A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner, I really am. But several things just made it impossible for me to prepare a chapter before now. I've had exams, writer's block and several other things that just kept me from editing as I finished the chapters. Hopefully, with the approach of Summer, I'll have more free time. Summer usually is a busy time for me but things look to be much slower this year. Well, I'll continue with the story; I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with the next two chapters, but I'll leave to you to decide.
Disclaimer: This story is not meant to be distributed for monetary gain as most characters, places and things belong to JK Rowling, only a few characters and plot belong to me.
Chapter 8 Dumbledore's Army Returns
By the end of that first week every former member of the D.A. were aware of the meeting on Friday night. Some seemed eager to attend others were seemed to vacillate, but Harry was sure they would all attend if only out of curiosity.
Friday arrived and Harry was glad their first week of classes was over. Harry had turned in his form to Lupin (as had Ron and Hermione) and was now waiting eagerly for the new class to begin the following week.
Most inhabitants of Hogwarts were now sitting in the Great Hall for dinner. But Harry noticed Dumbledore was not present and neither was Hagrid.
"Something wrong, Harry?" Asked Hermione when she noticed that Harry wasn't eating.
Harry turned to look at her in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked if there was something wrong." Hermione repeated looking worried that Harry had not paid attention.
Ron had stopped eating as he glanced up to look at his two friends.
"No, why do you ask?" Said Harry looking confused.
"You're not eating." Said Hermione simply.
"Oh, I was just looking at the staff table." Said Harry nodding to the front of the Hall.
Ron and Hermione turned to look in the direction Harry had motioned at.
"What about it?" Asked Ron as he looked back to his own food.
"Just wondering where Dumbledore and Hagrid were." Said Harry finally turning his attention to his plate and started choosing from the platters in the center of the table.
Neville, (who sat beside Ron across from Harry beside Ron) heard Harry's concern. "I heard Dumbledore is worried." He said.
"About what?" Asked Ron at his side.
"About the latest reports of course. The Ministry has tried all summer to get the Giants on our side, but so far they haven't had much success. I heard some of those they sent to meet the Giants never made it back." He added with a whisper.
Hermione looked skeptical, but Ron and Harry were worried. Both remembered well what had happened to Hagrid on his trip to the Giants, he had no success either but returned home with a Giant brother instead.
"What does that have to do with Dumbledore and Hagrid not being at the table tonight?" Asked Hermione looking bored.
"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Said Ron. "Dumbledore may want Hagrid to go and see the Giants again."
"What do you mean again?" Asked Neville.
"Er..." Harry had kicked Ron under the table.
"He means that Dumbledore probably wanted Hagrid to go for the Ministry and they didn't wanted him." Hermione said glaring at Ron.
"Oh, that makes more sense, doesn't it, Hagrid is a half giant, maybe they'll listen to him." Neville said.
They didn't respond. Hermione was frowning into her plate and Ron and Harry were looking intently to the staff table as if willing Dumbledore and Hagrid to appear.
"Did you read the article in the Prophet this morning?" Neville asked not noticing that they weren't paying much attention to him.
"Which one?" Asked Hermione. She had stopped her subscription this week as she didn't want Harry to become obsessed with it, but she had glanced through it when she found a copy from one of her roommates.
"The one about the Minister." Neville said.
"What happened to him?" Asked Ron turning his attention back to the conversation.
"Well, there is this petition going around." Neville started.
"But they have been talking about it all summer." Ron exclaimed.
Harry grunted his agreement. He had heard about the petition and thought it wouldn't do much good.
"That's just it, until yesterday it was just talk." Neville said.
"What do you mean?" Asked Harry.
"Yesterday the petition was turned in to the Ministry with more than 150,000 signatures on it. Today, the Wizengamot called a special hearing and will decide whether to ask for Fudge's resignation or not." Neville reported.
Ron whistled in surprise.
Harry didn't know whether to believe it or not. He remembered clearly how chummy Fudge had been with the members of the Wizengamot the last year when he went in for his own hearing.
"Will he resign do you think?" Asked Hermione.
"Don't know, but it doesn't look good for him." Ron replied.
"I don't know. He has a lot of friends in high places." Said Harry.
"And among the Death Eaters. There are a lot of people not happy about that." Said Neville.
Harry nodded. Malfoy's known association with the Minister could not be hidden from the public and his capture among the Death Eaters last June didn't help.
"What do you think will happen if the Wizengamot asks for his resignation?" Asked Ron.
"He will have a two weeks to respond." Said Hermione. When the others looked at her curiously she sighed with exasperation. "Honestly, don't you lot pay any attention in History of Magic. We learned about this in fourth year, when we were doing historical background on the Wizengamot and the Ministry."
"Hermione, in fourth year I was too busy thinking how I was going to survive the Triwizard Tournament to pay any attention to the history of the Ministry." Harry scoffed.
"Besides, you're the only one to pay any attention to Binns, the rest just fall asleep by his droning on and on." Ron said.
"Never mind that, what will happen then?" Asked Neville.
Hermione glared at Harry and Ron but turned to Neville to explain. "Fudge will have two weeks to respond. He will either resign or not. If he decides not to resign, then a special election will be called and the public will decide whether to keep him as Minister or not."
"I think Fudge will resign, it's the more honorable way." Ron said.
"Perhaps, but he's too in love with his position to let it go so easily." Said Harry.
"It would be less embarrassing if he resigns than if the special election is called and he loses." Said Neville.
"He might not lose." Hermione replied.
"Come off it, Hermione. Of course, he'll lose. The public is not happy with him right now. They might accept that one of his greatest supporters is a Death Eater, they might think that Fudge was under the Imperius Curse, even Umbridge's actions under his command and the attack on Harry could be explained by it. But the thing that they won't accept is the fact that he refused to believe Dumbledore and Harry about You-Know-Who's return. Hell, Hermione, even the story of how Crouch escaped Azkaban and that it was he who helped You-Know-Who get his dirty hands on Harry has come out. And so did the fact that instead of carrying Crouch to be questioned, Fudge allowed a dementor to kiss him killing the chance to know the whole story." Ron exclaimed. "No, I don't think Fudge has any chance of retaining his position as Minister of Magic."
Harry nodded his agreement as he had more to be angry with the Minister than anybody else. "He allowed Voldemort to regain power Hermione. We don't know much of what he and the Death Eaters did during the past year. We only know a little of what he planned to do and that's only because of the Order and let's face it, there aren't a lot of members to go around. If the Minister had only listened instead of maligning my character, not to mention Dumbledore's, maybe then there had been no need to run off to the Ministry only to stumble into a trap." The sound of his food exploding off his plate stopped him from saying anything more. His voice had been increasing in volume as he continued with his tirade. By the time he stopped everybody in the Great Hall was looking at him.
Harry groaned and pushed his empty plate away. "I'm going to prepare for the meeting." He growled and stormed off the table.
He heard the explosion of buzzing conversations the moment he left the Great Hall. He knew everybody was discussing what had just happened and he couldn't blame them. How could he had lost his temper and forgotten where he was? He asked himself. There was no answer, of course. The fact was that the memory of what had happened that night in the Ministry was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't forget that because of him his godfather had lost his life and his friends had almost lost theirs. He chuckled with bitter amusement at the thought that if he had been as angry as he was at the moment he was sure that the Cruciatus Curse he tried on Bellatrix Lestrange would've lasted longer than it did.
Everybody seemed to still be at dinner as Harry walked through the deserted corridors to the Room of Requirement. Slowly, he put aside the dark thoughts that had invaded his mind as he reached the seventh floor and noticed the door in front the tapestry.
Harry frowned. How could there be a door if he hadn't even walked three times before it thinking about what he needed?
He grasped the knob and twisted. The door opened easily before him.
The room was darker than when they used it for their meetings. He stood at the threshold as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He couldn't see the walls, no candles or lamps were anywhere, the light just seemed to radiate from the middle of the room.
He stepped slowly toward the light. It was just as he reached the center that he noticed he was not alone.
A young woman was standing in the middle of the room, it was from her that the dim light was coming from. Harry readily recognized her as the girl who shared his compartment on the trip from London. Brenna.
He looked in silence, not wanting to startle her in any way.
She stood rigidly in silence, her eyes were closed and if it hadn't been for slow movement of her chest as she breathed he would've thought she was a statue instead of a real person.
Suddenly, her eyes opened and the room burst into light. He saw the familiar walls with torches lighting the room. The sneakoscopes, secrecy sensors and the large, cracked Foe-Glass stood where they had been the last time he had seen them. The walls were once more lined with wooden bookcases and the silk cushions littered the room.
Brenna was looking at him in silence, her silvery robes flowing effortlessly down her body and her dark hair was gathered neatly in a lose bun at the nape of her head.
"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you." Said Harry flushing with embarrassment. He knew he should have waited until the room was unoccupied, instead, he let his curiosity get the better of him.
Brenna nodded abruptly. "That's all right." She said. "I should be going." She started walking to the door.
"Wait." Called Harry.
Brenna stopped by the door and looked back at him.
"Er...I just...I just wanted to know how your first week was." He said slowly.
Brenna looked at him for a moment before responding. "Well enough." She finally replied.
"Er...I'll see you around then." Said Harry not knowing what else to say.
Brenna nodded and walked out of the room.
Harry stood in silence. Minutes later, the door opened and he stopped thinking about what he had seen. Ron and Hermione entered, followed by Ginny and Neville.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Asked Ron.
"Hmmm? Oh yeah." Harry exclaimed and started to look around. He had been so preoccupied trying to figure out what Brenna had been doing instead of planning what he needed to tell the group.
The others watched him warily but as he said no more they seemed relieved after a few seconds.
The remaining members of the group started to come in.
"Hello Harry!"
"What's to do, Harry, why are we here?" Several asked as they entered.
"I'll tell once everybody is sitting." Harry replied.
It took fifteen minutes for everybody to settle down. Finally, the room fell silent and every member present turned to look at Harry.
Harry looked them over and noticed that although Cho was there, she did not look comfortable being there, the only person not there, besides those who had left Hogwarts the previous year, was Marietta Edgecomb.
"It seems that we're all here." He said. "The reason I called you for this meeting is simple. Dumbledore is interested for this group to become an official school club."
There was an eruption of noise as everybody started to exclaim and shout out their thoughts at this news.
Harry raised his hand and motioned them to silence. "But..." He yelled as he waited for their silence. "But there are a few things that we'll have to do in order to do so."
"Like what?" Neville asked.
"Well, one – we need a sponsor." Harry said.
"A sponsor? What for?" Ginny exclaimed.
"To chaperone us." Harry said.
The room exploded with indignant exclamations.
"I know, I know." Yelled Harry. "But every school club has one and if we want to become one we need one too."
There were a few grumbles but others nodded with understanding.
"The sponsor will also help us with our training and give us some advise, he'll have no say on how we run our meetings." Harry continued explaining.
"That's something." Somebody said but Harry couldn't say who.
"I've asked Professor Lupin and he has accepted." Harry said.
There were many nods of agreement and few relieved expressions.
"That isn't bad." Said Ginny, smiling.
"Well, there is one more thing." Harry said with a grimace.
"Why do I have the feeling we won't like it." Said Dean.
"Because you won't." Said Ron.
Harry glared them into silence. "As an official school club we cannot close our doors to any house, which means that Slytherin will be able to take part in our training."
"What?" Several exclaimed.
"Why would we want those slimy gits in here?"
"After what they tried to do last year."
"We can't let them disturb our training."
"I have O.W.L.s to train for this year."
"We can't let them in."
"It's not fair."
Harry let them rage, wasn't he unhappy about this proposition too?
It took several minutes for everybody to calm down once more.
"What do you think, Harry." Asked Ernie Macmillan.
Harry seemed thoughtful for a second before responding. "I'm not too happy about it, but I agree with Dumbledore that we need this group to be official. With Lupin here maybe the Slytherins will comport themselves, who knows? It might help. I think Dumbledore is just trying to bring all the houses together, and we can't really keep the Slytherins from taking part."
His audience listened carefully, some seemed resigned, others were clearly still unsure.
"Who knows, they might not want to take part. But in any event we need a few rules. If we set them up now and anybody breaks them, we can chuck them out of the group." The others nodded in agreement. "Maybe a new manifest. One thing is for sure, we won't need our old signed parchment anymore, as there is no need for us to remain secret from the rest of the school." Many eyes turned to look at Cho in anger and Cho herself lowered her eyes, Harry could see her flush red, whether in anger, shame or embarrassment, he didn't know. "Hermione?"
Hermione stood and turned to look at the rest of the group. She cleared her throat. "Yes, well...we thought it would be a good idea to create a new manifest. You know one, where we could list our rules and promise to help and support each other in our hour of need. Every member should sign it of course, accepting the rules and making an oath to follow them."
"Are you going to put a hex on it, like you did the last time?" Asked Zacharias Smith.
"I think there should be." Exclaimed Justin Finch-Fletchley glowering at Cho once more. "When we say we'll help each other and never betray any member of the club we should mean it."
There were many assents and a few doubting glances, only Cho remained silent. Harry could see her biting her lower lip, as if trying to keep quiet.
"We can vote on all this." Harry said calling the attention of every member. "But when we say that we are going to support each other we should mean it. No more blame over what happened on our last meeting." He said looking at everybody closely. Some lowered their heads in order to evade his eyes, some fidgeted in their seats. "Cho brought somebody she thought was a friend. She had no notion that she would betray us anymore than the rest of us. But that is all in the past, and all we can do is start anew. We can't let our personal feelings for each other take away from what we have to do. In a battle you can't let your enemy take advantage over you, and believe me, personal feelings can get in the way."
The room was silent for a moment as Harry took a deep breath before continuing. "If we are voting on this, we should do so, otherwise we can meet again another time."
"We'll do it now, better sooner than later." Said Ron calling everybody's attention to what was at hand.
"All right. Raise your hand if you agree to make the D.A. an official club." Said Harry raising his hand. Everybody followed his example.
Harry nodded with a small smile. "We're an official school club." He said. The others cheered. "On with the rules." Harry continued.
Hermione promptly pulled out parchment and quills.
"How should we phrase this?" Asked Harry thoughfully.
"With the oath, of course." Said Luna. Everybody looked at her in surprise, but she didn't seem to pay any attention as she looked dreamily on.
"Better place to start." Said Ron.
Hermione was writing swiftly over the parchment. "What about this?" She asked after a few minutes. "We, as members of Dumbledore's Army (the D.A.), take an oath to follow the club's rules, to be faithful to our fellow members and follow our leaders." She read. "We can write the list of rules here." She added.
"That sounds good enough." Said Harry. "Let's see. The first rule should be that members should support and help each other in any way possible."
The others nodded and Hermione wrote.
"No attacking each other in or out of training." Said Ron.
"We'll need that one with Slytherins in the group." Terry Boot said.
The others seemed to agree.
"Members will not betray the trust of another in any way." Said Cho softly.
A few looked at her with surprise but Harry smiled and nodded. "Very important." He said. "Members will listen to advice and leadership of sponsor and leaders." Harry said. "We don't have to follow them, but we can listen." He explained with a smile.
Others chuckled and smiled.
Other rules were thought up and discussed, some made it into the list, others were thrown out in laughter. Finally the list was finished, and the parchment passed around to sign. Everybody present signed the parchment. Hermione conjured a copy and enlarged it.
"We should place this copy here." She said placing the parchment on a wall.
The others nodded and smiled.
"That's done." Declared Harry. "I will talk with Dumbledore and probably place an announcement in the Hall. When there are enough people interested in joining I'll call another meeting so we can all have a say on who will be allowed to stay."
The others assented.
"It's getting late. Keep your coins with you and refer anybody wanting to join us to me. Good night." Said Harry.
"Good night, Harry." Several called as they left the room.
A few minutes later, only Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained. Ginny had been sent glowering by a scowling Ron, Neville walked behind her to the common room.
"That went well." Said Ron once the door had been closed behind the last departing member of the D.A.
Harry nodded as he started to push the cushions toward the walls. He pushed one against the frame of the Foe-Glass. He looked up and glanced at the moving shadows in the cracked surface.
"We should be getting back to the common room." Said Hermione. "It's almost nine."
They made they way out of the room and walked down the almost deserted corridors toward the Gryffindor common room.
Nobody said anything, each lost in their own thoughts.
The common room was almost empty when they reached it; only a few people were up working on the tables scattered around the room.
Ron sighed tiredly and threw himself on one of the couches. "We have patrol duties tonight, don't we?" He asked making a face.
"You know we do, so don't you dare fall asleep because it will take me a while to wake you up when the time comes." Warned Hermione.
"Yeah, yeah." Said Ron lying on the couch.
"I'm going to bed." Said Harry. He felt tired and he really didn't feel like working in any of his papers or waiting up with Ron and Hermione until it was time for them to leave to their patrolling.
"All right, good night." Said Hermione giving Harry a worried glance.
"Good night, Harry." Called Ron from his comfortable perch.
Harry knew that Hermione wanted to talk about what had happened that evening at dinner, but he really didn't want to discuss it. He had lost control and was sorry for it but didn't want to talk about it.
Seamus was already in bed, the curtains drawn around the four-poster bed and the sound of soft snores coming from within. Neville was still up, watering his mimbulus mimbletonia that was placed against the nearest window by his bed. Dean was not in sight, and Harry assumed he was in the bathroom.
"Good night, Harry." Said Neville as he climbed into bed.
"Night." Replied Harry.
He climbed into bed, not bothering to change into his pajamas. He lay on his back, looking up at the canopy above him. Brenna's image came to mind and Harry wondered how she had managed to emit that light from her body. He had never seen anybody do that before, not even Dumbledore, then again, he hadn't seen much of Dumbledore unless it was something important or he got into his usual trouble.
"I wonder if she'd teach me." He whispered.
It wasn't long until he fell asleep.
-------
He was sitting in a darkened room, the only light came from the lit fireplace nearby. He was alone for the moment, but he was waiting for somebody. He was becoming impatient, he didn't like being cooped up in this room, but he knew he had no choice. He had a lot to do, and only incompetents to help him along.
He heard the sound of a door opening and closing in another room. He glanced quickly to the door in front of him at the other side of the room.
There was a quick knock before the door opened and a tall man with dark robes entered. He bowed deeply before standing warily before him.
"Well?" Harry heard himself say.
"I'm sorry, my lord, we don't know where to look." He man before him said with a slight tremble in his voice.
Harry knew the man before him was scared, and he was glad of that fact.
"We've looked everywhere, my lord, but we haven't found it." The man said shaking a little.
"We need her, we'll only get to it if she leads us there." Harry felt his mouth move but he knew the voice didn't belong to him.
"But she's at Hogwarts, my lord. We can't get to her." The other man said.
"Then we'll have to find a way to do so, don't you think?" Harry now knew that he was inside Voldemort's body.
"But how, my lord?" The Death Eater exclaimed.
"We'll find a way." Voldemort hissed.
Harry awoke abruptly. He heard Ron on the bed beside him as he readied for bed, and knew that Ron's movements had awoken him.
Harry groaned and nestled among the blankets.
"Harry?" Ron's voice spoke from the other side of his curtains.
"Yeah?" Replied Harry.
"I thought you were asleep." Ron whispered.
"I was." Harry whispered back.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Ron sounded contrite and even though Harry knew more about Voldemort's plans, he was also glad that he wasn't inside of Voldemort's mind any longer.
"Doesn't matter." He said. "I should change, I fell asleep before I did." He yawned and thought for a second that he should stay in his uniform, but soon changed his mind.
"Good night." Ron said and Harry heard him draw the curtains rustle around the bed.
"Good night." Harry whispered. He climbed down from bed and grasped his pajamas from the foot of the bed. He had asked Lotty not to wait for him but it was obvious that the elf had been there and prepared his bed for the night before he arrived after the meeting. He changed hurriedly and dropped his uniform on top of his trunk. He climbed up into bed and moments later he fell asleep once more.
He was walking down the corridor to the Department of Mysteries, he had seen it so often during the past year that he could easily recognized it. He entered into the circular room, the doors around it were closed. Some had the marks they had left behind on their visit last June. The doors suddenly opened and Harry could see every room they had been in through their fight with the Death Eaters. Only one door remained closed and Harry knew it was the one they couldn't open when they had been there.
He saw his hand push against it and the door opened slowly before him.
He was immediately surrounded by mist. He looked around him, but couldn't see beyond a foot in front of him. He couldn't even see the door he had just come through.
He continued looking around and noticed a dim light a few feet away from him.
"Hello?" He called. There was no response, but the light started to move away from him.
"Wait!" He yelled and started running toward the light.
He couldn't see where the light was coming from, but it kept accelerating as he ran after it. Suddenly the mist cleared and he saw himself standing in a middle of a piece of land, no bigger than ten feet in diameter. He was surrounded in water and the light he had followed was gone.
He noticed something shining brightly a few feet away from where he stood, as he got closer to the source he noticed that it was a plain sword, a scepter and a staff embedded in the sand.
There were other things hidden beneath the sand, some which looked like jewelry.
Harry was curious and reached for the scepter. A bright light shone into his eyes and Harry woke abruptly from his dream.
A sliver of sunlight hit his eyes through a corner of the window. The curtains around his bed had been drawn back and he could see Seamus and Dean were still in bed, while Ron and Neville were up.
He groaned sleepily and yawned as he started kicking the blankets from his feet.
"Good morning, Master Harry." Lotty chirped beside the bed.
Harry was startled awake by the high-pitched voice and looked to Lotty in surprise. "Oh, good morning Lotty." He said.
"Should Lotty bring a tray up, Master Harry? Or is Master Harry wanting to go down to the Great Hall?" The elf asked as he placed a pair of jeans and clean shirt and socks at the foot of the table.
Harry was tempted to stay in bed and ask for a tray, he really didn't want to remember what happened the last time he was in the Great Hall, but knew that he couldn't hide away from it. "I'll go down." He said with a sigh. "Make sure my Quidditch robes are ready, I scheduled training for this afternoon." He said as he left his bed.
His bathrobe and a couple of towels were waiting for him beside the bathroom door. Harry left Lotty to his duties and turned toward the bathroom.
"Oh, good morning, Harry." Exclaimed Neville as he left the bathroom as Harry made to open the door.
"Mornin' Neville." Harry yawned.
"Ron's in there." Neville motioned to the closed bathroom door.
Harry nodded and went in the bathroom without any more interruptions.
Hermione was waiting for them in the common room when Harry and Ron went down to breakfast.
"I thought you were in the Great Hall already." Ron said as Hermione stood before them as they reached the landing.
"I decided to wait for you." Said Hermione looking at Harry closely.
"I'm fine." Snapped Harry. He knew his friends were worried but that didn't mean he liked them keeping an eye on him at all times.
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise, but didn't say anything.
"Er...yeah, let's go to the Great Hall, I'm hungry." Said Ron giving Hermione a warning glance and led them out the common room.
Many turned to look at Harry as they made their way to the Gryffindor table, but Harry ignored them.
They found some spaces across from Ginny.
"Good morning." Ginny greeted them with a smile.
"Morning." Mumbled Harry.
Ginny glanced at him before turning to look at Hermione. "Hermione, I hoped that you could help me with something."
"Of course, Ginny. What can I help you with?" Asked Hermione as she started to pile toast and bacon on her plate.
"Well, I was wondering if I could see at your notes from last year. I need help with mine on Transfiguration and Charms, you're tidier than I am." Ginny said quickly.
"Oh, yeah, you can see them." Hermione said. "I bet you're a little worried about your O.W.L.s this year."
"Yeah. I don't think I'll do as well on Charms as I could wish. So far it seems to be Acceptable, but I want a higher note." Ginny confessed.
"Acceptable is good." Said Ron who had followed the conversation closely.
"For you maybe, but not for me. I want to do better." Ginny snapped.
"I did better than Acceptable." Ron exclaimed. "Just because you're not doing as well as you'd hope doesn't mean you can snap on me."
"I'm sorry, it's just that we've barely began and my work load is heavier than I had imagined." Ginny apologized.
"Alright, I guess." Ron said grudgingly. "Maybe Quidditch will help you relax."
Ginny groaned. "I had forgotten about Quidditch."
"What?" Both Ron and Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"How could you forget about Quidditch?" Ron asked.
"You're a chaser, you tried out for that position, it's a little too late for you to go changing your mind." Harry said. "We have practice this afternoon. And you better be there."
"Don't do that! She should be worried about her O.W.L.s you know how important they are." Hermione chided them. "You can play Quidditch any time, whether you pass your O.W.L.s or not, but your future depends on those tests."
"You're right, I'm sorry Ginny." Said Harry looking down at his plate. "I guess I overreacted."
"So did I, sorry." Mumbled Ron at his side.
"That's alright. I'm not going to leave the Quidditch team, you're right Ron, Quidditch will help me relax." Ginny said.
"Harry?" Neville asked at his side.
"Yeah?" Said Harry looking at his roommate.
"Would it be all right if I watch the practice?" Neville asked.
"As long as you don't distract us." Harry said. "You can be there as long as you want."
"Thanks, I'm not a good flyer, but I like Quidditch." Said Neville.
Harry chuckled. "I haven't met a wizard yet who said he didn't like it."
"There are a few," Neville smiled, "but not many."
Harry turned to look at the staff table. He noticed that most of the teachers were present, even the old Headmaster, only Hagrid was missing.
"I should speak with Dumbledore." Said Harry. "I need to speak with him about the D.A."
"Are you posting the announcement about it soon?" Asked Ginny.
"I want to speak with him first, then I'll know how to word the announcement." Harry replied.
"I'm still not happy about having Slytherins in the group." Said Ron. "It won't be as productive as it used to be."
"We have the parchment, they have to sign it when they get in, and we'll know when they break any of the rules." Ginny said.
"What charm did you put on the parchment this time?" Asked Ron looking questioningly at Hermione.
"You'll see. You'll find out if anybody breaks any of the rules." Smiled Hermione.
"Oh, C'mon Hermione, you can tell us." Urged Ginny with a smile. "Is it as fitting as the other one?"
"You'll see." Hermione replied.
Harry laughed. He could remember well what had happened to the last person who broke their most important rule. He only wished that the new charm would be enough to keep the members of the D.A. from making any problems during meetings.
"Doesn't matter what the charm is as long as the Slytherins don't make any problems." Said Neville.
"We'll see what happens once we have the new members in the group." Ron said.
"I'll meet you lot later." Said Harry pushing his plate away from him. "I should speak with Dumbledore now that I have time."
Harry walked up to the staff table. Some students saw him and whispered behind their hands, but Harry only frowned and tried to ignore them.
He reached the staff table in a hurry, some of the teachers turned to look at him with curiosity and others didn't bother to look at him.
"Yes, Harry, something I can do for you?" Asked the Headmaster as Harry came to a stop in front of him.
"Er...I was wondering, Sir, if I could have a word with you." Harry said looking nervously as Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin looked at him questioningly.
"Of course, meet me in my office in half an hour." Said Dumbledore after he peered at Harry closely behind his half-moon glasses for a few seconds.
Harry nodded and started to back away. He stopped for a moment and turned to look back at Dumbledore.
"Er...Sir?" He said softly.
"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore said with a small smile as if he knew what Harry was about to say and it amused him.
"What's the password to your office?" Asked Harry.
Dumbledore chuckled softly. "I wondered if you had forgotten to ask. It's Skiving Snackboxes."
Harry looked at Dumbledore with surprise. "Skiving Snackboxes?"
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Harry smiled and started down out of the Hall. He noticed that Ron and Hermione awaited him by the door.
"Everything okay?" Asked Ron as soon as he had joined him.
"Fine." Said Harry watching the two closely as they stood looking at him with worry. "I'm fine, you know. There's no need for you two to keep a close eye on me all the time." He said as they started to walk down the stairs out the main entrance.
The day was sunny and many students were taking advantage of the nice weather.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked slowly toward the lake.
"We know you're fine, Harry." Hermione said sheepishly. "But we can't help but worry."
"I know you worry, but there are some things that I have to deal on my own. You can't help me with every little thing that happens in my life." Harry replied.
"But you know, don't you, that we'll help you whenever you want us to." Ron said looking at his friend closely.
"And even when I don't want you to?" Said Harry.
"Well, sometimes." Smiled Ron.
"Are you going to tell Dumbledore about your dreams?" Asked Hermione.
Harry looked at Hermione abruptly and frowned. What did they know about his dreams? He hadn't told them anything about the dreams he had last night and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to tell Dumbledore about them, especially since he couldn't really understand what his last dream was about. True, the first dream was about Voldemort and he supposed Dumbledore should know of it. But the second dream had been different. It had nothing to do with Voldemort and it seemed more like a fantasy than anything based on truth. Then again, it had started like the dream that had bothered him all of last year, with him walking into the Department of Mysteries. But his friends didn't know about it. He hadn't talked much about his dreams except for those that happened to have been true.
"Not much to tell." He finally said with a shrug. "Voldemort seem to be more careful not to show me much of what he does or wants."
"Except for the fact that he wants Lupin's friend." Ron said.
"Dumbledore already knows that." Harry said.
"No new dreams since the one you had at the beginning of the week?" Asked Hermione as they reached the lakeshore.
There were students sitting and playing around the lake. A couple of students were trying to tickle the tentacles of the giant squid that had surfaced for a little sunbathing.
"When do you meet Dumbledore?" Asked Ron as he started throwing rocks into the lake.
"In a few minutes." Said Harry with a shrug.
"Perhaps we should walk back to the castle then." Said Hermione watching the ripples the rocks made on the surface of the lake.
"You don't need to return to the castle." Harry said.
"I know. But there are papers to finish and I want to start researching that paper for Snape." Hermione said.
"But we have two weeks to work on it." Ron exclaimed.
"What better time to start on it?" Hermione said quickly. "I, unlike you, like to present a proper paper with the research to support it."
Ron glared at her before turning back to the lake with a shake of his head.
Harry smiled but said nothing.
A few moments later they turned back to the castle.
---------
Harry left Ron and Hermione in the entrance hall. They turned toward the seventh floor to the Gryffindor Tower while he made his way along the deserted hallways to Dumbledore's office.
He saw nobody as he hurried for his meeting with the Headmaster. Finally, he reached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Skiving Snackboxes." Said Harry and the gargoyle sprang aside.
Harry hurried inside and stepped up the spiral staircase.
He was about to knock on the Headmaster's door but voices at the other side stopped him. The Headmaster had visitors.
He stood unsure, not knowing what to do, when the door opened and he saw a Minister official standing on the door.
"Ah, Harry. Glad you could make it on time." Dumbledore's cheerful voice called him from within.
"Uh...You did say half an hour, sir, did you not?" Asked Harry looking at the young man standing between himself and the Headmaster's office.
"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter needs to enter." Dumbledore said.
Harry saw Percy flush and stand aside.
"Sorry." Percy mumbled.
Harry looked at him curiously. The last time he had seen Percy Weasley was not a happy memory. He was still unhappy about the way that Percy had treated his family for the last year and was happy that Ron and Hermione had decided to go to the Gryffindor common room instead of accompanying him to his meeting with Dumbledore. He knew Ron wouldn't be happy to see his older brother again.
Harry stepped inside the office. Saw Percy say goodbye to Dumbledore and leave hurriedly out the door.
"What is he doing here?" Asked Harry abruptly, frowning at the closed door behind him.
At Dumbledore's silence Harry turned to look at the Headmaster.
Dumbledore seemed pensive, as if trying to come to a decision.
"No need to worry." Dumbledore said. "You'll find out as things come to light."
Harry's frown returned, but decided to keep quiet on the subject.
"Was there anything I could do for you, Harry?" Urged Dumbledore.
"I wanted to speak to you about the D.A., Sir." Harry said, remembering the reason why he wanted to speak to the Headmaster.
"Ah, yes. Your Dark Arts Defense Club." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Remus said he had talked to you about it."
"Yes, sir. I called a meeting and talked to the others about it." Harry explained.
"I see. And have you come to a decision?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes. We discussed it and decided to make it official." Harry replied.
"Good. I'm confident this group will become useful in the future." Dumbledore smiled. "This means you cannot close the door to anybody." He said looking at Harry closely. "The club must be open to all."
"We know. That's why we came up with a set of rules that everybody should follow." Harry said.
"Indeed. Better to be prepared, hmm?"
Harry nodded. "And...er...I wanted to ask something else, sir."
Dumbledore looked at him questioningly.
"I wanted to do some practice with dueling." Harry said. "And I wanted to know if we could do it. With Lupin's help of course, he has accepted to be our sponsor."
"I see no problem if you do." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "In fact, I think it would be the best thing to do."
Harry seemed happy to have permission to take the meetings of the D.A. a step further. Dueling was something that they had done before under the auspices of Professor Lockhart, but Harry wanted a more practical lesson on the subject, as he was eager to become more practiced in the art.
"It will be helpful." Harry said.
"I'm sure it will." Said Dumbledore softly.
"There was something else, Sir." Said Harry with some hesitation. "I had another dream last night."
Dumbledore became alert. "Did you. What did you see, Harry."
"Nothing much, Sir. He was in the same room as before and a Death Eater reported that they couldn't find something. Voldemort just said that they needed someone to take them to it." Harry said.
"I see. Did they say what they were looking for?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, Sir. They made no mention of names or places." Harry said thoughtfully.
"Did your scar hurt?"
Dumbledore's question surprised Harry. And he became more surprised as he remembered that his scar hadn't hurt at all after the dream.
"No, sir." Harry shook his head. "What could it mean?"
"I'm sure there's nothing for you to worry about." Said Dumbledore. "It might be that your connection with him is getting stronger than it had been in the past."
"But that doesn't make sense, my scar has always hurt, especially when I sense or see something from him." Harry said with a frown.
"I don't know what to tell you, Harry. Your connection to Voldemort is a mysterious thing, we know nothing about it, how or why it happened, nor how it affects you. We have only theories, but theories can be so easily disproved or never confirmed." Dumbledore said. "In the past you have been able to see what he does when there's some type of emotion involved, whether it was anger or pleasure. This last vision didn't involve any emotion at all. We can only guess that your connection to him is getting stronger and allows you to see things through his eyes at any given time."
Harry was not so sure. He didn't like the idea of being able to see more of Voldemort than they had previously thought he could. It could only mean that Voldemort had more power over the images that Harry could see.
"Don't worry yourself over it, Harry, just make sure that you tell me or any member of the Order what you see." Dumbledore admonished Harry.
Harry nodded and decided to leave his thoughts about what had been said to be thought over at a later time.
"Now, I'm sure you have plans for your afternoon. I seem to remember that Gryffindor has scheduled practice for today." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Yes, sir." Harry sprang from the chair, he knew when he was being dismissed.
"I'll make an announcement about your club at dinner, I want to make sure everybody knows about this. Remember, Harry, enjoy yourself, no need to worry for the moment." Dumbledore said before Harry left the office.
"If you say so, Sir." Harry didn't sound so sure.
Harry made his way slowly down the corridor toward the Gryffindor Tower. His mind was busily running over what had been said in the Headmaster's office.
Presently, he entered the common room. After a quick search he found that Ron and Hermione were not present.
He frowned for a moment before thinking about the library. If research was needed, Hermione was bound to have pulled Ron toward the school library. Harry went up to his dormitory in search for his book bag before making his way out of the tower.
He reached the library and instantly saw Ron and Hermione sharing a table covered with books of various sizes.
He silently walked toward the table, Madam Pince watched him warily, Harry smiled at her and continued on his way.
"I thought I would find you here." He said the moment he reached his friends.
"How did it go?" Asked Ron full of curiosity.
"Well enough, I suppose. He's going to make an announcement about the D.A. at dinner, he says he wants to make sure that everybody knows about it." Harry took a seat next to Ron, which was the only one not occupied by piles of books.
"He's afraid that not many will read the announcements if they're posted." Hermione said as she continued writing on her parchment after checking quickly on the book in front of her.
"Maybe, it won't matter, I don't think many Slytherins will show up to the meetings." Harry said.
"Do you think so? I think they will, if only to try to make trouble." Ron replied.
"Now, Ron." Hermione admonished. "I'm sure they behave themselves as long as Lupin is present."
"They've never done so before." Barked Ron.
"That's why the rules were established. They must sign it and promise to abide by it if they want to participate with us." Harry reminded Ron.
"Well," Ron sounded doubtful, "if you think it will be enough."
"Of course it will." Hermione said.
"And I'm sure Dumbledore will have something to say if they get out of control." Harry said with finality.
"When are we going to start?" Asked Ron turning his attention back to his parchment while Harry took out his notes.
"As soon as we get enough new members, I don't think we should accept more than we can handle. Ten new member sounds good." Harry said.
"You're probably right. We don't want things to be out of control. The current members can help with the new." Hermione said with confidently. "Are you planning a review?"
"It's where we should begin. Just to make sure everybody remembers and to help the new members to catch up." Harry responded. "Dumbledore has agreed to allow me to practice dueling as well."
Both Hermione and Ron lost interest in their work at that moment.
"You're joking." Exclaimed Ron.
"No joke. He said it would be useful." Harry said.
"After what happened the last time?" Ron asked wearily.
"Everybody knows that I'm parseltongue." Harry sounded a little angry. "I don't see what else can be worrying you."
"And Lupin will be there." Interrupted Hermione quickly, knowing that Harry was a little sore about his ability to talk to snakes. It was one of his talents that the Daily Prophet had used against him, and there were still people who were wary of him because of it. "I'm sure he could teach us what he knows."
"Which should be a lot more than what Lockhart tried to do." Ron sneered.
"Really, Ron, the poor man is at St. Mungo's." Chided Hermione. "He did the best he could."
"If that was his best, I don't want to know what his worst was." Ron said.
Hermione glared but Harry and Ron glanced at each other with amusement.
There was no more talk after that. They worked silently on their papers, once in a while rummaging among the books and notes for what they needed. It was only when time for lunch arrived that they put aside their parchment and quills and took the books they needed to take with them to Gryffindor Tower.
Lotty was waiting for Harry with an unexpected surprise.
---------
The Great Hall was nearly full by the time they left the Tower after leaving their things behind.
Chatter and laughter filled the Great Hall during the meal while the teachers looked closely at each table.
"Harry, is it true that the team has new brooms?" Asked Dean as he took a seat nearby.
Harry shrugged. "A neighbor from the Manor donated Firebolts for the team." He finally replied. "Just got word a few minutes ago."
"Lotty was waiting with the note when we returned to the dormitory a while ago." Said Ron excitedly.
"Oh, wow." Seamus exclaimed. "Got to owl mum not to bother sending me a new broom then."
"You can use your own broom if you want." Harry said quickly. "They're only alternate brooms if we need them."
"Are you mad!" Ron, Dean and Seamus exclaimed as one.
"Who will prefer to use their own broom when we can use Firebolts instead." Said Ron.
"I for one. I don't want to replace my broom." Replied Harry.
Seamus scoffed. "That's because you have a Firebolt of your own. I'm not passing the chance of playing with a Firebolt."
"How many did he donate?" Asked Dean curiously.
"The note said 10." Harry said.
"Where are they?" Asked Seamus.
"Madam Hooch's office. He sent them to her to care for them for us." Harry explained.
"Slytherin will turn green with envy." Chuckled Ron with anticipation.
"We will practice with them, won't we Harry." Seamus turned to Harry expectantly.
Harry nodded. "We'll need to get used to them. We still have weeks until our first game, but everybody needs to get control of their brooms before then."
"This will be our best season." Dean exclaimed.
Harry grinned at the high spirits his companions evoked.
"You don't mind if I sit to watch practice, do you Harry?" Asked Dean after a few minutes.
"I don't mind. I already told Neville he could." Harry said.
"You can watch for Slytherins." Said Seamus to Dean. "They might try something funny."
Ron snorted with derision. "It will be the only way they'll win the Cup."
Hermione had been silent during the whole conversation. But Harry was sure she wasn't too happy about the gift just presented to Gryffindor Team.
"You don't approve, Hermione." Said Harry to Hermione.
"Well, it's not fair, is it?" She said. "The rest of the houses don't have brooms of that caliber."
"It's not our fault." Said Ron.
"I know it's not, but it doesn't seem fair, is all." Hermione replied.
Ron glanced angrily at her while Seamus looked incredulous.
"Why would you say a thing like that?" Exclaimed Dean.
"Yeah, don't you want Gryffindor to win?" Glared Seamus.
"That's not what I mean!" Retorted Hermione. "I'm just saying that the other teams won't have much chance to catch up."
"Damn straight they won't!" Exclaimed Ron. "And that's the whole point of the game, Hermione, for one team to take control of the match and leave the other behind. Do you know what we can do with these brooms? International standard brooms, that's what they are."
Hermione knew she had lost the argument, there was no way she could make the others see things the way they were, but by Harry's frown, she knew that Harry understood how she felt about this unexpected threat.
"Does anybody else know about the brooms?" She asked abruptly.
"I don't know. Who told you about the brooms?" Harry turned to look at Seamus and Dean.
"Neville did, when we went up to leave our things to the dormitory." Dean said.
"How did he know?" Harry asked.
"Er, that was my fault." Said Ron, flushing pink with embarrassment. "I mentioned it when we were leaving the room. He was just coming in then."
"Well, as long as it's just the team and Dean and Neville who knows. I would think there would be others who would try to tamper with those brooms." Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Oh, surely not! Who would try to damage Firebolts?" Asked Seamus, as if the thought of damaging Firebolts was a mortal sin.
Ron and Dean seemed to feel the same way, but Harry knew that Hermione was right.
"Once word of this gets out, there will be some who will feel that Gryffindor has a huge advantage over the other houses and will try to make things even." Harry said. "I think I better go and see Madam Hooch and discuss safe storage of those brooms." He pushed his plate from him.
"We'll go with you." Said Hermione as she hauled Ron from his seat along with her.
"We'll go and find Neville, see who else he told." Said Dean.
"Do that. Practice begins in an hour." Harry said and led Ron and Hermione out of the Great Hall.
Nobody else had spoken to him about the brooms and he was fairly sure that would've been stopped by others if it was known. He could safely assume that Neville hadn't spoken to others yet, but that wouldn't last for long. This was a surprising gift, one that had only happened once when Lucius Malfoy bought Nimbus 2001s for Slytherin a few years ago. But even though the Nimbus series was among the most popular racing brooms and flew well around the Pitch, the Firebolt was better, being a professional racing broom, used by professional and international Quidditch teams. This was certain to be the talk of the school by the end of the day.
----------
The team had begun to congregate in the changing rooms, an hour later. Harry had spent half an hour with Madam Hooch searching for a place to hide the brooms when not in use. Finally, they opted for a small closet Professor McGonagall knew of in the Gryffindor Tower. The key to the door was presented to Harry, who would make sure the brooms were stored and taken care of after every practice and game. But this afternoon, Madam Hooch would keep them safely stowed under her desk until practice started, when she would present them to Harry.
Fortunately, Seamus and Dean got to Neville before he told anybody else about the brooms.
The team and the reserve players stood chatting placidly without knowledge of what awaited them.
Neville sat on the bleachers with Dean and a couple of third years who were waiting patiently for Harry.
Presently, Harry led the team into the Pitch. Madam Hooch was waiting in the sidelines with a large crate and the trunk where the balls were stored at her feet.
"Alright, listen up." Said Harry as the team surrounded them. "We have much to do, but I want to start with the reserve players first." Harry looked around and waved to they young Gryffindors on the stands next to Dean. They scrambled down in a hurry and ran toward the team.
"These are Damian Stuart and Michelle Carlisle." Said Harry motioning to the panting couple to come closer. "They weren't able to attend our summer training but are interested in trying out for our chaser reserve section."
The team looked at the young hopefuls with reserve while they waited nervously to know what they would do.
"I want to see how they do with the team. Ginny, you play seeker while Seamus, you and Alexander will play against them. Damian and Michelle will take your places among the team. Andrew and Jack, I want you to play with Seamus and Alexander, Dennis and Colin will play with Damian and Michelle. You all try to score on Ron, Ginny, try to catch the Snitch. We'll stop when she does." Harry directed, as he spoke those called took their places among their teammembers.
Damian and Michelle clutched their brooms expectantly as they waited for practice to begin.
"Mount your brooms," ordered Harry, "we're about to release the balls."
Ten brooms soared into the air while Harry summed the large trunk to the middle of the field.
Harry was too busy with the practice to notice that Dean and Neville were not the only ones watching in the stands.
Professor McGonagall and Hagrid were sitting with Hermione watching as the team waited for Harry to release the balls. By the time Harry had joined the team up on the air as they and balls zoomed across the pitch, Lavender and Parvati had joined the spectators and were surprised to see Professor Dumbledore join Professor McGonagall and Hagrid a few minutes later.
Harry was flying above the zooming players watching the new members closely. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Damian and Michelle were doing quite well with the rest of the team. Ron was having a hard time trying to cover four chasers instead of three and let the Quaffle score a couple of times before he got used to the rhythm of the game and started stopping the Quaffle every time it was thrown his way. Ginny flew slowly above the other players watching for the Snitch. The practice lasted twenty minutes, ending when Ginny wrapped her fingers tightly against the struggling Snitch.
The team landed softly on the grass, Harry waited for all to join him.
"That was good." He said smiling. "We certainly have good talent with us this year."
The team stood proudly at his praise.
"You did well Damian, Michelle." He said looking at the young Gryffindors watching him expectantly. "Team, what do you think?"
"Definitely."
"They would do great."
"You never know when we might need to replace a chaser."
Harry saw Michelle flush with pleasure while Damian looked nervously at the others.
"It's official then." Said Harry. "Damian and Michelle will be our new reserve chasers."
The team cheered while Damian and Michelle stood pleased with themselves as the others surrounded them with congratulations.
"You did good." Said Harry. The team quieted down turned their attention back to him. "And I have a surprise for you."
Madam Hooch was walking toward them with the large crate hovering behind them. Seamus and Ron grinned excitedly to each other while the rest looked curiously at the approaching crate.
"As you may remember, several of the tenants and neighbors attended the game we played at the end of our training at the Manor." Harry was saying. "Well, one of my neighbors was really impressed by what he saw that he bought a little present for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
The crate had come to rest beside Harry. Madam Hooch stood behind the crate unlocking the large lock. The lid sprung open and ten, neatly stacked, new Firebolts gleamed in the sunshine.
Gasps of appreciation were heard as Harry took one from the crate and held it before him.
"There are ten brooms, and we have ten members. Each of you grab one. This gift is made to the team, not to each individual member, which means that after we leave our replacements will use them. Take care of them, keep them clean and trim them. We will store them in a closet in the Gryffindor Tower after every use." Harry said as he started to pass a broom to each member.
The brooms were exclaimed and gushed over, soon, those who had watched the practice patiently on the stands came to see what had happened and joined the team in celebration.
Eventually, the brooms where placed back on the crate and taken to the castle under guard of the Gryffindor team.
Many students stopped and looked at the group with curiosity as they crossed the grounds to the castle. By the time the team had reached the Gryffindor Tower word had begun to spread of the marvelous gift made to the team.
---------------------------
Harry took his time getting clean after the brooms had been stored. He heard the excited chatter as his roommates changed and waited for him.
"They'll definitely give us an edge this season." Seamus said happily. "Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, in a couple of weeks. We'll sweep the floor with them." He laughed.
The others chuckled at his enthusiasm but it was clear that they all felt the same way he did. Harry shrugged into his shirt in silence. He was gladdened to see how much they looked forward to the Quidditch season to commence, but personally, he thought there were other things more important. Like the D.A. for example. He needed the practice, he needed to hone his skills and prepare himself, even if he had to do it on his own.
"Harry?" Dean called. "What do you think the odds are of Slytherin winning the Cup from Gryffindor?"
Ron and Seamus laughed, even Harry smiled. "A million to one." He replied. The others cheered.
Minutes later, they walked down into the common room. Those still there cheered and applauded their captain and team members. Ron and Seamus smiled and strutted behind Harry. Harry was pleased but wished they could turn their attention elsewhere.
Hermione was waiting for them. "Everybody knows." She said as they crossed to the portrait hole.
"I gathered." Harry mumbled.
"Malfoy must be gnashing his teeth with envy." Snickered Ron.
Dean and Seamus stayed behind as Lavender and Parvati crowded around them asking about practice.
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked quickly through the corridors as people tried repeatedly to stop them and talk about the brooms, Harry tried to ignore them and continue on his way but Ron seemed to like the attention and was repeatedly left behind to assuage the curiosity of others.
Their arrival to the Great Hall was noticed by all, and Harry knew that he couldn't escape the speculation from his peers.
They took their seats in the middle of the table and were instantly surrounded by their fellow Gryffindors.
"Is it true, Harry? Did somebody gifted Gryffindor with Firebolts?" A seventh year asked. Harry nodded as he tried to eat his dinner.
"Wow! The team will do great this season, won't it Harry?" A small third year asked as he tried to squeeze through the crowd to reach Harry's side.
"Of course, we will." Exclaimed Ron, basking in the attention of their housemates. "We have the best people in our team and now we have the best brooms."
"Hear! Hear!" Several around them chanted.
"You think you're so great, do you Potter?" A sneering voice said behind the group surrounding Harry.
A small path opened between Malfoy and Harry. Harry sighed and dropped the piece of chicken he had been about to bite into to his plate.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped.
"I suppose you thought your team needed a little help and that's why you bought Firebolts for them." Said Malfoy, smiling derisively at Ron who had flushed with anger.
"My team doesn't need those brooms to be better than you, Malfoy." Harry said proudly.
"I'm sure you think that, Potter. But I seem to remember a pair of bumbling idiot beaters and a clumsy keeper." Malfoy snickered.
"You take that back!"
"We got the Cup didn't we?"
"Why you little - "
"We'll beat Slytherin any time."
"You're just jealous."
An explosion of angry cries gave way among the assembled Gryffindors. Crabbe and Goyle flanked Malfoy looking at the others menacingly.
"Is there a problem?" The abrupt voice of Professor McGonagall stopped the clamor around the Gryffindor Table.
"Malfoy started it Professor." Several voices said at once.
Harry remained silent, trying to control his temper as he remembered it had been Professor McGonagall who had urged him to do so the previous year. Perhaps things would've been different if I had listened to her, he thought.
"Aren't you in the wrong table, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall turned her stern glance to Malfoy.
Malfoy turned around and led Crabbe and Goyle to the Slytherin table.
"I recommend that you all take a seat. You're blocking the way around the table." She said to her house.
Everybody scrambled to take seats near Harry. Only a few succeeded in their effort.
Professor McGonagall nodded abruptly and walked to the staff table.
"That Malfoy! We'll see how cocky he is after we beat them in a couple of weeks." Ron exclaimed turning back to his dinner.
"You know this only helped in making the rivalries between Gryffindor and Slythering much stronger, don't you." Said Hermione looking sternly at the two young men sitting across the table from her.
"So?" Answered Ron angrily.
"We're supposed to establish a better inter-house relationship." Hermione said unrelenting. "And you're a prefect, Ron, you're supposed to make an example for the younger crowd. I think it would be best if you send the brooms back, Harry. They're only going to make things worse."
"Are you mad!" Exclaimed Ron.
"It won't do a thing, Hermione, only make the others angry. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin is too strong and had been going on for hundreds of years. My sending back the brooms will not stop it." Harry said pushing his plate aside.
"But we should try." Said Hermione. "This is the time to make things better. We cannot be divided."
"I agree, but is not only Gryffindor who had to put things aside, Slytherin must as well, and you know that would never happen. You saw how the news of allowing Slytherin into the D.A. was taken by the others. We had to make rules because of it, we had no need for them before, we had only one, and that was to keep the group secret. The other houses also have strong feelings against Slytherin. So it won't matter what we do or think, because it's not only Gryffidor feelings that have to change, but the whole school. And I don't see how you can make Slytherin be more friendly to everybody." Harry argued.
"Yeah, look at Snape. He's Head of Slytherin House and he's as big a prat as the rest of them." Said Ron.
Hermione shook her head in resignation. But Harry knew that deep inside, she agreed with them.
Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried out the Great Hall as soon as they were done. Calls and cheers from the remaining members of Gryffindor followed them out.
Harry was tired of the attention he was getting and wished for the relative peace he had achieved before the Triwizard Tournament had come to Hogwarts.
At last, they arrived before the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Twinkle Lights." The password was uttered and they promptly made their way into the common room after the entrance was revealed.
"I'm going to bed." Harry said and hurried to the fifth year boys' dormitory without taking notice of the shared glance between Ron and Hermione.
Harry just wished he could forget about it all and desired only to make plans for the D.A. A group he found helped him more than Quidditch ever could.
Lotty helped him out of his clothes and took them with him after Harry had dismissed him. Just as his body relaxed and he snuggled in his bed did he remember that Dumbledore had not announced a thing about the D.A.
A/N: There you are, I'll have the next chapter ready as soon as I can. It's done, I just need to edit it and maybe do some changes. I haven't decided yet. I'm writing another story so that keeps me away sometimes when I can't think of anything else to write for this one, it helps me to come up with new things, even though that story is completely different from this one. Don't ask me why it happens, don't know really. When I'm writing this story I come up with things for the other story and when I write the other story I come up with things for this one. Writing is a complicated process sometimes.
There were a few of you who were concerned about some things. So I'll try to answer some of them.
titoubreizh: the reason you can't find the part about Lily and James defying Voldemort three times is because I wrote Lily and James' story before OotP came out last June and by the time I had read it I decided to leave it as it is (after I asked readers their thoughts and they said it would be for the best).
Exodus: I thought it would be best for Harry to continue leading the D.A. because it would help him to practice Defense. He's not alone, Lupin, Hermione and Ron will help, he doesn't have to shoulder the weight of the training on his own.
Siriusforeva: You'll find out more about Emma in the next couple of chapters, there's a little recap for those of you who may have forgotten.
That's all the time I have for today, I'll try to have the next chapter for you as soon as I can. I promise not to take this long if I can help it.