'Grimmauld Place'
Harry Potter gently woke from a bad dream, reliving seeing his parents again in the Little Hangleton graveyard with Cedric a month prior. The key slowly turned in the lock, Harry grabbing his wand before the key fell and the door burst open with a flash of light.
"Professor Moody?" Harry noticed his former teacher, "What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you, of course."
The ex-Auror loped out into the darkness of Privet Drive, a witch and a wizard crouched on both sides of the road facing away from the house, poised to defend Harry.
"Where are we going, the letter said I'd been expelled from Hogwarts?"
Moody grunted, "Well you haven't been, not yet. Kingsley, you take point."
"But the letter said..."
Kingsley Shacklebolt waved his hand, "Dumbledore has persuaded the Minister to suspend your expulsion, pending a formal hearing."
"A hearing?"
"Uh huh."
Everyone formed a line, apart from the witch and wizard, with Harry in the middle between Kingsley and Moody.
"Don't worry, Harry," an Auror-in-training, Tonks, reassured, "we'll explain everything when we get back to headquarters.
Moody growled at her, "Shh! Not here, Nymphadora!"
She turned, her bubblegum hair turning red in anger, "Don't call me Nymphadora."
Moody rolled his eyes, tapping his staff on the road, broomsticks flying into the hands of all of the witches and wizards, the two scouts turning around.
"Lori? Cedric?"
They smiled at him as they caught their brooms and mounted on the tarmac. Moody looked at them all, "Stay in formation, everyone. Don't break ranks if one of us is killed."
Harry looked at Moody in shock as they flew into the air, forming a defensive circle around him, with Lori and Cedric flying out at the sides as escorts.
They flew with the trails from the speed of their brooms causing the River Thames to swirl behind them, Moody's long coat skimming the water occasionally.
No one attacked them, or even seemed to notice them when they landed gracefully in the park by a long row of houses with wrought iron fences and balconies.
Moody went first, Lori and Cedric covering the rear as he hit his staff against the floor again, the entire row of houses shifting outwards to sprout a new dwelling.
"In ya go, son." Moody looked at Harry.
The house was gloomy on the inside, even more so than the exterior. Lori and Cedric pocketed their wands as they closed the door behind them, politely walking past Harry and into the meeting room.
"Keep your voices down!" Molly Weasley shouted as Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were deep in debate. Lori and Cedric slipped into adjacent chairs as Mrs Weasley bustled to drag Harry away from the meeting and upstairs.
Cedric was seventeen, so his parents couldn't stop him from helping out. In fact, they were active members of their group, though they didn't live at Grimmauld Place.
Lori still couldn't believe that her mother had let her, as she was still sixteen, but Remus and Moody had been all too complimentary of her skills, and she was granted a permanent place within their ranks.
She was the youngest member of the Order of the Phoenix, not even of the Age of Majority when she had joined up, the only Weasley child other than Bill that had been granted such an honour.
"We'll be eating down in the kitchen." Molly proclaimed as Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny came down to dinner, the twins apparating beside her and making her jump, "Just because you're allowed to use magic does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!"
Her children slipped past her as she hit Fred, just missing cuffing George and followed the steps down to the table.
"Are you sure you're all right, Harry?" Arthur asked, "You gave us quite a turn."
"Harry Potter." his godfather smiled.
"Sirius." he ran into his arms, Lupin smiling down at them.
*
"This is very, very peculiar," Arthur mused to Harry, "it seems like your hearing at ths Ministry is to be in front of the entire Wizengamot."
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I don't understand. What does the Ministry of Magic got against me?"
They looked between themselves for a few seconds, before Moody gruffly said, "Show him. He'll find out soon enough."
Kingsley passed Harry the newspaper, bearing his face with the caption: 'The Boy who Lies?' before morphing into Cornelius Fudge, saying that 'All Is Well'.
"He's been attacking Dumbledore as well. Fudge is using all his power, including his influence over the Daily Prophet to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned." Sirius explained.
Cedric nodded, his hand lacing with Lori's, "They were giving me a tough time of it a fortnight back. It's why I moved in here."
"But why?" Harry asked.
Lupin spoke up, "The Minister thinks Dumbledore is after his job."
"But that's insane! No one in their right mind could believe that Dumbledore..."
"Exactly the point." Lupin nodded, "Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped, by fear. Now fear makes people do terrible things, Harry, the last time Voldemort gained power, he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear."
Cedric looked down at Lori quickly, before turning his attention back to Remus, "Now, he's returned and I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing that terrifying truth."
Sirius looked at his godson, "We think Voldemort wants to build up his army again. Fourteen years ago, he had huge numbers at his command, not just witches and wizards, but all manner of dark creatures."
Harry looked down at the table as Sirius continued, "He's been recruiting heavily and we've been attempting to do the same, but gathering followers isn't the only thing he's interested in."
Moody coughed, trying to stop him.
"We believe Voldemort may be after something."
"Sirius." Moody tried again.
"Something he didn't have last time."
Harry looked at him, "You mean, like a weapon?"
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, Molly bustling forward and stopping him, "No, that's enough. He's just a boy. You say much more and you might as well induct him into the Order straight away."
"Good. I want to join. If Voldemort's raising an army, I want to fight."
Sirius smiled triumphantly, leaning back in his chair and shooting a look at Molly, winking at Harry.
*
Amos and Petronella Diggory appeared in the fireplace the next morning, just after Harry and Mr Weasley had left for the hearing.
Molly had had all the letters redirected from the Burrow to their home, as they lived in the same area, and Cedric's parents came every so often to bring mail to the Weasleys and Cedric.
Lori sat nervously at the table, barely able to eat as Mrs Diggory smiled and put a letter in front of her. Everybody fell silent, knowing exactly what was inside. Lori gnawed on her lip as she opened the envelope.
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
LORETTA JASMINE WEASLEY HAS ACHIEVED:
Astronomy - A
Care of Magical Creatures - E
Charms - O
Defence Against the Dark Arts - O
Herbology - E
History of Magic - A
Potions - O
Transfiguration - O
Lori smiled at the table, "I got two Acceptables, two Exceeds Expectations and four Outstandings."
They all cheered, Lupin and Moody looking at each other in unison, Lupin turning to Lori, "Was one of them Defence Against the Dark Arts, by any chance?"
She nodded, her mother pulling her into a hug, "Well done, Lori!" Molly pulled away, smiling at her oldest daughter.
The room went quiet as Amos placed a letter in front of his son, Petronella giving an envelope each to Ron and Hermione. Ron's eyes widened in terror, "Bloody hell."
Hermione jumped up in her seat, "Did you get the same letter?" Ron nodded, as if he was going to be sick, Hermione seeming to screech in delight, "We've just been made prefects!"
A thud against the kitchen floor indicated that Ron had fainted, the letter asking him to take up the post floating gently to the tiles beside him. He was on his feet a moment later, rubbing his head groggily.
Cedric looked at Lori in disbelief, "And I've just been made Head Boy."