.Harry.we.re.really.sorry!..said.Hermione.desperately,.her.eyes.now.sparkling.with.tears...You.re.absolutely.right,.Harry.‐.I.d.be.furious.if.it.was.me!..
Harry.glared.at.her,.still.breathing.deeply,.then.turned.away.from.them.again,
.pacing.up.and.down..Hedwig.hooted.glumly.from.the.top.of.the.wardrobe.
.There.was.a.long.pause,.broken.only.by.the.mournful.creak.of.the.floorboards.below.Harry.s.feet..
.What.is.this.place,.anyway?..he.shot.at.Ron.and.Hermione..
.Headquarters.of.the.Order.of.the.Phoenix,..said.Ron.at.once..
.Is.anyone.going.to.bother.telling.me.what.the.Order.of.the.Phoenix.‐?..
.It.s.a.secret.society,..said.Hermione.quickly...Dumbledore.s.in.charge,.he.founded.it..It.s.the.people.who.fought.against.You‐Know‐Who.last.time...
.Who.s.in.it?..said.Harry,.coming.to.a.halt.with.his.hands.in.his.pockets..
.Quite.a.few.people.‐..
.We.ve.met.about.twenty.of.them,..said.Ron,..but.we.think.there.are.more...
Harry.glared.at.them..
.Well?..he.demanded,.looking.from.one.to.the.other..
.Er,..said.Ron...Well.what?..
.Voldemort!..said.Harry.furiously,.and.both.Ron.and.Hermione.winced...What.s.happening?.What.s.he.up.to?.Where.is.he?.What.are.we.doing.to.stop.him?..
.We.ve.told.you,.the.Order.don.t.let.us.in.on.their.meetings,..said.Hermione.nervously...So.we.don.t.know.the.details.‐.but.we.ve.got.a.general.idea,..she.added.hastily,.seeing.the.look.on.Harry.s.face..
.Fred.and.George.have.invented.Extendable.Ears,.see,..said.Ron..They.re.really.useful...
.Extendable.‐?..
.Ears,.yeah..Only.we.ve.had.to.stop.using.them.lately.because.Mum.found.out.and.went.berserk..Fred.and.George.had.to.hide.them.all.to.stop.Mum.binning.them..But.we.got.a.good.bit.of.use.out.of.them.before.Mum.realised.what.was.going.on..We.know.some.of.the.Order.are.following.known.Death.Eaters,
.keeping.tabs.on.them,.you.know.‐..
.Some.of.them.are.working.on.recruiting.more.people.to.the.Order.‐..said.Hermione..
.And.some.of.them.are.standing.guard.over.something,..said.Ron..They.re.always.talking.about.guard.duty...
.Couldn.t.have.been.me,.could.it?..said.Harry.sarcastically..
.Oh,.yeah,..said.Ron,.with.a.look.of.dawning.comprehension..
Harry.snorted..He.walked.around.the.room.again,.looking.anywhere.but.at.Ron.and.Hermione...So,.what.have.you.two.been.doing,.if.you.re.not.allowed.in.meetings?..he.demanded...You.said.you.d.been.busy...
.We.have,..said.Hermione.quickly...We.ve.been.decontaminating.this.house,.it.s.been.empty.for.ages.and.stuff.s.been.breeding.in.here..We.ve.managed.to.clean.out.the.kitchen,.most.of.the.bedrooms.and.I.think.we.re.doing.the.drawing.room.tomo‐..
With.two.loud.cracks,.Fred.and.George,.Ron.s.elder.twin.brothers,.had.materialised.out.of.thin.air.in.the.middle.of.the.room..Pigwidgeon.twittered.more.wildly.than.ever.and.zoomed.off.to.join.Hedwig.on.top.of.the.wardrobe..
.Stop.doing.that!..Hermione.said.weakly.to.the.twins,.who.were.as.vividly.red‐
haired.as.Ron,.though.stockier.and.slightly.shorter..
.Hello,.Harry,..said.George,.beaming.at.him...We.thought.we.heard.your.dulcet.tones...