Unfathomable Desire

Chapter 17

I spent the morning helping Mrs. Weasley clean. I realized, as we moved from room to room, that I hadn't seen much of the house my first time here. We entered a type of family room with a large tapestry of a family tree.

"Sirius' family," Mrs. Weasley told me when she noticed me eyeing it.

I tried finding Sirius, but when I did, his face had been scratched off.

Sirius had breakfast with us but once we started cleaning, he disappeared. Mr. Weasley was in and out of the house, and other than that, everything was quiet. I slipped into my room before dinner to get some homework done; even though I was in the Order, I was still a student and needed to pass my final year. Mrs. Weasley called me down for dinner.

I walked into the dining area to find it brimming with life. There were much more people here than before, all gathered around the table, talking while Mrs. Weasley and a girl with purple hair waved their wands to magically carry all the food from the kitchen onto the table.

"Y/n," Sirius called my name from down the table. "I saved you a spot."

Eager to sit with someone I knew, I made my way to him. He was sitting beside a man with light brown hair and scars all over his face.

"This is Remus Lupin," Sirius told me, gesturing towards the man.

"Nice to meet you, I'm y/n l/n," I shook his hand.

"I've heard a lot about you," Remus told me. "Dumbledore really believes you might be of use to us."

He smiled and I returned this smile, but his words made me nervous. It put a lot of pressure on me.

I scanned the table to see if Snape was here. He was not. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat close to us, and the purple hair girl sat next to me and introduced herself as Tonks.

Sirius noticed me looking at the others, as everyone began to serve themselves. "That man over there," he pointed towards a dark skinned man, who looked serious and powerful. "His name is Kingsley. And beside him is Mad-Eye Moody," he pointed towards an older man, with a glass eye bulging out of his eye socket. A cane rested against the table next to him. "That little guy there is Mungungus Fletcher, we like to ignore him." Sirius gestured towards a nervous-looking man. "You might recognize the man beside him as a Weasley," Sirius pointed towards a red-headed man talking with Kingsley. "That's Bill."

"I'm not going to remember all these names," I said, eyeing Mad-Eye Moody. "Is this everyone?"

"Nearly," Remus said, listening to our conversation. "Our numbers are small. Not everyone can make the meetings, though."

I started eating, trying not to focus on the fact that the Order was tiny and You-Know-Who was extremely powerful. As I ate, I listened to Sirius and Remus' conversation. They appeared to be good friends, able to joke around in serious conversation.

When everyone had finished eating, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley whisked the plates away to the kitchen. People continued talking and I excused myself to use the washroom. When I had come back, Severus Snape was standing near the wall, waiting. I went to stand beside him.

"Hello," I greeted him.

He glanced down at me, then returned to staring at the opposite wall and said nothing.

"When does the meeting start?" I asked him.

Snape sighed and glanced at his watch. "Any moment now."