Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt 30. Blood and Bone

The attack left much of the school in shocked silence for most of the afternoon. Nobody could figure out what would cause thousands of birds to attack. Harry could hardly sit still in the Common Room, waiting for Xander to show up and answer some questions. He had somehow known exactly what to do and what was going on and was the best person to give answers.

Finally, Xander entered to Common Room as the Fat Lady swung open to permit his entrance. Alicia, who had a difficult time calming her family down, reached him first.

"I'm so glad you're O.K.," she was saying, not willing to release him from the hug she had wrapped him in. "How did you manage to get away without a scratch? My family was so worried."

"I'm fine, really," he was trying to reassure her. "It's nearly time for the Ball, go ahead and get ready. I'll meet you down here in two hours, Okay?"

Alicia nodded reluctantly and retreated to the girls dorms to get ready. Hermione moved to follow, but Xander held her back.

"I need to talk to you three," he said, and motioned them to the customary empty corner farthest from the fireplace.

This was what Harry had hung around so long for. "Are you going to tell us exactly what happened?," he asked, a bit annoyed at not knowing what was going on.

Xander nodded. "Do you remember me mentioning 'familiars' a while back?" he asked. They all nodded, but no one could quite tie the two together. "A familiar is used by a mage to go places where the owner can't go. Sort of like a pair of eyes detached from the body. Whatever the familiar sees, so does the mage."

"So what are familiars doing here? Who do they belong to?," prompted Hermione.

"The Order of the Raven," said Xander quietly. "I had my suspicions all year, moreso after Sprout disappeared." He noticed the quizzical looks on their faces. "Yes, the Order of the Raven is a sect of mages. They hold themselves higher than other orders. If there were a such thing as Dark Arts for magi, they would be it. Until now, they always held true to the orders of the Conclave- that's like the governing body for us," he added quickly as Harry opened his mouth.

"So what are they doing at Hogwarts?" Harry asked quickly before Xander could get off topic.

"They're mercenaries," he said with a note of disdain. "Voldemort has promised them riches and knowledge beyond their dreams. Even more if they deliver you," he nodded at Harry, "alive. That's why we've seen so many ravens all year. That's why I had a conniption fit when you almost touched the golden ring that time."

"Why? What would the ring do to me?" asked Harry. Ron and Hermione almost began to back away.

"Remember Snape's project back around Christmas?," asked Xander.

Harry was growing more annoyed by the minute. Why does Xander always have to answer a question with a question? It reminded him strongly of Dumbledore. "What does that have to do with anything?," he asked irritably.

"How do you think Sprout disappeared?," snapped Xander. "A Teleportation Charm on the ring would have taken you straight to Voldemort. He took Sprout in an effort to scare Dumbledore. That's why Snape assigned the project, so that you'd be guarded against it."

"So what now?," asked Ron. "Now we have to face a full order of Mages, and you're only one."

"We shouldn't have to worry about them anymore," Xander waved him off. "I've notified the Conclave. We've always given the Raven a bit of leniency in their studies, since they've never used them to harm another human until now. They're considered Renegade Mages, the penalty for being one is death. Every other order is now on the hunt for them.

"Why did the ravens fly away when Tasslehoff showed up?," asked Hermione.

"Tasslehoff is my familiar," said Xander plainly. "Yes, I am allowed to have a familiar that is not a phoenix. It is the choice of every mage to decide, though everyone always picks the symbol of their order, more for identification. I'm the first to choose otherwise."

"Do you always have to rebel against tradition?," asked Hermione. "You're lucky they don't treat you as a renegade."

"Until now, I was almost viewed as one," said Xander, shaking his head. "I study wizard magic, I let wizards know of my existence, I'm viewed as being too young to have my power. The Elders saw me as a threat to their power and wanted me excommunicated. My sponsor- you have to have an Elder sponsor you before you're allowed to study as a magi," he inserted, seeing Ron about to question further, "My sponsor is the Head of the Conclave. It's probably the only reason I'm alive."

"So, what now?," asked Ron again. "What will You-Know-Who do now that he's lost the mages?"

Xander looked as though he wanted to dump the entire contents of his brain, and used a great deal of restraint to hold it all in. "No one knows for sure," he said finally. "All I can say is to keep your eyes open. Your continued existence is an insult to Voldemort's power, and he's not happy about it," he added, looking at Harry. He began to search his pockets frantically, finally breathing when he found his spellbook. "I have to get ready for tonight. You three, please don't go wandering off by yourselves," he said with a pleading look before retreating to the dorms.

"We should all start getting ready," said Hermione. "We only have an hour and a half before the ball starts, and Harry has to be there to accept the Cup. I'll meet you guys down here in an hour."

Harry and Ron stared around at the Common Room, which was empty for the entire conversation as everyone was getting ready for the Ball. They watched Hermione's retreating form until she disappeared upstairs.

"Keep your eyes open and stay safe," Ron imitated Xander. "Aren't you tired of hearing that yet?," he asked Harry.

"You've no idea," answered Harry. He was quite sick of being told what to do. "Why can't I be normal?"

"If you were, we wouldn't have so much fun every year," grinned Ron. "C'mon, Let's go. Hermione will have a fit if we're not ready."

The boys ran off the get ready, Harry accepting congratulations from several students that were waiting in the corridors. After a very refreshing shower (he still hadn't changed from his Quidditch robes until now) and taking the time to try and tame his hair (which didn't work), they found Xander in front of the mirror. He tossed a pin to Harry, which held the Hogwarts crest on it. Harry recognized it as the Foe-pin that Sirius had given him for Christmas. Xander wore one to match.

"We all have to wear this," said Xander, tossing one to Ron as well. "I gotta go meet Alicia. I gotta tell her about mages. Wish me luck," he said, and left before either could say anything.

Harry and Ron met Hermione in the Common Room, and Ron broke out in a stupid grin. Hermione always looked rather well when she took the time to doll herself up, and Harry knew Ron's smile was a result of the knowledge that she dressed up for him. Ron pinned her Foe-pin onto her robes for her, and they all left to join the rest of the school in the Entrance Hall for the Ball. Cho was waiting for Harry, looking jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

"Wow," Harry almost whispered, unable to speak properly. "You look... wow," he said again.

"Ready?," she asked sweetly, and held out her arm for Harry. He was more than willing to accept.

"Where's everybody else?," asked Harry, looking around. The Hall looked quite empty considering there were six schools attending the Ball.

Cho looked grimly at the front doors. "The other schools have already left," she told Harry. "They felt insulted about what happened at the end of the match. Told Dumbledore that they would be filing complaints with the Ministry over what happened."

"Like it was Dumbledore's fault!" Harry nearly shouted. The ignorance of the other schools infuriated him until he realized that he was one of the only ones who knew about the ravens. With an effort, he calmed himself, though looking at Cho made it much easier. "So what was supposed to happen when I caught the snitch?," he asked Cho with a sly grin.

"Oh!," she blushed. "Well... when you caught it, you... err... would have heard my voice... and, um..." she trailed off. Curiosity nearly killing him, he kept staring at Cho, waiting for her answer. When she saw that Harry wasn't going to let her trial off into silence, she spoke hurriedly. "It would have said... ilmpfhhrriepttrr..." she mumbled into her shoulder, blushing profusely. She was looking around wildly, apparently scared that someone overheard her nonsense mumble.

"Come again?," asked Harry. She still hadn't spoken, so Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at his throat, muttering the Translation Charm again. "Come again?," he repeated in Chinese.

Cho took a deep breath. "It would have said... IloveHarryPotter," she said quickly in Chinese.

Harry was sure that all of the blood in his body was now trapped in his face. His head felt heavy, his skin hot to the touch. His heart, in an attempt to keep the blood moving, raced in his chest. He felt light, lighter than air, and wouldn't have been surprised to find his feet floating above the ground. After three years of dreaming, a full year of battling guilt over Cedric, months of talking with Cho, he had finally heard the words he wanted to hear. He was afraid to say anything for fear that the sound of those words coming out of Cho's mouth might escape his memory forever.

Afraid that the charm might wear off like it did last time, Harry blurted out his subconscious thoughts. "I think I've felt the same way since I first saw you three years ago," he managed through a series of grunts. Expressing his feeling was never his strong point.

He could feel the goofy grin on his face, knew that it was the broadest smile that had ever graced his face, and everything around him slid out of focus except for Cho. They were the only two existing humans in the room at the moment. Neither spoke, but exchanged thoughts through their eyes. Cho's dark eyes danced in her head, and Harry's moved to match their movements. Their gaze was more intimate than physical contact would ever be, more passionate than any words could ever express.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and reluctantly looked away from Cho to find Ron standing there, motioning for him to enter the Hall. Hermione was smiling, holding onto Ron's hand, and the two couples took their seats in silence. Harry and Cho kept stealing glances at each other, loath to allow more than a few seconds pass without seeing each other. A cold, wet nose nudged Harry on the arm.

"Sir- Snuffles!," cried Harry, as a great black dog sat next to him wagging its tail. Cho looked quizzically at Harry. "We've known each other for a few years now," said Harry, carefully choosing his words. "Snuffles, say hello to Cho Chang," said Harry, and Sirius nudged her hand with his nose before trotting off towards the doors.

He passed Xander with a wag of the tail, and Xander patted him on the back as Sirius left the Great Hall. Harry noticed that Alicia looked a little pale and stared around blankly, but she clung to Xander as if her life depended on his presence. Xander nodded in acknowledgement of Harry before walking straight to Dumbledore.

"He doesn't look so happy considering he just won the tournament," observed Cho.

"He, err, is a bit shook up about the ravens," said Hermione. "He thinks that they're bad luck. You know how superstitious athletes are," she said with a wave of her hand.

Cho apparently accepted this excuse as she said noting more about it. "He really played well today," she said. "Too bad he couldn't have played for Ravenclaw this year, we probably would've been playing in the tournament," she added with a wink at Harry.

They spent an enjoyable meal talking about the match, replaying certain points verbally, and speaking of their plans once they graduated Hogwarts. Cho mentioned that she might like to become a writer, and Harry eagerly asked to read anything she had written so far.
"No, not like a poet," she said, "more like a reporter I guess. Maybe for the Daily Prophet or something. I hated how that Skeeter woman was constantly making things up about you last year. I wonder whatever happened to her..." she trailed off. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a secret smile.

Hermione shared that she would like to write a textbook, or maybe a better O.W.L. Study Guide, as she felt that the one they read all year was lacking in several areas. "There was so much in that book that had nothing to do with the actual testing, and the author seemed to want to show off his intelligence rather than help student prepare for their O.W.L.'s," she was saying. "Plus, the section on Arithmancy was so vague, you could tell he had no clue about the subject."

"What about you, Harry?," asked Cho. "What would you like to do after Hogwarts?"

Harry sat silent for a moment, never having given much thought to this. "I dunno," he said finally. "Maybe I could play Quidditch professionally, like Oliver. It'd be more fun than a desk job." A thought suddenly occurred to him. "I wonder what my parents did for a living after they left Hogwarts?," he thought out loud. It led to an uncomfortable silence, which Ron was quick to interrupt.

"Oh, don't want to be an Auror anymore?," he teased with a nudge. "You were my 'ace in the hole'. All I had to say was that I'm Harry Potter's best friend, and I'd be a shoo-in."

"It takes more than knowing Harry to be an Auror," said a voice behind them, and they all whipped their heads around to see who it was.

"Professor Lupin!," they all chorused.

"It's just Remus now, remember?," he said, though the grin on his face betrayed his words. "Congratulations, Harry, nice flying today."

"Thanks, Prof- err, Remus," he corrected. It still felt funny calling him by his first name. Lupin winked, then retreated to join Dumbledore at the head table. Dumbledore was looking very weary indeed this evening.

"Weird, though, isn't it?," whispered Hermione as Cho chatted up a couple of her friends. "Lupin, Sirius, Dumbledore, and Xander, all in the same room?"

"After what happened today, I'm sure it's just for security," said Ron, though he didn't look convinced.

"I dunno, Dumbledore looks worried over something," said Harry. "Probably about what's going to happen after word gets out about this afternoon."

Nobody had the chance to respond, as Dumbledore stood up and asked for silence. "First, I would like to congratulate the English Quidditch team on an impressive performance in this tournament. You all have earned the right to be proud of yourselves," he said, and the school broke into applause. Cho was clapping very hard, admiration showing in her eyes.

"As I'm certain all of you know by now, our guests have chosen to return home this afternoon-" Dumbledore cut himself off and began searching the Hall for something. A glowing red light caught Harry's eye, and he looked down to find his Foe-pin glowing bright red. Ron and Hermione also were looking at theirs, eyes wide.

"Not now," moaned Harry as his scar began to tingle. "Please, not now." He looked frantically for Xander, only to see the hems of his robes flowing through one of the doors, followed by Alicia. Sirius was no where to be seen.

Feeling as though everyone who trusted him was abandoning him, he searched for Lupin. He was standing next to Dumbledore, eyes wide in shock. He, too, was wearing a Foe-pin that was shining, and his face was paling. A trickle of blood escaped his lips, and he coughed slightly. No longer able to stand, Lupin dropped to his knees, revealing a horrifying sight behind him.

Peter Pettigrew was standing behind him, his silver hand bloody, clutching what looked like a human heart in his hand, and smiling wickedly. Lupin fell over onto the Head Table to reveal a large, bloody hole in his back. Remus Lupin was dead before he hit the table.

"NOOO!" cried Harry, and he tried to rush the Head Table. He felt a hand grip his shoulder painfully, and he couldn't shake himself free, thinking it was either Ron of Hermione, he turned to shove them off, only to stare right into a figure wearing a black hood over its head. Harry kicked, punched, and cursed until a second and a third figure subdued him. They threw him backward into his seat.

Pettigrew had disappeared, and Harry saw a silver-pawed rat scurry for the door. Xander burst through, noticed the rat, and motioned frantically to someone Harry couldn't see before being shoved towards Harry violently. All doors slammed shut with a dreadful clang. Students began screaming and trying to force themselves through the magically locked doors to no avail.

"Where-" Harry began heatedly once he found Xander, but Xander shook his head earnestly. Xander motioned towards the doors, and no less than thirty Death Eaters were stationed around the Hall. Furious and frustrated, Harry kept silent.

"Anybody who moves for the doors will no longer live," came the muffled voice of one of the Death Eaters. "You," he pointed to Dumbledore, "Front and Center!"

Dumbledore, his head hung low, walked slowly around the Head Table with one last painful look at Lupin's body. Silently, he raised his head, his deep blue eyes blazing with fury. Brandishing his wand, he set off a slew of curses, knocking half a dozen Death Eaters flat on their backs.

The lead Death Eater tossed something that looked like a bone in front of Dumbledore. A loud CRACK! and the bone was no more. Students screamed in terror. Dumbledore whipped his head around, and found himself standing face-to-face with Lord Voldemort.