UITWAAIEN
(v.) to take a break to clear one's head; lit. "to walk in the wind"
TESSA DIDN'T THINK SHE WOULD BE SPENDING THE FIRST SATURDAY OF SUMMER CRASHING A PARTY. It was thirty past six in the evening, which meant that she'd arrived just in time to blend in with the crowd and not attract attention to herself.
It was the first week of July, an entire month after his birthday which was on the fifth of June — yet the Malfoys decided to arrange his extravagant party today when there was no distractions of school work. And of course — it just so happened to be a masquerade ball where Tessa had sneaked in uninvited.
It was all thanks to her ability to open doors, really — how else would she have dared to walk right into the enemy's lair without their knowledge. You could say she was either recklessly stupid or a daredevil.
She pulled her long, black coat tighter around her body to conceal the dress she was wearing, playing it cool by taking a sip of refreshments offered around to the guests in the enormous hall decorated in glittering silver. The men were garbed in black or dark grey dress robes whereas all the women were in marvelous shades of green, silver, or black. It looked like they came fresh out of Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin friends' closet.
Speaking of Pansy — Tessa subtly eyed the girl herself through the mask adorning her face. Pansy was dressed in a magnificent silver dress — strangely reminding Tessa of the one she wore to the Yule ball. He was nowhere around Pansy, however, except for Crabbe, Goyle, and her lackeys.
She felt someone sidle up next to her, and she glanced up to see Theo with a goblet in one hand as he kept his calculating gaze scanning the crowd. "Glad to see you made it in time," he mused at her, eyes shifting down to send her a sly grin.
Tessa rolled her eyes and hummed with a nod to his mask. "And what are you supposed to be?"
Theo tapped the end of his intricate mask. "A fox, of course." He glanced down at the dress concealed behind her coat. "And you?"
Tessa heard a witch calling the dancers to attention, and she handed Theo her own goblet as she winked. "You'll find out." With that, she slipped off her coat, carefully draping it on his arm as she strutted away from him. She couldn't stop the roll of her eyes upon hearing him whistle lowly from behind her at the way she sashayed her hips.
There was nothing modest in her sinful dress — the red, velvet fabric clinging to her skin in the elegance it offered. It was much shorter than her Yule ball dress, having it end in flowy material around her knees that was meant to appear as though she were fire itself when she'd spin. It covered up the front well, hanging around her in a halter neckline — but the demureness of it vanished upon seeing the way her bare back was exposed and the flesh of her thigh through the scandalous slit.
If Tessa were to crash a party and gain the attention of the dragon himself — what better way to do so than to dress up as his fire itself.
Fighting off the smirk that tugged on her lips, Tessa continued to saunter passed the crowd of people who had gathered to watch the dance. She took her place down the end of the line of females in position, ready for the music to start. She let her eyes graze down the males and found him almost instantly at the opposite end — his white suit cut close to accentuate his toned body stood out more than enough amidst the other men in dark suits.
He didn't see her yet, he was too busy staring off into the empty space with a bored expression — as though ready for the night to just end. And especially when she'd stripped the dye off her hair, leaving it tumbling down her bare back in its natural blue-black tone — he wouldn't have been able to recognize her right away.
The daunting trill of the music echoed throughout the hall, and Tessa felt her heart beat just a little bit faster. She didn't know how to slow dance — at least not until he'd taught her in the tiny space of their closet last year. And she most definitely didn't know how to dance the broken tango — but she'd begged her great aunt Leah to teach her.
And here she was — playing a dangerous game with fire as she let herself move to the rhythm, starting off with the boy who'd stood in front of her as the initial partner. He gripped her waist as they danced, his eyes skimming down her body as he murmured huskily, "And who do we have here? I don't believe we've met before."
Tessa paid attention to the beat of the music, recognizing it to be the moment they were to spin around for their second partner. Right before doing so, she slyly winked at the boy and said, "Not bad for a rabid dog, eh, Zabini?"
Shock and recognition flickered in his eyes just before Tessa spun around and found herself in the arms of a stranger. Perhaps it was a cousin of the Malfoy family — but he didn't really seem to care who she was, though he did raise an eyebrow in interest with what she was wearing.
They held each other's hands, with their free ones on her waist as they danced across the hall to the beat. He took her hands and together they spun around until —
Having calculated the pacing and steps with perfect precision, Tessa found herself spinning right into the arms of Draco Malfoy whose scent and warmth enveloped her immediately. "Tessa," he breathed out her name, sounding like a prayer in his lips. For a split second — the dance required of them to linger in the presence of their final partner. Their foreheads pressed and their noses touching, Draco's silver eyes brightened as they searched her hazel ones. "How — ?"
Tessa tightened her arms around his neck, reaching on her tiptoes to bring her lips grazing his ear as she purred, "Happy Birthday, Draco."
Something flickered in his eyes as they darkened considerably while a smirk broke across his devilishly handsome features. He took her hands in his as they danced to the beat echoing the hall, every touch between them igniting a fire they both felt in their bones.
He held her when she did a swift dip backwards, his hand supporting the back of her head before she pulled herself up. She turned around as he came up behind her, letting her arms cross so he could take her hands. With Draco pressed up behind her, she could feel his warm breath on her neck as they took a couple of steps to the rhythm of the beat.
"When'd you learn to dance, Braveheart?" his voice was so deep and sensual that it made Tessa's breath hitch in her throat when he dipped her and pulled her flushed against him.
Her arms were around him, holding him tightly as though he were the only thing left in the world to support her. "I took lessons for you," she crooned in his ear.
He raised an eyebrow as he took in the intricate gold mask and the upturn of her lips. "With another boy?"
She winked at him. "Finish this dance, and maybe you'll find out."
He brought her away from him to lift her up in the air before pulling her back again, but this time closer so he could murmur into her ear, "You cruel thing. Who knew you could be such a tease."
Tessa didn't even bother to force the blush away from her cheeks as she shifted around to stand side by side with Draco, their arms entwined around the other. The music grew to a crescendo as they stepped backwards to the beat, their eyes burning as they stared into one another as though nobody else in the room existed. The tension between them was palpable, and it made Tessa yearn for him like never before.
Tessa's heart was wildly thundering against her chest upon realizing the song was coming to an end. Once the final beat struck, she spun around before Draco grabbed her and then held her firmly with her leg hooked around him as she fell backwards to a dip. Her blood roared in her veins at the way her skin heated as Draco's fingers grazed the smooth flesh exposed from her dress's slit.
Slowly, he lifted her back up, his hands still holding her thigh and her waist. They were both breathing heavily when she pressed her forehead against his, neither of them speaking for a moment except to search the other's eyes.
Draco's eyes flickered down to the place he was still holding her — his hand broad and warm against her thigh — and he let out a shaky breath. "You're killing me, Braveheart."
Tessa couldn't help but to smile up at him, her chest heaving to catch her breath as she whispered, "Let's get out of here."
Draco grinned devilishly at her and set her back down on her feet before grabbing her hand as the dragon and his fire left the room.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
"Your room must be a mess," Tessa mused as they strolled side by side through his mother's sunflower garden.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not a mess — I just wanted to show you this place instead of my boring old room." He paused to raise an eyebrow at her. "Besides — why are you so insistent we go to my room? Unless — "
Tessa flushed and shoved his arm. "Shut up, you know I didn't mean it that way."
Draco burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling at the sides as his porcelain white hair fell atop his mask. He reached up and delicately removed it, moonlight glinting off the intricate designs of the dragon mask. He tucked it inside the pocket of his jacket and sent Tessa a glance. "How did you come here anyways?"
Tessa shrugged as they made their way leisurely toward the patio outside held up with beautiful, white-stone pillars. "I found a way — it's top secret," she said, sending him a teasing wink.
"But your mother — ?"
"My mother," Tessa cut in smoothly, a slight edge in her voice as she remembered what Catherine had said a week ago, "doesn't have a clue that I'm here."
They stood at the mouth of the garden for a short moment in silence, watching the gleaming moon amidst the scatter of stars.
"Thank you," Draco mumbled, flashing her a smile that made her insides melt. "I'm glad you came today."
Tessa fondly watched the soft planes of his aristocratic features and she returned his words, "Anything for you, Draco."
He recognized them as something flickered in his eyes. He looked away hastily to duck his head and hide the burning patch of red in his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he remembered something from earlier as he turned back to her again. "So — are you finally going to tell me how you got those dance lessons?"
Tessa crossed her arms and raised her chin up high. "Why the determined interest? Eager to know who I've been up close and personal with?"
Draco didn't laugh like she expected him to. Instead, he took a step over to her with those darkened eyes and cunning smirk of his. Another step closer made Tessa drop her hands to her side as she craned her neck up to look at him. "And what if I really want to find out about that? Will you tell me?"
Tessa swallowed, her throat bobbing as she took a step backwards — only to find herself pressed against the pillar. The stone was cold and smooth on her bare back, and she bit back a sudden gasp. She raised an eyebrow at Draco as she said in a surprisingly steady voice, "Information isn't handed out so easily — it comes with a price."
Draco cocked his head to the side to regard her for a second. And suddenly — he reached up to grab hold of his tie and loosened it as he popped open the first two buttons of his dress shirt. Tessa's knees nearly gave out on her upon seeing the exposed column of his throat.
He stepped closer and covered the distance between them as he rested an arm above her head. He was so close that it made her dizzy with something akin to a fierce want. Tessa's heart was pounding as Draco leaned down to level his mouth with her ear. His voice was a sensual purr, "Might you suggest what I can do to gain that piece of knowledge, Miss Potter?"
Tessa was at a loss of words — her mind was in absolute haywire and she couldn't find a single response to that.
Draco seemed to realize it, because a smirk tugged his lips. He brought himself lower, and nearly lost his mind when her body reacted on its own and practically gravitated closer to him. "Looks like this is an interesting predicament we've gotten ourselves into."
Tessa could barely even hear herself think with how the blood in her veins roared and the way the beast inside threatened to unleash itself. It nearly drove her to the brink of insanity when Draco reached a finger up to lightly graze her golden mask. Her body seemed to sing to him, wanting to be closer and closer to him.
He chuckled, the sound echoing deep in her bones. "You look ravishing tonight, Braveheart." Draco forced himself to push away from the pillar as he stepped backwards and slipped his hands in his pockets. His lips tugged up to that smile of fondness for her as his eyes shone like silver stars. "Exquisite as always."
Tessa took a moment to catch her breath and register what had just happened. She let her eyes glaze over the tall boy in front of her, and the way the moonlight casted a faint glow on his hair and gave him the appearance of an avenging angel.
He stretched an arm out between them, palm up to offer her his hand. He grinned at her when she took it as he helped her back upright. They continued to stroll along the bed of sunflowers, hand in hand with their fingers entwined together.
That's when she heard her voice.
Teressa Camille Valentine Potter, you will come back here this instant unless you want me to force you back.
The smile dropped from her face as her stomach twisted violently. She broke away from Draco's grasp as she stumbled on her feet.
Draco's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took a step forward. "Tessa, is everything okay — ?"
She brought a hand up to stop him from approaching her. She stayed silent as she waited for that voice again to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
I will give you until the count of ten before I spirit you back here myself to Grimmauld Place.
Tessa let out a strangled sort of noise of frustration and fury. She was breathing raggedly as she wildly looked up to Draco who was extremely confused. "I'm sorry," she blurted out as swiftly as she could, "I'm so, so sorry, but I have to go."
She was dashing to the door of the garden when Draco called out, "Is something wrong?"
"I've reached my curfew," she lamely reasoned.
"It's not even eight yet, Cinderella!"
She yanked open the door and turned back one last time to grin at him. "I'll see you back in school in two months." With that, she left the Malfoy manor and found herself entering Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
She practically stomped her way inside to where she found her mother sat in the middle of the room with Sirius standing behind her. Catherine had her book of spells opened on her lap, the first page settled on a Mind Communication Spell, and the other one on a Spiriting One's Body Spell.
Tessa was absolutely livid as she snarled, "I can't believe you did that!"
Catherine slammed the book shut as she rose to her feet. "You deliberately disobeyed my orders!" Sirius looked as though he wanted to either shrink or Disapparate from the room.
"You told me I can do whatever I want with Draco — "
"Not to walk headfirst into the Malfoy manor where every inch is crawling with Death Eaters!" Catherine retorted back furiously as she strode the room to her daughter. "I specifically told you last week not to go to the party tonight. I told you countless of times, and you lied to me by saying you weren't even planning on it."
"Why are being so judgmental to Draco? If only you'd open your eyes to see that — "
"This isn't even about Draco Malfoy, Tessa. This is about you disobeying me when I asked you to not go to the Malfoy manor where every single Death Eater will be. This is about your safety."
"Nobody even recognized me!" Tessa threw her hands up in the air.
Catherine shut her eyes, exhaling through her nose as an attempt to leash her temper. "Go upstairs," she said quietly, raising a finger to the staircase.
Tessa's mouth hung open as she stared back at her in disbelief. She looked passed her mother's shoulder to where Sirius stood. "Will you please, for Merlin's sake, tell Mum how prejudiced she's being — ?"
"I said, go to your room, Tessa," Catherine repeated in a louder voice with a stronger edge in it. "We'll talk about this again in the morning."
Sirius sighed and approached her, slowly resting a hand on the small of her back. "Tessa, your mother's right. We both just wanted you to be safe — "
Tessa made a sound of protest at that.
An inhuman growl escaped Catherine as her eyes gleamed a bright gold as all the windows in the room slammed shut with curtains drawn and lights flickering dangerously.
Breathing raggedly, Tessa swallowed hard as she spun on her heel and flew up the stairs to the vacant room she stayed in.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
Catherine sighed wearily, slumping down to her knees as Sirius sank down to catch her. She was crumpled on the floor with his arms around her when she whispered, "All I want is for her to be away from danger."
Sirius frowned. "Cat — "
"Is it really that wrong of me to shelter Tessa from them? She doesn't see that I'm not doing this to keep her from the boy — it's from the lot of them."
"Cat, look at me," Sirius murmured, reaching up to cup her face and bring them up to face him. His chest hurt at the way his heart constricted painfully with unrequited love. "I know how hard it is to accept the fact, but maybe you should take it easy on Tessa. Doing so does not in any way make you a bad mother, it makes you an understanding one."
Catherine was quiet, urging him to continue speaking.
"You don't have to be all rainbows and butterflies about it — but perhaps let her make her own decisions and learn from her mistakes. Then when she's ready to finalize her choices, you can slowly let yourself accept it. But you can't control every single thing she does, Cat." Sirius let a small smile lift his lips as he whispered, "James would've been here for both of you — keeping you two safe. It wouldn't have to be your job alone."
A broken sob left Catherine as she squeezed her eyes shut. He reached up to wipe away the tears with the pads of his thumbs.
"She needs you, Cat," Sirius went on. "She needs you now more than ever. And I know you have nothing against Draco, but don't let Lucius Malfoy cloud your judgement."
Catherine fell silent, breathing heavily as she let her thoughts mull over what Sirius had just said. After a moment, she opened her eyes to find him still fondly staring down at her. She offered him a weak smile. "Thank you, Paddy. What would I do without you?"
He grinned rakishly. "If Evans were here, she'd probably try to 'ground' you again."
Catherine broke out laughing, reaching up to wipe away her tears.
"You know," Sirius mused with a slight cock of his head to the side. "It's been a while since we've danced."
Catherine sent him a flat look. "It's been more than ten years — I'm pretty sure it's a little more than 'a while'."
Sirius extended a hand to her. "Can I have this dance?"
Melancholic recognition flickered in Catherine's jade green eyes as she slipped her hand in Sirius's, letting him tug her to her feet. "But there's no music."
He slid a hand to rest on her hip as they started to sway. His voice was so soft, the wind carried it when he whispered, "We don't need music."
And so the two of them stayed there — swaying to a melody only they knew of as they let the scars of the past encase around them. For a moment — just for that small moment — Catherine and Sirius were sixteen again.
ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ
It's been a month now that she'd been locked in the room. Once Tessa heard the news about Harry being attacked by the Dementors, she had tried to go to Privet Drive herself to retrieve him. But it would have been against Dumbledore's orders, so the Order has barricaded her inside to keep her from leaving. They placed a spell on the window and on the door to forbid anyone except Catherine from entering or leaving the place — Apparition included.
She was allowed to leave the room ever so often, but she was being eyed constantly to make sure she doesn't leave the place to go to Harry. Most of the Order were against putting her in solitary confinement — but Dumbledore's word was final on keeping Tessa locked in.
She was pacing the room one day when she heard commotion downstairs. She halted on her feet upon hearing her brother's furious yell, "SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT — WHO SAVED THE SORCERER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?"
Tessa'a heart stopped when she heard how bitter Harry's voice was toward Ron and Hermione downstairs.
"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"
Tessa reached down to grab the doorknob and rattling it to get it open. She didn't even have her wand — she was about to go mad.
"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING? CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR —"
Tessa stopped rattling for a moment as she shut her eyes. She remembered how her mother had created a bridge to communicate with her that time she'd sneaked out to the party. Mum, she said in her mind, open this door right now, I don't care if Dumbledore will —
The door clicked open as the spell was lifted.
"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON —"
Tessa yanked open the door and found herself magically entering the other room where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood in the middle of. Harry was breathing loudly, waves of anger rolling off of him as he still continued to shout.
"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER —"
"Harry," Tessa cut in, her voice was loud and clear as the boy snapped his gaze to her. Without another word, she crossed the room to where he stood and reached over to embrace him.
Harry was still angry — and he had every right to be — but now that his sister was here, he felt himself calm down. In a tight voice, he asked, "Where were you?"
She pulled back to look him in the eyes with an apologetic smile. "Locked up in a room for trying to escape to get to you."
"We couldn't even do anything to get her out," Hermione said desperately to him. "Harry, we're really sorry! You're absolutely right, Harry — I'd be furious if it was me!"
There was still a scowl present on his face but he sighed heavily and muttered, "What is this place anyway?"
"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," Ron replied.
"Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix — ?"
"It's a secret society," Hermione said quickly. "Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know- Who last time."
"Who's in it?"
"Quite a few people —"
"— we've met about twenty of them," Ron said, "but we think there are more . . . "
Harry looked up to them. "Well?" he demanded.
Ron blinked as he dumbly repeated, "Well what?"
"Voldemort! What's happening? What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?"
"We've told you, the Order don't let us in on their meetings," Hermione said nervously.
Tessa raised a hand. "And I've been banished to stay in the same room for weeks except for the occasional gallivanting around the house."
Ron put her hand down as Hermione said, "So we don't know the details — but we've got a general idea —"
"Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see," Ron explained. "They're really useful."
Harry blinked. "Extendable — ?"
"Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. Aunt Cathy claims she had no part in it — but I bet she was probably the one who suggested the idea. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum binning them. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realized what was going on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know —"
"— some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order —" Hermione added.
"— and some of them are standing guard over something. They're always talking about guard duty."
"Couldn't have been me, could it?" Harry sniped sarcastically. He paced the room with a thoughtful expression as he pointed at Tessa. "So if you've been locked up," he turned to Ron and Hermione, "What have you two been doing, if you're not allowed in meetings? You said you'd been busy."
"We have," Hermione said quickly. "We've been decontaminating this house, it's been empty for ages and stuff's been breeding in here. We've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms, and I think we're doing the drawing room tomo — " she broke off into a terrified scream as Fred and George Apparated into the room.
"Stop doing that!" Hermione said weakly to the twins.
Tessa beamed. "Hello, boys!" She opened up her arms to embrace the both of them, but George didn't even get to take a step before Fred encased her in his arms. "Oof — " Tessa squeaked and wheezed for air. "Fred — can't breathe."
He loosened his hold on her, gaze lingering on her as he smiled gently at her. "It's good to see you again, Tess."
She grinned back and opened her mouth to reply, only to have George barrel his way through and embrace her. "We missed you!" he exclaimed and let go of her to ruffle her hair. He turned to her brother and beamed. "Hello, Harry. We thought we heard your dulcet tones." George rested his arm on Tessa's head as though it were an armrest.
Fred whacked his twin's arm away from her as he said to Harry, "You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."
"You two passed your Apparation tests, then?" Harry asked grumpily.
"With distinction," Fred said, pulling out a long flesh-colored string.
"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," Ron said huffily.
"Time is Galleons, little brother. Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears. We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."
"You want to be careful," Ron said, staring at the ear. "If Mum sees one of them again . . ."
"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," Fred said just as the door opened to reveal Ginny.
"Oh hello, Harry! I thought I heard your voice." She turned to Fred and George and said, "It's no go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How d'you know?" George asked, crestfallen.
"Tonks told me how to find out. 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, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."
Fred sighed deeply. "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape?" Harry asked in surprise. "Is he here?"
"Yeah," George replied. "Giving a report. Top secret."
"Git," Fred huffed.
"He's on our side now," Hermione said reprovingly.
Ron snorted. "Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us . . . "
"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny added.
Harry sank down to a bed opposite to them as Tessa claimed the empty space next to him. "Is Bill here?" he asked. "I thought he was working in Egypt."
"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," Fred said. "He says he misses the tombs, but," he smirked, "there are compensations . . . "
"What d'you mean?"
"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" George said. "She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish —"
"— and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," Fred snickered as Tessa covered her mouth to conceal her own laughter.
"Charlie's in the Order too," George said, "but he's still in Romania, Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."
"Couldn't Percy do that?" Harry asked.
Tessa scowled darkly at that — she was still free to roam wherever she wanted to when the incident with Percy took place.
"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad," Ron told Harry in a tense voice.
"Why not?"
"Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying," Fred said.
"It's been awful," Ginny said sadly.
"I think we're well shut of him," George added.
"What's happened?" Harry said.
"Percy and Dad had a row," Fred explained. "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who shouts . . . "
"It was the first week back after term ended," Ron said. "We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted."
"You're kidding?" Harry said mildly.
"Yeah, we were all surprised," George murmured, "because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realized Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain . . . "
"So how come they promoted him?"
"That's exactly what we wondered," Ron said. "He came home really pleased with himself — even more pleased than usual if you can imagine that — and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts — Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."
"Only Dad wasn't," Fred said grimly.
"Why not?"
It was Tessa who grumbled, "Well, apparently Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore's name's mud with the Ministry these days, see," Fred said. "They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know- Who's back."
"Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks," George muttered, shaking his head bitterly.
"Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession —"
"But what's this got to do with Percy?" Harry interrupted in confusion.
"I'm coming to that. Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family — and Dumbledore."
Harry whistled lowly. "Bet Percy loved that."
Ron laughed emptily at that. "He went completely berserk. He said — well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been — you know — not had a lot of money, I mean —"
"What?" Harry was staring at him in completely disbelief.
"I know. And it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he — Percy — knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."
Harry let out a string of colorful words under his breath.
"Mum's been in a right state," Ron said. "You know — crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work — ignores him, I s'pose."
"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," Harry said slowly. "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof —"
"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row," Ron muttered. "Percy said the only evidence was your word and . . . I dunno . . . he didn't think it was good enough."
"Percy takes the Daily Prophet seriously," Hermione said.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked warily.
"Haven't — haven't you been getting the Daily Prophet?"
"Yeah, I have!"
"Have you — er — been reading it thoroughly?"
"Not cover to cover. If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn't it!"
Hermione flinched at the name but said, "Well, you'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they — um — they mention you a couple of times a week."
"But I'd have seen —"
Tessa reached over to give Harry's arm a squeeze as she said gently, "Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't. I'm not talking about big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a standing joke."
"What d'you — ?"
"It's quite nasty, actually," Hermione said. "They're just building on Rita's stuff."
"But she's not writing for them anymore, is she?"
"Oh no, she's kept her promise — not that she's got any choice. But she laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now."
"Which is what?" Harry said impatiently.
"Okay, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that?"
"Yeah."
"Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something," Hermione blurted it all out. "They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears they say something like 'a tale worthy of Harry Potter' and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's 'let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next —' "
"I don't want anyone to worship —" Harry began hotly.
"I know you don't," Hermione said quickly. "I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going."
"I didn't ask — I didn't want — Voldemort killed my parents!" Harry spluttered. "I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never —"
"We know, Harry," Tessa said gently taking Harry's hands to comfort him.
"And of course, they didn't report a word about the dementors attacking you," Hermione said. "Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, out-of-control dementors. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy — we thought they would, it would tie in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off — we think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town — I mean, if you're expelled, obviously, you really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you."
Tessa scowled. "It's a stupid case that shouldn't even have been one in the first place. When I get my hands on those law books — "
Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Not again — "
Tessa raised a hand to silence her. "We're not talking about this."
At that exact moment, they heard footsteps approaching the doorway and the twins Disapparated with a pop. Molly Weasley pushed the door open to face them.
"The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now, everyone's dying to see you, Harry. You too, Tessa, we've all only seen you a handful of times. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"
"Crookshanks," Ginny lied with a straight face. "He loves playing with them."
"Oh, I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please . . . "
Ginny grimaced but got up and followed after her mother, leaving the other four alone once again.
"Look . . ." Harry started, but Ron shook his head at him as Hermione said, "We knew you'd be angry, Harry, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we did try and persuade Dumbledore —"
Ron joined in, "And we didn't want to be punished like Tessa, so we tried to be careful with persuading him — "
"Yeah, I know," Harry said grudgingly. He was quiet for a moment before asking, "Who's Kreacher?"
"The house-elf who lives here," Tessa responded.
"Nutter," Ron said with a click of his tongue. "Never met one like him."
Hermione frowned at Ron. "He's not a nutter, Ron —"
"His life's ambition is to have his head cut off and stuck up on a plaque just like his mother," Ron said irritably. "Is that normal, Hermione?"
"Well — well, if he is a bit strange, it's not his fault —"
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry as Tessa chuckled and said, "Hermione still hasn't given up on spew —"
"It's not 'spew'!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, and it's not just me, Dumbledore says we should be kind to Kreacher too —"
"Yeah, yeah," Ron said dismissively. "C'mon, I'm starving." He led the way outside to the landing, but right before they walked down the stairs, Ron flung an arm out to stop the other three. "Hold it! They're still in the hall, we might be able to hear something —"
The four of them peered over the banisters and found witches and wizards packed in the hallway. The group was whispering excitedly amongst one another, and Tessa's eyes shifted to see a familiar greasy-haired monkey.
"Snape never eats here," Ron told Harry quietly.
"Thank God," Harry mumbled back.
"C'mon."
"And don't forget to keep your voice down in the hall, Harry," Hermione whispered.
"We're eating down in the kitchen," Molly whispered once she met them at the bottom of the stairs. "Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall, it's through this door here —"
There was a loud crash that resonated throughout the hall and they whirled around to find Nymphadora Tonks sprawled on the floor.
"Tonks!" Molly cried out exasperatedly, but Tessa was already baiting her breath for what was next to come.
"I'm sorry!" Tonks wailed. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over —"
It was too late. A bloodcurdling screech sliced through the air, and Tessa winced at the noise. The curtains flew apart to reveal a portrait of an old woman screaming behind a window. At that, every single portrait in the house began to wake up and yell along with her.
Remus and Molly darted forward Ron try and bring the curtains back over the portrait of the woman, but she only screamed louder.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, ancient blood, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers —"
Tonks apologized over and over as Molly ran down the hall and Stunned all the other portraits with her wand. Just then, Tessa saw Sirius storm down the corridor to face the portrait with a furious expression.
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared as the old woman blanched upon seeing him.
"You!" she howled upon seeing Sirius. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"
"I said — shut — UP!" Sirius bellowed before he and Remus finally were able to cover the portrait with the heavy curtains.
With that — her screaming died down as a ringing silence buzzed throughout them all. Sirius was panting slightly when he turned to face them all. His eyes landed on Harry as he said grimly, "Hello, Harry, I see you've met my mother."
Harry didn't know what exactly to say. "Your — ?"
"My dear old mum, yeah," Sirius said. "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." He threw Tessa a grin. "Hey, Tessa — how've you been?"
"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked as they walked down the hall.
Tonks flashed Tessa a grin, slinging an arm around her as the two followed after Remus. "I missed you, little troublemaker."
"Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house," Sirius said. "But I'm 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."
They continued to walk until they reached the basement kitchen where Tessa found Molly, Arthur, Bill, Catherine, Uncle Kasi, and Mundungus Fletcher (who was fast asleep) all huddled together on a long table. They all glanced up and Catherine and Kasi instantly looked passed them all to settle their gazes of relief on Tessa. She offered them a slight quirk of her lips
"Harry!" Arthur exclaimed happily. "Good to see you!" He heartily clapped Tessa's shoulder. "You, too, Tessa!"
"Thanks, Mr. Weasley, you too," she chirped back before approaching where her mother sat as her uncle handed her her wand back. She instantly sighed once she felt the familiar length of it in between her calloused fingers, and she stuffed it back in her pocket.
Bill rolled up the remaining parchments on the table and called out to Harry, "Journey all right, Harry? Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"
"He tried," Tonks said, going over to help him when she accidentally sent a candle toppling onto the last piece of parchment. "Oh no — sorry —"
"Here, dear," Molly said exasperatedly and repaired the parchment with a flick of her wand. "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," she snapped before she started unloading dinner plates.
Bill took out his wand, muttered "Evanesco!" and the scrolls vanished.
Uncle Kasi grinned brightly at Harry. "Good to see you again, Harry. You've grown taller than last I saw you — was it last year?" Harry nodded back to him as he gestured to a chair for him to sit.
"Sit down, Harry," Sirius said. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"
Mundungus snorted awake with a jolt. "Some'n say m' name? I 'gree with Sirius . . . " He raised a hand in the air, his eyes unfocused.
"The meeting's over, Dung," Sirius said once they were all settled around the table. "Harry's arrived."
"Eh?" Mundungus peered over at Harry through his ginger hair. "Blimey, so 'e 'as. Yeah . . . you all right, 'arry?"
"Yeah," Harry mumbled back.
Tessa propped her chin on her hand as she wearily watched Mundungus fumble with his black pipe before sticking it in his mouth. Pillows of green smoke escaped him as he grunted, "Owe you a 'pology."
"For the last time, Mundungus," Molly seethed, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"
"Ah. Right. Sorry, Molly." The cloud of smoke vanished as he stuffed his pipe back in his pocket.
"And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand," Molly said with a slight bite to her voice. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey — Tessa, sit down — yes, thank you, Cathy dear — "
"What can I do, Molly?" Tonks asked, tagging along behind Catherine.
Molly hesitated, thinking of her clumsiness. "Er — no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today —"
"No, no, I want to help!" she said happily, knocking over a chair as she hurried toward the dresser of cutlery.
Soon enough, everyone else went off to help with making dinner except for Harry and Tessa who were left at the table with Sirius, Kasi, and Mundungus.
"Seen old Figgy since?" Mundungus asked as Harry filled Tessa in on what happened the past month.
"No," Harry replied, "I haven't seen anyone."
"See, I wouldn't 'ave left, but I 'ad a business opportunity."
Sirius bent down to pick up Crookshanks, settling the cat on his lap. Kasi eyed it wearily before turning to Harry. "Had a good summer so far?"
"No, it's been lousy," Harry grumbled.
"Could've been better," Tessa muttered with a pointed look to her uncle.
He rolled his eyes and gently knocked her head. "Wasn't talking to you, squirt. Consider it your punishment for paying a secret trip to the Malfoys — "
Tessa's jaw dropped as she swiveled to stare at Sirius who raised his hands up in defeat. "Don't look at me — I didn't tell him!"
She shifted in her chair to call out, "Mum!"
Catherine poked her head out of the kitchen. "Yes, love?"
"You told Uncle Kasi about what happened before my exile?" she cried out, briefly flashing her godfather a look as he muttered to Kasi on how dramatic she was.
"Of course I didn't," she protested before jerking her chin to Remus's direction. "He did."
Remus groaned and gave Kasi a flat look. "What part of 'Don't let Tessa know that you know' wasn't clear to you?"
Kasi merely grinned mischievously at that before ignoring his niece's annoyed look. Harry raised his hand. "What secret trip to the Malfoys?"
Tessa smiled sweetly and put down his hand. "You were saying about your summer?"
Sirius grinned at Harry. "Don't know what you're complaining about, myself. Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights . . . I've been stuck inside for a month." He rolled his eyes at his goddaughter raised brows. "Sorry, Tessa and I both have been stuck inside for a month," he corrected.
"How come?" Harry asked, frowning. "I know why Tessa was stuck — but why you, too?" he asked Sirius.
"Because the Ministry of Magic's still after him," Kasi explained.
Sirius nodded. "And Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now, Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix . . . or so Dumbledore feels."
Tessa frowned at the flat voice Sirius used generically mentioning the headmaster's name. "You've done a lot for the Order," she offered him comfort.
"Yeah, and at least you've known what's been going on," Harry added.
"Oh yeah," Sirius said sarcastically. "Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time . . . asking me how the cleaning's going —"
"What cleaning?" Harry asked.
"Trying to make this place fit for human habitation," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. "No one's lived here for ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages —"
"Sirius?" Mundungus suddenly spoke up, and Tessa almost forgot he was even there. He was examining a goblet. "This solid silver, mate?"
"Yes," Sirius said, eyeing the cup with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."
"That'd come off, though."
"Fred — George — NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Molly shrieked.
The five of them sitting at the table glanced up and instantly dived away. The twins had just sent a large cauldron of stew, a flagon of butterbeer, and a wooden breadboard with a knife hurtling through the air toward them. The stew skidded as butterbeer splashed everywhere while the knife embedded the spot where Sirius's hand had been earlier.
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! THERE WAS NO NEED — I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS — JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"
"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" Fred said, hurrying over to clean up. "Sorry Sirius, mate — didn't mean to —"
But they were all laughing loudly except for Mundungus who was swearing as he got to his feet.
"Boys," Arthur said warningly, "your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age —"
"— none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Molly slammed a fresh flagon of butterbeer on the table. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't Charm everything he met! Percy —"
She stopped dead at the name that slipped out of her as she turned to Arthur with a frightened look.
"Let's eat," Bill said quickly.
"It looks wonderful, Molly," Remus piped in and ladled stew into bowls to pass around the table.
For a couple of minutes, silence ensued around them except for the passing of bowls and scraping of cutlery against the plates.
Finally, Molly turned to talk to Sirius, "I've been meaning to tell you, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."
"Whatever you like," Sirius said indifferently.
"The curtains in there are full of doxies too. I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."
"I look forward to it," Sirius replied sarcastically, but nobody seemed to hear it. Catherine raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.
The dinner table started to burst into life with everyone conversing with one another. Tonks was entertaining the kids with shifting her nose into different animal ones they'd requested. Bill, Arthur, and Mundungus were talking about goblin matters. Catherine, Sirius, Kasi, and Remus had their own conversations as well.
"Nearly time for bed, I think," Molly said after dessert.
"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius said, pushing aside his empty plate and turning to Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."
And just like that — the atmosphere in the room shifted into something palpable as every person went tense at the name.
"I did!" Harry cried out indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so —"
"And they're quite right," Molly cut in. "You're too young."
"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Sirius countered. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen —"
"Hang on!" George interrupted loudly.
"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" Fred said angrily. "We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!"
"'You're too young, you're not in the Order,'" Fred mimicked his mother's high-pitched voice. "Harry's not even of age!"
"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius said calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand —"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Molly said sharply. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
"Which bit?" Catherine spoke up this time, trying to keep her voice steady as she backed Sirius.
"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," Molly said with emphasis on the last three words.
Tessa was frowning as she glanced from Molly to Sirius and to her mother in repeat.
"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly," Sirius said. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to —"
"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Molly protested. "He's only fifteen and —"
"— and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," Catherine cut in, "and more than some —"
"No one's denying what he's done! But he's still —"
"He's not a child!" Sirius said impatiently.
"He's not an adult either! He's not James!"
Tessa stopped breathing — eyes focusing on the cold facade both Catherine and Sirius had put up. She gulped, knowing this was not going to end well now that her father had been mentioned.
"We're perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly," Catherine said in a stiff voice.
"I'm not sure you are!" Molly snapped and turned harshly to Sirius. "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
"What's wrong with that?" Tessa and Harry blurted out in unison, the rage spiking in them.
Molly replied without taking her eyes off Catherine and Sirius. "What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him! You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius demanded, his voice rising. Tessa's eyes caught a flash of movement, and looked to see Catherine had held Sirius's wrist to calm him down.
"Meaning you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and —"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" Sirius said loudly.
"Arthur!" Molly spun to stare at her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"
Slowly, Arthur took off his glasses and cleaned them with his robes before putting them back on. "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is staying at headquarters —"
"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"
"Personally," Remus spoke up quietly, "I think it better that Harry gets the facts — not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture — from us, rather than a garbled version from . . . others."
Kasimir coughed awkwardly as he raised a hand. "I agree." Remus put his hand back down.
Molly was breathing heavily as she looked around the table. "Well . . . I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Harry's best interests at heart —"
"He's not your son," Sirius said quietly.
"He's as good as," Molly said fiercely. "Who else has he got?"
"He's got me and Cathy!"
"Yes," Molly said, her lip curling to a snarl. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?" She glided her eyes to pierce through Catherine's. "You haven't been back from the dead since last year either to watch Harry or your own daughter grow."
Tessa sucked in a sharp breath as Sirius stood up from his seat, serving as a barrier between Molly and Catherine who had looked as though she'd been physically wounded.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," Remus said sharply. "Sirius, sit down."
He begrudgingly sat down, and Tessa watched silently as Sirius reached down instantly to hold Catherine's hand comfortingly under the table.
"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," Remus continued. "He's old enough to decide for himself."
"I want to know what's been going on," Harry said at once.
"Very well," Molly said after a moment's pause. "Ginny — Ron — Hermione — Tessa — Fred — George — I want you out of this kitchen, now."
Everyone roared in response at that toward her. It was Catherine's turn to rise from the table to defend Tessa on how she was her mother, and it was her say on whether Tessa would listen in or not.
"We're of age!" Fred and George bellowed together.
"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Ron shouted.
"Mum, I want to!" Ginny wailed.
"NO!" Molly shouted over them. "I absolutely forbid —"
"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," Arthur said wearily. "They are of age —"
"They're still at school —"
"But they're legally adults now."
Molly was turning red but she huffed. "I — oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron —"
"Harry and Tessa will tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway! Won't — won't you?" he added, turning to the two siblings.
Tessa nodded vigorously as Harry said, " 'Course we will."
"Fine! Fine! Ginny — BED!"
Ginny didn't have a choice — she stormed up the stairs raging and exclaiming nastily all the way to the room. Sirius's mother let out her ear-shattering screech once Ginny passed, and Remus hurried out to cover the portrait before returning once calm ensued.
"Okay, Harry," Sirius said once Remus settled back in his seat, "what do you want to know?"
Harry took a deep breath before asking, "Where's Voldemort? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything —"
"That's because there haven't been any suspicious deaths yet," Catherine replied, "not as far as we know, anyway . . . And we know quite a lot."
"More than he thinks we do anyway," Remus added.
"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked.
"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself at the moment," Kasimir explained.
Sirius nodded in agreement. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."
"Or rather, you messed it up for him," Remus said with a smile.
"How?" Harry asked perplexedly.
"You weren't supposed to survive!" Sirius said. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."
"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," Catherine added. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."
"How has that helped?" Harry asked.
"Are you kidding?" Bill said incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"
"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned," Sirius said.
"So what's the Order been doing?" Harry looked around them all.
"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans."
"How d'you know what his plans are?"
"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," Remus threw in, "and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."
"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"
"He wants to build an army, that's for sure," Tessa said quietly as she shared a look with her mother. She knew what they were both thinking, but didn't say it aloud: an army with either of their blood to strengthen their powers with the ancient magic of Merlin himself.
Sirius nodded at her. "Tessa's right. In the old days he had huge numbers at his command; witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one group he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."
"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?" Harry questioned.
"We're doing our best," Kasimir murmured.
"How?"
"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," Bill explained. "It's proving tricky, though."
"Why?"
"Because of the Ministry's attitude," Tonks spoke up. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."
"But why?" Harry said desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore —"
"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," Arthur interrupted with a wry smile. "Dumbledore."
"Fudge is frightened of him, you see," Tonks said sadly.
"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Harry repeated incredulously.
"Frightened of what he's up to," Arthur corrected. "You see, Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."
"But Dumbledore doesn't want —"
"Of course he doesn't. He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."
Remus added, "Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice. But it seems that he's become fond of power now, and much more confident. He loves being Minister of Magic, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."
"How can he think that?" Harry said angrily. "How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up — that I'd make it all up?"
"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," Catherine muttered bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilize him."
"You see the problem," Remus said. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumormongering, so most of the Wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"But you're telling people, aren't you?" Harry said, looking around at them. "You're letting people know he's back?"
They all smiled humorlessly.
"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand-Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius said restlessly.
"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," Remus said as he shared wry looks with Kasimir who tipped his head at Harry and said, "It's an occupational hazard of being werewolves."
"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off," Sirius said, "and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."
"We've managed to convince a couple of people, though," Arthur said. "Tonks here, for one — she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage — Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset too. He's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."
"But if none of you's putting the news out that Voldemort's back —" Harry began.
"Who said none of us was putting the news out?" Sirius said. "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"
"What d'you mean?"
"They're trying to discredit him," Remus said. "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot — "
Tessa pounded a fist against the table. "I still think that's completely preposterous of them to do so."
" — and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."
"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," Bill said, grinning.
"It's no laughing matter," Arthur dismissed him. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Dumbledore's out of the way — well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."
"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters, it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" Harry asked desperately.
"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry," Catherine said. "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practiced at operating in secrecy. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in, he's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on them at the moment."
"What's he after apart from followers?"
Sirius, Remus, and Catherine exchanged a very brief and subtle look.
Sirius coughed. "Stuff he can only get by stealth."
Harry still looked puzzled. Sirius discretely glanced at Catherine who gave him an unnoticeable shake of her head. One that nobody in the room noticed except for Sirius himself.
"Like a weapon," Sirius said one of two matters. "Something he didn't have last time."
"When he was powerful before?"
"Yes."
"Like what kind of weapon? Something worse than the Avada Kedavra — ?"
"That's enough."
Everyone looked over to where Molly was standing in the shadows next to the door, her arms were crossed and her face was dark with fury. "I want you in bed, now. All of you."
"You can't boss us —" Fred began.
"Watch me," she snarled at her son before turning to Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."
"Why not?" Harry said quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight —"
It was Remus who quietly said, "No. The Order is comprised only of overage wizards. Wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you . . . I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."
Sirius half shrugged at that and Molly beckoned everyone to follow after her up the stairs. One by one, the twins, Ron, Hermione, and Harry got up. Tessa turned inquisitively to her mother who smiled softly and nodded once at her. And so, she too, got up and followed the others out of the room.
A/N
You have no idea how much I wanted you guys to read the first half of this chapter omg I even had a draft of the broken tango scene BEFORE taco/dressa's first dance in the closet.