More than an hour had passed and lunch had long since given way to dessert but the conversation had not died down. Eventually Penelope asked Astoria to help her put everything away leaving only Harry, Daphne, Sirius, and Daniel in the room.
"Daniel, can we speak without worrying of being overheard in this room?" Sirius asked.
"Of course." Daniel assured him. "What's this about?"
"Harry already knows, and I'm sure he'd just tell Daphne if she weren't here for this so I'm just going to come out and say it." Sirius began. "Dumbledore wanted me to offer you membership in the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel sat back in his chair and sighed as if he had somehow expected this.
"Not surprising, I suppose." Daniel said finally. "Tell me Sirius, what do you think of the Order?"
"I'm not quite sure what you mean." Sirius answered. "Everyone in the Order is dedicated to bringing about the destruction of Voldemort."
"It isn't your dedication I question, it's your methods." Daniel commented. "What real action has Dumbledore taken against the Dark Lord since his resurrection? Anything? No, I thought not. I have the same goals as you do Sirius, I just question if following Dumbledore's lead is the best way to accomplish them."
"Oh we have our own problems with Dumbledore, believe me." Harry said. "But still, I don't think he's evil."
"No, neither do I." Daniel replied. "But he doesn't have to be evil to be an arrogant fool whose days of leading the fight against dark wizards should have ended fifty years ago. Forgive me if this is a sensitive subject, but Daphne told me of the prophecy. And I already knew that the Dark Lord had made at least one Horcrux, possibly more. These are important revelations that should prompt action. Dumbledore is still a powerful wizard and if it is your destiny to oppose the Dark Lord then he should be training you in addition to helping you hunt down and destroy every last Horcrux. But what has he done instead? Locked you up with your muggle relatives until your godfather was forced to come rescue you." Harry found he really could not argue with Daniel's logic and nodded in agreement.
"Harry and I plan on destroying what remains of Voldemort's soul this summer. Soon he will be mortal again." Sirius vowed.
"Yes, and what does Dumbledore say of that?" Daniel asked.
"We didn't tell him what we were planning." Harry answered. "But he'd probably want us to leave it to him."
"I concur." Daniel said. "What would be expected of me if I did join the Order of the Phoenix?"
"I'm not quite sure." Sirius answered. "To be honest, we're not doing much right now. We'd need you to help gather information, and fight alongside us when there is need."
"I would be gathering information even if I did not join the Order." Daniel replied. "And is the information gathered by others shared freely? Or does Dumbledore hold it all for himself?"
"Somewhere in the middle, I suppose." Sirius said with a sigh. "Fine, you've convinced me that the Order isn't the most useful group around but what's the alternative? Join the Ministry? Even with Amelia Bones in charge they aren't capable of handling the problem."
"You're right of course." Daniel assured him. "And in another situation I would probably just stay out of the fight altogether. But things are different this time around, neutrality is not an option."
"Is that because of me and Daphne?" Harry asked.
"Partly, but not completely." Daniel answered. "Most of the blame falls on my brother. But besides that the world will suffer irreparable harm if the Dark Lord is not stopped. There must be a force to oppose him, but that force can not be led by Albus Dumbledore."
"Who should lead then? You, Daniel?" Sirius asked skeptically. "No offense but there aren't many people who would choose you over Dumbledore."
"This isn't about prestige or winning recruits!" Daniel insisted. "All we need is a small group of people willing to do what has to be done to end this war, even if that means violating Dumbledore's rules of engagement. I'm not asking you to quit or betray the Order, but you and I both know that the Order of the Phoenix won't stop the Dark Lord this time just like they didn't stop him last time."
"You're wrong." Harry said. "My mother stopped him, and she was in the Order."
"And she did it by using a ritual that demanded she sacrifice her life for you. Do you think Dumbledore ever would have approved that method if he had known?"
"No." Harry answered truthfully. "Probably not. So what now?"
"Now I reluctantly join the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel answered.
"What?" Daphne said, speaking up for the first time in the conversation. "After all that, you're going to join anyway?"
"Besides giving me access to information I might not otherwise have it will solidify my reputation as 'one of the good guys' in their opinion." Daniel explained. "There are people in the Order whose help I would gladly welcome, but in order to convince them of my point of view I must win their trust."
"You make it sound like you're infiltrating the Order." Harry said with a small frown.
"In a way I am, Harry." Daniel answered. "But I promise to be honest with you and Sirius. Hopefully our combined efforts will be enough to stop the Dark Lord." For a few minutes after that the table was silent as each person took the time to think about what they had discussed. Harry's instinct told him that Daniel's opinion on the war was correct, but the idea that such a small group of people could defeat Voldemort and his army still seemed crazy to him.
"Now, on to more serious matters." Daniel said finally. "Just what are your intentions towards my daughter, Mr Potter?"
Harry's head jerked up in surprise at the question but found Daniel and Sirius both smiling back at him trying not to laugh. Harry stammered, trying to think of what to say, but when everyone started laughing he realized they weren't actually expecting an answer. Relieved, he began laughing too. For the rest of the afternoon they did not discuss the war again, but even so it was on each of their minds.
...
A little while later Harry, Daphne, and Sirius arrived at the apparition point in Diagon Alley where they we supposed to meet Remus and Neville for their day out. As they looked around they saw that Neville was already there and looking through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies where they were displaying the newest broom from the Nimbus company.
"Neville!" Harry yelled, trying to get the other boys attention. Neville's head shot up and he began looking around but it took him a few moments to find Harry and the others because of the crowds. Neville quickly walked over to the rest of the group.
"Hey guys." Neville said. "You're lucky I waited. I've been dying to get my wand ever since I got here."
"Sorry Neville." Harry replied. "We're just waiting for Moony now." Harry looked back towards the apparition point but didn't see Remus. He did, however, see a pair of Aurors patrolling in front of Gambol and Japes. Neither of their faces looked familiar, but Harry suspected he knew who the female Auror with purple hair was anyway. He wanted to go over and say hello, but they began quickly walking off in the other direction.
"How's your summer been?" Daphne asked.
"Good." Neville answered. "Mostly I've just been getting our greenhouse at home back in order. I don't think my Gran does anything with it while I'm away at Hogwarts and it is always in bad shape when I get there." Daphne nodded politely and then began looking around again. "There!" she said suddenly, pointing away from the apparition point towards another part of the alley. They all looked at where she was pointing and were surprised to see not just Remus but Molly, Fred & George, Ron, and Ginny with him. Remus pointed out Harry and his group to Molly and then made his way over while the Weasley's went inside Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.
....
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