DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling has the honor of owning Harry Potter and anything that relates to it.
AN: Thank you for all of your review…. Now, I have a little bad news. The bad news is that I will be concentrating more on my research paper for my master degree….my major is statistics and economics and this will be my last year… thus I hope all of you understand that updates would not be as frequent….However, I WILL FINISH THIS STORY….
CHAPTER 11: The Rise of A Great Army
" great….bloody snape " cursed Harry as he entered his dormitory.
After he reached Gryffindor tower, Harry headed immediately up to the sixth year dormitory. He realized the ramification of his duel with Snape had prevented him from sneaking out of Hogwarts for a long period of time. He, however, determined to apparate out of Hogwarts to see whether he could apparate out or not.
" although….I could just say that I was in the chamber of secret…. naah …that would put suspicion whenever they try to find me and couldn't in the future….bloody snape ruins everything " whined Harry mentally.
" might as well try to apparate somewhere outside of hogwarts and sneak out at other times "decided Harry after ten minutes of whining mentally.
After spending two minutes searching for destination, Harry decided to apparate to the Shrieking Shack. Remembering every detail of the room he first met with his dead godfather, he pushed himself using the same technique he had discovered. He disappeared with the softest pop.
Harry looked around the room where he first met Sirius in remembrance. Instead of tears shined his eyes, his eyes glowed from anger, hatred, and a new level of determination to have his revenge on Voldemort and his minions. He snapped back to reality after several minutes caught in his memory and prepared himself to apparate back to his dormitory. He checked his dormitory to make sure it was empty and found that he was not able to check. He realized immediately that his location outside the ward required him to concentrate much harder than usual.
Harry found his dormitory was not empty of people. " bloody hell……what the hell is neville doing back from hogsmeade… "
Harry focused in on Nevile to see whether he was just doing 'in and out' business. "…what….neville is waiting for me …..aaachh ….bloody snape "
With his recent gained in advance knowledge of the dark arts, Harry decided it was time to include Neville and Luna into his plan. He knew how to do things that were necessary for secrecy, thus he did not need to postpone their training anymore.
………………………………………..
Five friends, three sixth year and two fifth year students, were sitting at a table in a pub called Three Broomsticks. They were enjoying a round of butterbeers and were also talking about their absent friend, the boy-who-lived.
" so…was it true that harry produced a very powerful spell " Ginny asked her brother and two sixth year friends.
Ron stared at his sister and answered, " it was unbelievable….it was so powerful I felt sorry for the wall…his spell shot through the wall like it was nothing….and the best part is that malfoy will be buying the entire gryffindor quidditch players new firebolts " in awe.
Hermione burrowed her eyebrows in concentration and said, " yes…I still couldn't believe he was that powerful…. I mean let's be honest with ourselves, malfoy is probably one of the most talented students in dueling class….although my statement would probably boost his unbearable ego, he is not wizard to be taken lightly, - " changing the subject away from broomsticks and quidditch.
" hermione…do you think harry is " Ron cut his best friend off.
Hermione glared icily at him. " would you mind if you let me finish first, RONALD WEASLEY " She scolded her sheepish best friend.
" please finish what you were saying, hermione " Neville Longbottom jumped in before a fight ensued.
Hermione nodded her head at Neville and continued, " like I was saying, malfoy has been boasting about his skill like he's the most powerful student in hogwarts…. annoying as it is, I admit that he is quite powerful…. and we also know that harry is the most talented student in defense against the dark arts class…. he did set the highest score in defense o.w.l and not to mention broke a fifty year record for the highest score…. but we never see him to actually show his power, then again he did show his potential during the triwizard tournament……I just didn't realize it at the time, - " She paused to see whether her friends were following…. not really.
" uuhhmm…hermione, " Ginny called for her attention timidly.
" yes, ginny " replied Hermione.
Ginny looked at her as if she were hallucinating. " when exactly did harry show his potential during the triwizard tournament " She asked. The others were nodding their heads in agreement with her question.
Hermione glanced at the four confused students and answered, " first task… did you guys remember what he did, - "
" he summoned his broomstick from quite a distance " Hermione answered her own question.
" it is safe to say that none of us get it except you hermione "said a third girl in the group.
" okay…I was in the library to do my transfiguration homework and forgot to bring my notebook….well, I was being lazy and so I tried to summon it from the library…..take a guess how many tries before my notebook came to me " She waited for her friends to take a guess.
" one! " guessed Ron.
" two "said Neville and Ginny at the same time.
" three " Luna said to Hermione.
" well…I went back to my dormitory to get it " answered Hermione with a smile for her friends' dubious looks.
Ron laughed and said, " that was a joke right, hermione "
"… right "asked Ron for her confirmation as she turned rather miffed at him. Neville and Ginny were very surprised that Hermione was not able to perform a fourth year spell.
Luna, however, nodded her head and said, " hmm…. make sense "
Hermione raised her eyebrow in a challenging manner. Luna gave her explanation, " well….just because you concentrated hard on performing the summoning charm need not necessarily cleared a way for your notebook to make its way to you " in a somewhat serious manner.
Hermione nodded approvingly, " yes…luna is very right, - " she looked at her still three confused friends and continued to explain further, " I found my notebook laid on the floor as I entered my dormitory…I realized then and there that the door for the entrance to my dormitory was the reason I had to walk all the way to my dormitory to get my notebook….you see.. when you summon an object which has quite a distance from you, not only you must concentrate to summon the object of interest, but you must also concentrate that nothing will stand in its path "
Ron was a bit frustrated and asked his friend Hermione what in the bloody hell she was talking about, " what exactly are you trying to say hermione? " in annoyance.
Hermione ignored Ron's tone. " remember when fred and george summoned their broomsticks to escape from umbridge? " said Hermione, then she waited until all of her friends recalled the incident in question.
" one of their broomsticks had a heavy chain and an iron peg " Ron recalled.
Hermione nodded her head and said, "….and if you recall, the heavy chain and iron peg were used by umbridge to fasten them to a wall "
Understanding came over Neville as to what Hermione had been trying to say for the past few minutes, " so what you're trying to say is that if fred and george didn't concentrate hard enough for the heavy chain and iron peg to have no effect…they wouldn't have had summoned their brooms "
Hermine smiled proudly at Neville. " yes….that's exactly what I've been trying to say "
" what does the heavy chain and iron peg got to do with harry's first task? " asked Ron in confusion.
Neville explained this time, " think about it ron…harry summoned his broomstick from the edge of the forbidden forest and… if you remember…. his broomstick was in our dormitory and the door happened to be closed that day and I know this because I remember I was the last one to leave…now, think of the door being closed was one of many obstacles for harry's broom to overcome in order for it to reach harry "
Ron finally understood, " aahh…so the farther an object from you the harder it will be for you to summon it…since many obstacles could stand in its path to you "
" hmm…interesting…..professor flitwick told us only to concentrate hard on the object we want to summon " Ginny said to no one in particular.
" I guess that was why professor flitwick was very proud of harry's perfect summoning charm " mused Hermione.
" hey guys……..I'm going back to the castle, so I'll see you at dinner okay" said Neville as he stood up abruptly from his chair.
" is everything alright, neville " asked Ginny with concern.
" no need to worry….everything is alright " said Neville with a smile.
" we'll see you at dinner then mate " said Ron.
Neville was immersed in his thoughts about his famous and powerful friend Harry Potter during his walk back to the castle. Since he was little, Neville always imagined himself being good friend with the boy-who-lived and sometimes even wished for such thing to happen. He always thought that Harry Potter would have laughed at him for wanting to be good friends as there were many others who would want to be Harry Potter's good friend. In first year, he was too star-awestruck to actually talked to the boy-who-lived casually, thus he was content to watch Harry Potter as a third party. As he watched the boy-who-lived through out the years, Neville had come to a conclusion that Harry was destined to be great, regardless Harry himself chose to accept it or not. He learned little by little that Harry's life was not too far off from his and Harry always managed to do more than he ever could if the position were to switch, and because of that his respect for the boy-who-lived had grown and had vowed to fight along side the boy-who-lived in the frontline. In fifth year, he had his shot as he fought side by side with the boy-who-lived against Voldemort's death eaters.
Neville was fairly surprised when Harry enrolled in useless classes except for defense against the dark arts class that could help Harry to reach his full potential, but for some unknown reasons he believed that Harry was trying to reach his potentials behind the public's eyes. His believe was confirmed when he felt Harry's powerful spell during defense against the dark arts class earlier in the day. He knew that Harry was more powerful than Malfoy could ever be, but he just did not know that Harry could be that powerful.
Neville immediately looked for the boy-who-lived as he stepped inside Hogwarts. He passed several groups of younger female students from all the four houses and all were talking about the boy he was looking for.
" you girls heard what harry potter did for laura madley and eleanor branston from hufflepuff…. " said a girl in a group of six girls.
" oh my gosh…..I couldn't believe he stood up to malfoy and his crews for two third years….he is so brave….I wish it was me….ooooo…I would so kiss him…" said another girl, which caused a wave of giggles from the others. Neville stopped his search for the boy-who-lived momentarily as he followed the group of younger female students.
As the wave of giggles ended, another girl spoke, " yes….I heard eleanor is still in state of shock that she kissed harry potter…… she keep telling her friends that she had found her knight in shining armour…. ", which caused another wave of giggles larger than the previous one. Neville had to shake his head as he pitied the boy-who-lived for being the subject of many young girls' romantic nonsense or crushes.
Neville turned to another hallway that led to the Gryffindor tower as the group of young girls he was following went straight ahead. After walking several meters, he saw two wizards readied to have a duel. He walked closer to see who the two wizards were.
" no way…..it's harry and snape, " thought Neville in shock.
Neville smiled a demented smile as he walked a bit closer, " I hope snape get the beating of his life…and I might have my revenge "
" merlin….snape is fast….hehehee….harry's faster….wow! "
" how…in…what….man….can't believe harry beat snape that fast… and he's one of the dueling teacher… " thought Neville incoherently as he saw his dueling teacher was down rather easily.
An evil thought crossed Neville's mind as Harry walked away from Snape, then he took his wand out to do some revenge. He concentrated hard and said the stunning spell, " stupefy " with added power softly.
Neville walked over to the now petrified and stunned potion master and concentrated very hard to pour as much power as he possibly could for a prank charm, he had read in a book.
Neville pointed his wand at Snape's crotch area and said, " haireetus buttocks ". He walked away with a new level of demented-ness after he saw the effect of his charm.
Neville sped up his walk to catch Harry, but he had lost the sight of Harry since he spent too long concentrating for his prank charm on Snape. He entered the Gryffindor common room and found no Harry on sight, but he saw a group of second year students gathered at a table in the common room. He walked up to the group of second year Gryffindors to ask whether they had seen Harry or not.
" hey….has any of you seen harry? " asked Neville. Three girls had a sudden attack of giggles after he finished his question.
" yeah….he stepped through the portrait not too long ago and he went straight to the stairway….to his bed I presume " answered a boy who was rather miffed with one of the three giggling girls.
" thanks " said Neville with a smirk and a quick glance to the girl in question, which caused the boy to blush heavily.
" hey har… " said Neville, then paused as he looked around the room, " where the bloody hell did he go? " said Neville to no one in particular.
Neville pondered for several minutes whether he should wait for Harry in the dormitory or walk around the castle again.
" might as well read my book on curses while I wait for him " said Neville as he sit on his bed with a book in front of him. He was not really reading his book, as he was still in shock about the duel between Harry and Snape.
……………………………………..
" protego " said Harry immediately after he apparated back to his dormitory to meet Neville.
" neville wait…. " interrupted Harry as Neville was about to launch another spell.
" who are you? " asked a quite scary looking Neville with his wand still trained on Harry.
" it's me harry….your roommate " said Harry.
" impossible….. " exclaimed the now downright scary looking Neville.
Harry mentally had to hold down a glee as he saw right before his eyes how beneficial it would be to have Neville as his right hand man. " why would be impossible, neville? " asked the boy-who-lived in his teacher mode.
" is it because nobody could apparate within hogwarts " answered Harry to his own question.
" fine…prove that you are harry potter or else " demanded Neville seriously.
" very well " said Harry, then he turned to his right and conjured his silver patronous, " expecto patronum "
Neville was shocked too many times since his defense against the dark arts class earlier in the afternoon as he recognized Harry's patronus. " wha….ho….you appar….damn you're good " said the shell shocked Neville.
" hmmm….you have no idea " said Harry with a playful smirk.
" so what was it that you want to talk to me about neville? " said Harry after he put his strongest privacy charm around the room.
Neville snapped back to reality and said, " harry….it is obvious that you are doing stuff behind the public's eyes….and I want to join you…please let me "
Harry plastered his most evil look with an appropriate feeling and said, " why should I let you to join me… because you could not comprehend what it is that I'm doing and what I'm planning to do… trust me on that "
Instead of being a scare little cat, Neville locked eyes with the boy-who-lived and said, " because once you tell me your reasons for doing whatever it is that you're doing or planning to do…. and I still choose to follow you…. I will not disappoint you " with an epic determination.
Harry had to clamp down his thrill as he told Neville everything even the crucial part of the prophecy. " so….what are you thinking " asked Harry to his wide-eyed friend after he finished telling the entire story.
" let me get this straight….I could have been the one destined to fight voldemort….but instead he chose you " said Neville to clarify everything that he had heard.
Harry nodded. " because of refusing to accept the extra training that ron, hermione, and ginny are doing…. mcgonagall has been shirty with you…..and you plan to bring the war to voldemort and his minions back to them as if you were the dark lord himself….. " summed up Neville.
Neville straightened his posture and said, " well then…please let me be your first follower " straight to Harry's eyes.
" neville….didn't you hear everything what I've just told you " asked Harry.
Neville raised his eyebrows questioningly and said, " I've heard everything "
" even the part of doing some necessary cruelty like torturing the death eaters….maybe even kill them " said Harry, trying to scare Neville.
Neville's expression turned ice cold and said, " well it is time that these people learn…. for there will be price to be paid if they want to accomplish their kind of goals, - ". Harry mentally smirked as Neville paused to gather a perfect statement.
" I mean…why should those who want peace must suffer the most… no….I refuse to let them think that they are dealing with a pushover.. no…they will pay and I will make sure of that….even if I have to suffer some dark curses as I prepare myself for the upcoming war " stated Neville.
" well then….be prepared for a long road ahead " said Harry as he offered his hand to Neville.
Neville took Harry's hand and said, " then prepare I must "
" ready to start your first extensive training " asked Harry with a vile smile.
" bring it.. potter " said Neville in cold voice.
" you will learn how to guard your conscious mind as it would be the utmost importance to keep what we are doing behind the public's eyes…this technique is called occlumency…now…if you ever heard that to learn occlumency is to simply empty your mind, make sure you forget that right away… because we are learning occlumency not meditation…..so the first step is to concentrate very hard on a particular thought or memory… strong enough to dominate any other thoughts to be extracted by someone other than you….just remember… you should be the only one who control your own mind since your mind should be your own " explained Harry.
Neville burrowed his eyebrows and asked, " how do you guard your thoughts when you're in sleeping state or in a coma "
Harry answered in his lecturing mode, " aaahhhh…when you're sleeping, it will be your subconscious mind at work…any thoughts your conscious mind has stored could not be extracted, but one can transfer images to your subconscious mind or trap it….so you better hope that you are a strong willed person as your willpower is the thing that will protect you…..for example…when you're having a nightmare….have you ever told yourselves to wake up, - "
" sometimes I do…but other times I usually got caught up in my own nightmare " answered Neville.
Harry smiled and continued with his lecture, " well, don't worry too much about it…as part of our training will help your willpower to get stronger…now, as far as guarding your mind during a coma state…. well let's be honest when you're in a coma…you're neither conscious nor sleeping "
" okay…let's start…. and harry don't go you easy on me " said Neville.
Harry raised his wand to Neville and smirked.
" legilimens ", one could have felt the power behind the spell, and it was downright scary.
Harry kept hitting Neville with his powerful legilimency spell over and over for a good one hour until he suggested something that fully blocked Harry's legilimency spell, " neville…the thought that you could concentrate need not something had happened…it could be something that you want to happen….really want to happen ".
Neville squinted his eyes in concentration. " okay…I think I've got the perfect thought " said Neville finally.
Harry knew already the thought that Neville was concentrating through his soul reading ability, as it was the only thought that Harry intercepted from Neville.
Harry raised his wand again, " be prepared neville…I will be adding much more power than before " and warned the very determined boy.
" give it all you got…potter " said Neville with a very confidence smirk.
Harry smile proudly and, " legilimens " he launched his most powerful legilimency spell. He badgered Neville's mind like there was no tomorrow and surprisingly Neville managed to hold him for ten minutes straight.
" …that was excellent neville…..and if I don't know any better, you want to do that to bellatrix lestrange " said Harry as he lifted his spell.
Neville had a disturbing glint in his eyes and said, " I guess you don't know any better then " with a very vile smile.
Harry was too shocked to think up a reply, but Neville relieved him from commenting back, " you're not the only one who wants to give back…as much as you have received "
" indeed… " said Harry with a smirk.
Neville then had a serious look on his face and asked an intelligent question, " so…who would possibly want to snoop around my mind…and what would happen if that person finds out what I use to block their mind attack? "
" well….this is just a beginning neville…I mean a baby must crawl first before he or she could run….this is just something so that unnecessary people wouldn't have the slightest idea on what we're doing is all…and of course I will be training your mind to do more advance stuffs…need not to worry… " said the boy-who-lived to calm the other boy's nerves.
" …and don't you ever apologize for what and how you feel….as long as you're following me…never ever apologize for the way you feel about something…..understood…if people find out something that they are sorry to find then…it is their fault for being so nosy " continued the boy-who-lived in a very sharp tone.
" yes my lord " said Neville with half joking and half serious tone.
Harry nodded and asked his serious question, " neville… I have a question for you and I want you to answer truthfully…please "
Neville raised his right eyebrow and said, " trust me harry, if you ask a question I do not want to answer…you will know "
" thank you, - " said Harry sincerely, " I've been thinking of inviting luna into our escapade….what do you think? " continued the boy-who-lived.
Neville took a few moments to gather his answer and, " I think it would be a good idea to include luna…she may be weird in her own way, but there is something that I could not put my hands on, - "
" you believe that she's acting weird on purpose…like she is making sure that people don't have the slightest idea what she's thinking about " finished Harry.
" close enough.. " agreed Neville, " but to finish my answer…she would be one of those witches who you would want to be on your side… remember last june as she was the only one unhurt after we got separated "
Harry nodded as he recalled the retched incident.
" she also has been holding back a little during our dueling class " said Neville.
" and you haven't… " said Harry with a knowing smirk.
Neville shook his head and said, " nothing gets past you, huh " with amusement.
" not if I can help it.. " answered the boy-who-lived nonchalantly.
Harry suddenly felt a commotion near the area where he had dueled Snape earlier.
" harry…what's wrong…you seem distracted " asked a concern Neville.
" neville, by any chance you put something on snape " replied Harry as he sensed what the commotion was about. Neville blushed and scratched his head sheepishly.
Harry put on his scolding expression and said, " attacking snape when he was down…was not exactly honorable neville " in sharp tone.
Neville's expression was not what Harry expected as his expression turned very cold. " why should I grant him honor as he had bully me knowing that he himself is a professor " said Neville icily.
" …then you are no different than snape " pointed out by Harry.
" I believe it is well within my right if I want to be different than him or not…you should know that harry as you've kindly had pointed out to our dear know-it-all…after you almost put malfoy in a mental ward " said Neville with amusement as he realized that Harry was pulling his leg.
" you could get in big trouble if someone were to find out that you did the extra things…. " said Harry seriously.
" key word is IF…potter " said Neville off-handedly.
" you're something else…you know that longbottom.. " said Harry before he laughed heartily at Neville's off-hand comment.
Harry took off his privacy charm and said, " let's be part of the commotion.. " to Neville, who was looking too neutral for someone guilty. Neville nodded to show his consent, and they walked out from their dormitory.
The duo decided to go to the great hall since it was almost dinnertime and to avoid any blame that would sure follow.
" hey harry….a girl thinks that you're her knight in shining armour " said Neville as he recalled a conversation he caught earlier.
" accck…I just knew it…why must people blow it out of the proportion " grumbled Harry.
" live with it harry….you should be thankful that you're at least someone else's knight in shining armour….instead someone else's monster " said Neville with chuckles.
Harry looked at Neville with a scowl and said, " you're enjoying too much out of this "
" hey…one would deserve azkaban for not enjoying something like this " said Neville cheekily.
" funny man aren't you…longbottom, - " sneered Harry in playful tone, " beside why can't I be a knight in dark armour….I mean shining armour is too girly " said Harry thoughtfully. Neville laughed heartily at his friend's joke.
The two continued to discuss anything that was not related with their escapade as they walked toward the great hall, using a different route they took earlier. They passed a group of six Hufflepuff female students who are about the same age as Harry and Neville. Most likely headed toward the area where Harry and Snape dueled.
Harry made a mistake of smiling at them, which caused them to have a sudden attack of giggles. He tried to mentally scowl at the six giggling Hufflepuffs, but his teenage hormone was very proud to be a recipient of their giggles.
" make way for the knight in shining armour….ladies " said Neville in his sexy voice. Harry was ready to curse Neville for his attempt at humor, as Neville's comment made their giggling increased in volume.
" I will get you for this, longbottom " said Harry softly as he and Neville walked away from the giggling Ravenclaws.
" sor…sorr…sorry harry….I cou…I couldn't…I couldn't help myself… " said Neville in between laugh.
" hmmph.. " replied the boy-who-lived in mock anger.
" harry….neville " called a girl as the two were about to enter the great hall.
" hey luna.. " greeted Harry while Neville waved at the girl.
" harry…could you and I talk in private…if you're not busy that is, " asked Luna after she had reached the two boys.
" sure.. " replied Harry.
" you can come too neville…if harry don't mind " said Luna before Neville had the chance to dismiss himself.
Harry shrugged his shoulder.
" follow me " ordered Luna, which caused Harry to raise his right eyebrow in amusement.
Luna took the two boys to the third corridor or specifically the room, which had housed a giant three-headed dog.
" go ahead… " said Luna as she opened the door for the two hesitant boys who happened to remember the last time they had entered the room.
Harry checked the area immediately for any uninvited guest as he entered the room Luna had picked. For reasons unknown, he felt that this was the perfect time to invite Luna.
As she was the last one to enter, Luna closed the door and immediately asked Harry to put his strongest privacy charm.
" so…what was it that you want to discuss with such privacy " asked the boy-who-lived after he had cast his strongest privacy charm.
Luna walked across the room away from Harry and Neville ignoring Harry's question. The entire time Harry and Neville were confused as to why Luna walked across the room away from them. As she walked far enough from the two boys, she turned to face Harry.
" luna…why are you… ", Harry was about to ask why Luna walked across the room, but had to halt his question as he jumped to his left to avoid Luna's spell.
" protego ", Harry conjured a shield before his feet even touched the ground to block two spells Luna had sent.
Neville was about to get himself in the middle, but Luna stopped him in his track as she coldly said, " stay out neville "
Harry tried to take advantage Luna's distraction by sending a curse while jumping to his right side, but he underestimated her speed as she had already launched two more curses.
This time, however, Harry was prepared and instead of conjuring another shield, he put his advance dark curse to use " blasius.. blasius "
Luna had no time to be shocked as she dove quickly to her left. Neville was awed at both Luna, for her agility and speed in casting her curses, and Harry for his speed in returning Luna's two curses without saying any incantations, as he never knew such spell existed.
" okay…okay… " said Luna as she got up from the floor.
" what the bloody hell is wrong with you luna? " asked Harry in annoyance.
" scourgify ", Luna cleaned her clothes from dust, " well…I wanted to know whether you actually have some skills along with your power is all " she continued.
" why didn't you just say so… " growled Harry.
" ahhh….you do have the ability to read people's thought " said Luna in excitement shocking Harry and Neville greatly.
" when did you find out, luna? " asked Harry after overcoming his shock. Neville nodded his head in agreement.
This time it was Luna's turn to be shocked. " so…you knew already neville…. "
" I just find out about it today…and you? " said Neville with amusement at Luna's shocked expression.
" well…I had my suspicions back when you came out from your magical exhaustion….but I was not sure, so naturally I tried to find out for myself ever since…but the things that you've said were too random to support my suspicions " said Luna to Harry.
" how… " asked Neville.
Luna looked at Neville and said, " it's hard to explain but I just know it… "
Harry smiled proudly and said, " ahhh…so you have planned our little duel for quite sometime then… "
" yes…. " said Luna with a smirk.
" well…well…it seems that our dear loony lovegood has found a way to block my soul reading ability as I don't feel any anxiety or anything that was related to your desire of having a duel with me " said Harry in amusement.
" you have that ability….wow, " said Luna in shock.
Harry plastered his evil look with its appropriate feeling. " luna…I have a proposition for you… ". Luna nodded her head as a sign for Harry to continue.
Harry told Luna everything as he had to Neville. He was a little bit surprised that Luna was able to keep her mysterious look until the end.
Luna nodded her head in understanding after hearing Harry's entire story and said, " well…it's quite fitting…you are becoming a powerful wizard harry…the dark lord must work fast if he doesn't want a powerful opponent since you are still in your discovery phase…and from the looks of thing…kill or be kill is nothing out of the ordinary "
Harry raised his right eyebrow and asked, " how is it not out of the ordinary… "
Luna rolled her eyes and said, " honestly potter…voldemort is a powerful wizard and you have the potential to be as powerful as him….you wanted to live freely and he wanted to rule others…..either one must prevail since both of you live in the same world…I thought muggle school teach history on war… " in mockery of Harry's intelligent.
Neville laughed at Harry's disgusted look of being mocked.
" what is your answer… " said Harry in a very cold voice as he took his wand out.
Luna was unfazed and said, " count me in as your second follower… so you can put your wand away since memory charm would only make you retell the story again… "
" what makes you think I was going to use it to perform a memory charm….I could force you to join me, you know " said an evil looking Harry while pointing his wand at her. Luna laughed heartily. Out of any reactions, Harry and Neville did not expect laughter from Luna, as Harry was truly looked and felt evil.
" why are you laughing? " asked the now confused Harry Potter.
" please harry…you would not force anybody to be your follower… you want loyal followers…. not followers out of fear " pointed Luna with conviction.
" fine…but are you prepared to learn the dark arts fully…because if you have problems in learning the dark arts or the possibility of using them on people…say it now or forever holds you peace " said Harry to a serious looking Luna.
" if it is necessary to win a war…then I would learn the dark arts and use them on people gladly…so long those people deserve it " replied Luna.
" who are those people….and what makes you think you have the rights to say some people deserve to be victims of the dark arts " asked Harry.
" people who like to harm others for no reason deserve to be victims ….and no one has the rights to say who deserves to be a victim, but this is a war….whether you or I like it or not….people will get hurt regardless of their involvement in this war….so we might as well strike first…. " answered Luna without any emotions.
" be prepared for a tough road ahead…then " said Harry as he offered his hand to Luna.
" then prepare I shall… " said Luna as she took Harry's hand.
" now….both of you just sit and wait until I give you further instructions….and remember that secrecy is the utmost important code we must upheld….so no talking about this unless I give you the go ahead…understood " said Harry seriously.
" yes… " said Luna and Neville at the same time.
" alright let's go back to great hall…I'm hungry " said Harry to his two powerful senior officers as he took off his privacy charm.
" so…what's this I heard about you being eleanor's knight in shinning armour…. " said Luna in mock jealousy as the three walked back to great hall.
" you know that we will train together, right " threatened Harry.
" I just want you to be my knight in shining armour " said Luna with a pout. Neville laughed hard as Harry growled in annoyance.
The great hall was already full of students as Harry, Neville, and Luna entered. Students whispered or giggled amongst each other about the latest gossip in regard to the boy-who-lived. Majority of the faculties were smiling in amusement as the boy-who-lived had done it again, being the center of students' attention. Snape, however, was very livid as he watched the boy-who-lived sauntered to the Gryffindor table.
" luna…come on now…sit with us " said Harry to Luna as she was about to join the Ravenclaw table.
" don't you think the other gryffindor students would be uncomfortable with my presence…I've been sitting there for quite some time " said Luna as she caught some of the Gryffindor students giving her dirty looks.
" they better not…. " said Harry as he gave those who glared at Luna his own deathly glare.
Neville chuckled and said, " luna…so long the boy-who-lived invited you to sit in the gryffindor's table… none would dare to do anything… isn't that right, harry "
" bloody right… " said Harry with his patented smirk, " and neither would the slytherin " he continued as he looked over to Malfoy and his crew.
The three walked over to the spots Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were saving.
" harry… is it true that you did it…. " asked an excited Ron who had forgotten his earlier confrontation Harry.
" did what… " asked a 'confused' Harry Potter as he sat down next to Hermione.
Hermione glared at her friend and said, " you know what you did harry…it was not nice…he's a professor…and you seriously will get in trouble for what you did "
" what did I do….put hair on snape's arse or something " said Harry 'heatedly'.
Many students spat out their pumpkin juice and some dropped on the floor laughing really hard, including Ron.
" someone actually did put hair on snape's arse… " said Neville feigning innocence.
" it's professor snape " said Hermione to scold Harry and Neville.
" yo...yo…you…sho…you should…have seen it " said Ginny between her giggles.
" WELL, - " asked Hermione ignoring her friends' amusement at the potion master's expense.
" well what….hermione.. " asked the boy-who-lived patiently.
" did you do it…you know, - " said Hermione as she stopped herself from completing the sentence.
" could please be a little bit more specific, hermione? " asked Harry who wanted his uptight friend to finish her sentence.
" you know…did…you put…hair on… " Hermione paused as she could not believe that her friends were now having fun at her expense, " never mind " finished Hermione in a huff and red cheeks.
" no I did not do it….I swear you that I did not put hair on snape's arse….UUGGH…if seeing his bare arse is bad enough…I don't need to see them harboring hairs too " said Harry in disgust, which only served to make the entire Gryffindor students clutched their stomachs in pain due to laughter. Even Hermione forgot to scold the boy-who-lived for not referring Snape with his rightful title, as she was too busy containing her laughter. Harry looked over to the faculty table and caught the Headmaster's wink.
" so what happened… " asked Luna to her three other Gryffindor friends.
" ron, ginny, and I were heading to gryffindor tower when we saw several students gathered in a particular spot….we headed over to see what got them so interested….then we saw professor snape on the floor petrified and stunned, - " Hermione paused to see whether her friend Harry had a look of guilt…none however.
" how did you know he was petrified and stunned, hermione " asked Luna.
" well at first I thought professor snape was just stunned with a powerful stunner, -" Hermione looked at Harry again, but he had no look of guilt on his face.
" why are you keep looking at me hermione…I didn't do it " said Harry with his most pathetic voice.
" because it took both ron and I to revive professor snape… anyway….he was still lying on the floor rigid except his eyes after we revived him " continued Hermione but was stopped by Neville's question, " what did you mean by it took both you and ron together to revive snape "
Hermione answered in red face, " well…I didn't manage to put more power in my spell during our defense class " and proceeded to glare to anybody who dared to give a snicker.
" awww…come on babe…don't be so hard on yourselves…right ronald " said Harry as he hugged Hermione and gave Ron a wink, which thankfully only Neville and Luna caught it. Ron was blushing red tomato, out of anger or out of embarrassment Harry decided to ponder for later time.
" get off of me, - " said Hermione as she pushed her annoying friend away from her.
" please stop flirting harry…I want to hear the story before the night is over " said Luna feigning annoyance.
" you're not jealous are you luna…I have plenty to give around " said Harry in his supposedly suave voice.
" please continue hermione…let the knight in shining amour be " said Neville nonchalantly, this time everyone had their amusement at Harry's expense.
" fine…continue please " said Harry in mock growl.
" all of us tried to revive professor snape…I mean all of us that were there….which include those who are able to add more power in their spell….but professor snape was still petrified…a student who had gone to get professor dumbledore came back with professor flitwick instead…it took professor flitwick twice until he release professor snape from the spell…and that was it " finished Hermione.
" that was not it, - " said Ron upset at Hermione for leaving out the best part of the story, " well…sna… I mean professor snape got up after he was release from the spell, - " Ron was not able to continue as he was too busy laughing.
" aaahhh…he got up and it was for the world to see… right " guessed the boy-who-lived. Harry was shocked how loud Hermione laughed.