Phoenix Rising

Chapter 3: The Order of the Phoenix

Mr. Weasley came back from work in the early evening, looking harried and worried.

"I had a visit with Dumbledore today," he said, plopping down on the faded and worn-out sofa.

"What did he say?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she mended some clothes with her wand.

Harry, playing a game of chess with Ron, glanced at Lupin and Sirius. They were talking with Hermione about Harry's dad being a Prefect and what sort of things he did. Harry had a feeling she had become a Prefect but was too scared to tell Ron yet.

"We are going to have a meeting of the Order tonight," he sighed, rubbing his temples and taking off his glasses. "Here, in fact."

"Why is that bad?" Fred and George asked, looking up from their book on practical jokes. They were determined to make this year their best one yet in regards to the number and types of pranks they did. Harry felt sorry for Hogwarts.

"Because we have to convince Melusine to join us," he said, sitting up straighter.

"Who's Melusine?" Lupin asked, looking confused.

Harry swallowed. Convince her? How did you convince someone to join you after you had attacked them? And did Mr. Weasley know where she was from?

"She is the most powerful dark witch or wizard in the Dark Forest. She controls the others," Mr. Weasley explained amidst the sudden quiet.

Harry raised an eyebrow. How did he know?

"I thought that we had a death order out on them?" Sirius asked, looked worried. "And aren't they all evil?!"

Mr. Weasley was about to say something when Dumbledore came walking in from the kitchen.

"Here for the meeting?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Dumbledore nodded his head, looking unusually grave. "I take it they know about Melusine?" he asked, staring at the white faces that were staring up at him.

Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "Maybe you had better explain it. You know more than me."

"What about the death order?" Sirius asked again. "And why are we trying to convince a dark witch to join us?"

Dumbledore rubbed his long fingers together. "The death order was the Ministry's idea, not mine. The Ministry attacked the Dark Forest and the people that lived there defended themselves. It was brutal, very brutal, but understandable. I have never seen the reason to have a death order put out on them and I won't support it. As as for her being evil, I haven't seen anything to prove it. They live in an area that requires a certain amount of knowledge of the Dark Arts. They haven't bothered us and I won't bother them. But we need their help now. None of you present are to tell anyone, not even school friends, about where Melusine is from. Do I make myself clear?" he said, his tone hard and commanding.

Harry quickly nodded his head, followed by the others. Harry was glad that Dumbledore didn't condone what the Ministry had done.

"How did you contact her?" Lupin asked. "I've never known anyone that could get into the Dark Forest."

"I didn't contact her," Dumbledore said, looking pensive. "I sent someone to her, to try to convince her not to join Voldemort now that he is reborn. They did but she is not convinced by any measure to join us. And that is what this meeting is going to be about."

Harry had a prickling feeling in his spine. Convince her not to join Voldemort? Had she been about to?

"Was she going to join Voldemort before?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore looked at him, there was no twinkle in his eyes at all. "The day Voldemort tried to kill you and met his downfall, my friend had a letter from her telling him that she was going to join Voldemort the very next day."

Harry felt his whole body go numb. Melusine had been about to join Voldemort?

"How can you trust her then?!" Sirius exploded.

Several people nodded their heads.

"Melusine admits that she let her emotions get the better of her," Dumbledore explained. "She was tired of the Ministry attacking the Dark Forest, tired of the murders they were committing and wanted to find a way to end them. She thought she had found that way in Voldemort. Over the years since his fall she has calmed down and realized what a mistake she would have made. I sent my friend to her at the beginning of the summer in hopes of just that. I knew why she had been about to join and I was hoping she had calmed down enough to listen to us. I was right, thankfully."

"So she won't join Voldemort?" Lupin asked, to clarify it.

"No," Dumbledore affirmed. "But she might not join us either. My friend is having a difficult time trying to convince her to join us. He's even moved back into the Dark Forest to do so. She feels that it doesn't matter if Voldemort or the Ministry is in charge. They will probably get attacked either way."

Harry rubbed his hands on his robe to get the sweat off his palms. The friend that Dumbledore kept mentioning had to be Severus. He had moved back there, eh? Harry wondered where he had been living before.

"Who is this friend?" Harry asked before anyone could ask anything else.

"Professor Snape," he answered to a few gasps. "He and Melusine are, or were, fairly close."

"He's from the Dark Forest?!" Sirius asked, horrified. "I thought he was from Knockturn Alley."

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "So did I."

Lupin looked up. "I had a feeling he was from the Dark Forest."

"What?!" Dumbledore asked as if stung. "You knew?"

"No, I didn't know," Lupin answered quietly. "I grew up around the Dark Forest and Severus reminded me of the people that would come out of it once in a while. Greasy hair, sallow skin, poor, and very knowledgeable about the Dark Arts."

Dumbledore shook his head, still stroking his beard. "I wished you had told me your suspicions. I got it into my head that he was from Knockturn Alley, your descriptions matches them to, and I believed it until he informed me otherwise. The summer the Dark Forest got raided was also the summer that Knockturn Alley quietly joined Voldemort. I had spies keeping me informed of what was happening there so I knew. I assumed that was why he had changed so much. He was gloating about Voldemort's rise to power. So many people were changing as Voldemort rose to power that I just took it for granted. I would have done some things much differently if I had known the truth," he sighed. "Anyway, the past can't be changed. And we must deal with the future."

"How are we going to convince her to join us?" Mrs. Weasley, looking nervous at the idea of having a dark witch in her house.

Dumbledore nodded to Harry. "I would like Harry there since he has had a few run-ins with Voldemort. I'm sure his account about what happened to Cedric will help."

Harry doubted it. Katrina had only been nine and the Ministry had murdered her along with a few other even younger children. Why would the death of a seventeen year old convince Melusine to join them? But Harry just nodded and kept his opinions to himself.

"Was that the task you sent Professor Snape on?" Hermione asked from beside Lupin. "To talk with Melusine?"

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes. They haven't communicated since that letter. It was a risk sending him to talk with her, not knowing if she still supported Voldemort, but it was one I had to take. If Voldemort was able to convince the dark witches and wizards in the Dark Forest to join him then we would be in more trouble than we already are in. Now we just have to get them on our side."

For the rest of the evening, and as others showed up, they went through various ideas to use to get Melusine to join them. Harry knew none of them would work. He was the only one in this house who knew what the Dark Forest was really like and Harry, if he had been Melusine, would not have been convinced by any of the reasons that were given.

Arabella Figg, Harry was shocked to see, was the same old lady that had always took care of him when the Dursleys went away. She gave Harry a hug and laughed with him about her cats.

"I was an Auror back when I was younger," she smiled. "I was very glad to have been chosen, even though I'm old, to help protect you."

Harry nodded his head. Voldemort had mentioned that Dumbledore had put a bunch of protections on him, much more than Harry even knew about, to keep him safe from Voldemort.

Mundungus Fletcher turned out to be exactly how Harry pictured Fred and George at that age. Full of laughter, and jokes. Mr. Fletcher got a kick out of making Ginny's hair stand on end when he shook her hand. It straightened out right away, thankfully. Ginny laughed after she had peeked at a mirror to make sure her hair was back to normal.

Hagrid immediately sat at the huge table that Dumbledore had conjured in the middle of the living room. All the furniture was shrunk and sitting on the fireplace mantle for the time being.

"Where's Madame Maxime?" Fred asked, standing next to Hagrid, giving George a wink.

"Beauxbaton' has already started," he explained gruffly.

"Oh," George said, looking seriously at him. "A pity."

Hagrid turned away, acting serious and nonchalant.

Ron poked Harry in the ribs, trying not to laugh.

Harry smiled and looked around at the almost full table. Only two people were missing.

All the Weasley's kids were present, as was Hermione, but they weren't sitting at the table. They were sitting in chairs put up against the wall, behind Harry.

A knock on the door sent everyone behind him scurrying to their seats and the noise died down. Harry gulped. Severus was going to be here, too. Harry hoped he didn't give himself away.

Dumbledore answered the door. Melusine strode in, followed by Severus. They were both still wearing black. Severus looked as unpleasant as ever as his black eyes racked over everyone. He allowed himself to glare at Sirius for an instant, his face full of hate, before sitting down and looking at Dumbledore.

Melusine didn't sit down. She stood behind her chair, gripping it. "We know why we are here. I shall listen to your reasons for this night only. If I'm not convinced, don't bother me again." Her voice had the same commanding tone in it that Dumbledore's had.

The reasons came out fast and furious. That Voldemort was evil. He killed children. He was trying to take over the world. He had killed his own father. He killed people that were in his way. Nothing they were saying was convincing her, though.

"Sirius Black tried to kill Severus when Severus got in his way, does that make Sirius evil?" she asked quietly.

"Sirius was only sixteen," Dumbledore began.

"You just told me that Voldemort was evil because he had killed his father. He did that around that age. But no one stopped him like they stopped Sirius. What's the difference between them?"

Sirius was purple with rage. "I didn't... I mean... I'm nothing like him!"

"Only because someone stopped you. Maybe," Melusine said, looking right at Sirius, "if no one had, you would have found that you enjoyed murdering people. Some people do, you know."

Sirius started rise up when Lupin put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"It was a stupid prank," Harry jumped in. "A very stupid, moronic, immature prank. But Sirius is a hothead," Harry noticed everyone's eyes were on him. "And that is the difference. Voldemort planned his murders, carefully, and with premeditation. Sirius just didn't think things through. Maybe he thought Sever.. Snape.. Professor Snape wouldn't get hurt. Just get a glimpse of the werewolf and then get out somehow. He often doesn't think things through."

Harry was more than aware of Sirius's eyes on him, looking shocked at what he was saying. But Melusine seemed placated.

"True," she murmured. "But I'm afraid I see no difference between the two sides. The Dark Forest will still be in danger no matter who is in power. I see no reason to risk our lives for nothing."

"What about the rest of us?" Mundungus Fletcher asked. "You would watch us all die?"

Melusine raised an eyebrow. "You have sat by and watched us die."

No one had an answer for that. She turned on her heel when Harry jumped up.

"I need to talk with you!" he called. "If we can talk privately, I might be able to convince you to join our side. Please?"

She shrugged at him. "You can try," she said as Harry, ignoring the funny looks everyone was giving him, rushed upstairs and motioned for her to follow him.

"Why not the kitchen?" Mr. Weasley asked from below.

"No, this is fine!" Harry called.

As soon as Melusine was through the door, Harry shut it and locked it. He turned around.

"I don't really care which side you are on," he began. "I just need your help in getting Severus's kids back for him."

Melusine stepped backwards, her arms unfolded to hang at her sides. "What?" she asked, looking bewildered.

Harry, kneeling down next to his trunk, explained everything to her about Evan Rosier's Pensieve and how he had gotten in the thing and how he knew all about her being a Seidr and what Dark Forests were really all about. He got the book out and handed it to her.

"I can't understand it," he said sadly.

Melusine flipped through the book. "I can," she said, her voice soft.

Harry sighed, sinking down to the carpet. "Please get Severus's kids back for him. He must be worried sick about them."

"He is," Melusine said, making the book disappear. "He thinks about them constantly, wondering what he did with them, hoping he didn't kill them."

"Kill them?!" Harry asked, horrified. "What do you mean?"

Melusine looked slightly angry but mostly sad. "His wife was killed the same day his daughter was born and then he had to hide them that night. He wasn't thinking right. I just hope they are okay. Evan was the one who told Severus his wife was dead. He must have put the charm on him then when he realized what Severus was about to do."

"So he had a girl?" Harry asked.

Melusine smiled. "A girl and boy. The boy would be seventeen and the girl fifteen, your age."

So Severus's daughter would be in some of his classes. He hoped they found her. That would be cool.

"Evan doesn't want Severus to know what we are doing until we find his children."

"We?" Melusine asked, amused.

Harry nodded his head. "I want to help."

She looked pleased. "That will make it easier. I will need help getting some of the ingredients, I'm sure. We will need to communicate with each other."

"Owls?" Harry suggested.

"No," she said, and then put a hand out with the palm up. "Owls don't go into the Dark Forest." A blue sphere appeared in her hand with a hole down the center. "The wizard equivalent of a fax machine," she smiled. "Roll up your note and then put it in the center of the ball and tap it once. Your note will then appear in the one I have. Make sure to tap it only once, Harry. Severus has one to use in the upcoming school year and so do a couple of other people in the Dark Forest and you want the notes to come to me, not them."

Harry nodded his head as he took the heavy sphere and pocketed it.

Melusine looked him over. "Severus was right about you. You are a good person."

Harry blushed like crazy. "Severus said that?!"

"Yes, he did. He was rather upset about how guilty you felt about Cedric's death. He knows what that kind of guilt can do to a person and he doesn't want you turning out like him. For the first time in years, he felt sorry for a person besides himself."

Melusine sat down on the bed Harry was using. Harry, feeling less threatened, sat next to her. "I've been working on him all summer. To help him get rid of some of his hate while he was busily trying to convince me to join your side. It's helped a bit."

"I would like to be his friend," Harry told her.

"Good, he could use one. Don't let him push you away, which he is going to do. Keep at it. Before we find his kids, it would be nice if he was rid of his anger and hate. He's almost there now but he still needs some help. And I thinking getting a friend or two on your side will help tremendously."

"Can I tell Remus Lupin all about this?" Harry asked. "He wants to be friends with Severus, too. It would be nice having an adult's help in this."

Melusine looked at him, her blue eyes piercing him. "Do you trust him?"

"Yes," Harry answered without hesitation.

"All right. Tell him how to use your sphere so he can send messages to me if he wants to."

"I will," Harry said, pleased and overwhelmed about all this happening. It was almost as if Harry was supposed to get Severus's kids back for him. He just hoped this wasn't some sort of cruel joke and the kids turned out to be dead or something.

"Thank you," Harry said, getting up and heading to the door.

"No, thank you," Melusine said.

Harry opened the door and they walked down the stairs.

"Thanks to the arguments that both Severus and Harry have given me, I have decided to join your side," Melusine said, walking behind her chair again.

Harry blushed as all eyes turned to him.

"What did you say to her?" Fletcher asked.

"Nothing you need to know about, Mundungus," Melusine answered for him. "I shall not be coming to any more meetings, I don't like leaving the Dark Forest for longer than necessary. But I shall send someone in my place. An old friend of mine named Urzula. I trust you will treat her with respect."

"Of course," Dumbledore said, relief obvious in his voice.

Harry watched as Melusine just disappeared. Severus followed suit. There was a great sigh from almost everyone present.

"Good, she's on our side," Dumbledore said, greatly pleased.

"Do you think she's dangerous?" Mrs. Figg asked.

"No, she's not," Harry answered. Then all eyes turned to him and Harry shrugged helplessly.

"What did you say to her?" Fletcher asked again.

"I just explained to her about my encounters with Voldemort," Harry lied. "I didn't want to start crying in public."

Lupin squeezed his arm gently. Harry felt bad for the lie but it was necessary. For the first time, Harry was beginning to realize why the Sorting Hat wanted him to be in Slytherin. Harry's end was to find Severus's children for him and he was willing to use any means to make it happen. Even lying to a bunch of adults. But Lupin would be told the truth soon. Harry hoped he would get a chance before they went to Hogwarts tomorrow.