Chapter Ten: Dumbledore's Band

Neville ate his dinner quickly. He had no idea how many people would show up to Ginny's meeting, but he wanted to get there early to set up the room. As he rushed out of the Great Hall, Neville noticed Ginny had the same idea he did. She joined him as he walked.

"Race you!" Ginny burst out when they'd walked through the doors, then took off at a run before Neville could protest. He sighed and took off after her, knowing that just letting her win without trying would disappoint her. He managed to only stumble twice on the way to the seventh floor, banging his knee on a stair in the process. Of course, Neville not being as athletic as Ginny, she beat him to the seventh floor. When he turned the corner into the hallway with the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, she was leaning up against the wall across from it, looking at her nails.

"What kept you?" she asked, without a hint of the breathlessness Neville felt.

"Girl," Neville replied, smiling broadly.

As Ginny started to reply, Luna skipped around a corner from the hallway behind Neville.

"Hello," Luna said airily, waving at them both. "I got your message at lunch."

"Now hold on a moment…" Ginny began.

"Let's set up the room," Neville interrupted, fighting his own laughter. Ginny gave him a sullen look but gestured him forward.

I need a place to meet in secret that the Carrows can't find, Neville thought as he walked by the blank wall. Ginny paced back and forth waiting, while Luna looked up at the ceiling.

He stopped half way through his second pass. "Wait. Forgot about Snape," Neville said half to himself.

"Forgot what about Snape?" Luna asked, turning her curious gaze back to Neville.

"Forgot to keep him out. I want to make sure this meeting is safe and secret, so I need to tell the room to keep out…well, who else but the Carrows and Snape should we keep out? Malfoy, maybe?"

"Why not just ask that only DA members be able to find the room?" Luna said lightly.

"That's brilliant. Ok, trying again," Neville replied.

I need a place to meet that only DA members can find. Neville thought as he walked past the blank wall three times.

Ginny leapt to the door when it appeared. Neville and Luna followed closely behind her.

The room was smaller than it had been for the first DA meeting. Comfortable chairs were arranged in a circle, and a low fire burned in a fireplace on the far wall. The walls were otherwise bare. Luna smiled and walked to one of the chairs.

"Well done, Neville," she said as she sat down.

Ginny took a walk around the small room, peering at the walls intently. After the short inspection, she nodded and took a seat next to Luna. Neville sat down across from them.

The door opened only a few moments later, and Hannah Abbot walked into the room.

"Hello, Neville!" Hannah said quietly, smiling, "Nice day for a DA meeting, isn't it?"

Ginny smiled, sprung out of her seat, and bounded over one of the chairs. She nearly tackled Hannah in a hug.

"I'm so glad you came!" Ginny said as she pulled back. "We were all so worried when you left last year, and not a word since! How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing alright now. I'm far more worried about Ernie to be honest. He's not coming, apparently," Hannah replied.

"Why not?" Neville asked.

"I don't know. He's been acting really weird. He hasn't said more than a few words to me since we got to school, and he's been hanging out with Zach a lot. Whispered conversations and such. I'm worried Zach got to Ernie somehow."

"Why is that a problem? Smith is a prat, but he's one of us," Ginny said.

"I don't think so, not anymore," Hannah replied. "I know we've only been back at school a little while, but Zach's been saying things. He's tried to get me to admit that the school is better without Muggle-borns. He's even referred to them as…well…I don't want to say it."

"Bloody hell! The last thing we need right now is someone who's going to rat us out!" Ginny said emphatically.

"He may not," Neville replied. "The contract is still in effect."

"If he's taken up the Ministry line…" Ginny responded.

"I don't know if he has, but he's definitely talking like it," Hannah said in a worried tone. "When I asked Ernie if he was coming, he said it wasn't a good idea."

"I can't see Ernie going along with that rubbish, Hannah," Ginny said.

"I hope not, Ginny. I really hope not," Hannah said.

The two girls took their seats. Ginny sat beside Luna, and Hannah took the chair next to Neville.

"I was so sorry to hear about your mum," Neville said quietly, reaching over to pat Hannah's shoulder consolingly.

Hannah reached up and squeezed Neville's hand. "It's better now that I have some distance from it. Thank you, Neville."

"We thought you might be back after…well, after. Do you mind telling us?" Ginny asked.

"When mum…died, father had to take more hours at the Ministry, and someone had to stay home to look after my sister. I volunteered. That all changed with the new law making attendance mandatory."

Just as Ginny was about to reply, Seamus opened the door to the meeting room and stepped swiftly inside, closing the door behind him.

"Sorry I'm late. I wanted to make sure I wasn't followed," Seamus said as he walked over to sit down. "Is this it?"

"All that's shown up so far," Ginny responded. "Any word on anyone else?"

"I was trying to get Parvati to come, but she's too scared. She said during dinner that she and her sister were going to try and keep their heads down and make it through school. Not even reminding her she's a Gryffindor helped."

"Blimey," Ginny whispered loudly. "So…what about Lavender? Or Michael?"

"Lavender wouldn't even meet my eyes as I left, and I saw Padma pulling Michael back into his seat in the Great Hall when he tried to follow me out. I think this is it, Ginny," Seamus replied.

"What about Susan? She's back in school," Luna said quietly, looking at Hannah.

"I don't know. I haven't really talked to her since I got back," Hannah replied.

"So much for an army at our backs," Seamus sighed as he took a seat next to Ginny.

"We're not even a section, are we?" Ginny asked sullenly.

"Need at least eight for a section," Seamus replied.

"We're a band!" Luna said excitedly. "Oh, that's lovely!"

"Not yet," Neville said, confused. "I don't think Snape or the Carrows know about us yet."

"Not banned, band, like band of merry men!" Luna replied. "It's perfect! I'm Alan-a-Dale, and Ginny, you're Little John!"

"I'm not little!" Ginny protested.

"Oh! Luna that's brilliant!" Hannah interjected. "I'll be Friar Tuck!"

"Right! I'm Will Scarlett!" Seamus piped in.

"Half a moment!" Neville said, now thoroughly lost. "What are we talking about?"

"Robin Hood!" Luna exclaimed, "He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor! We can take magic from purebloods and give it to Muggles!"

"I don't think it works that way…" Neville said, still not sure what was going on.

"You know Robin Hood! He helped Rowena Ravenclaw rescue Alberich Grunnion from the dungeons of the Sheriff of Nottingham," Luna said.

"I don't know that part of the story," Hannah said.

"I don't know any of this story," Neville complained.

"Neither do I," Ginny said.

"Well that won't do, will it! Can't have our Robin Hood not knowing who he is, can we?" Seamus said.

"Wait, who's Robin Hood?" Neville asked.

"You are, of course" Luna replied.

"Thought that was kind of obvious," Hannah said.

"You're the one who's getting us back together, mate," Seamus said, smiling at Neville.

"So, what does that mean, exactly?" Neville asked.

"It means you're our fearless leader, Neville!" exclaimed Hannah.

The others smiled and looked to Neville, who all of sudden found himself wishing the floor would open up and swallow him.

"Luna and Ginny are leaders too," Neville stammered.

"Ok, so you three are in charge. Works fine for me. Probably will for everyone else too, once we get them to come back." Seamus said, smilng.

"That's a grand idea!" Hannah said.

Neville suddenly felt that he could breathe again. The thought of him leading by himself terrified him, but he was certain that there was nothing he, Ginny, and Luna together couldn't handle.

"Good, that's sorted. Now what?" Seamus asked. "I mean, with just the five of us, there's not much we can do, is there?"

"Oh, I don't know," Luna replied. "Some of the biggest things start small. A dragon's egg can fit in your hand, and the Rotfang conspiracy was started over a golf game."

"So we have to grow," Ginny piped in. "Leans us towards recruiting more people, doesn't it? Even if everyone left had come, there still wouldn't be many of us."

"Getting the others back should be our focus, I think," Neville said. "Then we can start getting others to join us."

"So how do we do that?" Hannah asked.

"We need to do something big! Something that shows we're not afraid, and there's no reason for anyone else to be either," Seamus said.

"Too right, that!" Ginny exclaimed.

"That would cause more problems than it would solve," Neville said. "I think we just need to talk to the others, see what the problem is, convince them to come help."

"So the plan is to talk to those who aren't here, and try to get them on board?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, I suppose," Ginny said sullenly.

"And in the meantime, we really shouldn't try to recruit anyone who wasn't DA originally," Neville said. "We don't know who we can trust right now."

"So that just leaves one more question," Seamus said.

"What's that?" Ginny asked.

"Can we get some practice in? I don't know about you four, but I'm a tad rusty, and it's looking like I need to get back in fighting shape," Seamus said.

"Brilliant!" Ginny said, leaping to her feet. "Let's go!"

Author's Note: Since there has been some interest, Blaise Zabini knows about rifles because he goes skeet shooting on the Continent.