A/N: Here is the next chapter. Wishing everyone one a happy holiday season and a very happy New Year!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the magical world of Harry Potter.
Chapter Three – All Fired Up
Hermione's first week back was as difficult as she expected it to be, so she was somewhat relieved when the weekend came. It was just the escape she needed from classes and classmates and the absence of Harry and Ron. She headed down to breakfast late, hoping to avoid the rush, and arrived at the same time as the mail. She poured herself some tea and spread orange marmalade on a piece of toast. She watched people around her opening their mail, and felt a pang, she would get no letters. It was too dangerous for Harry and Ron to write, and she warned her parents not to as well because she did not want them in danger. She had even cancelled her Daily Prophet because she did not want to support the Ministry's propaganda.
"Is there anything interesting in the Prophet this morning?" She asked Neville who had discarded his paper and was focusing instead on an official looking letter. He shook his head but did not speak.
"Is everything alright Neville?" Hermione asked, "Is it about your parents? Is your grandmother okay?"
"I got my candidates from the Ministry," Neville said, "I got Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Hannah Abott, and some older woman who works at the Ministry. I have to be married by December 31."
"Well, Hannah is nice," Hermione said, in an attempt to be reassuring.
"McGonagall suggested I appeal for someone younger so that I can postpone the date. I'm hoping they will accept my suggestion, they seem to be more willing to compromise with…well with purebloods," he replied apologetically.
"That's a good idea, do you know who you want to suggest?" Hermione asked, trying to hide her curiosity. Neville blushed furiously.
"Luna," he responded quietly. Hermione nodded and quickly changed the subject to spare him further embarrassment.
"Ginny is in the common room," Neville whispered, "We are going to make plans for the DA in about an hour."
Hermione passed the hour by taking Neville's abandoned Prophet outside to avoid the stares of her fellow students. She could almost understand how Harry felt being the center of attention for so many years, but Harry had his best friends, Hermione was alone. She headed back to the common room and focused her thoughts on a possible meeting place for the DA. Upon entering, she saw Neville and Ginny in huddled in a far corner of the room with some parchment spread out between them.
"Hey Hermione," said Ginny. Hermione smiled and dropped her bag before settling down in the armchair across from them.
"So what are we looking at?" Hermione asked, indicating the parchment with a wave of her hand.
"They're rough maps of Hogwarts," Ginny explained. "We want to make some sort of statement to let people know we are restarting the DA."
"It has to be very visual," Neville added. "We want everyone to know about the DA, not like last time. I want Umbridge to realize that we are a force to be reckoned with." Hermione gnawed at her lip for a moment. In fifth year the DA had been her suggestion solely for the purpose of furthering their knowledge. Even after all her years with Harry she had a difficult time breaking rules, but this was a cause worth fighting for.
"Alright," Hermione agreed, "but we still need to be careful. Umbridge caught us all last time, and the consequences will be more severe now. We don't want to scare off potential support by causing too much trouble."
"Of course," Ginny replied readily. "I think that any activities that may bend the rules should be voluntary obviously, and only by the upper year students."
"Like just seventh years," Hermione teased. Ginny scowled at her and Neville as they laughed at her expense.
"As I was saying," she interjected, "we can still learn defensive magic that will protect us outside of Hogwarts during the meetings. But I think we should also occasionally pull together demonstrations to raise morale within the club and the school in general."
"Maybe for our first effort we should kill two birds with one stone," Hermione suggested. "We want to make a statement and let people know that Dumbledore's Army is back."
"We still don't have a location though," Neville said, "We can't exactly start meetings without a meeting place."
"I've been working on it," Hermione answered, "but I don't have anything yet. I still think we should spread the word somehow and see how people react to the idea, because if there is no interest we will have to do something else."
"Alright," Neville sighed. "So what are you suggesting? We can't exactly put up a sign saying 'Dumbledore's Army: Now Recruiting'?" Ginny laughed, but Hermione was suddenly struck with an incredible idea.
"Actually Neville, I think that is a great idea," she exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Where are you going?" Neville called after her.
"The library," Hermione replied over her shoulder, before she hurtled out of the common room. Hermione felt exhilarated as she ran through the halls. She recalled the countless times she had left Harry and Ron in the common room, with the same bewildered faces that Ginny and Neville now wore, while she sought some book out from the library. She slowed to a fast walk as she went through the doors, breezing by Madame Pince, who gave her an irritated look as if her hasty steps would damage the precious books.
Hermione did not pause until she reached the section she was looking for. She searched for a moment struggling to find the book she was looking for. Once she did, she flipped through it quickly, ensuring it had the passage she needed, before retreating out of the library. She was just about to exit when she was struck with a second brilliant idea. She turned around and proceeded to the section devoted to Muggle Studies.
She found the section almost immediately. She had spent hours here in her third year, looking through historic Muggle advertisements. Some of them she recalled from her own childhood, others were much older. The one she looked was using during World War I and II to promote army enlisting. She saw a British poster with the saying 'Keep Calm and Carry On' from World War II, but flipped past it until she found the one she wanted. It was an iconic piece of American history featuring 'Uncle Sam' with the phrase 'I want you." Hermione knew most students would not recognize the piece, but it would still fit in with her idea perfectly.
She raced out of the library, paying little attention to her surroundings, and bumped into something very solid. She fell to the ground from the impact, her books falling out of her hands, and exhaled sharply. She heard snickers, and grimaced as she looked up, her eyes making contact with several Slytherin ties, followed by the faces of her least favourite Slytherins.
Draco winced as Pansy shrieked in laughter at Granger's fall. "Look what the cat dragged in," she taunted, "something that has a rats' nest for hair." Draco did not laugh, even though Pansy had clearly tried to improve her one-liners. Crabbe and Goyle guffawed dumbly, while Zabini just smirked, but Draco could tell that he was paying rapt attention. He wondered if word had leaked yet, that Granger would become his betrothed. He waited silently for one of them to slip; to glance at him or make a comment about it. But no such thing happened, and Draco was pleased that he could live in denial, if only for a short while longer.
Pansy continued a one-sided stream of insults, as Granger ignored her and collected her books. Draco could have rolled his eyes, but he refrained, it was the first weekend back and she was already at the library. Clearly someone was trying too hard, who could possibly care about school work with a war going on?
Draco watched her closely now, he would need to focus on her more if he wanted to live. He noticed her biting her lip, not in anxiety as he noticed she sometimes did during exams, but in anger, no doubt holding back her response to whatever Pansy was saying. There were dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not slept well in a long time. Draco was used to that, he never slept well after joining the Death Eaters. It looked as if she had not slept for a week or so, Draco predicted, probably around the time Potter left. He wondered if he could use that to his advantage, her being abandoned. He doubted it. No amount of resentment would alter Saint Granger's perfect morals. He would have to find another way.
He focused on her eyes again, though tired looking, they were extremely still, unblinking. That was strange. He realized almost immediately, that as Pansy babbled on, Granger was silently getting her revenge. He barely saw a glimpse of her wand as she straightened and stepped away from them. He could not tell what she did, but after seeing what happened to Marietta Edgecomb, he knew he would know soon enough. He decided he would give her some credit for being crafty, even if she was a Mudblood.
"And imagine the poor boy that gets stuck marrying you!" Pansy said gleefully. Hermione wished she had done something more damaging than a clumsiness charm. "We all know you don't know you're way around a guy, but he has to deal with a know-it-all too." Hermione stiffened, and she could not hold back her anger any longer.
"Parkinson, we are all aware of how much you get around," Hermione said icily, "And I guess that is a result of no one wanting you twice, so I feel sorry for you. It must be awful to be continually rejected and be too stupid to realize it." Hermione felt crude making the sexual based insult, but it was true.
"Well," Pansy sputtered for a moment, trying to collect herself. She clung on to Malfoy's arm, in an act of complete desperation. "At least I know someone who wants me, even Weasley ran, probably terrified of the thought of marrying you!" Hermione was surprised at how little that comment hurt her. While marrying Ron was how Hermione secretly envisioned her life, once he left with Harry she realized that was not going to be an option. Plus, at the moment she was highly entertained by the bewildered look on Malfoy's face. Clearly her match was not as assured as she assumed.
"I couldn't think of a better suited couple," Hermione said, trying to hold back her laughter at the shock on all of their faces. She turned around and walked away before any of them could say a word. She found Ginny and Neville waiting for her in the common room with impatient and expectant faces.
"I found this book on magical scripture ages ago," Hermione explained, "but I never thought I'd need to write in fire. This fire is meant to be a cross between phoenix flames and everlasting fire, so it cannot be put out easily. I also found this book of old posters, I thought we could model our sign after this one." She slipped open the second book to the page she had found earlier.
"You want to put a random old man on our sign?" Neville asked.
"Not a random man, no," Hermione said slowly. She was anxious about this part, she knew her idea was crazy, but she was hoping they would go with it. "I wanted to use Dumbledore."
"It will definitely make a statement," Ginny said. "So when are we going to do this?"
"Tonight," Neville answered immediately. Hermione sighed and looked out the window. In that moment, Neville reminded her so much of Harry, wanting to jump straight into action without thinking of the consequences.
"We should wait until tomorrow," said Hermione. "That will give us time to practice the script enchantment and it will have a better effect when everyone sees it on Monday morning before classes." Neville and Ginny agreed and left Hermione to work on the enchanted flames while they went to find a good location.
The afternoon passed slowly for Hermione. She used the deserted girl's dormitory to practice creating the flamed message and spent hours perfecting her writing. Hermione knew she was being a bit too meticulous, but she had already finished her homework. Hermione sighed and tried to use the flames for cursive writing just to see how it looked. Hermione never realized how much time she would have without Harry and Ron. She sadly recalled all the nights they had snuck out together under the cover of the invisibility cloak. Hermione`s train of thought screeched to a halt. They did not have an invisibility cloak.
"How are we supposed to get around the castle without the cloak?" Hermione mused to herself softly. They had not discussed how they would get around the castle at night, especially with the extra security. McGonagall had announced that the Ministry Security wizards would be doing spontaneous patrols around the castle. Most people did not have invisibility cloaks, Hermione reminded herself. How did the Order get around without them? They used Disillusionment Charms!
"How could I be so stupid?" She asked herself. "Obviously we could use a Disillusionment Charm." She found the counter spell to put out the flames and stored all of her information safely in her trunk before heading back to the library. She decided it was safe to practice the charm there because if she did it successfully people would not be able to see her anyway.
Sunday night came and Hermione squirmed all through dinner. She had never done anything like this without Harry and Ron. Ginny squeezed in next to her as she picked at her food.
"Hey Hermione," Ginny said. "Stop worrying, it's going to work out perfectly," she added seeing Hermione's nervous expression. After dinner they waited in the library until Madame Pince kicked them out. The halls were deserted, so Hermione, Ginny and Neville found a quiet corridor to perform the Disillusionment charms.
"This feels weird," Neville commented as he examined his arm, which now matched the stone wall behind him. "Can you see me?"
"The spell doesn't make us invisible, just less obvious. So we still need to be careful," Hermione explained. She poked her head around the corner before beckoning the others to follow. She led them to second floor near Myrtle's bathroom. Ginny had suggested using the same wall that she had unknowingly used when she opened the Chamber of Secrets.
It was strange not being completely invisible, Hermione thought. She had always been nervous under the cloak, in case it slipped or if someone breathed too loudly, but this was worse. Hearing footsteps approaching, she poked Ginny in warning and they dispersed. Ginny slipped into the bathroom, Neville behind a suit of armour, and Hermione into a densely shadowed corner.
The footsteps belonged to a Slytherin couple who were probably heading back to their dungeon common rooms. Hermione waited for the footsteps to pass before knocking twice on the wall. Neville and Ginny emerged and they continued down the corridor.
"Hermione," Ginny whispered, "Neville and I will keep watch at opposite ends of the corridor. Remember two knocks means someone is coming and hide, three knocks means run for it."
"I got it," Hermione responded. They left Ginny at the entrance to the hall and walked further in. Halfway through Hermione stopped and felt Neville pass her on his way to the end of the hall. She heard him knock once, signaling that the area was clear and it was safe to begin. Hermione took a deep breath and drew her wand. She began with the most challenging part - the image of Dumbledore. She used the photo of him, from his chocolate frog card, and used a duplication spell to mimic it on the stone. She then outlined the image in flames. She worked quickly as they did not know how much time they would have, but Hermione guessed that at least ten minutes had already passed.
She began their message next. Working much faster now she wrote out 'I want you' on the wall above Dumbledore's picture, before she heard the knocks. Three knocks. Hermione looked to both sides of the corridor, but could see no movement on either end. She could hear heavy breathing, and some mumbled threats. Filch was coming. She started to run quietly in the other direction, but Mrs. Norris was coming up that side. She backed up and tried not to panic.
"Lassie in here," a voice growled behind her. She whipped around to look at the portrait of a Scottish rogue who was beckoning her forward. She hesitated before approaching. "There's a passage behind me portrait." Hermione whipped it open and disappeared behind it. It lead to a dark passage with a narrow and rickety set of stairs. Hermione tested her weight on the stairs and had slowly started to descend when she heard a shrill whistling. She paused, knowing that Ginny had used one of her brothers' products to distract Filch.
Knowing she had mere moments Hermione made a split decision and ran back up the staircase. If she moved quickly she could finish the sign. She slid out from behind the portrait, her wand out, and began the spell immediately.
"Lassie," she heard the portrait again, "Are ye mad? That demented caretaker will be coming any minute." Hermione did not respond as she rushed in the rest of the message. It was not as neat as her practiced version, but it was legible. She stood back taking a second to admire her work, before turning to the portrait.
"Thank you for your help," she said quietly, "I don't know how to repay you."
"Aye, it was nothing," the man said, "But if you wish to repay me you could stun that nasty cat behind you." Hermione whipped around to find Mrs. Norris staring at her. She heard the man chuckle and hesitated only a moment before doing as he asked.
"Thank you again Mr…" Hermione trailed off, not knowing his name.
"McCreery, Scotty McCreery," he said, winking at her. "If I were ye, I would get away from here. And I'd leave that cat elsewhere. It brings up bad times for 'im." Hermione did as he said, abandoning Mrs. Norris on the fifth floor, purposely near Umbridge's office, before retreating to the common room. She found Neville and Ginny waiting there anxiously for her.
"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed when she got in. "We were worried, we thought you would be back here before us. Did you finish the sign?"
"I finished it, but what happened to you? I heard Filch coming and then I had to stun Mrs. Norris," Hermione explained.
"It was lucky I had some of Fred and George's stuff on me, I managed to get Filch to go in the opposite direction," Ginny responded. Neville stifled a yawn.
"I don't know why I'm exhausted, you two got all the action," he said, "I'm off to bed." The girls followed his lead, saying good night as they took the stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
Breakfast the next morning was a chaotic affair. Hermione resisted the urge to walk by the corridor with the sign, but most of the school seemed to know about it already. There were whispers across the great hall and Hermione had already been approached by Lavender and Parvati about it. She took a seat across from Ginny and Neville who were looking at the staff table.
"Hey Hermione," Ginny said, and turned back to the table grinning. She lowered her voice and added, "Umbridge looks furious." Hermione turned her attention to her and saw that Ginny was right. Umbridge was picking at her food, her mouth pursed so tightly it disappeared into her pudgy face. Scanning further along the table Hermione's eyes met with Professor McGonagall's, who raised her eyebrows slightly before returning to her breakfast with a smile tugging at her lips.
Hermione averted her eyes from the staff table quickly when she saw Umbridge glancing her way. Hermione ate her breakfast slowly, focusing on each bite to avoid the suspicious looks she was receiving. By the time she left the great hall with Neville most of the tables were empty and only a few teachers remained. Hermione expected the entrance hall to be empty, but was surprised to find a several small clusters of students all watching the apparent argument between Professors McGonagall and Umbridge.
Neville was a few steps ahead of Hermione, but he turned around and smiled at her mouthing 'mission accomplished'. Hermione almost laughed, but she felt slightly guilty for putting her favourite professor in a compromising position. They stopped moving once they were within hearing distance and Neville pretended to search for something in his school bag.
"-bad example of a professor and Head Mistress," Umbridge was saying, "I shall be reporting this to the Ministry of course. It is absolutely unacceptable that this type of behavior be left uninvestigated and unpunished."
"As I told you before Dolores," Professor McGonagall responded coolly, "I refuse to take disciplinary actions against students honouring my predecessor, especially considering your questionable techniques."
"My techniques brought about the demolition of Dumbledore's so-called army and ridded Hogwarts temporarily of a man inept to be Headmaster!"
"I will not hear you speak a word against Albus Dumbledore," McGonagall said with such anger that Hermione stepped back. "You have no right to criticize me or any other Headmaster after you failed in your short time as Headmistress. And you may not like my techniques, but you were the first witch to be banned from receiving the position again, not me." Professor Umbridge stood there shaking with rage, but could not come up with any response.
"Professor Umbridge, you are causing a scene and setting a bad example for the students. I am withholding your privilege of supervising night security until further notice," McGonagall continued, now turning to face the students. "Back to class please or I will have to show Professor Umbridge how to discipline students."
The remaining students left the hall hastily to avoid being late to class. Hermione and Neville made a beeline for the stairs, making sure Professor McGonagall was behind them. They raced into transfiguration and were barely in their seats when she strode into the room. Whispers had already filled the classroom about the showdown in the entrance hall and the entire class was looking at her with new admiration.
The whispers were silenced when Seamus entered the room and, not noticing Professor McGonagall in the corner of the room, announced "McGonagall just put Umbridge in her place!" The class burst into laughter at the bemused expression on her face as she turned to the door.
"As flattering as that was Mr. Finnigan, would you kindly take your seat," she said. "If everyone would please settle down, we are going to begin working on the theory behind animal transfiguration." The class quieted quickly as the professor began the complex material, surely to be tested during their NEWTs. As usual when Professor McGonagall posed a question Hermione's hand shot into the air with a ready answer.
"Excellent Miss Granger, I couldn't have phrased that better myself. Thirty points to Gryffindor." Hermione beamed at her, but checked herself quickly at Ernie MacMillian's bewildered expression because he had given an equally good answer earlier and had only earned ten points.
At the end of class Hermione gathered her books together and chatted amicably with Neville who was waiting for her. She was grateful for his kindness now more than ever. But Hermione tried to avoid thinking about the circumstances that had forced their newfound closeness. If Harry and Ron had been here, it would be them waiting as she struggled to fit all her books back into her bag. As a result they were the last students to leave, prompting Professor McGonagall to take advantage of the moment.
"Mr. Longbottom that was kind of you to wait for Miss Granger," she said rather uncharacteristically. "Thirty points to Gryffindor for such a wonderful display of Gryffindor loyalty." With that she left the room leaving them befuddled in her wake.
"Who knew breaking the rules could have such severe consequences," Neville joked as they left the class. Hermione laughed, and wondered aloud what Ginny would be getting points for that day.
Draco breezed into Defense against the Dark Arts accompanied, as usual by Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy was already seated in the back row, conveniently next to one empty chair. Draco smirked at Zabini before strategically grabbing a desk in the row in front of her. Pansy's disappointment was obvious, but Draco took less enjoyment than he usually would. Umbridge's class was sure to be a drag. She would most likely just lecture them on the 'display' from that morning.
Umbridge entered the room and called the class to attention immediately. She was clearly trying and failing to conceal her anger. "Good afternoon class," she called, and continued once the response had been supplied to her standards. "Before we start today's lesson I would like to discuss the events of this morning. While the headmistress feels she is unable to punish the students responsible for vandalizing school property, I would like to emphasize the importance of order in this classroom and in the school. If I witness any students violating school policy I believe it is my duty as your professor to discipline those miscreants in order to ensure that Hogwarts continues to meet the Ministry's safety regulations."
Umbridge continued on, but Draco began tuning out her countless threats and pledges of allegiance to the Ministry. His eyes began to wander, and no surprise, they landed on the girl that taunted his thoughts most in the past week. For once Granger did not appear to be hanging on to the professor's every word. Her eyes were glued to the blackboard and she was drumming her fingers silently on her desk. Draco unconsciously noted that she looked less pale than she did last week, meaning she was probably getting some sleep. Draco almost scoffed at his own train of thought, it did not matter to him whether or not the girl was sleeping. However, he reassured himself that any details about her could be useful. So he took a closer look, and though her face was its usual colour, there were dark circles under her eyes and she pressed a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn.
Having so much experience with sleepless nights Draco managed to deduct was those signs meant: while she was in general sleeping better, last night was an exception. He did not have to think very hard as to what could have kept her up. Her frequent glances at Longbottom gave her away. Draco should have known she would be involved in anything regarding 'Dumbledore's Army' and the magic of her sign was much too advanced to be attempted by most students.
Draco could not help but be jealous of Potter at that moment. Granger would be an asset to either side with her skills and newfound willingness to break the rules. Draco grudgingly gave her credit, but he would never admit to being impressed by her.
Coming up in Till Death Do Us Part:
Hermione's concerns were confirmed when Umbridge rose to her feet and Professor McGonagall scowled.