Dare You To Move
Disclaimer: I own no one in this story. They all belong to the great JK Rowling. I don't own the song, which is 'Dare You to Move' by a great band called Switchfoot.
[A/N: Yet another songfic. ^.^ Hey, I'm on a roll! This one's to 'Dare You to Move' by Switchfoot. You should really listen to the song. ^.^ Anyway, it takes place post-Hogwarts, where Hermione has taken up a profession teaching as Charms professor, after Flitwick's leave, and there is news of a new uprising of a dark power. Just for another tidbit of information-- Dumbledore is still Headmaster here. I personally believe the old coot's gonna be around for a while. ^.- The 'old gang' is called back to Hogwarts, but it may not be the old gang you're thinking of. By the way, the lyrics are in []s. Read and enjoy-- and blame the plot bunnies for this one. ]
..............................................................
{Introduction.}
Standing upright in the front of the Charms Classroom, Hermione Granger, the fairly new charms professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took in a breath and prepared to introduce the topic of the day's lesson to her fourth year class of Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
"Today," she grinned, "we will practice a simple charm- summoning charm."
The class was fairly silent, but a few eyes lit up-- especially from some of the Ravenclaws.
"The summoning charm, as you may have already guessed, is used to summon an object to you when it is out of reach," she explained. "Do we all remember the proper wand motion?"
The class nodded dully, and took up their wands, swishing them. Almost in unison, they announced, "Swish and flick."
Hermione grinned at the practice that had become a routine by now.
"Now, the incantation for the charm is Accio," Hermione said, "A-see- o."
Hermione's gaze focused on the ground for a moment, but then she looked back up.
"I've placed sticks on the floor, as you can see-- there are enough in front of every row so that everyone can attempt summoning them," Hermione said, gesturing to the floor. "Now, go ahead."
A Ravenclaw student, Belle Wright, was the first to summon a stick to her row.
"Oh, very good, Miss Wright!" Hermione exclaimed.
The Slytherins shot glares at the Ravenclaw side of the room, but a Slytherin, Louis Farr, quickly summoned a stick to his row.
"Well done, Mr. Farr!" Hermione beamed.
The rest of the students attempted to summon the sticks to their desks, some almost achieving it, and some barely lifting their sticks off of the ground.
"Not too lightly," Hermione instructed.
Almost immediately, Hermione heard a loud crack, and she quickly gazed to the first row on the Ravenclaw side, and stifled a chuckle.
"And not too forcefully, Mr. Horton," Hermione grinned.
At the moment she finished speaking, there was a faint knock on the door.
"Come in!" Hermione called.
The door was pushed open lightly, and from behind it emerged a quivering house elf.
"Professor Granger, Miss, Headmaster Dumbledore told Mabel to tell the professors to attend a meeting in the staff lounge, and Headmaster Dumbledore also told Mabel to tell all the students to return to their common rooms in place of their next class," the house elf, Mabel, explained.
Hermione nodded, "Thank you, Mabel."
"Oh, your welcome Professor Granger lady," Mabel giggled as she turned and exited.
The class quickly burst into light chatter, the room filling with excited talk of what may be occurring.
"Now, now," Hermione said firmly, "I know that you're excited and curious about this, but even I do not know what this meeting will be about, either, so I suggest we get back to practicing the summoning charm, shall we?"
The class groaned, but began practicing the charm once again.
-------------------------
The class seemed to drag on, but finally, it was time for Hermione to head out to the staff lounge. She quickly filed all of the students out of the charms classroom, giving out compliments to the students who quickly achieved performing the charm. Hermione then set off down the corridor, down the marble staircase, across the entrance hall, into the great hall, then finally into the staff lounge.
A few professors, including Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, were assembled at the head of the large staff table; Hermione was early. She took a seat near the middle of the table, gazing around.
"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore greeted.
Hermione nodded, and smiled politely.
In a matter of minutes, the rest of the professors entered the staff lounge, and took their seats, leaving the table completely full.
"You have all been called here for a very serious matter," Professor Dumbeldore began.
All eyes gazed toward Professor Dumbledore, listening closely.
"As you all know, the dark wizard, Voldemort, was defeated in the past. There was great celebration when our side won the battle, and we honored the memory of the lives lost in pursuit of the defeat of this enemy. Recently, a new evil has been stirring. Off in Germany, it has been reported, that a cluster of former Death Eaters, all proven innocent, have gathered to create a new league. The Omen Avengers are what they call themselves. This league has been gaining popularity, but has never been truly considered a threat, until now. German wizard officials, as well as German muggles, have been on the lookout for this particular group, and after nearly a month and a half of no sightings, they had assumed they've been chased out of existence. But just today, they were proven wrong. The Omen Avengers were sighted today in Scotland, by a wizarding family. The family quickly confronted the group, but they were all quickly killed. Upon the ground beside the family, an imprint of the Dark Mark was left in the grass. They have come to avenge Voldemort's defeat."
[ Welcome to the planet.
Welcome to existence.
Everyone's here,
everyone's here. ]
Professor Dumbledore's speech caused many of the professors to gasp, sputter, and quietly talk amongst themselves of this news. Hermione remained silent, but a shocked expression dawned upon her face.
"The Heads of the Houses-- I ask you to lightly break the news to your students, and try your hardest not to arouse chaos. You are all asked to inform your family members of the incident. Miss Granger, I will need to speak to you after this meeting. And for now, you are all free to go," Professor Dumbledore concluded.
The professors, excluding Hermione, quickly got to their feet, and made their way out the door. Hermione stood up and walked over to Professor Dumbledore.
"Miss Granger," he grinned, a slight twinkle in his eyes, "I will be contacting the 'old gang,' if you understand what I mean."
A wide grin spread across Hermione's face. She knew exactly what Professor Dumbledore meant.
"And I'm sure they will want to talk to you once they arrive, so I'll be sure to send them up to you," he finished.
Hermione nodded silently, but her grin said all that she would have said, if she could've managed to speak at that point. She quickly turned on her heel, and made her way out of the staff room, into the great hall, across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, down the corridor, and into the charms classroom.
[ Everybody's watching you now.
Everybody waits for you now.
What happens next?
What happens next? ]
Hermione dropped herself down into the chair behind her desk, and leaned back in it-- the grin still unmoved from her visage.
But Hermione knew that now was not a time for joy.
A wizarding family had been killed in Scotland, and a new uprising of evil was occurring; those factors should've been on her mind. However, they weren't. The prospect of getting to see 'the old gang' once again controlled her mind. She couldn't help but think of anything else. Hermione's mind began playing and replaying significant flashbacks from her past-- joyous ones, at that.
It seemed like so long ago she had seen "the old gang" face-to-face. Sure, she got the occasional owl and birthday presents from them-- and in turn, she sent owls and birthday presents, as well, but that was what little contact they had been using.
Thus, the whole incident was bittersweet.
To get her mind off of the situation at hand, Hermione picked a rather large book off of her desk. Its cover read 'Charms and Spells of the Early Ages.' She had gotten the book out of the library for a bit of light reading. Hermione quickly flipped to a page near the middle of the book-- one she had magically charmed the book into book marking for her.
And indeed, the book had distracted Hermione from thinking about the situation at hand-- for at least a half hour, that is.
Still quite absorbed in her book, Hermione was oblivious to a presence in her room. It was only when the presence spoke that she was snapped out of her reading.
"Hello stranger," a male voice called.
Hermione quickly snapped her head up, and gazed to the doorway. There, a rather tall figure, and a small figure at its side lingered. Hermione rubbed her eyes for a moment, then stared forward, frozen in shock.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened before. ]
"Are you going to greet me, or leave me standing here?" the voice chuckled again.
"H-Harry?" Hermione stuttered.
The figure nodded, and stepped further into the classroom, leading the small figure along with him.
"Harry!" Hermione nearly squealed, slamming her book shut, and standing up.
Harry stood still and laughed, watching Hermione in a bit of amusement. Hermione quickly walked toward Harry and wrapped him in a bear hug.
"I missed you," she said, a tone of excitement in her voice.
Harry chuckled, "I missed you, too, Hermione, but if you don't let go, you may just end up sending me down to the hospital wing."
Hermione blushed, and let go of Harry, taking a step back. Hermione's gaze traveled to the small figure still standing silently beside Harry. Hermione smiled and kneeled down by the figure, who, up-close, she observed to be a little girl, not older than three or so.
"And this must be Mika," Hermione said in a calm tone.
Harry smiled, and ruffled the girl's hair a bit.
"That's her," he grinned. "She insisted on coming along with me-- in fact, she grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let go until I agreed to take her along."
Hermione laughed aloud, and stood up once again.
"And where's Mrs. Ginny Potter?" Hermione asked.
Harry grinned once again, and gestured out the door, "She's down talking to Professor Dumbledore, but she said she'd be up here right after."
"Speak of the devil, would you," Ginny laughed as she walked into the charms classroom.
"Ginny!" Hermione squealed, much like she had previously, and bounded forward.
"Brace yourself, Gin," Harry smirked.
Hermione shot a mock-glare toward Harry, and wrapped Ginny in a tight bear hug. Ginny managed to squeeze out of the bear hug, chuckling all the while.
"It's nice to see you, too, Hermione," Ginny chuckled.
A third figure stepped into the classroom, sporting a bit of a smirk.
"Can I join the party, too?" the figure asked.
"Ron!" everyone called.
Ron grinned, and joined the small gathering, though not before almost getting pinned down by an ecstatic Hermione.
"So, I suppose we're the old gang, then?" Hermione chuckled, letting go of a squirming Ron.
[ Welcome to the fallout.
Welcome to resistance.
The tension is here,
the tension is here. ]
"I guess so," Ron said, gazing around the room.
Suddenly, a few loud voices rang in the air, but no other people were in sight. Each person in the classroom gazed around, examining the room for any other intruders, but still no one came into sight. The voices increased, and became much clearer; everyone listened to the odd dialogue they could pick up.
"So, which one is it?"
"That one!"
"No, that's not it!"
"You sure?"
"No.."
"Well you're going t'need to make up your mind soon!"
"Why?"
"Well, what do you think?"
"Bloody hell!"
"Just pick one!"
"I think it's too late for that!"
"What?"
"I SAID, I think it's too--"
A large window on the back wall of the classroom shattered into small pieces, and tumbling through the window on a broomstick came two identical figures-- unmistakably, Fred and George. The twins scrambled to their feet, brushing debris off of their clothes.
Fred took out his wand and called, "Reparo."
The window was repaired by the spell-- no longer shattered into small pieces. The twins turned around again, and faced the gathering.
"It was the right window!" George laughed, pointing to the other five.
"Are you two all right?" Ron asked, stepping forward, and surveying the damage.
"Ah, we're fine, it's happened before," Fred grinned, his eyes surveying the room.
"I guess there's more to the old gang than we thought," Harry whispered to Hermione.
[ Between who you are,
and who you could be.
Between how it is,
and how it should be. ]
"It's great to see you two again," Hermione grinned. "And, take no offense to it, but I'm not going to hug you-- who knows what may explode if I do."
Fred and George broke out into a fit of laughter on the spot. Of course, the twins' laughter caused a chain reaction-- and everyone else in the room burst out with laughter-- even little Mika.
"What, did you all cast laughing charms on each other, and let me miss the fun?" Seamus Finnigan grinned as he entered the room, flicking his wand around.
The room froze up, and stared at Seamus. They all remembered his bad luck with spells and incantations, which ended up blowing up right in his face.
"I was kidding!" Seamus smirked, tucking his wand away. "Anyway, I've improved at that."
"Oh yeah?" Ginny grinned. "Let's see!"
Nearly everyone shot Ginny a mock-glare, but Ginny just sported a small smirk.
"Really?" Seamus asked, taking out his wand once again.
"Er-- not on one of us, though?" Harry suggested.
"I'll volunteer," Ginny smirked.
Harry shot a bit of a concerned glance toward Ginny, but Ginny just shook her head.
"I trust you, Seamus," she laughed.
Seamus chuckled, and nodded. He quickly thought of a spell, and nodded, once one came to mind. He pointed his wand at Ginny carefully.
"Morbilicorpus," he said firmly.
Ginny was levitating above the ground; she was then tugged forward, as Seamus gestured the wand a bit. Finally, Ginny was planted on the ground again, a few feet in front of Seamus.
"I told you," Seamus smirked, surveying the relieved crowd.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened. ]
"I guess we've all got a little catching-up to do, wouldn't you say?" Hermione grinned.
"Well don't do any catching-up without us," Parvati Patil grinned.
Everyone's shocked faces turned toward Parvati, who they noticed was accompanied by Padma.
"How long have you been here?" Ron asked sheepishly.
"Oh, long enough to see Seamus's demonstration," Padma said.
Hermione shook her head, and took a quick glance around the room.
"So, I guess you two are part of the old gang, then?" Hermione chuckled. "I honestly wasn't expecting all of you to show up."
"Neither was I," Harry grinned.
Parvati let out a bit of a squeal-- much like Hermione's-- as her gaze fell upon Harry's daughter.
"And who is this?" Parvati grinned, motioning to Mika.
"That's Mika," Harry said, smiling to Mika once again.
Seamus looked to Harry and added in, "Everyone knew about your wedding, but not Mika."
"Oh, a few people knew-- sorry if I forgot to tell some of you," Harry apologized.
"It's fine," Parvati cut in, "we all have our own busy schedules."
"Well, I hate to break the mushy atmosphere in this room, but I believe we were called in here for a reason," drawled yet another form.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy!"
"Hello to you, too, Weasley," Draco sneered.
[ Maybe redemption has stories to tell.
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.
Where can you run to escape from yourself? ]
"What?" Hermione gasped. "Why are you here, Malfoy?"
"Well, according to what Dumbledore told me, I'm considered part of the old gang," Draco shrugged.
"But you're-- Draco Malfoy," Parvati mused aloud.
"I thought we established that one, already," Draco smirked.
Hermione gazed forward in shock. Draco Malfoy was part of the old gang, but no one had really been expecting him. She had noticed that Draco hadn't lost his sense of dry wit and humor. However, Hermione also noticed that Draco wasn't making as many jokes on everyone, as he usually did. She hadn't been called Mudblood. Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George hadn't been teased of their family name. Harry hadn't been taunted with his countless nicknames-- scar-head, Potty, and all the other ones that had made their way into Draco's vocabulary. Draco seemed.. different. But then again, Hermione could just be over-analytical, once again.
Harry seemed to be shooting a glare toward Draco.
"We were having a nice reunion here without you, thanks," Harry mumbled.
"For once, would you listen to me?" Draco snapped. "We weren't called here to join in a reunion. There are Voldemort avengers running loose, and we were called here to bloody do something about it. Am I right?"
Everyone was silent, and just as Hermione had, they seemed to be catching on that Draco had changed. Draco muttered something under his breath, and shook his head irritably.
"I know I was a complete bastard in the past to all of you, but do you think for once you could gather up the nerve to do something radical and trust me?" Draco rambled.
Once again, the room remained silent, though now, everyone seemed to be exchanging nervous glances.
"What's the trick here, Malfoy?" Fred interrogated.
"There's no damn trick!" Draco grumbled. "I'm not that same asshole that I was before! I would've thought you noble Gryffindors could find some kind of better side to me, but I was wrong."
Draco turned around, and began making his way out of the room.
"Draco!" Hermione called after him.
Draco simply shook his head, and kept advancing toward the door.
"Bloody hell-- I try to forgive you, and you just ignore me!" Hermione snapped.
Draco paused, and turned to look at Hermione.
"That's right," she continued, "I forgive you."
"Glad to see that at least one of you has more kindness than my father would ever have," Draco smirked.
"Are you comparing us to Lucius?" Ron mumbled.
"You know, I didn't like him, Weasley," Draco began. "I didn't like my father one bit. And to compare someone to my father, would be quite an insult if you care to think about it. But dammit, the rest of you can't be bothered to take a chance at forgiveness, now can you?"
[ Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here. ]
"I guess we could consider him one of the old gang," Harry smirked. "After all, when we think of Hogwarts-- admit it-- Draco comes along with the memory."
"I'm touched," Draco sneered.
The two comments caused the tension to loosen up in the gathering. It was quite uneasy, but everyone seemed to trust Draco a bit more.
"So, are we actually going to do something now?" Draco chimed in. "How many times do I have to remind you that we were called here for a reason, and not just some sappy reunion?"
The rest of the gathering nodded in unison, and managed to start out of the room. The group walked out of the classroom, down the corridor, down the marble staircase, across the entrance hall, through the great hall, and into the staff room once again.
Professor Dumbledore had already been waiting inside the staff room already, and he seemed to beam when they all entered.
"I see you're ready to help, now?" Professor Dumbledore chuckled.
"I think so," Harry grinned.
"I never doubted it," Professor Dumbledore grinned. "You're the old gang-- all of you-- and you all know that you have the power to make an influence on this uprising."
Those words bound them together. The Old Gang was at Hogwarts again-- Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, and Draco-- all of them. They came along with the memory of Hogwarts.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened,
Today never happened,
Today never happened before. ]
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[A/N: Really, did you like it? Hope you did. ^.^ R&R please! The button is just down there-- you can click it! Don't be shy! :D ]
Disclaimer: I own no one in this story. They all belong to the great JK Rowling. I don't own the song, which is 'Dare You to Move' by a great band called Switchfoot.
[A/N: Yet another songfic. ^.^ Hey, I'm on a roll! This one's to 'Dare You to Move' by Switchfoot. You should really listen to the song. ^.^ Anyway, it takes place post-Hogwarts, where Hermione has taken up a profession teaching as Charms professor, after Flitwick's leave, and there is news of a new uprising of a dark power. Just for another tidbit of information-- Dumbledore is still Headmaster here. I personally believe the old coot's gonna be around for a while. ^.- The 'old gang' is called back to Hogwarts, but it may not be the old gang you're thinking of. By the way, the lyrics are in []s. Read and enjoy-- and blame the plot bunnies for this one. ]
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{Introduction.}
Standing upright in the front of the Charms Classroom, Hermione Granger, the fairly new charms professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took in a breath and prepared to introduce the topic of the day's lesson to her fourth year class of Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
"Today," she grinned, "we will practice a simple charm- summoning charm."
The class was fairly silent, but a few eyes lit up-- especially from some of the Ravenclaws.
"The summoning charm, as you may have already guessed, is used to summon an object to you when it is out of reach," she explained. "Do we all remember the proper wand motion?"
The class nodded dully, and took up their wands, swishing them. Almost in unison, they announced, "Swish and flick."
Hermione grinned at the practice that had become a routine by now.
"Now, the incantation for the charm is Accio," Hermione said, "A-see- o."
Hermione's gaze focused on the ground for a moment, but then she looked back up.
"I've placed sticks on the floor, as you can see-- there are enough in front of every row so that everyone can attempt summoning them," Hermione said, gesturing to the floor. "Now, go ahead."
A Ravenclaw student, Belle Wright, was the first to summon a stick to her row.
"Oh, very good, Miss Wright!" Hermione exclaimed.
The Slytherins shot glares at the Ravenclaw side of the room, but a Slytherin, Louis Farr, quickly summoned a stick to his row.
"Well done, Mr. Farr!" Hermione beamed.
The rest of the students attempted to summon the sticks to their desks, some almost achieving it, and some barely lifting their sticks off of the ground.
"Not too lightly," Hermione instructed.
Almost immediately, Hermione heard a loud crack, and she quickly gazed to the first row on the Ravenclaw side, and stifled a chuckle.
"And not too forcefully, Mr. Horton," Hermione grinned.
At the moment she finished speaking, there was a faint knock on the door.
"Come in!" Hermione called.
The door was pushed open lightly, and from behind it emerged a quivering house elf.
"Professor Granger, Miss, Headmaster Dumbledore told Mabel to tell the professors to attend a meeting in the staff lounge, and Headmaster Dumbledore also told Mabel to tell all the students to return to their common rooms in place of their next class," the house elf, Mabel, explained.
Hermione nodded, "Thank you, Mabel."
"Oh, your welcome Professor Granger lady," Mabel giggled as she turned and exited.
The class quickly burst into light chatter, the room filling with excited talk of what may be occurring.
"Now, now," Hermione said firmly, "I know that you're excited and curious about this, but even I do not know what this meeting will be about, either, so I suggest we get back to practicing the summoning charm, shall we?"
The class groaned, but began practicing the charm once again.
-------------------------
The class seemed to drag on, but finally, it was time for Hermione to head out to the staff lounge. She quickly filed all of the students out of the charms classroom, giving out compliments to the students who quickly achieved performing the charm. Hermione then set off down the corridor, down the marble staircase, across the entrance hall, into the great hall, then finally into the staff lounge.
A few professors, including Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, were assembled at the head of the large staff table; Hermione was early. She took a seat near the middle of the table, gazing around.
"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore greeted.
Hermione nodded, and smiled politely.
In a matter of minutes, the rest of the professors entered the staff lounge, and took their seats, leaving the table completely full.
"You have all been called here for a very serious matter," Professor Dumbeldore began.
All eyes gazed toward Professor Dumbledore, listening closely.
"As you all know, the dark wizard, Voldemort, was defeated in the past. There was great celebration when our side won the battle, and we honored the memory of the lives lost in pursuit of the defeat of this enemy. Recently, a new evil has been stirring. Off in Germany, it has been reported, that a cluster of former Death Eaters, all proven innocent, have gathered to create a new league. The Omen Avengers are what they call themselves. This league has been gaining popularity, but has never been truly considered a threat, until now. German wizard officials, as well as German muggles, have been on the lookout for this particular group, and after nearly a month and a half of no sightings, they had assumed they've been chased out of existence. But just today, they were proven wrong. The Omen Avengers were sighted today in Scotland, by a wizarding family. The family quickly confronted the group, but they were all quickly killed. Upon the ground beside the family, an imprint of the Dark Mark was left in the grass. They have come to avenge Voldemort's defeat."
[ Welcome to the planet.
Welcome to existence.
Everyone's here,
everyone's here. ]
Professor Dumbledore's speech caused many of the professors to gasp, sputter, and quietly talk amongst themselves of this news. Hermione remained silent, but a shocked expression dawned upon her face.
"The Heads of the Houses-- I ask you to lightly break the news to your students, and try your hardest not to arouse chaos. You are all asked to inform your family members of the incident. Miss Granger, I will need to speak to you after this meeting. And for now, you are all free to go," Professor Dumbledore concluded.
The professors, excluding Hermione, quickly got to their feet, and made their way out the door. Hermione stood up and walked over to Professor Dumbledore.
"Miss Granger," he grinned, a slight twinkle in his eyes, "I will be contacting the 'old gang,' if you understand what I mean."
A wide grin spread across Hermione's face. She knew exactly what Professor Dumbledore meant.
"And I'm sure they will want to talk to you once they arrive, so I'll be sure to send them up to you," he finished.
Hermione nodded silently, but her grin said all that she would have said, if she could've managed to speak at that point. She quickly turned on her heel, and made her way out of the staff room, into the great hall, across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, down the corridor, and into the charms classroom.
[ Everybody's watching you now.
Everybody waits for you now.
What happens next?
What happens next? ]
Hermione dropped herself down into the chair behind her desk, and leaned back in it-- the grin still unmoved from her visage.
But Hermione knew that now was not a time for joy.
A wizarding family had been killed in Scotland, and a new uprising of evil was occurring; those factors should've been on her mind. However, they weren't. The prospect of getting to see 'the old gang' once again controlled her mind. She couldn't help but think of anything else. Hermione's mind began playing and replaying significant flashbacks from her past-- joyous ones, at that.
It seemed like so long ago she had seen "the old gang" face-to-face. Sure, she got the occasional owl and birthday presents from them-- and in turn, she sent owls and birthday presents, as well, but that was what little contact they had been using.
Thus, the whole incident was bittersweet.
To get her mind off of the situation at hand, Hermione picked a rather large book off of her desk. Its cover read 'Charms and Spells of the Early Ages.' She had gotten the book out of the library for a bit of light reading. Hermione quickly flipped to a page near the middle of the book-- one she had magically charmed the book into book marking for her.
And indeed, the book had distracted Hermione from thinking about the situation at hand-- for at least a half hour, that is.
Still quite absorbed in her book, Hermione was oblivious to a presence in her room. It was only when the presence spoke that she was snapped out of her reading.
"Hello stranger," a male voice called.
Hermione quickly snapped her head up, and gazed to the doorway. There, a rather tall figure, and a small figure at its side lingered. Hermione rubbed her eyes for a moment, then stared forward, frozen in shock.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened before. ]
"Are you going to greet me, or leave me standing here?" the voice chuckled again.
"H-Harry?" Hermione stuttered.
The figure nodded, and stepped further into the classroom, leading the small figure along with him.
"Harry!" Hermione nearly squealed, slamming her book shut, and standing up.
Harry stood still and laughed, watching Hermione in a bit of amusement. Hermione quickly walked toward Harry and wrapped him in a bear hug.
"I missed you," she said, a tone of excitement in her voice.
Harry chuckled, "I missed you, too, Hermione, but if you don't let go, you may just end up sending me down to the hospital wing."
Hermione blushed, and let go of Harry, taking a step back. Hermione's gaze traveled to the small figure still standing silently beside Harry. Hermione smiled and kneeled down by the figure, who, up-close, she observed to be a little girl, not older than three or so.
"And this must be Mika," Hermione said in a calm tone.
Harry smiled, and ruffled the girl's hair a bit.
"That's her," he grinned. "She insisted on coming along with me-- in fact, she grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let go until I agreed to take her along."
Hermione laughed aloud, and stood up once again.
"And where's Mrs. Ginny Potter?" Hermione asked.
Harry grinned once again, and gestured out the door, "She's down talking to Professor Dumbledore, but she said she'd be up here right after."
"Speak of the devil, would you," Ginny laughed as she walked into the charms classroom.
"Ginny!" Hermione squealed, much like she had previously, and bounded forward.
"Brace yourself, Gin," Harry smirked.
Hermione shot a mock-glare toward Harry, and wrapped Ginny in a tight bear hug. Ginny managed to squeeze out of the bear hug, chuckling all the while.
"It's nice to see you, too, Hermione," Ginny chuckled.
A third figure stepped into the classroom, sporting a bit of a smirk.
"Can I join the party, too?" the figure asked.
"Ron!" everyone called.
Ron grinned, and joined the small gathering, though not before almost getting pinned down by an ecstatic Hermione.
"So, I suppose we're the old gang, then?" Hermione chuckled, letting go of a squirming Ron.
[ Welcome to the fallout.
Welcome to resistance.
The tension is here,
the tension is here. ]
"I guess so," Ron said, gazing around the room.
Suddenly, a few loud voices rang in the air, but no other people were in sight. Each person in the classroom gazed around, examining the room for any other intruders, but still no one came into sight. The voices increased, and became much clearer; everyone listened to the odd dialogue they could pick up.
"So, which one is it?"
"That one!"
"No, that's not it!"
"You sure?"
"No.."
"Well you're going t'need to make up your mind soon!"
"Why?"
"Well, what do you think?"
"Bloody hell!"
"Just pick one!"
"I think it's too late for that!"
"What?"
"I SAID, I think it's too--"
A large window on the back wall of the classroom shattered into small pieces, and tumbling through the window on a broomstick came two identical figures-- unmistakably, Fred and George. The twins scrambled to their feet, brushing debris off of their clothes.
Fred took out his wand and called, "Reparo."
The window was repaired by the spell-- no longer shattered into small pieces. The twins turned around again, and faced the gathering.
"It was the right window!" George laughed, pointing to the other five.
"Are you two all right?" Ron asked, stepping forward, and surveying the damage.
"Ah, we're fine, it's happened before," Fred grinned, his eyes surveying the room.
"I guess there's more to the old gang than we thought," Harry whispered to Hermione.
[ Between who you are,
and who you could be.
Between how it is,
and how it should be. ]
"It's great to see you two again," Hermione grinned. "And, take no offense to it, but I'm not going to hug you-- who knows what may explode if I do."
Fred and George broke out into a fit of laughter on the spot. Of course, the twins' laughter caused a chain reaction-- and everyone else in the room burst out with laughter-- even little Mika.
"What, did you all cast laughing charms on each other, and let me miss the fun?" Seamus Finnigan grinned as he entered the room, flicking his wand around.
The room froze up, and stared at Seamus. They all remembered his bad luck with spells and incantations, which ended up blowing up right in his face.
"I was kidding!" Seamus smirked, tucking his wand away. "Anyway, I've improved at that."
"Oh yeah?" Ginny grinned. "Let's see!"
Nearly everyone shot Ginny a mock-glare, but Ginny just sported a small smirk.
"Really?" Seamus asked, taking out his wand once again.
"Er-- not on one of us, though?" Harry suggested.
"I'll volunteer," Ginny smirked.
Harry shot a bit of a concerned glance toward Ginny, but Ginny just shook her head.
"I trust you, Seamus," she laughed.
Seamus chuckled, and nodded. He quickly thought of a spell, and nodded, once one came to mind. He pointed his wand at Ginny carefully.
"Morbilicorpus," he said firmly.
Ginny was levitating above the ground; she was then tugged forward, as Seamus gestured the wand a bit. Finally, Ginny was planted on the ground again, a few feet in front of Seamus.
"I told you," Seamus smirked, surveying the relieved crowd.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened. ]
"I guess we've all got a little catching-up to do, wouldn't you say?" Hermione grinned.
"Well don't do any catching-up without us," Parvati Patil grinned.
Everyone's shocked faces turned toward Parvati, who they noticed was accompanied by Padma.
"How long have you been here?" Ron asked sheepishly.
"Oh, long enough to see Seamus's demonstration," Padma said.
Hermione shook her head, and took a quick glance around the room.
"So, I guess you two are part of the old gang, then?" Hermione chuckled. "I honestly wasn't expecting all of you to show up."
"Neither was I," Harry grinned.
Parvati let out a bit of a squeal-- much like Hermione's-- as her gaze fell upon Harry's daughter.
"And who is this?" Parvati grinned, motioning to Mika.
"That's Mika," Harry said, smiling to Mika once again.
Seamus looked to Harry and added in, "Everyone knew about your wedding, but not Mika."
"Oh, a few people knew-- sorry if I forgot to tell some of you," Harry apologized.
"It's fine," Parvati cut in, "we all have our own busy schedules."
"Well, I hate to break the mushy atmosphere in this room, but I believe we were called in here for a reason," drawled yet another form.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy!"
"Hello to you, too, Weasley," Draco sneered.
[ Maybe redemption has stories to tell.
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.
Where can you run to escape from yourself? ]
"What?" Hermione gasped. "Why are you here, Malfoy?"
"Well, according to what Dumbledore told me, I'm considered part of the old gang," Draco shrugged.
"But you're-- Draco Malfoy," Parvati mused aloud.
"I thought we established that one, already," Draco smirked.
Hermione gazed forward in shock. Draco Malfoy was part of the old gang, but no one had really been expecting him. She had noticed that Draco hadn't lost his sense of dry wit and humor. However, Hermione also noticed that Draco wasn't making as many jokes on everyone, as he usually did. She hadn't been called Mudblood. Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George hadn't been teased of their family name. Harry hadn't been taunted with his countless nicknames-- scar-head, Potty, and all the other ones that had made their way into Draco's vocabulary. Draco seemed.. different. But then again, Hermione could just be over-analytical, once again.
Harry seemed to be shooting a glare toward Draco.
"We were having a nice reunion here without you, thanks," Harry mumbled.
"For once, would you listen to me?" Draco snapped. "We weren't called here to join in a reunion. There are Voldemort avengers running loose, and we were called here to bloody do something about it. Am I right?"
Everyone was silent, and just as Hermione had, they seemed to be catching on that Draco had changed. Draco muttered something under his breath, and shook his head irritably.
"I know I was a complete bastard in the past to all of you, but do you think for once you could gather up the nerve to do something radical and trust me?" Draco rambled.
Once again, the room remained silent, though now, everyone seemed to be exchanging nervous glances.
"What's the trick here, Malfoy?" Fred interrogated.
"There's no damn trick!" Draco grumbled. "I'm not that same asshole that I was before! I would've thought you noble Gryffindors could find some kind of better side to me, but I was wrong."
Draco turned around, and began making his way out of the room.
"Draco!" Hermione called after him.
Draco simply shook his head, and kept advancing toward the door.
"Bloody hell-- I try to forgive you, and you just ignore me!" Hermione snapped.
Draco paused, and turned to look at Hermione.
"That's right," she continued, "I forgive you."
"Glad to see that at least one of you has more kindness than my father would ever have," Draco smirked.
"Are you comparing us to Lucius?" Ron mumbled.
"You know, I didn't like him, Weasley," Draco began. "I didn't like my father one bit. And to compare someone to my father, would be quite an insult if you care to think about it. But dammit, the rest of you can't be bothered to take a chance at forgiveness, now can you?"
[ Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here. ]
"I guess we could consider him one of the old gang," Harry smirked. "After all, when we think of Hogwarts-- admit it-- Draco comes along with the memory."
"I'm touched," Draco sneered.
The two comments caused the tension to loosen up in the gathering. It was quite uneasy, but everyone seemed to trust Draco a bit more.
"So, are we actually going to do something now?" Draco chimed in. "How many times do I have to remind you that we were called here for a reason, and not just some sappy reunion?"
The rest of the gathering nodded in unison, and managed to start out of the room. The group walked out of the classroom, down the corridor, down the marble staircase, across the entrance hall, through the great hall, and into the staff room once again.
Professor Dumbledore had already been waiting inside the staff room already, and he seemed to beam when they all entered.
"I see you're ready to help, now?" Professor Dumbledore chuckled.
"I think so," Harry grinned.
"I never doubted it," Professor Dumbledore grinned. "You're the old gang-- all of you-- and you all know that you have the power to make an influence on this uprising."
Those words bound them together. The Old Gang was at Hogwarts again-- Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, and Draco-- all of them. They came along with the memory of Hogwarts.
[ I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move, I dare you to move.
Like today never happened--
Today never happened,
Today never happened,
Today never happened before. ]
..............................................................
[A/N: Really, did you like it? Hope you did. ^.^ R&R please! The button is just down there-- you can click it! Don't be shy! :D ]