Title: A Call to Arms
Prompts: One of my entries for the 'School Subjects Competition' – Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the 'Your Favorite Hogwarts House Boot Camp Challenge' – Five Minutes to Midnight
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is a trademarked brand owned by J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers. Any material used belongs to the aforementioned parties with the exception of two characters of my own creation. This material is only used in recreational purposes and I receive no monetary or material rewards from using it. Please don't sue me.
Toss, catch, flip.
Toss, catch, flip.
Toss, catch, flip.
It's a bad habit – a nervous tick that Justin's acquired this past year, but despite his many attempts, he just can't seem to stop.
(The repetitive motion is comforting in its simplicity, along with having the added benefit of giving Justin something to do with his hands besides watch them shake.)
He snatches his fake DA coin out of the air just as it begins its descent back to earth and brings it close to his face, squinting at the glinting golden embossment that rims the edge for the third time this morning.
15981041-645056734
The first part of the coded serial is easy to decipher:
15981041, or, when spaced properly, 1/5/98; 10:41. These numbers should reflect the date and time the message was sent out, so for a few long moments Justin was perplexed as to why his coin seemed to be jet-lagged by several hours, before he belatedly realized that the coins were probably set for British Summer Time.
The second part is much more confusing.
645056734
Like the first half of the fake serial, these numbers should also represent a date and time: specifically, the date and time of the next DA meeting. They don't in this instance for obvious reasons, and Justin didn't expect them to, but he is surprised that the stream of numbers can't even be considered a date.
Frowning, he mentally spaces them the same way he did the first set.
64/5/05; 67:34? 64-50-56-73-4?
Justin stares at the tiny numerals for several more minutes, but he no better understands their meaning now than he did the first time around or the time after that. Frustrated, he clenches the offending object tightly in his fist and begins pacing up and down the length of the small balcony.
It occurs to Justin at this point that he may be obsessing over nothing. After all, if he hadn't been Australia and therefore too far away to be of any assistance to anyone at Hogwarts, he probably wouldn't have even noticed the finer details of the new serial – reacting only the coin's change in the whole. Justin wouldn't need to know what the serial meant, (if it does indeed mean something) because the DA members at Hogwarts would have told him in person when he arrived.
But this reasoning doesn't really matter though, because Justin is in Australia and he is too far away from Hogwarts to be anything other than utterly useless to the friends and classmates in Scotland that are probably in dire need of assistance. He did notice the finer details of the new serial, and he desperately needs it to mean something, because despite the reasonable front he put on in front of his parents for the few seconds it took him to hastily flee the kitchen earlier this morning, it's pretty much impossible to hide pure, unadulterated panic from yourself.
So Justin dismisses the possibility of the serial meaning nothing and settles back in his chair, taking a deep breath and once more refocusing his mind as best he can.
(Justin is no great fan of puzzles or riddles. He doesn't come from a family of Aurors and he's never had any sort of talent for uncovering the secret meanings behind seemingly straightforward occurrences. But he knows of three extraordinary people who do, so he'll keep trying, for their sake.)
He rolls the source of his ire between his thumb and forefinger, staring at the coin without really seeing it as he continues to think. Justin's so lost in thought that it takes him a while to truly process the information his eyes are sending him, but when it finally connects it's like a slap in the face.
'No,' Justin thinks, an odd mix of horrified, relieved, and confused. 'It couldn't have been that simple.'
645056734
64505; 6734
It's an old Muggle trick, and somewhere in the back of his mind Justin wonders which of the half-blooded Ravenclaw members of the DA came up with the clever idea. And technically speaking, both of the p's are backwards, but any child with the ability to read and use a calculator would have been able to figure it out. Justin himself can vaguely remember learning to spell out similar simple messages the year before he started Hogwarts.
(hq-hELq; S0S)
And perhaps this conformation of his worst fears should make Justin even more worried but if anything it just fuels his growing need to be doing something, anything, other than remaining hidden away.
He stands abruptly, glancing at his watch with newfound purpose as he takes two steps back towards the sitting room, dead set on catching the next aeroplane into London. He carefully tucks the coin back into his pocket before glancing at his watch again, unable to help himself.
It's 9:55 in Sydney, Australia.
(Hidden somewhere in the mountains of Scotland, it's five minutes to midnight.)
(Toss, catch, flip.)
Hello everyone! It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? :P I swear, it was like pulling teeth to type this out; almost all of this fic was written out in a notebook. Despite that, I'm toying with the idea of making this a multichapter featuring other members of the DA as they receive the 'call to arms'. Would anyone be willing to stick around for a few more chapters? If you could tell me in the reviews or vote in the poll that I'll have up on my profile, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks for reading! 3
Also, I have absolutely no idea if the actual DA coins showed the date the coin was changed as well as the new meeting time, but I hope that it wasn't too much of a stretch. :P