Harry Potter and the Trail of Stars

THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX...IT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE FIFTH BOOK. THIS STORY IS TOLD IN THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE IMPORTANT CHARACTERS, INCLUDING THE TRIO AND STAFF MEMBERS. AND THE USUAL DISCLAIMER.

GATHERING OF THE STARLIGHT FOLLOWERS

Silence. That was all. Not a creature was stirring. The three Dursleys kept staring at the wall, as though the wallpapering was so interesting. Marge was probably at the hospital by now. Poor woman's just had her second shock of the week.

Minutes passed by since the police have left, and no one made a motion to move or continue living. Harry concentrated on the floor. It seemed fascinating to him.

He had every intention to leave tomorrow, if the others haven't made a move to get him. His trunks were all packed, since he hadn't unpacked them, and his homework untouched or even looked at. He dreaded the arrival of the owls, bringing the heavy news of his O.W.L.s. And another thought occurred to him.

"Why aren't there owls arriving about the magic being performed?" asked Harry suddenly.

"Because I'm well over age and I have not been expelled!" said Aunt Petunia.

"But...didn't you say that nobody knows you're a witch?" asked Harry.

"Albus Dumbledore knows! And don't ask questions!" snapped Aunt Petunia.

"Oh," said Harry. No more questions. He had actually begun to think that maybe his aunt would open up to him now that her secret has been exposed. But, perhaps some people so quickly, some people take years to change, and some people will just never change.

Harry, once again, had found himself staring at the floor. He saw a couple of ants walk across it, and a spider. It was a strange spider, and would probably scare Ron out of his wits. Harry watched the parade of bugs. If wasn't as though there was anything else remotely exciting. And along came a rat with the couple of ants.

'Weird,' thought Harry, 'Wait a minute! A rat! With a silver paw!'

Quick as lightning, Harry turned to his relatives.

"Get the rat! Get the rat!" hissed Harry, as he reached out to grab the rat. "Animagus! Criminal!" he managed to say before starting a full chase. The rat seemed to have sensed the disturbance around the room. Aunt Petunia understood. She ran over to reach for the rat. Harry caught onto its tail.

"Quick! Make a box! Make it unbreakable!" yelled Harry to Aunt Petunia, as the rat tried to wriggle out of his hand. Suddenly, the rat had wriggled free, after biting off half its tail, and ran away. Harry looked to see where it had gone, but it was nowhere in sight.

"Well, it's gone," said Harry, out of breath.

"Precisely, what's gone? I've been watching that whole freak show!" snarled Uncle Vernon.

"It was Peter Pettigrew," said Harry.

"Peter?" asked Aunt Petunia.

"You probably know him," said Harry.

"Fat little boy he was, always following me around, sending me love letters" said Aunt Petunia, in disgust.

"Yes, well, he can turn into a rat. He betrayed my mum and dad to Voldemort. And he framed my Godfather for a crime he didn't commit," muttered Harry.

Aunt Petunia didn't say a word.

"Now, y-you lot...can turn into...animals?" asked Uncle Vernon.

"Only some, if they've got the talent. Pettigrew didn't, so his transformation took longer with much more help. Dad was one. So was my Godfather," said Harry.

Uncle Vernon nodded. Dudley, or course, knew all this. He knew about most of Harry's troubles from Geldrelline's magic.

''''''''''''''

Harry glanced at the clock that was hanging on the living room wall. 11:30. Almost midnight. They've been sitting in the room, silent for almost two hours. And it didn't seem as though that would change.

"Alright, boy! I'm locking you up in that cupboard. Bought a new lock and doorknob. That'll be enough. You're not going anywhere near them. I'm putting chains around the door. I will let you out once a day to feed them ruddy dogs. You will go to sleep now! Got that?" snarled Uncle Vernon.

'He must have used all this time to think things through,' thought Harry.

"Petunia! Gimme that stick thing!" yelled Uncle Vernon. Aunt Petunia gave her want to him without question. "Right! Now. There will be no more mention of you-know-what! And no more food for you! Marge was right. I think you've had too much of it!"

Without a word, Harry marched to his cupboard, and Uncle Vernon put up the new lock and doorknob.

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"What is your decision, Dumbledore?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I have not decided. I will listen to your opinions on this matter," answered Dumbledore, looking across the room.

"I think we should get Harry," said Bill. Fred and George nodded.

"But shouldn't he stay there for at least a few more days? The protection!" said Hermione.

"But we can't let him stay there any longer! If You-Know-Who can't get to him, his relatives will!" said Mr. Weasley.

"Goodness knows how many bruises he's gotten! The poor boy is already so thin!" added Mrs. Weasley.

"But, isn't he safer at his aunt and uncle's house than away from them? None of us are related to him by blood," said Hermione.

"Girl's got a point," growled Moody, his magical eye going haywire.

"I don't think it was a blank threat! If Harry says he's gonna do something, I guarantee you all that he will!" Ron shouted.

"And how...are you sure of that?" questioned Moody.

"I've known him to keep his word. He's never let me down yet! When he said that he'll get my sister back from the chamber, he has! Harry keeps his words!" stormed Ron.

"Ron's right. This isn't a blank threat. Harry sometimes does things without thinking. And he knows that we understand he can't control his emotions. He's basically telling us that he is very well of performing accidental magic more frequently, and after what happened to his Aunt Marge, let's just say he's right. I mean, he wrote that letter two days before the incident," agreed Hermione.

"So what do you suggest we do? You wanted Harry to stay with his relatives for his protection, but now you're saying that he can't stay there," growled Moody.

"I don't know. Harry's cracked. Right now, I think he needs to be out of there. I think we can provide enough protection. After all, the Grimmauld Place is a secret," replied Hermione.

"But You-Know-Who can tear this place down when he finds out Harry is here! It won't matter if he hasn't got the secret keeper for answers!" exclaimed Tonks.

"True, true, Tonks. But that is, or course, if he finds out," said Dumbledore.

"If is good," agreed Charlie. The rest nodded.

"But, what if something goes wrong? Would you rather You-Know-Who get Harry when he runs away, would you rather You-Know-Who get Harry when he finds out he is here, or would you rather sit and hope and pray that Harry won't carry out his threat?" questioned Bill.

"So what is our decision? Now? Soon? Or Later?"

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What an ugly spider. It was huge, and Harry could see the individual hairs on its body. Urgh. Harry lay awake on the floor, counting spiders that were up in the ceiling. 'As if there was anything else to do,' thought Harry. Almost three hours had passed since he was locked in. Sleep was far from approaching Harry. He was mad. Furious.

Why had there been so many secrets kept from him? Why hadn't Dumbledore told Harry about his Aunt? How many more secrets was Dumbledore keeping?

'And how long will it be until Lupin and Sirius comes to rescue me?' wondered Harry. 'And how long will it be until I've starved to death?' It was true that Harry has not eaten any dinner. And now, his stomach growled, as though demanding to know why it hasn't been fed. In these past few weeks, Harry had been dependent on this rabbit food. He had gotten used to it. It had saved him from starvation. And now, he was not to eat anything at all.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Why was Harry always the one to suffer? Why did the weirdest things always happen to him? Why had he been the one to vanquish Voldemort? And why had it been him that was the Magus. Everything always happened to Harry, and he was sick of it. He just wanted to be a normal wizard. He hadn't asked for extra powers. Nor did he want to feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Everyone was now expecting him to finish off Voldemort. And how, exactly, was he supposed to know who his mentor was? He couldn't go around asking.

'''''''''

Harry checked his watch. Sure it didn't carry a glow or anything, but it seems as though Harry's perfect vision eyes could see in the dark. He closed his eyes for a moment, and pictured himself laughing in the Elysium Clouds with his parents. There were sounds of muttering and footsteps.

'Great,' thought Harry, 'That's probably Uncle Vernon putting on more locks or something.'

Harry opened his eyes. It took awhile for his eyes to adjust to the dark again. And then quite slowly, his vision was focused. And there, two inches from his nose, was Mad-Eye-Moody staring back at him. Before Harry could give an automatic scream, Moody's hands were clasped over his mouth. Moody then took his scarred hands away. Harry gasped. There was Ron and Bill standing there along with Moody.

"Silence, boy," whispered Moody. "You never know who may be listening and spying on us." Harry saw Ron rolling his eyes upward.

"Get up!" hissed Moody. Harry stood up.

"Why--"

"Not now!" hissed Moody. "Quick. Ask the questions," he whispered to Ron.

"Er...What's your middle name?" asked Ron.

"Huh? James," replied Harry. And he suddenly understood. They had to be sure who he was.

"Not that question, idiot! Anybody could know it!" hissed Moody, his eye rolling around in his eye socket, inspecting the house.

"Oh, right! What happened when I touched the brain?" asked Ron, who was thinking hard.

"It attacked you,"" said Harry, thinking back to the incident at the Department of Mysteries.

"Yup. That's him!" declared Ron.

"What brain? What attack? Hang on. Don't answer that. I don't want to know," whispered Bill.

"Good man, Bill!" said Ron.

"Right then. We go when the signal is up," whispered Moody. "By the way Harry. Got your wand pieces?"

"Er yeah. It's in my back pocket," replied Harry.

"Take it out!" Moody hissed. "What did I tell you about Elemental Wand Safety? Didn't I tell you to never put your wand in your back pocket? What did I tell you about your buttocks being blown off?" Moody whispered, his magical eye going haywire.

"Erm...It's broken," said Harry, as though stating the obvious.

"Broken! I thought you were intelligent, boy! Broken pieces can still be dangerous. Ever see Hagrid's pink umbrella?" asked Moody. Harry nodded. "You've seen him use that umbrella haven't you? I've been suspecting for some time now that Hagrid's been using his wand pieces," said Moody. Harry nodded.

"Well? What are you waiting for? You want your buttocks blown off?"

Without another word, Harry took out the two halves of his faithful wand.

"Good, good," muttered Moody.

"Hang on. Where's Sirius and Lupin? I wanted them to get me," said Harry.

Ron and Bill looked at each other. It was worse than they had thought.

"Erm...Harry? You remember what happened to Sirius...don't you?" asked Ron.

"Yes. He helped save me last time, and he fought with Bellatrix and he won. And why hasn't he come?" asked Harry.

"He--"Ron broke off. Bill gave him a warning look.

Moody thought of a new way to approach this problem. Right now, they couldn't risk Harry yelling. Inside Grimmauld Place, Harry was free to yell all he wanted.

"Black and Lupin are with Dumbledore discussing plans for this coming school year. We had just made our mind to get you, and there wasn't anytime to inform them," said Moody, finally, after some hard thinking.

"Oh," said Harry. Ron and Bill looked at each other again, and hoped they wouldn't be the ones to put some sense into him. Suddenly, a small, white, misty dragon came flying in the room, flapping his wings.

"That's the signal. Go. We fly out through this window right here. Harry I've just tied your trunks to my broom and I've shrank the size, I'll hold Hedwig's cage," whispered Bill.

It was then that Harry noticed that Moody, Ron, and Bill were each carrying a broomstick.

"Er...I don't have my broom. It's still in Filch's office," said Harry.

"Shhh! We know, boy! We're not that forgetful. You go ride with the younger Weasley. He's got a double rider broom. Oh and I've left a note for your relatives," said Moody. Harry nodded, and got on. Bill flew out through the window first. 'Funny,' thought Harry. He could have sworn the window wasn't this size a few hours ago. Ron and Harry then kicked off, and flew out. Outside, they saw Charlie on a broomstick, gesturing for them to land. Moody flew towards them, and put a Disillusionment Charm on them. And he cast a giant Speech Bubble over them, which turned invisible later.

"Makes it silent," said Moody. Harry nodded. The four brooms kicked off from the ground, and flew higher up, until they were just below the low clouds. Moody was in the lead, keeping an eye out for ahead as well as below. Minutes passed in silence as the five flew on.

''''''''''''''

Harry was getting sleepy. It was then that Moody stopped, and raised his hand, gesturing for them to stop.

He slowly turned around. "Get above the clouds!" he yelled, as the four broomsticks were concealed inside the clouds.

"What is it? What did you see?" asked Bill.

"I think some people below may be onto us. They were staring up at us. I figure that they sensed a disturbance in the clouds!" declared Moody. The other four people nodded.

"So how long do we stay here? WE'RE NOT GOING TO SOAK AND FREEZE!" roared Charlie.

"We will keep flying at this height. It's safer to be concealed," said Moody, and that was final. The group flew on at a higher speed. It was wet and cold. It would probably be a miracle if none of then caught a cold. Harry's eyes began to droop...

'''''''''''''''''''''''''

"We're here!" said Ron, as he gave the broom a small jerk, which woke Harry.

Yup. This was the same place as last year. Number twelve, Grimmauld Place, Harry remembered, as the group went in, as before. Moody then stopped, and took off the Disillusionment Charm and Speech Bubble. A small figure came running towards them.

"Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter!" cried a high pitched little voice, as he gave Harry such a tight hug.

"D-Dobby? What are you going here?" Harry managed to get out, all breathless.

"It is Dobby sir! Professor Dumbledore has asks to me to comes here sir! Dobby agrees! And never did he tell me that Harry Potter will stays here!" cried the elf. Ron gave a little snort. Apparently, this scene had amused him. It was during this time, that Hermione had joined them.

"And a good thing Dobby came too. Kreacher has been trying to over contaminate the whole place. Dreadful elf!" said Hermione.

"I thought you loved elves," said Harry.

"Yes, but not Kreacher. I've lost half my quills because of him. And he ruined my copy of Hogwarts, A History! And we can hardly get anything done with that nasty little elf contaminating every place we've finished decontaminating," said Hermione. "But, we're paying Dobby to help us!" she added, brightly. Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione gave him a nasty look. Ron straightened up at once.

"So...When are Dumbledore, Sirius, and Lupin getting back?" asked Harry.

Hermione looked questioningly at Ron. He gave him a meaningful look, and said quickly, "Er...Tomorrow Harry. Tomorrow."

"Okay then," said Harry, satisfied with the answer.

"Er...Are you gonna turn on the lights in this place now? It's kinda dark, not that I've got anything against it, but I've had enough darkness for one night...or...er morning," said Harry.

The Hermione waved her wand and the ceiling lights appeared.

"New?" asked Harry, not remembering those lights.

Hermione nodded. "I made them!"

"And I helped," added Ron, giving her a nasty look, which she returned.

"No Ron. You helped by holding up the chair for me. Not with the lights," said Hermione. Ron blushed.

"Er...Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?" asked Harry.

"NO!" they both shouted out.

"Right. I need food," said Harry, as Hermione muttered a spell which dried off Harry and Ron. Then they marched to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was waiting for them.

"Oh Harry!" she exclaimed, giving him a tight hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry, struggling to get out of the tight hug.

"Oh come on dear. You must be starving. Don't know what goes on inside the minds of those dratted relatives..." said Mrs. Weasley, bringing up a large bowl of soup and some pies. Harry looked at the food and gasped. Without a word, he started eating everything that was on the table, while everyone just stared.

"Fanks, Mrs. Easley," mumbled Harry, with his mouth full of food. Stomach full, Harry stood up.

"Erm...Harry?" started Hermione.

"What?"

"Well, Me and Ron...Ron and I just noticed something...When did you get to be almost as tall as Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Dunno. Musta had a growth spurt or something," replied Harry, not giving anything away.

"A pretty big growth spurt, if you ask me," said Ron. He no longer had to look down when talking to Harry.

"Your point?" asked Harry.

"Well, you see. People don't usually have growth spurts when they're...not eating right," said Hermione.

"And?..." replied Harry.

"Well, living on just a few pieces of carrots isn't really...getting all your nutrients," said Hermione.

"You've been only eating carrots. You've gotten taller, but you sure haven't gotten skinnier," added Ron.

"Have you been working out, Harry dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Does doing housework count?" asked Harry.

"And where are your glasses?" asked Hermione, just noticing.

"Yeah. You can't see anything without it," added Ron.

"Oh that...uh...The Dursleys got me contacts. Said something about my glasses getting in the way of housework," answered Harry, thinking quickly. 'Must Not Let Them Find Out.'

"What are contaskses?" asked Ron.

"Contacks," corrected Hermione.

"Right. Contasks. So, what are they?" asked Ron.

"It does the same thing as glasses. They're flat and round, and you put them in your eyes, well, in front of it," explained Hermione.

"Ew! In your eyes?" asked Ron.

"Well, not in. Just in front of it, touching it," explained Hermione.

"Muggles!" exclaimed Ron. "I've got to tell dad about this."

"You go do that Ron. I'm tired. I'm sleepy. And I need a Healer," said Harry.

"Oh goodness. I forgot about that. Don't you worry. Madam Pomfrey is here. She's in the second door to the right. She's still tending to Remus right now," said Mrs. Weasley.

"What's wrong with Lupin? Isn't he with Dumbledore and Sirius?" asked Harry.

"Oh uh Harry... Mom didn't mean to say Remus. She meant to say Rita. She's my new owl. Here. I'll go get her," said Ron, quickly walking away, dragging his mom.

"What was that about?" asked Harry. Hermione looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh that...Erm...I don't know," replied Hermione. "You're gonna be roommates with Ron and the twins. Don't worry Harry. I've spoke with them, and they promised not to treat you with any of their sweets," she hastily added. "Oh, here they come," said Hermione.

Harry turned around and saw Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Madam Pomfrey walking towards. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley had a couple of tears in her eyes and a restrained look.

One look at Harry, and Madam Pomfrey began to heal his bite marks and scratches.

"Anything else?" the nurse asked.

"Er...yeah...My cousin beat me up, and I think I might have a cracked rib or something," muttered Harry. Madam Pomfrey scanned Harry's ribs with her wand, and declared that he had a few cracked ribs, and she treated it at once.

"Now you should be getting to sleep!" the nurse snapped. "And he should rest for at least two days to be ready for that gathering!" Mrs. Weasley nodded.

"What gathering?" asked Harry.

"There's going to be an important meeting for the members of our side and allies in about two days, when you feel better, and when everyone's arrived. Right now, only about a tenth of the people are here. Don't worry about it now Harry. You need to be getting your rest," said Mrs. Weasley, leading him up to his new bedroom.

There was a mirror in the room. Harry strongly hoped it wasn't a female mirror. He still remembered what the older Malfoy said about his mirror.

"Dear dear, you seem distressed. You'd better rest up. You're looking terribly dreadful!" said the mirror. Fate, it seems, was not on Harry's side.

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"When do we tell him? I mean, we can't keep going like this forever, can we?" asked a voice.

"Shhhh! You'll wake him up!" whispered a second voice.

"So? He has to find out sooner or later!" whispered the first voice.

"So make it later," whispered a third voice.

"No, we can't do that! The meeting's in a day. By that time, he'll notice something's not right!" whispered the first voice.

"He's right. Harry can't keep going like this!" whispered the second voice.

"Exactly! We can't keep it off for much longer!" whispered the first voice.

"Well, let's wait until the meeting then," whispered the third voice.

"No! Harry has to understand that he cannot keep pretending Sirius is alive!" whispered the first voice.

"And he can't keep pretending that Lupin is fine," agreed the second voice.

"Wow. Is this the first time you two are disagreeing?" asked the first voice.

"No," said two voices.

"Anyways. Do we all agree that Harry has to understand it some time?" asked the first voice. They nodded.

"Okay. When, exactly, should we break it to him?" asked the first voice.

"Break what to him," asked a fourth voice, who just entered the room.

"Sirius and Lupin," whispered the third voice.

"I think we should tell him at least after breakfast or something. We can't exactly break this to him on an empty stomach," said the fourth voice.

"Er...Actually, I think we should break it to him when he hasn't got his full energy level up. Exactly the time he wakes up. I mean, we don't want to get beat up by him, do we? Right. So we tell Harry the moment he wakes up!" asked the first voice.

"Okay. Fine. Don't listen to me. I'm just a prankster. What do I know?" said the third voice.

"Exactly my point," said the first voice.

"Hey!"

"Couldn't resist."

"Shhh!"

"Anyways. I think Harry should start doing his homework when he wakes. I mean, his trunks look exactly the way we left him to at Kings Cross. He probably wasn't able to get his school books out from the trunks," said the fourth voice.

"Hey. Shouldn't you two be going now?" asked the first voice.

"Fine," said the second voice.

"We see where we're not wanted," finished the third voice.

"We'll leave you two lovebirds alone now," added the second voice, with an evil innocent grin.

"Grow up," said the fourth voice.

"Er yeah. What she said," came the first voice.

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A few hours later. Harry opened his eyes. Of course, he had heard that whole conversation in a dream. And now he felt like crawling into a little hole. He had been an idiot to pretend that Sirius was alive, and that Lupin was well. He had tried to believe it so much, that he had actually believed that it was true.

That dream woke him up from his false hopes and beliefs. And he felt so miserable right now. The door quietly opened. Harry looked up. It was Hermione. She was carrying a tray of soup for him

"Thanks," muttered Harry, not looking directly at her.

"Harry. There's something you need to know. We all agreed this morning at breakfast, and well, they made me come to tell you because they didn't. And well, I don't know how to break it to you, and well, here goes. Sirius--"

"Is gone," finished Harry. "I heard the conversation this morning," added Harry, not wanting them to know he had a vision about it. "And Lupin is...currently..." Harry couldn't go on.

"Oh. Um. Just eat this and uh...the rest of us are downstairs, and erm, if you need anything, just yell. The echoes work pretty well in this mansion. We'll be sure to hear you," Hermione said, before closing the door.

Harry stared back at his soup. Suddenly, he didn't feel hungry. It just didn't feel right to eat anything when everything was downhill. Harry got dressed and went downstairs. He arrived at the kitchen, where his presence caused a sudden dramatic pause.

Harry quietly sat down next to Hermione and Ron, not wanting to cause any more attention on himself.

"Well Harry, you know who most of these are. Shacklebolt, Tonks, Diggle, Moody, and Weasleys. And this is Natalie, who I think you know about," said Bill. Charlie gave him a grin.

"What that Messenger Dragon from last night yours?" asked Harry, turning to Charlie.

"Yup!" answered Charlie, proudly.

"Harry, more people will be arriving soon. Expect some people cloaked in black robes and hoods coming this evening. They are Clystrins...Part Human, part Ellviane. They'll be walking the way here from Atlantis. It's the safest route if you don't want to be detected. One of the Counselors has agreed to this war. She will try to talk with the other counselors to give us aid," said Natalie.

"Er...Ellviane?" asked Harry.

"They belonged to the past, Harry. They were very wise people. They are basically Humans, however, they can live for thousands of years. They're wiser and fairer than most humans. They don't exist anymore, Harry. Clystrins are the descendants of Ellvianes and Humans. Clystrins can't live as long as the Ellvianes use to. You'll be learning more about them this school year," explained Natalie. Harry nodded, and wanted to know more, but decided to wait for the school year to find out. They seemed interesting.

"Wait. Atlantis. Which one?" asked Hermione.

"The Lost City. You must have heard it somewhere in the Muggle world," answered Natalie.

"I thought it was a myth," said Hermione.

"Usually, a myth is said to be a cover up of magic. It's merely an illusion that was made many years ago, that made the people think they saw the island sink. That island is also called the City of Grace, and a powerful Enchantress dwells there. She is part of the Council that you've heard before. Mostly Clystrins live in that city, but there are also many humans there as well," explained Natalie. Harry saw Ron give just the slightest twitch at the mention of Atlantis. Harry raised his eyebrows. Ron pretended not to notice. And it was let go.

"Did Dumbledore leave yet?" asked Charlie, suddenly.

"No. I thought he had other important things to do at Hogwarts. Why he is here right now, is beyond my comprehension," replied Shacklebolt.

"I have decided," started Tonks.

"What?" asked Bill.

"I have decided to not be called 'Tonks' anymore," said Tonks.

"Then what do we call you? Nymphadora?" snickered Ron.

"Nope. You will call me Dora, since it is part of my name. Come to think of it, that's what my dad used to call me," said Tonks.

Silence for two minutes.

"Well, that was extremely pointless," said Ron.

"Well, there was tension in the room. Comic relief man! Okay. Maybe I'm not the best at humor, but hey! I'm working on it," said Tonks.

"What's Dumbledore doing," asked Harry.

"We don't know," answered Bill. "He says he has his reasons for being here right now."

And the morning and afternoon slipped by quite uneventful, unless if you counted Dobby and Kreacher having a fist fight in the hallways.

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It was after dinner, at about eight, that Dumbledore finally made his appearance. Everyone turned to look at Dumbledore, questioningly.

"Ahem. Many of the people are here already. A few people will be arriving all throughout the early morning tomorrow. The meeting will start tomorrow afternoon, when everyone's been well rested. The Clystrins will be arriving sometimes this evening, as you all know. I suggest you all to get to know each other when they have arrived. I also suggest you all get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow's meeting will not be short. That is all," said Dumbledore. And that was it.

Then the chatter began again, as though it hadn't stopped.

Dumbledore walked up to Harry, who wanted to ignore him.

"Harry. I have decided that you won't be needing Occlumency lessons anymore," he said finally.

"Why? Because I'm not good at it?" replied Harry, a bit coldly.

"No. You do not need to. Voldemort will not try to possess you again. Nor will he be purposely giving you dreams. Please do not stay angry with me, Harry. You know why I had you stay with your relatives. Also Harry, on a lighter note, you might not have to battle with Voldemort in the end, after all. I have looked over Professor Trelawney's form while she was stating the prophecy. During the last half, she has been interfered with. The last part was made up," explained Dumbledore. Harry's look turned softer.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Quite alright Harry," chuckled Dumbledore.

"Er...Sir? Did Professor Snape really...do that?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Professor Snape has not a cruel heart. He was committed to the Order. And one of the commitments you make to be in the Order, is that you'll risk your own life to protect others, when necessary. You have to understand something, Harry, Ron, Hermione. When he was brought up, he wasn't meant to be in Slytherin. He was placed in Slytherin so that he could make friends with the future Death Eaters, and eventually work his way to their inner circle when he has grown up. He had become great use to our side. He had to live a lie. He had to pretend to act cruel and 'Slytherinish.' Gradually, since he had to act it every second of his life, he can't really help but change to that. But his heart is still the same. His parents had requested that he'd be brought up to serve our side, right before they had died. The stay in Slytherin cost him friends that he could have had while at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at Dumbledore, wide-eyed at this news.

"That wasn't very fair! He was just a kid. How could you just give a kid a job like that?" asked Harry.

"Because of a prophecy about him. I did not want young Severus to bear that. But, the decision was not mine. It was his uncle's decision," explained Dumbledore.

"What's wrong with his uncle?" asked Ron.

"As for that, I do not know. But as his legal guardian, it was up to him," said Dumbledore.

"Wow. I think you should tell all the students that," said Hermione. "It's the least Professor Snape deserves," she added.

"I will, if the situation calls for it," said Dumbledore.

BANG! Without a word, the four and the rest of the people ran over to the entrance door. Six people dressed in black came slowly marching in, gracefully, and single filed. They all had hoods on their cloaks, so Harry could not see their faces. And they each held a ball of white light. No. Not held. The ball of light was hanging, invisibly right under their hands, which were raised above their waist. Each step and move was identical. They were cloaked like Dementors, but it felt far from Dementors. They felt warmth, instead of cold. The six figures stopped in front of Dumbledore. A small, white colored dog followed by their side.

"Welcome! Please!" said Dumbledore, giving them a bow.

The six figures pulled off their hoods gracefully, and looked around. Then, with identical moves, they took off their black cloaks, and hanged them in the nearby closet.

The rest of the people in the room gasped. Under their black cloaks, they were each wearing purely white cloaks, which also seemed to glow a bit.

The white dog wagged its tail, playfully.

"Hello Albus. We meet again," said the first figure. The six gave a bow. The balls of light seemed to have disappeared. "We also bring word from the Lady and a gift. She said you would understand the riddle. We will explain everything after our message."

"Yes?" asked Dumbledore.

"Black can turn White," said the first figure, giving a small warm while.

Dumbledore seemed to think a bit. Harry and Ron had no idea what the figure had said. Hermione looked curious. And then her eyes widened. "Oh!" she said.

"What?" asked Harry and Ron.

"Well, it seems that Ms. Granger is thinking what I'm thinking," chuckled Dumbledore. "Should you do the honors?"

"Well, okay. Black can turn White!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Yeah...We've been through that already..." said Ron.

"Sirius!" exclaimed Hermione.

"What do you mean," asked Harry.

"Sirius Black. He can turn into a black colored dog. Black can turn white. The black dog can turn into a white dog!" exclaimed Hermione.

"She is a smart one," said the six figure. "Good logic skills and thinking."

"Wait a minute," said Harry. "What?" Harry cast a glance at the small white dog. Harry walked over to the small dog, and peered closely at it. Harry shook the dog, whiling yelling, "SIRIUS? SIRIUS? SIRIUS!" Suddenly, the small white dog had transformed to a big black dog. The dog jumped onto Harry and began licking his face. Harry hugged the dog tightly, while the dog's tail wagged uncontrollably. Then Harry stopped.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US FOR THIS LONG? HOW COULD YOU DO THAT? I'VE BEEN GOING MENTAL MISSING YOU! I'VE CRACKED! I'VE LOST MY SANITY! AND ALL THIS TIME, IT WAS FOR NOTHING? ALL THIS TIME, YOU WERE ALIVE?" roared Harry. The dog's tail wagged even more uncontrollably, as he began to run around the mansion. "OH NO! I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET! YOU GET BACK HERE!" Harry yelled, tearing after the dog, in a mad run. The two ran out of sight.

"Well...I think...a proper introduction tomorrow morning? Yes. Now...Er...We should let the two...run around for a while...May I suggest we all get some rest? Er...that is...when Harry's stopped chasing the dog," said Dumbledore, with amusement and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course," said the third figure.

"We will explain the details of Mr. Black tomorrow morning, when they have both cooled down," said the fourth figure.

"And we hope that Sirius doesn't die...again--"started Fred.

"From the wrath of Mr. Potter," finished George.