Disclaimer:
JKRowling: brilliant.
Farfumsane: not so much.
JKRowling: making money off of being brilliant.
Farfumsane: understandably, not making a dime.
Chapter 25: End of September
The next few weeks went along as normal as usual, normal for everyone but Harry that is. He was still getting used to his new schedule and classes. Hermione had decided to take Arithmacy and Ancient Runes with Harry since she had no other friends in the sixth year class anyways, and she thought it would be a good challenge to do the NEWTS for those two courses this year. She thought this would also give her more time next year for her other classes, reducing her course load, and giving her more time to study.
The oddest part was that he'd been living 14-day weeks now, since the second week of September. He entered his mansion every night at 11pm, after everyone had gone to bed, and came out at 7 the next morning, effectively giving him an extra 24 hours a day. He always kept the curtains on his bed drawn, so he didn't think any of his roommates had noticed.
During these days in the mansion, he continued working on his wandless magic, furthered his studies in Herbology and CoMC, received tutoring in potions and kept up with his physical training. He would also do all his homework for his current school classes during his mansion hours, giving him extra time to patrol the school, keep an eye on Miss Perks, Malfoy, and even spend some time with students of other houses and other years, without it affecting his marks. It also gave him time to spend with Susan.
He never told Susan about Potter Mansion, however. He still wasn't totally sure about their relationship. She was fun, hot and great to spend time with, but time with her, for him, was an escape from his responsibilities as the eventual saviour of the wizarding world. She knew Harry Potter the teenager, student at Hogwarts, but she really had no idea who Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor was, nor did he want her to find out. With her, he didn't have to think about it. With her, he could just be someone else.
So he told his friends not to mention it to anyone, even Susan, it was a secret to be kept just between the seven of them, Remus, Tonks and Dumbledore. Harry didn't want anyone else to know, at least not for a while. Not until someone new could prove to him that they could be trusted.
On Friday and Saturday nights, he'd invite the group to join him. They never asked if he went more often on his own, and he didn't offer to tell them. They were just happy to get the extra time to catch up on homework, and spend time with each other away from class. Ginny and Hermione especially, this being Ginny's OWL year, and Hermione, with her two NEWTs coming up, were extremely grateful for any extra time they could get. The only exception to this rule had been the night of September 19th. Since it was Hermione, Athena and Demeter's birthday, he had invited them all to Potter Mansion for the night, giving the 3 girls and his other three friends a full day of celebration. The gift exchange that had come as the biggest surprise had been Neville's gift to Demeter. He had presented her with a beautiful, and rare, magical flower. She had been so excited that she threw herself at Neville and gave him a big hug worthy of Mrs. Weasley, before kissing him on the cheek. Realizing what she had done, she separated from him shyly and both of them proceeded to blush several shades of crimson, much to the amusement of their friends.
On their days spent together in Potter Mansion, all seven of them also trained for a few hours. Their time thus far had been used to bring Athena, Demeter and Neville up to the point the rest of them were at as far as training goes. Soon they'd be able to move on, and focus on more tactical and team related combat.
On just such a Friday night, the last one in September, Harry and Neville were out in the Mansion's garden, doing some Herbology homework.
"Harry, I have a question for you." started Neville.
Thinking that Neville's question was centered on Herbology, he told him to go ahead.
"Dueling club is basic, and holding everyone who had been in the DA back. Also, even though DADA is great, we're not learning much along the lines of team work, and fighting a war. If something isn't done about this, we're all toast when Voldemort attacks the castle. Can you please start up the DA again? I know you told Dumbledore you wouldn't, but you don't have to tell him. All of the old DA members really need it." said Neville sternly, looking Harry in the eyes.
Harry was stunned. Even though he had spent a month and change with this new and direct Neville, he was still surprised every now and then by his demeanor. Remembering Demeter's thank you, however, he realized that this was still the same old Neville he'd always known, just one that was growing up and gaining some confidence. Thinking that he might have had even a small hand in helping Neville come into his own made him smile slightly.
Harry had been thinking the same thing as Neville ever since the first Dueling Club session, he just wasn't sure it was the best way to go about things. Thinking for a second, he then replied, "You're right Nev. Dueling club isn't helping at all. I guess I've realized that all along, but I just didn't think anyone else noticed. All the DA members seemed to be enjoying it."
"Of course they're enjoying it! They're so far ahead of everyone else, they win all their matches, and all the others keep going to them for help."
Harry just nodded. "Alright Nev. Do you think you could finish up here? I need to go inside and talk to the others."
"No problem Harry, and thanks."
"I'm not promising anything yet, I just wanna see what everyone else thinks. I'll think of something. See you at supper." said Harry as he made his way back inside, deep in thought.
In his private study, Harry started to go over the logistics of restarting the DA. Neville was right, there was nothing at Hogwarts at the moment focusing on training students for an invasion, or for war at all for that matter. The Dueling club was a joke. After a month, meeting twice a week, the group had just finished with expelliarmus and the protego shield. The DA members, and admittedly anyone who got at least an acceptable on their OWLs, were well past that point.
Neville hadn't been the only one to tell him to start it back up again either. Ron and Hermione had come to him earlier that day, and when he went and talked to Ginny afterwards, she was in complete agreement with the others and said that her recently acquired boyfriend, Justin Finch-Fletchy from Hufflepuff, had also expressed a desire to get it started up again. Even Athena and Demeter thought it was a good idea.
So what Harry needed now, was to initiate an advanced dueling club that didn't just focus on one on one fighting, but also group dynamics and strategy when fighting multiple opponents, specifically, when defending Hogwarts.
Looking up at the portrait, and noticing Godric was there he asked, "Godric, if...'someone' were to start an unsanctioned dueling club that had been expressly forbidden by the Headmaster, where would that hypothetical 'someone' find a suitable place for it where about 40 to 50 people could gather and not arouse suspicion?"
"Hogwarts is a big school, and we had many more students near the end of my tenure than you do now. Even then we weren't using the whole castle, so I'm sure there are spaces large enough and well enough hidden to accommodate such a group."
"But how would that person find a place like that in the first place?" asked Harry.
Godric smirked, "Well...if this hypothetical someone was say...you, you could just go to my private study in Hogwarts were I keep a full map of the school. Of course, if it was anyone else, they'd just have to keep searching until they finally found it."
"Your office?" asked Harry, "But I can't go into the Headmaster's office, then he'll know something's up. Especially if I ask him to see a map that I'm not supposed to know exists."
Godric laughed, "That would be rather suspicious, wouldn't it? Luckily for you, I didn't say the Headmaster's office. The map he uses was made long after my time there. One of the former headmasters was telling me about the desk map of the school he created to keep track of all the students and teachers. But that map is incomplete. I dare say that your Marauder's map is more comprehensive than the one the Headmaster has on his desk."
"He has a map on his desk? That could pose as a problem, unless I was able to befuddle it. Though that does explain how he always knows who's at his door." said Harry with a sly smile.
"Ooops...I guess I shouldn't have told you that." admitted Godric with a wink.
"So you're saying the Headmaster's office wasn't yours?"
"Nope, that was actually Rowena's office. Only Rowena, Helga and Sylviana knew where my office was, and from what I was led to believe, after I died they just left it and never returned."
"How would you find that out if it was after you died, and who's Sylviana?" asked Harry, a little confused.
"Oh, my daughter told me, the portrait, about it. That way I knew there was a safe place for my heir at Hogwarts should he ever need one." explained Godric. "and Sylviana was my wife." he admitted sadly.
Nodding in understanding, and not delving further into a subject that was obviously painful for the portrait, Harry moved on, "Where is it located then?"
"Now that's the million galleon question! To be honest I have no idea. For one reason or another, that's one of the memories that I haven't retained" admitted Godric.
"How convenient." sighed Harry sarcastically.
"It's not that big a deal, just ask Hogwarts. She'll tell you." said the portrait.
"What? How?" inquired Harry.
"Harry, I know you feel her and I know you've already spoken to her. She told me when I was visiting the portraits that you had thanked her once before. Just ask. She'll show you."
"Fine." sighed Harry, realizing that he wasn't gonna get any more out of his house's namesake. "If I've learned one thing over the years, it's never go to a headmaster of Hogwarts if you're looking for a straight answer. Is being vague a prerequisite for the job?" asked a sarcastic Harry.
Godric merely chuckled as he rose and left his portrait mumbling something about finding more 'pleasant' company.
The next morning, after breakfast in the Great Hall, Harry walked around Hogwarts trying to figure out how to do it.
"Um...ok" started a slightly embarrassed Harry, who was seemingly talking to himself. "Um...Hi Hogwarts. I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind showing me where Godric Gryffindor's private study is...please."
"Hi Harry." came a pleasant voice beside him.
"Hi Luna. What can I do for you today?" he asked, slightly disappointed that Hogwarts hadn't answered him.
"Nothing. I'm here to help you." said the ghostly girl plainly.
"Help me?" he asked.
She nodded her head emphatically, causing her spectral bottle cap earrings to dance about wildly.
"Thanks...how exactly?" he asked.
"Hogwarts asked me to show you were Godric's study was. If you want another ghost to show you, I'm sure they wouldn't mind." she said in her usual dreamy state.
"Not at all Luna. I'm glad she asked you to do it. You'll have to thank her for me."
"Why don't you just thank her yourself?" she asked, seemingly confused.
"Oh, right." Then looking up he said a clear, "Thanks Hogwarts." This caused Luna to laugh.
"What's so funny?" asked a confused Harry.
"You are, silly. She's not above you." she explained, "She's not in any one place at all. Her presence is everywhere in this castle. And even some times outside of this castle, but not often."
Harry just nodded. He still didn't understand exactly, but he doubted Luna could be any clearer then she already had been.
"So?" she asked.
"So...what?" asked Harry in return.
"Do you want me to show you his study? Or did you want to go hunting for the sneakle borbots. I haven't been able to find them yet. I bet they're in the Chamber of Secrets. It was charmed so we couldn't go near it. That's how the others couldn't tell the headmaster where it was." she explained.
"Why don't you show me to Godric's office first. Maybe the map he has in there will be able to help us find them." he said, hoping to appease her.
"Ok. Follow me." she said before drifting down the hall towards Gryffindor Tower.
He followed her down the main corridor to Gryffindor tower, but instead of going up the stairs that led to the entranceway, she turned right down a side passage that Harry had personally never been down, despite it's proximity to his house.
Turning another corner, Harry noticed a magnificently carved Lion, easily twice as large as a normal one. Lifting its head as Harry approached, the Lion looked directly at him, and then let out a silent roar, which Harry felt, even though he wasn't able to hear it. It was like someone had turned the bass up really loud on a stereo, he could feel it rumbling in his stomach, but there was no actual sound accompanying it.
The lion then stepped aside to reveal a staircase that began to rise, much like the one leading up to the headmaster's office, which he climbed onto.
Once he reached the top, he stood facing a large willow wood door. He was about to push it open when Luna spoke.
"I can't follow you in Harry, just to let you know. Just like the other founder's private quarters, none of the ghosts can enter it. The headmaster has altered the ones in Miss Ravenclaw's so that we can enter when he invites us, but I don't know how he did it." she told him.
"That's alright Luna, I should probably go in alone at first anyways. I'll try to find a way to let you into it once I've checked it all out." he said to her. She smiled and said goodbye before drifting through the wall behind him.
Slowly, Harry pushed the door open.
Taking quick stock of the room he noticed that either the elves have been cleaning in here, or it has self-dusting charms on everything. The large desk was solid Oak, and finely polished. The chair appeared to be quite comfortable. Looking around the room, he saw 2 doors, but what really caught his attention, was the wall that faced the desk.
It was approximately ten feet high, and twice as wide, and on it was what appeared to be a three dimensional magical map of all of Hogwarts (minus the chamber of secrets), and many different little flags moving about on it, much like the Marauders map only much, much larger and detailed.
He saw that Albus was currently in his office with Snape, and professor Flitwick was in his private quarters, which had a secret passage leading from it to another staff room that wasn't in use, and according to this map, it hadn't been opened for over 500 years. All passwords were located on it, along with many pass-worded rooms that Harry didn't even realize existed.
After searching for a bit, he found Helga Hufflepuff's private quarters, though out of respect for her he wouldn't go to it. Though what he found amusing was her middle name. "Susan" he said with a smile.
Upon uttering the name, a door appeared on the wall to his left with a badger on it. Wondering if it was what he thought it was, he looked for the headmaster's office, it read 'Rowena Sarah Ravenclaw'. To test his theory, he said, "Sarah". Suddenly, next to the door with the badger, appeared one with a raven.
'I wonder if the opposite holds true.' he thought. He'd have to test it the next time he was in the headmaster's office, but first he needed to find Godric's middle name. Searching the map, he finally found it and started to laugh. "Eugene? Oh that's precious! I can't wait to tease him about that." he mused to himself.
He walked over to the bookshelves on the wall where the doors had appeared and began to peruse the titles. There were quite a few on wards for large areas, magical buildings, books on enchanting items and also many magic theory books that Harry had never heard of. But the one that truly caught his attention was titled 'Hogwarts: A Mystery'. Instead of taking it out, he decided to save it for later, and moved on with his inspection. Coming up to the desk, he saw many scrolls strewn about it. Some were student essays by the looks of it, one appeared to be an official invitation of sorts and there where many others.
Leaning up against the bookcase was something that caused Harry's heart to skip a beat. In front of him was a staff covered in runes with a large, round sapphire on the top, about the size of his fist. It appeared to be made out of holly, with gold fused into it, like veins of ore in a rock face. Harry even recognized some of the runes: honour, courage, strength, power, and others.
He reached out to touch it slowly when a feminine voice from behind him spoke, "I wouldn't touch that if I were you."
He whipped around with his wand drawn and a powerful curse on his lips to see a portrait of a woman on the wall with the entrance door, which he hadn't looked at yet.
"It reacts very badly to anyone but Godric." she said matter-of-factly, with a sad smile.
Lowering his wand, but silently berating himself for letting another portrait surprise him, he asked, "Who are you?"
She smiled at him, "My name is Sylvania, Sylvania Gryffindor."
AN: I REALLY wanted to end the chap here...it's such a nice break. But alas, it would have been too short. So think of this as a commercial break. Run and get some popcorn, or maybe something that wont get your fingers too greasy to use your keyboard (personally, I could really use a Pepsi), and sit back an continue reading.
"Who?" asked a bewildered Harry.
"Sylvania Gryffindor." she said again with a larger smile.
"As in Godric's wife?" he asked with a smile and a little excitement.
"That would be the one." she admitted. "But please, don't judge me too harshly, I was young and foolish when I married him." she added with a wink, trying to hide the grief she felt at not having seen him for a long, long while. Though she was only a portrait, she could still feel the loss.
Harry just smirked, "Now I see why he likes you so much. You have the same sense of humour he does." he said with a grin.
It took a couple of seconds before she realized what he meant by that, "You mean...you know him? But how's that possible! I was there when he...when he died." she said confused, and sad.
Harry waved his hand, casting a quick spell, and received the desired results. Smiling to himself, he took out his cube.
"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."
"Where would I go? This room is isolated form the rest of the castle. I've been here for almost 1000 years. I can't even go to other paintings. I don't think you'll have to worry about that." she said sadly and with a tinge of sarcasm.
Harry's heart went out to her. Even though she was just a portrait, a thousand years is a long time to be alone. I guess she did a lot of sleeping.
"I have a feeling that's all about to change." he told her with a smile before solving the cube and putting it up against the wall behind the desk. "I'll be right back."
With that, he entered the door, and the portrait sighed, "Alone again."
"GODRIC!" Harry yelled as he entered the house and ran to his study.
"What is it Harry? What's wrong?" asked the concerned founder.
Harry grinned and grabbed the portrait before he could leave it. "What's going on? Where are we going this time?"
"No time to explain. You'll see for yourself when we get there." said the teen as he dashed back out of the room.
The new door in Godric's office bust open again, and Sylvania saw the young man come back in the room with a large portrait.
"Where did you go? And what's that?" she asked, before hearing a quiet voice come from the other side of the painting.
"Sylvania?" it asked. She recognized the voice immediately and her eyes started to water. "Godric?"
The smiling teen turned the portrait around to reveal an equally overwhelmed Godric Gryffindor.
Harry hung Godric's portrait next to Sylvania's and smiled as he watched Godric leap over his chair and dash into the painting next to him. The two portrait people embraced long and hard, both of them with tears of joy in their eyes.
Slowly Godric looked up at Harry.
"Harry, I don't know how to thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me." said the founder's echo, quietly.
"It's the least I could do, besides, it was you who told me to come here. I never would have found her otherwise. You should be thanking yourself." he said, his eyes all a twinkle. "I'm just gonna be over here looking at the map, then eventually I'm gonna leave to find my friends. I'll leave you two there for a while. Next time I'm here, just let me know when you want to go back to the mansion, and I'll take you. I just figured you'd want some time to yourselves first."
"Harry is it?" she asked, getting a nod from her husband before looking over at the young man, "thank you." she said in all honesty, happy again for the first time in a thousand years.
He left the two to talk, and headed to the map. He found exactly what he had been looking for after about 15 minutes of searching.
With a smile he turned to leave, but was interrupted by Godric.
"You should take that with you." he said, motioning to the staff. His wife looked confused, but he told her he'd explain later.
"It's too big, I'll be back for it later." Harry explained.
"Just pick it up and say 'diminuer'" said Godric.
Not understanding, Harry did what he was asked anyway. Upon touching it, he felt the connection, a stronger one then he had felt with his own wand.
"diminuer" he said, and watched as the staff shrunk to the size of a wand. He looked up in surprise at Godric, who was just smiling.
"From what I remember, it's not as powerful in that form, but it makes it much easier to carry, and less conspicuous...well...except for the fact that the wood is still inlayed with gold, that it has a small Red Sapphire embedded in the handle." he added with a smirk. "If I remember correctly, there's also an extra wand holster in the dresser in my room which is behind that door." He said motioning to one of the doors on the wall behind his desk.
Harry went in and found the holster, strapped it to his other forearm and placed Godric's wand in it. He folded up the door to the mansion, and said his goodbyes before leaving the two portraits to their own devices.
Exiting Godric's office, he sent a quick mental message to Ginny, asking her if she could get the mansion group to meet him outside the Gryffindor common room in 15 minutes. She agreed and told him she'd see him there.
Fifteen minutes later, the triplets, the Weasleys and Neville were waiting for Harry outside the portrait.
"Did he tell you what it was about?" asked Hermione.
"Nope, but he was really...happy." she said. She had lied a little and told them that she had ran into him in the hall, obviously not wanting to tell them that she was a telepath. Luckily, Harry's emotions had been so intense, that they had come across the link rather strongly.
"I wonder why he just wanted the seven of us. It must have something to do with the lair." reasoned Ron. They had taken to calling Potter Mansion, 'the lair' in order to throw off anyone who might be listening, that way they could speak relatively openly about the mansion, and not worry about who might have been able to eavesdrop. Even though they took this precaution, they were still really careful about who was around when they did speak of it.
Harry rounded the corner soon after with a very large smile on his face.
"I found it." he said.
"The staff?" asked Neville.
"The ring?" asked Athena.
"The sneakle borbot's lair?" asked Luna, who had just appeared behind them.
This caused Harry to laugh, and the others to look at Luna with a confused expression. They had all seen her once or twice since school had started, and so her sudden appearance wasn't that shocking to them.
"No, well...yes to the staff, but that's not what I was looking for."
"You found the staff?" asked Hermione rather excitedly.
"Yes, but we'll talk about that later. What I wanted to tell you is that I found a place for the DA meetings and much, much more." he said with a smile. "Come on." he said before turning on his heels and heading down the hall.
They soon reached a corridor that they didn't go down to often, despite its proximity to the common room. It was known as the long way to the Great Hall, since it eventually led there, but took twice as long. The corridor was filled with portraits, who smiled broadly at them as they passed, making it obvious that they didn't get many visitors.
They stopped in front of a rather large one of a Wizard sitting at a desk with a large Gryffindor emblem carved into the front if it. He looked up when he saw the students in front if him.
Harry said, "Open says-a-me" with a grin.
The man in the bowed his head slightly before the portrait swung out and the entrance became visible. Harry ushered them all in quickly and closed the portrait behind him.
"Welcome to the DA common room." Harry said, in much the same fashion as he had welcomed each of them to Potter Mansion.
They were standing in a room that was about the size as the Gryffindor common room, it had a fireplace, a wall of bookshelves and several doors.
Hermione went over quickly to check the books. There weren't many, but the ones that were there were mostly just multiple copies of the prefects' handbooks, a few copies of Hogwarts a history, some journals of previous prefects and head boys and girls, and some class texts, all of which dated back to at least 400 years ago.
The others were just looking around in shock, but after seeing the dates in the books, Hermione asked, "Harry...What is this place?"
He smiled and started his explanation, "This is the old Prefect common room. From what I could find out from the portraits, it hasn't been used in over 400 years. Apparently, some of the prefects back then had been abusing the privacy it gave. Let me give you a quick tour, and tell you what I'm thinking of doing to the place."
He proceeded to tell them that there was a passage into this room close to all four of the houses' entrances. They seemed to be magical portals of some sort, since the other common rooms aren't that close together, but he was at a loss to explain how it all worked. All of entrances into this room were semi hidden, and guarded by a password. He showed them which of the doors led to which common room, and pointed out that each had the animal of its house on it, representing the different destinations. He also showed them a fifth door that led to the staff room, and none of the current staff knew about it.
There were also two rather large bedrooms off of the main room, intended for the head boy and girl. Harry told them how he planed to turn one room into a council office and the other into a library/study room.
There were also two bathrooms, though they weren't as ornate as the current prefects' bathroom.
The common room itself was big enough to hold the meetings, but Harry told them that he had decided to just open up Potter Mansion directly into his Room of Requirement. He wouldn't tell the DA members about Potter Mansion, instead, he would just say that it was a portable Room of Requirement that had come into his possession. He had already tested the room, and besides the doors leading out, there was no links to the magical realm, and so it was safe to open.
He also told them how this could be a place for members of the DA to just hang out, therefore breaking down house rivalries.
They now had their very own common room.
Moments later, Fred reached into his pocket after feeling a slight warming sensation. He looked at the coin he withdrew, and addressed George.
"Well brother mine, it would appear that our most esteemed partner and financier has re-called the DA."
"Is that so? Well then, who are we to deny them the pleasure of our company." George added with a grin.
"Indubitably! The coin says it shall be held this evening at 9:30, a half an hour before curfew." informed Fred
With a nod, they went about their work, silently making plans to head out to Honeydukes later that evening.
Similar events were happening elsewhere, as the members of last year's DA made plans to make their way to the Room of Requirement that night to find out why Harry had called them.
Looking out over the crowd that night, Harry was surprised to see so many familiar faces. Practically everyone had made it to the meeting, even those who had graduated (the twins, Lee, and even Alicia and Angelina) had managed to slip into the school, presumably undetected. He wasn't surprised, however, at the identities of the two had had not made it that night.
Smiling to the group, Harry started, "First off, I'd like to say that I'm pleased to see so many of you here tonight. As you know, I was asked this past summer by the Headmaster to discontinue the DA." This was met by quite a bit of grumbling, and even some voiced boos. Raising his hand to silence them, Harry continued, "However, I was recently informed by a certain number of you that you really want me to continue the DA and help you train to defend the school as a team, should the need arise." This latter bit was welcomed with many nods and some voiced yas. "So, we" motioning to his seven friends, "have decided to re-initiate the DA." he finished, which was met with full out cheering and joy.
Waiting for the group to settle down, he continued, "We need to cover several things tonight, and we don't have too much time to do it. Before curfew, I have to show you all where our new meeting room will be, since the secret location of this one has been...compromised." again, this was met with grumbles.
"Now hold on." Harry said, "We're not here to point fingers. A mistake was made, and we suffered for it, true. But if the party responsible comes to me and apologizes in earnest, I will probably forgive them, and welcome them back and I expect you to do the same if this happens. We are too few in number to let mistakes divide us. And if we aren't forgiving to those who are honestly looking for pardon, then we're no better then Voldemort." several among them cringed, and Harry even heard a gasp.
"Oh honestly! People! It's just a name! Anyways, first off, we go to the new room. As there are quite a few of us, and a group like this will attract attention if we were all out walking together at this hour, I am going to cast a spell on you all that I have been working on learning this summer." For this, he took out Gryffindor's wand, and cast a spell wordlessly causing everyone, except Harry, to vanish. A few gasped, others yelled in surprise.
"Enough! Ok. I have made you all invisible for a time. For this spell to continue to work, however, you have to keep me in your line of sight. Once you lose me, you'll become visible again, so I would suggest you keep up."
Harry left the room, and headed towards the Hufflepuff common room, as that was the closest entrance. Much as with the Gryffindor entrance, this one was located just off to the side of their common room down an unused corridor. The entrance this time, however, was at a suit of Armor with the Hufflepuff Crest on its shield.
"Open says-a-me" Harry said. A few of the muggle-borns laughed, but other then that nothing was said. The suit of armour stepped aside, to reveal stairs heading down. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a door. Once everyone was inside, the suit of armour soundlessly returned to its original location.
Harry dropped the spell to see the shocked expressions of the people assemble and laughed. "You should see your faces, it's priceless!" a few giggled, others just scowled playfully.
"Welcome to the new DA common room."
Harry proceeded to fill them in on the same things he told his friends. The seven Gryffindors had spent the rest of that day decorating and furnishing the place with the help of Dobby and Stewy. Hermione was hesitant to let them help at first, but after Dobby's crying fit at not being good enough to help his friend the great Harry Potter, she caved, and let him. After which Dobby winked at Harry, to Harry's supreme shock. He'd have to ask Dobby about that later on, though he did find it kind of funny that Dobby had tricked the smartest girl in the school, he wasn't aware that House elves could be deceitful.
They had turned the one bedroom into a library already, though there weren't many books in there yet since that was something they couldn't conjure or have Dobby bring up. Harry was planning a Diagon Alley shopping trip in the near future at which point he'd go pick some up and donate them to the cause.
The tactical room was coming along nicely too, but it was missing the most important feature, the map. Currently they were using the marauder's map, but it was hard to use since it was so small. Harry was going to talk to Godric about making one like the one he had in his office.
The most impressive room, however, was the common room. The room had been decorated in the neutral colours of Dark purple and black with a metallic accent of silver. The Hogwarts Emblem was everywhere, and not one single house crest was visible. Everything that had belonged distinctly to one house had been removed. In the corner was a magical icebox with drinks in it for whenever anyone wanted any. Dobby had volunteered it since the kitchen was getting rid of it having got a newer, bigger one just this year. This one was just the size of a regular fridge, but perfect for their needs. It had a steady supply of cold water, Butter beer, pumpkin juice and Pepsi as Harry had recently developed a liking for the amazingly fabulous muggle cola (in this author's bias opinion), provided by Harry and regularly replenished by Stewy, much to Hermione's dislike. It also had other things like some cold cuts, bread and other snack foods in case anyone wanted something to eat while studying.
"If there is anything else you guys want... within reason," he emphasized looking over at Seamus, remembering his Rum craze from previous years, "then tell me and I'll see what I can do about it. This goes for books, items, food, drinks etc."
Harry motioned towards the couches. Everyone sat and he began the meeting.
"Since we've learned tons of new spells, both offensive and defensive, from Professor Reinblut, I wont spend much time on new spells. This year, we will, instead, focus on team fighting and defense, specifically the defense of Hogwarts. We will go over tactical diagrams and run through many different possible scenarios. We'll learn a few new spells specific to our goals, but not too many. Sorry if that disappoints anyone." No one seemed disappointed at the news, so instead of explaining further, he went on. "There will be a few major changes though, that I do need to tell you about.
"First off, I need to tell you all what I have in mind for the DA as a group this year. I guarantee you now, that you're not all gonna like it, but please bear with me and let me finish before you start shouting your objections. For the last couple for years, the sorting hat has been talking about uniting the houses, and this year took another step in that direction. I have a feeling, though, that if we don't start doing something about it soon, he might take more drastic measures." They all held their tongues, having some idea where Harry was going, but hoping they were wrong. "We need to invite more members into the DA, and we need to start inviting...Slytherins." at this, the whole crowd erupted in a cacophony of yelling and arguing. However, within seconds the room was silent again, but not by choice. Still trying to yell, but finding no sound escaping their lips, they all looked up to see a rather unimpressed and frustrated Harry who was in the process of putting away his wand.
"Well, now that I have your attention again, I'll continue." he said, leveling his glare at the worst of the offenders.
"We NEED to unite the houses. Divided we fall. You heard it as well as I did. And I know for a FACT that not all Slytherins are evil. And if you don't agree with me, then I guess you might as well leave now, because that would mean you think I'm evil since the Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin at my first sorting, and you heard from it yourselves this last welcome feast that it's still a close second for me."
No one was glaring anymore, everyone just sat slack jawed and stared at him in shock, even his closest friends.
I thought I was the only one...
'No Gin. I've been as much Slytherin as Gryffindor since the day I got here.'
Then voicing the next part, "The only reason I was put into Gryffindor is because I argued with the hat, and he felt sorry for me. I chose Gryffindor because I had a bad run in with Malfoy and a good one with Ron. Had I met no one on the train ride here, I would have been Slytherin. So think long and hard before you insult one again based only on the fact of their house, cause I wont take it. In this room we are NOT from different houses, or maybe none of you have looked down at your robes since you came in."
Simultaneously, the entire room looked down, and noticed, for the first time, that their house crests had changed to that of Hogwarts'.
"The best part about that charm is that I wasn't even the one to put it on. I noticed it the first time I came in here. This was the prefects' common room when it was created, and it housed the Head Boy and Girl. They were heads of all the students of the school and not just those of their house, so the founders themselves charmed these rooms to remind every single prefect, or person who entered, that they were working for the school as a whole and not feeding their own childish prejudices. This plan is as much their will as mine, so before you go all gun-ho against it, I suggest you think about that."
Lifting the silencing charm, he was pleased to see that no one exploded, and all seemed to be rather pensive at the moment, especially his friends, who had also reacted poorly to the news. Harry had a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips as he looked over and saw Ron deep in thought. Harry didn't know where this new Ron had come from, but he was really glad he'd come. Moving on, he spoke again.
"Secondly, since we will become all encompassing, we need a new name. Dumbledore's Army is great and all, but if this is to be a unified group, we have to take into consideration that some of the Slytherins aren't big fans of the headmaster, not because they're dark, but because their house has been discriminated against for such a long time, and they've never seen him doing anything about it. Not to mention that we are no longer Dumbledore's Army, but Hogwarts' army. And I, for one, don't want to be called HA, as I don't see this as a laughing matter." He added with a smirk. "So does anyone have any suggestions?"
People thought for a second. Lavender was the first to voice her opinion. "Harry's army"
"Harry's friends" another girl suggested.
"Harry's class." suggested another of the fairer sex.
"Why not just call it 'Harry's Harem' and be done with it!" snorted Zacharias Smith, much to the amusement of all the guys, and embarrassment of most of the girls.
"I don't think you're getting the point," started Harry, "We want something neutral, but something that describes what we want this group to be."
"Why not the Hogwarts Cannons!" suggest Ron enthusiastically, causing all the 6th year Gryffindor boys to groan, knowing full well a bout their dorm-mate's obsession with that particular quidditch team.
"United Front?" suggested Dean, with some murmurs of agreement.
"What about 'The popular people's front'" offered Lee Jordan with a smirk.
"We could be 'The Judean people's front!' " offered Fred in mock seriousness, setting the scene for his brother.
"Fawk off! 'The Judean people's front'... we're 'The Peoples Front of Judea!" responded George in his best John Cleese, much to the amusement of all the muggle-borns, and even some of the pure bloods who had no idea why it was funny, but figured they should be laughing since George and Fred had been the ones saying it.
"Whatever happened to 'the popular people's front' anyways?" asked Harry playing along.
George pointed at Ernie McMillan, who just happened to be standing off to the side thinking to himself, "He's over there."
This time it really was everyone who laughed, much to Ernie's embarrassment and frustration. If anyone had been watching Harry at this point, they would have seen a malicious grin slowly spread across his face, and would have seen the wheels turning in his head. This Monty Python tangent had given him a rather fun idea. 'Oh yes' he thought to himself, 'that will be priceless.' He made a quick note to write down his thoughts for one of his future DADA classes later, before focusing his attention back on the task at hand.
Clapping his hands together, Harry continued, "And now for something...completely different. Any other suggestions?"
"Hogwarts United?" offered Susan, back on a serious note, a suggestion which even more people agreed with.
"Hogwarts Extracurricular Assembly of Volunteer Elites?" asked Hermione innocently, which was met by silence.
"HEAVE?" asked an incredulous Ron.
"NO Ronald, not heave, H.E.A.V.E" she corrected him.
Athena placed her arm over her sister's shoulder, and in mock concern said, "Hermione dear? We're gonna have to have a serious talk about your inadvertent use of inappropriate acronyms for your organizations. But I don't think now is the best time." tongue in cheek, much to the amusement of all. Hermione just pushed the arm off her shoulders and sulked.
"You might want to go so far as a support group for her, Athena." offered Neville, "You could call it the Grangers' Anonymous Gathering." he said with a smirk. "Or GAG."
Fred and George caught on instantly and let out a howl of laughter, as did Lee, Harry and Ron. The triplets, of course were shocked, but the best reactions of all, were the faces of everyone else there who still hadn't gotten to know this more confident Neville.
Hermione just starred in disbelief... "Was I just burnt...by NEVILLE?" she asked in astonishment.
"Neville old boy..." said Fred as he draped his arm over Neville's shoulder.
"...Good show!" finished his twin before doing the same on the other side.
"We didn't think..."
"...you had it in you." They finished, still wiping the tears from their eyes.
After things got settled again, and Neville apologized to Hermione, who only smiled and told him not to worry about it as she had gotten much worse in the past from 'those two' she said in mock anger while pointing at her two best friends.
"Ok...this doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere tonight. Why don't we leave it for now, and talk about it next time. Maybe the other members should be here when we decide on it anyways. Just write your ideas down for next meeting, and we'll pick a name then." offered Harry. Everyone agreed, and they got back down to business.
"Thirdly, we need to decide when we are going to meet. Since we wont have to sneak around as much this year, I was thinking we could set up a permanent meeting time." After some discussion, they agreed to meet again next week, at this time, to figure out regular meeting times. Harry hoped to have talked to at least four of his prospective Slytherins by then. He also asked that every one present to bring a list of three people from their own house, whom they trusted, and felt should be included in the group. He explained that this group, and a few of the new Slytherins, would be the core group, and then there would be a larger one too. This way the core group could help the less experienced new comers, and they could train twice as many students as last year, in a fraction of the time.
"And now for our last order business tonight. Well, it's not really an order of business, it's more like I'm telling you it's happening, and you don't really get a say." said Harry with a bit of a smirk. "Since we are, in essence, a new House in Hogwarts, a house of houses, I decided that we will have our own ghost. And who better then one of the original members of this group, and someone who risked her life for me, and others among us tonight, last year in the department of mysteries, only to lose her life this past summer after being hit from behind by a cowardly, stinkin, low life, son-of-a...Deatheater. I asked Luna Lovegood, and she has accepted." He knew he worded his speech in such a way that if anyone objected, they would feel guilty since she did so much for them, and all they did was ridicule her. "now, being the ghost for this house, she gains some privileges that we can use. Even though the Headmaster doesn't recognize this as a house, Hogwarts does, don't ask me how I know, I just do. As a result, Luna will be allow to listen in on staff meetings, have practically unlimited access throughout the Castle, and so, will become one of our most valuable assets in finding out what is going on with the staff."
Most seemed to nod at this, and no one complained, luckily for them. Harry was a little disappointed though, he had prepared a really long and particularly humiliating speech for anyone who made a crack about Luna. Ah well, maybe another time then.
After this, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone talked for a bit, had a drink and enjoyed the common room for a little while.
"Harry? It's pretty late, and well past curfew, shouldn't we all be getting back to our common rooms?" asked a concerned bushy haired prefect. "Besides, didn't you tell us that Dumbledore had a map like the Marauder's map? Even if he didn't know this room existed, wouldn't he be a little suspicious when everyone in last year's DA wasn't on it?" she asked, now visibly worried.
Harry smiled, "Funny thing about that map of his, Hermione, is that for some...unexplained reason, he's been having problems with it lately. Different sections of the map just keep cutting in and out on him. He's really at a loss, but I head from some reliable sources that he just figures that the map is getting old, and the magic within it is fading. So until he can find the book that teaches how to create one, which hasn't been in the library since the time of the marauders, he'll just have to keep using the faulty one. For example; tonight, he can't see a single student in any of the dorms or in any area within 50 yards or so of each entry point of said dorms. Ironically enough, every entrance to this room is within 50 yards or the common room entrances. Funny how that works."
Hermione just sat there, slack jawed staring at her friend, as did Ron and the twins who happened to be eavesdropping.
"He has..." started Fred
"...a map?" continued George.
Fred and George looked at each other before cracking identical grins,
"Great Man Dumbledore!" said Fred, doing his best Hagrid impression.
"All this time I thought we were just too good to get caught..." said George.
"...but it would appear that we just had a headmaster with a sense of humour." finished Fred.
"Hold on a sec, Harry. Are you saying that you are fudging up Dumbledore's map?" asked a shocked, yet extremely impressed Ron.
"Harry Potter! WHAT were you thinking? What if he finds out? We could get in serious trouble. I could loose my badge..."
"Mione! Breathe!" interrupted Ron as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She stopped suddenly, and turned to look at Ron in anger for being cut off, but meeting his eyes, for some reason she just melted and blushed.
"It's ok Hermione. I'll take the rap. Besides, he won't find out. I'm not doing anything, it's all Hogwarts. She wants this to work as much as I do, and she's helping." Harry explained.
Others had joined the conversation by now. "Do you mean the school is alive?" asked an extremely confused Anthony Goldstein.
"Not so much alive, but yes, sentient to a point. The Founders created her to be like a mother to the students. She has magic that protects us. She can raise and lower shields when she feels it's necessary, and I'm sure a bunch of other things I don't know about. The ghosts and portraits have a much stronger connection to her then we do and that's about the best I can do to explain it, so either you believe me or you don't." said Harry shrugging, not really caring if they thought him a couple cards short of a deck.
No one else questioned it, and the party went well into the night. Harry noticed a couple of Ravenclaws playing games with some Hufflepuffs and a Gryffindor and thought it will be great if he could get a Slytherin or two into the mix.
Later in the evening, Harry set the Map up by the exit doors so that people could leave when they wanted to, and see if Filch was stalking around. Since the next day was Sunday, however, most people didn't leave the common room till about 4am the next morning.
Harry, himself, didn't get back to his room in Potter Mansion till about 6 am. After everyone had left, he set it up in what used to be the old Head boy's room, entered, and promptly fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Phase one of his plan for uniting the school was complete.
AN: Thanks again and keep the reviews coming,
Farfusmane