Chapter - 62 : Shadows of the Past part - 3

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"Next week. Apparently I've got an entire guard coming to pick me up. Dumbledore handpicked them himself."

"How kind of him," Loki drawled sarcastically. "I don't like this headmaster of yours, he seems far too controlling for my liking."

"He is," Harry agreed. "But I wouldn't be worried about him, he poses a mild threat simply because he holds a few positions of power and has a handful of ardent supporters, but nothing more."

"Regardless, be sure that you are careful around him, he's the type willing to do anything for his own skewed definition of the greater good."

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

"Destroy it." Harry looked up from the little square of parchment in his hand to the grizzled ex-Auror who'd been impersonated by a now soulless Death Eater all of last year.

There was a soft fwoosh and the parchment in his hand burst into flames. The adults gathered behind Harry in the deserted courtyard of Grimmauld Place leapt back with small yelps of surprise, but Harry didn't move, allowing the flame to burn dangerously close to his hand despite the discomfort the heat wrought, before releasing it and watching as the flames puttered out on the ground and the ashes of the destroyed parchment drifted away in the breeze.

"Wandless magic?" a pink haired witch who'd identified herself as Nymphadora "Call Me Tonks" asked impressed.

"Just a bit," Harry shrugged distractedly as he watched a townhouse appear literally from nowhere. "Fidelius Charm," he muttered. "Clever."

"Dumbledore put it up," Tonks supplied helpfully.

"Well, let's hope this one works better than the last."

Remus, who Harry had been delighted to see was part of his guard, shot him a stern look before reaching out to tap his wand on the shabby door. There were several loud clicks as what had to be at least a dozen locks unlatched, the rattle of a chain being disengaged, then the door swung open and the group hurried into a dark, musty entrance hall.

"Stay still everyone," Moody said, as the door closed behind him and plunged the room into complete darkness. "I'll get a bit of light in here."

As the light from his wand flooded the dusty hall, Mrs. Weasley rounded the corner and immediately swept Harry up into a hug. "Oh, Harry dear, it's lovely to see you!" she gushed happily. "You're looking lovely, dear. How has your summer been so far?"

"Wonderful, thank you, Mrs. Weasley. And yours?"

"Oh, just fine." Mrs. Weasley released him and patted him fondly on the cheek. "You must be hungry after that long trip here, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait just a while longer for dinner."

"Is there a meeting going on?" Harry asked curiously as his guard disappeared through the door at the end of the hall.

"There is, but we shouldn't be much longer," Mrs. Weasley said. "You can catch up with Ron and Hermione while you wait, they're already upstairs. They're two floors up through the first door on the right. I'll give a shout when you can come down."

Mrs. Weasley gave him one last pat on the cheek before hurrying back to the kitchen, leaving Harry to traverse the dark halls alone. When he entered the guest room Mrs. Weasley had described, he was immediately greeted by a loud shriek before being tackled by an overexcited Hermione.

"Harry! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us no doubt. How is your family? Was everything all right? Did you tell them about last-"

"Let him breathe, Hermione," Ron laughed, pulling the bushy haired Ravenclaw off of their friend. "Hey, mate, how's your summer been?"

"Boring," Harry shrugged. "Especially considering three out of my five friends apparently didn't seem capable of carrying a proper conversation."

Both Ron and Hermione winced. "We're sorry, Harry," Hermione said, "but Dumbledore thought it was best we didn't say much via owl post."

"And when did Dumbledore have a say on what you could and couldn't say to me?"

"Since we started staying in the Order headquarters."

Harry snorted derisively. "You'd reckon the Order Headquarters would be safe enough for me to live in."

"It is, but I think Dumbledore thought you were safest with muggles," Ron said.

Harry couldn't help but scoff at the ridiculous notion. "Yes, because remaining in a shoddily warded house with three magic fearing muggles was a sure fire way to keep me safe."

"He had the Order watching you."

Harry had heard about the Order of the Phoenix from accounts on the first war with Voldemort; while they were good at holding back Death Eaters, they were practically useless against the Dark Lord himself. "What's one Order member going to do against Voldemort?" he asked, ignoring his friends' shudders. "If he decides to attack the Dursley's there's not much they could do."

"They could alert the others."

"And have a full scale magical battle in the middle of muggle suburbia?" Harry snorted again. "Because that would go over so well with the Ministry."

Ron looked down at his hands and Hermione turned a dark red. "We're really sorry, Harry," she muttered. "We shouldn't have kept you in the dark."

"Damn right you shouldn't have," the dark haired teen said, flopping down on the bed closest to him.

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

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Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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