Owl Eyes

Owl Eyes

Chapter Eight

The Meeting

Gather here in secret

Let our minds be as one

Strength we are in numbers

Till the work of light is done

From each we gain a priceless gift

To thwart a deadly foe

And free the power of the heart

A strength he cannot know

The members of the Order of the Phoenix were to meet in Dumbledore's office at midnight. From there we would take a portkey to the Order head quarters which was well hidden. Apparently not all of the professors were members in the Order, and knowing this, I began to realize just why Professor Snape had warned me to be careful who I mentioned the Order to. Basically I wouldn't be mentioning it to anyone unless I was told it was okay before doing so.

I made my way through the silent corridors. Hogwarts hardly stirred in the late night hours. Even the many portraits slept and seldom woke. Filch was probably up and about somewhere though. The man never seemed to sleep. I wondered if he was in the Order and what I should do if I were to come upon him in the halls. I carefully slipped around corners and successfully reached Dumbledore's office undisturbed. A man stood outside the office door. He introduced himself as Remus Lupin and began to cast a variety of spells to determine if I was really who I claimed and appeared to be.

When he had finished he said, "You may enter, and welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Miss Lee."

He seemed so formal. It reminded me of the seriousness of what I was about to do. It was not a game nor was it a group of wizards with clever ideas merely sitting down to a cup of tea.

I stepped onto the moving spiral stairway. It lifted me upward and as I went I imagined I was being lifted and set into a new life, a new existence. Later, I would look back on that moment and know the realization to be true. It was this time that had changed my life, not the words of the oath I would speak later that night. The first step onto that staircase was the last of my childhood, though on that night I didn't fully realize what I would say goodbye to in the months and years to come.

I wondered where Harry was. I had not seen him in the common room nor had I passed him in the halls. Somehow I still felt reassured knowing that Harry would be at the meeting as well. I wasn't the only student to be invited to join. I wasn't a freak. They wanted me as a member because my talents could help them, not so that they could mock me.

The room was full of witches and wizards speaking in hushed voices. When I entered there was no pause in the conversation but many of them moved aside, like the parting of hairs in the wind, so that I could make my way to the center of the room. Just exactly why I sought the center of the room I did not know. Finally I came to a halt, and just stood listening to the unfamiliar voices. Every now and then I recognized the voice of one of my professors among the strangers.

"I've not had luck with that potion. Maybe Severus can-"

"Well You-Know-Who thinks they'll help him."

"We'll have to be careful using the Floo network."

"The minister is still in denial. If he doesn't come around we're in serious trouble. I can't think of what else we can do to convince him though. Dumbledore has-"

"Several more Death Eaters recruited in the passed week"

"Well, Lupin hasn't said a thing about that."

"How are we supposed to fix the problem if we don't know where to start?"

"And Black can't risk being seen."

"Does anyone have a plan? Has Dumbledore even considered it?"

"Well I hear Harry Potter is joining us and a girl too."

"...Put a magical seal on his letter. When I received it, it had been broken."

Finally Dumbledore called everyone to attention and began to prepare the portkey we would use to travel to the Order headquarters.

"Welcome all of you once more to my office and to this great cause," he said. "We will travel now and we shall meet up with the rest of our members when we reach our destination."

Everyone was quiet while Dumbledore activated the portkey. Then someone grabbed my arm and placed it on the wizard's robe that was being used for a portkey. There was silence while Dumbledore counted down the seconds left until the portkey was activated.

Suddenly My world spun and twisted and I was bumped against others as I dipped and fell. Something in the pit of my stomach felt pulled on, or turned inside out. The feeling was all too familiar. I had traveled this way too many times to count and had never quite adjusted to the feeling. I couldn't wait to learn to Apparate. As soon as it had begun, it was over. I landed suddenly, falling to my knees. I felt drained and sleepy. Someone grabbed my arm tightly, and led me quickly away from our landing place. We walked up a slight slope through a lightly-forested area.

"It's a spell," a silky voice was telling me. It was Professor Snape. "You must learn to fight the spell on your own, Miss Lee. You won't always have someone to help you and the spell is made to exhaust any intruders so they may not reach our meeting place."

After walking for some time we finally stopped and Snape placed my hand on a rough wooden door frame. I realized that I had not encountered such a structure since I had come to Hogwarts. I moved my hand several inches to the right to feel large rough cut logs which had not been treated with paint or varnish.

"Enter," Snape said, as he took a step closer to me from behind.

Once I had stepped into the room I realized that I had been holding up a majority of our group during my inspection of the building. The other Order members now filed in behind me and they spoke only in hushed whispers. Their words were lost in the strange room. The log walls were not the best at echoing sound, and the ceiling had to be quite high as it swallowed up most of the noise. The floor beneath my feet was also made of wood, I noticed as I stepped forward. I slid my right toe along its surface, searching for steps or sloping floorboards. The floor was also rough and crafted from unfinished wood. This place was hardly a wizarding dwelling. The only familiar attribute was a fire place off to my right. Well, it was either a fireplace or a dragon. I could feel its warmth from across the room. This was hardly a place to be discovering a creature as magnificent as a dragon though.

"It is time for me to call the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to attention," Dumbledore said quietly.

Voices silenced like the quieting of owls' wings. Bodies ceased their stirring and came to rest at attention. The fire made the only sound, crackling through the quiet room, its heat rustling the surrounding air.

"All have been checked and accounted for, Headmaster."

The man I now recognized to be Remus Lupin was apparently the one to make sure that everyone was present and no one was in disguise.

"Thank you Remus," Dumbledore said. Before we speak our loyalty once more," he continued, "there are two new members who must be recognized and accepted into our ranks. Miss Lee, Mister Potter, if you will please step forward so that you can take your oath."

A path was cleared for me among the people who had been standing between Dumbledore and myself. I walked reluctantly toward the headmaster and Order leader. These few steps could determine the course of my life. They were the biggest commitment I had ever made to anything or anyone. They were steps I could not retrace, reverse, or erase. Each step I took was slow but deliberate.

When I reached the front of the room Dumbledore placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me so that I now faced the gathered order members. He introduced both Harry and myself. There were murmurs of welcome from the crowd and then silence.

"If you wish to serve the order with loyalty and permanence you must repeat after us," Dumbledore said quietly.

The assembled Order members began to speak.

"I swear to serve the Order for the good of the light.

I shall not stray or break away.

From me darkness shall take its flight.

My promises I keep,

My soul is here to stay."

Harry and I both repeated the rhythmical oath. I knew the words would stick in my mind like an arrow in a rigid body. Not an arrow of death though, an arrow of life and one of direction.

"Our new members have now joined us. Let their gifts strengthen us and lead forward our cause. We have many things that the Dark Lord cannot dream of possessing. The force of the light is ours as well as magic with and without wands. Our togetherness as we strive for peace cannot be broken by any spell or darkness. Let us rejoice in our gifts today! Yet we must not stray from the task at hand for it is a great one. We must remember that our people have overcome great evil before and we can do so again. If we hope for our futures every day, we are certain to have tomorrows filled with light and freedom."

There were murmurs of agreement and encouragement from the order members.

"We will now announce our loyalty once more as we do every meeting," Dumbledore said.

"I am bound to serve the Order of the Phoenix for all my days. No fear, nor man, nor darkness could lead my thoughts away. I keep the Order's secrets hid inside my mind. No spell or curse could free these, they're safely hid inside."

The voices spoke in unison as if they were one voice with one thought.

The meeting then began and was filled with boring reports on Order business.

"Severus has provided me with a list of the Death Eaters who have been recruited in the last month," Dumbledore said. "It seems that Voldemort is focusing on recruiting curse breakers and historians."

"Why is that?" a man asked.

"We do not know," Dumbledore said. "Menerva and Fillius are looking into the matter. I don't think we need to concern ourselves too much with it just yet."

"What else is he planning?" a witch asked.

"Several things," Snape said. "He is quite concerned with making a potion for immortality. Of course that task has been left to me as I am his potions brewer."

"What is the status of the potion?"

"There is little progress. Firstly, the potion will probably be impossible to create, and secondly, I am not helping the project along in a hurry." Snape sounded quite calm. "He is expecting me to find the key to the Sorcerer's Stone and use that element as the basis for the potion. My closeness to Albus is supposed to be of assistance."

There were chuckles heard throughout the room, but the conversation soon turned serious again.

"He seeks another spy at Hogwarts. He wants to infiltrate the school. He wishes to somehow take control of the castle from within." Professor Snape sounded serious and concerned.

"He will not succeed," Professor McGonagall said.

"We must be concerned however, that we may lose students to his cause." Snape said sadly.

"I suppose certain students are more at risk than others?" a gruff voice suggested.

"Certainly," Professor Snape replied. "He is aiming to recruit the children of current Death Eaters. I am aware of who those students are, Moody. We must also be concerned about one staff member in particular. She is not in the order and the Dark Lord is already considering her usefulness."

"The information," Dumbledore began, "leads us to one conclusion. Hogwarts is no longer as safe as it once was. We must be increasingly cautious.""

"Wormtail, the Dark Lord's closest servant, has plans to creep into the castle in his rat form to spy. He is little threat to Potter's life as he is mostly incompetent but there is no telling what information he might gather."

"What is being done about this?"

"We are strengthening the wards," Professor Flitwick replied to the witch. "We have been working tirelessly to do so."

"Regardless," Snape said, "Wormtail must be disposed of should the opportunity to do so present itself."

"Disposed of!" a witch shrieked.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Dumbledore said calmly. "We have no other choice. It has come time for the order to act, not just react."

"Killing Peter shouldn't get anyone into trouble as he is already supposed to be dead," the man with the gruff voice said.

"I think the task should be left to the aurors," said a seemingly sensible man.

"Most intelligent idea, Arthur," Dumbledore agreed.

"Returning to the subject at hand," Snape said impatiently. "Peter claims he knows of unused passages into the castle."

"I know of one usable one," Harry spoke up.

"Not at all surprising, Mr. Potter," Snape hissed. "Just like your troublesome father."

"Severus," McGonagall said harshly. "How do you know of this tunnel, Harry?"

"I used it in my third year to get to Hogsmeade."

"I see," McGonagall stated. "You must never ever use it again, Mr. Potter. Is that quite clear?"

"Yes, madam. Quite."

"I don't think the boy's word is worth the weight of a single owl feather," Professor Snape said angrily.

"Well, if the boy knows what's good for him he'll avoid tunnels and dark passages within the castle," the wizard with the gruff voice said.

"That would be most wise, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Is there anything else?" Lupin asked.

"No, Remus, I think that is all for tonight so I will conclude the meeting. I am sure that both you and Severus will remember your duty to teach the new members?"

"Yes," Lupin replied.

"Certainly, Snape said, how could I forget such an opportunity?"

"Good...good," Dumbledore said. "Everyone is dismissed then."

Everyone filed outside into the cool night air. Professor Snape led me through the spell of exhaustion once more. At the place where the portkey waited we stopped and were transported back to Hogwarts. We left the office one at a time, so as not to raise suspicions should we be seen in the castle halls.

Most children, whether magic born or Muggle, dream of secret clubs and battles and mysteries. I had dreamed the same things but now I was living them. I was part of an elite club of wizards and witches who met in secret, in the dark of night, to fight evil. I no longer needed to imagine the existence of a deadly foe, though I had not seen one, I knew he existed. I knew he was to be feared. And this secret club was not a game. My presence at the meeting could get me tortured or killed just for knowing of the Order's location. This was not a fantasy, it was reality. I wished I could reach out to every child and say, "Do not pretend. These things are real! Lives will be lost. Blood will be shed. And, what you pretend might come true in your own life someday, or in the lives of others. So be aware of your thoughts, and make them with good intentions." However, even if I could speak to every child, which was nearly impossible, they were unlikely to listen to, or even comprehend, my words.

***

Of course Hermione and Ron wanted every detail in the days that followed the first Order meeting. Harry and I had decided to give them only general information though . We couldn't be caught letting something important slip, but most of all we couldn't put our friends in danger. Besides, what could they do for the Order anyway? They weren't allowed to help or serve, so their knowledge would only endanger them should it ever be found out. I couldn't imagine my new friends being tortured. I would feel guilt enough to choke me should that ever happen.

I could understand how Harry felt now. We both carried a burden which we couldn't share with others. Some secrets were worth keeping, no matter what my mother had tried to teach me as a child. At least I had Harry to talk to, and maybe soon my parents as well. Ron and Hermione tried to be understanding and helpful but they couldn't know the enormity of the situation. The coming war would endanger their lives almost as mine, and I admired them for their loyalty and devotion to Harry, and now probably to myself as well. Most people couldn't expect to have one friend like them in three lifetimes let alone two such friends in one lifetime. I knew I was very blessed. Where would I be now if Hogwarts hadn't accepted me to study there?

I wondered if Lord Voldemort's wrath would be felt even in America. Did he have that much power? Surely he could gather Death Eaters overseas. Did he wish for control of the entire world? Perhaps I ought not think on it too long. The coming war was already enough to make my skin grow cold and bring me nightmares. It seemed it could only get worse as the days passed. How had Dumbledore gone through this twice? If he had defeated one dark wizard why couldn't he destroy a second? Why must Harry work so hard and risk his life? Why must I, Lucinda Lina, Lee, get involved in this fight? I was just a little home-schooled American girl. I was a nobody until I had come here. Just a nobody with some incredible gifts that I kept hidden from the world.