Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

Chapter 41

"There are no secrets that time does not reveal"

Mrs Weasley caved after other Order members gave their opinion, and Hermione, Ron, Fred and George had managed to stay in the room to hear what's been going on.

An angry Ginny was shoved from the room by an equally as outraged Mrs Weasley, but I sent her a quick wink, letting her know I'd be telling her everything later.

"OK, Harry... what do you want to know?" Sirius says the moment the door shuts behind Mrs Weasley, focusing all his attention on Harry again.

Harry took a deep breath and asked the question that I knew had obsessed him for the last month.

"Where's Voldemort?" he says, ignoring the shudders and winces at the name. "What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything."

I pay close attention to the conversation, interest to hear what they think they know, and whether it's accurate or not.

"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet" Sirius says. "not as far as we know, anyway...and we know quite a lot."

Oh shit. Well, lets hear it, then.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry questions.

"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself" said Sirius. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

Well, they got that right. The Dark Lord obviously has still been killing people, but obviously a lot less. It's better for us if the whole of the Wizarding World believes Harry Potter is a filthy liar and attention seeking, slightly psychotic child.

"Or rather, you messed it up for him" Lupin added on to Sirius' words with a satisfied smile.

"How?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" said Sirius obviously. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters were supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness. You and Lola, of course, but considering she was knocked out for half of it..." He adds on the end

"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore" said Lupin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?" Harry asks. I guess I'll leave the questions to him, then.

"Are you kidding?" said Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned" said Sirius.

"So, what's the Order been doing?" Harry said, looking around at everyone.

"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans" said Sirius.

As if they could do that.

"How d'you know what his plans are?" Harry asked quickly.

"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea" said Lupin. I could tell he was being careful about what he said, "and Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."

"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"

"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again" said Sirius. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command.  Witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants. Well, they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."

"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?"

"We're doing our best" said Lupin.

"How?"

"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard" Lucy says, putting on a sickly-sweet voice "It's proving tricky, though."

"Why?"

"Because of the Ministry's attitude." Tonks says, playing with her fork and almost dropping it. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutley refusing to believe it's happened."

"But why?" Harry says desperatley "If Dumbledore-"

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem." Mr Weasley cut in. "Dumbledore."

"Fudge is frightened of Dumbledore. or, what Dumbledore's up to. Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister for Magic."

Ha. What an idiot.

"How can he think that? How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up- that I'd- that we'd make it all up" Harry says angrily, gesturing to me.

"You see, the problem is that while the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to belive it in the first place." Lupin says, fiddling with thne rim of his goblet.

"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more  Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" Harry argues.

"Voldemort doesen't march up to people and bang on their front doors, Harry." Sirius says obviously.

No, he traps you in a graveyard and blackmails you into joining him. I should know.

"He tricks, jinxes and blackmails them." Sirius says, hopefully not reading my mind. "He's well-practiced at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans, too, plans he can put into operation very quietley indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment."

He's obviously talking about the plan to get the Prophecy out of the Department of Mysteries. How they know about that, I have no idea, but I have a feeling the Dark Lord needs to know.

"What's he after apart from followers?" Harry asks swiftly. I see Sirius and Lupin exchange the most fleeting of looks before Sirius answers. "Stuff he can only get by stealth."

Harry continues to look puzzled, and Sirius says, "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?"

"Yes."

"Like what kind of weapon?" Harry asks, his head darting from Sirius, Lupin and Lucy to Mr Weasley and Bill. "Something worse than the Avada Kedavra -?"

"That's enough!"

Mrs Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Harry hadn't noticed her return from taking Ginny upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

"I want you in bed, now. All of you" she added, looking around at Fred, George, Ron and Hermione.

"You can't boss us -" Fred began.

"Watch me" Mrs Weasley snarls. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given them plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct them  into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" Harry says quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."

"No."

It was not Mrs Weasley who spoke this time, but Lupin.

"The Order is comprised only of overage wizards," he says "Wizards who have left school," he adds, as Fred and George opened their mouths. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius half-shrugs but doesn't argue. Mrs Weasley beckoned to her sons and Hermione. One by one they stood up and Harry, recognising defeat, followed suit.

I stand up and follow them all, but not before I notice Lucy giving me another glare. What's up her arse?