11

Sarah POV

The next day, when I came down from the dormitory, I found a large crowd of Gryffindors around the notice board, and I noticed Ron and Harry among them. A lot of the kids were muttering angrily and glaring at the board. When Harry's hands formed into fists, I went over. "What's going on?" I asked, taking the spot of a few second years when they turned away.

"Look," Ron pointed to the parchment of a very official looking notice. I lifted it slightly to read it better, and felt my face harden as I read it. It was a new 'Educational Decree' that banned all clubs. If they wanted to reform, they'd have to go to Umbridge. Anger exploded in me again.

"This is outrageous." I said angrily, slapping the notice back down. "Let me get Hermione," without another word to them, I went back upstairs to get Hermione. When she came down and looked at it, she instantly frowned.

"Someone must have babbled!" Ron hissed, but Hermione shook her head.

"They can't have done," she said in a low voice. She glanced once around the room, as if looking for a sign, but didn't receive one.

"You're so naïve, just because you're so honorable and trustworthy-"

"They can't have, I jinxed the paper we all signed. Trust me, if someone told Umbridge, we'll know exactly who they are, and they'll regret it." Hermione said with a hint of impatience, but smiled to herself at Ron's compliments- even if they were unconsciously given.

"What will happen to them?" Ron asked eagerly. He looked at me and I punched his arm. I knew he was still extremely curious about what would happen to me if I tried to tell about Sirius. It was slightly insulting- as if he expected me to try and turn on them.

"Let's just say that it will make acne look like freckles. Come on, let's go to breakfast." Hermione said, and with one last look at the sign she pushed us out the door. On the way to the Great Hall, Ron continuously teased me about getting huge pustules all over my face if Hermione's charm was to backfire. Luckily, Hermione and I both smacked him at the same time, making him cut it out just as we arrived. Almost as soon as we stepped in, Gryffindors descended on us.

"What's going on?"

"Did someone tell?"

"Are we still going to do it?"

"Of course we're still going to do it," Harry said quietly, getting grins from the Weasley twins. Ron told Fred and George that my face was going to break out into huge pustules and warts and they started taking bets, making Hermione and I very testy. The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, Harry got a letter from Sirius, telling us that he'd be back again tonight, and Ron almost blew up teacup in Charms, which made me laugh so hard I cried- call it karma if you will. That night, I could tell it was very hard for Harry to concentrate, especially because the twins were performing their 'Skiving Snackboxes' to a crowd of people. Somehow, it involved projectile-vomiting, which wasn't so great on the nerves when you were trying to concentrate. It lasted a long time, but I finished my homework early and started to examine the back of my hand. When I clenched my fist, the cursive scars stood out a pearly white: I must not tell lies.

Slowly, the noise died down, but it was almost midnight before we had the Common Room to ourselves once more. Ron was dozing in an armchair, Harry was staring at a Potion's essay without seeing it, and Hermione had her nose in Hogwarts, A History. I felt myself frown as I ran my finger over the letters on my hand, draped sideways in an armchair again. I wondered if my parents had gotten my letter yet, I had sent it early this morning, and Joe was a good, fast owl. If they had, would they finally realize that I was drowning under their pompous, unloving attitude?

"Sirius!" Ron said blearily, jerking up out of his chair, making me jump. Sirius Black's head was sitting in the fire, grinning.

"How are things going?" He asked casually. He glanced at me for a second, as if he was unwilling to believe that I was trustworthy, making me roll my eyes.

"Not good." Harry said. "They passed this 'Educational Decree' so we can't have Quidditch Teams anymore-"

"Or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" He asked, and I raised my head in surprise.

"How'd you know about that?" Harry demanded. Hermione and I looked at each other, getting up and joining the boys on the hearth.

"You want to choose your meeting places more carefully," Sirius said, grinning more broadly, "The Hog's Head, I ask you…"

"But it was better than the Three Broomsticks! It's always packed with people-" Hermione started.

"Which would have made it harder for you to be overheard. You've got a lot to learn, Hermione." Sirius said kindly, and she looked at me, clearly thinking back to my second thoughts about the Hog's Head. I shrugged. Sirius then passed on a message from Ron's mum, and mentioned an Order.

"Later, Sarah," Hermione said, seeing my confused look.

"So where are you meeting?" Sirius asked eagerly, going back to the club.

"We don't really know yet." Harry said, sparking a brainstorming on places to go. As they thought on, I was thinking hard. I had heard rumors of a room at Hogwarts from my dueling teacher, Madam Marchbanks. She was the spunkiest old woman I had ever met- almost deaf- but she was full of history. One time, she was telling me a story about how she used to sneak off into a secret room at Hogwarts and 'solicit her lovers'. We had been laughing so hard…but what was the place…what was the name…

"Oh," I said, feeling stupid when I finally remembered the name. "Of course, the Room of Requirement!"

"What?" Ron said, confused. For most of the conversation, I had been in the back, sitting crosslegged, not paying attention.

"It's this room that appears only when you need it. It's-" I stopped talking when Sirius turned away from me to look into the side of the fireplace, suddenly alarmed.

"Sirius-?" Hermione asked as he promptly disappeared. Seconds later, a short hand with stubby fingers full of old ugly rings was snatching through the fire. It was Umbridge. I leapt up away from the fire, Hermione following suit, and we ran for it. Hermione closed the door behind us in the girls dormitory, and we just looked wordlessly at each other for a moment. That had been way too close.

OoOoOoO

The next morning, we were talking heatedly in Charms while trying to Silence ravens. I hastily explained what the Room of Requirement was after a fierce debate (mostly between Harry, Ron and Hermione) about Snuffles. When Harry had faintly remembered Dumbledore talking about it sometime fourth year, Hermione was all for it, and decided that we should go there later today. She started passing the word around at lunch. After dinner, I led them up to the seventh floor, but it took me a few minutes to find the tapestry I was looking for. "Ok," I said slowly, trying to remember what my teacher had told me while blocking out the parts about 'soliciting'. "I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to walk past this stretch of wall three times, thinking only about what you need." Looking slightly disbelieving, Harry started walking past it. On his third pass, a door appeared.

"Harry," Hermione said sharply, and he turned, siezing the door handle, then pulled it open. The room we walked into was spectacular. There were cushions stacked against one wall for Stunning, bookshelves full of books, and a large space to duel. "It's perfect!" Hermione trilled, beaming at me, and we grinned at each other. Harry walked over to a table full of strange instruments that I had no idea what they were, and Ron was looking around, open mouthed. Soon enough, people started to arrive, looking at the place in shock, but full of appreciation. Hermione started the meeting by electing Harry leader and giving us a name: Dumbledore's Army. It was fitting- being the Ministry's worst fear.

"Ok, well, I've been thinking about what we should do first, and I thought Disarming would be really good-" Harry started.

"Please," scoffed Zacharias Smith. "If all were going to do is third year spells, then-"

"I used it against Voldemort; it saved my life last June." Harry said very quietly, and Zacharias flushed. "But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave." Harry said coolly. When Smith didn't move, he divided us up into pairs, and I ended up with Neville.

"Oh Merlin, I'm not very good at this," Neville said, his hand trembling in his nervousness.

"Neville, you are a wizard," I said patiently, standing beside him instead of opposite him. "Now, I want you to point your wand, like me, and, this will sound conceited, but feel powerful." I said, standing with my legs slightly apart, a straight back, and a strong arm. Neville looked doubtful, but copied me. "Now, pretend someone you really dislike is standing opposite you. This one spell will make them disappear." I coached, and I noticed a change in Neville's expression. "Ok, now, all you have to do is cast. You know you can do it. You want to, that's all you need. Expelliarmus!" I said easily, feeling no guilt when I pictured my parents. My spell shot forth quickly with a spin of my wrist and hit the wall.

"Expelliarmus!" Neville tried. His movement was slow, but he cast it. "I did it," he said in happy disbelief, turning to me. "I did it!"

"See?" I said cheerfully, looking up to see Harry watching us. I raised my eyebrows and grinned, looking back down at Neville. I knew neither Harry nor Ron really trusted me yet- and that was fine. I'd prove it to them every step of the way. "Ok, now, Disarm me." I kept coaching Neville, but let my gaze wander around the room as I did so. People were doing really well casting, but not at doing it quickly. I hoped that in time, they'd get faster, or they'd never be able to duel…

"I did it!" Neville said gleefully, Disarming me when I wasn't paying attention.

"Good!" I said, having to almost leap to the right to catch my wand as he tried to throw it back. "But just remember, feel powerful. You can't doubt yourself, alright?" I said firmly, and he nodded. Harry ended the meeting then, and people left in two's and three's until it was just us.

"That was brilliant." Harry said, actually looking happy for once.

"Well, it came from a brilliant idea, Hermione." I pressed, nudging her, making her flush a deep pink.

"For Merlin's sake, stop badgering me," she laughed, then grabbed Ron's arm. "Come on, we have to leave in two's, remember? See you two in a bit," she said to Harry and I, then pulled Ron out the door.

"Hey, Sarah, good coaching today," Harry said after a moment. I had wandered over to the table of weird instruments and was looking in a strangely foggy mirror that had people moving in it from far away.

"Oh, you mean with Neville? Thanks," I said, giving him a quick smile, then examining the mirror more closely. "He just needs a confidence boost is all." I continued, frowning at the mirror. "What is that thing anyway?" I asked, looking at it over my shoulder as I went back over to him.

"Foe Glass," Harry said as we walked out, the door disappearing behind us. "It shows you how close your enemies are."

"It's creepy," I said with a shudder, and Harry launched into a story from our fourth year, when the imposter Moody had him in his office, and Harry could see Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape in the Foe Glass before they appeared in real life. "Damn," I said as we stepped back into the Common Room. Joe was nowhere in sight.

"Problem?" Harry asked mildly, and I shrugged.

"I wrote back to my parents yesterday, and usually my owl is back the day after." I explained. "Well, night," I said, starting for the girls' staircase. My foot was on the first stair when Harry's voice stopped me.

"Is it true that your parents tried to give you an exorcism?" His question made me freeze, then turn quickly. "Hermione told me," He said, flushing. I opened my mouth, then closed it. I hadn't been expecting that at all. I thought for sure that Hermione wouldn't tell anyone about it. Hot embarrassment flushed through me. If I wasn't freaky enough already- he had to know that I came from parent's that were beyond freaky.

"Um, yeah, they tried. But McGonagall came and sorted everything out." I said quietly, looking at anything but his face. "Night, Harry," I said again, with more force this time, starting up the stairs again, and this time, Harry thankfully didn't stop me.