"Do you know where Kael used magic?"
Seeing Hermione's reaction, George said indignantly, "The Leaky Cauldron! It's unbelievable!"
"That's impossible!" Hermione blurted out. "I read in a book, the Trace detects magic in a whole area—at a place like the Leaky Cauldron, packed with wizards, the Ministry of Magic can't tell who actually used the spell."
"But we saw the letter with our own eyes," Fred said.
"And we checked it tons of times. No way we got it wrong."
"But…"
Hermione wanted to say something else, but Mrs. Weasley cut her off.
"Alright, dear." She led them to the kitchen. "No matter what, everything's fine now, and that's what matters."
"I bet you're all starving. I made beef pies and roast chicken, and all kinds of jam breads…"
Mr. Weasley didn't come in with them. "Alright, I've got to go."
"At least stay for lunch."
"Can't. There's a pile of work waiting for me, I can't be away long."
With that, Mr. Weasley Apparated right out of there.
Fred and George instantly perked up and used Apparition too, moving themselves from the hall straight into the kitchen.
"Enough, you two!" Mrs. Weasley was startled and yelled, "Yes, you can use magic now, but that doesn't mean you have to use it for everything! And I've told you a thousand times—not to Apparate inside the house!"
"Yes, Mum!" Fred and George replied, then scampered off grinning.
From what Kael knew about those two, they probably didn't care at all.
As they ate, Professor Moody and Tonks returned too. The group sat around together, and Mrs. Weasley served each of them beef pie and mashed potatoes.
"So, you're joining the Order of the Phoenix too?" Tonks said excitedly, her hair turning a bright golden color.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," Kael said. Dumbledore hadn't exactly said he'd joined, but since Mr. Weasley had invited him, that probably meant he'd gotten Dumbledore's permission in advance.
So really, Kael wasn't sure if he counted as a member of the Order, or maybe just a temp?
"Doesn't matter. I think Dumbledore just thinks you're not old enough yet," Tonks said. "Just like those three."
She glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione across the table.
"Wait—" Ron quickly said. "We're not members of the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Of course not." Tonks laughed. "Every real member of the Order has to sign the Magic Contract. Have you guys signed anything?"
"Er…" Ron and Harry looked at each other. They definitely hadn't seen any Magic Contract.
"Well, you're still students," Lupin said. "But as long as you're allowed in this house, you're people we can trust. Once you graduate, you'll get to join the Order properly, I promise."
"But that's three years from now!" Ron sighed, poking glumly at his mashed potatoes.
He'd thought he was already in the Order and had been excited about it for ages, only to find it was all for nothing.
"Don't say that, Remus." Tonks's hair turned a pastel pink. "There are requirements for joining the Order. What if they flunk out and don't make the grade?"
"What?" Ron blurted, "You mean there are grades?"
"Of course," Moody growled. "The Order's here to fight Death Eaters. If you're not strong enough, what's the point? You'd just be throwing your life away—you're better off somewhere safe."
He finished speaking, then bent down and sniffed his beef pie suspiciously, as if checking for poison.
That move really didn't please Mrs. Weasley.
"Alastor, I made it all myself," she huffed.
Moody didn't reply.
He knew that, of course, but after decades of habit, it's not so easy to change.
If he didn't check, even if he'd made the food himself, he wouldn't eat it.
Mrs. Weasley, annoyed, gave him the smallest serving of mashed potatoes—barely a spoonful.
Moody, on the other hand, didn't mind at all.
Everyone really enjoyed this meal. Everyone was thrilled for Kael and Harry.
They served themselves food and chatted, and soon the topic shifted to Moody and Sirius.
"Are you both going back to Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked. "To keep teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"I'm definitely going," Sirius answered without hesitation. "I'll bet the curse is broken by now. If that's the case, what's there to worry about?"
"Great!" Harry said excitedly, but a second later, he suddenly grabbed the scar on his forehead with his hand.
But everyone else was so focused on Sirius, they didn't notice.
"What about you, Alastor?" Tonks asked.
Moody hesitated for a moment before answering.
With Voldemort back, he was bound to be busy—trying to prevent attacks, tracking Death Eaters, it all took loads of time.
But at the same time, he was bothered by how awful the Hogwarts students were at Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After all, they'd be up against Voldemort soon. They needed to know how to protect themselves. That's why he'd been torn lately.
As for Sirius…honestly, his skills were solid, but his teaching was just so-so. Barely passable, really.
"Let's wait and see." Moody cut a small piece of pie and ate it. "Maybe Dumbledore will find a better teacher."
"Not likely," Kael muttered.
He didn't know what would happen this year, but the curse probably wasn't over.
And in normal times, nobody would want that job. If there was, it was probably because Dumbledore wrangled a friend into it.
Dumbledore has plenty of friends, anyway. If he grabs one each year, he could keep going for fifty or sixty years, no problem.
In the cheerful atmosphere, lunch slowly drew to a close.
Afterwards, Tonks and Moody went back to the Ministry of Magic, while Kael went to find Sirius, who was chatting with Lupin.
"What did you say? The collection?"
"Yup." Kael nodded. "The Black family's been around a long time. There's gotta be a bunch of books somewhere. I'd like to take a look."
"Oh, that…I'll think…" Sirius frowned, digging through his memory for ages, and still couldn't remember where all the family books were kept.
He did know there was a study upstairs—that used to be his grandfather's room—and there was one wall of books, but he was pretty sure that's not what Kael was after.
"Kreacher! Kreacher!" Sirius shouted loudly, out of ideas.
He didn't know, but he certainly wasn't the only one here.
Soon, Kreacher the house-elf appeared.
"Master Sirius, Master Kael," the little elf said, bowing excitedly. "Would you like some raspberry cookies?"
"We've eaten already," Sirius answered absentmindedly, then asked, "Do you know where the books are kept—not the study, but like a hidden library or something?"
"Kreacher sure does," the elf said proudly. "The old master made sure to tell him—no matter what, Kreacher has to protect that place. It's the Black family's most important treasure."
Kreacher suddenly burst into tears. "Master Regulus used to love the collection room! Now Master Sirius has finally asked about it too."
An awkward look flashed on Sirius's face.
Honestly, if Kael hadn't asked, he probably wouldn't have thought to go looking for the collection room ever.
But seeing the house-elf sobbing and sniffling, he just couldn't bring himself to say so.
"Y-yeah," Sirius said, eyes darting around. "Take us there. We want to check it out."
The elf looked at Kael, his expression a bit conflicted and hesitant.
Someone had once told him that only Black family members could go there.
"What's wrong?"
Kreacher still hadn't answered, so Sirius frowned. "Are we not allowed to go?"
"Of course you can!" The elf made up his mind at once. "Kael may not be a Black, but he brought Master Regulus back. Even if the old master knew, he'd agree.
Kreacher will take you there right now!"
…