A Unfortunate Miracle
Chapter Ten
Training Sessions
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Especially Raggedygal, who gave me an idea that helped me finish this chapter. Thanks a lot! Also, I'm considering all spells from the movies as canon. If you care, I like to eat Acid Pops.
That night at dinner, I brought Scott over to the Gryffindor table, where he signed Hermione's parchment. The following Monday, Educational Decree Number Twenty-four was posted on the Gryffindor notice board.
– BY ORDER OF –
THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS
All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.
An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.
Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is in accordance with Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge
High Inquisitor
Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.
Fred, George, Ginny, Dean, Neville, and I converged upon Harry, Ron, and Hermione at breakfast.
"Did you see it?"
"D'you reckon she knows?"
"What are we going to do?"
Harry glanced around. "We're going to do it anyway, of course," he said.
"Knew you'd say that," said George, beaming.
"The prefects as well?" asked Fred, looking to Ron and Hermione.
"Of course," said Hermione.
Ron looked over his shoulder. "Here comes Ernie and Hannah Abbott. And those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith, and your brother, Ivy...and no one looks very spotty."
Hermione looked alarmed. "Never mind spots, the idiots can't come over here now, it'll look really suspicious – sit down!" she mouthed to Ernie and Hannah, gesturing frantically. "Later! We'll – talk – to – you – later!"
I stood. "I'll get Scott." I intercepted Scott and pulled him out into the entrance hall. "Hey, Scott. Don't gather. Must talk to you."
"Those aren't complete sentences," said Scott. "Where are we going?"
"Well, I can't exactly have a seat at the Slytherin table without being attacked, so I thought we'd talk out here."
"What, so you're finally going to tell me why you're calling Snuffles Snoopy?"
"Because that's his name, dummy," I said simply. "And no, it's about that parchment I had you sign on Saturday night. It was jinxed."
His eyes widened. "What did you do to it?"
I glared at him. "Nothing! I signed it too, you know."
"Whatever," he said, waving this aside. "How does it work?"
"If you tell Umbridge, or anyone else, about what we're doing, the word 'SNITCH' will be spelled out across your face in purple pustules," I recited. I paused, then added, "Don't tell anyone about that."
"Snitch? What's this got to do with Quidditch?"
I rolled my eyes. "Not that sort of Snitch, idiot! The tattletale kind of snitch!"
"Oh. How do you know?"
I gave him a patronizing look. "Well, you should have read you-know-what when I offered it to you, Scott."
"You never did."
"Well, you should have asked for it!"
"I did, but you wouldn't let me have it because you were writing, remember?"
"Then you should have taken it anyway."
"And risk being murdered in my sleep? I'd rather – "
"Look," I interrupted, "Can we just get back to the Great Hall? I need to eat before class."
When I returned to the Gryffindor table, Katie, Alicia, and Angelina had arrived. Angelina wasn't eating and looked near tears. I knew that she knew that Umbridge was including the Quidditch teams. "What's up Angelina?" I asked.
"Umbridge is including Quidditch in this thing," she said, sounding depressed.
"Well, she can't keep Quidditch down, can she?" I reasoned. "Not for long, anyway."
"There's no reason she'd say no if you ask her if we can re-form," said Fred.
"No reason?" asked Angelina incredulously. "She seems to have something against Harry Potter, and he's our Seeker. What more reason could she have?"
"You're not even going to try?" asked Alicia.
"Of course I'm going to try!" She stood up and headed for the High Table. "I just already know what her answer will be." So did I, and I was pretty sure that Angelina wouldn't get permission to re-form the Gryffindor Quidditch team until Tuesday.
Sure enough, when Angelina returned to the table, she looked even more depressed. "She needs a bit of time to think about it."
"What is there to think about?" asked George.
Angelina shrugged. "I'll ask her again at dinner."
But when Angelina asked Umbridge again that night, she was given the same answer.
"No Quidditch practice," she told Harry and Ron when they entered the common room with Hermione that night.
"But I kept my temper!" exclaimed Harry. "I didn't say anything to her, Angelina, I swear, I – "
"I know, I know," said Angelina miserably. "She just said she just needed a bit of time to consider."
"Consider what?" said Ron angrily. "She's given the Slytherins permission, why not us?"
"Hey, maybe you could go to McGonagall," I suggested as Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved away. I assumed this was okay, since I wasn't telling her that that's what she was going to do.
But Angelina shook her head. "I don't think it'll work."
"It might!" I said. "Come on, humor me!" I looked at my watch. "We still have time to go see McGonagall before curfew. I'll go with you."
She stared at me for a moment. "All right. Let's go." I grinned.
We left the common room and headed for McGonagall's office, on the first floor. Luckily, she was still there. She looked up when we walked in.
"Ivy, Miss Johnson, you two are cutting it rather close to curfew," McGonagall said by way of greeting.
"I need to ask you about the re-forming of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Professor," said Angelina.
A dark look crossed over the deputy headmistress's face. "I am afraid I am not the one to be asking, Miss Johnson. You will have to speak to Professor Umbridge."
"I have, Professor, twice. Both times she said she needed time to consider."
"Even though I can not even begin to fathom what she could be considering, I am afraid you will have to do as she says and give her time."
"Actually, Professor," I said, "I think she's holding the idea of no Quidditch over our heads just for fun."
"Even if that is true, Ivy, there is nothing I can do to affect Professor Umbridge's decision. I am sorry."
Angelina nodded, but I wasn't about to give up. "But Professor, you could go to Professor Dumbledore and – "
"Miss Wolfe, I am surprised that you think I would exploit my fellow teachers like that!" She looked angry for a moment, then smiled and added in a whisper, "I'll see what I can do."
Angelina looked delighted. "Really? Thanks, Professor!"
Professor McGonagall looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's past curfew. I'll escort you back to Gryffindor tower."
The next day, Umbridge caught Angelina as she was leaving the Great Hall for class, and approved the re-formation of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, much to Angelina's delight. On Wednesday, Quidditch practice was cancelled due to the weather. At lunch, when Angelina came back from telling Harry about the cancelled Quidditch practice, she told us about the first Defense meeting.
"Harry says that the first Defense meeting is tonight at eight o'clock, seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls," she relayed.
"I can't wait," said Alicia. "This is so exciting!"
I saw Scott leaving the Great Hall, and I stood up. "I'll go tell my brother."
"Scott!" He halted in front of the door to the dungeons. "I need to tell you something."
He smirked. "Who'd you kill?"
I gave him a weird look. "You are so morbid." I pulled him away from the door and dropped my voice. "First Defense meeting tonight at eight. On the seventh floor, opposite that tapestry of some dude being clubbed by a bunch of trolls."
Scott nodded. "I'll be there. The others...they're not going to hex me just for showing up are they?" He actually looked a bit nervous.
I smiled. "I won't let them," I promised. He smiled, a good thing, since he rarely did so.
That night, Scott was the last one to arrive. The room fell silent, and Zacharias Smith jumped up, drawing his wand.
"What's he doing here?" Smith asked. Scott looked terrified to be a second year at the end of a fifth year's wand.
I immediately stood up and moved between them. I took out my own wand. "My little brother is here for the same reason you are, Smith," I said dangerously.
Smith didn't move. "He wasn't at the Hog's Head. He's a Slytherin spy!"
I rolled my eyes; I really hated this guy. "Scott is NOT a spy! And he wasn't at the Hog's Head because he's a second year and he can't go into Hogsmeade dumbass!"
"Well, I don't trust him!" insisted Smith. "He's going to sell us out to Umbridge!"
"Listen, Smith," said George suddenly, coming to my aid. "Just because you don't trust him, doesn't mean the rest of don't."
"But he's in Slytherin!"
"We're not all jerks, you know," said Scott, "there's a few people in Slytherin who are still behind Dumbledore one hundred percent."
"But – "
"Oh, this is stupid!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at her. "We are all here for the same reason: defending ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters. We have a certain amount of time before curfew, and we have things we need to get done. So sit down so we can start." We silently sat down. Scott sat on a cushion next to mine. There was a short silence, which Harry finally broke.
"Well," said Harry nervously. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've – er – obviously found it okay – "
"It's fantastic!" said Cho. Everyone agreed.
"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom closet then..."
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" Dean asked, indicating the Sneakoscopes and Foe-Glass.
"Dark Detectors," Harry explained, moving towards them. "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't always want to rely on then too much, they can be fooled..."
He stared into the Foe-Glass for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and – er – " He paused, seeing Hermione's raised hand. "What, Hermione?"
"I think we ought to elect a leader," she said.
"Isn't Harry the leader?" I asked, beating Cho to it. Harry's stomach had been doing enough back flipping over Cho Chang.
"Yes," said Hermione, "but I think we ought to vote on it properly. It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So – everyone who thinks Harry ought to be leader?" Everyone raised their hands.
"Er – right, thanks," said Harry, embarrassed. "And – what, Hermione?"
"I also think we ought to have a name," she said. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" suggested Fred. I laughed.
Hermione frowned at Fred. "I was thinking more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we're up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."
"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so no one knows what we're talking about?"
"Yeah, the D.A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?" There were some agreeing murmurs.
"All in favor of the D.A.?" Hermione kneeled up on her cushion to count. "That's a majority – motion passed!" She pinned the list of everyone's names on the wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top.
"Right," said Harry, "shall we get practicing, then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful – "
"Oh please," said Smith, rolling his eyes. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life last June."
Smith's mouth opened stupidly, but he didn't say anything. Nor did anyone else.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," said Harry.
Smith didn't move. Nor did anyone else.
"Okay," Harry continued. "I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."
I partnered up with Scott. "Okay, Scott," I said, when we had found our own area, "jinx me."
"What?" asked Scott, confused.
"You know you want to!" I sang.
"What the hell do you want me to jinx you for?" he asked incredulously.
"So I can try to disarm you before you finish the incantation."
"Whatever," Scott mumbled. "Rictu–"
"Expelliarmus!" Scott's wand flew out of his hand and landed a few feet away.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, caught totally by surprise.
"Accio." His wand flew into my hand, and I tossed it back to him. "Now I'll try to jinx you, and you try to disarm me before I finish the spell. It won't do you much good if you try it after I cast the spell." I raised my wand. "Ready?" He nodded. I chose the Jelly-Legs Jinx. "Vexo Cr– "
"Expelliarmus!" My wand flew straight up out of my hand, and I was able to catch it as it fell. Scott looked slightly disappointed.
"Pretty good for a second year," I said. "Better than I expected, anyway. Why don't you try – uh – willing it away from me, you know?"
Scott nodded, and we continued practicing. Soon, Harry came by.
"Do either of you need any help?" he asked.
"No," I said, "Hermione taught me this a couple weeks ago. Scott's doing really good!" I said, grinning proudly. "Want to see?"
"Um – sure."
I turned to Scott, and without warning, I said, "Impedi– "
Scott reacted instantly. "Expelliarmus!" My wand flew five or six feet away before it came to a stop.
"That was really good, Scott," complimented Harry. He summoned my wand and handed it back. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see you do it too, Ivy."
"All right." I turned to Scott. "Hit me, Scott."
"Tarantall– "
"Expelliarmus!" Scott's wand flew to the top of a bookcase; I summoned it again and tossed it back.
"Great, Ivy," said Harry. "Keep working on it, both of you. There's about fifteen minutes left."
Scott and I continued to disarm each other until Harry blew his whistle.
"Well that was pretty good," announced Harry when the room fell silent, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"
"Sooner!" called Dean Thomas. Many people nodded in agreement.
"The Quidditch season's about to start," said Angelina quickly, "we need team practices too!"
"Let's say Wednesday night, then," decided Harry, "and we can decide on additional meetings then...Come on, we'd better get going..."
The next day, Fred and George took me out to the Quidditch pitch during our free period before dinner. For some reason, they insisted on training me to be a Beater.
"As Beater," Fred lectured, "you need to guard your team members against the Bludgers with that," he gestured to the bat in my hand. "And no Blagging, Blatching, Blurting, Bumphing, Cobbing, or Snitchnip."
"I don't know, you guys," I said, looking warily at the struggling Bludger in George's arms as we headed towards the pitch. "This seems like a really bad idea. I don't have very good balance."
"Now you're just trying to get out of it," accused Fred, who was carrying both his and George's brooms and bats. "You've already told us your balance is pretty good, since you were in that Muggle marching band."
"Yeah, but then I'm on the ground, not trying to hit a Bludger across the Quidditch pitch!"
"You'll be fine," said Fred. "George and I will both be up there, with our bats, and you've got a bat too. What could go wrong?" I gave him a look.
"Hey," said George, just as I was about to list a number of things that could go wrong. "Get up there, both of you, so I can let go of this bloody thing." I mounted Alicia's Comet and took off, followed closely by Fred.
"Ready?" Fred asked me.
"As I'll ever be."
"Let 'er go, George," he called to his brother. "Watch me first, Ivy," he instructed, as George released the Bludger. It shot straight into the air and headed straight for Fred. He hit it away from us. "Piece o' cake."
George joined us. "Nice one, Fred. Oh, here it comes." He looked around at me. "Want to take it, Ivy?"
"Not really, no."
George sighed and hit the Bludger back. "Come on, Ivy," he said, "can't you just humor us?"
I glared at the two of them, "Fine." They grinned triumphantly. "But if I break my arm, it'll be all your fault!" I warned.
I flew past them to ready myself for the oncoming Bludger. With one hand gripping Alicia's broom tightly, I took a swing at the Bludger, and, to my great surprise, the Bludger headed back the way it had come.
"Wow," said Fred.
"That was actually pretty good," said George.
"Sweet," I said.
We continued to hit the Bludger around until dinner. After returning the Bludger to the ball crate, we headed back to the castle.
"Where have you three been?" Lee asked when we sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"Quidditch pitch," said George. "Teaching Ivy here how to be a Beater."
"She's actually pretty good," Fred said at all the shocked faces. He looked at Angelina. "You should let her on the reserve team."
I choked on my soup. "Reserves?" I gasped. "But we were only practicing with one Bludger!"
"Besides," said Angelina, "she's never played Quidditch before."
"That's exactly why you should put her on reserves," said George. "Let her come to practice tonight, Angelina."
"Yeah, Angie," said Fred. "We'll show you how good she is."
"Oh, all right," Angelina agreed finally. "Seven o'clock, in the changing rooms, Ivy. Don't be late."
"I – I don't have my own broom," I told them, in a last attempt to get out of it. What about Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper? "I've been using Alicia's."
"We can get you a school broom for now," said Alicia, "but if you make the reserves, you'll have to buy a decent broom."
"Actually, don't bother."
We all looked at Lee.
"What do you mean?" asked Angelina. "She needs a broom to practice."
He sighed. "Well, it was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I suppose I could give it to you now." He smiled. "I got you that broom you wanted, Ivy."
"The Starbolt?" I whispered. He nodded. I squealed, causing many students around me to jump. I thanked Lee profusely.
Author's Note: Ivy is trying very hard not to turn into a Mary-Sue, but Fred and George like her too much to leave her alone. Poor Ivy. Review, please!