered him an understanding smile. “Is this something you can do?”
“That was never a choice, sir,” was the dry response.
“Every member of the Order of the Phoenix faces death as you do. Do you understand that you may lose someone close to you?”
“Yes,” Harry whispered, nodding.
“Those who are close to you, even when they are not in the Order of the Phoenix, may become targets. Do you understand this?”
“Yes.”
“Any knowledge gained as a member of the Order of the Phoenix must stay within the Order of the Phoenix unless you are told otherwise, including the fact that you are a member. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And can you abide by this rule?”
Harry paused for a moment. “If the knowledge I have may save someone I care for, I will tell them, even if I have been told not to,” he decided.
Dumbledore sighed. “At least you are honest.” He tugged on his beard gently. “Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Harry James Potter. You have passed.”
Harry relaxed back into his chair and closed his eyes. “This week has been too stressful,” he muttered darkly.
Dumbledore chuckled. “I’ve no doubt about that, my dear boy.”
“I note that you don't apologise for the stress you’ve caused,” the teen said dully.
“Perhaps I do not regret it.” Dumbledore stood, unsettling Fawkes, who flew over to Harry and settled in his lap.
“Fawkes...” Harry murmured, reaching out a hand and running it down the phoenix’s back. A tingle went through him and he opened his eyes to give the bird a curious look.
Fawkes offered a trill and Harry was startled to realize he could understand the sound to mean, °°Feeling better?°°
Harry blinked a few times. “Yes, thank you. How can I understand you?”
“Some members of the Order can understand Fawkes, though he chooses who they are,” Dumbledore explained with a smile. “Come. I’m sure you have many people worried near death for you.”
“My things?” Harry requested, not moving. He didn’t much feel like disturbing Fawkes, who was making a soothing sound that didn’t appear to mean much of anything.
“They will replace the robe when you leave the room. Come on, Fawkes.”
°°Always disturbing me when I’m comfortable. Stupid coot,°° the phoenix complained, flying from Harry’s lap to rest on the teen’s shoulder.
Harry laughed, getting to his feet. “Smart arse.”
°°You bet.°°
Dumbledore chuckled and led Harry from the room. As Harry stepped from the room he felt like something was sliding over his skin. When he looked down, his normal clothing was back, as well as his bracelet. He let out a soft sigh of relief and lifted a hand to run it through Fawkes’ feathers.
As soon as they entered the kitchen, the room broke out in sound. It appeared that everyone in the Order, with the exception of Severus, was cheering for him. In fact, the spy had, judging by his lack, returned to the school.
Fawkes offered the teen a quick, °°Good luck, Harry,°° before leaving him to fend for himself and resting on Dumbledore’s shoulder again.
Harry found himself surrounded by the many members of the Order he’d come to know over the two and a half years it had been around again. Molly was hugging him tightly while Arthur was smiling proudly next to Remus. Mundungus Fletcher was patting him on the back – and ignoring Molly’s dirty looks – while the twins and their friend, Lee Jordan, were plotting in a corner. Fred winked at the youngest member of the Order before returning to their plotting. Tonks was bouncing around happily and Kingsley looked ready to drop dead from trying to control her.
“Come on, Harry! Sit, sit!” Tonks called. “We’ve got cake!”
Harry laughed at her antics. “Tonks, why don’t you do Kingsley a favour and sit yourself?”
Kingsley offered the teen a grateful smile as Tonks shrugged and took a seat. Mundungus sat next to her and dragged her into conversation almost immediately, so Kingsley came over. “Thanks, Harry. It’s a nightmare having her as a partner, let me tell you.”
“She’s your partner at the Ministry?” Harry inquired, curious, as Molly went to get some cake.
“Yes.” Kingsley nodded. “They’ve started pairing us all up so we’re never caught out alone. I ended up with Tonks, somehow. I’ll never get another good night’s rest.”
Harry chuckled. “No, I wouldn’t expect so.”
“Here.” Molly handed Harry a plate with cake on it. “Best eat it before it’s all gone,” she suggested, handing another plate to Kingsley.
“Thanks, Molly.” Harry grinned. “If you’ll both excuse me, I need to catch a word with Xylon and Galatea Thorald before they escape.”
“About what?” Molly asked suspiciously.
“Their daughter.” Harry shrugged and slipped through the crowd over to the two Thoralds. Galatea had long brown hair that shimmered in the faint candle-light. Xylon’s hair was a slightly lighter auburn than his daughter’s. The teen could see that Ula got her lean body structure from her father, but her dark colouring from her mother. “Xylon and Galatea,” he said by way of greeting.
The family appeared to be run the same way as the Weasley family, Harry noted as Galatea took the lead. “Mr Potter. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance,” the woman said, holding out a hand for the teen to shake.
Once Harry shook both of their hands, he brought up his question. “I have spoken recently with your daughter, Ula, at school. She came to me about a few concerns and one of them struck me as serious.”
“Us going to Bosnia.” Galatea pursed her lips.
“Yes.” Harry smiled slightly. “But Dumbledore says he will not change that and, knowing Order business, you may be delayed or find yourselves in danger of some sort, so it is probably best that Ula remain in the United Kingdom. That is understood and accepted. It is her staying with her grandfather that concerns me.”
“Papi is a wonderful man!” Galatea protested. Xylon shifted slightly, looking uncomfortable.
Harry's eyes hardened. “People can have more than one side, Galatea, especially people in positions of power. Ula fears and dislikes her grandfather for a reason. It is my experience that a child’s intuition is often a frightfully exact thing.”
“She has nowhere to go,” the dark-haired woman replied.
“You are both members of the Order of the Phoenix. She has many places to go. All you ever need to do is ask if someone can watch her during the summer and I’m sure you will find yourself bombarded with offers,” was the easy response.
Galatea’s eyes glittered. “Even yourself, Mr Potter?”
Harry paused, considering this. “We would be staying at my lover’s house, as I don’t have one, but, yes, I think we’d both be willing to take her in for the summer.”
“And who is your lover?” the woman asked rather nastily.
Harry cocked an eyebrow at the woman. “Marcus Brutús, and I appreciate like your tone.”
Whether it was the answer to her question or the cold reprimand, Harry didn’t know for sure, but it shut her up, none-the-less. Xylon hummed thoughtfully, filling in the silence his wife left. “Perhaps, it could be arranged. I think I would like to have a meeting with Professor Brutús about it first, though.”
“I doubt Marcus would mind.” Harry shrugged. “As long as he gets his grading done and Ula swears not to cause trouble, that is.”
Xylon smiled. “Understandable.” He tapped his chin. “Shall we try and set up a meeting next weekend?”
Harry glanced over at where Dumbledore and Mad-Eye were talking. He quickly signed the request that Mad-Eye send the old Headmaster over and smiled when the ex-auror nodded and started pushing the man towards where Harry and the Thoralds stood. “We’ll have to discuss it with Dumbledore,” he explained in response to Xylon’s inquiring look.
“What can I do for you three?” Dumbledore asked with a large smile as he and Mad-Eye joined them. Fawkes settled himself on Harry’s shoulder again and the teen stroked a finger down his breast absently.
“Dumbles, you recall me mentioning how I wanted to find Miss Thorald a place to stay this summer that wasn’t her grandfather’s home, I’m sure,” Harry said gently.
Dumbledore shot the teen a look. “Yes. What trouble have you concocted this time?”
Harry looked wounded. “How lowly you think of me.”
“Stuff it, Potter,” Mad-Eye muttered darkly. Harry shot him a quick grin.
“Albus, I think Harry has a good idea,” Xylon said, once it became obvious that Galatea wasn’t planning on speaking any time soon. “But I’m wary of who would be a good person to look after Ula. Since Harry suggested it, I, personally, think he’d make a good guardian for that short time. It’s obvious, to me, that he’ll take care of her, as he cared enough to come to us about it, and that she’ll actually listen to him, since she went to him for help.”
Dumbledore gave Harry a searching look. “I see... And, Harry, what do you say?”
“I agree, but I’ll be staying with Marcus this summer, so it will have to be run past him. I doubt he’ll have any problems, but, as I can’t read his mind, we’ll have to ask him,” the teen replied easily.
°°I’ll bet he’ll say yes just because he’ll never live it down if he doesn’t,°° Fawkes teased.
“Hush.” Harry shot the phoenix a sharp look. “Horrible bird, you are.”
Xylon watched the exchange with wide eyes, as did Galatea. Mad-Eye looked slightly impressed. “So, Fawkes chose you to understand him.” The ex-auror shook his head. “Why am I surprised?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Because you’re an idiot.” He snatched Mad-Eye’s flask as the man pulled it out to drink from it and hid it behind his back with a mischievous smile. “And not paying attention.”
Fawkes flew from Harry’s shoulder as Mad-Eye’s blue eye started twirling around in its socket wildly. “Hand it over, Potter.”
Harry winked. “Actually, I was planning on doing some science tests on i– YAH!” The teen dashed away from the pissed off ex-auror and twisted between other Order members, much to everyone’s amusement.
“That boy.” Dumbledore chuckled. “Times like this I can’t help but wonder how he’s lived so long.”
“How has he done it, sir?” Galatea whispered, watching the chase.
“Lots of luck,” the Headmaster decided. “And, oh, yes, he’s one very powerful and quite brilliant young man.”
Abandon the Prequel: Sixth Year
Abandon Chapters:
01 || 02 || 03 || 04 || 05 || 06 || 07 || 08 || 09 || 10
11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || 15 || 16 || 17 || 18 || 19 || 20
21 || 22 || 23 || 24 || 25 || 26 || 27 || 28 || 29 || 30
31 || 32 || 33 || 34 || 35 || 36 || 37 || 38 || 39 || 40
41 ||
Reclaim Chapters:
One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten
Eleven || Twelve || Thirteen || Fourteen || Fifteen
Epilogue
Side Stories:
Ginevra Weasley & Theodore Nott
Minerva McGonagall || Minerva McGonagall (again)
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