Isabella and Professor Hadrian ended up dividing the groups into two sections. The cut off followed that of the upper and lower school, with ten- to thirteen-year-olds learning basic defense and fifteen- to eighteen-year-olds learning dueling and defense. Both groups met on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays while duelers met on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Unlike Dumbledore's Army, Isabella found it easier to organize and unify her troops by taking an almost army-like approach. She taught them all a single salute so that whenever she raised her wand and said, "Viva Italia!", they performed the dueler's salute and responded, "Viva!" This also helped when the students got too loud or too absorbed in their practice so that when everyone around them stopped what they were doing to salute, they also knew to cease practice and pay attention.
Although they continued to call themselves the Gloria-Mangiatori, her students also jokingly referred to her as Generalitá Leone, the nickname given to her by Professor Hadrian. And they treated her like a general, falling silent when she spoke, taking her orders exactly. They were her own army, standing at attention or at ease, their movements always unified and always together.
Professor Hadrian was great. He was usually a silent presence, only occasionally having to step in to keep order and quiet the students. Isabella, who often had the students work in pairs, would patrol the sets of duelers to correct and advise them. Professor Hadrian often did the same, lessening Isabella's load. She began to laughingly call him her Praetorian Guard.
To her surprise and delight, the VI grew quickly, encompassing the entire population of Italians at the school (Isabella practically glowed with delight when Rosina managed to perform a perfect Impediment Jinx) and most of the Austrians and Swiss. Even a few Greeks joined led by Pandaros' friend, Emiliano, who was surprisingly quiet and shy when not being an arrogant jerk (which usually happened around Pandaros).
Isabella had taken to carrying the fake Galleon Hermione had made the original members of the DA. It reminded her of Luna and the other members of the DA as well as making her feel a little closer to the school. This was because the coin still occasionally grew hot and the serial numbers of the side changed. Every time this happened, Isabella felt a thrill of excitement, but she knew there was no way she could go back and attend one of the meetings.
Isabella finally got a note back from George (actually, she was pretty sure it was Fred this time) that was hardly more helpful than the first.
"Bella,
Glad you're well.
Wireless. I'm in a good Mood, if you understand.
F&GW."
Without the first letter at hand, this note made absolutely no sense. With the letter, however...
Isabella borrowed Professor Hecuba's ancient wireless and sat down in her room with it and Fred's letter. Khalid, Angelica, Mariano, and Zala were also present, doing a combination of homework and practice for the VI. She sat there twiddling the dials while the others chatted amiably.
"So how many months have you two been together now?" Mariano asked his sister and Khalid.
"Seven this Thursday," Angelica smiled, taking Khalid's hand.
"Wish I had a boyfriend," Zala sighed, pushing her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose.
"Me too," Mariano agreed. Everyone giggled a little at that.
"Do you have a boyfriend, Leone?" Khalid asked Isabella. He was leaning against her bed, an unstarted essay on his lap and his free hand busy scratching Portia's ears.
"Don't call me that outside of meetings," Isabella frowned, rereading Fred's letter. "And no, I don't." About two weeks ago Isabella had gotten a letter from Morgan who was overflowing with the news that she was now dating Seamus Finnigan. Isabella had written to Alex asking for confirmation and the story behind Morgan and Terry's breakup. She was still waiting for a response. Not that she knew what to do if it was true. Isabella hadn't had a real conversation with Terry Boot, her ex-boyfriend, since she had turned him into a dog and went upstairs in tears.
"A girlfriend then?" Mariano suggested.
"No," Isabella said, trying to keep from sounding cross. "I'm in a good mood. I'm in a good Mood. What does that mean?"
"He's bipolar?" Zala offered.
"He's dating someone?" Mariano said.
"Maybe it isn't code. Maybe he's just moody," Angelica sighed, leaning against Khalid's shoulder and tracing the lines on his palm.
"Moody? Moody! Angelica, you're brilliant!" Isabella said. She picked up her wand and tapped the wireless lightly, saying, "Moody." The radio lit up, its dial twirled and a voice crackled over the static.
"... and there was another Muggle woman found dead in her locked home. Muggle police are unable to determine cause of death, but it was most likely the Killing Curse."
"That's Lee!" Isabella said, delighted to hear the familiar voice.
"Who?" Khalid asked, but Zala hushed him.
"So the total of all deaths this week include Icarus Peterson, the family from Bristol, and the tragically unnamed, but still remembered Muggle woman. Let's have a moment of silence in memory of these losses," Lee continued, falling silent.
"Also of note this week, ex-Ministry of Magic official Dirk Cresswell made a daring escape from his guards as he was escorted to Azkaban prison. You may remember that Dirk, a muggle-born, was charged with forging his family tree. Mr. Cresswell overcame his guard last night and escaped. He is now on the run. Wherever you are Dirk, good luck and God bless."
Isabella made a small sound, a cross between a groan and a sigh. She had met Mr. Cresswell and enjoyed speaking with him. Hoping he was all right now, Isabella remained silent to listen to Lee Jordan speak.
"For those just joining our broadcast, I am River and this is Potterwatch, the reliable source of information in these troubled times."
"I would like to issue a cautionary warning to all of you," Lee said seriously. "The dementors, who previously guarded Azkaban prison, have now moved as far north as the border and as far south as London. Remember that these soul-sucking creatures feed on feelings of despair and hopelessness. You have to remember to keep your spirits up and, if possible, members of your family should remain close to someone capable of casting a Patronus Charm."
"Well listeners, that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch. I don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you can be sure I will be back. Keep twiddling those dials: the next password is 'Dumbledore'. Keep each other safe: keep faith, Goodnight."
The radio's dial twirled and the lights behind the tuning panel went out.
"What was that about?" Angelica asked curiously.
"It was a program about the Wizarding War in England," Isabella said, unable to stop a smile. "That person - River, wasn't it? - was actually a friend of a friend from my school. He must be really brave to be running this, I'm sure the Death Eaters would love to put an end to this!"
"What did he mean, 'the reliable source of information'?" Zala asked, frowning.
"Well, He Who Must Not Be Named is in charge of the Ministry, so he also has control of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet. And everyone else must be too frightened to speak out against the Death Eaters."
"What was up with that Cresswell person?" Khalid asked. "The Ministry official?"
"I've heard that Muggle-borns are being rounded up by the Death Eaters and sent to Azkaban," Isabella said slowly, glancing over at the latest copy of The Quibbler that Luna had sent her. "It sounds like Mr. Cresswell tried to forge his family tree to make it look like he wasn't Muggle-born, but he must have been caught. But he escaped," she said, more to herself than the others. "He'll be fine."
"It sounds bad," Mariano said quietly after a long silence. "Really bad. I had no idea..."
"Yeah, well, it's been hard these past few years," Isabella said, picking up the steadily growing stack of Quibblers and moving them. "Harder this year."
"You okay, Isabella?" Mariano asked, sitting on the bed beside her. Isabella sighed and leaned into him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Your friends are back there, aren't they? You must be worried about them."
"If Lee is doing something like this, who knows what Fred and George are up to?" she said, her voice quavering. "Alex's terrified of being expelled; Luna and her dad are directly defying the Ministry; Harry, Hermione, and Ron have disappeared; Mr. Cresswell's on the run; and the DA are trying to sneak around under Snape's nose." Even though they probably understood none of this, Mariano gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze and Angelica patted her knee.
"And there's the other thing, too," Isabella said, sitting up straight. "You all remember how I told you about the DA? Well, one of its members, that idiot Michael Corner, was caught trying to help a first year boy at Hogwarts. The boy had been chained up as a punishment and - well, they hurt Michael pretty bad." Isabella had never like the pushy, arrogant Ravenclaw, but she could not help but hold a grudging respect for him after Luna had told her what he'd been through.
"And the three students who are running the DA now, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, were caught trying to steal something from the headmaster's office," Isabella sighed, rubbing her temples. "They weren't tortured, at least, but they were punished. If they can stand up to You Know Who, I reckon we can stand up to the Gloria-Creatore."