Stranger

Fred held tightly onto a long string with two plastic ears attached to each end (he had called them “Expendable Ears”). Everyone, including Ginny who had recently joined them, huddled around the twins when the other ear was lowered down the stairs and in front of the door. George held onto the other one. Once it was on the ground, a fuzzy sound came out of it, and familiar voices escaped the hole.

“-Dumbledore was wrong - he’s not a child anymore, Molly,” Sirius’ voice argued.

“He’s not an adult either,” she exclaimed back.

“And what about his sister,” their godfather calmly explained. I could already imagine him leaning forward with his arms crossed and eyebrow raised, his long hair bouncing.

“He’s not James, Sirius -”

“And he’s not your son.”

“He’s good as, though.”

Some of us heaved out a sigh, including me.

“Who else has he got anyways? Apart from us?”

“How touching, the paternal talk, but maybe Potter will grow up to be just like his godfather,” Severus Snape’s dull voice mumbled.

My breathing hitched. Snape was down there? With Sirius and Lupin?

“Stay out of this, Snivellus,” Black shot at him.

I flinched at the nickname he had given the Professor, even if he had deserved it.

“Snape’s in the Order,” Harry asked.

“Apparently, the right foul git,” Ron whispered.

Hermione’s cat Crookshanks was quick to run down the stairs at the sight of the ear floating from the yarn-like thread. The orange-fur pet purred and sat down, observing it as it twitched and collected the conversation.

“Crookshanks,” the curly-haired girl hissed her way, patting her leg nervously as she tried to get her attention.

The fluffy animal didn’t listen, as it began to attack it and claw at it, scratching it. Thumping sounds came from the ear in George’s hand and we backed away a few steps. In less than a few seconds Crookshanks had taken the other ear off the string and into its mouth, strutting away.

“Bad Crookshanks,” she scolded from up the stairs.

Ron scoffed. “Have I ever told you how much I hate your bloody cat?”



Molly clapped her hands loudly, making sure it was enough for us to hear downstairs as she called us down for dinner. I grumbled, trying to get myself up and out of the bed I was lying on. It took me a second to regain balance after my feet planted themselves on the ground, but once I found it I trudged down the steps. My stomach was already roaring like a lion in hunger.

The gang followed behind quietly. Mrs. Weasley was smiling brightly as she smoothed out her dress’ wrinkles. “Well, we’ll be eating down in the kitchen.”

For the second time today, an annoying Pop! rang through the room as a hysterically laughing Fred and George appeared behind their mother. She jumped, but turned around quickly and began hitting their arms as they ran away. “Just because you two are allowed to use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!”

My lips twitched upwards very slightly, a warm and cozy feeling bubbling in my stomach. I had forgotten how much at home I felt with the Weasleys around.

Arthur came up behind his wife and slung an arm around her, giving us a greeting smile. “You two hungry?”

I nodded furiously, taking the last step onto the floor.

“You sure you’re alright, Harry? Your yelling gave us quite a turn!”

None of us were able to talk as another voice spoke in our place.

“If isn’t Harry Potter,” Sirius Black said.

My eyes lit up, sparking as the two Weasleys stepped aside, revealing my godfather. He looked much better and healthier than the last time I saw him two years ago. He was still thin, but not as bony. His hair was as long and brown as I remembered it, and his eyes were brighter and happier. He had a velvety sort of outfit wrapped around him, and his face looked a lot more youthful.

“Sirius,” Harry exclaimed, walking quickly to him and pulling him in his arms. I stood behind my brother, biting my lip to keep from exploding into the biggest smile ever. My hands quivered slightly, but I ignored it.

When they pulled away, he turned to me. I barely gave him a second to react as I threw my arms around him tightly, letting tears spill from my eyes. I let out a soft laugh as he hugged me back, a sense of protection and comfort fluttering in me. I remained embracing him for several moments before we finally pulled away. I wiped under my eyes, letting out another happily stupid chuckle.

“My God, Sirius I have missed you,” I choked out.

He grinned warmly. “It’s hard not to miss me. But I missed you much, as well. I’m glad you two are safe.”

I returned the smile, taking a deep breath. “It’s been a long and hard time surviving in the Muggle world without your ego.”

Sirius laughed, pulling me into another short hug. I giggled.

I looked over to my brother who was smiling widely from ear to ear. I totally had forgotten about what he had said earlier and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, tightly squeezing him before I dragged him into the dining room, my godfather closely following behind.

I took a seat next to Harry, watching as the meal was served. Fred and George were standing in the kitchen, using their wands to send the cauldron of stew and butterbeer glasses their way. Fred sent off the breadboard and knife, but the sharp object slipped off the side, almost stabbing Sirius’ hand. Luckily, he was quick to move it once he realized. The knife clattered loudly onto the table, grabbing some attention.

“You two irresponsible boys,” Molly scolded. “You’ve been using magic wrongly ever since you two became of age!”

They didn’t mind her comment as they laughed, yelling a “Sorry, mate!” towards our direction and sitting down at the table. I rolled my eyes at them and grabbed my mug, taking a swig from the cold and refreshing butterbeer. The taste of vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch danced on my tongue, making me moan in pleasure. It was absolutely delightful.

“So, how have you been,” Harry asked Sirius, taking a gulp from his hot plate of stew.

“Well, or better than before anyways. I’ve been confined in this house for a month, thanks a lot to Azkaban and the Ministry for keeping me as a wanted criminal.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry, my new mission is to have your name cleared by the end of this or next year. I won’t stop until it happens. Harry can be my sidekick though, as long as he doesn’t have panic worry attacks when I decide to step more than ten feet away from him.”

He scoffed. “Ha, ha, ha. I don’t do that, Rose.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling a lot better now that you’re here than you’ve been feeling all summer.”

I froze for a moment, my body tensing up. “H-How did you know?”

“I’m not blind, Rosalie. I can see you. You have bloodshot eyes, dark circles, you’re in a much more vulnerable and weak state. Plus, your expression is showing sadness and fear, as if you’re anticipating someone to jump out and attack. What happened to you?”

I looked around the table, seeing everyone conversing, but very lowly. Some eyes were already looking at me. I could tell they weren’t really talking, but were actually trying to listen.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry Sirius, but I rather not discuss that here and now. I think we should just talk about Harry’s hearing, or what this bloody Order of the Phoenix is. More has happened since we last saw you, and we both need to know what’s going on. And my first question is why did Dumbledore block off all contact from any of you?”

“He made Ron, Hermione, and the twins swear not to tell you anything. Just for the moment, anyways. Plus, it was far too risky and dangerous. If someone from the Ministry were to locate the owl and find our headquarters…”

Harry nodded slowly. “It’s still infuriating. I’ve suffered a lot more and bottled in much more anger not having someone to talk to.”

“If only I learned how to apparate,” I breathed, stirring the soup in my plate clockwise before taking a small bit of it into my mouth.

Remus scooted his chair closer to Sirius, joining in on the conversation as he drummed his fingers on the table. “What I find absolutely peculiar however, moving on from the subject, is how the Ministry has ordered the entire Wizarding council to attend your hearing.”

“That’s what I don’t understand,” he groaned. “What does the Ministry have against me?”

An immensely awkward silence filled the room. Moody was the one to break it, interrupting Lupin’s fidgeting. “Show him. He’ll find out soon enough, either way.”

Everyone fell quiet, even mugs and silverware dropped onto the table to hear the conversation. This lack of noise lasted longer than the last, and gave me an uneasy feeling. Harry’s tensing arm brushed mine, letting me know he was the same.

Kingsley reluctantly pulled out a Prophet article, opening it up before tossing it our way. My brother took it in his hands, reading the title. I looked down at it, my eyes scanning the big and bold headline. “The Boy and Girl Who Lie?” It flashed, the print changing. “Fudge: ‘All Is Well.’” Under it was a picture of my brother and I from the Triwizard Tournament, taken after we had left the graveyard.

“Fudge hasn’t just been attacking you two, he’s been attacking Dumbledore as well. He’s got the entire Ministry wrapped around his finger,” Lupin explained.

“He’s been using his power and his influence in the Daily Prophet to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned,” Sirius finished.

“But why,” Harry asked. I sunk down in my seat, not really sure if I was in the mood to talk right now.

“Because, the Minister thinks Dumbledore is after his job.”

“That’s insane, anyone in their right mind could believe that Dumbledore would -”

“That’s exactly the point. Fudge isn’t in his right mind. It’s been twisted and warped with fear. Now fear does terrible things, Harry, the last time You-Know-Who was alive he almost destroyed everything we hold dear. Now, in these times, I’m afraid Fudge will do anything to prevent this truth.”

“We think Voldemort wants to grow out his army again,” Sirius explained.

I widened my eyes, remembering back to all the Death Eaters that had showed up to see him return after resurrecting.

“14 years ago, he had an immense army of followers, not just witches and wizards but tons of dark creatures. He’s been recruiting heavily and we have been attempting to do the same. But gathering followers isn’t the only thing he’s interested in.”

Alastor cleared his throat, and Molly shot a glare down the table to my godfather in warning. What was going on?

“We believe Voldemort may be after something -”

“Sirius,” the crazy Auror grumbled.

“Something that he didn’t have before.”

Mrs. Weasley dropped her knife and stood up rushingly, throwing her arms in the air. “That is enough, Black, he’s just a boy! Say much more and you might as well just induct him into the Order!”

“Good, then! If Voldemort is raising an army, I want to fight! He’s after me anyways, and you all know more than anyone I have to be the one to defeat him in the end. I have a right to be a part of this.”

I leaned up, slamming my butterbeer mug onto the wooden table. “I want to join as well.”

Sirius clapped his hands together, clearly proving his point.

Remus shook his head. “Being a part of the Order is not easy. Finding allies is difficult, and you’ll go through things and tasks no one has ever been before. You’ll be putting yourself in the wanted list of every single Death Eater -”

“As if we weren’t already,” I scoffed.

He sighed. “The Order is comprised of only overage wizards. Wizards who have left school,” he added as Fred and George opened their mouths. “There are dangers involved in which you have no idea, any of you.”

“At least I bloody qualify as overage,” I snapped. “Voldemort is back and he’s after my brother and me. If this is to stop him and protect us, we have a right to be a part of it. We’re fighting in this as well.”

My godfather grinned. “There you have it. I don’t see any reason why they have no right to know, or join.”

I exhaled deeply.

“I’ve passed through some rough shit my entire life thanks to that Dark wizard. And now he’s back. I may still be in a weak state, but I’ll get back to normal. And when I do, I want to know everything he’s planning, and I want to end him beside my brother. Once, and for all.”