The World as We Knew It

Harry stared at Peter Pettigrew, the man responsible for his parents' deaths. But, a little voice in his head said rationally, your parents are alive. Peter never betrayed them over to the Dark Lord in this reality.

But what if he's a Death Eater? He was one before the Prophecy was made... said another, more cautious voice.

Harry glanced at Lupin, who seemed to be thinking quickly. Harry hoped Lupin had remembered that Pettigrew might still be under the service of Lord Voldemort. If Pettigrew learned about the Horcruxes and the plans to destroy the pieces of Voldemort's soul... If he took the information back to his master, everything would be ruined. Voldemort would undoubtedly hide his Horcruxes in places no one would ever be able to find them, and take measures to murder anyone who could possibly ever have learned of the Horcruxes, thus destroying all possibilities that someone might ever defeat him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Lupin's wand move an inch. Suddenly he heard Lupin's voice whispering in his ear. "Don't say anything. I'll take care of this. Pettigrew will not find out about the Horcruxes."

Harry jumped a little, startled. No one else around him seemed to have heard the message. He looked over at Lupin, and the older man nodded.

"You haven't missed anything, Peter," Sirius was saying pleasantly. "Have a seat. Remus was just about to tell us why he called this meeting."

Lupin cleared his throat. "Well, I've been thinking a lot over the last few months, and I've come to the conclusion that we should re-form the Order of the Phoenix."

"For what purpose?" Frank Longbottom said loudly.

"There's no point," said a grey-haired witch Harry did not recognize. "We'll just get ourselves all killed."

"We failed. There's nothing else we can do against You-Know-Who," Kingsley Shacklebolt said, his shoulders slumped.

Lupin shook his head. "I refuse to believe that. I have not been idle in my ten months of absence. I have been studying, planning, and thinking. I believe I have come up with some plans that may effectively pose a threat to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Harry noticed that Lupin's gaze paused slightly on Peter Pettigrew as Lupin uttered the last words.

"What kind of plans are you thinking of?" Minerva McGonagall said, her eyebrows raised.

Lupin shook his head. "I will not divulge them all tonight. They need some work, some more thought, before I share them with you. I will only say that I am certain my tactics will be more successful than our last endeavours."

"Why should we start the Order up again when you won't even tell us your plans?" said Arthur Weasley. Harry noticed huge dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm not asking you to reform the Order simply because I say so, nor because I have plans," Lupin said quietly.

"Then why?" James Potter asked, a hard edge in his voice.

Lupin looked him straight in the face. "Think, James. Think for just a moment about what Lord Voldemort has done to your family. How your parents were brutally murdered one night. Lily, I believe your parents were killed too, simply out of spite, simply because they were Muggles." Lupin stood, and began pacing. "And Molly..." Mrs. Weasley gave a choked sob. "...Think of how Voldemort has ripped your family apart. Your brothers died in the first war, your son is dead, along with his fiancée. Your daughter... I know for a fact that it is Lord Voldemort's fault that she is in Azkaban."

Several people gasped, and began to whisper, but Lupin paid them no heed. "You, Kingsley. How did your wife die? It was a Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley, wasn't it? Minerva, how did you become Headmistress of Hogwarts? Because Dumbledore gave his life to the cause of stopping the evil of Lord Voldemort. Alice, didn't you once have several brothers? What happened to them? They died because of Voldemort. Kiara," Lupin said, addressing the young black witch with braids. "Why are you an orphan?"

"Voldemort murdered my mum and dad," she said, lifting her chin.

"That's right. Say the name," Lupin encouraged. "If we fear the name, we will fear Voldemort so much that it will take away our will to fight, our will to right the wrongs that have been done. What about you, Bill? Weren't you dating that French girl, Fleur? What happened to her?"

"She died in another Death Eater attack," Bill said softly.

"Amelia, wasn't that your brother who died in the first war? Moody, you've lost your sister, and your wife, haven't you? Think of the people who should be sitting here in this room right now! Hestia Jones. Dedalus Diggle. Tonks, Charlie, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Edgar Bones, Dorcas Meadowes, Hagrid, Arabella Figg, Dumbledore himself, and the list could go on and on. What happened to them? They got in the way of Lord Voldemort."

Harry watched in awe. The room was completely silent, every eye on Lupin; the members sat, spellbound. Several witches were wiping tears from their eyes. Molly Weasley was now crying freely onto Alice Longbottom's shoulder.

"The Ministry is completely under the control of Voldemort. Hogwarts will be soon. Already the Muggle-borns have been almost exterminated. Soon Voldemort will set his plans into place to cleanse the wizarding race from anyone with any Muggle blood. Pure blood will dominate.

"Think about it. You may feel that the safest path to take is passive. Sit at home. Protect yourself with the spells. You may postpone your death a few years, but do you honestly think that Voldemort doesn't know all about the Order? He has eyes and ears everywhere--in the Ministry, in Hogwarts... You will never be safe anywhere. I don't care if you move to South America; Lord Voldemort will still be a danger. As long as he is in power, no one is safe."

Lupin stopped pacing. "That is why we must fight. We must avenge the deaths of our friends and family. We must show our children that we believe in fighting for what we know to be right. As for me, I will never rest until Lord Voldemort is defeated. Even if we all die in the war, it is better than the alternative, perhaps living to the end of our days, knowing that we could have prevented many deaths if we had only resisted.

"So I have only one question for you tonight. Shall we leave behind a legacy of cowardice and fear, or of courage and bravery?"

The room was completely still and silent, save for the sniffs of the weeping women. Then a chair scraped, and Harry looked up to see Mad-Eye Moody rising slowly and magnificently from his chair.

"I call for a vote," he growled. "Who will vote that we form the New Order of the Phoenix?"

"I will," a weak voice said. Harry looked over and saw Mrs. Weasley, holding her hand high. She was still crying freely, but she had straightened and was looking more and more like the old Molly Weasley Harry knew so well.

"Me too," Arthur Weasley said solemnly.

"Count me in," said Sirius.

"I as well," said Professor McGonagall.

Harry watched as every person in the room sombrely gave their consent. Lupin watched with the expression of one who has just won a battle, though his eyes narrowed when Peter Pettigrew pledged his loyalty to the New Order. When the final person had vocalized their consent, Lupin straightened. "We need a contract," he said, "to make it official. If you're really serious about fighting against Voldemort, you'll sign."

"I'll get a piece of parchment," Sirius said, and left the room, reappearing with parchment, ink, and quills. One by one the families stepped forward to sign the list. Harry scrawled his name right under his mum's, feeling proud.

Afterwards, many people lingered, talking quietly with each other. Harry saw Lupin conferring with Sirius, and shortly after, Sirius began approaching certain people in the room and speaking to them softly.

Lupin made his way towards Harry, Lily, and James. "I'm glad you've decided to join us, Harry," his former teacher said. "Lily, James, would you like to stay for tea after?" He gave Harry a meaningful glance.

"I don't know..." Lily said doubtfully. "Leila's all alone at home..."

"She'll be OK," said James. "We'd love to, Remus."

It took a half hour for all the extra members to filter out of the house. Peter Pettigrew had been one of the last to go, Harry noticed, but once Pettigrew had realized that no one else appeared to be leaving for a while, he had slipped out quietly.

"Drinks will be served in just a moment," Sirius called. "Lily, would you fix the living room?"

Harry's mother set about shrinking the room, and James began magically removing the extra chairs. Harry looked around. The remaining members staying for "tea" included Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, Bill, Professor McGonagall, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmeline Vance, and Harry's parents. Sirius entered with the drinks, and Lupin arranged the chairs in a smaller semicircle around the fireplace.

"Please, have a seat," Lupin said pleasantly to the remaining Order members.

Sirius passed around glasses. "There's Firewhisky, Butterbeer, Gillywater, Pumpkin Juice, Tea, Elderflower Wine, anything you want."

When each person had received his or her choice of drinks, Lupin took a sip of his tea and said, "As you have probably guessed, I have some more information to reveal. I had planned on telling the entire group, but in the end I decided it would be best to tell only a select group. These are matters of utmost importance, and I ask that you not tell a soul anything I am about to tell you."

"Why are you only telling us, not the entire group?" said Bill, looking curious.

Lupin sighed. "You do not want to hear this, but I have evidence that someone among us is a traitor."

"What?" James breathed. "Who?"

"Again, you are not going to want to hear this information, but it is entirely true. It is Peter."

The room exploded. "Peter Pettigrew!"

"No."

"It can't be!"

"It's a lie."

"Remus, this is a large accusation you are making," said McGonagall, looking shocked.

"I know," Lupin said evenly.

"Do you have any proof?" she asked

"I do. I have my sources. I cannot reveal them, though, lest I endanger the person who is feeding me information."

"Of what quality is this source?" Lily said skeptically.

"Let's just say," Lupin began carefully, "that there are Death Eaters who do not wish to be so anymore."

Harry knew Lupin was making it all up--it had been part of their plan--but suddenly Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat next to Harry.

"Death Eaters?" Molly gasped. "Remus, you've been communicating with Death Eaters?"

"Please, hear me out," Lupin said. "I have much to tell you, but you must listen until I'm done. Then you can ask questions." He waited for their consent, then continued. "How many of you have ever heard of Horcruxes?"

Most of the members were looking at each other in confusion, but Moody gave a low growl. "Ah, Mad-Eye," Lupin acknowledged. "Tell us what you know about the Horcrux."

"I only know this because of some extra study I did in dark materials in Auror Training," Moody said slowly. "A Horcrux is simply a name for an object in which a person has hidden part of their soul. There is a spell for creating a Horcrux, but I do not know it. I only know that it involves murdering a person. The act splits the soul into two, and the spell deposits one piece into the object."

Molly, Lily, and Alice all gasped. "How horrible!" Frank Longbottom exclaimed, his eyes wide.

McGonagall, however, nodded grimly. "There is a reason why we do not teach our students certain dark information at Hogwarts," she said.

"It is the ultimate crime against oneself, tearing the soul into pieces," Lupin continued. "It is used to make you somewhat immortal."

"How can you be somewhat immortal?" said Sirius.

"When your soul is in two different places, you cannot completely die. If you are hit with the Avada Kedavra, you may appear to die, but you will not. Your bodiless spirit will remain, just a breath of the person that used to be, until you find a way to re-inhabit your Horcrux, the remaining piece of your soul, and form a new body for yourself."

"And what does this all have to do with Lord Voldemort?" said Shacklebolt.

Lupin told the group about the six Horcruxes Lord Voldemort had made, and the theories on what objects they were, all from his point of view as the one who had discovered all the information. Harry listened carefully; he and Lupin had come up with a believable story the previous day of how Lupin had been doing research about Lord Voldemort, and had met the same people who had given Dumbledore information in the old reality, but Harry was still surprised about how believable Lupin made the story seem.

"What you have said makes a lot of sense," Lily admitted once he had finished his explanation, "but how do we know it is true?"

"It's the only logical answer," Moody growled. "The Horcruxes explain why Voldemort appears to be invincible, and why he did not die when Dumbledore hit him with the Avada Kedavra."

"But how do we know it's not just an elaborate theory you made up?" said Emmeline Vance quietly.

"I won't feel comfortable until I see some evidence," Frank Longbottom said, and there was a murmur of agreement from several other people.

Lupin looked at a loss for words, but suddenly Harry knew what to do. He knew what evidence they would have to bring... "He'll get proof," Harry said loudly.

Everyone stared at him, including Lupin. "He'll have proof for you, next week," Harry said again, staring intently at Lupin, trying to tell him it would be alright...

Lupin nodded. "I'll bring evidence of the Horcruxes," he said quickly.

"And of Pettigrew's loyalty?" said James.

Lupin sighed. "Like I said, I can't reveal who I received that information from, simply for protection. But there is a way..." He looked around. "Mad-Eye?"

The roughened Auror grunted.

"Have you ever had a look at Pettigrew's right forearm with your magical eye?"

"I don't usually make a practice of looking through people's clothes," Moody growled.

Several people laughed. Even Lupin had the good graces to look flustered. "No, no... Of course not, Moody. But next week, take a look when Pettigrew comes, and I am certain you will see the Dark Mark. Are the rest of you in agreement with this test?"

Several people nodded. "It is fair," said Arthur Weasley.

"Until next week, then," said Lupin.

The meeting broke up, the members still conversing in small groups about the Horcruxes. Lupin sidled up to Harry and pressed something cold and hard into his palm. "It's a two-way mirror," his former teacher said in a low voice. "I've got the other one. I have borrowed a page from James's book. He and Sirius once used mirrors like these to communicate at Hogwarts. This will be a much less conspicuous way for us to communicate."

Harry nodded, thinking with a lump in his throat of the mirror Sirius had given him.

"You'd better have a good idea of how to get evidence," Lupin said, looking hard at Harry.

"Don't worry, I do," Harry said, a plan already formulating in his mind. "We can..."

But at that moment James called, "Harry, we're leaving now. Your mum is concerned about Leila being home alone."

"I'll talk to you over the mirror," Harry said quickly, and Lupin nodded. Harry said goodbye to Lupin and Sirius, and followed his father out.