Harry Potter and the Dark Mark

Chapter Twenty Seven

Facing the archway through which Harry had just stepped was another door with a huge wooden plaque that stretched from the ceiling down to about two feet above the floor to the left of it. A stone bench was positioned at the foot of it. The room resembled a vaulted cellar or the dungeon Harry had Potions in. It was a large room, not large enough to make echoes but not small enough to diminish the feeling of insignificance Harry was feeling as he looked at the names inscribed on the plaque with gold paint.

The floor, unlike that of the Potions classroom, was evenly paved with slabs of gigantic proportions. Harry's mind boggled at the thought of laying them so deep underground. He heard Mullach locking the door behind him, so he quickly took in the rest of his surroundings, ripping his eyes away from the plaque to notice the doors to his left and right.

"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked listlessly. Now he had arrived he felt ever so slightly let down.

"To your left is our extensive library, to your right you will find the entrance to the living quarters, and if you will go through this door straight ahead, you will find yourself in the Reception Hall," Craw said in a smooth sentence. Harry found himself being ushered in that direction. Suddenly too tired to protest he walked forwards.

Now he was closer, an emblem on the door became clear to his tired eyes. A Phoenix was rising from a broken egg shell which was in turn being devoured by flames. The egg shell had a peculiar symbol on it, a Z drawn backwards. The centre line of the Z was vertical as opposed to being at forty five degrees however, so that it appeared crooked. Something about it jogged Harry's memory but he dismissed the thought and turned his attention to the plaque next to the door. His eyes flickered lazily down the names.

It read;

Harry did a double take. "Dumbledore... here?" he cried. Then his eyes fell further down the list. "VOLDEMORT?!" he gasped.

"Calm down!" Craw thundered. He pushed Harry in the small of the back and sent him stumbling through into the Reception Room. Harry had wild thoughts of Polyjuice Potion and kidnap by Voldemort until he remembered that Sirius had transformed in front of him. But still, that did not guarantee his safety with this man.

Immediately opposite the door was a curved table which twelve people were seated at. Thewere all facing Harry. There was one seat at the edge not taken. Craw quickly settled into it. There were now thirteen people sitting at the table. There were seven men and six women. The large central position on the crescent table was occupied by an elderly but regal lady with crisp white hair.

Harry sank into the chair facing the table in shock. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not this. The Order of the Phoenix inspected Harry gravely.

Craw whispered a message to the man on his left, who passed up the line to the lady in the middle. She turned slightly and stared acutely at Harry's scar, before clearing her throat.

"Thank you, Craw," the elderly lady said. "Harry Potter, please bring me your wand," she instructed. Harry bowed his head with respect and shuffled forwards. He laid his wand gently on the table before her and then hovered, unsure of what to do.

"Mediprobo," she told the wand. Harry's wand lifted itself into the air and shot red and gold sparks out in a fountain. She inclined her head to Harry and he took his wand before retreating to his seat. He waited expectantly, conscious of his filthy state.

"Mr Potter - you may not be aware of the current situation we are in. The Order of the Phoenix is, one might say, preparing for war."

Harry frowned. He did not know what the Order of the Phoenix was, so he didn't know whether war was an unusual situation or not. "But, what is the Order of the Phoenix?" he asked again.

"We are a group of thirteen witches and wizards who have devoted our lives to studying immortality and the amazing bird, the Phoenix."

"So Dumbledore..."

"Dumbledore studied with us before taking a post at Hogwarts as Transfiguration Master."

"And Vol--"

"He studied with us after leaving Hogwarts."

"But they are so different! How could you have taught him? He was... he is evil!" Harry asked, unbelieving.

"Mr Potter, we do not know the future. We had no idea a student of such academic excellence and repute would become the most terrible Dark Lord since Grindelwald!"

Harry calmed down slightly. "What about this war then?"

"Ah. Well, since Tom studied with us, he knows our location. He wants to destroy us," the old lady said simply. Harry did not know what to say in return.

"Why?" he asked, after he had digested this information.

As the old lady opened her mouth to reply, a bell chimed through the room. It held a distinct likeness to the call of a Phoenix. "Craw, would you?" she asked him. Mullach nodded and smiled, standing as the other twelve members bustled from the room.

"You'll have to forgive them, Harry. They're unused to youth." Craw led Harry out of the Reception Room and back into the Entrance Hall.

"How did they know I was coming?" Harry wanted to know.

Craw held out his hand to show a large golden ring with a ruby set into it. "This. I summoned an assembly with my ring. They were waiting for me, and then I told them I had found you on patrol."

"Oh." Harry scratched his head. "What does that lady want you to tell me?" They stopped in front of the plaque on the wall.

"Take a look at the names and dates on the board. Is there anything you notice about them?"

"They're all about five years apart." Harry stared in defeat. He didn't see anything except the two names that glared down at him.

"The Honorary Members stop after 1971," Craw explained.

"That's when Voldemort became powerful," Harry reasoned quickly.

"Yes."

"Then you've been expecting an attack for a long time."

"Yes."

"But why did you continue teaching during Grindelwald's reign?" Harry questioned.

"Grindelwald never studied here. We weren't even sure if he knew the Order existed. He wasn't interested if he did. You see, that's what makes Tom different to other Dark Lords. Besides power, he wants immortality. He learnt everything we could teach him - which was a lot. Now he wants to destroy us because we have the knowledge he has. Knowledge is power, especially if you're the only one with that knowledge.

"You see all those names on that board? Well there are more boards from earlier years; Nicolas Flamel was the founder of this Order, so you can guess it goes back a long way. But now out of all the Honorary Members, there are only two who are alive today. You know who they are."

"Dumbledore, and Voldemort!" Harry whispered.

"All the others died in Death Eater attacks or vanished without trace. Now Tom is coming here, to finish this."

Harry was struck with the finality in Craw's voice. He did not seem bitter or angry as Harry felt. "Why do you call him Tom?"

"I was his mentor when he was here." Harry looked sharply at Craw's lined face. Although middle aged, he certainly did not appear old enough to have taught Tom Riddle.

"You?"

Mullach sighed. Remorse shone unsteadily from his face as he recalled his student. "Tom came with an excellent report. He was a brilliant student. The first thing I asked him was what he wanted to learn from his time with us. Everything, he told me. Everything. He was charismatic and enigmatic. He would work all night if he thought he was onto something.

"Then of course, there was the wand. Students who have Phoenix feather cores are always more adept than those who don't. They have a natural affinity with the Phoenix from the start."

Harry squeezed his own wand. It felt solid and reassuring in his pocket.

"He was so insistent that his name be engraved Tom Marvolo Riddle when he was made an Honorary Member. He laughed and said he was named after his father and grandfather. Meryl--that's the lady who spoke to you just now--said that he could have his way just for being so thoughtful. When he left, we felt sure he would move onto great things.

"It is sad that we were right. Great he became, but terrible too. And now he will see us destroyed, we who helped him become what he is."

"Well you're going to try and stop him, aren't you?" Harry almost yelled. Why were they being so defeatist?

"Of course. We contacted Dumbledore, and he had surveillance set up on the island. Apparently some chap who lived on Arran when he was younger. Black, I think he's called. Never seen, him though. I think that dog was his, the one that was following you. He'll call in reinforcements when Tom attacks."

Harry hid his smile. "That man - he's my Godfather," he confessed. It was obvious that Craw had no idea who Sirius was. "I was talking to him when I... got into a muddle and came through the Floo. I was about to go back when you came. He... hid, and I had to come with you because I didn't know who you were."

"That explains a lot of things," Craw said with a broad smile. "Let's get you back to him, and back to Hogwarts, shall we?"

One thing was still bothering Harry. "You don't look old enough to have taught Tom Riddle. Are you... immortal?"

"No, Harry. I am not immortal. None of the current Order are. We pursue only the study of immortality, and Phoenixes."

"So why was Flamel immortal?"

"He wasn't. He lived only a very prolonged life. We know of no one who is immortal. Tom only achieved partial immortality. He forgot that while it may be possible to live forever, he would still be human. The only immortal ones round here are the Phoenixes. If you wish, I could introduce you to my Phoenix."

Craw was already walking over to the door that he had said the living quarters were through. Harry followed him eagerly although his body was beginning to complain from lack of sleep. Through the door there was a house. A strange one with no windows, but it was an underground house all the same. Harry was taken to Craw's room. There, on a perch identical to the one Fawkes sat on, was a beautiful Phoenix.

"This is Cinderella - though I call her Cinders for short," Craw said with a smile. Cinders cried out softly at their approach. She was smaller than Fawkes and her feathers were a richer deeper red. Her tail was slightly shorter too, but she was no less magnificent. Harry put out a hand to touch the beautiful plumage but she vanished before his fingers brushed her crest.

"She's a bit shy," Craw explained. "She did the same thing with everyone but Albus," he recalled. "She never made friends with Tom. Hated him as if he were a snake!" Craw let out a throaty chuckle. Cinders, who reappeared perching on Craw's bedpost, gave a disgusted noise at the sound of the word snake.

"Snake?" Harry asked curiously.

"Phoenixes hate snakes. Hate them with a vengeance. Mortal enemies."

Harry was stunned. Was that why Cinders would not let him touch her? He was a Parselmouth, just like Voldemort. He ventured this theory to Craw.

"Voldemort is a Parselmouth. Maybe that's why Cinders didn't like him." And me, he thought.

Instead of answering, Craw looked at his watch. "Damn and blast it, have you seen the time?!" With a quick wave to Cinders he chivvied Harry out of his room and back to the Entrance Hall. They hurried back through the underground passage and up into the lighthouse.

As they clambered up the cellar steps, Harry could hear a dull booming noise that reverberated within the whole of the lighthouse. Confused, he watched as Craw unbolted, unlocked and de-warded the door. He opened it to meet a howling gale that blew freezing rain and spray inside.

Just before they plunged into the inky night, Harry suddenly saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. A dark figure was staggering towards the lighthouse with its arms over its face to fight off the rain.

Sirius stumbled into the lighthouse like a dying man and then flew round to close the door. Job done, he shook himself like a dog and wiped his hands across his face.

"Back the way you came, Harry. They're here."

"Who are?" Harry asked in disarray.

"Why, His Death Eaters, of course."

Chapter Twenty Eight

"We're trapped!" Harry cried. Craw was bolting and warding the door as he spoke. Sirius also began throwing spells at the door.

"No, we aren't. How long can you hold out, do you think?" Sirius asked Craw.

"It all depends on how many Death Eaters are with him. I have no doubt he will come in person," Craw shot out. His Scottish accent became thicker when he spoke in haste.

"Won't they just Apparate in here?" Harry demanded.

"No. You need to know what the place you are Apparating into looks like, otherwise you could Apparate into a wall or get splinched," Sirius explained.

"Did you get a message through?" Craw wanted to know.

"Yes," Sirius assured him. "Moody and co. are on their way."

Harry was at a loss for words. Voldemort was coming. His glasses were bent out of shape and he hadn't slept for nearly twenty one hours. He was on an isolated island with a lot of people he had never met before and he wasn't sure he could stand prolonged bursts of dark magic spells. He would be discovered by Ministry Officials out of Hogwarts. And Sirius was an escaped Prisoner; the Ministry didn't know he was innocent! They would assume he was with the Death Eaters and take him in!

"Sirius, they'll take you back to Azkaban!" Harry yelled as Sirius dashed towards the cellar steps. He realised his mistake too late.

Craw looked at Sirius with interest. "Black?" he questioned.

Sirius froze and stared at Craw. "If you don't trust me, tell me. I'll take Harry, and we'll be gone. You can tell Moody when he arrives, but I assure you he knows of my innocence and will make you out to be either a liar or a fool."

There was a tense pause as Mullach reassessed what he knew about Sirius. "Don't be stupid," Craw grinned. "You don't want to miss all the fun!"

Sirius grinned indomitably and clapped Craw on the back.

"You were framed, I take it?" Craw asked jokingly.

"But of course," Sirius replied. "Aren't we all?" The two men laughed. Craw beckoned over his shoulder and descended the steps to the cellar. Sirius shot Harry a look that told him they were lucky to have got away with that one.

"They won't," he promised. Harry nodded humbly.

Just as Sirius turned to dash down the stairs after Craw, there were thumps on the door. Someone was banging their fists frantically and yelling to be let in. Harry whirled round in a panic and Sirius leapt in front of him brandishing a wand.

"Where did you get that from?" Harry whispered.

"Mundungus got hold of it for me, said he couldn't have an agent with no wand."

"Sounds like two people," Harry muttered. He strained his ears to make out what the people were shouting through the storm.

"--mora!"

"--arreee!"

"Hermione?!" Harry suddenly bellowed. "Ron?"

The thuds on the door became more frenzied in reply to Harry's call. "It's them! Let them in!" Harry begged Sirius. Sirius was already undoing the charms he had spent the last five minutes putting up.

"Craw!" Sirius bellowed. Craw came hurrying back seconds later and helped without even asking why. When the door was finally unlocked and unbolted, Harry flung it open. Hermione and Ron dived through and Sirius began re-warding it. Harry was visited with a strong sense of déja vu.

"We thought you were dead!" Hermione wailed. She promptly burst into tears and swept Harry into a hug.

"We didn't," Ron said. "She did." He jerked his head at Hermione. "You alright, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "How did you get here?"

"Ah!" Ron smirked slightly. We nicked some Floo Powder from Flitwick's office."

"You mean I did!" Hermione corrected as she wiped her eyes.

"Well, yeah," Ron admitted. "Then we just hoped that the piece of your robes that caught on the grate was strong enough to have held the connection open."

Harry turned to look at the sliver of cloth missing from the hem of his robes. "Oh." There didn't seem much more to say.

"Right, can we go now?" Sirius interrupted. "By the way, hello you two. And you're lucky to be alive. There's Death Eaters roaming about out there."

"What?!" Hermione shrieked.

"Voldemort is attacking," Harry said quietly. He wants to destroy the Order of the Phoenix."

Ron scowled. "The Order of what? Why?"

"Ooooh!" Hermione exclaimed. "This is where the Order of the Phoenix is?"

"You know about us?" Craw asked in surprise. Ron and Hermione seemed to notice him for the first time.

"Hermione!" Sirius shouted. Craw gave an apologetic look before leading everyone down into the cellar of the lighthouse. Ron, Hermione and Sirius were suitably amazed by the passage that lead to the Order. Hermione kept asking Craw questions and Ron kept muttering under his breath. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Craw and Sirius dashed off to call the other Members.

"You wait in the Library," Craw instructed.

"There's a Library?" Hermione asked, brightening.

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry before inspecting the emblem on the Reception Room door. "Hey, Harry, look!" he called. Harry ambled over to him. "It's that rune from Divination," he said, pointing out the z-like motif on the Phoenix egg.

Harry stared at it with a look of intense concentration on his face. "Oh yeah!" he cried, remembering it suddenly. "The resurrection rune!"

"A-hem!" Hermione broke in. "The Library...?"

Harry grinned at Ron and indicated which door they should open. Hermione scampered over to it. She opened it slowly and then gasped. When Harry and Ron stood beside her, they could see over her shoulders how vast the Library was.

"Oh my!" Hermione choked. She tiptoed in. "Arithmancy!" she yelped. By the time Harry and Ron had seen where she was looking she was already deeply immersed in the ancient tomes and volumes. Harry sat down at a table, Ron opposite him, and proceeded to tell of his adventure. Hermione wandered over after a few minutes, so he was forced to repeat the beginning bit for her benefit. She did not seemed too shocked that Riddle had been a student with the Order of the Phoenix.

"Well look at it!" She waved her arms at the books. "Who wouldn't want to study here? And besides," she added as Ron rolled his eyes, "Voldemort has always been after immortality. What better place to come?"

"Yes, but Craw's Phoenix hated him," Harry argued. "Phoenixes are the enemies of snakes, and Riddle was a Parselmouth!"

"Why are you so angry about that?" Ron queried. He looked at Harry in puzzlement.

"I'm a Parselmouth! Cinders hated me too," Harry whined. He felt pathetic saying it, but it was true and had been eating away at him all night.

"Oh, don't be so silly, Harry," Hermione dismissed as she wandered back over to the books. "Cinders or whatever it was called hated Riddle because she was smart. She'll just have been shy. Fawkes seemed to take a shine to you." She disappeared down a row labelled 'Animals.'

Harry instantly felt stupid. He had completely forgotten Fawkes. Remembering the beautiful bird made him think of Dumbledore.

"While we're here, we could look up more poisons and see if we can find one that might be the one that's used on Dumbledore," he suggested.

"Beat you to it," Hermione answered. She shuffled over and deposited a huge book on the table, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air. Ron sneezed with such a startled air that she began to giggle. When she had composed herself she scanned the page for information.

"Well?" Ron enquired.

"Urgh!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "It doesn't tell me anything more than Fantastic Beasts! I already knew all that about Streelers!"

"But I thought we agreed that Streeler Venom wasn't poisonous to Humans?" Harry said.

"Yes. But there's something odd about the fact you saw Wormtail with it," she mused. "It just annoys me, as if I missed something."

"The only thing Streeler Venom is good for is killing Horklumps." Ron said. He rubbed his stomach. "I'm hungry. Oh, and it killed Professor Sprout's plants too, do you remember? She cried!" He shook his head in bewilderment that someone could cry over plants.

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Ron that's it! You genius!" she screeched. She threw her arms around Ron and kissed him on the cheek before running helter-skelter to the books on poisons. Harry shrugged at Ron in bafflement. Ron looked dazed and confused but very pink around the ears.

"Has she solved it?" he asked Harry as they watched her vanish down an aisle.

"S'pose so," Harry replied. "I never doubted she couldn't," he said. He smiled to himself when he realised that it was the truth. He had never considered that Hermione might not be able to help Dumbledore. She was amazing.

Ron nodded in agreement as Hermione lurched towards them with what seemed to bee the biggest, dustiest book she could find in her arms. "Time to find out the truth," he said quietly.

Harry smiled tightly. He just hoped it wasn't too late to save Dumbledore.