Draco Malfoy Must Die
Chapter 14 - The Defence Association
Hermione didn't see Draco for the rest of Christmas break, she was focusing on helping Harry and Neville finish their homework and on finishing her own too. She had been spending her time between the library and the Gryffindor common room letting him work out whatever issues he seemed to have with her. On Sunday night the rest of the school returned and suddenly it was busy and loud again. Hermione and Harry didn't speak to Ron right away, he was too busy talking to Seamus and Dean. But they were staying up late doing some work, so when everyone else began to drift away and the common room got emptier Ron shuffled over to them looking sheepish.
"Where's Lavender?" Harry asked, "She's usually attached to you, isn't she?"
Ron sighed, "I broke up with her."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"I'd rather not go into it," Ron said, his ears turning red, "So what did you do over Christmas break?"
"We'd rather not go into it," Hermione said sharply.
Ron looked at Hermione irritably, "Look I've broken up with Lavender, that clearly seems to be the thing that was bothering you. So can we just go back to normal now?"
Hermione scoffed, "Back to normal? Are you aware of how much has changed since you last decided to take an interest in your friendship with us?"
"Not unless you tell me," Ron retorted, "I'm not a bloody seer."
Hermione shared a glance with Harry, who himself was unsure how the news would go down, but he decided that Ron needed to know anyway.
"We sort of unearthed a plan of Malfoy's," Harry began sheepishly, "He had been trying to kill Dumbledore."
"What the fuck?" Ron cursed, "Did you tell Dumbledore?"
"No..." Harry said slowly.
Ron looked entirely baffled, "Why?"
"Well we also found out that Malfoy was forced to become a Death Eater, and doesn't want to kill Dumbledore. But if he doesn't he and his family will be murdered, by Voldemort," Harry explained.
"So?" Ron asked, "Another Death Eater family killed, that's good for us."
"Not when one of them is an innocent 16 year old!" Hermione said hotly, "Malfoy is terrified Ron, we can't just let him be arrested, or killed. We don't have the right to take his life away."
"But he has the right to take everyone else's lives away?" Ron exclaimed.
"No, he hasn't taken anyone's life!" Hermione shouted, pushing herself to her feet, "That's the point Ron, he doesn't want to be like them. He's helping us."
"He's a Death Eater!"
"No, he isn't," A new voice said as Neville slipped into the common room.
Ron turned his head to look at him, "You too Neville? Really?"
"It's the truth Ron, Malfoy is a bastard, that much I won't deny. But he isn't a murderer, and he doesn't want to be. He's helping us so that he doesn't have to kill Dumbledore, and in return we're helping him," Harry said calmly.
"Helping him?" Ron asked in disbelief, "How exactly?"
"Well the only way for Voldemort not to see things are off, is for Malfoy to complete his mission," Harry replied.
"Complete his mission?" Ron asked slowly, "You're going to let him kill Dumbledore? Are you fucking insane?"
"Dumbledore's dying anyway," Hermione cut in, "The black hand, did you notice that? It's cursed, and not curable by magic. He's going to die, whether Malfoy kills him or not."
"I don't know whats happened this holiday but either you three have lost your minds, or you are all under imperius," Ron said, surveying them in disbelief.
"No, Ron, we just fell into a very complicated situation," Hermione said, "Dumbledore is going to die, so if we continue to help Malfoy carry on as if he's going to kill him then it looks good from Voldemort's point of view. Snape is a spy, feeding everything Malfoy does to Voldemort so we have to make the façade look convincing. But Malfoy won't ever kill Dumbledore, it won't come down to that."
"Snape has made an unbreakable vow with Malfoy's Mother," Neville added, "To protect Malfoy at all costs, which means he'll step in and kill Dumbledore."
"And why the hell haven't you told Dumbledore this?"
"Because he knows, Snape's in on the whole thing, and we think McGonagall might be too," Harry said with a resigned sigh.
Ron sat down heavily on an armchair, "When did all of this happen?" he asked.
Harry looked sheepishly at Hermione, who sighed and said, "It started at Slughorn's Christmas party, when I took Malfoy. The reason I asked him was because I'd found out from Susan in Hufflepuff, that he'd dated her, and two other girls at the same time. It was a revenge thing for them, date him then break his heart. It wasn't supposed to get this serious, but Harry and I followed him when he left the party and overheard him and Snape."
"We tried to gain his trust since then," Harry said, "and Hermione hit the jackpot when she saw his mark, she managed to get him to trust her and he's with us now. We're helping him carry out his plan so it looks convincing on his part. And we're getting the DA back together, under a new name, to prepare for the battle that might follow Dumbledore's death."
Ron looked exasperated, "Why does the DA have a new name? And why might there be a battle?"
"It's called the Defence Association, because we have reason to believe Dumbledore is lying to everyone and manipulating us all, he knows about this whole scheme but pretends he doesn't. We're all just pawns and he's the chess master," Harry said, adding before Ron could butt in, "and the reason there will be a battle is because Malfoy's plan, which is actually Voldemort's plan, but he has to let it play out, is to let Death Eaters into Hogwarts."
"And you're letting that happen? Harry seriously, what the fuck has happened to you?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"Ron, are you deaf or just stupid?" Hermione exclaimed, "It's going to happen anyway! All we can do is prepare for it, and train the DA!"
Ron scoffed, "Which should be called Dumbledore's Army, he's a hero, not a bad guy! He defeated Grindelwald!"
"Ron, think with your head not your heart," Hermione said in exasperation, "What sort of hero would keep something like Fluffy in a school full of children? If he's such a hero why did he let us go after the stone? Why did we find the Chamber of Secrets instead of him? He obviously knew these things, but he let Harry do all of his dirty work!"
Ron looked quite defeated, and he was silent for a good while. The others didn't say anything as they waited hopefully for him to accept that they were right and to stop being so angry with them all. Finally he said, "Well, when you put it like that…" he shook his head, "But I don't like it, and I really don't like working with Malfoy."
Hermione smiled, "But you're with us again?"
Ron's face perked up a little, whether it was because of Hermione, or being back in the thick of things, and included again, they weren't sure. He nodded, "But don't expect me to get on with Malfoy, alright?"
"Alright," Harry said, "You'll hardly see him anyway."
"He can't just show up to DA meetings when he's supposed to still be the enemy, so as far as everyone else knows we keep insulting him, and he keeps insulting us," Neville said matter of factly, "Hermione sees him most, to relay information."
Hermione tried not to look too sheepish about this as she fumbled in her bag for the new DA signature list.
Ron frowned, "That's not safe, shouldn't you be doing that Harry?"
"He only trusts Hermione at the moment," Harry replied.
Ron's frown deepened, "Why does he only trust Hermione?"
Hermione sighed, "Because he seems to believe I'm the only one who thinks hes not a Death Eater, regardless of his mark."
Ron scoffed, and Hermione bit her tongue so as not to insult him when they had only just made up, "But anyway, will you sign this? It's the new DA list."
"Sure," Ron said, grabbing a quill, "Did you put a S.N.E.A.K style jinx in again?"
"I did," Hermione replied, "But I've also added a memory charm, so if anyone thinks about betraying us they will have their memory wiped before they can."
"That's genius," Ron said in awe.
Hermione smiled, "Thanks, Ron."
Ron smiled back and handed her the parchment, "Well it's good to be back."
The following morning they found out that their apparition lessons would start soon, which was a daunting topic for Harry at the best of times, but even more so considering how much else he had on his mind. Classes resumed, and Hermione got busy running around between them getting people's signatures. By the end of the week the DA was up and running again, and all that remained to be done was to set a date for their first session back. Hermione was going to suggest a date to Harry, but then he had another of his meetings with Dumbledore and she knew he would be late, so instead she decided to go to the library and get some studying in. She was sitting down, peacefully enjoying a book and taking notes, when her worst nightmare sat down next to her.
"Malfoy."
"Granger."
They hadn't said a word to each other since that second awkward kiss. Apart from things like "Can you pass me that newt's eye?" and "Your cauldron is too high, you should turn it down". They hadn't discussed anything of a personal nature, and Hermione had been too busy with her signatures to visit his haunt, and her own, the library.
"Have you been avoiding me, Granger?"
"I always try to avoid you Malfoy," Hermione retorted.
"I'm starting to think you've ditched me for Weasley, I've barely seen you around since he got back," Draco drawled.
Hermione smiled a little, he's jealous, I can hear it in his voice, "Well I have been busy signing people up to the DA," she said pointedly and quietly, "But if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous."
Draco scoffed, "I think you're thinking a bit much of yourself Granger."
"Oh really?" Hermione whispered, "Because if I recall correctly, you were the one who kissed me twice, not the other way around."
Draco's cheeks coloured very slightly, but he kept his composure, "I've kissed plenty of girls Granger, so don't go thinking you're special."
"Don't worry I won't," Hermione said calmly, "I've already been warned from Lilly, and Daphne, and Susan about how much of a scumbag you are. I have higher standards than that."
"Like Weasel?" Draco snorted, "I think most women would take a scumbag over a ratty ginger blood traitor."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, "Is there any particular reason why you hate Ron so much, Malfoy? Or is that just because you're jealous too?"
"Why are you convinced I'm jealous of that ginger prick?" Draco asked irritably.
"Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy, so vulgar," Hermione said, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
Draco noticed, and it made him smirk, "Granger, Granger, Granger, you get off on this kind of sparring don't you?"
He expected her to blush, or for her to be flustered and embarrassed. He thought with that vulgar comment he had certainly won, but he was wrong. Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him and whispered, "And you don't?"
For once in his life, Draco Malfoy was actually speechless. He opened his mouth, but then decided better of saying what was in his mind and closed it. Hermione grinned, "Well I think Draco Malfoy the amazing bouncing ferret is out, and Draco Malfoy the floundering fish is in."
"Fuck off, Granger," Draco retorted.
Hermione just laughed, "Your insults really are so unimaginative. You need to sort that out, I mean what do you have besides 'fuck off', 'get lost', and 'my father will hear about this' Malfoy?"
"I don't say that last one," Draco defended himself.
Hermione sniggered, "Really? To name one time, you said it after Buckbeak attacked you. What do you do Malfoy, write really long letters to your Father saying things like 'Granger insulted me' and 'Potter beat me in a duel' and 'a hippogriff attacked me because I was stupid enough to insult it'?"
"Merlin, you're a sarcastic bitch," Draco hissed.
"That's just the truth, therefore not a great insult," Hermione said matter of factly.
"Fuck off Granger."
"Resorted to that again, have you?"
"Stop being such a snarky bitch," Draco said irritably, "I came over here to apologise for running off, alright?"
Hermione was actually shocked by that, "You did?"
"Yes, but you got me in a battle of bloody insults and wits before I could," Draco said and despite the irritation in his voice, Hermione could tell he was amused.
"You enjoy it really Malfoy," Hermione said with a smile.
"I'll never admit that," Draco said, a smile also coming to his lips.
"You just did," Hermione pointed out.
"No I didn't," Draco said.
"But you just did, just there," Hermione said in amusement.
"Oh come on, let's not argue again," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.
"This isn't an argument, it's just a contradiction," Hermione said simply.
"What?" Draco asked with a frown.
Hermione shook her head, "It's a reference, from a muggle show."
"Would you stop doing that? You, Potter and Lilly, it's bloody annoying," Draco said, "I mean if I started making references about wizarding culture how would you like it?"
"I'd know them, and I'd understand them," Hermione said.
Draco scoffed, "You would not."
"Try me then," Hermione challenged him.
"Volkschov Rule," Draco smirked.
"A rule in Quidditch wherein a chaser cannot carry the quaffle from their own goalposts directly to the opposing team's goalposts and score, without the quaffle being passed at least once first," Hermione said.
"Are you a walking textbook?" Draco asked slightly nastily.
Hermione shrugged, "I have a photographic memory."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Alright then, do you know what Wizarding Hour is?"
"It's a radio show on the WWN where from what I've heard, men get tips on how to polish their broomsticks as efficiently as possible," Hermione said with a smirk.
"It's more than that, and quit the innuendos. Look it's easier for you to know about wizarding things, you've been here and in the muggle world," Draco said in exasperation.
"Hey it's not my fault you don't know anything about muggle culture," Hermione said as she picked up her books, "So if you were just here to apologise, and you've done that then I'm going back to the Gryffindor common room."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Whatever, see you around Granger."
"See you around, Malfoy," Hermione said with a slight smile as she walked away from him.
That evening, after his meeting with Dumbledore, Harry walked into the Room of Requirement where Lilly and Hermione were already waiting. Today it was sort of like an office, with a comfortable sofa, and a large desk. Lilly was sitting behind it, with parchment, ink and a quill ready. Hermione was sitting on the sofa, it was clear they had stopped talking when he walked in.
"What did I miss?"
"Hermione was just venting slightly about Draco," Lilly said with a smile, "Do you prefer to sit while you talk or pace?"
"Pace," Harry said in amusement, "And do you plan to write all of this down?"
Lilly nodded, "I'll keep it in that safe though," she said, looking to the small safe in the corner of the room, "In this room, so that nobody else can find it."
"Good idea," Harry said thoughtfully.
"What did Dumbledore tell you tonight then?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Well he told me the same thing McGonagall did, to watch who I was hanging around. And I just said I was sure Malfoy was up to something which was why I was around him," Harry said.
"And? What did he say to that?" Hermione asked, almost urgently.
Harry shook his head in irritation, "The usual, don't let it concern you, he's not up to anything. Blah, blah, blah."
Lilly chuckled, "Well that's hardly surprising. Did you find out anything about Voldemort?"
Harry nodded and paused in the middle of the room, "Yeah, but maybe we should go over what Dumbledore's already told me. I mean, Hermione knows, but you don't so it might make things a bit clearer."
"If you're happy enough to share that with me, go ahead," Lilly said diplomatically.
Harry nodded, "Alright then. The first memory he showed me was Bob Ogdens. He was in the DMLE and he went to summon Morfin Gaunt to a hearing for using magic on a muggle."
"Gaunt, as in the Pureblood family?" Lilly asked with a frown.
Hermione nodded, "They are generally believed to have died out."
"Believed?" Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Harry said darkly, "They lived in a dirty old shack, and Marvolo, the Father abused his daughter Merope. Long story short was Merope was in love with Tom Riddle, a muggle who lived nearby. That was pretty much all I got from the memory, but Dumbledore filled me in that the Ministry arrested Morfin, that was the son, and Marvolo after that, and they went to Azkaban."
"So what happened to Merope?" Lilly asked slowly, "She's got to be Voldemort's Mother, right?"
Hermione nodded, and Harry continued, "And the muggle, Tom Riddle was his Father. He's a half-blood."
"Seriously?" Lilly asked in disbelief.
Harry nodded grimly, and Hermione chipped in, "Hard to believe, I know."
"How did that happen?"
"Merope used a love potion to seduce Riddle, but she loved him too much to keep using him, so she stopped slipping it to him. He left her and she was pregnant at the time, with Voldemort."
Lilly puffed out a breath, "Jesus Christ, talk about a tragic back story."
"Yes but it explains a lot," Hermione said, "He was conceived under the effects of a love potion. That must have consequences."
"Oh yeah," Lilly agreed, she had been scribbling throughout their entire conversation, "Like not being able to love, for a start."
"That would explain a lot," Harry agreed.
"So what happened next then?" Lilly asked, dipping her quill in the ink, "Was he raised by his Mother?"
"No, she gave birth to him and left him at an orphanage," Harry said with a strange glazed over look, "And then she died."
Lilly frowned, but she didn't say anything as Harry went on, "Dumbledore went to the orphanage to tell him he was a wizard, and he found out that he'd been stealing things, and that the other kids there were scared of him. Dumbledore found out then that he could talk to snakes."
"Which is something only the heir of Slytherin can do," Lilly said softly, "and you of course, Harry," she added, looking up at him.
"I'm not related to Slytherin," Harry said firmly.
"Oh no, I wasn't-"
Hermione shook her head and glanced at Lilly, "It's a touchy subject," she said quietly.
Lilly looked a little guilty, but she didn't say anymore on the subject and Harry continued with the story of Voldemort.
"That was what I learned in past lessons. Tonight, he showed me two memories, the first one was Morfin's, from after he got out of Azkaban. Dumbledore said Riddle was really clever at school, and all the teachers liked him. He had a group of friends but the things they did were never traced back to them. Sound familiar?"
"Death Eaters," Hermione and Lilly said in unison.
Harry nodded, "Well anyway, he was 16 and he went to the Gaunt shack and found Morfin who thought he was his Muggle Father, so they spoke in Parseltongue to prove that he wasn't. He found out from Morfin that Marvoo was dead, and he learned about how he had been conceived. The memory blacked out, and apparently it was because Morfin didn't remember the rest, he just woke up without his ring, which had the crest of the Gaunt family on it."
"Why would Voldemort steal the ring?" Lilly asked.
Harry shrugged, "I don't know. But I do know that after that Riddle went to the house where his Father lived and killed him and his Grandparents. Then he put a false memory charm on Morfin and left. The Ministry knew Morfin was a muggle-hater and when they found him he confessed. Riddle had used Morfin's wand. When they checked it they found the killing curse and they put him in Azkaban where he died."
"So how did Dumbledore find all of this out?" Hermione asked.
"He visited him in Azkaban before he died and used Legilimency on him," Harry explained, "The bit I couldn't work out was how the Ministry couldn't tell it was Voldemort, every time I used under-age magic I got a warning letter from the Ministry."
"It's not tied to a person, just the house," Lilly said, "So if you try and use magic in a muggle home they'll know it was you. But if you use it in a wizarding house the Ministry won't know."
"Dumbledore explained that," Harry said, "He said it was down to the parents to ensure their children didn't use underage magic."
"Which explains why we wouldn't have known," Hermione said, "The only wizarding house we've spent time in is Ron's, and you know how strict Mrs. Weasley is."
Harry chuckled, "I thought something similar when I found out."
Hermione was still smiling a little when she said, "So is that it then? Or did you find out anything more?"
"I saw another memory, but this one's a little more complicated, and I don't want it to go any further than this room. I'm already breaking the rules, Dumbledore made me promise not to tell anyone else what he was teaching me, apart from Ron and Hermione," Harry said anxiously.
"I promise, it will stay between us," Lilly said, and Harry believed her because he had no reason not to.
"It was Slughorn's memory, only it wasn't quite right. Riddle was at a Slug Club meeting, like the ones he's been having this year. He was talking to Slughorn then this fog came down and Slughorn said Riddle would go wrong, then he dismissed the students. Riddle stayed behind and asked Slughorn what he knew about horcruxes and the fog came back again and Slughorn said he didn't know anything about them and he wouldn't tell him if he did."
"Well that's not right, the fog means the memory has been changed…covered up," Hermione said with a frown.
"I know," Harry said, "Dumbledore said Slughorn tampered with his own memory."
"Why would he do that?" Lilly asked.
"Because hes ashamed of what really happened," Harry replied, "But that's not the worst bit. He asked me to get the real memory from Slughorn. He said veritaserum won't work because Slughorn probably carries an antidote to it, and he's skilled at Occlumency too apparently."
"Well so is Snape, and Hermione managed to not only remove his memory, but falsify it," Lilly said with a proud sort of look at Hermione.
She nodded slowly, "Slughorn can't be better than Snape, can he?"
"I doubt it," Harry said, "But we can hardly just knock him out and take it, that would look suspicious. Dumbledore told me to persuade Slughorn to give it to me."
Lilly scoffed, "What's the point in wasting your time?"
"He won't just hand it over, no matter how much he likes you," Hermione agreed, "I mean he clearly went to great lengths to conceal it from Dumbledore who he has known for years."
Harry sighed, "Well knocking him out is going to look suspicious to Dumbledore, isn't it?"
"We could really do with sharing this with the others," Hermione said irritably, "I mean I've never even heard of a horcrux. Have you Lilly?"
Lilly shook her head, "No, but if Slughorn wanted to change the memory so much it can't be good."
"It has to be some form of dark magic, knowing Voldemort," Harry agreed, "But we can't tell the others. I was only supposed to tell you and Ron, Hermione. Lilly already knows, the more people I tell the more chance there is of Dumbledore realising something is wrong."
"I know," Hermione said, "But there's a good chance Draco or Daphne would know what a horcrux is, and with more brains on the subject we could work out a way to get the real memory from Slughorn."
"I still stand by knocking him out and taking it," Lilly shrugged.
"He would know Hermione had helped, Dumbledore that is, he knows how crap I am at Legilimency and Occlumency."
"Well he said you could tell them," Lilly reasoned.
"But he said I had to get the memory from Slughorn," Harry added.
"Okay, I see the fault in this plan now," Lilly admitted sheepishly, "Are you sure we can't tell the others? I mean who are they going to tell, really?"
"Lilly does have a point, we don't have to give them Voldemort's entire history," Hermione said thoughtfully, "Just the parts we need their help on."
"So you're saying we need to be selective with the truth?" Harry asked, sighing heavily.
"I hate to say it, but yes," Hermione answered.
"Alright," Harry said after a long silence, "I'll tell them after the first DA meeting, if you see any of them before then warn them to hang back."
Hermione and Lilly both nodded.
"When is the first DA meeting anyway?" Hermione asked, crouching down by the fireplace, "Set a date and I'll burn it into the galleons."
"A week today," Harry said after a moment of consideration, "And after that I think we'll keep it as a monthly thing."
Hermione nodded, "Alright," she said simply as she held the galleon above the fire and mumbled a charm, "It's done."
"Perfect," Lilly said, putting the notes she had taken in the safe in the corner of the room and locking it, "Well I'll see you next week then."
Hermione and Harry said goodbye to her, and once she was gone Hermione flung her bag over her shoulder, "So, you and Lilly?"
Harry rolled his eyes as they left the room together and headed towards Gryffindor tower, "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't get involved in my love life?"
"We agreed no such thing," Hermione said in amusement, "So are you together or not?"
"Not," Harry replied, "It's complicated. I mean don't get me wrong, I like her, and she says she likes me. But this war is on its way…she knows I don't want her to get hurt."
"So it's a casual sort of thing then?"
Harry nodded, he had a vacant sort of look in his eyes, "I guess so."
"You know that it could easily end with one or both of you getting hurt, don't you?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded again and turned to look his best friend in the eye, "Yeah, but emotional pain is a damn sight better than physical pain."
"I do understand," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
Harry smiled weakly, "But anyway, what about you? Has he spoken to you yet?"
Hermione nodded, "He was flirting with me in the library earlier," she rolled her eyes, "But his moods are so weird. He'll be ignoring me again by tomorrow."
"Well it's probably for the best," Harry said, "We don't want the teachers suspecting anything."
Hermione knew Harry was right, the more Draco distanced himself the better it looked. Especially to Snape and Dumbledore, it looked like Harry had dropped the issue so that everything could go on as they had planned it. Despite all of that though, Hermione found it difficult to be ignored by Draco in Potions for the rest of the week. She thought it sucked when he walked past her and didn't say a word in the library or the study hall. She was actually beginning to miss Draco's company, and Harry could tell. As the week wore on things with Ron began to return to normal. He and Harry were talking as they had before, and things were gradually getting less awkward between him and Hermione.
When it came to the day of the first DA meeting things were almost normal again, it was almost like the entire Draco incident had never happened, and that did make Hermione feel a little sad. She still spoke to Lilly regularly in the library because they had been friends before this all kicked off, but as well as having to distance herself from Draco, she also had to be careful not to be seen with her other friends too often, Daphne in particular.
"You okay Hermione?" Harry asked as they walked to the Room of Requirement with Ron and Neville in tow.
"Yeah," Hermione lied, "Just a little nervous about this."
"I'm the leader, I should be the nervous one," Harry joked.
"I'm the Deputy, does that mean I get to be nervous too?" Neville chuckled.
Harry laughed, "You'll be fine, Nev," he said.
As he began pacing with his eyes shut to make the door appear Hermione and Neville saw the irritated look that flitted across Ron's face. He hadn't said anything explicitly but it was clear he thought he should be Harry's Deputy. Harry however, had not budged, he maintained that Neville was the right guy for the job.
The door to the new DA room appeared and they all walked through, it was the first time that Ron had seen the new room.
"This is pretty cool," he said as he sat down in one of the chairs in the meeting room section of the large hall.
Hermione nodded absentmindedly, and Neville said, "Personally I'm glad you got rid of the mirrors Harry, they irritated the hell out of me."
Harry chuckled, and Ron asked, "So is the DA just the same as it was last year?"
Harry and Hermione shared a slightly awkward look, Ron wasn't particularly happy with Slytherin co-operation. So far they had kept things so that Ron didn't have to interact with Draco, but they weren't sure how he would react to hearing that there were some Slytherins in the DA.
"Uh, there are some new members," Harry said evasively.
Ron was going to push, he was going to make Harry tell him who these new members were. But Harry was saved by the door opening and the first people appearing. The Ravenclaws and Gryffindor's trickled in first because their common rooms were the closest.
The Patil twins were first, with a slightly hesitant Lavender in tow. She glanced woefully at Ron when she saw him and he looked away guiltily. Hermione and Harry still had no idea what had happened between them at Christmas. On that note, Ginny entered with Dean and Seamus, and Hermione made a mental note to pick her brains about what had gone on when she next got a chance. The Creevey brothers arrived next, looking eager and excited, Hermione couldn't help but notice the anxious look that passed across Harry's face when he saw them, she knew he thought Dennis was too young to be involved in all of this.
After that the Ravenclaws arrived in packs. Michael, Terry and Anthony were all together, and seconds after they had arrived Mandy and Lisa entered the room. Which just left Luna and Lilly who arrived separately not long after. Everyone was milling around, only Lilly walked directly up to Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville.
"Hey," she said brightly, "Are we taking meeting notes?"
"Uh yeah," Harry said, "But that's normally Hermione's job.'
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to step on your toes," Lilly said.
Hermione shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I'll happily let you take over. I did it all last year."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" Lilly asked as Cormac McLaggen slipped into the room.
Hermione nodded and handed her the parchment and ink she was holding, "I'm sure, here you go."
Lilly smiled and set herself up at the meeting table. Harry had been watching her in a sort of daydream but as she looked up at him he tore his eyes away, feeling incredibly embarrassed.
"We're just waiting for the other houses now," Hermione said with a glance at her list.
Ron narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, Hermione suspected it was to say that there better not be any Slytherins on the list. Whatever he was going to say he didn't have the chance because the door to the room opened once more and the Hufflepuffs arrived. Susan, Hannah, Megan and Leanne were all together, and not far behind them were Oliver, Wayne, Zacharias, Justin and Ernie.'
"Right," Ron said, pushing himself to his feet, "Is that everyone then?"
"Not quite," Hermione said sheepishly, glancing towards the door.
"Hermione-"
"Ah here are the others," Hermione said quickly to avoid Ron's questioning. The door had opened for a final time and the four Slytherin members of the group walked in, Daphne, Sophie, Tracey and Theo.
"Hermione!" Ron hissed.
"Stop being such a prejudiced git Ron," Hermione muttered under her breath, "Daphne's parents are neutral, Sophie's a half-blood and Tracey's parents were killed by Voldemort's followers!"
"And Nott? His Father is a Death Eater, Hermione!"
Neville shook his head and whispered, "And so is Draco's and he's helping us."
Ron opened his mouth again, but before he could shout about anything Harry said quietly, "Ron, you're lucky enough to not know what it's like to be scared of your own parents. Not everyone is that lucky."
With Harry's poignant words Ron shut his mouth and his ears went red, Hermione tried not to snigger. She saw Harry hide a smirk as he jumped up onto the table and said loudly, "Can I have everyone's attention please?"
The room fell silent instantly, Harry just commanded respect, it was why he was such a good leader. Hermione smiled proudly as he addressed the room.
"Hi everyone, now I know not all of you know why I've asked you all here tonight. We, well it was mostly Hermione's idea actually, decided to start the DA again but we've changed the name to 'Defence Association' because as you can see there are now members from every house in the school and not all of the houses are particularly keen on Dumbledore."
There was a knowing sort of look sent towards the Slytherins. It was a lie of course, but they had agreed that they couldn't risk telling the DA the truth.
"You all must know by now that Voldemort and his followers have been gaining strength. The attacks even managed to slip into the prophet this summer, even if it was subtly."
There was much vigorous nodding.
"This is not going to blow over, there will be a war and we have got to be ready when it comes. So I am going to help train you all to fight properly, and to defend yourselves. We'll meet once a month and go over some tactics, just like last year. Are there are any questions?"
Cormac raised his hand, "Why are there Slytherins?"
"Because if we're to fight back we have to put on a united front. How can we be united against Voldemort when we aren't even united within our own school?" Harry said simply.
Cormac shrugged, but still didn't look very happy about this arrangement.
"But we don't know if we can trust them!" Seamus exclaimed.
"You can trust them as much as you can trust everyone else Seamus," Harry said calmly, "You all signed the same piece of parchment and you were all warned that it was jinxed with a very dark curse. Anyone who betrays us is going to suffer, regardless of their house. Now, are there any questions that aren't about the Slytherins?"
There was silence, so Harry smiled, "Fantastic! Let's get to work then!"
TBC :)
A/N: Just so you know, this is already pre-written and I am just editing it and uploading it. All 70 chapters are finished however! So any complaints or hate about certain things will not get changed because of that.