black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER SIX

The next evening was the first Order of the Phoenix meeting that the children would be there for. It was a chaotic time as the majority of the members would be there, and they had to make sure that once the meeting started, all of the children were well away from the kitchen, where the meeting would take place. However, the children did not plan on going anywhere, as they were all gathered on the steps leading up to the first floor, watching the front door and observing the Order members trickle in.

So far, they had already been introduced to a lot of the members, including Nymphadora Tonks, who had just graduated from Hogwarts four years previously, and Alastor Moody, who had fully recovered from being locked in his own trunk for ten months. It seemed they were only waiting on the arrival of a few more people before beginning the meeting.

The door opened once more and someone all of the children recognized entered.

"Professor?" they asked in surprise.

Remus Lupin was slightly startled by the voices and a little overwhelmed at the sight of twelve of his former students. "Oh, hello," he said, giving them all a kind smile.

"Are you in the Order, Professor? That's why you're here, isn't it?" Fraser questioned.

"Yes, I am. Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that none of you are supposed to be sitting there right now." He had a playful grin upon his face, indicating that he didn't mind and wasn't about to tell them off.

"That depends. Are you going to tell our parents?" Arabella responded.

"Tell your parents what?" Their old professor winked at them. "I'll see you later." He entered the kitchen, leaving them once again to their own devices.

"I miss him teaching us," Arabella said once the door closed behind Lupin. "I wish he'd come back."

"He used to teach at Hogwarts?" Duncan asked. He was only going into his second year, meaning he hadn't been attending Hogwarts when Lupin was teaching.

"No, we just called him Professor to confuse him," Fraser said. "Yes, he taught at Hogwarts. My first year. He was brilliant. Dumbledore's going to have a hard time finding someone better than him."

"Why'd he leave?"

"'Cause he's a werewolf."

"Awfully blunt, he is," George whispered to Olivia.

"He gets it from his father," she informed him.

The news that he had just met a werewolf left Duncan to sit in awed silence. "What? R-Really?" he asked his brother.

"Yes, really," Fraser confirmed.

"Awesome!"

His reaction earned some laughter from his peers.

"You could be in there right now, you know," Olivia said, turning to her brother. "Mum said she'd let you join if you wanted."

"I know. We talked about it," Oliver said. "But I've got Quidditch."

"I plan on joining as soon as my dad lets me," Ben said.

"Good for you, Ben, but I really don't care."

"Wow," Fraser said. "Go Oliver!"

Ben opened his mouth to say something but stopped at the sound of the door opening again. This time, the person who entered was someone that they all knew but weren't too pleased to see.

"Hello, Professor," Faustus greeted the man, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Evening, Black," Professor Snape replied, saying the boy's last name with a bit of contempt. He was eyeing them all with dislike. "Unless you have all somehow been inducted into the Order, you need to find somewhere else to be." None of them moved. "I'm waiting."

"Come on, guys, let's go," Olivia said, getting up and leaving. Slowly, the others did, too, none of them looking very happy.

Snape did not enter the kitchen until they had ventured to the third floor. When they heard the door close, they all stopped in their tracks. Fred and George exchanged a look and began to race back down the stairs. Fraser and Duncan followed them, all four boys eager to find out what was being discussed in the meetings. Ginny, Ron, and Arabella tried to follow, but Olivia stopped them.

"Just watch and learn," she told them.

"Learn what?" Ginny asked.

"What not to do."

A few moments later, they heard the kitchen door open once more and Molly's voice traveled up to them, scolding the boys as they bolted back upstairs.

"Your mum is scary," Duncan told the Weasleys.

"Trust me, we've noticed," Ron said.

"She kindly passed that trait onto us," Ginny said proudly, looking to her older sister. The girls grinned at each other.

"Freddie?" George said.

"Yeah, Georgie?" Fred asked.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Always."

As the twins began to walk towards their bedroom, George grabbed Olivia's arm. "Come with us, dear girlfriend."

"Oh, this should be fun," Olivia said, wondering what in the world they could possibly have planned.

"Something like that," the twins said in unison.

They shut the door behind them and sat down on the beds.

"What are we doing?" Olivia questioned.

"Brainstorming," the two said.

"For a way to listen to what's going on in the meetings?"

"Exactly."

Olivia grinned. "What have you got in mind?"

[word count: 868]
[written: 6/15/20]
[published: 6/30/20]