PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

65. harry's arrival

     "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 the flight of stairs leading to the basement kitchen, the other just behind them.

     "Hasn't anyone told you? This is my parents' house," said Sirius. "And for the longest time we thought I was 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."

     Aspen sent Sirius a look of sympathy.

     The bitterness in Sirius' voice was very obvious. She knew how he felt about being cooped up inside Grimmauld Place all the time, for she was forced to do the same. She let out a sigh as they walked through the door.

     Mr. Weasley and Bill were talking quietly with their heads together at the end of the meeting 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!"

     Bill was hastily rolling up the lengths of parchment left on the table from the Order meeting.

     "Journey all right, Harry?" called Bill, 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 sending a candle toppling 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 light emitted from Mrs. Weasley's wand, Aspen was able to catch another glimpse of the building they kept talking about in Order meetings.

     Mrs. Weasley snatched up the parchment and shoved it into Bill's arms.

     "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," she snapped before sweeping off, fixing the plates and cutlery Aspen left abandoned earlier.

     Bill took out his wand, muttered, "Evanesco!" and the scrolls vanished.

     "Sit down, Harry," said Sirius. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

     Mundungus, who looked like a pile of rags, gave a grunted snore and then jerked awake.

     "Some'n say m' name?" Mundungus mumbled sleepily. "I 'gree with Sirius..."

     He raised a very grubby hand in the air as though voting, his droopy, bloodshot eyes unfocused. Ginny giggled.

     Sometimes Aspen wasn't sure why Mundungus was in the Order, he clearly didn't want to be there. Apparently Dumbledore got him out of a sticky situation one time and has his loyalty. But he also heard a lot of things the other members didn't, seeing as he was considered a crook. He was also supposed to be watching over Harry when he got attacked by dementors, but he left because there was a business opportunity.

     "Dung, the meeting's over," Aspen told him as they all sat down around the table.

     "Harry's arrived," said Sirius.