The Battle

The Order

You awoke before Ron the next morning. Still angry, you sat up, ready to wake him and get to the bottom of things. But as you watched him, you noticed his face looked troubled. You studied him for a few minutes, then decided to leave him to sleep. Who knows what time he actually got to bed, and the last few days hadnt exactly been easy on him either.

You got up quietly, getting changed and leaving the room without waking him. Creeping downstairs, you couldnt help but notice how quiet the house was. Usually it was full of noise and life, but this morning it was different. It didnt feel the same.

Mrs. Weasley was already up and in the kitchen, did this woman ever stop?

"Morning dear" she smiled as she saw you, and nodded towards the table "could you help me set the table?"

"Of course" you obliged, happy to be helping. You both worked round each other in a pleasant silence. Your mind wandered back to last night, and the conversation you had overheard. "Molly..." you cleared your throat, "whats going on?"

She looked at you, her eyes full of sympathy "Oh, y/n, its best you hear it from someone else." she sighed. You nodded, the last thing you wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. After you finished setting the table, you looked out the window. It was a beautiful morning. "I think I'll go for a little walk" you informed her, grabbing your coat. She nodded happily, and returned to the stove.

The fresh air hit your face as you walked through the door. It was just what you had needed. You walked to the end of the large garden, and turned onto a small path. You didnt go far. It would be rude to miss breakfast after all the work Mrs. Weasley had put into it. You arrived back at The Burrow half an hour later.

"Molly...I'm back." you spoke as you hung your jacket up. Something was different.

You spun round quick, and realised Molly wasnt alone. Four sets of eyes stared back at you.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise..." you felt your cheeks blush.

"Nonsense, please do come and join us!" a voice you recognised got your attention. Dumbledore. His presence surprised you, even though Mr. Weasley had mentioned that he'd be here today. There was something almost hysterical about seeing him in the surroundings of The Burrow. You smiled politely, sitting down on the nearest chair. You scanned the room in a panic looking for a familiar face, there was none. "y/n, isnt it?" Dumbledore continued. You nodded, feeling like you were back in school again. "I've heard alot about you, but I'm afraid I dont have too many memories of your time at Hogwarts. Not that is a bad thing." he finished, letting out a chuckle.

All eyes fell on you, "well behaved women seldom make history" you spoke quietly. Everyone in the room laughed. Your eyes met those of a middle aged woman across from you, she smiled softly at you.

"Do forgive me, y/n. I dont believe you have met any of the other guests." Dumbledore spoke again, he looked round the room and introduced everyone else. "This is Sirius Black, he is Harrys Godfather," you knew the name, he had been falsely imprisoned in Azkaban but had managed to escape and clear his name. "And this is Remus Lupin and his wife, Nymphadora"

"Tonks." the middle aged woman corrected him, smiling at you. You returned the smile, then looked at her husband. Lupin. He had been a Professor at Hogwarts for a short while, but you barely recognised him. He had aged considerably since his time there.

"Nice to meet you all" you managed to say, even though you felt incredibly intimidated by their presence.

"Harry tells us you are quite the healer" Sirius spoke first.

You shrugged off his comment, "not really, I know enough to get by, I guess."

"Dont listen to her!" Molly finally entered the room. "Saved my Rons life!" she sat down on the arm of your chair, placing a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at her and smiled. Ron had told her afterall. Having her next to you settled you down. You relaxed into your chair, taking a minute study the people infront of you. "Come on now everyone, come eat!"

By the time you all moved to the table, Mr. Weasley had arrived, joining you all. He exchanged pleasantries with everyone before taking his seat at the head of the table.

"I'm glad you could all join us. The Ministry has been following the situation closely, but its gotten out of hand, and after the attack the other day, I'm afraid they dont have control atal" Mr. Weasley spoke slowly, making eye contact with everyone round the table. You felt awkward, wishing you were still walking through the countryside.

"I have the same concern" Dumbledore nodded, "it feels very familiar." There were mutterings round the table in agreement. "I'm afraid the Order will have to step in again, but as we can all see, our numbers have dwindled."

The Order? What was this?

"We have to get the word out." Lumpin chipped in "thats why we need Harry. He must still have some pull with the younger members." So Harry had been in this...group. But what about Ron? Did he know any of this?

"We have to act quick, they are only getting stronger." Tonks added.

"Who is?" a voice spoke. It took you a second to realise it had been your voice. All eyes fell on you again.

"The Death Eaters." Tonks answered softly.

"But I dont understand? Harry said it had been them who attacked him and Ron the other day. But why? Voldemort is dead. What are the fighting for?" you realised your questions made you look stupid. You had no idea what they were all talking about, and you were fed up being so out of the loop about something that sounded so important.

"We think," Dumbledore began "we have what the muggles like to call a 'copy cat'" his eyes smiled at you from behind his glasses. The words rang in your ear.

"A copy cat...like...a second Voldemort?" you spoke, seeing Tonks smiling at you out of the corner of your eye.

"Indeed. We can't be sure if its a loyal follower, or something more powerful"

"More powerful?" you asked.

"Some people are saying that Tom Riddle fathered a child before he became Voldemort. A load of nonsense if you ask me. Riddle didnt have it in him to form any sort of relationship with anyone. I think its just a power hungry Death Eater." Lupin shrugged.

"Perhaps, but going by what we've seen, I dont think we should be writing her off so soon" Dumbledore replied.

"Her?!" you were unsure why this information shocked you so much. Women could be very powerful witches. Everyone around the table nodded. You sat quietly, trying to take in all the information. After Voldemort returned, your parents stopped you from going back to Hogwarts for a term or two. They were scarred for you. And rightly so, many had lost their lives in the battle that followed.

"So, its time to fight." Sirius spoke, breaking the silence. "The sooner the better, we must start recruiting immediately" his eyes fell on you.

"Stop." an angry voice shot through the room. "Stop! This is bullshit!" you turned round to see Ron, looking furious. "How dare you all. Dad, what are you thinking?!" he walked over, and took your arm, pulling you away from the table. "y/n is not part of this! I wont have her in the middle of it all."

"Ronald." Dumbledore's voice was soft, but firm. It made Ron stop in his tracks. "I'm afraid, my dear boy, she is already involved. The second you fell for her, you involved her."

"No, no. Dont blame me for all of this!"

"You knew the risks. You knew they were watching us all. What made you think they wouldnt be watching her too?" Dumbledore turned away from you and Ron, his attention back at those round the table. "No one is safe. No one around this table. No one who loves someone around this table. We must not let our guards down, and we must do all we can to protect those we love."