The Order of the Phoenix

Sirius Black’s parents owned number twelve Grimmauld Place. Now that both of Sirius’ parents are dead, Sirius owns the house, which is now the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. It is obvious to Harry that Sirius feels cooped up in the house as well as quite useless to the Order.

In fact, Dumbledore suspects that Voldemort has figured out that Sirius is an Animagus, so Sirius can no longer turn into his black dog form and remain safe. Sirius’ only use right now (aside from offering the actual house as a headquarters) is to clean the place up for the Order of the Phoenix. This, of course, is a thankless job. Sirius admits that he would enjoy a dementor attack because Sirius has been stuck inside the gloomy house for a full month with nothing to do but clean.

At least Mundungus Fletcher gives Harry an apology for leaving his post and allowing the Dementor attack to happen. Sirious reveals to Harry the reason why Mundungus is in the Order: he “knows all the crooks” from his shady business deals. Furthermore, some of the members of the Order are discussing whether the goblins are going to join Voldemort. Lupin admits that it depends on what the reward will be.

Meanwhile, Sirius wants to tell Harry much more about Voldemort. Mrs. Weasley, however, does not want Harry to know anything (such is Mrs. Weasley’s protective nature). Much to Mrs. Weasley’s chagrin, Sirius begins revealing some important facts to Harry. Voldemort is hiding. His comeback was semi-ruined by Harry surviving in the graveyard (at the end of Book 4) and revealing everything to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore is the one who reinstated the Order of the Phoenix, and it is trying desperately to stop Voldemort from building up followers again. The Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic are not helping matters because both the newspaper and the organization are trying to deny that Voldemort has returned at all. With one of the Order’s members being a werewolf (Lupin) and one of its members being a convicted criminal (Sirius Black), the Order of the Phoenix is having trouble convincing the wizarding world that Voldemort’s return is a reality.

At just about the time that Sirius Black tells Harry Potter that Voldemort is now looking for a new “weapon,” Mrs. Weasley can stand it no longer and makes Harry and his friends go straight to bed.