I'm so excited! We're finally getting into, what I consider, to be the interesting part of the book. Still, I do hope that I haven't bored you so far. I continue thinking that I'll try and update once a month and then, before I know it, two months have passed since my last update and I feel horrible. But I do feel as if I have a good reason since I was struggling to decided where to end this chapter, if I hadn't ended it where I did, Chapter Ten would probably have ended up being 10 000 words or more.
That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for the 30 new reviews I received, hopeful this chapters inspires the same reaction!
Chapter Ten: Harry
"I trust you know what to do?" Professor Umbridge said later that day when the three Gryffindors entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom for detention.
Emerson shot them a grim smile as he settled into his seat, and Harry couldn't help returning it. Still the determination Emerson showed as he picked up his Blood Quill, surprised Harry.
"Since it's clear that this school struggled to tell the truth, both of you will be joining Mr Potter in writing out, 'I must not tell lies' until I can be sure that it has sunk in." Professor Umbridge's eyes stayed on Harry through her entire speech, as if she was waiting for his reaction. Harry clenched his hands but gave no other indication of his anger; he would not give her the satisfaction of knowing that she'd gotten to him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Back to work," Professor Umbridge said when it became clear that she would get no further reaction out of Harry.
Steeling his nerves, Harry started writing, only to be surprised when the page remained blank and his skin remained unblemished. Harry tried again feeling confused when he received the same result. He had almost no time to continue speculating as the entire castle started to rumble and shake, causing the shrieks of alarmed students to echo through the halls of the school. There were a few moments of silence as the rumble receded and Harry, Emerson and Hermione paused, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing did.
When Harry glanced at them, even Hermione seemed stumped about what had just happened, Harry found this to be strangely reassuring.
"Well?" Professor Umbridge's annoying voice rang through the classroom clearly not pleased that they had been distracted from punishing themselves, though Harry's Blood Quill didn't seem to be working. Not that he was complaining.
Harry debated telling Professor Umbridge, knowing he would get in trouble if he didn't. Still, it couldn't hurt to give this quill a few more tries, considering he didn't really want to face the wrath the professor would bestow on him once he told her. Starting again, Harry scribbled furiously on his parchment, fearing the torture his hand would receive the moment the quill started working again, but it never did.
The castle shook for a second time making Harry drop his quill and look up expecting Professor Umbridge to explain away this strange event. She only glared at him before her eyes flitted to his blank parchment. Professor Umbridge's face contorted in rage, making her look like Harry's aunt Mage when she'd blown up. Yet whatever Professor Umbridge had been about to yell at him was cut off as the amplified voice of Albus Dumbledore rang through the school.
"ALL STUNDENTS PLEASE LEAVE ALL YOUR POSSESIONS AND EXIT THE SCHOOL IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. ALL TEACHERS, ACCOMPANY THE STUDENTS OUTSIDE TO THE GROUNDS IN FRONT OF THE BLACK LAKE."
Harry gaped for a moment before looking to Professor Umbridge who was gritting her teeth. Still she gave a stiff nod of consent before standing up and prancing out of the classroom.
The three Gryffindors quickly stood up, exchanging looks as they headed for the door.
"That's a bit strange, isn't it?" Emerson questioned as they hurried to one of the staircases leading to the entrance hall.
Harry and Hermione nodded.
"What do you think's happening?" Harry directed this question towards Hermione.
"Don't know, nothing like this has ever happened before," Hermione looked tight lipped as she said this, obviously not pleased about not knowing what was going on. Harry himself was feeling quite worried at the alarm that he'd heard in Professor Dumbledore's voice while he'd been making his announcement. Whatever they were experiencing, it had caught even Professor Dumbledore off guard.
As they neared the entrance hall, the groups of people in front of them thickened to become an entire crowd, all of whom were blocking the way to the exit. The air was filled with the murmured opinions of the other students some of whom seemed to be craning their necks looking at something Harry couldn't see.
"What's going on?"
"Didn't Professor McGonagall say anything about the tremors?"
"No, she looked pretty shaken when she came to get us in the common room."
"My guess is they don't know any more than we do."
"Whose handwriting do you think it is?"
"Never mind that, what do you think it means?" Came people's whispered opinions from all around Harry and he struggled to make sense of them as he to tried to find out what everyone was looking at.
"Quiet you imbeciles, and move it along or I will deduct points from every single one of your houses. Move, Mr Potter," Severus Snape's voice was heard above the crowd as he approached the entrance hall. Harry grated his teeth, why did Snape have to notice Harry out of everyone else? Still, Harry had to admit that Snape's presence worked wonders. Everyone seemed to move away as he strode by, the crowd parting as if he were Voldemort himself.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted as he froze, finally laying eyes on the reason why everyone was so worked up. Etched into the large doors of the Entrance Hall repeatedly, and in three different handwritings, were the words: 'I must not tell lies'. Harry heard a gasp next to him as Hermione took in the sight as well.
"Come on mate, best do what Snape says!" Ron voice came from beside him, startling Harry out of his shock. Feeling slightly numb, Harry allowed Ron to pull him outside. How could he, Hermione and what he guessed must be Emerson's handwritten words, possibly have found their way etched into the wooden doors, it didn't make sense… and if that was the reason why the castle had started rumbling, then Harry couldn't help feeling a worried.
"Wa's the matter with him?" Harry faintly heard Ron asking Hermione who Harry guessed was just as shocked as he was. So he was surprised when she actually responded.
"Honestly Ron, can't you read!?" Hermione exclaimed, annoyed.
"Of course I can! It said "I must not tell lies'," came Ron's indignant reply. Finally, Harry looked over at his two friends, just in time to see Hermione give Ron an expectant yet over exaggerated look.
"Professor Umbridge had us write out the sentence with her Blood Quills, that was our handwriting back there," Harry explained as he showed Ron his uninjured hand. Ron's brow furrowed as he gave his friends a confused look.
"But… how? Do you recon Professor Umbridge had something to do with it?" Ron questioned, obviously not sure what to make of the newest revelation. Harry thinned his lips as he shook his head, as much as he'd like to blame her, Professor Umbridge had seemed as surprised as they were when the castle had started shaking.
"I doubt she'd be able to pull something like that off, as far as I know, only extremely well trained Aurors are supposed to be able to perform that type of spell, and whomever cast it on the school, had to be awfully powerful," Hermione said, with a concerned frown marring her face.
"How come?" Harry, couldn't help but ask, his curiosity piqued.
"According to Hogwarts: A History, no one except the founders are supposed to be able to alter the foundations of the school," Hermione clarified.
Ron snorted. "Come on, Hermione, it can't be that hard, it's just a door," he argued.
"If they'd just altered the door then yes. But they didn't, Ron, the castle wouldn't have shook so much if they had," Hermione was starting to get irritable. "If they were to remove the door, the words would just reappear somewhere else in the castle."
"So it can't be removed at all?" Harry questioned eyes widening in realization. Hermione shook her head.
"Not unless whoever put it there, decided to remove it," she confirmed.
"Then why – "
"Quiet please, everyone!" Ron's question was interrupted as Dumbledore spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to where he was stood in front of the Black Lake. "I'd like to thank everyone for proceeding so orderly. Now, I believe all the professors will help you sort yourselves into your houses and according to age so that your Heads of Houses will be able to count you and make sure that everyone is indeed here. Argus, if you would please accompany me back to the castle. Thank you," Dumbledore said and was about to head off when a voice broke through the low murmur that was starting to pick up once more.
"Professor, I must insist on accompanying you, I am sure that the Minister will want to hear of this!" Professor Umbridge simpered as she bustled through the crowd of students who all seemed rather miffed to have to make way for her.
"Naturally," came Dumbledore's short agreement before he left, his long strides making it difficult for Umbridge's short stubbly legs to keep up. Though Harry managed to suppress a snicker, Ron wasn't quite so successful. Harry looked over, grinning at Ron, but the grin quickly fell away when he spotted someone heading their way.
"Potter, where's that idiot friend of yours?" Malfoy asked as he neared them, and Harry couldn't keep from grimacing.
"Who?" Harry asked as he noted that both Crabbe and Goyle were missing from Malfoy's sides.
"Emerson!" Malfoy barked clearly impatient.
"What's it to you, Ferret?" Ron hissed, glaring at Malfoy suspiciously.
"No one asked your opinion, Weasel," Malfoy shot back without hesitation, whatever vulnerability he'd shown during yesterday's lesson had disappeared completely. Come to think of it though…
Harry couldn't help glancing around in search of Emerson and Armand, who he quickly realized, were indeed missing. Emerson had been with them just a few seconds ago, hadn't he? Then again, Harry had been so caught up in the drama at the Entrance Hall, that Emerson had probably just slipped away then and Harry had been too preoccupied to notice.
"He's gone," Harry mumbled, still trying to spot the black and blonde haired boys that sometimes appeared to be glued to each other's sides.
"That's what I just said, Potter. I honestly don't know why I bothered," Malfoy sneered before turning and leaving just as Crabbe and Goyle caught up with him. They looked momentarily confused but didn't allow that to stop them from glaring at the Golden Trio as they left.
"Recon we should go after them? Emerson and Armand I mean…" Ron asked the moment Malfoy's minions had left.
"No! We need to stay so we won't be missed when they do the head counts!" Hermione exclaimed, looking thoroughly horrified at the thought. "Besides, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will find them soon enough," she added when the two boys gave her disbelieving looks.
"Don't you think it's strange that they always wonder off at odd time?" Harry asked Hermione, eyes wide with curiosity.
"We're going to get into trouble!" Hermione insisted, seeming to ignore Harry.
"You don't have to come with, then," Ron hissed before stamping away. "You're coming, right Harry?" he called over his shoulder as he went. Harry gave Hermione a shrug before following behind Ron.
"Honestly Ronald, you can't just go marching off, expecting no one to notice you!" Harry heard Hermione grumble as she stalked past him, grabbing hold of Ron to halt him.
"Hermione!" Ron's indignant exclamation was muffled slightly as Hermione cast a quick 'Notice Me Not' charm on all of them.
"Now shush!" Hermione commanded as she walked ahead, hurrying back to the castle. Grinning, Harry followed her example, dragging a complaining Ron with him.
"Where do you recon we should look first?" Harry whispered as they snuck into the castle and hide inside a classroom.
"Dunno, do you think they'll be in the dormitories?" Ron asked looking befuddled.
Harry shrugged. "We might as well go have a look. At least we can go get the map and my fa-"
"Now, Dolores, let us not jump to any conclusions," Professor Dumbledore's voice cut through Harry's hushed words making all three Gryffindors freeze as they listened to the two professors talking.
"I will not stand for this, Dumbledore. We need to find out who cast this spell and why! They cannot be allowed to go unpunished. And I demanded that the spell be removed for when the Minister arrives."
"But I was under the impression that he would be made aware of this?" Professor Dumbledore said, and Harry could just imagine the twinkle that was sure to be in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Yes, but we can't receive the Minister with such a threatening spell hovering over the school." Professor Umbridge sounded nearly frantic.
"On the contrary, Dolores, as far as I'm aware, this spell is only ever used to deflect harm away from one person and onto something else. It is my belief that whomever did this, was trying to protect this castle's residence from unknown harm. Who knows it might've been the school, simply trying to protect her students!" Harry had no doubt that Professor Dumbledore already knew who was causing the students harm.
"Oh dear, you seem quite pale, maybe you should go visit Poppy, Madame." Dumbledore advised to an ill look Professor Umbridge, who simply gave a weak nod in reply. Harry bit back the smirk that threatened to break free and looking at his two friends, he could see that they were trying to resist as well. "In the meantime, I will be taking my leave, Madame," The dismissal was clear and Harry almost jumped when Dumbledore's head swiveled to their hiding place for a few seconds before he left through the large oak doors.
"Do you think he saw us," Hermione questioned once Professor Umbridge had left as well. Harry looked over to his friend, who seemed quite distressed at the possibility.
"Well, he does seem to know whenever we get into trouble," Ron mumbled.
"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed, obviously not pleased with his answer. Harry chose to ignore his two bickering friends and instead, left the classroom, making his way towards the Gryffindor common room. As they made their way up the shifting staircases, Harry couldn't help pondering all that Professor Dumbledore had said.
If Dumbledore knew about the Blood Quills like his words had suggested, then Harry couldn't help wondering why he hadn't done anything about it yet. Then again, maybe he'd been the one to cast this spell, which made sense since the headmaster was only person Harry knew of, that seemed powerful enough to cast this kind of protection charm.
"Strange though isn't it?" Ron's voice pulled Harry out pf his thoughts.
"What is?"
"That Emerson disappeared so suddenly. He and Armand are nice enough but they really seem to keep to themselves." Ron mused, looking somewhere between admiring and confused.
"I don't understand you, Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed throwing her hands into the air in a show of frustration.
"What now, Hermione?" the complaint was clear in his voice as he turn to Hermione inquiringly. Harry murmured the common room password and entered as he continued to listen to his friends' bickering.
"You're suspicious of them yet you still admire them," Hermione accused.
Harry ignored Ron's reply as he fished in his trunk and quickly pulled out the Marauder's Map. Hermione and Ron joined him on his bed as he opened the map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map spread out in front of them, showing the cluster of students and teachers gathered in front of the Black Lake, as well as showing Professor Umbridge in her office and Filch make rounds through the castle, but even with Ron and Hermione's help, Harry couldn't locate the two missing brothers. What was going on?
"We have to tell McGonagall," a wide eyed Hermione murmured as she took note of this as well. She seemed wary and anxious as they continued to scan the map in vain. Harry and Ron nodded in agreement and Harry put away the map in exchange for his father's invisible cloak.
"Let's go," Harry agreed and they quickly made their way to the common room before throwing the cloak over themselves and heading out.
"Professor we-" Hermione started to say as they rushed towards Professor McGonagall but she was interrupted.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger, I feared we'd have to start without you," Professor McGonagall said with a severe look on her face that clearly indicated that she'd noticed their absence. "Please go stand with the rest of your year," she dismissed them as she looked down at the parchment held in her hand. The three of them hesitated, but ultimately did as they were told, Professor McGonagall would hopefully notice Emerson and Armand's absence soon.
"We're lucky we didn't get into more trouble," Hermione lectured as they made their way over to the other fifth years.
"Mate." Ron suddenly said having come to a sudden standstill as he stared ahead of him. Harry looked towards his friend before but when he got no further explanation, followed Ron's gaze instead. Harry felt his eyes widening and his mouth opening slightly in surprise.
Armand and Emerson were standing there, in a conversation with Seamus, Dean and Neville, so how come Harry hadn't been able to find them on the map?
Hermione made no mention of Harry giving Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion. On another note, Harry's detentions with Professor Umbridge had come to a complete standstill, since the Quills were still spelling out Umbridge's detentions for the whole world to see and all the other teacher's seemed to be keeping an eye on her. Everything seemed to be getting on quite well until the end of September. All three of them were sitting in the library looking up potion ingredients when the subject suddenly came up again.
"I was wondering," Hermione began, "whether you'd thought any more about the Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, Harry."
"Course I have," Harry mumbled grumpily, "can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us-"
"I meant the idea Ron and I had-" Ron looked at her in alarm, though the threat in his eyes were clear. Hermione frowned at him, "-Oh, all right, the idea I had then – about you teaching us."
Harry paused, trying to look busy as he considered the question. He had actually given the matter a great deal of thought over the past fortnight. Sometimes it seemed an insane idea, just as it had on the night Hermione had proposed it, but at others, he had found himself thinking about the spells that had served him best in his various encounters with Dark creatures and Death Eaters. He'd even caught himself subconsciously planning lessons from time to time.
"Well," he said slowly, when he ran out of things to look busy with, "yeah, I-I've thought about it a bit."
"And?" Hermione encouraged.
"I dunno," Harry murmured, trying to buy more time as he looked up at Ron.
"I thought it was a good idea from the start," Ron said, seeming keener to join this conversation now that he was sure Harry was not going to start shouting again.
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair, still uncertain.
"You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?" Harry felt the need to remind them.
"Yes, Harry," Hermione said gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're no good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperious Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full grown wizards can't, Viktor always said-"
Ron's head whipped towards her at the mention of the Quidditch player's name. "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"
Hermione gave Ron a resigned look. "He said Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang."
Ron was looking at Hermione suspiciously.
"You're not still in contact with him, are you?"
"So what if I am," Hermione said coolly, though her face was a little pink. "I can have a pen-pal if I-"
"He didn't only want to be your pen-pal," Ron accused.
Hermione shook her head exasperatedly and, ignoring Ron, turned back to Harry instead. "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"
"Well," Hermione said, looking a mite anxious again. "Well…now, don't fly off the handle again, Harry, please… but I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people." The doubt Harry was feeling must have shown on his face because she spoke up again. "And I asked Emerson and Armand for their help, seeing as they seem to know quite a few advanced spells that might be useful to know as well."
Harry paused, trying to figure out how he felt about this new piece of information. Harry knew they'd be a great helping in teaching the other students, what he didn't know was whether or not they could be trusted. After that day by the Black Lake, the trio had agreed that it would be better not to confront the two brothers about the disappearing act. Instead, Hermione had volunteered to do a little research into the subject of the spells cast on the map, since she theorized that the map's magic might be disintegrating because of its age and because some of its makers had already passed away. Never mind that… "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught by me. I'm just a child, remember?" Harry couldn't keep the note of bitterness out of his tone.
"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say," Hermione said seriously. "Look," she reasoned as she leaned towards him, "you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"
"Why do we have to do it outside school?" Ron wondered out loud.
"Because," Hermione said as she returned to copying the diagram of the Chinese Chomping Cabbage. "I don't think Umbridge would be very happy if she found out what we were up to." Harry conceded that it was indeed true, and grudgingly agreed to Hermione's plan.
The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned bright but windy. After breakfast the trio along with Emerson and Armand queued up in front of Filch, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission from their parents or guardian to visit the village. With a slight pang, Harry realized that if it hadn't been for Sirius, he would not have been going at all.
When Harry reached Filch, the caretaker gave a great sniff as though trying to detect a whiff of something from Harry. Then he gave a curt nod that set his jowls aquiver again and Harry walked on, out on to the stone steps and the cold, sunlit day.
He quickly joined Ron, Hermione and Emerson and Armand, who were giving him strange looks, as if waiting for an explanation as to why he'd just been sniffed. Ron beat them to it.
"Er – why was Filch sniffing you?" Ron asked as they set off at a brisk pace down the wide drive to the gates.
"I suppose he was checking for the smell of Dungbombs," Harry said with a small laugh. "I forgot to tell you…"
And he recounted the story of sending his letter to Sirius and Filch bursting in seconds later, demanding to see the letter. To his slight surprise, Hermione found this story highly interesting, much more, indeed than he did himself.
"He said he was tipped off you were ordering Dungbombs? But who tipped him off?"
"I dunno," Harry shrugged. "Maybe Malfoy, he'd think it was a laugh."
"Malfoy?" Hermione sounded skeptical. "Well…yes…maybe…"
"Speaking of that, what did Malfoy say when you asked him why he was looking for you?" Harry aimed this question at Emerson, who seemed to be caught quite off guard by it.
"Oh. N-nothing really, he just denied it having happened," Emerson said, sounding just as disappointed as Harry felt by the news. He'd been fairly curious about the whole situation.
"Where are we heading, anyway?" Ron asked, eyeing Hermione suspiciously. "The Three Broomsticks?" he ventured a guess.
"Oh- no," Hermione said, pulled out of her thoughts. "No, it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pub. You know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit…you know… dodgy…but students don't normally go in there , so I don't think we'll be overheard."
Everyone nodded, seeming to agree with Hermione's thought process. They walked down the main street past Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop, where they were not surprised to see Fred, George and Lee Jordan, past the post office, from which owls issued at regular intervals and turned up a side-street at the top of which stood a small inn. A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture on it of a wild boar's severed head, leaking blood on to the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached. All five of them hesitated outside the door.
"Well, come on," Hermione seemed slightly nervous so, pulling together his courage, Harry led the way inside.
It was not at all like the Three Broomsticks, whose large bar gave an impression of gleaming warmth and cleanliness. The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy and very dirty room that smelled strongly of what Harry suspected to be goats. The bay windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead with the stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables. The floor seemed at first glance to be compressed earth, though as Harry stepped on to it he realized that there was stone beneath what seemed to be accumulated filth of centuries.
"I don't know about this, Hermione," Harry muttered as they crossed to the bar. Harry's eyed a heavily veiled witch carefully. "Has it occurred to you Umbridge might be under that?"
Hermione cast a look at the veiled figure.
"Umbridge is shorter than that woman," she whispered. "And anyway, even if Umbridge does come in here, there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds; I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring our own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we parade what we're doing."
"No," said Harry dryly, "especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?"
"A bit like The Rising Sun, isn't it?" Emerson was grinning as he mumbled this remark to Armand, who smiled, though it looked a bit strained.
"The Rising Sun?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Yeah, it was a bar we… um… frequented back in Wales," Emerson suddenly looked awkward as he tried to explain obviously not have expected someone to overhear.
A slightly familiar looking man pulled away Harry's attention as he came towards them, he must've been the barman.
"What," he grunted from behind his long grey beard.
"Five Butterbeers, please," Hermione said, eyes search for approval from the other four she was ordering for. They nodded in thanks.
The man reached beneath the counter and pulled out five very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar.
"Ten Sickles," he said.
"We'll get them," Armand offered, passing over one Galleon. The barman took it and handed over the changing, looking at Harry for a second before leaving. The five retreated to the furthest table from the bar and sat down, looking around. A man in dirty gray bandages rapped the counter with his knuckles and received another smoking drink from the barman.
"Interesting crowd," Armand observed and Harry couldn't figure out whether he was joking or not. So Harry just nodded as everyone sipped at their Butterbeer, though Harry couldn't help envying the cleaning spell Armand and Emerson had obviously cast on their bottles. Harry must've grimaced because Hermione quickly did the same for him, Ron and herself. Harry made an appreciative sound before taking a more enthusiastic gulp of his drink.
"You know what?" Ron murmured, looking over at the bar with enthusiasm. "We could order anything we liked in here. I bet that bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn't care. I've always wanted to try Firewhisky-"
Armand snickered as Hermione cut through Ron's eagerness.
"You – are – a – prefect," Hermione snarled.
"Oh," Ron seemed to realize his mistake, smile faking fast. "You're so whipped" Armand's snicker's grew louder until…
"Ow! Emerson, what was that for," Armand demanded as he glared at his brother who stared back at him defiantly.
"You really don't have room to talk," Emerson pointed out, causing Armand to scowl in a petulant manner. Ron snorted, seeming pleased that he wasn't the only one.
Looking at the four of them now, Harry struggled to see what had made him so suspicious of Armand and Emerson in the first place. Frowning, Harry focused his thoughts back on the business at hand.
"So, who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked as he took another swig of his Butterbeer.
"Just a couple of people," Hermione repeated, checking her watch and looking anxiously towards the door. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is – oh, look, this might be them now." Hermione sounded almost too hopeful for Harry's liking.
The door of the pub had opened. A thick band of dusty sunlight split the room in two for a moment and then vanished, blocked by the incoming rush of a crowd of people.
First came Neville with Dean and Lavender who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with (Harry felt his stomach do a back-flip) Cho and one of her usually-giggling girlfriends. Then (on her own and looking so dreamy she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletcher, Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know. There were also three Ravenclaw boys Harry was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, Ginny and a tall skinny blonde boy with an upturned nose whom Harry recognized vaguely as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Bringing up the rear was Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all three of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko's merchandise.
"A couple of people?" Harry said hoarsely to Hermione. "A couple of people?"
"Yes, well the idea seemed quite popular," Hermione said happily. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?" The barman had frozen in the act of wiping out a glass with a rag so filthy it looked as though it had never been washed. Possibly, he had never seen his pub so full.
"Hi," said Fred, who had reached the bar first and had taking it upon himself to quickly count his companions. "Could we have… twenty-five Butterbeers, please?" The barman glared for a moment before bringing out the dusty Butterbeers from underneath the counter.
"Cheers," Fred said as he handed out the Butterbeers. "Cough up, everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of these…"
Harry watched numbly as the chattering group proceeded to pay for their drinks. Horrified, Harry rounded on Hermione.
"What have you been telling people?" he said in a low voice. "What are they expecting?"
"I've told you, they just want to hear what you've got to say," Hermione said soothingly; but Harry continued looking at her so furiously she quickly added, "you don't have to say anything yet, I'll speak to them first." This only made Harry feel marginally better considering he didn't want to have to speak at all.
"Hi, Harry," Neville greeted, beaming as he took a seat opposite him. "Hello, Emerson, Armand." He added to the two boys who smiled at him in return.
Harry tried to smile but his mouth felt exceptionally dry as he watched Cho sit down on Ron's right.
"Sorry I'm late," Harry felt his hope evaporate at the sound of Cedric's voice and he looked up to find the boy smiling at him. He forced a smile in return.
"Hey Cedric, long time no see," Harry was surprised at how optimistic, his voice sounded. Slowly, the chatter started dying out as everyone found a seat. Everyone's eyes seemed to be on Harry.
"Er," Hermione said, nerves making her voice slightly higher than usual. "Well – er – hi."
The group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry.
"Well…er…well, you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea – I mean" Hermione paused at the sharp look from Harry. "I had the idea – that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts – and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us –" Hermione seemed to become more and more passionate as she spoke. "- because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Hear, hear!" Anthony Goldenstein cheered and Hermione looked heartened.
"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands." She paused, looking sideways at Harry and went on. "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells-"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?" said Micheal Corner, who was watching her closely.
"Of course I do," said Hermione at once. "But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defense in case we come up against someone like…" she took a great breath and finished, "Lord Voldemort again."
The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho's red headed friend shrieked and slopped Butterbeer down herself; Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch; Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. All of them, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry.
"Well… that's the plan, anyway," Hermione said. "If you want to join us we need to decide how we're going to-"
"You think You-Know-Who might come back, don't you?" said the blonde Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.
"It-It's a possibility," Hermione agreed though she sounded unsure of herself.
"So you don't believe Harry killed him?" the blonde pressed, looking over at Harry.
"Who are you?" Ron asked rather rudely.
"Zacharias Smith. And I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say that You-Know-Who might come back," the blonde boy declared.
"Look," Hermione said, intervening swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about-"
"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry. It had just dawned on him why there were so many people there. He thought Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people – maybe even most of them – had turned up in the hopes of hearing Harry's stories firsthand.
"Why do I think Voldemort might come back? It might have been the fact that he didn't die the day my parents did or that he didn't die in first year like everyone thought. A ghost of him even came back in second year and forced Ginny to do his bidding." Ginny flinched and Harry gave her an apologetic look, but he had a point to make. "So you tell me Smith, does Voldemort seem like the type to simply die?" Harry hissed, watching as Zacharias winced every time Harry said Voldemort's name. "I'm not here to convince you of my beliefs, so if that's what you're here for, you might as well leave now."
The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. Harry had the impression that even the barman was listening. He was wiping the same glass with the filthy rag over and over, making it steadily dirtier.
Harry cast an angry look in Hermione's direction. This was all her fault; she had decided to display him like some sort of freak and of course they all turned up to see just how wild his stories were. Yet no one was leaving their seats, not even Zacharias Smith, though he continued to gaze intently at Harry.
"So," Hermione said, her voice one again high pitched. "So…like I was saying… if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet and where we're going to-"
"Is it true," interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Harry, "that you can produce a Patronus?"
There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.
"Yeah," Harry said feeling defensive.
"A corporeal Patronus?"
A memory stirred at her words.
"Er-you don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked.
The girl smiled. "She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So- is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"
"Blimey, Harry! I never knew that!" Lee said, looking deeply impressed and excited.
"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," Fred explained, grinning at Harry. "She said you got enough attention as it was."
"She's not wrong," Harry mumbled, causing a few people to laugh. Harry couldn't help feeling slightly surprised.
The veiled witch sitting alone shifted very slightly in her seat.
"And did you kill a Basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…"
"Er-yeah, I did, yeah," said Harry.
Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled; the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks and Lavender Brown said "Wow!" softly.
""And in our first year," said Neville to the group at large, "he saved that Sorcerous Stone -"
"Sorcerer's," hissed Hermione.
"Yes, that - from You-Know-Who," finished Neville.
Hannah Abbott's eyes were round as Galleons.
"And that's not to mention all that we had to go through in the Triwizard Tournament last year." Cedric added with a grin.
There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the table.
"Look," he said, and everyone fell silent at once, "I…I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything but… I had a lot of help with all that stuff…"
"Not with the dragon, you didn't," said Michael Corner at once. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying…"
"Yeah, well -" said Harry, feeling it would be churlish to disagree.
"And nobody helped you get rid of those Dementors this summer," said Susan Bones.
"No," said Harry, "no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is -"
"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" said Zacharias Smith.
"No! He's trying to make you aware of the fact that there are a lot of dangers in our world and that he didn't go at it alone." Armand hissed. He and Emerson had been surprisingly quiet until this point, but not anymore, it seemed. "Look, whether Voldemort comes back to life or not, there's always going to be a dark side to the world and it's something you need to be able to defend yourselves against. So why not focus on that, instead of wasting your time, trying to satisfy your curiosity. In any case, you haven't earned that knowledge yet, why should Harry trust you if this is the way you behave?" Armand seemed to be warring between anger and outright indignation. Harry turned wide eyes towards his friends, only to find them nodding in agreement with what Armand had said while Zacharias had finally fallen silent.
"Right." Emerson coughed, looking extremely awkward as he pulled everyone's attention towards him. "We should probably get on with it… right Hermione?" he said looking over at Hermione as if desperate.
"RIGHT!" Hermione squeaked before quickly lowering her voice to a more human tone. "Yes, well," Hermione sounded hastily, "moving on… the point is, are we agreed we want to take lesson from Harry?"
There was a murmur of general agreement. Zacharias folded his arm and said nothing, instead eyeing Armand with clear irritation.
"Right," Hermione said again, looking relieved that something had at last been settled. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week –"
"Hang on," Angelina interrupted. "We need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."
"No," Cho agreed, "nor with ours."
"Nor ours," added Zacharias Smith.
"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," Hermione was becoming slightly impatient and Harry couldn't help feeling sorry for her. "But you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against people like V-Voldemort, especially the remainder of his Death Eaters-"
"Well said!" barked Ernie Macmillan, who Harry had been expecting to speak up long before this. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we do this year, even with our OWLs coming up!"
Ernie looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry "Surely not!"
When nobody spoke, he went on, "I, personally am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about the dangers we as wizards and witch are being exposed to, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells-"
"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts is because she's got some… some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry." Hermione explained and Harry watched as horrified expressions bloomed on his friends' faces.
Everyone seemed stunned, well, everyone except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."
Armand let out a heavy sigh. "Why am I not surprised."
"What?" Harry objected, completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.
"Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths," Luna explained.
"No, he hasn't" Hermione snapped.
"Yes, he has," Luna insisted.
"What are Heliopaths?" asked Neville, looking blank.
"They're spirits of fire," by now Luna was wide eyed, making her look madder than ever. "They're great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of-"
"They don't exist, Neville," Hermione said tartly.
"Oh yes, they do!" Luna countered angrily.
Armand sighed again. "Regardless of whether they're real or not, I wouldn't put it past Fudge to have his own army. He is the cowardly type." Armand said looking peeved.
"Hem, hem," Ginny took the opportunity, doing such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. "Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to have defense lessons?"
"Yes," Hermione said at once, "yes, we were, you're right, Ginny." Harry grinned in relief at Ginny having managed to put the conversation back on track.
"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Lee Jordan.
"As long as-" Angelina began.
"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," Hermion's voice remained tense. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"
At this, the whole group fell silent.
"Library?" Katie Bell suggested after a few moments.
"I can't see Madame Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library," Harry pointed out.
"Maybe an unused classroom?" Dean said.
"Yeah," Ron nodded. "McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard."
But Harry was pretty certain that McGonagall would not be so accommodating this time. For all that Hermione had said about study and homework groups being allowed, he had the distinct feeling that this one might be considered a lot more rebellious.
"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," said Hermione. "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting."
Hermione rummaged in her bag and produced parchment and a quill but hesitated, rather as though she was steeling herself to say something.
"I-I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think," she took a deep breath, "That we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge or anyone else what we're up to."
Fred reached for the parchment and cheerfully wrote his signature, but Harry noticed at once that several people looked less than happy at the prospect of putting their names on the list.
"Er…" Zacharias said slowly, not taking the parchment George was trying to pass to him, "well… I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is."
But Ernie was looking rather hesitant about signing, too. Hermione raised her eyebrow at him.
"I-well, we are prefects," Ernie burst out. "And if this list was found… well, I mean to say… you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out-"
"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Harry reminded him.
"I-yes," said Ernie, "yes, I do believe that, it's just- "
"Ernie, do you really think I'd leave that list lying around?" said Hermione testily.
"No. No, of course not," said Ernie, looking slightly anxious. "I – yes, of course I'll sign."
Nobody raised objections after Ernie, though Harry saw Cho's friend give her a rather reproachful look before adding her own name. When the last person – Zacharias – had signed, Hermione took the parchment back and slipped it carefully in her bag.
There was an odd feeling in the group now and it barely took a few minutes before everyone started leaving.
"Well, that went rather well."
Thanks so much for reading and if you wouldn't mind, I'd love a review! Again, thanks so much for reading!