I will always find you

OOTP 2

"What’s the Order of the — ?” Harry began.

“Not here, boy!” snarled Moody. “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. As the message curled into flames and floated to the ground, Ella looked around at the houses again. They were standing outside number eleven; he looked to the left and saw num-
ber ten; to the right, however, was number thirteen.

“But where’s — ?” Ella started.

“Both of you think about what you’ve just memorised,” said Remus quietly. Ella thought, and no sooner had she reached the part about number twelve, Grimmauld Place, than a battered door emerged out of
nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. It was as though an extra house had inflated, pushing those on either side out of its way. She glanced at Harry who was gaping at it. The stereo in number eleven thudded on. Apparently the Muggles inside hadn’t even felt anything.

“Come on, hurry,” growled Moody, prodding Harry in the back. Harry walked up the worn stone steps, staring at the newly materialised door followed by Ella. Its black paint was shabby and scratched. The silver door knocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or
letterbox. Remus pulled out his wand and tapped the door once. Then they heard many loud, metallic clicks and what sounded like the clatter of a chain. The door creaked open.

“Get in quick, both of you” Remus whispered. “But don’t go far inside and don’t touch anything.” Harry stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall pulling Ella in with him. She could smell damp, dust, and a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a derelict building. The others filing in behind them. Moody was standing on the top step and releasing the balls of light the Put-Outer had stolen from the streetlamps; they flew back to their bulbs and the square beyond glowed momentarily with orange light before Moody limped inside and closed the front door, so that the darkness in the hall became complete.

“Here” He rapped Harry hard over the head with his wand; Harry felt as though something hot was trickling down his back this time and knew that the Disillusionment Charm must have lifted. “Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here,” Moody whispered. The others’ hushed voices were giving Ella an odd feeling of foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house of a dying
person. She heard a soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and ageblackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Ella heard something scuttling behind the baseboard. Both the chandelier
and the candelabra on a rickety table nearby were shaped like serpents. There were hurried footsteps and Mrs. Weasley,
emerged from a door at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome as she hurried toward them, though Ella and Harry noticed that she was rather thinner and paler than she had been last time they had seen her.

“Oh, Harry, Ella, it’s lovely to see you both!” she whispered, pulling Harry first into a ribcracking hug before holding him at arm’s length and examining him critically. “You’re looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you’ll have to wait a bit for dinner, I’m afraid. . . .” She then pulled Ella into a tight hug after she'd let Harry go before she turned to the gang of wizards behind him and whispered urgently, “He’s just arrived, the meeting’s started” The wizards behind Harry all made noises of interest and excitement and began filing past Harry toward the door through which Mrs. Weasley had just come; Harry made to follow Remus, but Mrs. Weasley held him back. “No, Harry, the meeting’s only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, both of you can wait with them until the meeting’s over and then we’ll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall,” she added in an urgent whisper.