Hello, my beloved readers! So, I made a change or two to the schedule, which you can find on my profile, but it doesn't really affect this story. And, I am so happy to announce that this story reached 100 reviews last week and I almost cried! I am so unbelievably happy at the success this story is receiving! Without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 21: Counter Attacks

The Golden Trio walked through the door that had magically appeared before them, followed by Freed and Levy. They were going to prepare the room for the first Dumbledore's Army meeting, which would begin in about an hour.

"Wow, the enchantments on this room are so interesting," Levy said, "So detailed. The room itself remembers every room it's created and can pull it up at will."

"Really? I thought we would be getting a new room that simply looked the same for each meeting," Hermione said, looking around the room.

"No, that's not how it works, it's hard to explain, but I'll try," Freed said, "You can think of the Room of Requirement as a multi-dimensional door. This particular room can be thought of as one of the 'dimensions' that the room can lead to. Although it can also lead to other 'dimensions', if you always think of this 'dimension' when you walk in, it will always lead you to this exact 'dimension'."

Levy picked up after Freed, "Except, the dimension is actually a room. And it has exactly one entrance and exit, which means that we can set up barriers to prevent those not on your list from entering."

"How can you do that? Some kind of charm or spell?" Harry asked.

"Kind of. We're going to use runes to set up a barrier around the room. When we set up the barrier, we can write the rules of that barrier, and those rules will automatically synch with the enchantments and rules already placed on the Room of Requirement itself, only it will just apply to this particular room," Freed said.

"And the rules can spell out who can come and go?!" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes, among other things. We can set up for almost anything. How someone gets in, when someone can enter or exit, what can be done once inside the barrier, and so on. We can do almost anything, really, as long as we know how to write the runes for it," Levy answered.

"Wow, you have to teach me how to use these runes. That would be so useful," Hermione said.

Levy nodded at her, "Sure. You learn a little about it in Ancient Runes, but it's preliminary at best. The thing about runes is, you have to spell out exactly what you want and leave no room for loopholes. You have to be extremely vigilant to make sure you dot your i's and cross your T's."

"So what are the rules you're gonna set for us?" Ron asked curiously.

Freed answered, "Four basic rules for now. If we want, we can come back later to rewrite and add things in. 1. Only those on the list, plus the members of FTA, can enter, so I'll need the list while writing. 2. Those not on the list cannot see or enter the room, even if they are looking for it, or are being led by someone on the list. 3. Upon entering, any spell or device used to track or record the movement, actions, or words of a person will no longer work until the person leaves. 4. Those inside will be made aware of who is trying to enter as it happens, so that preventative measures can be made."

The Golden Trio nodded, and Levy and Freed began writing the runes. Once they had finished, they looked at the Golden Trio. Levy decided to address them, "The names on the list, along with the names of the Fairy Tail members, are written into the room. However, I suggest you not tell the members about the runes, in case one of them is coerced into helping someone else, like Umbridge, in finding it."

They nodded again, as it made sense, and a few minutes later, the members started flooding into the room. Soon after, the meted started, and later ended, while Levy and Freed watched on, whispering to each other when they noticed something interesting. Then, after everyone had left, the Golden Trio, Levy, and Freed made their way to the Fairy Tail meeting room, where Harry could teach the same lesson. Only this time for the purpose of their pupils learning how to either block or dodge it.

The Fairy Tail members sat watching Harry expectantly. He cleared his throat nervously. He'd had a hard enough time in front of Dumbledore's Army, but these people were far more intimidating than the DA was by a long shot. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to speak.

"Umm… well, Expelliarmus is a spell that will disarm the target of their wand and/or weapon, basically whatever they have in their hands. For those who are practiced with the spell, it will draw their wand or weapon into the caster's hand, but for people who are new to it, it will simply fly in a random direction away from the target. In order for the spell to work, it must actually hit the target. When it does, it will send the weapon or wand flying into their hand. Um, I'll show you with Hermione."

Hermione stood across from Harry, and he said, "Expelliarmus." A scarlet beam of light shot towards her. Once it hit her, she was thrust back slightly and her wand flew from her hands into Harry's.

"The target is also left slightly dazed for a few seconds following the spell, which is why it is commonly cast in tandem with another attack spell, since the target both loses his wand and is left vulnerable to an attack directly following the spell," Hermione said after the demonstration. "Also, some advanced wizards are capable of wordless spell casting, so you might not always hear it coming, but you'll always see the light."

At this point, Freed spoke up, "Levy and I noticed that the spell has a specific magical fingerprint, so you should be able to sense its magical energy." Most of the Earthlanders, with the exception of Sting and Natsu, nodded, having sensed it when Harry cast the spell on Hermione.

Natsu's face, however, was blank, "What do you mean? What's a magical fingerprint?" Sting nodded his head in agreement, confused as to what was happening.

"Natsu, you idiot!" Gray yelled, stripping off the last of his clothes. "GRAY! You're clothes!" came from a tipsy Cana.

"You seriously can't sense magical power?" Gajeel asked incredulously. Natsu nodded his head, slowly, "I think… maybe… I don't know," he shrugged at the end, grinning ear to ear, as if nothing bothered him. Gajeel's face blanched, and he looked ready to punch the pink fire user in the face.

"Sting is the same way," said an annoyed Rogue, who was rubbing his temple, while Sting just looked at them with his eyes wide, like a child trying to listen to his parents' conversation, but not understanding what the conversation was about.

Erza's face was covered by her hair as she trembled in anger, gritting her teeth, "Ugh, the idiots can just look for the light, or they can just survive on dumb luck like they usually do." She mumbled the last part under her breath, and while Laxus, Gajeel, and even Rogue, chucked at the comment, Natsu and Sting pouted. "I don't survive on dumb luck," mumbled Natsu, causing Laxus and Gajeel to break into full blown fits of laughter, and Rogue was still grinning in amusement, even if he wasn't as loud as the other two. Wendy just smiled hesitantly, not sure what to do with what she overheard.

"Mind sharing with the class what was so funny?" asked a confused and irritated Evergreen. Juvia nodded her head in agreement, "Juvia would like to know as well." Several nods and comments of assent went around, but Laxus just shrugged it off.

"Why don't we just start practicing?" The mages, including the Exceeds, broke into three groups, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron began shooting their spells towards the mages.

It didn't take long before they had a handle on the magical fingerprint and how to either block, using their magic of course, or dodge the attack.

Those who used weapons and holder magic, like Erza and Lucy, dodged the attacks before sending an attack back, although they didn't actually follow through on their attack, as they didn't want to actually hurt their teachers and friends.

Caster magic users, like Wendy and Natsu, either dodged and attacked back, or blocked the attack with their magic before attacking back. For example, Wendy would dodge the attack before sending her counter attack, while Natsu learned that he could burn through the spell as it approached him, much like he burned off Sting's stigmata during the Grand Magic Games.

The Golden Trio's abilities with the spell also progressed. Ron, who had been struggling with the spell, was now solidly casting it every time. Hermione, after several tries, had successfully cast the spell once wordlessly. Although it only happened once, she was extremely proud of herself and received a large hug from Levy, Erza, and Lucy, as well as an approving ruffle of her hair from Gajeel and a pat on the shoulder form Lily. In addition, all three were witnessing an increase in the speed of their spells, which began moving faster towards their targets.

When they were finished, Makarov stood before them, "Okay, brats, we have formed the beginnings of a plan to take down Voldemort, which will begin tomorrow. We have gained knowledge of several of his hideouts and bases, and we plan on destroying those first. There are about 20 total, and we have prepared 2 teams of 4 to take them down tomorrow night. The event should force the Ministry to look into it and thus, to take action and investigate into the wreckage, which would undoubtedly lead to an investigation on the reemergence of the Death Eaters. They might continue to try and ignore it, but there will most likely be a good deal of publicity on the event, so it'll be harder for them to ignore the issue."

Mavis took off where Makarov stopped, "However, the Ministry will be after the culprit, the most obvious options, to them anyways, will be Albus and Harry, but they will both be here with solid alibies: the Hogwarts wards, which record the entrance and exit of anyone on the Hogwarts grounds. They have been in place for a long time and are impossible to tamper with. However, we have something connected with the Floo Network that will allow us to come out in a place called 13 Grimmauld Place. They won't be able to trace it, because it's actually magic from Earthland, and we'll be able to exit and leave at will."

Laxus stood up, "We don't want any of the teachers gone, because that would look suspicious, which is why all of the people participating are undercover as students. There are four roles that are going to be in both groups. Intel: Levy and Freed. Stealth: Gajeel and Rogue. Strength: Erza and Jellal. Cover: Bickslow and Lucy. The first thing that's gonna happen when you guys get to the hide out is Levy and Freed are going to scan the entirety of the property for incriminating evidence and for people. If anyone is inside, Gajeel and Rogue are going to sneak Lucy and Bickslow inside. From there, Bickslow will use his figure eyes, and Lucy will use Gemini as Bickslow using his figure eyes to get everyone outside without memory of the event. Then, Levy and Freed will set up protective runes around any incriminating evidence found. From there, Erza and Jellal will completely destroy the bases. Afterwards, Levy and Freed will drop the runes around the evidence and place barriers around the perimeter of the hide out for 24 hours. This is so that you can prevent the Death Eaters from going back and taking back any of the evidence. The runes need to be written in a language familiar to Earth, so what you've been learning in Ancient Runes. Mavis will help you write the Enchantments."

Makarov spoke again, "My children, it is important no one discovers it was us that made the attack. Also, we need to get them all done tomorrow night, so that Voldemort doesn't move evidence or hideouts during the time gap. None of these are where he's actually staying, unfortunately, as the Death Eaters we took out weren't very high ranking."

Mavis then spoke again, "We will be sending anonymous addresses with intriguing messages to all of the major newspapers along with the Ministry immediately after your departure, so that they become interested and start asking the Ministry questions. Here, Mira and Lisanna will be making appearances around the halls as the students that will be gone, talking with other members of the guild, giving us an alibi."

"I have a question, who will be in which group? You said there would be two teams?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, yes, my child. Gejeel, Levy, Bickslow and Erza will be one team. Rogue, Freed, Jellal, and you will be the other. And before you ask Natsu and Sting, you're not going, because we need people who can control their destruction levels so that nobody comes with questions before you can get out. It's about stealth and getting in and out in a timely manner so that we can get all twenty down in one night without anybody realizing what had happened until it was too late," Makarov answered.

Everyone nodded, and Mavis said, "Lucy, you and Bickslow will be working together tonight and tomorrow to make sure you can use his figure eyes effectively as Gemini. Levy and Freed, I will work with you to create the necessary barrier using the rune systems set up here, but strong enough so that Voldemort's code breakers, if he has any, won't be able to break them. I don't care so much if the Ministry is able to break through, we want them to see it. We just don't want Voldemort removing evidence before the Ministry gets to it. Erza and Jellal, you should discuss how to most efficiently destroy the hide outs without making it too loud or visibly noticeable until after you leave."

Everyone nodded, adrenaline running through their veins. Things were starting to heat up, and Fairy Tail loved it when things heated up.

...

There it is! For those of you upset that there was no Umbridge bashing and revenge in this chapter, I'm sorry :( but have no fear, the next chapter is called Umbridge; the High Inquisitor, so there will be plenty of revenge there. I'm also sorry if I have the Expelliarmus charm slightly wrong.

Anyways, tell me what you think! I had fun writing this, and I'm excited for next weeks chapter. But now, I bid you adieu, until next time, or next week, depends on if you read any of my other stories.