Chapter 26
Amy's POV
I ran downstairs when Ron yelled up. "Harry's here!" he called.
Ginny and I ran downstairs to greet our friend. He was standing in the doorway, grinning.
I smiled. "You're finally here! Great to see you!"
"Yeah, you too!" he said.
"Here," Ron said. He grabbed Harry's stuff and ran upstairs with it.
"So, who's here?" Harry asked.
"Just us," Ginny said. "You, me, Amy, Ron, Fred, George, and Mom. Dad'll be here in a bit, and the rest are coming tomorrow."
"Cool," Harry said. "So, you all up for some quidditch?"
We played a Quidditch match. Me, Ron, and Fred on one team, and Ginny, Harry, and George on the other. My team won. After the match, it was pretty late, so we went to bed.
I was excited for the next day, because it was the day I would finally join the Order of the Phoenix.
The next morning
Hermione arrived the next day. She seemed fine from the little ... incident that had happened between me and her. Luckily, she still didn't remember a thing, and she never would. Or at least not for a very long time. And by that time everybody would be dead sooooo...
The rest of the Order arrived a little while after that. The first to arrive was Remus Lupin. From what I've heard of him, he was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's third year. Harry had told me that he was the one who taught him to make a Patronus. He was a werewolf as well. Best not forget that slight detail.
The second to arrive was Mad-Eye Moody. He creeped me out. He had one working eye. The other one was creepy. It was always swiveling around in it's socket. I tried to avoid him. He was also a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, in Harry's fourth year. Harry had told me that it wasn't really him, though. It was actually Barty Crouch Jr who had used Polyjuice Potion.
Of course, I had met Barty. He was nice enough. Weird, though. He always arrived in this weird blue box thing. And he used this kind of ... screwdriver instead of a wand.
Soon after, Tonks and Sirius arrived. Tonks was cool, with pink hair that changed color. She could change her appearance, such as making her nose turn into a beak or a pig snout. She was an auror who worked at the Ministry. She was funny, but very clumsy.
Then there was Sirius. I had heard a lot about Sirius from Harry. Sirius was Harry's godfather. He was in Azkaban once, and escaped. As far as I had heard, Harry looked up to him a lot. Apparently, Harry's dad and Sirius had been best friends. Harry had only met Sirius two years ago.
I met all of them as they arrived. They were all really nice, which didn't surprise me. The entire time, I planned about how to infiltrate them. I knew in the back of my mind that I wouldn't necessarily be joining them, but kind of just ... meeting them.
Later on, I was upstairs with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George. We were all sitting in Ron's bedroom talking.
"So how is it being in the Order of the Phoenix?" I asked.
"Well, we're not really in it," Fred replied.
"Yeah, we're not even invited to the meetings," George said.
"We always end up spying on them instead," Ron said.
"Extendable ears." George pulled out a stringy substance. "We can hear everything. Do you wanna hear?"
"Yeah," I said, grinning.
This was going to be easier than I thought.
The rest of the kids and I crept to the top of the stairs. George dropped the extendable ears down the balcony. As it neared the door behind which the Order was meeting, some tinny voices were audible through the end of the ear George was holding.
"So, the girl?" That was Lupin. I could only assume 'the girl' was me.
"We have to be cautious." Mad-Eye.
"About what?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "She's just a girl. What could she do?"
I snorted.
"You'd be surprised what mere children can do," Sirius responded. "Although I personally see no issue with her. I'd be open to inviting her over during vacations and such."
There was a pause. "I still think we need to be careful. You can't trust anyone these days." That was Mad-Eye again. Jerk.
"I agree with Sirius. She seems like a fine young lady. As far as joining, she is only a child," Lupin pointed out.
Child my ass. I frowned. I suppose at least befriending the Order was better than nothing.
The rest of the stay was uneventful. It was fun, I had to admit. The Weasleys were very nice and the Order was as well.
Oh my god, what is this crap pouring from my mouth? I never say nice things!
Maybe it was the Order getting to me. After a few more days I would be going back home and then back to school. We had the OWLS in a few months. I was not looking forward to that. Even though my father had trained me in so many ways, I still felt nervous. And also even though I wasn't technically supposed to be at Hogwarts, I had this feeling that my father was expecting me to do well.
Oh, it would be a fun conclusion to this year.
Hermione's POV
I sat with Ron and Harry upstairs while Amy, Ginny, Fred, and George played Quidditch outside. I watched Amy out the window.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked.
I turned my head. "What? Oh, nothing," I said. "Really, nothing at all. I'm fine."
"You know, if you're feeling sick or anything -" Ron began.
"I said I'm fine, Ronald!" I exclaimed. "It's - it's nothing."
"No, it's not nothing," Harry said. "Tell us what's wrong."
"Oh, alright, then," I muttered. "When I was attacked at school ... well, I just have this bad feeling in the back of my mind."
"Do you know who did it?" Ron asked.
"No, I don't remember anything. I just have this feeling. Something about Amy ..." I trailed off.
"You mean you think Amy did it?" Harry asked disbelievingly.
"No, no, no, of course not," I said, waving my hands in protest. "Amy's really nice. She wouldn't do anything like that. I just ... I think there's something she's not telling us."
I paused before continuing. "We need to find out what it is."
Amy's POV
I hopped downstairs, hoping to nick some of Ron's left over Easter candy to snack on later on. It was late, but I was very much a night person. I walked on my tip toes to avoid detection. Some of the Order was still here. Running into, say, Mad-Eye would not be one of my favorite things to happen. I saw baskets of candy on the top of the shelves. A devious grin spread across my face. I climbed up on the counter and reached for the candy. I had left my wand upstairs and by now going back was not an option.
This candy was mine. I had to really stretch for the candy. "Oh come on," I muttered. "I'm the bloody Dark Lord's daughter." I just barely missed it. The tips of my fingers were a hair away. "I just want some - damn it! - bloody candy!"
Finally I grabbed it, yanking it down to me. I hopped off of the counter holding the candy. Grinning to myself, I didn't realize that there was someone standing behind me.
"Having a late night snack, are we?" It was Sirius.
I blinked, stepping backwards. "Ron - Ron said I could have some." My explanation was hardly sufficient, I know, and a complete lie.
Sirius winked. "I won't tell."
I stood cautiously. I had been carelessly talking about my heritage. I didn't know if he had overheard me or not. "Thanks," I muttered.
"Next time don't be as loud. I heard you coming down the stairs from the next room," Sirius added. "You'll get caught if you don't watch out."
He seemed friendly enough. I smiled. "Thanks for the advice. Are you looking for apprentices to teach about the life of crime?"
Sirius chuckled. "I wouldn't know much about that."
I nodded. "You're innocent, aren't you?"
He looked down. "I guess that's all up to interpretation."
"Well, I believe you," I replied. "And all of these people believe you. And if they believe you, then you must be a good person."
"What about you?" he asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Sirius grimaced. He gestured with his head and turned around to go outside. I took this as a 'follow me' so I hurried after him. "You just said that I must be a good person because they believe you. Can you not trust your own judgment?"
We stopped walking when we got outside. The cool night air was somewhat of a refreshment. I hesitated. "It's not that. I ..." I couldn't find the right words. "I guess I'm a little biased, that's all."
"My family is like ..." I chuckled. "It's like pureblood mania and all. Slytherins too."
"My family was the same way," Sirius explained. "That's why I ran away. I was the only one not in Slytherin."
I snorted. "Not me. I think my dad would personally murder me if I wasn't in Slytherin."
Sirius put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you don't have to be just like your father. You're your own person. Your heritage doesn't define you. Do what you want. Take a risk. Its your life, anyway."
Sirius began to walk away. I turned around quickly. "Wait - what did you hear? Earlier, when I was getting the candy."
Sirius paused. "I didn't hear anything."
I sighed. "Okay."
He smiled sympathetically. "I know what it's like to be an outsider. And I know what it's like to keep secrets from friends. But be careful. Some secrets can be dangerous."
I bit my lip. He had no idea how dangerous my secret was. As I heard Sirius leaving, I realized something.
I needed help.
"Wait!"
Sirius stopped and turned around.
"What if I'm a bad person?" I asked. I tried to keep the tremble out of my voice. "What if my secret is really bad?"
Sirius walked back over to me. "Amy, I want you to listen to me. You are not a bad person -"
"But what if -"
"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."
I looked up at Sirius. I fought to keep myself from crying.
The next thing I knew Sirius had pulled me close to his chest in a hug. I didn't know exactly how to react at first, since I was rarely hugged and when I was, I fought tooth and nail to get out of it.
But this time I didn't. This time I let myself be held. And then I let myself cry.