New acquaintances, new truths and a new war.

"May I have a word?"

I was off in my own little world and started at the request. Especially since it came so close to my ear and the voice was so deep it felt like it vibrated inside my skull. Snapping around, I saw the dark-skinned man from... What was it? The Auror office? Carlton Shackles, wasn't that his name?

"Of course," I said politely and gestured with my hand into my office.

It wasn't really my office, but it was a room and it was empty at the moment. Darla was home and sick, Gregory had time off, and Heston, Paula and Walter had gone to lunch. It was small and worked more or less like a storage area for all the papers and files that was being worked on and not ready to be archived. All of us preferred to work in the larger room next to the office, which was really supposed to be a reception area. I couldn't for the life of me understand why we needed a reception area.

The tall dark man followed me inside, and I frowned when he closed the door and cast a silencing charm on it before reaching out for my hand in greeting. I took it hesitantly, not sure if I should be worried about his paranoid slash alarming behaviour. "Long time, no see," he said in a friendly manner. "We meet under dire circumstances again."

I was confused. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't place him, and certainly not in a way that warranted the friendliness he showed me. He must have seen my confusion because he hurried to explain.

"I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, of the Auror Office. We worked together briefly after Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

It took a split second for it all to come back to me. As an Azkaban Security Official, I worked with the Auror Office, but I didn't really bother to remember every Auror who passed through our office. They didn't want to get to know me or my colleagues, so I didn't bother getting to know them.

But it was true, I had worked with Kingsley Shacklebolt after the embarrassing escape of Sirius Black. Shacklebolt had been in charge of tracking Black down and recapturing him, and I had been the one investigating how he could have escaped. Black was still at large, but the investigations were over, and the Aurors only relied on the occasional tip from witnesses.

I nodded to signal that I remembered. "Dire circumstances?"

"It's possible you haven't been informed yet, though I suspect you would never have been informed anyway, at least not through official channels and certainly not the whole truth. There have been a very unexpected and tragic ending to the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. It is a long story, but this is not the place or the time to go over it." He glanced around the room as if he expected an audience to be listening in even with his silencing charm. "Let's just say for now, that your help and skills may be needed in a grave matter. I would like to explain this to you more thoroughly, but we should do that somewhere else, somewhere more private."

"What can be more private than here?"

"The walls may have both eyes and ears. And this is a delicate matter."

I was baffled, and – truth be told – wary of this man.

"I understand that I sound very cryptic. But from previous experience, you seem like a level-headed, fair, and capable person. You are familiar with Azkaban and may be a great asset to this cause. If you are willing to hear me out, we can meet later today. I have an address written down here." He showed me a small folded piece of parchment. "If you do not show up, I will not bother you about this again. Read the time and place, burn the parchment, and speak of this to no one."

I stared at him. He had seemed very down to earth last time I spoke to him, but now he seemed a bit addled in the brain.

"This has something to do with the Triwizard Tournament?"

Shacklebolt nodded. "That, and the future of the Wizarding World."

"I will think about it," I said.

"That is all I can ask." He seemed immensely relieved. "Take this. Memorise and burn. Speak to no one." He handed me the parchment and was out the door before I had time to blink.

Room 9, Hog's Head Inn, Hogsmeade.

9 o' clock.

Hog's Head was my kind of place. Not that I liked it very much, but it was the kind of place people with my kind of job were expected to hang out in.

There wasn't much traffic there that evening, being Monday and a warm summer evening. I scanned the small crowd but didn't see Shacklebolt. I didn't really expect to, as I was asked to meet him in one of the Inn's rooms.

I had weighed back and forth all day about whether or not I should show up. When three of my colleagues came back from lunch, they informed me that they had heard whispers of a death at the Triwizard Tournament and that the Minister and the headmaster of Hogwarts weren't seeing eye to eye about something concerning this.

The latter sounded very strange to me and was the second reason I decided to meet Shacklebolt. The first was that he had said I was familiar with Azkaban and that may make me a great asset. For the protection of Azkaban and my interest in keeping control of the prisoners and the Dementors and everything else concerning the prison, I wanted to know what he needed me for. He could ask me to compromise the security there, and I was not going to do that.

Room 9. I knocked gently on the door.

"Enter," a deep voice came from within.

I opened the door and stepped inside. It was just as dark and grimy as the pub. A single bed with grey covers stood in one corner. A desk stood against one wall, and a table with three chairs against another wall. Kingsley Shacklebolt occupied one chair, and – to my great astonishment – Albus Dumbledore sat in the other.

"Good evening," Dumbledore said, smiling faintly, a twinkle in his eyes. He gestured for the third chair.

Feeling a growing anticipation, I closed the door and joined them around the table. "Good evening," I said and crossed my legs, nodding at each of them in turn.

"You are very curious as to why you have been asked to come here, am I right?" He gazed at me over his half-moon spectacles.

"I am. Shacklebolt was very cryptic."

"I'm sorry about that. But the situation is very delicate, and becoming more so every day," Shacklebolt said. "I'm grateful you decided to come."

"I will be honest with you," I warned. "I only came because my sole interest in life is to maintain the highest possible security at Azkaban. What you said," I inclined my head to the Auror, "about my familiarity with Azkaban being an asset to you, caused me to want to know more. If you are wanting me to give you inside information that may compromise the security there, I will make sure the Auror Office is one Auror short quicker than you can say Expelliarmus." I said this calmly and with a straight face, looking right into Shacklebolt's eyes, meaning every word.

Dumbledore chuckled. "You have chosen wisely, Kingsley! She will be of great help to us if she chooses to join."

I snapped my head towards my former Headmaster and glared. When it came to my job at Azkaban, not even the powerful Dumbledore would keep me from my duties, and I had no regrets by glaring at or threaten him or his friends.

"Your obviously fierce protection of Azkaban is exactly what we need. We have no intentions of compromising the prison, in fact, one of our greatest interests are making sure it stays safe and well warded. Albus, if you would explain our situation."

Internally, I shook my head in confusion. I was intrigued but understood nothing. Though they should most certainly not know this.

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes turned instantly serious. "Voldemort has returned."

My reaction to this, I could not hide no matter how hard I tried. The name itself made me gasp, but the two words following had me letting out a frightened sound between a scream and a moan. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The old man closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Lord Voldemort has returned, very much alive," he then repeated, eyes opening and conveying the truth in them.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, I uncrossed my legs and crossed them again. Finally, I found my voice. "I'm not sure I believe you. Please explain."

"The circumstances around his return are very complicated and links together many situations. What set this in motion, was the escape of Sirius Black."

"I knew it!" I hissed furiously, fists clenching.

"No, no, Black is not involved in the way you believe." Dumbledore waved his hands to emphasise the point. "I think it's best if I can explain everything to you first, and then any questions or comments you have can be addressed when I am finished. Is that alright with you?"

Though he asked politely, I understood it to be an order. I nodded.

"Sirius Black did not commit the crime he was sentenced for. Peter Pettigrew framed Black and feigned his own death. Black recently found out where Pettigrew was hiding and escaped to – as he himself said – commit the crime he was sentenced for. For the sake of hindering more escapes from Azkaban, I wish to inform you of how Black escaped, but that is not the most important thing you need to know tonight.

"Pettigrew got away and followed a lead to Albania, where rumour had it Lord Voldemort lay in hiding. Pettigrew helped his master regain a sort of physical form and while biding their time, they came across Bertha Jorkins."

I opened my mouth wide in shock, understanding coming to me at once. I had heard about Jorkins' disappearance.

Dumbledore nodded at my reaction. "From her, they learned about the Triwizard Tournament being held again and they learned that Barty Crouch Jr was not dead and living in hiding in his father's house."

At that, I couldn't help myself. "That's impossible! He died in his cell shortly after he was imprisoned!"

"His mother died in his cell. She was already dying and they traded places with the help of Polyjuice Potion." I was about to speak again, but Dumbledore held up his hand to silence me. "Pettigrew and Voldemort travelled back to England and made plans to put Crouch at Hogwarts. I had hired Alastor Moody as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and the day before he was to start, they kidnapped him, and Crouch traded places with him. For a whole year, Crouch has taken Polyjuice Potion. For a whole year, he has kept Alastor trapped in his own travelling trunk. For a whole year, I am sad to say he deceived us all. Even I, who should have known him better.

"Crouch tricked the Goblet of Fire to accept two champions from Hogwarts. Thus, making sure Harry Potter was magically bound to compete or suffer the consequences. He guided the boy through, making sure Harry did well and would win. Crouch made a Portkey out of the trophy in the last task and cursed and schemed to make sure Harry would be the first to touch it."

Now, Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Harry beat Cedric Diggory with a small margin, but being the good-hearted boy that he is, offered to share the victory. Both touched the trophy and was transported to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. Waiting for them, was Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort. Diggory was murdered, and Harry was used in the foulest way to help restore Voldemort to his full body and power."

Dumbledore seemed to have some difficulty continuing. I never thought I would see the day when the headmaster of Hogwarts had to blink away tears. But now, he did, and swallowed slowly. "Harry fought for his life and managed just barely to escape with Diggory's body.

"Now, Fudge does not believe Harry, or me, when we say that Voldemort has returned. The Minister is turning a blind eye to the gruesome reality we find ourselves in and I have found the need to reassemble The Order of the Phoenix."

It seemed that was the end of the story because a deafening silence followed. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want this to be true. But one just didn't joke about something like this. "You are certain about this? You-know-who is back? Truly?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"You are on office duty this week?" Shacklebolt asked.

"I am."

"When will your Azkaban rotation start?"

"I will be patrolling there next Monday."

"I am sure you will see a great change in the Dementors," Shacklebolt explained. "They are like Voldemort, and they will sense his return. He will try to recruit them, and that's where you come in."

"Many of the Order members that fought in the last war have joined us again. But sadly, many of them are dead. As the Ministry is refusing to see the truth, we have to do everything we can to work against Voldemort and his Death Eaters," Dumbledore said. "Kingsley here is a new member, and I asked him if he knew of anyone at the Ministry who would be able to see the truth and help us in this monumental task.

"Your position as an Azkaban Security Official can help us make sure no one escapes Azkaban and you can help us understand the Dementors. You can be our eyes and ears at Azkaban where many of Voldemort's Death Eaters are. We offer nothing in the means of safety. Working with us will be dangerous. What you do must be kept secret. You will, in essence, be working against our very Ministry. But we are fighting. We are fighting in a war that may well kill us all. We must do everything we can to end this."

"I will join you," I said with absolute certainty and without hesitation.

"You will be given time to think this through," Dumbledore kept explaining. "I do not expect you to make your decision tonight. But I must –"

"I will join you," I interrupted him.

"You are certain of this? You do not need time to consider?"

"No. I– The Minister–" I wasn't sure how to explain myself. Instead, I kept it simple. "I believe you and will fight."

A smile broke out on Dumbledore's face, his eyes twinkling again. "Thank you. I must press on the importance of secrecy. The Minister will not be kind to anyone who works with the Order or is revealed as being on my 'side'. And it is imperative that Voldemort does not know how hard we are fighting against him. Because the Ministry does not believe he has returned, I believe he will lie low and work in the background. The less the Ministry and Voldemort know about our work, the more good we are able to do."

"I understand, Professor."

"Please, call me Albus. We are, after all, colleagues from now on."

I nodded. "Albus."

"We have our next meeting on July 1^st. The location of our headquarters is written on this." He held out a piece of parchment. "The house has been put under the Fidelius Charm and I am the Secret Keeper. Read the address and memorise it."

My hands trembled slightly with excitement and nerves as I accepted the parchment. It seemed ceremonial to me, the way he gave it to me.

The headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place, Islington, London.

To make sure I would remember it, I read it through at least ten times. Then I closed my eyes and fixed the sentence in my mind's eye. When I opened my eyes, Dumbledore – Albus – looked expectantly at me. I gave the parchment back and started when it burst into flames the moment it landed in his hand.

"We will see you on July 1^st at six then?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, I should get back to Hogwarts." Albus stood up and held out his hand. I stood too and shook it. "I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise."

"Kingsley."

Shacklebolt nodded gravely, and Albus swept out the door.

I should have left too, but I sat down again and felt the weight of all the new information hold me down. Sirius Black was framed. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back. Barty Crouch Jr and Sirius Black had managed to escape from the most secure prison in the world. I shook my head at this. It would be the first thing I had to do – make sure we tighten the security. Any more escapes would be the absolute worst that could happen.

"A lot to take in?"

I had forgotten Shacklebolt was there.

"I was approached by Arthur Weasley just three days ago, and I am still struggling to wrap my head around it all."

"I understood there was still more to be explained?"

"Yes. Albus said you needed to know about how Crouch and Black escaped. You should also know what exactly happened when Black was framed. And there are many details about Pettigrew – who is also known as Wormtail – and how he helped Voldemort come back. You should be informed of it all, and you will. But it is late. Everything will be explained in full at the meeting this weekend. It is our first official full meeting, and you're not the only one who will need to be informed about everything."

"But I should start working on adding to the wards and protections at Azkaban right away!"

"You can still do that, just do it subtly."

"Can't you tell me how they escaped? You were in charge of finding Black."

"I haven't been told myself yet."

This irritated me. But he was right, I could still start working on it.

"Very well then. I will see you on Saturday."

"Goodbye and good night." Shacklebolt stood and offered his hand. I shook it and left the Auror in the dingy room.

I slept poorly that night. Impatience to get started kept my mind busy, my dreams full of diagrams of complicated wards and protection spells.