Chapter 8 - A Page from the Order's Record Book
"Mr. Potter, may I speak with you for a moment?" said Professor McGonagall, walking soundlessly, very cat-like, to where Harry and Luna were sitting. Harry nodded and followed the Deputy Headmistress to her table and sat on the nearest chair while the professor looked curiously at him.
"What is it, Professor?" asked Harry, wondering if she had overheard them talking. He made a mental note to find a more discreet way of organizing the DA because the adult wizards would never allow them to fight, not yet.
"I wish to speak with you about the secret defense group you formed last year. As the Order's resources are very much strained nowadays, we could not cover all territories and as we unfortunately realized before, we cannot always be here to defend the students. We need as many trained defenders as we can possibly have to regain our world." said Professor McGonagall, leafing through some book filled with writings that Harry couldn't quite understand.
'Apparently, I was wrong.' thought Harry in amusement, wondering where the conversation will lead to.
"The Order is requesting you to reform Dumbledore's Army and train them very well and defensive and offensive spells." continued Professor McGonagall, staring intently at Harry's eyes.
"I - I...of course, Professor....anything to help." said Harry in surprise.
Professor McGonagall sighed in relief. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. We have been wanting to do that but we couldn't seem to find time for it. We were contemplating on requesting Hermione to do it, but the rest of the Order seem to think your original structure is better. Besides, we were not sure yet if the rest of you would want to do it but now that you're here, you will be able to find out for yourself how much support you got. Don't worry, your friends will help you organize things." she said, implying that Harry must need to develop his eye for detail soon. Leaders must try not to leave any stones unturned.for one simple mistake might be fatal to all.
"Don't worry, Professor, we'll make sure that we will do our best to help our world return to normal." said Harry seriously.
"Very well, then. Off you go....but before you leave, I want you to have this." said the professor, handling a piece of parchment to Harry's outstretched hand. "That's a copy of a page from the Order's record book. It contains the general situation of the wizarding world. Use those information wisely."
Harry's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he read the paper.
"And Harry ---"
"Yes, professor?"
"Please don't hesitate to talk to us or ask for our help if you needed it. Never try to place the burden of saving the world on your shoulders alone. It's our world too and we will help you no matter what happens...remember that..."
Harry nodded solemnly and walked towards his friends, clutching the parchment tightly on his right fist. He called for a meeting immediately. As the group gathered around him, he started to tell them about the Order's request, explaining about the Order of the Phoenix to the others who do not know anything about it yet. Finally, he requested Hermione to read the paper for them.
GENERAL SITUATION OF THE WIZARDING WORLD
1. All wizarding schools attacked by the death-eaters - 36 dead, 215 injured
2. Ottery St. Catchpole - attacked, 15 injured, none dead...all relocated.
3. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley - markets closed due to numerous attacks, no concrete figures of casualties yet; Weasley's Wizard Wheezes - operating in stealth.
4. Daily Prophet stopped operating to avoid the attacks
5. Quibbler bravely reported all the incidents but stopped after the disappearance of its editor - no information about his whereabouts yet.
6. Minister of Magic - resigned after receiving thousands of hate-mails from people who were not able to prepare for war because of the false information he fed them
7. Ministry of Magic - currently in chaos because of the sudden loss of the Minister, no one is brave enough to take the position yet.
8. Dumbledore and Ginny - captured but still alive.
9. #12 Grimmauld Place - attacked but damage was lessened by Dumbledore's warning.
10. Harry Potter - currently developing his powers - an order member needs to talk to him about this soon.
11. Aurors - reduced by half - need to develop the skills of other wizards
12. Victims of the dementor's attack on a certain wizard village 40 years ago - need to find a way for them to regain their powers. Most of them were powerful wizards and would be able to help us in this war.
The DA members just listened intenly. The news did not come as a shock anymore. After all, they already know the situation was very bad due to the fact that they were hiding. But the last bit of information came as a nice surprise. They never knew that and it was not written in the books. They wondered how many of those victims could actually contribute to their cause.
"Aunt Petunia!" gasped Harry. The others turned to him at once, eyebrows raising in question.
"She was one of those victims....she was telling the truth....she was a witch." said Harry who, until now, had not realized that he had some doubt on his aunt's words. "She asked for my help to get it back....she wants to help too..."
"WHAT?!? THAT WOMAN THAT TREATED YOU LIKE DIRT?!?" exclaimed Ron. "NO WAY!"
"RON!" Hermione chided him impatiently. "Will you stop being stubborn for once? We need as much help as we can get and if she's willing, then so be it."
"Did she give you any information on how to do it? asked Luna, steering the conversation from an impending argument.
"She said something about defeating the king of Dementors but I have no idea how to do it yet." said Harry, thanking Luna silently for her distraction.
"Let's see, maybe a patronus' kiss or something. The patronus sucks the power and give it back to its owner. What do you think?" said Lee.
"I don't know. There's no such thing...in the books I read at least." said Hermione weakly, annoyed that she did not know the answer to this one.
"It's because it was not written in the new books." Everyone turned to Cho who suddenly blushed. "You see, it's an old magic and probably listed in the old books only. My grandmother told me about it once but she said only a corporeal patronus conjured by a very powerful wizard can pull it off."
"Well, that settles it then. Hermione and Cho, you take charge of researching on that. Lee, Seamus, Colin and Dennis, I believe you are ingenious enough to take care of contacting the others. Luna, Ron and I are going to plan some strategies." said Harry.
"What about us? What are we going to do?" moaned Lavender, Padma and Parvati at once.
"Er --" said Harry, racking his mind for anything that he can assign to the three. "Umm....you can research on some very advanced spells that we can use and er...um....you can roam around the room and try to search for students here who might be willing to join us..."
"Oh, thanks Harry. We like that!" answered the three.
"And....er--maybe you can help the others after you finish your own task?" Harry pleaded silently to Hermione and Cho. They both nodded, not needing any explanation.
"Let's get going, then!" exclaimed Ron suddenly, glad that they can finally do something of importance.
"YEAH!" Dumbledore's Army returns!" They all shouted in excitement.
From one dark corner of the room, the bespectacled cat smiled at their progress and quietly left the room.
"Mr. Potter, may I speak with you for a moment?" said Professor McGonagall, walking soundlessly, very cat-like, to where Harry and Luna were sitting. Harry nodded and followed the Deputy Headmistress to her table and sat on the nearest chair while the professor looked curiously at him.
"What is it, Professor?" asked Harry, wondering if she had overheard them talking. He made a mental note to find a more discreet way of organizing the DA because the adult wizards would never allow them to fight, not yet.
"I wish to speak with you about the secret defense group you formed last year. As the Order's resources are very much strained nowadays, we could not cover all territories and as we unfortunately realized before, we cannot always be here to defend the students. We need as many trained defenders as we can possibly have to regain our world." said Professor McGonagall, leafing through some book filled with writings that Harry couldn't quite understand.
'Apparently, I was wrong.' thought Harry in amusement, wondering where the conversation will lead to.
"The Order is requesting you to reform Dumbledore's Army and train them very well and defensive and offensive spells." continued Professor McGonagall, staring intently at Harry's eyes.
"I - I...of course, Professor....anything to help." said Harry in surprise.
Professor McGonagall sighed in relief. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. We have been wanting to do that but we couldn't seem to find time for it. We were contemplating on requesting Hermione to do it, but the rest of the Order seem to think your original structure is better. Besides, we were not sure yet if the rest of you would want to do it but now that you're here, you will be able to find out for yourself how much support you got. Don't worry, your friends will help you organize things." she said, implying that Harry must need to develop his eye for detail soon. Leaders must try not to leave any stones unturned.for one simple mistake might be fatal to all.
"Don't worry, Professor, we'll make sure that we will do our best to help our world return to normal." said Harry seriously.
"Very well, then. Off you go....but before you leave, I want you to have this." said the professor, handling a piece of parchment to Harry's outstretched hand. "That's a copy of a page from the Order's record book. It contains the general situation of the wizarding world. Use those information wisely."
Harry's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he read the paper.
"And Harry ---"
"Yes, professor?"
"Please don't hesitate to talk to us or ask for our help if you needed it. Never try to place the burden of saving the world on your shoulders alone. It's our world too and we will help you no matter what happens...remember that..."
Harry nodded solemnly and walked towards his friends, clutching the parchment tightly on his right fist. He called for a meeting immediately. As the group gathered around him, he started to tell them about the Order's request, explaining about the Order of the Phoenix to the others who do not know anything about it yet. Finally, he requested Hermione to read the paper for them.
GENERAL SITUATION OF THE WIZARDING WORLD
1. All wizarding schools attacked by the death-eaters - 36 dead, 215 injured
2. Ottery St. Catchpole - attacked, 15 injured, none dead...all relocated.
3. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley - markets closed due to numerous attacks, no concrete figures of casualties yet; Weasley's Wizard Wheezes - operating in stealth.
4. Daily Prophet stopped operating to avoid the attacks
5. Quibbler bravely reported all the incidents but stopped after the disappearance of its editor - no information about his whereabouts yet.
6. Minister of Magic - resigned after receiving thousands of hate-mails from people who were not able to prepare for war because of the false information he fed them
7. Ministry of Magic - currently in chaos because of the sudden loss of the Minister, no one is brave enough to take the position yet.
8. Dumbledore and Ginny - captured but still alive.
9. #12 Grimmauld Place - attacked but damage was lessened by Dumbledore's warning.
10. Harry Potter - currently developing his powers - an order member needs to talk to him about this soon.
11. Aurors - reduced by half - need to develop the skills of other wizards
12. Victims of the dementor's attack on a certain wizard village 40 years ago - need to find a way for them to regain their powers. Most of them were powerful wizards and would be able to help us in this war.
The DA members just listened intenly. The news did not come as a shock anymore. After all, they already know the situation was very bad due to the fact that they were hiding. But the last bit of information came as a nice surprise. They never knew that and it was not written in the books. They wondered how many of those victims could actually contribute to their cause.
"Aunt Petunia!" gasped Harry. The others turned to him at once, eyebrows raising in question.
"She was one of those victims....she was telling the truth....she was a witch." said Harry who, until now, had not realized that he had some doubt on his aunt's words. "She asked for my help to get it back....she wants to help too..."
"WHAT?!? THAT WOMAN THAT TREATED YOU LIKE DIRT?!?" exclaimed Ron. "NO WAY!"
"RON!" Hermione chided him impatiently. "Will you stop being stubborn for once? We need as much help as we can get and if she's willing, then so be it."
"Did she give you any information on how to do it? asked Luna, steering the conversation from an impending argument.
"She said something about defeating the king of Dementors but I have no idea how to do it yet." said Harry, thanking Luna silently for her distraction.
"Let's see, maybe a patronus' kiss or something. The patronus sucks the power and give it back to its owner. What do you think?" said Lee.
"I don't know. There's no such thing...in the books I read at least." said Hermione weakly, annoyed that she did not know the answer to this one.
"It's because it was not written in the new books." Everyone turned to Cho who suddenly blushed. "You see, it's an old magic and probably listed in the old books only. My grandmother told me about it once but she said only a corporeal patronus conjured by a very powerful wizard can pull it off."
"Well, that settles it then. Hermione and Cho, you take charge of researching on that. Lee, Seamus, Colin and Dennis, I believe you are ingenious enough to take care of contacting the others. Luna, Ron and I are going to plan some strategies." said Harry.
"What about us? What are we going to do?" moaned Lavender, Padma and Parvati at once.
"Er --" said Harry, racking his mind for anything that he can assign to the three. "Umm....you can research on some very advanced spells that we can use and er...um....you can roam around the room and try to search for students here who might be willing to join us..."
"Oh, thanks Harry. We like that!" answered the three.
"And....er--maybe you can help the others after you finish your own task?" Harry pleaded silently to Hermione and Cho. They both nodded, not needing any explanation.
"Let's get going, then!" exclaimed Ron suddenly, glad that they can finally do something of importance.
"YEAH!" Dumbledore's Army returns!" They all shouted in excitement.
From one dark corner of the room, the bespectacled cat smiled at their progress and quietly left the room.