Albus Dumbledore absently stroked his long, white beard while scratching at a piece of parchment with a quill, awaiting various members of the Order in the kitchen at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. At such short notice and so near the holidays, he knew a huge turnout was both unlikely and unnecessary. Albus didn't need a big turnout for this particular meeting, since he could communicate the salient points discussed with everyone who had been unable to make it.
"Kreacher!" Sirius barked, sniffing the air in annoyance, "Kreacher!"
"Will you stop that noise?" Lily asked, rolling her bright green eyes as she removed a pot of tea from the stove.
"I want to talk to that little fetcher," Sirius grumbled with furrowed brows, holding out his teacup for Lily to fill.
"Obviously, he's not going to come," Remus Lupin told Sirius. Placing his old, threadbare cloak on the back on a kitchen chair, he continued, "Wait a while before you try again."
Soon, noise outside of the kitchen signified more arrivals. A moment later, Sirius' fair-haired better half, Cassie Black, escorted representatives from the Weasley clan in into the kitchen. Molly Weasley, round-faced and flushed, entered the kitchen, escorted by the two youngest members of her ginger-haired children, Ron and Ginny, along with Hermione Granger. Arthur Weasley, his thin frame and hair foreshadowed by Ron, brought up the rear. Sidra Potter wandered in shortly thereafter, green eyes alert and impatient, attracted by the voices of her friends.
"We realize that things are a little cramped," Mrs. Weasley said to Lily. "We just didn't want to leave Ron, Ginny, and Hermione home alone."
"All of my children are here," Lily said, nodding as Mrs. Weasley joined her in preparing some more refreshments for the anticipated meeting. "It's getting so that I'm nervous to be home alone, even."
"I know," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Potter," Ginny said. "Do you know where Rose might be?"
"Upstairs, I think," Lily said to the Weasley girl. "She and Leo were doing a little exploring."
"Thank you," Ginny said, exiting the kitchen.
"Don't touch anything that looks suspicious!" Mrs. Weasley called after her. The Weasley matriarch turned toward Lily. "Some of these houses that have belonged to dark families give me the chills."
"I haven't really had a chance to explore," Lily replied, placing a number of teacups on a tray and filling them. She carried the tray over to the table and set it in front of seats now occupied by Sid, Ron, and Hermione.
"Apparently, some mysterious intruder came to the house last night and had a little bit of a confrontation with Walburga Black," Sidra told Ron and Hermione. "The result is that Mrs. Black committed suicide not long after the intruder departed."
"You're sure that the intruder didn't actually kill her?" Ron asked, frowning.
"Moody's sure she was alive after the intruder left," Sid stated.
"She might have been placed under the Imperius curse," Hermione theorized, reflexively.
"We should look into that," Sid said distractedly.
Ron gulped down his tea, impatient to speak. "We actually need to ask one of two questions. Why would a visit from a mysterious intruder result in Mrs. Black deciding to commit suicide? Or, why would someone want to kill Mrs. Black?"
Discussion ceased when Alastor Moody appeared with Kingsley Shacklebolt and James Potter. Though retired, it was apparent that Moody had been consulting with the two active aurors over the corpse sitting still in one of the main rooms of the house.
"I believe we have enough people to get started," Professor Dumbledore announced, surveying everyone in the room. He glanced over toward Sidra, Hermione, and Ron. "Miss Potter, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid that I need to close this meeting to everyone but bona fide members of the Order."
By the expression on her face, it was clear that Sidra was not pleased with this turn of events. However, it was Ron who spoke up. "We've been attending Order meetings regularly since September!"
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore agreed, "but you were never formally inducted into the Order. The events at Hogwarts surrounding the Chamber of Secrets required your presence as much for your own safety as for what valuable insight you could bring to the table."
"I see no reason to close meetings to them after they've attended them so often," Mrs. Weasley interjected. She looked over to Lily for support, but the Potter matriarch looked away uncomfortably.
Professor Dumbledore shrugged. "Perhaps we can consider the question at the end of the meeting and come to a more united conclusion. For now, I ask that you honor my request."
Rather huffily, Sidra stood and exited the room, followed by an outraged Ron and an apparently insulted Hermione.
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