Harry Potter and the Unicorn Guild

Chapter 7 – The Order Meeting

Just as Professor McGonagall had said, members of the Order of the Phoenix began arriving within the hour. First the Weasleys – Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Bill Weasley, who all greeted Harry cheerfully; Tonks; Kingsley Shacklebolt; stately Emmeline Vance; Dedalus Diggle (who didn’t want to quit shaking Harry’s hand in welcome until Emmeline Vance pulled him away); the elderly Elphias Doge; pink-cheeked Hestia Jones; a weak and pale-looking Sturgis Podmore; Mad-Eye Moody, who growled at them in welcome as he passed; Remus Lupin, who looked tired and weary but gave Harry a tight hug; a cloud of foul-smelling smoke that turned out to be Mundungus Fletcher, and, sweeping into the house at precisely one minute before four o’clock, Severus Snape.

The Potions master looked around the Muggle house and sniffed disdainfully. “You live in this neighbourhood, do you, Potter?" he said to Harry, leering at the ratty furniture covered in tattered doilies.

“Yes," Harry muttered, clenching his fists at his side and bracing for the inevitable insult. “What of it?"

“It may be the summer holiday – and lucky for you it is, otherwise you’d have points taken away – but I am still your professor, Potter," Snape said harshly. “As such, you may address me as ‘Professor’ or ‘sir.’" With a last glare, he swept into the kitchen, effectively ignoring Ron and Hermione.

“What’s his problem?" Harry said disgustedly when he was sure Snape was out of earshot.

“Still hasn’t gotten that wand out, I reckon – you know, the one that’s stuck up his arse?" Ron said quietly, and the two of them snickered as Hermione concealed a smile behind her hand.

The front door opened again, and, to Harry’s surprise, Fred and George walked in.

“Hey, little bro," Fred said cheerfully.

“Lovely day," George added, just as brightly.

"What’re you two doing here?" Ron said suspiciously.

"McGonagall told us to come," George said, smoothing his lurid green dragon-skin jacket. "I expect it’s about our application to join the Order."

"You’re joining the Order?" Hermione said, her eyes narrowing skeptically.

"We hope so," Fred said proudly. "Why else would they ask us to come?"

"All right, you three," Professor McGonagall said, appearing at the living room door. "You may come in." She looked at the twins and her lips pursed. "It’s about time you two arrived. Come on."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Fred and George into Mrs. Figg’s small, and now rather crowded, kitchen.

"Fred? George?" Molly Weasley said as they entered, half-rising from her chair. "What are you two doing here?"

"They’re here at Dumbledore’s request, Molly," McGonagall said smoothly, waving her wand and conjuring some straight-backed wooden chairs for the five of them. Harry rather thought that Mrs. Figg’s house had some sort of charm on it to make it seem smaller than it really was; the kitchen at Privet Drive wouldn’t have fit half this many wizards, yet they were all seated comfortably along a large, wooden table. He had a feeling that someone magical – perhaps her parents, or a sibling – had modified Mrs. Figg’s house so she could have the comforts of a Wizarding home without it being too obvious to the other Muggles in Little Whinging.

"Now, the first order of business," McGonagall said, consulting a long piece of parchment. "New membership. The following wizards have made known their request to join the Order of the Phoenix: Frederick George Weasley and George Frederick Weasley." She nodded at the twins.

"What?!" Molly Weasley again half-rose from her chair, her outraged shout echoing across the room. "Membership in the Order? Absolutely not!"

"Molly, your sons are of-age, out of school, and living on their own," McGonagall said severely but not unkindly, surveying Mrs. Weasley through her spectacles. "It is no longer your decision."

"We want to join, Mum," Fred said firmly.

"We want to help in the fight against You-Know-Who in any way we can," George added.

"Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall said loudly, drowning out Mrs. Weasley’s heated exclamations, "is of the opinion that the Messers. Weasley shall be allowed probationary membership in the Order for the period of six months. If, after that time, they have proven themselves to be both responsible and useful, they will be granted full memberships."

Fred and George exchanged delighted glances, and Mrs. Weasley slumped back into her chair, her eyes brimming with angry tears. Mr. Weasley patted her hand reassuringly while McGonagall frowned at the twins. "I must impress upon the two of you the seriousness of membership in the Order," she said sternly. "It may seem like it’s merely a lark, but actively resisting You-Know-Who is a very dangerous undertaking. If, at any time, you wish to rescind your membership, you must only speak to me or Professor Dumbledore. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Professor," the two chorused, looking solemn for one of the few times in Harry’s recollection.

McGonagall gave them each a crisp nod and consulted her parchment again. "Next order of business: Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School. I am pleased to report that we have managed to secure a professor for the position. Mr. Weasley?" She looked over the parchment, not at Arthur Weasley, but at Bill, who was seated between his father and Hestia Jones.

Bill smiled and said, "Dumbledore initially offered the job to me, but ultimately we decided it would be best if I stayed on at Gringotts and kept tabs on the goblin activities. However, I sent out a few owls to some of my fellow curse-breakers to see if any would be interested in the position. One of them was interested, and she has accepted the position." He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "Hallelujah Jones."

The reactions at the table were varied. Hestia Jones beamed broadly, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked surprised, Lupin looked worried, and Tonks cheered. Snape, however, wore an expression of the utmost loathing. "Her?" he snarled. "Surely Dumbledore could find someone better suited to the position?"

Bill, nonplussed, stared Snape straight in the eye. "I think she’s very well suited to the position," the eldest Weasley brother said coolly. "She was Head Girl at the same time I was Head Boy, so I know her abilities well. She’s one of the best curse-breakers Gringotts has, and what she doesn’t know about countercurses and anti-jinxes isn’t worth knowing."

"Indeed?" Snape sneered. "And what about her unseemly prejudice against Slytherin house? Do you really think she’ll be able to teach without throwing every Slytherin into detention six times a day?"

"Dumbledore has already offered her the position, so obviously he thinks she’ll be able to act impartially, Severus," McGonagall said crisply.

The black-haired witch, Hestia Jones, piped up angrily. "Sounds like a case of the pot calling the cauldron black," she said, glaring at Snape. "My cousin is as prejudiced against Slytherins as you are against Gryffindors!"

"I beg your pardon," Snape hissed, his pale face as still as a tombstone but his black eyes snapping.

"That’s enough," McGonagall snapped. "If you have a problem with Ms. Jones, Severus, you can take it up with Dumbledore after the new minister is elected." Snape settled back in his chair, still glaring daggers at Hestia; for her part, Hestia looked like she was itching for a good, old-fashioned wizard’s duel. Harry knew the feeling.

"Now, then," McGonagall continued, "in keeping with the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts, our third order of business is Dumbledore’s Army."

Harry sat up straight. "What?" he exclaimed involuntarily.

"Dumbledore’s Army, Potter," Snape said, his lip curling. "Surely you haven’t forgotten the illegal association you organized right under Dolores Umbridge’s rather unattractive nose?"

"Er…no…" he stammered, flushing as the other wizards and witches turned their gazes on him, "what about it, Professor McGonagall?"

"Professor Dumbledore would like the club to continue under your leadership, Potter," McGonagall said, "However, it will become a fully-sanctioned Hogwarts organization, with regular meeting times and so forth, under the sponsorship of Professor Jones. He also requests that membership be open to all Houses, as well as all students third year and above."

"Wait a moment," Ron blurted. "Slytherins too?"

Snape snorted in disgust. "You see?" he said scathingly. "It’s not only D.A.D.A. professors, but their students as well."

"Yes, Weasley, Slytherins too," McGonagall said severely, ignoring Snape. "I’m sure there are many students in Slytherin house who feel the need to hone their defense skills." She nodded at Harry. "Dumbledore will be in touch with you regarding more details; in the interim, he requests that you use your spare time in the remaining summer months to formulate lesson plans so that the association can commence as soon as possible once term starts."

Harry blanched at this, but Remus Lupin said quickly, "I can help you with them, Harry, don’t worry."

"I can help too, Harry," Hermione said eagerly, her eyes shining. "Oh, I have so many ideas for new jinxes we can learn – "

"Thank you, Miss Granger," McGonagall cut in smoothly. "I’m sure that both Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter will be grateful for your assistance." Her gaze traveled down her lengthy roll of parchment. "Now, then… the next item of business – "

Before she could finish, there was a sudden burst of flame that appeared in midair above the center of the table. A phoenix feather, accompanied by a scroll, appeared and dropped in front of McGonagall.

She picked up the scroll and glanced at it; her eyes widened in surprise and she held it out to Mr. Weasley. "It’s for you, Arthur."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exchanged puzzled glances before Mr. Weasley hesitantly accepted the scroll, broke the seal, and unfurled the parchment. As he read it, his face grew pale and Mrs. Weasley, who was reading over his shoulder, gasped.

"Dad, what’s wrong?" Bill Weasley said, half-rising from his chair. Fred, George, and Ron all had their eyes fixed on their father’s face, which was now the color of cottage cheese.

"I’ve been summoned to appear before the Wizengamot," Mr. Weasley said, his voice hollow.

Ron made a strangled noise in his throat as Fred and George stared at their father in horror. Bill, however, snatched the paper from his father’s shaking fingers and began to read aloud. "Arthur William Weasley: You are hereby summoned and required to appear before the Wizengamot to address the subject of your nomination for the position of Minister of Magic…" his voice died as he stared, stunned, at the parchment in his hands.

"What?" Ron whispered.

"Minister?" Fred said stupidly.

"Dad?" George said dumbly.

"I’ve been nominated," Mr. Weasley said in a hushed tone, gaping at the phoenix feather that had accompanied the letter. "I’ve made the short list of nominations for Minister of Magic."

"Arthur…" Mrs. Weasley breathed, staring round at the other people at the table. Most looked just as stunned as the Weasleys, with the exception of Snape, who looked surprised and vaguely disgusted. "Minister! Oh, Arthur… Minister!"

She threw her arms around her husband. This familiar action seemed to jolt Mr. Weasley out of his state of shock, for he gently disengaged himself from her enthusiastic embrace and said, "Now, Molly, I’m not Minister… this is just the nomination process, you know, there’s still the final vote yet to come…"

"But, oh, Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "Minister! Just to be nominated – and you’re not even a member of the Wizengamot, this must be the first time in centuries that’s happened – it’s a great honor!"

"That it is," Remus Lupin said, being the first of the other Order members to recover from their own astonishment. "Congratulations, Arthur."

"Congratulations, indeed," came a new voice from the kitchen doorway. Harry twisted in his chair to see Albus Dumbledore framed in the doorway, dressed in ornate plum-colored robes. Harry recognized those robes at once; he’d seen fifty-odd witches and wizards wearing them at his disciplinary hearing last year.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall greeted. "I didn’t know you’d be able to join us tonight."

"I can’t stay long, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding to the others at the table. "The Wizengamot has temporarily recessed to dine, and to await the arrival of Arthur Weasley."

"Oh yes… I’ll have to issue a formal acceptance… and I suppose I’ll be sequestered while the voting goes on, won’t I?" Mr. Weasley said, sounding dazed.

"That’s correct," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling and a very pleased expression on his face. "Such debates we had this afternoon… I wish you could have heard them, Arthur; you have quite the number of supporters in the Wizengamot."

Mr. Weasley blushed as Mrs. Weasley, beaming proudly, hugged her husband’s arm.

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said urgently, leaning forward in her chair, "who are the other nominees?"

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said, conjuring a comfortable chintz chair for himself and settling into it. "Well, I was nominated, but I declined, of course."

"Why?" Ron Weasley asked, amazed.

"I appreciate your confidence in me, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly, "but I have a school to run. Should I leave, Hogwarts could become susceptible to Voldemort, and I refuse to let that happen."

Harry reddened; Hogwarts wouldn’t be at such risk if he didn’t go there. Ron was right, Dumbledore was the best choice for the job… but Dumbledore wanted to protect him, Harry, from Voldemort. It was humiliating – but, in a way, a great relief. Harry only felt safe at Hogwarts as long as Dumbledore was there.

"The other nominee, besides your father, is Amelia Bones, the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement office," Dumbledore continued. "Normally there are three nominees, but after I declined my nomination there was simply no one else the Wizengamot favored as a possible candidate. Dolores Umbridge was quite disappointed; she had fully expected to be in the running."

"Her?" Harry spat, resisting the urge to curse. "She’d be a terrible Minister!"

"Oh, I quite agree," Dumbledore said, something closely resembling a smirk playing on the edge of his lips. "However, it seems those on the Wizengamot that she considered her friends were absolutely appalled at the poor quality of her leadership of Hogwarts and chose not to nominate her."

Hermione sighed. "Well, that’s a relief."

"And how is the Minis – er, Cornelius Fudge handling his sudden demotion?" McGonagall inquired archly.

"Not at all well, I’m afraid," Dumbledore said, not in the least perturbed. "He seems to think that I am to blame, despite the fact that the vote of no confidence was unanimous. Apparently," the headmaster’s face hardened slightly, "Dolores Umbridge is not the only one who believed she had friends among the Wizengamot. I daresay Cornelius believes I have – what were his words? – oh, yes… ‘hoodwinked and deceived the Wizengamot in order to assure his failure.’"

Dumbledore’s words seemed to hang in the air. Harry watched the faces around the table – the expressions ranged from mild exasperation (Lupin) to unrepressed anger (Mrs. Figg). Snape, however, broke the silence. "It does not cease to astonish me how that pathetic, insipid little man can suffer from such delusional paranoia," the Potions master said acidly.

Harry was momentarily shocked – for once, he and Snape agreed on something.

"Be that as it may," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "Cornelius has made the decision, albeit reluctantly, to retire from the public eye, and as such we need a new Minister. Arthur, if you’ll accompany me…?"

"What? Oh, oh, yes, of course!" Arthur Weasley jumped up from the table, nearly knocking his chair over in the process.

Mrs. Weasley stood up too, suddenly looking very distracted. "I’ll need to Apparate home and pack a bag for you… you’ll need your dress robes, of course, and your nice shoes…"

With a sigh, Professor McGonagall rolled up her parchment. "We might as well postpone the meeting since both of you are leaving."

"We’ll have another Order meeting immediately after the election; I don’t think there’s anything on your list that can’t wait until then," Dumbledore said.

Harry decided that if he was going to speak up, it might as well be now. "So Voldemort hasn’t been active?" he asked, loudly.

Everyone except Dumbledore flinched. "No, Harry, he has not," Dumbledore said calmly. "We believe that he is currently using this time to formulate more plans. The Order is doing its best to be on the offensive at the moment, but we can only speculate as to his next course of action." He gave Harry a significant glance over the top of his spectacles. "After the election, I promise to give you more details regarding the Order’s current information."

Harry stared at the headmaster for a long moment. "Thank you, sir," he finally said. It seemed Dumbledore wasn’t going to keep him in the dark any longer, and Harry was grateful.

"Well, we must be off," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Come, Arthur. I’ll be sure that your luggage gets to you as soon as Molly sends it over."

Mr. Weasley hugged his children – as well as Harry and Hermione – and set off with Dumbledore. Mrs. Weasley followed, and soon the rest of the Order members followed in twos and threes, all talking quietly under their breaths about the topics that had been covered at the meeting. Snape left alone, swooping out of the house like a giant bat and not sparing a backward glance at Harry.

"Bill!" Ron said, flagging down his older brother as he was about to leave the room. Bill paused at the door and waited for the trio to catch up with him.

"You know the new DADA teacher?" Ron said eagerly. "What’s she like?"

Bill grinned. "Curious, are you?" He checked his watch. "I suppose I can spare a few minutes before I go back to the bank." He leaned against the doorjamb. "Now, Hallelujah Jones. She was in my year at Hogwarts, but in Ravenclaw. Definitely the smartest witch in our year, and one of the most talented witches I know." Privately, Harry thought the new DADA teacher sounded remarkably like Hermione.

"She was Head Girl when I was Head Boy," Bill continued, "and after graduation we both applied to Gringotts. I was assigned to Egypt and she to Zimbabwe."

"Zimbabwe?" Ron’s eyes were wide with interest. "Cool!"

Bill nodded. "She was quite happy to be assigned there. You see, her father, Max, was also a curse breaker for Gringotts. You remember Hestia Jones, one of the Order members?" The trio nodded. "She’s Hallelujah’s cousin – her father is Hallelujah’s uncle. Anyway, as I said, Hallelujah’s father was also a curse-breaker. When he was working in Zimbabwe, he met Hallelujah’s mother, a native working for the local MLE – Magical Law Enforcement," he added for Harry and Hermione’s benefit. "They married and lived in Zimbabwe for several years. When Hallelujah was six, her family moved back to England. She still has a lot of family in Zimbabwe and was happy to move back."

"Why is she leaving Zimbabwe to teach at Hogwarts?" Hermione wondered.

Bill shrugged. "Now that You-Know-Who is back, Dumbledore wants to make sure that there’s a good teacher in the DADA position. It’s important that you all learn to defend yourselves – you did a great job with Dumbledore’s Army, Harry, but you’re still a student; you can’t do it full-time. I think Hallelujah realizes the necessity of a good DADA teacher, and that’s why she accepted the job."

"Bill, what was Snape talking about?" Harry asked quietly. "He said she was… prejudiced against Slytherin house?"

"Oh… that." Bill shifted uncomfortably. "You see… when we were in school, Hallelujah was dating Cadby McKinnon, a Hufflepuff. He and his entire family were suddenly and tragically killed by Death Eaters when he was home on Christmas break."

"Oh, no," Hermione whispered, her eyes tearing. "How awful."

Bill nodded grimly. "The worst part is that some of the kids in Slytherin were – well, I guess you’d call them junior Death Eaters. Their parents were all Death Eaters and You-Know-Who supporters. In the days and weeks after Cadby’s death, they teased her about it – mercilessly. Hallelujah was too proud to go to any of the teachers, and Professor Snape – well, he couldn’t risk reprimanding them for fear he’d jeopardize his position in You-Know-Who’s ranks. Of course, no one knew he was a spy then – except Dumbledore – so we all assumed he was a Death Eater too." Bill sighed. "Anyway, Hallelujah kind of… declared war on the Slytherins. All the Slytherins, even the ones who left her alone."

"What’d she do?" Ron asked, fascinated.

"She jinxed them in the corridors, took points away for stupid things like having a shoelace untied, and so on." Bill looked unhappy. "She was completely abusing her authority, first as a prefect and then as Head Girl. I know that Dumbledore finally had to talk to her about it. After that, she toned it down a bit, but…" He shook his head. "As far as anyone knows, she still carries a grudge to this day."

"Well, so what?" Ron demanded. "Everyone knows that Snape favors the Slytherins. What’s wrong with them getting a bit of what Snape dishes out to us?"

"It’s wrong because we’re supposed to be promoting house unity, Ron!" Hermione jumped in before Bill could answer. "Don’t you remember what the Sorting Hat said last year? ‘We must unite inside her or we'll crumble from within.’"

"She’s right, Ron," Bill said seriously. "That’s why Dumbledore wants your Defense group open to all houses, especially Slytherin. We need to give every Slytherin the chance to turn against You-Know-Who and the means to defend themselves if they do."

"Sirius once said that the world wasn’t divided into good people and Death Eaters," Harry blurted, thinking of that long-ago day outside of Hogsmeade.

"He was right," Bill said. "Now, Ron, don’t think I’m condoning Snape’s partiality, because I’m not. He has his own discrimination issues to work out. I’m just saying that favoritism is never a good idea, no matter who does the favoring."

Bill glanced at his watch and straightened. "I need to get going. I’ll see you all later – think about what I said, all right?" He cuffed Ron on the shoulder affectionately, nodded at Harry and Hermione, and strode out the door.

~ end of Chapter 7 ~