Into the Arms of the Night

Chapter 8: Albus Dumbledore's True Face and the Order's Plans

The Order of the Phoenix and various others whom had joined them from afar due to the seriousness of the issues at hand with regards to the war they waged and how the tides had shifted; they all sat quietly in the large kitchen of Grimmauld Place and were mostly silent. They all were keeping their thoughts to themselves amid a home that truly did not belong to them and were not at all unaware of the imminent dangers they were in if they continued to stay there without the actual owner's permission.

But that was the problem with their headquarters; the new one wasn't quite yet warded enough to guarantee their protection, and despite who the owner was of the house, the wards here were far more likely to safeguard them from most things. Though, all the adults in the room knew and were aware that they were treading a thin line with the safety of all within.

Most of them felt some form of guilt about using the home after what they had just witnessed and learned of Potter. Of what he had endured, gone through, and given of himself alongside of sacrificed for them because of them and their decisions...and because of to whom they had pushed him to in the efforts to survive.

However, those thoughts were also just as quickly shoved away after what they had all seen had become of Harry now that they had turned their backs to him. Many of them had not found the idea easy to do nor one that was pleasant; but, they had all thought that Albus knew what was best and had trusted the man to guide them and keep Harry peaceful to them.

A decision they were all questioning now. They were all nervous and skittish; as they should be one might think, but that did not mean they would simply surrender either. The Ministry of Magic had yet to contact Albus with a formal response to what the Aurors had seen, heard and felt.

It was likely they wouldn't respond to him directly; the Ministry and Albus still not having fixed the gaping breach between them. Harry's defection wasn't going to help matters for them in this when the Minister learned it was Albus and his decisions that led to this nightmare.

Waiting like this made them all more nervous; feeling like sitting ducks. But, they had nowhere else to call their own as a safe Headquarters; not with the new one still needing time to place the full set of wards to it and for them to setttle. Realizing that Harry was now the newest Lord Black upon Sirius's death, and could walk in anytime he wanted to didn't make them feel safe though.

"Albus, how are we to fight them if they're as you say; that they're immortal." Molly asked him; the fear for her family clearly evident

As she said that, another massive wave of raw magic and undeniable power pushed over the house; causing them all to shudder in fear and revulsion. This had been occurring for the last several hours and none of the members to the Order liked the sensations it brought. They all knew what it meant by now; that Harry and Riddle were...otherwise engaged with the other and all of them had tried not to think on it.

Albus sighed as his blue eyes hardened, "The problem isn't that they're supposedly immortal; for they can die, it just will now not ever be in a normal manner. Their immortality will only last so long as we have no way to combat it and work against it. That makes thing far more precarious since both Harry and Tom are not dumb; far from it even if Harry had never truly shown his true intellect, and both will be extra cautious."

He then eyed the table a moment, "The real problem here is that now Harry knows of his full power; a totality of which I never intended to let him know about due to the dangers. I was proven correct; for he turned on us when he realized we left him to die... and beyond a doubt; he did not perish as he was meant to in order to fulfill the prophecy of him and Lord Voldemort."

Albus stood and paced as all watched with anxiety, "I am going to be truly honest with all of you. About many things that I have spoken little of. This war is now going to be far more of a war than I anticipated when I knew Tom would return. You all have given to me your time, your loyalties, and you put your lives into my hands if I called you to arms; you deserve now to know.  I am, as the leader of the light, going to reassemble myself from the days of fighting against Gelllert Grindelwald and his forces more than before."