A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 14: The Order of the Phoenix

Severus arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place late in the summer months as the sun slipped from the sky, replaced by the moon shining above him sitting against the darkness of the night sky. Severus stared at the building, breathing in the cool summer air, dreading going into that building. Severus felt a familiar pit growing in his stomach; he constantly had that pit in his stomach. Not because of Voldemort, not because of the Order of the Phoenix, not because of the Ministry, but because of Laura. He had tried to find her several times over the summer, but still had no idea where she was.

Even though Severus and Laura had only dated for about six months, he had fallen hard for her long before they started dating, and he felt they had a special bond. Maybe because of their pasts, maybe because they both felt like outsiders, maybe because neither of them really had a family. Severus wasn't sure why they had a special bond, but he missed it. He missed her. He missed Laura being nearby.

Severus tried to tuck his thoughts of Laura into the depths of his mind as he walked into headquarters. He felt dread going into this meeting, knowing Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would be attending. He knew there would be others there, most likely many of the Weasleys, and Mundungus Fletcher, amongst others.

Severus entered the dining area and found several members in attendance. There were already in-depth discussions about the prophecy between Voldemort and Harry. Many members believed Voldemort would be after the prophecy but had not had confirmation of this idea yet.

"The Dark Lord is after the prophecy but will have a difficult time getting it considering prophecies can only be retrieved by those who the prophecy is about, but he will try to get it. He has not divulged how he plans to attain it." Severus scanned the room with his eyes as everyone stared at him, alarmed looks on their faces. "But there is another issue that needs to be discussed," Severus paused, "I believe the Dark Lord is trying to build an army."

"We assumed so, Severus. Why bring that up now if we all know he'll do that anyway?" Sirius asked.

Severus glared for a moment. "My concern is that he is going to try to break his loyal followers out of Azkaban and since no one believes he's back, the ministry will most likely pin it on someone else or ignore it."

No one said a word as they all let it sink in that some of Voldemort's most loyal followers would soon be walking around freely, and the order could do nothing to stop it.

"Harry needs to know about the prophecy. He needs to know about how the ministry has been attacking him and Dumbledore," Sirius said.

An appalled look appeared quickly on Molly Weasley's face. "He's only a boy! You can't tell him anything! He doesn't need to know any of this!"

The door of the dining area flung open. Mad Eye Moody and several other members of the order walked in, leaving the door open.

"For Merlin's sake, Molly! He needs to know! We can't hide this! We have to tell him, and we have to act now!" Sirius yelled, eyes drifting to the open door.

Everyone turned towards the door, realizing Harry was standing there. "Harry!" Molly yelled, quickly walking towards him, engulfing him in a warm hug. "Bit peaky? Dinner will be ready after the meeting, all right? Ron and Hermione are upstairs. Why don't you head up?"

"But—" Harry went to speak, but Molly stopped him. "No buts! Upstairs! First door on the left!" Molly gave him a warm smile before shutting the door in his face. Molly turned towards everyone. "Where were we?"

"I was telling you that Harry needs to know the truth," Sirius said calmly.

"And I told you that he's just a boy!" Molly snapped.