Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N):

Chapter 11

Raising an Army

Harry stepped into the room and glanced around. It was a weird double feeling of deja vu as he did so. First the room looked almost exactly the same as when he has last conducted a meeting, with pillows, book cases and a room full of people turning expectantly his way, and second, the fact that those people were almost exactly the class he had left just hours ago. He picked out Ginny immediately among the milling group passing around a sign up sheet. He suddenly wondered what spell might have been put on this one. It seemed others had the same idea as she had to reassure many of the people before they would sign.

The conversations in the room had died down as he entered and now many eyes turned to him. Nodding in response he headed for the front, greeting many individually as he went. Neville and Luna were there of course. In part it was their hopes that had first started the thought that bringing the group back together would be a good idea. Hannah Abbot, the recently jilted Lavender Brown and, surprisingly, Susan Bones where gathered in a small knot off to one side. Apparently her mother had been persuaded to let Susan return. Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein were gathered in a little group of Ravenclaws also chatting amongst themselves.

Justin Flitch-Fletchly and the Creevey brothers, Dennis and his older brother Colin, were standing near Seamus Finnegan who seemed surprised he had to sign something to attend this meeting. He did though and Ginny moved on to a rather annoyed and slightly lost looking Dean Thomas who was so focused on her he nearly signed his own arm. The Patil twins were standing together as always while Ernie McMillan and Zacharias Smith milled around by themselves. Counting himself and Ginny there were only eighteen people so far. Ginny would likely have something to say about that.

Arriving at the head of the room, he turned and found everyone had collected and now faced him expectantly. He had faced down Death Eaters, Voldemort and the Order leadership, but somehow this part was never going to be any easier. He drew a deep breath thinking over what he wanted to say.

"Hello. Thanks for coming to this first meeting of the new Dumbledore's Army." He received many returned greetings either verbally or through nods of the head. "Many of you are probably wondering why, after a year without, I am bringing the DA back together. The answer is simple. Hogwarts now faces more danger than ever before. The reason for this is two fold. First, Voldemort has again risen to a level of power not seen since before his first downfall. And second…the greatest protector the school had has been murdered." He hesitated for a moment as each considered this. "It is only a matter of time before this castle is attacked. There are Aurors stationed here and the teachers are strong…but the Ministry is stretched thin and the staff members are few. When the attack comes, they may not be enough to protect the school and help may be out of reach." He could see several students coming to conclusions about what he planned to say.

"I'm reassembling Dumbledore's Army to take over the mission he began and protect Hogwarts." At this point he noticed Ron and Hermione entering and stepping up to the back of the crowd. "I love Hogwarts and to me it has been a home for many years. I plan to do everything in my power to protect it…but I can't do it alone. So…who's with me?" All across the crowd fists pumped in the air and hollers of 'me' and 'I am' filled the room. Soon everyone was signed on to help. "Excellent. Thank you. Now…we have a few things to discuss…" He motioned to the trio standing near the back of the crowd to come forward.

"First…the bad news. I will not be able to take control of the DA to the extent I did two years ago." More than a few wary faces greeted this pronouncement. "I will do my best to be at as many meetings as I can. However I have other things I have to do this year. Many of you have doubtless seen the recent articles in the Prophet naming me the 'Chosen One'. It is true I plan to face…and defeat Voldemort." Shock replaced wariness at this rather brazen statement. Clearly they thought willingly facing the darkest wizard of all time was foolishness it self. "But not because of this 'Chosen One' label or because I'm 'The boy who lived'. I'm going to do it because he killed my parents, tried to kill me and now won't rest until I'm dead." He let that sink in and noticed that Ron, Hermione and especially Ginny were looking the most concerned about what he was saying.

"To do that however, I have certain things I have to do that will consume a good portion of my time. I can't tell you what they are right now but someday…after we win…ask me and I'll tell you what I can. Also, my presence anywhere in the school will be closely monitored not just by the staff, but also by the Aurors the ministry has stationed here. The ministry wishes to keep close tabs on me and my closest friends." At this he gestured to Ron and Hermione standing together on his left. "So I'll be helping you more by not coming, especially when the meetings run late. But I'll not leave you leaderless. After due consideration I have chosen someone I know and trust to lead the school's newest protectors. Ladies and gentlemen…Ginerva Weasley." He gestured to the girl standing to his right. More than a few in the crowd looked skeptical at his choice.

"Anyone who has a problem with this…there's the door." He waited a moment. No one moved. "Good. I'll go ahead and remind everyone she'd currently a year older than I was when I founded the Army and her skills are beyond what mine were then. Perhaps you've heard of her Bat-Bogey Hex?" Many nods and looks of recognition came from this and only a couple people still looked wary. "From this point on…she will be the field commander of Dumbledore's Army. She has my full faith and support. So…without further ado…Ginny? They're yours." He stepped to the side and around the crowd, followed by Ron and Hermione, leaving her alone at the front of the room.

"Thank you Harry. Well…first things first. Meeting times. Using Hermione's idea I've created a fresh set of galleons to communicate with." Drawing a bag from her pocket she handed it to Neville who reached in and pulled out one of the coins. "This time I'll have the main one to let everyone else know when the meeting will be and pass along any other little bits you might need to know. Most importantly I've managed to improve them a little." Harry glanced at Hermione and saw the slightest bit of outrage that anyone could 'improve' her idea. "If the castle is attacked, or something happens that we need to assemble in a hurry, these coins will begin to vibrate at a steadily increasing rate and the location I want you to assemble, as well as the current attackers if known, will appear on the edge. Get there as fast as you can."

Harry glanced over to see admiration replace outrage. From his position in back he was smiling at how well she was handling the group. He had known she would be the right choice. Glancing over he could see his friends saw it too. Hermione was the first to voice what they were each thinking as she watched the bag passed around.

"Brilliant. She's really thought this out."

"Much better than I did back in fifth year."

"You did pretty well for walking in blind mate. She had that to learn from."

"Guess you're right Ron." Ginny saw the bag passing them by and called out.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione…make sure you each get one as well." Offered the bag the trio took turns pulling out a coin each before passing it on. Harry examined the coin and smiled at how well the reproduction had been done. Only a minor change on the face would pick it out as a fake. Slipping it into a pocket that also contained the Marauder's Map; he returned his attention to the front. Ginny had reclaimed the bag and stuffed it back into a pocket.

"Now…despite the heavier workloads this year, we actually have the opportunity for more meetings. With Quiddich unfortunately canceled…and trips to Hogsmeade restricted, Saturdays will be pretty much free for all of us. I was thinking we could have a rather long meeting that day if we were each willing to sacrifice the time. Anyone have a problem with that?" Everyone looked around, waiting to see if anyone would object this far into it. Not a hand rose. "Good. I thought not. Now…as to what we'll be doing…" This part was clearly what everyone was most interested in.

"For those of you not in the Defense class today, it looks like we finally have a proper instructor who's going to teach us how to fight. I think we can best use this time to practice what we learn there. And if any of us come across something else that might be useful…" Looks of approval greeted this idea and she continued. "Well…now that that's all settled…we'll break for tonight and meet back here Saturday. Keep an eye on your coins for the exact time." Smiling at the control she had demonstrated, Harry spoke from the back.

"Everybody wait here for a few minutes. The three of us will go first and draw off most of the watchers. Remember…be careful." Nodding goodbye to them he led the pair out the door and headed down the hall. He waited until they were a good distance away before speaking. "So…what do you two think?"

"That Hogwarts' newest defense force is in very good hands." The approval was clear in Hermione's voice, as it was in Ron's.

"The way she handled that crowd…reminds me a bit of mum."

"Well…then I definitely know I made the right choice." They continued on, dropping silent for a moment as they passed one of the patrolling Aurors that just happened to be in the area. "Speaking of choices…did you send that letter Hermione?"

"Yeah… I sent two. The first was with a school owl," they all knew what that one was, "and the second with Hedwig. I was surprised she was amiable to anyone but you."

"She's smart. She knows if you ask it's as a favor to me. I'll make sure she gets an extra treat for it. So…where was the second letter going?"

"My parents. They still had a couple questions about the charm and of course wanted to know what else was going on. They were happy to hear about my promotion to Head Girl."

"Good…" They fell silent again passing another guard. "So…where are we headed?" Ron glanced over to Hermione for confirmation before speaking.

"Well mate, we thought you might like to see our rooms. Rather nice for mere students."

"You are Head Boy and Girl." He followed the pair as they ascended a flight of stairs and rounded a corner to find themselves standing before a large portrait of a young woman working at a desk piled high with books while a similarly young man stood in the background juggling a quaffle and considering a chess board. Harry firmly set his jaw to keep from laughing at the scene that reminded him so much of his friends. "This is it then?"

"Yes… According to Headmistress McGonagall the picture changes every year based on the residents. It makes me wonder what it's looked like before…" On hearing Hermione's voice the girl looked up from her desk and addressed her.

"Hello. Password?"

"Telephone." The girl smiled and waved her hand as the portrait door swung open to reveal the portal to the next room. As Harry followed them in he questioned her about the password.

"Telephone?"

"Well…not many people would think of it, would they?"

"No…I suppose…not…" He trailed off as he emerged from the tunnel into a well appointed sitting room. It was small compared to the Gryffindor common room, but still large for two people. Three doorways were set into the three separate faces of the far wall. Between them were two large bookcases, nearly full. Two large couches faced the fire place at an angle just to his right and several chairs were gathered around a low table to the left. Harry smiled as he made out the wizard's chess set Ron had received from McGonagall already set up on the table next to an open book. Against the wall immediately to his left a pair of desks sat back to back. One was piled with books and paper while the other was basically empty. He could take a wild guess which belonged to each of them.

Portraits Harry could only assume were of formed Head Boys and Girls lined much of the walls with a few random landscapes thrown in for balance. Looking over the room he couldn't help but chuckle his approval. "Wow…"

"That's nothing! Check this out mate!" Harry barely kept his feet as Ron dragged him down a short tunnel and into his room. This contained the standard student four post bed, dresser, wardrobe and its own little sitting/study area as well as a fireplace. The walls however were covered with Quiddich posters already.

"You've been busy." A table sat in the corner with Ron's broom set in a rack, cleaned and polished.

"Well…thought I'd make it feel a bit more like home. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah…yeah I do." A moment later he glanced down to see the thing brushing past his leg was the ginger cat Crookshanks. They both turned to find Hermione standing in the archway. "Yours about the same?"

"Yeah…though I haven't gone quite this far."

"Well…let's see it."

"Can't mate. Girl's dorm and all that. WE can't get in." They followed Hermione back to the main room.

"That's right Ronald. The founder's were wise enough to see that boys tend to be somewhat impulsive and it might be wise to build in some safeguards."

"Okay…that's Ron room…and that's yours…so what's that?" Harry pointed to the middle archway of the three.

"That you can see." He followed her gestured through the closed door and into the room. "Private bathroom."

"No…way."

"'Fraid so mate. Bloody convenient to. Bath right there, room right there. Don't even have to carry your clothes with you. Just need a towel…" Harry glanced over as Ron trailed off to see him turning nine shades of red. Looking the other way he saw Hermione doing the same. Confused he decided to back out of the room fairly quickly.

Back in their common room he began looking over the wide and varied selection of reading material while he waited for them to get back to some semblance of normal. What ever was going on there was bugging him. If it was what he thought it was he wished they would just snog and get it over with.

He had been looking over the books for a few minutes and found some relatively interesting titles when a thought struck him. He realized Ginny wouldn't be able to get in without the password. Turning, he headed back out and glanced around. Not finding Ginny yet he slid to the side as the picture swung back into place. Reaching into his pocket his hand brushed the Marauder's Map and he considered digging it out to help find her. A glance around told him that no Aurors were present at the moment, but that didn't mean they wouldn't show up. Instead he grabbed his invisibility cloak and pulled it out. Carefully draping it over himself he found a good spot against the wall and waited.

It didn't take long for the light report of footsteps he knew were Ginny's to reach his ears. Sure enough she appeared on the staircase and headed toward the portrait. The question passed his mind as to how she knew where the room was. Putting it out of his head, he waited. She arrived at the portrait and chuckled at the image.

"Password?"

"Uh…knew I forgot something…" Her head dropped as she tried to puzzle out what it might be. Just as Harry was about to step forward and tell her, her head popped up and she looked around. Turning to directly face him she looked hard at the place he was standing. Wondering what she was looking at, he glanced around and found nothing odd or that might have given him away. "Harry?" Stepping forward he pulled off the cloak and bunched it up to return to his pocket.

"Yeah…how did you know?"

"I…I'm not sure. I just…knew you were there." Reaching her he couldn't resist a quick kiss. "So…what are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for you. I figured you wouldn't know the password. Besides…I needed to get out of there for a few minutes."

"Why?"

"Those two are getting weird around each other. I'm not entirely sure what's going on…but I didn't think my standing there was doing any good." When he finished he noticed she had a small grin and was looking off to the side. "What? Ginny, what?"

"Well…you can keep a secret, right?"

"No."

"Harry!"

"What? I can't. I tell everything I know to Ron and Hermione. And you."

"This you can't! It's about them and Hermione'll kill me if she finds out I told you!" Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know something like that, but he gestured for her to continue. "Okay…it was a week ago…back in Grimmauld Place. We were up in the War Room. You two were sleeping late. As always." He ignored the look she included with this. "Anyway…we were talking about this and that and she mentioned that she had noticed the two of us were getting along well again. I said that we were and that we were doing even better."

"Can't argue with that."

"Nor should you." She paused for a minute visibly debating with herself whether to continue. "She said she was happy for us…and after a moment she added, almost under her breath, 'wish I had someone like that.'"

"What about Ron?"

"That's actually…exactly what I said. I mean after the kissing thing I assumed… She got really quiet after that and couldn't look at me. After a minute of prodding she finally looked up and…Harry…she looked more distraught than I've ever seen her. Not knowing what to say next I asked her about that kiss. Or kisses as it were. She told me that ever since that Ron's been sort of distant and though he's acting mostly normal, anytime they're alone, he just sort of avoids her. She doesn't know what to do."

"So…in other words, Ron's being his stubborn, thickheaded self, Hermione doesn't know what to do and both of them are miserable?"

"Yeah." Harry squeezed his eyes closed for a second.

"And you told me because…?"

"Because…I'm hoping you'll give you best friend a little push. For both their sakes."

"Wait…didn't you just say I couldn't say anything?"

"Say yes. Do…"

"And why would I stick my hand into this particular viper's nest?" She smiled and he could swear her eyes had begun to sparkle.

"Because it's a favor to me and it'll help your friends." He let out a small sigh as he mentally capitulated to her request.

"Fine…the things we do for…friends." The kiss he received was thanks enough. Motioning with his head he led her, arm in arm, back to the portrait and spoke the password. She again chuckled at the picture and the password as they entered to find Ron and Hermione, back to their normal color, waiting.

"Wondered where you went mate…but now I see." Ron was seated near the chess board, playing against himself. Hermione looked over from the book case to Ginny.

"Hi. I thought you did really well tonight. So did Ron." She flashed a thankful smile back and then at her brother before letting it die as her gaze swung around to Harry who, having released her arm, now sat on one of the couches. He froze in the act of leaning back, instinctively knowing that the look could mean trouble.

"And what did you think Harry. You haven't even mentioned it yet." Something in her tone told him he had better have a damn good reason for this oversight. He swallowed hard before speaking.

"Well…I had other things on my mind. Like seeing you again." The slight break in her fixed face told him this was the right approach. "After your performance at the meeting I was so sure the DA was in the right hands I just sort of pushed it out of my mind." She did break into a smile at this and he could just see Ron giving him the thumbs up. "So…any plans for what you're going to do with them?" Hermione had set down the book and now sat on the other couch. As Ron came over he unconsciously sat next to her.

"Well…" Ginny was pacing just a little in front of the fireplace, considering. "Recruitment's a priority. You saw how few people were at that meeting. After that…what we're going to work on other than what Professor Keystone teaches us. Obviously we can't work on the Imperius resistance, but there should be a few other things…" After a moment, Harry snapped as he remembered something.

"Oh yeah…Hermione, I put together a list of things I'd like you to look over first, then Ron and Ginny."

"What is it?"

"I culled my old spell books over the summer, one of the things I did at my aunt's, and made a list of spells that I thought might be useful in some way, shape or form. There's also quite a few spells from the Half Blood Prince. I was hoping the three of you would go through and see what you thought. After we trim the list of anything that might be useless or outdated, I thought we should go over it and learn anything we can. After that…the DA could probably use it. After all, the basics are always good."

"Of course. I'll get right on it. Better get to it soon though. We'll be up to our ears in home work by the end of the week." Ron grimaced at this thought, Hermione looked just a little excited and Ginny seemed to view it as an annoyance.

(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.