Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews. By the way, one of my readers reminded me that wizards cannot apparate to Hogwarts. That particular piece of puzzle shall be answered in this chapter. Also if you think it was impossible for Dumbledore to be captured, well.....just keep reading...you may find out the reason soon.....hehehe (smiles wickedly)
Chapter 7 - The Reformation of Dumbledore's Army
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE, POTTER!"
Harry was still pondering on Mad-Eye Moody's favorite expression when he suddenly felt the bed vibrating furiously. Startled out of his wits, Harry jumped from the bed, drew his wand out and scrambled to find his glasses that fell on the floor in his haste. He was about to launch his first defensive spell for the day when he noticed Lee Jordan and Seamus Finnegan clutching their stomach trying to control their laughter while Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood glared furiously at them.
"Glad you find that amusing." Harry snorted at them as he hid his wand.
"You should have seen your face, mate. Hahahaha!"
"That is not funny, you morons!" Hermione snarled angrily at them.
"Yeah, well, I honestly thought we were being attacked or something and given the situation ---"
"Given the situation, we might as well put a little color to our lives or else, we would all go crazy here." Seamus butted in seriously.
No one said a word for a moment. Suddenly, they were all reminded of the horror that they were living now...the memory that they all wished to forget and hoped that they were all just a part of dream that can be sent to oblivion after several months or years. The girls suddenly regretted reprimanding Lee and Seamus. Hermione broke the silence.
"So, who brought you here?" She asked Harry and Luna.
"Harry apparated both of us here after battling with several death-eaters at the headquarters of....what's that again? Order....something like that." Luna answered casually as if it was an everyday occurrence.
"B-but.....you can't apparate to Hogwarts...how?" Hermione stammered in surprise.
"That's what Professor McGonagall said last night....but if I recall correctly, you cannot apparate to the headquarters either....but the death- eaters did." Harry answered thoughtfully apparently puzzled too about what happened. "But I'm glad I forgot about that little piece of information or I wouldn't have attempted to go here in the first place."
"The Malfoy brat told us that the security of the headquarters was weakened when Sirius died so maybe something similar happened to Hogwarts." Luna added. Hermione looked thoughtful. The others were silent too.
"So what happened here? Professor McGonagall told us something about Dumbledore and Ginny being captured...." Harry's eyes scanned the room to find Ron, his best friend and Ginny's brother but he was nowhere to be found. Hermione followed where his eyes led and quickly averted his gaze.
"Ron is too devastated after what happened and he blames himself for not being able to save his sister. He is with Madam Pomphrey now. She is treating him with some calming potion so he won't do something foolish." Hermione answered his unspoken question dejectedly.
The Patil twins and the others soon joined the conversation and together, they shared with Harry and Luna the events that resulted to making the room of requirements their temporary headquarters. Several parents, including those staying at Grimmauld Place, decided to send their children to Hogwarts a month early to ensure the safety of their kids. Dumbledore agreed and they were all able to settle there. However, after a few days, something urgent came up and Dumbledore and some other professors had to leave the castle in haste.
That was the time when the Death-eaters sneaked into Hogwarts. Some used the passage from the cellar of Honeydukes obviously led by Wormtail, one of the creators of the Marauders' Map so he knew all the secret paths to the school, and some entered the ordinary way like Lucius. Some were outside and barraged the school with complex spells to weaken the barriers. The students and remaining professors fiercely fought but their strengths were no match for their attackers. Soon, Hogwarts was in their control and all the people inside were captured.
Dumbledore arrived a few minutes later and bartered for the captives lives in exchange for his. The death-eaters immediately agreed of course. Even if they were not able to capture Harry, at least they got his mentor. It was only after Dumbledore conjured a portkey and sent us all to Grimmauld Place that they noticed that Ginny was missing. Some professors went back but to the castle but did not find her leading to the conclusion that the death-eaters did not release her like the others. It was only confirmed though after the next attack.
Apparently, Voldemort was impatient already and ordered another attack at Sirius' house. Somehow, Dumbledore sent a warning there and gave the residents an opportunity to escape. Order members sent the children and some professors back to Hogwarts to hide in the Room of Requirements and destroyed the floo connection to prevent death-eaters from following them.
"So that's what happened......" Harry shook his head in amazement...but a nagging thought entered his mind again. "How could Dumbledore let himself be captured without a fight? He could have gotten them all within seconds like what happened in the Department of Mysteries...."
"That's what's bothering us too." They all looked around to find Ron nodding his head solemnly. "Dumbledore is very powerful but he let it happen...why?"
"Are you all right, Ron?" Hermione rushed to his side immediately.
"Yeah, Harry's here. I should not let my best friend find me here in a state of distress. I would just die of embarrassment.." He smiled weakly and hugged his best friend.
"RON!!!!" Hermione exclaimed at him clearly put off by his reasoning.
"No, Hermione, just joking. Actually, Madam Pomphrey had convinced me that moaning and blaming myself will just make matters worse. Now that Harry's here maybe we can do something useful for once." Ron looked expectantly at Harry as if he was hoping for something miraculous to happen. Harry and others just looked hurt and dumbfounded at him. "No offense guys, it's just that he's my best mate. We went through a lot together and having him here with me added a boost to my morale." He quickly explained.
"That's ok, Ron. We understand. As for Dumbledore, it's bothering me, too. It can't be real but maybe he has his reasons...so let's leave it at that for a while....ok?" Hermione told everyone.
"What about Ginny though? What's the purpose of getting her?" Parvati asked ignoring the warning looks from Hermione.
"Maybe it's because the death-eaters thought that Ginny and Harry are romantically involved and he would go to any lengths to save her including bartering his life for hers...." Cho said seemingly hurt at the prospect of it being true while everyone stared at her and Harry.
"But it's not true! We are just friends and I treat her like a sister." Harry exclaimed in disbelief. He noticed that Cho sighed in relief.
"Yes, we know that and I think it would be best if we don't divulge that information yet or they might just kill Ginny if they found out that they were wrong. I wonder where they got the idea, though." Hermione stated quietly.
"Maybe they heard my conversation with Ginny when they attacked us." Colin rubbed his forehead as if trying to recall the exact scene. The others waited for him to continue. "Well, we were just joking around and Ginny was pretending that Harry and her are a couple ---"
"She what?!?" Ron suddenly exclaimed not daring to believe that his sister could such a ridiculous thing.
"Mmmm.....yeah, b-but we were just joking around....acting some make- believe situations....like a movie or play or something...she did not mean it, honest...we were just having some fun..." Colin continued nervously and cringed at the sight of a red-faced angry brother of Ginny.
"That's enough...That's enough....It's just a mistake...let's just hope that Ginny is smart enough not to let on that it was just an act." Hermione raised her voice to prevent everyone from making another comment. Harry opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind but Ron couldn't be stopped.
"So what do we do now?" Ron demanded angrily at them. Another stony silence greeted his words. Hermione bit her lip trying to think of something. The Creevey brothers suddenly found their torn blue socks very interesting. Others just stared into space until a strong voice dared answer the question.
"We form Dumbledore's Army again." Everyone looked at Luna as she spoke of the words. "With Dumbledore gone, we need to defend ourselves and the others....we need to master complex spells if we even hope to defeat Voldemort....we need to unite for without it, we shall easily be defeated." Everyone stared dumbfounded at her. They never heard Luna speak this way before. To them, she was just Loony - a dreamer, someone whose sense of reality was utterly questionable, but here she was giving them an obvious answer that they should have realized before.
Harry was impressed too by Luna's words. He already guessed that behind that Loony facade was a girl full of wisdom but he never thought that she could also be this strong and determined to fight evil....but maybe he should have realized that already after she, the only one in the group that was not from Gryffindor, went to help him rescue Sirius even if she did not know how important he is to him at the time. And then, the battle at Grimmauld Place, she held her place and never cried once even after the taunts about her father. She stood her ground. She was amazing....
"Luna's right. We must reconvene all the members and we'll try to train on some complex spells first before we do anything else. We need to prepare. Hermione, do you have any idea how to contact the others? I noticed you found it hard to communicate with me given the condition but maybe we can find a way to contact the others and bring them here." Harry assumed his status of leader of the DA and tried to induce a sense of organization to the others. "I see, all of us here are members, so....we just need to contact the rest of the members and see if they are willing to join us again. Then we can start the training. Do you all agree?"
Everyone nodded their agreement at once and hurried to their trunks to get their spell books and wands. Harry was now thinking of where they can train given so many people were staying there. Luna just stayed with him while she too was lost in her own thoughts. Ron and Hermione were busy reading something that may help them find a way to communicate with the others. Nobody noticed the bespectacled cat hiding under a bed, observing and listening to their every word.
Chapter 7 - The Reformation of Dumbledore's Army
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE, POTTER!"
Harry was still pondering on Mad-Eye Moody's favorite expression when he suddenly felt the bed vibrating furiously. Startled out of his wits, Harry jumped from the bed, drew his wand out and scrambled to find his glasses that fell on the floor in his haste. He was about to launch his first defensive spell for the day when he noticed Lee Jordan and Seamus Finnegan clutching their stomach trying to control their laughter while Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood glared furiously at them.
"Glad you find that amusing." Harry snorted at them as he hid his wand.
"You should have seen your face, mate. Hahahaha!"
"That is not funny, you morons!" Hermione snarled angrily at them.
"Yeah, well, I honestly thought we were being attacked or something and given the situation ---"
"Given the situation, we might as well put a little color to our lives or else, we would all go crazy here." Seamus butted in seriously.
No one said a word for a moment. Suddenly, they were all reminded of the horror that they were living now...the memory that they all wished to forget and hoped that they were all just a part of dream that can be sent to oblivion after several months or years. The girls suddenly regretted reprimanding Lee and Seamus. Hermione broke the silence.
"So, who brought you here?" She asked Harry and Luna.
"Harry apparated both of us here after battling with several death-eaters at the headquarters of....what's that again? Order....something like that." Luna answered casually as if it was an everyday occurrence.
"B-but.....you can't apparate to Hogwarts...how?" Hermione stammered in surprise.
"That's what Professor McGonagall said last night....but if I recall correctly, you cannot apparate to the headquarters either....but the death- eaters did." Harry answered thoughtfully apparently puzzled too about what happened. "But I'm glad I forgot about that little piece of information or I wouldn't have attempted to go here in the first place."
"The Malfoy brat told us that the security of the headquarters was weakened when Sirius died so maybe something similar happened to Hogwarts." Luna added. Hermione looked thoughtful. The others were silent too.
"So what happened here? Professor McGonagall told us something about Dumbledore and Ginny being captured...." Harry's eyes scanned the room to find Ron, his best friend and Ginny's brother but he was nowhere to be found. Hermione followed where his eyes led and quickly averted his gaze.
"Ron is too devastated after what happened and he blames himself for not being able to save his sister. He is with Madam Pomphrey now. She is treating him with some calming potion so he won't do something foolish." Hermione answered his unspoken question dejectedly.
The Patil twins and the others soon joined the conversation and together, they shared with Harry and Luna the events that resulted to making the room of requirements their temporary headquarters. Several parents, including those staying at Grimmauld Place, decided to send their children to Hogwarts a month early to ensure the safety of their kids. Dumbledore agreed and they were all able to settle there. However, after a few days, something urgent came up and Dumbledore and some other professors had to leave the castle in haste.
That was the time when the Death-eaters sneaked into Hogwarts. Some used the passage from the cellar of Honeydukes obviously led by Wormtail, one of the creators of the Marauders' Map so he knew all the secret paths to the school, and some entered the ordinary way like Lucius. Some were outside and barraged the school with complex spells to weaken the barriers. The students and remaining professors fiercely fought but their strengths were no match for their attackers. Soon, Hogwarts was in their control and all the people inside were captured.
Dumbledore arrived a few minutes later and bartered for the captives lives in exchange for his. The death-eaters immediately agreed of course. Even if they were not able to capture Harry, at least they got his mentor. It was only after Dumbledore conjured a portkey and sent us all to Grimmauld Place that they noticed that Ginny was missing. Some professors went back but to the castle but did not find her leading to the conclusion that the death-eaters did not release her like the others. It was only confirmed though after the next attack.
Apparently, Voldemort was impatient already and ordered another attack at Sirius' house. Somehow, Dumbledore sent a warning there and gave the residents an opportunity to escape. Order members sent the children and some professors back to Hogwarts to hide in the Room of Requirements and destroyed the floo connection to prevent death-eaters from following them.
"So that's what happened......" Harry shook his head in amazement...but a nagging thought entered his mind again. "How could Dumbledore let himself be captured without a fight? He could have gotten them all within seconds like what happened in the Department of Mysteries...."
"That's what's bothering us too." They all looked around to find Ron nodding his head solemnly. "Dumbledore is very powerful but he let it happen...why?"
"Are you all right, Ron?" Hermione rushed to his side immediately.
"Yeah, Harry's here. I should not let my best friend find me here in a state of distress. I would just die of embarrassment.." He smiled weakly and hugged his best friend.
"RON!!!!" Hermione exclaimed at him clearly put off by his reasoning.
"No, Hermione, just joking. Actually, Madam Pomphrey had convinced me that moaning and blaming myself will just make matters worse. Now that Harry's here maybe we can do something useful for once." Ron looked expectantly at Harry as if he was hoping for something miraculous to happen. Harry and others just looked hurt and dumbfounded at him. "No offense guys, it's just that he's my best mate. We went through a lot together and having him here with me added a boost to my morale." He quickly explained.
"That's ok, Ron. We understand. As for Dumbledore, it's bothering me, too. It can't be real but maybe he has his reasons...so let's leave it at that for a while....ok?" Hermione told everyone.
"What about Ginny though? What's the purpose of getting her?" Parvati asked ignoring the warning looks from Hermione.
"Maybe it's because the death-eaters thought that Ginny and Harry are romantically involved and he would go to any lengths to save her including bartering his life for hers...." Cho said seemingly hurt at the prospect of it being true while everyone stared at her and Harry.
"But it's not true! We are just friends and I treat her like a sister." Harry exclaimed in disbelief. He noticed that Cho sighed in relief.
"Yes, we know that and I think it would be best if we don't divulge that information yet or they might just kill Ginny if they found out that they were wrong. I wonder where they got the idea, though." Hermione stated quietly.
"Maybe they heard my conversation with Ginny when they attacked us." Colin rubbed his forehead as if trying to recall the exact scene. The others waited for him to continue. "Well, we were just joking around and Ginny was pretending that Harry and her are a couple ---"
"She what?!?" Ron suddenly exclaimed not daring to believe that his sister could such a ridiculous thing.
"Mmmm.....yeah, b-but we were just joking around....acting some make- believe situations....like a movie or play or something...she did not mean it, honest...we were just having some fun..." Colin continued nervously and cringed at the sight of a red-faced angry brother of Ginny.
"That's enough...That's enough....It's just a mistake...let's just hope that Ginny is smart enough not to let on that it was just an act." Hermione raised her voice to prevent everyone from making another comment. Harry opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind but Ron couldn't be stopped.
"So what do we do now?" Ron demanded angrily at them. Another stony silence greeted his words. Hermione bit her lip trying to think of something. The Creevey brothers suddenly found their torn blue socks very interesting. Others just stared into space until a strong voice dared answer the question.
"We form Dumbledore's Army again." Everyone looked at Luna as she spoke of the words. "With Dumbledore gone, we need to defend ourselves and the others....we need to master complex spells if we even hope to defeat Voldemort....we need to unite for without it, we shall easily be defeated." Everyone stared dumbfounded at her. They never heard Luna speak this way before. To them, she was just Loony - a dreamer, someone whose sense of reality was utterly questionable, but here she was giving them an obvious answer that they should have realized before.
Harry was impressed too by Luna's words. He already guessed that behind that Loony facade was a girl full of wisdom but he never thought that she could also be this strong and determined to fight evil....but maybe he should have realized that already after she, the only one in the group that was not from Gryffindor, went to help him rescue Sirius even if she did not know how important he is to him at the time. And then, the battle at Grimmauld Place, she held her place and never cried once even after the taunts about her father. She stood her ground. She was amazing....
"Luna's right. We must reconvene all the members and we'll try to train on some complex spells first before we do anything else. We need to prepare. Hermione, do you have any idea how to contact the others? I noticed you found it hard to communicate with me given the condition but maybe we can find a way to contact the others and bring them here." Harry assumed his status of leader of the DA and tried to induce a sense of organization to the others. "I see, all of us here are members, so....we just need to contact the rest of the members and see if they are willing to join us again. Then we can start the training. Do you all agree?"
Everyone nodded their agreement at once and hurried to their trunks to get their spell books and wands. Harry was now thinking of where they can train given so many people were staying there. Luna just stayed with him while she too was lost in her own thoughts. Ron and Hermione were busy reading something that may help them find a way to communicate with the others. Nobody noticed the bespectacled cat hiding under a bed, observing and listening to their every word.