Raised By Wolfstar: Slytherin Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Chapter Five: The Order Of The Phoenix

'Your—?'

'My dear old mum, yeah,' said Sirius sarcastically after giving Harry an oddly quick hug. 'We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again.'

'But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?' Harry asked, bewildered, as they went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the others just behind them.

'Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house,' said Sirius. 'But I'm the last direct Black left, so it's technically been mine for a decade. I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters—about the only useful thing I've been able to do.'

Harry, who had expected a better welcome, noted how hard and bitter Sirius's voice sounded. He followed his godfather to the bottom of the stairs and through a door leading into the basement kitchen.

It was scarcely less gloomy than the hall above, a cavernous room with rough stone walls. Most of the light was coming from a large fire at the far end of the room. A haze of pipe smoke hung in the air like battle fumes, through which loomed the menacing shapes of heavy iron pots and pans hanging from the dark ceiling. Many chairs had been crammed into the room for the meeting and a long wooden table stood in the middle of the room, littered with rolls of parchment, goblets, empty wine bottles, and a heap of what appeared to be rags. Mr Weasley was at the end of the table and Bill quickly made his way over to listen to something Mr Weasley was saying very quietly.

Sirius' husband and Harry's other Guardian Remus was also sitting at the table. Though only in his mid-thirties, Lupin looked a little more tired and older than he should; he had more gray hair than when Harry had said good-bye to him at the end of June, and more age lines covered the several scars along his face. Nevertheless, when he saw Harry he smiled broadly and stood, Harry tried to smile back through his anger and exhaustion.

'Harry!' Remus exclaimed happily, which got Mr Weasley's attention. 'It's so good to finally have you back with us!'

He quickly walked over and gave him a more proper hug than Sirius had given. It didn't last long though as Mr Weasley, a thin, balding, red-haired man, who wore horn-rimmed glasses, looked around and jumped to his feet.

'Harry!' Mr Weasley said, hurrying forward to greet him and shaking his hand vigorously. 'Good to see you!'

Over his shoulder Harry saw Bill, hastily rolling up the lengths of parchment left on the table.

'Made your way upstairs alright, Harry?' Bill called, trying to gather up twelve scrolls at once. 'The Bundimun hasn't burned you? No Chizpurfle bites?'

'I much prefer this mess than the Neatnik house we took him from. At least here you can see the evilness within,' said Tonks, striding over to help Bill and immediately

sending a candle toppling onto the last piece of parchment. 'Oh no—sorry—'

'Here, dear,' said Mrs Weasley, sounding exasperated, and she repaired the parchment with a wave of her wand: In the flash of light caused by Mrs Weasley's charm, Harry caught a glimpse of what looked like the plan of a building.

Mrs Weasley had seen him looking. She snatched the plan off the table and stuffed it into Bill's heavily laden arms.

'This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings,' she snapped before sweeping off toward an ancient dresser from which she started unloading dinner plates.

Bill took out his wand, muttered 'Evanesco!' and the scrolls vanished.

'Sit down, Harry,' said Sirius. 'You've met Mundungus, haven't you?'