Chapter 79
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The stairs down to the Chamber echoed with a single set of loud footsteps, heels echoing as Rebekah ran down them at a quick pace.
"Sorry!" She scampered into the Chamber as the door closed behind her, her eyes wide with happiness at seeing them all there. "How did you get in here?"
Logan and Draco were at a small square table, a chessboard sitting between them as they played on. Daphne sat on one of the couches that were facing the statue of Salazar Slytherin and the fireplace between his feet. Astoria sat on the ground, between her sister's knees as she got her long brown hair braided. Tracey and Pansy laid on the cushioned futon area, Theo close to napping next to them.
"Stop your snoring, dude," Tracey said, nudging Theo in the shoulder with her foot. "Bek's back."
He yawned and grumbled as he got up and onto his elbows before sitting back so he sat cross legged. "Took her long enough." He yawned again, making the other members yawn as well.
"So-rry," Rebekah rolled her eyes, stopping at the futon before kicking her heels off and leaving them there. "Again, how did you get in here?"
"Bonds," Draco said, waving a hand but not looking up from the chest board. "I guess they keyed us into the Chamber too, it knew you wanted us in here."
"Playing chess against Logan?" She asked, watching him nod and never looking up. "Any good?"
"Really good," Draco muttered.
"My mother taught me," Logan said. "She made sure that I and Nona knew how to play. It kept us quiet for hours because we are both very competitive."
"Wish you were quiet now," Theo grunted into the crook of his arm as he fell onto his back on the futon.
"You didn't say that last night," Logan smirked, moving a bishop to take a white pawn.
Most of the group gasped while Draco and Rebekah smiled.
"How did you figure it out?" He asked Draco.
Draco gave him a scathing look. "You soundproofed three sides of the bed. You forgot to soundproof the wall."
"Oh shit,"
"Please, for the love of Merlin and the wrath of Morgana," Draco shook his head. "Remember next time! It's ingrained into my head."
"And lock your fucking door," Rebekah snapped, laying on the futon with an arm over her eyes. "I've seen too much of this group."
"We've all walked in on each of us changing," Daphne said. "We've been swimming, the only difference between that and naked is a tiny piece of fabric."
"Wizarding modesty," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "I had to wear this extra fabric on my swimsuit and a shawl around my hips."
"It's because most people are really old. After all, we all live to like a hundred easy, maybe past that if we're really lucky." Blaise said. "A hundred years ago was the victorian era and women couldn't show their ankles, and here's Rebekah and Pansy flaunting their assets."
"Flaunt it while you got it," Pansy stuck her tongue out at him before recoiling her tongue. "When's the full moon? I'm tired of this disgusting piece of leaf in my mouth!"
"Well, if you didn't mess with it last month," Rebekah gave her a pointed look to which Pansy pouted. "You wouldn't have had to do it twice."
"This friday is the full moon," Daphne muttered, her eyes on Astoria's hair as she continued to tightly braid it. "And then we only need to wait for a storm, right?"
"Right," Rebekah sighed, rubbing a hand down her face before resting it on her stomach as she gazed into the glass ceiling above them. "I've been thinking…"
"Don't kill anyone,"
"Or maim,"
"Or injure,"
"Or otherwise hurt them,"
"Funny, really," Rebekha rolled her eyes but allowed the small smile to appear. "If we're going to do this defense class, we need a name so we can talk about it without people knowing what we are doing."
"What were you thinking of?"
"Since Umbridge said that any Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is a regular meeting of three or more students," Rebekah smiled, tucking her arm behind her head. "We would be a Court, meeting whenever we are all free so the meetings aren't regular. If we're all in the same room at the same time, it doesn't mean we are together."
"You sly bitch," Pansy grinned. "Court? Very PureBlood of you…"
"The Court would be all of us, those who are willing to join us. Instead of ruling like Voldemort does, we would let everyone have their input but we would have the final say,"
"So like a different version of the modern Monarchy," Blaise said. "The royal family isn't supposed to have any kind of opinion on political matters and are supposed to be neutral. They just sign whatever is asked of them. But we would have the final say."
"So we would be a Court and Crown?" Tracey asked.
"Court and Crown…" Rebekah clicked her tongue. "I like the sound of that. CC for short."
They were starting a new dynasty at Hogwarts, one that didn't discriminate against blood, one that protected everyone. They would invest in those who would be of use, named people of lineage, those of powerful families, and those of unknown potential.
The Crown was what the group was going to be dubbed, and the Court would be the whole group of people the Crown chose.
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It was dark in the Room of Requirement, the fireplace being the only lightsource as Rebekah stood in front of it. Her arms were crossed with her wand in her right hand and a single nail tapping against the wood.
The dozen silk cushions were occupied by eight o'clock Wednesday evening, early enough that they wouldn't get in trouble for being in the halls, and late enough that they all had dinner.
"Within the coming days," She started as they all stared at her, "Others will be joining us. We've already taken the list of people you've provided and checked almost all of them. My group and I thought of a name for this little gathering of ours. Court."
"Like court is in session?" Ginny asked. "Like royalty?"
"Like the Court Merlin was in," Blaise nodded. "He was an advisor to the king but instead of a king, you'd be advising everyone in this group, especially Rebekah. Even if she doesn't want the advice."
"Har, har." She rolled her eyes before someone knocked at the door. "That'll be the rest, I rather not have to explain this twice."
It wasn't just a couple of people coming in, it was a lot.
First were the Weasley twins, fist bumping Rebekah before ruffling Draco's pristine hair to annoy him. They snickered as Lee Jordan almost tripped over his feet in the hurry to get in. Lavender smiled as Rebekah greeted her along with Parvati and Padma Patil, all three getting a hug from Pansy as the girl dragged them to the side.
Seamus and Dean came in warily, getting a solid nod from Rebekah and glares from the rest of the group before walking to stand behind Ron. Rebekah couldn't hold grudges against them when she didn't hold them against Ron, they were children back then, still are but they all have grown since then.
Rebekah recognised the three Gryffindor Quidditch players as they walked in, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson.
Colin Creevey came in with his brother, Dennis. Behind them was Ernie Macmillian and a girl who Rebekeah remembered as Susan Bones. Three Ravenclaws boys were next, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot.
Not including the nine members of the Crown, there were twenty seven people in the Court and each of them were vouched for by someone within the original eighteen members.
Rebekah didn't do well with backstabbers.
"Right, that's everyone for now,"
"For now?"
"There are thirty six of us, twenty seven if you don't count my group," Rebekah said as if it was obvious. "Most of you are my year, and that means OWLs, others are older and some are younger. Umbridge isn't willing to teach us so someone else has to. Any questions?"
"What are we learning first?"
"Expelliarmus."
Some of them looked warily at her, almost disappointed with where this was going.
"Want me to show you why it is important? Draco," She nodded for her to stand across from her with a few metres between them. "Try and hit me with something."
Draco thought before nodding, raising his wand. He got barely a sound out before Rebekah had flicked hers and made his wand jump towards her. She chucked it back easily, letting him catch it.
"Wandless Magic is virtually non-existent now, doing powerful spells without a hand is difficult for even the most powerful. As Wixen, we rely on our wands too much. We all rely on them so by getting the wand out of your opponent's hands, unless they can do wandless Magic, incapitates them. Understand?" When they all nodded, the displeasure dropped. "Pair up and distance yourselves. One then the other."
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She was in Snape's private labs again, sitting on a conjured stool at the large table. She laid her head on her arm, curling around her journal as the small caldron to the side simmered away as she was writing away in her journal. Hair pulled half up into a tiny bun, her right knee bounced, needing to stay away and alert.
A cup of freshly brewed coffee was placed next to her.
"Drink," Snape frowned. "You're jittery and exhausted. This and then a Pepperup Potion, please. You'll make the dead with all the knee jerking."
"How'd you guess?" Rebekah smiled in thanks, sitting up and sipping at the coffee. She smiled at that too before moving her journal until it was close to him. "Is this right? I'm doing an alteration in the Hiccuping Potion, the one I'd have learnt next year. I changed the order of the honeycomb and frozen honey, finding that if the frozen honey is cubed so they weigh about fifty grams and put in after the honeycomb, there isn't a need for a hundred grams of it."
Snape didn't acknowledge it, looking down at her neat writing and comparing it to his old potion book he had given her years ago. Originally it didn't have honeycomb in it, only two hundred grams of honey. He was able to alter it so it only needed a hundred and now Rebekah had found a way to half it again.
"And to counteract the glucose?"
"Lemon shavings," Rebekah nodded to the half shaved lemon to the side. "Acidity would bring down the levels but aggravate the throat, so making the potion more effective in causing hiccups."
"Good." He nodded only once. "Have you made any plans for the Animagus potion yet?"
"They've been made. Pansy had to do hers twice because she dislodged the leaf," Rebekah rolled her eyes at the memory of Pansy screaming when she realised she had another month. "There isn't supposed to be a storm for a while, and a Magically induced one doesn't count or I would have done that."
"If one happens during the holidays, make them take the potions one by one," Snape advised. "Allow one to drink and turn back to human before the next tries it. You do not want to have them stuck in their forms until school starts."
"Especially since we're spending it at mine,"
"I doubt Petunia Dursley would be happy to have so many animals under her roof,"
"She hated Fidele, now she adores him,"
"Surprising."
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