Ron sat next to Harry when class started; glad to see his friend in somewhat better spirits.

"Everything settled, then?" Ron asked, looking at him.

"I think so, yes."

"Neville and Seamus won't be in class today. Fred and George gave them hexed candy; their tongues are too big for them to get out of the great hall for the next hour or so." Ron smirked. "No more than what they deserve…" Ron thought to himself.

Unfortunately for Harry, his good spirits were soon dampened when Delores Umbridge entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Still there, and giving him the evil eye. But, for now, she seemed to be letting matters lie…

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked out into the open-air bit of the hallway and sat on the half-wall.

"D'ya think she works for you-know-who?" Ron asked pointedly.

"I don't know. Maybe she's just plain stupid, like the Minister himself." Harry said wearily.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile, but looked surprised as he stood up, tensing, when Ginny was walking past, talking to Dean Thomas.

"… and, I was just wondering…" Harry heard him fumble, "if you'd like to come to the Leaky Cauldron with me?"

Ginny stopped in her tracks. "Why?" she asked warily.

"Because, you're pretty, and, I like ya, and…" and, here Dean leaned in for a kiss.

Harry felt a white-hot rage inside of himself he could not explain, and had the odd sensation of wanting to hex Dean into a puddle of melted jelly. But, Ginny pushed him off.

"I'm not easy, you prat!" she said angrily.

Dean looked embarrassed. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…." He said contritely, running off, looking as if he might cry.

Ginny sighed, looking almost sorry for yelling, but, then she walked over to Harry, who was as stiff as if rigor mortis had set in, and put her hands on his upper arms.

"Harry?" she asked softly.

Instantly, Harry relaxed into her touch, and slipped his arms around her waist. "Are you all right?"

"Fine… you?"

"I wanted to kill him." Harry admitted. "To rip off his hands just for---"

"Bloody hell, you two!" Ron burst out. "What's going on here?"

"Are you blind or just dull?" Hermione snapped. "I think it's pretty obvious, and I told you to stay out of it."

"But I heard shouting…" Ron protested. The over protective brother vibe just doesn't turn off.

Harry, ignoring everyone but Ginny, gently removed the hair that felt over her face and kissed Ginny on the lips.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "This will all blow over soon."

Ginny nodded, and reached out for Harry's hand, which he took before turning back to face Ron and Hermione.

"One good thing we can do is use this gossip to our advantage," Harry stated. "Have you found any other people interested?"

Harry and Ginny holding hands reached to the secret room they decided to make their meeting. Ron and Hermione were right behind them.

He opened the door and found Lucy and Nevile waiting for them.

Ron stared at Neville. "Who invited him?" he snarled.

"I did," Lucy answered. "We need all the help we can get don't we?" "I am sure he is really sorry about what happened at breakfast, aren't you?"

Neville rubbed his sore tongue before he answered. "Definitely. It was mostly Seamus. Honestly.... I just didn't stop him...."

He paused and turned to Ginny. "I am sorry Ginny. Honestly. I did not wish for everything to get so out of hand."

Ginny rolled her eyes but waved a hand in the air. "It's over. But I am sure you know in the future to mind your own business."

"Thank you, Ginny. Harry?" Neville addressed.

"You know why we are all here. If the school will not help us defend against Voldemort and the dark arts, we will have to fend for ourselves. I have gathered us here to open up a discussion on how we are going to do it and when."

"Do you really think You-Know-Who is here?" Neville asked.

"Yes. He never actually went away." Harry said bluntly. "Now... let's get started..."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Over the next week, the students were spending all of their free time in that room. But, Harry was growing impatient. He knew Umbridge and the Slytherin boys were hot on their trail, and that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort struck again.

"We have to come up with a plan of attack." Harry said that afternoon, as everyone gathered. "We have to stop waiting for him to pick people off one-by-one and gain more strength... we must find him. We must attack now."

"But, with what?" a dark-haired boy asked.

At this, Harry faltered. "I'm not sure exactly... that's what we're here to figure out. I mean, we obviously can't just run at him all at once; we'd just end up dying..."

"So, we're going to need to stop meeting for a while." Hermione stepped up. "We need to focus on research only. The first one that finds a plan calls the next meeting. Until then, it's not safe to meet."

Everyone looked skeptical, but, slowly they filed out of the secret room, though Cho stayed slightly behind. Ginny folded her arms over her chest, glaring from the doorway.

"Harry? Can we speak?" Cho asked softly.

Harry stopped and nodded, but first he turned to Ginny and smiled.

"I will right back," he whispered. "Wait for me back in the common room."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something at first but sighed. "Fine."

Harry smiled at her. "Trust me," he mouthed.

Ginny nodded. "I do."

And she did, it was Cho she did not.

Once Ginny started to walk away, hurrying to join the others, Harry turned back to Cho.

"Yes Cho, is there something you want to talk about?" he asked her.

"About the rumors," Cho began.

Harry sighed. He really did not want to talk about this anymore.

"I did not really want to believe them," she continued. "But, when I see you and Ginny, I know something is there. I thought you and I had something. Don't you like me any more?"

Harry paused for moment, trying to collect his thoughts. "Cho..."

"You do like her!" she shouted.

"I do," Harry confessed.

"And what about us?" Cho asked.

"You are really pretty Cho…" he answered.

"Thanks," Cho replied, with a little hope in her eyes.

"And I did like you every much. I still like you, but..."

"But?" Cho asked in a sad tone.

"But something changed. Something changed with you and me, and something changed with Ginny and I. I don't know exactly when it happened, but we been through a lot and something changed. I really like her Cho."

Tears started swell up in Cho's eyes but she flashed them away.

"Ah, I see," she said, her pain turning into anger. "Fine, Harry; even last year at the ball you had your eyes roaming at other girls. Fine..."

"We can still be friends..." Harry began.

"Sure..." Cho replied. "But I have to go now. See you next meeting."

And she stormed out leaving Harry alone.