Author's Note:
I have made edits to the previous chapter, starting at "Grimmauld Place began to get quite boring."
These edits were made to help readers who may not have read the books, and just to help smooth out the timeline. If you don't go back to read these edits, things will still make sense, but it may seem like I skipped over a lot.
Enjoy reading!
***
I sat upstairs with Ron and Hermione, anxiously waiting for Harry's arrival.
In the past four days, Harry had performed magic outside school, been expelled, and was now being rescued from the Dursleys' by the Order of the Phoenix.
After what felt like hours of waiting, the bedroom doorknob started to turn.
Harry pushed open the door, and Hermione didn't hesitate to throw herself onto him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat.
"HARRY! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless—"
Hermione began to ramble on and on, and Ron and I exchanged amused glances.
"Let him breathe, Hermione," said Ron, grinning, closing the door behind Harry.
"Sorry about our letters," I said nervously, suddenly feeling guilty for the lack of communication I had kept with Harry. "We wanted to give you answers, but Dumbledore made us—"
"— swear not to tell me," said Harry. "Yeah, I know."
There was a strained silence, and I knew Harry was upset. But I would be too if the same had happened to me.
"I think he thought you were safest with the Muggles—" Ron began.
"Yeah?" said Harry, raising his eyebrows. "Have any of you been attacked by dementors this summer?"
"Well, no— but that's why he's had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you all the time—"
"Didn't work that well, though, did it?" said Harry, his tone growing more impatient. "Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?"
I shifted uncomfortably where I was standing. Surely Harry had to understand that we were sworn to secrecy?
"Not even my own godmother sent me a letter!" Harry glowered at me as he spoke.
"Harry, come on, she's been busy with Order stuff, and work—" I replied defensively.
"So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you three get to join in everything that's going on here?" said Harry, his voice growing louder with every word. "How come you three are allowed to know everything going on—?"
"We're not!" Ron interrupted. "Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young—"
"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER!" Harry was shouting now.
Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly at a loss for anything to say. Hermione looked on the verge of tears.
"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER—"
"Harry, we're really sorry!" said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. "You're absolutely right, Harry— I'd be furious if it was me!"
There was another uncomfortable silence while Harry calmed down.
"What is this place anyway?" he finally asked, quieter than before.
"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," said Ron at once.
"Is anyone going to bother to tell me what the Order of the Phoenix—?"
"It's a secret society," said Hermione quickly. "Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time."
"Who's in it?" said Harry.
"Quite a few people—"
"— we've met about twenty of them," said Ron, "but we think there are more..."
"Miranda's joined," I informed Harry. "But we haven't been able to get much information out of her."
We went on talking before two loud cracks echoed in the air, and Fred and George Apparated into the room.
"Stop doing that!" Hermione said weakly to the twins.
"Hello, Harry," said George, beaming at him. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."
"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," said Fred, also beaming. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."
"You two passed your Apparition tests, then?" asked Harry grumpily.
"With distinction," said Fred, holding what looked to be a string of an Extendable Ear. "Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."
"You want to be careful," said Ron, staring at the ear. "If Mum sees one of them again..."
"It's worth the risk," said Fred.
The door opened and Ginny appeared in the doorway.
"Oh hello, Harry!" she said brightly. "I thought I heard your voice." turning to Fred and George she said, "It's a no go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How d'you know?" said George, looking crestfallen.
"Tonks told me how to find out," said Ginny. "You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it."
Fred sighed. "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape?" said Harry quickly. "Is he here?"
"Yeah," said George, carefully closing the door and sitting down on one of the beds. "Giving a report. Top secret."
"Git," said Fred idly, taking a seat next to George.
I sat down by Fred, though I made sure not to get too close. I wasn't sure that Ron or Harry were aware of our relationship yet, and I was fine keeping it that way.
The conversation continued until there was a sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Uh-oh." Fred gave the Extendable Ear a hearty tug; there was another loud crack and he and George vanished.
Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley appeared in the bedroom doorway.
"The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now, everyone's dying to see you, Harry. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"
"Crookshanks," said Ginny unblushingly. "He loves playing with them."
"Oh," said Mrs. Weasley, "I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please..."
I headed out the door after Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, leaving Ron and Hermione alone with Harry.
Out in the hall, I looked cautiously over the banisters. The hallway was packed with witches and wizards, whispering together.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione came out of the bedroom moments later, also interested in the conversations happening below us.
The flesh-colored string of an Extendable Ear descended in front of my eyes. All four of us looked up to see Fred and George on the landing above.
However, the group of people began moving closer to the front door and out of sight.
"Dammit," Fred whispered, hoisting the Extendable Ear back up again.
I heard the front door open and close, meaning everyone had gone.
"Snape never eats here," Ron told Harry quietly. "Thank God. C'mon."
"And don't forget to keep your voice down in the hall, Harry," Hermione whispered.
"We're eating down in the kitchen," Mrs. Weasley whispered, meeting us at the bottom of the stairs.
CRASH.
"Tonks!" cried Mrs. Weasley exasperatedly, turning to look behind her.
"I'm sorry!" wailed Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over—"
But the rest of her words were drowned by a horrible, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screech.
This was the sole reason I liked to hide away in my room. The portraits on the wall could not be disturbed, otherwise they would erupt into horrible screams.
There was one portrait that was the loudest. Usually, it was covered by dark curtains, but as Tonks made an excessive amount of noise, the curtains shot open.
An old looking woman was shrieking, her eyes looking as though they were popping out of her skull.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers—"
Tonks kept apologizing while Mrs. Weasley hurried up and down the hall, Stunning the other portraits with her wand.
At this moment, Sirius came charging out of a door.
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared.
"Yoooou!" she howled, "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"
"I said— shut— UP!" Sirius and Lupin managed to shut the curtains covering the portrait, and the screaming died down.
"Hello, Harry," Sirius said grimly, "I see you've met my mother."