Ernie caught up with his fellow Hufflepuffs as they entered the Room of Requirement for the first meeting of the new DA. As he had come directly from Quidditch practice, he hadn't had time to properly dry after his shower, and he was still very wet, his hair tightening into tiny curls and dripping water dripping onto his open track jacket as the t-shirt beneath stuck to him in places where his body hadn't fully dried.

It was very early in the term, but as Captain, he wanted the team to begin practice right away. There would be tryouts over the next two weeks for the one chaser they needed, but the majority of the team had been together for almost two years with luckily very few substitutions, and they played well together. The Beaters could practically read each other's minds, and he was very excited about their prospects this year for the Quidditch Cup. Still, there was no point in getting over-confident; he needed to put them through their paces, keep them in good shape and practice as often as possible before the actual games started.

His thoughts were pulled back from the pitch as he crossed the room and saw Seamus reclining on a cushion. It was the first time he had seen him since his encounter with Carrow, and he looked dreadful, his face already turning that awful yellow from the beating he had taken. Ernie didn't cross the room, but nodded towards him, receiving an answering nod in return to the sympathetic grimace before Hannah caught his eye and Ernie turned away, waving to greet her.

She was sitting with Susan again, and he noticed again that they seemed closer since last term. Susan's Aunt had been a well-liked witch and member of the Wizengamot, and her death had even gotten his parents talking about politics, something that his Dad never usually put any stock into if it didn't have to do with Demiguise regulations. After Hannah's mother had been murdered midway through the year, the two girls had begun spending more time together, and he was glad his friend had someone who understood what it was like to lose a relative so awfully.

Neville crossed the room to join him now, smiling warmly as he put out a hand. Ernie returned the smile as well as the handshake, gripping the offered hand firmly but careful not to press too hard. He wanted to see how this would go. "Good to see you, old chap."

"Likewise," Neville said tightly, wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead, and Ernie bit back a laugh.

"Nervous?"

"A bit. I don't know how Harry did it last time. The idea of standing up and talking to all these people…there's so many of them." He looked around the room again, and Ernie wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear the last that Neville muttered under his breath. "Where the bloody hell did they all come from?"

"People heard about Seamus' beating and our pets being killed, I think," he offered supportively. "They don't like the new changes. Don't worry about the crowd. You'll do fine; you're a better person than Harry."

"What does that mean?" Neville had been shifting through a handful of notes, but he looked up, surprised.

"As I said to Hannah; I like you, Neville. I didn't like Harry. He was a pompous, arrogant, self-absorbed, look-at-me-but-don't prat and I still joined up. "

"Harry didn't like you much either," Neville said carefully, "but I think you were both wrong. You're not as pompous as you come off, and Harry's a good guy who was under a lot of pressure." He gave Ernie a small smile before he turned away, and Ernie shrugged, letting it go. The meeting was about to start, and he watched as Neville went to the front of the room, shifting nervously and clutching the scrap of parchment in his hands. "Well …" His voice cracked on the first word, and as he cleared his throat, trying again, Ernie felt great sympathy for his obvious embarrassment. "Um … this is … there's a lot of you. I'd really thought … uh … that it would be just … a couple of us…"

XXX

There had indeed been quite a few people present at the meeting; and Ernie tried to figure the exact number as he stretched out on the length of his bed that night, the tips of his fingers touching the top of the headboard as he stretched. Two dozen? Three, even? His body, but his mind would not wind down. He closed his eyes, wishing for sleep to come, but the images were still flashing behind his eyelids.

It was a lot more this time, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it all, even though Neville had seemed to become more confident over the course of the meeting. The choice of Colin Creevey as their Secret-Keeper particularly knotted his stomach after Peter Pettigrew's betrayal of the Potters, and he wasn't sure how the boy could take it as easily as it had seemed.

The biggest thing, though, had been the assignment of Lieutenants for each house; creating a formal chain of command that really emphasized that this was now much more an army. Neville's explanation had made sense enough, and the selection of Ginny Weasley for Gryffindor and Luna Lovegood for Ravenclaw was no surprise, but he hadn't expected his own appointment; having been sure their new Commander would pick Hannah. She and Neville had a close relationship; they had been Herbology partners for years, and he knew that she could more than handle it, as well as equally sure that his House would accept her without so much as a second thought.

"Actually, it's because she's my friend that I picked you." Neville's justification repeated in Ernie's mind as he thought back on the meeting, and even in memory, the words still confounded him a little. "I want to play to everyone's strengths in this, and for Hufflepuff, you're all such hard workers, that might not always mean the nicest jobs, and I don't want anything to get in the way of what's best for everyone. No offense, but you're not as likely to set off any Gryffindor chivalrous streak, Ernie."

He had accepted, of course, and there hadn't been much time to think on it more when they had been interrupted by Dobby arriving to pledge his own…unique brand of support, along with the other house-elves of Hogwarts, but now, with more time on his hands to consider what it was he had agreed to….

Lieutenant. Ernie wondered what exactly that meant. There had been no Lieutenants in Harry's homework club. It would be different than being Quidditch Captain, he knew that. Certainly the stakes were higher. How much of a leadership role was expected of him? Would he have to delegate the Hufflepuffs? Would they follow him? He felt the changes already as they left the Room of Requirement; the eyes on the back of his head, a couple of pats on his back, some encouraging whispers. He was in charge of them now, but what would that mean?

He just didn't know. He thought about the similar responsibilities he had on his family's farm. As he had taken on more and more of the day-to-day responsibility at home, he was looked up to. He knew that the hands thought he was a hard worker and as much their equal as their supervisor. He had never asked anything of them that he either hadn't done himself or would have been willing to do. Yes, it was his family's farm, but he'd worked it longer than he'd helped to run it, and every man there knew that. There was a built-in respect for his work ethic. He slept in the barn alongside them during the lambing season. He was up to his elbows in blood and mud.

He supposed that being the Lieutenant might be the same; perhaps with less mess. The Hufflepuffs knew him as a Prefect since fifth year, and Professor Sprout had ensured that their House still followed the Prefect system to keep order and to help the newer students adjust. This would simply be an extension of that.

And what about Neville? Could he really lead all of them? Into battle? His confidence had grown over the course of the meeting; Ernie could see that. He had no doubts about Ginny. Growing up in her family of boys, Ernie knew that she could hold her own in almost any circumstance. Luna. Luna walked her own path, but she was smart and she was something else…encouraging. There was nothing that Luna felt couldn't be done. That was important in a leader.

Could he express that confidence to his own House? He thought he must have been at least as qualified as Neville, but when he thought of leading and directing and giving orders that were expected to be followed…he just didn't know what kind of reaction he would receive. In Quidditch, they had a mutual goal. What goal would the Hufflepuffs unite for?

He took a deep breath and let it out. What on earth would his parents think? His father especially? His father believed in rules. He would never approve of his son becoming a leader in a resistance organization. This wasn't merely training to stay physically fit. Or even defending themselves. That much was clear. They were training to become a military group; to assist the Order in the war; to overthrow the Ministry with Harry if it came to that. If. When it came to that. The Minister was dead. Headmaster Dumbledore was dead. The man who had been thought to have killed him was now in charge of the school, and they were being taught by Death Eaters. Ernie felt as though his world had turned upside down and yet, he knew still that his father would not approve.

Before this moment, he had always done everything to make his father proud. He hadn't started out being too fond of the Demiguise and their invisible ways. It was rather annoying actually, but he persevered as he saw how much it pleased his father to follow in his footsteps. Ernie had always loved the animals, but he thought he might like to do something else. He worked hard and grew to love it the way his father did. The feel of the sweat on his body, the calluses on his hands, the feeling of accomplishing something. He knew early on that he wouldn't be a scholar, but working with his hands gave him rewards he couldn't explain. He loved the land; the place between the sky and the heather; his every muscle being stretched and used; the feeling of the sun on his face and the spongy earth beneath his feet. Everything was clear-cut with simple consequences.

He remembered when his father took him to Diagon Alley at a young age to show him all aspects of the business, and he scowled at the thought of his first encounter with Malfoy. He was happy to learn that having money and spending it didn't turn him into that prat. Ernie had his own Gringotts vault, although no real access to it until he became of age. His father had been slighted when Ernie used some of his own money to buy some new, nicer robes. He hated that, but he hated being talked about behind his back even more. He loved his father, but he saw no reason not to spend some of his money. What was it there for if he couldn't enjoy the benefits of his hard work?

He'd said it impulsively at the meeting. "Not to be materialistic," he'd started out saying. He sounded like an idiot, shaking his head at the memory. Of course, he was sounding materialistic. You're offering them money, you dolt. He knew he had more than Galleons to offer, but it was really the only tangible thing he could offer, and so he had.

There was so much more though. He was gratified with what other Hufflepuffs had stood up and offered. Fritz Bagman, his teammate had offered his expertise in physical training. Fritz trained his whole life with a professional Beater father. Susan Bones had an invisibility cloak – old and worn, but useful nonetheless. They also had a bone-deep loyalty and an enviable work ethic, enjoying the hard work almost as much as the recreation. He turned the Galleon over between his fingers and thumb, warm from being held so long in his palm.

They were in this together now; this new team. They would be a proper army soon, and as Ernie thought back on his fellow Housemates, his chest swelled with pride. He remembered how they had felt when Cedric Diggory was named Hogwarts Champion back in fourth year, and how it had been taken away when the fourth name came out of the Goblet of Fire. That deflation was hardly anything, though, compared to his death. His murder by You-Know-Who was the beginning of this war.

Ernie set his jaw and replaced the Galleon in his pajama bottoms. Cedric was the first casualty. This war would begin against the Death Eaters here at Hogwarts. Against Voldemort. They would not run. They would not hide. They would die if they had to, but Cedric would be avenged. More than avenged, he would be remembered.

He smiled as he thought of Hannah, thinking of their mission. Their children would grow up without their parents being murdered in an orchard. No child would be told that their parent was murdered. He was especially proud of his fellow Hufflepuffs, and pictured Hannah and Fritz with Derek standing with Susan, Rowan and Morag. Wayne and Sally-Anne had been with Megan and Zacharias Smith. And he thought of the missing. He really missed Kevin Entwhistle and of course, Justin.

Soon, they would all be asked to do the hard work and make sacrifices, but Ernie knew that his House was strong and determined and faithful; dependable to the end. He nodded his head, resolute in what they were planning. They were a fine House. Yes, he would be proud to be their Lieutenant. And as his last thoughts drifted off to sleep, he knew life at Hogwarts was about to change.