"What's the order—"

"Not here, boy!" Moody snarled. "Wait until we're inside." He yanked the piece of paper out of his hands and set fire towards it. Moody began to pound the pavement multiple times, waiting.

Harry was whispering to Lupin until he turned back to watch as number twelve appeared. It was a battered house with dirty walls and even dirtier windows. Tori remembered how she cringed the first time she had seen it.

Moody pushed Harry forward and opened the door of the house, glancing through the very narrow hallway. The others began to walk past him and into the kitchen. Tori stood behind Harry, taking a peek to make sure no wandering eyes we watching. She silently closed the door and followed Harry through the extended hallway.

The interior looked even worse than the exterior of the house. Pieces of the wall were falling off and moths were eating through the curtains.

Yeah, that was their new home.

There were hurried footsteps as Molly appeared, rushing to Harry. "Harry." Molly reached for the boy with open arms. He accepted her embrace, glancing into the kitchen. "It's lovely to see you..." Tori glanced as well into the kitchen, catching sight of Tonks's spiky bright hair.

"No, Harry, the meetings for Order members only. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meetings over. Tori, you know the rules. The twins are in their room."

Tori sighed, apparating away and up at the door of the twin's room. She opened the door swiftly.

"Bloody hell. It took you long enough!" Fred came to her immediately, wrapping his arms around her. "You have to tell us how it was." George grinned, getting up from a brewing cauldron.

Tori stood there for a moment before cracking a huge grin. "It was brilliant. I forgot how much I love riding a broom. It was freezing but absolutely worth it. It was just us and the sky. It's like anything I've been worry about just faded away behind me... What?" She turned to Fred, who was smiling as well.

"Nothing. It's just... nice to see you so happy again."

Tori blushed, glancing at the Extendable Ears in Fred's hands. "Are you planning on listening to the meeting?" She asked. George nodded, crossing his arms. "We should know what's going on."

There was a loud commotion from the floor below, no doubt coming from Harry. He was probably upset they hadn't told him about the Order. "Say, Freddie. Let's go pay Harry a visit."

Within seconds the twins disappeared and Tori quickly followed, appearing next to them on the bed. "Harry. Thought we'd heard your dulcet tones." George grinned, patting him on the shoulder.

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, mate. Let it all out," Fred said, also beaming. "There might be a couple fifty miles away you didn't hear you."

"You three passed your Apparation test, then?" Harry asked. "With distinction." Fred shrugged, holding up an extendable ear. "I didn't take mine until July," Tori admitted.

"It would have taken you thirty seconds to walk down the stairs," Ron said.

"Time is Galleons, little brother," Fred replied. "Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with the reception. Extendable Ears." He added in response to Harry's confused look.

"They work quite well," Tori said, taking them out of Fred's hand. "You want to be careful," Ron told the trio. "If Mum sees one of them again..."

"It's worth the risk," Fred said, snatching them back from Tori. "They're having a major meeting." The door was then suddenly opened and out strolled Ginny. "Hello, Harry. I thought I heard your voice."

She then turned towards the twins. "It's a no go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."

George looked crestfallen. "How do you know?"

"Tonks told me how to find out," Ginny said, closing the door. "You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and the just soar away from it, so there's no way Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."

Fred heaved a deep sigh. "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."

Tori and Harry shared a confused look. "Snape? Is he here?"

"Got here shortly after the guard left. He's giving a report. Top secret." George said.

"Git," Fred muttered.

"He's on our side now," Hermione replied.

"That doesn't stop him from being a git," Ron said. Tori nodded in agreement. "He's made our lives miserable for no reason."

"Bill doesn't like him either," Ginny said as if that settled the matter. Harry has seemed to calm himself down before asking, "Is Bill here? I thought he was working in Egypt."

"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," Fred said. "He misses the tombs, but..." He then smirked. "There are compensation..."

"What d'you mean?"

"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" George asked. "She's got a job at Gringotts to eemprove 'er Eeenglish—"

"And Bill's been giving her plenty of private lessons..." Fred sniggered before Tori hit his shoulder.

"Charlie's part of the Order, but he's still in Romania with Andromeda. Not to be confused with Tonks's mother." He added the last part quietly. "Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards as possible. Charlie makes contact on his off days."

"Could Percy do that?" Harry asked. At those words, everyone else in the room glanced at each other. "Whatever you do, don't mention Percy's name in front of Mum or Dad," Ron said tensely.

"Why not?"

"Because every time Percy's name is mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he is holding and Mum breaks down crying," Fred said sadly.

"It's been awful." Ginny shook her head.

"I think we're all shut of him," George said, an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face. "What happened?"

"Percy and Dad have a row." Fred shrugged. "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that before. It's usually Mum that shouts..."

"It was after term ended," Tori said. "We were getting ready to leave for the Order. Percy came to the Burrow and said he had been promoted."

Harry asked if she was kidding but Ron quickly informed him she wasn't. "We were all surprised," George said. "Because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to know Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior."

"So how come they promoted him?"

"That's what we all wondered," Ron replied, he seemed relieved that Harry had stopped yelling. "He came home all the pleased, more pleased than usual— and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone who's only a year out of Hogwarts. Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."

"He wasn't," Fred said grimly.

"Why not?"

"Well, apparently Fudge has been storming around the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore," said George.

"Dumbledore's name's mud with the Ministry these days, see." Fred sighed as Tori leaned her head on his shoulder. "They think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back."

"Dad says Fudge has made it clear anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks," George replied, running his fingers through his hair. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's obsession with Muggles was weird."

"But what's this have to do with Percy?"

"I'm coming to that. Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy I how office because he wants to use him to spy on the family, and Dumbledore."

"I bet Percy loves that..."

Ron let out a hollow laugh. "He went completely berserk. He said— well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he's joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been— you know— not had a lot of money."

"What?" Harry gasped.

"I know." Ron sighed. "And it's gotten worse. He said Dad was an idiot for running around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going down with him. And he— Percy— knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he didn't want to belong to our family anymore. He packed his bags and left. He lives in London now."

Harry swore under his breath. "Mum's been in a right state. You know— crying and stuff. She went up to London to talk to him but he just closed the door in her face. I dunno what happens when he crosses Dad at work. Probably ignores him."

"But Percy knows Voldemort back right?"

"He believes the Prophet."

Tori became immediately uncomfortable the moment Hermione explained what the Prophet was saying about Harry.

"I didn't ask— I didn't want— Voldemort killed my parents! I got famous because he murdered my family and couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that?! What else are they saying?"

"They saying Cedric's death was an accident." Tori's voice hardened as all eyes turned on her. There wasn't any time to say more since Molly's footsteps began going up the stairs. Fred took one look at his Extendable Ears and quickly vanished, leaving Tori and George to do the same.

okay percy isn't a bad guy
i love to hate him though