Hmm...five chapter, over thirty hits...still two reviews...
It's not really a picnick to update this, okay. If no one likes it, i won't share it, just let me know. I'm not one of those people who says "I want twenty reviews or i'm not updating!" because that's not fair to the one or two people who do update.
Anyway, i had alot of fun with this chapter because i got to bring in some of the old D.A, and we all know how much i love Michael and Terry 3 (a whole whole lot:) so i loved writing them, even though they died in DAYD. I decided that wasn't fair, so i made them live :) Other than that, i'm pretty much sticking to the DAYD verse, even Slaugh - as much as i've read of it, at least. That's a tough thing to read, i'll tell you that.
By the way, if you are a fan of Teddy Lupin, you may not like this...he's kind of a jerk in this chapter, no offense to him, but we don't know what he acts like anyway.
"-Just won't wake up! We've been trying for hours!"
"Coma?"
"Doubt it. Her heart would be beating a lot slower."
"Wait…look!"
The voices confused me a lot, and I opened my eyes, starting to sit up.
Several people jumped on me at once.
"What were you doing?"
"We thought you were dead!"
"-Wouldn't wake up!"
"-Even tried-"
"Okay, OKAY!" I cried, sitting up finally. "I didn't mean to scare you, and I'm sorry, but I was on a train with Dumbledore!" I grinned slightly at their confused expressions, and picked up my galleon, silently thanking the Lord above that it was Saturday.
I didn't call the entire D.A, just specific members from each house.
Soon Zowii, Nessie, Rowen, Dessa, Sunny, Lexi, Wendy, Shirley, Sirius, Etienne, Jaimie, Zaire, and Anuja were with me in the Room of Requirement.
All of them were members from the very first meeting except for Dessa Ceil, who was a third year Gryffindor. She had long, wild brown-ish red hair, large green eyes, and a very small mouth and nose. She had a very wild look about her, but was very kind when you got to know her.
I was using Occlumency to block Zowii so she couldn't blurt out the insanity I was about to inform them of.
"What's this about Dumbledore on a train?" demanded Sirius.
I held up my hand to stop them from all talking at once.
"All right, here's the deal…" and I explained my entire dream, from the t-shirt to this "mission" Dumbledore wanted us to do.
No one spoke. They were all looking at me like I had gone mad, which I expected, of course. I believed Dumbledore, and I knew that Zowii and Nessie would go with me even if they knew I was crazy, but what about the others?
After what seemed like hours, Rowen broke the stillness. She stood up, her short, dark brown hair fluttering slightly as her electric blue eyes pierced everyone in the room. The definitions of her muscles stood out under the white shirt and blue-and-bronze tie, tough but still feminine, and I remembered just why I picked her to be the Ravenclaw Colonel.
"Well, I think it's true." She said, her strong voice carrying throughout the room. She turned to me, "What first, Commander?" she asked.
Her trust made me smile, and I cleared my throat. "Well, he said I needed to pick four others to go with me."
"And obviously you've already chosen." Said Sirius, smiling.
"Naturally." I smiled back, "Nessie, Zowii, Rowen, and Dessa, will you go with me?"
Several mouths opened in shock at my choice, and Dessa herself said, "Me, sir? But I'm…" her voice trailed away, but I shook my head firmly. "I know what I'm doing," I assured her, though it was only half-true. I didn't know why I picked her, just that it was right. Honestly, I didn't know much about the girl, but she was definitely important.
"What day are we leaving?" asked Zowii. I opened my mouth to answer, but Rowen interrupted.
"Wait, wait," she said, her hands held up in front of her. "Why me?" she asked, spinning around to face me. "You four are Gryffindor!"
"So?" Nessie demanded.
"So you're brave and loyal and all that stuff. I'm in Ravenclaw."
"What's wrong with Ravenclaw?" Etienne protested, sounding hurt.
"Rowen, I pick you because you're strong, you're a great healer, you're smart, and you're brave, even if you aren't in Gryffindor." Rowen blushed slightly at my words, but still looked doubtful. Then I confessed what I had never told anyone outside of Zowii, Nessie, and my mum. "The sorting hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw."
Almost everyone gasped, and Rowen said incredulously, "Really?"
I nodded. She sat down, still looking stunned.
"Okay, I think the real question here is, who's in charge while we're gone, Ruari?" Zowii said, standing from a chair on the right.
"Also, we'll need a new Secret Keeper, since Nessie will be with us." I added, standing up and starting to pace the room, "We'll vote for the…new leader at tomorrow's meeting, so everyone will be there." My voice faltered slightly on the words 'new leader', but I pressed on, "But I'll need a volunteer for Secret Keeper. "
Every hand went up besides Zowii's, Nessie's, Rowen's, Dessa's, and mine. I waived them down, knowing – somehow – that even though I now knew Kiernan wouldn't be interested in stopping us, I still had to pick someone young.
"Lexi?" I asked. A grave expression on her face, she walked to the front, her short brown hair bobbing slightly.
I was stuck suddenly by the fact that they had failed us again. This was the forth time in as many generations – less, really – that children had to pick up the slack were the Ministry, the people who were supposed to protect us, had failed. They had allowed a dark wizard to rise twice, the second time lying and trying to cover up what they could see plainly. Five years after his death, while forcing survivors to catch the remnants of his followers, they had provided no help while the same group of barely-adults stopped another dark wizard from rising. Now, they had allowed a very evil and intelligent Master of Chaos to take over under their very noses, leaving kids even younger than before to take care of it. Lexi was strong, but she was still only eight years old, Nessie even younger than that, smart as she may be. The fact remained that we shouldn't have to do this.
Those thought reminded me of words from an American document, and as I preformed the Secret Exchange, I thought them to myself.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same object,
invinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism.
It is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such government,
and to provide new guards for their future security.
When I shared the words from the Declaration of Independence with Sabs, Zowii, and Shirley that night in our room, Sabs said, "That's pretty…what's it mean?"
I laughed tightly, replying, "It means that those who have the ability to take action have to responsibility to take action."
"Oh," said Shirley, nodding her head, "So, like, what everyone had been doing for the past thirty years but the Ministry."
"Exactly." Zowii said, "If and when we get out of this, we are going to have to have a serious talk with the people underground."
"Definitely." I agreed.
Suddenly, a loud BANG came from the window in between Shirley's and Sabs's beds.
Both of them hit the ground in a roll, coming up on the opposite sides of their beds with their wands out. Zowii swung down from the top of her four poster by the curtain, yelling, "Protego!" as she went and erecting a large shield in front of the window. I used the bed as a spring board, using it to jump up and grab a pipe that ran along the ceiling, hanging there to get a batter angle. All of this happened in less than five seconds.
The thing at the windows was an owl.
The four of us looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
"We probably overreacted," Shirley said sarcastically as Sabs opened the window and let the brown bird inside. I wiped tears of laughter from my eyes, glad to know that we all had such fast reflexes.
Pulling the letter from the owl, I gasped when it suddenly turned into a silvery-white bull dog. It spoke in the voice of Neville Longbottom.
"We know what you're planning to do. Bring all your people to the Hogshead this Saturday to meet with us; McGonagall, Kingsley, myself, and the rest of the Order and the first D.A will be there. It will be safe, don't worry."
The patronus disappeared.
"Clever, really," Shirley said, her voice rough, "Sending a patronus in a letter, I mean. Undetectable, and better for short distances."
"Is this supposed to be some type of ransom?" Sabs said hesitantly. "Maybe Kiernan disguised his voice and sent it."
"No," I said, "That was Uncle Neville's patronus. Plus, Aberforth owns the Hogshead; it's safe there."
"Then why would the Order and everyone want to meet with us?" demanded Zowii, "And how do they know what we're doing?"
I sighed, taking the owl to the window and letting him out.
"They're going to try to stop us."
The rest of the week passed tensely. I had informed the rest of the D.A about what we were going to do in the meeting the next day, and they were still behind me, though Sakys and Alice were both getting more skeptical by the second. They had voted, and it was nearly unanimous that Sirius should be the temporary leader, with Shirley and Etienne as his second and thirds.
Sabs, Shirley, Zowii and I had also told them about the letter, and our suspicions that they would try to talk us out of it.
Therefore, it was with great anxiety that the D.A walked through the freezing rain to the Hogshead in small groups. As Zowii, Nessie, Lexi, Rowen, Azraeh,, Ambrose and I passed the large granite memorial depicting everyone who had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, I stopped, reading names.
So, so many names, the ones of the deceased flickering red. Colin Creevy. Fred Weasley. Ernie Macmillan. Romilda Vane. Dennis Creevy.
I forced myself to continue, telling myself that there wouldn't be as many names this time. There just couldn't…
Once everyone was in front of the Hogshead, we cautiously went inside.
"Oh, there you are!" cried a voice from behind the counter. It was Tinsleigh Lupin, the daughter of Victoire and Teddy Lupin. She was around nineteen, just graduated from Hogwarts and working on her Auror Training. She had inherited the Metamorphmagi gene from her father, and her hair was streaked all different colors, cut just below her ears.
"Come on, I'll take you up!" she said, leading the way up the rickety steps. There wasn't a goat in sight, which was odd, but we had no choice. I signaled the D.A behind my back, glad we had learned some sign language.
Be alert.
Tinsleigh rounded a corner, and she was gone, apparently through the large, peeling double doors in front of us. Every instinct in my body screamed Trap! but I tried to ignore it, my wand clasped tightly in my sleeve.
No sooner had I pushed open the doors than a flash of green hit the wall right next to me. I ducked, whirling sideways as I heard the others behind me rolling, diving, and drawing wands, all pointed at the man who had fired the curse…
Neville.
None of the D.A let their guard down, though Neville was smiling, tucking his wand back into his belt.
Noticing this, he said, "No, it's okay, it's me." I glared at him, thinking he definitely wasn't the same person if he expected me to believe that.
He sighed, raising his hands placidly, "Cecily." He said simply, and I lowered my wand immediately, the others following me. Everyone knew the name of the now grown-up 'princess' of Dumbledore's Army, Cecily Harriet Macmillan, but Neville had told us the story of the Battle of Hogwarts, and I knew it was the password he had given to Ernie when he was holding the doors.
Around the room, which I noticed was very large, though the Hogshead wasn't all that big, people were appearing.
George Weasley. Harry Potter. Professor McGonagall. Teddy Lupin. Victoire Lupin. Aberforth Dumbledore (Azraeh and Ambrose ran at him with a cry). Lee Jordan. Ginny Potter. Molly Weasley. Arthur Weasley. Joice Toft. Gaylord Walczak. Ron Weasley. Hermione Weasley. Hannah Longbottom. Seamus Finnegan. Fleur Weasley. Bill Weasley. Terry Boot. Michael Corner.
Twenty in all, but we still outnumber them.I thought.
"What was that about?" I demanded.
"Just Longbottom wanting to prove a point," said Seamus. I could see the glowing blue of his tattoos from across the room, and resisted a shudder, knowing exactly how he felt about this.
"What is this all about?" demanded Zowii harshly. If they were going to try what we thought they were, we had to be unwavering. I could almost feel the crossed arms and glares from the others behind me.
"We just want to talk," said Teddy in a slightly patronizing voice. "Why don't you kids have a seat and-"
"Now you've done it!" moaned Neville, as the entire D.A glared at him, moving to lean against the walls or stand in the middle like the 'adults' did, ignoring the clump of chairs.
"You've cooked us good and proper, Lupin," agreed Seamus. "They won't listen to a single word we say now."
"For goodness sake, they're not even old enough to cast a patronus!" cried Teddy. "It's not like before-"
But I interrupted him, almost seething with anger, more on my friend's behalf than mine. After everything the past D.A's had done, after the war, no one had the right to talk to a signed soldier like that, no matter their age. Behind me I heard a scuffle as someone – presumably Emmett – charged towards Teddy and was restrained.
"For your information, every one of us can produce a patronus." I growled, pulling my wand back out and saying the incantation. The D.A echoed it behind me, and I didn't look to see if the ones who had been unable to produce on before had succeeded. Several patronesses floated up to whisper in Teddy's ear, and apparently it they spoke very colorfully, because the Metamorphmagi turned pink. "And we can make them talk as well." I added unnecessarily.
There were several tense seconds were the D.A glared at the adults, then Neville stepped into the middle.
"Listen, Ruari, Zowii, all of you," he said, hands raised up again. "We all know what your doing, but not all of us are against it." I smiled gratefully at him, knowing that no one could understand better than the second D.A.
Then Mrs. Weasley stepped forward. Her ginger hair was streaked with gray now, and she wore a very maternal look. "I don't deny that action is important and inevitable, but you're all simply too young."
The D.A cried out in outrage, but McGonagall stepped forward next. "You are all skilled, no denying that either, but your oldest are fifteen, your youngest are five." She stressed.
Then the others started. Mr. Weasley, Fleur, Bill, Uncle Ron and Harry, and Aunt Hermione.
Just as I was ready to take the D.A and leave, Hannah, Ginny, Seamus, Terry, and Michael stepped forward to join Neville.
"Stop." Said Michael simply, and the adults cut off mid-sentence.
Wordlessly, Seamus pulled off his robe, exposing the tattooed chest to the watching adults and D.A. Michael and Terry joined him, both opening dark blue robes. Ginny rolled up her sleeves, and Hannah lifted a pants leg, both of the women shoving simple scars, cuts that never fully healed.
"These," Seamus said, breaking the stunned silence of those who hadn't known about his 'graveyard', "Are for every child that gave their life in the final battle. Colin-" he pointed to the cross "-Was only fifteen. Dennis and Romilda were fourteen. Seems to me like disrespect to their memories, saying that these soldiers are too young."
Michael spoke then. "This-" he pointed to two scars on his right shoulder. I saw Terry pale visibly and wince as he watched. "-happened to me when I saved an eleven year old boy from bleeding out after being whipped almost to death."
Teddy, always sympathetic, snorted quietly.
In less than a second, Terry had grabbed him by the neck, shoving him against the wall, the Seamus, Ginny, Hannah, and Neville right beside him.
"How dare you," Terry snarled, "You're the child here, you have no idea what pain is, what that did to him…" Terry's voice broke, and Michael moved quickly over to them, prying his friend's hand off the younger man's throat. He pulled him out of the room, Terry still shaking in anger.
Seamus chuckled at Teddy's stunned face. "Wouldn't say things like that around that one," he jammed his thumb back towards the door where the two former Ravenclaws had disappeared. "Love each other more'n any o' us can understand."
"I just don't understand how two little holes-" Teddy started angrily, but Neville cut him off.
"That was done to him by a professional torturer, Hans Belsen. Heard of him?" Teddy had turned very pale now, as had others in the audience who didn't know. "After an hour, Terry stood up and shot a killing curse at Michael, after he begged him to end it through their Legilimens connection." Teddy was as pale as Terry now, but his cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, setting off his turquoise hair nicely. "Get your facts straight, kid, cause it's not an easy thing to live through, come back after, or watch."
Teddy shrunk back now, avoiding everyone's eyes. Neville turned back to the adults. "You all know what I lived through," he said, pulling back his shirt collar and gesturing to his cheeks and palms, "And what we've all lived through, but that doesn't matter now-"
"Like hell it doesn't!" cried Seamus, "How can you say that? It doesn't matter who died, doesn't matter that we were all tortured every feckin' day, some of us a lot worse than others, and now it's happening again, and you say it doesn't matter?" his eyes were glowing slightly now as he yelled at Neville. One word came to my mind: Slaugh, and I quickly pushed the others behind me, against the wall.
"Calm down, Seamus, just cool it!" Neville cried, "I didn't mean it like that, and you know it! All I meant was, Kiernan isn't the same." Seamus' eyes stopped glowing, but he still glared at Neville as Neville turned to face the room at large. "Kiernan isn't like the death eaters. I don't know what he is, but he probably wouldn't fight back if Ruari carved 'Dumbledore's Army' into his forehead. He's sneaky, charming, and a bloody genius, not to mention a very skilled wizard to boot."
"But-" Mrs. Weasley started to protest again, but I was getting tired of this. I took a few steps forward to stand in front of the D.A protectively, facing the adults.
"Alright, that's enough." I said firmly, "We know – at least partially – what Kiernan is up to, and we are training to be able to fight him and the Masks for whatever comes. You can't stop us, so stop trying. Your generations had their chances, and some people took them-" I nodded to Neville and the others "But one day you'll learn to stop underestimating 'children' during war, and stop trying to protect us. We're the only hope you have right now."
Almost everyone looked resigned now; George and Lee hadn't protested at all, nor had Professor Toft or Walczak. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Michael and Terry had returned, but then Harry himself spoke.
"I made the mistake of underestimating the D.A twice after I was no longer in control of it," he stated.
"Or maybe because." Ginny said under her breath. Harry grinned at her.
"Well, I won't make that mistake again. I'm with you guys." Harry crossed the room, going to stand – to my shock – behind me with the rest of the D.A.
Seamus, Neville, Hannah, Michael, Terry, and Ginny joined him immediately.
Ron looked around at Hermione, George, and Lee. They all crossed to join us.
I couldn't believe it. The most famous people in the wizarding world were standing behind us, the D.A, like we were leaders.
Tinsleigh joined us, followed by her grandparents and mother, then Walczak, and Toft.
Only Teddy, McGonagall, Aberforth, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were left on the other side.
Aberforth and McGonagall locked eyes, then McGonagall sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Ruari. Of course I support you all talking action, I just don't want to see another student die." She sniffed slightly, and Aberforth followed her to our side.
"I reckon things might be better for this round without my brother pulling the strings, him and his cryptic ways…" mumbled Aberforth, speaking for the first time. If only he knew…
Teddy flushed deeply, then walked carefully over to Terry and Michael.
"I'm sorry about what I said. I had no idea…" but Michael clapped him on the shoulder, smiling, and Terry nodded, grinning slightly as well. It was hard to stay mad at a guy with blue hair.
"Molly, dear, I'm sorry, but I think these kids know what they're doing." Mr. Weasley said, and Mrs. Weasley reluctantly nodded, joining him as he went to the now mixed group.
Then Hannah gasped, looking at her watch.
"It's almost six!"
All i want is one review...anonomous reviews are enabled, so no excuses! :)
(P.s, check out my other story, Hareigh Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)