Author's Notes: Many thanks again to my wonderful betas cwarbeck and smartasschef14. Also, much appreciation goes to an observation made by reviewer EnFuego, whose observation led to an expansion of Colin's role in this story. The book mentioned later in the chapter, Rasse und Seele was a real textbook used in Nazi Germany. Scans of it can be found on Wikipedia. Also, the information about Hermione only having 10 O.W.L.s was made in the corrected version of HBP. It's mentioned on the HP-Lexicon. Finally, the inspiration for Arnold was taken from the marvelous, yet adult-rated H/G story "Lions in Winter" by BeccaFran. It can be found on Checkmated.
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Chapter 2: The Dark Arts
The next morning, Ginny woke up to find Arnold chewing on a strand of her hair and Crookshanks curled between her legs. She nudged the cat aside and plucked Arnold out of her hair. The Pygmy Puff bounced over to a newly seated Crookshanks and settled on his back, munching on a patch of fur. Crookshanks gave Ginny a long-suffering look and she giggled. She noticed it was two hours before classes and there was plenty of time to visit the Hospital Wing before breakfast.
The hot shower she took loosened the stiffness in her knee enough so that her walk to the Hospital Wing was mostly painless. Not for the first time in the past day, she wished she had the foresight to nick Harry's Invisibility Cloak or at least find one for her own. Then she brushed off that sentiment quickly. She was the sister of Fred and George Weasley. They'd been sneaking around the castle just fine without the help of an Invisibility Cloak for years. She had a feeling her brothers would be disappointed in her for wanting such a crutch anyhow. Besides, Harry needed it far more than she did.
She didn't tell Madam Pomfrey why she was there, but the school nurse knew anyhow.
"Those Carrows," Madam Pomfrey said in disgust as she repaired Ginny's knee. "Five cases of Jelly-Legs Jinx, not including yours, Miss Weasley, and three Cruciatus within the past 12 hours. It makes me sick, I tell you. Positively ill. Professor Dumbledore is probably spinning madly in his grave right now, mark my words."
The thought of her deceased Headmaster doing flips underground made Ginny want to laugh a little. "Four," she said quietly. "Amycus Carrow got Colin Creevey as well."
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips until a thin line formed. She turned to her cabinets and pulled out a vial of amber liquid. "You give this to Mr. Creevey when you see him," she ordered Ginny before sending her down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Ginny was so early that she was the only Gryffindor at the table. Her famous Weasley appetite decided to make a return and she loaded a plate with eggs, kippers, toast, and fruit. She had just taken her first bite when Professor McGonagall entered the hall and headed straight for her.
"Good morning, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said. She gave Ginny an appraising look. "Madam Pomfrey told me that you visited the Hospital Wing this morning."
"It wasn't much…" Ginny started to say, but McGonagall dismissed her with a huff.
"It's… Well, I am not at liberty to say what I think of the rather extreme disciplinary actions taken against you and Mr. Creevey last night. Cruciatus on a sixth year..." McGonagall looked close to wanting to throttle someone. "In any case, we need to discuss what classes you're taking this year, Miss Weasley. You did very well on your O.W.L.s."
Eight O.W.L.s. It wasn't the 10 that Hermione had gotten, but it was more than the seven Ron had received. Mrs. Weasley cried and refused to stop hugging Ginny once the O.W.L. results had gotten in. "She made nearly twice the number you lot did put together," she told Fred and George, which had caused Ginny to laugh and the twins to roll their eyes.
"Have you given any further thought to a career?" McGonagall asked.
Beyond professional Quidditch player? No. I was rather preoccupied with other matters this summer, Ginny thought with some amount of bitterness. She shrugged. "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I really haven't."
The look on her head of House's face softened. "It's been a rough summer for you, Ginny," she said sympathetically. Ginny glanced up, shocked at the use of her real name. "Why don't we proceed with the basics for you now? Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and… Muggle Studies and the Dark Arts." Professor McGonagall looked furious once more.
Ginny wanted to sink into her chair and disappear. Even though she enjoyed Muggle Studies, she had no wish to be taught by Alecto Carrow, nor by her equally foul brother. "I suppose Ancient Runes then to complete my schedule."
"Splendid. It'll be an excellent year for you and it'll keep you quite busy." McGonagall tapped her wand on a clean piece of parchment, then handed Ginny her timetable. "I had planned on offering you captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year in Potter's absence. You would have done a splendid job."
So would Harry, Ginny thought miserably as Professor McGonagall started to move away. She started to turn back to her breakfast.
"Oh, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny's fork hovered over her plate as she glanced down the table. "Yes, Professor?"
A smile tugged at the corner of McGonagall's lips. "You will be very busy this year with your chosen schedule. However, don't shy away from the chance to engage in a few extracurricular activities. It will give you a chance to practice some much-needed skills. Have a good day, Miss Weasley. Mr. Creevey! Over here, please!" McGonagall turned away to beckon to Colin, who had just limped into the Great Hall.
"What in Merlin's name does she mean by that?" Ginny wondered aloud.
"It means that Professor McGonagall wishes you to reform Dumbledore's Army."
Ginny whirled around, her gaze meeting Luna Lovegood's. Her jaw fell as she considered Luna, and then looked back at McGonagall. She suddenly felt extremely giddy as she met Luna's eyes once more and grinned.
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The first day of classes sped by extremely fast. The day started out with double Potions, but she actually enjoyed working with Professor Slughorn outside of the entire Slug Club mess. Anything was better than Professor Snape, she rationalized. The lesson had been the same that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had for their first class the previous year. Ginny inhaled a whiff of Amortentia and felt like crying at the scent of a freshly mowed Quidditch pitch, firecracker residue and the rich, earthy scent that she associated with Harry.
Because of the reminder that Harry wasn't there, Ginny's mind hadn't been on her work, and so she lost her chance at the coveted vial of Felix Felicis when a Hufflepuff's Draught of Living Death had turned out quite a bit better than hers. At the moment, she didn't really care to have a sip of liquid luck. She simply wanted Harry. She wondered if she could persuade Professor Slughorn to let her have a vial of Amortentia just so she could have a little bit of Harry near her.
"Miss Weasley, stay a moment, please?" Professor Slughorn asked as the rest of the students headed toward their next class. Ginny considered her timetable. Her next class was Transfiguration, but Professor McGonagall would excuse her being late since Professor Slughorn had asked her to stay.
Slughorn gave her a worried look. "Your work was not up to its usual standards." He shook his head slightly. "A pity, a pity. I suppose I shall have to give this to you directly." He handed Ginny a vial of Felix Felicis.
She stared at it in shock for a moment. "But, Professor, I didn't earn…"
"No, you didn't earn it, Miss Weasley. You need it. You'll know the time you need to use it. I suppose the Sorting Hat knows what it's doing." He clasped Ginny's shoulder. "Now, run along before Minerva has my head for keeping you late. You won't mention this to anyone, right?"
"Of course not, sir," Ginny clutched the vial of potion to her chest and gazed at her Potions instructor with new respect. They both knew she wouldn't forget who helped her when she needed it. "Thank you, Professor Slughorn."
"Along with you. And Miss Weasley? Should you happen to communicate with Mr. Potter… well, you know what to tell him." Slughorn saluted her with an empty vial. Ginny rewarded him with a tremulous smile and fled.
She had just enough time during break to run up to Gryffindor Tower and hide the Felix Felicis in a pair of Harry's old socks that she had nicked from his trunk during the summer. She actually had a few pieces of Harry's clothing and she was quite sure he never missed it. She had taken to wearing one of the ghastly oversized shirts he had inherited from his cousin Dudley as a nightshirt - after performing some necessary alterations on it. Then she raced for Transfiguration, sliding into her seat next to Colin just as class started.
During lunch, Ginny ran back to Gryffindor Tower, this time going through her trunk until she found the charmed Galleon that Hermione created nearly two years earlier when Dumbledore's Army was initially formed. She stared at the Galleon in her hand, realizing that the master one Harry had used was either with him or in his trunk, which was still at the Burrow. She pursed her lips. A Protean charm was a N.E.W.T.-level spell and she technically could perform it if she could track it down easily. She took the time to flip through her copy of The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 and saw with some amount of relief that it was one of the very last spells in the book.
She took the coin with her to double Charms, where they started at the very beginning of the book. Ginny took the chance to flip to the back every so often to read about what the Protean charm entailed. After Charms, she headed back to her dormitory. Grateful for the first time to be alone, she locked the door and started practicing.
It took her most of the evening and only the growling coming from her stomach made Ginny realize that she missed not just lunch, but dinner as well. She ignored her stomach for a moment as she worked the charm on the coin she held. She had to wipe Hermione's old charm so she could make her coin the master one. With a grin, she managed to change the message on the coin she held to indicate that the DA had returned. She slipped it into her pocket, released the locking charm she set on the door and headed downstairs.
Ginny barely crested the bottom step before she was surrounded by a group of sixth- and seventh-year Gryffindors, along with Dennis Creevey. Her brow furrowed when she saw the hopeful looks they were giving her. "What's going on?"
Neville dug into his pocket, and then displayed his charmed Galleon. The numbers that Ginny had enchanted on there lit up like Christmas lights. "We got your message," he said with a lopsided grin.
Amazed, Ginny watched as Seamus, Colin, Lavender, and Dennis pulled their coins from their pockets.
"I take it the DA's back?" Seamus asked hopefully.
"Been recruiting since 1995. You just missed out on last year's membership drive," Ginny quipped and dashed out of the common room to sneak some food from the kitchens before curfew.
Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж
The first day of classes was easy.
The second was a nightmare.
Ginny breezed easily through Herbology, but found herself a bit perplexed in her Ancient Runes coursework. The difficulty more than doubled from fifth year and Ginny wondered how Hermione could still call it her favourite subject. She could already feel the headache forming behind her temples as several feet of parchment were assigned for homework. She added it to her mental 'to do' list and headed to lunch before double Defense… no, she corrected herself, double Dark Arts.
For the second time in recent memory, the legendary Weasley appetite failed her as Ginny thought of the afternoon to come. She had just convinced herself to at least try the pork chops when Seamus and Neville came limping into the Great Hall. A collective gasp went up from all the tables but Slytherin at the purple and yellow bruises surrounding Neville's left eye. Seamus had taken on most of Neville's weight even though his arm hung at a funny angle.
Lunch forgotten, Ginny raced to their side and took Neville's weight from Seamus. "What happened?" she cried as she helped Neville to the closest seat, which happened to be at the Ravenclaw table. "Why haven't you gone to Madam Pomfrey?"
"Hospital Wing's pretty full up at the moment," Seamus groaned as he sank into the seat next to Neville. "We had double Dark Arts this morning."
Ginny was in the middle of casting an Episkey on Neville's eye injury as he said this. "How bad was it?" she asked quietly.
Neville managed a chuckle. "I didn't think anything could be worse than one of Professor Snape's classes, or even an Umbridge detention."
Ginny Summoned a glass of ice from the Gryffindor table and poured it into a napkin. She pressed it against Neville's eye before turning her attention to Seamus's arm. She wished she had a copy of her mum's The Healer's Helpmate and made a note to herself to stop by the library and check out whatever books they had on healing. She had a feeling she was going to need them.
"I don't think it's broken, but I don't know the spells to fix this," she told Seamus apologetically. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. You did a right good job fixing up Neville." Seamus managed a pale imitation of his winning smile before grimacing in pain. "Blimey, that hurts."
"Here, I know the spells." Terry Boot appeared at Ginny's shoulder and she stepped aside so the seventh-year Ravenclaw could take over. "I'm going to be a healer when I graduate," he explained as he waved his wand over Seamus's arm. "I was setting up shop in our common room after the fourth- and fifth-years had Dark Arts yesterday. This isn't as good as Madam Pomfrey's, but you'll be better after you rest it an hour or so."
The pain eased from Seamus's face. "Feels better already. Thanks, mate."
"What happened?" Ginny asked Terry.
Terry sighed. "Dunno yet. Seventh-year Ravenclaws don't have Dark Arts until after our sixth-years do today. No one's willing to talk about it. Orla Quirkle, two years younger than you, wouldn't stop crying even after I fixed her knees. I heard that Amycus Carrow got you in the halls last night."
"Madam Pomfrey healed my knee this morning." She had also managed to slip Colin the potion before their double Potions class.
"By the way. Is this true?" Terry glanced over his shoulder at the Head Table where only Professor Flitwick sat talking with Hagrid. He pulled his DA Galleon out of his pocket. "You're reforming the DA?"
"It appears to be the rumor," Ginny said with a smile. "I'll set a time for us to meet in the Room of Requirement, most likely this weekend. Pass the word on quietly?"
A few minutes later, Ginny headed warily to the dungeons for her first Dark Arts class. They shared this class with the Ravenclaws and that eased Ginny's mind considerably. It was probably oversight, but she was immensely grateful that they didn't have Dark Arts with the Slytherins like the seventh years did.
"What's so bad about the class that no one is willing to talk about it?" Ginny wondered aloud as Luna fell into step next to her.
"It's the Nargles," Luna said seriously, looking concerned. "They've become infested with Dementor droppings and they're vexing everyone who enters the dungeons."
Ginny decided she would rather face Nargles than Amycus Carrow. She stepped into Snape's old classroom for Defense and found it pretty much the same as it was during the previous term. None of the students were in their seats, but had gathered together in small clumps. Ginny and Luna approached Colin Creevey, who was talking to a dark-skinned boy in Ravenclaw. Ginny struggled to recall his name, then remembered him as Milo Lewis, one of Ravenclaw's Chasers.
"We've decided that all the girls are sitting with a guy today," Colin announced as they joined them, his face unusually serious. "You'll sit with me. Luna can sit with Milo here."
Luna smiled at both of them. "Hello, Milo Lewis. Hello, Colin Creevey." Milo eyed Luna as if she had her own case of Spattergroit, but seemed resigned to sit next to her.
Ginny opened her mouth to ask why, but her words were instantly cut off by the loud bang of the dungeon door as it slammed shut. The class turned as one, Milo Lewis suddenly huddling close to Luna. Bravery isn't his forte, Ginny thought as she stared at Amycus Carrow.
The frumpy Death Eater had on the same robes Ginny had seen him wear during the feast. She recognized the frayed sleeves and the wrinkles that covered the garment. What was on there now that wasn't before were splashes of red that looked suspiciously like blood. She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to look Amycus… no, she thought bitterly, Professor Carrow in the eye.
"Good afternoon, class!" Amycus said in an all-too-cheerful voice. He leaned against the desk, eyes glittering. "Welcome to your first Dark Arts class, a place where you will learn the wonderfully seductive powers of the Dark side of magic."
He started down the aisle between the desks. "In your first five years here, the farce of a Ministry and the simple-minded Headmaster that ruled over you insisted that you learn how to defend yourself from this sort of magic. No one has bothered to teach you the beauty, the mystery, the… power of the Dark Arts." Amycus reached the end of the aisle and caressed his wand lovingly before flicking it at the aisle. "Fiendfyre!"
Huge flames erupted from Amycus's wand, racing down the aisle toward the teacher's desk. Students screamed and scrambled out of the way of the fire, but Colin's copy of the Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 got knocked off his desk in the process. It fell into the fire and promptly turned into soot.
Amycus laughed and waved his wand. Ginny watched in horror as the fire took on the shape of a giant serpent. Memories pounded in her brain as the serpent looked perilously close to a basilisk and…
"Ginny!" Colin screamed and yanked Ginny back in the nick of time as the fiery serpent passed within inches of her robes. She grabbed hold of Colin to steady herself as the fire beast faded away.
Most of the desks in the room were destroyed. No Reparo could undo the damage. The students pressed into two corners, some of the Ravenclaw girls crying. Ginny forced herself to remain calm. As the only Gryffindor girl, it wouldn't do at all for her to fall apart.
"S… S… Sir?" One of the Ravenclaw girls squeaked. "Isn't that sort of magic illegal?"
Amycus dismissed the girl with a flick of his wand. "Crucio." The girl fell to the ground screaming.
Ginny leaped forward and immediately found herself facing the business end of Amycus's wand. "I wouldn't do that if I was you, Miss Weasley," he drawled in a way that reminded her far too much of Draco Malfoy. "Go on now. Back with you!" He shooed her back and she rejoined Colin and the other sixth-year Gryffindors. "Now then, shall we continue with our lesson?"
The so-called lesson turned out to be a demonstration of various curses - the students themselves being used as target practice. If the situation hadn't been so hideous, Ginny knew she would have found Colin suddenly going off at the mouth about garden gnomes due to a well-timed Babbling Curse to be hilarious. The corners of her mouth twitched as Luna decided that she was going to answer every single one of Colin's comments, her speech nearly growing as fast as his.
"Confringo."
Ginny heard the curse being uttered and whirled around, instinctively casting as she did so. "Protego!"
The desk inches away from Ginny exploded, debris hitting but not penetrating her shield. She kept her wand raised, pointed at Amycus, a taunt on the tip of her tongue. Every ounce of self-control went into keeping her lips shut, but she didn't stop her gaze from boring into the Death Eater's.
After a moment, he lowered his wand and inclined his head. "It seems apparently those so-called Defense lessons have sunk into your head, Miss Weasley. Pity. They do dull the effect of a full Blasting Curse. Twenty points from Gryffindor for hiding behind a shield. Dismissed."
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On Friday, Ginny had the extreme displeasure of attending her first Muggle Studies class. Alecto Carrow stood before all the sixth years from the combined Houses, Slytherin out-ranking everyone. A tall stack of purple books was stacked on the desk. Ginny made sure to sit with Colin and Luna, only for her inner peace of mind more than anything. The Ravenclaw girl who had taken the Cruciatus Curse the previous day during Dark Arts hadn't come to the class. Luna mentioned in a whisper that she was still in the hospital wing.
"I do believe she's faking it," Luna said as the girls took two unoccupied chairs with a third seat open next to Ginny for Colin. "She insists that her constitution can't take any more trauma. However, I saw her interact quite plainly with a Knickerbocker just last night when I took her her homework. You have to have quite the constitution to interact with a Knickerbocker."
Ginny thought a Knickerbocker was actually some sort of baggy Muggle garment, but wasn't quite sure. Before she could think to ask, Colin slid into his seat, panting heavily, and then, Alecto began speaking.
"In the past three years, you have all been treated to the… generic view of Muggles." Alecto spat out the word as if it was an Unforgiveable. Then again, Ginny thought, Muggles were Unforgiveable to Death Eaters.
"However, there are one or two Muggles who might have been influenced by some of the great Wizards of our time, the most recently being a man who was personal friends with Grindelwald." Alecto flicked her wand and the pamphlets went flying to each of the students. "His name was Adolf Hitler."
With a ball of ice forming in the pit of her stomach, Ginny dropped her gaze to the cover of the book. The words Rasse und Seele was embossed on it with the title repeated in English, Race and Soul. The author was listed as a Dr. Ludwig Ferdinand Clauss. Her knowledge of languages wasn't very solid, but the mentions alone of Hitler and Grindelwald made Ginny think that the original language was German.
"This book shows how Muggles took tactics created and inspired by pureblooded witches and wizards to weed out those with…impurities." Alecto's gaze flickered briefly to Colin. "By the time this class is finished, all of you will be able to do the same."
Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж
Thoroughly shaken, Ginny accompanied Colin down to the Great Hall for lunch after that dreadful class. They had no lessons that afternoon and she was planning to spend the time crafting tentative plans for the DA. If future Dark Arts classes were going to be anything like the one she witnessed the previous day, they were all going to need an extraordinary amount of protection to get through the year.
Something was tugging at the back of Ginny's mind and her eyes went wide as she remembered one of the new rules told her by her parents in the chaos surrounding her return to Hogwarts. With a growl, she grabbed Colin's arm and hauled him into an empty classroom. He stared quizzically at her as she slammed and locked the door before placing an Imperturbable Charm on it. She whirled around to face him, eyes blazing.
Colin tilted his head to one side. "Um… I take it you're not here for a snog?"
"Colin!"
He laughed nervously and shuffled his feet. "That look on your face means you've must connected the dots, eh?"
"Connected the dots?" Now Ginny was the one confused. "What in Merlin's name is that?"
"Muggle game," Colin explained faintly and saw Ginny moving for her wand. "I take it you remembered about the decree?"
"That Muggle-borns aren't allowed to attend Hogwarts any longer? Yeah, loud and clear now! When I saw you and several other Muggle-borns, I thought it was one of those wild rumours - you know, like the one circulating until the day term started that Bellatrix Lestrange was going to be Headmistress. Mum about passed out, but Dad reassured her that one couldn't be true. Colin, are you insane? You're going to get killed! How did you even get inside the school to begin with?"
Colin shuffled his feet nervously. "So, I didn't quite tell you the entire story…"
"Colin!" Ginny pointed her wand at him. "Talk, or I find a handy target for my Bat-Bogey Hex."
"But, Professor McGonagall said…"
"Talk!"
Colin limply dropped into an empty chair. "You can't tell anyone."
"Because I really like putting your life in danger anymore than it already is," Ginny said sarcastically as she dropped into a second seat. "How are you, Dennis, and the other Muggle-borns here? There's not many, but I recognized at least three others during the start-of-term feast."
"There are six of us in all. I didn't lie to you, I swear!" Colin insisted. "When we got word that Muggle-borns weren't allowed to attend Hogwarts any longer, Mum forbade me and Dennis from going back anyhow. I still wanted to come, so did Dennis. A few days before the Express left, I snuck out of the house and told Mum I would handle registering at the Muggle high school. She left with Dennis and I took the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley."
"Once I was there, I went to the Leaky Cauldron and asked Tom to contact Professor McGonagall. She took me into one of Tom's private rooms and we argued for a good 20 minutes about my going. She finally relented and said Dennis and I would be safer at Hogwarts than otherwise. So, she told me about the loophole in the Ministry policy and said not to register as Muggle-borns."
"Which is?"
Colin gave her a rueful grin. "The law allows half-bloods to attend Hogwarts. It never defined who is considered a half-blood."
Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Pardon?"
"From our understanding, half-bloods have one Muggle parent and one magical parent, yeah?"
"Right. Or they're the child of at least one Muggle-born parent who is magical."
Colin nodded. "The draft of the law that got entered into books doesn't clarify who exactly a half-blood is. That's been fixed now, with a clarification of the differences between Muggles and half-bloods. But, at the time for a few days, that loophole existed. So, Professor McGonagall went looking through our family history. Mum and Dad both have magical relatives apparently. One was Mum's older sister who died the year before I was born. My Uncle Bane who lives in the States is also a Wizard. Dad's parents divorced when he was young, and my grandmum got custody of Uncle Bane. They moved to Nebraska and Dad never really talked to his brother. So, Uncle Bane attended some magical school in Wyoming."
"So, because those relatives are blood relations, Professor McGonagall could enroll you?"
Colin nodded once more. "Yeah, pretty clever, eh? A lot of that stuff went over my head, but I got to attend Hogwarts. That's all that mattered. Everything else is the truth regarding me and Dennis sneaking out. Professor McGonagall told me about the law being clarified when she gave me my timetable on Tuesday. Snape nor the Carrows knew about it until they saw the two of us plus the other four Muggle-borns on Monday night."
Everything started to fall into place for Ginny. "Amycus Carrow torturing you. Granted, he does that to everyone, but the way he looked at you…"
Colin nodded. "He just found out I was registered as a half-blood. They're not taking the six of us out of the school though, Professor McGonagall told me. You know the book we're studying in Muggle Studies? The one about weeding out those who aren't pure? It was for the Nazis, a horrible Muggle regime back in the 1940s that is just like what's happening here now. I studied it in primary school, because of the Nazis attacking England during World War II."
"My Muggle history isn't what it should be," Ginny admitted.
"I'll tell our house about it. It's something we should know. Anyhow, if I'm guessing right, the six of us will be used as examples and will be brainwashed."
"That's insane! Colin, you should go home right now!"
"No!" The normally happy-go-lucky look was gone from Colin's face as he rose from his chair to tower over Ginny. "I'm not going to go crawl into a hole somewhere while Harry and others are out there fighting for me! This is my war too, and I'm going to do what I can to fight it."
Ginny considered Colin long and hard for a moment. "Fine," she said. "You can help me, Neville, and Luna organize Dumbledore's Army."
