Harry Potter and the Magical Muggle

Chapter 10: Of Princes and Crowns

The day seemed to drag now that Harry and Hermione had found out that Aunt Petunia was not a witch, but instead a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. And the worse part of the whole situation was yet to come because they had double Muggle Studies that afternoon. Great. I get to stare at my magically induced aunt for three hours straight and try not to tell her that she has been tainted with magical inducing potions and charms. Harry felt the guilt twisting a knot in his stomach.

"I think I am going to be sick," he muttered to Hermione.

At which she answered with a very non-comforting, "well, try not to" in response. Therefore, Harry sat in Potions willing the time to just stop. Which was a monumental feat in itself considering how much Harry hated Potions and usually wished that time sped up and not slowed down. At last, Hermione noticed that Harry was beginning to look a little green around the gills.

"Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey..." Hermione whispered.

"And be poked, prodded, and fussed over? I think not," Harry replied.

Unfortunately, their hurried conversation was noticed in the front of the classroom because Professor Snape stopped his lecture and glared at them. "Do you have anything you wish to contribute to the class, Mr. Potter?"

"No sir," Harry answered quickly.

"Then why do you feel the incessant need to whisper into your girlfriend's ear when my back is turned. Save your wooing for your own time. The rest of the class does not need to hear nor see you trying to romance Miss Granger while they are trying to learn the delicate art of potion making. At least your father had enough class to conduct his extracurricular activities outside of the classroom and away from prying eyes. Not that he did not brag enough about his conquests later on mind you," Professor Snape retorted becoming increasingly vindictive with each passing sentence at which the Slytherins all had a hearty laugh at Harry's expense. Harry, on the other hand, was furious. Not only was Hermione NOT his girlfriend and he certainly was NOT wooing her, Snape had the audacity to smear his father's reputation and label him as an unfeeling bastard who would shag anything in a skirt.

"Must have hurt when you couldn't get any, aye Professor Snape?" Harry answered scathingly. But, his question was met with dead silence and Harry knew with a sinking heart that he had crossed the line of what was considered appropriate. The red-faced Potions master pointed towards the door and roared, "MY OFFICE! NOW, POTTER!"

All the Slytherins jeered; as this was the second time today that Harry has made a public spectacle out of himself.

~*~

"And you said WHAT!?" Ron exclaimed as Harry and Hermione stood gathered around the bedside of one Ron Weasley. "I wish I could have been there to see the look on his face!" And he chuckled and smiled widely. "And here I had to be stuck in the bloody infirmary! It is just so unfair..."

"It really wasn't that amusing..." Hermione said darkly. "Quite immature and foolish," she chided again gently. Harry, on the other hand, had his head in his hands groaning.

"Well, I am paying for it now. Fifty point deduction, detention for two months, AND I have to make an apology in front of the entire Potions class on Wednesday. Although, he never said it had to be sincere."

"How about this, Harry?" And Ron made a dramatic pause. "Professor Snape, I, Harry Potter, am so sorry...so utterly sorry (a melodramatic sniffle) Yea, sorry that you're a bloody virgin!" he finished with a grin and Harry and Ron broke out into fits of laughter.

"Ron!" Hermione cried scandalously although she was trying to hide back a small smile of her own. They were so wrapped up in their laughter that they failed to notice the figure that stood over the three Gryffindors.

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley. That was certainly a rather interesting apology. Hopefully, Mr. Potter will choose not to take your advice and compose one of his own." The boys looked up with horror on their faces. Who should be standing there- but none other than the headmaster of the school!

"Prof-" Harry began to say, but Professor Dumbledore waved him off.

"Harry," he said gently, "You do not need to explain your actions to me. However, you were both clearly at fault. I do not blame you for what you said especially since you were defending the reputation of your family. Although, I do not want to hear of any more inappropriate behavior. It is not befitting of a prefect and certainly not befitting of a gentleman of your reputation. Remember, that it takes a stronger man to ignore the fight than to inflame the situation." Harry looked up and met Dumbledore's gaze. He felt thoroughly ashamed and chastised.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," he dutifully replied lowering his head. Ron and Hermione were wisely silent between the whole exchange.

"That, however, is not what I came to talk to you about. If you will excuse us, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, I just need to steal Mr. Potter for a couple moments of his time. You will be able to catch up with him in your next class. Muggle Studies, is it not?" Dumbledore asked with an amused twinkle in his eye. Harry groaned internally as he dutifully trudged up to Professor Dumbledore's office.

~*~

However, this visitation to Dumbledore's office was the direct opposite from his last. Who should be waiting for him but none other than his loving and supportive godfather. Thankfully, his cold unfeeling aunt was nowhere in sight.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed happily as he threw his arms around the escaped convict. Then suddenly the mood changed as Harry remembered this morning's events. "Oh, Sirius...I'm so sorry! Someone stole your birthday letter to me and they...they changed the content and distributed it to the entire school. I'm so sorry, Sirius," Harry whispered guilty while in his godfather's embrace. Sirius tried to comfort Harry by pulling him closer and rubbing his back.

"It's okay, Harry. It is not your fault. I don't blame you, you know that right?" Sirius questioned him seriously while looking into his eyes.

"Yea," Harry smiled weakly but still hung his head. Sirius would have none of this. He took Harry's chin in his hand and raised his head to meet his eyes again.

"It is not your fault, Harry," he repeated. Harry nodded his head with a bit more enthusiasm and Sirius figured that it was the best that he could do for now.

"Now on to more important things!" Dumbledore exclaimed and clapped his hands together in glee. "The reason why I called you here is because we are going to have an Order meeting tonight. Since Sirius is your Golden Guardian he is going to explain the protocol for tonight. Of course you need to wear the red robes I gave you at your Initiation and your phoenix pin. The pin is a portkey (Harry grimaced at that) so you need to be alone at the time of activation which will be midnight unless you want to field questions about your whereabouts from your housemates tomorrow." Dumbledore chuckled at this thought. "Well, I will leave you two to go over the finer details." Dumbledore smiled and headed towards the door. "Oh and Harry try not to worry about the letter. I am sure that it will all work out in the end." And with a twinkle in his blue eyes, Dumbledore was gone.

Harry looked at Sirius with a question in his eyes.

"So?"

"Don't be nervous. It is really not that much to learn and everyone will be understanding if you happen to make any mistakes since it is your first time. But your second time however," Sirius threatened with a smile upon his face and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately. They both laughed and Sirius led him over to a model of an isoscelestriangular table with three chairs at the base, one chair at the apex, and twenty chairs split between the two sides. "This is table of the Order. Each side represents one of our ideals. Love (as he pointed to the side that was farthest from them), Honor (the base), and Truth (the remaining side). I sit on the side of Truth," he said with a twinge of irony in his face.

"Where will I sit?" Harry asked.

"Well, normally a new member will sit on either the Love or the Truth side. However you, my dear boy, are a special case. You have the distinct honor and pleasure of sitting at the apex," his godfather explained.

"But...why? I don't understand," Harry questioned.

"Well...," Sirius scratched his head and delved into the thick of it. "To have this make any sense, I need to explain the Honor side of the table. Professor Dumbledore sits in the middle chair since he is the leader of the Order. You are to call him Lord Phoenix in dealing with any and all business of the Order (And Harry nodded in comprehension). On his right, sits Arabella Figg or Baroness Phoenix and to his left is Minerva McGonagall or Countess Phoenix. Arabella is second in command and her position is bestowed upon her due to her bloodline. There are three families that have the honor of this seat. You may only sit in this chair if you have the blood of the descendants running through your veins. If not, it can be quite painful, not that I know from personal experience," Sirius added hastily with a grin. Harry returned the grin with a chuckle.

"It is said that these three families were the first members of the Order," Sirius continued. "They are the Douglasses, the Lamonts, and the Potters."

Harry gasped. "You mean that...my family? The first members? Are you sure?"

"Yes, quite sure since your father held that position before Arabella. Arabella can trace her lineage through the Lamont line, but will eventually give up her seat because now there is a member who has a stronger blood link to the chair."

"You mean me, right?"

"Yes."

Harry cast Sirius a worried look. "They don't expect me to take the position now do they? I mean, it seems like a wonderful honor, but I don't know how to be second in command..." Harry began to babble. "I don't know where to start."

Sirius soothed his fears. "Not to worry. You will be extensively trained by Arabella and Dumbledore and then when you reach your majority at seventeen you will take your place."

Harry felt a little more at ease. He had two years. Two long years to learn everything that he could. Still seventeen was still a bit young to be second in command, but he figured that if his father had risen to the challenge than he could as well. "That is why I am sitting at the apex then because I am next in line for the baron position."

"Partially," Sirius answered and squirmed a bit. He had hoped to get around to this eventually, but certainly not now. He was not sure if Harry could handle the news.

"Partially? What does that mean," Harry asked suspiciously.

Sirius figured it was pointless to beat around the bush. "You sit at the apex also because Dumbledore has named you as his heir with the support of the Order, of course. When Dumbledore either dies or steps down, you will be the next Lord Phoenix."

This bit of news was met with dead silence. Harry was too shocked to say anything. Only one word kept repeating itself in his head and it eventually slipped out.

"Shit."

Sirius gave him a concerned looked before continuing. "Dumbledore will likely not step down for another thirty or so years. Therefore, you have nothing to worry about. You do, however, get to wear this." He handed him a large rectangular velvet box with satin trim. Harry opened it and gasped.

"I am NOT wearing this! I'll look like a prat!" Harry exclaimed. "No way, No way..." Harry kept on muttering under his breath.

For inside held a golden crown with the words Love, Honor, Truth inscribed repetitively around the base and a large ruby imbedded in the top. It was definitely beautiful, but a bit ornate.

"You will. Arabella, Albus, and Minerva all have one as well. Dumbledore's is obviously similar to yours, but with three rubies. And Arabella's and Minerva's are cast in rose gold with yellow sapphires as the stone. One each."

"Sirius...I just can't. It just seems so silly. And medieval. And it looks heavy," Harry whined.

"You will. It's tradition and you will not be allowed to sit for a meeting if you are not in full dress. And for you that means the crown as well, my Prince."

"Prince?" Harry questioned weakly.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Surely, you must have known that you had a title since the other three did as well. You are the Crowned (Sirius chuckled) Prince Phoenix. People will simply address you as either Prince or Prince Phoenix."

"Okay," Harry said and sighed heavily. He was really beginning to hate his forefathers. Damn crown. Damn title. Damn Order. This is just getting worse and worse.

"Now, on to Minerva. She shares second in command with Arabella..." Sirius continued.

"Am I third in command?" Harry interrupted.

"No."

"No?"

"Who is third in command then?"

"No one."

"I have no authority at all?"

"No." Sigh. "Traditionally, the Crowned Prince or Princess, whatever the case may be, is a younger member of the Order. Therefore, it is not considered prudent to give command over to someone that has little to no experience. You will gain authority when you take your seat at the base of the triangle. Frequently the Crowned Prince becomes the Baron or the Earl before he is the Lord Phoenix. Your duties as prince will consist of excelling in your training, learning the strengths and weaknesses of each member, and observing and learning the methodology of the Order."

"That's it?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Believe me that is enough." Sirius hoped that Harry didn't question him on what missions that he might be performing since he would have to tell him none. All new members were banned from performing field operations for the first three months until they completed training. And Harry being the Crowned Prince would make the rest of the Order highly protective over him not to mention the fact that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, on Voldemort's Hit List, and was still an underage wizard. If he went on any missions at all in the first year it would be strictly low level no risk type operations where he would probably be assigned a secret protector and be under the wing of one of the senior members. Sirius would grow worried when he took the seat of his bloodline. That was the precarious position where the person was frequently performing dangerous missions at the front line. In most cases it was a test to see if one was worthy enough to be handed complete control over the Order and be given the title of Lord Phoenix. Unfortunately, most people who held the position ended up seriously injured or worse. Sirius shuddered and thought of James.

"Now back to Minerva. She shares second in command with Arabella. Her position is bestowed upon her by a two-thirds majority of at least three fourths of the members present and voting. Your mother was the last Countess. (Sirius smiled at the memory of both James and Lily flanking Professor Dumbledore as they held Order meetings.) As in all the positions, they are for life or until the person steps down. Only the Lord Phoenix can name his heir with of course approval of the members. Minerva's will go up for elections and Arabella's is whoever the closest blood link is to the chair." Sirius clapped his heads. "Now, with that done, we will move on to protocol for the meeting tonight..."

Harry groaned and buried his head in his hands. His brain was suffering from memory overload already.

~*~

"New business?" Lord Phoenix questioned. Harry couldn't believe it. He was finally sitting at the apex of the triangular table attending his first Order of the Phoenix meeting. At first, he thought there would be constant danger and excitement at every turn, but now he was finding that it was quite ordered and calm...may even be described as dull. As he looked around the room, he recognized some of the people that were seated at the table. Sure enough, there was a line of redheads seated on the Love side, which could be none other than the Weasleys: Molly, Arthur, Bill, and Charlie to be precise. Additionally, the Order had international representation by Madame Maxime and Fleur Delacour as well as other species recognition by Dobby, the house-elf, Firenze, the centaur, and Remus Lupin, the werewolf. Unfortunately in the middle of it all was Amos Diggory glaring angrily at Harry.

"The letter from Sirius Black to Harry Potter that may result in an inquiry at the Ministry of Magic and the possible use of Veritaserum on Mr. Potter," Diggory gritted out.

"He'll have to be memory-charmed," said a dark hair witch coming from Harry's left.

"Detectable," Dumbledore replied.

"Who do we have at the Ministry?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Baroness?" Dumbledore questioned while Arabella opened up a roll of parchment and began listing names of people who were loyal to the Order of the Phoenix but not necessarily members.

"Could Cassandra Jigger do it?"

Arabella thought for a moment. "Perhaps...and with the help of Elizabeth Bones it should be doable. A simple switch at the last moment followed by an investigator who asked vague enough questions for the deception not to be detected," she mused, "Yes, I think that would do."

"Perfect. That will be our plan if worse comes to worst. Although, I am hoping that will not be necessary," the Lord Phoenix said while nodding his head in an approving manner. "Next?" he questioned with a wave of his head.

"Well there is the question about gaining support from other species to help us in our aid against Voldemort..." Mundungus Fletcher replied. At this point, Harry began to fade from the conversation. A lot of the missions and strategies he had no idea about and it was hard to take in this amount of information especially when the particulars given out at meetings were minimum at best. He was happy enough to try to absorb as much as he could at the moment and ask Sirius about anything that he couldn't understand or wanted more details on later. Harry snapped out of his reverie when Dumbledore asked about old business.

"Madame Evans and the magically inducing potion. The time is up in about thirty-seven hours for another dose. That give us a maximum of twenty-fice hours to administer it since it takes about twelve hours to reach its full potential," the Countess said.

"Brain damage?" Bill Weasley asked.

"Our reports find nothing as of yet although she can only safety be on the potion for three more months before there will be neural regression," the Countess replied.

"If she is not taken off by the three months?"

"Minimum amounts of regression about five percent over a period of two years," replied Minerva. "Nothing to be terribly concerned about. Although if she is not taken off within a year she will receive about twenty to twenty five percent regression over eight years."

"Two years on the potion?" Molly asked while looking at Harry pointedly.

"Ninety to about ninety-five percent regression. Death within ten to twelve years...it would be unavoidable," answered the Countess.

"Pain at death?"

"Almost intolerable...she would have personality/behavioral changes, intellectual impairment, convulsions, coma and then eventual death. The potion will begin to act as a virus like agent at about two years of constant administration. It will establish a persistent infection in the brain spreading to other neurons by the fusion of adjacent affected cells. There would be no way to stop it- magical or Muggle." This was met with dead silence.

"Vote?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry, on the other hand, would have none of this. He could not believe it was the bloody Order that was giving his aunt a deadly potion to make her magical! It was ridiculous and absurd! And he still didn't see the point of it.

"Wait...why are you making her magical?" Harry asked with a huge frown on his face.

"For your protection," spat Diggory. "If a blood relative is with you at Hogwarts. It will not allow anyone to take you outside of Hogwarts that has malicious intent...similarly to how the charms work on number four Privet Drive."

"A necessary added protection after the Triwizard tournament," Professor Flitwick added quietly.

"You...you are killing her!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "How do you justify this? You are forcing her to be something that she hates. That's like making anyone of us here become a Death Eater!" Harry was beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"In a war, we have to make sacrifices, Harry," Dumbledore said gently.

"No! No, that's ridiculous. You are trading her life for mine. I will not allow it! What else have you done to her? To me?"

"Nothing else to her. Or anything to you, Harry. However, we gave your uncle a strong disagreeable charm because extreme stress is needed after taking the potion to trigger the effects. We thought that an impending divorce would be enough of an environmental cue to promote the conditions for the potion to work," Arthur Weasley said regretfully.

"You broke up her marriage for my protection?! You ruined her life! And you took away her son! This is sick," Harry replied shaking his head and clenching his fists together in a barely controlled rage. "How many more people have to die because of me?"

"Harry, it is for your own good..." Molly trailed off with tears in her eyes.

He jumped to his feet and focused his whole attention on Mrs. Weasley. "Yes for MY OWN good...not hers. Is it because she is a Muggle that she doesn't have the same right to live?" Harry began looking around the room with disgust on his face. "Sure, we may say that we want to save them, but as long as they don't get in our way. Well isn't that bloody convenient!" He took off his crown and dropped it on the table with a loud clatter. Several members at the table jumped at the noise. "I'm through with this. I might as well go join Voldemort...at least he kills them outright and doesn't have them suffer for twelve years!" Shock met with that sentence.

"Now listen here foolish Prince," Diggory said cruelly with a sneer. "You have NO right to judge us. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place!"

"Amos!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Not another word," he warned.

But Harry had enough. As he was making his way to the door, he turned, "You never wanted me in the Order anyways, Diggory. You should be happy." Then he addressed the rest of the group. "I see no love, honor, or truth in your actions. And I hope you are satisfied. The ends never justify the means. You cannot win a war by only saving those whom you deem worthy" And with that he walked quickly out the door and ran down Professor Dumbledore's steps.

He was almost halfway across the castle when he heard someone yell his name. He didn't bother to slow down and in fact he sped up. Suddenly something attacked him from behind and he landed heavily on his side.

"Why did you have to knock me down Padfoot?" Harry said angrily.

"Because you are behaving like a prat. The Order is in an uproar. You cannot quit. You gave us your word," Sirius said with growing annoyance.

"I don't care. I just bloody don't care. They are killing her Sirius...and I'm not going to be apart of this!"

Unfortunately, Harry should have cared because at the moment hidden under the stolen invisibility cloak was one Draco Malfoy listening to a very interesting conversation between one distraught Boy-Who-Lived and one annoyed escaped convict of Azkaban.

Father will be awfully interested in this, Draco though as he smirked.

And at that moment, the war began to take a turn for the worst.