𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗟

ACT ONE, CHAPTER ONE
screaming portraits and spilled
butterbeer and talks of voldemort,
oh my!

PENELOPE LESTRANGE ALREADY hates her new summer home, and she hadn't even seen it yet.

Hey, who could blame her? She'd had some big plans for this summer. Hang out with Ted and Andromeda (her guardians, that's a bit of a story), go to a Weird Sisters concert with Nymphadora (Tonks, whatever) if she wasn't busy with the Order of the Phoenix, maybe go to the Muggle town by her house and coffee with one of the cute boys there without telling her friends about it . . . but nooooo, that couldn't happen. So she here she was, doing the exact opposite of what she wanted — diving deeper into her family's lineage and learning about all of the gross incest that happened to keep the blood line pure or some shit like that.

Totally not cool.

"Penny, I know it doesn't look like much fun — trust me, I've been here plenty of times before I was banished — but this is where you'll be the safest," Andromeda Tonks told her niece, placing an arm around Penelope's shoulders. "With You-Know-Who's return, there's always a chance your parents can escape from Azkaban. We can't risk having you out in the open right now. Plus, ever since Harry Potter's Dementor attack that's leading to a Ministry hearing—"

"Harry Potter's what that's leading to a what?" Penelope asked incredulously, looking to Andromeda with wide eyes.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Andromeda questioned casually while walking up to a row of apartments. "That's why we decided to bring you here. I'm sure they'll tell you all about it inside."

Once they got close enough, an old battered door appeared between the apartments eleven and thirteen, followed by dirty windows. It seemed like the Muggles didn't even notice. The stereo in apartment eleven kept playing and the Muggles on the street paid Penelope and Andromeda no attention. Penelope didn't question it and followed Andromeda up the cobblestone pathway to the door of apartment twelve. Andromeda tapped the serpent-shaped lock (of course, who else obsessed with blood purity wouldn't have a Slytherin doorknob?) with her wand. There were many loud, metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain before the door creaked open.

"Before we enter, I just want to let you know, this house is very, very old," Andromeda voiced. "If you happen to look in the room with the tapestry, don't be alarmed my face is burned off. Oh, and whatever you do, do not wake the portrait."

Andromeda went inside, and Penelope followed, her trunk and owl cage in hand.

She regretted it.

As soon as she stepped in, she saw her cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, trip over an umbrella stand (typical, that girl was so clumsy.)

"Tonks!" a woman Penelope recognized as Mrs. Weasley shout in exasperation,

"I'm sorry!" Tonks apologized, still laying flat on the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over—"

She was cut off by a horrible, ear-splitting screech rang through the room. Penelope blinked in shock as more and more people came into the room. First it was Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley, and not long after, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter himself. Andromeda hastily took Penelope's things from her hands and set them down in the middle of the room. Andromeda grabbed her hand and led her to the scene (although Penelope wasn't sure she wanted to go), everyone else following behind them.

Moth-eaten velvet curtains flew open at once, revealing the ugliest portrait Penelope had ever seen in her entire life. It was a picture of an old woman wearing a black cap. She was drooling, her eyes were rolling, and the yellowing skin of her face was stretched as far as it could as she screamed like somebody was murdering her. Her fit caused the rest of the portraits in the house to yell as well.

Penelope looked up at her aunt with a look that just said what the fuck? Andromeda shrugged in response as Remus Lupin and Mrs. Weasley ran forwards to close the curtain. However, it was no use. The ugly old woman merely screamed louder and tried to tear at their faces through the portrait.

"I see what you meant by don't wake the portrait," Penelope said to Andromeda.

"Filth!" the woman shouted. "Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers—"

Penelope stepped forwards in front of everyone in effort to see who the person in the portrait actually was, but then something strange happened. The woman immediately silenced at the sight of the girl, making the rest of the portraits go quiet as well. She watched Penelope with eyes so wide they stopped rolling. Penelope stared at her in confusion. She was so confused that she barely heard the door open behind her to reveal Sirius Black.

"Bellatrix!" the old woman cried, and Penelope's breath hitched. "The most perfect Pureblood daughter has returned! Now my home can be freed of all this filth!"

Now, Penelope isn't that surprised by this interaction. People always told her that she was the splitting image of her mother. She just hated it. Bellatrix was an awful person, and they often made assumptions about Penelope just because of her. For once, Penelope just wanted to be known as . . . well, Penelope.

Sirius Black — don't worry, Andromeda had already informed her of his innocence — then stood in front of her. With the help of Remus, they managed to yank the curtains shut. Penelope blinked up at him as Sirius turned to face her.

"So, you're Lestrange's daughter, huh?" Sirius inquired. "So sorry about my mother. It seems that she's put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas."

"Unfortunately, I am," Penelope answered, glancing at the closed curtains for a moment. What a fucking great two seconds already in this stupid place. "And it's fine, don't worry about it." She snapped out of her daze and held out her hand to him. "Hi, I'm Penelope. Aunt Andy has told me a lot about you, Sirius."

"All good things, I hope," Sirius commented while shaking her hand, winking at Andromeda.

"But why is she here?" Weasley (Ron — none of them are really on a first name basis) asked, making everyone turn to him. "Won't she just join the Death Eaters anyway?"

"Ron!" Granger scolded, hitting him on the chest. She offered Penelope a smile. The two of them were kind of friendly, since Penelope was known as being one of the nice Slytherins. "Lovely to see you, Penelope."

"You too, Granger," Penelope responded with a smile as well. She then looked to Weasley. "Well, Weasley, you see, I'm utterly terrified of my parents. You know, I shouldn't be because parents should be loving, but mine left me to go torture people. And I really don't feel like joining a group who are killing people like my uncle. Like, ever. Slytherins may have hurt you in the past like my loser of a cousin Draco, but I'm not like them. Not all of Slytherin is bad. Trust me on that."

The room was encaptured in silence after that. Sirius was the one to save it.

"Let's go downstairs before she wakes up again," Sirius announced.

The rest of the group followed after him down the steps. Penelope couldn't help but notice the way Weasley's gaze lingered on her curiously just a little bit longer. She raised an eyebrow, and he looked away, joining Potter and Granger's side. Penelope sighed and went to join, but Andromeda grabbed her wrist, making her turn around.

"I have to get back to Uncle Ted," Andromeda stated.

Penelope frowned. "Aunt Andy . . ."

"You'll be okay." Andromeda pulled Penelope into a comforting hug. "I'll write you a letter daily. If you need anything, just ask Nymphadora or Sirius. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you. Have fun, I'll be there to send you off to school. I love you."

Have fun, Penelope thought to herself, scoffing internally. Yeah, right.

She hugged her aunt just a little tighter before releasing. "I love you more."

Andromeda kissed her forehead before walking out of the door. Penelope watched her retreating figure until the door completely shut. She wrapped her gray cardigan a little tighter around her body and spared one last look at Mrs. Black's portrait before she descended down the staircase. Penelope followed the sound of voices and found herself in a kitchen with a long table and chairs crammed in the middle. Her nose scrunched up at the sight and smell of smoke. The source of it was a man sitting in a chair smoking a pipe.

"For the last time, Mundungus, will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!" Mrs. Weasley called.

"Ah," the man named Mundungus replied. "Right. Sorry, Molly."

He put the pipe back in his pocket. The smoke disappeared, but the horrible smell still remained in the kitchen. Penelope let out a deep breath, absentmindedly twisting one of the rings on her fingers. She felt very awkward.

"And if you want dinner before midnight, I'll need a hand," Mrs. Weasley said the room as a whole. Penelope turned to see Potter's chair scrape against the floor, but Mrs. Weasley was quick to stop him. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey—"

"What can I do, Molly?" Nymphadora questioned enthusiastically, Penelope laughing slightly as she watched her cousin bound forwards.

"Er — no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today—"

"No, no, I want to help!"

On her way to join girl Weasley — once again, Penelope had never met this girl personally, so no first name basis — in the kitchen, she knocked over a chair.

"Careful, Dora," Penelope warned jokingly. "You might knock over the whole table."

Nymphadora instantly launched Penelope into a hug. Penelope responded just as enthusiastically, the two cousins rocking back and forth from the force of Nymphadora's hug.

"I haven't seen you all summer!" Nymphadora exclaimed before releasing Penelope, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulder. "Everyone who wasn't upstairs, meet my little cousin Penelope! Penelope, this is Mr. Weasley, Bill Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher. All members of the Order."

"Uh, hello," Penelope voiced nervously, waving at everyone as they all stared at her. "What can I do to help, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Why don't you help Ginny and Hermione cut up some vegetables, dear?" Mrs. Weasley suggested, a warm, motherly smile on her face.

Penelope nodded and went over to the counter. She greeted Granger and Weasley behind the counter with a soft hello before picking up a knife and beginning to cut up a carrot.

"So, Penelope, how's your summer been?" Granger began as she cut up a cucumber.

Penelope shrugged, placing some of the cut up carrot into a bowl. "Pretty boring. I've been to the beach once or twice, but other than that, nothing really. What about you two?"

"We've been cooped up in this stupid house, doing absolutely nothing but cleaning," Weasley complained, handing her mother the bowl of vegetables to put into the cauldron. "Maybe that you're here now, it'll be more interesting. Hermione and I are the only teenage girls in a sea of boys. It'll be nice to have a third."

Penelope chuckled, feeling a spark of friendship as she leaned her back against the counter. "Definitely. I've been basically the only child without Dora around this summer. I've been invited to my friends' manors, of course, but they're so . . . cold. Even Daphne's, who's literally a ray of sunshine."

"Fred — George — NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, interrupting the girls' laughter.

Penelope turned around to see what was going on, and her eyes instantly widened. Fred and George, the Weasley twins, was using their new legal magic (oooooh, they're seventeen, how fucking cool) to bring the large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of butterbeer, and a wooden breadboard with a knife over to the table. However, everything went terribly wrong. All of the food ended up hurtling towards the table, making Potter, Sirius, and Mundungus dive away from the chair. The stew that Penelope had so graciously cut a carrot for landed right at the end of the table (are you shitting her?), the butterbeer fell with a very loud crash (the butterbeer!), and the bread knife implanted itself into the table where Sirius' hand had just been seconds before (he could've been impaled!.)

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Mrs. Weasley screamed, making Penelope jumped a bit. She wasn't used to yelling. "THERE WAS NO NEED — I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS — JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" one twin insisted, hurrying forward and wrenching the bread knife out of the table. "Sorry Sirius, mate — didn't mean to—"

Penelope sighed. She walked to the other side of the counter and picked up the now empty iron flagon. Penelope placed it on the counter, but her eyebrows knit in thought at the feeling of someone's eyes on her. She turned to see Weasley staring at her yet again. Penelope offered him a tiny smile with an eyebrow raise. He blinked at her before tearing his eyes away with rosy cheeks.

"Boys," Mr. Weasley said calmly, lifting the stew back into the middle of the table. "Your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age—"

"—none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley interjected.

Penelope frowned. She went to say that's not very fair to compare people to defend them, but she closed her mouth once Mrs. Weasley slammed a fresh flagon of butterbeer onto the table.

"Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't Charm everything he met! Percy—"

She suddenly stopped. Mrs. Weasley spared her husband a frightened look, whose expression was hard as steel (Penelope would know, she has that expression herself.) Penelope cast a confused look at the Weasley girl next to her, but she only shook her head in response.

"Let's eat," Bill stated quickly.

Everyone settled down into their chairs. Penelope opted to sit in between Nymphadora and Granger. She ladled some stew onto her plate and poured herself a glass of butterbeer.

"It looks wonderful, Molly," Lupin commented, ladling some stew onto a plate and handing it to Mrs. Weasley from across the table.

Penelope nodded, hoping for once in her fucking life she wasn't awkward while trying to be polite. "Yes, thank you for dinner, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to calm down just a little after that. "You're very welcome, dear."

The room was pretty much silent besides the sounds of silverware hitting plates and the scraping of chairs against the floor as everyone ate their food.

Mrs. Weasley was the first one to speak, turning to Sirius. "I've been meaning to tell you, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a Boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."

"Whatever you'd like," Sirius responded casually, taking another bite of stew.

"The curtains in there are full of Doxies too," Mrs. Weasley continued, although Sirius didn't look thrilled whatsoever. "I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," Sirius said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

It was a little weird for Penelope at the moment. She felt like an outcast as the table began to separate into different groups — Potter, Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius not saying anything; Bill, Mr. Weasley, and Lupin having a discussion about goblins; and Mundungus, Weasley, and the twins talking about Mundungus' life as a criminal or some shit like that.

Penelope suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Nymphadora making her nose change into different things with her Metamorphmagus powers. Nymphadora currently had the one of a pig. Penelope let out a loud laugh, along with girl Weasley and Granger.

"Oh, Dora, do my favorite!" Penelope requested. "The duck one!"

Unfortunately, Nymphadora did not get to change her nose into a duck. Mrs. Weasley, once again, was the one to interrupt all of the conversations again.

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," Mrs. Weasley told him coldly.

"Beg pardon, Molly," Mundungus replied, wiping some tears off his face and winking at Potter. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong—"

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons."

Penelope covered her mouth with her hand casually, trying to not laugh at the embarrassed looks of her children. Mrs. Weasley then threw a very venomous look at Sirius before going to get dessert. Potter, obviously confused, looked to Sirius for help. The two began to converse quietly and only stopped when Mrs. Weasley came back with rhubarb crumble and custard.

After a pretty large dessert, Penelope was exhausted. Nymphadora let out a large yawn next to her. Penelope leaned her head against Nymphadora's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around the younger girl and pulled her in closer.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," Mrs. Weasley declared with a yawn.

"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius interjected, looking at Potter as he pushed his empty plate away. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The room suddenly turned cold. Instead of being sleepy and relaxed, the environment was now tense and alert. Penelope picked her head up and glanced around the table. It suddenly seemed that everyone's eyes were on her. As the only Slytherin in a room full of Gryffindors, she guessed she kind of understands. But still, it's 1995. Isn't this whole rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor getting a little annoying?

"I did!" Potter protested indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so—"

"And they're quite right," Mrs. Weasley cut in, apparently no longer tired anymore. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Sirius inquired. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen—"

"Hang on!" one Weasley twin interrupted loudly.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" the other asked angrily.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" the first one argued.

"You're too young, you're not in the Order," the second one mocked in a high-pitched voice that sounded a lot like Mrs. Weasley. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius calmly told them. "That's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand—"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs. Weasley announced sharply, her kind face now dangerously deadly. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" Sirius responded politely with a hint of hardness in his tone.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," Mrs. Weasley emphasized.

Penelope felt very uncomfortable (wow, what a common theme!) as Mrs. Weasley and Sirius went back and forth. She kind of wanted to go and take a nap, but not if they were talking about Voldemort. That she had to stay for.

"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly," Sirius countered. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back—" there was a collective shudder at the name, what the actual fuck "—he has more right than most to—"

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs. Weasley insisted. However, Penelope's mind was still racing at Sirius' statement. She deserved to know just as much as Potter did, for but different reasons. "He's only fifteen and—"

"—and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order, and more than some—"

"No one's denying what he's done! But he's still—"

"He's not a child!" Sirius asserted impatiently.

"He's not an adult either!" Mrs. Weasley reiterated, her face turning as red as her hair. "He's not James, Sirius!"

"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly."

"I'm not sure you are! Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"

"What's wrong with that?" Potter questioned in the midst of all the chaos.

"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, her eyes blazing at Sirius. Well, ain't that the truth, Penelope thought to herself. I can relate to that. "You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius demanded, his voice also raising.

"Meaning you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and—"

"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley called, rounding on her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"

How unfair is that, dragging her poor husband into this, Penelope said to herself in her mind.

Mrs. Weasley cleaned his glasses on his robes and did not speak until he placed them back on his nose. "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is staying at headquarters—"

"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!" Mrs. Weasley urged.

"Personally," Lupin chimed in, and Mrs. Weasley looked at him eagerly, thinking she was about to get an ally — newsflash, she wasn't. "I think it better that Harry gets the facts — not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture — from us, rather than a garbled version from . . . others."

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said while breathing heavily, glancing around the table for support that did not come. "Well . . . I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Harry's best interests at heart—"

"He's not your son," Sirius uttered quietly.

"He's as good as," Mrs. Weasley shot back. "Who else has he got?"

"He's got me!"

"Yes. The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

Penelope froze, her eyes widening. What a low blow. That was very uncalled for.

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," Lupin told her quietly. "Sirius, sit down."

Mrs. Weasley was trembling. Sirius hesitantly sank into his chair, looking as if he'd seen a ghost for the first time.

"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this. He's old enough to decide for himself."

"I want to know what's been going on," Potter said at once.

"Very well," Mrs. Weasley responded, her voice cracking. "Ginny — Ron — Hermione — Fred — George — I want you out of this kitchen, now."

There was an instant uproar. Penelope, once again, felt out of place. Maybe she was just born to be an outcast.

"We're of age!" the Weasley twins bellowed together.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?" Weasley shouted.

"Mum, I want to!" girl Weasley wailed.

"NO!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. She stood up, her eyes overbright. Penelope sunk back into her chair. "I absolutely forbid—"

"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," Mr. Weasley voiced, obviously very tired. "They are of age—"

"They're still at school—"

"But they're legally adults now."

Mrs. Weasley's face turned even redder. "I — oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron—"

"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!" Weasley yelled, his voice fiery. "Won't — won't you?" he added uncertainly, looking right at Potter.

Potter hesitated for a moment, as if to contemplate his decision. "'Course I will."

Weasley and Granger beamed.

"Fine!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Fine! Ginny — BED!"

The Weasley girl certainly did not go quietly. She stomped out of the room, still screaming at her mother as she went up the stairs. Not soon after, Mrs. Black's portrait began to have a fit again.

"You too, Nelope," Nymphadora ordered sadly as Lupin went to go close the curtain.

Penelope turned to face her, an incredulous expression on her face. "What?"

"You need to go upstairs. I promised mum that I would protect you."

"How are you protecting me by keeping me in the dark? I deserve to know as much as Potter does."

"And why's that?" Weasley questioned.

Penelope gritted her teeth as she looked at him, ignoring how Lupin came back into the room and closed the door. "Because of my parents, Weasley. Potter might've seen Voldemort come back—" she ignored the shudder "—but my mother is Voldemort's right hand. Probably his most loyal Death Eater ever. She's, like, psychotically obsessed with him. And since he's back, that means there's a higher risk she can escape from Azkaban, along with my father. If that eventually does happen, I should know what's going on. Don't you agree?"

Weasley glared at her, but Penelope sent a challenging look back. Nymphadora placed a hand on her shoulder, making Penelope lean against the back of her chair. Penelope rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Okay, Harry . . . what do you want to know?" Sirius began.

Potter took a deep breath. "Where's Voldemort? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news—" God fucking damn it, it's just a name Penelope thought as the table shuddered "—and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything—"

"That's because there haven't been any suspicious deaths yet," Sirius answered, and Penelope's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Not as far as we know, anyway. . . . and we know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do anyway," Lupin added on.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Potter questioned, obviously aware that Voldemort had murdered more than Cedric in the last year.

"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself at the moment," Sirius revealed. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or Potter messed it up," Penelope guessed.

Lupin sent her a nod. She smiled, but decided against giving Potter a high-five for messing up Voldemort's plan. He didn't really look in the mood to receive one.

"How?" Potter inquired perplexedly, glancing between Sirius and Penelope.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" Sirius admitted. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the very last person he wanted alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," Lupin continued. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?" Potter asked.

"Are you kidding?" Bill questioned incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned," Sirius explained.

"So what's the Order been doing?" Potter inquired, glancing around the table.

"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans."

Potter was quick to ask another question. "How d'you know what his plans are?"

"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," Lupin responded. "And Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."

"So what does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?"

"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," Sirius elaborated, and Penelope resisted the urge to go smash her head against the wall at the thought of Death Eaters. "In the old days he had huge numbers at his command; witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the Giants; well, they'll be just one group he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."

"So you're trying to stop him getting more followers?" Potter continued.

"We're doing our best," Lupin replied.

"How?"

"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," Bill answered. "It's proving tricky, though."

"Why?"

"Because of the Ministry's attitude," Nymphadora stated. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."

"But why?" Potter questioned desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore—"

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," Mr. Weasley cut in with a wry smile. "Dumbledore."

"Fudge is frightened of him, you see," Nymphadora described, squeezing Penelope's arm gently at the confused look on the girl's face.

"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Potter inquired incredulously.

"Frightened of what he's up to," Mr. Weasley corrected. "You see, Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."

"But Dumbledore doesn't want—"

"Of course he doesn't. He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."

"Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice," Lupin explained. "But it seems that he's become fond of power now, and much more confident. He loves being Minister of Magic, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."

"Excuse my language, but that's just bullshit," Penelope declared, speaking up instead of Potter. "Despite what everything else thinks, Potter and Dumbledore wouldn't just make something like that up. I mean, Voldemort is completely dangerous. Why would they lie? Not to mention that the Slytherins believe he's back, even Draco, and he doesn't agree with Potter on anything."

"That's a good point, Penelope," Sirius admitted. "However, accepting that Voldemort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years. Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilize him."

"You see the problem," Lupin vocalized. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumor mongering, so most of the Wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."

"But you're telling people, aren't you?" Potter asked, looking at the members of the Order. "You're letting people know he's back?"

They smiled at him as if to say poor, clueless boy.

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand-Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius questioned.

"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," Lupin added, which made Penelope frown. "It's an occupational hazard of being a Werewolf."

"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off, and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."

"We've managed to convince a couple of people, though," Mr. Weasley continued. "Tonks here, for one — she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time—" Penelope high-fived her cousin at that "—and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage — Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset too. He's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."

"But if none of you's putting the news out that Voldemort's back—" Potter began.

Penelope leaned forwards, resting her elbows at the table and staring at the boy. "Man, you really must be living under a rock at that Muggle house. Dumbledore's in a lot of trouble, Potter."

He looked confused. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

She sighed. "Last week's Daily Prophet said that Dumbledore was voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards. They said it's because he's aging and losing his grip, but in reality, he made a speech about Voldemort's return and was voted out. Aunt Andy was extremely upset about it. She said it was unbelievable, and frankly, I agree."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "They've also demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot — that's the Wizard High Court — and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."

"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," Bill said with a smile.

"It's no laughing matter," Mr. Weasley scolded, making Bill's smile fall off his face. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Dumbledore's out of the way — well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field." He cast a wary look at Penelope. "That can include breaking out his most loyal followers out of Azkaban."

Penelope gestured to him. "My point exactly."

"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters, it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" Potter questioned, his voice desperate.

"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry," Sirius voiced. "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practiced at operating in secrecy. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in, he's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on them at the moment.

"What's he after apart from followers?"

"Stuff he can only get my stealth." He then noticed Potter looked puzzled (okay, this boy really was oblivious). "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?"

"Yes."

"Like what kind of weapon?" Potter inquired, and Penelope's mind went into overdrive, thinking of what it could possibly be. "Something worse than the Avada Kedavra—?"

"That's enough," Mrs. Weasley's voice announced.

Penelope turned to see Mrs. Weasley standing by the door in the shadows. She had not noticed Mrs. Weasley had returned from taking her daughter upstairs, but Penelope guessed she heard the entire conversation. Mrs. Weasley looked absolutely pissed and her arms were crossed.

"I want you in bed, now. All of you."

She looked straight at the Weasley twins, Weasley, and Granger.

"You can't boss us—" one of the twins began.

"Watch me," Mrs. Weasley snarled. Her body was trembling slightly as she glared at Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straight away."

"Why not?" Potter interjected quickly, and Penelope nodded in agreement. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight—"

"No," Lupin stated firmly. "The Order is comprised only of overage wizards. Wizards who have left school," he emphasized as the twins went to speak. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you . . . I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius shrugged, but he didn't argue. Mrs. Weasley beckoned to her sons and Granger. One by one they stood up, Potter eventually following. Penelope cast a pleading look to Nymphadora, but she shook her head, making Penelope's shoulders slump.

"Go upstairs, Penelope," Nymphadora ordered. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

She joined the crowd up the stairs. Penelope only stopped to get her trunk. Granger paused with her and took her owl cage, Penelope sending her a gracious smile. Penelope lugged her trunk up the stairs with Mrs. Weasley right behind her.

"I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking," Mrs. Weasley declared once they reached the first landing. Penelope knew that wasn't going to happen. "We've got a busy day tomorrow. I expect Ginny's asleep—" she added to Granger and Penelope "—so try not to wake her up."

Granger bade all of them a good night before turning to Penelope. "You can follow me, you'll be sharing a room with Ginny and I. Trust me, it's big enough for the three of us."

Penelope nodded and looked to the rest, smiling softly. "Good night."

Everyone smiled back at her except Weasley, who sent her a suspicious glance. She gave him back her very best Slytherin glare. Weasley then looked away, terror written across his face. Penelope grinned in amusement and followed Granger down the hall.

"That way you talked back to Ron before was really incredible," Granger complimented. "And silencing him with a glare."

Penelope shrugged. "I'm pretty nice most of the time, but I can be a stone cold bitch if I need to."

Granger laughed before stopping in front of a door. "This is our room." She opened the door slowly to reveal a very spacious room with a third bed crammed into it. The Weasley girl was indeed still awake, staring angrily at the wall. "Hey, Ginny."

The Weasley girl's head snapped over to them and she stood up, walking over to the door and beginning to talk in a whisper. "Please tell me everything."

"Of course," Hermione replied. "Come in, Penelope."

Penelope lugged her trunk into the room. Granger placed her owl cage next to the trunk. Together, the three of them sat on the floor, both Penelope and Granger taking turns on telling the Weasley girl what happened in the meeting.

But at the rate this last hour was going, Penelope knew it was about to be one hell of a month.

☆ 彡

LOL HEY WELCOME TO BRUTAL

this plot has actually been in my drafts for like . . . over a year (it was originally called seventeen) and I decided to revamp it bc I liked it so much

anyways welcome to my story about baby girl penelope I already love her

also yeah I used the same layout as london boy and what about it. don't judge me I was too lazy to change it. plus this book links to that one so :)))