Astrophile [J.P]

Chapter 73

~ Even though everything is going wrong,

I've still got hope to carry on. ~

***

The Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix wasn't in the least like what Harry had imagined when he had been told by the undercover Auror squad led by Mad Eye Moody that he would be going to their base. It was a desolate mansion that had seemed to sprung up from within the neighboring apartment buildings, a gloomy sign reading Number Twelve Grimmauld Place hung upfront.

Tonks told him to be quiet while Moody got the doors to open but in her clumsiness, she knocked over the umbrella stand and a portrait on the wall began to screech madly.

"FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS! SCUM OF THE EARTH! HOW DARE YOU POLLUTE MY NOBLE HOUSE..."

But before she could roar further, Moody had forced the curtains over it shut thus silencing her for a while. Harry looked around at the rather ancient interior with a mix of amazement and confusion. The heirlooms on display seemed no different than the trinkets he had seen in Borgin And Burkes, that very association making him think that the place had some connection to Dark Magic.

Hence, why that old mansion was being used as a headquarter for the Order was still an unanswered question for him.

"Harry dear, I'm so relieved you're here at last," Molly's motherly voice greeted him and he turned in surprise to see that the Weasleys were staying there too. 

She told him that she would lead him to Ron's room and also told him that Hermione had joined them as well.

Harry felt dejected that all of them had been spending the summer break together while he hadn't received even a single letter from them. But before his mood could deteriorate further, he spotted a very familiar face. 

Unlike the last time he had seen him, Sirius Black looked much younger with his hair tidier and his eyes gleaming with a mischievous spark. The smirk dancing on his face also indicated that Sirius was slowly shedding the distressing side effects of staying in Azkaban for twelve painful years and was at last coming back to his former state. 

Seeing his godfather in front of him looking much better than before made him forget about everything else and he called out, "Sirius!"

However, Sirius wasn't the only familiar face he had just spotted as right beside him was Felicity Latvia, the woman he had accidentally met on his way home and who had shown him pictures from his parent's last three years at Hogwarts.

The sight in front of him reminded him of a photograph he had seen in Felicity's collection of her and Sirius arguing. Right then the situation wasn't much different as Sirius was holding a cup, complaining that it had chamomile oil instead of chamomile tea in it. 

But the spark in his eyes and the smirk on his face was proof that he was only teasing her and his statement had very little truth in it.

Felicity had a frown on her face when he added that if she couldn't give him tea, she should have just handed him a bottle of Firewhiskey. And at that remark, the woman had glared at him with a fierce intensity, "Sirius, no drinking in the house. Get out."

"When am I ever allowed out of the house?"

But as Sirius turned and saw Harry, he almost dropped the cup in excitement. Felicity followed his gaze and saw Harry as well who looked exactly like James Potter did in his fifth year.

The frown and glare from Felicity's face melted as she saw Sirius embrace the boy warmly, patting his back just like he used to do with James. The smile lighting up his features reminded her of the days when the war hadn't torn them all apart, when their happiness was still intact.

And of course, thinking about those days reminded her of Marlene, the wonderful girl with sparkling olive eyes and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. The girl whose presence had lit up her world until the war snuffed her out like a faint candle. 

Despite the fact that Felicity was glad to see Harry had come to Grimmauld Place and Sirius was delighted to have him around, her heart sank a little upon recalling Marlene.

"You must have met my charming mother," Sirius remarked when Harry asked whose portrait had screamed down on them when they had entered. The shock on his face was evident and Sirius chuckled, bringing him over to Felicity. "And since you've met my mother, allow me to introduce you to the only other person who's temper can rival Mum's. This is Felicity, my cousin."

Harry nodded, a polite smile gracing his features, "pleasure meeting you again, Miss Latvia."

Sirius looked shocked at the response, "you two have met each other before?"

"He lives in the neighborhood," Felicity replied, "I met him once before. In the start of his Summer Break, I think."

"But he called you Miss Latvia? Don't tell me you still kept the surname," Siri's grey eyes were looking at her reproachfully.

"Hey, all my documents have the surname Latvia. I'm not going to waste time and money in correcting it all up," she sighed, "so officially, it remains Latvia."

"I hadn't known you were Sirius' cousin," Harry spoke up and Fel's eyes twinkled, recalling the remark she would give to anyone who pointed out that she and Sirius were related.

"Not a fact I would flaunt, to be honest," but then judging the current context, she added, "well, I'm not referring it due to the whole Azkaban stuff. It's just meant towards his awful personality." 

Sirius shook his head, laughing for what seemed like the first time in weeks, "awful personality? I'm sure you meant to say awesome, darling cousin."

"Shut up, you're giving me Bellatrix vibes right now."

"Yikes, I'd rather not..."

However, their conversation which was the only lighthearted thing going on at the moment in that gloomy house was broken when Molly told them that the meeting was about to start. Harry had no idea what meeting she had referred to but it seemed quite serious, judging by the look on the Black cousins' faces.

And it also seemed clear that no children were allowed in the meeting.

It was then Harry remembered that Molly would be taking him to Ron's room and thinking about Ron and Hermione as well as all the other people staying there made him feel left out again.

Sirius patted his back before leaving with Felicity as Molly led him up the stairs, warning him to be very careful as the house was ancient and everything was in need of repairing.

She showed him inside the room where Ron and Hermione were already seated and seeing Harey they had rushed to give him a hug. Molly had left immediately afterwards, not wanting to miss the meeting at any cost.

As Ron and Hermione pulled apart, they noticed the look on Harry's face and braced themselves for an outburst.

They had seen it coming the day Dumbledore had asked them not to contact Harry and they had initially refused but had to give in to his order. Both of them knew that Harry's anger and dejection was justified but they hoped he would listen to their side as well and see for himself that it wasn't something they had done willingly.

It was due to Dumbledore's orders and as always, the man had claimed that by doing so, they would just be keeping Harry safe.

***