Harry POV

Harry could not help but think this had been one of the worst ideas Hermione had ever had. Normally, his bright friend had quite good ideas, even if he and Ron were often loathe to admit it. But, not today.

At first, Harry had wanted to leave as soon as he saw how many people had gather in the Hog's Head to hear him. And then he wanted to leave as he started to pick people out of the crowd. There was the pretty Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang. Justin Finch-Fletchley. Anthony Goldstein. Dean Thomas-surprising with how little Seamus wanted to do with Harry since the year had started. Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. And standing beside Ginny was none other than Evanna Malfoy. His eyes had nearly bugged out of his head at that. She had been so adamant that they not be seen together, that it would be too dangerous, yet she was here now?

He watched her throughout the meeting, soon getting the feeling that she had known less about it before being drug here by her friends than he had. And when Ron pointed her out as having been in the graveyard that night…. Well, she looked ready to pass out.

When Evanna finally opened her eyes, her violet eyes met Harry's immediately. They were wide, full of fear. Harry remembered how angry Lucius Malfoy had been in Dumbledore's office back in second year. He had looked ready to murder his daughter-and by all accounts had almost murdered his wife that night. By some luck, he had not seen Evanna at the graveyard that night and the papers had not included her in the reports-likely to continue spinning Harry and Dumbledore as a pair of loons.

If Evanna corroborated his story, perhaps the Ministry would take him seriously. But, Lucius would definitely harm his daughter.

Harry made his decision.

"Look, I didn't come here to talk about that night. None of you know what it's like-to face down certain death and have only your own smarts and wand to depend on to survive, so I'm not going to try and explain it," he said, forcing everyone to look at him instead. He saw Evanna slump in the background in relief and knew he had made the right decision. "Now, if you want to learn, fine, but I've already said all I'm going to on the night Cedric died. If you're smart, you'd stop reading the papers and listen to Dumbledore and I."

He saw some people were certainly not happy with that. He leaned over to Hermione and muttered, "I told you they were just looking for a freak show-"

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus?" Luna said from the back of the room.

"Yes, he can," Hermione said excitedly. And all of a sudden, his friends were recounting everything he had done in his time at Hogwarts. Before he quite knew what had happened, people were lining up to sign their name on a piece of parchment Hermione had labeled "Dumbledore's Army".

"This is a really good thing you're doing, Harry," Cho Chang murmured as she passed by him. "We're all grateful."

The tips of his ears when pink as the pretty Ravenclaw rejoined her friends. Ginny led her group of friends up to the table, giving the Ravenclaw seeker a dirty look.

"We'd best not lose to her in the next match, Harry," she said forebodingly as she signed her name with a flourish.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh you know, Potter," Ginny replied dangerously. As he watched, Luna Lovegood also stepped up to sign, as Bridget Travers, the Hufflepuff that hung out in their little group. Harry had sometimes heard people referring to the four girls as "the Founders Reborn". Given the fourth member's abilities, that didn't seem far off.

Speaking of the fourth, Evanna was a few steps back from the rest of crowd. She no longer looked as terrified as she had before, but her face was still more pale than normal. Harry stepped away from his friends.

"Can I talk to you?" he said softly to Evanna. She swallowed.

"Of course," she said.

He pulled her away from the crowd to a quieter corner of the seedy pub.

"What are you doing here? I mean-Not to be rude, but- I thought-your father-"

Evanna flinched at the mention of Lucius Malfoy and Harry felt immediately guilty.

"Ginny pulled me along," she said. "She said something about Luna being in trouble. I didn't know this was what I was walking into when I left my date."

Harry clamped down on any emotion that reared its head at that statement. "I just wanted to say-you don't have to sign that paper if it's not safe," he said. "It's not as if I don't know you can keep a secret."

Evanna smiled a little at that. "I sssuposse you would," she said in a low hiss, low enough that no one should be able to hear them. Then, she said in English, "Thank you, Harry."

"Hey, what kind of student would I be otherwise?" he said grinning.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Evanna said.

Harry blinked. "Well, you've been training me. Do you think I'm ready?"

Evanna snorted. "I'm not talking about teaching them-as few fighting skills as you have-"

"Oi!"

"You are kilometers ahead of this lot," she finished, then looked around the room. "I meant-are you ready to lead them? To create an army-Dumbledore's Army?"

There was something unsettling in Evanna's eyes as she studied him, and he wondered if she was reading his mind. He knew she typically tried not to, or at least he hoped so, because some of his thoughts were rather embarrassing…

"My-the Dark Lord won't see you as a child. You'll be more of a threat to him," she continued. "Do you really want to lead the army of the man who left you with the Dursleys?"

Harry frowned. He knew that Evanna had her issues with Dumbledore-Harry himself wasn't very happy with the way the Headmaster had been treating him-but her question confused him. He was already number one on Voldemort's kill list. Nothing could ever change that or put Harry in more danger from the dark wizard. Of that he was certain.

"I don't think I've really got a choice in the matter, do I?" he said, with only a touch of bitterness.

Evanna looked away from him. "No, I suppose we don't have a choice in who we are, do we?" she murmured, a far away look in her eyes.

"Evanna?"

She looked at him again, this time with determination hardening her violet gaze. "Come to the Chamber tonight. You need more practicccce," she hissed.

Before Harry could respond, she was leaving, her ponytail-which now reached just below her chin, swishing madly out the door. It was a few moments before Harry turned back to his friends. Hermione seemed to have watched the whole thing, and marched over to him, hands on hips.

"She didn't sign," she said without preamble.

"She doesn't need to," Harry said. "I trust my friends."

"Obviously you don't-how long have you known she's a Parselmouth?" she demanded.

Harry blinked at her. Trust Hermione to pick up on that, even when no one else had.

"Hermione, I'm a Parselmouth," he said.

"It's different! She's a Slytherin!"

"I nearly was-"

"No, but Harry, she is a Malfoy. And her father is a Death Eater-you know, the ones who want you dead!" she said. "But she was here and heard our plans but didn't sign the parchment!"

Hermione was waving around the list like a mad woman. Harry shook his head.

"You don't understand, Hermione," he said. "She-she wouldn't hurt me. She's saved me twice now."

Hermione shook her head, watching the door where Evanna had just left. "I hope you're right, Harry. I just hope you're right."

Evanna POV

Feeling overwhelmed, Evanna was headed straight for the castle when her friends caught up with her. Bridget was the first one to join her.

"Hey, are you okay? I know that had to freak you out a-"

"No, Bridget, I am not okay," she said in a low voice.

Her Hufflepuff friend winced. "I told Ginny to give you a head's up-"

Evanna shook her head. "I've practically committed treason-and so have you."

"I've made no promises to-"

"Hey! Ev!" Ginny called after her. "Why did you leave so quickly? Hermione was going spare that you didn't sign the parchment."

Evanna whirled on her Gryffindor friend. "I was having a perfectly good time with my boyfriend at Puddifoot's," she said, a hint of a snarl in her voice.

Ginny blinked, then snorted. "No, you weren't-you two were arguing like you-"

"And even if I wasn't, it wasn't up to you to trick me into going to-to-"

"It's just a study group!" Ginny reasoned. "Bridget was there, and her family-"

"Is nothing like mine!" Evanna shouted. "And she knew what she was getting into-I didn't! I have absolutely no desire to be a part of Dumbledore's army-study group or otherwise."

Ginny took a step backwards. "So, what-you're saying that you agree with them? That you want to join the Death Eaters."

Bridget looked down and Evanna snorted. "I am no Death Eater, Ginny. I just-you wouldn't understand."

"Because you bloody well never talk!" Ginny shouted back at her. "Oh, you'll make a bet with me over who gets their first kiss at the Yule Ball, you'll hang out with us in the Castle Centre, but you never bloody well tell us what's going on! We're supposed to be your best friends!"

"You want me to talk? About what?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe how you can face down a bloody basilisk and help Harry Potter escape from the Dark Lord, but your father has you so bloody terrified of him that he has you running to hide in the bowels of the bloody castle for weeks on end!"

Bridget gasped, seeming for once to be completely speechless. Luna stepped in between the girls.

"Ginny, perhaps now is not-"

"No! She's going to talk to us-not at us, not around us-she's going to actually act like she has friends and isn't so bloody alone for once," Ginny said.

Evanna shook her head. "What do you want me to say, Ginny?"

"The truth."

"What? That my father used Dark Magic on me from the time I could hold a wand?" she said, wielding the words like daggers. "That he nearly murdered my mother? That he's tortured me into doing everything he tells me to? What the bloody hell does that help, Ginny? Does that make you feel less guilt for being a Slytherin's friend? That she's been so bloody broken by Lucius fucking Malfoy that she can't do a bloody lumos charm?"

Tears were streaming down Evanna's face now, and she was shaking worse than she ever had after one of Lucius' training sessions. Ginny was crying too.

Bridget grabbed her hand. "Isn't there… isn't there something you can do? Someone you can tell?"

Evanna knew what Bridget meant, or rather, who. She shook her head.

"He-there are reasons-I can't-"

"We'll find a way, Evanna, I swear," Ginny said, taking her other hand. Luna joined their little circle, wiping a tear off Evanna's cheek with her thumb. "And-I'm sorry for pushing you."

"There now, no need to cry," she said gently.

"I-don't deserve this," she said. "I-I've not been a good friend."

"Who else can I tease mercilessly without consequence?" Bridget said. "Certainly not the other Puffs."

"You've always been my friend-remember when you made me those new shoes? They were my favorite," Luna said.

Ginny snorted. "Evanna, you literally saved my life first year. I can't imagine any better friend than that."

As Evanna looked around her friend's, she knew deep in her heart that she could not let them fall, even if they had just signed their names to a paper that declared them as her father's enemies. But, nothing could happen to these three girls, they were too good, too kind, too smart. She wouldn't let it happen.

That was why she felt no qualms in her decision to tell Harry that-so long as its members were sworn to secrecy-she would be honored to help him teach Dumbledore's Army.

"It's a terrible name," she told him. "But I won't have students dying because they have as poor of aim as you did last month."

"I will choose to take that as a compliment," he told her with a boy-ish grin. Her heart swooped as she prayed to all the gods above and below that she was making the right choice.