Chapter 261: the Order of the Phoenix

In the following days, Ivy spent the vast majority of her time writing letters. Harry wasn't much better—he sat in Tang Dun's study, flipping through one political book after another, growing more and more confused. When Sirius came to pick him up, he was attempting for the third time to understand a book titled *On the Origin of Inequality Among Men*.

"I'm completely unprepared," Harry said dejectedly. "I don't understand any of it. I don't know how to even begin."

"You don't need to be so ahead of yourself, Harry," Sirius said, ruffling his hair. "First, this meeting will mostly focus on gathering Horcruxes or disrupting the Death Eaters' actions—there's no need to study what to do after killing them. Second, you're only in fifth year; political theory is far too advanced for you right now."

They could no longer use the Floo Network to reach the Order's headquarters. According to Sirius, Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, had placed a Fidelius Charm on the location of the Dumbledore family home, with Elphias Doge as the Secret-Keeper. This loyal old friend of Dumbledore never revealed anything lightly—even if Harry hadn't heard Doge's name from the Order, he wouldn't have known Dumbledore had such a classmate.

Good, Harry thought. The more I learn about Doge, the better I can play Holf.

Sirius took him by Apparition to Godric's Hollow, an ancient wizarding village.

"By the way, your father once lived here," Sirius said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "It's truly nostalgic."

Harry sighed softly, but before he could sink further into melancholy, a thin, silver-haired old man with deep wrinkles, resembling Filch, approached and offered a kind smile.

"You must be Harry? Excellent. I believe you're qualified to attend Order meetings, and I'm glad you're willing to come," he wheezed. "Forgive me—I'm Elphias Doge. I'll take you to headquarters."

"Yes, thank you, Doge," Sirius said, shaking his hand with a smile.

"You probably already know," Doge said, "that Dumbledore left you a secret mission—he said you hold clues to the seventh Horcrux. Does that mean you discovered Holf's existence from Grindelwald's memories?"

"Ah, actually, I—" Harry began, when suddenly Sirius pinched him hard.

He realized that although Doge was trustworthy, with so many people in the Order, if even one traitor existed, things could turn disastrous.

"Actually, I knew about this before I ever read Grindelwald's memories," Harry corrected himself. "Last year, I made friends at Beauxbatons and asked them to investigate for me."

"Good, good," Doge praised. "No wonder Dumbledore trusted you most—you've already helped us immensely. Now we know the whereabouts of all the Horcruxes."

"Oh, right, wait a moment," Sirius said, leaning close to Harry's ear. "Don't reveal Regulus."

Harry nodded in deep agreement. Some things were indeed safer the fewer people knew.

As they entered the Order's headquarters, Harry quickly recognized Professor Moody, wearing dark sunglasses and looking effortlessly cool. Beside him stood a black-skinned, bald wizard with a golden hoop in his ear.

"Let me introduce you," Sirius said. "This is Alastor Moody—you know him. And beside him is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

He then pointed to a wizard wearing a tall purple top hat. "Dedalus Diggle." The wizard dramatically waved at Harry.

"Emmeline Vance," said a witch with a deep green shawl, elegant and composed, giving him a slight nod.

"Hestia Jones," said a witch with jet-black hair and rosy cheeks, waving from beside the bread oven.

"Remus Lupin—you know him," Lupin said with a smile.

Everyone laughed. At that moment, an irritable old man descended the stairs—his goatee was dirty, and his bright blue eyes were nearly identical to Dumbledore's.

"Oh, this is Aberforth Dumbledore," Sirius said, lowering his voice.

"Well, after all the warnings I gave you, you still brought Harry in. I'm not surprised," Aberforth grumbled. "He's grown fast, but he's still too young—he shouldn't—"

"Never mind. Let's begin the meeting," he sighed, deflating. "First order of business: whether to admit Harry Potter into the Order."

All the wizards turned their gazes toward Harry. He suddenly realized that his own willingness to join was what mattered most.

"I'm not too young," Harry said. "Even when I was younger, I've escaped death more than once. So yes—I fully understand this is a dangerous cause, but I still choose to join."

"Good, lad," Moody said. "But don't be reckless. Before any of us fall, I guarantee you won't be harmed."

"Harry's far more capable than we thought—remember the Open Sea Spell!" the wizard in the purple hat squeaked.

"Since we're all agreed, let's sit down and begin," Doge suggested. "Severus says he can't make it—he was summoned to the Wizengamot at the last minute—but he sent me a secret letter with encouraging news."

After everyone sat, Doge spoke first. "The good news is: we've finally located the seventh Horcrux. It's in the possession of Voldemort's childhood friend, a German named Holf."

Harry felt confused—he'd never said Holf was German.

"We need to discuss the order in which to handle the remaining Horcruxes," Doge said. "Only the cup remains unaccounted for—the sixth, held by the Malfoys—and Holf's mysterious seventh."

"Holf is alive," Moody said. "Unlike the ring or the locket, he's not fixed in one place. If he's determined to hide, we won't catch him."

"But if he hides, he can't come looking for the portrait," Kingsley suggested. "I think we should strike directly at Malfoy Manor and seize the sixth Horcrux."

"Perfect! We can disguise ourselves as the Lestranges," Dedalus squealed. "I can't wait to move."

"Then the only person who stops Bellatrix from going mad will lose her voice," Sirius said. "Get ready for war."

"Actually, stealing the cup from Gringotts first isn't a bad idea," Emmeline said. "Then, while the Lestranges are distracted, we can ambush Malfoy Manor."

"Can't any of you think of a plan that won't spark a war?" Lupin said wearily. "Don't rush."

"Then let's secretly arrest Holf and send someone to impersonate him," Doge wheezed. "The Death Eaters may not know Holf well—we can pretend he's still searching for the diary or trying to steal the ring."

Harry finally realized: only Doge was genuinely focused on recovering the Horcruxes. Everyone else just wanted an excuse to ambush Malfoy Manor.

"The main problem is, the Ministry may not be on our side," Moody said bitterly. "The Aurors are as good as dead."

"Not 'as good as'—they're dead," Doge said, his expression grim. "Our forces aren't strong enough. We need strategy, not suicide."

"Then we should act faster," Dedalus said. "Recruit new members. Once they hear Harry Potter's here, they'll flock to us."

"But recruits aren't necessarily reliable. Why not try developing a new weapon?" Hestia suggested. "The Time-Shift Array is a perfect example."

"Don't forget the Order's original purpose!" Aberforth interrupted loudly. "We must avoid harming any innocent person!"

"But we can't defeat the Death Eaters that way," Emmeline said helplessly.

"My suggestion: set a trap for Holf," Doge whispered. "Use Veritaserum to force him to reveal the seventh Horcrux's location—and steal it first."

"I believe Doge's plan is the most feasible right now," Moody said seriously. "It's safe—but the problem is, how do we bypass Regulus?"

"Sirius, you know him best. What's your opinion?" Moody turned to him.

"I know no more than you do," Sirius said gravely. "I even suspect the Regulus we know now isn't my real brother. You all know I've been hunting the Wolf, right?"

"You think this Regulus is a Soviet impostor?" Lupin asked, feigning surprise.

"He's never returned to the Black family home. I believe Kreacher knows him best—and that's why he avoids Kreacher," Sirius said solemnly. "Besides, only recently did we learn that the Night Father claims to be Regulus, didn't we?"

"I think Doge's approach is sound, but difficult to execute," Sirius continued. "If we capture Holf, we might extract more intelligence from him."

"I think the diary's exposure is inevitable. Let's use it as bait," Moody suggested.

"I won't allow Hogwarts students to be harmed," Aberforth said firmly.

"Then there's nothing to discuss," Moody snapped, slamming his fist on the table and standing. "If we use the ring, every Death Eater will come. This won't work, that won't work—fine. I'll go get him myself."

"If we use any means to fight the Death Eaters, what's the difference between us and them?" Doge stood as well. "Alastor, this is why Dumbledore founded the Order—"

"You!" Moody pointed at Doge and Aberforth. "You've learned Dumbledore's principles."

"You've learned Dumbledore's confidence," he pointed at the rest. "But none of you have his power!"

"This won't work. It won't work," Moody muttered, shaking his head as he limped out.