WE'LL TAKE ON THE WORLD ; h.j.p.

2 | Dementor Attack

"It feels weird. Doesn't it?"

"I'm cleaning a mysterious cupboard with the chance of getting bit by some strange animal or finding the ancestors of that elf Kreacher, so yeah, a bit weird."

Allie scraped off another spot of some sticky black stuff Mrs. Weasley had not yet managed to identify.

Hermione threw a dismissive look at her for her comment and scrubbed a bit harder over the tiles on the back of the bathtub. Even though the house elf spoke to her like she was something disgusting, she had considered knitting him a pair of socks for Christmas.

"I mean Dumbledore and not telling Harry anything. Honestly, what's the worst thing that could happen?" Ron asked and sprayed some cleaning liquid onto the mirror, only for it to splash right back at his face like it had done the last five times.

Allison had a feeling that the 'PINK FLOYD ROCKS - WEREWOLVES ARE COOL - YOU SUCK' scribbling was teenage-Sirius' work, and that he had used a specific marker from Zonko's to annoy his parents even more.

"The worst thing that could happen is that a Death Eater could find the letter and show it to You-Know-Who," Hermione said. "Number twelve is protected by a Fidelius Charm. Everyone who knows about it is a secret keeper, and if we accidentally give that secret to the wrong people..."

"How does she always know everything?" Ron looked at Allison, though he seemed more impressed than annoyed. Allison shrugged. Hermione paused her scrubbing.

"Your dad told me, Ron."

"Okay, anyways, back to the letter," said Allie and pulled an extremely huge part of the black slime from the cupboard. She scrunched up her nose in disgust and threw it into the bucket beside her. "How high are the chances really that someone else will read it?"

"Well, pretty high," Hermione said. "And even if the letter gets to Harry safely, what do you think he'll do? I bet he won't just sit in his room and wish us to have fun without him."

"You call that fun?" Ron asked with a nauseated expression at the cupboard.

"You know what I mean."

"He would probably immediately fly here to escape that hellhole in Little Whinging," answered Allison her question. Hermione nodded with approval.

"Exactly. I get why Dumbledore made us swear, but what I don't understand," She said and dipped her dirty sponge in some soapsuds, "is why he can't just explain everything to Harry in another way. I'm sure there are other ways to communicate, even if he uses a telephone like you suggested, Ron."

Ron's ears began to slowly take on the colour of his hair at the mention of his name.

"Or Dumbledore just visits him. He can't be that busy," Allison said.

"Yes, but then Harry would want to go with him," remarked Ron.

All of their conversation in the last two days had either been centred around that or the Order.

On their first morning here, they had all had breakfast in the kitchen in the basement of the large house alongside other members of the Order introduced to them as Hestia Jones, a pink-cheeked, black-haired witch, and Nymphedora Tonks.

She, however, immediately informed them that her first name was off-limits if they did not want her to test a Sponge-Knees Curse on them and changed her hair colour thrice before Mrs. Weasley had even come close to finishing the fried eggs: First from a bluish purple to a deep orange when Fred had suggested the nickname "Nymphy" to her, and then to a vibrant bubble-gum pink once Remus had entered the kitchen. Allison liked her very much.