A gust of wind blew across rigid leaves of grass. All was quiet around the Weasley mansion. Voldemort's plans had been foiled yet again, and this time he knew not to underestimate the power of Harry Potter and his friends. His wand had been broken, however, so neither himself nor Harry were safe from wand attacks.
The Weasley's mansion held meetings for the Order of the Phoenix, a growing organization fighting the likes of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The mansion was located by a pond, and on a hill just south of the mansion there was a small studio.
"Shush!" Ron whispered, holding something to his ear. "I can't hear what they're saying!"
Ron had one of his brothers' new inventions. It was an
Extendable Earwig, which was a newer, more compact model of bugging for sound that surpassed the original extendable ears in stealth.
Ginny was straining to hear through the device as well, but the three other people in the room simply stood around, waiting to get a report of what was going on. Harry, who now spent a large portion of his summer at the Weasley's, was looking at Luna, who was staying at the Weasley's because her father was attending an Editors' convention in Brazil. Hermione stood nearby, staying over simply because Mrs. Weasley asked her to; everyone else was over after all.
"Well," Ron muttered, a puzzled look on his face. "They say they've
detained a follower of Voldemort and that..." his voice broke off and he turned to Ginny. "Quick, write this down!"
Ginny grabbed the parchment that they had taken notes of previous Order meetings on, and scribbled as Ron spoke.
"The guy only says the same thing over and over…" Ron was speaking slowly and clearly, saying things as he heard them. "One of one and two of two, three before, 'Oh.' The stinger of a Bee, The head of a Raven, End with a
question, you'll awaken the mayhem. He will lie waiting, for he has just flown, to harbor the dragon egg, of goodness be prone."
Ron looked into space, listening, and he took the device out of his ear. "They say they'll work on it," he said, placing the gadget in his pocket.
Hermione picked up the parchment and read it aloud. Harry didn't really get the riddle himself, but he looked at Hermione, beaming, he knew for sure that she'd say…
"I just don't get it!" Hermione proclaimed, agitated.
Harry had not expected this. They were all sitting around the square table in the middle of the studio, pondering the riddle and speaking it in undertones at random intervals. None of them seemed to get it.
Frustrated, Ron stood up and paced the room. "Three before, 'Oh?'" he grumbled angrily. "What is that supposed to mean?"
He turned around and flung open the mini door in the wall that led to the mysterious room behind. No one could explain how the extra room was linked, as the studio's exterior presented the illusion of only one room. Harry and Hermione both looked with awe as a hole in the wall magically appeared; they could not see the small door, and were always intrigued when Ron opened it.
Ron looked at them with self pleasure at being able to do something that Harry, Hermione and Ginny could not. Luna did not bother to look, as she could see the door, and had grown tired of Ron opening it so many times in one day.
After a minute, they lost interest in the door, so he closed it, sighing, and he sat down once more. The sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon, creating a grayish blue sunset.
"Harry?" Ginny asked cautiously.
"Yeah?" He responded.
"Are you afraid of Voldemort?"
Harry did not answer right away. He stared at the gnarled wood of the table, focusing on a ring in the design. He glanced up to see everyone looking at him.
"I'm sorry!" Ginny piped up. "I shouldn't have asked. How stupid…"
"No," said Harry. "It's a good question. I mean, I am always worried that he may come bursting into the room and kill me."
"But you always act so bravely about him." This time it was Luna who spoke. "You even say his name."
"Yes, I do," Harry said, dignified by her remark. "But no one should be scared all the time. And no one should be afraid of a name!"
Hermione smiled at him and nodded. "You're right, Harry."
Ron looked at the riddle again, shaking his head until he folded it up. He stood up and walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, where he placed the parchment in a drawer. "Well, we'll try to solve that later."
They pushed their chairs in and left the studio. All was nearly dark, and as they walked down the hill, they saw Dumbledore entering the mansion.
Harry saw him first and he shouted, "Dumbledore's here!" Everyone smiled and began to run towards the house. They reached the front door and opened it. As soon as they registered what they were seeing, they all stopped dead
in their tracks, their mouths hanging open.
Dumbledore stood by Mr. Weasley, smiling and standing beside him was none other than Draco Malfoy.