And Life Goes On - Part 8

Moody chuckled. "Let's hope you're right. She doesn't have a soft spot for me like she does you."

Harry grinned and said cheekily, "Lucky me, then."

The kitchen door swung open again, admitting Ginny and Hermione. Both girls looked rather disgruntled and only half-awake. Harry poured them both cups of coffee, and they accepted gratefully.

"Morning, ladies," Moody said.

Both merely grunted.

"Why did you get up if you're still so tired?" Harry asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Do you know my mother? She's on a rampage this morning about cleaning this place up before we go back to the Burrow."

"She is rather adamant about leaving," Hermione said sleepily. .

Ginny took the tiara from Harry's hands. "This belongs to my Auntie Muriel. There is a great story behind it. It –"

"She wants us busy so we don't look around too much," Hermione said, suddenly wide-awake.

"Pardon?" Ginny asked, frowning and placing the tiara back on the table.

"Your mum. She doesn't want us looking around here too much," Hermione said, raising her eyebrows significantly.

Harry suddenly remembered the conversations about a guest staying at Grimmauld Place.

"Good morning," Remus said, entering the kitchen with Tonks following closely behind him. "You're all up bright and early today. I would have thought you'd all have wanted a lie-in after all the dancing last night."

"Who else is staying here?" Harry asked sharply, his eyes locked on Remus. Remus lowered his gaze to pour a cup of coffee.

"The Weasleys and the Delacours are here until the wards at the Burrow can be checked," Remus replied calmly.

"This is m-my house," Harry stated with a slight tremble in his voice that he hoped no one else heard. "I may have agreed that the Order could use this house, but I want to know who this mystery guest is; I want to know why he is here, and I want to know now."

Remus looked at Moody, who shrugged. "It is his house, and he appears to know more about what Dumbledore was up to than any of us."

Remus's shoulders sagged. "I know," he said. "And Harry, we need to know what you're planning in order to help you. We want to protect you."

"You can't. No one can. I can't tell you what I was doing with Professor Dumbledore, Remus. I promised him I wouldn't. If he'd wanted the Order to know, he would have told you himself," Harry said firmly, feeling slightly uncomfortable in denying Remus.

Beneath the table, Ginny took his hand and squeezed it slightly. He gave her a weak smile, appreciating her support.

"Of course," Remus replied, and Harry could easily read his conflicting emotions. He trusted Dumbledore implicitly, but he also wanted to protect Harry. When would they ever understand that it was beyond them to do that now? It always had been.

"Who is the Order protecting?" Harry asked again.

"Draco and Narcissa Malfoy," Tonks said, speaking for the first time. Her face contorted into an ugly scowl. "My family."

Harry's jaw dropped open. He wasn't certain what he'd been suspecting, but that wasn't it. Draco Malfoy? Here? Malfoy, the one who'd plotted Dumbledore's death all last year? The one who'd led the Death Eaters onto school grounds in search of a little glory? And Narcissa! The one who'd plotted with Kreacher to get Sirius killed? Here? In Sirius's house?

"What?" Harry exploded, pushing back his chair and causing it to clatter to the floor. He was at the door in two strides, ready to mount the stairs and strangle Malfoy with his bare hands.