It was the first Wednesday of the school year and Justin Finch-Fletchley, sixth year Hufflepuff and ladies man (or so he would like to think) was somewhat unimpressed. Leaning back in his uncomfortable wooden chair, he glanced at the other sixth year Badgers and marvelled at the identical expressions of boredom. Although, it was to be expected. It was the first DA meeting for the year and instead of allowing them to practise defending themselves against the Dark Arts, which is what everyone thought they were signing up for, Harry Potter was subjecting them to a poorly phrased diatribe about Lord Voldemort's progress across on the mainland. It might have been impressive, had the five of them not slept over Susan's Aunt Amelia's house for a couple of nights during the summer holidays and gotten the complete and uncensored truth from her. Unfortunately, they now had to suffer through Potter's rehashing of the Daily Prophet's propaganda. So, in a desperate attempt to keep themselves awake, the Hufflepuffs were doing what they did best - making snide remarks about their classmates.
"See, I told you! I told you he was useless!" Zacharias crowed, triumphant expression on his face. "Remind me again, why do I come to these sessions anyway?" Susan nodded in the direction of Hermione Granger, who was staring at Zacharias fiercely, a malicious smile playing on her lips. Zacharias glanced over his shoulder, caught her eye and waved jauntily. Hermione's face darkened in response. Zacharias smirked at her and returned his gaze back to the coterie. Susan kept a wary eye on Hermione, only ceasing when Hermione shifted her Medusa-stare onto Luna Lovegood, who was attempting to charm Kevin Entwhistle's hair green. Looking around the room with a practiced eye, Justin noted that Terry Boot and Padma Patil were all over each other, their studious intensity suggesting that they had learnt it from a textbook - which they probably had. Michael Corner was busy with his pixie-faced girlfriend who had vacuous giggles and vacant expressions down to an art and Ginny Weasley was sleeping on Natalie McDonald's shoulder. It really made you wonder why Hermione was so intent on staring Zacharias down. Justin thought it was a bloody stupid idea; Zacharias was too arrogant for it to work and he was one of the more behaved ones tonight. However, it was pointless trying to tell Hermione that. She'd probably fix him with that stare and ask what he knew about it. While it might be tempting to reply "Well, I have shared a room with him for five years," that would lead to more work - something that Justin would avoid wherever possible.
"Initially you came along because you wanted to pass your Defence Owl," Justin replied, arms folded and half-listening to the diatribe that Harry was delivering. "And then your masochistic tendencies came to the fore. You know you secretly love being threatened." He repressed a grin when Harry mentioned that Voldemort had been out to get him ever since Voldemort had been a teenager. Confusing sentence structure aside, if this was true, why had the basilisk taken so long to off him? Justin hadn't particularly liked being petrified, it was rather boring. No-one would talk to him for one, and for someone who lived for gossip, that was probably the worst part of the whole experience.
"Beats being treated as if I'm a moron because I was good enough to be a Badger," Zacharias retorted. The others sighed. They'd tried to explain to Zacharias that while drawing attention to yourself was a good thing, if done in moderation, positive attention was preferable to the negative that he received. Unfortunately, Zacharias never seemed to see it this way, and there were many hushed discussions about whether he was going to end up the same way as Cedric Diggory - discussions that often led to Hannah dissolving in tears.
"Why don't we just leave?" Ernie asked. "I've better things to do than listen to Potter rant about how evil the Dark Lord is. We already know that, we can read." Hannah glanced up from her transfiguration text and made a face.
"Because we don't want people to think we're traitors to the side of light or something?" she asked dryly. "After all, we were sorted into Hufflepuff for loyalty, so of course we're traitors." Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown giggled, probably at something Harry said, although the possibility that they did it simply to release some of the gas in their heads was equally valid. Hannah and Susan allowed themselves a sneer at the Gryffindors' flighty ways before returning their attention to the conversation.
"Ah, but no-one asked where we place our loyalties!" Zacharias pointed out. "For all they know," the 'they' done with the appropriate sneer, "we could be loyal Death Eaters, intent on destroying Hogwarts from the inside." Justin resisted the urge to pull a face at the sheer bad taste of Zacharias' joke.
"Except for you, me and Susan," he pointed out instead. " 'Cause Voldemort's big on the purity of blood thing and none of us meet it, except for Ernie and Hannah." He flashed a grin at them. "Is there something you need to tell us, oh honoured prefects?" Ernie looked scandalised at this, while Hannah merely rolled her eyes.
"Didn't you know, J? I'm really Delilah Malfoy and I bathe in the blood of muggles every week," she replied with a straight face. Susan dissolved into giggles.
"Certainly explains the state of the bathroom after you've finished with it," she explained after composing herself. The boys looked intrigued at this, given that they had never seen the girls' section of the Hufflepuff wing. Of course, the girls had never seen the boys' section either, Helga being much more astute to the ways of adolescents than, say, Godric.
"Would you lot be quiet?" Harry demanded, his aggravated tone cutting through their conversation. Zacharias made to get out of his chair and do something that he would regret later when Justin, ever quicker with his wand than the others, petrified him and smiled apologetically at Harry, Hermione and Ron. Or, the Unholy Trio - a moniker bestowed upon them by Ernie during the unmemorable Umbitch's Left Party. The Hufflepuffs suspected that it would have been quite the memorable party, had they not drunken so much. Professor Sprout had turned a blind eye to their excesses, reasoning that it was a weekend and after a year of Umbridge, they deserved a celebration. Justin remembered vividly the trapped rage in her eyes when Zacharias, the third student in as many days, stumbled back into the common room, blood dripping almost soundlessly onto the stone tiles from the 'I will be silent' carved into his left hand. Justin had always suspected that Professor Sprout had more influence on Umbridge's departure than what she let on.
"We'll keep it down," Hannah promised, her face schooled to eager interest. This was so obvious a lie that the Badgers were skeptical of the likeliness of Harry believing it. As such, they were astounded when he accepted Hannah's words and expression at face value and returned to his rant.
Ernie eyed the petrified Zacharias spectulatively, narrowing his eyes in thought. He reached out a hand and tapped Zacharias on the forehead, grinning when there was no response.
"Seems a pity to change him back," he commented. Hannah sighed and Justin flicked his wand, his lips moving soundlessly. Ernie found his wrist caught firmly by Zacharias, who was glaring at him. "Why'd you do that for?" Ernie wailed.
"Because he knew how pissed I'd be when he took the spell off?" Zacharias offered. "Christ, Ernie, how stupid are you? No, don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question." Ernie closed his mouth and glared at Zacharias, who grinned quickly and stared back. He had always enjoyed a good staring session, or so Justin had found.
Tragically, the session was broken up by Harry. As usual. There were a number of rumours attempting to explain why he was the moody, temperamental bastard that he was, most of them generated by the rumour mill of Justin and Hannah. Although, it must be said that it was Susan who suggested that it was the realisation that he would never get any that sparked it. This rumour was the current favourite, something that annoyed Justin no end. Rumours were no fun if they were true.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Harry snapped. Ernie blinked in surprise, which ended the staring match. Zacharias, who had deliberately set his back to Harry at the beginning of the session, craned his head to the front of the room and burst out laughing at the sight of Harry, standing on a stage to compensate for his lack of height.
"We're planning the death or destruction of everyone not loyal to Hufflepuff," Ernie retorted. "What do you think we're doing, Potter?" Justin applauded. It was about time that Ernie started expressing that latent anger, and he couldn't think of a better target than someone who was interfering with his sleep. They watched in interest as Harry's face turned purple. Susan, seemingly struck by inspiration, whipped out a notepad and started to sketch something quickly with her pen. She nodded in satisfaction when she was done and showed it to the rest of the group, who snickered appreciatively.
"Right," Harry snarled. "Because the Hufflepuffs seem even less capable of rational thought than normal, I think we'll end this meeting." Justin felt his jaw drop open and a quick glance around the group indicated that he was not alone in his outrage. Harry Potter had just insulted the badger. The room emptied remarkably quickly, considering how many people were in it beforehand, leaving the fuming Badgers alone.
"Well, that was a cock-up," Zacharias commented finally. "Why do we go again?"
"No idea," Justin replied. "It's not as if we learn anything here that we can't find in a book." Amidst groans from Hannah and Susan about reading more books, Justin continued. "No, seriously. We could have our own sessions in the common room. Sod this for a lark, we could actually learn something. Or, better yet, we could get Professor Sprout to lift the spells around either of the dorms and we could do it in there. Probably ours, more space. Anyone?"
"But what if Potter knows something we don't?" Ernie asked. Hannah snorted inelegantly.
"Potter doesn't know a thing. It's all Granger's knowledge that he's using, and if a group of five Badgers can't beat one Gryffindor, then maybe we should ask to be re-Sorted." Dubious expressions all around. "Trust me, I got stuck with him for a History of Magic assignment once. 'I'll ask Hermione, she'll know'!" she mimicked. "Merlin forbid that he have an original thought in his head."
"I don't think the degenerate wretch is capable," Zacharias interjected snidely. Justin sighed.
"Look, Zach. We know you don't like him. You don't have to keep reminding us," he replied in the weary tones of someone who had been forced to listen to multitudes of tirades about the unimpressive Harry Potter all too often. "Look, shove over, I want to sit next to Susie." Zacharias obliged with a shrug and Justin forced his chair into the newly-formed gap.
"You know, if you keep harping about him like this, people may get the wrong impression," Susan suggested as she leant on Justin, impish smile on her face. Zacharias looked at her blankly for a moment, then made retching noises, the horrified look on his face sufficient answer. "I take it you aren't harbouring a secret crush on the hysterical Harry Potter then, Zach?" Susan asked innocently. Zacharias stuck his tongue out at Susan.
"I should think not. Standards, you know," he replied archly, leaning back in his chair and resting his forearm on the top. "Even if he were female and better looking, he's not a Hufflepuff, which automatically means that he's lower on the evolutionary ladder than us."
"I don't know," Ernie mused. "That Boot guy's all right." He scowled after saying this and muttered something. Justin suspected that it was something along the lines of 'Die, bitch, die.' It was always amusing when Ernie got possessive about his crush.
"Ernie, darling," Hannah commiserated. "He's straight. He's going out with Padma Patil. Surely you knew this?" Ernie's scowl deepened. "At least you're not crushing on a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. What you need is a nice Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw boyfriend." Justin shook his head emphatically when Hanah looked at him pointedly and from the movement he caught at the corner of his eye, he suspected that Zacharias was doing likewise. "Maybe a Ravenclaw boyfriend. Unless Jason Cavanagh...?" All three boys looked disgusted at the idea.
"He keeps staring at me," Zacharias complained, making a face. "I swear, every time I see him, he's staring at my ass. Even after I told him I wasn't interested. Surely Ernie can do better."
"While Ernie's sex life, or lack thereof is of supreme importance, I'm sure, what about our rival study group?" Justin broke in.
"Like a rebellion?" Zacharias asked eagerly. "Rebelling against the oppressive regime of Potter and his ego?"
"Viva la Resistance!" Ernie chimed in, smiling angelically when Justin glared at him.
"The Badger Resistance?" Hannah suggested. The others shrugged. "Yes, I know, it's not a particularly good name, but it'll do until we think of something better." Susan yawned.
"I don't know about you lot, but I'm going to bed. Can we have our meetings at a slightly more reasonable time than at 10pm on a Wednesday? I've got Arithmancy first up and I'll be damned before I let Granger beat me again," Susan explained. The others nodded sympathetically. They all knew about Susan's love for the subject and her frustration when she missed out of being top of the year by only two marks was legendary.
"Yeah, I've got practice tomorrow morning, then Ancient Runes," Zacharias added. "If I don't top it this year, don't come looking for me, because I'm drowning myself in the Lake." Justin rolled his eyes at Zacharias' melodramatics.
"Promise?" he asked, and was hit with a screwed up piece of paper for his efforts. Zacharias smirked at his outraged expression. Justin glared back, eyes narrowed. It looked to be yet another fight, until Hannah and Susan took matters into their own hands, and clipped them around the back of their heads with their transfiguration and charms textbooks respectively. Justin shot Susan a hurt look, which she shrugged off.
"Testosterone is all well and good, except this late at night," Hannah preached from behind Justin. "I've got better things to do than write up your detentions."
"Yeah, like meet up with Tony?" Justin teased. "What do you see in him anyway?"
"He's obviously better than you," Zacharias retorted good-naturedly. "The question is, why am I still single? I mean, look at me! Am I not the sexiest piece of man-flesh you've ever seen?" Hannah snorted and Zacharias looked crestfallen.
"You're better than Malfoy," Susan offered in condolence. "Then again, Snape is better than Malfoy and oh yuck! Bad mental image!"
"We will have to execute you at dawn for subjecting us to such torment," Ernie pronounced solemnly. "Or demand that you are reSorted into Slytherin." The group shuddered at such a dire fate.
"That's a bit harsh," Justin protested mildly, slinging an arm around Susan. Ernie shrugged.
"She suggested that Snape was vaguely attractive," he reasoned. "Therefore either she is Malfoy or one of his cronies using Polyjuice or mentally unstable. Either or, she belongs in Slytherin." Zacharias lobbed a ball of paper at him.
"So, we're forming our own study group?" he asked while Ernie scowled darkly at him. "Right, I'm off. Summerby's decided that of course we don't need to sleep and that we love practices that begin before dawn. So either I go now, or I'm falling asleep in Potions. Which is so wrong when you think about it." He stood up, went pale and pushed himself upright using the chair. After blinking vigourously for a minute, he tentatively removed his hand.
"Spin out," he offered in way of explanation. "But hey, I didn't faint this time. Go me!" Justin was unimpressed. "Hey, I didn't ask to be this tall!" Zacharias complained. Justin shrugged unsympathetically. If Zacharias had the nerve to be a head taller than him, then it was his own problem. "Fine," Zacharias huffed and left.
"He wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the arrogance," Hannah mused as the door slammed shut behind him. Susan smiled enigmatically. Ernie, upon seeing this, groaned loudly.
"Don't tell me that our next project is getting Zach a steady girlfriend? Getting him laid may be a better goal," he drawled. "Although, I don't get it. He's a Quidditch player, shouldn't he have fangirls or something?"
"I thought our project was the Badger Resistance...?" Justin asked plaintively. Susan patted him on the head, frowning slightly as her hand was caught on his tight curls. Justin reached up and disentangled her hand with the ease of long practice.
"We can do both," Susan soothed. "After all, if we saddle him with a nice, tame Ravenclaw girlfriend, she can deal with his melodramatics, while we get the AR genius. It all works out." Justin nodded thoughtfully. It would be nice to foist Zacharias onto someone else when he was having a temper tantrum, brooding or generally being his usual volatile self. He could see Ernie frown slightly, then nod. Chances were, he was remembering Zacharias' latest spat as well. Yesterday afternoon, he had come to dinner fuming about how Hermione had beaten him by a mere half mark on the Ancient Runes Owl. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Ernie poured a silencing potion into Zacharias' juice. The indignant expression was definitely worth it, in Justin's opinion.
"I've got to go!" Hannah exclaimed, looking at her watch wide-eyed. "Transfiguration homework to finish and all. Coming, Susan?" Susan climbed off Justin and waved jauntily at the two boys.
"You two staying?" she asked innocently. "After all, we wouldn't want those rumours to be false now, would we?" Justin went incandescently red while Ernie merely looked intrigued and asked for details. Justin choked at this and Susan grinned.
"Good night, gentlemen," she teased and waltzed out of the room with Hannah. Ernie absently smacked Justin on the back a few times.
"When're you going to ask her out?" Ernie asked once Justin resumed a normal breathing pattern. Justin stared at him blankly. "You know, Susan. She's totally into you." Justin flushed and mumbled something at his feet. "What?"
"I'm going to bed," Justin said abruptly. "You can stay here if you like, but I imagine it would get rather boring." Ernie stood up and waited patiently for Justin to pick up his school bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, Justin stood up and the remaining two Hufflepuffs left the Room of Requirement.
A few minutes after they left, a rather woebegone House Elf staggered in, a bottle of butterbeer in one hand and a teatowel in the other. She threw up gracelessly on the floor and passed out - a nice surprise for the next person to use the room.
***
The next day, Justin blearily opened his eyes to Zacharias throwing his shin guards across the room. He squinted and rubbed his eyes as Zacharias unlaced his wrist guards and threw them in the opposite direction to the shin guards. This achieved, Zacharias stormed over to his bed and slammed the curtains shut. Justin winced. After second year, Professor Sprout had put silencing charms on the curtains, mainly because Justin used to keep his dorm-mates awake with screaming nightmares about the basilisk. Zacharias must be really angry, as normally he just vented his anger at whomever. Justin shrugged and went back to sleep. If it was really important, someone would tell him later.
A pillow to the face later, Justin reopened his eyes to Ernie staring down at him. Justin stared back as best he could, given that his eyes weren't focusing yet.
"Where's Zach?" Ernie asked. Justin nodded at the closed curtains to his right. "First place I looked. He's not there." Justin groaned and pushed himself upright. Rubbing at his eyes, he glanced around the room, noting the wreckage of Cyclone Zacharias.
"He came in from practice in a bit of a snit," he offered. Ernie moaned. The last time Zacharias has been in a 'bit of a snit', the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain ended up with a black eye. They'd lost fifty points for that little escapade.
"Look, give me a minute and I'll help you look for him," Justin offered. Not waiting for a answer, Justin grabbed the nearest clean school uniform and shut the curtains. A few minutes later, he had everything on except the tie and shoes. The shoes were a problem easily solved, as they were under his bed, but the tie posed an entirely more difficult conundrum. Outside he could hear Ernie tapping his foot impatiently and Justin gave up on the tie and opened the curtains. Reaching under his bed, he grabbed his shoes and shoved them onto his feet, not even undoing the laces beforehand. Justin never untied his laces before taking his shoes off. The last time he actually tied his shoelaces was the day he boarded the Hogwarts Express, and that was only because his mother was watching. Straightening up, he scowled at his tie, made an approximation of a Windsor knot and stood up.
"Right, let's find our errant dorm-mate," he suggested. Pushing past Ernie, he shoved the door open and promptly tripped over Ernie's discarded shoes. Catching himself on the handrail, he shot a death glare at Ernie, who didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed. Tossing the shoes over one shoulder, Justin clattered down the staircase, only to run into Zacharias, who steadied him while shaking his head in bemusement.
"It's a blind corner, you idiot," Zacharias pointed out. "Five years of running into people and you still haven't worked it out yet?" Justin gaped at him. "What?"
"I thought, I mean, we thought, we being Ernie and I, well, we thought you'd gone and done something stupid again," Justin stammered. "So we went looking for you and yeah. Where were you, anyway?"
"Professor Sprout," Zacharias replied in tones of great confusion. He frowned in bewilderment. "Arranging for the wards to be lifted from the girls' dorm next Tuesday night. Why?"
"You stormed in the dorm, tossed your Quidditch gear around and stormed out again," Ernie pointed out reasonably. "So naturally we thought that you were going to do something stupid again, like deck the Ravenclaw captain." Zacharias flushed at this reminder.
"No, I haven't. Tempting, though. The Gryffs invaded the pitch. Again," he replied in tones of great disgust. "I'm sure it's all very brave to steal the pitch from the team that had rightfully claimed it, by crossing out Summerby's signature and putting Potter's there instead. So I spoke to Professor Sprout about our study group and she says it's fine as long as we finish before 10pm. Which is easy enough." He shrugged. "This is more satisfying than decking Potter anytime. I can't wait to see his face when we tell him where to go next meeting."
"So, it's a goer? You told the girls?" Ernie broke in. Zacharias nodded. "Viva la Resistance!"
"Could you stop saying that?" Justin asked. "It's getting repetitive."
***
The first meeting of the Badger Resistance was a bit of a shambles. It wasn't entirely their fault, as Professor Sprout had forgotten to lift the wards, and as such, the boys found themselves thrown against the far wall of the common room. The younger children cheered at this, as the wards had not been tested that year. They picked themselves up with as much dignity as they could muster, given that they had just been thrown across a room, brushed themselves off and went to whinge to Professor Sprout.
"You said you would lift the wards!" Justin complained. 'But you didn't and that hurt!" He rubbed surreptitiously at his bruises and glared at the other two, daring them to say something. Ernie looked as if he was going to say something, but a quick glance at Zacharias' set face stopped that line of thought. Professor Sprout sighed in exasperation and flicked her wand at the trio.
"There you are. You three can bypass the wards. For tonight and only you three. No negotiation, no sneaking back after 10pm and no staying past 10pm. Got it?" The boys nodded. "Off with you then."
Once that particular barrier was overcome, there was the more difficult task of actually finding the correct room. This was more tricky then it sounded because the boys had never been in this section of the castle, although not for lack of trying on Justin and Zacharias' part. They stared at the seven doors on various levels, all identical and no clue as to which was the right one. Ernie, the only one whose brain was thinking beyond "Now what?", polished his prefect badge on his sleeve, pinned it prominently on his robes and rapped sharply on the door. A tiny girl with a cloud of dark hair opened the door, her eyes growing huge as she realised who was there. She squeaked in surprise and attempted to shut the door.
"Rose, I don't care what you're doing in there," Ernie said dryly. "Could you tell me where the sixth year dorms are?" Rose looked visibly relieved at this and pointed at the door up the first flight of stairs. "Thank you," Ernie said solemnly as Rose shut the door. Justin and Zacharias were already part-way up the stairs, so Ernie had to sprint to catch up.
Justin had raised his fist in anticipation of knocking on the doorwhen Hannah opened it. She giggled at his dumbfounded expression and gestured regally for him to enter. Ernie pushed Justin from behind and he stumbled into the room, closely followed by the other two. Susan turned around to face them, her red hair falling into her face. She brushed it away absently and smiled. Justin swallowed and blurted the first thing that came into his head.
"Your hair's down!" Susan frowned slightly and Justin coloured. When he imagined this scene, generally during remarkably boring History of Magic classes, he was suave and charming. Why couldn't real life reflect his imaginings?
"Hey all," Ernie announced. "The first meeting for the Badger Resistance can come to order when J realises that we're waiting for him." Justin flushed again and sat down on the nearest piece of furniture, a bed. He heard a stifled giggle from Hannah as she sat down on the other bed. As the import of that action caught up with Ernie and Zacharias, they burst out laughing. Justin felt very put upon. He glared at them both as they took up postions either on the desk or the floor.
"I was thinking that we should sort out what we couldn't do from last year," Hannah began. "I know that none of us managed a corporeal Patronus, for one."
"Disarming spells," Zacharias added. "I never did find out what was wrong with mine. Not that Potter was any help. I swear his twin goons were doing something, I could hear them sniggering behind me."
"You know you brought that on yourself," Susan chided. Zacharias turned a betrayed expression toward her. "You know you did. What were you thinking, being so tactless with him in front of his goons?" Zacharias muttered something, staring at the ground.
Yes, yes, we know. Zach was being an idiot, but does it really matter? We're quitting tomorrow," Ernie interjected. "And we keep those two separate in classes anyway. So it's all good."
"Just making sure Zach knows he started the DA feud," Susan replied complacently. "Although, they did keep meetings interesting."
"Counter-curses," Hannah interrupted desperately, attempting to return the meeting to it's original objective. Ernie, Susan and Zacharias blinked in bewilderment as they struggled to remember what they were talking about before.
"Things we're going to do this year," Justin explained helpfully. Hannah shot him a grateful look. "And I think we should find more applications to stuff we're taught in class. Like potions and charms and stuff." Susan nodded in agreement.
"I've been meaning to find out how to cast and break defensive wards," Zacharias offered. "There's something that I'm not getting or something, because it never works."
"Ernie needs to economise his movements," Susan added. Ernie looked outraged. "You do! I can disarm you easily because of all those flourishes. Not to mention, it makes you look stupid." Ernie spluttered at this betrayal, while the others, with the exception of Hannah who was almost in tears, were quite amused at the recent turn of events.
"Can we please talk about the Badger Resistance?" Hannah pleaded. "Not about our opinions about certain people! What are we going to learn or practice this semester?"
"Patronuses, disarming spells, counter-curses, the Unforgivables," Justin supplied. At the horror-struck expressions on everyone's face when he suggested the last, he scowled and demanded, "What? It's not as if the Death Eaters won't cast them at us. I'd want to know beforehand whether I can make them work or not." Judging by the open mouths, he hadn't managed to convince them. "Look, let's say it's a choice between them dying or my family and housemates. Guess which one I'm picking."
"I don't know..." Ernie said slowly, his tone dubious and a little disturbed at the sudden show of determination from the normally placid Justin. "They're forbidden for a reason."
"They're taught them over at Durmstrang," Justin retorted stubbornly. "I'm going to learn them. You can if you want - I'm not going to make you. But I'm not going to throw away a method that could keep those I care about alive just because Fudge is scared of them."
"I agree with Justin," Susan added harshly. "They've killed too many Bones already. I won't let them kill another." Her face twisted and she bit down hard on her bottom lip. Justin made to go over and comfort her, but she stared him down. She wouldn't cry. She never did. Something about dishonouring her uncle's memory or something.
"I can't say I like it, but I can see the reason," Hannah commented. "I'll learn, for Ced's sake." Ernie sighed heavily.
"Me too," he added. There was silence. "Zach?" No response. "Could someone wake him up?" Justin, who was closest to Zacharias' position on the floor, kicked him firmly in the ribs. Zacharias started awake, his hand reaching for his wand before his eyes were entirely open. Hannah and Susan stared in awe while Ernie and Justin looked bored. They had seen this before, and it wasn't as impressive anymore. Once Zacharias' eyes were fully open, he blinked in bewilderment at the surroundings.
"We're going to learn the Unforgivables," Justin explained. "You in?" Zacharias rolled his eyes.
"Course!" he replied indignantly. "What do you think I am? No bastard kills off my sister and gets away with it!" Hannah sighed and Justin prepared himself for another lecture about how Hufflepuffs did not avenge themselves on others, even if they did rape then kill your sister. No-one believed it though, not even Hannah herself. Cedric Diggory was her cousin. Justin remembered how fourth year had ended. Hannah had wandered around Hogwarts in a daze, eyes wide and blank, as she drifted from class to class. It was very unnerving, and the other Hufflepuffs worked very hard to keep it from the professors, as they knew she was a Prefect-candidate and there was no way they were going to let a Death Eater keep her from achieving that title. It was for her that Zacharias demanded to know how Cedric died during the first DA meeting. Justin and Ernie understood the sentiment, if not the action. Justin remembered the helpless feeling that trapped him when Hannah, face tear-streaked, asked him why Cedric had died and how. He couldn't answer then, but he was determined to make sure it never happened again. Hannah's tears, Susan's determination not to talk about her uncle, Zacharias' uncharacteristic silences, it all added up to something that Justin didn't like to see. Not in Hufflepuff, which was supposed to be a haven from the outside world. Magic wasn't supposed to be like this, fraught with tension as you watched over your shoulder. It was time for the Hufflepuffs to make their stand and fight for magic to be what it should be, spontaneous and awe-inspiring. Not that Justin ever told anyone that he thought this. Why should he? People would start to wonder about him, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. That was Zacharias' area.
"We should get back," Ernie prodded, glancing down at his watch. "It's ten to." The other two boys looked down at their watches, blanched and practically raced to the door. "Night, ladies!" Ernie called over his shoulder in the mad rush.
"Night, gentlemen," the girls chorused as the door shut behind the boys, who were too busy racing down the stairs to be quiet. They stepped into the common room at five to and collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
"That went well," Justin commented. Ernie grinned wickedly.
"Viva la-" he began, only to be cut off mid-phrase by a well-timed Silencing spell. Justin smirked from behind his wand.
"I told you not to say that," he told Ernie matter-of-factly. "It's your own fault."