Jake walked down the stairs with Harry, Vernon still yelling despite having no sound coming from his mouth, and he walked towards the front door with Harry, "Harry will be back later today," he told Petunia.
"Are you not gonna unsilence him!?" Petunia asked him in a panicky voice.
"Nope. Not until I return with Harry," Jake said and they both left the house and began walking down the street. It was a while of walking before anything else was said, "So, your birthday is three days out."
"It is..." Harry said after a moment.
"I'll be honest, I don't quite know what to get you," Jake said, glancing over at him.
"You don't have to get me anything, I don't for you..." Harry reminded him.
"Very true, in that case, I'll buy you a new Quill Set. Hermione would normally love getting that, but that's what you'll be getting," Jake said with a smirk.
"To be honest, I could probably use one... the one I got for Christmas last year has just about run its course... well, the Quill has at least," Harry said, laughing as they walked.
Jake took Harry to any Entertainment Area that was around, just to let Harry enjoy his day. He had the hardest time lately and needed the support of his friends. Hermione would've definitely been there as well, had she not agreed with Jake to go to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry understood that, and he didn't resent Hermione for it, but Ron sounded like he had some explaining to do.
*******
The next two days before Harry's birthday were pretty much the same. Jake did unsilence Vernon after they had gotten back, who was furious but said nothing, even though he very clearly wanted to.
At Grimmauld Place, Hermione had overheard from one of the people set to watch Harry after the Dementor attack that Jake had taken Harry out to enjoy his day instead of being cooped up. Molly was torn between wanting Harry to stay home for his safety, and glad knowing Harry was protected with Jake around. Hermione was glad that Jake had gone to Harry. When Hedwig arrived, she pecked the ever living hell out of Ron, but when she was told the situation, she calmed down and decided to perch in the room with Ron and Pigwidgeon until Harry arrived.
At breakfast the morning before Harry's birthday, Lupin, Sirius, Molly, and Arthur were talking casually, allowing Hermione and Ron to hear them, "He was told to stay home with his Aunt and Uncle..." Molly said, looking down at her plate.
"Molly, he's with the most powerful Wizard I've ever seen. He's in capable hands... I shouldn't have sent him an Owl telling him to remain put," Sirius lamented.
"Dumbledore won't like it when he's told about this. He's been busy at the Ministry and hasn't been informed," Molly told him.
"I don't really care what Dumbledore thinks, honestly. Harry's my Godson, and I need to start acting like his Godfather. He should've been brought here immediately," Sirius was getting frustrated with her, Hermione could tell.
"Well you know why that can't happen, Dumbledore told us why it has to be," Molly said sternly.
"Oh please, he'd be safer with Jake than where that-" Sirius was cut off by Molly.
" Sirius !" She glanced over at them, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George were all there, but they were pretending to not pay attention, "This is not the time to talk about that!" She said in a loud whisper, rendering her attempt to be quiet fruitless.
"With you and Dumbledore, I feel like it never will be-"
"Alright, alright, calm down now, let's all calm down," Arthur said, figuratively cutting in between them.
"Sirius, he's right, you need to calm down," Lupin said.
"Only reason I'm calm right now is because I know Harry has a friend like Jake there to keep him safe," Sirius eyed Lupin carefully. Hermione knew they were best friends to the end, but even best friends argued every now and then.
Hermione stood up, done with breakfast, and excused herself as she took the plate to the sink. She was walking back to her room when someone came up behind her. She spun around quickly, drawing her wand with a speed she didn't once have, "Sirius?" She lowered her wand.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you... nice draw, by the way," Sirius said to her, lowering his hands.
"Thanks, what did you need to talk about?"
"Straight to business, I like it," he smiled and began walking, "Follow me, please." He led her up two flights of stairs before he was satisfied with the distance away from the base floor, "So you heard Jake is spending time with Harry?"
"To make sure he's not alone in this time of suffering for him, yes," she answered.
"I get the feeling you know more than you're letting on... I'll let you in on a secret that only my closest friend knows... being a Black, I'm a natural Legilimens, do you know what that is?"
"Yeah, Jake told me," Hermione said to him, "and he gave me a book to study up on Occlumency, but since he doesn't know Legilimency himself. He couldn't really help much. I've got the Theory of it down, but without being able to practice, theory means nothing."
"True words," Sirius said in agreement, "Well, how about I help you? I've got incredible control of my Legilimency, so I won't go prodding around beyond the surface layer of your mind by accident," he offered to her.
"Really? You'd really help me?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Of course, but let me ask you one question, why did Jake ask you to study Occlumency?" Sirius asked her.
"Well... he..." Hermione was unsure all of a sudden.
"Is it about... someone at Grimmauld Place?"
"No," she shook her head.
"Someone at Hogwarts?" He asked, and the look on her face told him he was right, "Is it Dumbledore?"
"Yeah... Jake said that Dumbledore tried prodding around in his mind, but it didn't work."
"How did he study Occlumency?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh... he may not like me telling you, but he's a natural Occlumens..." she said shyly.
"Really? Is it because he's a descendant of Merlin?" Sirius asked and Hermione nodded, "So does Jake know about Grimmauld Place?"
"Of course, I was with him when the letter from Dumbledore arrived, and he wasn't happy about it. Neither was Harry when we went to see him," she said.
"You went and saw him?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, he was locked in his room and incredibly thin... but we took him out, got him some clothes and treated him to Muggle Food, and even just from the one day I noticed a significant improvement in Harry's physical and mental health," Hermione informed him.
"I'm going to have to thank him when he comes here," Sirius said, smiling.
"So... he is coming here? To Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place?" Hermione asked, her voice sounding hopeful.
"Well I don't see why he wouldn't. Did you hear otherwise?" Sirius asked her.
"Ron told me that his Mum didn't say anything about Jake coming here with Harry tomorrow on his birthday," Hermione said, her speech gradually picking up in pace, "and if Jake's not allowed to come here to Grimmauld Place, I will not be staying here, that's just not going to happen, Sirius!"
He merely looked at her, not surprised at all to hear her talking like this, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he winked at her.
"Tell anyone what?" She asked, calming down a little.
"That you fancy him," he gave her a sideways smile as she turned red in the face.
"I do... and he fancies me back, we just are holding off on actually getting together until Voldemort is dealt with," she told him.
"I'm glad to hear you have no trouble saying the name Voldemort. It's ridiculous being afraid of the name. And like I said, I won't tell anyone," Sirius said, "I'm going back downstairs. Don't worry, you'll see him tomorrow," he said and took his leave.
Hermione watched him leave and she felt much better about her situation. She walked down to her room and sorted through one of her drawers for a pouch. When she found it, she walked to her bed with it and opened it up, revealing the necklace Jake had bought for her almost three years ago. She had put it in the pouch before coming to Grimmauld Place, but she was going to start wearing it again. She took it into the bathroom and tied it around her neck while looking at herself in the mirror, 'Of all the girls at Hogwarts, and Jake chose me...' She smiled to herself, awaiting his arrival with renewed vigor.
*******
The day after was Harry's birthday, and Jake was at the Tower, sitting in his chair next to his fireplace, watching it burn as the room grew darker, being lit only by the fireplace. He hadn't gotten a letter from him, as Hedwig was busy with letters to Grimmauld Place for Ron, Sirius and Hermione. He figured Hedwig wouldn't be back to Harry at all before he was set to be taken after his birthday.
He got to his feet, 'Tonight's the night Harry will be retrieved by whoever to be taken to Grimmauld Place... I should make sure all of my things are packed before I apparate to Privet Drive.' He walked into his room and saw Chloe perched in there, awake and looking at him, "Chloe, you know where Hermione is?" She blinked and looked at him. He didn't have to say anything else as she spread her wings and flew out the window, making her way to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
He made sure all of his things were gotten, when he saw the necklace Hermione had gotten him for Christmas in Third Year, laying on his nightstand. He grabbed it and tied it around his neck, looking down at the Sapphire gemstone, "We'll be together again soon..." he walked out of his room, "I'm off, Merlin, I'll be seeing you next summer."
"Alright my boy, I'll be here, unless I'm visiting another portrait. If anything dire needs to be said, I'll find you, don't worry," Merlin said and settled back in his portrait, going to sleep.
Jake took one last look around and closed his eye. He apparated and when he opened his eye, it was glowing red as he felt wands aimed at him. He looked around and saw about eight or nine people with their wands aimed at him, "Lower your wands, this isn't a fight we'd win anyway," he heard a familiar voice say.
"Lupin?" Jake asked and he saw Remus Lupin, his former Defense Professor, stepping closer to him.
"Jake, wonderful to see you again. I must admit, I'm not surprised to see you here," Lupin said to him.
"You're not?"
"Enough with the pleasantries, we've got to move Potter, now," a grizzled voice said.
Jake turned and saw Alastor Moody, "The real Alastor Moody, nice to meet the real you."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's told me a lot about you, we can discuss it later, we've got to go, now," Moody said, hurrying things along, "if you're as good as I've heard, then moving Potter will be much safer, but under no circumstance is anyone to slack off! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody's voice growled loudly.
"So, you Apparated here, how?" A bald, black Wizard asking him.
"I learned," Jake shrugged.
"But you are too young to Apparate," he pointed out.
"Fudge made me an Adult Wizard when he found out I was Merlin's only living Descendant. I only officially learned to Apparate a month ago, and I technically did it a year ago at the World Cup when Hermione was in danger," Jake explained.
"So the trace on you is gone... honestly, that's probably for the better. I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt," Kingsley held his hand out.
"I'd introduce myself, but you already know who I am," Jake shook his hand. "So, how are we getting to Grimmauld Place?"
"Brooms," Lupin said.
"Why Brooms? Wouldn't Apparating be faster?" Jake asked.
"Harry's too young, according to Remus," a pink-haired Witch said.
"So is Hermione, but she Apparated with me to Privet Drive and no one at the Ministry had a problem with it," Jake pointed out, "Apparition isn't a problem with them as long as the it's the Adult Wizard doing the Apparating." He was quite honestly surprised no one knew that.
"Well, we've already got a plan set up that involves Flying, so we have to be doing that. First Signal should be appearing any time, let's head outside," Moody's voice growled.
Jake sighed irritably and followed them all out, being the last one out, and pulled his Firebolt from his pouch, "Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Lupin said sharply, pointing into the sky. Far, far above them, a shower of bright red sparks had flared among the stars, and Jake knew they were wand sparks. He mounted his Firebolt, and waited until everyone else started to fly, "Second signal, let's go!" Lupin said loudly as green sparks exploded high above them.
Jake kicked off from the ground after all of them, as his broomstick was faster than all of theirs, except for Harry's, so he had to control his speed. The cool night air felt wonderful as it rushed through his untrimmed hair, 'I need to see about getting this cut when I get to Grimmauld Place.' It felt wonderful to fly through the air again on a broomstick, since he hadn't got to even touch his Firebolt all of last year due to the Tournament.
"Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" Moody shouted from in front of him, since he was at the back of the line, "We need more height... give it another quarter of a mile!"
Jake swerved with them, like they were all a flock of ducks flying in formation, and pulled higher into the starry midnight sky.
"Bearing south!" Mad-Eye shouted, "Town ahead!" They all soared to the right so as to not fly directly over the spiderweb of lights. "Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!"
"We're not going through clouds!" The Pink-haired Witch shouted angrily, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"
Jake was glad to hear her say that, because the last time he was anywhere close to this high up was in the match against Slytherin at the end of Third Year. He had gone much higher, though, into the clouds even above him now, and had plummeted back to the Earth, only to be saved by Katie Bell, a girl in the year above him, and someone he'd call a friend, 'I'm sure she's glad to get back into Quidditch.'
It was a while of flying, Witches and Wizards moving in and out of positions around Harry, "We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouted.
"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE!" The pink haired Witch screamed from the front, "we're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off course we're not going to get there until next week! We're nearly there now!"
"Time to start the descent," he heard Lupin's voice, "Follow Tonks, Harry!" He heard him say and Harry began following the pink haired Witch, who he found to be named Tonks.
Jake dipped his broom Earthbound and followed the flock of brooms towards one of the largest collection of lights he'd seen, a huge, sprawling, crisscrossing mass, glittering in lines and grids, interspersed with patches of deepest black. They soon all reached the ground, and Harry was shivering, Jake heard his teeth clattering together, even from this distance.
Moody held something above him, it looked like a cigarette lighter, and began clicking it. The nearest streetlamp went out with a pop. He did this with every lamp and light within a hundred yards, "Borrowed it from Dumbledore," Moody pocketed it, "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see? Now, come on, quick."
'But wouldn't they find it weird that all of the lights on the street had gone out?' Jake thought to himself. He followed them across the road and onto the pavement. Harry's Guard, as he figured them all to be, flanked Harry on just about every side, 'I wonder if any of them know how badly Harry gets treated at his Aunt and Uncles... probably not, Dumbledore probably has that tidbit kept to himself, or a very select few...'
Jake waited and with them at Number Eleven and Number Thirteen, Grimmauld Place, "Number Twelve must be magically hidden..." he muttered quietly to himself. And it was indeed as it suddenly appeared in front of him, pushed Eleven and Thirteen aside and expanded, like it was being inflated with helium, "Ah, there you are," he smirked to himself, he was going to be seeing Hermione again real soon.
"Come on, hurry," Moody's voice growled. Jake followed them up the worn stone steps, the door at the top was black with paint, but it was shabby and scratched. The silver door knocker in the center was large and shaped like a Serpent.
Lupin pulled his wand out and tapped the door once. Jake heard many loud, metallic clicks that sounded like locks, and then the rattling of chains. The door creaked open, "Get in quick, Harry," he heard Lupin whisper, "but don't go in too far and don't touch anything."
Jake stepped in after Lupin and Harry and his nostrils were bombarded with some revolting smells, the kind you'd find in a damp, dusty, derelict building. He knew that wasn't the case, but it had that smell all the same. He looked around and decided to not wait; Lupin hadn't said it to him after all. He pointed a finger to his eye and gave himself the ability to see clearly. The place looked just as shabby as the front door, or worse in some spots of the house. He barely got far into the house when he heard a soft hissing noise and old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebbed chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. He dispelled his night vision and then heard a door at the far end creak open to reveal Molly Weasley, who ran up to Harry immediately, pretending as though Jake weren't even there, "Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" He heard her whisper loudly as she engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. She pulled back and began to examine him critically, "You're looking better than how I last heard," she turned to Jake, "thank you for taking care of him."
"Someone had to, because Dumbledore wasn't," he said, causing quite a few gasps, "what? It's the truth. Dumbledore would've rather left him to suffer at his Aunt and Uncle's house."
"That's enough now, we can discuss it later..." Lupin interjected.
"Yes, oh, he's just arrived, the meeting has already started," Molly said.
"Hermione, where's Hermione?" Jake asked at once.
"I'll take you and Harry both to where you'll be staying, I've got to hurry and get back to the meeting," Molly said in a rushed voice as the rest of the adults all went to where the meeting was being held. Jake grabbed Harry's trunk and followed him and Molly down the hall. "I do ask that you both keep your voices down in the Hall, so as to not stir anything unpleasant."
They passed long, moth-eaten curtains, where Jake wondered if it were a door or a portrait. They passed an umbrella stand that was a severed Troll's leg, and some heads mounted on the opposite wall. Upon closer inspection, Jake saw that they were House-Elves.
"Here we go, Harry, you're there in that door there with Ron, Jake, you're with them," Molly said and hurried away, "I'll let you know when Dinner's ready."
Harry walked over to the door, but Jake didn't follow, "Nothing against either of you, but I'm sleeping alone," he said and walked to the next door. He gave a gentle knock, and when no one answered, he opened the door. He walked in and there was a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. He wasn't going to use either as his stuff stayed in his pouch, but they added to the room at least.
"HARRY!" He heard from somewhere outside his room, "Ron, he's here, Harry's here!" Jake walked to the door and didn't see anyone, but he heard the door click and he walked out, "We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you alright? Were you furious with us?" He heard her say from behind the closed door, she was playing the part well, so Ron must've been in there.
'What were they both doing in there?' He thought to himself. He knew how Hermione felt about Ron, so he knew he didn't have anything to worry about.
"I know our letters were useless, but we weren't allowed to say anything, Dumbledore wouldn't let us. Oh, we have so much to tell you! But first... where's Jake?" She asked and turned to see the door when she heard it open back up.
"I should feel insulted, y'all closing the door on me," he said, smirking.
Hermione felt her heart rate increase in her chest, her breath shallow and slow as her eyes came to a rest on his face. She knew her pupils dilated upon seeing him, that was just a fact about humans when they saw something or someone they loved. She ran up to him and almosted flattened him with a tight embrace, "I missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you too, Hermione," he whispered back, both careful to not show any sort of affection in front of Harry or Ron.
She pulled back and looked up at him, "You need a trim... your hair looks shaggy."
"Yeah... I'll ask Mrs. Weasley to do it," he said and looked at Ron, "Good to see you too, Ron."
"Likewise," he smiled and waved.
"Hedwig!" Harry said as the snowy white Owl came to rest on his shoulder.
"She's been in a right state," Ron said, "almost pecked me half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this," Ron said and showed Harry his hands.
"Oh yeah... sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know..." Harry said, upset.
"We wanted to give them to you, mate," Ron said, "we both did, but Mum read every letter that left here, making sure nothing was said in them that could jeopardize everything. Her words, not mine. You know, Dumbledore-"
"Wouldn't let you, yeah, Hermione just said as much," Harry said, and Jake noticed the way he said it was different. Harry was no longer elated to see his friends, and his resentment for them, or Dumbledore, or the Order, or all of the above, had replaced his previous demeanor. Jake knew that when Harry started yelling, it wouldn't necessarily be directed to Hermione, but he wasn't going to step in if he did start yelling at her. It wasn't Malfoy, or Snape, or anyone else that he wanted to wring the neck of; this was Harry, their friend, and Hermione had grown in more ways than just physically over the past four years. She had grown far more confident in herself and he knew she would let Harry vent all of his frustration, so he was going to do the same.
"He er - seemed to think it best we not tell you anything," Hermione said, though she really, really wanted to go against Dumbledore and tell Harry what had been going on the past three weeks anyway.
"Right," Harry said shortly.
"I think he thought you were safest with the Muggles-" Ron had begun to say.
"Yeah?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows, "Have either of you been attacked by Dementors this summer?"
"Well, no - but that's why he's had people from the Order tailing you all of July-" Hermione finally got to tell Harry, but she saw in his eyes that that wasn't really something he was excited to hear about.
"Didn't work that well, though, did it?" Harry said, still obviously trying to keep himself calm, but Hermione wasn't sure for how much longer it'd stay like that, "had to look after myself after all, didn't I?"
"I should've been there that day... I wasn't but I should've... I'm sorry, Harry," Jake apologized.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Harry said to him, but because he was still trying to remain calm, it had come out harsher than he meant, but Jake just remained calm himself.
"He was so angry," Hermione said, and she would not forgive Fletcher for it, "Dumbledore - we saw him - when he found out that Mundungus had left his post early, he was scary... not Jake scary, but still scary..."
"You know what? I'm actually glad he left," Harry said coldly, "If he hadn't, I wouldn't have had to use the Patronus Charm to defend myself, and Dumbledore would've probably left me at Privet Drive all summer."
Jake knew that Harry knew that wasn't true, but he was so angry right now, he was saying things that felt good, whether it was true or not, "Aren't you worried about the Ministry of Magic hearing?" Hermione asked him calmly.
"No," Jake knew Harry lied, but with how riled up he was, he wasn't going to admit he was worried about it. Harry walked away from the two of them, looking around the room. He was trying to find something to raise his spirits and calm down with, but Jake knew that wasn't going to happen. Every room looked as uninviting as the next, "So why's Dumbledore been so keen to keep me in the dark?" Harry asked, and it was obvious he was still trying to remain calm and keep his voice casual, "Did you - er - bother to ask him at all?"
Hermione and Ron glanced at each other. She had expected Harry to act like this, and she wanted nothing more than to embrace him into a hug and tell him how sorry she was, but the look on his face let her know he wanted everyone to stay away from him, "We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you what was going on, you and Jake," Ron said before Hermione could, "we did, mate, but he's really busy now, we've only seen him twice since Hermione got here, and he didn't have much time for idle chatter. He just made us swear to not tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted-"
"He could still've kept me informed if he'd wanted to," Harry said shortly, "you're not telling me he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls."
"Believe me, Harry," Hermione said, getting him to look at her, "I wanted to tell you everything going on, and I almost did at one point. I had it all written out in a code I knew you could translate, by giving you a hint at the end of it to remember to brush up on your Herbology, but Mrs. Weasley stopped me and shredded my letter. She said Dumbledore didn't want you to know anything ."
"Maybe they think I can't be trusted," Harry said, looking between the both of them.
"Don't be thick," Ron said, looking highly disconcerted.
"Or that I can't take care of myself-"
"I don't think he thinks that, Harry," Hermione said, trying to get through to him, but she saw that it wasn't working.
"So how come I have to stay at the Dursley's while you two get to join in everything that's going on here?" Harry said, and it was obvious to Jake that he was no longer able to stop himself, "The only one that seems to care about me is Jake, because he kept me from that dreaded place. My own Godfather told me to stay put-"
"He said he regretted it immediately-" Hermione interrupted.
"But that was after he felt bad about it, wasn't it? Why are you both allowed to know everything that's going on-"
"We're not!" Ron interrupted, "Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young-"
That's when Harry started yelling, and Jake was surprised it took this long, honestly, "SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU!? ME? I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEY'S FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT - WHO SAVED THE SORCERER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE?" It was as though any filter and self-control Harry had had just come crumbling down. Hedwig was now perched on the wardrobe and Pigwidgeon twittered in alarm and zoomed even faster around their heads, "WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"
Ron stood there, clearly at a loss for words, and Hermione was standing there, waiting for Harry to let it all out, because it was clear he needed to, all she had to do was wait for him to stop.
"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME OR Jake WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING!?"
"Harry, mate, we wanted to, we really did-" Ron began.
"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR -"
"Well, he did-"
"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON-"
"We wanted to-"
"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-"
"No, honest-"
"Harry, we're both really sorry. I already told you I had a letter ready to go and Molly stopped me," Hermione said, using Mrs. Weasley's first name, "she kept me from telling you, and shredded the letter... I'd be furious if I was in your shoes, Harry... if you have any more to let out, go on."
Harry began pacing around, breathing in and out heavily, "What is this place, anyway?"
"It's the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," Ron said instantly.
"I have yet to be told what that is, so what are they?"
"It's a secret society," Hermione said, and she couldn't have believed her initial assessment of her arrival was almost on point, "an Organization Dumbledore founded back when Voldemort was first in rise to power. They fought against him and his followers."
"Who all's in it?" Harry shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Quite a few people-"
"- we've met about twenty or twenty-five of them," Ron continued off of Hermione's sentence, "but we think there are at least twice as many as that."
"So... neither of you would know about Voldemort then? Seeing as you've not been allowed in the meetings?" Harry asked tersely.
"Well, no... but we've got a general idea," Hermione revealed.
Harry's face almost seemed to light up a bit, "You do? How?"
"Something Fred and George invented, Extendable Ears, see," Ron said, "they're mad useful."
"Extendable Ears?" Harry asked, his face contorting slightly.
"Yeah, only... we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum from binning them all. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realized what was going on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know?"
"Some of them are working to recruit more people to the Order," Hermione said.
Harry snorted indignantly, "So... what have you two been doing, if you're not allowed in the meetings?" Harry demanded, "You said you'd been busy as well?"
"We have," Hermione scrunched up her nose, "we've been decontaminating this house, it's been empty for ages and stuff's been breeding in here. Problem is... we are using," she almost threw up in her mouth, "Lockhart's methods... it's horribly slow... so far we've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms, and I think we are doing the drawing room tomo-" Hermione suddenly let out a squeal as two loud cracks sounded out in the room, signaling that someone had Apparated. That someone, was two someones, and those someones were Fred and George Weasley. Hermione had backed into Jake, who held her steady, and she had quite honestly forgot he was even in the room with how quiet he'd been. "Stop doing that!" Hermione yelled at the twins.
"Hello, Harry," George said, beaming at Harry and ignoring Hermione, "we thought we heard your dulcet tones."
"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," Fred said, also beaming, "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."
"You two passed your Apparition tests, then?" Harry asked grumpily.
"With distinction," Fred said, who was holding what looked like a piece of very long, flesh-colored string.
"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk up the stairs," Ron said.
"Time is Galleons, little brother," Fred said.
"Maybe, but if I hadn't known it was the both of you, you'd have been dead the moment you came out of the Apparition," Jake said, letting them know he was there.
"Oh, hello there," Fred said.
"You're able to hide your presence extremely well," George commented.
"Well thank you," Jake smiled at them.
"Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears," Fred said, turning back to Harry, "We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."
"You want to be careful," Ron said, staring at the ear, "if Mum sees one of them again..."
"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," Fred said.
The door opened a second later and a long mane of red hair appeared, "Oh hello, Harry," Ginny said brightly, "I thought I heard your voice." She turned to the twins, "It's a no go with the Ears... she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How do you know?" George asked, looking crestfallen.
"Tonks told me how to find out," Ginny said, "You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."
Fred heaved a deep sigh, "Shame... I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape?" Harry asked quickly, "Is he here?"
"Yeah," George said, carefully closing the door and sitting down on one of the beds, with Fred and Ginny following suit, "Giving a report. Top secret, and very important."
"Git..." Fred said idly.
"He's lucky to be alive and able to give that report," Jake said, leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, heard you almost killed him last year," George said, almost sounding as though he wished Jake had gone through with it.
"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny said, revealing that Bill was here too.
"Bill's here? I thought he was working in Egypt?" Harry asked.
"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," Fred said, "he says he misses the tombs, but," he then smirked, "there are compensations..."
Jake knew exactly what Fred was getting at, "You mean Fleur, right?"
"He gets it in one," George said in mock celebration, "yeah, he's been helping Fleur to eemprove 'er Eeenglish ."
"Good for her," he smiled, glad Fleur had found someone better than him.
"Charlie's in the Order too," George said, "but he's still in Romania. Dumbledore wants as many foreign Witches and Wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."
"Couldn't Percy do that?" Harry asked.
It was apparently the wrong thing to ask as all of the Weasley's exchanged darkly significant looks, Hermione having already been told what happened, "Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad," Ron said to Harry and Jake in a tense voice.
"Why?" Jake asked him.
"Because every time Percy's name is mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum breaks out into tears," Fred said.
"It's been awful," Ginny said sadly.
"I think we're well shut of him," George said with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face.
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"Percy and Dad had a row," Fred said, "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who does the shouting..."
"It was the first week back after term ended," Ron said, "we were about to come here to Grimmauld Place. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted."
"You're kidding?" Harry asked.
"Let me guess... he's Fudge's bitch boy, isn't he?" Jake asked, earning a light, and somewhat playful smack from Hermione.
"And again, he gets it in one," Fred said with a chuckle.
"We were all surprised," George said, "because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realized Crouch was off his rocker and informed a Superior, but you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain..."
"Well, he wouldn't have been promoted after something like that happened, he'd have been fired... unless... it was to keep tabs on his own family?" Jake asked them.
"You've really got to stop doing that... it's kind of scary," George said with an odd look.
"Wait, is that why they promoted him?" Harry asked.
"We were wondering at first, but hadn't come to any concrete conclusion," Ron said, who seemed very keen to keep a normal conversation going now that Harry had stopped yelling, "He came home really pleased with himself - even more pleased than usual if you can imagine that - and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."
"Only Dad wasn't," Fred said grimly.
"Did he realize what Jake did?" Harry asked.
"I think so," Fred nodded, "because apparently Fudge has been storming around the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore."
"He's doing a banger of a job, isn't he?" Jake said dryly.
"That was my thought when I realized how many Ministry Officials there were in the Order," Hermione said.
"Yeah, see Dumbledore's name's muddy with the Ministry these days," George said, "They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back."
"Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks," Ron said.
"Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession," Fred said.
"So is that when your Dad suspected Percy was only given his position to spy on you all?" Harry asked. When all the Weasley's nodded, Harry let out a low whistle, "Bet Percy loved that."
Ron laughed in a hollow sort of way, "He went completely berserk. He said - well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been - you know - not had a lot of money, I mean-"
" What ?" Harry asked in disbelief.
'I wonder if any of them agree with Percy, they are just too afraid to admit it?' Jake thought to himself.
"I know," Ron said in a low voice, "and it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he - Percy - knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."
"I never hid my dislike for Percy, but I hope you don't mind me saying that he's gone fucking mental," Jake said.
"No, we - we kind of agree with you," George said in a strained kind of voice.
"Mum's been in a right state," Ron said, "You know - crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy, but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work - ignores him, I s'pose."
"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," Harry said slowly, "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof-"
"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row," Ron said abrasively, but not towards Harry, "Percy said the only evidence was your word and... I dunno... he didn't think it was good enough."
"Percy takes the Daily Prophet very seriously," Hermione said tartly. Jake merely just smiled, shook his head, and said nothing. He already said his piece about people who believe the Daily Prophet , whether it's an article by Skeeter or not.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"Haven't - haven't you been getting the paper?" Hermione asked, blindsided a bit by his question.
"Yeah, I have!" Harry said hurriedly.
"Have you been reading it thoroughly?" She asked.
"Not cover to cover," Harry said defensively, "If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn't it?"
"Well... that's the problem, Harry, to pick up on what the Prophet is saying about you, you'd need to read it cover to cover. It's a couple of times a week they mention you-"
"But I'd have seen-"
"Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't," Hermione said, trying to remain calm, "I'm not talking about big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a standing joke."
"What d'you-"
"It's quite nasty, actually," Hermione said, still remaining calm, "they're just building upon what Skeeter started."
"She's not still writing for them, is she?" Harry asked warily.
"Oh, no she's kept her promise," Hermione said with a smirk.
"Not that she'd have a choice..." Jake said darkly.
"But she laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now," Hermione finished.
"Which is what ?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Okay, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking person who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something," Hermione said repulsively, "they keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears they say something like 'a tale worthy of Harry Potter' and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's 'let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next-"
"I don't want anyone to worship-" Harry began hotly.
"You know that, I know that, everyone here knows that, Harry," Hermione said quickly, tired of being interrupted, "but you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want Witches and Wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going."
"I didn't ask - I didn't want - Voldemort killed my parents !" Harry stuttered out, "I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never-"
"We know , Harry," Ginny said earnestly.
Jake exhaled slowly; the more he heard, the more angry he was getting. He hadn't been getting the Prophet because he was not paying for that trash, "And of course," Hermione continued, "they didn't report a word about the Dementor attacking you. Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, an out-of-control Dementor. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy - we thought they would, it would tie in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off - we think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town, but you're not going to be expelled. You shouldn't so long as they follow their own laws."
Jake was unable to stop the laugh that came from his mouth that time, "A government that follows their own laws... that'd be something."
The sound of footsteps entered their ears seconds later, meaning that the meeting was finally over.