Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the world in this story, they are J.'s. (I completely forgot to "disclaim" my other chapters, so this will apply to all of them)

I haven't been getting much feedback lately, which is why it took me so long to force another chapter out. I hope you like this one!

Chapter 6

Hermione gave Harry a pleading look.

"Please, Harry."

"How many people are in there anyway?" Harry gestured towards the door.

"Er—just a few," she fibbed. Seeing the skeptical expression on Harry's face she added, "Thirty at the most."

Harry groaned loudly. "I said I would talk to a couple of people about it! I'm not trying to raise a bloody army!"

"Oh man up, Harry," Ron said loudly. "There is no way I'm going to let Umbridge get away with making us fail our O.W.L.s on top of everything else." He prodded Harry towards the door.

Harry turned the loose knob reluctantly and pushed the door open with a creak, revealing a dingy little room with formerly white, plaster walls. The walls had cracks running up and down its smudged surface, and the room's furniture was in rather scant supply. A table in the corner was heavily laden with butterbeer, and bent under the weight. A great herd of students were chattering loudly, until a pink-faced second year yelled loudly, "He's here!" An expectant silence fell over the group, broken finally by the Weasley twin's loud duet of a slow, dramatic march, accompanied by Lee's chanting lyrics (He has arrived!).

Hermione coughed awkwardly and waited for the song to end. "Er...You all know why you're here. We need to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, not that rubbish that Umbridge is teaching us. I, er—I figured that we should take this into our own hands, since—" Hermione gritted her teeth, "—since Voldemort returned last year." The room gave a collective gasp, and a few gave each other doubtful glances.

"And what proof do you have that You-Know-Who is back?" A blond Hufflepuff asked rather aggressively.

"He only bloody saw him!" Ron said defensively.

"Dumbledore believes it," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, well Dumbledore isn't exactly in his prime, is he?" a tall Ravenclaw girl sneered. "So why don't you tell us, Potter? What did happen?"

Harry felt his temper rising dangerously. "I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's what you came here for, you'd best clear out."

A tense silence fell over the room. At last, the Ravenclaw girl stood up with her friend and stalked out of the room.

"So," Fred began conversationally, "Are we doing this or aren't we?"

"Is it true you can produce a patronus?" Cho Chang inquired loudly from the back.

Harry's face reddened considerably, and jerked his head in something like a nod.

"Blimey, Harry," Angelina exclaimed, "I had no idea."

This seemed to wake up the crowd, and Harry was dismayed as question after question was shot at him.

"Did you really kill a basilisk with Gryffindor's sword?"

"You fought off seven dementors just this summer, didn't you Harry?"

"Don't be stupid, it was twenty at least!"

"And last year, he fought a dragon!"

"On the Hogwarts Express," George said seriously, "Did you really get a bogey-flavored jelly-bean?"

"No, I heard you did! The worst I've ever gotten may have been soap," Harry smiled. "Nasty stuff, that. Can't get the taste out of your mouth."

The friends shared a good laugh with the room, and finally Katie Bell spoke up.

"I actually need to be going, but just to clarify—we are doing this right? Harry is a better teacher than bloody Umbridge will ever be, I think we all know."

General murmurs of assent were given by all in the room, and Hermione looked positively giddy.

"I think we should have sign-up sheet, we need to be able to contact everyone once we set a time for our next meeting," she sounded flustered as she rummaged through her bag for a parchment and quill. "There aren't any rules against this, but—" Hermione looked around the room meaningfully, "Signing this is showing that you were here, and promising not to tell Umbridge—or anyone else, for that matter."

Fred and George signed the parchment with flourish, and waved it around, trying to pass it off to the people around them. Seeing the hesitant looks on their faces, Hermione set her teeth. "Weren't you all saying what a good idea it was just now?"

The blonde Hufflepuff, Zacharias Smith, cast a doubtful look at the parchment George was poking him with insistently. "I'm sure Ernie will let me know when the meeting is."

Ernie Macmillan threw a dirty look at Zacharias. George had evidently grown tired of holding the parchment, and charmed it so that it was jabbing the pair rather aggressively. "It's just—" Ernie tried desperately to dodge the parchment, which was now whacking his head angrily, "well, we are prefects," he burst out finally. "If anyone got a hold of this list…I mean, if Umbridge ever found out…"

"You seemed quite keen on this a moment ago," Ron reminded him with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, but…"

"It's not as if I would leave this lying around," Hermione said icily.

"Of course not, I—" Ernie finally caught the parchment and held it away uncertainly. "Yes, of course I'll sign it," he finished resignedly. The parchment went limp, and was passed around the room until everyone had signed it.

No one was eager to linger long in the Hog's Head, and the room cleared out fast. Ron drained the last bit of butterbeer left in his cup, and the three friends set off into the crisp autumn air.

"Oy, Hermione!" a red-headed figure called out just as Ron, Harry, and Hermione were heading back towards Hogwarts.

Hermione waited for Fred to catch up and Ron looked irritated.

"What's up?" Hermione asked as Fred ran up, breathing heavily.

"Come get a drink with George, Lee and me? We need your help," Fred looked hopeful.

"Yeah, sure," Hermione smiled widely. "You guys can go ahead, I'll catch you at dinner," Hermione told Ron and Harry.

Ron was in a foul mood as he watched Hermione walking side by side with his brother—away from him.

"What do you suppose he wants with her anyway?" he demanded.

"I reckon he wants her to help them with some homework or something," Harry shrugged noncommittally.

-oOo-

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