Kassandra Bauer and the Order of the Phoenix. (Book 5)

Chapter 3: Secrets Disregard.

"The Order of the what?" Harry asked as he read the letter.

"Not here, boy!" Mad Eye snarled. "Wait till we're inside!" 

He pulled the piece of Parchment out of Harry's hand and set fire to it with his wand tip. The message curled into flames and floated to the ground. We were standing outside Houses Number 11. To the left were Number 10 and to the right was Number 13. 

"Shouldn't there be a number-" I whispered to Ethan. 

"That's the idea." Ethan grinned. 

And just then, a battered down house emerged out of nowhere between Houses 11 and 13, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. Think sort of a... extra house that was inflated, pushing those on either side out of the way. It was all nothing to the Muggles. They acted like nothing was on. Maybe they ate Lotus Flowers or something. 

"Come on, hurry." Mad Eye said, prodding Harry in the bac. Side by side, we walked up the stone steps, staring at the newly materialized door. Its black paint was shabby and scratched, and silver doorknocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. I stopped at that.

"What's wrong, Kassie?" Lupin asked.

I pointed to the door knocker. "I don't like Serpents on doorknobs or anything like that. The last time it happened was the door to the Chamber of Secrets." I answered.

"Sorry about the knocker, Kassie. Sirius meant to change that out." Ethan explained. "And don't worry, we cleaned out the place good. There's no Basilisks in this one. But if you hear a bunch of screaming or otherwise someone dead on the floor. That means there's a monster in here."

"Or Barnaby having an epiphany." Tonks added.

"It's true." Barnaby said. 

Lupin pulled out the wand and tapped the door once. I heard a loud metallic click and the sound of a clattered chain, and the door opened.

"Okay, you guys go in now." Ethan instructed both me and Harry. "But don't go too far and don't touch anything." 

"Except for the floor and the air." Barnaby added. "I mean, they have to touch those two things." 

"...Except for the floor and the air." Ethan said. "Feels like old times again."

I stepped over the threshold into the complete darkness of the hall. It smelled damp, there was dust, and a very rotten smell. "Malaka. It smells like someone died in here." I commented. It looked run down alright.

"It probably did." Ethan replied. I looked over my shoulder to see the others filling in behind us. Lupin carried Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage. Werewolf Super Strength and all that. Mad Eye limped into the house and closed the front door. The last time I was in a Dark Hallway was with Ethan and Penny in the Labyrinth. I was so terrified that whole time. 

"Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here." Mad Eye whispered.

The others hushed voices gave me a horror movie feeling. I didn't like horror movies. And that soft hissing noise and the old fashioned gas lamps sputtering to life all along the walls, and casting a flickering light over the peeling wall paper did not help matters. Age portraits hung crookedly on the walls, and there was a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead, also... shaped like a Serpent.

"Would it kill these people to try a different animal?" Harry asked. 

I heard hurried footsteps and Mrs. Weasley, emerged from a door at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome, but looked rather thinner and paler than she was the last time I saw her.